Menu Plan Monday- Aug 3 through 16

You guys. Our second baby will be here in approximately 48 days.  WHAT?!  I have done next to nothing to prepare, other than growing this baby and trying to stay fit while doing so.  We did watch the movie "What to Expect When You're Expecting" last night, so that has to count for something.  Totally different from the months before Kyler arrived.  The nursery still looks nearly totally identical to the way we had it for Kyler (but I do have a beautiful pennant banner to hang up thanks to my crafty friends at my surprise "sprinkle"), we don't even own girly crib sheets yet, and the only "meals" I have frozen are banana bread and cookie dough.  And what am I doing in these last weeks? Oh, I'm making meals I know I won't have the time/energy/desire to make once baby girl is here! Obviously. I am so excited to meet baby girl and have a family of four, but I think I am going through a period of mourning over the upcoming loss of my "freedom." 

That being said, here are our menu plans: 

August 3-9
Sunday: out w/ some former coworkers :), G & K mac & cheese
Monday: Spinach & Cheese quiche (I used swiss & cheddar), Gazpacho (see below, recipe from Grant's Aunt Molly)
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: Potstickers, brown rice, egg rolls, melon
Thursday: BBQ Chicken Thighs, Potato Salad with green beans & salsa verde,  spinach salad
Friday: Greek Meatballs (I baked these instead of frying), Hummus & pita, tomato & cucumber & feta salad
Saturday: cheese and chicken quesadillas, homemade refried beans, restaurant style salsa & chips

I also made Chia Seed Pudding for breakfast... Grant thought it looked like bird poop... but I enjoyed it :) 

Menu for August 10-16:
Sunday: Pizza on the grill! (1st time all summer... what?!)
Monday: Farmer's Casserole, fruit
Tuesday: cheese ravioli, salad, garlic bread
Wednesday: Crockpot General Tso's Chicken, brown rice, broccoli
Thursday: Pulled Pork (I am planning to freeze some of this, will also make in crock pot instead of oven), Sesame & Cilantro Vermicelli Salad
Friday: J & K to Akron!! (G out or leftovers)
Saturday: quesadillas or leftovers


Gazpacho
28 oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes 
1 jalapeño 
1 cucumber peeled 
4 scallions 
1 garlic clove 
1 red bell pepper seeded 
4 oz of EVOO 
1 bunch of cilantro 
2 oz white vinegar 
S & P to taste 

Put ingredients in blender, mix and serve! I added some sour cream on top. 


Have a good week... it's back to work for me :-/ Still SO SO SO thankful for my husband allowing me to work part-time from home so I can be with our kiddos! 

What I cooked: Summer 2013 (YES, this has been a draft for 12 months!!)

JULY 2014: Found this post from roughly a year ago... still a "draft."  Sigh.  I really do like blogging, and mostly, I do it so I can easily look back and see what I made.  Forgot about most of these recipes, so I'll have to try these again.  The first sentence of this next paragraph makes me laugh... funny, thought I'd have more time.  Not the case when you work while your kiddo naps!!

WRITTEN SUMMER 2013: 
Once I get used to being a WAHM (work-at-home-mom), I intend to start posting my weekly meal plan again.  Mostly for selfish reasons, because I like to click back and look at what we ate the year before when I'm in a rut :-) I know my some of my four faithful readers (that would be Katie, Emily T., Stacey & my Dad, shout out to you all!!) like when I post recipes I find and make.  I mean Pinterest is great and all, but we've all had some flops.  

Here are some tried and truly DELICIOUS things I've made this summer: 

Main Dishes

Stacked Roasted Veggie Enchiladas 
Sort of like my Mexican Lasagna, but vegetarian. I also added tomatoes.

Cilantro Lime Rice

I'll be alternating my other fave Mexican rice with this one from now on.

Ratatouille

I served it over brown rice. Perfect for using up summer veggies... and it's très français to have in the summer. 

Greek Meatballs

 made some tzatziki sauce to go with them (follow step 2 only of this recipe) 

Summer Vegetable Frittata

BBQ Pulled Pork

note: my crockpot can't hold all of the liquid, so I just pour in as much as will fit and still leave some room for when it starts bubbling. 

Beer & Italian Sausage Cheese Fondue

used apple juice to thin it out a little, didn't have fontina so I just used cheddar.  Served with bread, apples, carrots & broccoli. Yum!!

Salads

Chickpea Salad with Lemon, Parmesan and Fresh Herbs (ok, I used dried... but this is SO easy)

Tabbouleh (good use for the mint in my garden that is out of control)

Quinoa with black beans and hominy

Amazing Sweet Treats

Do yourself a favor and make these now... but then take some to a friend ASAP:

Snickerdoodles
amazing.  

Lemon Bars
so refreshing! 

Inside Out Chocolate Chip Cookies
I am not a huge chocolate fan, but these were one of the best cookies I've ever made.  The 5 adults and 2 kiddos that ate them at small group can vouch for that.  Thanks for coming friends, because otherwise I'd be eating these all week.
 
Easy Salted Caramel Brownies 
So easy, and SO yummy. 

Chatterbox

All babies develop and learn at different paces, but from what I've read, they all eventually catch up.  Our little man was a late walker (we are talking sometime after 14 months), but he was an early talker.  As a language teacher, I am completely fascinated by how he is learning, what types of words he is using, how he is constructing sentences... everything really! 

Many of his first words were nouns: 

mama, dada, ball, book

But then came an adjective: 

hot!! 

Hot is always whispered, with emphasis on the "h"... so it sounds like "hhhhot". This adjective was quickly applied to all sorts of cooking appliances (stove, microwave, coffee pot, toaster oven, grill), but on a few random mornings, as I was holding him before I left for work, he would say "mama, hot." And I would look at him and say, "That's right." Thank you, my little guy, for the affirmation :) 

What happened next amazed me: he started using the indefinite article all the time, which we often omit in English, but is always necessary in French. 

a book, a ball, a "nack" a dog 

Even though he clearly articulates many words, there are some in which I have had to play close attention to learn.  Think you can guess what these are?? 

QUIZ TIME!!! (no peeking below)

1. ah fah fuh

2. ["f bomb"] (yikes)

3. a men uh

4. buhjies

5. ug!

6. booooo!

answers are at the bottom of this post :)

Anyways, he quickly moved on to two-word phrases. 

All done now. 

Outside now. 

And eventually added in a subject pronoun.  His first three sentences with "I": 

I sit. 

I poo poo. 

I bite.  (often said while smiling and attempting to bite my hand as I buckle him into the carseat.)

After the short sentences, we finally learned one polite word: please [peash]

Currently, we are using "peash" and "yesh" together to show a definite need for something. In addition, he uses a nod to reinforce his desire. Sample scenario: 

I am eating some pie. 

Ky: a bite peash, yesh *nod* *nod* yesh

If a bite is given, this will be repeated. 

If a bite is denied, a tantrum will ensue.  

And now it's off to find some books on disciplining/parenting a toddler! HAH! 

Quiz answers: 1. coffee (but also sometimes any drink an adult has), 2. frog, I NEVER swear, so this is super awkward.  And when he adds "a" before frog, it sounds like "oh." Big sigh. 3. melon (as in watermelon.  He's not a fan of cantaloupe), 4. berries (as in blueberries, strawberries, raspberries or blueberries" and 5. hug. The boy LOVES to give hugs, especially when he either has food on his hands or is strapped into a shopping cart, forcing me to lean over in an awkward manner.  But I would be crazy to turn down an "ug" from my sweet boy. 6. moo. Yes, my child thinks cows say "boo" instead of moo.  And in fact, even though he can identify at least 15/20 animal magnets on the fridge, he also calls a cow "a boo." When I correct him and say it's a cow, and cows say "moo," he looks at me like I'm crazy. 

To my students

Bonjour tout le monde, 

I don't know if any of you will read ever this page, but I wanted to express my thoughts to you anyways.  On Monday, I resigned from the teaching position that I had held for six years.  It was NOT an easy decision, and furthermore, it was not one I was expecting to make this summer.  I had a part-time job nearly fall into my lap on July 3rd that would allow me to stay home with my son but still teach French to high school students, just online instead of in the traditional classroom.  Some people can easily balance working full-time and family life, but I realized I am not one of those people.  Teaching French 1-5 was a lot of work not only during the school hours, but also after school and on weekends, and I put my all into it for six years.  Hopefully you enjoyed some of the lessons :-)  After lots of prayer and after getting lots of wisdom from friends and family who have already traveled this path, we decided it will be best for our family for me to take some time off from teaching full time to focus on being a wife and mom. I know some of you are sad (and others may be rejoicing!), but fifteen years from now, you might understand exactly where I am coming from.  

My dear former students, THANK YOU:  

- for choosing to take French, even though most of your friends were taking Spanish

- for the laughter you brought to my day 

- for the fun times with French Club (crêpe parties, Bon Vie, La Chatelaine)

- for the hysterical movie projects you made, never ceasing to amaze me with your technology skills!

- to the 32 of you I got to take to France in 2010 or 2013... I loved seeing you experience Europe for the first time. I hope you have caught the travel bug!

- to those of you who stuck through with 4 years of French class and furthermore 4 years with me! 

- for always being excited at the beginning of a new school year

- for telling me what the latest youtube videos were that I needed to watch

- for "keeping me on my toes"... for example, I had to constantly update my list of words in both English & French that could not be said in a high school classroom...

- for putting up for all of the times I connected lessons to Harry Potter

- for putting up with my stories about living in France... and my rants about food and nutrition. 

- (class of 2010ish) for the pranks & shenanigans you would pull in my classroom.  

- for keeping me up to date on slang ("gram it", "YOLO," "#tbt" etc..).  Just know that I am officially to old to actually say that stuff seriously, but thanks to you, I can feel cool knowing what it means :-)   

- for laughing hysterically as you said words (you know which ones) that make me shudder... and my first year there, I believe some of you put them on a cake for me... 

- for being brave during the lock-downs that were for real and tornado drills that weren't drills

- for encouraging me that I could pull off red pants and Toms even though I'm nearly 30 

- for asking about my son, even if it was to just get me off topic  

- for all of the cookies and cupcakes and cake pops and brownies 

- for all of the times you were honest about using online translators

- to those of you that made an effort to be nice to everyone in your class.  You are awesome. 

- for the notes, cards, senior pictures, etc... these will be going in my "why I teach" folder, which I will be keeping forever.  

- for teaching me that I only need to worry a little about when my son becomes a teenager... because after all, you guys are pretty awesome! 

- for taking the time to read this post! 

- in advance, for being great for your new teacher! 

My last bits of advice to you:  

- Pick your friends wisely.  You will become like the people with whom you surround yourself. 

- Study abroad in college.  Those four years are academically challenging, but there will never be another time in your life in which it will be easier to just pack up your life and move it overseas. 

- Don't date anyone you couldn't see yourself marrying.  I made that decision in college and it was one of the best choices I made.  

- MAKE GOOD DECISIONS! I told you this every Friday, and you usually laughed.  But remember, every decision has a consequence... some positive, some negative... I only told you this to try to get you to think about the choices you are making.  Decisions you make in high school CAN affect your future.

... And lastly, please STAY IN TOUCH!! I will honestly miss you all so very much and I care about you deeply.  I will be thinking about you next year.  Friend me on facebook, follow me on Instagram... or once you start college and learn email actually does have a purpose other than allowing you to have accounts on social media, email me!  

All my love, 

Madame 

I'm STILL HERE!!!!

BONJOUR!!!

Well, it's been awhile since my last post. I won't bore you with the details of our routine, but I basically only get to be with my sweet boy for 2.5 hours each day during the work week (and he eats for like 1.5 hours of that time), so I had to cut out a few things. Like blogging on Mondays. And exercising on a regular basis :(

But I'm here. Look for more posts coming soon!!

New Favorite App!

I am LOVING the App "AnyList." I had been using another free app for my grocery shopping for the past 9 months or so and while it served its purpose, I could never get over the fact it had limited categories that I could not reorder. Also, you could accidentally delete your entire list in two clicks. Yikes.

This new (to me) app is awesome because:
1- It is free!
2- It has a TON of categories, very similar to the aisles at my local grocery store. You can add new categories and you can also rename and rearrange the existing ones based on your route through the store. (Not sure if this is normal or not, but the store I frequent is HUGE, so we buy everything there, with the exception of our clothes. However, they do carry Carter's, so the little man has some clothes from there!)
3- you and anyone you share it with can edit and access it at the same time and it updates both... So my husband could add toothpaste to my list from his phone, or if we ever (which is doubtful) shipped together, we could work from the same list and get the shopping done faster.
4-it has a recipes section that includes recipes from all of my favorite sites (like all recipes) AND food blogs (like Closet Cooking, Cookin' Canuck, Picky Palate, Smitten Kitchen, the Pioneer Woman, Two Peas & their Pod and a TON more)! While it does not include every recipe, there are quite a few. You can save recipes and also add ingredients needed to your list in one click! Much easier than jumping back and forth between apps or using two methods of technology to meal/grocery plan!!

FALL FOOD!!!

Well, if you couldn't tell by the lack of blog posts, life has been super busy since school started.  Our weekday routine is crazy, but I am so thankful to have many coworkers in the same situation.  

Me and FIVE of my coworkers, all pregnant last January!

To all of my friends who read this blog who are not my coworkers, thank you for your patience with me.  I really love, value and cherish you so much and am trying to get my act together so we can hang out! I have been leaving Ky at daycare for the entire time it is open because I cannot keep up at work :-( Everyone told me you just need to put as much effort into teaching once you are a Mom, but I cannot figure out how to do it... help!!!!!

We have, of course, been eating dinner... and it's my second favorite culinary time of year... PUMPKIN AND APPLE SEASON!!!!!!!!!!! (the fresh produce of summer/grilled everything is in first place.)

With one 29 oz can of pumpkin puree, on separate occasions (pumpkin keeps in the fridge!), I made:
Pumpkin Pancakes
Pumpkin Bread
I use pumpkin pie spice instead of the individual spices in both of the above recipes.  
Pumpkin French Toast Bake (I halved the recipe and used pumpkin puree instead of pumpkin butter)
Pumpkin Chai Latte



With my second can of pumpkin of the season, I made:
Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage (and we add in spinach)

Other fall dishes we have made and loved:
Apple Crisp
Sweet Potato Burritos (I halve the recipe and use one can of black beans instead of kidney beans)

pumpkin patch with my boys

my little koala :-)

Menu Plan Monday 8/13

School starts (for me not the students) next Tuesday, August 21, so this is my last week of summer. One of my sisters will be in town Monday and will be watching little Ky on Tuesday for my first day back at school, so I am excited I don't have to drop him off at daycare on that first day back.  It is going to be rough though- I have been letting him dictate his schedule in the summer, whereas when I was back at work after maternity leave, it was very much based on my work schedule... so he is no longer going to get to go back to bed after his morning feeding.  We are going to be introducing solids soon too, and I think he may be teething?? Lots of changes.  This summer was full of giggles (yes, giggles, that's one of the perks of having a baby around 24-7... if you figure them out, there can be just as many giggles as tears.), but I am slowly turning back into an emotional wreck as I think about being away from him for at least 10 hours each day. I am trying to choose joy as I go back to school.  It truly has been an amazing summer- although it has gone way too fast and there are too many friends I feel I barely got to see :-( 

Here's my last menu plan (most likely we will return to "easier" meals and since I am working, one night a week out if necessary): 

 Sunday: Baked Teriyaki Chicken Thighs, Israeli Couscous, Green beans... and Virgin Pina Coladas (use coconut milk instead of regular milk to make them more authentic- the reason I searched for a recipe like this one was because I had some coconut milk leftover from the curry I made last week) 

Monday: Orzo Stuffed Peppers, garlic bread & salad

Tuesday: Mexican Stuffed Shells, Chips & salsa ("stuffed" items are more work... and since school starts next week, now is the time to try out some new recipes!)

Wednesday: Turkey Burgers with baked Sweet Potato Fries

Thursday: Greek Salad with Oregano Marinated Chicken, Pita Bread

Friday: leftovers
 
Saturday: Date night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (aka, Grant's parents are going to watch the little guy either Fri or Sat for a few hours so we can go out!)

for more menu planning ideas go to orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday 8/6/12

Sunday: buffalo chicken wraps, garlic buttered noodles, carrots

Monday: sausage, peppers, & potatoes skillet

This was inspired by my great friend Katie.  She made me her family recipe of this for lunch one day last week and it was delish.  We both used kielbasa instead of italian sausage and didn't take the time to bake it.  Thanks Katie for the yummy lunch and the inspiration!

Tuesday:chickpea and vegetable curry, naan 

Ok... we love naan... but often I buy it from Trader Joe's (which is delish), but since the summer is rapidly coming to an end I'm making as much as I can from scratch.  Except since the curry was in the crockpot at 1pm, I forgot I wanted to make naan, hence the recipe sans yeast.  And I'll also admit, the 10-15 min rest time for it was definitely 5 minutes, because well, I was hungry.  Still, it was a good bread! 

first attempt at homemade naan

Wednesday: French tomato tart, spinach salad, cantaloupe

Busted out my tart pan to use some tomatoes and basil from our garden and the rest of the chevre. I used my mini food processor to make the dough. Much easier than making it by hand.

homemade tart dough

the ingredients from our garden

plus the goat cheese

after baking... yum

even Ky wanted some!

Thursday:Dijon and Thyme Roasted chicken and leftovers

sidenote: I bought chicken thighs and legs... scandalous, I know?! I got 8 pieces of chicken for the price of like 2 chicken breasts.  This is an interesting read...to sum it up if you don't want to read it, it's super easy to overcook chicken breasts because they are so lean, so these "fattier" pieces are a little forgiving in that sense... and point #2: dark meat has 1/2 a gram of fat more than white. Yeah... I think I'll indulge every once and awhile.

Friday: frozen pizza

Saturday: going to Cincinnati to visit some friends from college and meet their new little ones!!! 

Got Basil? Make Pistou!

When I lived in Provence one summer, we had soupe au pistou one night for dinner.  It's a vegetable soup and you stir the pistou in before you eat.  For the longest time, I thought pistou was something super special and would be difficult to make... well, turns out it's actually super cheap and easy if you have your own basil. 

While I have no plans just yet to make soupe au pistou, I figured I had to do something with all the basil I had.  Pistou is simply pesto sans pine nuts. Which although delicious, are ridiculously expensive.  Here's the recipe I followed to make pistou.  I think I used less olive oil than they did... you can always add more in when you make something with it! Also, I froze it immediately in two 1/2 cup containers, with a piece of saran wrap smushed on top of the pistou to prevent freezer burn.  I am of the belief that if I ever get a new fridge, freezer burn will be a thing of the past.  Right?!?!

Basil from my garden! (and some from my parents!)

The other ingredients... my cheats: already minced garlic, lemon juice in a fake lemon and grated parmesan cheese

two 1/2 cup portions of pistou

Menu Plan Monday(s) late July- Early August

thanks for helping me make the pizzas!! I love you!!

What we've been eating lately:

Pizza on the grill, but using this dough. Sidenote: If you have a kitchenaid mixer, it's super easy to make dough with it.  We made our favorite pizza of goat cheese, figs & caramelized onions, along with a pizza margherita and a basic pepperoni this past time.  My parents were in town, so it was super fun to be in the kitchen with my Dad :-)

Vegetable Lasagna (lasagna noodles, followed by garlic alfredo sauce (I cheated and used one from a jar :-/ thinned with some milk), ricotta cheese mixed with spinach and parmesan, and then a mix of zucchini, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes, red onion, carrots, spinach, and a layer of mozzarella and parmesan cheese. 

Vegetable Enchiladas: I cheated again and used jarred sauce... and I used zucchini, yellow squash, black beans, corn & tomatoes as the veggies. 

Homemade Salsa (modifications: used canned diced tomatoes (canned tomatoes really do make good salsa when you are waiting for yours to ripen), added a splash of lime juice, didn't use the vinegar, didn't add cumin even though it's my favorite... just like anything else you cook, the key is to taste while you go... just use clean utensils each time/a new chip if you are making it for others!)

"Unbelievable Chicken"... let's just say there once was a time I thought I was helping out with our church's version of VBS and had Grant grill 6 chicken breasts to use for easy meals all week, only to find out it was the next week.  I'll blame it on "mom brain." Anyways, this chicken really was good... I didn't have any coarse mustard, so I just used Dijon and it was still delicious. We ate most of it plain, but I also made a few wraps for lunch.  

Calzones- again, use your stand mixer to make the dough! I used mozzarella with the ricotta instead of chedddar... but any combo of cheese would work... I like foods that involve "dipping," so this is fun with the tomato sauce on the side. I made four calzones out of this dough, and they were still pretty large, so you probably make eight or make 16 "mini" calzones.  I didn't bother to brush it with egg or olive oil and they were still great.  

Menu Plan Monday 7/9

Here's what we are eating this week, starting on Saturday, because well, we were on vacation, so my grocery store day was set by default.

Saturday: Crock Pot BBQ Pulled Chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans (the crock pot typically gets more use in the winter around here... but with these temperatures in the 100s, it was SUPER nice to have dinner without the whole house heating up or asking my husband to grill in the extreme heat)

Sunday: leftover chicken, salad with Zesty Avocado Cilantro Buttermilk dressing (a pinterest find... healthy & delish!)

Monday: Rice & bean burritos(modified to serve 2), guacamole & chips

Tuesday: Grilled Turkey Burgers, grilled veggie kabobs (zucchini, yellow squash, onions)

Wednesday: Rosemary Rubbed Pork Chops (a favorite from last summer), Antipasto Salad

Thursday: Southwestern salads with avocado cilantro buttermilk dressing

Friday: Pizza Margherita (our basil is growing like a weed!! If only my cilantro would do the same.)

Saturday: going to a wedding!! woo hoo!! 

for more menu planning ideas go to  http://orgjunkie.com/2012/07/menu-plan-monday-july-912-giveaway.html

Menu Plan Monday (aka what we've been eating)

Well, it's safe to say it's been almost 4 months since I've written one of these posts. Perhaps there is some correlation with the fact that Kyler is also almost 4 months old...

Anyways, I did not plan out meals while I was on maternity leave (March and the first two weeks of April), and then I attempted the next two weeks to do so but will admit that I have some AMAZING friends who brought me meals AGAIN once I returned to work, and my husband and I decided that if I am working, we might as well take advantage of my income and get takeout at least once a week. Which was nice, but I honestly did miss cooking. There is just something satisfying about knowing what is actually in what I'm eating.  And I think in general, I eat healthier when I cook versus when I select something off of a restaurant menu.

MENU PLAN FROM MAY 2012

In May, I started menu planning again, but as I was trying to just survive the school year, I never posted about it.  I used the "Once a Month Mom" Whole Foods May 2012 menu and selected a few dishes off of it and as her recipes suggested, made a double batch.  

So in the month of May, we had these dishes twice: 

1-Spicy Beef Lettuce Wraps (I actually made these again tonight with turkey instead of beef, and I cooked 1/2 cup of quinoa and added it to the mixture to stretch it a bit farther- you don't even notice it's in there- yum!... oh and I also left out the peanuts, used red pepper flakes instead of the sriracha and used many more green onions)

2- Sesame and Cilantro Vermicelli Salad (again, left out the peanuts)... and I made this again tonight as a side with the lettuce wraps

3- Grilled Pork Chops with Garlic Lime Sauce

4-Summer Vegetable Chicken Enchiladas

My thoughts: I really liked having meals in the freezer while I was working... I wasn't a fan of the way the vermicelli thawed- it tasted too watery, but the rest of the stuff froze beautifully.  I don't have a need to do once-a-month cooking right now, but I'm sure I will again once school starts.  I think selecting just even 4 dishes off of a menu like the ones on that amazing blog can be a huge help! 

Other things I've been cooking: 

Oatmeal Blueberry Applesauce Muffins- These were Grant's birthday treat!

Virgin Mojitos- I made a mint-infused simple syrup and then added fresh lime juice, more mint leaves, sparkling water & ice... yum!

This week's Menu Plan

Mon: Pizza with Grant's parents and cousin

Tues: Spicy Turkey Lettuce Wraps (see above), Sesame & Cilantro Vermicelli Salad (see above), strawberries

Weds: Goat Cheese, Pesto & Red Pepper Pizzas with Tomato, Watermelon, Tomato & Mint Salad

Thurs: Roasted Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos (I roast onions and sweet potatoes and then half the ingredients-they sound weird but totally work- from this recipe)

Fri: leftovers

Sat: leaving for vacation!

Sun: vacation!

Have a good week!!

Lessons Learned: Random Thoughts Part 2

14 weeks into parenthood, here are some of my thoughts/questions. I don't even know who/ if anyone reads this blog anymore since I stopped writing for a few months when I returned to work, but if anyone is out there (I know you are K.L., and thank you for being my faithful audience! You too hubs!!), feel free to answer my questions! (however some are simply rhetorical...)

1- Why do they put the sayings/ prints/ etc across the front at the top of a onesie? I know that's where it belongs, but due to the bib(s!!) my little guy is always wearing, you will never know that he is "the smallest OSU fan," a "party pooper," a "Miami baby," "mommy's little tiger," etc unless I take the bib off for a picture. Perhaps they should put such sayings in a different place.

2- Why is it that whenever we are trying to rush out the door, the magical angle of the car seat makes him poop? Never seems to happen when I'm not in a rush.

3- How do you convince a baby that is super hungry or super tired that if he stops screaming he can eat or sleep?

4- I wonder if the reason so many moms "let themselves go," aka stop caring about their appearance is partially due to the reality people will only glance at you but will stare at your baby forever until you start to walk away?

5- Why doesn't every retail business have a drive thru? It would be so much easier to get errands done if I didn't have to get him out of the car. Starbucks at Morse and Hamilton, please consider this. It's pretty easy to convince me I deserve a treat these days. However... My secret wish is that I lived somewhere where I could walk everywhere... Like a small city in the south of France, perhaps?

6- How is it that we think it's so cute when babies have chunky thighs, chubby cheeks and multiple chins, yet we spend so much time and money trying to avoid these things? (I am NOT pro-obesity or anything, I just find this humorous!)

7- Why are the cup holders on my stroller so shallow? Is it a scheme to get me to buy the extra one that attaches on that I have yet to figure out how to install? If I never had to maneuver thing over any bumps perhaps that shallow one could work.

8- Why don't adults smell as good after a shower as babies do after a bath? Is it the products or do babies just smell better?

Well, that's all for now. Enjoy the cute pics of my little man... One with a bib, one without;)

Three months!!

The little babe is not so little anymore. Weighing in at 12 lbs, 13 oz (as of last Weds, so it's probably more now), he is nearing the end of his time in 0-3 month clothing and size 1 diapers.

The past two months have been CRAZY trying to balance working full-time and still loving on him as much as possible. His daycare providers love him but it still breaks my heart that he is there for 9-10 hours a day. Can I say we were thriving as a family these past few months? No, but we love being parents, and we have been surviving. Looking back, if I had a choice, I would have taken a bit more time off of work.

One of my love languages is quality time, so naturally when I'm with Ky I want to be 100% engaged, not multitasking. As soon as we walk in the house we have mama and Ky time, where I put him on my lap facing me with his back resting against my legs. Until it is time to feed him, we talk and sing... Ok, I sing, and we both talk, gazing into each other's eyes. It is one of the highlights of my day. He loves songs with motions, like "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," (which we sing in English and French) and "If you're Happy and You Know It." He smiles all the time and every now and then he will giggle and it is just so sweet.

We still have him sleeping in our room, which was part of the survival plan until summer break... But tomorrow is the last day of school so we may be transitioning him fully to his crib. He had been napping in it on the weekends. Speaking of sleeping, he now will lay his head on your shoulder. Melts.my.heart. I had the privilege of nannying for my nephew five years ago over the summer, and I still remember how sweet he was when he would do that when he was tired... It's even better when it is your own kid. Love my cuddly boy.

He rolls onto his left side all the time, grabs onto toys and loves to suck and chew on his hands... I just can't wait to watch him grow and develop this summer!

Lessons Learned: random thoughts part 1

Disclaimer: I downloaded the blogger app... So I'm typing this on my phone. I don't have time to sit at the computer now that I'm back at work so unless I stop giving assignments that need graded, this blog will only get updated if I can multitask and blog while feeding Ky.


In the 65 days Ky has been in our lives, I have learned a lot:

The Emotional:
1- I never knew it was possible to love someone this much. I love my husband so much it's ridiculous but this love is different.
2- having a child makes it easier for me to understand how much God loves me, which is also ridiculous.
3-a lot of people told me I wouldn't work as hard at work and I'd be running out the door to get him as soon as the bell rang. While I did that on day 1, I've been working 6:45-4:20, picking him up, coming home and feeding him and then working again for an hour or an hour and a half at night. I have the desire not to work as hard but I can't bring myself to do so (and I'm not sure I even know how). So for as long as I'm teaching, I'll be giving it my 100%.
4-picking him up from day care is worse than dropping him off. It's then that I realize I am paying someone to watch him while I watch other people's kids. (ok, I am teaching them French, not babysitting, but when you teach classes with large amounts of freshmen boys you spend a good portion of the period on classroom management.)

The practical/not as serious:
1- I want to hold him all.the.time. This means I quickly learned the value of wearing your baby (currently using and love the Moby Wrap), having a device that has Internet access that I can easily access (I think I've used our real computer like 3 times since he was born)
2- taking a meal to a new mom is one of the best things you can do. I have been taking new moms meals for the past four years but never realized how much of a blessing doing so is. I am so thankful to all of you who bought us gift cards to restaurants or made something. And a huge thank you to those of you who brought me a second meal to help me survive being back at work.
3- I was right when I suspected that if I wasn't a napper before having a baby, I wouldn't become one after having one. Sleep when the baby sleeps... Ha. Props to those of you that are good at napping. I am an accidental, not an intentional napper. Put me in a car or in front of the tv and I might just fall asleep. When Ky does sleep, I do things I can't do while holding him. Makes sense to me :)
4- The iPhone is the greatest invention ever for a mom.I feel like it is my own little robot. From this device I can: call, text, take great pics and videos and easily share them, play my family and friends in scrabble and draw something, listen to my music, read my daily devotional, check and answer my work emails, surf the web, create Facebook albums, update this blog, renew the library books I don't have time to read, google whatever is freaking me out about Ky to find out if it's normal... And the list goes on. Let me just say that when you spend 1.5-3.5 hours of your day feeding your kid, it is awesome to be able to accomplish a few things. When I'm not using it, I am praying. Another good (actually a better) use of feeding time.

March 1, 2012 :-)

Baby boy was due on February 25, 2012 but decided he was not ready just then. I went in on Monday, February 27 for a non-stress test, and after being told by my doctor that there were no medical reasons for me to stop working just because I was overdue, I sucked it up and went to work. She did schedule an induction for the following Sunday, but I was praying he would come before then.

I worked all day Tuesday (no signs of labor) and Wednesday was such a toss up. I did not want to go to school because it would be a 13+ hour work day- I arrive at around 6:30am and we had parent-teacher conferences after school until 7:30pm... but also if I went into labor that day, I would have a leap year baby... which though it would be cool, part of me felt sad thinking that our little guy would only have a true birthday every four years. Well... he didn't want to come on Wednesday, so I had a delightful (ha) 13 hour work-day. I even stayed a few minutes after 7:30 because I was madly grading essays written that day by my French 4/5 students so my sub would not have to grade them. As I had done the past three weeks, I left with everything ready in case I was not the one teaching the next day. 

I arrived at home completely exhausted and went to bed at 9 pm... only to wake up at 12:05 am with lower back pain and I felt really hot and sweaty. I remember thinking "I don't know if I'm going into labor, but baby boy, I love that you waited until 5 minutes after leap day if this is really the start of your entrance into this world!" A little while later, I had a contraction with pain that wrapped around the front and back, which was completely different from the contractions I had been having for pretty much the whole month of February. After hearing so many stories of "false labor" I decided I would just lay there... so I downloaded an app on my new phone to track my contractions and basically lay in bed wide awake all night. Grant got up at 5:30 (I did not wake him up because he said he had a sore throat the night before and I did not want to have a baby with a sick husband!), and I was like "sooo yeah I was up all night having contractions but I don't know if they are real." I had non-stress test #2 scheduled for that day (so I wasn't planning to go to school anyways, but was thinking about going on Friday if the baby still had not arrived), so I figured they would tell me at the doctor's office if I was really in labor. 

I ate a small bowl of cereal before my appointment (this is one change I would have made had I known I was going to go into labor...) and then did the test. We both did awesome again, and you could see that I was having contractions on the print out... I asked the nurse if this was the start of labor and she was like "well, I can't say you are in labor for sure, but I do think you will not make it to your induction date." So basically, she told me nothing. I drove home and decided it would be smart to do start like 5000 tasks around the house since I had the day off. The contractions continued and they hurt but I still didn't think I was really in labor (looking back, what was I thinking?!?) so I started like 5000 tasks around the house... started being the key word. By lunch time, nothing I was doing was making the pain any better and the thought of food made me want to vomit, so I didn't eat. 

My Mom called me via Face Time and I quickly told her I would not face time (again, looking back, the fact I didn't want to be on camera?!?) but would talk on the phone. My friend and neighbor Katie called and said I could come over but I figured I was too much of a mess, and again didn't want to be around people. She wisely advised me I should probably try to eat something because I would need the energy if I was really in labor... so I chocked down like two crackers. Then tea sounded good so I made some... had a sip... and my water broke around 2:30. I decided finally I should tell Grant to come home (he had been calling every hour but I kept telling him I was fine and didn't know what he would do if he was here anyways), and by the time he arrived I was even more of a disaster and could barely get my last few things in my hospital bag. 

My wonderful husband drove as fast as he could to the hospital (most miserable car ride of my life) and we went up to labor and delivery... where the woman basically told me she wasn't sure my water had broken, so I was left there in triage while they "looked for the house doctor" or something. The contractions were awful by then, and finally I was like GRANT, I've had enough. Get someone. The nurse came and checked and said "oh you are about 6 centimeters, so we can go ahead an admit you." Thanks. By this point, I knew I wanted meds. They gave me a few bags of fluids plus an antibiotic and then probably an hour later I got an epidural... which was amazing. 

praise God for my epidural :-)

 After not sleeping and not eating, I just needed to rest a bit. They only had it at 50% strength so I still had complete control of my legs and felt a lot of pressure. They checked me immediately after they inserted it and I was already at 8-9 centimeters! I'll leave out the rest of the details for blog world (but just ask next time we talk if you want to know!), but after some pushing, some resting and letting him move down on his own and then some more pushing, Kyler Lane was born at 11:10 pm on March 1, 2012. He weighed 7 pounds 9.6 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. And is completely adorable.

just a few minutes old