7 months…Where’s my baby?

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Maria C

Here I am again…tardy to the {Madelyn’s Monthly update} party. Her 7 month B-Day fell on St. Pat’s day. We celebrated in Chi-tizzle with the in-laws. My MIL made corned beef & cabbage and Irish soda bread. Everything was pretty tasty, but I got some grief for not having Madelyn in anything green. Call me cheap, but I just didn’t see anything worth buying for one day.

To say that I love watching my baby girl grow and get more curious about the world around her is an understatement. I can sit and stare and play with her all day long. Every day that passes brings on new adventures and discoveries. It’s pretty amazing to think that hubs and I created such a beautiful awesome little girl.

Sleep. Sleep has been amazingly wonderful given the fact that we are living in a new house. The only problem is, that our room is right next to Madelyn’s. I can see her crib from our bed. When she goes down around 7:30, I pretty much just hang out in the living room because she starts to stir at the sound of my voice…so no more laying in bed and chatting on the phone. She’s been waking up around 5:30/6am-I usually change her, feed her and she’s back to bed until around 8:30. Naps are still pretty all over the place and she no longer loves being rocked to sleep {sobs}. The past few nights she wants to be put into her crib to sleep and I no longer have a sleeping baby on chest nightly. I both love and hate this all at once.

Eat. Over the past month, we have made the transition from BFing and pumping to a milk-based formula. Breastfeeding came naturally for both Madelyn and me and if it weren’t for my trip coming up at the end of April, I would have continued on for the first year. It’s easily accessible (no mixing formulas or warming bottles), it’s FREE, and it’s time for bonding between the two of us. I’m no longer pumping and I’m down to two feedings a day (morning and evening) and will likely stay there until the end of April. She’s now eating 3 solids a day and she will pretty much eat anything soft. I can’t get avocados into her mouth fast enough. Some new faves this months are squash, brown rice pasta, blood oranges, sweet potatoes and carrots. I bought baby food for the first time this month-what a rip! Because of moving and working, I didn’t have time to make my own. Even with a coupon I couldn’t believe at how expensive it is compared to making homemade. I’m hoping to make a few batches this weekend. Right now, we’re sticking to mostly pureed foods until baby girl gets some teeth. I have been biting off some of my food and feeding it to her. So sometimes, she enjoys what we eat for dinner.

Play. Madelyn’s a girl on the move! I can put her down on the floor, turn my back for a few seconds and she’s completely turned the other way around. She’s not crawling yet, but I feel like that will be happening very soon. I’m hoping that it happens before I leave. To coerce her to crawl, I bought a little ball that moves and lights up on its own so that she can chase that around-she loves it! Even though she’s not really crawling yet, Madelyn loves to stand up on things and tries so hard to pull herself up when she’s toppled over. Her crib is her favorite place to stand. She continues to laugh and smile every single day. I swear I gave birth to the happiest baby in the world. She plays peek a boo with us now-she’ll take the blanket over her face and pull it away from herself and laugh hysterically when I say “Peek a boo!”

Onto month EIGHT!!! I will cherish the next month like no other.

SOLD

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Maria C

Remember those goals I talked about in the beginning of the year?

Well today, hubs and I have one to scratch off the list. We finally closed on our first home together. It seems like it’s been a long process, but really it took about 45 days from start to finish.

We started looking at houses at the end of November beginning of December and then took a little (much needed) break around the holidays. With Christmas and us still having so much time left in our apartment lease, I needed to stop looking-I was starting to feel overwhelmed. Within those few weeks, Larry and I talked about what we really wanted out of a house. He wanted a finished basement and I wanted a nice kitchen. We both wanted a city with good public schools, not too far from work with a lot to do. And I was really attracted {or so I thought} to houses with a lot of charm. We ended up in a town west of Milwaukee about 25 minutes from work. There, we found the perfect home to suit both of our needs: His finished basement and my big kitchen.

We went in today and took a lot of pictures so that I’ll have some before and after photos to share. I have so many Pinterest projects to get working on! The house also comes equipped with SIX raised garden beds, all ready to go, so if anyone has any gardening tips, please feel free to pass them along to this girl! The only thing I’ve ever successful grown in my twenty something years of life is a child. The seller told me that we should have over 100 heads of garlic popping up this summer. My plan for those are to give some to friends and then mince and can the rest. I’ve found a new hobby

Stay tuned for more pics and house updates on the blog!

6 Month Update

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Maria C

Okay, so more like 6 months and a few days. We’ve been very busy over here! I know I say this every month, and I know I sound like a broken record but I can’t believe how fast time has gone by. In another 6 months, we’ll be celebrating Madelyn’s first birthday and I will no longer have a baby, I’ll be the mother to a toddler! CRAZY! Speaking of birthdays…I’ve already started planning hers and I’m really excited for the theme. To be honest, I wasn’t crazy about having a baby with an August birthday. For one, being pregnant in the dead of summer is no fun. Secondly, she’s going to be the youngest of her friends and I always thought it would be so much fun to host fall/pumpkin farm themed parties. But now that I have an August baby, I’ve come to realize that summer really has an endless number of possibilities! Pool parties, ice cream parties…with a planner of a mom, this girl is in for a treat!

The time between 5 and 6 months has been the biggest of them all. Up until this point, she’s done little things and is developing right on schedule. But this month we heard our first full-belly giggles, dabbled with solid foods, and have started to see a bit more of her personality shine through. She is by far the happiest baby I know and I hope that she always maintains that. She’s also a girl on the move! I have a feeling we’ll need to start baby proofing soon.

Sleep. We’ve had a few rough nights that I can blame on teething. Baby girl had us spoiled from about 6 weeks on. We truly lucked out in the sleep department so when she threw me a few surprises I was not the happiest mama on the block-but then I reminded myself that it could be a million times worse. I usually give her a little bit of tylenol, nurse her and have her sleep with me until it’s time to get up in the morning. Hubs works nights, so a lot of the time it’s just her and me in the bed. I am a strong believer in co-sleeping and, if done right, studies have shown that it can be very beneficial to the baby.

Eat. She realizes that the stuff I’m trying to give her on a spoon will actually satisfy her hunger. It finally clicked with her like, “Hey I’m supposed to be eating this stuff!” So far we’ve tried, bananas, cereal, peas, and refried beans. She’s loved it all. Hurray for no picky eaters! (So far anyway) At her 6 month appointment, her doctor told us that he wants her to be eating solids 3 times a day. So in the morning I will usually feed her cereal, daycare feeds her whatever solid I pack, and then she eats with us at dinner. I’m on a mission to make all my own baby food. I think the amount you pay for those tiny jars is ridiculous. I was at Target and a jar of organic carrots was 88 cents. I made 18 2oz jars of green beans for $2.39 total! I steamed the green beans, put them in the vitamix, and blended them for about 30 seconds. Voila! I’m still nursing when I’m with her & pumping at work. I’m giving myself until April and then I will slowly start the weaning process. I was going to stop at 6 months, but with all the upcoming changes, stopping breastfeeding was advised against when I was doing the research on weaning.

Play. I cannot believe how much she has changed in this area. She’s constantly laughing, smiling and touching your face when you hold her. She thinks Oliver and her dad are hysterical. She loves to play peek a boo and to sit and listen to Larry and I have a conversation or read to her. She enjoys reaching for things and scoots herself to get something she’s interested in.

Here’s a video of us playing Peek a Boo! Please forgive the annoying, shrill mom voice

Happy 6 months baby girl! We are so thankful that you’re in our lives to brighten our day with laughter and smiles!

Slow Cooker (kinda) Enchiladas

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Maria C

I hope everyone had a great day! Despite the fact that we really don’t celebrate this “holiday”, I had the best Valentine’s day: A picnic with my funny valentine:

Normally, she would’ve been at daycare today but they called me yesterday at work telling me that she had spiked a fever-so we spent the day playing and cuddling. It amazes me that even though she feels so crummy, she can still manage to laugh and smile-I hope that she always keeps that positive attitude.

It’s been a while since I’ve made a recipe worthy of sharing. If I’m not making some sort of chili in the slow cooker, our meals usually consist of a protein (poultry or fish) vegetables, and sometimes a carb/starch. Exciting stuff happening in the kitchen…I know.

Well tonight, I wanted to mix it up and do something different, yet easy. Dealing with a sick baby who won’t nap leaves very little time for tinkering around in the kitchen. Yesterday, one of my co-workers made an enchilada casserole that was amazing and I recently saw something on Pinterest for slow cooker chicken enchiladas. So I combined the two recipes for something amazing.

I lined 5 chicken breasts at the bottom on my slow cooker and poured just enough chicken broth in the pot so that they wouldn’t burn.
I sprinkled the chicken with taco seasoning and then topped them with enchilada sauce verde along with low-fat cream cheese cubes.
I cooked them on low for 7 hours.
About an hour before I was done cooking them, I covered them with a shredded mexican cheese blend and green onions.

Instead of shredding the chicken, I found it to be easier to just put each breast on top of a tortilla and served it with a side of rice and beans. Easy peasy and very delicious. Each chicken breast ends up being 7+ points. Skipping the cheese, would set you back 5+ points, but let’s be realistic

I’m off to cruise Craigslist for some furniture to rehab! If Pinterest were my full-time job, I’d be an expert at it

Upsy Daisy, Happy Baby

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Maria C

5 months already? How did that happen? It’s crazy to think that soon we’ll be celebrating her first birthday-which I’ve already started planning out in my head.

Sleep. We’re still going strong with averaging about 10-12 hours at a time. Winning. We honestly hit the jackpot with this kid and sleep. She’s a little mover & shaker though-I’m happy we decided to put the crib bumper back on because I think she’d need to sleep with a helmet! She’s also sleeping with an afghan in her crib. I figure that it’s a safe choice as far as blankets go because it has holes in it so that if she does put it over her face, she can still breath.

Eat. We tried solids for the first time a few days ago. The woman at daycare was telling me that she was wanting to eat every two hours which is unusual for her. She didn’t seem to be satisfied with her milk that day, so I decided to try a little bit of cereal. She cried. I also put a little bit of avocado on my finger for her to taste and she loved it. It was such a little amount that I don’t know if it was the avocado itself or if she just wanted to suck on my fingers. We’re still going strong with nursing-something I’m really proud of because when I first started, I didn’t think I would last this long. I’m thinking about weening her starting at 6 months because of some upcoming trips at work :-/ A co-worker suggested that I still pump even when I’m away just to keep up my milk supply so that I can continue when I return home, BUT by that point she’ll be about 10 months. I think what I’ll end up doing is pumping and storing as much as possible and then when that’s gone, she’ll just be on formula.

Play. Madelyn LOVES her feet! She’s a pro at the “happy baby” yoga pose. She also loves to stand/sit upright and loves her Winnie the Pooh activity jumper. We can finally put her in it without having to prop her feet with a pillow. She can sit up pretty well on her own and when she does fall over she just laughs and smiles-she’s a good sport about it! She also enjoys playing airplane and likes to be lifted up really high. She’s not big on rolling over from her back to her front, but when we have her on her stomach, she’s propping her but in the air and scooting herself, almost like a little low-crawl.

I’m looking forward to new developments within the next few months and I’m pumped to start making my own baby food. We just have to get her used to eating first

2013 Goals

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Maria C

Source: theberry.com via Maria on Pinterest

2012 was the year of change. I announced on the blog that we were expecting a baby, Larry and I accepted new job positions, said goodbye to Chicago and moved back to Wisconsin (very bittersweet), and I gave birth to the most beautiful, sweetest baby girl I’ve ever known.

A year of BIG changes indeed. 2012 will be a tough year to beat, but I’m excited to see what’s in store for us. Last year, instead of doing “resolutions” per se, I decided to post a list of goals that I had hoped to accomplish. There were some goals that were successful staying healthy & more fun runs-I did what I could with my preggo belly & postpartum. And then there were those goals that could still use a little work-church on a more regular basis and quality date nights with hubs.

My main goal for 2013 is to just try to live in the moment and be happy with what’s going on in my life RIGHT NOW as opposed to planning & thinking, ‘what’s next?’ Where I am in my life right now, was not my initial plan 5 years ago-but it’s where I’m meant to be. Am I happy with the way things turned out? Ecstatic! I enjoy every minute of being a mother and wife. But about 4 1/2 years ago I was entering my last semester in college and my dream was to move to Chicago (which I did), land a fancy PR firm job in downtown Chicago (which I did NOT), live in a high-rise apartment with my boyfriend, and have a life filled with after work happy hours, workout classes and shopping. Call it what you want, but that’s what I thought my life would be like in my twenties. Not to sound cliche, but this year really did live this quote: “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”

Now that we’re settled and have decided that Wisconsin is where we will call home for a long while, we hope to purchase a home in 2013. We’ve already started looking It is both exciting & scary all rolled into one. I’m hoping that we’re in our own home by the time Madelyn turns 1.

Another goal that I hope to tackle this year is to complete the Chicago Marathon. This will be my second attempt at it. Back in 2011, I signed up for it and started preparing for it, but a bad ankle sprain mixed in with planning a wedding kept me from doing it. I’m really excited & focused this time around and I even have a buddy that says she wants to do it too!

Something that Larry & I hope to accomplish is more visits to the Windy City. I consider Chicago my second home. Because I lived there for almost 4 years, I feel like when I go back, finding my way around is just like second nature-I don’t feel like a tourist. I want Madelyn to grow up feeling the same way. It’s a great city with so much to offer!

The last big goal that I have is to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. I’m in the Air Force National Guard. I joined when I was 18 so that it would help me pay for college. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’m coming up on 10 years as a guardsman which means that I only have 10 more years left until I can retire. It’s my full-time job as of right now. For the the most part I enjoy what I do, I LOVE my schedule but I do not love the fact that I can be gone for a month or two at a time, especially now that I have a child. My first deployment won’t be so horrible-it’s to a fun location and my sister will actually be coming with me, so that should help keep my mind off of things!

At the start of a new year, do you have any resolutions or do you set goals? Share! I’d love to hear about them.

The Newest Bar(re) Addiction

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Maria C

If you’ve been reading my blog, then you know that I am a big fan of barre-based workouts. When I lived in Chicago, I was addicted to going to Bar Method. Even though the workout was challenging every single time and my legs shook like crazy, I loved the way it made me feel after. I also loved it because I lost inches and toned up.

When I moved back to Wisconsin, I found a barre workout class at Danceworks-it was good but it didn’t really compare, especially for the price ($18 a class!) Since then I’ve been on a mission to add more barre style workout DVDs to my collection.

I first read about Physique 57 on Gina‘s blog. I didn’t think too much of it at the time because I was really into Bar Method and I just figured it was the same workout. Well after a few weeks of doing the same Bar Method DVD, I was starting to get bored. I needed a change of scenery, so when my grandma decided to send some birthday money my way, I knew just where I wanted to spend it.

When you log onto their website and read about the workout, it pretty much boasts the same thing that bar method does: small, isometric movements, a “lifted seat”, muscle burning and lengthening, etc. Both P57 & Bar Method originated from the Lotte Berk Method, so the general idea of them are the same. To start out, I ordered the Complete Physique 57 Kit Volume 1. What’s nice about P57 is that they offer a free 30 day trial. If for some reason you aren’t happy with the DVDs, you can send them back within the 30 days and you aren’t charged for them. The kit came with an exercise ball & 3 DVDs (classic 57 min full-body workout, express 30 min full body workout, and Arm/Ab booster 30 minute workout).

As far as a workout DVD goes, I found Physique 57 so much more challenging than my Bar Method DVD. (I’d love to be able to compare in-class versions!) Instead of using 2 & 3 lb. weights that I would with Bar Method, I used 3 & 5 lb. weights. My arms felt like noodles at the end of the “warm up”. The thigh and seat section of the DVD is no joke. I tried to keep telling myself that if I could make it through a natural birth, I could make it through this thigh set-it didn’t work…I had to stop and shake out my legs. The music with P57 is more upbeat and I also liked how the DVDs seemed a little bit more up to date than the bar method DVDs.

The 30 minute full body DVD is a good one for when you don’t have an hour to dedicate to working out. The arm portion isn’t as intense, but your legs, butt and abs still get an awesome workout (I was pretty sweaty 15 minutes into it). The arms/abs booster is a good one to pair up with cardio. Yesterday, I did some Zumba on the xbox and did the arms portion of the DVD. I can still feel it in my arms today.

The reason I enjoy barre strengthening over other types of strength training is because it can be done at home (during Madelyn’s nap time), the weights you use are light but extremely effective, and it’s the only workout where I’ve seen a noticeable difference in my body. I’ve taken body pump classes before at the gym, and although it’s a good workout I don’t find them as enjoyable.

Next fall, I hope to run the Chicago Marathon (EEK!) and my goal for 2013 is to remain injury free. In order to do this, I will need to make sure that I have to have a strong core, and thighs to help keep hips, knees and ankles in place. So along with my regular running workouts, I’ll be incorporating barre more into my weekly workouts. I’m excited and nervous about training for the full. I think I’m more nervous about how I’m going to balance my time with a new baby than I am about the distance. The good thing is, that by spring she will be old enough to go for runs in the jogging stroller and not just walks, so I can bring her with me on the easier days. The long run days will be reserved for daughter/daddy time I also have a BFF who wants to run it too!!! It’ll be nice to have someone to run with and to keep me motivated.

Anyone else have any 2013 fitness related goals? I’m not big of resolutions…only on how I’m going to make 2013 a better year than the one before. 2012 will be tough to beat though!

Healthy Tidbits

Tidbits from my life, the kitchen & everything in between