Introverted Mama

green diapering products

2012-01-23T18:10:00.008-05:00

(If you missed my post on why we're not cloth diapering, you can find it here)

All of the prices I have included are mostly from Amazon I have an Amazon Prime account so I do not pay shipping and they arrive in 3 business days. Also, they are based off of cases for size 4 that are the jumbo size boxes because that's what we're buying. Amazon states on every item how much you're paying per diaper.

I realize that cloth diapering is the best financial decision, I will not even deny that. With the decision not to go that route, I had to come up with another option that was as cheap as disposables (at least). I tried Seventh Generation Chlorine-Free diapers and their Free & Clear diapers (.32 a diaper). I will say I prefer the Chlorine-Free over the Free & Clear, they didn't have the chemical smell I hate about bleached diapers but I think they have completely gotten rid of this line. I also tried Bambo Nature Chlorine Free diapers (.38 a diaper) as I won a pack from a giveaway. They were okay, my issue was that they were pricey and you can only buy them directly from the website with 5 day shipping so I felt like I had to be way ahead of the game if I wanted to be prepared with diapers.

Once we got settled into our new house, I started researching other disposable diaper options and I came across the website safemama.com. Most of the products we are now using I read about on their site or I was directed to another site from them. They are a wealth of knowledge and I highly recommend checking them out. Through their site I heard about Nature Babycare diapers. My most recent purchase, last week, I bought them for .37 a diaper (we have been using them for over a month now). So far this has been my favorite diaper, even compared to any brand-names. We have had zero leaks (W was leaking at least once a day with Huggies or Pampers). My favorite features are that they are chlorine-free, their materials are completely biodegradable (I believe they are corn based), they are made from renewable resources, and they don't have cutesy characters on them which I find annoying about other diapers. I think they're doing a pretty good job! Just to give a comparison we were mostly using Huggies Little Movers which is .35 a diaper but we were having to use 2-3 more a day and with them only being .2 less than the Nature Babycare, I didn't think that was too bad. Pampers Cruisers are .29 a diaper in case you're interested, but these definitely weren't a favorite in our house.
Wipes is another area where I decided to make a switch. Every website I was on raved about Seventh Generation Free & Clear Baby Wipes. Amazon has them listed at .03 a wipe and we LOVE them. I am using less wipes than I was before and there are no harmful chemicals in them. I think they smell a bit like cucumber even though they are fragrance-free, but I don't mind the smell. We were originally using Huggies Natural Care wipes which really aren't they natural and are the exact same price per wipe on Amazon. (My only complaint is that the jumbo box comes in small bags which I have to cut open to put in our tub compared to the Huggies Wipes which come in one large resealable bag, a minor complaint but I think Huggies has less packaging). Because this post has gotten to be rather lengthy, I'll be posting about our other green baby products in a separate post! Let me know if you have any questions and I welcome suggestions of other diaper/wipes you use.

baby name help & poll

2012-01-20T20:48:00.003-05:00

We are having a very hard time picking out a girl's name. We've had our boy's name picked out for awhile so no worries there. A is convinced we're having a boy so he thinks it's silly to consider girl's names...I want to, just in case he's wrong ;)

We are staying away from any names that begin with A & W
We don't like popular names (preferably outside of the top 400)

Our list so far looks something like this (this changes daily so A probably won't like a name on it tomorrow): Coral, Finley, Halle (Hal-e), Primrose, Jolene, Willow, Lola, Isla

Don't even get me started on middle names!

We're planning to announce the baby's name when we announce the gender so I'd really love to have the name picked ahead of time. I have come up with a fun way to announce it and I cannot wait to share when the time comes.

I welcome any suggestions :)

Also, I have a poll on the right hand side, please take a moment to venture a guess!

3 months

2012-01-20T13:53:00.003-05:00

(pregnant with W)

Maternity clothes? None yet, but I wear sweat pants everyday. I fit fine into one pair of skinny jeans but they have a lot of stretch. I don't imagine any of my other skinny jeans would fit!

Stretch marks? None yet. Danielle mentioned trying coconut oil and I'm planning to give that a try because it sounds cheaper than other oils/creams!

Sleep? Still always exhausted no matter how long I sleep at night (ok I haven't slept past 7:30 in awhile). W has been going through teething spurts so we've had some rough nights this past week.

Best moment this week? Finding out Holly is coming to visit in April! I am planning tons of fun stuff to do and I'm pinning delicious desserts to make :) It'll be wonderful to have a girls weekend.

Food cravings/aversions? Meat is still the same and no new cravings. I'm equally craving sweet and salty and when I was pregnant with W, I definitely craved sweet!

Gender? Still really feeling girl, although I now have NINE friends having boys between the end of April and the beginning of July. I only know 2 more people that are pregnant in that period of time that haven't found out yet. I don't know anyone having a girl in the spring or summer!

Movement? I thought I felt something two nights ago but I might be tricking my mind into thinking I'm feeling the peanut. I know it's still early.

What I miss? Nothing this week! I'm loving being pregnant :)

What I'm looking forward to? My appt next Thursday, finding out the gender in a little over a month, my parents visiting in February :)

My decision not to cloth diaper

2012-01-18T15:54:00.001-05:00

When I was pregnant with W I was drawn to cloth diapering because my mom used them with my brother and I. I realized that the world of cloth diapering had become a trend and I fell in love with the adorable colors and prints. I did lots of research and I knew that it was the best financial decision and it was obviously a eco-friendly option. Then I began to think about it seriously.

1. I didn't love the idea of scraping dirty diapers or spraying them. A was completely against this so every dirty diaper would have been mine (he changes disposables).

2. I learned about all the extra stuff you need. Diaper creams, detergents, softeners, etc. It quickly became overwhelming and I really didn't like the idea of having to do extra, special loads of laundry just for diapers (I hate doing laundry).

3. It is a greener option than most disposables but it still comes with its own eco-baggage. Cloth diapers will eventually end up in landfills too and their materials are more biodegradable than disposables, but not all of them are (there are some pretty crazy, super synthetic materials that cloth diapers are made from). The manner in which all these special fabrics and materials are made are generally not any better than disposables anyways.

My conclusion was as a new mom I didn't want to tackle such as a huge task, I didn't want to add extra chores onto my plate, and I couldn't really justify it as a green option without spending even more money trying to find the right eco-friendly products.

I read many cloth diapering blogs and I love to see their journey! I hope no one will judge me or be offended by what I have said. This is just what worked for my family :)

With that said, I will posting next week about the alternative I have discovered. As well as the green baby products we use/plan to use in the future.

homemade dishwashing soap FAIL

2012-01-14T12:54:00.001-05:00

My very first attempt at making a homemade household product was an epic fail. I spent weeks researching the recipes I chose and so I assumed I had found a perfect recipe, but alas it wasn't perfect. I chose a recipe that used a quarter cup of vinegar ($3ish), a quarter cup of liquid castile soap (I purchased Dr. Bronner's Organic Castile Soap Baby Mild- $14 for 32 oz), a quarter cup of water (free), and a tablespoon of lemon juice ($1). I chose this recipe because I can use all the ingredients for other household cleaning projects.

The first two loads I used 2 tablespoons of the mixture although 1 tablespoon was recommended and I had regular jet dry. Since then I have only used 1 tablespoon and I have used vinegar as the rinse agent. Unfortunately my dishes come out with a film on them. My guess is it's soap and I have no idea what else to do. A has asked me to scrap this idea because we're having to rewash everything and so we've switched back to Cascade (our problem could be hardwater not soap residue, but I don't know how to tell the difference). I plan to attempt this again in the future, but after almost 2 weeks I can say this was a failed attempt!

I have all the stuff to make my own homemade laundry soap I just need to wait to we finish our bottle of Tide. I also have plans to make my own deodorant in the near future too (I was told you need to give this a full 2 weeks to see results so I want to get started soon).

Have you ever made your own dish washing soap? Any tips or suggestions?

bump month 1 & 2

2012-01-12T20:58:00.003-05:00

We finally have internet! I had so many pics to upload from my camera and phone, it was crazy. I now need to back them all up on the external hard drive!

I'm planning to do monthly posts with this peanut instead of weekly like I did with W. If a comparison photo is available, I'll post that as well (I don't have one for months 1 & 2). I'm going to do a combined update for both months, as I will be posting month 3 next week (I am 12 weeks tomorrow!!)

(I was very bloated the first two weeks I was pregnant, so I look significantly more pregnant than I actually felt)

(bit more of a bump, but mostly leftover baby squish from W. The background gives you a glimpse at the disaster our house was when I first came down here..I flipped this pic so they were the same, forgive me!)

Maternity clothes? None yet. I can't find my belly-band anywhere, so I've been living in sweat pants. I plan to wear the same non-maternity tee and skinny jeans for each pic, so we'll see how interesting this gets!

Stretch marks? Just the ones that appeared around my belly button when W was born. I need to find an oil or a cream to use.

Sleep? How well does one really sleep with a toddler? W is sleeping through the night but he has fits in the middle of the night that wake me up. It takes me awhile to settle and go to sleep, so most days I'm pretty tired and I really want a nap!

Best moment so far? Getting an ultrasound and seeing the peanut! I didn't have an early ultrasound with W so it was really cool! I have the pics on the fridge and I love how it already looks like a tiny baby.

Food cravings/aversions? I have had a serious aversion to meat (mostly chicken and hamburgers). I have been trying to get protein through dairy, eggs, and peanut butter but it's just no the same. Cravings have been for lots of veggies and healthy stuff (surprisingly) with frosted donuts and popcorn thrown in there :P

Gender? I'm really feeling girl this time. A thinks it's a boy, which I am totally fine with too! I think W needs a little brother!

Movement? None yet. I didn't feel W until I was 18 weeks, but I think I felt him earlier and didn't realize it! We'll see when I start to notice it this time.

What I miss? Drinking a glass of wine. So silly, I know, but it would be much needed during some of the stressful times we've had since we've moved!

What I'm looking forward to: I have an appointment on the 26th and I can't wait to hear peanuts heartbeat (I got to see it last time, but it's cool to hear it too!) I'm going to be taking W with me so it'll certainly be interesting. It's so hard to find a babysitter in a new city (especially one that's out in the middle of nowhere).

What I've been up to:

2012-01-10T13:22:00.001-05:00

We've been in the sunshine state for a little over a month, but I still feel very unsettled. Most of our stuff is still in boxes and the place still looks so unfinished (there is painters tape around all of the trim). I am slowly tackling some of the projects myself but that proves difficult with a toddler and it's difficult to do much while he naps because I don't want to worry about wet paint when he wakes up or make too much noise (i.e. unpacking all the boxes that are in the room next to his).

I've been babysitting in the mornings and most afternoons for my husbands boss' daughter. She's 18 months old, very cute, but wow it is tiring watching two so close in age. Also, if you will recall in a previous post, I'm really not a huge fan of babysitting. Her previous babysitter quit so I'm filling in until she finds a new sitter.

I have plans to find a play group of some kind or a mommy and me class (I found a yoga class but the description didn't sound like it would be a good class for me while pregnant). I also hope to find a story time at the library. We have a church we've been wanting to attend but it's 40 mins away and neither of us have been motivated to get out the door on time on Sundays. There are closer churches, so hopefully we can find something (I like the benefit of having a nursery at a larger church, but I probably shouldn't be picky).

Here are two pics I took today of W and the little girl I babysit.

Setting goals

2012-01-07T08:46:00.001-05:00

New years resolutions aren't really my thing, but I'd love to set some short term goals. My parents are visiting in February and my in laws are visiting in March so I have some things I'd love to be some by then.

*lights installed in the master bathroom
*shower fixed in the master bathroom
*baseboards done in the master bathroom (it's the last room that needs baseboards)
*fan fixed in the spare bathroom (or at least covered, it's nasty)
*all of the painting done in the living room (crown molding, door/window frames, and room divider)
*our closet cleaned and painted (there is mold all over the walls so I refuse to hang my clothes until the walls are bleached and painted with killz)

I don't think these goals are too unrealistic, especially considering how much other work there is still to be done! My next set of goals are for before the baby is born so we'll have more time to check that list off.

I leave you with a before pic of your living room! You'll have to wait for an after pic, it's completely unrecognizable.

My decision to go green

2012-01-05T21:42:00.001-05:00

I have always been very concerned about the environment and the toxins that are put into my body and my son's body (my husband refuses to be a green convert so i can't count him in!). My original plan in life was to become an environmental geologist, obviously that wasn't the path I traveled down but it's still a dream I have for the future.

I have spent the last month really evaluating the products in our house and how I could help our family be greener without breaking the bank. I have always been diligent about recycling but unfortunately we don't have access to recycling here (we have a commercial address so they won't pick up and there aren't any collection sites nearby). I still save batteries and medications to be properly disposed of because they only take up a small amount of space.

I have several posts planned for the coming months that will unfold how we are becoming green. You can expect to read about my decision not to cloth diaper (and the alternatives I have found), making my own dishwasher detergent, making my own laundry soap, composting, making my own beauty products/my fav safe beauty products, and being green on a budget!

(A has started calling me a hippie, but so far he has been on board with the changes I've made... As long as I don't make him use organic toothpaste!)

The below pic is of W trying out our new energy efficient LG dryer... Don't worry, he is always supervised

We're expecting :)

2011-12-31T21:56:00.001-05:00

We are still without Internet but I wanted to get a quick post on here. I feel like I'm probably already annoying those that subscribe to my private blog and fb followers because this announcement has been all over!

Baby #2 will be making her or his arrival sometime in July! I am 10 weeks right now and starting to feel more like myself (the nausea has been bad this time but no morning sickness like last time).

2012 is going to be a very exiting year and I cannot wait to become a family of 4. I promise this blog won't turn into a pregnancy blog like last time. I'm only planning to do monthly posts (I already have posts saved for months 1 and 2, I just need computer/Internet to post them.)

I really miss blogging and I hope everyone is sticking with me! I have some posts planned about switching to green products and lots of info to share about it!!

Christmas blog swap!

2011-12-12T21:00:00.004-05:00

I wish I could include pics (and links) in this post but because I'm blogging from my phone, I can't. I did a blog swap on Laura's page (betweenthelinesblog.com) that was called A Very Bloggy Christmas. My partner was Becky (postsest041208.blogspot.com) and it was a lot of fun reading her blog and figuring out some fun things to get her. Becky sent me some fun gifts and I really wish I had pics to share. I promise that the moment I have Internet access, I will post them!

Becky got me a kit to learn how to knit, and the best part is she learned the same way! My goal is to start January 1st :) I cannot wait to knit some fun things. She also got me some fun socks (the squirrel ones are my fav) and a whole bunch of winter kitchen stuff. She wanted to give me a piece of home with us movin to Florida. I have some snowman paper plates, napkins, mitts, and a towel. She also sent me some yarn, a reusable grocery bag, and a magnetic pad for the fridge. I had so much fun doing this swap an I really enjoy finding new blogs to read :)

W's 1st Birthday

2011-12-04T22:06:00.004-05:00

I stayed up until 1:31 am to wish my little boy a happy birthday. I know every mom says they can't believe how quickly the time goes by and it really is true. I blogged about our experience on December 4, 2010 last year. Here are some stats on my toddler this year:

Weight: 20 lbs even on the home scale
Diaper: Size 4
Shoe: 4.5
Clothes: 12 months but he's moved into 18 months for the length

Sleep: He's sleeping between 10 and 12 hours at night and only waking up once (with full out crying) two nights a week. Depending on when he gets up in the morning (between 6:30 and 8:30) he takes one or two naps and goes to bed around 9.

Mobility: He walks and runs everywhere. He hasn't actually crawled in weeks. He loves to climb on everything.

Speech: He still refuses to say mama but says dada a lot. He says "bottle" (his first word that he said on 12/3/2011) and "button" and knows what they mean. He has repeated "tree" and "deer" but I don't think he knows what they mean. He knows that a dog says "woof" and a cow goes "moo", he also roars like a lion/tiger/bear (we lump them altogether) and he also makes the sound of a monkey (which generally sounds like screeching).

Favorites: This month he loved bath time. He learned how to put things in to other things and he loves to shake his head no. He loves spinning on chairs, being upside down, jumping up and down, and sneak-attacking people.

Eating: He's still eating mostly pureed foods but we've been offering him big-people food at every meal for the past 2 months. He throws most of it to the dog and simply prefers pureed. This month we started trying some meat and he loved hamburger and salmon but wasn't a fan of chicken or turkey. I don't think he's ready to be exclusively on big-people food and I'm okay with that. We introduced whole milk this past week and it has gone okay. He doesn't love using a sippy cup so it hasn't been an easy transition. He's only getting milk for his afternoon feeding and we're still giving him formula in the morning and in the evening. I'm waiting to go for his appointment with the new pediatrician before I switch him completely (I really need to find a new pediatrician in Florida).

Now some pics from W's blue and green 1st birthday party!Surrounded by all of his new toys!

He got a ton of new things and I'm not exactly sure how we're going to fit it all in the car. He got a riding toy, an elefun ball popper, curious george, a sock monkey, a couple of baby einstein toys, a couple of melissa and doug toys (two puzzles and a train), lots of fun books, a tool set, a water fountain for the bathtub, and clothes. We had a lot of fun and I'm glad we were able to get everyone together before the move! We are heading out tomorrow morning with hopes of being in Florida Tuesday night (it's a 17 hour trip). I know I won't have internet access outside of my phone for at least a week but it could be longer. I will be posting short updates from my phone on my private blog but I don't plan to be back here until next week. Wish us luck on our move!

I'll still be reading all my blogs and I will be commenting back as best I can!

December 1st!

2011-12-01T14:48:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it's already December 1st and in 3 days I will have a 1-year-old. I feel so behind on the party planning. With packing, moving, and other things on my mind, I just have not been inspired. I have the menu decided on and I think I have a few simple ideas for decor. Because we're at my parents house and I have no room to take anything extra, I don't want to go overboard buying stuff to decorate. I have also opted not to do favors because I'm doing a dinner (is that rude??) I'm really excited for his party, but I am even more excited to reunited with A and we can be a family again :)

I've been updating with pics and such on my private blog, so let me know if you're interested in following over there.

All of my Christmas shopping is officially done and I am so proud of myself! We've already passed along our gifts to our inlaws and I'll be leaving my parents gifts here. It feels nice to have this all done (I have one or two more things I'm going to get for A but that will be easy to do down there).

movies

2011-11-25T13:14:00.003-05:00

94. Watch 26 movies I've never seen that begin with a different letter of the alphabet (26/26)

I finally complete this one! I'd been trying to find an "O" movie for the longest time, but Open Season was on TV last night and so I watched it. I'm not going to talk about every movie I saw, rather I am going to rate them. Here is my rating scale:

A - A movie I would not only watch again, but I would love to own it (if I don't already). I plan to write only about the movie's I'm giving "A's" to
B - The movie was good, I would watch it again but I probably won't buy it
C - Average movie I don't need to see again
D - A movie that probably didn't keep my attention and I have no plans to watch it ever again!

A Movies

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - I love movies like this. The stranger the movie, the better! I had to watch it a few times to figure out what was going on, but I loved it. I went out and bought this movie shortly after watching it.

Fireproof - We bought this movie to watch on our one year anniversary. If I was rating strictly on acting, this wouldn't be at the top. It has an amazing message though, and I recommend it to all married couples!

Leap Year - Such a cute movie! I adore that it is set in Ireland and it's such a romantic movie! Amy Adams is one of my favorite actresses :)

The Painted Veil - At first I didn't think I'd like this movie. It has a slow start and the ending isn't what I typically like for movies. It's set in such a beautiful location, though, and the story is beautiful. I ended up buying the book and the movie because I loved it that much! I hope to read the book now that I have some time off.

Up - This movie is just so adorable! My brother and I constantly quote it. It's a great movie for kids and adults and I really think it reminds us not to grow up too much!

What About Bob - Ok so I'm not sure if people outside of the psychology field appreciate this movie, but it's a hilarious movie about a client and his psychologist (maybe a psychiatrist, I don't remember?) and how he basically moves in with the guy's family. It's a bit older but really funny!

B Movies

Bedtime Stories
Cars
The Hangover
Julie & Julia
Seven Pounds
Twilight Saga: New Moon

C Movies

Adventureland
(500) Days of Summer
Rain Man
The Quick and the Dead
Valentine's Day
The X-Files: I Want to Believe
Zombieland

D Movies

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
The Invention of Lying
King Kong
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
Open Season
Year One

What are your thoughts? Are there any you think I rated incorrectly? I had a lot of fun coming up with different movies and it definitely "forced" me to watch movies that were outside of what I would normally watch.

so if you promise not to laugh...

2011-11-22T15:21:00.004-05:00

I broke down and got an Erin Condren life planner. I honestly thought people were crazy for getting this $50 planner! I ended up finding a great deal through Plum District and only paid a total of $12.50 (including shipping) for my planner which is only a little more than what I would normally pay for a planner and this one is personalized! It is so much bigger than I expected and it has a ton of space for everything. I have previously been using the calendar on my phone for things, but it just isn't the easiest. Sometimes it notifies me of an upcoming event/appointment and sometimes it doesn't. Now I have everything organized in my planner :) I highly recommend their planners if you can get them for a deep discount. I would love to buy one next year but knowing I can get it for $12.50, it's going to be impossible for me to feel that it's okay to pay more for it! It also came with a bunch of complimentary gift tags which will be perfect for Christmas (some say just my name and some have our family name on it).

sonic date

2011-11-21T22:24:00.003-05:00

Holly and I met up for a Sonic date this past week. It will be our last for quite awhile :( I've been spoiled getting to meet up with her so much and I'm really going to miss her when we move! It has been increasingly more difficult to keep W occupied in the car for our dates, but he a grand time crawling all over the car and he especially loves pretending to drive! Here is my favorite picture:

Isn't Holly like the cutest ever?!

I will say I'm pretty excited that our new house will be only 15 mins or so from 3 different Sonics as opposed to the closest one to me now being an hour away. I can surely be fulfilling my cream slush cravings ;) (I had the cherry cream slush this time, it's probably my favorite!!)

Things are moving along on our house :) I picked out all the paint colors and the new floor should be installed by the end of next week. Hopefully it will be completely ready when W and I arrive!

a party courtesy of houseparty.com, shutterfly, and bzz agent (oh and pinterest)

2011-11-12T22:22:00.007-05:00

Saturday I hosted my Shutterfly party courtesy of houseparty.com. They sent me all the stuff I needed for the party including plenty of codes for free cards and free calendars, $10 gift cards to Plum District, balloons, and a cute stand for my holiday card. On top of that, I was also sent 5 Maybelline Baby Lips (5 different kinds!) and 5 Maybelline Lots of Lashes mascara. I kept one of each to try for myself in order to write a review and then I put the rest in swag bags for my guests. I also included something to snack on and 30 things to take a picture of in November (one for each day, via pinterest) :
I decided to do a trial run for W's birthday cupcakes with my first attempt at homemade cream cheese icing. They actually didn't turn out too bad! My piping skills are rather messy, but I'm going to try borrowing a piping set so they might look a tiny bit better. I followed lots of different directions on pinterest to bake them the best and for my icing recipe. I also made a Sonic Cherry Limeade.It was a lot of fun to host this party and I really hope to do something like this again. (Although with us moving it'll be difficult to probably host parties until I meet some people).

bzz agent

2011-11-11T23:12:00.004-05:00

I know I just posted about being a bzz agent and I'll probably be posting again in the near future (to update about my party). I wanted to share the latest campaign I joined. It's for a program called "Smarterer" I started using the program with questions about bzz agent, and it made me realize how little I know about it! My current score is 454 after only a few questions (you lose points when you don't get questions correctly). I'm not sure about y'all but I LOVE trivia games! It's one thing Aaron and I have in common. We love watching Jeopardy together or playing Trivial Pursuit. This "platform is designed to score individuals on digital, social, and technical skills. Using crowdsourced test design and a scoring mechanism similar to the one developed to rank chess masters, in just 10 questions and 60 seconds we can give you a valid score." (taken from their website). To be honest I'm not really sure the relevance to every day life because it seems like the testing is pretty topic-specific. I love random trivia!

(I am a bzz agent and I was able to try this platform for free.)

blog swap!

2011-11-09T23:16:00.006-05:00

I was so excited when my bff Holly (she blogs at Perfectly Imperfect) hosted a blogger swap for 101 in 1001 days/30 before 30/etc lists. The goal was to help another blogger complete something on their list. My blog partner was Amanda at Simple Girl, Simple Pleasures. She sent me these amazing reusable grocery bags to complete number 52 on my list (Make a switch to reusable grocery bags). I now have one more thing checked off my list, and you best believe I'll be shopping with these!!

(W thought these were for him, I told him he gets always gets new toys and these were for me...)

(Check back on Holly's site in the future as she may host another blog swap sometime....)

3 years

2011-11-09T10:23:00.002-05:00

Yesterday marked our 3 year anniversary, and we spent it 1000 miles apart. Aaron is at a work meeting so he wasn't at an address I could send anything to, but I have something I plan to send him once he's settled at our house. He sent me a dozen roses and a box of chocolates. It was the sweetest thing because he has never gotten me flowers before and spontaneous things just aren't his style. I loved it, but it made me miss him more. We had a chance to face-time right before bed so here is a pic of us celebrating our 3 year anniversary:

You can see the posts I did on our 1 year anniversary and our 2 year anniversary. (I just started using the new blogger interface, I'm not entirely sure if I like it yet. Are any other bloggers using it?)

stuff I belong to

2011-11-07T15:05:00.003-05:00

It's no secret that I'm ~~definitely~~ most likely an internet addict. I love reading blogs, checking my email, entering giveaways, and obsessing over things on pinterest. I probably spend way too much time online, but now that I have no job, I'm not going to school, my hubby is 17 hours away, and my bestest lives an hour and a half away, I tend to be online during all of my free time. I have joined some pretty awesome things that have cool perks :) Here are my favs:

Swagbucks: I've posted about this on here before, but I don't think you understand the awesomeness. I earn a $5 Amazon gift card about every other month and the only thing I do is use their search bar for my everyday searches, answer a pool question daily, and I have their toolbar downloaded which earns me 1 point a day (you need 450 points for a $5 Amazon gift card but they tons of other fun things you can win or things you can enter to win). Having free 2-day shipping on Amazon (with a student membership) makes this even more amazing. If you are interested in joining, check them out here:

Ebates: This one is seriously the easiest one on this list. You do have to sign up but it's easy to do. You use their site for any online purchases you make (sadly Amazon isn't one you can earn cash back from). Each site has a different percent that you can earn back and then 4 times a year they make a deposit into your paypal account (you do need to reach a minimum amount). We've been members since 2009 and have earned over $70. It doesn't sound like much but that's money we didn't have before and we earned it from doing our regular online shopping. Click this link if you're interested in checking them out:

Looxsy: This is another program that has an Amazon perk (or paypal depending on what you choose). I don't even know how I found this site but they have weekly things to comment on and the more active you are the more money you earn at the end of the month (I think the most I received is a $20 Amazon gift card a few months ago) I average between $7-10 a month. I've also received an eye liner to review from them which earned me extra money plus a free eyeliner! I'm not exactly positive if they are accepting new people but you can try going to their website (looxsy.com) and see!

BzzAgent: I've been a BzzAgent for about 2 years now. It's mostly reviewing stuff you already like and as you advance you get the opportunity to actually receive stuff to review. From them I received full size products of foundation, lip balms, mascara, and bagel thins. Most recently I received 4 full size products of Maybelline Baby Lips and Great Lash. I really love the mascara and the lip balm has been okay (I have been trying the peach). I plan to give the others to friends and family so they can try them out too! You can check them out by going to bzzagent.com

House Party: I've been a member of this site for about a year and a half and I'm finally hosting my first party! This upcoming Saturday I am hosting a Shutterfly House Party. The thing I love most about it is that they sent me all the stuff I need (coupons for free cards for people who are coming and for me to use) but no one is required to make a purchase. I don't get any perks for anything that is bought so it totally takes the pressure off of me feeling like I need sell myself. I plan on doing a separate post after the party with more details about it! You can join by going to houseparty.com

I know y'all probably think I'm crazy. But I love I getting stuff in the mail and I prefer for those things to be free. I don't mind that I'm not getting a paycheck, so any extra money or things I can get to pamper myself makes me feel good about myself :)

11 months

2011-11-06T22:16:00.002-05:00

This month was such a bittersweet month. W has been such a joy, but I have seen the transition from baby to toddler and it makes me sad. I adore how interactive he is, but I miss our snuggle time.

This month W has been sleeping completely through the night. He goes to bed at 9 and is up around 8. I'm totally surprised he went from a baby that wouldn't sleep more than 3-4 hours to sleeping 11 hours at night and consistently taking 2 naps a day. We still have our rough days, but sleep has been such a huge improvement. I really think switching to a bottle helped because he just wasn't getting enough from me when he was nursing. He's now down to 3 bottles (between 6 and 8 ounces depending on how hungry he is). He eats 3 meals a day and he's eating more and more finger foods (still mostly veggies and fruits as finger foods but some breads and a few sweets).

There were huge milestones this month: he got his first haircut, celebrated his first Halloween, started walking (still crawls if he wants to get somewhere fast), discovered his love of hiding under blankets and headbutting people, and he has a lot of fun imitating us. He's not using any words, but he babbles constantly and he loves to make sounds.

We don't have any official stats but from my home scale he's at 18 pounds (a little less than what he weighed at the dr. at 9 months which puts him in the 5th percentile) and I've measured him at 30 inches (74th percentile). He is wearing 12 month clothing and 18 month sleepers. He is in a size 4 diaper (even though he doesn't meet the weight requirement for them, he kept leaking through size 3 diapers so we bumped him up a size).

I know there are plenty of things I'm forgetting, but I wanted to get a quick post up.

1 month

2011-11-05T11:25:00.002-04:00

Today begins our 1 month apart. A is currently driving down to Alabama/Florida for his work meeting and to get our house ready. This will be the longest we will have been apart, but we've done long-distance like this before (like when I lived in Indiana, 6 hours away). We'll be missing our 3-year anniversary and he'll be missing W's first Thanksgiving and he's 1st birthday. I know he's really sad to be apart from both of us and he's worried W is going to forget who he is. I assured him that won't be the case and we're planning to face-time as often as we can :)

Prayers for family would be greatly appreciated!

crafts

2011-10-26T16:12:00.003-04:00

95. Make 5 items for myself or someone else (5/5)
1. Mail Sorter
2. Advent Calendar
3. Baby Print - Russell
4. Baby Print - Elise
5. Travel Wipes Case

The last one I just recently finished up for a friend who had a baby in September. I actually won a travel diaper case and because I already had one, I figured it would be good to gift it to someone else. I use my travel wipes/diaper case everywhere we go. In fact, I often just grab the 2 things when we're doing quick errands. It took me some time to figure out how to do the wipes case, but it didn't turn out too bad. I suggest using printed fabric because solid fabric shows every flaw and mistake! Although it doesn't look too bad with the diaper case (I wish I would have taken a pic of both!)

wine tasting

2011-10-23T21:26:00.002-04:00

23. Go wine tasting (Mastropietro Winery, October 23, 2011)

Today A and I went wine tasting with my brother and his girlfriend. I've been wanting to go to this local winery for years because they have this sweet red wine that I love. On Sundays you're allowed to bring your own food so we got p'zones (super classy, I know!) and we enjoyed trying some different wines :) A and I shared a bottle of the Dolce Rosso while my brother and his girlfriend tried a different sweet red that was an elderberry wine. I also had a glass of their sweet white white (called "Sunset") which was a peach wine.

How Pinteresting :)

2011-10-19T11:37:00.003-04:00

I have roughly 6 weeks until W and I are packing up and meeting A down in Florida. My goal is to do one project a week until then so that I have some awesome things for our new house. All of my ideas I have found on Pinterest. I'm linking up with Michelle at The Vintage Apple to share some of my favorite ideas:

Source: brassrazooboutique.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Source: manditremayne.blogspot.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Source: missloviecreations.blogspot.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Ashley on Pinterest

My plan is to combine the two wreaths into one. I like the felt flowers vs the big poofy flowers. I need to find one other project, and I imagine it will be a Christmas project!

What do you find Pinteresting?

31 Days of Dresses: Day 17 + 18

2011-10-19T11:29:00.002-04:00

As you can tell, this day was a jeans and sweater dress kind of day. (I didn't even bother to put my contacts in...) We ran some errands this day, but otherwise it was kind of lazy.

Works cited:
*dress - Kohl's (I have a black and white striped one, but I think I'm going to get rid of them before I move because they are just too short for me anymore)
*jeans - Old Navy

I was feeling fall today. I'm trying to soak up every bit of autumn that I can because my fear is that this is the last real autumn I will see! I love my boots with tights and this outfit felt so comfy cozy :) I've already worn all the pieces of this outfit on separate days, but I like how they all come together!

Works cited:
*dress - American Apparel
*tights - Kohl's
*boots - Naturalizer
*belt - Kohl's

The inspiration for these 31 days is beginning to wane. Because I'm not working or going to school, I have run out of dresses I can wear around the house. I have plenty of cute ones hanging up but it's really impractical to wear something nice with a 10 month old. I have one wedding to go to and A and I have 2 date nights planned before the end of the month and I have at least one more dress I plan to wear. I know that's only 4 more days, but I'm surprised I will have even made it to 22 days!

success with giveaways part 2

2011-10-17T22:25:00.000-04:00

I've had a few bloggers ask me how I win so many giveaways. I did a post a few months back that will give some of my tips if you are just starting out (success with giveaways), but this post will hopefully add a few more :)

Most of the giveaways I win are one's I have found through online-sweepstakes.com or through a google blog search. The way I use the first website is using the "New Sweepstakes" section. I go through giveaways from the previous day (that way I can see all of the new giveaways). I don't enter all the giveaways there, I only click on one's that I would actually want to win. I don't have room for a bunch of stuff I can't use! If it's something I don't want, my family can't use, or isn't something I can give as a gift, I don't enter.

Google blog searches are the other way I win stuff I actually want. I do a giveaway search of things that might interest me such as: baby, clothing, shoes, fashion, style, clothing, etsy, etc.

I average entering 20-30 giveaways a day. Typically I enter giveaways after W has gone to bed or I'll do it during his nap time (it can be time consuming, but it pays off). I find it to be a lot of fun, plus it's a way to help us out financially. I have won some pretty awesome gifts to give for Christmas (like a Kitchenaid Hand Mixer!)

If you have any specific questions, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email :)

31 Days of Dresses: Day 15 + 16

2011-10-16T11:50:00.004-04:00

Yesterday A's sister got married and so we were gone all day and I didn't take a full-length pic in my dress. This is the only pic I have access to, but I'll have more I'll be posting on my private blog (leave a comment if you'd like to read it, I have it up and running!) My dress was a cocoa brown, the matron of honor wore red and one bridesmaid wore orange. My mom used the extra fabric from hemming my gown to make a bow tie for W :) We also had a cute black hat he wore for the professional pictures! We have another wedding to go to next Saturday so hopefully I'll remember my camera and have better pictures to post.

After a really long weekend, I want to be comfortable today! This is my 5th green dress of this feature (it's only the 16th, haha!) Once again, I love my sweater dresses and they are so perfect for fall...I hope I can wear them in Florida...

Works cited:
* 15th dress - David's Bridal
* 16th dress - Kohl's
* leggings - Kohl's
* shoes - Soda

31 Days of Dresses: Day 14

2011-10-14T21:35:00.002-04:00

Today was my SIL's rehearsal dinner. Her theme is fall so I figured an orange dress would be a good fit :)

Works cited:
*dress - won from a giveaway, Shabby Apple Cider dress
*boots - won from a giveaway, Naturalizer Aria
*belt - Kohl's

31 Days of Dresses: Day 13

2011-10-13T23:10:00.003-04:00

My dress looks slightly disheveled in this picture, but it was comfy for fall. This is a maxi dress I got a few years ago and I love wearing it in the summer but sleeveless just isn't appropriate for rainy days or for work. Today was my very last day of work (unless I missed some paperwork) and it was kind of sad. I've only worked there a week but I've had 4 clients and I would love to see them through their treatment.

Works cited:
*dress - NY&Co
*sweater - Anthropologie
*shoes - won from a giveaway, Me Too (I wore them yesterday)

31 Days of Dresses: Day 12

2011-10-12T14:50:00.003-04:00

I think this dress is such a perfect dress for fall. The colors remind me of the leaves changing, I just wish it was short sleeves (it has weird sleeves...) I got this dress off the clearance rack at Kohl's (it's Vera Wang) and so I couldn't pass it up :) Today I had to see one client and finish up a DA (Diagnostic Assessment) and then tomorrow should be my final day at work. Everything is taken care of at school, I just have to pay one final bill and then that will be done. I am starting the task of looking at schools in the area, but it feels very overwhelming. I can't find a program that is nearby that is even close to what I've been doing. I may end up switching degree programs entirely...

Works cited:
*dress - Kohl's
*shoes - won from a giveaway, Me Too brand (I thought they were brown when I picked them out, but they are more of a reddish purple)
*belt - Kohl's

Our Big News

2011-10-11T22:28:00.004-04:00

I know that everyone has been dying to know our big news (ok just humor me...)

A was offered a really amazing job on Friday. Everything about it is perfect, except that it's not in Ohio. It has the right money, a house, a cell phone, and the same great health insurance we currently have.

The downside?

It means we are relocating... to FLORIDA!

Oh and it starts next month...

It has been a whirlwind past few days. They needed to know ASAP as to whether or not he wanted it and so we talked extensively about it and made the decision on Sunday. I rushed around to quit my job and drop out of school. My anxiety level has been at a 10 with all the stuff that is changing in our lives, but I know this opportunity is from God. I had been praying for a new and better financial opportunity to come our way, I just didn't know what I was praying for. We're both very nervous to be so far away from family but we're also staying very positive about the whole thing.

I'm planning to start a private blog to document W and to update family and friends about our new lives. If you are interested in being added to the list, leave your email address in a comment and/or send me an email (demureprincess7(at)gmail(dot)com) and I'll add you to the list once it's up and running. This will be a way to not have to censor as much especially with us moving on our own and not having a feeling of "security". This will still be my main blog and I will continue to update about my life on it, but more personal stuff will show up on the other blog.

Also, if there are any Florida bloggers out there reading, I would love to chat! I have no idea what I'm getting into in the Sunshine State :)

31 Days of Dresses: Day 11

2011-10-11T16:18:00.003-04:00

Today's outfit was a last-minute decision. I was already planning on wearing this dress but I was going to wear heels with it instead of the boots. I think I like the boots better, but it might look more Western than fashion-forward. I bought this dress off of eBay for my wedding shower (it's an Anthropologie dress) and I've never worn it again. I love the top of it, but the bottom is really heavy and it has big panels so when I sit down my entire leg usually gets exposed until I rearrange it. My mom said she could attach the panels so I might end up doing this.

Works cited:
*dress - Anthropologie via eBay
*boots - won from a giveaway, Aria from Naturalizer

31 Days of Dresses: Day 10

2011-10-10T22:12:00.002-04:00

Today started out with a Monday morning meeting (yuck) and it ended with a fairly refreshing counseling session. We're moving forward in our big plans I hope to disclose some of it later on this week :) My SIL is getting married on Saturday, though, so things might get crazy.

Works cited:
*dress - Macy's (I wore the same one on day 2)
*leggings - Walmart
*shoes - Sears
*belt - NY&Co

31 Days of Dresses: Day 9

2011-10-09T20:44:00.002-04:00

Today was one of those days. Because of some stuff we have going on, emotionally and mentally I was drained and not in the mood to get out of PJs. I forced myself to go on a walk though and put on a comfy dress. As you can tell I didn't bother to put my contacts in and I'm not as put together as I usually am! I'll have an update this week about our big news!!

Works cited:
*dress - Old Navy (it has a stain on the front so I probably will never wear it again, but it was a clearance dress)
*leggings - Walmart
*shoes - Nike outlet

31 Days of Dresses: Day 8

2011-10-08T14:11:00.003-04:00

Today was another impromptu dress. The weather has become much warmer than I was anticipating, so I needed to pull out something cool to wear. If you haven't figured it out by now, I love wearing leggings (Walmart has my favorite for really cheap) and I also own a lot of green dresses. This is the 2nd of probably 4 or so that I will be featuring! I found this knit dress at a thrift store a few months ago and I fell in love. It's so easy breezy but the colors are perfect for fall. No accessories today, as the little dude would be pulling on them!

I may have some updates of some really big news soon (no I'm not pregnant!) So stayed tuned :)

Works cited:
*dress - thrifted
*leggings - Walmart
*shoes - Soda
*tank top - Target
*belt - NY & Co (I tried on all my belts before deciding on this one, so I may end up switching it out!)

31 Days of Dresses: Day 7

2011-10-07T13:34:00.002-04:00

Today is kind of a cheater day. This dress is actually a really big shirt...but it looks much better as a dress! Today I'm hanging out with W and maybe going to the park later on for a walk. I kept my accessories to a minimum because he loves shiny and sparkly things! I'm excited to have a day with my little man :)

Works cited:
*dress - American Apparel
*leggings - Walmart
*shoes - Shoe Carnival
*belt - thrifted

31 Days of Dresses: Day 6

2011-10-06T17:44:00.003-04:00

I want to apologize for my lack of commenting and responding to comments! This week has been really busy now that school has started and I'm back to work, and I don't imagine it will slow down until next summer (when I will *hopefully* have enough internship hours to take a break). I promise that I'm reading everyone's blogs I'm subscribed to and I read every comment I receive! My hope is to get caught up this weekend :)

I have now seen 3 clients - 1 adult client and 2 adolescents. 2 of the sessions went really well, one of them didn't go as well. I think I need to stick with just adult clients right now because it is really overwhelming to have parents so involved...it's an added dynamic I'm not sure I feel equipped to handle.

Works cited:
*dress - Kohl's (I'm not sure why I've never worn this, I literally had to clip the tags off of it. I really love it though)
*tights - Kohl's
*shoes - Soda
*necklace - borrowed from my mom, NY & Co

31 Days of Dresses: Day 5

2011-10-05T11:44:00.002-04:00

I'm not entirely in love with today's outfit, but it'll have to work as I don't have time to rethink it! Are grey and brown together a fashion faux pas? I have my second day of my practicum today, and I have two clients scheduled. Thankfully I'll be meeting with my supervisor before, but I'm still super nervous. Lots of prayers would be appreciated!

Works cited:
*dress - TJ Maxx
*tights - Kohl's
*shoes - Tom's wedges
*tank top - NY & Co
*necklace - borrowed from my mom, NY & Co

31 Days of Dresses: Day 4 + W is 10 months

2011-10-04T22:23:00.005-04:00

Today was my first day back as a full-time grad student. I have four classes this quarter (Counseling Ethics, Intro to Family Therapy, Practicum, and Group Therapy). I actually think I'm going to like all of my classes and I think the workload will be manageable with my internship. I joined a new group of students (my program runs as a cohort and when I took a year off I had to join a new cohort). I already made a few friends and I'm pretty excited about that :) I wish I would have taken a close up of my necklace, but being that it was 5:30 am, I just didn't snapped a few pics and hoped a decent one came out. The necklace has purples in it which I thought was kinda fun with the green.

Works cited:
*dress - Target
*tights - Gap
*shoes - Sears
*necklace - borrowed from my mom, Cookie Lee
*belt - Kohl's

I couldn't resist posting W's 10 month pic :) I got a few really good ones, I just wish his face wasn't so shadowed.

31 Days of Dresses: Day 3

2011-10-03T22:08:00.004-04:00

Today was a long Monday. I think Monday morning meetings should be banned, no matter how interesting the subject matter. This was my first day on the job and I can say that I am emotionally and physically exhausted. I was up at 6 and out the door by 6:50. I had to stop and get gas and then drive an hour and a half to go to my full clinical meeting. The topic was human trafficking so I'm really glad I have been given resources about it, I'm just sooo tired. I didn't have to work until 3 so I went to Sheetz and read for class tomorrow. I had two clients scheduled for tonight but both of them canceled (thankfully, but I spent 3 hours at work doing nothing except freaking out that I was going to be seeing clients and I felt totally unprepared). I have two clients scheduled for Wednesday (2 adolescents, eek), and I'm hoping I can sit in on a few sessions with my supervisor and with the child psychologist.

Works cited:
*dress - TJ Maxx
*leggings - Walmart
*shoes - Kohl's
*jewelry - I've had the pieces so long I can't even remember

31 Days of Dresses: Day 2

2011-10-02T16:38:00.003-04:00

I hope this lighting is better for today's picture!

Admittedly, today I wore a different dress than I had scheduled. I was anticipating the beginning of October to still be kinda warm, but it's rainy and cold instead! Hopefully my green dress will make an appearance later in the month, if not, it'll be mostly sweater dresses! Today I ran a few errands and made a few returns, nothing too fancy or exciting!

Works cited:
*dress - Macy's
*belts - thrifted & Old Navy
*leggings - won from a giveaway, Moody Mamas (they are supposed to be maternity, but lets face it, maternity clothes are super comfy and you can't actually tell these are)
*shoes - borrowed from my mom, Crocs

blog interview :)

2011-10-02T11:00:00.000-04:00

Holly and I have been bffs for a long time and after a fun idea that we saw Brunette & Blessed do, we decided to interview each other. You can check out my interview on her blog and here is what she had to say to the questions I asked her:

Hey there! I'm Holly and I blog at Perfectly Imperfect. Here are my answers to the questions that Ashley asked me:)

What is your favorite scripture?

I have 3....

*Hebrews 11:1--this is probably my top favorite :)
*Micah 6:8
*Jeremiah 29:11
They all have had such a powerful impact on my life and I try to live my life by all 3 of them every day!

Describe your perfect date.
"Hmm...that's a tough one! I'd have to go with April 25th, because it's not too hot, and not too cold, and all you need is a light jacket!" (name that movie and you get 100 blog bonus points)
Haha :) But in all seriousness, I suppose that my perfect date would be to a baseball or football game, when the weather is perfect and a little cool so that you actually do have to wear a light jacket (hah!), and then after the game, depending on how late it is, we could grab dinner or ice cream and just walk or drive around and talk. If it's still light out, I'd suggest going down to the park by the beach to watch the sunset and hang out by the water until it gets too dark and I start to freak out from the large dark space in front of me ;)

If you could be in a show right now, which would you choose and what role would you play?
Oh I like this question! I miss doing theater! I would choose the play 'Children of Eden', and I would be Yonah. This is one of my favorite musicals that is non-Broadway. Have you ever heard of it? It's fantastic. The first act is based on Adam and Eve and then Cain and Able, and the second act is about Noah's Ark. The music is incredible and I wish more theaters did it so I could audition and be in it again!!! This is the opening number (performed by a high school I think), and this is one of my favorites that I would sing if I were Yonah.

If you could live anywhere, where would you like to live?
I'm pretty happy in Ohio, I really do love it here. But I've always dreamed of just moving somewhere and being on my own for a while. And for no real reason, I've always wanted to move to North Carolina, near the beach. I'm not really sure why, since I've never visited, but I think it would be a great place to live!

What are 5 things you wish you owned?
-a house
-a pair of TOMS shoes
-a nice DSLR camera
-a King Cavalier Spaniel, even though my pup is pretty cute :)
-a Keurig

If you could be a celebrity for a day, who would you be and why?
Ummm this is tough....I think I would choose to be Jennifer Aniston when she was on 'Friends' because I think it would be awesome to see how it felt to be a part of such an amazing cast and show! Plus I love the show anyway so that would just be fun :)

What is your favorite restaurant?
Danny Boys. It's a local Italian family restaurant that we go to basically every Sunday night as a family and they have the best food....hands down. Their breadsticks are ridiculously awesome, and their portions are huge. SOO good :)

What are you most excited about by becoming an aunt?

I am SO excited to get to be around a cute little baby all the time!! Ok, maybe not all the time, but a lot. And I can babysit whenever my sister needs me to I'm sure ;) And I'm really excited to just be apart of this new life and watch her grow and become close with her and she grows up!

What is your favorite flavor ice cream?
I have too many to name, lol. My all-time favorite is Mint Chocolate Chip, but I also love Salted Caramel, anything dark chocolate, anything coffee-related, Strawberry, Butter Pecan, Black Raspberry, and Pumpkin Spice....but I could keep going!

If you could give yourself advice in the past, what would it be?
I would definitely tell myself to relax and enjoy the happy times. Life gets harder as you get older, but it also gets a lot better. Don't fret about the small things, and be sure to keep your best friends and your family close to you because they will always be there for you no matter what. Just embrace your life and have fun!!

What is the most played song on your iPod?
'Jump' originally by Van Halen, but performed by Glee. I don't know why this one is the top played...I don't think I listen to it much more than the other 2,000+ songs....but the second most played is 'Don't Stop Believing' by Glee. Sooo maybe it just means I'm a Gleek! ;)

What is your ideal car?
A red mustang convertible. That's totally not a very practical car in Cleveland weather, but I don't care!

What is your favorite memory of you and your best friend?
Ok, brace yourselves, there are a lot of these ;)

--watching a bootleg version of 'Rent' on Broadway on YouTube because we couldn't wait to see it in the movie theater
(the link isn't the exact one we watched, but it's the closest I could find)

Eating cheese dip and frosting out of cans

Feeding goats, making cookies, and
drinking a gallon of milk at her friend
Jen's house

This particular night was pretty fun :)

Walking to Sheetz late at night for
~~hot dogs~~ pretzels (hahahaha...)

Celebrating our 21st birthdays

Celebrating the end of my Jr. year/her
graduation...one of my favorites :)

Her wedding and all the
festivities surrounding it

Visiting her in Indianapolis

Meeting her beautiful son for the first time

Our day trip to Pittsburgh

Sonic dates

Lunch dates

We certainly have had some fun times, and I can't wait for plenty more to come! Thanks for reading my questions and come visit me sometime over at my blog :)

31 Days of Dresses: Day 1

2011-10-01T14:27:00.000-04:00

Teal has become my new favorite color. It pairs with just about every color (I wore peach and teal over the summer a lot), but purple and teal is my favorite combo. My mom made this dress from an old tee shirt and extra fabric she had lying around. She has done a couple of these for me, so you'll see this style of dress a couple of times.

This was just a boring Saturday. No real plans other than hanging out and plans to go out to dinner. The weekends will be tough to wear dresses as I tend to not even get out of my PJs, but I'm glad I have an excuse to get dressed up :)

Works cited:
*shirt - Charlotte Russe
*necklace - New York & Company
*shoes - Soda via Zooshoo.com

why 31 days of dresses?

2011-09-30T11:00:00.000-04:00

Starting October 1st, I plan to wear a dress a day throughout the month of October. I chose October because it's going to be a huge month for me.

I start my internship on Monday and I will be working 4 days a week
I start grad classes on Tuesday and they are once a week
My SIL is getting married on the 15th (which means there is also a rehearsal dinner)
One of A's cousins who is also a long-time friend of mine is getting married on the 22nd

I feel like is a way to kick off the next phase of my life and I want to do it in style. This adventure comes with a lot of fear, too.

I am afraid of standing out. As my fellow introverts can probably sympathize with, standing out makes us very uncomfortable. My new job is actually really laid back (more dress casual), but I'm determined to be as professional as I think I should be. Also, feeling pretty brings me courage and I'm going to need a lot of that as I'm stepping in to unfamiliar territory. Casting Crowns newest song "Courageous" is my new theme song. So yes I will be rocking out in my dresses during my long commute...all to build up courage to face each new challenge :)

I have already planned out which dresses I'm going to wear each day (I still have a few blank days). With how much I'll be working and having a very active 10 month-old, I just don't want to think about what I'm going to wear!

I *think* I finally got all the lighting right for the pictures I'll be taking, but I'm not a professional and I don't have a professional camera. If someone has a link to how to take indoor photographs with a point-and-shoot, I'd greatly appreciate it! I've done a lot of browsing and without a DSLR there isn't much I can do.

I hope you'll join me on this journey and linkup at the Nesting Place or one of the other 8 blogs that are hosting this 31 days link up!

i < 3 ohio - Columbus

2011-09-26T13:31:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited to introduce Michelle of Brunette & Blessed for this week's feature. She is showcasing our state capital! I'm embaressed to say I've only been to the Short North from her list and it was only to visit Jeni's Ice Cream, but I really want to check out these places she has mentioned!

Hey Everyone. I am happy to be doing a guest post for the lovely Ashley over at Introverted Mama.

She thought up this great idea to help connect bloggers from OHIO. I loved it and when she asked me if I would consider doing a guest post I was more than excited.

We are all writing a post about our cities and some of the great things that you can find to do here.

I am a proud resident of Ohio's capital Columbus.

This will be pretty hard.

I find new things every time I turn around.

I could blog about things like the classes that are offered where you can take a painting class and drink wine.

I could also blog about the local shopping at Polaris and Easton.

Instead I have decided to feature the things that are unique about Columbus. The things that make this city great and every visitor should try out if they are in the area.

The Ohio State University Stadium

We Ohio State Fans take our football very seriously. However, I don't recommend going to the game if you are going to support the opposing team though...

Campus turns into a buzz of activity.

There are street vendr's...street meat...scalpers....and lots of street parties.

If you support the team it is a welcoming and must see environment.

COSI

Columbus has the #1 children's science museum in the USA. This is not just a much of exhibits where you walk thought mindlessly. Kids can touch/play and experiment.

If you have a child who is at all interested in the sciences. This is a must see.

I even worked here for about a year and I cant think of enough good things to say about it.

COSI is not just for kids either. I always had friends who wanted to come and play at COSI.

If you brave enough you can also become a high wire unicyclist.

Crew Stadium
The Columbus Crew soccer team has been highly under valued. Soccer is still catching on in the USA...but the Columbus Crew has been the team to beat for years.

The atmosphere is contagious.

If you are sitting in the supporters section, do not expect to stop cheering or sit for even a second.

They are deadly serious about "Football" as they would say.

The Columbus Conservatory

It is a breathtakingly beautiful space in the middle of the city.

They host events all the time where you can come see an orchid or butterfly garden.

They also host events for cooking classes, yoga and tons of other activities.

Short North Gallery Hop

Gallery Hop is when the short north stays open till around 12 midnight. All the store/ice cream shops/ art galleries stay open to accommodate visitors in the city.

The streets become alive with artist, music and dancing.

This is such a fun thing to do. The strip is long and you never know what treasures you will find in private boutiques.

Well I have given you my top five mentions for Columbus, OH.

I hope that if you are here you will take the time to visit just a few of our many attractions.

There are so many more that it was hard to limit what I choose to write about.

I decided on these because they are some of my personal favorites.

Thanks again for letting me guest blog Ashley. If you want to hear more from me you can find me over at Brunette and Blessed.

happy fall

2011-09-23T15:02:00.003-04:00

Today is the first day of fall :) It's been rainy and dreary all day, but this little boy has made the day not so miserable! I would have loved to take his pic outside, but our pumpkins from the fall fest will have to suffice today. W loves that little pumpkin, he rolls it all around the house! My brother is going to roast pumpkin seeds this weekend and I cannot wait...I love pumpkin seeds.

if...

2011-09-22T09:04:00.000-04:00

I saw Samantha at Where the Green Grass Grows post this and thought it might be fun to do :)

If I were pregnant again I would be super excited :) We've been talking about when we'd like W to have a little brother or sister. I'm done nursing now, so I'm hoping my cycles will go back to usual soon.

If I could have any job in the world I would obviously want to be a stay at home mom to my kiddies but if I had to choose a job out in the world, I would love to be a career counselor to college students. I wish someone would have been available to counsel me on what to do with my life because I don't think I would have wasted as much time figuring things out.

If I had a day to myself I would have a girls day with my close friends. Maybe a spa day or wine tasting!

If I could get married all over again I wouldn't change a thing! There are some minor things I wish I would have done differently but nothing I regret!

If I could live anywhere in the US I would choose to remain in Ohio. I love where I love now, it feels familiar and safe. I want to raise a family in this area, but I'd be content with many places in Ohio (although big cities aren't for me).

If W would have been a girl he would have been named (or your baby girl a boy) I'm actually keeping it a secret because we may end up using it if we were to have a girl. I think we have both names picked out for a boy or girl (which doesn't include the one we had in mind when I was pregnant with W) but you never know if we may change our minds!

If I could have any talent in the world I would love to be a peaceful person. I'm not even sure if that's a legitimate talent, but I've always wanted to be a pacifist.

If you met me in real life you would probably say "wow that girl is awkward"...just kidding...but most people don't get me in real life, and I'm totally okay with that!

If I could go back to school and get a different degree I would get my degree in Environmental Geology. I love what I'm doing right now, but there are days I wish I had chosen a science field simply because I wouldn't have to deal directly with people (shh, the future counselor did not just say that...)

If money were not an object we would have all of our student loans paid off, A would have his own truck, we would have college funds set up for our kids, and we would live in a house we built our self with a ton of land (and probably a lake!)

If I could meet one celebrity, I honestly can't think of a celebrity I'd really like to meet. I'm not one to get all crazy of celebrities, but I think maybe Nelsen Mandela or Mother Teresa would have been cool to meet from contemporary society.

If I could shop at one store for the rest of my life (I hate questions like this). If it's the only store I can shop at then I would have to pick Amazon because it's the only place I can get everything I need...internet sites are real stores!

If we get another pet I would want a dog. If our next "home" allows us to have a pet then we are getting a dog. I wont' be dealing with a puppy because I don't have the patience, but a nice shelter dog would be perfect!

If I could go on a trip RIGHT NOW, we'd be in Europe so fast :) I'd love to take a month long tour of France :)

If I had to choose between a house cleaner and a personal chef I would hands down choose the house cleaner. I had cleaning the house but I don't mind cooking (although I hate cleaning up after cooking!)

If I had the option of plastic surgery I wouldn't even consider it. I hate surgery and there isn't something I would want to change about myself enough to have surgery.

curly girl

2011-09-20T21:39:00.010-04:00

I have been meaning to post a blog about my hair, but I just hadn't taken the time to do so. Now that I have a haircut I love, I'm taking the time to share :)

To understand my love of my hair right now, you need to know my hair history. I have always had a love/hate relationship with my hair (with an emphasis on the hate part). I have very thick wavy hair but I always wanted it to be straight because any attempts at wearing it curly left me with a frizzy mess (think Hermione in the first Harry Potter).

The summer before my sophomore year of high school is the first time I remember experimenting with my hair. It was the time when I went platinum blond and I remained content with the color for about a year

Prom sophomore year, my mom made my dress modeled after a dress worn by Padme in Star Wars Episode 2 - I'm a nerd, what can I say?

In the middle of my junior year, I was ready for a change and decided to dye my hair to a dark red. It was around this time that my hair texture started to change and it had become a lot frizzier. I chalked it up to bleaching my hair for so long, but I think I should have paid attention more. I continued to force my hair to be straight and most days I ended up in tears because it was just so poofy! I tried every product on the market to tame frizzy hair, but I never found anything that really worked - John Frieda's Straight Serum has been the closest thing I've found.

Between junior year of high school and my last year of college (roughly a 4 year span), I went between different colors and styles. I tried going back to my natural color in college and went back to red almost immediately. I cut my hair short, hoping that would help, but most days I felt like a boy. It became an endless battle of me trying new things and not finding anything that worked! Here are a few examples of my crazy hair (and crazy me..including an oldie of the bff!!):

I officially stopped dying my hair in 2008, and I haven't looked back since. Unfortunately I continued to straighten my hair into oblivion and pretty much kept the same style until November of 2010. This was the point when I decided to donate my hair and get rid of the bulk, it was my first step in finding what worked for my hair. I adored my short hair and it was perfect for all the crazy postpartum shedding. My hair made it's final transformation (or so I hope) when I finally recognized it's waviness after reading an article posted on The Motherload (<-- link to the original blog post). Reading about the Curly Girl Method completely changed my life. I'm not saying I don't have bad hair days, but I love my hair so much more now that I know how to handle it. I did the exact CGM for about 2 months, but following it exactly didn't work for me because I felt like my hair was dirty all the time. Instead of only washing with conditioner, I use a moisturizing shampoo and a conditioner for curly hair (Herbal Essences shampoo and Suave conditioner...I'm really fancy). I use a curl activating gel on my wet hair (Herbal Essences) and I blow dry my hair upside down using a diffuser (I didn't know what this was until 6 months ago, it makes a huge difference with curly hair!) Halfway through drying I use a curl styling product (an Aveda product) and then I use hair spray with my hair upside down when I'm done. With my current hair style, I do straighten my bangs, but they flip all crazy directions when I let them go curly.

I'm sure my days of experimenting with my hair aren't gone forever, but this is the longest I have gone without hating my hair. Not to mention, this is super easy to take care of and maintain (although I don't have the luxury of wearing my hair in a ponytail anymore).

What are some of your hair woes? Do you have a love/hate relationship with your hair? Any other curly girls out there with tips for curly hair??

9 months

2011-09-19T14:36:00.006-04:00

I know this post is coming 2 weeks late, but W's appointment wasn't until this morning. Unfortunately I had a work meeting so A took him to the doctors. It was supposed to be really quick (no shot, just a prick to test iron levels), but A ended up being their over an hour.

W's iron levels are a tiny bit low, but the pediatrician said to give him some green veggies and it should come up. He ended up having to get a flu shot which I wasn't aware of and I'm kind of annoyed they didn't mention it, oh well. He has to go back in a month for round 2. I'm planning to get a flu shot again as I will be working with the general public.

He weighs 18lbs 6oz (12th percentile) and 29" (68th percentile). My tall and skinny little man :)

This month he has become very loud and talkative. He enjoys playing with himself just as much as he enjoys playing with others. He loves trying new foods and he is especially fond of any finger foods we offer him (any kind of cheese seems to be his ultimate favorite, though...especially cottage cheese).

This past month he took his first trip to the beach, his second trip to New York to visit his great grandparents, and he has been sleeping much better (including 2 nights of sleeping 10 hours). He is also completely weaned from breastfeeding (I'm still very sad about this), but I think the formula will be good for him and I'm okay with this. I'm proud of myself for making it to almost 10 months!

He has been standing on his own, but not very well. He really wants to be moving but he hasn't attempted to take any steps yet. My in-laws keep saying that he'll be walking by my SIL's wedding (October 15th), but I don't think he will be and I'm fine with that.

I have 2 more precious weeks with my little boy until I am back to work. I get sad when I think about it, but I just keep reminding myself that this is the path God has called me to take, being a stay-at-home mom has never been in the cards for me (unless of course we win the lottery!) Here is my favorite picture from the month:My brother and I took W to the local fruit farm and let W pick out a little pumpkin. He rolls it around the house; it's quite humorous.

it's ok Thursday

2011-09-15T11:27:00.002-04:00

Today I'm linking up with Amber again :)

It's ok..

...that I'm freaking out about all the paperwork that still isn't complete for this year. I have no confirmation I have loans for this year and I haven't received any confirmation that I have my Counselor Trainee Status (in fact, I don't even show up on the website as "pending"!) I've not even received anything about my fingerprinting and background check and I had that done over a month ago.

...that I'm kinda bummed W slept through the night while in New York (10 hours!) but hasn't done so since we've been home

...that I've never been to Toledo but I really want to go after reading Emily's feature about it. I really need to start visiting places in Ohio more often!

...that I'm excited about my husband's possible job this upcoming year. I can't say anything more about it until it's official, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up!

...that people misunderstood my "it's ok Thursday" post from last week. We are NOT expecting baby #2 right now, I'm just excited at the thought

...to be a little bit sad to no longer be breastfeeding. W weaned himself and is only nursing before bed and sometimes in the middle of the night. I was going to start in October because I won't have a chance to pump at my new job/at school, but he started it himself

...to be really excited for fall clothing and wearing layers

...to also be excited for 31 days of dresses in October! I found a site that I will be linking up with and I have dresses planned out for almost the entire month (because, lets face it, there is no way my brain is going to function enough that month to plan daily so I planned ahead!)

i < 3 ohio - Toledo

2011-09-14T22:38:00.001-04:00

For our second installment, I'm featuring Emily who I have been following for a couple of months. She is sharing about Toledo, I city I have not visited. After reading about all the fun stuff to do, I can't wait to check it out sometime soon!!

Hi! I’m Emily and I blog over at Day in the Life (you can head over there to read more about my daily life ramblings). I lived in Toledo all my life until college and I miss it so much! I just wanted to tell you all about how awesome Toledo is!

Attractions:
1. Toledo Zoo- I actually worked at the zoo for 5 years as a volunteer and a summer as a cashier. It’s awesome! It was actually voted one of the top 5 zoos in the nation! Not only do they have awesome attractions such as an African Exhibit and a huge monkey exhibit, they have the Lights Before Christmas. They have millions of Christmas lights and it is absolutely beautiful. If you ever go to Toledo I highly recommend it. It’s only 11 dollars for adults and 8 for children! Can’t beat that!
2. Imagination Station Toledo - this is a great place to take kids to learn about science- in a fun way! On their website there's a bunch of examples of exhibits
3. Toledo Museum- Need a free place to see some cool art? The Toledo Museum is for you! Some special events require admission but it’s never more than $5. They are closed Mondays, however.
4. Toledo Mud Hens- The Mud Hens are the AAA farm team of the Detroit Tigers. They just got a new stadium about 10 years ago and it is awesome. It’s located in downtown Toledo and Mud Hens games are truly fun (and cheap!)

5. Toledo Walleye- The Toledo Walleye are the hockey team of Toledo and part of the ECHL. They also *just* made their arena (The Huntington Center) 3 years ago (so it’s almost brand new!) The Huntington Center also has lots of concerts that come in town and it’s a great atmosphere for those.
6. University of Toledo- UT football games are always fun and they are located at the Glass Bowl Stadium. The basketball team competes at Savage Arena (which just was renovated) and the games are a lot of fun! Can’t beat college athletics :)
7. Toledo Botanical Garden- need a day to spend in the gardens? This place is for you. AND IT’S FREE!! It’s open to the public all 7 days of the week.
8. Our Lady Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral- want to see an absolutely beautiful Catholic Church? Spend a bit of time at Rosary Cathedral. It’s absolutely stunning (although I’m bias since I graduated in there :D )

Food:
1. Tony Paco’s- Tony Paco’s is a total Toledo tradition. They have the best hot dogs you can ever eat. Plus it was featured on the old show M*A*S*H. How cool is that? It’s located right near the Mud Hen’s so you can eat before the game!
2. Mancy’s Steaks- This is a good place to take your date. It’s a bit more expensive, but it’s delicious!
3. The Spaghetti Warehouse- This place is GOOD. Like really good. And you can eat in a trolley if you want! UHH sweet!
4. The Docks Restaurants- also another wonderful place to go on a date as it looks over the river and downtown Toledo. Truly beautiful! There’s a handful of restaurants at the Docks including Zia’s, Tango’s, and the Real Seafood Co. so there’s something for everyone!

Convenience
In case you were wondering, Toledo is only:
2 hours from Cleveland
1 hour from Detroit, MI
2.5 hours from Columbus
3.25 hours from Cincinnati
Oh, not to mention only an hour away from Cedar Point :D
We have tons of metroparks, as well as Maumee Bay State Park nearby.
Oh, and LOTS of golf courses. (Some of my favorites include Heatherdowns Country Club, Detwiler, Eagle’s Landing, and Maumee Bay)
IKEA is only about 45 minutes away in Canton, MI. There’s a shopping center called Levis Commons only about 20 minutes away in Perrysburg, OH (right off the highway!)
But why would you want to go any of those places when you can just have fun in Toledo? :)

If you would like to join in on the I heart Ohio series make sure to contact Ashley!

Where were you?

2011-09-11T09:32:00.002-04:00

I was a freshmen in highschool, barely 1 week into school when 9-11 happened. I was sitting in Integrated Science when the first announcement came on. Every classroom turned their TV on and we watched as the second plane hit. Strangely enough classes continued as normal because I remember I had Algebra next and our teacher still made us take a test instead of watching the news. I don't think I understood the magnitude of that day until the days afterwards when things became more clear. My dad was stuck on a business trip on the west coast and ended up renting a car and driving home to Ohio. My uncle worked in the Pentagon at the time and so there were some tense moments when we didn't know if he was ok. My mom is from New York so she was in contact with family members daily. Thankfully no one I know was directly affected by the attacks, but the memories from that day will forever haunt me. The way our country came together after that has always amazed me, it was a God moment.

10 years later and we are sitting in New York visiting family. It was not planned to be here during this memorial weekend, but it feels so fitting. We're planning to go to the city on Tuesday and I really hope we can visit the memorial site (I've been there a few times since '01).

Where were you that day?

it's ok!

2011-09-08T12:04:00.002-04:00

Today I'm linking up with Amber , as I have seen so many other bloggers do as well :)

Today, it's OK....

...to be kinda excited for the kick off of my new blogger feature, and I cannot wait for more bloggers to get involved

...to post the link to a blog I am being featured on today! Callie at Through Clouded Glass asked me to contribute to her Moms and Babies feature

...to feel slightly defeated and frustrated after W was up for 4 hours last night screaming with no remedy working (other than when he finally fell asleep at 4:30 while watching TV)

...to be annoyed with family members (not those I live with)

...to want my own house even though it's probably the worst financial decision we could make right now

...to be ready for baby #2, despite W's awful night last night!

...to love my new hair! Even thought it's short, it doesn't look like a mom-do...mom's can be stylish too :)

...to be ready for fall. There I said it! The warm weather is over and I'm ready for layers, jeans, boots, and chai tea!

i < 3 ohio - Cleveland

2011-09-07T10:27:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited to be kicking off my new blogger feature "i <3 ohio". I was planning to be the first to post, but I just don't have the whole thing together yet. I'm so excited that my bestest will be kicking it off, though! If you are interested in sharing about your town, feel free to email me at demureprincess7(at)gmail(dot)com

Hello there! I'm Holly and I blog over at Perfectly Imperfect. I'm so glad Ashley asked me to post about a favorite city of mine in Ohio for her link up: CLEVELAND! I'm a native of the Cleveland, OH area and I LOVE IT!!! As much as people complain about living here, I really do love Cleveland, so I'm more than happy to write a post to brag about my city! I feel like there is so much to tell you about this great place that I'm going to have to split it into 2 blog posts so that I don't overwhelm you :)

Attractions
There are soo many different attractions that people can do and see when they come to Cleveland, and there are probably tons more that I'm not mentioning, but these are some of my favorites and some that are most well-known.

-Museums: We have great museums, like the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Botanical Gardens, Children's Museum, Crawford Auto Museum, and the Cleveland Museum of Art (which is FREE to visit!). I've been to most of these and they are really great, and the areas around them are beautiful to walk around on nice days!

-University Circle: All of the above-mentioned museums are located in a place called University Circle. This place has grown and flourished in the past few years and it's a great place to work in (which I do!), and to visit. This is home to 2 nationally ranked hospitals, University Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic, the museums, and Case Western Reserve University, as well as Severence Hall, which is where the Cleveland Orchestra plays--another great attraction to hear...they are amazing!!

-The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: We coin ourselves as the city of Rock, and that's why we have the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum! It's an awesome place right on Lake Erie that has collections from hundreds of famous Rock artists and lots of great displays. I've been there 3 times: once to perform for show choir for an event, another time for my Senior prom (one of the coolest things ever!), and then finally to visit last year. My favorite part was the Hall of Fame room with everyone's signatures on the walls, and the Bruce Springsteen exhibit that was only there for a short time. It's a great place and I highly suggest a visit there if you're into music!

-Great Lakes Science Center: This place is so cool! It's a great place to take kids to explore and learn more about science, and they have an I-Max theater where they show a lot of great documentaries and other 3-D shows. It's a fun place, located right on Lake Erie, too!

-Tower City Center: We used to go shopping here every Christmas Eve to spend the day with my dad while my mom was busy cooking and baking at home. One year we went up to the observation deck which was so awesome, but they closed it for a long time afterwards. They finally re-opened it last summer for a short time and we were able to go up on my dad's birthday! It's a great historical building, and the center surrounding it has a lot of history--and the movie 'A Christmas Story' was filmed in the Higbee's building connected to it...my dad used to take us to the top floor to ride the wooden escalators that you can see briefly in the film :) We've also been to the Christmas Story house and museum to visit where it was filmed!

Top of Terminal Tower

In the Christmas Story house

-Soldier's and Sailor's monument: I've never actually been inside this monument, but it's a great statue in the middle of Public Square downtown. We spent the day walking around downtown last year after visiting the Tower City Observation deck and wanted to go inside this but it was closed. It just goes to show how many cool little things like this are all over Cleveland and you would never really know, because I had no idea what this was until that day!

-Playhouse Square: This is our "Broadway", and it's rightly called that because it is the country's largest performing arts center outside of Broadway! I LOOOOVE Playhouse Square!! I've seen so many plays there, such as Rent, Hairspray, Les Mis, and Wicked, and have seen concerts there by Celtic Woman. I was even in a play with the Great Lakes Theater Festival, A Christmas Carol, when I was in 6th grade. It's a great attraction and brings in tons of amazing Broaway and non-Broadway musicals and plays every year!

Mom and I before Celtic Woman

-Lake Erie: It is so great living by a body of water. It's even better living by one of the Great Lakes! I am extremely fortunate enough to live close enough to Lake Erie that I can ride my bike to the park on a beautiful summer day and enjoy a day at the beach :) It makes for some great pictures, too!

-House of Blues: It's really great having one of these locations in Cleveland! We get a ton of different bands and artists, and it's just really fun to have that opportunity close by. I've been there a few times--once to see the Ballas Hough band (Derek Hough and Mark Ballas from 'Dancing with the Stars'), and another time to see David Cook. Both times were awesome!! My brother also had his prom here, pretty awesome place!

Derek Hough!

Mark Ballas! I met them both!!

Right before the David Cook concert!

-Cleveland Metroparks Zoo: I have not been here in years! But it's a really awesome zoo with a lot of great animals. The big attraction right now are the elephants, so I hope I can make it there to see them! We also have The RainForest, which is one of the coolest things ever. It's a building that simulates jungles of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. It has more than 6,000 plants and over 600 animals! WOW! It's really awesome :)

-USS Cod: This ship is docked in Cleveland by Burke Lakefront Airport and is a National Historical Landmark. It is a WWII submarine that has sunk more than 12 enemy vessels and is known for a ton of other things that you can read about here. It's one of the cheapest museums you can visit (like $3!), and it has a lot of history and is really awesome to see a real submarine. We used to go there every Memorial Day with my dad in honor of my grandpa who was a Navy Seal in WWII. It's a great unknown attraction in Cleveland!

-Shopping: There is a TON of great shopping in the Cleveland area, and that's awesome if you're a big shopper like me ;) On the East side, there is Legacy Village--an outdoor mall with tons of shops and restaurants, and they also have lives bands and other fun events on the lawns there. And on the West side (my side of town), there is Crocker Park, which is basically the same thing, but I know for a fact they have outdoor movies in the summer, a Farmer's Market, and the lights around there at Christmas time are really great! It's a fun place to be if you like to shop :)

Enjoying dinner at Legacy Village

Crocker Park--sorry I can't find
better pics!

Transportation
Transportation in Cleveland is a lot better than most cities. Traffic into the city isn't nearly as bad as places like Chicago or NYC, which makes it easy to commute by car. However, our public transportation is pretty great. I took the bus downtown to college every day for 2 1/2 years and found it to be less expensive and less stressful. Of course, there are times when it's not as convenient, but when you're stuck in a gridlock due to a foot of snow and you're sitting on a bus that only went 3 streets in 2 hours....you're thankful that you have the ability to get off the bus and walk 9 blocks to Tower City to grab the Train to take you home instead of waiting for the bus to move, or abandoning your car on the side of the road. So, I can't really complain about the traffic and transportation around here!

Convenience
I think Cleveland has a great location. Here's why:

--It is only 3 hours away from Pittsburgh (ooo I just said a dirty word, yuck!) where you can go to IKEA, Primanti Brother's, or see your rivals play your favorite teams in baseball and football.
--It is only 2 hours away from Detroit (to see your rivals play your favorite teams again), and 2 hours away from Columbus, where there is a ton of shopping, concerts, and sports like Columbus Clippers (minor league baseball), Blue Jackets (hockey), Crew (soccer), and Ohio State University Football (sports will be included in the 2nd post!)
--It is close to 2 great outlet malls, Aurora Farms and Lodi Outlets
--It's only 45 minutes away from Cedar Point, Kalahari Indoor Water Park, and Put-n-Bay Island
--You can easily find places to go hiking and exploring, like in the Metroparks, and the Cuyahoga National Valley
--There are a ton of great local wineries to visit and enjoy

Well, as you can see, Cleveland is a really great city, you just have to know how to enjoy it!! And I'm sure I'm missing some really awesome attractions, so please feel free to comment and leave your favorite thing about Cleveland :) I'll be back soon to post about my 2 favorite things about Cleveland: Food and Sports!! Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!! And just for fun...check out this video that makes fun of our city (I think it's hilarious and we quote it all the time!!)

do i have an accent?

2011-09-06T14:26:00.002-04:00

(the answer is no...of course, everyone else has an accent!)

When I rewatched this video, I say mayonnaise really funny...so I suppose I have an accent...

My bestest, Holly, posted this on her blog, Perfectly Imperfect. You should check out her Cleveland accent :)

7 posts

2011-09-03T13:04:00.003-04:00

I've seen a couple bloggers do this and it looks like fun :) Jessica at Called to Serve, tagged anyone that wanted to do it, so I'm going for it!

1. Your Most Beautiful Moment

I would say that the post I wrote about my son's birthday was my favorite. I was picturing how my labor story would be and I still am in awe at how amazing it was. It was a very positive experience for me and I'm thankful for that.

Birth Story posted on December 12, 2010

2. Your Most Popular Blog Post

I don't have a lot of followers/readers (which I'm totally cool with) so most of posts aren't very "popular" (I feel like I'm in high school again). My 101 Things list is my most popular with 242 page views.

101 Things in 1001 Days posted on May 1, 2009

3. Your Most Controversial Blog Post

I am not a controversial blogger. I don't think I've ever had a mean comment or someone who really disagreed with me. If I were to pick one that I felt was controversial when writing it, I would pick a blog I wrote when I was transferring from the first seminary I attended in Indianapolis (I think I had 2 or 3 followers at the time so it might be more controversial with a broader readership). It's amazing to see what my thoughts were at that time, and I still echo most of what I wrote. With a child, though, many of my big ideas are still just wishes.

i'm sitting on citadel, contemplating life posted on March 19, 2009

4. You Most Helpful Post

I think two of my more recent posts were probably most helpful (at least to me!) One was when I posted about finding joy in life and the other was about finding zen as a parent. I had positive feedback on both posts, and they are still ones I go back and reread when I need to remind myself of who I am.

mellow mama posted on July 25, 2011
joy posted on July 26, 2011

5. A Post Whose Success Surprised You

There are a couple that I'm surprised about, as google stats informed me they are some of my most popular posts. One was a blog I wrote when A and I were having some financial trouble last year and I was just writing about strength I needed to find. Another was about a song I posted about in 2009 that I heard on the radio.

new favorite song posted on February 13, 2009
[romans 8:28] posted on September 20, 2010

6. A Post That Didn't Get the Attention You Thought it Deserved

I don't write my blog to get attention so this is tough for me to pick. I wrote a lot more "honest" blogs in my early days because this was more of a personal journal rather than something a lot of people were reading. I just randomly picked one I liked that has more depth to it than posts I currently write.

it's time for healing posted on February 27, 2009

7. The Post You are Most Proud of

Probably my most recent post about going back to work. It's more personal pride in what I wrote about rather than the post itself (if that makes any sense!) I'm glad I'm doing this as it will help our family out in the long-term, it just kinda sucks right now.

becoming a working mama posted on August 31, 2011

I'd also like to tag whoever feels like doing this, I don't want to leave anyone out!

becoming a working mama

2011-08-31T15:51:00.006-04:00

Ok, not technically yet, but I've hit the one month mark. Tomorrow is orientation for my internship which starts the first week of October, which is also when I start the last year of my masters degree.

I'm nervous because I've never had a big-girl job. I've worked at Old Navy, New York & Company, a local coffee shop, and as a fitness instructor...nothing that has required the use of my degree.
I'm excited because I am stepping out of my comfort zone and trusting this is where God is leading me.
I'm proud that I found a site for my internship that isn't a private practice. It seems that most of my fellow classmates have chosen private counseling practices, but I am going with community mental health. I was warned in my interview that this won't be easy, but I can't back down from a challenge! I know nothing outside of my little bubble and I cannot wait to meet my future clients. I have big doubts I'll be any help to anyone, but if anything, they'll be helping me :)
I'm curious about the different people I will encounter. I will be working with lower income individuals so I image they will have incredible stories. I love to hear about people's lives (good enough reason for me to become a counselor).
I'm overjoyed with the thought of getting to become a fashionista. I've been slowly replacing older clothes for professional pieces. I hope to post some pics on here, but I won't make any promises.
I'm sad I'll be leaving my baby boy 4 days a week. I don't know my schedule yet, but I was told when I accepted the position that it is 20 hours over 3 days, plus I have class all day Tuesday. I know I'm going to be missing out on a lot of milestones with W, but I keep telling myself that this is only temporary. Once I have my degree and I'm licensed, I plan to only work 20 hours a week but I won't have a full day of class anymore. I'm grateful that A's job is only seasonal (much as I really dislike his job), because that means he can spend time with W.

myrtle beach 2011

2011-08-28T22:38:00.002-04:00

Our week:

Swimming:
W loved the pool and the ocean. We weren't out very much because it was full sun, but we spent usually two 1-hour blocks outside each day. He loved to sit in the surf and splash at the waves and he enjoyed crawling on the sand and picking at seashells. We got him a bunch of UV shirts which were perfect for the beach, I'm going to try to buy some larger ones for next summer when they go on sale. Also, the pool floaty was a great idea.

Date night:
A and I went out on a double date Thursday night. We went out with my brother and his girlfriend (sadly I didn't get a picture of the 4 of us). We ate dinner at a hibachi restaurant where I had the most amazing plum wine. We got ice cream at Ben & Jerry's and A bought me a pair of Tom's wedges!!! We finished off the night by going putt-putting. It was a lot of fun going out and I loved being able to wear a dress...made me even more excited for October.

W:
These are my favorite pics from the week. The kid is so full of joy! The last pic in this set is from a place downtown called The Gay Dolphin. They have a wall of license plate names and I was so surprised to find with little boy's name on it. It's probably the only personalized thing we'll ever find that isn't specially ordered.

Family:
This isn't the best picture of all of us, but it's cute. We were planning to leave Saturday morning, but Hurricane Irene changed our plans and we ended up rushing around to get out by 9 Friday night. We were all kinda tired from packing, but I'm glad we got at least one group shot. The one of the 3 of us is my absolute favorite picture!!! I plan to make this a yearly shot.

Hurricane Irene:
She kicked our butt out of SC.

i'm back!

2011-08-27T10:40:00.002-04:00

After a beautiful week in Myrtle Beach, we are home :) I will have a full update once we're unpacked, more rested, and my pics are uploaded to my computer!

September is an awesome month, so be prepared :) The local fair, orientation for my internship, my SILs wedding shower, a trip to NYC, the start of fall, and the kick-off of my i <3 ohio feature!!

acting like an adult

2011-08-20T15:14:00.004-04:00

Hubs, baby, and I are currently living with my parents (and my 22-year-old brother). The transition has been interesting to say the least. W is staying in my old bedroom which is sandwiched between my parent's room and my brother's room while A and I are staying in the den/summer dining room. We have a little more privacy and we don't have to worry about waking W up when we go to bed. The biggest adjustment, though, has been actually having to act like an adult.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a wife and mom so I have this "mature"-thing down pretty good, but most days we don't act like adults. Living on our own for the past 3 years, we have gotten kinda ~~lazy~~ comfortable.

We let the dishes pile up for awhile until we run out of forks or the pile starts to fall into the sink
We rarely clean (this has gotten better post-baby). To be fair, we hardly ever have company so there just doesn't seem to be a need to clean when it doesn't bother either of us.
We have never made our bed. EVER. (see above)

Moving in with my parents, though, I have realized the need to step-up and act like an adult. Adults do things like wash dishes, clean toilets, and make their beds. Plus my dad is slightly OCD so in order to keep peace we don't really have a choice.

I'm happy to report that in our first week living here, we have in fact done all 3 of the above regularly. We are far from making this a habit, but 6 months more of this and we just may become real adults!

Here's a look at our cramped quarters:

Exibit A: W's Room

Exhibit B: Our "room"/dining room

Exhibit C: Our bed (Yes my mom went to the extreme with the tropical theme, and she made all of the curtains...)

Also, don't forget to contact me if you're an Ohio blogger and you'd like to write about your city for my "i <3 ohio" feature! I wrote about it here. My email is listed in the right-hand column of my blog.

new feature "i < 3 ohio"

2011-08-16T14:39:00.000-04:00

I am going to start a new feature on my blog (it's time to get serious about this blog!) I'm calling it "i <3 ohio". I love my home state, so much so, that when I lived in Indianapolis for a year, I missed almost everything about it and moved back as quickly as I could! I have been asking Ohio bloggers to write about their hometown, favorite city, or current location in Ohio (obviously I will keep the bloggers anonymous if they wish).

I will be starting off the event with a place where I lived for a year while attending grad school. If you are interested in being a part of this, drop me an email (demureprincess7(at)gmail(dot)com). I'm looking to get this started by September 1, but I need more bloggers to participate.

Here is the blog button you can use to promote the event and link back here! (let me know if there is an issue with the button, this is my first time using one)

shabby apple might come knocking on my door....

2011-08-10T09:15:00.007-04:00

...because I now own 3 of their dresses. I now have these adorable dresses in my wardrobe waiting for cute dates, vacation, and DRESSY OCTOBER! (I need to come up with a cool button for my "event").Also, they have a new line out called "Inca Trail". If I could choose any dress from it I would definitely go with the Lima - I've been trying to pick colors out of my comfort zone because I currently own 6 black dresses.

8 months

2011-08-08T21:36:00.003-04:00

It was impossible to get a good shot of W this month. He kept pulling on the sticker trying to eat it! I eventually gave up, but at least we have a shot that perfectly fits his personality at 8 months.

This month:

He tried spinach, potatoes, blackberries, cherries, strawberries, zucchini, and tomatoes
He kinda, sorta started sleeping a little better. It took us the entire month to find a schedule that works for us and I think we might be on to something (I hope I didn't just jinx us...)
Still no teeth, and I'm okay with that! The longer he doesn't have teeth, the longer nursing won't be painful!
He climbs on everything (check out my 365 blog if you don't believe me)
He started saying "mama" and "dada" and waving to us
On the home scale he weighed 16 lbs 4 oz (6th percentile) and we're guessing his length to be 28 inches (61st percentile). Tall and skinny like his daddy!

This upcoming month we have a lot of fun stuff planned! By the time he's 9 months it'll be practically fall.

six word saturday

2011-08-06T11:10:00.003-04:00

Today I'm linking up with Show My Face for six words that describe my life

The beach is two weeks away.

I am so beyond excited to be on vacation. We're going to Myrtle Beach for the first time since 2007, after having gone for 17 years straight. (We took a year off from family vacation the year I got married and then last two years we went to Mexico). This will be W's first trip to the Ocean and he already loves the pool and the lake, so I imagine he'll have a fun time. Plus we get to do some shopping and go out to eat! I also cannot wait to have a reason to get dressed up.

What 6 words describe your life? Won't you link up!

giveaway promotion & blog award

2011-08-03T20:25:00.001-04:00

First off I'd like to promote an awesome giveaway my best friend is hosting/sponsoring. She's giving away some awesome Mary Kay products and although I'm hoping I win (the cream blush is my favorite, and I love the pretty pink color she's giving away), I'd love to see a bunch of people enter her giveaway. The only required entry is to be a follower of her blog, but seriously, she's a pretty awesome blog to follow! You have until August 9 to enter!

Perfectly Imperfect Mary Kay Giveaway

Also, I was given a blog award by the awesome running and mama blogger at Taking it On. I have been asked to share 7 deep thoughts about myself! I feel like a boring person, but we'll see how deep things get...

I really don't like other people's kids. To clarify, I don't like watching other people's kids. I love my son and I would have 10 children if God were to bless us with that many (and if A were on board with that). I just feel so awkward with other kids. I don't know what to do with them and I especially don't know how to discipline them. Please don't read that that I hate your children if I'm reading your mom blog, just know that I love looking at them from afar!
I sometimes I wish I would have gone with my first career choice in college. I really wanted to be a geologist and specialize in pollution control, but I found out too late that the school I chose only had physical geology as a major (dealing with rocks exclusively) and not something that focused more on the environmental side of geology. I still daydream about what it would be like to work for the EPA. Do you think they hire people with a BA in religious studies and psychology (and an eventual MA in Clinical Counseling)?
I am scared to death to be a counselor. I am afraid of having a client I won't know how to help. I know that this fear is good and that too much confidence can lead to mistakes (and mistakes often = death). I think I will become more comfortable after I start seeing clients, at least I hope so.
I don't talk to a single person from high school (okay, so I talk to mrs. weez through blogs but we didn't graduate together). I had friends in high school, but none of them were people I really connected with or had a lasting relationship with. I made most of my lasting friendships through camp and through youth group, and I am fine with that! I find myself wondering if I'll ever go to a reunion. Maybe 25 or 30-year?
The reason I don't work out is not because I'm lazy, but because I get bored with repetition. I have to change up my routine daily or else I won't stick with something for more than two days (this is why I don't run, go on an elliptical, or cycle). I'm going to start doing a weekly fitness post in September which will hopefully keep me motivated to work out 4-5 days a week. I always feel so much better after working out, I just need to find something that entertains me.
I am a blog stalker. I am subscribed to about 50 blogs through Google Reader, but I have about 25 more blogs in my favorites that I read daily as well. It's not so much that I don't want to follow their blogs, they are typically special interest blogs that I don't care to publicly follow. Does this sound super stalkerish??
We're starting to house shop and I'm being super picky. I know I shouldn't be picky because we have such a small budget, but I feel like there are some things I'm not willing to sacrifice. For example I want: 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, windows in the kitchen and preferably dining room, a front porch, and I would love a 2-story home. We've only just started looking at homes in our area and we haven't toured any yet, but I'm really hoping to find a winner that meets all my criteria!

Now I'd love to award 7 other bloggers! I tag these 7 totally awesome bloggers, you should definitely check them out:

Holly at Perfectly Imperfect
Louise at Wonderful World of Weez
Jessica at Called to Serve
Danielle at This is the Stuff
Callie at Through Clouded Glass
Stacy at The Haines Family Blog
Samantha at Where the Green Grass Grows

family photos

2011-07-31T20:16:00.003-04:00

We finally got some family photos taken. My brother got a decent camera for his birthday so I figured it couldn't hurt to ask him to spend an hour taking our picture. W was tired so we didn't get a ton of smiley shots, but I think we got a few really good ones! I'm not sure why the quality isn't as good when they're uploaded here, but he did a really good job on them. My favorite is the last one!

Bibliography: top (Kohl's), jeans (hello! Skinny Jeans - won from a giveaway and I am in love with them), belt (thrifted), sandals (Soda)

joy

2011-07-26T20:38:00.006-04:00

I have no idea where I got this, but I love it and I want to put it on the wall of my counseling office someday.

In practically every counseling class I've taken, we are asked to come up with things that bring us joy in order to be prepared to help our clients brainstorm ideas of their owns. I am terrible at thinking on my feet and at the end of our 10-minute brainstorming session, I literally cannot think of one thing that brings me joy. Once I get home and have a chance to ponder, I can come up with plenty of examples...my brain just doesn't function under pressure (probably why we're supposed to have examples available because my clients will be just like me!) It is amazing how much joy is lacking in the world. When we become more focused on our wants rather than our needs, we loose sight of true happiness because we're pursing a temporary happiness. Our joy comes from the Lord, what an awesome gift we have been given!

Things that bring me joy:

My morning cup of coffee. After a night of very little sleep, I look forward to turning on my Keurig and brewing my favorite cup of coffee (with my favorite creamer)... Island Coconut with Coffee Mate's Coconut creamer is my current fav.
Making my son laugh. There are points in my day when I will do everything to get my little man to giggle. He has the most infectious laugh, I cannot help but feel joyful when I hear him!
Winning a giveaway. It's no secret that I love entering giveaways, but I love winning even more! I get so excited when I check my email and find out I've won something.
Finding my moment of peace. These moments aren't something I can recreate, they usually hit me out of nowhere. They are my God moments, and I live for these moments.
Baked goods. I'm not picky about my desserts, I love it all! Chocolate, cookies, cake, cupcakes, bars, pie, strudel....
A really good book. It's been a long while since I've read a book I really love (probably last summer in Mexico). I'm hoping to do some reading on vacation this year, probably while W is napping. (Thanks to Callie for introducing me to blogging for books, I cannot wait to receive my first book!)
Sonic dates with my best friend. Seriously, I love catching up with my bff over a cream slush. Whether we're sitting in our car in the dead of winter or enjoying the sun, I love our Sonic dates!
A good glass of wine. I really don't drink much, but I love a good glass of wine every once and awhile. Pink Catawba, Dolce Rossa, Moscato, and Ice Wine are among my favorites.

What brings you joy? I love hearing new ideas, especially those that are cheap (better yet, free!)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. [Romans 15:13]

mellow mama

2011-07-25T16:08:00.005-04:00

(Taken when I was 28 weeks pregnant)

I haven't been blogging much because I haven't had the energy or inspiration. We're still working on W's sleeping habits and so I'm still pretty tired most of the day. He has some amazing days/nights, like how he slept 8 hours straight last night and he took an hour and a half nap this morning. He still has his bad days/nights, though, like Saturday night when he screamed for 3 hours straight unless we let him sit up to play (night owl, ya think?) or this afternoon when he fought me on a nap for an hour (and still only slept 20 mins). Sleep-deprivation has led to frustration and anger, and I hate to admit this. Hubby will thankfully be done with work very soon and I'll have his help, but I know I need to make some changes.

These rough past few months have also led to a spiritual struggle. I had to stop reading Christian mommy blogs because they all seemed so perfect and together. If I only I were to pray harder, read the Bible to my son, or trust God more, I wouldn't be struggle so much. This is when I stumbled across an article in the latest Parents magazine entitled "Lessons From a Zen Mommy". It has been my lifesaver. Yes it is written about a Zen Buddhist, but it gives practical advice. No mommy blogs or Christian parenting books have given me something practical to do. I've tried reciting scripture and I've tried praying, and they aren't bringing me peace for the moment (at least not in the way I've been doing them). I translated what was said in the article into a Christian perspective, and it seems to be working.

Do what you're doing while you're doing it. I.e. focus only on the present and what's happening NOW. I immediately thought of Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Practical advice is to resist doing more than one thing at a time. If I'm playing with W, I don't check my email when the alert goes off, I let that go until he's off playing by himself.
Leave no trace. This one is rough for me. We have so much stuff, and moving is not helping us. A quote for the article is that "A scattered mind likely equals a messy environment- and vice versa." If you were to see my house, you would think I had spaghetti for brains! Practical advice is to put away something as soon as I'm done using it or to especially clean the dishes immediately following dinner! This one I couldn't come up with a scripture reference, but I thought of the "peace" that John speaks about in John 14:27 - "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
Take just the right amount. This is a continuation of the previous in that we have a ton of stuff! I have gotten pretty good at donating clothes I don't need, but we still have way more than we need. I like having nice things, though, so it's hard for me to let go of things we have been given (especially for W). I'm trying to downsize, and I imagine that this will be an ongoing process. I find Matthew 19:24 to be fitting for this one, "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Although we are far from rich, we have much more than we need and live comfortably).
Practice patience. Wow. The article says to not beat yourself up over things. I probably do this daily because of my mommy guilt. I really loved this whole section and I would copy paste it if I could, but I'll just include my favorite paragraph.

[We are still novices at being parents] "Of course we all want to be perfect. And we want our kids to be perfect too - responsible, generous, nice. However, it's a life's work to become a decent human being. Because our kids are constantly changing, we're always total beginners. We all need time to learn, make mistakes, and start over. But we live in an impatient world, and many of us- women especially - tend to beat ourselves up when we feel like we've fallen short."

The sentence I highlighted really hit home for me. It was my first, real ah-ha moment as a mom. I wish someone would have told me this in the hospital, I wouldn't have lost as much sleep or shed so many tears! I really love the practical advice she gives in that if something goes wrong (like her daughter biting her or breaking something) she doesn't punish immediately but gives her the chance to do the scenario over allowing her to get it right. I can see the benefits of this for marriages too! What an awesome way to look at life! Patience is one of the fruits of the spirit, so I found this one to be pretty easy to translate to a Christian understanding.

Other practical advice from the article:

Develop a ritual like making a vow for the day. Ex: I vow not to raise my voice or I vow to be patient with myself and my child.
Count your blessings. Be thankful for the food you have to feed your family even if cooking becomes tiresome or realize how fortunate you are to be able to clothe your family after you're tired of doing your 15th load of laundry. These are the moments when I can thank God for what he has given to me, it takes me outside of myself.
Remember to breathe. Find a moment in the day when you can breathe slow and deep breaths (she recommends when you're doing something routine like flushing the toilet or changing a diaper).

I have started doing yoga more often as a way to help me unwind after a rough day. It helps relieve the stress that has been building up and it brings peace to my achy body (my 18 pound baby is getting rather heavy and it's taking a toll on my lower back!)

i need mommy advice

2011-07-21T08:53:00.004-04:00

Does one take a nearly 8 month old camping? Like in a tent. In the woods. For 3 nights?

Details: We only just started W on a routine that has asleep around 7:30 and up around 6:30. He has started only waking twice in the night, but he is easily woken by sounds (I started playing background music in his room to help him sleep more soundly). He takes 2-3 naps a day, but once again, he wakes pretty easily.

Not only am I feeling overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I need to bring for a 3 day camping trip (did I mention that it's in a tent???) But I am literally near having an anxiety attack thinking about how this is going to completely undo all the work we've been doing for the past week in getting W to sleep in his own bed, for longer than 2 hours. I'm not going to lie, I don't think I have it in me to start from the beginning (8 months of very little sleep, is starting to wear on me).

I am so much of a people-pleaser so I am quite afraid to tell A's family we won't be camping out. I plan to go Friday and Saturday (it would be silly to go Thursday night and Sunday morning) because the campground is only about 25 minutes away.

Am I being crazy? If I am, please tell me, I won't be offended!

dress obsession (cont.)

2011-07-14T23:10:00.004-04:00

I won this dress in a giveaway this past week and I'm pretty excited about it...

Cider Dress...one can never have too many orange dresses, right? (it's another Shabby Apple dress, I got pretty lucky!)

I'm planning to do a blog event in October. I'm going to only wear dresses for the entire month. I have two weddings to attend (I'm a bridesmaid in my sister-in-law's wedding so that dress is a default). Plus it is the month I begin class and I start my internship. I figure I'll have plenty of excuses to wear dresses :)

Some dresses I would love to own if money was no issue (all of these are pinned on pinterest, my newest obsession):

how giveaways have spoiled me part 5 (Baby)

2011-07-12T09:52:00.009-04:00

Part 1 (Home Goods)
Part 2 (Beauty)
Part 3 (Fashion)
Part 4 (Pregnancy)

Baby giveaway wins:

Sample of deodorizing sprinkles in Monkey Farts (for diaper pail) and 2 samples of baby detergent from Crunchy Clean. I loved the detergent, and I would have bought more but I couldn't justify spending more unless I was going to do cloth diapering (I recommend their products if you cloth diaper). I've not used the diaper pail deodorizer. It smells awesome, but we use a Diaper Genie so we have no need to deodorize.
Swaddle Designs Organic Swaddler with Kiwi trim. WE LOVE THIS SWADDLER. I have some Aden + Anais swaddlers, and they are ok, but nothing compares to the Swaddle Designs (I can only speak for their organic swaddler). It's light-weight but still warm and W always had a hard time getting out of it so he stayed swaddled longer. Swaddle Designs burp cloths. These were not my favorite burp cloths, but they did the job. They faded terribly after I washed them the first time and they aren't very soft.
Newborn Newsboys hat. I won this from an etsy store, and I'm not in love with it. I think if it was a bigger size it would be cute, but who wants to put a newborn in a hat other than for a photo shoot? I'd like to do newborn pictures with our next child so I'll hold onto it for that.
ABC Blocks, Polka Dot Wooden Teether, Diaper and Wipes case, and 3 Burp Cloths (I posted the pic of ours below, I promised one...these were/are our favorite burp cloths!) I blogged about these here.
Wipes case from etsy shop Hannah's Red Shoes (she no longer has an etsy shop). Ours is a blue leopard print that's really cute. It fits in the diaper case I won and I love just being able to throw it in my purse if we're going out for a short trip.
Lots of baby leggings! I won a grab bag of leggings from BabyLegs that had 2 pairs of baby legs and 3 pairs of socks (their socks are adorable). I also won 2 pairs of leggings from etsy shop OliveBlue. We used these a lot when W was little. They were perfect for diaper changes in the winter months.
The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet. This book was so helpful in getting started with making my own baby food and understanding baby nutrition. I'm really excited to use it more as W moves out of the pureed food stage as it has lots of delicious recipes for toddlers and kids!
Baby boy gift set from Macy's. This included 2 rompers, a stuffed lamb, an outfit, pants, and a bib. It was very cute clothing, especially the little outfit!
Crayon rompers from the Baby Bunch. I love the bright colors of these rompers! They were perfect for a little boy :)
Fill in the Blankie Blanket which I blogged about here. I adore this blanket and I highly recommend their products...they are a bit pricey though!
Organically Grown onesies. We didn't end up using these onesies because they sent a size too small for W. I have kept them to give as a shower gift to someone who will be having a boy in the fall (they are 3-6 months, but they have a winter theme on them).
Cloth diaper. Something else I never ended up using because we decided not to cloth diaper. I've been holding onto it to possibly pass along to someone who might cloth diaper, but I might keep it for our next child.
Onesie from TeeWit. The one I picked says "Daddy's little fishing buddy" he hasn't worn it yet because they haven't gone fishing yet, but hopefully soon!
Dandelion Tableware. I love their products! My only complaint is that they can't go through the dishwasher and/or the microwave so it's been a pain to hand-wash everything (especially because we've been under a boil-alert for 2 weeks). We got baby spoons, toddler silverware, 2 plates, and an infant feeding bowl.
Growth chart from Paper Coterie and a growth chart from Eric Carle. I personalized the one from Paper Coterie and it's going to be a birthday gift for W. I'm holding on to the Eric Carle growth chart to give as a gift. (Paper Coterie was awesome to work with. I had some issues with the gift card they sent me so they ended up sending me 2 so I was able to get the growth chart and a photo book for my mom for mother's day).
Free product coupons from Happy Baby. I really love their products, but I don't think I'd ever pay for them because they are ridiculously expensive!
Toddler silverware from Boon. Because I had already won the Dandelion silverware I decided to hold on to these to give as a gift. I love Boon's products, they're so bright and vibrant!
Baby Orajels Natural. I can't ever seem to tell when W is teething, but I have this on hand to use. I tried it once and I don't think it did anything. Usually we give him Tylenol if he gets really bad. A and I both are having problems with our wisdom teeth, maybe we'll start using this, lol.

what i'm wearing

2011-07-09T22:20:00.002-04:00

My outfit yesterday was inspired by this pinboard:
I'm trying to learn how to incorporate color into my wardrobe because I tend to only wear black and cream. I figured peach and teal was appropriate for a lovely summer day! I had class on Friday, and the room is freezing so that is why a cardigan was necessary!

Teal, green, and brown necklace: Borrowed from my mom
Brown tee: Kohl's
Peach cardigan: American Eagle
Skinny jeans: Old Navy
Teal flats: Soda brand

I'm going to be posting more fashion-y things. I have rediscovered my love for fashion! I think pinterest has something to do with this... Follow me if you have an account!

4th of July - a special meaning

2011-07-04T09:45:00.002-04:00

The 4th of July has always been special to A and I (or the days surrounding it).

4 years ago, we started dating on the 2nd/3rd of July (depending on who you ask, one of us says it was before midnight and the other says it was after!) We drove down to camp together that weekend, it was my first time back since my senior year of high school the summer after A and I broke up (it was an awful week at camp, to say the least...but hubby has apologized and I let it go). We walked around the grounds holding hands and chatting with counselors we had at camp. We shared in our first kiss that weekend and decided we would start casually dating...A had a lot of growing up to do, and we didn't want things to be too serious too fast like the first time we dated.

3 years ago, A asked me to marry him on the 5th of July. I had spent a week at camp as a counselor (that same camp we visited before) and that Saturday, A and I went to the fireworks at a local park. When we got back to his house he had some fireworks he wanted to set off so we went to the backyard and he got down on one knee and proposed! We had already been planning a wedding and I kept telling him I didn't need a ring because it felt materialistic and a waste of money, but he surprised me with a beautiful ring with 3 pink sapphires!This pic was taken the weekend after A proposed. We went camping in PA. It's funny to see A's belly looking normal because he has a huge scar on it from an ulcer last year.

In 2009 & 2010 we spent the weekend camping at his family's house and enjoyed the weekend up on "the ridge" (this place gets no cell service and A is pretty much related to everyone in the zip code). It was fun, but it wasn't something I wanted to do this year.

Now that we are a family of 3, I want 2011 and all future July 4th weekends to be special. Instead of doing stuff with either of our families, we are going to spend this day as a family of 3. We're going to visit the local state park. We're going to go fishing, swimming, go on a picnic, and get ice cream. In future years I want to take our kids to the parade and go to the fireworks. These are the memories I have as a kid and I want to make these kinds of memories with our kids. It's the one holiday I don't want to feel obligated to do family stuff, because for literally every other holiday someone expects us to do family stuff (I'm not huge on family events, so this has been a huge adjustment for me).

So far we haven't had any negative feedback for skipping out on the family parties, and hopefully this will remain true!

7 months

2011-07-02T11:34:00.007-04:00

W,

My son, you are looking less and less like a baby with each passing day. We are now closer to you being a year old than we are to the first moment I held you in my arms and fell in love with you! This month you passed a lot of milestones and I love to watch you explore the world. You started sitting up completely on your own a little bit after you turned 6 months old. A few days later, you started crawling with your belly off the floor. It's fun to watch you crawl towards your favorite toys (or, more frequently, the farthest non-toy you can spot - TV stand, electrical cords, DVD stand, couch, etc). You have also started pulling up on everything (pretty much everything listed above, including your crib!) We had to drop your crib down and remove the bumper because you were climbing on the bumper! I need to invest in a crib net to keep you in, my little monkey :) This month you have become a lot fussier, and I want to blame it on teething, but we have still yet to see any teeth pop up. I really hope we'll see some soon, but we have quite a few years of rough teething ahead of us! Sleep has been so-so this month. You prefer sleeping in bed with me, but we're still working on getting you in your crib completely. Naps have been so-so as well, but for the most part, you fall asleep pretty easily and sleep being 30 and 45 minutes (usually 2-3 naps a day). You tried lots of fun food this month, and you definitely enjoy eating. This month you had: peaches, prunes/plums, squash, raspberries, corn, pumpkin, watermelon, apricots, and mangoes. We've also been giving you Happy Baby puffs and melts...which you can't seem to get enough of! You are still nursing every 3 hours, and I love this time with you :)

Stats:
Weight: 15 lbs 14 oz (June 16, 15th percentile)
Length: 26 inches (June 16, 26th percentile)
Size 3 diapers
6-9 month clothing
Size 3 shoes

Some of my favorite pics from the month:

mama friendly workout

2011-07-01T09:20:00.006-04:00

I found these through Pinterest, and I am pretty excited to have found such a mama friendly workout! They literally take 2 minutes and I can do them and be done before W can scurry over to the TV stand and pull himself up.

I was very motivated in the beginning to get back to my pre-pregnancy size, after about week 8, when this happened, I stopped working out completely. I am not doing this to loose weight or because I'm unhappy with how I look, I just want to be a little bit healthier and not get winded after walking up the steps for the 3rd time in 10 minutes. I just finished day 4 on the Starter Workout, and I plan to skip Stage 1 (it's basically the same as the Starter Workout) and go to Stage 2. We're leaving for vacation in exactly 7 weeks (49 days) so I'll be halfway through Stage 3 by then!

A and I are going to start running in September, I'd love to plan for a half-marathon, but I don't know if we'll be that motivated. The mama at Taking it On has me totally motivated to run...although I don't think I'll ever get to the point she is!

dress obsession

2011-06-29T15:52:00.005-04:00

I have become obsessed with dresses, ever since I won this vintage beauty a few months ago:I haven't had a place to wear it yet, but I'm planning to wear it for our family pictures that we're taking in July.

Then my mom and I found a tutorial on Craft Gawker on refashioning teeshirts/tanks into dresses. Now I can't sew, but my mom is amazing and so she has made two dresses for me so far. I have a grey and purple one and a black and white one with a yellow belt (if I ever find time to upload, I will post pics!)

Over the weekend I went shopping at Kohl's with a gift card I have and I got this beautiful dress:
I think it'll be perfect for my internship. I picture it with a brown cardigan and a brown belt with some cream flats...although I'm looking at some red flats right now...

Finally, I won this gorgeous dress from Shabby Apple. I have been entering giveaways for Shabby Apple dresses for over a year now, and it finally paid off!!! (I am still entering giveaways for their dresses, because I'm hoping I'll have more luck). I haven't received it yet, but I love it.

I'm hoping to make a few more dresses (I mean, have my mom make a few more...)

Dresses make me feel so feminine and girly :)

why I've been MIA...

2011-06-26T10:10:00.004-04:00

W IS CRAWLING!

(I really thought he'd hold off, or it would take him longer to learn how to move, but he's super active)

I can barely keep up with him anymore, but I love it. One of my friends who works with children said he'll probably be walking by 10 months... SERIOUSLY?! (don't get me wrong, I love my active baby, I'm just sad that he is becoming so mobile and won't be depending on me anymore)

Also, we made the decision to move in with my parents for 6 months. If we save nearly every penny, we should have enough money saved up by January or February for a downpayment. We're going to start looking at houses in October and hopefully we'll be able to close by the beginning of the new year - I'm praying all the pieces fall into place because all of this relies on perfect timing.

perfect

2011-06-21T08:43:00.000-04:00

This is for all my introverted readers...you can finally be accepted for who you are! I especially love the last one. After going through 6 months of counseling, all my counselor wanted me to do was to become more outgoing and to enjoy large groups of people more. This isn't what I wanted to do, but I went along because I didn't know any better. I vow to never make a client be someone they are not.If I ever have an office someday, I'm going to get this printed up and put on my wall!

happy father's day

2011-06-19T09:22:00.004-04:00

W is really blessed to have such a hardworking and fun dad :) A loves to be around him and he has been sad these past few months to not see how much he is growing. By July 1st his work should slow down and we can spend time together as a family (we have plans to go swimming and to go fishing!) We didn't do much for Father's Day because A had to work, but I wanted to share some of favorite pics (including a few I snapped last night before W went to bed).

First photo together < 3

My favorite pic of the two of them, I think W was only a week old.

W loves being high up!

This one was the best one. It's going in the baby book, which I am happy to report is completely up-to-date!

More goofiness. W loves being upside down...I can tell he's going to be a thrill-seeker and we'll be going to amusement parks a lot!

peaches & cream

2011-06-18T00:00:00.001-04:00

I am currently loving peaches & cream. It feels so summery and effortless. I had fun on polyvore dreaming of things I cannot afford, but at least I can dream! Summer nights have become so relaxing and enjoyable without the thought of doing homework, I will miss that when my class starts.A few sips of White Catawba, a dark chocolate salty caramel from a divine chocolate shop in Amish country, and the latest Family Circle.

Strawberries from our garden :) I've never grown strawberries before, but I'm so excited to eat fresh berries everyday! They aren't peaches and cream, but still so pretty for summer.

miscellany monday

2011-06-13T10:11:00.004-04:00

Holly posted this on her blog and I thought I might linkup!

1) W woke up this morning with one foot out of his PJs and half of his PJs unzipped...no idea how this happened?!

2) My mom bought W the new denim diapers. I thought they were kinda frivolous, but I must admit, they are adorable! Hopefully more warm days will be headed our way so he can hang out in his sposie!

3) My new class starts Friday (Introduction to Substance Abuse). I'm really nervous for the condensed format. There are 8 classes over 4 weekends. There is a midterm the second weekend, a 6-8 page paper due the third weekend, and our final is the last weekend. This is going to be a lot of work and I need to pass it. My book should come this week, but I'm nervous it won't arrive on time (wish I could use Amazon Prime 2-day shipping on everything!)

4) I'm also nervous for spending four weekends away from my little boy. Because the class is Friday night and Saturday morning it made no sense to drive 2-hours home just to turn around 6 hours later and drive back. I'm staying at a friends house, which will be fun, but it makes me sad. My mom is watching him this first weekend, and I feel bad that W doesn't sleep through the night yet and she'll be up a couple times giving him a bottle. Maybe she'll have the magic touch and W will sleep through the night for her? It's only a total of 24-hours I'll be gone, and it's only until the end of July.

5) I've been trying to clean the entire house up before the first of spring (something from 101 Things list). This is proving to be difficult as I don't really feel like cleaning especially when I have so few hours in the day...who wants to spend their free-time cleaning?

when life gives you 4 options

2011-06-12T22:06:00.006-04:00

A and I are at a crossroad (is quad-road a legit word?) By the beginning of August we need to make a decision about what we're going to do; what our next decision is for our lives. I can only find 4 different options, and none are ideal. In a perfect world A would have had an amazing season and we would have enough money to put a down-payment on our forever home and buy it immediately. We don't live in a perfect world, though, so we're left with these options:

1) Move in with my parents for a year. This option saves us the most amount of money and living with them for a year would mean we could save up enough money to have a down payment in cash for a home. They don't have a very big home, but it would be manageable. The upside is we would have people always around to watch W while I would be at work/school and A would be at work. The downside is I would be commuting 40 minutes 3 times a week to my new job while our current location is only 10 minutes away. I would also be commuting a half-hour longer to class (one day a week). Plus we'd be living with my parents (and younger brother) which makes for a crammed home and more stress.

2) Move into a cheap apartment.
In order for this to be a viable option, our bills for the apartment must be no more than $500 a month so that we can put money into a savings account. Unfortunately this isn't easy to find, not to mention it would still take us 3+ years to save up enough. With plans for future kids soon, it would be tight (yes we are poor and are planning for more kids...we don't use government assistance, I swears!) The upside is we could have a good location for my job and school and for A's job and we would have a place to ourselves. The downside is we would not be able to save a lot and we'd be in a very small space for the price we would need.

3) Buy a house and take out a loan for the down payment.Yes I realize the ridiculousness of this. Dave Ramsey would shake his finger at this irresponsible decision. The rationale behind this is that we're already so far in debt (but making all of our payments for our debt), why not add on more? The upside is that we would have a place to ourselves that is big enough for a growing family and our mortgage payment would be less than what we're paying in rent right now. The downside is that we would be entering into the sticky world of being homeowners which comes with a lot of uncertainty. With no nest-egg right now, and already being so far in debt with loans/mortgage we would be in trouble if anything went seriously wrong in the first year.

4) Stay where we are.
There is a reason this one is last, and that is because it's not a real possibility. Our monthly rent is too high ($680) for us to afford. It gives us no wiggle-room to put money into a savings account. The only way this could work out is if by a miracle our landlord says in August that our rent is going to go down (by like $200). We won't be able to pay month-to-month so we have to make a decision by August, when our lease is up. I love our little townhouse, but it just isn't practical.

Other decisions will be made regarding future careers, but that is for another post.

If you see an option I haven't thought of, please share! If you know of a place where they give money out for free, please share...I only want enough for a down payment, I would be greedy!

birthday planning

2011-06-11T17:16:00.014-04:00

Now that we're past the halfway point, I figured it's safe to ~~start~~ go public with plans for W's first birthday. Let's just say I might have been planning since he was like a month old. I am using the bib my bestest got for him in the hospital as the inspiration for the entire party.
I'm doing everything in shades of blue and green with a theme of circles. (I'm a literal person, what can I say?!) I have planned a delicious menu with lots of fresh fruits and veggies! Snacks: celery, blueberries, green peppers, cucumbers, green apples, kiwi, and all sorts of blue and green candy displayed on white plates and in glass jars. Main course: Pastina with peas and carrots from Giada (although I'm going to tweek the recipe to make it easier and cheaper to serve a lot of people).I'm going to serve blue and green juice in glass pitchers, and I want the kids that come to take home bouncing balls, balloons, and a jar full of bubble gum. Also, instead of a traditional cake I am going to make funfetti cupcakes with blue and green round sprinkles (and with white icing, I can't handle the colored frosting!) I'm looking at thrift stores for white serving wear and I'm hoping to find some cheap blue plasticware after the 4th of July.W's outfit is going to be a white onesie with a blue felt number "1" on the front. Something easy I can make :) Also, I have a green dress I plan to wear (ok, so is this one going a bit overboard?) I'm planning to make the invites, but I might end up ordering them off of a photo website. The idea I have for the ones I want to make:

Is a pinata too much? I think this one would be fun to make with blue and green circles...
Other decorating ideas:
I swear I'm not obsessed...

amish country

2011-06-11T09:33:00.003-04:00

Ohio may not be a top state as a vacation hot-spot, but there is plenty to do in my home state and I'm only familiar with things in the northern part of the state...I imagine there is more down near Cincinnati.

We have quite a few zoos (I've been to 3 of the 5 that I know of - Cleveland, Columbus, and Akron)
We're home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland) and the Football Hall of Fame (Canton)
We're home to the Cleveland Browns, Cavs, and Indians (ok so none of these teams are all that amazing, but we take great pride in our sports teams!) We are also home to the Cincinnati Bengals and Reds.
We are home to Cedar Point (Sandusky)
We have amazing local vineyards with a specialty in Ice Wine (I have tried Ferrante's and Breitenbach) because we get a great frost in the winter
We have Amish Country (ok so you can get this in PA too, but it's much more conservative there)
(There is more I'm missing, but these are the highlights my mommy brain can think of in 5 minutes)

Yesterday we took a visit to Amish Country and it was a great adventure. My mom wanted to visit some fabric stores and some different general stores. We also got amazing Amish food and lots of baked goods and candy! They have a huge selection of Burt's Bees products and I was really excited to find their Bug Repellent on clearance! I never have good buys like that, but I found it $4.50 and I couldn't pass it up. This will be perfect for camping :)

ballgame

2011-06-09T16:16:00.005-04:00

Well I was going to write a post with pics from yesterday's baseball game, buuuut my bff made an awesome post about it already :) I'm going to be lazy and direct you to her site to check out our fun day! You should also check out her blog, she has found some pretty fun blogger things!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame(W thinks all bottles and cups are his...this was 5 minutes before he dumped the rest on my leg!)

(6) A Song That Reminds Me of Somewhere

2011-06-07T10:17:00.004-04:00

30 Day Song Challenge

This was tough for me. I hadn't thought about music taking me to a specific place before. I decided on "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White T's. It makes me think of summer 2007 and driving to camp with A to drop off a girl from youth group. We weren't dating at the time but it brings back wonderful memories from that drive. It was our first time really getting to catch up and it was the first time I'd been back to camp since Andy had died. It was a special day.

(Another that I can't embed)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbJtYqBYCV8

(5) A Song That Reminds Me of Someone

2011-06-07T09:35:00.001-04:00

30 Day Song Challenge (I'm posting more than one a day....)

I could post a bunch of songs for this one too! A and I have had so many different songs throughout our relationship, which is fun :) I chose Yellowcard's "Dear Bobbie" because it was the song we wanted to dance to as our first dance, but we decided it was a bit too morbid for a first dance - we chose a different song which I wasn't exactly thrilled about.

(4) A Song That Makes Me Sad

2011-06-06T18:00:00.000-04:00

30 Day Song Challenge

I am sure I could a bunch of songs that make me sad, because I tend to have strong emotions with songs. I decided, though, that The Classic Crime's "Headlights" is probably the song that makes the saddest (I still love the song, though!) This song got me through a lot, and I really The Classic Crime's lyrics...I found them when I went through my dislike-period with Relient K.

(3) A Song That Makes Me Happy

2011-06-06T09:58:00.000-04:00

I can't help but smile when I hear the song "This is the Stuff" by Francesca Battistelli. It is my ringtone and the song I have for my alarm. It reminds me that no matter what I'm going through, God is using it to shape me. "In the middle of my little mess, I forget how big I'm blessed"

(I couldn't find a video to embed so check it out directly on youtube.)

(2) My Least Favorite Song

2011-06-05T18:00:00.001-04:00

Bruno Mars "Grenade"

The lyrics make absolutely no sense to me and it is so overplayed on the radio (back when A and I spent more than 5 minutes together and he made me listen to contemporary pop). I generally don't like any new music (except for country) and I especially don't like songs that have unnecessary swearing or degrade women.

(1) My Favorite Song

2011-06-05T10:00:00.000-04:00

30 Day Song Challenge

Right now, in this moment, my favorite song is "Lucy" by Skillet. The song doesn't have a lot of relevance to me, but I find it to be so beautiful. I think the group Skillet is doing great work for God's people. I can't tell you how many people I have talked to that have said their music has changed their life and brought them to Christ.

6 months

2011-06-02T13:04:00.008-04:00

My little man is 6 months old today. I cannot imagine my life without him :) He brings us such joy and I really couldn't ask for a happier baby. 6 months is a big milestone so I am going all-out in filling everyone in!

Sleep: Naps have definitely been a big improvement this past month. He takes 3-4 naps every 2 hours. If he goes longer than 2 hours, he gets really cranky and it's nearly impossible to get him to sleep. I only have to rock him for about 5 minutes and he is out and I can set him in his crib. He has been napping between 45 mins and 1.5 hours but he rarely sleeps that long. Nighttime hasn't gotten any better. He goes to sleep around 8:30 and he's usually up at 12, 4, and 8. I thought that introducing food would help him sleep, but it doesn't! He's usually wide awake at midnight which I find to be odd and I have no idea why. Once A is done working we are going to work on getting him to sleep in the crib all night. This makes me sad and nervous, but I think it's for the best. A 6 month old not sleeping through the night is pretty rare!

Food: W loves eating real food! This month he has tried peas, green beans, carrots, sweat potatoes, bananas, apples, and pears. He actually prefers veggies over fruits which is awesome. Our typical routine for eating is nursing at 8, 11, 2, 5, and 8 and 2 tbs of oatmeal at 8:30 (sometimes mixed with banana because he loves bananas), 2 ounces of a fruit or veggie at 12, 1 ounce of a fruit or veggie and 2 tbs of oatmeal at 6:30. I stopped making my own oatmeal because it has become too time consuming. I was having to make it every other day and it requires about 15 minutes of not being able to leave the stove. We started using Happy Baby oatmeal and it has been amazing for W's stomach (it has pre- and probiotics!) I really love their products so I'm excited to be trying some of their snacks shortly (like puffs and freeze dried yogurt melts). This upcoming month we plan to introduce peaches, prunes, and squash (possibly regular potatoes). So far he hasn't disliked anything we've given him, which is great!

Diaper size: Still size 2, but I think 3s would fit him

Clothes: 3-6 onesies still fit him same with shorts, but he's in 6-9 sleepers and the outfits are only a little bit big on him still

Development: He started saying "dada" and "mama" obviously not recognizing us, but it's cute to hear him say "words". He likes "la" and "ba" as well. He also has started sitting up on his own. He is still a bit wobbly, because he grabs at everything, but he's getting there. Most of the time he rolls everywhere, but he is learning to get up on his hands and knees and rocking so I imagine he'll figure out how to move forward soon enough (or backwards!) He is going in for a 6 month checkup in 2 weeks when he'll be getting 3 shots (boo) and we'll find out his height and weight.
Favorites: Infantino front/back pack, activity center/walker, bumbo chair, high chair, balls of any kind (especially textured ones,) and crinkly toys.

(An update on me is that I am completely back down to my pregnancy weight and size, which is a blessing because I don't need to go out and buy new clothes!)

summer days

2011-05-31T15:45:00.004-04:00

Now that the weather is beautiful (it's been in the 90s since Friday!!!!) W and I have been enjoying the outside. Most of the time he's just in a diaper because he gets so sweaty, but I'm pretty sure he loves it :)

Nothing says summer more than lemonade

Watching the cars go by

Reading up on Eating Disorders for my final

Munching on new water toys

Eco-conscious

2011-05-27T09:59:00.004-04:00

I posted in the past that I wanted to switch to cloth diapers. I still would love to, but I don't have the time or money to make that switch (I know it's cheaper than disposables overall, but upfront it's a lot of money). My goal is to be prepared from the very beginning with our next child.

One way I have been eco-conscious is through buying organic for my son. I live in an area with very little organic options. Our Giant Eagle has a decent frozen foods selection and dry goods section, but only one small section of fresh foods. Fortunately I have been able to get all of his first foods except for sweet potatoes in organic. It's nearly impossible for me to eat completely organic because of the limited selection, but I'm glad I'm able to do this for my son. I had a bunch of coupons for Happy Baby that I won, and I finally found a place to get the products (well I had to send them to my grandparents in New York, but they are bringing the products with them when they visit). Making oatmeal is taking way too much effort, so I plan to use Happy Baby cereal now. I mostly use Seventh Generation diapers, but there is only one store in our area that sells them and I can't always make it there. I do use homemade wipes, though! I have a spray bottle filled with water, baby oil, and baby wash and I spray it on small pieces of paper towel (Viva works best) as I need them. I use regular wipes for big jobs, but that is pretty rare not that W is eating food.

I also recycle just about everything that I can. I have a section for electronics, old computes, and light bulbs I'm just waiting for special recycling days to pop-up in our area. I also keep old batteries because the local school recycles them as well. Not to mention all junk mail, cardboard, envelopes, magazines, glass, metal, and #1 & #2 plastics. There is also a baggie of expired medications I'm waiting to properly recycle. After reading an article about estrogen in the water supply from people improperly discarding birth control pills (not to mention the higher amounts in urine), I try to do my part. I'm not on birth control, but I have a bunch of samples from when I got married.

I try to use reusable bags when I'm shopping, but unfortunately it usually slips my mind to grab them when I go into the store. Fortunately one of the local grocery stores recycles plastic bags, so I don't feel as guilty, but I know I could do a better job.

I cannot wait to have our own house, because I also really want to compost. I have no place to put the dirt right now, so it's not really helpful, but it's a goal for the future!

What are some ways you are eco-conscious? Any suggestions on how to be more eco-conscious with a baby?

6. Eat completely organic for one month (W - April 26-May 26, 2011)

What my psychology classes have taught me

2011-05-25T15:46:00.003-04:00

....OR....how I'm deathly afraid to mess-up my kids!

My undergrad minor is in Psychology, and although I only had to take 6 classes, they fueled my love for the subject. Now that I am working towards my MA in Clinical Counseling (a 90-credit -hour program), I am realizing how much ~~blame~~emphasis is put on parents.

I am currently taking a class on Eating Disorders and if this doesn't push me to home school, I don't know what else would! Teasing/bullying is a huge part of the development of eating disorders and body image issues, but modeling by parents seems to be the main one. Whether it's through overall lousy parenting (i.e. too strict or too dysfunctional) or through the parents' own issues with food and their body, kids are bound to be messed up! I love that I am becoming aware of it so that A and I can talk about the environment we want to raise our kids, but at the same time, how do I keep our kids safe from the world? Is it enough to teach and model at home so that the world doesn't undo our teachings? I really am leaning towards homeschooling, not to shelter my children, but to be make sure that they have a positive and Christian environment to thrive within until they are ready to go off to college and move into young adulthood. Obviously rec sports and church activities would also be a part of their childhood/teenage years, but I really think school has become a toxic environment for kids. There are some days I wonder how I survived public school!

The other class I am taking is an overview of personality disorders. There is evidence that supports a cocktail of genetics and environment leads to the development of a personality disorder, but more often than not, it is the parenting style that reinforces what genetics has predetermined. Attachment styles is one of the big ones. I don't really have the time (or the energy) to go into the specifics, but I recommend Len Sperry's Handbook of Diagnosis and Treatment of DSM-IV-TR Personality Disorders if you are curious. There is a section for every personality disorder how certain attachment styles contribute to each disorder.

This summer I am taking a class on Substance Abuse. I imagine family-life will be part of our discussion, but I am praying for a bit of a break...I already have way too much to ponder for the next 18 years.

(My disclaimer for this entry is that perfectly healthy and well-adjusted indiviudals emerge out of really crappy home environments, and dysfunctional individuals will also emerge out of normal and healthy families.)

Just saying...

2011-05-20T23:10:00.004-04:00

I might have just cried over the season finale of Bones (kinda like how I cried over the season finale of House & CSI:New York 2 seasons ago)
I have a 4-6 page paper due on Monday on Psalm 121:1-6 and so far all I've done is translate it (which takes up .5 pages)
I have a 5 page paper on Histrionic Personality Disorder due on Wednesday. All I've done is pick a personality disorder to research.
Hubby is staying overnight in PA, I miss him and I want to snuggle with W in bed...I get lonely
It's beautiful outside and I want to go drink a glass of wine in the park. I'm pretty sure that's not acceptable, though?
I have no time anymore.

1st mother's day

2011-05-17T09:08:00.005-04:00

My first photo as a mom :)

First Mother's Day with my little 5-month-old

My brother and I with our mom :)
(last time I wore this skirt was when I found out we were having a boy!)

We went to the Cleveland Zoo and Rain Forest for Mother's Day and it was crazy busy. It was a beautiful day and it took us over an hour to find a parking spot because all the lots were full and people were parking on side streets. We had a lot of fun, despite the crowds. W loved the aquarium the best. He liked to watch the moving water (like the waterfall up above) and the colorful fish. I cannot wait to go back with A when he's a little bit older (we're planning to go to Ripley's Aquarium in Myrtle Beach this year). A had to work all day so I didn't get to see him - he says my Mother's Day gift is my new car, which I blogged about on my 365 blog. My brother got a new camera for his birthday (it's basically a DSLR) so he has been taking some awesome pictures. I asked him to take family photos in July so I'm really looking forward to having our first family photos.

here is an update!

2011-05-09T18:01:00.003-04:00

At 5 months:

W is loving peas! It took 2 weeks for his system to adjust to the new food, but now he's doing great and tomorrow we are moving on to green beans. Also, I've switched to oatmeal (which I am making myself) instead of icky rice cereal, for reals it tastes like wallpaper paste.
We've moved up to 6-9 month clothing. It's refreshing to have a whole new set of clothes to put W in!
W is now rolling everywhere. He also has gotten pretty good at getting himself up on his hands and knees, no crawling yet, thankfully!
He's also trying to pull himself up to a seated position. He's still a supported sitter, but I imagine that he'll be sitting on his own by 6 months (at least that's our goal with Robin - our social worker from Help Me Grow)
He sleeps about 4 hours in his crib and has started taking naps in the crib as well. I plan to get him entirely in his crib by 6 months (no more co-sleeping), so we'll see how much more he starts to sleep at night.
One little tooth has almost broken through. He is chewing on everything so I expect it'll pop up over the next week or so (who know cutting a tooth took so long, I feel like he's been teething forever!)

I apologize for my absence, I've been so busy catching up with this quarter and enjoying time with my son :)