December already!

Last year around this time, I had a BABY who looked like this:

She was only going on 4 months and was just always on her back or belly.  She loved books and music.  She had just celebrated her first Thanksgiving and was getting ready to celebrate her first Xmas.

Fast forward (and I mean super fast forward a whole year)

This is her today-

She loves. loves. loves books and music.  She can sign 20 signs on a regular basis and is on the run all the time.  She is starting to talk and wants to know what everything is! She is so awesome.  This is the first full month we have not nursed at all and I have grown to accept that.

She is my life, my love, and my everything! Before I know it she will be 18 months! YIKES!!

2 weeks until 15 months....

Here I am updating my readers on the love of my life, Grace Catherine. She will be 15 months on 11/15 and amazes me more and more everyday.  Here is what is going on in her world!

Grace is a walker now.  She is walking/running all over the place and can get into a standing position from sitting.  She is totally done with crawling.  It is amazing to watch her walk like a little girl.  It totally cracks me up and makes me sad at the same time.  She is losing her "thunder thighs" also know as baby fat on her legs.

She has been signing a lot.  I am shocked when she looks at me and signs a new word.  Here is the list so far: please, thank you, eat bear, nice, outside, milk, more, shoes, ball. baby, hat, and eat.  She signs "milk" when she wants something to drink.  She can sign "more please" and"outside please" She is really getting good.  If you are ever one the fence about teaching your baby to sign, it is totally worth it!

As for words, she is saying a couple: mama, dada, cat, car, and duck.  If you ask her what sound certain animals say, she can tell you that dogs go "woof", ducks go "quack", and cows go "moo".  She has been trying to say "girl" or "Grace".  She is making the "g" sound a lot!

Tonight we went out Trick or Treating.  I am crazy about putting her to bed at the same time every night but today she was up a half hour later than usual.  We only went to a few houses but had a great time!

I have to take her to the doctor in November for her 15 month check up so we will get to see weight and height! She might have to get more blood work done to check on her anemia which I am not excited about at all! Last time, I was more of a mess than she was.  She did an awesome job!

Reliving My Moonhoney- Florence (9/5/09)

September 5, 2009
On the road to Florence! We keep having to make stops because of the truck and bus laws.  We had a mid-morning break for 30 minutes and then a 60 minute lunch break.  Hopefully, we will get to Florence soon!

We finally got to Florence around 1:30 and we met our local tour guide.  He took us to the Academy, the home of Michelangleo's David.  Florence is very small, lots of small streets and scooters (400,000 people to 200,000 scooters).  Went into the Academy to see the big site, David.  No cameras are allowed into the Academy so there are no pictures.  Before we saw David, we saw many unfinished works of Michelangelo. Finally saw David and he was amazing! Andre, our tour guide, said that David's hands and feet were disproportioned to the rest of his body.  Afterwards we had about 20 minutes to check out the museum on our own.

We got to see many churches, especially The Duomo.  In the Duomo, I had to wear a plastic sack over my shoulders since I was in a tube top dress.  Patti and I looked awesome!

We went to a few other churches and then had some free time where I bought my new leather bag.  I love it! We went to Basilica of Santa Croce where there were tombs of many famous people- Michelangelo, DiVinci, Machavelli, and Galileo- to name a few of the famous people that were buried there.

We went back to the hotel and had dinner at the hotel that was not all impressive.  We decided to ask at the hotel bar if there were any places that we could get a drink.  Franco was at the bar and he recommended Cafe Baraka and it was right down the street.  We had some wine and beer.  We were in bed by midnight!
Off to Venice tomorrow.  I would have loved to have spent more time in Florence.  Loved it here!

Reliving My Moonhoney- Rome Day 3 (9/4/09)

September 4, 2009

6AM was an early start to the day! We had to be heading off to Vatican City by 7AM.  We met our local tour guide, Chinza, who gave us all headsets to follow her along on the tour.  We got to enter Vatican City an hour early because we were with a tour group.  We first entered Vatican City (it's own county and the smallest country) by the museum while Chinza gave us information on the Sistine Chapel. We first started looking at sculptures and tapestries.  It seemed that many of the characters in the tapestries were following you when you were walking by.  The ceilings all over were amazing! We took tons of pictures of the sculptures and tapestries because no photos are allowed in the Sistine Chapel.  But before we went in the Chapel, we went to the coffee shop and got an espresso!

When we entered the Chapel, it was breathtaking.  The main wall but the entrance was The Last Judgement by Michelangelo.  Chinza told us a story of the Pope's assistant that aggravated Michelangelo during his painting of the chapel.  Michelangelo decided to get his revenge by painting him in hell with donkey ears and a snake wrapped around his body.  I don't think pictures could do this room justice.  It was amazing.  We then got to leave out the entrance that they new pope leaves after her is ordained.  We got to walk down the same staircase! 

Next we went into St. Peter's and got to see where the Pope does all his holiday masses.  It made me think about when I would watch Pope John Paul do the masses on TV. St. Peter's was gorgeous.  There was so much to see and talk about.  There is a statue of St. Peter there that people who rub the foot of for good luck.  Over time, his toes have disappeared!

After we left Vatican City, we went to see the ancient part of Rome.  I was so giddy because I got to finally see the Colusseum! The beauty of it blew me away.  It was gorgeous and amazing.  I took so many pictures of the Colusseum because of its sheer awesomeness!

We went back to the hotel and got to rest before the 2nd part of our day! Dan and I fell asleep for about an hour.  

Around 3:30PM, we got back on the bus.  We were on our way to the Spanish Steps, the Panthenon (perfect circle), the Beretoli fountain, and the Trevi Fountain. The Panthenon was amazing.  The dome was a perfect circle.  We got to see where Raphael was buried inside the building.  We got to spend time by the Trevi Fountain and throw coins in while making a wish.  Dan and I ended up going into this tiny church right by the Trevi fountain.  I ended up making a donation to the church and got a blessed religious bracelet.  There was an adorable Italian priest who would not stop talking to me in Italian even though I had no idea what he was saying!

                                                                      Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain

Panthenon

Beretoli Fountain

We finally met Franco by the Beretoli fountain for our dinner.  We had to say good by to Chinza which was sad because she was a great tour guide.  Franco took us to the restaurant where we had a great dinner! First was grilled eggplant, zuchchini, & yellow peppers w/fresco salad.  Next, ravioli stuffed with spinach and cheese.  Then fettucine alfredo.  Dan and I got 2 different entrees and shared- salmon w/potatoes and chicken cacciatore with potatoes.  Both had salad.  Last was dessert- fruit salad with strawberry gelato.  We had all the wine that we could drink and the waiter gave the ladies on the tour roses! 

Today was awesome and we got to do and see so much! We are so exhausted! Dan really liked the Sistine Chapel & the Panthenon.  I loved the Colusseum.  I would love to come back.  Tomorrow we leave Rome and head to Florence!

Reliving My Moonhoney- Rome Day 2 (9/3/09)

September 3, 2009

Breakfast was more than I expected it to be.  I thought it would be a continental breakfast with coffee/tea and pastries.  Turns out there was a pretty good selection although the eggs and bacon were a bit on the scary side.  Came back to the room, decided what we wanted to do, and started off to go shopping! We ended up getting some decent bar soap from Sabon and some clothes! 

We were going to meet our tour group for dinner.  Dan and I were wondering what the people in the group were going to be like.  Turned out to be some really nice people that we first met in the hotel lobby. We also met Franco, our tour guide, who was a trip and seemed to have been hitting the wine a little before meeting us for dinner.  We had a really nice bus that took us to the restaurant.  Franco told us that every morning when we get on the bus we have to rotate seats so that we get to sit different places while on the tour.  


We got to the restaurant for the Welcome Dinner.  There were singers, an accordion player, and a piano player.  Dinner was really good- Antipasto, Pasta Fagioli soup, different types of pasta, salad, chicken & veal with potatoes, and tiramisu.  Of course there was tons of wine and we had our fair share of it that night! 6AM was the wake up time tomorrow so we went back to the hotel and go back into bed! 

Reliving My Moonhoney- Rome Day 1 (9/2/09)

Let me start of by saying that I found my notebook that I wrote in during my honeymoon with Dan.  I wrote everyday to remember what had happened, what we did, the people we met, and the fun we had.  We traveled through Europe- Rome, Florence, Venice, Lugano, Lucerne, Paris, and London.  We had an awesome time!

September 2nd, 2009

We arrived in Rome! Our driver, Alex, met us at DaVinci Airport and drove us to the Hotel Michelangelo right by St. Peter's Square.  We arrived a day before out tour group was starting so we could explore on our own! We weren't sure if the hotel was going to let us check in because we got there way before the check in time.  The staff was really nice and they let us check in early! We got into the room and was not aware that they all had twin beds! We were exhausted from the plane ride so we pushed together the twin beds and quickly we knocked out! We laid down around 11AM (Italian time) and ended up waking up around 3PM.  

We decided to go exploring with a map and some guidance from Guisseppi, who worked the front desk.  First thing we did was hit the ATM for some Euros. We walked into St. Peter's Square and was amazed by how beautiful it was! We were holding off on Vatican City because we were doing a tour there an hour before it opened during the trip. We took a ton of pictures! We walked around and checked out some souvenir shops to see what they had. We stopped at a restaurant and grabbed some pizza and sparkling water.  

Before we left the hotel, Guisseppi told us about a street (forget the name) that had a lot of really good shops on it.  We decided to go looking for that which we could not find so we decided to ask for directions.  We found a street sweeper guy who spoke pretty good English if he could point us in the right direction. He told us where to go but gave ME a warning.  I was wearing a Minor Threat T-shirt and he told me to watch out for Skinheads because they do not like straight edge people (First, I am not straight edge.  I just like Minor Threat).  He then told me that there are a lot of Skinheads in the area we were in.  I told him thanks for the warning and was surprised he knew what the t-shirt was about.


We finally found the shopping area and got our shop on! I got some really cute pajamas from a store called Yamamay.  We then stopped at Sabon, which is Rome's version of Lush (they do have some stores in NYC as well).  We found an awesome store that sold pretty much everything. They sold loose bottles of beer and they had a real bottle of Duff beer.  Finally we stopped for some espresso and cappucino on our was back to the hotel.  Time to relax and decided to get ready to go to dinner!

After getting showered and changed, we decided to go to a place that Ethan, Dan's brother-in-law, recommended. It was called Il Cappellaio Matto (The Mad Hatter) .  Ethan told us it was a place that locals went to and they did not speak much English there (could not find a direct website). After a crazy cab ride, we finally arrived.  The menu was all in Italian, of course, so we did our best and ordered.  We got a half liter of red wine, bruschetta, ravioli, scallopini in vino, salad, and a Nutella & banana crepe.  It was super delicious and super inexpensive.  The whole dinner was under 40 Euro (around $63).  Awesome!  Finally got back to the hotel and was knocked out.  We had an early morning the next day! We were going to get breakfast and meet the tour group a little later on in the afternoon!

Update on My Girl! Part 2

There were a few things that I totally forgot when I was blogging about Grace last night! So much stuff has happened over the past month or so, it is crazy! Here are a few things I forgot!


Grace is starting to identify her body parts! She can show you where her belly is.  First, she used to point to/grab her belly but now she pulls up her shirt and shows you her belly.  She can also show you her toes and her nose.  She gets her eyes and ears confused but she is getting there!  She can also tell me where her knees are sometimes.  


There are a few more animal sounds she can do.  When I ask her what a chicken says, she says "Gluck, Gluck".  She still does the dog sound and sometimes yells when I ask her what a sheep says.


She is my girl!

Update on My Girl!

So it has been awhile since I have blogged about Grace, life, or anything! Let me catch you up on what is going on in the Deming's world (AKA- Grace's World.).


Grace had her 12 month visit to her doctor on 8/19/11.  She was 21 pounds 6 ounces and 32 inches long.  I still think she is taller that that but it is subjective because this girl cannot sit or lie still for even a minute! She is 55th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height (according to the WHO charts).  She is right on point, if not slightly ahead for development.  She got some shots and did excellent! 


As of now, she is up and walking all over the place.  She cannot stand up from a sitting position just yet.  If she falls when walking, she crawls over to something, pulls herself up and gets moving again.  I have seen so many more bruises over the past few weeks but that is something i have to accept when she is mobile.  She also tries to run now.  If I have her hand, she really tries to get her motor going.  It is hysterical to watch her walk around.  


She is getting really good with signing! She knows the signs for a lot of things but is really starting to sign back- more, milk, please, nice.  I am trying to sign alot with her and her Baby Signing Time videos are awesome- babysigningtime.com  I plan on keeping up the signing for a long time since I am getting results with her! The word we are working on now is help.  I get frustrated when people "make up" signs when I mention she is learning sign language.  Annoy me to no end.


Grace has always been vocal but now she is forming words and knows what she is saying.  She says "Nah, nah" for no, "Ya, Ya" for yes, "Ka" for cat, Mama, Dada (sometimes Daddy), "Da' for dog, and "Ba" is either book or ball.  She uses "ba" for both.  She is also getting really good with animal sounds.  She is always barking like a dog.  If you ask her what sound a dog makes, she barks.  She barks when she sees a dog.  It is the funniest thing to hear.


As of right now, she is following simple directions.  For example, "Take this to...", "Give me..." , and "Bring me..." I love handing her something and tell her to "Take this to Daddy, please" and off she goes! 


These past 13 months have been amazing and I would not change them for the world.  Yes, she goes through phases that are somewhat annoying (like the pick me up and hold me all the time because I will yell and fuss if you don't phase) but she is the love of my life and I love spending every day with her!!!

Labor and Delivery Story.... a year ago.

  

This was me a year ago right now (6:00 pm).  A year has passed and I am thinking back to the night/day I was in labor and gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl in the world, Grace Catherine. I am not sure if I ever shared my story so here we go.

On August 12th, 2010 (Thursday), I had gone to my doctor for my weekly visit.  He told me that there was nothing going on so he scheduled me for a non-stress test and an appointment with him for the following Thursday to talk induction.  The next day. Friday, the 13th, Dan and I went to grab dinner at Sonic and home to relax.  We watched a movie and went to bed.  Around 2:30AM (Aug. 15th), I had the feeling that I had to pee.  I went to get up and I could not stop what I thought was pee only to realize that my water had broke.  It wasn't a gush like you see in the movies but a pretty good leak.  I woke Dan up and told him what was happening.  I got into the bathroom, kicked the rug away and leaked out.  I got my phone and called the service that paged the on call doctor.  Dr. Belder called me back and told me that since I was not having contractions to be at the hospital in about an hour.  I hopped in the shower, Dan and I put the pack and play together, got our bags, and went to the hospital.

Got to the hospital around 3:30/3:45 and was taken into Triage.  Dr. Belder came in and checked to see if my water had broke and it had.  I was only 1.5 centimeters dilated and not having any contractions.  Belder told me that he would see if I would dilate anymore but if not, they would start the Pitocin.  I was officially admitted to labor and delivery and given a room around 4:30.  My mom met us there and we were all so freaking excited.

I was so excited that I could not sleep.  My labor nurse, Joan, came in to check on me often. Around 8:30, I had not gone past 1.5 centimeters so they started the Pitocin.  A little while later, I started to feel the contractions.  At first, they were not that bad.  I was able to breathe through them because the dose of pitocin was low.  Every 20 minutes or so, Joan would come in and turn it up.  Fast forward a few, long, contraction filled hours, I was in PAIN! Dr. Devlin (Dr. Belder had left) was in ding a C-Section so Joan called her and said that she would be in as soon as she could to check to see if i was dilated enough to get an epidural.  I was not sure if I wanted to get one but the contractions were excruciating.  About 20 minutes went by, Joan came in and said that she could check to see if I was dilated enough and could call the anesthesiologist for the epidural.  I was all for it! She checked and I was 5 centimeters dilated so she made the call and in came the epidural.  

After getting the epidural, I felt much better but had to lie on my side and be moved every now and then if there was a change in the heartbeat.  

I finally was able to get some rest.  Meanwhile, my mom was pacing around and Dan was relaxing.  They were both awesome during the contractions before the epidural.  Dan's mom and sister were on their way over to the hospital and were going to tell the nurse when they arrived so that they could come back and say hi.  About 20 minutes later, a nurse came back and said that they were out by the front of L&D.  Dr. Devlin came in at the same time to check me and said "Her head is right there.  I think we are ready to push!" Dan had to run out and tell his mom and sister that they had to wait to come back because Grace was on her way.  I started to push around 6PM.  My mom was up by my head to help support and Dan helped hold my left leg up when I had to push.  Joan, the labor nurse, was at my right leg.  At first I had no idea if I was pushing right but after the 2nd time, I knew it was the right way.  After starting and stopping numerous times, I started to feel a lot of pressure.  That told me that the end was near! That made me was to push even harder but Grace was hitting a speed bump on the way out.  She gave me a episiotomy and according to Dan "She just slipped right out."

Grace Catherine Deming was born on August 15th at 6:31PM.  She weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces and was 21 inches long.

I do have a pic of her getting her cord cut but it has to be censored!

I could not wait to hold her, snuggle her, and love her.  

     

 And neither could Daddy....

I can now not imagine my life without this beautiful little girl in my life.  We had her birthday party on Saturday and it was awesome!!!!! 

Grace Catherine Deming, you are the BEST thing that has ever happened to me.  I love you.

One year old... Already??

This is what I remember about August 15th, 2010 at 6:31 PM

And this is what she looks like now

I do not know where this year has gone.  Monday is her big day and I am really emotional so I am hoping I will be a blubbering mess that day.

I am also so proud of myself that I have been breastfeeding for almost a year! No formula ever!

Saturday is her party.  Right now it looks like there are like 60 people coming and I am praying that it does not rain.  I have goody bags done, food list ready for shopping tomorrow, and cleaning done with the exception of the last minute stuff.  Tomorrow will be the food shopping for the fruit salad and green salad I will be making.  I will be making 5 dozen cupcakes tomorrow night for Saturday but am not going to ice them until Saturday morning. 

I am really excited to see everyone! I am counting down the days! There will be plenty of pics posted afterwards!

Grace Catherine Deming  08/15/1010   6:31PM

Out the window it goes!

What did you swear you would or would not do with your LO that went right out the window?
After I found out I was pregnant there were many decisions I wanted to make before Grace was born.  First, I would not allow her to get addicted to television.  I wanted her to read, read, read!
Next, I wanted to breastfeed for AT LEAST a year, more if possible.  I wanted her to accept everyone and anyone and to be her own person.

Let's rewind almost a year.  As of right now, I NEVER have the TV on unless I am streaming Pandora Radio through the Blue Ray player.  The sound is on but the TV is off.  Recently I cannot even have that on because Grace is obsessed with playing with the volume knob and input knob on the stereo.  She watched her Baby Signing Time for 20-25 minutes a day at lunchtime.  She loves it and is the only time she is watching TV.  I love watching her face when we go somewhere that has a TV on, like her Pop-Pop's house.  She is might look at it for a minute or two but has really no interest in it.  Next, we are onto breastfeeding.  We are still going strong! We are down to only about 4 times a day but we made the year mark and are still going strong! GO US! As for the reading, Grace is in love with books. She would rather play with books then toys, which cracks me up!

There is one other thing I said I would never do but slip up on from time to time- cursing.  Nothing serious but I dislike when I do it! I don't want my Grace to have a potty mouth!!

So far, I have been doing pretty well on holding up on what I said I would!! 

 

Green and Crunchy.....

Grace- 1 month old Bum Genius

                                                             
 How do I feel about the Green and Crunchy movement? I feel pretty good to be apart of it!
When I found out I was pregnant, I was overwhelmed with emotion.  The last thing on my mind was what kind of diapers/wipes I would be using, if I would be breastfeeding or formula feeding, or many other things.  After awhile, I started to talk to friends who were moms.  My one friend was really into cloth diapering.  Her daughter is 3 months older than Grace and she introduced me to Bum Genius diapers.  She showed me them and I was sold.  She did tell me it would be pricey up front but would totally pay off in the long run.  So I decided I would be doing cloth diapers.  My husband and I bought a few at a time and even got some from my friends as a shower gift.  I was so excited to use them but had to wait for the first month to be over because they were so HUGE on Grace's tiny body.  I have branched out and tried some other brands other than Bum Genius- Eco Bunz, Fuzzibunz, Kawaii, Sunbaby, and some other brandas I cannot remember off the top of my head.

Some people believe breastfeeding is a part of the Green and Crunchy movement. When I first told people I was pregnant, they told me to sign up on all the formula companies websites to get coupons and free samples.  I went on and dished out my name, address, email, and created passwords.  This was before I made one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life- to breastfeed Grace.  I knew it was the best thing for her and I was determined to make it work! I took a breastfeeding class towards the end of my pregnancy and was so excited to breastfeed Grace.  The instructor of my class was the head of the Breastfeeding Resource Center (www.breastfeedingresourcecenter.org).  She spoke of lactation consults and support groups for breastfeeding moms.  Needless to say, I started going to the weekly meetings when Grace was around 10 days old and I still go to the meetings.  It is my home away from home.
We are big on recycling at home as well.  I can't wait to teach Grace all about that when she gets older.  I also try to use the reusable shopping bags when I can (or remember to put them back in the car).  Next year we are going to put some raised beds in the backyard and grow some veggies!

I am very happy with my Crunchy decisions.  I have told many. many moms about cloth diapers and how much we love them! Some have decided to go that route and I hope they are as happy as I am with that decision!

Question of Parenting.

What is the most IRRITATING thing people as me about Grace? The number one thing is- "How long are you going to breastfeed her?" or "Are you seriously still breastfeeding?"
Yes, I am still breastfeeding and plan on letting Grace tell me when she is done with it. Why do people care about it anyway? It is not your business. It is between my daughter and myself.

Another thing is that I am told that I put my daughter to bed way to early. She is in bed at 6:30, 7:00 at the latest. People look at me like I am crazy. I am glad I put her to bed early. She gets the rest she needs and I figure I might not have to fight as hard with her when she gets older. One time someone (in my family) told me that I put her to bed at that time because I do not want to spend time with her. Seriously??!!

The last thing is that I do cloth diapers. I am the one that is washing them and stuffing them. Why does it matter to anyone? It is my husband and I that have to do all the work!

Sorry for the rant. I know I am a good mom. I make mistakes and learn from them all the time.
Right now I have a child who will not take her first nap. Maybe I am a "bad" mom because I am leaving her in her crib. She is not crying, only fussing and talking. Hopefully, she will fall asleep!

Mrs. Crock Pot.

So here is my deal. I am in love with my Crock Pot. If I could marry a kitchen appliance, that would be the one I would exchange vows with. I actually have 2 if I want to really go crazy one day! Sometimes I make dinner in one and dessert in another.

I actually found this awesome website for recipes- http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
This woman makes a Crock Pot recipe every day. She includes pics and a review after she is done! If you look at the index tab, there are TONS of recipes!

Here are two more of my favorites- http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/1183
The first one for turkey chili is great. I make it less spicy and add more chocolate at the end.
The very veggie stew is a HUGE hit with my daughter!

So I love the crock pot. I am not ashamed of it. At all.

Don't know how you deal....

I was given shitty news on Friday afternoon. My sister-in-law who was 12 weeks pregnant has a miscarriage. I am at a loss for words. She cried and cried and I was at a loss for words. It happened so suddenly and I feel numb. I spoke to my brother, who is my only sibling. He was devastated and was said that he and my sis-in-law had run out of things to say to each other. I hung up the phone and looked at Grace. I was never so goddamn grateful in my life.

I then became angry. Why is it that some assholes can have kids. You know who I mean- the ones that abuse their kids- whether it be physical/mental/verbal/neglect/whatever- but a wonderful couple who would love a baby more than everything lose one. I just don't get it. Maybe I am not supposed to. I say it is bullshit. People that abuse kids make me sick, while some people lose kids or cannot have kids at all that would treat them like gold.

I know they will get over this with love and time. I hope and pray that they will try again and be blessed with what I have.

I love you guys and I am sending you love every minute of the day.

guilty.

What are my guilty pleasures you ask? I do have a few (A LOT) of them! LEt's take it a few at a time-
TV- It is sad to say but I really like some reality TV. I love Real Housewives of New Jersey, So You Think You Can Dance, Jersey Shore (I know.. I know..), and some other craptastic reality shows. I am not into the whole Bachelor/Bachelorette stuff. I also LOVE Gossip Girl! Some of my other TV shows are somewhat normal. Thinking of my list now makes me realize I watch a lot of TV after Grace goes to sleep!
Movies- I love Dumb and Dumber. It makes me laugh my ass off each time I watch it! It is so stupid but it is awesome. I am not to sure if there are any other movies I am embarassed to say I like. Give me a few minutes and I might think of some!
Snacks- I am addicted to Ben and Jerry's Creme Brulee. I found it when I was pregnant and became, in a word, OBSESSED! I forgot about it for awhile but then found it again and cannot stop eating it (due to lack of sheer willpower). I am also having a love affair with Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I do not put milk on it. Eat it right out of the box. I need to stop eating the ice cream because I am putting on some weight. I decided to only eat it on the weekends! We will have to see how that goes.
Right now, I have a baby that will not take her first nap and it is driving me up a wall. Til l next time!

TTC

So here we go again! Dan and I decided a while back that we wanted to have 2 kids. 2 and be done! We started trying again in May with no success. June was not successful either. I have this idea that I want to get pregnant on the first shot. It did not happen with Grace and it did not happen this time either- I am a bit of an overachiever.

I am nervous about having another one. Grace was a really good baby- after I figured out what I was actually doing (not that I have a clue still but I am getting better). I love the newborn stage but really love when babies can play and do things on their own! I am excited to give Grace a brother or sister!

It looks like I will have 2 under 2 (hopefully). People give me the crazy look when I tell them this but Dan and I decided that we wanted them to be close in age but not too close. We have a good support system with my mom and his. I figure that it will all work out!

Fingers crossed that I get knocked up some time soon! I am trying not to stress or think about it too much- just having fun with the "practice"!!

funky rut....

So here is the question- How do/did you get out of a funk or rut?

In the past, I was always in a funk or rut. I was one of those Emo girls. Listened to the sad music, never really smiled and was pretty much a downer. Around 2002, I realized that something more was wrong. I would have these crazy mood swings which involved me throwing and breaking things. It would end horribly. I finally got some help. I found out that I had a chemical imbalance that was affecting my moods from one second to the next. I decided to try medication (I know- taboo) and it was the best thing I ever did for myself. I started on 10mg of Lexapro and could not believe the difference! Everything got better. I was able to function better and control my moods in a more, umm, civil way.

I met my husband in 2005 and he also was a big factor in me helping to stay in control! Needless to say, we got married in 2009 and had Grace in 2010. I did go off my medication after I had Grace. I took 5mg of Lexapro throughout my pregnancy and everything went great! I can only imagine how ugly it would have been without.

I did go off the medication when I was breastfeeding. 2 months into having Grace, I was finding it hard to do anything, much less take care of a newborn! I called my doctor and he put me on the safest anti-depressant for breastfeeding- Zoloft (50mg). I have been on it since I made the phone call to him that day asking for help. I am so glad that I admitted to myself that I needed the help instead of ignoring the signs and trying to get through. I am not sure if it was PPD or PPA but all I know is I had to do what made me a better mom for my daughter!

Anyway... I kinda went off on a tangent. When I am in a funk/rut, I strap Grace into her Ergo or stroller and go for a walk. Sometimes the air can do wonders for me! I sometimes put on some music and dance like a crazy person. It makes me feel better and makes Grace laugh hysterically! Sometimes, I need time alone. If my mom is around, she might come over and watch Grace while I go for a drive with the windows down and music loud. If Dan is at home, I might go for a walk/run to clear my head. Sometimes I might even blog- go figure!

It is awesome to have was to release and get out of a funky rut! What do you all do??

Inspiration....

I was asked what inspired me to write a blog. I had another blog almost 2 years ago that was all about my wedding- the planning and other fun stuff. My inspiration changed around August 2010. I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl who changed my life. I decided to blog about what was going on in our lives- hard and easy, good and not so good. Grace is my inspiration along with other things in my life!

There are not many things I need to write a blog. Usually it is a spur of the moment thing. Something happens and I want to get my thoughts down and share. I love to listen to music so music is always on in my house. It does not have to be at a certain time of the day or in a certain room.

Inspiration seems to happen to me at different places and at different times!

summa summa summa time.....

What do I think of I think of Summer? There are a lot of things: water ice, the beach, BBQ's....
Now that I am a Mom some things are still the same and some things have changed. Before Grace, I just get into the car on a really hot day and drive while it cooled down. Now, I put her in the play yard and run out to turn on the air. I would also drive with the windows down jamming out to some music. Now, I keep the windows down but not all the way and I keep the music on but not nearly as loud as before.

I never really worried about putting sunblock on when out in the sun. Now, if Grace and I are going for a walk or to play somewhere, I make sure to later her up! I cannot wait to take her to the beach. Sadly, it might not be this summer but next! She has her own little pool that she is starting to like from time to time but the water has to be warm!

The biggest thing that I think of when I think of summer is Grace's Birthday! I have a summer birthday but now I have Grace in the summer as well!

A Rockin' Review

So I have been doing cloth diapers on Grace since she was about a month old. Wanted to wait because #1- they were HUGE on here and #2- she was pooping all the time for the first month. It somewhat slowed down after that but not by much! No one else I knew with exception of one friend was doing or had done cloth diapers so I really had no idea what I was doing. Month later, I am thinking I have it but was still having somewhat stinky diapers. I found Bac-Out and that helped a ton but I was still thinking my detergent was not cutting it (All Free & Clear). I might have just been me but I wanted to try something different. I asked around to Mommies that I had met and were cloth diapering and a lot of the recommended Rockin' Green- all natural!

I decided to take the plunge and try it. I ordered Mighty Might Marshmallow and Lavender Mint Revival. Both came yesterday and I was really excited to try them. I tried the marshmallow first. There are super easy directions to follow on the back. They also have directions for if you have a lot of build up on the diapers, which I might try this weekend (I will keep you posted). I loved the smell of them when they came out of the wash! I did wash them twice just to get them clean and they really did smell yummy. I was disappointed because I did not get to dry them outside because I thought it was going to rain (of course it didn't). I figure the detergent and the drying outside would make them awesome! I guess I will have to let you know.

As for Grace, I believe she is officially down to 2 solid naps (knock on wood). Today she got up around 6:15 and napped a little after 9. She woke up around 10:30 and went down for her 2nd nap around 2:15. She then woke up around 3:40 and went to be a after 7 (fussing included- around 7:20).

Today was a great day in Graceland! Tomorrow we have to run some more errands and then we have music class at 1PM!

10 months today....

So today is the big day! My baby has hit the double digits when it comes to months! You know what else she did today? She decided that she no longer needed 3 naps and we decided to try 2 today. She woke up a little after 6 (damn early bird) and I put her up in her crib right around 9. She played for a few minutes and then it was quiet until almost 10:30! We went out for awhile, came home, had lunch, destroyed the living room, dining room, and kitchen! I just put her up for a nap. She was talking to her Seahorse friend (sleepy talk) and now it is quiet. I wonder how long she will be asleep for. I also think that it is good she cut out the 3rd nap so she might go to bed a little easier at night. She is not one that screams and cries in her crib (knock on wood) but for the past week, it has taken her awhile to fall asleep. I don't want her to be over tired because that would defeat the whole purpose!

Last Friday, I made my first official call as a Breastfeeding Counselor. Overall, I think it went pretty well! The mom had a few questions about how long she should be nursing a 10 day old. Her biggest complaint was how long it took! I remember those days of 45 minute to hour feedings. I basically had no shirt on the first month! Now if I can get her to nurse for 7-8 minutes, that is a record!

I cannot believe she is 10 months. She is the love of my life. I cannot imagine my life without her. I was the type that liked going out alot and partying. Now, I would rather be at home with my awesome family. Some people do not understand that and it is hard to explain because they are not parents yet themselves.

I love my life and would not do anything to change it, except lose the rest of the baby weight and tone up... LOL!

10 months tomorrow...

So.. here we go again! I am doing a new blog. The first one was pretty much based on my wedding and honeymoon (Pre-Grace). This one I am planning on dedicating to raising Grace with some breastfeeding knowledge sprinkled in.

I am speechless. My baby is going to be 10 months tomorrow. Her turning 10 months also mean her and I have hit the 10 month mark of breastfeeding! No formula, no supplementing! I am really proud that I have made it this far!

As for Grace, she is a crawling machine. She also babbles non-stop and loves to torture our 3 cats- really only the one tolerates her. She has starting pulling herself up on everything so now she loves to stand. She is all over the place and does not stay still for any long period of time. She also acts like she does not want to sleep. She thinks that staying in her crib playing is more important!

She has also started sleeping through the night (knock on wood). I do not have to nurse her anymore. This makes me happy and sad at the same time. Happy because I can sleep for longer periods of time. Sad because this means she is growing up! I do miss nursing her when she was really half asleep because she was not distracted and went right back to sleep when she was done. I still do not sleep well, even though it is Dan that goes in to check on her if she wakes up.

I am hoping that I will keep up with this blog. I plan on giving updates on what she is doing along with her stats when she goes to the doctors. I might share some articles that I find funny, important, or something else!