Tuesday, September 29, 2015

crazy season

september hits and things gets busy.
we have birthdays, weddings, trips to the
apple orchard, trips to the pumpkin patch,
a high school reunion, fall family day,
and then all of a sudden its halloween.
and bam - the holidays are among us.

so, i'm sorry i've been slacking over here.
i've been really busy "out there" and
things aren't over yet.

i will say that so far, reid is doing well
with her time apart from me.
i think she is enjoying her
extra time with my mom and dad.
and as long as they keep lots of milk
warm and ready at a moments notice,
then she's as happy as a clam.

brette had a rough first day when i went back to work.
she had five accidents and then
it took me almost an hour to get her to sleep.
if you don't know,
it takes me less than 2 minutes to lay my kid down.
we say goodnight, lay her down,
i rub her back for 15 seconds,
say i love you and i'm out the door.
that night she screamed and cried
and clung to me and wouldn't lay down.
my mom tried too, but she wouldn't settle.
i finally had to just leave the room
and after 5 minutes of losing her mind,
she passed out.
it was awful and i was nervous she
was going to be like this for awhile.
but she was over it the next day and
she seems to be used to it now.
i think it helps that she still gets me
throughout the week.
 
but yes,
fall equals crazy around here,
but it's all so fun,
it's hard to complain.
 





 

Sunday, September 27, 2015

reid: two months




growth:
we went in for her two month check-up
(everything is great)
and she weighs 11lbs 8ozs (50th percentile).
she was 23.25 inches (75th percentile)
and i can't remember her exact head measurement,
but i know it was the 40th percentile.
she's a growin'!
she's still in size one diapers and is wearing only
0-3 months clothing.
she definitely can't fit into newborn sizes anymore.
her eyes are blue and i'm hoping she keeps that color.
i want to have a couple of blue eyed girls,
just so they can have one thing in common because
i don't see many similarities between brette and reid.
her cheeks are chunking up,
which i love and her hair is still red and growing great up top.
she does have some cradle cap right now,
but we're getting the medicated shampoo and that
should clear things right up.
 
 
sleeps:
i got lucky again.
thank jesus.
she goes down around 7:45pm and
will sleep anywhere between 4am - 6:30am.
then she takes a wonderful morning and afternoon nap
along with a few other cat naps during the day.
i made sure to keep her in crib for napping.
i remember battling brette to get her to sleep
outside her swing during the day
and i didn't want to start that again.
when you know better, you do better.
she has a sound machine, swaddle,
a pacifier and she'll just drift right off.
easy peasy.
 
 
eats:
reid is no longer exclusively nursing.
as of monday i started back to work,
so a couple days a week she'll be eating from a bottle.
i'm thankful i still get 5 days a week with her,
i'll take nursing over pumping any day.
 since i've been pumping for the last month
and freezing milk, she still gets breastmilk,
but i'm not opposed to adding some formula
if i can't keep up with the demands.
as of right now, i have plenty.
 
 
plays:
still not playing
but she is talking.
lots of coos and conversations.
and she smiles now too.
how precious are little baby smiles?
i can't get enough.
she still loves being outside,
watching ceiling fans and
listening to the washing machine.
maybe in the next few months,
i'll introduce some toys.
 
 
firsts:
first smile.
first day without mommy.
first trip to the zoo.
first boat ride.
first coos.
 

she's such a chill baby and makes
it really easy on me to take time for brette too.
i'm excited to see what october brings.




 

Sunday, September 20, 2015

apple pickin'

 
 
today was gorgeous.
the perfect day to do something fun outside.
and since we were up and ready early,
we headed north to alldredge orchard.
we had never been,
but it was less crowded than louisburg,
free to get in,
had the cutest little play area for brette
and a sweet little bakery for me.
reid slept through the whole thing,
but i'm pretty sure we'll be back next year
so she can explore it with her sister.
 
 
(first things first, picking apples)
 
(a little help from daddy)
 
(i love windmills)

(b and the goats)
 

(ronnie and reid checking out the general store)
 
(me and my girls)

(how sweet)

(loved this gazebo)

(that's ronnie helping B down the slide)

(feeding the chickens)

(holy red hair)

(swing break)
 
(baked goods and lunch items.  however, i was SERIOUSLY disappointed
that their applesauce wasn't homemade.)
 
(this is where i wanted a family photo,
but brette and ronnie were too busy playing.
no family photo. (sad face)


 

Friday, September 18, 2015

pizza party

 
when you have (young) kids and
friday nights seem like any other day,
it doesn't really matter when you have a party.
like on a thursday, maybe?
early evening?
in bed by 9:30?
perfect.
so my friends and i decided to have
monthly pizza parties for the whole fam to enjoy.
let the kids run free.
drink a few beers.
check in on each other lives.
perfect.
i volunteered for september and it
just happened to fall on a night when the
chiefs had their home opener and they royals were on.
well played on my part.
 
so last night we had:
five pizzas
thirty-six chocolate chips cookies
four bags of salad
three guys
five girls
five toddlers
two babies
and two dogs at the house for dinner.
and that's with several people missing!
 
we've decided to start our own neighborhood
or have everyone just move here...
 
(most kids aren't pictured bc they were busy running
back and forth from the playroom to the tire-swing.)
 




 

we're headed to shan's next for our
halloween-themed october gathering.
should be spooktacular!
can't wait.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

spa day

i turn 32 on saturday.
t h i r t y - t w o
what the heck.
since i have an 8 week old at home
and i'm 10 lbs too heavy,
i decided to have a little spa day with ronnie
instead of go out.
we're getting massages and facials
and then i signed myself up for a wrap.
i've never done one and i don't know if
they actually work, but it sounded amazing
so i thought i'd give it a try.
here's how the website describes the one i picked:

Green Espresso Wrap, 75 min.

Slimming and toning wrap stimulates your body’s ability to break down fat, increase metabolism and eliminate water retention. Smooths your skin’s overall texture, visibly reducing cellulite areas.

 

sounds amazing, yes?
and if you live in the kc area,
i really do like this place.
its the same spa i took my bridesmaids to when i got married.
 
 
so now i'm super excited for saturday.
ronnie's sister agreed to spend the
morning with our girls so we could go enjoy ourselves.
this will be the first time i leave reid,
which i hate,
but i need to get used to it because i go back to work on
MONDAY.
 
ahhhh!
 

Monday, September 14, 2015

house tour - part three

here we are,
another five months down the road
and definitely not finished like i thought we would be.
i should never use the word "finished."
this house might never be completely done,
but i at least thought we'd have all our walls done by now.
instead, we actually don't have any walls done.
w t f
 
there has been progress made though.
trim done in kitchen, living room, dining room.
wood planks up in dining room and living room.
decorating done upstairs.
not to mention, we became a family of four.
trying to do all this work with two young kids in
the house is no small feat.
and when i take a look at our first video,
(already two months into renovations)
i'm thankful we've come as far as we have.
 

if you'd like to go down memory lane with our house
read this.  and see original photos here.
 
here we are today.


i just need patience.
well, patience and a hired hand.
and in a few weeks,
we will have officially owned this home for a year,
even though we've only been moved in since february
because of all the construction.
 
things will probably be looking much better by next fall and
i'm excited for all our upcoming/ongoing projects.
 
1. wood plank family room
2. skim coat entry way/ back bathroom walls
3. fix/paint trim in entry way/family room/back bathroom
4. paint all the downstairs walls
5. hang pendant lights over kitchen island
6. build shelving unit for living room
7. white wash brick on downstairs fireplace
8. new countertops in master bath and sewing desk
9. tile all bathroom floors
10. crown molding in master bedroom
11. hang ceiling fan in master bedroom.
12. build bench/cubbies/coat rack by back door
and maybe one day
13. reconfigure and replace master bathroom
 
and that's just the inside.
we also need to
 
1. replace rotten siding
2. repaint house and shed
3. add addition parking
4. cut down trees
5. rip out shrubs/weeds/flower beds
6. level the ground and plant grass
7. add landscaping
and maybe one day
8. build a shop
 
whew.
we have a long ways to go.
and we probably need a winning lottery ticket,
but i have great things in store for this house
and i love getting to see it come to life.
 
 
 

Friday, September 11, 2015

friday giggles

 
and i was literally crying laughing.
i gave myself a headache.
 
 
so enjoy.
enjoy your friday.
enjoy your weekend.
enjoy your time off.
 
and have a laugh.
 
 

 
 

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

long weekend

we had a nice weekend.
we started off going to the lake.
i think ronald is seriously considering the camper life.
unfortunately, i'm going to have to kill those dreams,
well, at least until we have a few other things first.
but i will admit,
its nice to just  r e l a x  and not worry about
anything else around the house.
plus, brette would totally be a lake rat if we let her.
she loved it.
i was surprised considering she wasn't
that interested in swimming this summer,
but she couldn't get enough of the lake.
 






 
then on sunday ronnie headed back to lees summit
to work on painting the house,
while the girls and i went to my aunt mickie's
for a dual birthday party.
aden turned 12 and miss eden turned 3.
it was nice to spend the day with the family and EAT.
there were four desserts... i tried them all.
 
 
and to round out the long weekend we were all
at my parent's for our monday night dinner
and ronnie got to pick the meal.
not. too. shabby.
 
 
by the time we got back home,
all of our bananas were brown.
a good excuse to do some baking with B
while reid took her morning nap.

 
hope everyone had a lovely weekend!
 
 

Thursday, September 3, 2015

fall booties

ok guys,
i found some super cute
CHEAP
shoes for the fall.
at kohl's.
we're rarely there but
ronald wanted to look for a royals shirt
so i meandered over to the shoe section.
i loved these and when i saw that they
were on sale and only $25, i jumped on them.
and yes, i'm going back and getting them in black too.
dresses, leggings, jeans...
they're perfect.
 
 

 
so if you see me over the next few months,
i'm probably going to be in a pair of these.
i'm so excited for the new season,
fall is my favorite.
but first we have to bid farewell to summer
over a long labor day weekend.
which ps - wish me luck:
we were invited to the lake and
we've decided to take the girls.
it's a first for us (and them) and i'm trying
to decide how we're going to manage.
 
and what to pack.
f i n g e r s  c r o s s e d


Wednesday, September 2, 2015

getting little by little

ok, so i've been on my "diet" one week.
i'm going to start off confessing there was a cheat meal involved.
saturday night ronnie and i rented a movie and
ate cheeseburgers and fries.
whoops.
but for the rest of time i was good.
i really wanted to see some results so
i was very conscience of my food choices.
we even ate lunch at the zoo on sunday and
i had a grilled chicken asian chop salad. 
that was hard when everyone around me had
pizza, ice cream and french fries.
so far i've lost 2 freaking pounds.
that's it.
when i did this after brette,
week one i lost 7 lbs. so this is a bit of a let down.
i'm going to keep on going in hopes to get off all 10-15 lbs.
 it just might take me awhile.
here's what i'm doing:
keep in mind i'm nursing and hungry all the time,
so i eat  s e v e r a l  times a day.
 
8:00am - protein shake or 2 eggs with bacon/sausage
(this depends on my time and who's awake,
but 5 out of the 7 days, i had a protein shake.
but if you do have the time,
 you can add ANY meat, cheese and veggies and make an omelet
or just make scrambled eggs with sausage or bacon.)
 
 
10:30 - 2 turkey sticks and a cheese stick
(i love that these are so easy to grab and go.
most days we're out of the house by this time,
so it's easy for me to eat these while driving or throw
them in the diaper bag for later.)
 
 
1:00 - salad
(i am LOVING the ready made salad bags.
have you ever tried them?
so easy and so good.
i bought 5 last week and had one everyday for lunch.
i always get caesar, but there are other options.
all you have to do is add some sort of protein.)
 
 
3:30 - celery and peanut butter
and if i'm still starving, 1/4 cup of almonds or peanuts
(you can't go wrong with peanut butter in my book,
i'd eat it off of anything.)
 
6:30 - meat and veggies
(i grilled up several hamburger patties, pork cutlets
and made a chicken dish.  i took turns either adding it to
my salad at lunch or eating them for dinner.  then i just
added a veggie... green beans or zucchini are my favorites.)
 
nothing after dinner AND i drink three of my 32oz mugs of water.
if my sweet tooth kicks in,
then i add a grape packet to my water and chug
or go grab a piece of gum.
 
 
here's to another week
and hopefully, a few more pounds gone!