Food/House/Life

Project 300ish

2012-02-14T20:52:00.000-05:00

2/8/2012 - Heading to Minnesota - earned her wings!

2/9/2012 - BFFs!

2/10/12 - At the Children's Museum

2/11/2012 - Matching jammies!!

2/13/2012 - Daredevil child - She did this the same day her aunt jumped out of a plane. Oh boy!

2/14/2012 - Happy Valentine's Day!

Project 300ish

2012-02-07T20:13:00.000-05:00

1/26/2012 - sick baby with a double ear infection

1/27/2012 - Uncle Caleb came to visit

1/28/2012 - French braids!

1/29/2012 - Trying out the new stroller! Love it!

1/31/2012 - Snoozing

2/2/2012 - Ben and his pinewood derby car

2/3/2012 - Madelyn, the 4 wheelin' viking

2/4/2012 - mmmm spaghetti

2/5/2012 - Madelyn's first shiner

2/6/2012 - Checking out Jungle Java

2/7/2012 - mmmm 1 hour glucose test

2012 goals - January check in

2012-02-02T13:14:00.000-05:00

We are already pushing into February which means it is time to check in and see how I'm doing on my 2012 goals.

Meal Planning - I did pretty well here but am still going to make some changes. I did a full menu plan for 2 weeks. The third week, I tried to make do with food we had around the house, mostly frozen meats to keep the grocery bill down. It seems like meal planning definitely increased my weekly grocery bill. I have also been buying for the Once a Month Cooking throughout the month (still have to do my big cooking day) so I'm hoping that is where the bulk of the cost is going. Plus, here I sit on Monday with no meal plan for this week. I've found the weekly meal planning is definitely easy to get burnt out on so I might turn this into an every other week meal planning coupled with eating freezer meals in between. It will still build up my freezer stash, just not as quickly.

Couponing - I have ordered coupons once but haven't been able to hit a sale yet. I am waiting patiently, ready to go.

Purge My House - Man alive scanning pictures takes forever! I am down to my last 2 photo albums so this one has to continue onto February. I made it about 25% of the way through the basement until I hit the photo albums and this has definitely slowed me down. At the same time, Nick has cleaned out Ben's future bedroom which is creating more clutter - overwhelming but hopefully this is the biggest project for the house.

Pay Something Off - Still just plugging away with monthly payments.

Timeblock - This is another one that needs to get revamped. It is way to hard to decide what times to get things done around here since Madelyn's naps are fluctuating like whoa these days. Instead I have turned it into a general game plan for the day. I first decide if I'm staying home or hitting the roads. I then create a mini to do list for the day and accomplish it as time allows.

Focus on Work - I'm still under the non compete so this goal isn't full steam ahead yet.

Reduce Plastic/Nasty - Embarassed to say I've done nothing here

Project 365 - As I'm sure you've seen - this has been revamped into Project 300ish and it seems to be going well.

Pinterest - I did pretty good here this month! I made several of the recipes and they turned out pretty well. I am actually ahead of schedule on this one!

VBAC - I've just been focusing on staying active, taking advantage of the warm days when we have them and getting outside for walks plus doing yoga. I have also been doing some of the stretches on spinning babies. I have my 1 hour glucose test in a couple of weeks so that is the next hurdle.

Monthly Goal Check - Done and done!

Project 300ish

2012-01-25T20:34:00.000-05:00

1/17/2012 - Trying to get monthly pictures with a wild woman isn't easy

1/18/2012 - Don't let them fool you, they are really buddies

1/21/2012 - I love that she crosses her legs all.the.time.

1/22/2012 - This is what happens when you leave ordering pizza up to your husband.

1/23/2012 - I delegated folding laundry

1/24/2012 - The best things in life are free

1/25/2012 - Bubbles are as much fun for cats as babies

Future Roller Coaster Rider...

2012-01-24T16:28:00.000-05:00

Madelyn's 14th Month

2012-01-17T11:23:00.000-05:00

Big things this month! I feel like Miss. M is on the verge of leaving babyhood and moving full force into toddlerdom!

Words - Zzzzzzthhhhhhge (Ziggy). Mo! (more). Woo woo (woof woof). Baw (ball). Dahg (dog).
I can ask her questions and she will respond now which is helpful when it comes to mealtime.

Personality - Madelyn is full of it! She has mastered her "Mom, you are SO not cool and really annoying me right now" face. She has also started yelling at Ben if he is bugging her. Even though it sounds like rrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhh, there is no mistaking she is basically saying "leave me alone"! Miss. M is loving her mama these days and I am not complaining. She loves giving hugs and just sitting in my lap while she plays. It has made cooking dinner a little challenging since that tends to be her witching hour. I've broken out the Ergo again and she is content to just hang out on my back while I cook. Fortunately, the Ergo still fits even with my growing bump. She also loves to give her "oh wow, I'm so surprised by whatever you just did face" and her "are you catching this?" faces.

Walking - She is so close! Miss M. can walk between people and can also walk to me from the couch or ottoman but she has yet to walk from one object to another. She prefers to walk when there is a crowd to cheer her on. I know she is capable but just doesn't feel the need yet. She has also gotten better at just standing on her own but mostly does it when she is distracted and not realizing what she's doing.

Eating - Madelyn has gotten better about eating meat but drinking milk is still a no go. She likes using a fork or a spoon but hasn't mastered getting the food onto her utensil. If we put the food on the fork she wants to be the one to put it into her mouth. Using utensils has definitely contributed to her willingness to try new foods. If it's on her tray then it's boring but once it's on a spoon, it's a whole new ball game! We went through a phase of her throwing her food on the floor when she was done eating. A few days on strict "no's" and grabbing her hand before she could drop it plus showing her how to either put it in her cup holder on her tray or give it to us ended that habit. We figured out she wants her tray cleared off when she's done eating and once we showed her how to get rid of the food she wasn't going to eat, all was good again.

Project 365 catchup

2012-01-16T19:20:00.000-05:00

Turns out remembering to take a daily picture is tricky stuff. I am officially renaming my Project 365 into Project 300ish. I still aim to take a daily picture but if I miss one, I'm not going to drive myself crazy over it.

1/10/2012 - My viking baby

1/11/2012 - 24 weeks - Happy Viability Day!

1/12/2012 - Twins!

1/14/2012 - My first attempt at baking donuts

1/15/2012 - Beer 'n Brats Nachos

Project 365 - Day 3

2012-01-09T19:29:00.000-05:00

Little old lady in her recliner with her afghan and a good book.

Project 365 - Day 2

2012-01-08T20:02:00.000-05:00

S'more Cake

Project 365 - Day 1

2012-01-07T19:52:00.000-05:00

Go Lions!

2012 goals

2012-01-06T10:02:00.000-05:00

I feel like this blog has gotten pretty baby heavy so I wanted to switch things up a bit. I came into 2012 with all kinds of great ideas for the year swirling around in my head but I know there is no way I will accomplish any of them if I don't write it down somewhere. What better place than here, right? So here we go - my 12 goals for 2012!

1. Meal Planning - I have been doing Once a Month cooking for about 4 months now and it works out really well. I love having meals at the ready when I just don't feel like cooking. It has also made weekly grocery shopping easy because I just pick up the usual produce, dairy, bread, etc - no major grocery shopping. The downside is that I miss going through my cookbooks or magazine recipes and making something new. The other issue I have is that #2 will be joining us in May. I did a pretty good job with freezer meals before Madelyn was born and it would be nice to have a stash built up a again.

My new plan is to continue with the once a month cooking and still incorporate a weekly menu plan. Within the menu plan will be 1-2 days that we pull something from the once a month freezer stash but other than that, I am making something new.

2. Couponing - I haven't really couponed since Extreme Couponers hit the airways. I have officially tossed out my big binder because all my coupons expired and I haven't bought inserts in ages. The problem - my stash is about gone. Yikes! I have been trying to come up with a way to incorporate couponing into our current eating lifestyle. Again, since Madelyn has been born we have cut way back on the processed foods. I also buy mostly organic produce and all organic meats and dairy. It definitely has increased our food bill but if I plan well I can still keep it manageable. Still, there are some staples that it is nice to keep in a stockpile such as pasta, frozen veggies, Ben's lunch items, etc. When I go through an insert, there are only a handful of coupons that I would actually use anymore so it hardly seems worth buying the paper every week. A few months ago I tried ordering the coupons the week of a sale so that I could get the items I wanted but it usually left me with only a day or two to shop.

My new plan - use an online coupon clipping site and order the coupons I will use in bulk when they come out. Very rarely will those coupons go to waste before the expiration date and then I have them handy for whenever the sale hits.

3. Purge My House - Nick and I bought this house planning on having 2 babies while we lived here. Well, we technically have the room for 2 babies but man alive is it crowded. It is amazing the amount of stuff you accumulate just because you have room for it. Fortunately, this pregnancy has removed my sentimental "oh but I might use that" packrat tendencies and I am taking advantage of it. Our basement needs it the most since that has always been the go to area for storage.

My plan - use Madelyn's morning nap as a chance to clean 1 shelf in the basement. I figure if I approach it 1 shelf at a time, I will eventually get it done but it won't get out of control with my short bits of time that I can work on it. Big goals right now - scan all photos onto the computer and then get a backup of some sort. I can't tell you the last time I have looked through old photo albums that are collecting dust - they've gotta go! Convert all cardboard box storage into plastic bins. I am sick of digging through musty cardboard boxes that give no clue as to their contents. Clear storage bins here I come!

4. Pay Off Something - This may cross the line into too much information to share on the internet but oh well. I am so tired of payments. Between my car, our house (with 2 mortgages), 2 rentals and Nick's student loans I am annoyed. Have you ever noticed this about debt? It seems to take ages to go away but as soon as you can clear out a payment the amount of income you can add to another debt is incredible. Our debt is all what the financial advisor in me calls "good debt" but it still is debt and it drives me batty.

My new plan is to get my dang car paid off. My original loan is scheduled to be paid off in August 2015 (5 year loan). I have always paid more than required and as a result should have it paid off by Feb 2013. If I throw 3 extra payments at it this year, I will be done before the end of the year!!! Paid off in half the scheduled time - not bad, right? Maybe I'll use the extra money I save from couponing to make those payments ;)

5. Timeblock - This is a term I knew well when I worked at Edward Jones. And here's the thing, it works. It is just one of those things you have to be diligent about doing. I am great at making todo lists but I am also great at coming up with reasons why they didn't get completed. Timeblocking will also really help with the rest of the goals on my list so it's time to pick back up an old habit!

My plan - It isn't realistic for me to plan out my timeblocking very far in advance because my schedule can change so quickly and #2 isn't even here yet! I will create a general gameplan for the week sometime during the weekend. Something along to the lines of Monday - go to office, Tuesday - stay home, Wednesday - errands, etc. Then, each night after the kiddos hit the sack, I will create a plan for the next day that is much more specific. ie: 7am - get up, 9am - during M's nap, clean 1 shelf, work stuff, 11am - lunch, etc. Granted, the times will need to be a little flexible but it is more about the order in which things are done and how to take advantage of time. It also allows me to prep the night before for the next day's projects such as gather my coupons, prep any food for cooking, etc

6. Focus on Work - I'm still under my gag order with Edward Jones until end of April. #2 is due in May. The timing is about ideal. I am not planning on taking the full 12 weeks like I did with Madelyn, mostly because FMLA isn't really a factor when you are self employed. I also could have worked part time, from home when Madelyn was born but due to to FMLA and disability rules it was all or nothing so I opted to spend that time with her. This time around I am planning on taking a few weeks and then getting back to a work routine in which I can move full speed ahead on getting my clients back!

My plan - I will still work from home a lot of the time but I will be in the office on Monday's and Tuesday's most likely starting in June. I may even start going into the office before that if I have appointments with clients. I am lucky enough that my grandma and mom are able to watch the little ones on those days. They are close enough that I can even go back and forth to the office between feedings for #2. Depending on #2's temperment, I may even have a buddy in the office on days without appointments.

7. Reduce Pesticide/Plastic Nasty - The one part of becoming a mom that caught me the most off guard was the fierce need to protect my children above all other things. It is as if something switches inside of you and your children become #1 in your life, above all other things, no questions asked. The tough part is coming to terms with the fact that there is so much out of your control. If you let it get to you, the fear can be paralyzing. Anyway, once Madelyn was born I really started researching all the nasty that is hidden in our everyday products. Pesticides on produce, BPA in cans, PVC in toys, chemicals in cleaners, etc. It can be completely overwhelming. Throughout Madelyn's first year we dramatically increased the amount of organic food we eat, cut way back on canned goods and tried to limit Madelyn's exposure to plastic toys. I want to keep this going for 2012.

My plan - I would like to switch to all natural cleaners in 2012. I have been using "green" cleaning products but they can be a little pricey so I am going to spend some time researching vinegar and baking soda cleaning methods. Cleaner air in 2012. I know there are certain plants are supposed to be good for purifying the air in your home. I also want to make sure our heating and cooling systems are cleaned out as well.

8. Project 365 - My sister started this on her birthday last year and I think it is a great idea.

My plan - take a daily picture and post it on the blog. There are a lot of the blogs that do wordless wednesday entries. Basically a picture with no content. I figure this is the quickest way to post these pictures since I am terrible about updating facebook. It will also keep me on the blog and hopefully updating here as well.

9. Pinterest - Oh pinterest and my love/hate relationship with you! I love looking through the ideas and pinning to my heart's content but I am terrible at actually completing anything I pin. Terrible.

My plan - complete at least 25 pins in 2012. This can be as complex as a craft or as simple as a new recipe. I just need to do 2 a month plus a bonus. A recipe and a craft and I'm done!

10. Plan a 2013 Trip - I don't know when. I don't know where. But we will travel in 2013.

11. VBAC - I know that there is a chance this won't happen but at the end of the day I won't be at peace with a repeat c-section unless I know I did everything I could do to have a VBAC. I don't want to question or second guess. I don't want could have's and should have's keeping me up at night after the fact.

12. Monthly Goal Check - Pretty self explanatory. I am going to use this blog to check in on the first of every month and see where I am with each of my goals. Wish me luck!!

And here is some cuteness if you managed to make it to the end of this post!

Yup! That's my girl in a viking hat!

22 weeks

2012-01-04T16:06:00.000-05:00

20 more to go!

I had a prenatal appointment with my midwife this morning. Everything is looking good! Blood pressure was 118/68 which I guess I good. I have no idea what is a good blood pressure but I would consistently get higher readings when I was younger which was always attributed to white coat syndrome. Anyway, I always make sure to ask if I am where I should be.

I only gained 2lbs this month. I was definitely dreading the weigh in. Aside from no booze another Christmas pregnancy bummer is having to get on that scale right after the holidays. Good fun for all. I was shocked it was only 2lbs but I'll take it!

Baby's heartrate was in the 150s for those who use the heartrate to predict gender.

I am trying to figure out how to incorporate some cardio into my day - I'm thinking some mall walking with Miss. M will be my game plan for awhile.

Other than that, nothing exciting to report. I have my 1 hour gestational diabetes test next time I go. I can't believe I am already to the point in this pregnancy that these tests start. Next thing you know it will be time for the Strep B test and then it's go time!

21 weeks

2011-12-30T10:47:00.000-05:00

#2 is half baked!! Madness! This pregnancy seems to be flying by which is both good and bad. The good - we are that much closer to seeing the next member of the Barish crew. The bad - we haven't even started getting ready for this baby. Yikes! Nick and I are taking this winter to buckle down and begin "Operation Get Ready for a Baby".

Big projects ahead include:

remodeling the former "ebay room" in the basement into Ben's new bedroom. This involves putting in a drop ceiling, drywall, new windows and flooring. It also involves a closet project since the closet that is there now is taking up most of the room. We always pay for these projects by putting the balance on our Lowe's card since it is no interest for a year but I swear, everytime we pay off that card another project comes up that we put back on it. I think I have been paying Lowe's $100 a month for close to 3 years now. Ugh!

Turn Ben's current room into Baby #2's nursery. I have started pulling some ideas and am loving yellow and gray! Check out my Pinterest board! I keep toying with delegating this project to my mom. She does an awesome job with designing interior spaces and I know she would love the project but it would mean I have to give up some control - not my strong suit! This also means we need to buy all new nursery furniture. Ugh! (Turns out second babies cost more than the first around here!) We didn't buy a glider for Madelyn's room but instead used one I had gotten from my parent's a few years earlier. It wasn't the most comfortable thing and as a result we hardly used it. We decided to splurge on a nice glider for #2's room. I made the mistake of sitting in one at Pottery Barn Kids and fell in love - the problem is the $1000 price tag. We won't be buying that one but I now know the style I want.

Find a stroller. The other big purchase we need to make is a double stroller. Sometime this winter we are going to hit up some stores and play around with them. I don't want a giant, clunky thing but I also want to make sure both kids are going to fit comfortably in whatever we choose. The stroller that is leading the way right now is the City Mini Select. I love the stadium seating and all the seating options but again - that stinkin' price tag (starts at $500)

Then there's the small matter of naming this child. Still nothing.

Madelyn's 1st Year

2011-12-29T09:59:00.000-05:00

I started an online scrapbook for Madelyn when she was about 6 months old. I was getting overwhelmed with her baby book, photo albums, calendars, blogging, etc. I wanted something tangible that could track her entire first year complete with text and photos. I admire scrapbookers but am definitely one of those people that does 1-2 pages and then never picks up the project again. Plus, it gets so stinkin' expensive and I am not nearly creative enough.

I found Mixbook and loved that they had preset themes I could choose from and the ability to fully create pages if I wanted to. The project was a little intense when I started because I had to catch up on 6 months worth of information but after that it was easy - maybe 15 minutes a month.

And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the finished project.
Book 2 is already started as well as Baby #2's first book!

Check it out here

Madelyn's Birthday Party - part 4

2011-12-27T11:44:00.000-05:00

Last installment of Miss. M's birthday party! I switched her outfit after the cake since I had found an adorable t shirt on clearance at Target and I needed an excuse to have her wear it.

We also took advantage of having Amy there and got some great family pictures.

All in all, it was a great party and I can't think of anything I would change!

Madelyn's Birthday Party - part 3

2011-12-20T10:19:00.000-05:00

This will be a pretty picture heavy post (not that anyone is complaining) since I have already talked about most of the details.

We ended up getting an oversized cupcake from Kroger for Madelyn's smash cake. I could have made one but since we weren't serving cake I didn't want to deal with all the leftover cake batter. Plus, I figure I've got plenty of birthday cakes ahead of me.

At first, she was a little apprehensive because she didn't like the frosting on her hands. Then my genius baby discovered that by picking up the cake and shoving it into her face she wouldn't get frosting on her hands.

Bon Appetit!

Madelyn's 13th Month

2011-12-18T11:32:00.000-05:00

Well we just flew by 1! Madelyn celebrated her second Thanksgiving this month and I am pretty sure she had a lot more fun this time around. She loved all the food, except the mashed potatoes. What kid doesn't like mashed potatoes? Mine. She also loves when we get together with family because she is the center of the universe and has tons of people to play with.

Still not walking, but she is using her walking toys on a regular basis now. She also likes to walk holding our fingers so it probably won't be much longer. She can stand on her own for about 5 seconds before she figures out what happened and sits down. She never voluntarily stands on her own but I've started putting her down standing where she can't hold anything. I noticed her left foot turns out slightly when she really gets going with walking but her pediatrician isn't concerned. She said it will most likely self correct in a few weeks.

Also, she is slightly anemic. I am not incredibly surprised by this since she hasn't been big on the breastfeeding and isn't a big meat eater either. For now, she is a on a daily iron supplement and we are making a concious effort to get her to eat more red meat and beans. She loves beans but I feel bad giving her the same food all the time so I am experimenting with the meat to figure out how she likes it. So far the winner is ground venison with a little bit of teriyaki sauce. The other food issue we are having is that she doesn't really like to drink the frozen breastmilk or cow's milk. I plan on calling her doctor this week to see what we can do to make sure all her nutritional needs are being met if she doesn't drink milk. I can't say I blame her, I've never been a big milk drinker either. The good news is, she loves yogurt, string cheese and cottage cheese so I'm hoping we can just increase those to hit her goals.

On the breastfeeding front, we are basically done. She occasionally needs it if she doesn't transition well from playing to bed at night but it lasts for about 3 minutes and I'm pretty sure there is nothing there. At this point she is probably breastfeeding 1-2 times a week. I thought I would be sad since she isn't much of a cuddler and that is the only time I really got to love on her. But I think she sensed this and has started just cuddling throughout the day which is awesome.

First word - she's been saying Ma ma and Da da for awhile now but I haven't counted it as her first words. Just this month she has start saying "book" - sort of. She knows what a book is and has her way of saying it - "bock" is more what it sounds like but you get the idea!

Sleep - She is a great sleeper at night but naps are nonexistent at this point. My mom said I stopped napping at one as well so I guess she gets it from her mama. I still lay her down in her crib twice a day and she usually talks to herself and just lays there for awhile. I figure even if she isn't sleeping, at least she is decompressing for awhile.

Teeth - Two more teeth this month for a grand total of 10! They are still coming in goofy though. Her top set have evened out but she has 3 on the right side of her bottom mouth and 1 on the left side. I think there's another on the way since she has been knawing on her fingers nonstop the last few days.

19 weeks

2011-12-15T09:23:00.000-05:00

I think it's fair to say we wouldn't have made it to Christmas before revealing this pregnancy - my body is giving me away! For some reason, I am carrying really high so I am still able to wear my own jeans but they are definitely getting uncomfortable - I am just too lazy to go dig out my maternity clothes.

We had our anatomy scan last week and the baby is looking good! My placenta placement also looks good so that is one more hurdle cleared on the way to a VBAC. C-section moms have a much higher chance of developing placenta previa and although it self corrects a lot of the time, it was something I didn't want to worry about. We didn't find out the gender so that is still a surprise. The tech said she couldn't tell anyway because the baby kept tucking up his/her feet to hide the goods. I don't know if I believe her because with Madelyn's ultrasound the tech said they did have to make sure there was something there and they just mark "Yes" on the sheet rather than "male or female". It makes sense since the whole point of that ultrasound is to make sure everything is forming correctly. Oh well - point is, we still don't know.

That being said, we are having a tough time with boy names. If Madelyn had been a boy, her name would have been Jonathan Michael. I consider that name to still be Madelyn's name - she was either Jonathan or Madelyn. I don't want to use it again so we are back to the drawing board. We both have a pretty strong feeling that this is a boy so I made a deal with Nick. When (not if) we get past this baby's due date and start doing the NST's (which include an ultrasound) and we still don't have a boy name, we will find out the gender at that point to see if it is in fact a boy. At that point, we will be pulling all nighters to name this little guy. My pregnancy brain has convinced me that this baby won't want to be born until we have a name.

Other news - Nick met with my midwife and really liked her. She gave my a referral for a chiropractor and is getting it submitted with my insurance company so I should be able to start that in a few weeks. She also suggested buying a prenatal yoga dvd and doing it on a regular basis to keep myself stretched out and moving. My doula suggested reading as many VBAC success stories as I can get my hands on to help me envision how this birth can go. Fortunately The Bump has a VBAC board and a lot of the women post their success stories so I have been checking that out as well.

Around the beginning on 18 weeks, I started feeling the baby move. I forgot what an awesome feeling that is and love that I am feeling this little bean on a regular basis now.

Weight gain - I gained 4lbs. So much for trying not to gain anything between those appointments. Oh well, I have surrendered to the weight gain at this point. I could gain another 32lbs and still weigh less than I did when I had Madelyn. I don't intend to gain another 32lbs so I figure no matter what, I will be ahead of where I was with her. Thankfully, I was able to get about 10lbs below my prepregnancy weight before getting pregnant again.

Madelyn's Birthday Party - Part 2

2011-12-12T09:19:00.000-05:00

With the theme for Madelyn's party being "1 year old in a flash", it actually made decor a pretty easy task. I just took advantage of all the free photo print offers that Rite-Aid, Target and Walgreens have this time of year and printed a ton of her pictures from the past year. My sister and I spent a day cutting them into shapes and Molly even got creative enough to cut some into the shapes of leaves (incorporating the fall theme). I also printed her monthly pictures and strung those across our doorwall to show how much she has grown. The rest of the pictures we stuck throughout the kitchen and livingroom. I put a few on the dessert table as well.

Target's dollar spot actually had a bunch of baskets, paper plates, napkins, table clothes and glitter leaves right about the time I picked her theme so I scooped up a bunch of that stuff! It worked out perfectly! After the party, I was able to throw away all the table clothes and paper products which made clean up a dream. I also put all the pictures in a little bag and Madelyn loves taking them out of the bag and looking at them all the time.

Picture time!

We used the balloons a couple days earlier at her 1 year photo session and Ben made the sign!

Nick bought Madelyn flowers when I sent him out on one last shopping trip - super cute!

I found a seller on Etsy that let me pick the colors for the tutu and included the flower headband as well!

Madelyn's Birthday Party - part 1

2011-12-10T05:45:00.000-05:00

I have so many pictures of Madelyn's birthday party that I want to share so I decided to break it up into parts!

Part 1 - Party Food
Part 2 - Party Decor
Part 3 - Early Party and Cake
Part 4 - Late Party and Gifts

If you know Madelyn, you know she is obsessed with pictures, especially pictures of herself. She could spend hours looking through photos. Keeping this in mind, I searched online for first birthday party ideas and came across "1 Year Old in a Flash". Sold! I designed the invites based on the one I found online and had them printed.

I will get into more decor details in the next post. I also decided to hire a photographer for the party and I would say that was the best use of our budget, hands down. Amy was able to capture all the images I wanted and I could spend my time enjoying the party! Plus - it fit the theme! All the pictures are courtesy of Amy with Pure Amour Photography.

It was going to be a tight fit in our house so I needed to come up with an alternative to a sit down meal. I decided to have buffet style soup, salad and sandwiches ready to go when guests arrived. Everyone loved it! And it was super easy for me because I didn't have to worry about serving a meal. Also, I decided to forgo the birthday cake and instead created a fall desserts table. Again, it eliminated the need to serve everyone at once and guests could just choose what they wanted to eat.

Onto the pictures!

We set up several card tables in the livingroom for seating.

14 weeks!

2011-12-07T08:10:00.000-05:00

14 weeks! Eep! I am officially out of my own version of the first trimester! (42 weeks/3 trimesters = 14 weeks)

No big news to report. The prematernity clothes are still holding and I actually just bought a size smaller jeans the other day which was exciting. I needed new jeans since every pair I owned had patches somewhere. Lovely.

Anyway, my brother called me out this week but hopefully I dodged a bullet. He said he knew I was pregnant because I was drinking a McDonald's iced tea. I drank iced tea all the time when I was pregnant with Madelyn and I am shocked he remembered this. The funny thing is tha*t I never stopped drinking the tea once she was born so it isn't really a pregnancy craving this time around, just more of a habit.

I told him I still hadn't gotten a period since Madelyn was born (which technically isn't a lie) and I think I entered TMI zone for him and he dropped it.

Still holding steady on the weight gain and I am hoping to have gained zero lbs by my next appointment. We shall see.

That's all for now, folks! Stay tuned...

*Last prewritten post! Big ultrasound is today!

12 weeks

2011-12-06T08:11:00.000-05:00

12 weeks down - 30 to go! I am still continuing to believe that this baby will be 2 weeks late. I am also planning on a 4 day labor. I figure, I will plan for the longest possible scenario and then I can be estatic when that isn't what happens.

Well it's been awhile so let's update.

We still haven't gone public with this pregnancy. I want to let some friends soak up their glory of new babies and pregnancies before announcing. Also, we went public fairly early with Madelyn and it is a loooooong time to wait for the little one's debut so we are going to spare everyone the waiting period as much as possible. Lastly, Madelyn isn't even 1 yet and I want her to get her first year all to herself and not have to share the spotlight at all. Not that she cares but oh well. We are hoping to make it to Christmas before the big reveal but that would put me at 20 weeks and I don't know if my body can hold out. Which brings me to my next topic....

Weight gain. I've gained about 5lbs so far with this pregnancy. Not too bad but I don't remember where that is in comparison to Madelyn. I am still in my normal clothes and I think I can stay in them for a bit longer.

Birth plans - we met me with another homebirth midwife but didn't really click with her. I had high hopes because she is a VBAC mom herself but this woman is about to be all up in my jazz and if I don't feel immediately comfortable, I would rather not go that route. I also had my first appointment with a midwife through UofM which is where I am getting my prenatal care until we make a decision. I really liked her! She had already reviewed my operative report from Madelyn's c-section and the first thing she told me when she came in was that because I was able to dialate to a 10 and ultimately the c-section was a result of fetal distress my chances of a VBAC are over 80% and my scenario tends to be her best VBAC scenario in terms of results. She also recommended another midwife through UofM that practices accupuncture and suggested I see her closer to the birth to help ensure optimal positioning and help prime my body for labor since induction is not an option in a VBAC scenario. I asked about chiropractic care and she agreed that it can help align my pelvis and again, help to ensure optimal positioning and gave me a referral. The best news for me - she "lets" her VBAC patients go to 42 weeks before scheduling a repeat c-section. One of the biggset issues women come across with providers that claim to be "VBAC friendly" is that they only "let" the mom go to 39 weeks and if you don't go into labor before then they will push scheduling a repeat c-section.

With regard to UofM and laboring as a VBAC candidate, they do require continous fetal monitoring. She did say they will let you come off the machines for short periods of time but because that is the best way to detect rupture, they do prefer you being monitored most of the time. Thankfully, UofM has telemetry monitoring available which is basically a wireless fetal monitor. This means I can labor while walking, standing or even in the tub!! She also said their staff prefers women labor with as little intervention as possible and are trained to help women labor med free. Music to my ears!!

At this time, I am feeling very comfortable with staying at UofM in the care of the midwives and hiring Stacia as a doula. I don't want to make a final decision until Nick gets a chance to meet my midwife through UofM though. My next appointment is scheduled for December 7th with the anatomy scan right before. Nick will have a chance to meet her then.

Final thought, I am way more chill with this pregnancy than I was with Madelyn. I actually will go through the entire day and forget that I'm pregnant. I was an absolute basketcase with Madelyn and would freak out before every appointment that we wouldn't hear a heartbeat. I have faith in my body this time around and know that it is capable of growing an amazing and perfect little human and as a result it has allowed me to be much more relaxed. Madelyn also serves as a great distraction.

*almost there - one more prewritten post after this!

Monday Morning Recap

2011-12-05T09:50:00.000-05:00

I created a pretty long todo list for myself this weekend but I am pleased to say I got a lot done. Not everything, but close!

Friday

~~go to Capri~~
~~go to Wiggle Worms~~
~~make up nurse appointment for Madelyn~~
~~grocery shop~~
~~wrap Christmas Eve presents~~
check out Ann Arbor's Midnight Madness (Madelyn was a little out of it from her vaccines so we skipped it)
~~figure out my $10 gift for Sunday and a gift for Ben and Madelyn~~
~~figure out if Ben and Madelyn shopping is done (if not, finish it)~~

Saturday

~~take Bandit to the vet~~ (turns out my cat is depressed and is now on kitty prozac. seriously?)
check out Belleville's Winterfest (lighted parade and tree lighting) (change of plans we went to my parent's for dinner instead)
~~wrap Ben and Madelyn's Christmas presents~~
~~wrap $10 gifts for tomorrow~~
~~task Nick to figure out what is going on with the solar Christmas lights~~
~~figure out if Nick shopping is done~~ (if not, finish it)
~~buy $20 gift for the 17th~~
~~Ben has friend over for playdate~~
figure out the rest of Caleb's gift (and buy it)

Sunday

~~Capri Bakery Christmas party~~
wrap Nick's Christmas presents
finish gluing Madelyn's quiet book pages and make a new page
~~figure out Christmas baking schedule~~
wrap Caleb's Christmas presents

Sunday kind of fell apart but I am pretty pleased with the way the rest of the weekend worked out. Turns out my brother is impossible to shop for so it is back on the list! I am also procrastinating like you wouldn't believe when it comes to Madelyn's quiet book. Ugh!

How did you do?

Weekend Planning Blog Hop

2011-12-02T08:11:00.001-05:00

I tried this a couple of weeks ago and it was incredibly helpful in making sure I got everything done. With Christmas coming up, faster than I can believe that means my TODO list is getting out of control. So here I am, back to the blogosphere for some accountability - I will get all of this done this weekend!!

Friday

go to Capri
go to Wiggle Worms
make up nurse appointment for Madelyn
grocery shop
wrap Christmas Eve presents
check out Ann Arbor's Midnight Madness
figure out my $10 gift for Sunday and a gift for Ben and Madelyn
figure out if Ben and Madelyn shopping is done (if not, finish it)

Saturday

take Bandit to the vet
check out Belleville's Winterfest (lighted parade and tree lighting)
wrap Ben and Madelyn's Christmas presents
wrap $10 gifts for tomorrow
task Nick to figure out what is going on with the solar Christmas lights
figure out if Nick shopping is done (if not, finish it)
buy $20 gift for the 17th
Ben has friend over for playdate
figure out the rest of Caleb's gift (and buy it)

Sunday

Capri Bakery Christmas party
wrap Nick's Christmas presents
finish gluing Madelyn's quiet book pages and make a new page
figure out Christmas baking schedule
wrap Caleb's Christmas presents

Okay, so it is a little overwhelming right now but I can do this!

What are you up to this weekend?

9 weeks!

2011-12-01T17:39:00.000-05:00

That's right folks! We've got a due date. May 9, 2012! Now, I am planning on a June baby. Not because there is anyway I would actually have this baby in June but because I drove myself nuts last time around and the little stinker decided to really make me work for it by coming a week late. This way, I will be happy when this one makes a debut in May.

I had my first ultrasound today for dating purposes and got to see the little bean's heartbeat - 167. I have to say the whole thing is even more exciting this time around because I already have a glimpse of what I get in the end of this whole process - another sweet face to squish!!

Still getting a little queasy here and there and mega tired but other than that, life is good. Per my home scale, I am actually losing weight and really would like to keep my weight gain to a minimum this time around. I gained about 30lbs with Madelyn and lost it all plus 5 more after she was born but I still have a few extra pounds I could stand to lose so if I could keep my weight gain around the 20lb mark I would be a happy mama.

Still in my regular clothes but they are getting a little tighter at the end of the night.

On the VBAC front - I am signed up with the CNM through UofM and intend to go that route until I make a decision. Nick and I are meeting with another homebirth midwife later this month for another perspective and I have my first appointment with the hospital midwife this month as well.

Financially, it is actually cheaper for me to deliver in the hospital versus home birth because Nick just enrolled in awesome insurance through work. We have $10 co pays and pay $0 for delivery. In a home birth scenario, we would be responsible for 100% which is in the $2000-$3000 range. I really don't want money to be a deciding factor in this but it is something to consider.

I also can't seem to shake the "what if" factor. What if something goes wrong? I know if I can't get over this, it will be hard for me to trust my body to do what it needs to do to get this baby here safely. I am now thinking about laboring at home as long as possible and then heading to the hospital for the actual delivery. Plus, if I'm being honest - the couple days in the hospital doing nothing but love on this new baby is a pretty nice thing. I can see me pushing myself to do too much too soon if I am at home. Still, and I know I've mentioned this before, my concern is that most ruptures occur before the pushing stage of labor. Ruptures are typically detected through fetal monitoring. If I can find a doula that is willing to do fetal monitoring as well I would feel more comfortable with this scenario. A lot of midwives are also doulas and you can hire them in either capacity but I don't know if they will mix the roles and provide some midwifery care when acting as a doula.

Ugh - so much to think about!

**only 2 more backdated posts to go!

?? + 1 Weeks

2011-11-30T09:23:00.000-05:00

We met with Stacia with Trillium Birth Services to discuss both her midwifery services if we elect a home birth and her doula services if we elect a hospital birth. She has been a part of close to 200 births, 50 of which for her doula services. She has also participated in 20 VBACs which is comforting. She gave us all the facts we were looking for and didn't push us in one direction or another which I really liked. I also liked that she still has a lot of ties to the medical community, specifically UofM and as a result has relatively smooth transfers if they are necessary.

She asked me how far along I was and I gave her my story so she offered to do a quick external exam and see if she could feel my uterus. She said that if she could, it can mean I am 11-12 weeks along or that I have a full bladder. Well, she could feel it. Oh boy - if I am really that far along then Nick and I are one of the .01% that ends up with the faulty condom - go figure.

I still have an appointment with Taubman next Wednesday that will include an ultrasound for dating purposes so we shall see. Stay tuned!

**These are still posts from before we announced.

Madelyn's Twelfth Month

2011-11-28T21:32:00.000-05:00

I can't believe she's 1! How did this happen? This past year has been a learning experience more than any other time in my life. The biggest thing I've learned is what it means to have a part of yourself walking around this world, separate from you. I can't get over how much I am madly in love with this baby girl - there are times I feel like I might actually burst! Watching her discover new things and grow into the person she will be are turning out to be the proudest moments of my life.

So let's recap - what happened this month?

Another tooth! #7 popped through. It was the other first molar so Madelyn's mouth is starting to look a little more symmetrical. This guy came through with relative ease, just some major fist knawing and a little drool.

Peek-a-boo. If I say "peek-a-boo!" Madelyn will cover the lower half of her face with her hands. I then say "peek!" and she will wait until I say "a-boo" before slowly moving her hands away. It is beyond adorable. At this moment I don't have a video but hopefully she will cooperate in the next few days and I'll be able to capture it.

Music - this girl loves to rock out! She has even started shaking her groove thang to the beat. She doesn't normally pay any attention to the TV when it is on...UNLESS they are breaking out in song in the newest Glee. She becomes mesmerized until the song ends and then moves back to whatever she was doing.

Technology - I don't know if it is because she sees us using it all the time or if there is a genuine interest there but she is fascinated by all things technology. Cell phones, lap tops, ipad, ipods, etc. I think the interest in cell phones is because she knows her pictures are on there and she wants you to show them to her. The ipod works with her love of music and she has figured out how to work it so she can listen when she wants. I think the lap tops are just because she can press on the keys. The ipad - well, duh - facetime! (This kid loves herself!)

Favorite foods right now - scrambled eggs, peas, corn, hummus, bread, yogurt, beans, meatballs and bananas. What I am so amazed by is how definitive she is in what she likes and more importantly, does not like. Mashed potatoes for example - it doesn't matter how we give them to her, they will be right back out of her mouth as quickly as they went in. I have to give her credit, she will try anything but will not eat it if she doesn't want to. Ziggy is loving her current phase of dropping food once she's done eating. Me, not so much.

Favorite things to do -

Wiggle worms - it is a group of similar aged babies that are all "crawling" but not yet walking. There is open play, a song period and then more open play. She absolutely loves it! She has begun recognizing the songs and will anticipate the actions that go along with them. They also work to calm a meltdown when we are at home. She loves playing with the other babies in a room that has more toys than she's ever seen!

Going to Capri - we've started a little tradition of going to Capri every Friday. The ladies expect us and absolutely fawn over Madelyn while I am able to eat a lunch uninterrupted! A couple times they have been pretty busy when we've been there so I will throw Madelyn in the Ergo, tie on an apron and help out a little. She loves interacting with the customers and let's be honest - she love love loves the food!

Shopping - I don't think it is the actual act of shopping that fascinates her. It is more sitting in the cart and flirting with the fellow shoppers. She will find a target about 3-4 feet away and start flirting. She will keep this up until this person acknowledges her, at which point she batts her eyelashes and looks down like she is a shy child. It is both adorable and ridiculous at the same time.

Books - still love 'em!

She is loving her Grandma (my mom) these days and it gives me a much needed break since there are times she would rather Grandma hold her than me.

Time to child proof! She has started opening cupboards and was originally just playing in cupboards that held "kid friendly" items. She loves the pantry and I thought I had organized it so that she could play on the bottom shelf. Well she figured out how to open the pita chips and I came into the kitchen to find Madelyn sitting among pita chips and snacking while she played. Oh my! Up onto a higher shelf went the pita chips. Next, she must have grown or figured out how to climb because she was able to reach the next shelf which included the powdered Nesquik. Next time I was into the kitchen she has pulled that down and is sticking her fist into the container and eating powdered Nesquik - oh baby girl! Time to lock up the pantry!

Sleep - we currently have a pretty good groove going! (I'm knocking on wood over here) She goes down around 7:30-8pm and will sleep until 7-7:30am. If she wakes up, she will fuss while she roots around for her pacifier. Once she finds it, back to sleep she goes. If she wakes up before I am ready to get her up, I will hear her playing in her crib and I've started sneaking her Laugh & Learn Puppy and a couple books in there after she falls asleep. These usually keep her entertained until I am ready to get her up.

Again - another good month! I'm loving it!!

?? Weeks

2011-11-27T23:11:00.000-05:00

Please ignore my ridiculous hair in this picture. I didn't document my pregnancy with Madelyn very well and really wish I had (sorry kiddo) so I am attempting to do a better job this time around. I also am going to be doing a lot more research on VBAC and various birthing options so I intend to use this space as a place to sort my thoughts and possibly help someone else.

Pregnancy #2 so far:

1. Tougher with a mobile Madelyn at home already. I forgot how tired you are in the first trimester and there is no napping this time around. Nick has definitely stepped up and started taking Miss. M when he gets home from work. Even 30 minutes of being able to veg on the couch does wonders for my energy. I am pretty much following Madelyn to bed at night but oh well.

2. I'm predicting boy with this one. I know I said I thought Madelyn was a boy but that was because I wanted a girl so badly that I figured I would end up with a boy. To be honest, I never had a gut feeling with her. This one, I do. I just feel boy. That, and I feel nauseous which wasn't the case with M so maybe there's a little man swimming around in there. I can 100% say, I don't care if this baby is a boy or girl. And I don't even kind of have my fingers crossed one way or the other.

3. We are looking at alternative birthing options. I fully believe I was destined to fail when I walked into UofM 10 months ago. I believed my body would know what to do and that I would be strong enough to refuse all the medical interventions but 2 days of labor and not sleeping got to me and I ended up caving. I also fully believe, I will have to fight every step of the way in that hospital to VBAC with this baby. What does that leave us with? Birthing centers, a different hospital and home birth or a different avenue at UofM.

From what I have read, the #1 priority for those having successful VBACs was finding a supportive provider. Here is my beef with hospitals. Everyone has adopted this "team" approach with their pregnant patients. You will see one doctor throughout your pregnancy but then when you head into the hospital, your birth will be attended by one of the "team". Well your provider may be on board with a VBAC but who is to say the doctor on duty that day will feel the same way. The doctor who performed my c-section was ready to cut me open from the second she started her shift. I had never met her before and had no idea on her philosophies on birth. I believe, these issues will become even more apparant with a VBAC baby. The medical community is so split on this issue. This seems to be my biggest hang up with delivering at a hospital.

A big recommendation when delivering at a hospital and being a VBAC candidate is to labor at home as long as possible and then show up pushing. You can hire a doula to help keep you at home longer or even a monitrice who has the ability to check you to see how dialated you. My concern here is that a lot of uterine ruptures occur during labor, not during pushing. The best way to monitor for a rupture is to monitor the fetal heartrate. If I am at home for all of my labor, I'm not monitoring the baby's heartrate during that time. At least, I don't think a doula does that.

I like the idea of a birthing center. I don't like that the closest birthing center that does VBACs is over an hour away, in Okemos. I hated the 10 minute car ride to UofM last time, I can't see myself handling a hour+ car ride to Okemos. This left me wondering, how is it Ann Arbor doesn't have a freestanding birth center?

Last option is home birth. I keep going back and forth on this one. The only reason I would consider a home birth is because we live so close to UofM. In actuality, we are closer to the hospital at home than we would be if we went to the birth center in Okemos. I know all the numbers on safety of home birth and the risks as well as the safety and risks of a second c-section. Generally speaking, a c-section is safer for baby but not safer for mom. A VBAC is safer for mom but not safer for baby. In all of my research I came across a forum for VBAC moms and one lady was saying she opted for a VBAC because although it would break her heart to deal with the loss of a child, she couldn't imagine putting her first child through losing a mother. For some reason, this really stuck with me. I also hesitate to use the word "safer" because all this really relates to is mortality rates and we are also playing around with tenths of tenths of percents. In both scenarios the mortality rate is about 0.04%. However, when you take into account other risk factors such as blood loss and infection for mom as well as breathing problems for baby the idea of repeat c-section is not appealing to me.

Anyway, after that rambling trail of thought I come back to this. Although I know home birth is generally considered safe and in some circles it is considered safer than hospital birth, I can't seem to shake the what if scenario that creeps into my head.

At this point, Nick and I are planning on continuing care with the Taubman team that I saw during my pregnancy with Madelyn until we decide which route to go. We visited the birth center in Okemos and although we loved them, we ruled them out due to the distance. I have emailed several midwives in the surrounding area to interview them regarding home birth as well as set up an initial interview with a midwife the practices at UofM.

More to come....

Oh boy!

2011-11-26T19:58:00.000-05:00

2 under 2, here we come!

Due: ??
I realize that sound ridiculous and it probably isn't a very accurate statement but I don't have a last menstrual period to go off of. Nick and I stopped preventing once Madelyn was 9 months old. I had to wait at least 9 months to keep the deliveries 18 months apart, which is important for a VBAC. I hadn't gotten my period and figured it would still be a few months before I got pregnant. I have heard that breastfeeding moms usually get a "warning period" sort of a "hey, you can get knocked up now" type thing but we didn't get that. Obviously, I knew there was a possibility of not getting my period and was totally okay with that, I mean 3 years, no period - who can complain? That being said, I decided to pee on a stick once a month, just in case. I didn't want to end up being one of those ladies on I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant and since my pregnancy with Madelyn was pretty symptom free, it could happen.

Nick was stopping at the store for me on 9/10/11 (day of the UM vs Notre Dame night game) and asked if I needed anything. I told him yes - beer, shredded cheese and a pregnancy test. I wanted to drink a beer or two and figured it would be a good idea to make sure that was feasible. So Nick's in the shower and I decide to test. Surprise! Baby Barish #2 is on the way!!! We figure, due sometime in May.

Disclaimer - This was written awhile ago but I held off on posting until we announced to our families. There are a few posts lined up after this one as well.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T07:56:00.000-05:00

So much to be thankful for today and everyday! Happy Thanksgiving all!

Weekend Planning Blog Hop

2011-11-18T08:16:00.000-05:00

I feel like I just wrote one of these - this week has been crazy! And this weekend will be even crazier! Let's see what's on the list -

Friday

finish shopping for Madelyn's party (Meijer and GFS)
check out Jo Ann's to see if they have a wreath cheaper than Michael's
deep clean my living room
find the best chili recipe ever
get Madelyn's 1 year picture printed for the party

Saturday

quick clean my house (or talk Nick into it)
prep what I can for the party
playdate in South Lyon
set up the house for Madelyn's party
Frankenmuth Christmas tradition

Sunday

Madelyn's First Birthday Party!

Make sure to share your weekend plans!!

Happy Birthday Madelyn!

2011-11-17T03:58:00.000-05:00

My sweet Madelyn Violet,

I am writing this to you at 3:43am on your first birthday. Although not in the plans, something forced me awake at 3:22am and I crept into your room to share with you the moment you came into this world one year ago. I am amazed at how far you have come little girl! You have grown from the squishiest little 8 pounder into an inquisitive, talkative, and hilarious little girl and I love that I have spent every minute of that time with you.

Big things happened in our family this year - one of those being me starting my own firm. I was blessed to stay home with you for 12 amazing weeks. My only job was to take care of my new baby. I went back to work and couldn't stand the idea of not being with you. If I were to miss any of those major milestones in your first year, I never would have gotten over it. Daddy and I talked about it and decided it was time for me to start my own business and also focus on my primary job - being your mom. I went back to work on February 14 and resigned on April 24. I never looked back and have never regretted a moment of being with you.

As beautiful as this past year has been, I know there are even bigger things in store for you in the future! I can't wait to see you experience them all!

All my love - forever and ever,
Mom

Happy House Holiday Challenge - Week 5

2011-11-16T21:21:00.000-05:00

This week was a little better in terms of my daily tasks. I only missed 2 days of sweeping my floor and making my bed (those are tricky for me!). Everything else was a perfect score.

I also finished the bedrooms but forgot to take pictures of the after during the daylight hours (oops!)

I am busting my booty to get the living spaces done this week since I have Madelyn's birthday party on Sunday. I don't want to wait until Wednesday to get it done so I am working overtime through the end of the week.

Monday Morning Check In

2011-11-14T08:24:00.000-05:00

The weekend is over - were you productive?
I did a decent job getting through my list, thanks to Nick stepping in and helping me out a little. He took the job of wrangling Miss. Madelyn so I was able to power through cleaning my car and getting some of my deep cleaning done.

Let's see how I did:

Friday

~~get oil change and tires rotated~~
~~go to Whole Foods for the cheap chicken deal!~~
~~go visit Madelyn's fan club at Capri~~
~~go to Wiggle Worms~~
~~out to dinner with Nick and then hit up Bed, Bath &Beyond for some Keurig pods~~

Saturday

~~finish the blinds in Madelyn's room (part of holiday challenge)~~
~~deep clean our bedroom~~ (still need to change the sheets but everything else is done)
~~vacuum out my car~~
work on Madelyn's quiet book
~~finalize outfits for Madelyn's 1 yr pictures~~

Sunday

~~go to the in-laws for dinner (make pumpkin pie)~~
deep clean Ben's bedroom
find a carwash or wash at home if not freezing
prep for work appointments on Monday

So I really slacked on Sunday's tasks. Mostly because I was making up for not finishing Saturday's stuff on Saturday. Maybe this has something to do with why....

Everything you see scattered in the background was cleaned up about 5 or 6 times.

How did you do?

Weekend Planning Blog Hop!

2011-11-11T10:03:00.000-05:00

Part of the Holiday Happy House challenge this week is to write a daily todo list. Currently, my list is a sticky note on my laptop which works well but when no one else can see it I am much more likely to not finish my tasks. Miss. Madelyn is turning 1 next week! And her party is Sunday - which means I've gotta get my butt in gear! Here is my attempt at holding myself accountable.

If you have some tasks you want to make sure you complete this weekend, be sure to join in the fun! Head on over to My Happy House to get the details!

Onto my tasks:

Friday

get oil change and tires rotated
go to Whole Foods for the cheap chicken deal!
go visit Madelyn's fan club at Capri
go to Wiggle Worms
out to dinner with Nick and then hit up Bed, Bath & Beyond for some Keurig pods

Saturday

finish the blinds in Madelyn's room (part of holiday challenge)
deep clean our bedroom
vacuum out my car
work on Madelyn's quiet book
finalize outfits for Madelyn's 1 yr pictures

Sunday

go to the in-laws for dinner (make pumpkin pie)
deep clean Ben's bedroom
find a carwash or wash at home if not freezing
prep for work appointments on Monday

Happy House Challenge Week 4

2011-11-09T16:08:00.001-05:00

This week was a little meh for me on my daily tasks. Mostly because I didn't really keep track of whether or not I did everything everyday. I know I get 7/7 on emptying the sink, sorting the mail and clearing the clutter. Those items were all either habits before or have become habits. Now the rest of 'em, my best guess is that I'm sitting at around 5-6/7. I think the first thing on my daily todo list for this week is to keep track of my daily tasks.

The bathrooms however, are 100% done! Another 2 full garbage bags of junk out the door and one large bag of old sheets and towels that I donated to the Humane Society. I found the couponer in me competing with the crunchy mama and had to make some tough decisions on a lot of the health and beauty products I have accumulated. I started couponing before getting pregnant with Madelyn and was able to score huge amounts of body wash, razors, shampoo, lotion, etc for free or next to free. Then I had Madelyn and began researching all the gunk that is actually in these products. I don't want to turn this post into a rant about chemicals so I will spare you the details but let's just say most of my stockpile consisted of products I wouldn't use on Madelyn. I also felt bad just throwing it all out. I decided to get rid of all the baby care products since I wasn't going to use them. I kept most of the adult products and just plan on integrating more "green" products as we run out. Fortunately, my family knows they can head into that closet at any time and help themselves so hopefully we won't be holding these products too long. The products I decided to get rid of, I just ended up donating rather than throwing away which made me feel better about it as well.

Anyway - onto pictures....
The bathrooms didn't look that much different overall so I'm just going to share the linen closet.

BEFORE

AFTER

Being a Mom

2011-11-07T15:42:00.000-05:00

This weekend tragedy struck my parent's next door neighbors. The details can be found here but I am not going to go into details as that isn't the point of this post.

I have experienced death in my lifetime. I have even been impacted by the deaths of people closer to me than my old neighbor but for some reason I can't seem to shake this gut wrenching emotion in the pit of my stomach.

I think about this and combine it with having to walk away from the TV when a show Nick and I watch (The Walking Dead) had an episode in which a young boy was shot.

I find myself thinking about and worrying about children of various blogs that are battling cancer and other serious illnesses.

Again, these aren't new experiences for me. I have watched these shows before and heard these stories and always felt for the people involved but it hasn't affected me the way it does now.

The big difference - Madelyn is here.

I am now able to put myself in these parents' shoes and I can't imagine what they are going through. I am able to hug and kiss my absolutely perfect, healthy baby girl and and incredibly grateful that she is happy and safe. It also makes me realize I would do everything in my power to protect her but there are things in life that you can't protect your children from and that is a terrifying prospect.

Being Madelyn's mother is an overwhelming feeling. I love her with every fiber of my being, more than I ever understood I could love another person. If at any time I find myself getting complacent and taking any part of parenting her for granted something happens that brings me back to the reality that every human life is precious and every moment is one to be cherished because there is so much in life that can't be controlled. I take these moments to squeeze on Miss. Madelyn and tell her how very much her mom loves her because at the end of the day that is all that matters.

Happy House Holiday Challenge - Week 3

2011-11-02T19:48:00.000-04:00

This week was a little off for me when it came to the deep clean. I had already deep cleaned our dining area because it is attached to the kitchen and I didn't know where to draw the line. So I took this week to clear some clutter from the basement. I didn't take any pictures because you can't really tell the difference. I ended up clearing out about 7-8 garbage bags worth of ~~junk~~ stuff. Old toys Ben doesn't play with anymore, random appliances that were shoved down there to die ie: our old coffee maker, I purged my fall wardrobe and brought that bad boy upstairs, etc. We also created a storage space for most of the holiday totes in the garage so they are now taking up space out there rather than in my basement.

As far as the weekly tasks go, I did okay.

Empty the sink - 6/7

Make the bed - 6/7

Sweep the floor - 7/7

Clear the clutter - 6/7

Halloween was a tough one when it came to my daily tasks. I just didn't feel like getting everything done after everyone had left for the night.

I am also making a point to maintain the kitchen. I hate to think of doing all that hard work and then just letting it go. This means I have a few more daily tasks that I have given myself:

wipe the counters

wipe the stove

wipe the microwave

oh, and clean up after this little monster that thinks an organized pantry is a terrible idea

Onto the bathrooms!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T21:45:00.000-04:00

My cabbage patch doll and Lego

We had an impromptu Halloween party when all the grandparents decided they wanted to see the costumes!

We stayed toasty warm by the fire

Madelyn cuddled with grandpa while Ben went trick or treating

Then it was time to organize the stash!

Hope you all had a great Halloween!!

Sunday = Fall Day

2011-10-31T10:23:00.000-04:00

The spirit of fall hit me full force today. I woke up deciding today was going to everything I love about this time of year. Here's what we did, in pictures:

Of course we still had to carve Madelyn a pumpkin. And of course we still hadn't bought a pumpkin but I needed to hit up the grocery store anyway so we headed off to Meijer for dinner supplies and a pumpkin. Then I gave Nick explicit instructions on what to carve:

And he did an awesome job! Don't mind the fact that you are going to see pictures of Madelyn in this outfit for 2 days. We had to put her in it for the photo with her pumpkin and then of course, she had to wear it on Halloween.

Then her dad decided to do her hair and convince me that she needed to be Cousin Itt for Halloween. Sad thing is, she could totally pull it off. I just can't bring myself to cut her hair yet but I think the big day is getting closer.

While they were playing beauty parlor in the other room, I made these pumpkin seeds. They are addictive - consider yourself warned!

After all the pumpkin carving glory, we took this maniac for a walk in the woods. He goes absolutely nuts chasing after squirrels and running like a wild man. Madelyn is working on clacking her tongue which we have decided is her squirrel call. She is trying to help Ziggy hunt.

Then it was time for dinner. I made Chicken Noodle Soup. It was amazing!

And blueberry pie! Yum!

Then it was time for bed for Miss. Madelyn. Read her a Halloween book and tucked her in, just in time for Nick and I to catch the newest episode of The Walking Dead.

Happy House Holiday Challenge - Week 2

2011-10-26T16:16:00.000-04:00

Good news - we made it through the week!! Bad news - I didn't accomplish everything.

Make the bed - 6/7 - Now onto the excuses. My mom's dog got fleas and since Ziggy spends tons of time with Cedar we just assumed he had gotten them too. This turned our weekend into "Operation Flea Removal". Not fun. Normally, if you just have a dog with fleas it isn't as bad but because we have cats and they could have gotten them too we had to wash every single soft surface in our house. That much laundry resulted in not making the bed one day because of the laundry backup. Thankfully, we never found a flea so I don't know that Ziggy actually got them but better safe than sorry. I have never vacuumed my house so much. Ugh!

Empty the sink - 7/7! - Go me!

Deep clean the kitchen - done and done! The really good news....our dining area is attached to our kitchen and I wasn't sure where to stop the deep clean so I already did this week's deep clean as well! I am going to deep clean the bedrooms this week instead. I'm not sure if that will be part of the challenge but I figure they could use it.

Here is what I learned in deep cleaning my kitchen.

1. I accumulate a lot of stuff that I never end up using. I wound up with at least 4 bags of food, dishes, dish towels, utensils, etc that I either forgot we had or we haven't touched in at least a year. I was feeling motivated so out of the house it went! The big purge felt good!

2. Cleaning with a mobile baby puts an even greater challenge into the Happy House Challenge. Madelyn wants to be a part of everything and I wound up vacuuming her pants many times because she just loved crawling in the dirt.

3. Deep cleaning for me = Extra projects for Nick. As I was crawling into crooks and crannies to clean every cobweb, I also managed to find little things I need Nick to fix in the kitchen. On his todo list now: repaint the kitchen trim and touch up some peeling tiles on the floor.

KITCHEN BEFORE

KITCHEN DURING aka - my helper

KITCHEN AFTER

please ignore that open drawer - didn't realize it until just now and I'm too lazy to go take another picture.

Madelyn's 11th month!

2011-10-18T13:08:00.018-04:00

Heat of teething = sad baby

One more month and Miss. M is the big one year. And I am one sad mama bear. I love the little lady she is becoming but I definitely miss her squishy baby days. Well let's recap.

Food - She has definitely starting making her preferences known. Right now those favorites are scrambled eggs, corn, peas, bananas, yogurt, string cheese, bread and mushrooms. Nick and I tried giving her some mixed veggies that included corn, peas, green beans and carrots. This girl picked out every single pea and corn kernel but wouldn't touch the carrots or green beans. I even tried cutting the green beans to resemble peas. Didn't matter. Now she likes to put all the food she isn't going to eat into her cup holder on her high chair. And once she's done eating, Madelyn decides to share her leftovers with Ziggy by dropping each piece on the floor one at a time. Ziggy has figured out this game and lays under her high chair the entire time she eats. I am amazed by how much food she manages to put away - must be a growth spurt!

At Dad's 30th birthday dinner

Teeth - Nick and I better start saving now for the inevitable braces. Her teeth are coming in the most bizarre order I have ever seen. She got another one this month. One of her premolars made it's debut. I don't know which one since there aren't any other teeth back there to use as a reference. This tooth was a beast to get through. Poor Madelyn had all the traditional teething symptoms. Runny nose, slight fever and just generally out of it for a few days. She wanted to spend most of her time in her crib knawing on her pacifier and being left alone. Fortunately, she kept up her eating and drinking habits so she didn't end up getting sick. She has just started this process again in the last day and I think we've got another tooth on the way. Poor girl!

No teeth pictures but here she is enjoying one of those warm fall days

Tricks - Madelyn's newest trick is giving kisses. If you ask for a kiss, she will tilt her face up to you and thrust her chin/lips out so you can give her a kiss. She then likes to repeat this 10-20 times.

Loves - I found an idea on Pinterest to wrap a different Halloween book for each day in POctober and use that as a countdown to Halloween. She makes a beeline to the book bucket everytime I put it on the floor and can't wait to pull out a new book. Miss. M is getting better at unwrapping the package and loves reading each new story. After I finish the book, she will spend the next 30 minutes or so flipping through all the books from the previous days. This kid loves to read and it makes me estatic!

Pets - Madelyn has definitely started interacting with the critters more this month. For some reason, Fang enjoys the abuse and will seek Madelyn out when she is playing and then roll around near her while Madelyn tugs at her tail and "pets" her belly. She is surprisingly gentle with the animals and squeals everytime she is able to touch one of them.

New friend - Just one day shy of Madelyn's 11 month birthday, her newest friend Lilian Eaton joined the world! Of course we ran right up to the hospital to meet her and capture a picture of the two newest BFFs. Congratulations Georgette and Chuck!!
Overall, a great month!!

Holiday Challenge

2011-10-13T16:14:00.001-04:00

I have been following Molly at My Happy House for awhile now and always creates these organizing/cleaning challenges. They are super simple and don't take a lot of time but I can't seem to get over my laziness and actually participate. Well not anymore folks, I am joinging the My Happy House Challenge! I am hoping by blogging about it on here, I will hold myself accountable and actually complete this challenge. In her post, Molly shares that Thanksgiving is only 6 weeks away! 6 weeks! Stop it! This is even more frightening because Miss. Madelyn was born 1 week before Thanksgiving which means I not only have the holidays coming up but a 1st birthday party as well!!

If you want to check out the challenge head on over to My Happy House!

Sibling love

2011-10-06T15:20:00.000-04:00

Like I said - Madelyn thinks Ben is just super.

Eating fruit at Uncle Caleb's football game

Having a serious conversation about where to put the Halloween window clings

Go Blue!

2011-09-22T19:32:00.000-04:00

THEN

ignore the date (it's clearly wrong)

NOW

Madelyn's 10th Month!

2011-09-18T08:12:00.000-04:00

My kid is hilarious! HI-LAR-I-OUS! I find myself laughing at her several times throughout the day. Her facial expressions and voices are so varied and spot on for whatever situation she is in. She is seriously oozing personality as if it can't be contained in her little body.

Big things this month:

1. Pulls to standing. She first did it in the middle of the night and I thought to myself when I walked in the room around 4am, "Self, I should go get my camera and capture this moment" but then I remembered it was 4am and I would rather be sleeping so I waited until morning. This resulted in a few challenging nights until she figured out how to let go of the crib rail and sit back down. She would pull herself to standing and then not be able to get down which would result in crying until one of us would help her down. She would then pull herself up again as soon as we left the room. Wash, rinse, repeat for at least an hour each night. Now she pulls herself up on everything which means we are to the next phase of baby proofing. I think the worst incident was when she pulled the kitchen chair down on herself. Thankfully, we have pretty light kitchen chairs so it didn't hurt her but it definitely caught her off guard. Since then, it hasn't been an issue.

2. Waving bye-bye. She finally figured out waving bye bye and has even added a "ba" when she does it. In true Madelyn fashion, she will only wave when she wants, not when we want to show her off.

3. Clapping. I am still working on getting this on video but she is very excited to finally clap with her hands unfisted since she can make noise this way.

4. Food - she went through a phase in that she only wanted food in it's original form. Corn - on the cob. Peaches - don't cut them. Bananas - whole. Bread - give me the whole slice. Then she went through a phase where she wanted all her food cut up into bite sized pieces so she could eat it out of a bowl like the fancy schmancy girl that she is. Now she's somewhere in between but I'm pretty sure she will always eat corn on the cob. She thinks she is too cool for school with that one.

5. Other things worth mentioning. Since birth, Madelyn has crossed her feet at the ankles. It is the most adorable thing I've ever seen. She will do it when she eats, sleeps or is just playing.

Madelyn thinks her brother Ben is super and goes absolutely nuts whenever he comes in the room. She also sticks her face to the glass door when he leaves.

I think we are getting close to the end of her nursing days. She is only nursing 2-4 times a day and it is usually only when I offer it to her. I would really like to get her to a year and then use my stash to have her continue to get breastmilk until that runs out. I really don't see weaning being an issue with her - she's just got too much other stuff to do.
She pulls every.single.book off her bookshelf every.single.day. My mom finds this hilarious because I used to do the same thing and she thinks it's karma coming back to me.

6. Potty training. Yup, I said it. Miss. Madelyn has some very distinct sounds when she is going to trash her diaper. She also makes these sounds a good 2-3 minutes before she actually starts to go to the bathroom. I was telling my mom this and she suggested taking her into the bathroom when she does it so she starts associating the bathroom with going to well, the bathroom. Since Madelyn is cloth diapered and I really don't love dealing with the poopy diapers now that she is eating solids I decided to take it a step further and put her on the toilet when she makes the noises. It has been 3ish weeks since we've been doing this and it is working out really well. I LOVE not having to deal with those diapers and she thinks she is the coolest kid ever when she is sitting on the toilet. Who knows if it will make potty training easier but it's worth a shot.

7. New teeth. Madelyn has fangs. They both came in on the same day and she got through it like a champ. No fussing, no drooling. Just one day, there were 2 more teeth. Her smile is absolutely ridiculous now.

8. Last big thing - Madelyn's newest friend, Charlie Fraylick was born! August 26th - Finally there was another baby that decided due dates were BS and came late. I was beginning to think I had the only stubborn child when it came to this. Anyway, he was a whopping 9lbs 1oz and 22.5" (yes, I typed that correctly) - way to go Mama Kristyn!! Welcome to the world, Charlie!

It's long enough for....

2011-09-06T22:11:00.000-04:00

....French braids!
I've been dreaming of this day since she was born. I used to love when my mom would braid my hair. Now, Madelyn doesn't really feel the same - in fact, she'd rather crawl around like a mad woman than sit and let me play beauty salon but I'm gonna do it anyway. After all, what fun is there in having a girl if you don't play dress up and put bows in her hair all day.

Madelyn's Ninth Month

2011-08-17T16:50:00.000-04:00

My sweet girl has now been on the outside longer than she was on the inside. She's so big and it makes me sad. I love every new thing she does but I find myself staring longingly at her newborn pictures trying to remember those squishy early moments that are almost impossible to commit to memory.

Miss. Madelyn has officially starting crawling. She started with the worm but that only lasted a week or so. Soon enough she had moved onto crawling on all fours and man alive is she fast! She has also figured out how to open the basement door if it isn't latched completely. She has also discovered the cat door and water dishes - fun!

Waiting for Daddy to come home from work

She has really started working with her pincer grasp and loves foods that allow her to practice. I can't keep blueberries stocked! On the food front, she also loves hummus, zucchini, and eggs. There isn't much she will turn her nose to. Nick and I's families are fixated on giving her ice cream so I am glad I was able to find a tutorial on banana "ice cream". Freeze a banana and then throw it in the food processor - soon enough it turns into an ice cream type consistency that Madelyn seems to love.

The problem with her developing her pincer grasp and her persistenent personality is that she will find the smallest things on the floor and obsessively work on picking them up and stick them straight into her mouth. Much to Ben's dismay, this means the end of Legos in the livingroom. Sadly, we have found a Lego on the floor one to many times and the bright colors are like a beacon to Madelyn.

Her favorite toys are her wooden puzzle and laughing baby doll. Nick has started using the jumperoo with her again and she has figured out how to really launch herself in it. Just when I thought we were safe to put away the swing she started using that again as well. We also installed a swing to our tree in the backyard. Madelyn loves spending time out there and can't get enough time in her new toy!

Just the other day she finally started saying the beloved "ma ma" and it was awesome! I went bananas when she did it so now it is becoming her favorite word since she always manages to get a reaction from me. She picked up the shaking her head no trick again and this time she knows people find it funny. More often than not she will use it at the right time and follow it up with a smile. I've caught her on more than one occasion playing the dog or cat toys - she look up at me, shake her head no and then smile and continue playing. *Sigh* I've got my work cut out for me with this one.

Her fangs seem to be coming in but they haven't broken through yet. It'll definitely make for some interesting pictures once they poke through.

We also "transitioned" Madelyn to her crib this month. I hesitate to use the word transition because it really was a seamless process. We kept with our normal bedtime routine but instead of nursing her in my bed, I nursed her in the rocking chair in her room and put her in her crib instead of the pack n play. She went to sleep without any issues and woke up at her normal times. She has also slept through the night a couple times so I think it was a good move! I had noticed we were waking her up when we went to bed - no matter how quiet we tried to be. Plus, the pack n play couldn't have been that comfy. Add to that the fact that Nick and I would hear every grunt or sigh meant neither one of us were getting a good night's sleep.

First night in her crib

Miss. Madelyn got to finally meet her friend Dexter this month! Yay! I think Madelyn enjoyed not being the oldest one for once and had a friend to interact with that was bigger than her!

Overall, another fantastic month! Keep it up sweet love!!

Fourth of July

2011-07-21T14:23:00.000-04:00

Fourth of July has always been a big holiday in my family. My grandma's birthday is the 4th and for as long as I can remember, the entire family got together for the weekend. Typically we would gather at my grandparents' lake house for a weekend of food (oh the food), water, giant slip 'n slides, boating, family, fireworks and fun. My grandpa usually planned the whole weekend from the deep fried junk food lunch to the AMAZING fireworks show he put on every year. I don't even know the last time I've been to a fireworks show other than my grandpa's.

As you can imagine, this year was going to be rough come July 4. Not only is my grandpa not here to lead this family in our traditions but it was the double whammy for my grandpa in that it was her first birthday without him. Sucks. We asked her what she wanted to do and she said to avoid the lake scene altogether. We decided to spend Fourth of July in the woods instead.

I think it was a great idea and we all had a great time even though I think everyone had their moments in which they reflected on Grandpa not being there. The hardest part for me was my brother lighting off fireworks at night. I think we were all kind of pretending it wasn't really Fourth of July but you can't deny what the fireworks mean.

On the actual 4th, my grandma wanted to visit my grandpa's hunting spots on the property and spread ashes. It was the perfect day to do it and a great way to keep my grandpa "part of the action" that weekend. My dad even created little memorials at each of the locations so you can give him a wave when you drive by on the four wheelers.

Going to spread ashes

At one of the hunting spots

Grandma and her brother (Uncle Dick)

Drinking a beer with a baby on my back. I'm klassy like that.

Madelyn and her Grandma

Bar 10

All in all, it was great to spend that time together as a family and we all realized we will get through this together!

Madelyn's Eighth Month

2011-07-17T22:19:00.000-04:00

Let me just say, I have myself a fiery little 8 month old. This girl has taken to grunting and growling when she isn't getting what she wants. I've got it on video as proof when she gets older and doesn't believe me. I know I talk about how opinionated she is every month but I'm not kidding. We now have full blown "conversations" that go something along the lines of:
Madelyn - ah ba ba ba
Mom - ba ba?
Madelyn - ba da da ba
Mom - really! da da? how about ma ma?
Madelyn - da da
Mom - thanks for the love kiddo
Madelyn - ba

We took our first vacation this month and went up north for Fourth of July. Family tradition and my grandma's birthday dictate that we spend that time with my family. Fourth of July has always been my grandpa's holiday. He organized it, prepped for it, executed it. Since this was going to be the first year he wasn't here we decided to hit up Bar 10 instead of the lake. It was a blast! Madelyn went on her first four wheeler ride and LOVED it! She also loved going on the Ranger and would squeal while she jumped up on down on my lap.

Just a hillbilly baby and her dog

She spent a lot of time in the Ergo while we were up north and she really seems to like it. She can be a part of the action without anyone touching her. She also naps really well in it and I've been able to get over an hour nap out of her whereas in her crib I am lucky if I get 20 minutes. We've used it a lot of shopping as well.

We went swimming while we were up there and she spent some time in her baby pool. Miss. Madelyn loves the water! I'm really glad and hope that by starting her early we will avoid any fears of water in the coming years!

We had so much fun Fourth of July that we followed it up with a second weekend up north. This time the Barish family joined us!

Crawling - we're still working on that one. She is getting really frusterated and it is starting to affect her sleep so I hope she figures it out soon. She has started waking up in the middle of the night and will be on all fours rocking and crying at the same time. She has also started separation anxiety and gets really upset whenever she's left alone in a room. I think once she masters crawling and can "find you" she will calm down. At least that's what I keep telling myself. In the meantime, she is an expert at "the worm" and it seems to be working for now.

Everything is still going well on the food front. No allergies to speak of and she seems to like everything. Her favorites right now are zucchini and peaches. She still isn't a fan of bananas. We also tried eggs for the first time this month and she thought that was super! Her poops have also officially changed and really freaked out about her diapers staining. I have some disposable liners that I inherited somewhere along the way and we've been using those for the time being. I also bought some unbleached muslin that my mom is going to use to make reusable liners. Hopefully it does the trick.

Speaking of diapers, we've officially completed our diaper stash for the rest of her diaper days (hopefully). I decided to go with the Fuzzibunz One Size instead of mediums and I was able to find some awesome deals. The one size should get us the rest of the way so now any diaper purchases will just be because I can't stand the cuteness, not because she needs them.

We also had another giant playdate this month. We went to the Detroit Zoo. Madelyn was more interested in playing with her toys than the animals but I think Ben had a pretty good time!

Overall, it was a pretty decent month but I will say, I am fearing month 9. The last week or so has had some pretty nasty sleep challenges, including one night that made me feel like we were back in the newborn stage. If we don't get this under control soon, I just might lose my mind!

Flipping me the bird after a bedtime battle - told you she was fiesty!

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-21T22:27:00.000-04:00

Nick finished up his semester just in time to celebrate Father's Day. We spent Sunday just hanging around the house eating, lounging and getting odd jobs done. I've mentioned Nick's recent facination with food on a stick and I decided to base an entire day's worth of food around this obsession. It all started with presents...

Ben and Madelyn decided Nick would love a hose reel for the garden hose, a new hose nozzle and some stainless steel skewers (that I had to use for our cooking activities)

Breakfast was pretty basic - just skewered some fruit, a dollop of Cool Whip and a leftover crepe from dinner the night before. That's right - I made crepes. Easier than I thought it would be.

After breakfast, we started the relaxing portion of the day. Nick finally got to use the hammock I got for his birthday over a year ago!

Madelyn decided to hang with Dad for awhile.

Then it was lunch time. I found a cool recipe for BLTs - skewer style. They were pretty tasty. The grilled bread was definitely my favorite!

After lunch it was time to clean the house. And yes, I stayed in jammies all day. That's what Sundays are for.

Nick and Ben worked on a Lego shelving project in the garage.

Then it was dinner time. In honor of my Grandpa, we made Shrimp Boil kebabs. The picture was taken after we pulled everything off the skewers. It was by far the best meal of the day!

Hope you all had a great Father's Day!

Madelyn's Seventh Month

2011-06-21T01:48:00.001-04:00

And the changes just keep coming! I swear I can't keep up with this girl - she is just getting smarter and more physical day in and day out. She had even more big accomplishments this month!

Teeth - two of 'em to be exact! Within three days of each other. We made it through with minimal fussing and really the only reason I knew it was coming was because Madelyn couldn't keep her fist out of her mouth. The first one popped through and I thought, that was easy. Out of nowhere the next one popped through. Wow! Didn't see that coming. She seems to love her new chompers as it has made eating a lot more enjoyable which brings me to my next subject....

Solids - Miss. Madelyn L-O-V-E-S solid foods. I'm trying to get beyond the mess factor and let her eat more often throughout the day but ugh the girl loves to create new rockin' hair styles with peaches, sweet potatoes, avocados, you name it. Also - note to new cloth diaper mamas out there - solid foods stain diapers on the outside! A couple of our beloved Fuzzibunz have permanent stains on them and that makes me sad. Still no stains on the inside though! Since I hope to sell the diapers one day, we had to adjust our strategy. Our new method involves a naked baby, bumbo seat and plain old prefold diaper sans cover. The warm weather helps here and so far it is working.

Breastfeeding - this is getting more challenging since Madelyn is so easily distracted. She's always been a fast eater but we're talking 2-3 minutes per side (if I can even get her to eat off both sides). And if there is someone else in the room or the TV is on, forget about it. She's only nursing 4-5 times a day and once at night. Her stats keep going up so I guess she's getting what she needs. The chompers have been a bit of an issue. Yup - she bit me. And my reflexes smacked her little mouth. Now relax, she didn't even cry and really I would call it more of a tap. She actually pulled off and stared at me as if to say, "what - not a fan?" Since that incident she's been kind enough to gently "test bite" as if she's seeing whether or not she'll get away with it and I just pull her off at that time.

Diapers - my chunky monkey is getting to the end of her size small Fuzzibunz and I hadn't really planned beyond that stage. I really like our current diapering system so I want to continue but I'm now scrambling to get some mediums into our rotation before her current diapers start cutting off circulation in her baby thighs. My price point is $10.00 or less per diaper. I am also going to try a few of the one size diapers since I figure the bulkiness won't be as much of an issue at this stage. I've also started line drying the diapers and am always amazed at the power of the sun. It had gotten every.single.stain out her diapers. It also has gotten stains out of some of her clothes that sadly were recipients of blowouts here and there. And there is nothing cuter than a bunch of diapers on the line. Love it! I was also pleased to see that the sun got out old stains as well. I was concerned about drying the diapers all winter and then trying to sun them but it hasn't been an issue.

Rockin' and Rollin' - She's not crawling yet but man alive is she close! She rolls everywhere and has recently started getting up on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth. She has also mastered crawling backwards which works well until she backs herself into a corner, literally and then freaks out until you move her back to her starting position. Wash, rinse, repeat. Madelyn has had a couple face plants into the floor when she's tried to move forward but she keeps trying. I feel bad for her because she's clearly getting frusterated at not being able to move yet but I also am slightly dreading the day she figures it out since we will be chasing her from that point on.

Toys - Madelyn has started to get interested in her toys and there are some real front runners. She loves Sophie and her Nuby teether for chomping on. She loves pulling the blocks out of her sorter and I love asking her to find the "green circle" in the pile as if she understands what I'm even talking about. She also loves any toy that makes noise and will squeal while she reaches out to hug it. She also loves books! Anytime I sit down to read with her she starts jabbering and flailing her arms around like a crazy woman. We had to invest in some cloth books since as soon as the story ends, she wants to eat the book.

Classes - I started taking classes with Madelyn when she was about two months old. Ann Arbor has a great program called First Steps that offers tons of different classes for babies from birth to age five. We started with the Baby & Me Together class which was about 25 minutes of massage, songs and activities. The rest of the time was discussion for the moms which was my real reason for signing up. That and it was nice to have a reason to leave the house. We took that class twice since the next one up was Wiggle Worms and she wasn't quite there yet. This summer we are trying Music Together. I've already been playing the CD for a few weeks and the songs are pretty cute.

Madelyn has also started taking swim lessons! She is a natural in the water and loves every minute of it. I'm so glad I started taking her as early as I did because she is much more relaxed than the older kids in the class. For example, at one point we work on getting the kids used to going underwater. The method for Madelyn includes singing Ring Around the Rosy and at the completion of her song I blow into her face which causes her to hold her breath. I then ease her under and pull her back up. She is startled when she comes back to the surface but quickly goes back to whatever she was doing before she went under. Not one tear or sign of fear or discomfort. There is a little boy, I assume is around 18 months. Same method but after the fact, he is crying for a good 10 minutes. There is also a 3 year old in the class and her mom spends 5-10 minutes trying to convince her to even try. Madelyn knowing how to swim in extremely important to me and I really believe if she grows up in the water we can hopefully skip any fears of the water.

Carseat - We upgraded to her convertible carseat! After many, many, many hours of research, discussion and opinion gathering we decided on the Britax Advocate 70 CS. It was not a cheap carseat by any means but I was able to score it for $150 less than retail by combining a sale with a coupon code which made the pricetag a bit easier to swallow. At the end of the day it came down to this - Madelyn can't be in the center of my car as per the manual plus I can't use the LATCH system in the center seat either. As a result, side impact protection was a biggie for me. The difference between the Advocate and other Britax models comes down to these plastic bumper type things on the outside of the carseat. It cost an extra $40.00 or so but it is supposed to serve as some protection for other backseat passengers. If we could spend a little extra money but provide some protection for Ben, it seemed like a no brainer. Hopefully we never need to be glad we "splurged" on her carseat but I rest a little easier knowing we've done what we can to ensure she is safe.

Lastly, we found out Madelyn's next BFF is going to be a Miss. Lily Eaton due sometime in October!!!

And now I leave you with this...a little glimpse into what our house sounds like these days....

Letters to Madelyn

2011-06-18T08:28:00.000-04:00

Madelyn,

I made a promise to myself and to you while I was still pregnant to not compare milestones. I vowed to not become one of those moms that obsesses over whether or not her baby is hitting developmental points at all the right times. I knew you would learn each of these things in your own time and didn't want the added pressure of making sure you were the "star of the class" so to speak.

That being said, here we are seven months later and I just took my first peek at "where you should be". And baby girl - your mama is so proud of you!

People have been telling your Dad and I from day one that you are ahead of the curve. I tried not to read too much into it since I figured people are obviously going to compliment babies. However, as time kept going on and it continued to happen I got a little curious. Finally, a trip to the pediatrician was all it took to send me to the milestone charts. We were sitting in the office and you were sitting on the table during the exam. Your doctor was so impressed with how straight you were sitting and that you continued to sit that well for a good thirty minutes. She guessed that by the time we go back for your nine month appointment you would be walking! Walking!?!? I couldn't resist any longer and I had to check out how awesome you really are.

Here's what I found for seven months:
Beginning skills - sitting without support and pulling objects to you. You've got that under control.
Emerging skills - rocks on all fours and jabbers. I think this video speaks for itself.

And we all know you've been a jabber jaws for quite some time now.

Finally this is where I became a believer.

Advanced skills - waves goodbye and bangs objects together. You do both of these!! I was a skeptic when it came to the waving but you have done it enough times at the absolute most appropriate time that I am convinced you know what you're doing.

So there you have it - you are already head of the class and you're only seven months old. I am one proud mama!!

Love you,

Mom

Taste of Ann Arbor

2011-06-17T20:22:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned previously, I am on a quest to try everything Ann Arbor has to offer this summer. While I was scouring the internet looking for family friendly events, I discovered that Taste of Ann Arbor was coming up. Yay! Nick, Madelyn and I headed downtown around noon on Sunday afternoon. Molly met us about an hour later and we taste tested our way down Main Street. It was stinkin' hot so we ducked into Mongolian and Arbor Brewing Company for a beer and a cool down.

Ben and Madelyn Conquer Ann Arbor

2011-06-16T21:11:00.000-04:00

The last day of school is tomorrow. That makes Monday the first day I parent both chitlins all day long all by my lonesome. In a quest to figure out how to spend our summer days, I realized there is so much Ann Arbor has to offer that we need to discover. After our first day of exploring, Ben and I discussed the need to try out all kinds of new activities all summer long. I also mentally noted my need to blog all these activities all summer long. Here's how we kicked off summer(ish):

Miss. Madelyn and Ben started swim lessons! I was able to find simultaneous classes on Saturday mornings. It makes life a little chaotic at the end of class since Ben has to get himself dressed while Madelyn and I get ready in the ladies locker room. I don't want Ben waiting for us longer than necessary but bathing and dressing a mobile six month old in a timely fashion is a serious challenge. Nick will be done with classes this Saturday (yay!) and can take care of Ben but until then we are making it work.

After swim class we decided it was time for lunch.

I had stumbled upon Mark's Carts one night and decided we had to try it ASAP. Ann Arbor has street meat, folks! We did the whole food truck dining when we visited the brother-in-law in San Francisco and it went over well with Ben so I was excited to try it again with him. The nice part is that the trucks are all set up in a patio-type area with various seating options.

Ben and I checked out the different options and decided to try Debajo del Sol. Ben opted for Chorizo Corn Dogs and I got the Pulled Pork Paella. The paella was decent but the corn dogs were out of this world delicious! The best part - Madelyn was so wiped out from swimming she spent the entire time we were there doing this:

Chorizo Corn Dogs

Pulled Pork Paella

After lunch, we decided to hit up the Farmer's Market so I could pick up our eggs and lettuce for the week. On our way, we hit a roadblock and discovered a festival going on in full force - music, vendors, food and people. We parked and decided to check it out.

We walked through and made it to the Farmer's Market - got our goodies and headed back.

On the way back, Ben managed to score a balloon.

All in all the day was a major success!

Some Sibling Love

2011-06-09T16:58:00.000-04:00

When Uncles Dress Baby Girls....

2011-06-08T17:50:00.000-04:00

....this is what happens.

Yes, she's wearing her bathing suit. Uncle Caleb wondered why the fabric felt so stretchy.

**I am thinking about a regular installment on here titled "When the men in Madelyn's life dress her"

Happy Easter!

2011-05-18T10:54:00.000-04:00

I'm a little behind in uploading pictures which explains the delay in my Easter post! A bit of back story - three years ago, Nick and I claimed Easter as our holiday to host. We are willing to travel all other holidays and given the size of my family, we definitely put on the miles but we wanted one holiday that we didn't have to go anywhere. Easter has never been a big holiday with either of our families so we weren't disrupting major traditions by claiming it. I also remember how much fun it was when grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins would come over to OUR house when we were little and I want to give that same experience to our kids. Through all this rambling, a tradition was born. We host Easter. Just a side note, the first year we hosted is actually when Rich and Linda met my mom and dad for the first time.

We open Easter up to whoever wants to join us and this year was our largest gathering yet! We hosted 18 people!

To make the day even more special, it was Miss. Madelyn's first Easter. It was also the first holiday I felt like she actually understood something was going on. Obviously, she couldn't really participate but she was so tiny and Thanksgiving and Christmas she slept most of the time.

Onto the pictures!

Prep started a few days before Easter!

Nick helped me by ironing! Thanks babe!

Ben painted some eggs - no dye this year!

And I made this beauty! Many many layers of jello.

Before you know it, the Easter bunny had arrived!

Ben's goodies

Madelyn's goodies

Happy First Easter!

Ben and Madelyn - it's tough getting a picture of Ben with his eyes open

Then Nick made breakfast while I set up the tables.

Nick made pancakes on a stick. He is obsessed with putting food on a stick. I don't know why.

I opted for scattered, small tables vs. one big table.

And then we celebrated!

Yummy food!

Munchies and drinks were outside

Rocking her first pair of flip flops!

Madelyn's 6th Month

2011-05-17T21:33:00.000-04:00

My sweet baby is 6 months old already. I know I say this every month but it is killing me that she is growing up so fast. This was a month of many milestones and lumping them all into one really makes me realize how time just slips away from you and before you know it, you've got a toddler on your hands.

Big Moments for Madelyn -

1. Rolling over - this girl can really get around! We've started "baby proofing" some aspects of our house, ie: moved the fireplace tools to the basement and constantly keeping the basement door closed. She seems to stay in the same room you start in but can definitely move around. This as posed a challenge when it comes to combining baby drool, grabby hands and four pets with shedding coats. I am constantly wiping her hands and face trying to keep the amount of pet hair ingested to a minimum. Every diaper change turns into a mini wipedown before using the cloth wipe on her booty. Madelyn is capable of rolling both directions and doesn't seem to favor one over the other. However, once she's decided which way she's rolling on any particular jaunt across the floor, she can't seem to roll back which creates a problem once she gets to the various obstacles that are in her way. Like I said, this seems to keep her at least contained to one room for the time being, so I am a-okay with it.

Right after her first roll - I'd show the video but true to form, Madelyn isn't wearing pants

2. Solid foods - me oh my, sweet potato pie, Madelyn loves solids! We started about a week and a half before she hit the 6 month mark but she was exhibiting all the "signs of readiness" and I figured, why not. We had been giving her raw carrots or peppers to chomp on in an effort to keep her entertained at the dinner table but her lack of teeth meant she wasn't ingesting any of it.

Miss. Madelyn's first "real solid" was avocado on Cinco de Mayo. I cut the avocado into strips which made it easier for her to grab but once she mushed it around and her hands got slippery she ended up smushing it all over her tray, face and belly. Since then she's tried various fruits and veggies as I have made them for dinner. I usually pull the food out of the big pot before salting and give her the unsalted portion. Seeing as Nick and I have no food allergies and she hasn't had any issues with the fact that I haven't eliminated anything from my diet while she's breastfeeding, we aren't really following the "1 new food every week" rule. She's not trying that many new foods at a time, and I figure if she were to have a reaction, we could reasonable figure out what caused it.

Her favorites seem to be sweet potatoes and she is pretty indifferent to bananas.

For now, we've been stripping Madelyn down to her diaper and feeding her in the bumbo because, man alive does she make a mess. It is usually straight into the tub after eating, bumbo and all. It's been working so far, but we may need a new strategy once she starts eating more than 1 meal a day.

3. Unassisted sitting - Madelyn managed to squeak this one in just a mere 2 day before hitting the 6 month mark. She had decided late Saturday night that it was party time. Nick brought the little lady into bed with us and she was sitting between us. We figured the cushiness of the bed was cradling her slightly and allowing her to sit. Once we woke up Sunday morning, she wasn't able to continue her skill on the floor but lo and behold, later that day she was sitting for 10 minutes or so all by herself. Of all the milestones, this one makes me sad(ish). It makes me realize how much she is growing, and truly separates her from "little baby" status.

Everything else around here seems to be status quo. She's still breastfeeding and sleeping well. Her hair is still out of control. Madelyn still loves to share her opinions with us on a regular basis.

Overall, it's been a pretty fun month!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T00:41:00.001-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!

"Now that... my kids are grown, I understand how much work and love it takes to raise and to keep a family together. The example of your strength, devotion, and patience is now rippling through the generations. Thank you!"

~Forest Houtenschil

"When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child."

~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." ~Rajneesh

Letters to Madelyn

2011-05-06T22:17:00.002-04:00

Miss. Madelyn,
I have read a few other blogs in which mamas write little letters to their children, sharing with them thoughts, feelings and milestones. Although I document your monthly endeavors I want to have something that is just for you. Written about you, for you.
I wish I had started this before you were born but there's nothing I can do about that now.
I can't believe in 10 short days you will be 6 months old. 6 months! You have completely changed my life in every way. Everyday I am overwhelmed with how much I continue to fall more and more in love with you. I am proud of your accomplishments and will always be your biggest cheerleader.
When you were born, you looked just like your daddy. I searched your face for glimpses of me but found none. However, as time goes on I start to see glimmers of myself in your perfectly round little face - and that makes me over the moon happy!
I can't wait to show you everything this big world has to offer. I can't wait to see what you have to offer this world!
Love,
Mom

Island Baby

2011-05-01T21:40:00.000-04:00

Boy is she mad at me!

Madelyn's 5th Month

2011-04-20T10:33:00.001-04:00

"Days are long but years are short."

I try to take a moment every day and just relish in Madelyn as she is right now. I feel like as moms we get so caught up in what is coming next that we forget to treasure what we have right now. Lately, I've been obsessing over solids - are we doing purees or BLW? or both? to cereal or not to cereal? rice or oatmeal? how much caution do we give to food allergies since neither Nick or I have any? But then I realized once we introduce solids we are that much closer to ending our breastfeeding relationship and that makes me sad. So for now, I am going to love every moment of nursing this sweet baby girl, even if it means three times a night like it did last night.

I kept this mantra going for most of Madelyn's fifth month since month four seemed to fly by in a blur. As a result, I feel like I fully appreciated everything March-April brought us.

Sleep - the 4 month wakeful period got us out of our routine as we were doing whatever it took to get some sleep around here. This usually meant Madelyn fell asleep on her Daddy's knees and then would get transferred to the pack n play when we went to bed. That only lasted an hour or so and she'd be up again. I brought her into bed with us and would side lie nurse until we both fell back asleep. Next time she woke up, we'd both flip over and she'd nurse from the other side. Although we were sleeping, it wasn't the greatest sleep in the world. Nick actually ended up on the couch a few times because I was so afraid of smothering her. The last couple of weeks I decided we needed our sanity, I mean sleep restored so back to the routine it was. Here's what we do, for those who want to know. Anytime from 6:30-7pm (ish) I bring Madelyn into her room and turn on her Rock-a-bye Baby Journey CD. I strip her down and put on her jammies. After this, we hit the rocking chair and read 1-3 stories based on her level of tiredness. We then head back over to the changing table and put her sleep sack on over her jammies. Back to the rocker we go for her bedtime feeding. She nurses on both sides and is usually pretty sleepy by the time she's done. I then carry her into our room and lay her in the pack n play. I turn on her seahorse and give her the wubbanub.

During our "whatever works" phase - sleeping naked back in the Rock n Play.

Now the first night we went back to the routine, it was a little rough. Her little body forgot that pack n play meant sleep so we would give her the wubbanub and she'd be content for 5-10 minutes and then spit it out and start fussing. Nick or I would head back in and replace the pacifier, turn back on the seahorse and she'd be good to go for another chunk of time. It took 2-3 times of replacing the pacifier before she fell asleep. Second night, only 1-2 times. Now she's usually asleep before I even leave the room. When she wakes up at night, I take her into her room and nurse her in the rocker rather than our bed. I then lay her back down in her rock n play, turn on the seahorse and give her the wubbanub.

Naps are now in the pack n play as well but we skip the routine and I just lay her down once she starts rubbing her eyes. I darken the room, turn on the seahorse and give her the wubbanub.

Vocals - this girl loves to yell. She also loves to scream. Not in an angry crying way but more in the shrill little voice that only little girls seem capable of. It can break an eardrum but the smile she gives after is hilarious. She's found her voice and is testing the waters to see exactly how loud she can be. Miss. M has also started laughing, which means Nick and I have started doing whatever it takes to hear that gut giggle. Oh how I love that sound! I've been waiting to hear that sound. I am pretty sure the only thing better than that will be the day her sweet little voice says Mama for the first time.

Not really vocals but it is still worth mentioning the drool. Oh the drool! No teeth have popped through yet but this girl goes through about a bib every two hours. I never understood why baby clothes came with all these bibs - now I get it. It would be nice if her bib matched her outfit but there's no way I could possibly have that many matching bibs. The sad part is most of her pictures this month have that dang bib in them. Oh well.

Movement - she is still rolling front to back but hasn't mastered back to front. That dang arm! She's gotten much better at front to back and will do it just about everytime she's on her belly. I've started putting her in the boppy for some tummy time because I still want her working those chest and neck muscles but she keeps flipping if she's not somewhat restricted. We are in a Baby & Me class and part of the routine is having the baby pull up using your fingers for support. She has figured out the sequence and now tries to pull up anytime she's lying down and you put your fingers in her hand. The little turkey is strong and has decided she's not stopping with pulling herself into a sitting position and has moved on to a standing position.

Tummy time on the Boppy

She also found her feet this month. The second you set her on the changing table and strip her pants off, her feet her in her hands. I literally have to pry those toes away so I can change her diaper.

Look Mom! I've got feet!

Madelyn still loves her jumperoo. Sad Mama moment, my big girl doesn't need the pillow underneath anymore. Her toes now touch the floor on her own. I'm pretty sure she likes having that solid surface and has started kicking her legs out each time she jumps as if she's dancing a jig.

Her playmat is also a favorite right now. Madelyn loves reaching out for toys and has started putting together cause and effect. She likes being the one to make things jingle and jangle.

She also loves being outside. The weather finally broke this month and we've been taking her out on a pretty regular basis. She gets crazy excited and starts flapping her arms and kicking her legs like a mad woman the second she feels the breeze. I've also started running again and let me tell you, it is WAY harder pushing a stroller than running without one. Wowza!

Breastfeeding - Madelyn eats like a champ. She eats for about 5-10 minutes on each side and is done. That's it. She definitely gets down to business. At first, I thought something was wrong since everything I'd read said nursing sessions usually take 30-45 minutes but she continues to gain wait. I've even pumped afterward and I get next to nothing so she's draining them pretty well. I've also pumped a full boob and I usually get 4-5oz on each side so I know it isn't a supply issue. I guess she can't be bothered with staying on the boob for long periods of time - this girl's got stuff to do. She was taking a bottle pretty easily but in the last month or so has decided she'd rather not. Unless she is ravishingly hungry, she'd prefer to wait to drink directly from the tap. I don't usually have to leave her for longer than a few hours so it hasn't been an issue. Plus, I know she will eat from a bottle if she has no other option. It's just not her first choice.

So there ya have it. Madelyn's fifth month in a nutshell.

Hamming it up for the camera!

My Favorite Baby Items

2011-04-16T01:35:00.001-04:00

So I hardly consider myself an expert in the area but in Miss. Madelyn's 5 months we have found a few items that are invaluable to us. With all the babies just born and all those on the way, I figured a list would be a handy reference for anyone who cares.

Moby Wrap - if you want to get anything, and I mean anything from brushing your teeth to washing the dishes, done in the first months with a baby, the moby wrap is a necessity. There is a lot of fabric to work with and it seems a bit overwhelming at first but once you get the hang on it, you can put it on in just a few seconds. There are quite a few ways to wear it and I've been able to wear Madelyn and switch it up based on her many moods. Check the website for the basics and you can always check youtube for some other options. The few tips I can share are:

1. make sure you wrap the baby tightly. If you are loosely wrapping, the baby will begin to sag and it defeats the whole purpose.

2. wrap the baby high on your chest. I started by wrapping around my waist and was unable to get it as tight as I needed. A good rule of thumb is you should be able to kiss the top of your babe's head while wearing her.

Nose Frida - now I just recently discovered this one. After Miss. Madelyn came down with her first cold and realizing the bulb things do absolutely nothing except maybe catch a booger on the tip that you can pull out, I hit up google and kept searching until I found this little contraption. The whole idea of sucking out the snot (literally) seems a little nasty (okay, a lot nasty) but you step into mommy mode and will do whatever it takes to get your little one breathing easier so bring on the snot sucker. Once I tried it out, I discovered the snot doesn't come anywhere near your mouth and it is strangely gratifying to get it all out.

Wubbanub - I posted a little about this in Madelyn's month 4 synopsis but I thought it deserved another mention. This kid loves her frog. She has started pulling it out of her mouth and talking to it for a bit before shoving it back in. She loves the independence of pulling her pacifier in and out whenever she wants and I love that I no longer have to constantly plug her back in. Plus, it is amazing how quickly you lose those dang pacifiers in the crack of the carseat, rolling under the couch when she drops it, fumbling around for it in the dark. The attached stuffed animal makes finding her bink a cinch, even in a sleep coma state.

Sophie the Giraffe - I only bought Sophie because I scored an awesome deal. We're talking an 8.00 deal. Otherwise, there was no way I was spending 20.00 on a rubber giraffe. To be honest, Sophie reminds me of a dog toy. I'm pretty sure Ziggy agrees since he comes running every time Sophie squeaks. I was a little disappointed that Madelyn showed no interest in Sophie until just recently. After all, this was supposed to be some kind of miracle teether. Well, April rolled around and Madelyn has a new favorite toy. She loves noming on Sophie's face, ears, feet, you name it. It has made car rides a lot easier since it seems to keep her occupied for awhile. And like her frog, she enjoys sharing her tales with Sophie as well.

Soothe and Glow Seahorse - we started a bedtime routine with Madelyn about a month ago and a critical component of the routine is her seahorse. The light is just enough that she can see her pacifier to put it back in her mouth if it falls out. It plays for awhile and switches up between music and water sounds. Madelyn nods off to sleep at night staring into the belly of her seahorse and I am a happy mama because I finally have a babe that can fall asleep on her own!

Rock n Play Sleeper - LOVE LOVE LOVE! We used this constantly when Madelyn was born. I love how easy it was to move from room to room. Madelyn could fall asleep in the living room and we could move her to the bedroom when we went to bed without ever having to pick her up and shuffle her around. I could pull it up close to my side of the bed and just reach down to pick her up and nurse her. There is a slight incline which seems more comfortable than sleeping flat on her back. Also, it is more constricted, aka cozy, than her crib which feels like a more natural progression coming out of tight quarters inside the womb. She's too big to sleep in her Rock n Play but I still use it when I shower. I bring Madelyn into the bathroom with me and she hangs out in her Rock n Play while I sing songs or talk to her. Also, it folds mostly flat and can easily be stored under our bed.

Bumbo - Madelyn loves sitting in her bumbo. Don't tell the bumbo manufacturer but we put Madelyn in it and set her right in the middle of the kitchen table while we eat dinner. It keeps her a part of the family time and involved in what we are doing. I also put her in it while I'm cooking so I can talk to her and get other things done. It's easy to travel with and we usually bring it anytime we are headed to someone else's house.

So there you have it. My favorite baby items thus far. While this is hardly a complete list of all the useful baby items we have, it is definitely some of my top choices.

Madelyn's First Playdate

2011-04-11T18:56:00.000-04:00

Madelyn had her first playdate last week. Since there's been a string of baby girls being born, we all decided to get together and swap stories. The ladies didn't do much playing but it was nice to bounce ideas off of one another and share war stories. After the playdate, Madelyn and Piper went on their first shopping trip together to the Somerset Collection. Jen and I went a little crazy in Gymboree but the girls will be decked this summer as a result.

Madelyn showing Morgan (or Ali? - I can't tell!) the joys of Sophie

L-R on couch - Madelyn, Morgan/Ali (again I can't tell), Molly, Benson (our sole male)
In the left bouncer is Katherine and Piper is on the right.

The newest babes Kate and Piper

Madelyn and Katherine

The last picture was taken a few weeks earlier when Madelyn and I went to visit Rachael and Miss. Katherine. Katherine was born on 3/12/11 (Piper's due date) and is a tall beauty.

Siblings

2011-04-10T14:54:00.000-04:00

I'm cleaning off the video camera, cell phone and camera to hopefully get all our pictures compiled in one place. I'm also working on some new blog posts since I've been a little skimpy on the content lately and now I'll have some pictures to work with. Stay tuned for my favorite baby products (so far) and what we did on Spring Break. For now, here's a little sibling love...

Scars that Run Deep: “All that Matters” after a Cesarean

2011-04-03T15:12:00.001-04:00

Scars that Run Deep: “All that Matters” after a Cesarean

I posted earlier about my feelings regarding my c-section and will continue to use this space to process Madelyn's birth and my emotions surrounding it. To friends and family, please know I am okay. I'm just working through an event in my life and sharing with you the good, the bad and the ugly.

Anyway, this article was posted on my birth board and I found it was able to put into words what I have been trying to wrap my brain around.

Yikes!

2011-04-01T23:12:00.000-04:00

I love the pigtails!

When I take them out is something else entirely!

Puppy Dog Prayers

2011-03-27T23:11:00.000-04:00

Ziggy's cousin Bubba needs major prayers, mojo, good karma, whatever you can spare. Aunt Cathy thought he had hurt his back leg running the woods but when it didn't get better in a few days she brought him into the vet. Sadly, Bubba has bone cancer. They are getting an ultrasound done on Tuesday to determine if the cancer has spread to his organs or if it is isolated in his leg bone. If the cancer is isolated, they can amputate his leg, and Bubba can have a fighting chance. Poor Uncle Rik and Aunt Cathy have had more than their share of heartache when it comes to pets and could really use a break. All good vibes to Bubba for a good ultrasound on Tuesday!

When Grandpa's Change Diapers....

2011-03-22T19:40:00.000-04:00

.....this can sometimes happen.

Yes, it's on backwards.

Madelyn's 4th Month

2011-03-22T19:29:00.000-04:00

I can't believe she's four months old! Overall I would describe this last month as fun! I say this as I lie in bed with Miss. Madelyn and nurse her to sleep because she refuses to go to sleep on her own, so yes, I'm aware the tide could turn on me yet again. Oh well, I'm going to relish in the joy that was month 4! (And I really don't mind cuddling with my girl at bedtime.)

Big things in month 4 - hmmm....

This girl absolutely loves her jumperoo! She would stay there for hours if I'd let her. She's also figured out how it works so the second you put her in there, she takes off jumping!

Her hair is long enough for pig tails! I want to melt into a puddle of mommy love every time I put pig tails in her hair. It is the most freakin' adorable sight I've ever seen!

Miss. Madelyn is a jabberjaws. She will "talk" all day long. And she doesn't care if you're listening or not. My mom calls her the boss and warns me that I've got another Molly on my hands. *Sigh* I love you sister bear but I'm tired just thinking about it.

She still hates her carseat and would much prefer to be a part of the action. I've started wearing her in the moby and the ergo a lot more and she likes being able to look around. I also used the shopping cart cover for the first time and plopped her booty in the seat of the cart - she thought she was the coolest kid on the planet.

coolest kid ever!

Her 4 month appointment was on her 4 month birthday. She is absolutely perfect in every way. She weighs 15lb 11oz which is the 90th percentile. Height is 25 inches which is the 78th percentile. If you're keeping track, she was 24 inches at her 2 month checkup so I asked the doctor why the slow down. Her best guess is that the 2 month measurement was inaccurate. She said the hardest measurement to get is the height because you have to stretch them out to do it which is about impossible. Plus, to go from 21.5 inches at birth to 24 inches in 2 months is pretty crazy. She got the next round of shots. She cried but I managed to hold myself together this time. She's been a bit fussier this time around though so I feel bad for the girl.

Madelyn has taken to pulling her pacifier out of her mouth, examining it and then trying to put it back in her mouth. She usually fails at this and starts screaming until one of us puts it back. I just found a Wubba Nub and it seems to satisfy her need to grab at things but still keep the pacifier in place. It really is a brilliant idea and at 12 bucks a pop, someone's making a killing on these things.

She's also become obsessed with mobiles. We ended up using one of the decorations from my baby shower as her mobile because I couldn't stand any of the gaudy plastic ones in the stores. Well now I'm eating my words because we've tried out 2 mobiles in the past week and they are both gaudy and plastic. Her pack and play came with a mobile but it's got the crank to make it work. Think back to the swings of 1981. She loves staring at it but it only lasts for a minute or two and then you're back in the room, cranking up the mobile again. Not fun. Now we are searching for a battery operated mobile that meets my decor demands.

What else happened this month?

Well Miss. Piper Stepke was born! Welcome to the world Piper! Madelyn and I went up to meet her the day after she was born. I cannot wait to see those two toddling around in a couple of years - it is going to be the cutest thing EVER! And how fun, to have a friend that you can honestly say you've known since birth. Nick is glad he's got James to go gun and shovel shopping with in 16 years. His words, not mine.

new BFF's!

Also, congratulations to Nick and Rachael Morley on the birth of Katherine Rose. We are still waiting to meet her but have seen pictures and she's beautiful. Yet another girl to add to the mix!

So all in all, a pretty good month! Keep it up baby girl!

Mother's Guilt

2011-03-10T20:43:00.001-05:00

Miss. M,
I've been struggling with your birth since, well, you were born. I had grand plans of a med free childbirth, immediate skin to skin contact, Daddy cutting your cord since he missed out on that with Ben, the list goes on. If you've read your birth story, you know that all went to hell in a handbasket. And I hate that your birth involves pulling you from my body and passing you to at least 3 people before I even saw my sweet baby girl. I still bothers me that my first peek at my daughter you was completely wrapped up and someone had to hold you for me because my arms were numb. I really hate that your body was pumped full of antibiotics before I was even able to fill your belly breastfeeding. My love, you were close to an hour old before I even got to hold you. The worst part is, I feel like my body failed my baby girl.

I have replayed your birth over and over in my mind since the day you were born. What if I had told my family, please don't come over - we'll let you know when she's here or even not told them I was in labor. I believed I would want people around me during labor - turns out, I didn't. What if I had not gotten the epidural? What if I had stood up to the doctor when she told me she couldn't turn you? What if I had said, F you and your plan to have me push when my body isn't involuntarily pushing yet, I'm going to labor down?

I have tried talking about it, but unless you've been there you will never understand. When I talk to my mom she tells me that she's angry they let me go that long before the c-section. She is angry that her daughter had to suffer. The ironic thing, I'm angry about the same thing. I am angry that they kept pushing the c-section and didn't work with me to get you out "naturally" and as a result, my daughter had to suffer.

I know "all that matters is a healthy baby" but that's not true. The process matters. Your birth matters. I am forever grateful that you are here and perfect and healthy but I don't think I'll ever be okay with how you came into this world. And for playing a part in that, Madelyn - I am sorry.

Love,
Mom

Witty Onesies

2011-03-04T08:33:00.000-05:00

Miss. M has accumulated quite a collection of witty onesies. The best part, they are each 100% Madelyn and each onesie has it's own story.

Aunt Molly made this one. Zigs loves chasing squirrels.

From Aunt Cathy. Sorry to say it M, they are ALL your relatives. Welcome to the family.

From Aunt Molly during her trip to Vegas.

Another Aunt Molly onesie

Mom found this one. It's just true - plain and simple.

Aunt Jody (who else). I love this one but can't bring myself to have her wear it in public!

Sunday at the Barish House

2011-03-01T12:38:00.002-05:00

Going back to work and still managing our house plus being a mom has posed some challenges. I remember growing up and eating dinner with my family every single night. I've researched the heck out of parenting and a common piece of wisdom I've found is make sure you eat with your kids. I take my responsibility of providing dinner for our family seriously and I don't want to just throw a Hot N Ready or some microwave meal on the table three nights a week. Just before my maternity leave ended I was flipping channels on Sunday morning and found Rachael Ray's new show "Week in a Day".

The idea behind the show is simple. Cook on Sunday. Eat all week. I decided to try it out and we've done it three weeks in a row now. I love spending Sunday in the kitchen while Nick putters around the house and Madelyn supervises from her swing. Sometimes we have Ben and he's playing Legos in the livingroom while Ziggy chases the cats around the house. I pull Pandora up on the laptop and sing to Miss. M while we make five different dinners for the week.

Here's last Sunday in pictures.


The scene

My little supervisor and her new friend, Sophie

My stir crazy husband and his newest house project

Still cooking but the boss moved positions


Taking a break from chasing the cats


The finished product - a week's worth of dinners!

This week I made Chili, Chicken Pot Pie, Louisiana Style Shrimp, Lemon Chicken and French Onion Soup.

March 1st

2011-03-01T10:53:00.000-05:00

March 1st has always been a yucky day. Today marks 26 years since my dad died.


My dad and tiny tot me

However, last year we put a happy spin on things. 1 year ago today.


Right after telling my family!

And today!

It is unbelievable how much things can change in a year!!

Almost There...

2011-02-26T15:16:00.000-05:00

Madelyn has been working really hard at rolling over. She still hasn't mastered back to front but she's getting there. Here she is practicing with her Aunts (Jen, G and Julie) cheering her on!

Diva

2011-02-24T12:09:00.001-05:00

This girl can rock the giant sunglasses!