Summer Fun has kicked off

I just think this photo is adorable.

Sorry for my lack of posts recently.  I have been working on several half finished posts, but none of them are quite ready to be published.

May has become hot and humid, everyone is having end of the year picnics, and its finally nice enough to go to playgrounds without worrying about mud!  This weekend we went to three events that signify the kick off of summer for me.

Apparently the petting zoo is funny.

The first was the Pittsburgh International Children's Festival on Friday with one of my friends.  There were a lot of really neat things to do for free (magic shows, art projects, games, and general noise making!)  C has a great time and I can't wait for next year's since he'll be able to do so much more stuff.  Some of our favorite activities were the hanging sound garden, seeing "Dippy" the dinosaur, petting zoo, spin art on an old record, and When I Grow Up pictures sponsored by PNC.

Look how big Dippy is compared to C!

C & M next to one of the Duquesne
Light truck's drills for telephone poles

Our second event was Saturday morning, Touch-A-Truck sponsored by the Junior League of Pittsburgh.  When I was active in the league this was my favorite event to volunteer at - its just really cool.  They get 30 plus vehicles together in a big parking lot for kids to touch, honk horns, or show off other cool things (like the bomb squad robots!)  C wasn't really interested in touching this year, but he was pretty excited to go and see all the big trucks.  I think the firetruck was his favorite.  We ended the morning with some ice cream, so really a pretty good morning for him!

After nap time we headed over to Sewickley Unleashed which benefits the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society. I wasn't sure how C would do with this, since most of the events are tailored to dogs, and he seems a little unsure about dogs (except Greyhound which he really likes).  He seemed to enjoy seeing all the cats up for adoption, and Grandma is on the committee so seeing her is always a plus.  Also we ended up getting him a stuffed dog, since he picked up one of toy dogs that Grandma was selling and decided it needed a drink of water from a nearby puddle.  It was super cute, and he loves the dog, so I guess it worked out.  We also got some homemade treats for our cats, so there is some benefit for those of us without dogs.

I'm pretty impressed that we were able to do all this fun stuff for under $50 for the whole weekend (including food, new stuffed dogs, and admission).

Other than that life has been pretty slow at our house, M has been busy staining and finishing the floor for the kids room.  Fingers crossed it will be setup this weekend.  The last big project is staining and finishing the dressers from IKEA which he hopes to do over the week, since they will be less work than the floor.  Then its assemble the toddler bed and move furniture.  I can't wait for this, since our hallway and bedroom has been packed with stuff and I can't even open the bottom drawer my dresser without moving 3-4 boxes.  Maybe we just need one of those HGTV shows where we go away for a weekend and everything is magically setup and finished for us?  That being said I don't think I could give away design control to a professional designer...I just want the work crew!

Until next time...

Advice to First Time Moms

There are tons of sites with information for new moms, some of it I found helpful, some of it not so much.  Here's my two cents:

1. Hire a cleaning lady for the first month (and even the last couple months of your pregnancy) if you can.  Its worth every penny.  There is so much going on when you bring a baby home, its nice to have someone else come in and vacuum.  Its also really nice when you're in the final stretch of pregnancy and bending isn't really an option. 
2. Get at least one pregnancy massage.  Its amazing, and the baby likes a relaxed happy mommy.
3. Never say never.  I didn't see a point in baby wearing or cloth diapers.  I didn't think I would have a c-section.  I wasn't going to ever attempt to make my own baby food.  These are all things I ended up doing or at least trying.  I'm sure that there is a lot more.
4. That super amazing baby product you bought that everybody loves?  Your kid will probably hate at least one of these.  C hated the bumbo chair.
5. Don't focus to much on living in the moment or enjoying every second of it.  This is one of the biggest things people say to people with new babies.  I sometimes get into a funk because I know C will only be so little for so long, and I should be enjoying EVERY SECOND of it, but I can't.  Sometimes I'm tired, sometimes I don't want my hair pulled, sometimes I'd really prefer not to be covered in throw up.  I can't imagine that anyone enjoys every second of diaper changing.  C doesn't even like it.  Sometimes I think this is like when I think I want a dog, it would be nice to have a dog to walk or sit on your lap to pet, or play fetch.  Then I remember the downside of having a dog.  They can be very messy, smelly, and destructive.  I think that its similar to people who tell you to enjoy every second, they miss the cuddling and sweet smiles, and have totally forgotten about the tantrums and dealing with sick kids aspect of things.
6. For every crazy mom you meet, there will be 10 more crazier ones on the internet.  You just have to figure out what you're crazy about - organic food, elimination communication, car seats, and find someone to share in the craziness.  I'm sure there is a Facebook group for it.  
7. Don't expect to accomplish anything in the first three months of your baby's life.  If you can take a shower and unload the dishwasher, you have accomplished a lot for that day.  
8. Enjoy all the snuggling you can get.  Even if it means they whack their head into your nose several times.  Who needs a nose anyway?
9. Take advice from your parents, in-laws,  and grandparents.  Assuming they've raised semi-normal adults at this point.  You don't have to always agree with them, but sometimes they have valid points.  We somehow got to this point without the latest and greatest in books and websites. I've noticed the grandpa's are really good at pointing out these things.  Like when I got into a panic because M & I  fell asleep with C in our bed when he was a newborn (on accident) and my dad then pointed out that 100 years ago people always slept with their babies, and that somehow the human race has survived.  They'll also give you great advice for when you suddenly realize that you have no idea how to grocery shop with a baby.
10. Also take advice from your pediatrician, doctor, or pharmacist.  If you're bfing and wondering how your medication will effect things, or you kid has a weird rash.  Its too easy to Google and ask people on Facebook   My guess is the majority of your friends did not spend 6-8 years studying this stuff.  I have friends who are pharmacists or MDs and usually when I ask them a stupid question, they tell me I should really go talk to my doctor since they don't know my medical history.
11. You will not get a lot of the stuff you registered for.  You will get a lot of clothes and copies of Good Night Moon (which I don't even understand why people like that book, I think its creepy).  You will also get a bunch of stuff that is interesting and you're not really sure you need it.  9 out of 10 times that interesting thing ends up being really helpful.  Hopefully you will have some friends who buy you a gift card so you can make sure your baby has things like washcloths.
12. Take a deep breath now, no matter how much you try to declutter, you will never understand how your child has so much stuff or why all their stuff is so big. (My advice is try to break it up between multiple rooms, then it doesn't seem quite so bad.)  Enjoy your nice living room with no big, bright color things, or cars everywhere now.
13. Before your child is born moms will give you advice, and you think I will not do that.  Be realistic, you have no idea what you are getting yourself into.  I felt really prepared that I had a good idea what babies were like (there is a 17 year difference between me and my youngest sibling). But there is a big difference when it is your child and suddenly you have to do it all.  Sometimes you will resort to any type of torture to get that little one to sleep.
14. Try to have a date night every 6 weeks with your spouse.  It can be hard depending on what else is going on in your life and your budget.  But sometimes its really nice to eat a meal and not half to worry about what your little one is currently doing.
15. Take time to care for yourself.  You'll feel better if you can have your hair done or catch up on sleep.
16. Get a Kindle or e-reader.  There may be a period when your little one just wants to lie on you and sleep and you're over Netflix and TV.  You only need one hand to read and if you fall asleep or get interrupted you don't have to worry about losing your page.  And it has a better battery life then a tablet.
17. Find a mommy group to join.  Its nice to connect with others and get out of the house for playdates.  Plus its nice to have people going through the same thing as you to talk to.

Enjoy.  At some point I will write about surviving your second pregnancy.  Anyone have something they would add?

Monday...

So I was super excited that in less than 1 week I completed one whole thing off my list!  I made my own vanilla extract, it's super easy!  Just slice your vanilla beans in half, leaving a half inch unsliced on each end, and then add 1/3 cup of vodka per bean.  Put in a bottle, shake occasionally, and in 6-8 weeks tada! vanilla extract.  The vodka is already turning brown, so I can't wait to try it sometime between Memorial Day and M & I's wedding anniversary.  Apparently once you use some, you can keep adding vodka and make some more vanilla.  I used Madgascar Vanilla Beans from Penzeys in Pittsburgh's Strip District, but did you know that there are a bunch of different types of vanilla beans?  I could make all kinds of crazy vanilla extract if this goes well...

So that was my super good news, this weekend was great, met up with some of college friends at Burgatory for lunch, and went for some delicious Thai to celebrate my birthday.  But you know how you know you've become a parent?  You say after we go to the nice Thai place for my birthday lets stop at Home Depot to buy laminate floor for the kids' room, because it would be really nice to just look at floor samples and not have a toddler get grumpy because they want to make a mess of all the not free flooring samples. And your husband goes, are you sure this is how you want to celebrate your birthday?  I assume in about 25 years C will be really good at shopping at Home Depot, but until then maybe its better to sneak out when we can.  Its not like IKEA when I can say if you're a good boy I'll buy some playfood for your kitchen or we'll get meatballs...

In other news, does anyone else feel like as a first time parent you're getting ripped off?  Buy this incredibly expensive thing your kid will love it and you'll be an awesome parent because blah blah development.  Yet somehow our parents, grandparents, etc made it through without it.  For some reason lately my newsfeed has been blowing up with pictures of learning towers.  Do you know what one is?  Neither did I until today.  Doesn't a learning tower seem really cool?  The first time I saw one, I was like where is all the stuff?  Only to learn that its a giant wooden $200 chair.  Does it keep your kid safe while you cook?  Sure, but only from falling off a chair or stool.  Did I miss a memo?  I survived on chairs somehow, C helped me cook pancakes from out step stool.  Okay he pretended to stir in the empty measuring cup while I made pancakes.  But he's 18 months old, do you really want him actually helping with food yet?  I also signed up for one of those Citrus Lane boxes (they did it a deal where your first box is only $10).  Its a neat idea you get age appropriate toys and gear.  Was I super impressed with the box?  Not really.  We got a squeezy pouch of bananas, which we already have 3 boxes of since a certain mommy though the woot deal was a really good idea.  Good thing C likes bananas...We also received organic combined shampoo & body wash,  a Melissa & Doug watercolor pad, a place mat, and a thing to hold juice boxes so your kid doesn't squeeze them and get juice everywhere.  All at a value of $25.  The juice box thing seems cool, but the rest I could care less about.

Alright maybe this post is a bit grumpy, but C was up every hour or two half complaining half just being grumpy and only wanting to sleep in our bed last night.  Despite using some time off from work this morning to catch up on sleep, I'm still tired.  Pregnant ladies don't sleep well, and apparently pregnant ladies with grumpy toddlers sleep less.

C is also going through a big attachment phase right now.  Apparently, I am not suppose to go anywhere without him.  Good thing I leave for work before he gets up.  The last two times he's been in a childcare like setting he's pretty much cried the whole time, and then I get to pick him up early.  He did okay with my sister on Saturday night but still wasn't a fan of me going without him.  Luckily for him, we were buddies all day yesterday while M painted the kids's room.  I curious to see how today went...but also really tired.

30 by 30

I've seen a few friends do these great lists of things they would like to accomplish by a certain age or date.  I've decided to give it a try since today is my 29th birthday.  So here is my list of things I would like to accomplish in the next year.

1. Pay off a student loan.
2. Get more involved within in my community or with my library.
3. Learn to make pasta.
4. Read the entire Bible.
5. Have an amazing vacation/trip planned for M & I's 5th Anniversary in June 2014.
6. Make myself a dress.
7. Make curtains for the Kitchen with the fabric I bought 4 years ago.
8. Have some Mommy & C time each week once Baby Bean arrives.
9. Put together a giant granny square blanket with all the squares I've received or made over the years.
10. Add more to the lap blanket I first made M years ago.
11. Use credit cards less, carry more cash.
12. Make Baby Bean an outfit and blanket just like I did for C.
13. Make scrapbook for 2010.
14. Successfully grow a vegetable garden.
15. Learn to budget.
16. Cut back on reality tv and other junky tv.
17. Take a walk once a week.
18. Plan a family outing once a month.
19. Have a date night with M at least every 6 weeks.
20. Make homemade vanilla extract.
21. Destash 60% of my yarn collection.
22. Read, sell, or donate any books I own that I haven't actually read.
23. Lose an extra 10lbs after the baby weight is lost (so starting October 2013?)
24. Find a fitness regime that works with my schedule and small children.
25. Spend more time and less money making fresh meals, rather than relying on processed and prepackaged food.
26. Finish scrapbook for 2011 (seriously we're talking about 2013-2014 here!)
27. Get out and explore Pittsburgh!
28. Organize kids' clothing so its actually easy to sort through.
29. Pick the perfect name for Baby Bean!
30. Go on a family vacation!

Just a weekly update

The kids room is starting to come along.  This weekend M painted the room lacewing (minty green).  This weekend he'll put on a second coat and well as paint the accent color Picnic on the light switch cover and overhead storage doors.  Even though we have less than a week until we find out bean's gender, I've always preferred gender neutral rooms for babies.  We have some shelves that are a pastel yellow in C's room that we will add, as well as buy a unfinished dresser to paint in the Picnic color too.   I'm still trying to figure out if one dresser will be enough for two kids, or if we should buy two (let me know what you think please!).  We'll most likely going to purchase new RAST dressers from IKEA, since they're only $34.99 (can't beat that for a new dresser.)I'd like to put up some wall shelves for the more breakable items, so those will probably be white or picnic, since I don't trust that the picture frames will still be there if a terrible two year old can reach them.

We've been out enjoying the warm almost hot weather that has suddenly arrived (It's suppose to be the 80s today!)  We've been trying out our new stroller, which C loves.  He gets annoyed that we don't just use it all the time instead of the car.  We ended up purchasing a Phil & Teds stroller at the end of March.  They were offering a free doubling kit through the end of the month.  I really wanted something compact for a double stroller, I realized most of our walking is in an urban setting with older doors and steps.  I just didn't see those double wide strollers be easy to use, and the sit and stand strollers were to hard to steer.  We ended up with Phil & Teds' most compact stroller, Dot.  I love the fact that it doesn't always have to be a double stroller, which means that once C is too big for the stroller I can still use it with bean or any future babies (although I hope bean is done with a stroller by the time next baby comes along, I don't think I could handle 3 under 4 or 5.  The dots runs really smooth on our sidewalks (which being in older neighborhood they can be a bit bumpy).  The only thing I don't like about the stroller is the price tag   Its a lot for a stroller.  Its a lot for anything, but sometimes post tax return its okay to splurge on one thing.

I think that's all I have to say for now.  The week hasn't been filled with anything terribly exciting(which is nice to have a chance to relax and a break!)

Easter

Well the weather finally warmed up, just in time for Easter!

C "posing" for photos

This Easter holiday was a bit more fun than last year's, since C is much more active and can start to participate in things.  We participated in three Easter themed events, plus our own little family celebration.

Finding Eggs

C's first egg hunt was cute, he didn't really get the concept (he kept trying to put the eggs back), but he stopped so I could take some adorable photos. He also had his first haircut that day, so maybe he was just showing off.

waiting for the egg hunt to start

Our second adventure into Easter activities was another Egg Hunt event, at a mega church in Cranberry Township.  There was a lot to do, it was overwhelming.  The church was easily the size of school.  We took in a puppet show, and then joined the madness for the egg hunt (100 or so kids getting eggs in under 5 mins?!?).  We also got our first picture with the Easter Bunny, which was nice, since C didn't have a total meltdown, just looked a little concerned.  I think next year might be better spent attending a Good Friday service, since I have no desire to join a mega church 30 mins away (and really that was the point of the event, to recruit new attendees, C just cried/melted down when they asked Who found Jesus today?)

Moon Parks' Bunny

Grandma made my cool shirt.

Our third adventure was to Moon Parks' Easter Bunny Trail on Saturday.  It was a nice but busy event.  They had a petting zoo (C's favorite), games, and pictures with the Easter Bunny.  Being 1 C wasn't too into the games, but he did enjoy the duck pond (he wanted to pick more ducks, he didn't care about prizes.)  Afterwards we enjoyed the nice weather on the playground and swinging.

C's Dinosaur attacking his eggs.

We went home that afternoon to nap, eat lunch, and talk a walk (after so many cold days, you've got to enjoy the sunny ones!)  Afterwards we colored eggs, which is one of my favorite Easter activities, mostly because I like egg salad, and its a really good excuse to make it.  This was C's first time, so we kept it simple.  Three colors to pick from, 4 eggs, a wax crayon, and stickers.  The stickers proved to be too much, as he would only put them on his shirt.  Although it was really cute to hear him yell "ball" each time he saw one of the sport themed stickers (when your kid mostly makes animal noises, you're really happy for any real words.)

Yesterday we were up early, we went to the 7:45am church service, since my concern was that if we were late to later services we might have to stand.  Pregnant women do not like to stand for hours at a time, and I'm in the did she put on 10lbs or is she pregnant stage of pregnancy, meaning slim chances of anyone offering the pregnant lady a seat, because who wants to offend.  When we got home, we opened Easter baskets, and the Easter Bunny did well this year!  He left C two pieces of Sarris Chocolate (a local favorite), and a Playmobil 1-2-3 Noah's Ark.  The Ark was big hit, although C struggled to get all the animals on the boat (this being said he tried to put them all the same part of the boat.)  I'm sure Noah had similar struggles.  After breakfast I wanted to do an egg hunt (I filled the eggs with finger puppets and tiny stuff animals from IKEA) outside, but typical Pittsburgh, it was raining.  So we had an indoor hunt in the living room and dinning room. Which seemed to work out well, C really has a handle on the egg hunting now (and finally realized there are things in the egg.)  After the Egg Hunt we read a story about Noah's Ark and some Easter related books, and then C had nap time  while M and I had sorta relax, but clean the house, and work on Easter dinner time.  Typically for Easter we just do dinner for the 3 of us, with the idea that we weren't picking a family to celebrate the holiday with, plus we received fine china as a wedding gift, so we need an excuse to use it once a year.  We always open up dinner to any friends and family who might be alone for the holiday, this year my youngest sister E joined us since most of my family was out of town.  For some reason I like to take pictures of table settings each year, maybe it makes me feel like my home isThis seems Better Homes & Gardens (minus the mass amount of toys in the background).  This year's dinner included salad, roasted potatoes, Mark Bittman's Glazed Carrots, Easter Egg Bread, and Williams-Sonoma's Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken. (Links are to recipes or cookbooks)  I prefer to do lamb, but with only 3.5 half servings needed, lamb usually comes in such large quantities  so I opted for something fancy but smaller portioned.  For dessert I made Gordon Ramsay's Hot Chocolate Fondant, which didn't come out as perfectly as his, but was still delicious.  After dinner we played Trouble and then E went home.  Then C and I sorta passed out while watching Winnie-The-Pooh while M cleaned dishes.


Overall a pretty nice Easter.

Hello Again!

Remember when I said I would post more often?  Sorry, but I have a valid reason!

Around September 4th we will be becoming a family of four!  Unlike with C, this pregnancy has been difficult, a lot of not feeling awesome, so at 15.5 weeks pregnant I can say I am starting to feel better (just in time to not fit into any of my non-maternity clothes).  On April 16th, we'll get to see our new little one for the first time, and also find out if its more blue in our household or if I get to make some cute little sundresses.

Until then we have started preparing for some changes, we've decided that C and the baby will share a room (I'm just not ready to give up a guest room yet!)  This means emptying out my craft room (twice the size of C's current room), picking out paint, and figuring out flooring, furniture, and decor.  C's current room is woodland animal themed, and I really wanted to stick with it (maybe I just don't feel like buying two new room sets too...)  Luckily, Target still has the same set for sale!  It disappeared briefly  which had me worried, but it came back.  We will be moving C into a toddler bed this summer, so that the baby will have the crib.  I'll be sure to blog on those long nights where I am sitting outside his door saying "Go to bed!"  If anyone has any suggestions let me know.  Then again the Montessori people start with a floor bed from the get go, so maybe C will be fine.

I am also wishing Pittsburgh would have some nicer weather, I'm very tired of this snow and ice mix.  Usually St. Patrick's Day is warm and worthy of picnicking  but this past weekend was cold and rainy.  Once its nice out we can start the gardens, host bonfires, and enjoy walks!

C and I have been exploring the Strip District that last two Fridays, when it hasn't been too cold.  The Strip District has a great seafood retailer(?) Wholey's, which has a much better selection for lent than our local grocery stores (especially since there is such a limited amount seafood I can eat while pregnant, and most of that overlaps with seafood I hate).  Wholey's also has some delicious pies, so we've been spoiled (I really want to try the Chocolate Pecan next, but M isn't a fan of pecan pie.)  We've also discovered some fun local businesses (this week's favorite is Loom - fun selection of fabrics).  But its made grocery shopping more fun, we can get fresh pasta and delicious cheese from Penn Mac, fresh bakery bread from Mancini's, and an awesome selection of organic/GMO free food from Marty's Market (the meat is delicious!)  All of this is intertwined with clothing stores, chocolate shops, coffee, and restaurants (this week's favorite is Bella Notte).  I highly recommend if you have the day off, or are a SAHM to shop the strip, its a fun adventure for everyone and not nearly as crazy as weekends.

Until next time...