Family fun day

Mike and I took a Friday off work a couple of weeks ago and planned a family fun day for the girls. We live very close to Kings Island, but the cost to go given the rides we can enjoy seemed steep, so we checked out Coney Island. It took us a few extra minutes to get there, but the cost was about 1/8 and we had a blast! If you've never been, it's a fairly small amusement park with mostly carnival-style rides; perfect for our littles. We got there right as the park opened (on a Friday) and had no waits for any ride. We rode, played, enjoyed lunch, and were good to go a couple of hours later; well, the girls and Mike may have been keen to stay, but it was HOT and this pregnant lady was melting.

Zoo blooms

The girls' daycare was closed on Good Friday, so we took the opportunity to hit the Zoo as a family in the morning and couldn't have asked for a better day!  Now that Charlotte is weaned and we don't have to worry about sneaking off to nurse, we broke out the double stroller and rode around in style (thanks Lisa for the recommendation!).  The Cincinnati Zoo also boasts gorgeous botanical gardens and their spring blooms are breathtaking (hint hint, come see for yourself).  It's an unofficial Cincinnati rite of passage that you have your picture taken in front of the tulips, and since we're Cincinnatians we jumped on the bandwagon.  

Ceeeeelebrate good times!! (Come on!)

May is kind of a big deal around here ... it's action packed and full of celebrating, definitely my kind of month!  Here's a run-down:

May 12:  Anna's birthday party
May 13:  Mother's Day (my first!)
May 14:  Anna's first birthday
May 15:  My SIX year remission birthday
May 17:  Aunt Jennifer's birthday
May 19:  Uncle Michael and Aunt Jennifer get married!!
May 23:  Our three year wedding anniversary
May 28:  My 33rd birthday

Throw in a trip for Mom & Dad to Florida and ... *whew* ... it's an official whirlwind of a month, but for all the right reasons!  Bring on the parties and celebrations!!!

Come on!!  We've got a party to get to!

Down on the Farm

Although you wouldn't be able to tell it's October by the weather we had this past weekend, we made our first official family trek to the pumpkin patch so that Miss Anna could experience all of the fall fun for herself.  We can't wait to take her back next year!

Our little pumpkin!

Nora doesn't understand why Anna is being such a sour-puss ...

Nora's brother, Aidan, had a blast. 
I was tired just watching him run around!

A cow says "Mooooooo"  ... or "aaagooo" per Anna : )



Our friends started a tradition their first year by taking a picture at the "outhouse",
and, well, I'm from KY, so how could we resist?





A Week in the Life: Thursday

-- 7:00am:  Wake-up Anna ... I wound up not pumping last night and have been waiting for her to stir for about 30 minutes, she *needs* to eat, if you know what I mean.  Feed while watching The Today Show.

-- 7:40am - 9:10am:  Breakfast for Mom, playtime, visit with Dad, discuss Anna's Emergency contacts for daycare (they have to be local and we've been debating who to ask for over a week), fold the load of whites I meant to fold after dinner last night.  Daisy mimics Anna on her activity map, see below.


"Anything you can do, I can do better ..."


-- 9:10am - 9:45am:  Feed and Mom watches Up All Night from last night.  A must-see for any parent.  While feeding the cats are fighting loudly ... they always do this when they know I'm immobile.  This time it gets more serious and I hear the table in the front hallway crash down and something breaks, I know it's the vase.  I loved that vase, dang it!  I envision murdering Milo, but then decide I don't know how to dispose of a dead cat and also wonder if I'd be arrested.  I don't have time to deal with the police or PETA, so I call Mike and calmly tell him what happened as not to disturb my almost-asleep baby.

-- 9:45am:  Put Anna down and walk through the foyer destruction.  Shoot "you WILL DIE" looks to both cats.

Did I do that??!!! (Insert Steve Urkel voice)

-- 9:45am - 10:15am:  Clean up the foyer.  Take Milo to the basement bedroom and outfit him with a small bowl of food, water, and a makeshift litter box.  He is the instigator and I plan to leave him down there all day.  I brush Daisy in the meantime and I can tell she's thankful for the reprieve.

-- 10:15am - 11:30am:  Finish packing Anna's items to drop off at day-care and begin to write a note about her daily routine, adorable habits etc.  Have a total meltdown during this and call my Mom and Mike, one after another, hysterically crying.  Mental note:  Although physically closer than a tissue, paper towels do NOT do any wonders for your under-eye circles when wiping tears away.

-- 11:30am - 12:30pm:  I should work-out, but I'm still a little emotional, so I fold the load of darks I started earlier, finish gathering items for my trip to day-care, shower and get ready.  Anna is waking up from her nap and we change clothes for the day and feed.

-- 12:45pm:  Gigi arrives to hang with Anna for the afternoon.

-- 1:10pm - 4:15pm:  Run errands ... hit up the tire store first to have a tire patched and all rotated, apparently I ran over a nail at some point.  Stop at JCPenney for a new nursing bra and a robe, browse around for a few minutes, shocked at the number of people in the store mid-day on a Thursday ... wonder if it's Social Security check day ...  Run into Home Goods to see about pillows for the living room and purchase a few baskets for a bookshelf and two picture frames to take for my desk at work next week.  Pick up the pants I dropped off earlier in the week as I head toward home.  Stop at Anna's daycare to drop off paperwork and tuition, make her crib and assemble her "supplies" (diapers, wipes, sleep sacks, etc), chat with Miss Patty and Miss Wanda for a few minutes, they are excited to see her on Monday.  Pat myself on the back for not crying in public OR in the car, and grab a car wash on the way home.

-- 4:15pm:  Return home to Anna napping on Gigi's lap.  My heart melts.


Soooooo much fun with Gigi really wears a gal out!

 -- 4:15pm - 5:00pm:  Hang out with Gigi and Anna, check out the new pillows (they don't match and I'll return them), put other purchases away, snack on a Honeycrisp apple (my FAVE!!!).  Let Milo out from solitary; he acts like he's been in there for 6 days as opposed to 6 hours.

-- 5:00pm - 5:30pm:  Feed Anna ... I think she must be growth spurtin' this week as she's eating closer to every two hours versus her usual three.  Mike claims she's getting heavier, so that confirms it : )

-- 5:30pm - 6:30pm:  Say good-bye to Gigi, Mike and Anna hang out while Mom blogs and does some chores around the house.

-- 6:30pm:  Feed the little Miss again.  During her feeding we decide to bag leftovers for dinner and go with take-out.

-- 7:00pm:  Anna goes down, Mike leaves to pick up dinner.  While he's gone, I start removing books from a bookcase to make way for baskets to store my "stuff" and also start going through an old photo album containing pictures from my senior year of high school and freshman year of college ... (1) I honestly don't think any of my friends look a day older and (2) I would KILL to have that body back ... why, oh why did I think I needed to diet in those days?!?

-- 8:00pm and on:  Watch TV with Mike, blog quickly ... decide that you guys (and me) have probably had enough of my week ... tomorrow is my last Friday of maternity  leave and I think I'll spend it snuggling with my little gal rather than worrying about capturing our day : )  Tomorrow night I have a painting class with a friend ... yes, you read that correctly, I'm going to a painting class, and Saturday we have our neighborhood block party ... I need to think of a side dish to make ... any suggestions?

Never in a million years did I think that having a baby would change my life in so many ways and I seriously wonder what the heck I was doing before Anna was born that I thought was so time-consuming?!?!

** Thanks for hanging in there with me this week ... I figure that one day I'll look back on my maternity leave and wonder what the heck I did with my days ... I also hope this provides some hope in the future ... should we have another baby and I'm about to go lack-of-sleep-crazy, maybe I'll read this and realize that things settle down eventually. **

A Week in the Life: Wednesday

4:00am - 5:30am:  I hear Anna moving around in her crib through the monitor and assume she's working out a poop.  She's on an every-other-day pooping schedule this week and in my delirious state I can't remember changing a #2 yesterday.  I doze in and out of sleep.

5:30am:  Anna let's out the tiniest cry and I get up to check on her, assuming she needs a poopy diaper change.  Wrong, a wet diaper, but no #2.  I change her and nurse her, wrapping up around 6am ... she seems sleepy, so I decide to put her back down.

6:00am - 6:15am:  Attempt to go back to sleep myself and finally realize it's not going to happen.

6:15am - 7:30am:  Shower, dry my hair, respond to a few e-mails that keep getting lost in the shuffle, eat breakfast, and enjoy the first few sips of coffee.

7:30am:  Check on Anna and find her in a semi-sleep state and wake her up for the day.  Apparently she was multi-tasking during her "nap" and I find the poopy diaper I expected earlier.  I'm not sure how she's so adorable even when changing a #2, but she smiles away and we start off our day with a few songs and an extra dose of cute.

7:30am:  Feed Anna while watching a bit of The Today Show and then realize this is a prime opportunity to catch up on last night's Glee.  Dad comes to visit in the middle of feeding and we have "family time" for a few minutes and he rolls his eyes when he sees what I'm watching.

8:00am - 9:30am:  Tummy time, a review of last night's purchases at BRU (you know, in case she takes issue with anything I bought), jumping, and "playing" with Milo.  I also sneak in a quick vacuum of the stairs while Anna helps Mike in the study ... the stairs seem to pick up more dirt than anywhere else in the house and they drive me crazy. 

9:30am - 10:00am:  Feed and Mom wraps up Glee ... I love that show soooooo much.

10:00am - 12:45pm:  Anna naps, Mom disinfects and washes new bottles, applies Anna's name decals to the new bottles, blog, tidy the bedroom (I ALWAYS make the bed, for some reason it makes me feel good even if the rest of my day is horrible), and make a Target list in case we're able to stop by later.  Fold sheets that have been in the dryer since Sunday, start a load of Anna's clothing and then whites (whites are my least favorite load of laundry to fold, so I always start them first).  Bake cookies for Miss Sara, Anna's Gymboree "teacher" since it's our last class, pat myself on the back for thinking ahead and making a jar of dry ingredients for the next time the cookie-baking-itch needs to be scratched.  Straighten my hair, apply a little make-up, eat lunch (a salad and a few pita chips and hummus ... oh, and 2 cookies while I was baking).  I should have worked out, but I had already showered and that seemed like reason enough not to ...

12:45pm - 1:30pm:  Sing songs while diapering and dressing Anna for the day.  Feed.  Pack up for Gymboree class, our last class until she's able to move to Level 2 ... we've LOVED Gymboree class. 

1:30pm - 4:00pm:  Travel to Gymboree class, attend class from 2pm-3pm, grab a couple of pictures with Miss Sara.  Target is on the way home, so we head in for a few items ... the cats need food and Diet Coke is on sale.  Plus I have a $2 Target coupon on Pampers (expiring soon) that I can combine with a $1.50 manufacturer coupon AND Pampers are on sale ... I've become a little bit of a couponer while on leave, especially when it comes to diapers.  It started POURING while we were in the store, so that made for an interesting run to the car.


Sadly, the best picture I got ... Anna was ALL smiles and giggles
during class and she must have worn herself plum out!

4:00pm:  Feed and wind down from an afternoon out.  I almost finish up Parenthood from last night (geez, I sound like a TV junkie, but I really on watch while we're feeding, and I told myself I'd be totally honest during these posts) and Mike gets home right as we're wrapping up.

4:45pm - 5:45pm:  Playtime and I put away Anna's laundry, including a new batch of summer clothes for the "too small bin."  Mike popped in and we had fun looking through some of her newborn outfits ... 4 months has FLOWN by.


Playtime = pure excitement!!

5:45pm - 6:00pm:  Bathtime!

6:00pm - 6:12pm:  Someone is fussy and I think it's time to eat and hit the hay, but Dad insists it's not ... he and Anna play for exactly 12 minutes before he admits I was right.

6:12pm - 6:55pm:  Feeding, burping, and down for the night.

7:00pm:  Try a new recipe, Shrimp & Grits from Southern Living (recipe to be posted), with Mike's help in preparation and clean-up.


Yummmm!!

8:00pm:  Blog, wind down with a glass of wine and watch a little TV with Mike.  I'll likely doze off on the couch within 45 minutes.  Gigi (my Mom) is up tomorrow and I'm excited to run a few errands sans child ... not excited that one of them is taking my car to have a slow leak in one of the tires repaired.

A Week in the Life: Tuesday

-- 6:00am:  Hear Anna stirring because Milo is outside the door whining for his breakfast ... pray that he doesn't totally wake Anna up and that I can get another hour of sleep ... for some reason I had trouble falling to sleep last night.

-- 7:25am:  Wake-up startled and shocked that it's almost 7:30 ... wake Anna up for the day while we sing songs and play for a few minutes.  Anna feeds while I watch The Today Show.

-- 8:15am - 9:00am:  Send Dad a "good morning" picture from his girls, tidy up the kitchen, breakfast for Mom, chop celery and strawberries that were forgotten on Monday (I usually chop everything when we get home from the grocery, but again, that Sunday funk has me off a little for the week).  Make a grocery list for a quick stop.  Sing songs and tummy time for a few minutes.

-- 9:00am - 10:00am:  Quick trip to the grocery where Anna is admired by the butcher, the Frito-Lay stocker, and the cashier ... it's hard being so cute!  On the way home we drop off a pair of pants to be hemmed.  I bought a few new pieces of clothing for work over the weekend and I totally feel like I'm getting ready for my first day of school ... got a haircut as well and planning on a mani/pedi next week.

-- 10:00am:  Diaper change and feeding.

-- 10:30am:  Anna goes down for her nap.

-- 10:30am - 1:15pm:  Blog, fight with camera trying to download pictures, make dinner for tonight (Mexican Lasagna, recipe to be posted), spend 30 minutes on the phone ordering a bridesmaid dress for my brother's wedding, fiddle with the curtains I hung last night, vacuum living room, dining room and stairs, general house tidying.  (I'm starting to realize there's a lot of tidying in my day, ha)

-- 1:15pm:  Sing songs while changing Anna's diaper and getting her dressed for the day.  Feed and play.

-- 2:00pm - 4:00pm:  Walk on the Loveland Bike Trail with Megan (Jen's friend) and Cameron "Cam" (Anna's friend) and browse the weekly Farmer's Market afterwards.  Head to the pediatrician's office to pick up the daycare paperwork, Anna takes a short nap in the car.


Flowers from the Farmer's Market ... a cheery addition to the kitchen.

-- 4:00pm - 6:15pm:  Play at home, greet Dad after being gone for a night, practice sitting up in the Boppy, Jump, read nursery rhymes, and pet the cats.

-- 6:15pm:  The fussies set in and we change for bed and feed.  Dinner goes in the oven.

-- 6:55pm:  She's out cold and Mom feels good knowing that all is right with the world after watching the evening news.  Transfer to the crib is sucessful!

-- 7:00pm:  Mike and I enjoy dinner, pausing to capture my plate on camera for blog posting at a later date.

-- 7:45pm:  Jen heads to BRU for daycare supplies (extra sleep sacks and crib sheets) and to stock up on diapers ($25 gift card with the purchase of diapers and wipes) ... it's amazing what a solitary drive and shopping trip will do for the soul.

-- 9:00pm:  Back home, fight with camera a bit more, blog and settle in to watch a little TV and pump before bed.  Tomorrow is Gymboree, so I need to remember to pack socks, a blanket and "Gymbo" for class.

Being generally cute while Mom changed clothes for our walk yesterday.

A Week in the Life: Monday

I've been wanting to "document" our daily routine for a week for a while now, but for one reason or another kept putting it off, waiting for the "perfect" week to come along.  Well, we're down to the last week of my maternity leave, so it's now or never.  I was looking back at the journal I kept the first few weeks of Anna's life to record her feedings and diaper changes ... goodness knows I was too tired and emotional to remember 10-12 feedings and 8-10 diaper changes a day ... and was shocked at how different our days are now that we've fast-forwarded 4 months.  So, here goes ...

-- 6:30am:  Up a little earlier than usual, I heard Anna stirring as Mike's alarm went off and knew I wouldn't go back to sleep, so we all rose before the sun.  Anna feeds while Mom watches Local News and The Today Show.  It's POURING down rain!

-- 7:15am:  Breakfast for Mom, tidy up the kitchen and family room while Anna plays in her Bumbo, and we visit with Daddy before he heads out for two days.

-- 8:00am - 9:00am:  Playtime on the activity mat, jumping, books, and tummy time.

-- 9:00am:  Second feeding of the day.  Heavy rain knocked out the satellite for a few minutes, so I started watching the movie Whip It; HBO and Cinemax both had preview weekends and Mike and I recorded a TON of movies.  Who needs Netflix or RedBox when you have a savvy eye on the movie channels : )

-- 9:30am:  Down for her morning (ok, let's be serious, only) nap.

-- 9:30am - Noon:  Misc house chores ... tidying up, folding laundry, read a bit of Southern Living while eating lunch (turkey sandwich and an apple) and decide on the remaining meals for the week.  (Normally all grocery and meal planning is done on Sunday, but I was in a funk and broke down about going back to work, so I put it off until today), showering and actually styling my hair as I'd gotten it cut on Sunday and wanted to see if I could manage the shorter "do" on my own.

-- Noon:  Wake Miss Anna up from nap time (yes, she'd gone on 2 1/2 hours!), diaper change, sing songs, dress her for the day, and a feeding.

-- 1:00pm:  Play for a few minutes, then load up for afternoon errands.

-- 1:30pm - 3:00pm:  Drop off a medical release required by daycare at her pediatrician's office and run to Lowe's to exchange curtain rods.  While at Lowe's the return clerk informed me that she'd take the baby, but not the curtain rods ... sadly for her I only had a receipt for the rods : )

-- 3:00pm:  Anna naps a little on the drive home and I let her sleep for a few minutes in her car seat while I unload the car and notice a package on the front porch ... it's her Halloween costume!  I couldn't resist trying it on her for a second before feeding her ...



A perfect fit for our Anna Banana!!

 -- 4:00pm - 5:30pm:  Cuddle-time and playtime with Mom, call Grandma, call Dad, and general  afternoon fun.

-- 5:30pm:  Someone starts to get a little fussy and the weather has done a complete 180 from the morning rainstorm, so we pack-up and head on a walk in the Baby Bjorn.  As I was changing clothes, I laid Anna on our bed for a second and when I turned around she was being the cutest thing ever, so we had an impromptu photo shoot (proof to come, issues with downloading pictures right now).

-- 5:50pm:  Finally head out on our walk, notice a praying mantis on the window, take a picture to send to Paw Paw, knowing he'll love it.

-- 6:15pm:  Walk is over, fussies have set in and there's no use in fighting a feeding and bedtime.  Sing songs while diapering up and changing into a sleeper.

-- 6:15pm - 6:45pm:  Feeding and cuddles with Mom.

-- 6:45pm - 7:00pm:  Asleep in Mom's arms, I just couldn't take her to her crib yet ... and I was almost finished with Whip It that I'd started earlier in the day ... a cute movie : )

-- 7:00pm:  Anna goes down for the night.

-- 7:00pm - 11:00pm:  Tidy up the house, make dinner for myself (salad and leftover spaghetti with bolognese sauce from Sunday), talk to Mike, and spend several hours hanging rods and new curtains in the living and dining room (a surprise for when Mike comes home on Tuesday ... we'd started the project over the weekend, but ran into a bit of a snag). 

-- 11:00pm:  Pump and indulge in watching E! News for a few minutes before enjoying a sugar-free Dark Chocolate Jell-O pudding pack and heading off to bed. 

-- Overnight:  My dear friend, April, delivered her baby boy ... I was very reminiscent as I dozed off and couldn't wait to hear the good news when I woke up!