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A Necessary Date Night + How I grocery shopped this week.

First off, thanks to all of you who have bought one of my watercolors! I’m selling them on Instagram thru today and the majority of them will be shipped out this week.  Some won’t be shipped until the following week, but they’ll get to you as soon as I can get ’em to ya!

On to our weekend…

On Saturday (to keep Andrew and I from biting each others heads off) we took my parents up on their offer to come watch Jojo while we went out for a date night.  Having a baby has been the toughest thing we’ve done together.  Well.  Having the baby was easy, but life with the baby so far has been tough.  Any words of wisdom are welcome :)

We went out to talk about how we’re feeling and what each of us needs to keep us from losing it.  Some needed communication over margaritas.  I feel like we still have a lot to figure out and all I know is that we will be making date night a consistent thing.

For dinner we got our usual…chicken & beef fajitas to split.

I’m starting to see clients again this week and am not loving how my maternity clothes are fitting anymore and my old pants don’t fit at all anymore…I feel like my hips are in a different location now.  So after dinner we went and got me a couple more pairs of pants.  This is my first pair of Madewell jeans and I’m loving them! I’m not sure what jeans they are, but they’re stretchy, sit higher up on my waist, and I find them really comfortable.

Sunday involved our typical church + tacos + latte combo.  

For lunch, Andrew whipped up a frozen stir-fry my parents had left in our freezer for us, while I worked at helping Jo fall asleep.

Finished off lunch with some Justin’s PB cups.

As far as meal planning for this week…

I’m really loving using the curb-side pickup feature for grocery shopping.  It’s stressful for me having to take Joanna to the grocery store.  I know me and Jo can do it, but I’d much rather pay a bit extra for someone to do the grocery shopping for me.

What I really love about ordering groceries online is you can look and see what you have in your fridge/pantry and make meals out of that.  This week I planned meals around these things we already had… 

…and I’m making this meal from Cravings.  My sister gave me Chrissy’s cookbook for Christmas and I think it’s great.

Hope ya make it a awesome week! Even if it’s just by doing something silly like buying ban.do Stickers for your planner hehe. I love my Day Designer planner, but miss all the stickers from the ban.do planners! 

(some affiliate links included in this post.)

30 comments

  1. I find grocery shopping stressful enough as it is, with a baby it sounds awful!

  2. I can imagine that adding a baby into the mix would be tough- love that y’all are working it out through margs and date nights! :) Love your jeans + top too! I’ve yet to splurge on Madewell jeans but am feeling like they might be worth it… ;)

  3. Hey friend!! It’s your old client Annie. :) I’ve loved watching your transition to motherhood and your love for sweet Jojo is palpable even though the internet! Just wanted to share a bit of wisdom a friend gave me that saved me after I had my second child. I was completely exhausted, trying to balance life with a 2 year old and a new baby, feeling isolated, feeling hormonal, dealing with the inevitable changes to the family dynamic…and she said, “just remember, this is NOT your ‘new normal.’ The first 6 months of a new baby at MINIMUM are just survival. Things are changing day to day, week to week. You just try to make it through doing the best you can and it’s a big mess. Eventually you will start to establish a ‘new normal…’ you will feel that you have a routine, you will settle into your new family dynamic. But that takes a while to get there!” That was just what I needed to hear at that moment. So many moments in those first few months I thought, “what did we do??? This is my life now!” (Cue tears) and I’d remind myself of her words and feel better. And she was right! We have settled into a different, but wonderfully fulfilling “new normal” over time! And then we got a new pet pig and that all went to hell. Hahaha! Just kidding, she’s a great pet, although my house is a little like a circus right now. Anyways, if those words of wisdom from my friend don’t speak to you like they did to me, that’s ok, just ignore this novel of a comment! Love to you and praying for you daily!

  4. Hi Kylie! Hang in there, the first few months of new parenthood are ROUGH. My husband and I both don’t do well on little sleep, and I can remember having terrible fights (and we never fight!) the first few months just because we were exhausted. It’s like we were in a competition to see who was the most exhausted a miserable. Not fun. The exhaustion makes it hard-impossible to see the big picture and to remember that you’re on the same team. But it gets better! Really, things don’t settle down in the sleep department till at least 6 months. Ultimately, though, it makes you stronger and less selfish as partners. I just had my third last March, and never once has my husband complained this time about being tired. He’d say, “Yeah, I’m tired, but it’s nothing compared to Ellen.” Those words would have never come out of his mouth when we had our first! Keep it up, keep on going on dates and communicating and know that it does get better!

  5. I can only imagine how much of a difference a baby can make on one’s marriage. Just being given the news last year that our cat, Mason had cancer threw us for a loop. Having to administer tube feeds, meds, attend frequent exams – it was a lot on us even though we were a team. I have faith it will all get better soon as things begin to settle as some other commenters have noted. Sending you a bunch of love and positive vibes!!

  6. I am a big believer in Madewell’s jeans! I have two pairs of the 9 inch high waisted ones and they are SO comfy and stretchy, I feel like I’m wearing yoga pants. They are definitely more money than I’m used to spending on jeans but so far it’s been worth it.

  7. I seriously have no idea what I would do now without curbside pickup. I DO have to travel to the next town over (about 45 min.) to take advantage of the closest Kroger Clicklist service, but it is SO WORTH IT! The way I see it, I would either spend an hour and a half in the grocery store stressed and frustrated, or I could spend it in my car listening to an audiobook and relaxing. :) Funny story, not long after the Clicklist opened it caught on fire. There was a rumor that it had burned down and I nearly lost my mind for about an hour until I figured out it was just a small fire. I DEFINITELY support the curb side pickup, and if you’re lucky enough to live in a location that actually has doorstop delivery I would definitely be taking advantage of that, as well! I hope it makes it way to my small, rural town soon!

  8. First-time momma of a 4-month-old here! New parenthood is hard! We’re still definitely figuring things out, but I think my biggest take-away as of late is that “My baby will be fine.” If he needs to stay with a babysitter so we can get a date night, he will be fine. He’ll be fine sleeping in his own room if it means we all get more sleep and momma and daddy get their room back, even if the AAP recommends room-sharing until 6 months. He’ll be fine if he takes all bottles and I give up breastfeeding because its been so frustrating for us. He’ll be fine if we use the church nursery so we can both pay attention to the sermon… he will not remember this part of his life! So as long as he is physically safe and loved, do what you gotta do!

    Girl, if you have parent nearby to babysit for date night, make that a weekly thing for sure! We don’t have family close so we’re still trying to figure out how to find someone we trust who can watch him regularly, but we’re making that happen soon.

    I went back to work in an office a month ago, so my situation is a little different from yours, but I told my husband if I had been staying at home with him more, I would have need to put a solid routine in place. The varying days of mostly staying home and being on “his” schedule were really starting to wear on me. I loved snuggling and watching TV, but it was getting really… icky? Like… I need to DO something! Not sure if that’s a problem for you, but a routine might help. Also I don’t know your feeding/sleeping situation, but my husband and I take a lot of turns — Now we take turns who is on night duty (but you can always call in for backup if you just can’t take it anymore). When baby was still eating a lot at night and taking forever to go back to bed I would feed him and trying to rock him back to sleep until I had been doing that for an hour. After an hour, I woke up my husband and he took a crack for an hour. All of this to say… this is a season that will pass, and in the mean time, both of you get to ask for as much help as you need!

    • I have to second this!! My son just turned 1 two weeks ago (hold me!), and when he went through the dreaded four month sleep regression, “he’ll be fine” became our motto haha. We made the switch to having him sleep in his room at four months even though we planned on keeping him in our room much longer, and he was fine. We left him with a babysitter at five months, and guess what? He was fine. We started letting him cry it out at six months even though I originally hated the idea, and he was fine :). Haha, I’m only saying all of this to say that it’s okay to put yourself and your marriage before your kids. The first few months were rough because I felt like we were “keeping score” based on who was more tired or who did more around the house. But once we started putting less stress on ourselves and just went with the flow a little more, things got a lot better. Hang in there!

  9. That’s my favorite recipe from the Cravings cookbook! I’ve made it several times – it just has the perfect combination of flavors and textures.

  10. I have a 2 year old and a 2 month old. I find the first few times doing everything is the hardest. I think it’s important to just “take the plunge” and try it out. If you can get help, even better! Once I got comfortable doing things my days got happier and less lonely!

    As for marriage, I think communication was key. I had to be very clear with my husband that I needed 1 hour a day to myself to exercise outdoors (those 2 elements were essential for my emotional health). Before I really pushed, he would get busy at work and not get home until it was dark out. He expressed that he needed some extra time at work since home had become a very distracting environment. We made it work and even decided to have another one! Our marriage has never been better!

    Good luck! Remember, it gets better. Sometimes it’s hard to notice because the change happens so slowly. I think it helps to think about “1 month ago” to compare progress, not just day to day changes.

    • It’s so weird having to be SO specific with what I need…and a lot of times lately I feel like I’m still figuring out what I need. But trying to communicate my needs as well as I can has been something I’m do. Thanks for sharing, Molly!

  11. Thank you so much for sharing. I have a 3.5 year and 16 month old and my husband and I definitely don’t have it all figured out and could use some more date nights! But definitely checking in daily and communicating clearly what you need help with and what time you need for yourself are key. I am a sahm and I know that somehow I let that make me (and my husband) think that I was supposed to be the caregiver for my first 24-7. Obviously that was exhausting and not fair especially bec she was not a good sleeper. When we had our second your spouse has to step up to help so it’s a little easier for them to learn they have to help.

    Now I do a better job of scheduling in time for myself and encouraging my husband to do the same. We do our best to each have an hour or so each weekend day to either just rest or go to a class or get out of the house solo. Then during the week my husband tries to make Crossfit when he can and I try to pop out for solo dog walks even if it’s just 15 minutes or makes a big difference.

    Marriage changes a ton when you have kids and it can be scary to be honest. We still need to work on intimacy but with exhaustion and breastfeeding for almost four years straight it will take time!!

    • Thanks a bunch for sharing all this, Jenny. There’s a lot here I resonate with. I do think the marriage changes can feel scary, so thanks for saying that.

      It’s different having to be so scheduled with our lives…such a change. But that’s something we’ve started doing and it’s been helpful to be like, “okay you have Monday, Wednesday and Thursday early evening to do whatever, but the rest of the nights I need help.” I think being on maternity leave it’s been easy for me to become caregiver 24-7…that and the fact that there’s a part of me that likes being able to “do it all” and not needing help. Such a tough time.

  12. I bought Madewell jeans (with much encouragement from my husband because of how expensive they are) but they are my FAVORITE. I wish I could wear them every day. I want another pair ASAP. I’m so glad you bought some for yourself. And I’m so glad you got a date night in. Keep ’em coming. You’re doing great!

  13. My best marriage advice with a new baby: Don’t keep score. <3

  14. That recipe from Chrissy Tiegen’s cookbook is my favorite! We normally add grilled chicken and sundried tomatoes for some extra protein and flavor. Other favorites are the lettuce wraps and the pasta recipes!

  15. My babies are 15 and 20 and it’s still sometimes rough. When they’re tiny, it’s hard, but when they’re older it’s hard for different reasons. It’s all worth it though. No shame in seeking out help in the form of marital counseling if you end up needing it. We were separated for 3 months when our second daughter was 16 months old, but we wanted to stay together and we worked through our issues (poor communication being one).

    • I’m in a bible study with a lot of different generations of moms and it’s helpful to hear the different things everyone struggles with, with different aged kids. Thanks for sharing, Susan<3

  16. Fajitas are the best thing to split at restaurants!
    I feel like relationships are hard enough without a baby involved. New parents really amaze me.
    Yay for new jeans!

  17. I can’t offer any advice on marriage or babies, but I can say that I’m praying for y’all and rooting for you Kylie!  I have so much confidence in you, you’re an amazing woman and seems like you have a wonderful support system!  Mexican food date night can’t hurt, looks amazing! And love Madewell jeans, woohoo!!

  18. Date nights and communication is the way to do it! I was a nightmare to be around when trying to function on little sleep and I wasn’t communicating which made things get out of control unneccisarily. Baby number 2 is on the way now so hopefully it will be a little bit easier this time now that I know how important communicating everything is.

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