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Monday, November 21, 2011

get outta’ town!!

“Get outta’ town” has been the theme this month.

The very first weekend in November, my mother-in-law graciously agreed to keep out little guy while the hubs and I went to Cincinnati for shopping, dinner with friends and a full night’s sleep. Everything was going pretty well till about 11 that night when I started really and truly, super duper missing our little guy and thought it would be a good idea to look at the 1 billion pictures and movies I have of him on my phone.

BAD IDEA.

The cuteness saved on my phone only intensified my emotions and I started tearing up about how fast time was passing, that we hadn’t taken enough video of him, yadda yadda yadda.

I was a mess. Point blank.

The next day I was a maniac trying to rush through our nice breakfast, pack up, and urging Nick to drive 30 miles over the speed limit to get home.

I realized that small day trips or a few hours away, I can handle. Combine that with a full night away and it feels like I haven’t seen my child in an eternity. I honestly thought he was going to be crawling when we walked in that day after being gone for 24 hours.

That was suppose to be our 24 hour practice day away for the next weekend… when we had planned to take a trip away for 4 days and 3 nights.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

What was I thinking?!

My parents were coming to our house to watch him while we were going to be gone on the trip that was over before it began. The final decision was to do a “stay-cation” to have a little mommy and daddy time alone during the day but to also get our baby boy fix in.

Excellent decision if I do say so myself!

 

We kicked off our stay-cation on Thursday, Nick’s first day off of work, by cleaning our house. What a blast! ;) But seriously, we spent some much needed time together with the babe. Friday got a little more exciting, zip lining at Red River Gorge, just a little over an hour from home.

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Our first time zip lining was on our honeymoon in Jamaica. Funny enough, when we got there this time, we learned the same man built and owns this one in the gorge as well. Of all the zip lines in the world…. crazy!

 

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Check out that view!!! That’s the hubs and me, 350 feet high, soaring 2000 feet across from mountain top to mountain top, side by side. If you squint, you can barely see our end point on the other side. Amazing =)

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I found a video on YouTube of one of the zip lines we were on that gives you a better idea of the kinda’ fun we were having ;) Breathtaking! This is the longest of the 5 zip lines:

 

 

Friday night was dinner out with my parents and the cutest little boy in the entire world. We don’t do much talking to each other these days, more like staring at the baby and waiting for the next facial expression or sound he decides to make while all talking in obnoxious baby voices to him and only him. If he’s sleeping, we reluctantly resort back to adult conversation ;)

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Saturday morning started out with a 90 minute couples massage. The day could have ended with just that and I would have been happy!

But instead, we had even more fun with dinner out and bowling with our great friends, Ginny and Andrew. We are so excited to be in their wedding next August!!

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Ginny, who is always the best dressed in the room, had on the cutest boots, which of course she had to trade in for bowling shoes on the lanes. I just had to have a picture of this fashionista moment!

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Thank goodness we have no clue who “Red” is… what a loser! haha!

{and that is Nick’s finger pointing to his winning score of 104… only in this group could you be so proud of such a low score!}

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Sunday morning consisted of a photo shoot before church, naturally.

Who could honestly resist this child?!

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Monday was mom and dad’s last night staying with us and since Dad’s birthday was coming up on Thursday {the 17th}, we decided to celebrate it with caramel apple streusel crunch pie… DELICIOUS!!!

 

I.♥.this.photo.

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Poppy loves his “little buddy” so much, he couldn’t even blow out his candles without him…

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My happy boy:

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We have a whirlwind week ahead of us with more “gettin outta town”. Houston’s first Thanksgiving is in the mix {happy face!} as well as my last few days as a stay at home mom {sad, sobbing, mascara smeared face!}. I start back to work the Monday after the holiday and I’m doing my best to #1) not think about it and #2) soak up every last minute with my boy I can get.

Pray for me?!?

Thursday, November 17, 2011

my life, the sitcom

I have my days.

Days where I wonder if I took a moment out of the chaos to peek over my shoulder, would I see a film-crew taping these sitcom-worthy situations I get myself into? Because honestly, these things only happen on t.v.

…and to me.

It is in these moments that I consider changing my name to Lucy. I have the red hair, a devilishly handsome husband that puts up with my shenanigans, and the sweet little boy to boot.

I could even start selling Vitameatavegamin in my pharmacy!

On today’s episode of My Life, the Sitcom:

After bragging on my baby boy's excellent sleep habits for weeks, we had one loooooong crazy night where I finally decided to put him in bed with me, only to wake up to wet sheets and a wet baby in the morning.

We get cleaned up and I put a new, never worn outfit on him even though we don’t have any plans to go anywhere today. He’s growing quickly and I want him to wear everything in his closet, even if it’s just for lounging around the house.

Baby’s dressed and I dash to start a pot of coffee, needed more today than usual after the night we had. But it’s a no-go.

Coffee - we have. Milk or creamer… both out.

I don’t do black coffee. So I soldier on without my caffeine.

Baby gets fed, mommy gets fed and we decided to call Houston’s Mimmie on Facetime since she just learned how to use it. We giggle together at his grunts and disgusting squirty sounds that confirm a dirty diaper is in the making. We hang up and I go to let the dog out and change the diaper.

But when I pick Houston up, my wet hand on his back tells me something’s not quite right. I look at the back of the baby… yellow gook. I look at my cream colored sofa he was just laying on… yellow gook.

{Forgive the picture of poo residue on my blog. This is who we are these days, like it or leave it.}

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{Thank goodness for micro-fiber upholstery, this couch is holding up well against all baby bodily functions!}

Baby boy gets stripped down in preparation for a bath. While on the changing table, Houston spits-up, starts to choke on it and then coughs a mouthful in my face. Fabulous.

 

Luckily I’m in the mood to laugh. This is funny. My life is a joke.

I actually texted my husband, “I believe the day could only get better from here.”

In a way, I was right. It did get better. The way a sitcom gets better for those watching it, not for the person living it.

 

I went to start the bath and for some reason, {stupid, stupid curiosity}, I decided to pull down on the part of the faucet that would start the shower, if there was a shower. But there is only a bath-tub. The water cuts off and I try everything to reverse what I just did, including calling my brother-in-law and texting him a picture of the problem. No luck.

Now my curiosity knows what happens when you pull down on the silver shower starting contraption when there is no actual shower. Yaaaayyy.

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Houston hangs out in his bath chair in the hall-way while mommy tries to figure out if she’ll be able to fix the faucet or if we’ll be moving to the guest bath.

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With no water in sight, bathing in the hall-way was out of the question. Once in the guest bath, the little stinker pees straight up into the air and onto mommy. I laugh again.

The end of today’s sitcom, all before 11 a.m.

I love this life!

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{Did I mention that today is the first day of my diet to get rid of the baby weight and even though these days at home with my precious baby boy are the best days of my life, a plate full of brownies would really hit the spot after the morning I’ve had!}

 

Coincidence that my first sitcom moment happened the day I found out I was pregnant and hasn’t stopped since? Motherhood is one funny hood to live in ;)

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

my favorite things… BABY GEAR edition

Before we dive right in: just in case you begin to wonder… I was soooooooooooo NOT compensated to write about any of these products.

{I mean, who am I? Oprah???}

We either received these at our baby shower or bought them ourselves. These are purchases I researched and chose to register for and these are my honest to God, non-influenced opinions! =)

 

 

 First things first, though this may be a little tongue in cheek and not a literal baby item, personally, my day’s productivity level {since baby} can be measured by what time I got to drink my coveted cup o’ joe and how strong the coffee is that’s now coursing through my veins. If you don’t own a coffee maker, I strongly suggest that you  purchase one. It also doesn’t hurt to get yourself a cute coffee mug to look at when the rest of the scenery in your house could pass for the remains of Armageddon…

Mommy. Needs. Coffee (with stains) Travel Mug

{source}

{Side note for those who are wondering: I’ve been enjoying my coffee since day one that this joyous little creature entered my life. I usually don’t have more than one cup a day – there are exceptional days though – and I haven’t seen any problems with breastfeeding and the consumption of caffeine. My little angel takes fantastic naps throughout the day and lately – knock on wood! – has been waking up just once or twice in a 10 hour stretch at night =)=)=) Praise GOD!}

 

The First Years BabyPro Sterilizer by Learning Curve

Speaking of Armageddon and the lack of cleaning that seems to take place with a newborn… a friend suggested this little gem to me for helping with the endless sterilizing of pacifiers, bottles, breast pump equipment, etc. I have used it at least a million times already in only 10 weeks and I LOVE IT.

   The First Years™ BabyPro Sterilizer by Learning Curve™

 

 

Angelcare Movement Sensor with Sound Monitor

Seriously, peace of mind – can you put a price on it? This device fits under the mattress and is SUPER sensitive to your baby’s every move, specifically breathing. If it doesn’t sense movement {breathing} within 20 seconds, an alarm goes off alerting you and hopefully startling the child enough to prompt breathing.

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

 Angelcare Movement Sensor with Sound Monitor - Angelcare  - Babies"R"Us

 

Also, a good baby monitor is a MUST! A sound monitor can do the trick, but a video monitor can be a mom’s best friend. Count the years you can continue to use it {I’ve been told} once he’s in his “big boy bed” and you just want to check on him without opening the door and risk waking him up – totally worth the $cha-ching$! I just got my monitor, a Safety 1st brand, this summer but can no longer find it online. There is an Angelcare monitor that incorporates video in the device as well, and if I were doing it all over again, I’d probably opt for that instead of having both monitors at my bedside. Live and learn!

 

 

Graco® Pack 'n Play® Portable Playard with Newborn Napper™ in Maddox

I love the newborn napper on this pack ‘n play, great for a bedside bassinet to keep the baby up higher and in your view, as well as giving your baby the little bit of incline they love and keeping super cozy.  There’s a tiny nightlight built in, but it isn’t really bright enough to be of much use. The vibrate and sound is a great little feature that we did find useful though. I haven’t used the changing table much but had no complaints when I did. Great for a travel bed and I’m assuming we’ll get lots of use out of it as a play pen when he gets a little older.

 

Pee-pee Teepee™ by Beba Bean

Okay… if you’re having a bouncing baby boy and you haven’t heard of these, consider yourself warned! IT will get you… ;)

 

Medela® Pump In Style® Advanced Breastpump with Metro Bag

I haven’t even been back to work yet but I’ve already used my electric pump a ton! I’ve been doing my best to save up a good freezer supply and it’s definitely MUCH quicker to pump and let someone else feed the baby at times. This weekend, we got away for a 24 hour span {more on that later!} and I even used this in the car. I.LOVE.THIS.PUMP. I have a manual hand pump by the same brand too… holy cow, it is night and day in speed difference and how much more milk I can get with the electric!

 

Lansinoh HPA Lanolin

Essential for breastfeeding moms! I tried the Medela brand, which was much more “runny” and even though some think the Lansinoh is too sticky, it was better at doing the job it’s made to do. In the first few weeks, I used it after every feeding. Now I only use it about once a week, though once daily would probably be better for the health of my little friends ;)

At the risk of you thinking I’m completely gross and downright weird, I’ve now been using it as…. chapstick!

My lips have developed insane sensitivities to random chapsticks and lip glosses and when Houston was about a month old, my lips reacted to a new lip gloss and decided to peel off completely, leaving them swollen and burning 24 hours a day for a full week. Though I truly enjoyed the look of my new Angelina Jolie-esque puffy pout, they were unbelievably painful, continually peeling, and made it extremely difficult to eat, drink, or kiss my precious little angel. My mom suggested I try this to heal them. Lo and behold it WORKED! I’m now on the search for actual lanolin based chapstick to make it more convenient for my purse than this large tube.

Lansinoh HPA Lanolin for Breastfeeding Mothers

 

Pampers Swaddlers 

I didn’t know we would favor one diaper so much over the others, but I will only buy these for now because of their OVER THE TOP HELPFUL little yellow line that changes to blue when wet. Love it! Truly saves all the guessing when the baby is crying and you’re not sure why. You can take a peek at the diaper without having to unnecessarily undress them just to find out they’re dry. I’ve compared prices using coupons, ordering from places online where you get cash back and there’s no tax or shipping costs, and STILL, Sam’s club beats all of those prices. We burn through this HUGE box right now in a little over 2 weeks!

 

My sweet little model showing off that tell-tell blue line and just how cute a dirty diaper really can be!

 

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NEST Elliott Diaper Bag 

I looooooove my diaper bag! More than enough pockets, zippers, and room for organization while still staying stylish ;) I always get compliments carrying it.

 

Looks like Heidi Klum loves hers in black!

 

NEST Quilted Diaper Bag – Black

I really wasn’t wanting a diaper bag with lots of colors and busy patterns, I figured getting one in brown and one in black would take me far. I have not been disappointed with that decision. I love this bag that is also from NEST, but not as much as the previous bag. Sometimes I think I should have got the first bag in multiple colors!

NEST Quilted Diaper Bag - Black

 

I’m also diggin’ this NEST Canvas Diaper Bag - Khaki/Black!

 

custom designed baby bedding at Carousel Designs

I spent far too much time searching for the perfect baby bedding. Every time I liked one, it was waaaaaaaay out of my price range. {As in, more than I paid for our lovely king size bedding, 2 sets of sheets, decorative pillows, 2 dust ruffles to make it extra frilly, and 4 curtain panels…. yeah, some crib bedding is totally overpriced!}

This website has a fun little interactive tool you can use to combine your style and your fabrics to create one of a kind bedding you can see on the screen before ordering. It is a whole bunch of fun and surprisingly inexpensive!

Here’s the screen shot of the bedding I put together online before ordering:

crib bedding

…and in real life:

How’s that for accuracy?!

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Skip Hop Funky Farmyard Activity Mat 

Nothing special – just a fun little place to let him kick and reach and stare at himself in the mirror. I love the little curved pillow that comes with it that helps him tolerate tummy time much better when propped under his chest.

Chicco®Cortina KeyFit 30 Travel System in Romantic

Researching the many strollers and travel systems that are out there: muy frustrante!

This travel system came highly recommended by… likeall of my friends who have kids. That’s all it took to sign me up. I haven’t had one single problem with it and thanks to the dog needing his daily walks, we have been strollin’, strollin’, strollin’. No probs with the carseat either – little man never protests and never seems uncomfortable.

 

Baby Jogger City Mini Single Stroller

We also got this jogging stroller at the recommendation of friends who navigate the streets of NY and Chicago with it daily. I’m a believer, but not from experience… it’s still in the box. When the boy can hold his head up consistently, we’ll be breaking this bad boy out! I’ll be sure to update you.

 

Fisher-Price® Zen Cradle Swing

Thanks to this little beauty, yours truly was able to finish typing this post while my sweet angel swings and slumbers! I love that the seat pivots so that you can experiment with which way soothes your baby better – swinging side to side or front to back. It also plugs in, battery free is a positive these days!

 

 

There is so much more to review… carriers, books, teethers, toys, bouncy chairs, bumbos… I will be back with those reviews as soon as they have been tested and tried! Hope you enjoyed =)

 

 

This resource for baby coupons might save even more money on these favorite things!

Thursday, November 03, 2011

61 years of holy matrimony

61 years later…

mama

 

5 children, 15 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren…

wedding gparents

 

All of whom would never be here without their love for each other.

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I am SO BLESSED to have these two as my grandparents and to be celebrating this momentous occasion today. Like two peas in a pod, it’s easy to see they were meant for each other! I have never seen anything but love from them for their family. They give of themselves and their means more than most anyone I know. They love without limits and are always down for a good time ;)

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♥I love them both more than they will ever know!♥

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Happy 61st anniversary, Mamaw and Papa!!!!

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

the most monumental FIRST Halloween EVER.


SHEW
… brace yourself, we have picture overload today!!

Poor Houston has been subjected to enough photo shoots in the month of October to last a lifetime. Sadly for him, this will only be the tip of the iceberg ;)

 

Bahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!! So true…

 

It’s our boy’s first Halloween, therefore we must recap his first Halloween gift.

Who gives “Halloween gifts”?

Crazy people.

Grandparents that are crazy in love with this little guy, of course.

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Who couldn’t love that little grinnin’ fool OR his new adorable teddy bear with it’s little blue paci?! Sooooooooo cute. Thanks, Mimmie and Poppy!

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Have y’all every heard of Funkins? It was after that fact that I used every last weakling muscle in my arms to carve this huge honkin’ pumpkin that I had the brilliant idea that I should have just ran to Hobby Lobby and got one of those sweet, carvable fake pumpkins to plop my baby inside.

 

Hindsight is 20/20 people.

 

That being said, our baby pumpkin photo shoot went as well as could be expected. I’m kicking myself for accidently setting the camera on some stupid setting that shouldn’t even exist and getting dark pictures that I tried to lighten up on the computer but turned out grainy instead.

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My precious, precious baby pumpkin!:

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Anyone wonder whether our child will grow to need therapy????

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Disclaimer: this pumpkin was carved days earlier, had dried out and was then lined with receiving blankets before we inserted our child. He is not in cold mushy gook and is actually cushioned quite nicely. The boy just didn’t want to be in the pumpkin… and I can’t quite blame him!

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Mommy was quite sure she had scoured the stores and internet for costumes with sizes small enough for our tiny boy and had no such luck. I now know I must not be such a great mommy after seeing my friends and their tiny babies in costumes on Facebook :(

HUGE FAIL.

 

BUT! I had previously bought this cute little jersey and had a light-bulb moment on Halloween day that maybe this could be his costume.

I grabbed my best “indoor basketball” {hehehe…} and started yet another photo shoot =)

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Proud mommy will be so happy to have these one day…

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UK Men’s Basketball 2029, anyone?

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Look what Halloween also brought us!

Houston and Wyatt finally met each other!!

What sweet trick or treat buddies they’re gonna be♥

 

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and FINALLY, one more photo shoot since Halloween was also Houston’s 9 week milestone:

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I know what you’re thinking…

“But, I thought you said you didn’t find a costume for Houston?”

and you’d be right.

I didn’t. But I did repurpose someone else’s Halloween costume from a couple years back.

 

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Is it me or does he look like he just learned he’s wearing the dog’s old pumpkin costume?!

Yes, dear, mommy’s crazy. Just get used to it, son ;)

 

 


We had a fabulous FIRST Halloween with our babe and hope yours was just as fantastic as well!!

xoxo