3 weeks ago
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
What's been going on?
1 Year Picture: John took Brooklyn in for pictures a few weeks ago. The photos are T.E.R.R.I.B.L.E. and not because of anything John or Brooklyn did. It's like the photographer set the camera to auto fire and just swung it around the room. Photos aren't centered on the baby, there's crap showing in the background, baby's dress didn't get straightened out, some shots are zoomed in too much...and not in a cool photojournalistic way either. Oh well. At least it didn't cost anything.
BBR: We had another trip to the resort in Orlando with our friends. We refer to it as BBR because the group is comprised of families with the initials B, B & R. Compared to our last trip a few years ago, things were a bit more stressful. Last time there were only adults and barely enough space in the 3 bedroom townhome for us all. This year we all brought our kids (2 babies and a 16 year old) and were so stretched for space we needed to rent another unit. This meant that our group was split up. Not fun. Additionally, the babies require SO MUCH extra equipment and planning and entertainment. Brooklyn doesn't have a "Relax, we are on vacation" button. She's pretty much raring to go at all times. So all in all, the get away was fun but tiring. We will do the next one differently, for sure.
John's new job: Going fine. He started about 2 weeks ago and was unsure at first but, as with any new thing, is growing more comfortable with each new day.
House hunt: Ugh. I don't even want to think about this. I have the 'all clear' from John to look for a new house but we have to sell our condo first. Which means prepping it to show, which means getting a storage unit to store the crap we have that never really fit in our small spaces, which means spending additional money that we'd rather use toward the new house, and then it means waiting and waiting and waiting for a buyer to offer us 20k less than we owe. It's an ugly cycle I tell ya. But I need to just buckle down and move in a direction. Sitting and griping isn't making any progress toward the goal.
Baby #2: This isn't happening for a while. We'll have another baby when we are good and ready.
EPCOT: Food & wine festival = FABULOUS! We had such a great time. LOTS of great food, little bit of wine (for me) and lots of beer (for the guys!) Mom watched Bean for us and we enjoyed the day with our friends Dave & Kelly and Stephane & Amy with their son Luca. This is something I'd love to do every year in the fall. If you haven't been before it is totally worth it.
Halloween: We dressed Brooklyn as an astronaut. She was so cute in her big ol' black boots and orange flight suit. She's barely 16 months old so we didn't go trick-or-treating but we did go to our parents house for a visit and pictures. She seems to already know to hold out her bucket when the door is opened. Are kids ingrained with this when they are born?
And here we are. The beginning of November....temps are still in the mid to high 80's. Not fair but that's what we get for living in Florida.
Peace out!
BBR: We had another trip to the resort in Orlando with our friends. We refer to it as BBR because the group is comprised of families with the initials B, B & R. Compared to our last trip a few years ago, things were a bit more stressful. Last time there were only adults and barely enough space in the 3 bedroom townhome for us all. This year we all brought our kids (2 babies and a 16 year old) and were so stretched for space we needed to rent another unit. This meant that our group was split up. Not fun. Additionally, the babies require SO MUCH extra equipment and planning and entertainment. Brooklyn doesn't have a "Relax, we are on vacation" button. She's pretty much raring to go at all times. So all in all, the get away was fun but tiring. We will do the next one differently, for sure.
John's new job: Going fine. He started about 2 weeks ago and was unsure at first but, as with any new thing, is growing more comfortable with each new day.
House hunt: Ugh. I don't even want to think about this. I have the 'all clear' from John to look for a new house but we have to sell our condo first. Which means prepping it to show, which means getting a storage unit to store the crap we have that never really fit in our small spaces, which means spending additional money that we'd rather use toward the new house, and then it means waiting and waiting and waiting for a buyer to offer us 20k less than we owe. It's an ugly cycle I tell ya. But I need to just buckle down and move in a direction. Sitting and griping isn't making any progress toward the goal.
Baby #2: This isn't happening for a while. We'll have another baby when we are good and ready.
EPCOT: Food & wine festival = FABULOUS! We had such a great time. LOTS of great food, little bit of wine (for me) and lots of beer (for the guys!) Mom watched Bean for us and we enjoyed the day with our friends Dave & Kelly and Stephane & Amy with their son Luca. This is something I'd love to do every year in the fall. If you haven't been before it is totally worth it.
Halloween: We dressed Brooklyn as an astronaut. She was so cute in her big ol' black boots and orange flight suit. She's barely 16 months old so we didn't go trick-or-treating but we did go to our parents house for a visit and pictures. She seems to already know to hold out her bucket when the door is opened. Are kids ingrained with this when they are born?
And here we are. The beginning of November....temps are still in the mid to high 80's. Not fair but that's what we get for living in Florida.
Peace out!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Woohoo...Cooking at home!!
I cannot believe how much I love all things domestic. If you had asked me 10 years ago, I'd have laughed myself into a coma.
So tonight I made a fierce meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner. The baby even ate the meatloaf - green peppers & onions and all.
If you are interested in a tasty recipe for meatloaf, I used the one from Mrs. Wilke's Boardinghouse Cookbook.
2 lbs ground chuck
2 eggs
3/4 minced onion
1/4 minced green pepper
2 cups crushed cornflakes
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp mustard
1/4 milk
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 container of sauteed sliced mushrooms (I added these)
Lightly beat the eggs. Mix in all the rest.
*Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.
*This makes a huge lump of meat that did not cook thoroughly in my oven. Next time I will cook it for 70 minutes or make two smaller loaves.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
Happy eats!
So tonight I made a fierce meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner. The baby even ate the meatloaf - green peppers & onions and all.
If you are interested in a tasty recipe for meatloaf, I used the one from Mrs. Wilke's Boardinghouse Cookbook.
2 lbs ground chuck
2 eggs
3/4 minced onion
1/4 minced green pepper
2 cups crushed cornflakes
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp mustard
1/4 milk
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 container of sauteed sliced mushrooms (I added these)
Lightly beat the eggs. Mix in all the rest.
*Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.
*This makes a huge lump of meat that did not cook thoroughly in my oven. Next time I will cook it for 70 minutes or make two smaller loaves.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
Happy eats!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Pity Party of 1, your table is ready!
Yes, I'm unloading some frustrations.
So the other day a group of us are sitting in the living room of my friend's house and someone asks us all what our dream jobs would be. It surprised me that, with as much thought as I have given this very question, I couldn't articulate any kind of answer.
What is a dream job anyway? I don't really want a job. I want to do things that make me happy. And have someone pay me to do these things. So Rebecca, what makes you happy?
~ Documenting life through photography & scrapbooking
~ Making/sending cards to encourage others
~ Caring for my nest and my family (cooking, cleaning, organizing, decorating)
~ Creating wonderful memories for Brooklyn
~ Reaching out to others
~ Reading
~ Get healthy
What is keeping me from doing these things?
Two inversely proportional factors: time & space.
I don't have time because I work 40+ hours a week. I don't have space because we live in 1000 square foot condo that holds 2000 square feet of life.
If I fix the time issue (quit my job) then the space issue will never be resolved (a bigger house means two incomes.)
And it is frustrating because I see a bunch of other people doing more with less. And I don't know how to get there from here.
*grumpy face*
So the other day a group of us are sitting in the living room of my friend's house and someone asks us all what our dream jobs would be. It surprised me that, with as much thought as I have given this very question, I couldn't articulate any kind of answer.
What is a dream job anyway? I don't really want a job. I want to do things that make me happy. And have someone pay me to do these things. So Rebecca, what makes you happy?
~ Documenting life through photography & scrapbooking
~ Making/sending cards to encourage others
~ Caring for my nest and my family (cooking, cleaning, organizing, decorating)
~ Creating wonderful memories for Brooklyn
~ Reaching out to others
~ Reading
~ Get healthy
What is keeping me from doing these things?
Two inversely proportional factors: time & space.
I don't have time because I work 40+ hours a week. I don't have space because we live in 1000 square foot condo that holds 2000 square feet of life.
If I fix the time issue (quit my job) then the space issue will never be resolved (a bigger house means two incomes.)
And it is frustrating because I see a bunch of other people doing more with less. And I don't know how to get there from here.
*grumpy face*
Friday, October 15, 2010
Ear Tube Procedure
It was not the horrendous nightmare I had imagined. We arrived at the surgery center at 6:50 and John let me go back with her to take vitals, meet with the doc, nurses & anesthesiologist, sign papers and answer questions. The nurses were super friendly and Brooklyn responded well to the hustle and bustle of their pre-surgery duties.
Then I handed Baby Girl over to the nurse who took her to The Room. Though smiling, I remember thinking "Don't you guys dare screw this up! I will be on you like a spider monkey." I walked out to join John in the waiting area.
I had just settled into my chair and taken half of a sip of searing hot coffee when the doc came out saying "All done!" He did mention earlier that it would take literally 3 minutes to put the tubes in. I swear there must be a NASCAR pit crew back in the surgery room because it took more like 65 seconds.
John and I went to the recovery area where the nurse held a flopsy, bewildered and screaming Brooklyn. Coming out of the haze of anesthesia made her unable to control her own head and I think that really annoyed her. Oh, and having tiny things jammed into your ears probably added to her discomfort. I felt so bad. But she had taken a sip of water so we were cleared to leave.
In the car Brooklyn would NOT let go of her sippy cup or her glow worm as she cried nearly the whole 30 minute ride home. I kind of expected her to be more groggy and less cry-ey. But once home, she slept for 3 hours. Then ate a bit of lunch, played for an hour and slept for 3 more hours.
When she woke up around dinner time she was very much her normal self. By 'normal self' I mean she kept tugging my index finger in an effort to drag me to the front door...her way of saying "Hey people, what does a baby have to do around here to get someone to take her outside?!!" All in all, the day went well.
The tubes will fall out within 12-18 months. Until then we have to get her to wear earplugs while taking a bath. Yay us!
=)
Then I handed Baby Girl over to the nurse who took her to The Room. Though smiling, I remember thinking "Don't you guys dare screw this up! I will be on you like a spider monkey." I walked out to join John in the waiting area.
I had just settled into my chair and taken half of a sip of searing hot coffee when the doc came out saying "All done!" He did mention earlier that it would take literally 3 minutes to put the tubes in. I swear there must be a NASCAR pit crew back in the surgery room because it took more like 65 seconds.
John and I went to the recovery area where the nurse held a flopsy, bewildered and screaming Brooklyn. Coming out of the haze of anesthesia made her unable to control her own head and I think that really annoyed her. Oh, and having tiny things jammed into your ears probably added to her discomfort. I felt so bad. But she had taken a sip of water so we were cleared to leave.
In the car Brooklyn would NOT let go of her sippy cup or her glow worm as she cried nearly the whole 30 minute ride home. I kind of expected her to be more groggy and less cry-ey. But once home, she slept for 3 hours. Then ate a bit of lunch, played for an hour and slept for 3 more hours.
When she woke up around dinner time she was very much her normal self. By 'normal self' I mean she kept tugging my index finger in an effort to drag me to the front door...her way of saying "Hey people, what does a baby have to do around here to get someone to take her outside?!!" All in all, the day went well.
The tubes will fall out within 12-18 months. Until then we have to get her to wear earplugs while taking a bath. Yay us!
=)
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Right now Brooklyn...
~ Is 1 year and three months old.
~ Can walk like a pro and even tries to run. She works hard at trying to put on her socks and shoes. She also loves to bring us our shoes and tries to put them on our feet. It's so cute because she is actually just rubbing the shoes onto our feet. She also rubs all her food into her hair. This is not so lovely.
~ Can say: bubbles, wow, shoes, oh boy, thank you, night night, momma, da-da & yay.
~ Loves playing outside, climbing up things, looking at animals, hugging her blanket and her glow worm, dancing to music, and blowing many many kisses. She loves being pushed around the neighborhood in her red car and always makes us buckle her up for safety.
~ Loves sleeping! I thought having a little one was saying bye-bye to sleeping in on Saturdays. Not so. We are so blessed that Brooklyn sleeps for 10 - 12 hours. I know it seems like I'm bragging but....well....I kinda am. Not everyone has this luxury to enjoy and I'm just saying I am FULLY APPRECIATIVE!
~ Loves her momma! She's going through a phase where she prefers me over anyone else. It is getting more difficult to leave her at school in the mornings and to leave her at the nursery on Sunday morning. It breaks my heart to hear her cry and reach for me as I walk away. But we both have to be strong. Hopefully through it she'll learn that mommy always comes back for her - that she isn't abandoned.
~ Gets sick. A-LOT. She's had so many ear infections now that tomorrow she's having surgery to have tubes put in her ears. Not looking forward to it. I know she will do fine.
~ Is the absolute light of our lives. When her little cheeks are pushed back into the biggest smile I've ever seen on a baby, it melts me to the core.
~ Can walk like a pro and even tries to run. She works hard at trying to put on her socks and shoes. She also loves to bring us our shoes and tries to put them on our feet. It's so cute because she is actually just rubbing the shoes onto our feet. She also rubs all her food into her hair. This is not so lovely.
~ Can say: bubbles, wow, shoes, oh boy, thank you, night night, momma, da-da & yay.
~ Loves playing outside, climbing up things, looking at animals, hugging her blanket and her glow worm, dancing to music, and blowing many many kisses. She loves being pushed around the neighborhood in her red car and always makes us buckle her up for safety.
~ Loves sleeping! I thought having a little one was saying bye-bye to sleeping in on Saturdays. Not so. We are so blessed that Brooklyn sleeps for 10 - 12 hours. I know it seems like I'm bragging but....well....I kinda am. Not everyone has this luxury to enjoy and I'm just saying I am FULLY APPRECIATIVE!
~ Loves her momma! She's going through a phase where she prefers me over anyone else. It is getting more difficult to leave her at school in the mornings and to leave her at the nursery on Sunday morning. It breaks my heart to hear her cry and reach for me as I walk away. But we both have to be strong. Hopefully through it she'll learn that mommy always comes back for her - that she isn't abandoned.
~ Gets sick. A-LOT. She's had so many ear infections now that tomorrow she's having surgery to have tubes put in her ears. Not looking forward to it. I know she will do fine.
~ Is the absolute light of our lives. When her little cheeks are pushed back into the biggest smile I've ever seen on a baby, it melts me to the core.
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