tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86674397310792373912024-03-13T01:01:18.132-04:00McMania: Our Life As We Know ItA family of four and their dog just livin' life in the 'burbs.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.comBlogger1340125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-48664289695190162452018-11-05T05:30:00.000-05:002018-11-05T05:30:06.181-05:00Halloween 2018: Halloween!Connor was a policeman last year for <a href="https://mcmania-ourlifeasweknowit.blogspot.com/2017/11/halloween-2017.html" target="_blank">Halloween</a>. And he had <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BfirEPBhgH4/" target="_blank">a police birthday party</a> in February. And he wears his police costume at least once a week just for fun. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he wanted to be a policeman again this year. Luckily, the costume that was a little big last year fits him great this year.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">As Austin doesn't have a clue what Halloween is, I got to decide on his costume and I wanted it to be something that partnered well with Connor's. Austin was Connor's prisoner a.k.a. inmate a.k.a. "policemate," which is what Connor kept referring to him as.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ejchDnjQKUA/W9ysQzvMI4I/AAAAAAAAbE8/ridTk417410_DaESWTDP2ZiYcUn9NS5KACEwYBhgL/s1600/20181031_162411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ejchDnjQKUA/W9ysQzvMI4I/AAAAAAAAbE8/ridTk417410_DaESWTDP2ZiYcUn9NS5KACEwYBhgL/s400/20181031_162411.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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I DIY'ed a white t-shirt with stripes and Austin's inmate number (103118, of course).You can't see it on the front because it's behind his blankie. I opted to skip stripes on the back and went with just the number.</div>
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Daycare had a costume parade earlier in the day so I left work early in order to go to that. Austin's class was up first.</div>
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Then came Connor's class.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note the missing button on his chest pocket.</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I said that Connor's costume at school was an off-duty cop: shirt untucked, hat askew, no belt... As soon as we got home, I made a few adjustments. Thank goodness for hot glue! I fixed his belt loops that had torn and glued a button back on. When it came time to actually dress up for the night, I made sure he looked presentable and ready for duty.</span></div>
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We went to the neighborhood behind ours to trick-or-treat. They really go all out with the decorations and it's a lot of fun to be part of the crowd over there.</div>
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Our policeman and prisoner made this Halloween one to remember, for sure. I love doing holidays with my boys - all of them!</div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-137706012744479712018-11-02T16:00:00.000-04:002018-11-02T16:00:04.685-04:00Halloween 2018: Pumpkin ShavingConnor was so excited to "shave" our pumpkins this year. I guess "carve" just isn't a word he hears very much so he got it into his head that it was shave and he couldn't get past it to learn carve. Okay by me, I love that 2018 was the year we shaved the pumpkins.<br />
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The McHusband and Connor got started while Austin was napping.<br />
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After I fed Austin a most nutritious lunch of ravioli, he joined in the shaving fun.</div>
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The first pumpkin and its proud creators.</div>
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Connor had taken it upon himself to clean the pumpkin and Austin, in true monkey-see/monkey-do fashion, also had to do some pumpkin scrubbing.</div>
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Then it was time to take the pumpkins down to the hay bales at the end of the driveway. With our house so far back and behind trees in addition to the fact that we don't get any trick-or-treaters, it makes no sense to decorate the front porch. Luckily we had leftover hay from planting grass seed so I was able to set up a little something closer to the street.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VvnlnGZhouY/W9yiw_39GSI/AAAAAAAAbDQ/8PNkB6mFaZwtut6uU6KvocnS_VWiYt0aACEwYBhgL/s1600/20181028_131914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VvnlnGZhouY/W9yiw_39GSI/AAAAAAAAbDQ/8PNkB6mFaZwtut6uU6KvocnS_VWiYt0aACEwYBhgL/s400/20181028_131914.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love how excited Austin is in this picture.</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Connor couldn't wait to put candles in his pumpkins and transform them into jack o'lanterns. He even dressed for the occasion in his glow-in-the-dark skeleton pajamas.</span></div>
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Connor was pretending to be a zombie. </div>
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I love my little spider pumpkin holder. Even if we don't get around to any pumpkin shaving, at least one pumpkin will be ready for Halloween. </div>
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Actual Halloween celebration up next! And by "next," I mean soon...ish. Definitely before Christmas.</div>
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Probably.</div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-39804442125221099932018-05-27T06:00:00.000-04:002018-05-27T06:00:14.944-04:00Austin: 13 MonthsWell, that year flew by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You know that saying, “The days are long but the years are short”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was my life for the past year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I don’t think the long days and short
years are over, but maybe the days will be a little shorter and the years a
little longer with Austin being older.<br />
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First the requisite apology: I am a major mom failure when
it comes to documenting you, Austin, and I’m so sorry about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But man, going from one kid to two was so
much harder than from none to one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being
a full-time working mom-of-two means I don’t often have the time or energy for
much extra in general and blogging definitely falls in to that category.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But let’s see if I can make it up to you a
little.</div>
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At a year (or so), you are a much better sleeper, although
you’ve had some stints where you wake up and can’t get yourself settled. Thankfully that usually occurs between 8 and
10 in the evening as opposed to the middle of the night. We are currently working on weaning you off
your bedtime bottle and that’s going…okay.
You were really mad at first when the bottle was empty before you were
ready, but you’re slowly coming around to realizing you don’t really need it
and you’re ready for bed. I’m not in a
huge hurry to get rid of the bottle because it’s a few more minutes with you
each weeknight. You are in bed between 6
and 6:30 and since we don’t get home until 5:20 to 5:30, I don’t get much time
with you in the evenings. So I’ll take
the snuggles while I can get them.<o:p></o:p><br />
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You are into everything.
Please imagine the exasperated tone with which I might say that. I love watching you explore and figure stuff
out, but sheesh, could you just sit still with a toy for five minutes every
once in a while?! You love pushing cars
around, throwing the “bah-bah” and having it tossed back to you, and putting
stuff in stuff. You will look at books
for a few minutes and I hope we can spend more time actually reading them in
the next month or so.<o:p></o:p><br />
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You are a climber already.
You get yourself right up onto anything that’s the right height for you,
and you try desperately to get yourself up onto the couch but you aren’t quite
tall enough (thank goodness!) Stairs aren’t
even a challenge any more and you climb on up those like you’ve been doing it
for forever. You are better at turning yourself
around so you can go down them on your belly feet-first (as opposed to
head-first like you used to try), and I love to watch you approach the stairs
then back up a bit and pivot on your
belly to get your feet hanging in the right place.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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You like to be wrestled with and held upside down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are going to be our little daredevil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s not dwell on that part of your
personality…</div>
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You are going to be walking any day now. You are standing yourself up in the middle of
the room and you have taken a random step or two recently, but you aren’t off
and (literally) running just yet. However,
I expect that by the end of June, you will be walking well and we will rarely
find you on all fours. Yay?<o:p></o:p><br />
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Like Connor was at this age (and continues to be), you are a
great eater. You absolutely love green
beans and peas and sweet potatoes. Baked
beans, scrambled eggs, bananas, blueberries, Cheerios. You like applesauce and Greek yogurt, chicken
sausage and breakfast sausage, and the various pasta dishes and casseroles I’ve
made. I hope you continue to have a diverse
palate and don’t suddenly start turning your nose up at anything.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Other than pink eye and the daycare snotties, you have been
a healthy kid. No illness that required
antibiotics – hooray for the gut biome remaining intact! At your one-year check-up, you weighed 24.5
pounds (88<sup>th</sup> percentile), your height was 95<sup>th</sup> percentile,
and your head circumference was 92<sup>nd</sup> percentile.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Speaking of your head, you’ve already had one haircut and
another one is on the horizon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Connor
was and continues to be the same way with seeming to need a haircut every month
or so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank goodness for those free
haircuts every 10.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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You are a mama’s boy, but you sure do love your big brother
and your daddy, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Monte, he’s a
favorite as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You love to crawl all
over him and he is so good to put up with you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You love going for walks and being outside in general, and I will like that
more for you once you are walking and you can be up off the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You love your baths and I think we’ll have a
blast with the water table this summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And you still love the vacuum, which is annoying since you chase me
around while use it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I suppose I’d
rather have you like it than be afraid of it.</div>
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You communicate via sign language and a few words right
now. You say uh-oh, “bah-bah” for ball, “aw-duh”
along with the sign for all done when you are ready to get out of your
highchair, and plenty of da-das but I’m not sure that’s always dada (as in dad). You’ve said more ma-ma lately, but I don’t
know that it’s mama yet. Soon, I hope!<o:p></o:p><br />
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Austin, you are AWESOME!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We are so glad you rounded out our family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Connor tells me all the time, “We just love
our Baby Austin” and “Baby Austin is so cute, isn’t he, Mommy?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I pick you two up from daycare, Connor
always asks if you had a good day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Austin, you are very lucky to have such a great big brother. I love you, Austin!</div>
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<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-72873977764947747792017-11-02T07:00:00.000-04:002017-11-02T07:00:14.150-04:00Halloween 2017I need to fulfill my promise to future Austin, who I'm sure is totally awesome, and get his six-month post written up. But first, I need to recap our Halloween this year because it was a lot of fun and I don't want to forget some of the details.<br />
<br />
I'm calling Halloween 2017 Connor's first REAL Halloween. In 2014, he was an infant; in 2015, he was sick and still didn't "get" it; in 2016, he just wasn't into the holiday and told me "Nothing" over and over again when I (or anyone else) asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween. But 2017 was his year.<br />
<br />
Connor knew a long time ago that he wanted to be a police officer for Halloween so I ordered his costume from Party City and it looked great! The only negative was the hat. It was so small! So I had to shell out more money for a better and bigger hat, but it was worth it because it's more adjustable and will fit for a long time and it really completes the costume/uniform. The hat arrived the day that Bass Lake Park hosted its annual Spooktacular Event - perfect timing! Connor actually won a runner-up prize, which I'm sure wouldn't have happened if he hadn't had his hat.<br />
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Connor got to wear his costume to daycare on Halloween. I didn't get a costume for Austin, but I dressed him in black and white stripes so that at least when he was with Connor, I could say he was Connor's prisoner. I snapped a few quick and not-so-great photos before they headed to school. (Please note the 6-9 month pants that are barely containing our little chunkers.)<br />
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I wasn't going to do trick-or-treating since Austin typically goes to bed by 6:30, but the McHusband talked me into it and I'm so glad he did. I got Austin changed into his pajamas and gave him a bottle then put him in the stroller and kept my fingers crossed for general happiness followed by sleepiness.<br />
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Apparently I wasn't the only one tired from being up since four-something-in-the-morning because he dozed off pretty soon after Connor started ringing doorbells.<br />
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We had talked to Connor about how he'd say "Trick or Treat!" or "Happy Halloween!" when people opened the door. He combined those and told everyone "Happy Trick or Treat!" Yes, it was as adorable as you imagine - my little police officer toddler in his slightly-too-big costume and hat combining those phrases with gusto and holding out his little pumpkin for a treat. I wanted to go to even more houses just to hear him say that over and over again.<br />
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The neighborhood we went to had lots of houses decorated with lights and blow-ups and all other assorted Halloween paraphernalia. Some stuff was spookier than others but Connor didn't let it faze him. Only one thing made him nervous and it would've gotten to even a seasoned trick-or-treater. It was a hairy hand/spider thing mounted toward the ground that jumped out randomly. Connor saw it before he hit that house, and I thought he wouldn't go past it but apparently the pull of more candy was stronger than the fear of being gotten. He later told us, when asked how he liked Halloween, that he "didn't like those scaries."<br />
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Connor loved all the "Christmas lights," as he called them, that people used. We stopped at one house that was all lit up and Connor told the homeowner, after he'd gotten his candy and said thank you, "I like all these lights. They're pwetty." She just loved hearing him say that totally unprompted. When he joined us in the street, he looked ahead at the other houses and their lighted decorations, kinda motioned to the general surroundings with his arm, and said, "This is so beautiful."<br />
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Something else this neighborhood had? Adult treats! One house offered beer or wine, one had sangria, and another was giving out condiment cups of vodka Gummy Bears!<br />
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Connor loved Halloween and as we were heading home, he said, "But Halloween isn't over yet" because he could still see the lights on and people out. But he was tired so it wasn't too tough to get him focused on walking home. Austin had woken up by this point but was just content to ride in the stroller all snuggly under a fleece blanket.<br />
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Final verdict? Halloween 2017 was a big hit all around, and we are excited to do it again next year with two trick-or-treaters. And more of those Gummy Bears. And maybe our own Thermos of an adult beverage in the stroller's cup holder. Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-73244889510728349582017-10-04T06:00:00.000-04:002017-10-04T08:20:30.083-04:00Austin: Five Months<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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I went back to look at <a href="http://mcmania-ourlifeasweknowit.blogspot.com.br/2014/07/connor-five-months.html" target="_blank">Connor’s monthly wrap-up</a> when he was
five months old and I just loved reading about him so I’m going to try to do a
monthly post about Austin going forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I know down the road I will regret not taking the time to do it.</div>
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So what’s our not-so-little guy up to these days?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One typical milestone at this age is rolling
over, at least back to tummy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Austin
isn’t doing that yet but he’ll get himself contorted with his head bent back
toward his bum and be on his side so he looks like a backwards “C”…and then he
stays like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think I’m hindering
that progress by having him in a sleep sack that contains his arms but we’re
not ready to give up the sleep sack yet so if he’s a late roller, so be it.<br />
<br />
I wrote most of this post on a Friday and over the course of the weekend, Austin decided he was ready to be a roller. He's not the most consistent with it yet, but I don't think it'll take long for him to figure out how to do it more smoothly and without trapping his one arm under him every dang time. </div>
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Austin is still getting a dream feed at night anywhere from 9:30
to 11 or so depending on when the McHusband is going to bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That seems to reliably get him through til
about 5 or so when he wakes up and must think it’s time to start his day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily he’s normally pretty happy just
hanging out in his crib until I get him as close to 6 as possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve been setting my alarm for between 3 and
4 to give him another dream feed so that he’ll continue sleeping and I’ve had
mixed results.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes it’s kept him
asleep until almost 7, sometimes he’s still awake around 5:00.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or, in one case, woke up around 4:45 after I
laid him back down once he'd finished his bottle and never went back to sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span id="goog_1569017656"></span><span id="goog_1569017657"></span> </span></div>
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He is (and has been) wearing 6 month clothes, and I even have him in some
6-9 month stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think he has a few
9-month pajamas that fit him alarmingly well.</div>
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Austin loves his big brother and always gives Connor big
smiles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Similarly, he loves the baby in
the mirror and so far, seems to be quite the mama’s boy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has an adorable laugh that’s music to all
our ears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still won’t take a pacifier so
I think that ship has sailed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Based on
how he rubs his hands, which are tucked into his sleep sack, on his face, I’m
pretty sure I’ll have another blankie-lover on my hands, which is just fine
with me.</div>
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No teeth yet but he has been practicing his gnawing – on
toys, teethers, and my knuckles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
hardly even knew when Connor was getting a tooth so, because they have been so different thus far, I’m expecting Austin will
be miserable and, therefore, so will I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fingers crossed he proves me wrong.</div>
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We made it to five months and one day with some amount of
breast milk every day, but that ship, too, has sailed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It got to the point where I was pumping 4 to
5 times a day and averaging one ounce per pump.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That was enough for one bottle, which was fine for a while, but then I was
just over struggling for every drop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Connor is healthy and smart and a great eater and he transitioned to all
formula closer to 4 months so hopefully Austin is no different in those areas.</div>
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Austin likes to sit with assistance and one of his favorite
places to be now is in Connor’s high chair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We put him in there with some toys on the tray and he’s a happy camper
for quite some time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At daycare, his
teacher said he really enjoys having two Boppies stacked behind him so he can
sit up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I have him in the actual
stroller now instead of in the car seat on walks and he loves to look out at
the world.</div>
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We've just completed house repairs thanks to a leaking pipe under the house and now that everything that was on the hardwoods is out of the den, we can bring down the activity chair for Austin to sit in. And we'll get the bouncy seat hung up as well. Connor loved to jump jump jump in that thing and I imagine Austin'll like it, too.</div>
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Austin is more Awesome and less Awful every day. If he could just be a better sleeper (not waking up quite so early and taking better/more consistent naps), I'd say he had secured his title of Awesome Austin. Maybe in his six-month post... </div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-16416809955913900532017-08-17T11:58:00.000-04:002017-08-18T11:01:51.023-04:00Austin: The Fourth Trimester<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">First, an apology to Older Austin: I’m sorry I haven’t
documented your life like I did Connor’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I promise it doesn’t mean I love you any less.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Life is just busier with two small children
and I’m tired so I prioritize sleep over blogging (and pretty much everything
else).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I do plan to use this blog as
a sort of scrapbook so I want to get something about you into my little corner
of the internet.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">All right, let’s catch up!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Austin was born at 6:11 a.m. on April 27<sup>th</sup>, one
day before his due date.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went into
labor with him the day before and had contractions off and on for most of the
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I happened to have a check-up
already scheduled on the 26<sup>th</sup> and the doctor confirmed the
contractions with monitoring so I knew Austin would be arriving soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That evening, I got the house in order while
the McHusband and Connor took Monte on a walk and I tried to get some sleep,
but the contractions were getting stronger so we opted to call Vanessa sooner
rather than later, mostly so we wouldn’t have to rouse her and Karis from
bed in the middle of the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Better to get them to the house
where they could go to sleep for the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Karis goes to the same daycare as Connor so besides Connor knowing them,
it worked out for Vanessa to drop both kids off in the morning.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i95KeAonAdw/WZXCyy9P1oI/AAAAAAAAa4M/fIPSJA1GocQL_ntlAY4wCupLXQCkE3RMQCLcBGAs/s1600/20170427_070244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i95KeAonAdw/WZXCyy9P1oI/AAAAAAAAa4M/fIPSJA1GocQL_ntlAY4wCupLXQCkE3RMQCLcBGAs/s400/20170427_070244.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Based on how quickly Connor arrived, we all thought Austin would
be here in much the same manner, maybe even faster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had other plans though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My progress was very slow, but I stuck with my
plan to try for an unmedicated birth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
changed my mind around 5 a.m. when I was about 7 cm dilated, had been up for 24
hours, and didn’t know if I could handle the pain for another few hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ordered the epidural, got some IV fluids
going, and I got out of bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once I did
that, my body switched into high gear and I was at 10 cm very quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was the worst pain of my life, dilating
those last few centimeters. No epidural for me!</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dpnfcs592JE/WZXCyyDw_HI/AAAAAAAAa4I/uMg_Fboy74ITdc_cJMuuYf8vbV6tFgNfgCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170427_080627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dpnfcs592JE/WZXCyyDw_HI/AAAAAAAAa4I/uMg_Fboy74ITdc_cJMuuYf8vbV6tFgNfgCEwYBhgL/s400/20170427_080627.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The doctor joined us and I was very happy to be able to
push.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Austin came out with the cord
wrapped around his neck and I was instructed to stop pushing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Any woman who’s been where I was knows that’s easier said than
done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully the doctor worked
quickly to get the cord unwrapped and I could resume pushing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He came out a little gray, but pinked up
quickly and was on my chest in no time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
weighed 7 lbs, 15 oz (just like Connor), was 20.5 inches long (a little shorter
than Connor), and had dark hair (almost as much as Connor). Unlike Connor, he came out ready to eat and latched on almost immediately.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QoT20xw8ZRE/WZXCz6oW5_I/AAAAAAAAa4U/cd-zsm1BnuAW-I-_x7RaUjAitTyTweqjQCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170428_104915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QoT20xw8ZRE/WZXCz6oW5_I/AAAAAAAAa4U/cd-zsm1BnuAW-I-_x7RaUjAitTyTweqjQCEwYBhgL/s400/20170428_104915.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the blanket Grammie knitted for him</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And just like that, my heart doubled in size.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WBbCCPa7Ymw/WZXCy1b7XgI/AAAAAAAAa4Q/2B25ElqTbrI9eoTBrkV-tuTFXBSmkOKfQCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170427_162422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WBbCCPa7Ymw/WZXCy1b7XgI/AAAAAAAAa4Q/2B25ElqTbrI9eoTBrkV-tuTFXBSmkOKfQCEwYBhgL/s400/20170427_162422.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We were released from the hospital Friday afternoon and the
night that followed was terrible, definitely one of the worst in my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that’s saying something considering I’d stayed
up all night two nights prior with contractions and, you know, enduring a natural
birth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Austin wanted to eat all night
long and when he wasn’t <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">trying</i> to eat
(because there wasn’t really anything for him to ingest just yet), he wouldn’t
sleep except on me, but it was really hard for me to sleep that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I was already going into this night
extremely sleep deprived and the way things were going didn’t help things.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Elj3pYZfr1M/WZXC0ZJAEiI/AAAAAAAAa4Y/Cz_kCD_WEvcy7zBIv04qRz4Fej_THU-IwCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170501_220913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Elj3pYZfr1M/WZXC0ZJAEiI/AAAAAAAAa4Y/Cz_kCD_WEvcy7zBIv04qRz4Fej_THU-IwCEwYBhgL/s400/20170501_220913.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I wish I could say it got much better from then
on once my milk came in, but that’s not the case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, most nights were better, but remember
the scale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That first night was AWFUL so
it didn’t take much for</span> another night to be marginally better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of my maternity leave I dreaded the
nighttime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Austin just wasn’t a good
sleeper, I wasn’t a good napper when he occasionally was…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t matter if you’re reading this four
months after he was born or four years or 14 years – I’m probably still trying
to catch up from all the sleep lost during that time.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZP2ZkHcZAps/WZXC1PJe4jI/AAAAAAAAa4w/BdHk7BKof0IZ2kQTXsbzu5C8Vj_S5s-UQCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170503_102907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZP2ZkHcZAps/WZXC1PJe4jI/AAAAAAAAa4w/BdHk7BKof0IZ2kQTXsbzu5C8Vj_S5s-UQCEwYBhgL/s400/20170503_102907.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Eventually Austin got good at sleeping at night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s 16 weeks old now and goes to sleep
between 6 and 6:30, gets a dream feed somewhere between 9:30 and 11 depending
on when the McHusband is going to bed, and is waking up once a night to eat before
going right back to sleep until somewhere between 6 and 7, but usually closer
to 6:45.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now if I could just get Connor
to consistently sleep that late (or later!) on the weekends, I might stand a
chance of making a dent in my sleep deficit.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K7inhlKPmgE/WZXC3VTZRlI/AAAAAAAAa4w/5K0l3ScqICMlu0vje8eWvC2KujvduAvYACEwYBhgL/s1600/20170506_125807.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K7inhlKPmgE/WZXC3VTZRlI/AAAAAAAAa4w/5K0l3ScqICMlu0vje8eWvC2KujvduAvYACEwYBhgL/s400/20170506_125807.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Austin is growing like a weed, as he should be at this
point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We do a mix of formula and
breastmilk although he seems to prefer the latter and straight from the source
if he can get it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily, when he’s
hungry, he’ll usually take whatever he can get however he can get it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish that I had a better supply for him,
but I just don’t think it’s in my biology to be a milk machine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I’m doing better this time than with
Connor and I will keep it up as long as it’s worth it.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iKhYlTdT6QA/WZXC3toaZOI/AAAAAAAAa4w/cxV-lK7TXkc8LwUXpSKF64xNn3Z9Gyn3ACEwYBhgL/s1600/20170610_110753.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iKhYlTdT6QA/WZXC3toaZOI/AAAAAAAAa4w/cxV-lK7TXkc8LwUXpSKF64xNn3Z9Gyn3ACEwYBhgL/s640/20170610_110753.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A blanket the McHusband used as a baby, sewn by HIS grandmother.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Okay, some general Austin info for us to look back at…</span></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>Refuses to take a pacifier and has since that
first awful night at home</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>Likes baths, looking in mirrors, and being held
(a lot!)</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>Uses a <a href="https://www.target.com/p/love-to-dream-153-love-to-swaddle-up-153-original-swaddle-gray-s/-/A-17081573?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Baby+Shopping&adgroup=SC_Baby_Top%20Performers&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9009732&gclid=CjwKCAjw_dTMBRBHEiwApIzn_IIiQVE2Ptif_Lt0U2rppZRt151791sbQF3yURGq8A9Zm7K1o0e6qhoCfdgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank">sleep sack</a> that keeps his arms contained
up by the sides of his head with some ability to move them</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>Tends to suck on his hands for comfort even
through the sleep sack</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>Loves to look at Connor, who I think is going to
prove to be Austin's favorite form of entertainment</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>Wears size 2 diapers (but not for much longer) and 3 to 6 month clothes</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-synthesis: weight style; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>Has pretty good head control and tolerates the Bumbo seat for short periods of time<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-70JstEqSMwM/WZb8AqTUuvI/AAAAAAAAa48/E6kyqRenXA0svcGpk92ONDSErqXAO7n6QCLcBGAs/s1600/20170513_183558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-70JstEqSMwM/WZb8AqTUuvI/AAAAAAAAa48/E6kyqRenXA0svcGpk92ONDSErqXAO7n6QCLcBGAs/s400/20170513_183558.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First bath! I hardly remember that skinny little baby.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I went back to work when Austin was 8 weeks old and I was ready to not be at home any more, but man! Leaving him that first morning was so much harder than I expected. I was much more emotional at just the thought of having him in daycare than I was with Connor, and maybe it's because Austin is at the same place as Connor, which is more institutional. Connor went to a home daycare until he was 18 months old and having done both with an infant, I definitely prefer the home daycare.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Life right now is pretty boring. I leave for work around 7:15, the McHusband drops the boys off at daycare, I pick up the boys around 5:15, rush home to get Austin fed and in bed, go downstairs to clean up bottles and prep the ones for the next day while the McHusband and Connor finish dinner, maybe grab some dinner for myself, the McHusband bathes Connor every other night, we tag-team putting him to bed between 7:30 and 8, I eat if I haven't yet, shower, dry my hair, pump, and go to bed, hopefully turning the lights out before 10:00. Then I'm up at 5:20 to do it all again the next day.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I'm not sorry to say adios to the fourth trimester. Those were tough months. I can't wait to see what kind of person Austin becomes (besides a car guy since that's pretty much a given) and be there to support him as he grows. I'm particularly looking forward to seeing Connor and Austin together once they can interact a little more evenly. Right now, it's mostly just Connor rubbing Austin's head or feet.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So there you have it, the past four months wrapped up in one post. It's probably for the best that I waited to write this up all at once because if I'd tried to do monthly updates, they'd pretty much all be major downers. Did I mention that I'm not sad to see the newborn stage over and done with?</span></span><br />
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-48150637349442660692017-02-24T04:00:00.000-05:002017-02-24T04:00:05.356-05:00Connor turned 3!How do I have a three-year-old?! I mean, it's not like I'VE aged three years. Nope, no way, not happening. :) The past three years have flown by and I now get that phrase <i>The days are long but the years are short. </i>I'd add "and the nights are fleeting!" I don't think I can remember what it's like to feel rested, but that's not Connor's fault so much as it is his brother's. I'm just not sleeping too well most nights these days. Might as well get used to it, I guess.<br />
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The McHusband and I both took the day off so we could celebrate Connor's birthday on the 15th. I'm sure he would have enjoyed a party with his friends and extended family in attendance, but he plays with his friends every day. What he doesn't get is his parents' undivided attention in combination with a fun activity and presents. I knew we made the right decision when, halfway through breakfast and after only getting three helium balloons and a taxi to add to his car collection, Connor looked up from his waffle and said, unprompted and seemingly out of nowhere, "Thank you, Mommy, for my happy birthday."<br />
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(BTW, the surgery to repair my burst heart went very well.)<br />
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We spent the morning at a bounce place where always-cautious Connor waited until the last five minutes to finally try a slide, but he had a great time with his other options like shooting foam balls across a bounce house, dodging a wrecking ball, and knocking foam balls off the air they were balanced on.<br />
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We gave Connor three choices for lunch: a hot dog, Mexican (the kid loves chips and salsa), or pizza. He chose pizza so we ended up at <a href="http://blazepizza.com/" target="_blank">Blaze Pizza </a>before heading home for a nap. After his nap, he got his big (literally) present from us: a hand-me-down John Deere riding toy. He was hesitant at first (remember, he's no daredevil), but he has warmed up to it quite a bit and now asks to ride it most evenings when we get home. That night, he had a normal dinner and then he blew out his "3" candle and devoured his cupcake. All in all, a very good day and one I know the McHusband and I will always remember and cherish.<br />
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So a little about Connor at age 3. He's perfect, the end. :)<br />
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Okay, Connor for real. He is smart, sweet, funny and, maybe most importantly, very agreeable. We rarely have to resort to anything resembling a timeout and even when he does have a toddler moment, he gets over it quickly. He still watches very little TV but we've branched out to include Doc McStuffins with Mickey Mouse and the Roadster Racers and Chuggington. As is typical of toddlers, who get on a kick and stay on it until the next obsession pops up, right now (and new this week) Connor just wants to watch Doc McStuffins. Thanks to Aunt Jenny, Connor now has some Play Doh to play with at home and he's been having fun with it and the trucks that came with it.<br />
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Speaking of obsessions... Connor LOVES vehicles. He has a fleet of rescue vehicles, some construction trucks, a variety of matchbox cars, and a few of the McHusband's model cars that he's allowed to play with. He comes by this preference honestly so we aren't at all surprised that he loves just about anything with tires.<br />
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The McHusband and Connor went to the Monster Truck show when it was here at the end of January and Connor loved it. More recently, they went to Cars & Coffee, a once-a-month gathering of car enthusiasts in our area, and they saw two Lamborghinis among other cool cars. He was adequately impressed. But his favorites? The garbage truck and police car that WEREN'T part of the show.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pic that Heather snapped at the car show.</td></tr>
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I expect Connor to learn new things at daycare, or school as we call it, but he surprises me sometimes with what he knows. This past weekend, Connor was playing in my bathroom while I was getting ready and he just said, out of the blue, "Red, blue, and lello are primary colors." I had to do a quick inventory in my head to make sure he was right as it's been a long time since I had that lesson.<br />
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Connor went to the dentist on the 23rd for a check-up/be familiar with the dentist so he isn't scared when they actually clean his teeth appointment, and he did great. Like I said, he's very agreeable and is generally happy to just go with the flow. Plus, he got to wear "gunglasses."<br />
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So far, Connor is still a good eater who turns his nose up to very little. Right now, he LOVES bell peppers and raw tomatoes, his favorite condiments are flavorful ones like mustard (even the spicy kind) and salsa, and I don't think he's met a hummus he doesn't like. Of course, he has a sweet tooth as well and is partial to Cadbury Eggs. I feel kinda bad getting him hooked on a seasonal treat...<br />
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We have Connor's three-year check-up on the 3rd and I don't doubt that he'll be in the upper percentiles for height, weight, and head size. 3T pants at this point are barely long enough when he's standing and definitely too short when he's sitting, but they are also in danger of being too big around the waist. Thank goodness shorts season is right around the corner!<br />
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As I mentioned in <a href="http://mcmania-ourlifeasweknowit.blogspot.com/2017/02/two-trimesters-down-one-to-go.html" target="_blank">my last post, </a>Connor is fully daytime potty-trained and for the most part handles all of that himself. He is still using a training potty most of the time, but he gets it assembled and can empty it without any assistance from us. I typically just let him handle things then go behind him to check for any lingering messes, but I think it's important that he feels a sense of accomplishment for taking care of business beginning to end. Plus, soon enough, I could be otherwise engaged for a lot of his potty breaks so he needs to be somewhat independent in that arena.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Connor's Corner o' Toys</td></tr>
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Connor often tells the McHusband and me, "Mommy/Daddy, you my best friend." He also likes to dole out compliments and if I'm wearing a dress, he'll tell me how much he likes it. Just the other night he told me how much he liked the flowers on my pj pants. Connor also understands that he needs to use good manners. He's really good about "please" and "thank you" and he even has us basically role-play with him where he tells us, "Mommy say 'Please I can have the car?" if he has one and he wants me to ask for it essentially just so he can ask for it back just as nicely.<br />
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Okay, I guess it's obvious, but I could go on and on about Connor. He is a wonderful kid, and the McHusband and I are grateful that he's happy and healthy. We are definitely trying to soak up these last two months with him as our only child before he becomes a big brother. Pretty sure I'll need another heart surgery when I see him in that role...<br />
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PS Happy Birthday to the McMom today! We hope you have a fabulous day!<br />
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-8107202485174538682017-02-03T05:00:00.000-05:002017-02-03T05:00:14.412-05:00Two trimesters down, one to go!So apparently my pregnancy posts this time around are/will be:<br />
1) We're Pregnant!<br />
2) Almost Done Being Pregnant!<br />
3) Not Pregnant Any More!<br />
<br />
Versus the every-four-weeks updates I wrote when I was pregnant with Connor. #secondchild<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ck17SbtRYq0/WJDD-P7RfFI/AAAAAAAAa1Y/vmsPi6AmmsYlZiGzIWZCXc7dudZUvr9qwCLcB/s1600/Ultrasound.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ck17SbtRYq0/WJDD-P7RfFI/AAAAAAAAa1Y/vmsPi6AmmsYlZiGzIWZCXc7dudZUvr9qwCLcB/s400/Ultrasound.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McBaby Number Two showing off his muscles</td></tr>
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<br />
For the most part, the main difference between this pregnancy and <a href="http://mcmania-ourlifeasweknowit.blogspot.com/2013/11/28-weeks.html" target="_blank">my first</a> at this same point is that I'm bigger. That's normal for the belly with subsequent pregnancies, but I also started off heavier and have gained more weight. Ugh. Contrary to what Hollywood would have you believe, chasing a toddler isn't equal to six days of high intensity cardio at the gym every week, especially when there is a desk job involved for the majority of your waking hours.<br />
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I have my glucose test next week so hopefully I pass that with flying colors and don't have to worry about watching my carb intake with an eagle eye during the remaining three months. It's bad enough giving up wine, but to give up chips, chocolate, and crackers, too? Oh the sacrifice!<br />
<br />
I'm still taking my boot camp and PHX (Power Hour Extreme) classes two to three times a week depending on the McHusband's schedule. I even ran on the indoor track a couple Saturdays ago. I'm modifying where I need to (no more crunches, less jumping) but trying to keep it up as long as I can. I also get in at least two to three walks a week with Monte, which he desperately needs every day and meets the minimum daily requirement for me in general. There are so many benefits of an active pregnancy for both me and the baby and I try to remind myself of that on nights when I really don't feel like doing anything more than plopping down on the couch. But if I can just make myself put my tennis shoes on and grab Monte's leash, we both feel much better 20 minutes later. <br />
<br />
A related-to-the-baby aside: Connor transitioned to a twin bed back in December and he did so without any trouble at all. He was happy as a clam to give up his crib and let us move it across the hall to the baby's room.<br />
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An unrelated aside: Connor is potty-trained and has been for several months now. He only wears a diaper at night and has woken up once dry and several times not very wet. The McHusband and I are both fine with him staying in diapers overnight for a while, but I think we're both just hoping he'll start having more and more dry diapers and we can go cold turkey on the diapers even if it means doing a sheet change once in a while.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You are lucky I cropped this photo...</td></tr>
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<br />
Okay, back to McBaby Number Two and his room. It has a crib in it so technically it's ready for him? I have plans for the walls - a combo of green paint and white shiplap (Thanks, Joanna!) - and I've bought the paint, I just haven't actually moved forward on any of those plans yet. Maybe this weekend... The day I had Connor, I was up and down the ladder putting some finishing touches on his room so if McBaby Number Two's room takes me until his due date or beyond, that's just par for the course.<br />
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<br />
McBaby Number Two is a wiggle worm and apparently I'm feeling him more than Connor because my placenta is behind him. With Connor, I felt his hiccups all the time but didn't feel such specific movement like I do with this little guy. It's cool but also kind of annoying especially when he's just starting to party at 9:30 and I'm trying my best to be fast asleep.<br />
<br />
Oh, speaking of sleep! Luckily I don't wake up to pee all night long, but I do wake up often and almost always between 2 and 3. Most of the time, I can fall back to sleep fairly easily, but it's no wonder I'm so tired every night; I can't seem to get a long stretch of zzz's to save my life. <br />
<br />
To answer some of the questions that were on my posts before:<br />
1) My rings still fit.<br />
2) My belly button is still an innie although it's definitely not as deep as before.<br />
3) Connor and I bought some short-sleeved onesies this weekend since this baby will come in warm weather compared to Connor's February arrival. Otherwise, I hope to reuse most of Connor's wardrobe.<br />
<br />
I know some of you are thinking, "All of this is very interesting and all, but what does Chinese astrology say about McBaby Number Two?!" You weren't? Oh. Well, I bet you're curious now, aren't you? :) Here's what I found on <a href="https://mom.me/news/39165-pregnant-what-chinese-new-year-means-your-baby/" target="_blank">Mom.me</a>:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"According to Chinese folklore, every animal and element combination
has specific traits. Fire rooster babies, for example, will be
hardworking and trustworthy, with a strong sense of responsibility. They
usually find success in numerous career paths.</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"You can expect your child to be better in the field of business, and
that's how he will express his creativity," said astrologer <a href="http://women.asiaone.com/women/parenting/planning-rooster-baby" target="_blank">Joey Yap</a>.
"And that's why people in the olden days predicted that those born in
the year of the fire rooster would be wealthy, because they're
hardworking and knowledgeable in business. In terms of weaknesses,
however, they tend to be blunt and sharp when they speak."</blockquote>
<br />
So I guess you could say McBaby Number Two is my retirement plan.<br />
<br />
All in all, I'm feeling pretty good and I am grateful for a healthy pregnancy (especially at my advanced maternal age of 37 and 3/4 years old) and a seemingly healthy baby who is a little wiggle worm. And now, if you'll excuse me, it's closing in on 9:00 and that's my bedtime most nights. #partyanimal<br />
<br />
PS Don't mark your calendars or anything, but I hope to write an update on Connor around his birthday in a couple weeks. Two posts in one month, what has gotten into me?! <br />
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-37095282855235680132016-10-19T05:38:00.000-04:002016-10-19T05:38:11.725-04:00Here we go (grow?) again!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Turns out we aren't joining the "One and Done" club, although I'm sure most people probably thought we'd paid for that membership far in advance. Instead, I think we'll be a part of its sister organization, "Two and Through." That's right, Connor's going to be a big brother!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">In an effort to treat both my kids (Ack, did I just say <b>kids</b>?!) as equally as possible, I'm going to reference <a href="http://mcmania-ourlifeasweknowit.blogspot.com/2013/08/joining-club.html" target="_blank"><b>my first pregnancy announcement post</b></a> and answer the same questions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><b>So was McBaby #2 planned or another <strike>accident </strike>unexpected blessing? </b> This one was planned. We tried for about three months before the stars aligned. That's how these things work, right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><b>Did I tell the McHusband in some special way? </b> You'd think with three months to plan I could come up with something better than handing over a recently-peed-on pregnancy test. How about having Connor hand it over? I had gotten groceries from Walmart and in between putting them away and getting picked up by Heather for our <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4651520/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank"><i>Bad Moms</i></a> movie date (appropriate, right?), I took the test. When I saw that it was positive, I had just enough time to task Connor with delivering it to the McHusband before I kissed the boys goodbye and flew out the door.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><b>Will
we find out the baby’s gender?</b> We already did! One advantage to my
advanced maternal age (37) is being offered a genetic screening test for
three disorders at 10 weeks
and in doing so they can tell you the gender. I had the test on a <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1776722344" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Friday</span></span> and it was supposed to take 7 to 10 days to get the results. I got the phone call <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1776722345" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Monday</span></span> afternoon, 6 business days after the test. It was great to hear that the baby is fine and know
so soon what we’re having. Looks like I will remain the queen of the castle since we’re having another little boy!</span><span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lhnsGdibBHM/WAV2Br0XE0I/AAAAAAAAaxE/XPE9Pb6QxzURVkEcMXLQZoS0kvUuVdqiACEw/s1600/20161010_182439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lhnsGdibBHM/WAV2Br0XE0I/AAAAAAAAaxE/XPE9Pb6QxzURVkEcMXLQZoS0kvUuVdqiACEw/s400/20161010_182439.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The cake I picked up to share the boy news with the McHusband.</i></td></tr>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">On
that note, I actually thought it was going to be a girl. Unlike when I
was pregnant with Connor, I had a few weeks when I just didn’t feel
that great. One afternoon
while eating my salad with grilled chicken on it, I thought I was going
to puke. It took a lot of effort to get the bite down and even now
several weeks later, grilled chicken does not appeal to me. Fried
chicken in the form of a Chick-Fil-A spicy chicken
sandwich however? I could eat three a day. So solely based on that
difference between the pregnancies, I was thinking girl. And yeah,
hoping a little, too.
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Other
than the occasional bouts of nausea, my main symptom was being tired,
but I remembered that from the first time around. I have done my best
to keep up with the workouts
I was already doing and only missed one boot camp because of feeling
bad. I remember some <span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";">more-than-normal</span> <span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";">fatigue lasting o<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";">n and off through about 15 weeks so hopefu<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";">ll<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";">y <span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";">I don't have to worry about that symptom much longer, if at all.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I’m
starting off this pregnancy heavier (about 15 pounds) than my first so I
know I need to watch the weight gain for the duration. I will need to
take off what I put on
PLUS the extra weight I was already carrying. I’m hoping breastfeeding
will help a lot with that like it did the first time around, but I had
supply issues and stopped breastfeeding when Connor was about four
months old. We’ll see how things go this time
around. I’ll be happy if I make it to four months again, thrilled to
reach six months, and ecstatic with any number of weeks after that, both
for me and for the baby.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DRAORR1P3Y0/WAV2D2wPn-I/AAAAAAAAaxI/9Aa8VAUo8L8DbUcuLMdrfmiVVEGoup3LwCEw/s1600/20161012_081702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DRAORR1P3Y0/WAV2D2wPn-I/AAAAAAAAaxI/9Aa8VAUo8L8DbUcuLMdrfmiVVEGoup3LwCEw/s400/20161012_081702.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";"><i>12 weeks pregnant - and looking it!</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><b>How pregnant AM I anyway?</b> I am just shy of 13 weeks and hope this baby doesn’t come early as he is due on April 28<sup>th</sup>. I’d hate to have to share my birthday (April
24<sup>th</sup>). I got lucky and Connor came a day after his
Valentine’s Day due date so let’s hope this baby arrives on or after his
due date.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I had<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";"> a check-up yesterday and everything <span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";">sounded good. No ultrasound since we did that genetic testing, but I heard the heartbeat<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";">.<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";"> A<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";">nd found out I need to lay off the <span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";">snacks</span> and up the exercise.<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";"> :<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";">(<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";"> #stupidscalereal<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";">itycheck</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">We
are excited (and, yeah, a little nervous) about being a family of four <span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";">but</span> are happy that we can give Connor a sibling. I have two sisters,
the McHusband has a brother,
and while all those relationships had their ups and downs growing up, I
know we both consider ourselves to be very lucky to have our siblings
now. We wouldn’t be the people we are now without them, and we truly
appreciate them and consider them friends.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Bod3zcosNA/WAV15Rm_z2I/AAAAAAAAaxM/QllkA-8oGvwanRgTtj97hqR-K2_VJEZ7QCEw/s1600/Proudbrother.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Bod3zcosNA/WAV15Rm_z2I/AAAAAAAAaxM/QllkA-8oGvwanRgTtj97hqR-K2_VJEZ7QCEw/s400/Proudbrother.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I
don’t how regular a blogger I’ll be, but I do hope to check in at
regular intervals so I can document this pregnancy like I did my first.
I have enjoyed going back and
reading about what was happening and how I was feeling so I don’t want
to miss out on that the second (and last!) time around.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-17918131370993222542016-08-05T04:47:00.000-04:002016-08-05T06:37:29.236-04:00Connor's first beach trip<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Wow, long time no write, huh?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I <i>want</i> to tell you guys about our lives, from
goodies I bake to Connor’s latest achievements (counting to 10!) to the
McHusband’s most recent new-to-him car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2oxaSxZCjCg/V6NhavLF_OI/AAAAAAAAakc/FLZveUdw2t0ley2TIoCFfeamHecgid6GgCLcB/s1600/Magnum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2oxaSxZCjCg/V6NhavLF_OI/AAAAAAAAakc/FLZveUdw2t0ley2TIoCFfeamHecgid6GgCLcB/s320/Magnum.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Another Magnum. Anyone wanna buy an Acura?</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But I find myself lacking the mental energy to be productive after 8:00
at night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just want to veg with a TV
show and a little internet surfing before my 9:30 bedtime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish I were more motivated to post
something at least once a week, but I just can’t force myself to do that.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">But let’s not focus on how much I’m NOT
writing and instead be glad there’s this post to read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With pictures and everything!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Connor and I went to the beach this past
weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We met up with my sisters, Bri
and Shannon, and their kids (Lyla, Owen, Olivia, and Maxie).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sorry, no
hubbies/boyfriends allowed this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bri’s husband’s family has a little house in Surfside Beach, near
Myrtle, so we crammed ourselves and all our stuff in there and it worked out
great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unless you were Owen and Olivia
sleeping on the sunporch with only the fans cooling you off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then you might not agree that “great” is the
right word to use…</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I worked a half-day on Thursday, picked
Connor up from school, loaded the last few things I needed into the car, and we
hit the road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Connor fell asleep pretty
quickly, which I had counted on, and we had a very pleasant 3.5-hour
drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He almost always does great on long car rides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I give him snacks, talk to him,
and also just let him look out the windows and take in the world around him and
respond to his questions and comments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At one point, he was telling me about Mickey Mouse driving a muddy car
and how he, Connor, needed to clean it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I love seeing him using his imagination.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">We arrived before Shannon, and Lyla and
Maxie were waiting for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were
more than happy to help unload Connor’s toys.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wKPlZLw-P4k/V6NaRzAUftI/AAAAAAAAajg/5WiX-uHfxw8p-q6RwbKmmE_JD3MlqT-DACLcB/s1600/Girls%2Bhelping%2Bwith%2BConnors%2Btoys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wKPlZLw-P4k/V6NaRzAUftI/AAAAAAAAajg/5WiX-uHfxw8p-q6RwbKmmE_JD3MlqT-DACLcB/s320/Girls%2Bhelping%2Bwith%2BConnors%2Btoys.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Oh, you thought I meant carry them in from
the car?</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">That evening we had a pasta dinner and then
went on a walk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had seen turtles in
the pond behind the house earlier, then on the way back to the house we saw
swans.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YKlM9_IsNcI/V6NaTLz6qqI/AAAAAAAAakE/cMlv8cVvDIcewQHRd_Z8pqQHuuUG_6U2ACEw/s1600/Swan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YKlM9_IsNcI/V6NaTLz6qqI/AAAAAAAAakE/cMlv8cVvDIcewQHRd_Z8pqQHuuUG_6U2ACEw/s320/Swan.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">We were all up bright and early Friday
morning so once everyone was fed, it was time to slap on the sunscreen and head
to the beach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The house is about a
five-minute drive from the beach and with it being both early and a weekday, we
didn’t have any problems finding parking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We played in the surf and sand for about 3 hours before wrapping it up,
mostly at my request so that Connor could go back for a nap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we crammed a lot of fun (and a few
snacks, of course) into that timeframe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Connor is a big fan of the beach!</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iG0t3dzGsDE/V6NaR1X4EfI/AAAAAAAAajc/qOfPhD2_b8wMtcyuUQAvYa8ZE9yASlZ1QCEw/s1600/Connor%2Bsplashing%2Bbucket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iG0t3dzGsDE/V6NaR1X4EfI/AAAAAAAAajc/qOfPhD2_b8wMtcyuUQAvYa8ZE9yASlZ1QCEw/s320/Connor%2Bsplashing%2Bbucket.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u_GtgArH4Hc/V6NaRbdQ10I/AAAAAAAAajQ/RluSIBwi8RcvHBWwgPANKE8ycRmLYXqoACEw/s1600/Connor%2Bpushing%2Bme%2Bdown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u_GtgArH4Hc/V6NaRbdQ10I/AAAAAAAAajQ/RluSIBwi8RcvHBWwgPANKE8ycRmLYXqoACEw/s320/Connor%2Bpushing%2Bme%2Bdown.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OD339OSfKrI/V6NaSe5kQ1I/AAAAAAAAajw/_2FHaFDdb3Y9xKueuTcOWDtV-TplUOazgCEw/s1600/Sister%2Bselfie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OD339OSfKrI/V6NaSe5kQ1I/AAAAAAAAajw/_2FHaFDdb3Y9xKueuTcOWDtV-TplUOazgCEw/s320/Sister%2Bselfie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Sister Selfie</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z36hvmu3aL4/V6NaShyE2_I/AAAAAAAAaj8/V4sb_hLl984ZK8yUC3M_59QsLuKoMTMdACEw/s1600/Snacks%2Bon%2Bthe%2Bbeach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z36hvmu3aL4/V6NaShyE2_I/AAAAAAAAaj8/V4sb_hLl984ZK8yUC3M_59QsLuKoMTMdACEw/s320/Snacks%2Bon%2Bthe%2Bbeach.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Snacks on the Beach</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">After Connor’s nap, the kids played with Connor's school bus, the souvenir that the McHusband brought back after HIS beach trip the weekend before. I love how well all the kids (usually) play together and how they include Connor.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ulLgh_piWN0/V6NaSDxrWiI/AAAAAAAAakI/tOnQpGFD70oyr7QA-jUtvwkQkaPo_hO3gCEw/s1600/Leg%2Bcircle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ulLgh_piWN0/V6NaSDxrWiI/AAAAAAAAakI/tOnQpGFD70oyr7QA-jUtvwkQkaPo_hO3gCEw/s320/Leg%2Bcircle.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Once the novelty of the bus wore out, it was time for a rousing game of Hide
& Go Seek.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bri, Shannon, and I had
fun finding good hiding places for the kids so it was a game for all ages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had pizza for dinner and then the kids
watched a movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, the kids and Bri
and Shannon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I may have dozed off for a
few minutes…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hey, it’s hard work playing
in the surf with a toddler! #pluswine</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y8LIuUTX_CU/V6NaS2spC4I/AAAAAAAAakI/blZhXGC88aYQ6zzDG__7QHSJP1LEx-5pwCEw/s1600/Steph%2Bsnoozing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y8LIuUTX_CU/V6NaS2spC4I/AAAAAAAAakI/blZhXGC88aYQ6zzDG__7QHSJP1LEx-5pwCEw/s320/Steph%2Bsnoozing.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sleeping Beauty</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Saturday was our long beach day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We met up with my cousin Cody, who moved to
Myrtle from PA in February, for an early lunch to beat the crowds and then
spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Connor did amazing out there considering the early start to the day
(seriously, these kids don’t understand that vacations are for sleeping
in) and the lack of a nap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He only fussed at the very end when
it was time to go and he didn’t want to leave, but I think he was tired enough that
he didn’t really have the energy to fight me too hard about leaving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I strapped him in his carseat and I think he
was asleep before I’d even backed the car all the way out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">He slept hard for about 30 minutes while we
made pit stops at the grocery store and gas station, and then I drove around
for another 10 minutes or so to allow him to get enough zzz’s to get him
through, happily, til bedtime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He woke
up a tad grumpy but once he was bathed and with the other kids – or his
friends, as he called them – he was good to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The kids chilled a little with electronics and TV, and then more Hide
& Go Seek with Cody’s help was on the docket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ate Crockpot Salsa Chicken tacos and rice
for dinner and just hung out at the house.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0zY9eJ_9OnY/V6NaRV85GyI/AAAAAAAAakI/TUPFunSXaWo2FHamZdIfuROXRvqiRTeBwCEw/s1600/Connor%2BCody%2BOwen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0zY9eJ_9OnY/V6NaRV85GyI/AAAAAAAAakI/TUPFunSXaWo2FHamZdIfuROXRvqiRTeBwCEw/s320/Connor%2BCody%2BOwen.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Once the kids were down, the big kids had more
fun visiting and we stayed up much too late.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7XzpPlD4Bdc/V6NaSjRv1XI/AAAAAAAAakI/Y4SrNpf0rekhwmYIaosF3wLfBtIPc6boACEw/s1600/Sisters%2Band%2BCody.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7XzpPlD4Bdc/V6NaSjRv1XI/AAAAAAAAakI/Y4SrNpf0rekhwmYIaosF3wLfBtIPc6boACEw/s320/Sisters%2Band%2BCody.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I think I finally got into bed at 1:30 and Connor, who had slept just fine
the past two nights, woke up at 4:00.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
did something I’ve never done before and do NOT plan to make a habit of: I
pulled him onto the bed with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
reasoning was this: I was driving us home the next day and wanted to get as
much sleep as I could to ensure safe travels. #momlogic</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Speaking of the drive home…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once again, Connor was a perfect
passenger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It helped that he actually
slept for an hour and a half.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See? I
wasn’t the only one tired from vacation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We left around 10:30 and he was asleep just before 11:00.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He normally won’t go down for his nap until
between 12:30 and 1:30 so he was definitely needing to catch up a little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wish I could’ve joined him…</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">All in all, we had a fabulous time, and I’m
so glad it worked out for us to spend that quality time together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m especially happy that Connor got to be
with his “friends,” a.k.a. cousins. He’s old enough now to really remember them
so every visit matters for more than just the obvious reasons.</span></span></div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-16525859137200258882016-05-17T05:00:00.000-04:002016-05-16T20:22:26.132-04:00Catching Up With Connor: 27 Months<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I
wanted to do a little review of what Connor’s doing and saying and just...knowing lately, mostly for me (remember, this blog is like my
scrapbook) but also for our family
and friends who know and love him but don’t get to see him as often.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bKV3TlfBqmE/VzpgJX7bMxI/AAAAAAAAahE/4jVoksDbSbkKyA9FlFqG1x-l68EO9M-jwCKgB/s1600/Riding%2Bhis%2Bbike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bKV3TlfBqmE/VzpgJX7bMxI/AAAAAAAAahE/4jVoksDbSbkKyA9FlFqG1x-l68EO9M-jwCKgB/s400/Riding%2Bhis%2Bbike.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Instead
of “I” or “me,” Connor says “my.” So, for instance, we hear, “My do
it” and “My coming, <span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";">Mama</span>!” as he slides on his belly down the stairs. The
other night I was taking
Connor and Monte on a walk and he said, out of nowhere, “My happy.” I
translated it back to him to make sure I understood what he was saying:
“Are you happy?” And he simply said, “Yeah.” Any parent would be happy
to hear that, but it was especially nice
for this working mom to hear.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
McHusband gave Connor some cashews and he ate a couple pieces then
picked up one that was whole. He held it up, looked at it and said, “Moon.” Why
yes, my genius son, a cashew
is moon shaped. #harvardherewecome</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7zyfdA1AKXg/VzpgHw7BfXI/AAAAAAAAahE/LX_yHdbqPjwg9P0B66cSLavIc3GBAx8BgCKgB/s1600/Crazy%2Bwith%2Bgloves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7zyfdA1AKXg/VzpgHw7BfXI/AAAAAAAAahE/LX_yHdbqPjwg9P0B66cSLavIc3GBAx8BgCKgB/s320/Crazy%2Bwith%2Bgloves.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Continuing with the topic of my son's obvious brilliance, his other amazing skill is counting. Sure, it's only to two and it seems more reliable when there's food involved, but hey, we all need motivation, right? I had made some blueberry muffins for Teacher Appreciation Week at daycare and while I sent regular-sized muffins in to the teachers, I made some mini muffins to keep at home. When Connor finished his</span><span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> dinner, I offered him a muffin as a treat, and as soon as I turned away after handing him one, I heard, "My want two." How could I say no? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sw25_eJmApc/VzpgHWFmtuI/AAAAAAAAahE/1edmXQX6vd8y2JJdkvc3-uXj6tYeM5-XgCKgB/s1600/At%2BDurham%2BBulls%2Bgame.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sw25_eJmApc/VzpgHWFmtuI/AAAAAAAAahE/1edmXQX6vd8y2JJdkvc3-uXj6tYeM5-XgCKgB/s320/At%2BDurham%2BBulls%2Bgame.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I
am almost always surprised when Connor recalls something without any
prompting. <span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";">Sunday</span> night, just before bed, we were playing with his indoor
basketball goal and throwing
the balls around. He then went across the room to get the blanket on
the back of the couch because he apparently remembered that night when
we got back from our Nashville trip (Easter <span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif";">Sunday</span>) and we each held part of the blanket
and bounced a ball around on it. We hadn’t
done that since and it was only the one time but apparently it stuck
with him.
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">He loves Jeeps right now, thanks to
<b><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.amazon.com/My-Truck-Stuck-Kevin-Lewis/dp/078683739X&source=gmail&ust=1463529148462000&usg=AFQjCNH2klC0KdV_8HbbIkumEPvPgFe9WA" href="http://www.amazon.com/My-Truck-Stuck-Kevin-Lewis/dp/078683739X" target="_blank">My Truck is Stuck</a></b>.
And we practice our colors when we see them. He knows red ones without
our help and even called out a purple one – and he was right!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a01VoueOk0A/VzpgH52-fAI/AAAAAAAAahE/fEZ7cLPMLLghOaSTIpiWCNZ3VIgKfWGhwCKgB/s1600/Carrying%2Btwo%2Bbaseballs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a01VoueOk0A/VzpgH52-fAI/AAAAAAAAahE/fEZ7cLPMLLghOaSTIpiWCNZ3VIgKfWGhwCKgB/s320/Carrying%2Btwo%2Bbaseballs.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Connor
loves to “help” the McHusband outside: mowing the grass on the tractor,
shoveling dirt, sweeping, it doesn’t matter what the chore is, Connor
thinks it’s great fun.
Let’s hope he hasn’t lost ALL that enthusiasm when he’s 12 and can
actually be of assistance. He also likes to use my broom inside so if I
can just get him to sweep with intention, I’m thinking he can be
promoted from Apprentice to Head Sweeper sooner than
later. (I realize that most kids go through a helper or monkey
see-monkey do phase so this isn’t something unique to Connor; I’m just
trying to write down that he’s doing it now for my own recollection
looking back.)</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OrAXyonhGQk/VzpgJmKi3HI/AAAAAAAAahE/yzTRVHFm8ZIg8EbNSQ8IZ1EZvtABMw8EQCKgB/s1600/Shoveling%2Bwith%2BDaddy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OrAXyonhGQk/VzpgJmKi3HI/AAAAAAAAahE/yzTRVHFm8ZIg8EbNSQ8IZ1EZvtABMw8EQCKgB/s400/Shoveling%2Bwith%2BDaddy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Connor
is a generally happy kid and I’m going to give most of the credit to
the McHusband and me. I mean, I think it’s in Connor’s nature to be
agreeable, but even nice
people can be grouchy when they are tired or hungry or not taking care
of themselves. We try to make sure that Connor gets enough sleep, eats
well, and gets his fair share of fresh air while limiting any TV
watching. He only ever watches either <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1307510/" target="_blank"><b>Chuggington</b> </a>or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and if he watches at all during the week,
it’s typically just one 25-minute episode when we get home (while the
McHusband and I feed animals and get Connor’s dinner together) or maybe
two episodes on a weekend day: one in the morning
and one in the evening. Oh! That’s another thing that’s new. Mickey
is meant to be interactive and we’ve started hearing Connor answer
questions when the characters ask them.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "candara" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">There’s
so much more to our little towhead that I could go on and on. But I
don’t have the energy to break it all up with pictures and, let’s face
it, a post with all text
just isn’t as much fun to read. Just take my word that he’s a special
little guy. Not that I’m biased… ;)</span></div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-28784763838484751852016-04-19T04:00:00.000-04:002016-04-19T04:00:37.523-04:00Lately...<br /><div class="x_MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Lately…
I’ve been trying to get at least 7 hours of sleep at night, which means
I have to head upstairs around 9:30 to get ready for bed, read for a
few minutes, and fall asleep by a few minutes after 10. Some nights are
more successful than others, but I’ll take what I can get.</span></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Lately…
We’ve been enjoying more and more time outside in the beautiful
weather. Spring can be short lived in NC, with summer in a hurry to
show up and then add insult to injury by staying long after it’s fall’s
turn to be in the spotlight. Every additional day without 90+ percent
humidity is a good one. Last night, Connor and I went on a run-walk with Connor enjoying snacks and water while I huffed and puffed up and down the hills near our house pushing a 35-lb (at least!) toddler plus the stroller. We won't be able to (relatively) comfortably do that at 6:15 for much longer so it'll be back to 4:45 a.m. solo runs.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FRM5Qm4wB9U/VxV7R6absfI/AAAAAAAAagI/mtAmEAMvQnUwLjX9kVTus0WaQSTi-0ebACLcB/s1600/Sunglasses%2Bon%2Bour%2Bwalk%2Brun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FRM5Qm4wB9U/VxV7R6absfI/AAAAAAAAagI/mtAmEAMvQnUwLjX9kVTus0WaQSTi-0ebACLcB/s400/Sunglasses%2Bon%2Bour%2Bwalk%2Brun.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Lately…
I’ve seen Connor’s vocabulary and understanding growing by leaps and
bounds. Monday morning he was finishing breakfast and he asked to watch
Chuggington (a train cartoon), or as he put it, “Choo-choo tee?”
Meaning, “Can I watch Chuggington on the TV?” I told him we probably
wouldn’t have time. As I was cleaning him up a few minutes later, he
said, “No time, choo-choo” while shaking his head. First of all, I was
just happy that he took it in stride and was okay with not getting
something he wanted. He normally is fine, but he’s also a toddler.
‘Nuff said. But he took in what I said and it resonated with him and he
said it back to me like he understood the concept. I love watching the
wheels turn and things click for him. And I love hearing him try out
new words like “yellow” and “helicopter.” I swear it’s like those words
are just fun for him to say. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span>
</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OtIeNje2GY4/VxV7QAlfGgI/AAAAAAAAagE/WFnl6S0n1Nc8A76YORhNVfBc2d0Y-gCRgCLcB/s1600/Playing%2Bwith%2Bparking%2Bgarage.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OtIeNje2GY4/VxV7QAlfGgI/AAAAAAAAagE/WFnl6S0n1Nc8A76YORhNVfBc2d0Y-gCRgCLcB/s400/Playing%2Bwith%2Bparking%2Bgarage.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Lately…
The McHusband has been pretty focused on his new garage. It’s up and
ready to be finished with electrical, plumbing, drywall, painting the
floor with an epoxy, etc. Who needs a project car when you have a
project garage? At least it can be somewhat used as planned now. We
have the trailer, mower, and Connor’s riding toys in there. I am happy
for him to have this space since it’s something that he always planned
on having when he grew up. I know he and Connor will get some quality
father-son time out there…maybe while Mommy gets some quality
Stephanie-TV time. We all win!</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-viGw0Rfibyk/VxV7aXj0gFI/AAAAAAAAagQ/RhbB8fehAVA24kxbDlPZx5cWyWl0DFufACKgB/s1600/Garage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-viGw0Rfibyk/VxV7aXj0gFI/AAAAAAAAagQ/RhbB8fehAVA24kxbDlPZx5cWyWl0DFufACKgB/s400/Garage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Lately…
I haven’t been blogging. Yeah, that one’s pretty obvious, huh? I just
find that when I sit down in the evening with my hour and a half of
free time, I simply don’t have the energy to give anything else. I just
want to watch a show, surf the web a little, then get myself up to bed
without feeling like I HAVE to stay up a little longer to cross a task
off the to-do list. Wanna know a little secret? I didn’t type this up
from the comfort of my couch; instead, I found myself with a little free
time during the work day so I decided to jot a few thoughts down.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Lately…
I’ve been missing my blog posts. I know, it’s a “have your cake and
eat it, too” situation. I’ve made some great dinners that are worth
sharing (Are you guys aware of how awesome roasted broccoli is?!), the
McHusband and I had a super fun trip to Nashville (see photo below), and we’ve done some
fun things with Connor, like the Touch-a-Truck event in Apex this past
weekend. I count on the blog as a scrapbook and if I don’t keep it up, I
know I will regret not being able to look back and review our life at
any given time. Not to mention how it connects us to our extended
family as well as our group of friends.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IPR6VMVuU2k/VxV7abqZsDI/AAAAAAAAagM/OsSM6y6GpdcZda1nH-V5S3KeRByx5k7BQCKgB/s1600/Nashville%2Bskyline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IPR6VMVuU2k/VxV7abqZsDI/AAAAAAAAagM/OsSM6y6GpdcZda1nH-V5S3KeRByx5k7BQCKgB/s400/Nashville%2Bskyline.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Lately…
I’ve been trying to be healthier. Okay, this one is only about a week
old, but that qualifies as lately, right? I just enjoy my snacking and
fru-fru (i.e. alcoholic) drinks and if I could have any magic power, it
might be that I’d want to eat and drink whatever I wanted and not gain
weight. Who wants to be a part of my superhero squad? I’ll be the
Calorie Killer. I’m thinking I could use a Fat Blaster and a Carb
Slasher so let me know if you’re interested. For now, until I get
bitten by a radioactive bug or find a glowing rock, I’ll just stick to
counting calories, getting in three to four days of exercise, and
drinking lots and lots (and LOTS) of water.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Lately…
I am grateful for all the blessings in my life. I have a good job, a
wonderful husband, a pretty darn great kid who happens to be super cute,
loving and supportive extended families, and we all have good health.
Now all I need is more time, energy, and willpower. Which bug do you
think needs to bite me so I can get more of those things any time I need
them?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Thanks for coming back. I really want to try to be better about blogging even if it's just a weekly check-in on Monday or Tuesday to recap our weekends. We'll see how that works out... </span></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="x_MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">PS And since I'm pretty sure I won't be back tomorrow, I want to wish a happy early birthday to Jenny. For that matter, I need to wish Shannon a happy belated birthday since she celebrated hers this past Saturday.</span></div>
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-79999621680326456172016-03-08T04:30:00.000-05:002016-03-08T04:30:12.232-05:00Sick day + some deep thoughts Sunday evening, I picked Connor up to put him in his chair for dinner and I knew. I just knew.<br />
<br />
He had a fever. I could feel how hot he was under his arms. The McHusband took him up for his bath and I asked him to check Connor's temp and sure enough, he had a fever.<br />
<br />
Connor fell asleep just after 7 Sunday night and I finally woke him up at 6:45 Monday morning to see if he was still running a fever so that I needed to stay home. The McHusband was off to Greenville to testify in a trial (for those who don't know, he's a forensic engineer so he reconstructs accidents and has to serve as an expert sometimes) so his day in the office trumped mine. <br />
<br />
Connor and I had a great day together. We have been so lucky that for the most part when he's been too sick for daycare (which means he's running a fever), he's otherwise himself. We had fun together, we took Monte (or "mahn-kee" as Connor calls him) on a long walk, and I got extra stuff that didn't get crossed off the list over the weekend taken care of. I mostly finished painting the guest bathroom, I washed our bedding AND made the bed as if guests were coming over, and I got the downstairs all cleaned up. And in between all that, I was with Connor who proves over and over again to be the brightest part of my day. Have you seen my latest Instagram video of him? Surely I'm not the only one who thinks he's absolutely adorable.<br />
<br />
I am not confident that I'm "doing it all" very well, but I feel good about my mom skills. When I'm in "mom mode," I'm good about blocking out other distractions so that I'm devoting time to truly being with Connor. I'm a working mom so I miss out on being with Connor most of the days during the week so I try really hard to make sure our time together counts. Quality over quantity, right?<br />
<br />
I am often amazed by how much I love Connor, by just by how much I feel for him. When I heard that <a href="http://www.people.com/people/package/article/0,,20981907_20981196,00.html" target="_blank">Joey</a> <a href="http://www.people.com/people/package/article/0,,20981907_20981196,00.html" target="_blank">Feek died</a>, I couldn't help but mourn her two-year-old daughter's loss. I see how much I mean to Connor, and I can't even imagine what it would do to him if I just...disappeared. I realize that that seems very depressing and macabre, but I can't help to worry about that. He is my world, and I would do anything to ensure his happiness.<br />
<br />
Man,when did I become so sappy? Oh yeah, probably <a href="http://mcmania-ourlifeasweknowit.blogspot.com/2014/03/connors-birth-story.html" target="_blank">just over two years ago... </a>:)Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-74691213998015925952016-02-18T04:30:00.000-05:002016-02-18T04:30:00.251-05:00Fit to Fat to Fit<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Is
anyone else watching<b><i> </i></b></span><b><i><a href="http://www.aetv.com/shows/fit-to-fat-to-fit" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></a></i></b><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><b><i><a href="http://www.aetv.com/shows/fit-to-fat-to-fit" target="_blank">Fit to Fat to Fit</a></i></b> on A&E? I was intrigued by
the concept from the very beginning and now, four-and-a-half episodes (I'm watching one right now) in, I’m
definitely hooked. Here’s the basic
idea:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">A
trainer in amazing shape has four months to gain a certain amount of
weight (we’re talking about 40, 50, 60 pounds here) and then he (so far,
they’ve all been men) will
work alongside their client/partner who is looking to lose at least
that much weight. They will work together for four months and then
we’ll see their transformations.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
idea is that the trainers get to see how they feel eating a bunch of
crappy food and not exercising and carrying the extra pounds so they can
gain an understanding of
where their client is mentally and physically. The trainer and clients
meet up after the initial four months and they get started right away
with a workout. The trainer puts the client through his/her paces, then
the tables turn and the trainer does the
workout. So far, all the trainers have suffered and struggled through
that workout but I have to wonder if some of that is for the audience
(us watching and their client). Not all of it; I'm sure they are still
feeling the workout, but it seems like they could possibly be
exaggerating their reactions for the show.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I
like the focus on the trainer at the beginning, but I don't feel like
the focus shifts enough to the client in the second half of the show. I
want to see more of that person working hard to lose weight while they
adjust to their new lifestyle within their old lives. Have their
families changed their eating habits too? When are they getting in
their exercise? Did anything knock them off course? How do they deal
with cravings and social situations?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">One
thing that isn't clear is how much the trainers are working out once
they are allowed to exercise again. Since they go to a gym for work,
it's easier for them to get in anywhere from a "normal" amount of
exercise to what most people would consider an excessive amount. I'd
like to see them roughly match their client's schedule. Sure, they can
do their training of people as their job, but they can't use any more
than an hour (comparable to a lunch hour for most people) during a
normal work day for exercise and even then they have to remember that
they need to be presentable and ready to get back to work an hour after
they start so they don't actually have 60 minutes to work out. Before
and after work, they can exercise as much as their life allows as long
as it doesn't vary greatly from what their client is able to do.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Real
life for most people doesn't mean working in a gym and exercising for a
living. it doesn't mean taking care of only yourself. It doesn't
allow for specialized meals for one. I think the show should work a
little harder to truly put the trainers in the shoes of their clients.
They need to know how truly difficult it can be to lose a lot of weight
when it isn't your job, and your actual job and commute takes up 10 or
more hours of your day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Even though I think there's room for improvement in the show, I think the concept is a really good one. Not only does it help the trainer see how the client may be feeling, but the client has that much more appreciation for the trainer and what he is willing to do to help.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">And on that note, I'm going to get back to this episode and see how this pair does together.</span></div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-57022267907473325182016-02-15T04:30:00.000-05:002016-02-15T04:30:16.922-05:00My baby is 2!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I’m starting this post on Friday the 12<sup>th</sup>.
Two years ago exactly I went to my last weekly check-up at the doctor
before embarking on a five-hour drive home through
snow and ice. Thank goodness Connor didn’t decide to come a little
early because he would’ve been on the news as a roadside birth since it
took me less time to actually HAVE him, from the time real contractions
started to his arrival, than it took me to drive
home.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IMBDenvaHZc/VsEr-CLRe8I/AAAAAAAAaco/ufgywbuR4Nc/s1600/NewbornPhotographers-HannerStudios-CaryPhotographers-McMahan-0199.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IMBDenvaHZc/VsEr-CLRe8I/AAAAAAAAaco/ufgywbuR4Nc/s400/NewbornPhotographers-HannerStudios-CaryPhotographers-McMahan-0199.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span>I
could go on and on about this toddler of mine. He is funny, sweet,
talkative, curious, smart, and every other adjective you want your
two-year-old to be. He loves washing
cars with the McHusband, watching Mickey Mouse and Chuggington, reading
books, and putting his puzzles together. We bathe him every other
night but he loves baths so much that he asks for one every night. I
think we’ll definitely have to get him a pool for
the backyard this summer.</div>
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qxw_mnrjtds/VsEu-ojbLQI/AAAAAAAAac4/Jw0k9prEDrk/s1600/20160103_155734.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qxw_mnrjtds/VsEu-ojbLQI/AAAAAAAAac4/Jw0k9prEDrk/s400/20160103_155734.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span>Connor
is still a good eater and has been loving oatmeal lately. Broccoli
too! The one thing I know he isn’t a big fan of is chicken nuggets.
When I mentioned that to
friends, they asked, “Has he had Chick-Fil-A nuggets before?” Because,
come on, who doesn’t like those?! Yes, he’s had them and they just
aren’t his favorite. Dipping sauces, however, are a different story.
He loves them all.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j64MbePNrro/VsEu-iEfGvI/AAAAAAAAac0/dt-4ZXeDcfA/s1600/20160128_181546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j64MbePNrro/VsEu-iEfGvI/AAAAAAAAac0/dt-4ZXeDcfA/s400/20160128_181546.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">It
amazes me how much he takes in from the world around him. One day
recently the McHusband was out of town for work and I said so and said,
“Daddy is on an airplane.”
Now when I tell Connor, “Dada has to work,” he says, “Airplane!” I
love when my little sponge wrings himself out and I get to see
everything he’s absorbed from us and school.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Speaking
of… Connor will move up to the next classroom in March so he’s been
spending a little time over there just to get acclimated to the new
room, people, and teachers.
On the first day, the assistant teacher told me that he was the only
one who didn’t cry and that he was one of the best listeners.
#proudmom I wasn’t really surprised. He’s fairly “go-with-the-flow” in
general although he certainly has his
<s>terrorist</s> toddler moments.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Luckily
Connor is still happy to go for long walks in the stroller, and I hope
he continues to be content as the weather improves. We will also have
to get the bike and…I
don’t know what that kid-carrying-pull-behind thing is called but you
know what I’m talking about. Anyway, we’ll have to get that out so we
can ride through the neighborhood across the street.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span>Connor
still sleeps in his crib in a sleep sack. That keeps him from climbing
out, should he decide to try, but also keeps him warm. Anyone who
knows us in real life knows
the McHusband and I like the house pretty cool for sleeping. Connor
actually asks to get into his bed to hang out with toys or books and in
the mornings, he doesn’t want to get out right away…or for an hour after
waking up. So weekday mornings can be a bit
of a struggle if he wakes up later, but it works out great for us on
the weekends. He still has his two blankies and a pacifier and his
stuffed dog – and yes, if he has one of those, he has to have them all.
He has started calling his paci a “pal.” So it’s
going to be that much harder to make him give it up since he’ll be
asking for his pal. We should probably do that sooner than later before
this friendship gets even stronger…</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">We won’t go to the doctor for his two-year check-up and shots until the 26<sup>th</sup>, but my at-home measurements have him weighing 34 pounds and standing 35” tall. So
he’s petite just like me. </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I
am so proud of Connor and what a wonderful kid he is. And I’m proud of
the McHusband and me for doing a good job with him for two whole
years! I have several friends
with new babies and when I think back to that time, it’s amazing how
short it was in the scheme of things. Not at the time, of course. Some
days I thought we just weren’t going to survive. But we did! Not only
survived, but we flourished! I sometimes
miss those snuggly infant days, but I mostly love Connor being this
age. He makes me smile and laugh every day and, as trite as it sounds, I
love seeing the world through his eyes.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I8-RY0KzN9w/VsEu_UbRD4I/AAAAAAAAadA/q_gK6gBDoNE/s1600/20160130_100242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I8-RY0KzN9w/VsEu_UbRD4I/AAAAAAAAadA/q_gK6gBDoNE/s400/20160130_100242.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Unfortunately Connor is spending his birthday at home with me (my office is closed today) because he has pink eye. He woke up yesterday with his right eye swollen and red. As time passed, both eyes got kinda watery and by the end of the day they were, to use a very scientific term, "gooky." He acted okay yesterday so fingers crossed he doesn't get a bad cold or an ear infection, which would be his first, to go along with case of conjunctivitis. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Candara","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Happy
Birthday, Connor! We love you more than you can imagine and we can’t
wait to see what this next year has in store for you.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</span>Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-76873838883181975752016-01-27T04:30:00.000-05:002016-01-27T04:30:20.854-05:00{Recipe Recap} French Toast Casserole<div style="text-align: justify;">
I kinda can't believe I'm 1) doing two posts in one week and 2) sharing a recipe with you guys. I could look and see how long it's been since I did either, but that'd take too much time, something I just don't have enough of to spare on such frivolity. I just know it's been a long time.</div>
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I like <a href="https://www.cookscountry.com/recipes/8227-french-toast-casserole" target="_blank"><b>this recipe</b></a> because it's simple, both in ingredients and preparation. Oh, and because it's DELICIOUS! I didn't mention that yet?</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qwKuYV8czMY/VqggGuxOtFI/AAAAAAAAab0/y8JG3OjV2iY/s1600/French%2BToast%2BCasserole2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qwKuYV8czMY/VqggGuxOtFI/AAAAAAAAab0/y8JG3OjV2iY/s640/French%2BToast%2BCasserole2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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The recipe calls for 18 slices of bread, but the bag of bread I bought only had 15 slices and I made it work. I'd do the same thing next time rather than buy a second bag of bread. My other two adaptations were adding a little vanilla to the egg-milk mixture and not brushing the baked casserole with the remaining melted butter. Mostly because I didn't have any since I used it all up on the bread prior to baking the casserole. What's that rule about always reading the recipe all the way through before you start...?</div>
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I was feeling optimistic about not going to work last week on Friday thanks to the winter storm so I assembled this Thursday night and baked it the next morning. I like that the bread has time overnight to soak up the liquid, plus I'm not trying to feed a hangry toddler, a dog, a cat, AND get breakfast assembled and into the oven all at the same time.</div>
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You will definitely taste the nutmeg in this recipe so if you aren't a big fan, decrease the amount or leave it out altogether. I liked the little extra flavor it imparted so I will keep it in the recipe the next time I make it (which will be sooner than later).</div>
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We ate this as leftovers the rest of the weekend and it was just as good reheated. Of course, if you make this for more than 2.5 people, you may not get the opportunity to eat it the next day.</div>
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Bon appetit! And P.S. I apologize for the not-great phone pictures. Don't let m<u>y</u> photography sway you more than my words; this thing is worth making.</div>
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{Recipe slightly adapted from <a href="https://www.cookscountry.com/recipes/8227-french-toast-casserole" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>} Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-88724766333129841642016-01-25T04:30:00.000-05:002016-01-25T04:30:17.719-05:00Snow Much Fun!!!We had snow early last year, but we're calling this Connor's first snow because he was able to enjoy it. He called it "ice," which was actually pretty accurate. My office was closed on Friday, which is good because so was daycare. So we holed up at home and had some quality time together.<br />
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The McHusband got the mower out, and I'm not really sure who was having more fun.<br />
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They took off down the driveway and up the street then did some donuts in the cul-de-sac.<br />
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If you can see in the picture above, there are tree limbs down in each driveway. Fortunately neither driveway is ours. We got lucky that we just lost small branches and none fell in bad spots.</div>
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Monte enjoyed the snow/ice only if we were outside with him or if he could find some to eat. See, he had an infection last week and he's been on an antibiotic as well as Prednisone, which is making him incredibly thirsty. </div>
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We walked around the house and as Connor followed the McHusband, he got sidetracked by this ice-laden holly branch.</div>
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A few random snow pics...</div>
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And I'll wrap up with a picture of Connor. This is him at his monkey see-monkey do finest. The McHusband was scraping some snow from the bench and deck and of course his apprentice had to do it next. We're lucky to have such an awesome helper by our sides these days. :) <br />
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I owe you guys - and Connor - an update on how he's doing these days. He is such a little person now and he picks things up left and right and he surprises us at least once a week with something he's learned. His new favorite thing this weekend, besides playing in the snow and eat icicles, was having me sing "Happy Birthday" do him. He just kept requesting "hoppy." He is a happy guy the majority of the time and when he isn't, it doesn't last long. He still has a very good appetite with oatmeal being a recent favorite. And "dock," a.k.a. chocolate (in the form of frozen mini York Peppermint Patties), which he sometimes gets one of after he's eaten a good lunch or dinner. </div>
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We had a lot of fun being stuck together for this cold long weekend and I was grateful for the quality family time. Having the extra day meant we could still get stuff done (hello clean bathrooms and new shocks!) without feeling like we weren't spending enough time with Connor. So, basically, I need an ice storm every Friday. I know, I know, careful what I wish for...</div>
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<br />Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-36776188155028684202016-01-11T04:30:00.000-05:002016-01-11T04:30:12.920-05:00Layla JaneIt appears that if it weren't for Chelle, I wouldn't have anything to blog about. :)<br />
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I am sorry for not posting regularly. It's just that I don't have the drive to sit down and be that productive during my downtime. I just want to veg in front of one or two screens, depending on if I'm "multi-tasking" by watching TV and perusing the internet at the same time. But more on where my head is later. Let's talk about something fun.<br />
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Meet Layla Jane!<br />
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Chelle's due date was the 17th, but Layla decided she was ready to see the world and arrived on the evening of the 8th, weighing 8 lbs 12 oz and measuring 22 inches long. She has lots of dark hair and cheeks for days and she is perfect.<br />
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I visited yesterday and was lucky enough to be the only visitor once Chelle's parents left so I soaked up all those baby snuggles. What is it about just sitting with a tiny baby in your arms that's so enjoyable?<br />
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We are all so happy to welcome Layla to the "framily" and can't wait to see her grow up alongside the rest of the kids.<br />
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Congratulations, Chelle and Jeremy, on your beautiful baby girl!Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-34976519586941672512015-12-16T04:30:00.000-05:002015-12-16T04:30:20.548-05:00Chelle's Baby Shower<div align="justify">
Heather, Vanessa, and I hosted Chelle’s baby shower at my house
last weekend. The three of us made a great team: we each fulfilled certain
roles well, we figured out how to plan this thing without any drama, and we
prepped the day of easily and with minimal stress. Wanna see how things turned
out?</div>
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I had the idea to use pinwheels as décor, but I wasn’t sure how
I was going to affix them to the wall without messing up my newly painted dining
room. I have no idea what turned the lightbulb on, but I suddenly remembered one
day that I had window inserts/grills up in the attic, including a big one for
the bay window in the dining room. I super-glued the pinwheels to the grill
and, well, I think it turned out pretty well. I mean, I had two people who
wanted to take it home with them so I guess that means it looked nice.</div>
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We used Vanessa’s wooden crates plus her basket and birdcages on either side of
the food table to support our mason jars and birds theme. <br />
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I want to thank Bianca, Heather's daughter, who helped fulfill my last-minute
vision to add a pennant to the window behind the drink table. Thank goodness
for otherwise idle hands!</div>
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And we used my sideboard cabinet for dessert. Our invitations had mason jars on
them and we used those in other ways in the décor but nothing made as big as
impact as Heather’s single-serving chocolate éclair dessert in small jars.</div>
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Other than the scrapbook paper, our main decorations were fresh flowers and
Vanessa’s “BABY H” frames on the mantle. Oh, and the birdhouses belonged to the
McMom. </div>
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I know, let’s see the guest of honor, huh?</div>
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Each of us had to get a picture with Chelle individually, of course.</div>
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Chelle with her (very excited) mom.</div>
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And with Amanda, who was at the shower because she was still pregnant even
though the shower date was her due date. Spoiler alert: she had Baby Emma the
next day. <br />
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A couple of crowd pics for posterity’s sake.</div>
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And no shower post would be complete without a few pics of the mom-to-be opening
her adorable (and sometimes alcoholic) gifts.</div>
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Before everyone left, we had to take a group picture of everyone who was there
to celebrate Chelle and her baby girl.</div>
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Kim had to leave early so she missed the group shot, but luckily we got a photo
of her and Chelle together earlier.</div>
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And finally, we had to document Chelle and all her loot.</div>
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That is one lucky girl! The baby girl, that is. (But Chelle is, too.)</div>
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Chelle and I have known each other since we were about 11 years
old; I can’t believe that in a decade, our kids will be the same age we were
when we first met. I can only hope that their friendships (and we’re including
Karis here) stand the test of time like mine and Chelle’s has.</div>
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We can’t wait to meet Baby H next month!</div>
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(Sorry for any strange formatting. I'm having to use Blogger for this post as opposed to Windows Live Writer, which is kinda like Word for blogging - it just made everything so easy and simple, but now it's not compatible with Google. I hope to figure out a good solution soon.)</div>
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Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-40728071329785268292015-12-13T22:20:00.003-05:002015-12-13T22:20:34.674-05:00Argh!So frustrating! I had Chelle’s shower post all typed up and then Blogger and
Microsoft wouldn’t cooperate so I couldn’t publish my post. Please cross your
fingers and check back tomorrow for a rundown of how things worked out and lots
of pictures.<br />
Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-61513010087259415202015-11-18T04:11:00.000-05:002015-11-18T04:11:01.480-05:00A Pinterest win<p align="justify">The master bathroom in our new house is a good size.  The master shower is a GREAT size…except when it’s time to clean it.  Ugh, so many tiles, so much glass, so much surface area for soap scum to stick to.</p> <u></u> <p align="justify"><u><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uSpZkqqlJeY/Vkvew9OoBsI/AAAAAAAAaCI/WknOXA162s8/s1600-h/BCmasterbath%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="BCmasterbath" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="BCmasterbath" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--olmA30ea0I/VkvexJq7QHI/AAAAAAAAaCM/zcr5tiKRo9M/BCmasterbath_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="414" height="277" /></a></u></p> <p align="justify"><u></u><u></u></p> <p align="justify">Our bathroom is always the last place to be cleaned.  Not because it doesn’t need it, but typically because it needs it the most and that’s just no fun.  So I put it off and put it off until I just can’t anymore.  I’m hoping my new cleaner and method will help make the job a little easier and therefore I won’t dread it as much so it’ll get done more often so it won’t get as yucky.  That’s a lot of pressure to put on one little scrubber, but I think it’s up to the task.<u></u><u></u></p> <p align="justify"><u></u><u></u></p> <p align="justify">I got one of those refillable wand sponge scrubbers like you’d find in the kitchen.  I used equal (to the best of my ability) parts blue Dawn and distilled white vinegar.  Then, I scrubbed.  I did the tiles first and because they weren’t pink or overly scummy, they didn’t impress me right of the bat.  I mean, I assumed they were getting clean, but it just wasn’t a jaw-dropping before-and-after experience.  What was noticeably different from when I use the bathroom cleaner is that I wasn’t being asphyxiated by the fumes and that was a major plus in favor of this simple cleanser.</p> <p align="justify">Holding the scrubber by the handle was more comfortable, too, so there’re two ticks in the “pro” column.<u></u><u></u></p> <p align="justify"><u></u><u></u></p> <p align="justify">Okay, so onto the glass.  This is where the scum showed up the most.  I’ve scrubbed it away as best as I could once, and we used the squeegee for a week or so afterward to help keep the glass clean, but I knew that wasn’t a habit that was going to stick.  When I cleaned the glass the time before, I swear I used half a bottle of that noxious mold and mildew bathroom cleaner and enough elbow grease to scrub off the top layer of glass.  But guess what?  The glass looked better, but not as good as I expected considering my efforts.<u></u><u></u></p> <p align="justify"><u></u><u></u></p> <p align="justify">Fast-forward to Sunday.  I used the scrubber all over the glass, pressing enough to get the job done but I wasn’t bearing down more than necessary.  I rinsed the soap off and voila!  Perfectly clean glass!  I really was expecting to be at least a little disappointed, but this stuff worked!  Simple ingredients + a simple tool = a perfect combination.</p> <p align="justify">Before</p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1bIjcLH9ix8/Vkvex4Cog6I/AAAAAAAAaCY/NsiWzCHA_hQ/s1600-h/20151116_201008%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="20151116_201008" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="20151116_201008" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bJrDm4zDso4/VkveyG2cDQI/AAAAAAAAaCc/zmHQl6YfyhU/20151116_201008_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="364" height="484" /></a></p> <p align="justify">After</p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qtjuXmsZ-_Y/Vkveymj4UAI/AAAAAAAAaCo/EJPYUbyqXx4/s1600-h/20151116_204403%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="20151116_204403" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="20151116_204403" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A5yNlILav1E/VkvezHl0NNI/AAAAAAAAaCs/VlinuwgR_pI/20151116_204403_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="364" height="484" /></a></p> <p align="justify">I admit I’m not totally sold yet because I want to see how long the cleanliness lasts.  Is there something in the bathroom cleaner that keeps future scum at bay a little longer?  Honestly, even if that’s the case, cleaning the shower with these ingredients and tool was so much more enjoyable that I won’t mind having to do it more often, which means just doing it on a regular basis since I already admitted to going too long in between scourings.</p> <p align="justify"><u></u><u></u></p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://joyfulhomemaking.com/2012/08/simple-shower-and-tub-cleaner.html"><strong>{Inspiration site}</strong></a></p> Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-83286358291872201102015-11-16T04:52:00.000-05:002015-11-16T04:52:00.785-05:00Our weekend + a recipe<p align="justify">Another weekend on the books and it was a good one.</p> <p align="justify">We had the Fall Festival at Connor’s daycare on Saturday and unlike most Saturdays in recent memory, the weather was perfect.  Connor’s class and one other sat in a semi-circle while their teachers sang a song.  Connor had some performance anxiety but luckily the McHusband was there to help.</p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YVls4iUVqEY/VklE7Vvc6rI/AAAAAAAAZ_0/vLM9-_GOWME/s1600-h/20151114_105015%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="20151114_105015" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="20151114_105015" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2BHocHn5rt4/VklE7w4SKPI/AAAAAAAAZ_4/cJLXZi9wCqQ/20151114_105015_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="364" height="484" /></a></p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kYgC16n0qgI/VklE8Uk6HrI/AAAAAAAAaAE/UgSxhe0ZhSU/s1600-h/20151114_105321%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="20151114_105321" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="20151114_105321" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rmQnsYcqFuA/VklE9Pk7xlI/AAAAAAAAaAI/3llKrP7pmIs/20151114_105321_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="364" height="484" /></a></p> <p align="justify">Other than those few minutes of unhappiness, Connor had a blast and we appreciated the school coming together on a weekend for all of their attendees’ and their families.</p> <p align="justify">Connor’s school is only a mile or so from our house and since the festival took place at the same time as my normal Saturday-morning class at the Y, I decided to run home afterward.  It was a great afternoon for it and I was very glad it worked out for me to “do it all” that morning.</p> <p align="justify">When I got home, the McHusband was talking to the buyer of the Magnum, who eventually drove away in the car.  He is on a roll with the sale of our cars since this is the third time the first person to look at and drive the car has bought it.</p> <p align="justify">We went to a couples’ baby shower Saturday evening and were home in time to Connor to bed at his normal time, and then I pretty much went to bed at my normal weeknight time as well.  I was tired and looked forward to catching up on my sleep a little. </p> <p align="justify">Sunday was our day to play catch-up from all the playing we did on Saturday.  Connor and I got groceries, then while he napped I tried a Pinterest tip for cleaning my shower.  More on how that worked out soon.</p> <p align="justify">Connor has decided that his favorite snack – or “nack” as he calls it – is raisins straight from the container.  So, yeah, keep that in mind if you come over here and we offer you some. <img class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-winkingsmile" style="border-top-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none" alt="Winking smile" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bc9-mENVTew/VklE9ofeVQI/AAAAAAAAaAQ/YC3v3736rIw/wlEmoticon-winkingsmile%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" /></p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-et_ElrPZ3FA/VklE-Nx3u8I/AAAAAAAAaAY/8huWePpYF4s/s1600-h/20151115_150024%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="20151115_150024" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="20151115_150024" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UEUrdau02o8/VklE-oTYjkI/AAAAAAAAaAg/mNwhOqrBiEc/20151115_150024_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="364" height="484" /></a></p> <p align="justify">He had to fuel up for all his yardwork.  As soon as he heard the McHusband start up his mower, he got excited and ran to the door to the garage yelling, “Guide!” which is how he says “outside.”  Luckily the McHusband just so happened to be in need of an apprentice.</p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JEKB46coNeo/VklE_ALBS-I/AAAAAAAAaAs/CvJINoPAvrY/s1600-h/20151115_151114%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="20151115_151114" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="20151115_151114" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oInL_1h0U5I/VklE_48IzQI/AAAAAAAAaA0/srBl_FwwHfQ/20151115_151114_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="364" height="484" /></a></p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Y6e8SZ_6wHw/VklFAhmB6fI/AAAAAAAAaA8/9EPVAHJRCdA/s1600-h/20151115_151114%25255B10%25255D.jpg"><img title="20151115_151114" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="20151115_151114" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0fWT8XVEEVY/VklFBfdMXZI/AAAAAAAAaBE/Oabrk7V1eio/20151115_151114_thumb%25255B10%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="364" height="558" /></a></p> <p align="justify">While the boys used the mower to move leaves off the grass and into the natural areas, I did some cleaning inside.  I don’t have good toy storage in the den yet so I am struggling with having them all just kinda piled in the corner.  I do have a basket, but what happens is Connor only plays with what’s showing. So I went through the basket and took some meant for younger kids out and put some others on a table in the den so Connor will see them and can easily access them.</p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QZk-HlZ47JI/VklFCN50tiI/AAAAAAAAaBM/QfnFbk5g-nM/s1600-h/20151115_152920%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="20151115_152920" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="20151115_152920" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AaOmUWIJn94/VklFC-AqMqI/AAAAAAAAaBU/gtHmWk2zu0M/20151115_152920_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="364" height="484" /></a></p> <p align="justify">Finally, we wrapped up our day with this <strong><a href="http://www.wineandglue.com/2015/01/chicken-noodle-soup-casserole.html">Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole</a></strong>, which was very good.  I’m already looking forward to my leftovers for lunch today!</p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RpE-BtgMNus/VklFDr5tJfI/AAAAAAAAaBc/rF9q5Fl89xo/s1600-h/20151115_190807%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="20151115_190807" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="20151115_190807" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0i2X299I4Dw/VklFED-KdCI/AAAAAAAAaBk/d4tVnC-kxPM/20151115_190807_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="364" height="484" /></a></p> <p align="justify">So there you have it, our weekend in a nutshell.  Hope everyone else had a nice one as well!</p> <p align="justify"><strong><a href="http://www.wineandglue.com/2015/01/chicken-noodle-soup-casserole.html">{Recipe}</a></strong></p> Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-33889422682707278972015-11-02T04:39:00.000-05:002015-11-02T04:39:00.205-05:00Who needs Duplo when there’s Alpo?<p align="justify">We had an interesting weekend with Connor.  I think whatever’s been bothering him hung around a little, plus he didn’t have a great appetite so I think he was probably hungry but wouldn’t eat so it was a vicious cycle.  Let’s just say I’m not sorry that I’ll be in the office tomorrow.</p> <p align="justify">Finally, toward the end of the day on Sunday, Connor was a little more himself.  I was making cookie dough and Connor was toddling around the kitchen just making his own fun.  And making a mess but it was worth it.</p> <p align="justify">I was scooping the cookie dough into a bowl and had my back to Connor.  I knew he was playing with some cans and other stuff but I didn’t realize exactly what he was doing to them til I heard the first crash.</p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Eup0fX0Po9E/VjbAMXx5ICI/AAAAAAAAZ-o/RrG22xTGSxE/s1600-h/20151101_175124%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="20151101_175124" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="20151101_175124" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HVG9OjGq_EU/VjbAM_q5MSI/AAAAAAAAZ-s/QDXPbREZdV8/20151101_175124_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="364" height="484" /></a></p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fG7xAwpKvWM/VjbANRTF43I/AAAAAAAAZ-4/0qUtkF6wjcA/s1600-h/20151101_175203%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="20151101_175203" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="20151101_175203" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZEp6b4FHse8/VjbAN-YJHAI/AAAAAAAAZ-8/YMIwMjZpj6U/20151101_175203_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="364" height="484" /></a></p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jJ0X7mXi45c/VjbAOZbixpI/AAAAAAAAZ_E/jDPqOYasPQA/s1600-h/20151101_175208%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="20151101_175208" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="20151101_175208" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tpNxzkOc3JA/VjbAO-6bifI/AAAAAAAAZ_M/tGTEynNjCRM/20151101_175208_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="364" height="484" /></a></p> <p align="justify">It was so nice to see the little boy I normally spend my weekends with even if it was only in those final moments of the day.</p> <p align="justify">PS  Happy Birthday, Kim!</p> Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-90328480619934254892015-10-30T04:11:00.000-04:002015-10-30T04:11:00.828-04:00TGIF!<p align="justify">I am home with Connor today since he was still running a 101+ fever through the afternoon and his 7:00-bedtime last night so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that he is feeling better today.  If he still has a fever around mid-morning, I will probably end up taking him to the doctor.</p> <p align="justify">This was Connor at lunchtime just before his nap yesterday.  Poor guy obviously wasn’t feeling too well.  (The McHusband stayed home with him yesterday.)</p> <p align="justify"><a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZDzxC7qIyhU/VjLDwcuVNsI/AAAAAAAAZ-M/J7pj7rjS5TA/s1600-h/28271%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img title="28271" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="28271" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-I6zaiWjjjqk/VjLD3KYcQsI/AAAAAAAAZ-U/palXZOsXvdI/28271_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="275" height="484" /></a></p> <p align="justify">I hate that C0nnor is missing out on the fun and chance to wear his costume, but he probably isn’t going to school at all today, not even just for the little parade this afternoon.  My plan is to still drop off the fruit cups; no sense those going to waste and everyone missing out on my snack o’lanterns. </p> <p align="justify">Thank goodness I don’t get sick and have personal days to use for Connor.</p> <p align="justify">Hope you guys have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend!</p> Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8667439731079237391.post-80953028904006516952015-10-29T04:50:00.000-04:002015-10-29T04:50:00.258-04:00Sick<p align="justify">Poor Connor.  He spent most of yesterday not feeling well.  I got the call from daycare around 9:40 and told them I’d head out at 10:00.  Of course someone needed my help so it was 10:20 before I left and I felt terrible for making him hang out that much longer without me.</p> <p align="justify">Luckily, he was laying on his nap mat, kinda dozing, so he wasn’t outright miserable.  We went to Lowes real quick for the fruit cups for his snack o’lanterns (see the Instagram pic over there on the right) then on the one-mile drive home, Connor’s eyes were closing so as soon as we walked in the door, I put him in his crib for a nap.  He slept for 2.5 hours and woke up in a pretty good mood.  For a sick kid running a fever, he seemed pretty normal.</p> <p align="justify">Connor ate a good snack, we played, and we even went outside for a bit.  He ate a decent dinner then we took Monte on a walk and that was pretty much all Connor had in him.  He was still running his fever so I changed him and put him to bed just before 7:00.  Fingers crossed that he sleeps great, which will hopefully fast-track his recovery from whatever bug has bitten him.</p> <p align="justify">Other than a mild cold or two, Connor’s never been sick for real.  He’s almost 21 months old and this is the first time I’ve had to leave work early/not go to work because of how he was feeling.  I’d say that’s a pretty good track record.  </p> <p align="justify">And thank goodness because that sick kid is terrible for this mom’s heart.</p> Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520005114089156167noreply@blogger.com0