I basically want to start every post I write with .. "Here's the thing.." but that seems silly, right? I should think of more creative titles. It's hard I tell you!
So i've now been a Stay At Home Mom (SAHM) for the past four weeks. I haven't quite gotten into a rhythm yet and what's the point really? I'm going to have another baby in a couple weeks which would throw it off anyway! I am most definitely enjoying spending so much time with Scarlett though and the only thing I miss about work are the people. I feel a ton more relaxed and I've gotten more housework done than I have in months.
We've had a couple of play dates with little friends so far and I have a couple scheduled for next week as well. Trying to keep things busy and interesting for Scarlett because she likes that sort of thing, plus it gets us out and about which is sometimes hard with my 'before baby to-do list' and the general tired/laziness that pregnancy often brings. Not to mention, she may have about 4 weeks of being less mobile than usual because of me recovering/getting the hang of mothering two children!
Here's a couple things I've managed to do so far:
Set up the Crib in our room! Originally, I thought I would be putting Scarlett in this crib and the new baby in Scarlett's current one but they're both drop side (read: convenient) and Scarlett is used to hers so why switch now. I learned this of course after setting the new one up in Scarlett's room only to take it down and set it up again in my room.
Upstairs bathroom cleaned! Honestly, I've never deep cleaned that bathroom before. We've lived here 3 years. Sorry past house guests! I have cleaned it, just not extensively. I recently mopped the floors and got in the crevices (gross!), changed out the shower curtain, etc. Our tub and toilet up there are blue. It's wallpapered and I don't enjoy the flooring. The toilet is completely facing the wrong direction. I usually just can't go in there and Scarlett takes baths in our bathroom so I have little use for it. After this baby arrives and I have some time, I plan to at least paint the cabinetry and remove the wall paper. Eventually we'd like to completely renovate the whole thing and close off the jack/jill-ness.. I'm just not a fan of those.
Master Bathroom Windows/Blinds cleaned! This was long overdue. I need to do it in every room but I started with ours because of all the dust on them. Babies don't need to breathe extra dust.
Baby Laundry! This has been done and put away in two of my dresser drawers. I have far more clothing for him then I did for Scarlett for the first three months. Thank you consignment sales! I do need to get another crib sheet though and perhaps a crib skirt if I can find one I ilke.
Vacuuming! I do this multiple times a week now. The house just isn't clean enough and having cats surely complicates this. I don't think I notice this as much in the winter bc I walk around in slippers but with bare feet in the summer I hate feeling debris beneath my feet.
Making Dinner! I've started meal planning and buying accordingly while trying to stay within a budget at the grocery store. This has proven difficult so far because I love the grocery store and I love sales at grocery stores. It's always hard to resist a 2 for anything! I did join Amazon Mom though and have started utilizing more coupons online for different things. So that will pay off very soon.
Other Random Stuff! I feel like that list is pretty short but I'm not going to put daily chores like laundry and dishes on there. Just seems silly to write a paragraph about that sort of stuff but trust me it's getting done!!
Still To Do:
Deep Clean Master Bathroom
Shampoo Master Bedroom Carpet
Vacuum Car
Organize Kitchen Desk
Wash Blinds/Windows in Every Room
Organize Actual Office Desk
Clean/Organize Fridge/Freezer
Sew Memory Foam Covers (for Scarlett's Crib, Toddler Bed & Pack N Play)
Recover a bumper for Baby Boy's Crib and Fix Scarlett's bumper ties
And probably more..
I take this SAHM thing pretty seriously. Alex has a job and so do I, to run a household. I try not to let him do most inside housework because he already does a lot outside and the inside is my territory. Who wants to work all day and then come home and have to do more work when I'm here all day? We'll see how crazy it gets once I add another baby to this picture though, ha!
Showing posts with label Daily Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daily Life. Show all posts
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013
I'm baaaaack!
So lots has been going on around here lately so I'll start by explaining the absence!
Last fall, work started getting pretty stressful and in addition to my part time hours, I started working at home as well during Scarlett's nap times and sometimes even in the evening. This contributed to the slow down of posting to the blog.
In November, I got pregnant (found out in December) plus the holiday season which seemed busier than previous years, probably because I had Scarlett to think about and plan for! I also started as a Tastefully Simple Consultant, so that took up some of my free time as well.
In the beginning of 2013, we had Scarlett's birthday party which was a blast, then in addition to working my part time job while at home, I also started a freelance project that also took more free time. Work was still pretty stressful so Alex and I started thinking about August (our due month) and how we were going to handle having two children with me working part time and if it would be worth it to look into me staying home.
Alex got a new job April 1st which has been a huge blessing. He is about 200x happier in this position and I really feel that he is now on a career path instead of just having a job. He has been loving it so far and I just know that will continue!
In May, we made the decision that I would stop working mid-June right before our vacations with our families. I put in three weeks notice after Memorial Day. My lovely coworkers threw me a surprise baby shower/best wishes party prior to my departure and it was all very bittersweet. Working at the same place for almost six years was such a great experience. I learned so very much and I'm thankful for all the great people I met there.
I went to OBX with my family a couple weeks ago and then met Alex and his family in Bethany Beach the following weekend for a few days there. I will write separate posts on those fun times with pictures! Returning last week and not going back to work on Thursday was a bit strange, and this week will be my first official full week without a steady job.
It's exciting (and a little scary) but I just know this is the right decision for our family and I am so thankful that we are in a position to do this. Plus, I can get back to writing here and documenting our life, if not just for myself, for my family and friends as well!
I definitely feel that our little boy hasn't gotten the blog attention that I dedicated to Scarlett over her time in utero but I'm going to write a couple of posts on it now and then definitely keep up on it when he arrives. Having a blog like this is like having a baby book and I love going back and reading about Scarlett and my pregnancy with her. I can't wait to do the same with him.
So stay tuned.. !
Last fall, work started getting pretty stressful and in addition to my part time hours, I started working at home as well during Scarlett's nap times and sometimes even in the evening. This contributed to the slow down of posting to the blog.
In November, I got pregnant (found out in December) plus the holiday season which seemed busier than previous years, probably because I had Scarlett to think about and plan for! I also started as a Tastefully Simple Consultant, so that took up some of my free time as well.
In the beginning of 2013, we had Scarlett's birthday party which was a blast, then in addition to working my part time job while at home, I also started a freelance project that also took more free time. Work was still pretty stressful so Alex and I started thinking about August (our due month) and how we were going to handle having two children with me working part time and if it would be worth it to look into me staying home.
Alex got a new job April 1st which has been a huge blessing. He is about 200x happier in this position and I really feel that he is now on a career path instead of just having a job. He has been loving it so far and I just know that will continue!
In May, we made the decision that I would stop working mid-June right before our vacations with our families. I put in three weeks notice after Memorial Day. My lovely coworkers threw me a surprise baby shower/best wishes party prior to my departure and it was all very bittersweet. Working at the same place for almost six years was such a great experience. I learned so very much and I'm thankful for all the great people I met there.
I went to OBX with my family a couple weeks ago and then met Alex and his family in Bethany Beach the following weekend for a few days there. I will write separate posts on those fun times with pictures! Returning last week and not going back to work on Thursday was a bit strange, and this week will be my first official full week without a steady job.
It's exciting (and a little scary) but I just know this is the right decision for our family and I am so thankful that we are in a position to do this. Plus, I can get back to writing here and documenting our life, if not just for myself, for my family and friends as well!
I definitely feel that our little boy hasn't gotten the blog attention that I dedicated to Scarlett over her time in utero but I'm going to write a couple of posts on it now and then definitely keep up on it when he arrives. Having a blog like this is like having a baby book and I love going back and reading about Scarlett and my pregnancy with her. I can't wait to do the same with him.
So stay tuned.. !
Monday, November 5, 2012
Playdate with Aunt Julia
Julia came down this past weekend (along with Jessica and Makayla, who only stayed for dinner) and we carved pumpkins, made chocolate chip cookies and played with Scarlett. Always a fun time! Here are some picture highlights!
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| Scarlett doesn't like to look for pictures anymore, so this was a good capture! She's probably mid-laugh! |
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| We were going for fall themed since halloween is over. We toasted the pumpkin seeds afterward and they turned out the best I've ever made them. 400 degrees for 15ish minutes. mmm! |
Monday, October 15, 2012
10 Things
I did have version numbers attached to this, but honestly, I don't do it often enough to keep that going. Sorry folks!
But here's 10 things we've had going/i've been thinking about recently!
10 :: I've been working like crazy. Working part time can be hard sometimes because of my workload at work. Things don't slow down just because I have two days off a week. Recently, I've been staying late to finish things. This can be very frustrating/sad because Scarlett goes to bed at 7:00 and one night a couple weeks ago I only got to spend about 45 minutes with her.
9 :: The holidays are coming so fast. I'm so excited! I could write a lot more but there are 8 more things to talk about.
8 :: Pumped that fall TV is back. Mostly for the following shows: Parks & Rec, Modern Family, Revenge, Once Upon a Time, Private Practice, New Girl, Grey's Anatomy.. and I can't think of any others. I did watch most of the pilots for the new shows that will be on. I watched all the "New Normal" episodes and I liked it until they did a whole political one. Keep it light, kids. Politics is not light. I thought they balanced it pretty well though, so that was a plus I guess.
7 :: We're trying to get Scarlett to practice walking and she's doing better at standing still on her own but I'm sure it's a huge learning process and learning to balance like that is probably really tough. Over the weekend she got to witness her buddy Jack walk all around and I think she actually learned something from that. She took a bunch of steps for Alex today unassisted!
6 :: Luckily, Scarlett doesn't have adverse effects when it comes to what's in my breastmilk because I am obsessed with the Hix family's Broccoli salad recipe. I will share it next time I make it.
5 :: I finally found some 12 mo footie pajamas that I have been looking for. I got them at Babies R Us, which feels like they never have sales. I also tried on some shoes for Scarlett but her feet aren't flat enough yet and she likes to curl her toes so I could barely get them on her to try to see if they were the right size.
4 :: This past Sunday we hit up a Pumpkin Patch with friends, it was awesome. Except that Tayden got stung by a bee in the face, it made me want to cry. I'll do a post on this though to show all the fun pictures!!
3 :: Last week felt like it was crazy busy. I am hoping for a more relaxing week this week. I really need to get some pictures of Scarlett printed. I also need to take her for some profesh photos to document this stage of her life since I haven't done that yet. If only it weren't so darn expensive!
2 :: Alex bought me some plants for my office a couple weeks ago. I killed the fern already. :( I forgot to open the blinds so it could get some sunlight over the weekend. Sorry fella!
1 :: I've started making some felt flower headbands from pinterest. They're turning out pretty nice, I must say! Makes me want to make one for everyone and their sister. They're just so darn easy to make! I know you can find tutorials pretty easily on Pinterest. But I might post a little blurb about it on here for the non-pinterest peeps (i would say mom, but she just got it! the app for the ipad is killer!).
That's all folks!
But here's 10 things we've had going/i've been thinking about recently!
10 :: I've been working like crazy. Working part time can be hard sometimes because of my workload at work. Things don't slow down just because I have two days off a week. Recently, I've been staying late to finish things. This can be very frustrating/sad because Scarlett goes to bed at 7:00 and one night a couple weeks ago I only got to spend about 45 minutes with her.
9 :: The holidays are coming so fast. I'm so excited! I could write a lot more but there are 8 more things to talk about.
8 :: Pumped that fall TV is back. Mostly for the following shows: Parks & Rec, Modern Family, Revenge, Once Upon a Time, Private Practice, New Girl, Grey's Anatomy.. and I can't think of any others. I did watch most of the pilots for the new shows that will be on. I watched all the "New Normal" episodes and I liked it until they did a whole political one. Keep it light, kids. Politics is not light. I thought they balanced it pretty well though, so that was a plus I guess.
7 :: We're trying to get Scarlett to practice walking and she's doing better at standing still on her own but I'm sure it's a huge learning process and learning to balance like that is probably really tough. Over the weekend she got to witness her buddy Jack walk all around and I think she actually learned something from that. She took a bunch of steps for Alex today unassisted!
6 :: Luckily, Scarlett doesn't have adverse effects when it comes to what's in my breastmilk because I am obsessed with the Hix family's Broccoli salad recipe. I will share it next time I make it.
5 :: I finally found some 12 mo footie pajamas that I have been looking for. I got them at Babies R Us, which feels like they never have sales. I also tried on some shoes for Scarlett but her feet aren't flat enough yet and she likes to curl her toes so I could barely get them on her to try to see if they were the right size.
4 :: This past Sunday we hit up a Pumpkin Patch with friends, it was awesome. Except that Tayden got stung by a bee in the face, it made me want to cry. I'll do a post on this though to show all the fun pictures!!
3 :: Last week felt like it was crazy busy. I am hoping for a more relaxing week this week. I really need to get some pictures of Scarlett printed. I also need to take her for some profesh photos to document this stage of her life since I haven't done that yet. If only it weren't so darn expensive!
2 :: Alex bought me some plants for my office a couple weeks ago. I killed the fern already. :( I forgot to open the blinds so it could get some sunlight over the weekend. Sorry fella!
1 :: I've started making some felt flower headbands from pinterest. They're turning out pretty nice, I must say! Makes me want to make one for everyone and their sister. They're just so darn easy to make! I know you can find tutorials pretty easily on Pinterest. But I might post a little blurb about it on here for the non-pinterest peeps (i would say mom, but she just got it! the app for the ipad is killer!).
That's all folks!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Lately
Just a couple of notes of what we've been up to lately..
..we finished watching LOST on Netflix. Call me crazy but I actually liked the ending. Just in time for fall shows to start up soon! Yippee!
..I've been stroller striding twice a week (as long as my schedule allows) since the beginning of August and it feels good to get out there and work out. Not to mention the ladies there are super nice and I'm the kind of work out girl that needs other people around doing the same thing I am to motivate me (or pressure me) into keeping up.
..Alex and I keep meaning to start this 5k training app I have on my phone, but things keep getting in the way after work. For some reason we are just fighting the whole 'establish a routine' thing.
..Weekends have been relaxing recently and it's been lovely to say the least. As the weather cools down we have some ideas of how to enjoy the fall, such as apple picking and pumpkin patch visiting.
..Scarlett is pulling herself up on everything and perfecting her crawl. She just started letting go of things to balance for a couple seconds before sitting down, so there's that..
..We just bought a bunch of gates from Alex's coworker and now we just need to figure out how to install them. We're actually thinking of turning the 'eat in kitchen' area beside the kitchen into a little play area that Scarlett can go wild in.
..Volleyball is going to start in a couple of weeks and I'm pretty pumped to be able to play the full season this time (last year I was pregnant and played half the season). Alex is playing Tennis this year as well. He started last week and is really enjoying it so far.
..I'm trying to figure out the best way to keep track of all the baby food we have in the freezer. I currently just have a running list but I feel like there has to be a better way.
..I really want to take a trip to Ikea, but that's a dangerous venture because I really don't need anything. Plus I've been thinking about christmas far too often and have updated my Amazon Wish List and started a Gift List for Scarlett to try to put all my ideas for her in one place.
..I think Scarlett needs shoes. And some fall clothing...... uh oh!
That's probably enough. I'm sure I could go on and on and on but I won't!!
..we finished watching LOST on Netflix. Call me crazy but I actually liked the ending. Just in time for fall shows to start up soon! Yippee!
..I've been stroller striding twice a week (as long as my schedule allows) since the beginning of August and it feels good to get out there and work out. Not to mention the ladies there are super nice and I'm the kind of work out girl that needs other people around doing the same thing I am to motivate me (or pressure me) into keeping up.
..Alex and I keep meaning to start this 5k training app I have on my phone, but things keep getting in the way after work. For some reason we are just fighting the whole 'establish a routine' thing.
..Weekends have been relaxing recently and it's been lovely to say the least. As the weather cools down we have some ideas of how to enjoy the fall, such as apple picking and pumpkin patch visiting.
..Scarlett is pulling herself up on everything and perfecting her crawl. She just started letting go of things to balance for a couple seconds before sitting down, so there's that..
..We just bought a bunch of gates from Alex's coworker and now we just need to figure out how to install them. We're actually thinking of turning the 'eat in kitchen' area beside the kitchen into a little play area that Scarlett can go wild in.
..Volleyball is going to start in a couple of weeks and I'm pretty pumped to be able to play the full season this time (last year I was pregnant and played half the season). Alex is playing Tennis this year as well. He started last week and is really enjoying it so far.
..I'm trying to figure out the best way to keep track of all the baby food we have in the freezer. I currently just have a running list but I feel like there has to be a better way.
..I really want to take a trip to Ikea, but that's a dangerous venture because I really don't need anything. Plus I've been thinking about christmas far too often and have updated my Amazon Wish List and started a Gift List for Scarlett to try to put all my ideas for her in one place.
..I think Scarlett needs shoes. And some fall clothing...... uh oh!
That's probably enough. I'm sure I could go on and on and on but I won't!!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
10 Things :: V7
10 :: Blogging. I suck at finding time to do this. Yes. I. Do. I like blogging and I don't really have trouble finding things to write about it's just finding the time to do it. I'll work on it.. :)
9 :: Alex and I started watching Lost together on Netflix. It's interesting so far to say the least. I might have ruined it for myself by reading the wiki on it but it doesn't bother me.
8 :: I'm finally back to my pre-pregnancy weight! I hope this breastfeeding thing can help me shed even more pounds.. now if i could only stop drinking soda!
7 :: Look, I made it through the first three without mentioning Scarlett, I do have a life outside my baby! ;) She's awesome by the way, I'm currently trying to teach her how to go to sleep on her own (while I lay beside her) it's kind of inconsistent though. I also think she's teething, which means she wakes up crying for no reason sometimes. Ouchies.
6 :: We just returned from the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. Post coming on this!
5 :: We're really enjoying our CSA this year so far. Alex has been making us some yummy dinners with our fresh organic veggies and the fruit share has been decent as well. Tomatoes are ripening.. this means unlimited salsa is on the way!
4 :: I've been following the bachelorette this season and next week we get to find out who wins. Team Jef for sure. Arie's family just doesn't seem like the right fit for Emily and Ricki. I hope she makes the right choice and it sticks.
3 :: We had a sushi making party with friends a couple weekends ago and it was de-licious! I wish I would've taken more pictures but maybe I will write a post on all the prep and planning that it took in case someone wants to do it on their own. Making sushi is surprisingly easy!
2 :: Somebody might be crawling now. I'll try to take a video to upload. It's good, but also.. not so good. A lot comes along with having a mobile baby and I was kind of hoping to keep her immobile for a little while longer. Oh well, there's no stopping this girl!
1 :: I have so many iphone pictures to put on here but surprisingly, I don't take as many as I used to. I'm not sure why this is and when I think about it, i usually end up snapping a ton at one time. We have been trying to use our regular camera though and I want to get a picture of all of our family members faces so that I can make her a faces book so she can learn everyone faces and names. This goes along with me wanting to make a digital scrapbook each year for her, I should probably start that now so I don't have to do it all at once, huh?
9 :: Alex and I started watching Lost together on Netflix. It's interesting so far to say the least. I might have ruined it for myself by reading the wiki on it but it doesn't bother me.
8 :: I'm finally back to my pre-pregnancy weight! I hope this breastfeeding thing can help me shed even more pounds.. now if i could only stop drinking soda!
7 :: Look, I made it through the first three without mentioning Scarlett, I do have a life outside my baby! ;) She's awesome by the way, I'm currently trying to teach her how to go to sleep on her own (while I lay beside her) it's kind of inconsistent though. I also think she's teething, which means she wakes up crying for no reason sometimes. Ouchies.
6 :: We just returned from the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. Post coming on this!
5 :: We're really enjoying our CSA this year so far. Alex has been making us some yummy dinners with our fresh organic veggies and the fruit share has been decent as well. Tomatoes are ripening.. this means unlimited salsa is on the way!
4 :: I've been following the bachelorette this season and next week we get to find out who wins. Team Jef for sure. Arie's family just doesn't seem like the right fit for Emily and Ricki. I hope she makes the right choice and it sticks.
3 :: We had a sushi making party with friends a couple weekends ago and it was de-licious! I wish I would've taken more pictures but maybe I will write a post on all the prep and planning that it took in case someone wants to do it on their own. Making sushi is surprisingly easy!
2 :: Somebody might be crawling now. I'll try to take a video to upload. It's good, but also.. not so good. A lot comes along with having a mobile baby and I was kind of hoping to keep her immobile for a little while longer. Oh well, there's no stopping this girl!
1 :: I have so many iphone pictures to put on here but surprisingly, I don't take as many as I used to. I'm not sure why this is and when I think about it, i usually end up snapping a ton at one time. We have been trying to use our regular camera though and I want to get a picture of all of our family members faces so that I can make her a faces book so she can learn everyone faces and names. This goes along with me wanting to make a digital scrapbook each year for her, I should probably start that now so I don't have to do it all at once, huh?
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
10 Things :: Volume 6
Jumping right in..
10 :: The cats. Their winter hair is shedding and our one particular kitty, Domino basically refuses to groom himself properly which has resulted in an enormous amount of mats, mostly on his back leg area. So I have resorted to cutting them out. This makes for a very weird looking cat. Alex and I really want to get his hair buzzer and just buzz his whole body, minus his head but I don't know how well he'll tolerate it but really, something has to be done. Ugh!
9 :: I got my legs waxed last Wednesday by my sister, Nicole. All seemed fine except that I sweated a lot over the weekend while outside in the heat (duh) and now they're irritated. Gah!
8 :: Revenge.. the show. Can you believe the season ended like that? First of all, I didn't know there was going to be an episode 22, so I was surprised to see that but glad because then we could find out what happened to Nolan, obv they couldn't kill him. I kind of wish she would've killed the white haired guy, then he couldn't have blown up the plane! I'm surprised they killed Victoria, unless she's not really dead? Won't they need to keep her around for flashbacks at least? Season two is going to be awe-some. Alex said he kind of wished they would've killed off Daniel at the engagement party, but I think they took it in the right direction. In order for a season two to work, she still needs to want revenge, which now she does, plus her mom? Wow! They could take that in so many directions!
7 :: Scarlett is definitely ticklish in her belly. It is hilarious to make her laugh. We need to get it on camera here soon so that we have it! Her laugh is infectious!
6 :: We bought this coleman beach shade for our upcoming beach trips! We cannot wait to try it out when it arrives on Thursday. It will also be perfect to sit in the yard and watch Alex in the garden or the birds at the water bath! I also plan to get her a little inflatable swimming pool for this summer. She loved the pool at Richmond so much so why not get a little one here she can splash around in this summer and keep cool!
5 :: Father's Day is coming up, I need to get on my planning for Alex's gift that Scarlett and I are going to make. Oh pinterest, you are too awesome!
4 :: I've decided I'm going to do push-ups and the plank plus take a walk everyday starting today. Yesterday evening I did push-ups and the plank and thought that it's a good way to keep moving this summer, even if it's hot outside! Scarlett will enjoy the walks as well so it's a win win! Maybe i'll get up some courage to do some interval training with C25K as well!
3 :: The Lancaster Farm Fresh Coop that we're a part of has been giving us some yummy greens. We've made kale chips twice and lots of other fresh veggies including strawberries. The fruit share starts this week and I can't wait to make this recipe next time we get strawberries. Alex's garden has also been producing some yummy foods including broccoli and sugar snap peas!
2 :: Volleyball has started back up and I'm super excited about it! I love playing and I love my teammates and it's so fun to play! Thank goodness for them!
1 :: Summer is officially here. I feel like after Memorial Day weekend, it's official summer. Not to mention the hot hot weather we've been having. I can't wait for the cookouts and the bonfires and swimming at the pool and spending time with family and friends, going to the beach and going to the mountains and showing Scarlett what summer is all about!
10 :: The cats. Their winter hair is shedding and our one particular kitty, Domino basically refuses to groom himself properly which has resulted in an enormous amount of mats, mostly on his back leg area. So I have resorted to cutting them out. This makes for a very weird looking cat. Alex and I really want to get his hair buzzer and just buzz his whole body, minus his head but I don't know how well he'll tolerate it but really, something has to be done. Ugh!
9 :: I got my legs waxed last Wednesday by my sister, Nicole. All seemed fine except that I sweated a lot over the weekend while outside in the heat (duh) and now they're irritated. Gah!
8 :: Revenge.. the show. Can you believe the season ended like that? First of all, I didn't know there was going to be an episode 22, so I was surprised to see that but glad because then we could find out what happened to Nolan, obv they couldn't kill him. I kind of wish she would've killed the white haired guy, then he couldn't have blown up the plane! I'm surprised they killed Victoria, unless she's not really dead? Won't they need to keep her around for flashbacks at least? Season two is going to be awe-some. Alex said he kind of wished they would've killed off Daniel at the engagement party, but I think they took it in the right direction. In order for a season two to work, she still needs to want revenge, which now she does, plus her mom? Wow! They could take that in so many directions!
7 :: Scarlett is definitely ticklish in her belly. It is hilarious to make her laugh. We need to get it on camera here soon so that we have it! Her laugh is infectious!
6 :: We bought this coleman beach shade for our upcoming beach trips! We cannot wait to try it out when it arrives on Thursday. It will also be perfect to sit in the yard and watch Alex in the garden or the birds at the water bath! I also plan to get her a little inflatable swimming pool for this summer. She loved the pool at Richmond so much so why not get a little one here she can splash around in this summer and keep cool!
5 :: Father's Day is coming up, I need to get on my planning for Alex's gift that Scarlett and I are going to make. Oh pinterest, you are too awesome!
4 :: I've decided I'm going to do push-ups and the plank plus take a walk everyday starting today. Yesterday evening I did push-ups and the plank and thought that it's a good way to keep moving this summer, even if it's hot outside! Scarlett will enjoy the walks as well so it's a win win! Maybe i'll get up some courage to do some interval training with C25K as well!
3 :: The Lancaster Farm Fresh Coop that we're a part of has been giving us some yummy greens. We've made kale chips twice and lots of other fresh veggies including strawberries. The fruit share starts this week and I can't wait to make this recipe next time we get strawberries. Alex's garden has also been producing some yummy foods including broccoli and sugar snap peas!
2 :: Volleyball has started back up and I'm super excited about it! I love playing and I love my teammates and it's so fun to play! Thank goodness for them!
1 :: Summer is officially here. I feel like after Memorial Day weekend, it's official summer. Not to mention the hot hot weather we've been having. I can't wait for the cookouts and the bonfires and swimming at the pool and spending time with family and friends, going to the beach and going to the mountains and showing Scarlett what summer is all about!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Mother's Day Photoshoot
Check out these sweet images we took while we were enjoying the great outdoors in the beautiful weather on Mother's Day. (this was around 10:30am, after we'd been up since about 7:30!)
Monday, May 7, 2012
10 Things + 1 :: Volume 5
11. The Lancaster Farm Fresh Coop starts this week. I am so excited to see what we get! We got half of a veggie share and a fruit share. Yum yum yum, organic and fresh and healthy. Perfect for making baby food, am i right? Speaking of baby food.. we got some asparagus seconds from the farm yesterday and I'm definitely going to use some of it to make baby food to freeze now, since asparagus won't be in season when Scarlett will start eating it. I have a feeling she's going to love it!
10. I'm currently obsessed with a new salad that Britt introduced me to almost a month ago now. It's called an Oriental Chicken Salad (i think?) and it is delish. I've since took it a couple of places to share and it got great reviews. I'll post the recipe soon!
9. Super excited for some upcoming trips! First to Richmond to see family and watch some volleyball and soccer. Scarlett is super pumped to meet her aunts, uncles and cousins! And then to Rehoboth Beach with friends where Scarlett will put her feet (and probably hands) in the sand for the first time. I hope none of it ends up in her mouth but who am i kidding? I'm sure it will.
8. Honestly, I'm regretting not getting the iPhone 4S.. just for the camera. The camera on the 4 is fine but I take so many pictures with my phone that the 4S would've been worth it. Oh well, next upgrade is in December, looks like i'm either getting the 4S or waiting a little bit longer for a potential iPhone 5!
7. Hoping for good weather for both of those trips above!! The weather this year so far has been interesting to say the least. No snow or really any super cold weather, which has been nice. I hope it gets warm and stays warm soon. The flip flopping and not knowing whether to wear a coat in the morning is getting a little old.
6. Scarlett will turn 4 months on the 20th and I'll do a whole post on it but one big thing she did a couple weeks ago was she rolled over! First huge milestone accomplished! We also hope that at her 4 month dr appointment we'll be able to start some kind of solids. Maybe then she'll consistently sleep longer at night!? :)
5. Alex got a charcoal grill for his birthday and let me just say, food cooked on a charcoal grill really does taste better. It's kinda crazy but so so yummy. Alex is looking for any and every opportunity to use it. I see lots of backyard cookouts in our future for this summer!
4. Post baby bod update. The weight is coming off.. slowly but surely. I'm trying not to rush it but the last couple of weeks I've been trying to eat healthier and that killer salad in #10 has been helping! I try to take walks on my days off with Scarlett and starting this week I'm going to try to get a pilates sesh in everyday. My core is definitely in need of some toning.
3. Speaking of post baby bod.. I'm gonna need some new swim suits for this year. More mom-appropriate but also stylish. I think I might have to search pinterest for this. These days I search pinterest for everything!
2. Mothers day is this coming weekend! My first official, baby outside the womb mothers day, since last mothers day I was pregnant but didn't know it. We're excited to spend the day together doing lots of fun things! A yummy breakfast, maybe a picnic lunch.. fun!
1. This blog design still needs a lot of work and I'm working on it when I get a chance. I need to look into the coding of some other blogs I follow to see how they get things arranged so nicely because I don't really like the spacing on the right between the different pages. I should really just hire someone for a new design.. I'll be pondering that now.
10. I'm currently obsessed with a new salad that Britt introduced me to almost a month ago now. It's called an Oriental Chicken Salad (i think?) and it is delish. I've since took it a couple of places to share and it got great reviews. I'll post the recipe soon!
9. Super excited for some upcoming trips! First to Richmond to see family and watch some volleyball and soccer. Scarlett is super pumped to meet her aunts, uncles and cousins! And then to Rehoboth Beach with friends where Scarlett will put her feet (and probably hands) in the sand for the first time. I hope none of it ends up in her mouth but who am i kidding? I'm sure it will.
8. Honestly, I'm regretting not getting the iPhone 4S.. just for the camera. The camera on the 4 is fine but I take so many pictures with my phone that the 4S would've been worth it. Oh well, next upgrade is in December, looks like i'm either getting the 4S or waiting a little bit longer for a potential iPhone 5!
7. Hoping for good weather for both of those trips above!! The weather this year so far has been interesting to say the least. No snow or really any super cold weather, which has been nice. I hope it gets warm and stays warm soon. The flip flopping and not knowing whether to wear a coat in the morning is getting a little old.
6. Scarlett will turn 4 months on the 20th and I'll do a whole post on it but one big thing she did a couple weeks ago was she rolled over! First huge milestone accomplished! We also hope that at her 4 month dr appointment we'll be able to start some kind of solids. Maybe then she'll consistently sleep longer at night!? :)
5. Alex got a charcoal grill for his birthday and let me just say, food cooked on a charcoal grill really does taste better. It's kinda crazy but so so yummy. Alex is looking for any and every opportunity to use it. I see lots of backyard cookouts in our future for this summer!
4. Post baby bod update. The weight is coming off.. slowly but surely. I'm trying not to rush it but the last couple of weeks I've been trying to eat healthier and that killer salad in #10 has been helping! I try to take walks on my days off with Scarlett and starting this week I'm going to try to get a pilates sesh in everyday. My core is definitely in need of some toning.
3. Speaking of post baby bod.. I'm gonna need some new swim suits for this year. More mom-appropriate but also stylish. I think I might have to search pinterest for this. These days I search pinterest for everything!
2. Mothers day is this coming weekend! My first official, baby outside the womb mothers day, since last mothers day I was pregnant but didn't know it. We're excited to spend the day together doing lots of fun things! A yummy breakfast, maybe a picnic lunch.. fun!
1. This blog design still needs a lot of work and I'm working on it when I get a chance. I need to look into the coding of some other blogs I follow to see how they get things arranged so nicely because I don't really like the spacing on the right between the different pages. I should really just hire someone for a new design.. I'll be pondering that now.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
iPhone Photo Adventures v3
Left to Right and Top to Bottom
A birthday gift Alex recieved from his buddy Dan, love the BLL!
Tayden! Steph sent me this picture of the outfit we got her. She is the cutest strawberry ever!
Baby blue eyes staring me down.
Sitting on Daddy's lap when he got home from work.
Happy Birthday to Alex!
Peaceful sleeping baby.
A half smile for me.
Just chillin with our hood up, laying on our tummy.
Asleep after some hardcore activity mat time.
Tiny lips pursed while on the changing table.
Half death stare. Tired of the pictures I'm sure!
Samsung smart tv. More of a want. Saw it at Sears and snapped a pic to remember it.
I take all my photos with my iPhone and edit them using Instagram. Follow me! mbru15!
(Tid bit I just learned. To edit but not post to instagram, work in Airplane mode!)
Stay tuned for the upcoming iPhone Video Adventures!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
iPhone Photo Adventures v2
Scarlett and Evander :: Scarlett and Da :: Scarlett and Makayla
Garden flowers :: Scalloped Potatoes :: Yummy Coconut Water
She loves sleeping with things on or close to her or with mommy!
And the red eyes begin!
Garden flowers :: Scalloped Potatoes :: Yummy Coconut Water
She loves sleeping with things on or close to her or with mommy!
And the red eyes begin!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
10 Things :: Volume 4
10 :: Back to work ain't so bad. It's kind of a best of both worlds scenario. At least I get to work part time, some mom's don't have that luxury and have to leave their baby every day of the week. Pluses include- talking to other adults, having a list of things that actually gets done, doing things with two hands. Minuses include- missing everything between smiling and crying while i'm away. Thank you iPhone for providing way too many photos and videos for me to look at/watch throughout the day!
9 :: Easter is coming up so fast, it's this weekend! I'm very excited for Scarlett's first official holiday. I have her Easter outfit ready to wear and the Easter buckets filled (for all 3 of us, score!). I even hid Easter eggs around the living room for Scarlett to find (with assistance, haha!). Alex see's a new one every day and says, "there's another egg!" .. maybe he'll forget where they are come Sunday? I also kind of opened the tin of chocolate covered pretzels yesterday when I could not find a suitable snack after work. They were tempting and I have zero willpower in my new-found love for chocolate covered pretzels. Salty and sweet, mmhmm! Plus, Plus! Easter = Ham. I don't even care about the other candy, I care about the HAM!
8 :: Scarlett has really been teasing her father recently saying that she only wants mommy to hold her in the fake boob position (it's like she's nursing but there's a pacifier in her mouth). I hope this is a phase because although I don't mind holding her 24/7, I don't want to have anything Alex can't have. I'm sure there will be another phase soon enough where all she wants is her mommy. Stay in the future, phase, okay?
7 :: Let's talk about body after baby, shall we? I am 10.5 weeks post partum. I feel like I look pretty good for someone who just had a baby 10.5 weeks ago but as always, not good enough. I lost most of my pre-pregnancy jeans somehow (maybe in the heat of pregnancy I thought I would never wear them again?) so I only have one pair of jeans currently (don't worry, I don't wear jeans daily, I wear sweatpants mostly, haha!) but I also refuse to buy more jeans until I can fit into a size that is acceptable to myself. What is that size? Honestly.. 6 but that's far away so I'd even settle for 8! To make matters worse, I think I am one of those BF moms that BF does not help in the weight loss department. Maybe it takes longer than 10.5 weeks for anything crazy noticeable to happen? Maybe I should get off my butt more. So many unanswered questions that actually do have answers but somehow I continue to ignore them!
6 :: Last night, Scarlett slept 5 hours straight for her first session. This was followed by a short 3 and then a long 3.. the long 3 I am speaking of never really happens anymore. She has absolutely no schedule what so ever! Oh well! Keep us guessing, little Scarlett!
5 :: Once Upon a Time.. the tv show on ABC is awesome. It's not as awesome as Revenge (c'mon new episode, it's been long enough!) but it's still pretty good. I really love starting a new series late and then watching 15 episodes in a row. Makes me want to start series late all the time. I also really enjoy Happy Endings and the New Girl. Honestly, at first I thought the New Girl was silly but they've really amped up the character of Schmidt and he is the reason to watch if nothing else. Hilarity!
4 :: Yeah, so you see the blog header hasn't changed, huh? I have a picture in my head of what I want but it's really difficult to find the time to take the pictures and then edit them and then edit the bloggy stuff that goes with it. I will get to it, okay? But I can't promise when.
3 :: Why are shower curtains so expensive? It's a piece of fabric!!! It's nothing that special. I don't get it. I refuse to spend too much money on something so silly. I'm actually thinking of getting just a clear plastic one for our bathroom so that when I'm showering and Scarlett refuses to sleep, I can at least see her instead of constantly opening the current shower curtain and getting her all wet, whoops!
2 :: What is with this weather? Just choose to be warm outside and then stay that way. I don't like this in between thing because I'd really rather not wear a coat if it's optional. I know it's only April 3rd but we were so spoiled before and I can't go back, I just can't!
1 :: It's sad to say that I didn't win that giant Mega Millions jackpot last week. Every time I play the lotto, I spend too much time thinking about what would happen if I won. I go through the motions of how I would find out, how I would tell Alex, what we would do with the money. It's almost the same every time. It's a little sad that I waste time thinking such silly things. At the same time, it's freakin' exciting because anything can happen!
Happy Tuesday!
This used to be a link up but alas, it is not anymore so I'm linking up with nobody!
9 :: Easter is coming up so fast, it's this weekend! I'm very excited for Scarlett's first official holiday. I have her Easter outfit ready to wear and the Easter buckets filled (for all 3 of us, score!). I even hid Easter eggs around the living room for Scarlett to find (with assistance, haha!). Alex see's a new one every day and says, "there's another egg!" .. maybe he'll forget where they are come Sunday? I also kind of opened the tin of chocolate covered pretzels yesterday when I could not find a suitable snack after work. They were tempting and I have zero willpower in my new-found love for chocolate covered pretzels. Salty and sweet, mmhmm! Plus, Plus! Easter = Ham. I don't even care about the other candy, I care about the HAM!
8 :: Scarlett has really been teasing her father recently saying that she only wants mommy to hold her in the fake boob position (it's like she's nursing but there's a pacifier in her mouth). I hope this is a phase because although I don't mind holding her 24/7, I don't want to have anything Alex can't have. I'm sure there will be another phase soon enough where all she wants is her mommy. Stay in the future, phase, okay?
7 :: Let's talk about body after baby, shall we? I am 10.5 weeks post partum. I feel like I look pretty good for someone who just had a baby 10.5 weeks ago but as always, not good enough. I lost most of my pre-pregnancy jeans somehow (maybe in the heat of pregnancy I thought I would never wear them again?) so I only have one pair of jeans currently (don't worry, I don't wear jeans daily, I wear sweatpants mostly, haha!) but I also refuse to buy more jeans until I can fit into a size that is acceptable to myself. What is that size? Honestly.. 6 but that's far away so I'd even settle for 8! To make matters worse, I think I am one of those BF moms that BF does not help in the weight loss department. Maybe it takes longer than 10.5 weeks for anything crazy noticeable to happen? Maybe I should get off my butt more. So many unanswered questions that actually do have answers but somehow I continue to ignore them!
6 :: Last night, Scarlett slept 5 hours straight for her first session. This was followed by a short 3 and then a long 3.. the long 3 I am speaking of never really happens anymore. She has absolutely no schedule what so ever! Oh well! Keep us guessing, little Scarlett!
5 :: Once Upon a Time.. the tv show on ABC is awesome. It's not as awesome as Revenge (c'mon new episode, it's been long enough!) but it's still pretty good. I really love starting a new series late and then watching 15 episodes in a row. Makes me want to start series late all the time. I also really enjoy Happy Endings and the New Girl. Honestly, at first I thought the New Girl was silly but they've really amped up the character of Schmidt and he is the reason to watch if nothing else. Hilarity!
4 :: Yeah, so you see the blog header hasn't changed, huh? I have a picture in my head of what I want but it's really difficult to find the time to take the pictures and then edit them and then edit the bloggy stuff that goes with it. I will get to it, okay? But I can't promise when.
3 :: Why are shower curtains so expensive? It's a piece of fabric!!! It's nothing that special. I don't get it. I refuse to spend too much money on something so silly. I'm actually thinking of getting just a clear plastic one for our bathroom so that when I'm showering and Scarlett refuses to sleep, I can at least see her instead of constantly opening the current shower curtain and getting her all wet, whoops!
2 :: What is with this weather? Just choose to be warm outside and then stay that way. I don't like this in between thing because I'd really rather not wear a coat if it's optional. I know it's only April 3rd but we were so spoiled before and I can't go back, I just can't!
1 :: It's sad to say that I didn't win that giant Mega Millions jackpot last week. Every time I play the lotto, I spend too much time thinking about what would happen if I won. I go through the motions of how I would find out, how I would tell Alex, what we would do with the money. It's almost the same every time. It's a little sad that I waste time thinking such silly things. At the same time, it's freakin' exciting because anything can happen!
Happy Tuesday!
This used to be a link up but alas, it is not anymore so I'm linking up with nobody!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Back to Work!
This morning my alarm went off at 6:30am. I had to set an alarm for the first time in 8 weeks. I last nursed Scarlett at 5:00am and I knew that I would only have another hour or so to sleep after her diaper change so I selfishly kept her with me to sleep for that final hour. The alarm chimed, I turned it off and laid there awake for 10 minutes drinking in the time I was holding my baby girl that I was about to spend 9 hours away from. The longest amount of time since she was born 8 short weeks ago.
I got ready, made my lunch and ate breakfast. I even had some extra time to read some blogs. I used to wake up with just enough time to get ready and get out the door but the silence in the morning was lovely. I went in to say goodbye to Alex and Scarlett as they slept and fought back tears as I shut the door behind me. Needless to say, things got easier from there.
I have to admit the first day was a little rough as I received pictures and video from Alex throughout the day. We even got to facetime so I could see her for a couple minutes. I also have to admit that it was easier than I thought it would be. I was distracted with things that needed to be accomplished and an email inbox that needed to be cleaned up. Not to mention that i'm still continuing to breastfeed or in this case, pump so she has milk during the day, so pumping takes a good chunk of time. At least for now because I don't have it down quite yet.
Alex enjoyed his day alone with her which I think will definitely help grow their father daughter bond. We're quite lucky that our parents have also offered to help. My mom will be watching her on Tuesdays and Alex's dad will watch her on Thursdays. The thought of dropping her off at daycare at such a young age sounds awful to me at this point, so I'm glad we don't have to do that.
I think once we get our new schedule down things will be just fine! The mental stimulation during the days I work are great and I still get plenty of time with Scarlett. It's so nice that my workplace is so flexible to let me have this schedule for a while. Plus, blogging will be more regular now since I have a half hour at lunch to dedicate to it! Get ready for some photo blasts!
I got ready, made my lunch and ate breakfast. I even had some extra time to read some blogs. I used to wake up with just enough time to get ready and get out the door but the silence in the morning was lovely. I went in to say goodbye to Alex and Scarlett as they slept and fought back tears as I shut the door behind me. Needless to say, things got easier from there.
I have to admit the first day was a little rough as I received pictures and video from Alex throughout the day. We even got to facetime so I could see her for a couple minutes. I also have to admit that it was easier than I thought it would be. I was distracted with things that needed to be accomplished and an email inbox that needed to be cleaned up. Not to mention that i'm still continuing to breastfeed or in this case, pump so she has milk during the day, so pumping takes a good chunk of time. At least for now because I don't have it down quite yet.
Alex enjoyed his day alone with her which I think will definitely help grow their father daughter bond. We're quite lucky that our parents have also offered to help. My mom will be watching her on Tuesdays and Alex's dad will watch her on Thursdays. The thought of dropping her off at daycare at such a young age sounds awful to me at this point, so I'm glad we don't have to do that.
I think once we get our new schedule down things will be just fine! The mental stimulation during the days I work are great and I still get plenty of time with Scarlett. It's so nice that my workplace is so flexible to let me have this schedule for a while. Plus, blogging will be more regular now since I have a half hour at lunch to dedicate to it! Get ready for some photo blasts!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Resolutions
Just wanted to jot down a couple of resolutions I have for 2012 now that it's arrived.
I generally am not the best at keeping resolutions but that may be because of my lack for making resolutions I actually care to keep. Regardless, here goes nothin'!
1 :: Listen more, interrupt less
I don't know if anyone who speaks with me on a regular basis realizes I do this but I tend to try to finish people sentences when they pause. I annoy myself with this and I have been actively trying to listen and hear people out instead of jumping into their sentence to guess the ending.
2 :: Be a great mom
Now that i'm basically a parent (officially in a couple of weeks), I resolve to be as good of a mother as I can be. I have a really excellent role model in my own mother and I'm sure all the things I have learned from her thus far in life will influence the type of mother I will be as well.
3 :: Learn a new hobby
I'd really like to get better at sewing. In order to accomplish this, I will need to get my own sewing machine and probably take an instructional course. I tried to sew last week and it was way more difficult than I remember it being in home ec in middle school. I think it would be fun to know how to sew different things and it seems like it would be a lot easier than learning how to knit, which was something I said I wanted to do a couple months ago.
4 :: Watch less television
This should be pretty easy considering we no longer have cable/satellite. We've already cut our TV watching by 2/3rds. Netflix and Hulu are our only sources of television entertainment and I really have to be in the mood to turn something on and sit through it. I'm also assuming it will be less desirable once the wee one is here.
5 :: Eat Healthier
Throughout this pregnancy, I've kind of just let things go. Not all the time, but prior to getting pregnant I was living a pretty restricted food life. Trying to keep carbs low and only indulging every once in a while or so (from what I can remember anyway, this was a long time ago it feels like). Now that I feel like a whale (I know i'm not a whale) I have a new-found desire to eat healthier once I can get my appetite under control. Pregnancy makes me want to keep my stomach full of something, whether it's healthy or not.
6 :: Exercise
I'd like to be able to run a 5k. I had the C25K app on my phone that I was using when I found out I was pregnant. I used it for a couple more weeks and then my back started hurting and I couldn't walk anymore let alone run. I look forward to using the app though and completing it somehow. This could get complicated since I'll have a baby to look after, but Planet Fitness isn't far from my house, it's generally $10 a month and C25K only takes a half hour of your time. It's a step in the right direction.
7 :: Give more
Surprisingly enough, I can be kind of selfish. So i plan to work on that more this year and try to give. I have a feeling I'm going to be a tad selfish with my new baby at first. Hopefully Alex can bring me back down to earth before I embarrass myself!
8 :: Make more wine
Alex and I (mostly Alex) made a couple of wines in the Spring last year and though I have yet to really dig into them (for obvious reasons) I'd really like us to continue to make wine. It's so nice to have and not have to go out to the liquor store and purchase it. We'll be so well rounded, Alex brews and enjoys some nice whiskeys/scotches/bourbons/gins and we'll have homemade wine. All to drink in moderation, of course!
9 :: Stay Organized & Clean
I know things can get pretty messy when you have a baby around. Priorities of cleaning and staying organized get pushed to the far back because the baby is numero uno, as she should be. I would like us to try to stay on top of this though and hopefully it won't be too hard to maintain. My biggest issue is not putting away my clothing after I wear it. If it isn't going into the laundry, it ends up on my dresser or on the floor. I need to put it in the laundry or put it away and keep my dresser clear!
10 :: Be Happy
This is attainable because I am happy. I'm already happy. I'm about to have a baby. My husband is amazing. Our families are awesome. Our friends are the best. We're healthy. We have good jobs. We're really lucky in life and comment on it often. We're really excited for 2012, a year of many firsts!
I generally am not the best at keeping resolutions but that may be because of my lack for making resolutions I actually care to keep. Regardless, here goes nothin'!
1 :: Listen more, interrupt less
I don't know if anyone who speaks with me on a regular basis realizes I do this but I tend to try to finish people sentences when they pause. I annoy myself with this and I have been actively trying to listen and hear people out instead of jumping into their sentence to guess the ending.
2 :: Be a great mom
Now that i'm basically a parent (officially in a couple of weeks), I resolve to be as good of a mother as I can be. I have a really excellent role model in my own mother and I'm sure all the things I have learned from her thus far in life will influence the type of mother I will be as well.
3 :: Learn a new hobby
I'd really like to get better at sewing. In order to accomplish this, I will need to get my own sewing machine and probably take an instructional course. I tried to sew last week and it was way more difficult than I remember it being in home ec in middle school. I think it would be fun to know how to sew different things and it seems like it would be a lot easier than learning how to knit, which was something I said I wanted to do a couple months ago.
4 :: Watch less television
This should be pretty easy considering we no longer have cable/satellite. We've already cut our TV watching by 2/3rds. Netflix and Hulu are our only sources of television entertainment and I really have to be in the mood to turn something on and sit through it. I'm also assuming it will be less desirable once the wee one is here.
5 :: Eat Healthier
Throughout this pregnancy, I've kind of just let things go. Not all the time, but prior to getting pregnant I was living a pretty restricted food life. Trying to keep carbs low and only indulging every once in a while or so (from what I can remember anyway, this was a long time ago it feels like). Now that I feel like a whale (I know i'm not a whale) I have a new-found desire to eat healthier once I can get my appetite under control. Pregnancy makes me want to keep my stomach full of something, whether it's healthy or not.
6 :: Exercise
I'd like to be able to run a 5k. I had the C25K app on my phone that I was using when I found out I was pregnant. I used it for a couple more weeks and then my back started hurting and I couldn't walk anymore let alone run. I look forward to using the app though and completing it somehow. This could get complicated since I'll have a baby to look after, but Planet Fitness isn't far from my house, it's generally $10 a month and C25K only takes a half hour of your time. It's a step in the right direction.
7 :: Give more
Surprisingly enough, I can be kind of selfish. So i plan to work on that more this year and try to give. I have a feeling I'm going to be a tad selfish with my new baby at first. Hopefully Alex can bring me back down to earth before I embarrass myself!
8 :: Make more wine
Alex and I (mostly Alex) made a couple of wines in the Spring last year and though I have yet to really dig into them (for obvious reasons) I'd really like us to continue to make wine. It's so nice to have and not have to go out to the liquor store and purchase it. We'll be so well rounded, Alex brews and enjoys some nice whiskeys/scotches/bourbons/gins and we'll have homemade wine. All to drink in moderation, of course!
9 :: Stay Organized & Clean
I know things can get pretty messy when you have a baby around. Priorities of cleaning and staying organized get pushed to the far back because the baby is numero uno, as she should be. I would like us to try to stay on top of this though and hopefully it won't be too hard to maintain. My biggest issue is not putting away my clothing after I wear it. If it isn't going into the laundry, it ends up on my dresser or on the floor. I need to put it in the laundry or put it away and keep my dresser clear!
10 :: Be Happy
This is attainable because I am happy. I'm already happy. I'm about to have a baby. My husband is amazing. Our families are awesome. Our friends are the best. We're healthy. We have good jobs. We're really lucky in life and comment on it often. We're really excited for 2012, a year of many firsts!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
10 Things :: Link Up :: Volume 3
Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday! I am off work until January 3rd! woo hoo!
1 :: Christmas
I cannot believe it's christmas weekend. Time in December has almost literally flown by. I had a lot of christmas stuff to accomplish at the beginning of the week and got most of it done last night. Final gifts and finishing the wrapping of those gifts make the tree complete. We can't wait to spend the weekend with our families and celebrate this awesome time of year. Next year will be even more exciting with a little one and I'm sure we'll be thinking about that a lot this year as we go through our days!
2 :: Baby
After posting Do I Have a Breech Baby? the other day I'm feeling less stressed about the situation. I honestly feel that the midwife was wrong and that I am right and I'm going to go ahead and trust my instinct on this. I slept like a baby last night and I attribute that to the fact that I wasn't worrying. Less than 5 weeks to go!
3 :: The Holidays at Work
This tends to bring out the goodies, aka sugar. It's really good that I didn't do any baking this year. On Tuesday we had cake twice in one day! I didn't have the 2nd piece. It will be very nice to have the week following Christmas off of work to focus on baby stuff for a while and try to prep as much as possible so I can relax the last three weeks before her due date.
4 :: Ping Pong
We are just LOVING the ping pong table that Alex's parents got to keep at our house for holidays and get togethers. Sunday night, I beat Alex in best of 7 .. which is super surprising because he is really good at ping pong. I guess this just means that I'm getting better! We need to get all the ping pong playing in that we can before baby girl comes, I don't think we'll have much time for that after she arrives. We're looking forward to this weekend as well when Alex's family comes in so we can have another tournament or two or three or four!!!!
5 :: Maternity Picture
I'll just throw one of these in here. I've already prepped a post to go up on Monday with more pictures from our entire shoot. I cannot share them before Christmas because of a gift sensitive matter. We are still super excited with how they turned out though.
6 :: Pinterest
I've recently dabbled less in the world of Pinterest. The craziness of the holidays have just sent me in a different direction. However I have some new pins I would like to share!
1 :: Christmas
I cannot believe it's christmas weekend. Time in December has almost literally flown by. I had a lot of christmas stuff to accomplish at the beginning of the week and got most of it done last night. Final gifts and finishing the wrapping of those gifts make the tree complete. We can't wait to spend the weekend with our families and celebrate this awesome time of year. Next year will be even more exciting with a little one and I'm sure we'll be thinking about that a lot this year as we go through our days!
2 :: Baby
After posting Do I Have a Breech Baby? the other day I'm feeling less stressed about the situation. I honestly feel that the midwife was wrong and that I am right and I'm going to go ahead and trust my instinct on this. I slept like a baby last night and I attribute that to the fact that I wasn't worrying. Less than 5 weeks to go!
3 :: The Holidays at Work
This tends to bring out the goodies, aka sugar. It's really good that I didn't do any baking this year. On Tuesday we had cake twice in one day! I didn't have the 2nd piece. It will be very nice to have the week following Christmas off of work to focus on baby stuff for a while and try to prep as much as possible so I can relax the last three weeks before her due date.
4 :: Ping Pong
We are just LOVING the ping pong table that Alex's parents got to keep at our house for holidays and get togethers. Sunday night, I beat Alex in best of 7 .. which is super surprising because he is really good at ping pong. I guess this just means that I'm getting better! We need to get all the ping pong playing in that we can before baby girl comes, I don't think we'll have much time for that after she arrives. We're looking forward to this weekend as well when Alex's family comes in so we can have another tournament or two or three or four!!!!
5 :: Maternity Picture
I'll just throw one of these in here. I've already prepped a post to go up on Monday with more pictures from our entire shoot. I cannot share them before Christmas because of a gift sensitive matter. We are still super excited with how they turned out though.
6 :: Pinterest
I've recently dabbled less in the world of Pinterest. The craziness of the holidays have just sent me in a different direction. However I have some new pins I would like to share!
Doesn't Pin 1 look like a blast for a little boy? Pin 2 is candy.. yep.. candy jewels! Pin 3 just looks really easy and cute! And Pin 4 is an awesome idea for any party to get pictures of all of your guests!
7 :: Nursery Prints
I am loving this print I found through another pin from pinterest. I don't know yet if it will fit in the nursery but if I could get it in a magenta/purple mix, it just might. I might have to do a variation of my own and print it myself. We'll see how it goes. But isn't it sweet?
8 :: Christmas with children
Just a random idea that I'm sure there's a pin for but I have yet to see it. 12 days of christmas for kids. A countdown with gifts starting 12 days before christmas. Could be easy if you find really small trinkets or what not to give them multiples of.
9 :: Slow Burn
This throat burn is going to be the death of me. And that's all I'm going to say.
10 :: Happy Holidays
I'll say it again, Happy Holidays! This is the best time of year. Five days after Christmas I will celebrate turning 27 followed by a sure to be awesome New Years Eve! 2012 is going to be the best yet!
9 :: Slow Burn
This throat burn is going to be the death of me. And that's all I'm going to say.
10 :: Happy Holidays
I'll say it again, Happy Holidays! This is the best time of year. Five days after Christmas I will celebrate turning 27 followed by a sure to be awesome New Years Eve! 2012 is going to be the best yet!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Life without DirecTV
Welp, we did it.
We recently got rid of DirecTV and switched to only streaming. We're starting with Netflix and Hulu Plus.
In our first week without actual TV.. we didn't missed it. Possibly because we were too busy cleaning. But this is the life we'll probably lead once baby girl arrives. No time for TV, at least not live TV, only time for streaming episodes of things we've missed. Therefore this is perfect.
Let me break it down cost wise so you can see the differences.
DirecTV for the choice package, plus HD, plus DVR was a little over $100 a month.
Verizon DSL was $39.99/month.
Total: about $140/mo
Now, we're with Comcast internet at the intro rate of $29.99/mo for 6 months and Netflix which after the trial will cost $7.99/mo and Hulu Plus which is $7.99/mo.
New Total: $46
Therefore we went from $140/mo to about $46/mo .. savings? About $100. Cha-ching!
Something we need to decide though is how we plan to stream this. Currently we're using my iPad. We're not sure if we're going to get another box that can stream it for us (like a PS3/Roku/GoogleTV) because they all have different features and we're just not sure enough to purchase anything. All we know is, this is working out so far. We watch far less TV and it's just been great.
One tiny struggle is, we don't know if we'll keep Netflix instant streaming after the trial or switch to the DVD by mail service. The instant streaming doesn't really have much more we want to watch. Alex will be finishing Sons of Anarchy soon and we already watched most of the Party Down series. I know there's more out there but I just can't get into it for some reason. We'll see what happens.
Into the future we go..
We recently got rid of DirecTV and switched to only streaming. We're starting with Netflix and Hulu Plus.
In our first week without actual TV.. we didn't missed it. Possibly because we were too busy cleaning. But this is the life we'll probably lead once baby girl arrives. No time for TV, at least not live TV, only time for streaming episodes of things we've missed. Therefore this is perfect.
Let me break it down cost wise so you can see the differences.
DirecTV for the choice package, plus HD, plus DVR was a little over $100 a month.
Verizon DSL was $39.99/month.
Total: about $140/mo
Now, we're with Comcast internet at the intro rate of $29.99/mo for 6 months and Netflix which after the trial will cost $7.99/mo and Hulu Plus which is $7.99/mo.
New Total: $46
Therefore we went from $140/mo to about $46/mo .. savings? About $100. Cha-ching!
Something we need to decide though is how we plan to stream this. Currently we're using my iPad. We're not sure if we're going to get another box that can stream it for us (like a PS3/Roku/GoogleTV) because they all have different features and we're just not sure enough to purchase anything. All we know is, this is working out so far. We watch far less TV and it's just been great.
One tiny struggle is, we don't know if we'll keep Netflix instant streaming after the trial or switch to the DVD by mail service. The instant streaming doesn't really have much more we want to watch. Alex will be finishing Sons of Anarchy soon and we already watched most of the Party Down series. I know there's more out there but I just can't get into it for some reason. We'll see what happens.
Into the future we go..
Friday, December 16, 2011
10 Things :: Link Up :: Volume 2
I might just have to make this link up thing a regular gig. I mean, why not?
In no certain order:
1 :: An apology (to myself and anyone who reads)
I'm sorry that I have been slacking in the blogging area as of late. These past two weeks have been uber busy and I haven't had much lunch time free at work to write a post or two. I will do my best to write more. Pinky promise.
2 :: Finally, a pediatrician
We have chosen one and it feels so good to have that out of the way. Interesting tid bit though, they don't require you to have any paperwork or anything done prior to your child's birth. All I have to do is tell the hospital "Lancaster Pediatrics is my pediatrician" and they send someone over and then I'm guessing that's when you schedule the next appointment and fill out paperwork. To be honest (and we might be bad parents for this) we didn't go and meet them prior to deciding. We're pretty laid back people and we had lots of good ped doc recommendations that we figured if someone else likes them so will we. Also, we can change ped doc's if this one doesn't pan out.
3 :: Holiday Dinners // Parties
This week is filled with holiday dinners with friends and family. Boy do I love going out to eat, and well, just eating, so sharing these activities with people we love is just icing on the cake.
Monday we dined at Iron Hill with the Hix's and Herr's. We're all pregnant (or we were all pregnant until last night, one of us is no longer pregnant, congrats Matt and Britt! I know you're reading this even though you just had a baby, haha yeah right!) Anyway, dinner was filled with chit chat about pregnancy/baby stuff with a little bit of guy cabin talk splashed in. Those men are crazy. We also effectively shut down their effort to go next door for a crappy beer, only to leave us at the table with the checks. Silly husbands.
Last night, Thursday, we had the Van Wyen clan over for dinner as well as the rest of Alex's family. We cooked our free turkey that I got with my bonus points from Giant (thanks, mom! -we're on the same bonus plan so her points are my points and vice versa). It was a Shady Brook and it was already in a brine in the bag. This is the way to go, people! No work in brining what-so-ever! It might've been the juiciest turk-a-lurk we've ever had. No gravy necessary (but of course we had some). It was so nice to catch up with them, and Matt and Marci who have been in Oregon studying it up in graduate school. There were tons of laughs all around and it was a close to perfect evening!
Tonight we're heading up to the Davis' house to have dinner with them and the Snyders and see baby Addilyn! We're so excited about this. She was looking totally adorbs at my baby shower and I just want to squeeze her (gently).
Saturday we're headed to the McHenry's (now) Annual Christmas party. Sure to be a blast. I can already taste the delicious food that I will be eating there. Plus, I found the perfect swap gift that better arrive in the mail today!
4 :: Baby Shower Goods
So now that i've had the opportunity to go through the things we received at the baby shower, we have a small pile of exchangables that I have been waiting to make a trip to good ol' Target with. With the busy-ness of this week, no such luck. I'm struggling a little bit with where to put things/store things/how to organize things. This might wait until the week I have off after Christmas so that I have more time to figure it out.
5 :: Baby Shiz
I've decided that I'm going to be making my own baby sling, like this one. For more than one reason.. A. way too expensive to buy for a piece of fabric and two rings.. even on Etsy. and B. it looks convenient and I found some nice jersey stretchy fabric to use in a lovely purple color. I've also decided that I won't be purchasing one of those hooter hider things that you put around your neck when you're breastfeeding. I'm going with something more like this. I mean, it's really just a piece of fabric with a hole for your head to go through. And I couldn't pass up the flannel-ish pink hounds tooth fabric I found for it. I will post about these when they're completed.. which will have to be the week after Christmas.
6 :: Daycare
This morning actually, we had an appointment to tour a day care facility that was pretty close to our house. Now it's my hope that I can work out my schedule with my place of work so that I can move to part time for a while and maybe even work from home a bit so that we don't have to go full on full time day care. The center was nice. Honestly, a little messy and it smelled like onions and diapers. The ladies in the infant room seemed caring though so that was nice but it kind of broke my heart. Please don't judge me because I know that day care is the only option for some people and it's really one of our only options but the thought of dropping my child off to other people, that are currently strangers, for more than a 15 minute time period was just too much to handle. Therefore, when we left, I cried. Looking back on it now, we definitely need to look at some other places because I think maybe the atmosphere there (or something) was just off-putting. The people were very nice and it's also totally possible that I completely underestimated how emotional looking at day cares would make me. Oh, and i'm pregnant by the way (obv) so maybe my hormones are a little wack? There's a first time for everything, right? So the plan is to look at some other ones too and get a better idea of what we're looking for / what we're comfortable with.
7 :: Christmas
Let's get back to focusing on what's really important right now. Christmas. (i'm so funny). Anyway, I get a kick out of tracking the packages that I've ordered every morning. I'm tired of things coming from California via USPS though. Takes for-ev-er. Next week will consist of wrapping gifts and cleaning the house for visitors. Also, something exciting (for me anyway) is that I'll be eating a Christmas Ham two days in a row. Real ham, people. Not water packed ham. Real -straight from the piggy- ham. I'll probably even get to have it two different ways. This is a christmas miracle in my book. The gift of real ham, two days in a row is all I could ever ask for. I will take a picture with each ham to mark the occasion.
How sad is it that i'm really excited about ham?? wait, don't answer that because if you say it's sad, i'll just assume that you're jealous!
Oh and Christmas is only 9 days away. Did I just rock your world? Each day, I think about this and each day, my own world is rocked... hard.
8 :: Baby Update
The little darling is just living it up, breech style. Most people who know me personally know that I don't really get stressed out very much. I don't worry about things that I cannot control, it's a waste of time and energy. Having said that.. this is stressing me out! If she could just turn and stay there I wouldn't want anything else for christmas (except ham, obviously). However, I do know that if she flips/turns.. it's totally possible that she could just flip/turn back to breech at any time. I am also aware that we have tons of time (so they say). I'm only 34 weeks and 4 days. My next appointment where thye'll do the ultrasound is on the 27th. That's 12 days away. Then i'll only be 36 weeks and a day. Still another couple weeks for her to turn around and face the ideal direction. I would've been much better off assuming that the thing I was feeling was a baby booty and not her head. Why did they have to tell me?? What's the point of this paragraph? Oh yeah, to stop stressing and give a baby update! She's doing good! She moves a lot.. she does bladder dances.. she hiccups, normal baby stuff.
9 :: Breastfeeding
If you don't want to read about babies eating from boobs, skip this paragraph. I had a BF class on Tuesday evening that was super informative. How is there so much to know about breastfeeding? Luckily they gave us a booklet that had all the information discussed for when I promptly forget it. All I know is, the whole nip goes into the mouth basically, like eating a big hamburger from Red Robin that you don't think will fit into your mouth, but you make it fit. I wish I could insert the animation they showed in the class. Interesting stuff, I tell ya. This is where I'll stop talking about it.. I don't want to bore/gross anyone out. Oh wait, I probably already did.
10 :: Congrats!
I can't believe you made it the whole way to number 10! Through all of my rambling and almost zero pictures! Good for you! Also, i'll share this congrats paragraph with new baby girl, Harper Hix. I hope we get to go see her today or tomorrow. I still have a hard time believing that I'm growing a baby but this is proof that there really was a baby in there! We're so excited for Matt and Britt and just know they're going to be kick butt parents!
In no certain order:
1 :: An apology (to myself and anyone who reads)
I'm sorry that I have been slacking in the blogging area as of late. These past two weeks have been uber busy and I haven't had much lunch time free at work to write a post or two. I will do my best to write more. Pinky promise.
2 :: Finally, a pediatrician
We have chosen one and it feels so good to have that out of the way. Interesting tid bit though, they don't require you to have any paperwork or anything done prior to your child's birth. All I have to do is tell the hospital "Lancaster Pediatrics is my pediatrician" and they send someone over and then I'm guessing that's when you schedule the next appointment and fill out paperwork. To be honest (and we might be bad parents for this) we didn't go and meet them prior to deciding. We're pretty laid back people and we had lots of good ped doc recommendations that we figured if someone else likes them so will we. Also, we can change ped doc's if this one doesn't pan out.
3 :: Holiday Dinners // Parties
This week is filled with holiday dinners with friends and family. Boy do I love going out to eat, and well, just eating, so sharing these activities with people we love is just icing on the cake.
Monday we dined at Iron Hill with the Hix's and Herr's. We're all pregnant (or we were all pregnant until last night, one of us is no longer pregnant, congrats Matt and Britt! I know you're reading this even though you just had a baby, haha yeah right!) Anyway, dinner was filled with chit chat about pregnancy/baby stuff with a little bit of guy cabin talk splashed in. Those men are crazy. We also effectively shut down their effort to go next door for a crappy beer, only to leave us at the table with the checks. Silly husbands.
Last night, Thursday, we had the Van Wyen clan over for dinner as well as the rest of Alex's family. We cooked our free turkey that I got with my bonus points from Giant (thanks, mom! -we're on the same bonus plan so her points are my points and vice versa). It was a Shady Brook and it was already in a brine in the bag. This is the way to go, people! No work in brining what-so-ever! It might've been the juiciest turk-a-lurk we've ever had. No gravy necessary (but of course we had some). It was so nice to catch up with them, and Matt and Marci who have been in Oregon studying it up in graduate school. There were tons of laughs all around and it was a close to perfect evening!
Tonight we're heading up to the Davis' house to have dinner with them and the Snyders and see baby Addilyn! We're so excited about this. She was looking totally adorbs at my baby shower and I just want to squeeze her (gently).
Saturday we're headed to the McHenry's (now) Annual Christmas party. Sure to be a blast. I can already taste the delicious food that I will be eating there. Plus, I found the perfect swap gift that better arrive in the mail today!
4 :: Baby Shower Goods
So now that i've had the opportunity to go through the things we received at the baby shower, we have a small pile of exchangables that I have been waiting to make a trip to good ol' Target with. With the busy-ness of this week, no such luck. I'm struggling a little bit with where to put things/store things/how to organize things. This might wait until the week I have off after Christmas so that I have more time to figure it out.
5 :: Baby Shiz
I've decided that I'm going to be making my own baby sling, like this one. For more than one reason.. A. way too expensive to buy for a piece of fabric and two rings.. even on Etsy. and B. it looks convenient and I found some nice jersey stretchy fabric to use in a lovely purple color. I've also decided that I won't be purchasing one of those hooter hider things that you put around your neck when you're breastfeeding. I'm going with something more like this. I mean, it's really just a piece of fabric with a hole for your head to go through. And I couldn't pass up the flannel-ish pink hounds tooth fabric I found for it. I will post about these when they're completed.. which will have to be the week after Christmas.
6 :: Daycare
This morning actually, we had an appointment to tour a day care facility that was pretty close to our house. Now it's my hope that I can work out my schedule with my place of work so that I can move to part time for a while and maybe even work from home a bit so that we don't have to go full on full time day care. The center was nice. Honestly, a little messy and it smelled like onions and diapers. The ladies in the infant room seemed caring though so that was nice but it kind of broke my heart. Please don't judge me because I know that day care is the only option for some people and it's really one of our only options but the thought of dropping my child off to other people, that are currently strangers, for more than a 15 minute time period was just too much to handle. Therefore, when we left, I cried. Looking back on it now, we definitely need to look at some other places because I think maybe the atmosphere there (or something) was just off-putting. The people were very nice and it's also totally possible that I completely underestimated how emotional looking at day cares would make me. Oh, and i'm pregnant by the way (obv) so maybe my hormones are a little wack? There's a first time for everything, right? So the plan is to look at some other ones too and get a better idea of what we're looking for / what we're comfortable with.
7 :: Christmas
Let's get back to focusing on what's really important right now. Christmas. (i'm so funny). Anyway, I get a kick out of tracking the packages that I've ordered every morning. I'm tired of things coming from California via USPS though. Takes for-ev-er. Next week will consist of wrapping gifts and cleaning the house for visitors. Also, something exciting (for me anyway) is that I'll be eating a Christmas Ham two days in a row. Real ham, people. Not water packed ham. Real -straight from the piggy- ham. I'll probably even get to have it two different ways. This is a christmas miracle in my book. The gift of real ham, two days in a row is all I could ever ask for. I will take a picture with each ham to mark the occasion.
How sad is it that i'm really excited about ham?? wait, don't answer that because if you say it's sad, i'll just assume that you're jealous!
Oh and Christmas is only 9 days away. Did I just rock your world? Each day, I think about this and each day, my own world is rocked... hard.
8 :: Baby Update
The little darling is just living it up, breech style. Most people who know me personally know that I don't really get stressed out very much. I don't worry about things that I cannot control, it's a waste of time and energy. Having said that.. this is stressing me out! If she could just turn and stay there I wouldn't want anything else for christmas (except ham, obviously). However, I do know that if she flips/turns.. it's totally possible that she could just flip/turn back to breech at any time. I am also aware that we have tons of time (so they say). I'm only 34 weeks and 4 days. My next appointment where thye'll do the ultrasound is on the 27th. That's 12 days away. Then i'll only be 36 weeks and a day. Still another couple weeks for her to turn around and face the ideal direction. I would've been much better off assuming that the thing I was feeling was a baby booty and not her head. Why did they have to tell me?? What's the point of this paragraph? Oh yeah, to stop stressing and give a baby update! She's doing good! She moves a lot.. she does bladder dances.. she hiccups, normal baby stuff.
9 :: Breastfeeding
If you don't want to read about babies eating from boobs, skip this paragraph. I had a BF class on Tuesday evening that was super informative. How is there so much to know about breastfeeding? Luckily they gave us a booklet that had all the information discussed for when I promptly forget it. All I know is, the whole nip goes into the mouth basically, like eating a big hamburger from Red Robin that you don't think will fit into your mouth, but you make it fit. I wish I could insert the animation they showed in the class. Interesting stuff, I tell ya. This is where I'll stop talking about it.. I don't want to bore/gross anyone out. Oh wait, I probably already did.
10 :: Congrats!
I can't believe you made it the whole way to number 10! Through all of my rambling and almost zero pictures! Good for you! Also, i'll share this congrats paragraph with new baby girl, Harper Hix. I hope we get to go see her today or tomorrow. I still have a hard time believing that I'm growing a baby but this is proof that there really was a baby in there! We're so excited for Matt and Britt and just know they're going to be kick butt parents!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
It's Christmas Time!
I absolutely cannot believe that Christmas is in 11 days. These last couple weeks at work have been so busy that it makes the days fly even faster than normal.
We put up our Christmas tree this past Saturday and I don't have any formal (as in not iphone) photos of it yet but here are a couple of the tree and ornaments that we made at craft night last Friday night!
Alex and I have a little more shopping to do for the holiday but we're almost finished! Then I need to get to wrapping! I can't wait until next year when we have a little one to share Christmas with. Then Santa will officially start coming to our house and I'll probably have to be way more organized. Things will definitely be different next year (in a good way!)
We put up our Christmas tree this past Saturday and I don't have any formal (as in not iphone) photos of it yet but here are a couple of the tree and ornaments that we made at craft night last Friday night!
 |
| Wow, blurry! We got a canaan tree and it looks so good that it looks fake. I will try to replace this with a real photo soon! |
 |
| There's so much you can do with empty glass ornaments! |
 |
| I love this one! |
 |
| Santa! |
 |
| How pretty are these babies? I hope they last all month! |
Alex and I have a little more shopping to do for the holiday but we're almost finished! Then I need to get to wrapping! I can't wait until next year when we have a little one to share Christmas with. Then Santa will officially start coming to our house and I'll probably have to be way more organized. Things will definitely be different next year (in a good way!)
Friday, December 9, 2011
10 Things :: Link Up
I thought I would give this a go, mostly because I haven't posted since.. Monday (oopsie!) and lots has been going on this week that I can tell you about, mostly. I'll go in order from most exciting to probably least.
1 :: The Nursery Wall
I don't know when I got this idea (weeks ago) exactly. But I sketched it on the wall a couple of Sundays ago and this past week I got around to painting. It must've been Monday that I did the bottom half and I finished it up last night. Oh.. I didn't tell you what I'm doing (yes i did) but here are the deets which are vague so that I can surprise you all at the end with my masterpiece (bahaha). Basically, I found a wall stencil on pinterest that would go perfectly in the nursery. No i will not link to it and ruin the surprise. I decided that instead of spending $128 of money I do not have to spend on a wall stencil/decal.. I'm actually not sure which it is.. I would just do it myself with a pencil and then my own homemade stencils and of course, paint. Things are going swimmingly. The part that I finished was the tree and next up are the flowers, followed by some birds (maybe, undecided).
2 :: Nesting
So I guess I'm ready to admit that I have been nesting a little. Last week, we cleaned to our little hearts content (I still haven't posted that post.. I don't know if I will.. it just screams boring!) This week, I have been making favors for the baby shower my awesome mother is throwing me (and letting me be a part of in terms of planning and making things. I had to make things from pinterest, had to!) I will definitely show you what I did after the guests have their favors. I'm also going to be making 2 of the game prizes later today! Anyway.. back to the nesting. I baked cookies this week as well. Choc. Chip and Oatmeal Craisin. That was Wednesday night. Luckily, Alex has been making dinner lately so I don't even have to think about doing that. I just have a bunch of energy and I need to expend it. I also cannot get enough water sometimes.. soo thirsty!
3 :: Revenge
Since getting rid of DirecTV and switching to just streaming Netflix and Hulu. Our time in front of the boob tube has dramatically declined. I call this "Winning" .. and really with all the stuff I have to do, I don't have time for TV anyway! BUT.. a show called Revenge started up this year and I wanted to check it out but couldn't really fit it into my existing TV lineup (which no longer exists). But when we got Hulu, the whole season so far is on there, ready for us to watch. So we started it on Wednesday and then watched two episodes yesterday. We are hooked. I love gossip girl and everything but this is just more mature.. and twisty and unpredictable. Check it out if you haven't yet. This is an official recommendation. In Alex news, he now watches Sons of Anarchy while I go about my nesting activities. UGH i'm not going to call it nesting anymore, i'm not a bird!
4 :: Baby Shower
I probably know way more about my shower than the average guest of honor at her baby shower but I'm nosy and my mom is gracious. Regardless, I'm super pumped about it. We have already gotten a few gifts from family members who cannot attend and they've been so generous. We got the Sony Bloggie HD video camera which is so freaking awesome and a Temporal Artery Thermometer, which is basically the same that they use at doctor's offices instead of a rectal or ear thermometer. Both things are so needed and we're so thankful to have received them. I'm already preparing myself to be overwhelmed by the love we receive from the shower. Baby girl is super lucky to have friends and family like she does!
5 :: Christmas Wish List
I almost did a post on this the other day but did not have time to do it properly, so I will just tell you a little bit about my wish list and what's on it.
Hair Dryer- This is so needed. Plus I read through researching that I don't need to get a $300 one to make my hair look nice.
Cookie Sheets- I need to update mine and the ones I want are from Williams-Sonoma. Love that place.
Workout Clothes- I want some legit workout clothes. I have shorts and t-shirts but I want to get serious about it so that after this baby is born I can focus on getting my body back (in a normal amount of time) while looking super cute!
Robe- This is needed mostly for labor/delivery plus waddling around the house afterward while not wanting to actually get dressed. What could be better?
BellyBandit- Don't judge me but I'm going to be wearing this little sucker under everything I own, day and night for 6-8 weeks after baby girl is born. I will give a testimonial at the end of that time period on whether it worked or not.
Living Room Rug- We desperately need one of these. Recently we moved the coffee table back into the living room but we'll probably move it out again shortly. I want to put a rug between the couches that fits properly and is comfortable for a baby to crawl around on.
Rain Jacket- I don't have one currently, especially because my winter coat that's waterproof doesn't currently zipper because of my growing tummy. I don't want freezing rain hitting my scalp, ok?
Bracelet- It's just so cute! And i could probably make it.
As you might be able to tell, this is more of a NEED list than a wishlist. But I just don't spend as much time lately browsing the internet for things I cannot afford. I barely even look at normal people clothing (how sad!)
6 :: Maternity Pictures
I'm still working with these. I know I need to share some more, so here is one for your viewing pleasure. I will post more on here, I promise. I'll be honest too, I stole almost all of the poses that we did from pinterest. I won't apologize for free inspiration!
7 :: Tums
They're currently my BFF, need i say more??
8 :: Twitter
I'm trying to get more into twitter but I constantly forget about it. I'm also not the best at documenting daily life things with my iphone so I don't have too many pictures to include in my tweets. If you want to follow me, it's @miss_michelle6 .. I say a lot of random stuff. It is twitter though.. and the best tweets are random ones.
9 :: Farm Fresh Coop & Beef
We're currently doing the full share. It's a lot of food. I'm wondering if maybe for the next season we should do a half share and see how we do with that. Visits to the grocery store are less frequent but we really need to stock up on protein, which brings us to Beef. We are buying a quarter of a cow from Alex's old coworker and he's picking it up on Sunday. The last time we bought beef was probably 2 years ago or more and that came from the Steer that Alex's father had purchased and grazed for a year or so. Delish. This beef we're about to get should last us at least a year. It's soo nice never having to purchase beef at the grocery store. Plus it's local.
10 :: Job Stuff
I recently found out that when I take my short term disability that I won't get 100% of my pay, like I would've had I had my little girl in 2011. They're changing things for 2012 and I have no idea how much I will get. This is disappointing. I'm sure it's because the company is trying to save money and I guess technically they don't have to pay me at all but the thought that it was 100% and now it's going to be (probably) significantly less is just (again) disappointing. Not to mention, they go by what your doctor says in terms of how long you need. If the doc only says you need 6 weeks, they only pay for your short term disability for 6. I might beg my doctor to recommend 8 weeks at least. I'm also stressing a little bit about when I do come back to work and what my schedule will be like. I haven't talked about this at all on here but I want to see if I can do a temporary part time gig until I can get used to the fact that I have a baby. I am crossing my fingers that they will be flexible. From what I've seen/heard so far, they will try to be. But company's can change their mind in a jiffy and end up screwing even their loyalest employees over. I hope this isn't the case.
This is my first link up and honestly, it was fun but I'm totally lacking pictures and totally over-doing it with words. I'm such a rambler!
Hope everyone enjoys their weekend! I know I will because I'm leaving work at 2pm today, score!!
Linking up with E Tells Tales
1 :: The Nursery Wall
I don't know when I got this idea (weeks ago) exactly. But I sketched it on the wall a couple of Sundays ago and this past week I got around to painting. It must've been Monday that I did the bottom half and I finished it up last night. Oh.. I didn't tell you what I'm doing (yes i did) but here are the deets which are vague so that I can surprise you all at the end with my masterpiece (bahaha). Basically, I found a wall stencil on pinterest that would go perfectly in the nursery. No i will not link to it and ruin the surprise. I decided that instead of spending $128 of money I do not have to spend on a wall stencil/decal.. I'm actually not sure which it is.. I would just do it myself with a pencil and then my own homemade stencils and of course, paint. Things are going swimmingly. The part that I finished was the tree and next up are the flowers, followed by some birds (maybe, undecided).
2 :: Nesting
So I guess I'm ready to admit that I have been nesting a little. Last week, we cleaned to our little hearts content (I still haven't posted that post.. I don't know if I will.. it just screams boring!) This week, I have been making favors for the baby shower my awesome mother is throwing me (and letting me be a part of in terms of planning and making things. I had to make things from pinterest, had to!) I will definitely show you what I did after the guests have their favors. I'm also going to be making 2 of the game prizes later today! Anyway.. back to the nesting. I baked cookies this week as well. Choc. Chip and Oatmeal Craisin. That was Wednesday night. Luckily, Alex has been making dinner lately so I don't even have to think about doing that. I just have a bunch of energy and I need to expend it. I also cannot get enough water sometimes.. soo thirsty!
3 :: Revenge
Since getting rid of DirecTV and switching to just streaming Netflix and Hulu. Our time in front of the boob tube has dramatically declined. I call this "Winning" .. and really with all the stuff I have to do, I don't have time for TV anyway! BUT.. a show called Revenge started up this year and I wanted to check it out but couldn't really fit it into my existing TV lineup (which no longer exists). But when we got Hulu, the whole season so far is on there, ready for us to watch. So we started it on Wednesday and then watched two episodes yesterday. We are hooked. I love gossip girl and everything but this is just more mature.. and twisty and unpredictable. Check it out if you haven't yet. This is an official recommendation. In Alex news, he now watches Sons of Anarchy while I go about my nesting activities. UGH i'm not going to call it nesting anymore, i'm not a bird!
4 :: Baby Shower
I probably know way more about my shower than the average guest of honor at her baby shower but I'm nosy and my mom is gracious. Regardless, I'm super pumped about it. We have already gotten a few gifts from family members who cannot attend and they've been so generous. We got the Sony Bloggie HD video camera which is so freaking awesome and a Temporal Artery Thermometer, which is basically the same that they use at doctor's offices instead of a rectal or ear thermometer. Both things are so needed and we're so thankful to have received them. I'm already preparing myself to be overwhelmed by the love we receive from the shower. Baby girl is super lucky to have friends and family like she does!
5 :: Christmas Wish List
I almost did a post on this the other day but did not have time to do it properly, so I will just tell you a little bit about my wish list and what's on it.
Hair Dryer- This is so needed. Plus I read through researching that I don't need to get a $300 one to make my hair look nice.
Cookie Sheets- I need to update mine and the ones I want are from Williams-Sonoma. Love that place.
Workout Clothes- I want some legit workout clothes. I have shorts and t-shirts but I want to get serious about it so that after this baby is born I can focus on getting my body back (in a normal amount of time) while looking super cute!
Robe- This is needed mostly for labor/delivery plus waddling around the house afterward while not wanting to actually get dressed. What could be better?
BellyBandit- Don't judge me but I'm going to be wearing this little sucker under everything I own, day and night for 6-8 weeks after baby girl is born. I will give a testimonial at the end of that time period on whether it worked or not.
Living Room Rug- We desperately need one of these. Recently we moved the coffee table back into the living room but we'll probably move it out again shortly. I want to put a rug between the couches that fits properly and is comfortable for a baby to crawl around on.
Rain Jacket- I don't have one currently, especially because my winter coat that's waterproof doesn't currently zipper because of my growing tummy. I don't want freezing rain hitting my scalp, ok?
Bracelet- It's just so cute! And i could probably make it.
As you might be able to tell, this is more of a NEED list than a wishlist. But I just don't spend as much time lately browsing the internet for things I cannot afford. I barely even look at normal people clothing (how sad!)
6 :: Maternity Pictures
I'm still working with these. I know I need to share some more, so here is one for your viewing pleasure. I will post more on here, I promise. I'll be honest too, I stole almost all of the poses that we did from pinterest. I won't apologize for free inspiration!
7 :: Tums
They're currently my BFF, need i say more??
8 :: Twitter
I'm trying to get more into twitter but I constantly forget about it. I'm also not the best at documenting daily life things with my iphone so I don't have too many pictures to include in my tweets. If you want to follow me, it's @miss_michelle6 .. I say a lot of random stuff. It is twitter though.. and the best tweets are random ones.
9 :: Farm Fresh Coop & Beef
We're currently doing the full share. It's a lot of food. I'm wondering if maybe for the next season we should do a half share and see how we do with that. Visits to the grocery store are less frequent but we really need to stock up on protein, which brings us to Beef. We are buying a quarter of a cow from Alex's old coworker and he's picking it up on Sunday. The last time we bought beef was probably 2 years ago or more and that came from the Steer that Alex's father had purchased and grazed for a year or so. Delish. This beef we're about to get should last us at least a year. It's soo nice never having to purchase beef at the grocery store. Plus it's local.
10 :: Job Stuff
I recently found out that when I take my short term disability that I won't get 100% of my pay, like I would've had I had my little girl in 2011. They're changing things for 2012 and I have no idea how much I will get. This is disappointing. I'm sure it's because the company is trying to save money and I guess technically they don't have to pay me at all but the thought that it was 100% and now it's going to be (probably) significantly less is just (again) disappointing. Not to mention, they go by what your doctor says in terms of how long you need. If the doc only says you need 6 weeks, they only pay for your short term disability for 6. I might beg my doctor to recommend 8 weeks at least. I'm also stressing a little bit about when I do come back to work and what my schedule will be like. I haven't talked about this at all on here but I want to see if I can do a temporary part time gig until I can get used to the fact that I have a baby. I am crossing my fingers that they will be flexible. From what I've seen/heard so far, they will try to be. But company's can change their mind in a jiffy and end up screwing even their loyalest employees over. I hope this isn't the case.
This is my first link up and honestly, it was fun but I'm totally lacking pictures and totally over-doing it with words. I'm such a rambler!
Hope everyone enjoys their weekend! I know I will because I'm leaving work at 2pm today, score!!
Linking up with E Tells Tales
Friday, December 2, 2011
Our weekend with Makayla
We were lucky enough to have my 6 year old niece Makayla join us for the better part of Saturday and Sunday. She is the cutest and the smartest 6 year old i've ever met. Here's what we did to entertain her while she was with us!
When my sister and mom brought her down, we all headed to Isaac's for some lunch and then to the mall for a little bit. Makayla and I sat on Santa's lap (because she wouldn't do it alone) and despite almost crushing his leg, he basically granted my christmas wish to have a baby girl. (Like it was a choice?) Since we weren't allowed to just take a cellphone picture from inside the santa area, Alex took one from afar.
After the mall, we headed home and got down to gingerbread village business. I bought the kit at the grocery store and it was 4 or 5 tiny gingerbread houses. I had to whip up some more icing (that we kind of didn't really use) and our houses weren't exactly the most attractive or.. well, stable. Makayla did a great job though and she barely got messy! Alex and I on the other hand were quite messy and I'm pretty sure there are still candy sprinkles on the floor.
When we completed our village, we sat down to a nice dinner of Velveeta shells and cheese and broccoli. We needed to hurry a little bit so we could make the movie we planned to see, which was The Muppets. Honestly, and I can say this because Makayla doesn't read my blog, the Muppets was cheesy. I know it's a family movie and stuff but cut down on the cheese and maybe I would've liked it more. It was fine though. I can't say I laughed at all but I know there were some people beside me cracking up, so something must've been funny. We were asked for popcorn quite a few times but reminded the little miss that if she got popcorn at the theater, she wouldn't get ice cream when we got home. She choose the ice cream, as any smart person would do.
At home afterward, we ate ice cream and played some Mario coin runner and then put Makayla to bed in the middle of our King Size (thank god we have a king size). Alex and I hung out a little bit before joining her. The good thing about Makayla is she's always been a really good sleeper. Even when she was younger, all you would have to say is "close your eyes, keep them closed and when you wake up it will be morning" and it worked. At least anytime I've put her to bed. She is a mover and a shaker though. I think I got hit in the face once.. Alex probably got hit a couple of times. She turned diagonal in the bed with her feet in my back. I specifically turned my back so she couldn't kick my stomach, lol. It was an interesting night to say the least!
So now I have a song from the Muppet movie in my head called "Am I a Man, or Am I a Muppet?" sheesh!
Anyway.. Makayla woke up Sunday morning at 7am! I gave her my iPad to keep her busy but this didn't last all that long before she was asking for pancakes, since she knew we planned to make them for breakfast. We tried and failed at making pancakes with cookie cutters, unfortunately. But the pancakes tasted good and I would totally make that an every Sunday deal if Alex would let me. After pancakes we did some coloring. We played more coin runner and I made our pizza dough for lunch later on. We decided to go to a nearby park to play for a little bit and when we got home, Makayla and I made our pizzas (ugh, i missed taking a picture of this!) and watched Alice in Wonderland. After the movie, I took her back up to home base and we ended up going to Hoss's for dinner with my mom and Julia. YUM!
I totally get (more than before) how 24/7 being a parent is. Granted, with your own kids you don't constantly have to entertain them, but adding in fun activities spices things up and keeps things interesting! We're really lucky that Makayla is so well behaved and mature for her age so she can keep up with us really easily and we can keep up with her. We had a great time, and hopefully when our baby girl is a little bit older, she can come visit us again!
When my sister and mom brought her down, we all headed to Isaac's for some lunch and then to the mall for a little bit. Makayla and I sat on Santa's lap (because she wouldn't do it alone) and despite almost crushing his leg, he basically granted my christmas wish to have a baby girl. (Like it was a choice?) Since we weren't allowed to just take a cellphone picture from inside the santa area, Alex took one from afar.
After the mall, we headed home and got down to gingerbread village business. I bought the kit at the grocery store and it was 4 or 5 tiny gingerbread houses. I had to whip up some more icing (that we kind of didn't really use) and our houses weren't exactly the most attractive or.. well, stable. Makayla did a great job though and she barely got messy! Alex and I on the other hand were quite messy and I'm pretty sure there are still candy sprinkles on the floor.
When we completed our village, we sat down to a nice dinner of Velveeta shells and cheese and broccoli. We needed to hurry a little bit so we could make the movie we planned to see, which was The Muppets. Honestly, and I can say this because Makayla doesn't read my blog, the Muppets was cheesy. I know it's a family movie and stuff but cut down on the cheese and maybe I would've liked it more. It was fine though. I can't say I laughed at all but I know there were some people beside me cracking up, so something must've been funny. We were asked for popcorn quite a few times but reminded the little miss that if she got popcorn at the theater, she wouldn't get ice cream when we got home. She choose the ice cream, as any smart person would do.
At home afterward, we ate ice cream and played some Mario coin runner and then put Makayla to bed in the middle of our King Size (thank god we have a king size). Alex and I hung out a little bit before joining her. The good thing about Makayla is she's always been a really good sleeper. Even when she was younger, all you would have to say is "close your eyes, keep them closed and when you wake up it will be morning" and it worked. At least anytime I've put her to bed. She is a mover and a shaker though. I think I got hit in the face once.. Alex probably got hit a couple of times. She turned diagonal in the bed with her feet in my back. I specifically turned my back so she couldn't kick my stomach, lol. It was an interesting night to say the least!
So now I have a song from the Muppet movie in my head called "Am I a Man, or Am I a Muppet?" sheesh!
Anyway.. Makayla woke up Sunday morning at 7am! I gave her my iPad to keep her busy but this didn't last all that long before she was asking for pancakes, since she knew we planned to make them for breakfast. We tried and failed at making pancakes with cookie cutters, unfortunately. But the pancakes tasted good and I would totally make that an every Sunday deal if Alex would let me. After pancakes we did some coloring. We played more coin runner and I made our pizza dough for lunch later on. We decided to go to a nearby park to play for a little bit and when we got home, Makayla and I made our pizzas (ugh, i missed taking a picture of this!) and watched Alice in Wonderland. After the movie, I took her back up to home base and we ended up going to Hoss's for dinner with my mom and Julia. YUM!
I totally get (more than before) how 24/7 being a parent is. Granted, with your own kids you don't constantly have to entertain them, but adding in fun activities spices things up and keeps things interesting! We're really lucky that Makayla is so well behaved and mature for her age so she can keep up with us really easily and we can keep up with her. We had a great time, and hopefully when our baby girl is a little bit older, she can come visit us again!
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