Seven Quick Takes: IV {Happy Little Things Edition}

-One- 

Jessie (dear college friend) and Sam (her boyfriend whom I hadn't met but definitely approve of after meeting) visited.

-Two-

Our new house... inspection: check.  Wish we were already in!

-Three-

That Daniel sends me photos of Anni's swim lessons when I can't come.

-Four-

Lettie's frequent smiling breaks while nursing... sure, it takes longer, but my heart is a puddle and I don't really care.

-Five-

Celebrating Anni's Baptism day with her.  She got to choose lunch ("Dimmy Dohn's"), we lit her Baptismal Candle and looked at pictures from her baptism.  I love that it made her feel so special!

-Six-

 Taking Lettie swimming for the first time (she cried right when we got in the water and then immediately calmed down and just chilled the rest of the time as she floated around).

-Seven-

My sister and her family are here for family meetings (my brother-in-law's family), which means we get to see cousins (and I get to spend time with my sister)!  

See more 7 Quick Takes at Conversion Diary.

Summer Bucket List: #8 Completed

Gymnastics!  We've gone the last couple of week... it's so fun to see the ways Anni has grown and gotten more confident since we began going (as long as no one is looking at her!)  I suppose this isn't technically complete as we'll keep going, but we have gone several time and are definitely enjoying it.  Today was a sad day at gymnastics; though, as it was the last time we got to see our friends before they move off to North Dakota.  It's a great move for them (nearer to home and family!), but Anni is definitely going to miss her friend (they are only a month apart and have had a blast playing over the last year) and I'm going to miss mine!  I may have sniffled a little as I watched our girls hold hands and say good-bye one last time after class today.

On a happier note, this also happened today:

I had been trying to convince her to try it out, and our friend and a few little girls showed her how, but she steadfastly lowered her head and refused to try.  I reminded myself to step back and let her figure things out for herself, and a few minutes later when we weren't really watching, she went straight to the bar and started swinging like a little monkey. 

Celebration dancing followed:

Check out the rest of our Summer 2013 Bucket List here.

Happy 4 months, Lettie Lou*!

My sweet Colette.  You are truly the light of all of our lives (including your darling sister's!)  When you smile, all your little dimples (including one over your eye!) show up: your entire face just exudes joy and we can't help but just grin back!     

You have given up sleeping quite as long as you used to at night, but, let's be honest, you're a growing girl with some serious teething... I can't deny your sweet self your comfort and nourishment!  Luckily, you are pretty good about going back to sleep after eating in the middle of the night.  Naps are hit and miss, but I always know that snuggling you into the sling will relax you into sleep almost immediately when things get desperate. 

You are loving your voice these days.  When you start to get tired, you start to talk more, beginning with a happy growl and, if we don't take the hint fast enough, ending with a not-so-happy cry.  Still no laugh, but you'll do that when you're ready!

Your hair has gotten so long that it's starting to get in your eyes if I forget to clip it back!  Not only has your hair grown, but you grew three pounds to 11 lbs and three inches to nearly 25 in the last two months!  The doctor had to double check your length, he was so surprised.  He was very impressed with how strong you are when he had you stand for him.  You're just trying to keep up with that big sister of yours!  You desperately want to roll over by yourself but haven't quite figured it out yet... any day now, is my guess!

We will always love you, sweet baby, always and forever!

*Lettie's middle name is not Lou... I just can't resist calling her that!

Happy Birthday, Mama!

My mom turned 65 today (and oh, my, do I hope I am as beautiful, amazing and active as she is when I am 65)!  Last Saturday, my Dad let my sister know he wanted to throw her a surprise birthday party, and, despite being in the midst of a move, my sister made it happen.  I'm bummed I had to miss the actual party (being over 500 miles away), but I am so glad that I was asked to help with the video (it helps that I have the big box of family photos).  I got to spend a couple of hours sorting and scanning last night and Daniel put together the video today, just in time for the family to watch it during their party.  Enjoy!

Seven Quick Takes: Volume IV

-One-

This picture has almost nothing to do with the story.  Enjoy!

Every once in awhile I have a supermom morning... at the end of which I feel a little crazy but accomplished.  On Wednesday, we made it to gymnastics and had a *blast* and then, I figured, since we were already out, we could run by the store to pick up some tomato sauce for our pizza sauce tonight and maybe something for lunch.  As we walked in the store, I saw they had pool noodles, and, feeling like a good mommy and remember that Tara had mentioned it would be good for her lessons, I grabbed one.  Then, making a less than wise decision, I grabbed a basket rather than a cart (thinking it would be hard to lift Anni into the cart with Lettie in the sling).  So, here we are, Anni walking, me carrying a basket with noodle hanging out the sides crazily and trying my best not to knock everything and every one over as... Lettie starts to cry.  I give her her pacifier, crossing my finger that she isn't hungry and can make it through the five minutes to grab tomato sauce, fruit and something for lunch.  whew.

She couldn't.  This is mad Lettie.  You give her what she needs (really not an unreasonable request at three months old) or you get screaming.

Except... I had never breastfed in a sling, and as far as I knew, there was no place in the store to try to sit and get ourselves situated.  This was a "do it now or leave your basket on the floor as you tail it out to the car" situation... obviously it was time to learn how to breastfeed in a sling.  So, there, in front of the Annie's Mac n Cheese and Quinoia selections, I pulled Lettie's legs up into the sling, slid my shirt down and let her latch on.  The sling has a nice long tail, so I used that to give myself a little more coverage as I swayed in the aisle and crossed my fingers that this would calm poor Lettie down.  While there was really no reason to worry (just feedin' my baby here, people), every time someone passed through the aisle I just focused on making sure everyone was happy, and checking out the various kinds of Annie's Mac n Cheese and quinoa available (I bought Annie's Mac n Cheese, just to be clear).  She ate for maybe a minute and I swung her back up, pulled my top up, tightened the sling, and we moved on our way (with Anni carrying the pool noodle, because, really, what was I thinking?!)  As I ushered us to the checkout, I gave myself a little inner high-five for making it through the store, figuring out breastfeeding in the sling, and exiting the store with everyone happy(-er than we entered, even).  

The end.

-Two-

Lettie learned how to pull the little bug that plays music on her bouncer this week, and Anni was SO excited.  Like thrilled, giggling, hugging me like a proud mommy excited.  I love both of these girls so much!

-Three-

Sleeeeeeepy little girl.  I love how babywearing is almost always a guaranteed way
to get this baby to take a nap... even more guaranteed than just holding her and
waaaay more guaranteed than nursing her, as much as she loves that.

I love proud babywearing moments.  I was wearing Lettie at the zoo last weekend and a lovely woman from Africa (most beautiful accent ever!) came up and told me that she doesn't see a lot of women doing this in the US, but it's how everyone carries their baby in her country.

And, speaking of babywearing... a certain little girl loves wearing her own babies.  Here's hoping that this or this go on sale sometime before Christmas and maybe I can get her own little carrier... though maybe I could figure out how make her a ring sling myself?

-Four-

If you haven't seen the Colbert Report where he talks about his mama, watch.  Prepare for tears.  I showed it to Daniel when he got home from work and we both agreed that we hope we are such parents that our babies talk about us like this when we die.

-Five-

"Mommy, wook at my awmpits.  Dey wook so beautiful!"

-Six-

Miss Anni is starting to get curious during naptime and bedtime.  Before now, at three years old, she had only left her room once or twice ever when she was supposed to be sleeping.  If she cried or yelled because she needed something, she did it from her bed, or on the body pillow on the floor next to her bed (where she often ends up in the middle of the night).  It kind of cracks me up... but I'm hoping it doesn't become a crazy new escape routine.  

-Seven-

Happy Summer!  We're celebrating by heading to the bank, on to a house inspection and then to a splash park!  Life is good.

Find more Seven Quick Takes at Conversion Diary.

Our Summer Bucket List

of my friends have been posting about their summer bucket list, so,  since summer technically doesn't start for two days, I figure I'm on the ball in creating my own!  It's a pretty random list, but I think it's a happy one for our little family.  Maybe I'll even add a few things as we go... but #1 is going to take up so much time and energy, I'll just be grateful when that one is crossed off the list!    

1. Move!
2. Start homeschooling for preschool
3. Picnic
4. Trek in the mountains
5. Cheer Daddy on while he runs a 5k
6. Have a big ole' grilling party at our new house!
7. Swim Lessons for Anni
8. Gymnastics for Anni [and me just getting up and getting her there!]
9. Fly a kite
10. Laugh (especially Lettie!)

I'll try to update with completions and photos... I mean, when do I do something without photos?

Father's Day 2013

Seven Quick Takes Friday: Volume 3

-One-

We celebrated Anni's name day: St. Anthony!  Tonsure cakes (donuts) and italian (who doesn't love a good lasagna?) in honor of his noteworthy hair (or lack thereof?) and the country where he did much of his work.  St. Anthony and I have been tight since the days of losing absolutely everything all the time in college.

-Two-

So... we may, possibly, have a house!  Contract is signed, but obviously a lot could go wrong between now and closing.  However; it's a pretty exciting and scary time for us!  We've been trying to prepare Anni for the move and she's a little nervous and confused.  "So, we will come back to our aparpment after our new house?  What if I don't wike our new house?"  We try to talk to her about the great things, but also validate her feelings of confusion and nervousness... it's scary to leave the only home she remembers (although it's actually the third place she's lived!)  We are most excited for: the backyard, the beautiful light in the ginormous living room, moving my office out of our bedroom, wood floors, cabinet space... oh, so many things!

-Three-

Still no laugh from little Lettie, but definitely still one of the happiest babies ever!  Her current favorite song is "Row, Row, Row, your Boat" and we may just be wearing it out in an attempt to make that little girl laugh.  Her biggest smiles come right after waking up... and well, she does tend to wake up a lot. 

She is a terrible napper.  Daniel has noticed a whole lot of crazy in my eyes lately after I stay up into the wee hours to get work done, feed and soothe Missy around 5:30a (or earlier/more often with this yucky cold/cough she's battling!), get a couple more hours of sleep and then spend all. day. trying to get her little self to nap for longer than a few minutes.  I know she's tired, so I feel bad that I haven't hit upon the right equation to get her that much needed rest during the day.   

-Four-

Father's Day.  Daniel has already seen his gift; because, well, it's hard for a three-year-old to keep her fun craft a secret, especially when you forget to tell her it's a secret.  Our little foot-printing adventure reminded Anni how much she loves painting and today that girl painted... with brushes, her hands... all over (on accident) the cream colored gliding rocker (anyone know how to re-cover cushions?)  Daniel and I were both laughing a little about the incident, because this is coming from our little girl who was terrified of getting paint on her fingers for the past year.

-Five-

While we've been keeping it "real" with our food in general this week, we did go on a little lunch date with Daniel when we went up to the office for Mass, only to find out the priest hadn't shown up.  No regrets about that pizza!  However; it is going to be our last time eating out for a good long while as we're going to need to tighten our belts a notch as we prepare for a mortgage and all the new expenses that come with a house [money saving tips welcome!]

-Six-

One of my favorite people in the world is spending her first year at FOCUS summer training.  We've gone the past two years (sweet Anni in tow), but the heat (and humidity and bugs and all those lovely things associated with being next to a swamp), having a three month old and not necessarily being needed at training kept us home this year.  However; my heart wishes I was there just to spend a little time with my sweet friend... you know who you are, so know that I'm sending love (and just maybe a care package full of joy) to you!

-Seven-

 Weekend plans: we're headed to the zoo tomorrow!  I'm kind of afraid that the zoo will be a zoo (of people) with it being Father's Day weekend... but we're planning on heading down early and trying our best... we've got to make use of the membership while we have it!

Read more Seven Quick Takes at Conversion Diary.

Dance Break!

 Things are a little overhwelming (in good and bad ways!) over here. Luckily I have this girl to make me take dance breaks in the middle of all the chaos!

Real Food Challenge: Day 10... the end!

Ah the last day.  Breakfast and lunch were simple (yogurt and sandwich variety of things), but here's where you find out that I really am fighting against my terribly picky childhood self.

See, I hate fish.  Before I married Daniel, I had had the occasional fish stick or popcorn shrimp in childhood, but had pretty much sworn off all fishy things since then.  Daniel; however, really enjoys sea food, and when Anni was struggling to gain any weight, a medical professional suggested we add some fish to our diet every once in awhile.  So, I have, on occasion, done alright with the fishy variety.  The one time we made it during pregnancy, I ended up hunched over the toilet (not that that was exclusive to fish), so my last experience left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.  Hooooowever; apparently I was in a mood on Friday, and despite the fact that my dear, sweet, hubby made a lovely dinner while I worked, I couldn't bring myself to eat it.  Yep, I admit it.  That being said, Daniel and Anni both ate a beautiful meal of salmon, quinoa and corn.  The end!

Things we learned during the challenge:

1) Real food can get kind of expensive... especially we you eat lots and lots and lots of fruit.  I think the most expensive part was the local meat.  Here's hoping for a big ole' deep freezer in our future home for a half of a cow or something exciting like that!

2) It wasn't a huge departure from what we usually eat... it just meant pooling the real food recipes I was already using and throwing in a few extras for fun.  The biggest difference was having to make the conscious decision to *not* get take-out just because we were tired or it had been a long day or the baby ate all afternoon and I didn't get a chance to get the dough started.  It was really good for me to make myself figure out a meal even when I didn't want to... definitely a little kick in the pants for me as a homemaker.  It helped quite a bit that we have been slowly introducing a lot of baby steps toward a less processed diet for a long time.  

3) I couldn't tell you if eating real food changed how I felt in terms of energy, etc, as I've been working late into the night to stay caught up with things and, well, I do have a three year old and a newborn.  However, I did actually lose a few pounds... which was kind of a big deal as I haven't been able to lose anything since Lettie was two weeks old.

4) While there was definitely some extra prep time in there, I got a lot of satisfaction out of making more of our food from scratch.  Sure, I was tempted to put it off, knowing that it was hard work (I am a world class procrastinator), but the reminder that I couldn't take the easy way out and still have dinner for my family usually spurred me along.  In the end, I generally enjoyed that time in the kitchen.  It did mean a lot more dishes (Daniel usually tries to do them all for me, but I did a lot more clearing out the sink during the day just so we could stay on top of them... those mixing bowls take up a lot of space, and mine can only be hand washed).

In the end, I'm really glad we did this.  We saw that it's really not impossible, and definitely something we can do more than a majority of the time.  I'm excited to see how it will shape our eating in the weeks to come!

For more info on the 10 Day Pledge, head over to 100 Days of Real Food!  My other favorite "Real Food source" is over at Kitchen Stewardship if you're on the hunt for more yummy recipes and ideas!

PS I admit to eating breakfast burritos (just one, but we all had one) the morning after we finished... at least they were from an authentic restaurant and not McDonald's.  On that note, just don't try to eat McDonald's breakfast burritos, or really any of their food... not worth it. 

Real Food Challenge: Days 8 & 9

As Day 8 dawned, it became painfully obvious that the depths of our fridge and pantry were becoming rather bare.  We scraped by to the best of our ability (I would have gone to the trip if we absolutely had to, but with a certain little girl's nose dripping green... well, not exactly something I want to expose the public to), and that evening I took serious stock of what we had to make Day 9 feel a little less desperate.  I didn't actually get any photos on Day 8 between the random meals and tired, cranky babies.  Such is life.

Day 8

Breakfast

We finished off the yogurt, berries and granola for breakfast.

Lunch

My memory is starting to fail me here, but I think I had some leftover pasta with a whole mess of frozen veggies just sauteed up.  I'm pretty sure Anni had a pb sandwich and a banana, but I'm honestly not positive on that one.

Dinner

Ah, a copout meal.  We totally pulled the organic ww mac n' cheese out, warmed up some veggies and chicken and dealt with it.  It was tasty, even if it was kind of lame.


Day 9

Breakfast 

Day 9 went a lot better, as I actually thought things through the night before and stayed up late doing a little baking.  I chopped up our last, lonely little apple, and made lovely apple mini muffins (and proceeded to eat several as I worked late into the night... don't worry, I left plenty for breakfast!)  Anni loved the mini-ness of these muffins... and I felt like she ate them with more ease than bigger ones that usually ended up mostly on the floor before she had the energy to get through them all.  Thank goodness for my random purchase of a mini-muffin pan a few weeks ago!

Lunch

This was truly a conglomerate of leftovers.  I had made sure there was something for Daniel to take (I can't just send him out to the Qdoba near his office when we're on this challenge!), so he took a chicken salad with him to work.  He left enough chicken that Anni and I were able to throw some on top of our spaghetti (the last bit left in the box... catching the theme of this lunch?).  I sauteed up the last of the grape tomatoes with some spices (I usually like to use fresh onion and garlic when I do this... but, alas, all out!), threw in some parmesan and, we had a lovely lunch!  Anni ate most of hers, so it was deemed a success!

Dinner

There's a photo hiding in my dearest's iPhone, but he's sleeping, so you'll just have to imagine this one.  I defrosted some leftover chili, added a little cinnamon (the secret!) and cooked up the tiniest bit of pasta (it was the dregs of what was left in the box... not really full servings, but just enough to add some interest) for some Cincinnati Chili.  We made it!  One more day to go!  


Oh, and in the interest of full disclosure, I totally had Daniel pick up some dark, dark chocolate.  It's 70 or 80%, so pretty close to real food, but there is a little sugar in it, so we may have kind of cheated.  I don't know if that disqualifies us from being awesome completers of this challenge... but, I'm okay with the decision.  

I'm also realizing that we eat a lot of pasta.  Tomorrow I'm mixing it up and trying quinoa for the first time... if we're going to eat grains, might as well make it interesting, right?!

Life outside the challenge.

Well.

You've seen a lot of our meals over the past week, but...

we do more than eat.  Honestly.  Not much more sometimes, but still, more.

This cold is still kicking our tushies... well, mostly Miss Anni's.  I have only left the house for Mass, one grocery trip and a few desperate walks to the mailbox since we got home from the trip to try to help contain Miss Anni's germs and help her heal a little quicker.  Our version of "going outside" right now, is letting her sit on the porch with a book.  I can't wait for this round of colds to be over!

We've spent a lot of time trying all our favorite tricks out on Miss Anni's cough (steamy bathroom for her to play in is always fun... especially when I just scrubbed it down so she can hang out on the almost-never-clear counter to get more of the steam). 

I've been watching my little Miss Lettie take it all in... and all of the sudden, we're starting to see her reach for toys and trying desperately to roll her cute little self over.  Soooo close!  When she's propped up on her elbows (on her tummy), she has figured out how to propel herself with her elbow back to her back, but hasn't figured out either way all on her own yet.  It's pretty darn cute to watch her try, though!  I am amazed (and loving), that it's just as much fun the second time getting to see my little one learn and grow!

I've been staying up late at night to get work done, so I'm kind of grateful that Anni's favorite afternoon activity lately has been asking me to read a chapter out of Little House in the Big Woods (and her favorite part of that is getting to turn the page).

In reality, I'm just tired... but, I have to remember that that's just how things are for a little while, and I shouldn't let that get in the way of life.  With that being said, Anni is currently snoozing off her cold, so I'm going to go snuggle with my Colette and try to chip away at the exhaustion a little.   

Real Food Challenge: Days 6 & 7

Day 6

Breakfast

Things started to get a little hairy when Monday morning rolled around and I realized our fresh food supply (aka fruit and most of the veggies) were pretty much gone.  oops!  So... Anni and I shared the last waffle (it's pretty sad looking) plain, because yep, we're out of maple syrup (and real maple syrup is expensive, baby!).  Luckily, the cinnamon in these waffles makes them delicious plain!  Anni finished up the yogurt (and I immediately called Daniel to see if he could make a stop on the way home for essentials... yogurt and berries).

Lunch

Lunch was leftover pasta and sauce (yay for the extra veggies I cooked into that sauce... helped make up for the lack of fresh ones around here) and a beautiful array of play food cooked up for me by my personal little chef.  Her combinations are creative, but quite tasty.

Dinner

 

Then, dinner rolled around.  I had used the meal planned for Monday evening on Sunday when we ended up having my father-in-law to dinner, and I definitely wasn't attempting to defrost and roast the chicken in the freezer, so it was improvise night.  This was definitely a night where I missed the ole' fallback: ordering food (pizza or sandwiches would be our usual plan of attack) or picking up a frozen pizza from the store.  It was good to have to think past the junk food despite the having a "case of the Mondays".  I had made some homemade granola (suuuuuper addictive and delicious!), so we had some breakfast for dinner: yogurt with granola and fruit, eggs, and ww toast.  I know, we have a ton of yogurt in my house... a lot of that is because it's easy and, well, Anni loves it.  Anni's clothes do not love it, but, such is the sacrifice we make.

Day 7

Breakfast: Yogurt, fruit and granola.  Just wasn't interesting enough to photograph since we had it the night before. 

Lunch

Peanut butter and honey sandwiches, carrot sticks, strawberries and, for my little Anni, the last few of those chips (real food junk food at its best, people).  It's always a guessing game as to whether Anni will eat an entire meal or only a few bites, but, we went picnic style on this one (she desperately wanted to sit next to her baby sister on the floor), and she finished every last bite (minus a carrot stick or two I stole from her... they're addictive and I ate mine fast!) 

Dinner

Miss Lettie had an extremely fussy afternoon, so I was definitely looking for easy this evening (heck, when am I not looking for easy?!).  Boil up some chicken, wash some lettuce and fruits and veggies annnnd oi-la, dinner!  Anni, the  lover of all things salad, informed us she "doesn't like salad", and so ate "squirty" tomatoes, chicken chunks and strawberries for dinner (wrapping up with half a banana on her way to bed)... it works!  This was super tasty, fresh, and easy... all lovely things :).