First Trimester with Baby McChesney!

It’s finally over, and I survived! Today marked the last day of my first trimester… AMEN! Don’t get me wrong, I am so thankful and blessed to be pregnant, but man the first 12 weeks have been rough! Here is the pleasant, and some not so pleasant wrap up of my first trimester:

-          Week 3 – positive pregnancy test! I was so excited I cried then called Dave and my mommy. I texted my sisters, my sister-in-law, and my mother-in-law. Seeing that pink plus sign was the most glorious thing after trying for over 1 year!

-          Exhaustion set in... MAJORLY! I could not keep my eyes open. There were multiple nights Dave would get home around 6:30 and I would hit the hay for the night. Thank you to my supportive husband for letting me sleep. My 1 hour “workout” time after work turned into 1 hour nap time, I was in bed by 8 every night, and still staying awake through the day was a STRUGGLE!

-          Nausea set in… kind of ½ bad, but still not pleasant in any way shape or form. The second, and I mean the second my stomach was remotely empty I got this awful nauseous feeling. I NEVER got sick; even though sometimes I wished I could just get sick and be done with it! So, I ate… eating seemed to make everything better because my stomach never had the chance to get empty. This is probably why I gained as much weight I did!

-          Week 8 – first ultrasound…. It’s a healthy baby measuring 8 weeks 3 days (exactly what I had calculated). Due date is November 4, 2013. And everyone is excited; Hope’s only stipulation is that he/she can’t be born on her birthday (October 27^th)!

-          Week 12 – Belly POP! I went from not looking pregnant at all to looking 5 months pregnant over night! I guess what “they” say is right… with the second you start to show WAY earlier!

-          Week 12 – started to wear maternity clothes. Yes, I can probably squeeze into my non-maternity wear, but why squeeze? Why sit uncomfortably when I have these fabulous pants that expand?

-          Week 12 – Shared the baby news with Charlie! He is very excited and asks lots of questions. He also tells EVERYONE that “there is a baby in my mommy’s tummy.”

-          Week 12 – Inventory of baby clothes. I took my clip board, along with a spreadsheet and inventoried all of the baby clothes we have before a HUGE consignment sale started on April 25^th. If we have a boy, we will not have to buy ANYTHING… there is so much there! If we have a girl we are pretty much starting from scratch!

Everyone seems to think it’s a girl (even Charlie), except my father. He seems to be pretty confident that it is a boy.  

Trimester 1 –

Weight Gain: + 5 pounds - eeek... I hope this does not set the scene for weight gain through the rest of the pregnancy!

Cravings: Food, just food in general. Mostly carbs and crunchy stuff.

Name Options Discussed: Boy – Henry (really the only one being discussed right now), and Girl – Ava, Zoe, Lila, lots of others because we have NO idea what we would name a girl!

And finally, my baby belly on the last day of my first trimester –

Call me Daddy

Recently, Charlie began calling Dave, “Dave.” At first I was not ok with it; a 3 year old should call his daddy, “daddy.” Dave didn’t really have a problem with it and even thought it was kind of funny. Of course we disagreed; there are few things we agree on. Usually I talk him into agreeing with me… ha, no I am just joking. We have civilized, constructive conversations where each of us listens to each other’s interests and in the end… Dave agrees with meJ! Or gives up, whichever, the result is usually the same!

I have been thinking about how to approach this with Charlie and what the conversation might look like. This got me thinking… why should he call Dave “daddy”? Does he really HAVE to? Should he really HAVE to? Does tradition and the rules of respect mean that he has to call him “dad” or “daddy”? He’s calling him by his first name, I don’t think it’s dis-respectful. Now, if he were walking around calling Dave “poopy head” we would have a problem… a funny problem, but a problem. I want to be called “mommy” because I feel so blessed to be a mommy I want to be called it for as long as my baby will call me it, and it feels so good to be someone’s mommy! When you ask Charlie what my name is he says, “Mommy” which makes me smile. The other day he came home from day care and asked me if my name was “Biz”? I said it was and he looked at me and smiled and said, “No, its mommy.” I know there are safety reasons that he should know my first and last name, but for now I am going to soak up the “mommy”!

Before I was going to have the “call Dave daddy” talk I decided to do a little observing. When does he call him Dave? Is it all the time? Is it in the same situations? After a few observations, I decided Charlie is a genius and has just adapted to life with his father (as I did about 4 years ago).  Dave has a “magical gift” (that’s how he thinks of it) of being able to tune people out COMPLETELY. I can be standing right in front of him saying, “Dave, Dave, Dave, Dave” but until I say something like, “Dave the house is on fire” he will not even notice me. This is not ALL the time… I would have killed him by now if it was. But you sit that guy in front of a TV or Movie and he is in the “tune-out zone”. Charlie has also observed Dave’s behavior and has adapted, if he says, “daddy, daddy, daddy,” he may get no response. But the minute he says “Dave” he gets a response. Genius if you ask me, especially from a 3 year old. I have decided that Charlie can call Dave “Dave” whenever he wants because I understand his “tune-out” frustration!

I can do WHATEVER I want.

Yesterday I picked Charlie up from school and he was so excited because he was going to a “party” at Grandma Barb’s house. Charlie loves parties, however this was just a movie and popcorn night with Grandma Barb and Papa Dave… either way, he was excited.

I put him in the back seat and we began to drive toward Grandma’s house. Charlie is a VERY observant kid, and he informed me that Grandma Barbs was “that way”, pointing to the left, and our house was “that way”, pointing to the right. Sometimes that kid’s sense of direction amazes me.

Anyway, as we were driving I asked Charlie about his day. He talked a little bit about painting in art and playing with his friends. He asked me about my day and I proceeded to tell him that I unloaded 7 pallets worth of condoms – I have a VERY exciting job! After we were done talking I turned the music up a little so we could enjoy the drive.

Charlie began kicking the back of my seat. I asked him to stop, and he said “no.” I said, “Charlie you need to stop kicking the back of my seat NOW.” He replied, “I can do whatever I want to do.” I was shocked, and I didn’t know what to say so I just said, “no you can’t.” And he said, “oh, ok” and stopped kicking. It was AWESOME… too bad that won’t last forever J

 

Happy New Year

For me a new year always feels like a new start. To some, it seems silly, but for me it has always felt like a new beginning. A perfect day to re-evaluate the last year, take a look at life and decide what makes you happy and what doesn’t make you happy. A time to set goals and decide what the next year will look like. I feel so in control on January 1^st. I know there will be things that will happen throughout the next year that I cannot control, but by focusing on the things I CAN control I will make the most of 2013.

2012 was kind of a crappy year. A lot of things that I could not control took place. I lost my Aunt, and recently lost my Grandpa. Death is not something that I have experienced a lot of before this year, and it doesn’t get any easier. Losing people you love, and seeing others you love in pain is very, very hard. Raising a 3 year old, while I love my baby, has been challenging. Dave and I have learned a lot as parents, and I feel like things are getting easier, but man is 3 though!  Dave and I both got new jobs. Not that getting new jobs was a bad thing, we are both so happy, which has made life a little easier. However the stress of starting a new job was a bit much.

Moving on to 2013, I have set a few goals for the year. Each year I try to set goals and always seem to set way too many. This year, I scaled it back and focused on what I really want to accomplish in 2013.

1-      Register Charlie for Sunday School and attend Church regularly – and tonight I registered Charlie, so Sunday we will be there!

2-      Begin taking piano lessons

3-      Pay extra on our mortgage each month

4-      Make some healthy lifestyle changes (I need to lose 10 pounds and we would like to have another baby, so some changes are in order)

5-      Start a gratitude journal and write in it weekly

6-      Go on more dates with my husband

I will check back in with my progress throughout the year. I wish you all a happy New Year and hope you the best in 2013.

Pockets

I don’t remember exactly when Charlie figured out that his clothes have pockets. It was a while ago, and it was cute. He would walk around the house with his hands in his jeans, smiling ear to ear and it made me smile ear to ear. He looked like a mini Calvin Klein model.

About a week ago Charlie found a new purpose for pockets. It is no longer good enough to just put his hands in his pockets; he has to fill those pockets with something. I have always heard, from other mothers with boys, that they will collect things like sticks and rocks. Charlie does not collect things. Yes, we have a million Matchbox Cars, but no rock collections. I have been so thankful that my house is not full of sticks, rocks, or any other item from nature. But something is changing; I think my house will soon be filled with sticks and rocks. Here’s how it went down….

Charlie and I went outside to play football in the front yard. As soon as we stepped foot in the grass I stepped in dog poop. That is a whole different story about our crappy neighbor, but I will save that for another day. Long story, short – I decided to clean up the dog poop. While I was doing so, Charlie was just hanging out, running around, and doing nothing suspicious looking. We played “football” which involves me throwing the ball, Charlie picking it up, and me pushing him down. After I got about 35 tackles and no one scored any touchdowns, we decided to head inside. We go in, take off our shoes, and I tell Charlie to take his coat off. He takes his coat off and I walk into the living room to find birdseed ALL OVER! I said, “Charlie, what is all of this birdseed doing in the house?” He replied, “It was in my pocket.” I asked, “Why did you put birdseed in your pocket.” And he replied, “Because.”

I think Charlie and I both learned a few lessons here:

1.       Never turn your back on a kid by a bird feeder

2.       Never answer your child’s questions with “because”, because some day they will do it back to you

3.       Never put birdseed in your pockets because mommy will make you use the dust buster and clean it up

I almost decided it would be a good idea to sew all of Charlie’s pockets shut, and then I remembered… I can’t sew.

Judgement

The innocence of a 3 year old is precious. He doesn’t want to hurt people’s feelings, and if/when he does, it is not intentional in any way, shape, or form. The child has NO understanding of being judgmental, or what it feels like to be judged. For his sake, I hope that it is a long time before he ever feels that he is being judged. That being said, Charlie can innocently be very judgmental sometimes.

 Earlier this week, after I picked Charlie up from daycare we were having a nice conversation on the way home about the never-ending construction by our house. I was going the speed limit, we were both buckled up, I was NOT on my cell phone – I was being a responsible driver and obeying the basic traffic rules. Until that light turned yellow. I saw it, was somewhat in a hurry to get home, and in my head I said “Screw it. I’m going for it.” No big deal, it didn’t turn red until we were ¾ the way through the intersection. Then it came, from my sweet little angel in the back seat…

Charlie: Mommy, you just went through red.

Mommy: I know Charlie, it was an accident.

Charlie: Mommy, green means go.

Mommy: Thank you Charlie, I know that.

Charlie: Mommy, red means stop.

Mommy: THANK YOU CHARLIE FOR POINTING THAT OUT TO ME.

 

My gosh. Give me a break kid. I understand that Charlie is a very observant child, and he is pretty darn intelligent, but man it was almost like I wanted to say, “Ya know what kid, I feed you, clothe you, keep you safe, read to you, a little leniency on the red light running would be appreciated.”

For now, I will not worry about my judgmental 3 year old. After he understands the concept (hopefully a long time from now) he and I will have many a chats about being as non-judgmental as possible.

White Lies

Before I became a mother I swore to myself that I was not going to lie to my son, along with many other things that I “wasn’t going to do”. But lying was a big one. I don’t like lying, I don’t like people who you can’t trust, and I believe that people should tell the truth…. no matter how bad it is.

That being said, I have now come to the conclusion that a little white lie is NOT the same as an average sized lie. Little white lies just happen, and sometimes they make life a lot easier. Especially when it comes to kids.

Charlie has entered the “why” phase of life. Which I actually really like. I like to explain things to him and I like to teach him new things, even if he really doesn’t actually care to hear about the “why” when he asks. My trouble is, when I don’t know the answer to “why”… that’s where I get stuck. I often find myself referring back to daddy with a statement much like this one, “You know what Charlie, that is a good question and mommy doesn’t know. We will have to ask Daddy when we get home.”  Like, why is there fog in the morning? Why do the clouds make rain? Why is the car wet in the morning? I am sure at one point in my life I knew the answers to these questions, but having not used my 8^th grade science knowledge in say 12 years, I have forgotten.

But sometimes it is just easier to tell a little white lie. I know I am probably not going to get the mother of the year award for this one, but it is the truth. I bet not a single one of you mom’s out there can say that you NEVER told your kid at least ONE little white lie.

So here is my most recent little white lie…. Gum.

Charlie has started to chew gum, which is fine, I let him start. However, when he was first chewing gum, and every once in a while after that he swallows it rather than spitting it out. Now, my entire life I have been told not to swallow gum. I’m sure it is not good to swallow, but I really don’t know WHY? So when Charlie asked, “why can’t I swallow it?” I lied. I straight up came up with a crazy lie, and here it is:

“Charlie, you cannot swallow gum because it will go into your belly, grow, and you will have gum growing out of your butt.”

Haha… so that was a pretty BIG little white lie, but I was totally put on the spot. Today at Walgreens Charlie got some gum and stated, “we can’t swallow it because it will grow out of my butt if I do.” Charlie, I apologize in advance for the day when you are with your friends and you learn that gum will not actually grow out of your butt. You will most likely be laughed at, and you can blame me,  and even be made at me if you want. But for now, it works.



Lady of Leisure

As many of you know, I am starting a new job tomorrow with the Iowa Department of Public Health. While I am extremely excited to get started, I thought it would be nice to take a few days off in between gigs to relax and get some stuff done around the house. And I learned some things about myself -even though it was only 4 days! If I were a full time Lady of Leisure…

… I would weigh 200 pounds, quickly. It is probably because our house is full of chips, candy, cookies, etc. I usually don’t eat them that much (besides candy corn), but when you are home alone it is almost like the Candy Corn Oreo’s are calling your name. They don’t like to sit in the dark pantry alone; they want to be in your nice warm belly!

… OR I would be the most fit person ever. I would never have an excuse for not working out. It would be glorious. I could train for marathons, learn how to swim really well, maybe even take up fencing.

… I would need a husband that made MILLIONS of dollars each year. In my 4 days at home, I spend a pretty hefty chunk of change. Wal-Mart and Target are addictive, and you always walk out with way more than what was on your list. And Von Maur… I haven’t spent time alone in Von Maur in a really long time. They have the most amazing stuff! I struggled to find stuff on my shopping day, and then once I bought one thing I just kept on going. It’s amazing what that first purchase can do.

… I would get my nails done weekly. And I would color my hair all the time. I would pretty much just spend a lot of time at Bella with Kailtyn.

 

… I would have a REALLY clean house. I am usually pretty good about keeping our house clean, but this week, I got a ton done. You could eat off my bathroom floor. I wouldn’t do it because eating in the bathroom weirds me out, but I could if I wanted to.

… the people at Barnes & Nobel would know me by name. I could spend all day there browsing.

… I would drink a lot of coffee. Being at home, working around the house, relaxing reading a book, poking around the book store… all of this is better with a cup of Joe.

… I would also drink a lot of wine. Wine with lunch is always a good thing, and when there is no “work” to get in your way for the afternoon, why not?

… I would have tons of projects. I am a planner, if I don’t have anything to plan, I go crazy.

… I would watch Ricky Lake every day. Did you know she has a show again? I didn’t either. I only watched about 3 hours of T.V. over the last 4 days, but I made sure to tune in to Ricky!

Maybe someday I will be a Lady of Leisure, but for now I must work. Actually to tell you the truth I have been going a wee bit crazy without work. I don’t feel productive, I like to feel productive, I need to work. Last night I went to book club (which is full of teachers) and asked “how do you have a summer off and not go crazy.” They all had a lot of good tips, that I will try to remember if I ever find myself in a Lady of Leisure situation.

Things that go BUMP in the morning.

3-4 times a week my alarm goes off at 4:40am so that I can get my morning run in. I love running in the morning before the world (and the sun) is up. It gives me time to myself to think about whatever I want, or to not think at all and just jam out to my eclectic running mix. Most mornings are peaceful; I relax, and enjoy every part of my 30 minute run. Other mornings, like today, are stressful. No, stressful is not the word… scary. Scary is the right word. Only because I totally freak myself out.

A little back story.  In my younger days (we are talking college here, so not THAT long ago) I was addicted to Law and Order SVU. SVU stand for Special Victims Unit, so all of the rape, child molestation, abduction crimes. I could sing the introduction song, I was in love with Detective Stabler, and I could spend ALL day watching a SVU marathon!

That was until I became a mother. Now SVU scares the CRAP out of me, it makes me worry, even more than I normally do (which is a lot). I have now been SVU free for about 2 years, I still sleep with a hammer next to me when Dave is out of town, but I feel a little less like the Crazy Worry Lady.

Then this morning my Crazy Worry Lady got mixed a little bit with Zombieland when I was out for my “relaxing” morning run. Mind you, this is 4:50am, so the moon and the stars are still out – no sun.  As I was running past Horizon Elementary I see like 4 people walking back and forth across the playground. No, I did not imagine this, there were 4 people just walking around the darn playground in the DARK! Of course I wanted to know what the heck they were doing, but I high tailed my butt right by them as fast as I could while thinking about zombies tromping through a school playground eating all the kids. The funny thing is I HATE zombie movies…

Then a little bit later I got the weird feeling that someone was following me (which I sometimes even get when I am in our basement alone, so I’m sure no one was there). So naturally I planned my escape route (through that back yard, over the fence (I hope they don’t have a dog) and around the front of the house with all the lights on) and prepared to zig zag back and forth to distract my assailant. The individual following me must have decided I was not a good target, so I made it without using my escape route.

And finally when my run was almost over, I was feeling much more relaxed and ready for the day when the BIGGEST toad EVER jumped and touched my leg. He didn’t just nick my leg; he like jumped directly into my leg and then hopped away. Toads are gross.

Hopefully my run tomorrow will be a bit more relaxing then my run this morning.

Birthday Traditions

Birthday season in our family begins in July with Dave’s birthday on the 22^nd and ends on September 24^th with Jacob’s birthday. Kristi and Hope are the odd balls out with an October and December birthday. That’s O.K. though because Hope is the Birthday Queen and turns the whole month of October into her birthday month, and Mom is the odd ball in our family, so it only makes sense that her birthday doesn’t fit in.  In between Dave and Jacob is me (July 29^th), Bruce (August 13^th), Charlie (August 14^th), and Kaitlyn (August 29^th). We are now in the middle of Birthday Season, which got me thinking about some of the fun birthday traditions my family has. Then my thoughts drifted to family traditions in general…

Family traditions are something that is a very important part of my life. To me family traditions are a way to remember the past while making new memories with the people you love the most.  As parents, Bruce and Kristi did a wonderful job of building traditions that I will carry with me, and hopefully pass on to the next generation. For me, being a mother is about loving unconditionally and teaching my child (hopefully children in the future) the values that will carry him through life wherever it might take him. Family traditions and spending time together are one of those values that I hold near and dear to my heart. I also love making new family traditions with my own family, something new that Charlie will want to pass on to his children.

Here are just a few of our family traditions:

-          Going out for BBQ on Bruce’s Birthday (the last 3 years this has taken place the night before Charlie’s birthday party)

-          Birthday Long Johns (one of my favorites)- everyone wakes up to a long john with a candle in bed on their birthday morning

-          Birthday dinners – the birthday girl/boy makes a birthday dinner request and Bruce always delivers. This year mine was fish tacos – it was AMAZING! Kaitlyn usually has “Thanksgiving dinner” for her birthday dinner!

-          The mom of the house waking the kids up every morning by singing our “Good Morning” song. I am pretty sure my mom made this song up, and once it gets in your head it doesn’t go away. Dave even wakes Charlie up with the “Good Morning” song too!

-          Christmas Eve is my immediate family (Bruce, Kristi, Hope, Nick, Kaitlyn, Jacob, Dave, Charlie, and me) eating hors devours and opening presents

I am so blessed to have my family. It makes my heart happy that Charlie has so many people that love him and I look forward to making so many more memories and family traditions.

Really COLD beer, helicopters, fires, and American Flags

Shortly after I was born, my father was transferred to the USDA office in DeWitt, and my family (which consisted of my father, mother and me) moved to what is my hometown. Growing up in DeWitt was probably very similar to growing up in any small town in Iowa. This weekend Charlie and I visited my parent in DeWitt and it got me thinking about putting down roots. How does one end up in the cities they plant roots in? What makes someone decided to stay in that city?

Bruce, my father, is from New Jersey (and lived in a HUGE city growing up) and Kristi, my mother, is from Canby, Minnesota, which is even smaller than DeWitt.  They were obviously brought to DeWitt by my father’s employer… but what has kept them here for over 20 years? And what makes me NEVER want to go back? Is Johnston were Dave and I want to put our roots down? Yes, I love living in Iowa, yes I love Johnston, but is it the best place to raise a family? My initial thought is…. yes. But I also probably won’t try out different places, so I don’t 100% know for sure. That being said… I am happy where we are at now, and I am going to go with that. If things change years down the road, I will go with the flow.

Going back to my NEVER wanting to live in DeWitt again. First and fore most, the small town feel is nice for a day or two, then… it becomes a crazed level of knowing everyone’s business. My mom is the worst, some examples….

1. There was a fire in town this last weekend. Bruce, Charlie and I were on our way back to town when we received the text from my mom: “huge fire in town, the hotel across from Pizza Hut”. As we pulled off our exit we saw a fire truck from another town on their way in, so naturally we followed it (I am pretty sure that this is illegal, and I apologize to anyone who this act upsets), but we were curious. This in and of it self is a small town thing. I would NEVER even think to follow a fire truck in Des Moines, crap happens all the time.  So we followed the truck and found the fire, we couldn’t see much and didn’t want to get in the way but we did learn 2 things… it was NOT a huge fire as my mom stated and it was NOWHERE near the Pizza Hut. Prime example for how rumors are started in small towns.
2. Mom and I were going to get some beer. From my parents house there are 2 gas stations within 3 minutes and a grocery store within 3 ½ minutes. But we don’t go there… no, we have to go to the gas station that is “all the way on the other side of town” as my mom puts it, because it has the coldest beer. I obviously don’t care at all because “all the way on the other side of town” is 5 minutes away. I can’t get anywhere in 5 minutes in Des Moines. As we were pulling out of the gas station after we got our really cold beer, mom noticed the sign in the window. “Help Wanted.” And the first thing out of her mouth is…. “ohhhh, I wonder who lost their job.” Who wonders that? I bet she was going through the list of people who work there in her head saying, “Sally…no, Jim…no, Tony…well maybe, Steve… no, Jen… yes, oh yes it has to be her!”
3. On this very same trip we asked the gas station attendant (who obviously was not the poor soul who lost their job) informed us that flags were at half staff because an Iowa soldier was killed overseas. On the way home my mother looked at EVERY flag on the way to make sure they were all at half staff. As we passed by each one she would say, “Good, the bank’s is down. Good, the fire station’s is down” and so on and so on. Until we got to Mc Donald’s who must not have gotten the memo. The first thing she says is, “oh, well I will have to call them when we get home to make sure they put their flag down.” Of course she needs to call the Mc Donald’s because it is, as she put it, “her duty.” Yes my mother is a good American, but that would only happen in a small town.
4. The last example happened on this very same trip to get the really cold beer as we checked the town flags to ensure they were at half staff. The hospital in town has a helicopter pad, and there was a helicopter landed. And of course my mother says, “oh no, that’s not good when the helicopter is here… I wonder what’s going on.”

It was exhausting… I like living in Johnston, not worrying about everyone else’s jazz. I am exhausted now just talking about all those examples of small town living, I can’t continue on with my other reasons for not living in DeWitt.

That being said, I loved growing up in DeWitt, I love coming home to VISIT, and I have met a TON of great people from DeWitt and many who still live there. It’s a great small town, just a wee bit too small for me!

54 Years of STUFF

I spent the last couple of days in Omaha helping at Dave's Grandma Kate with her moving sale. Grandma Kate is a wonderful woman who has lived in her home for 54 years. She is 83 years old, she lost her husband Bill 12 years ago, and has continued to live in their home on her own since then. That house has shared a lot of memories with her and everyone in the family... and she has the stuff to prove it. Grandma Kate, who is also known as the "dish queen" has EVERYTHING.... and it's original box!  There were multiple things we came across that were wedding gifts, or gifts from 50 years ago that were stored in the original box, with the original tissue paper... the woman didn't throw away anything! She was able to tell a story about each and every thing in that house. It was so fun to learn about her life and to hear her stories. I had a mix of emotions this weekend, and it was an interesting experience...

1. Shock.... of all the stuff this woman kept! She has everything.

2. Amazement... to see the care that she took with each individual thing

3. Enjoyment... I love to organize and I love retail (must be the Meant to Be in me)

3. Sadness.... thinking of all the years Kate spent in her home, the memories she shared with loved ones, and now leaving it all.

4. Annoyance... of people who want to bargain down from $.25 - really people, its a quarter.

5. Curiosity... why did that 20 something buy a zip lock full of cocktail straws for $.25? Why are we selling a zip lock full of cocktail straws? Don't people buy straws new?

It was a great experience, I spent 2 days with wonderful women and got to visit with family. All the while, we were able to help Grandma Kate downsize and prepare for apartment life. At the same time, the experience has got me thinking so many different things, and I will leave you with my thoughts...

- Garage sales can make you some nice coin

- If you want to meet some interesting people, have a garage sale

- If you have a garage sale, make sure the outside has lots of stuff to draw people in

- Don't accumulate 54 years of stuff

- Don't let your parents accumulate 54 years of stuff

- If you minimize along the way, you will not be emotionally attached to a MILLION things when its time to detach

- Don't keep things thinking your kids will want them, by that time, they will be old enough to have enough of their own stuff that they won't want yours

- NEVER leave anything out of a garage sale... you have no idea the things that people will buy. For example, a set of 7 bar glasses with the works "the pussycat" printed on them, a zip lock full of cocktail straws, or a fake pink coral statue)

Last but not least... I love garage sales! 

Mini-Vacation

It is Sunday night and our mini-vacation to Lake Ozark has ended. While it was not exactly what we expected, it was a ton of family fun!

To start Dave and I took Thursday off so that we could leave early and get to town to go grocery shopping before the rest of the family got there. I spent a lot of time meal planning and created an all inclusive shopping list. I love to grocery shop, so I was really looking forward to it.


The drive from Des Moines to Osage Beach, MO. is about 6 hours.... unless you are married to Mario Andretti, like I am. When you marry someone, you soon realize that there are things that you just cannot do with your spouse. Seeing as you are planning to spend your whole life with that person, you try to avoid the things that just don't work, but sometimes it is unavoidable. Some of the things that Dave and I cannot do together:

1. Play on the same team in any team sport
2. Play on different teams in any team sport
3. Drive together in the same vehicle

I do realize that we HAVE to drive together, but if we can we avoid it we do. The first step we took was to stop car pooling to work, which usually ended with a slammed car door and someone having a bad day. Seeing as it seemed really unreasonable to drive separate cars to Missouri to avoid an argument, I was prepared for one. Add to that a potty-training toddler and you have a recipe for disaster :) No, it really wasn't too bad. Charlie was GREAT, and he didn't have any accidents. We stopped about a million times, and every time we did I would carry in his Lightning McQueen potty to use as a stool. I never realized how most public bathrooms are really not built well for young children. Every time Charlie and I head to a public restroom I turn into my mother, "don't touch anything" comes out of my mouth about 100 times!

So we got to our condo, which is owned by my some-day-to-be brother in law's family. When we arrived we punched in the code and surprise there were people there! It would have been a great surprise, had we known the people :) Turns out the property management company screwed up. So, while Nick and his wonderful father tried to figure out where we were going to stay, I started calling resorts. We ended up staying at Tan-Tar-A resort for the night. My mother approved because her and my father had been there before (probably sometime in the early nineties) and she remembers it being nice. Turns out it was EXACTLY what she remembered, nothing had changed :) LOL! But we enjoyed the night - Charlie and I swam at the indoor water park (which is not included in the $160/night price tag of the room- surprise!), we ordered pizza, and hung out as a family!

The next day (Friday) we checked out and having no where to go, spent the day at the pools on Tan-Tar-A. We had a blast, relaxing in the water, drinking, and visiting! Around 4:00 we headed to the property management company to get our keys (they found us a different condo free of charge due to the mix up).... and it wasn't ready yet, they were running behind :) surprise!

We made it to the condo all in one piece and once again took a step back in time, with flowered couches and all! The woman who owned the condo also had some sort of foot fetis and the entire condo was decorated with feet and shoes.... it was weird. Needless to say, I finally got to go on my grocery shopping trip. Like always we bought WAY too much food!

Saturday was fun on the boat, Nick is such a wonderful host and they have all sorts of fun stuff for the boat. Tubes, water ski's, floaties... everything you need to have fun on a lake. Charlie loved the boat, he even relaxed enough to nap...

The rest of the trip was pretty smooth sailing, we spent Saturday night in and had dinner to celebrate Dave's birthday! Which brings us to tonight... home, tired, and ready for the week to start! 

football and tofu?

Day 3 was tough... I am not going to lie. I almost quit like 7 times :) But i didn't.... but that doesn't mean that I am not going to quit tomorrow! It's hard. Not only because I am eating a strict diet, but it makes me think about food all the time... which makes me think I am hungry all the time. Which I am not.

Day 3 happen to fall on a Saturday, which is football day at our house. We always watch the Nebraska game and usually eat something not very healthy and drink! But today, I watched football and ate tofu... it didn't feel American.

I did however try a new recipe for apple chips... and Dave loved it! I never really know what he thinks of my cooking/baking because he always compares me to his mom... but this time he told me he liked what I made. The sucky part, is that I didn't like them :( oh poo.

Menu:
Breakfast - apple with peanut butter
Snack - spicy pumpkin soup
Lunch - tofu, acorn squash and a tomato with balsamic vinegar
Snack - mixed nuts
Dinner - "taco" salad with mushroom & black beans, lettuce and salsa
Snack - a few grapes, applesauce and a cup of tea

The good thing about this is that today I had at least 5 servings of veggies and 2 of grapes... pretty impressive. The hard part is that I miss crunchy, fake crunchy not veggie crunchy. I want goldfish & cheerios! :)

Tomorrow my family is coming to town... I am so excited to see them, but I think the "cleanse" will be difficult. I am going to try my damnedest, but I just might not make it.

Protein - Day 2

Day 2 was pretty o.k. I once again sat on my butt all day at a training. I realized just how hard it is for me to sit all day... not fun. And my gym was closed for Veteran's Day (which is cool - all service members deserve a day off) but it kind of stunk for me! The good thing about it was that I decided to take the time that I usually spend at the gym browsing Barnes and Nobel. I seriously could spend DAY'S there walking around, looking, drinking Starbucks (though I didn't have any this time). I also realized that I LOVE self help and health books :) loser... I know! I decided to buy "The 5 Love Languages." Someone in the training that I was at mentioned the book and how it changed all of her relationships... I'm excited to start reading.

Menu:
Breakfast: 2 slices Whole Wheat toast with Peanut Butter
Snack: apple and mixed nuts
Lunch: Broccoli, acorn squash & tofu
Snack: grapes and Multi Grain Cheerios
Dinner: Flax seed tortilla chips and slasa, Spicy Pumpkin Soup (pumpkin, corn, spices) - DELICIOUS

Not having a glass of wine on day 2 was a lot easier than not having a glass of wine on day 1. It is mostly just habit, and a little relaxing :) Tamra came over to watch Forks Over Knives.... finally I got to see it. It was really interesting... not as life changing as I thought it would be, but it really got me thinking. I feel really good about my decision to become a Pescitarian, however this documentary focused on a "whole food, plant based diet."

The studies done on the DAMAGE that animal protein does to our body, including diary, was CRAZY! Not only that it is not beneficial, but that it actually does damage. I am going to watch it again, and look more into a plant-based diet. I know this is not an over-night change that I can make, so I am going to do lots of research and make small changes. I will continue to avoid dairy, but I am not going to be too strict about it yet.

I do think that everyone should watch it though.... there is a lot of good information!

Can you drink wine while doing a cleanse?

Day 1 was pretty successful. The goal for today was: whole grains, fruit, veggies, legumes, and nuts & seeds. I was actually pretty impressed with myself, I was however a little lenient with what I considered a whole grain.... oops!

The only other downfall of today was that I sat on my ass literally the ENTIRE day. I LOVE learning & going to trainings... but I HATE sitting all day long. I thought all day about the articles that I have read about the damage sitting does to your body. One more day & I will be back to my standing ways :)

Today's menu:
Breakfast - oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon (did no have my usual honey)
Snack - banana and mixed nuts (almonds, cashews, and some nut I don't know the name of)
Lunch - La Mie (amazing place) veggie sandwich on whole wheat (red pepper, sweet potato, sprouts, mushrooms, hummus and pesto)
Snack - pumpkin seeds
Dinner - "tacos" (lettuce for a shell and our "taco meat" is sauteed mushrooms & black beans... yummy) with salsa and a few flax seed tortilla chips
Snack - Multi-grain Cheerios

Workout:
warm up
9 minutes running at 6mph (oddly hard)
21 minutes on elliptical (too easy)
15 minutes running at 5.5mph
cool down

My one question... and the one thing that I really missed today (don't judge) was my glass of wine! Can I have a glass of wine while doing a "cleanse"?

Getting ready for Day 1

Today I went grocery shopping. I decided to use my day off at the gym to go shopping with out my "little helper"... it makes it a lot more relaxing. I really do enjoy grocery shopping, but this was a little different, as I was preparing for my cleanse. I usually  buy a lot of fruits & veggies, but today I got a TON.

Here's what I got (I'm sure I won't remember everything, but I'll try)...

apples, bananas, grapes, tomatoes, acorn squash, mushrooms, peppers, sweet potatoes, avacado, broccoli slaw, lettuce, carrots, hummus, black beans and a few packs of frozen stirfry veggie mixes.

Tomorrow is day 1... I am so ready for it! Here we go!  

Count Down to MEXICO

As of today we have 25 days until Mexico. I have decided that my blog will now include my "getting healthy journey!" As many of you know I always try to find ways to be a healthier person, and as most women, I like to see a certian number on the scale. Lately, I have noticed that the number I am seeing on the scale, coupled with how I am feeling is NOT how I want to be feeling.

I have decided I need a little more accountability, and what better form of accountability than posting your efforts on a blog?!?!? So each day I will post how my day went, what new things I tried and my lovely menu for the day :)

Tomorrow I am starting a "mini cleanse" that will last 8 days...

Day 1 & 2: whole wheat, frutis, veggies, legumes, nuts & seeds

Day 3 & 4: fruits, veggies, legumes, nuts & seeds

Day 5 & 6: fruits, veggies, nuts & seeds

Day 7: fruits & veggies

Day 8 - veggies

Wish me luck... 

Celebrating 1 Year!

Today, September, 18, 2011... was Dave and my 1st wedding anniversary! Throughout the day today, I thought a lot about how much my life has changed in the last 3 years... it's almost unimaginable.

2008 - I graduated college, got my first real job at the AIDS Project of Central Iowa, met Dave AND found out I was pregnant

2009 - I moved in with Dave, became a home owner, got engaged, had Charlie AND got promoted from Case Manager at the Project to Care Services Supervisor

2010 - I got married.... which kind of sounds like a boring year, but it wasn't, believe me! Lots of planning :)

And now 2011... I got promoted, yet again to Wellness Services Manger at the Project & we are still just chugging along!

It's amazing how much life can change and how AMAZING life is! I feel so lucky to have Dave in my life... and even MORE lucky that I get to spend the rest of my life with him!

Tonight, to celebrate (we only 1/2 celebrated because Dave had drill.... he and I are going out next weekend just the two of us) I made fish tacos and we sat down to a family dinner. Charlie helped to set the table too! 



The fish taco's were amazing... when Dave got home he asked, "are you working from a recipe?" My response was "No" because I was kind of winging it and he said, "Oh, this should be interesting." But it was AMAZING! Below is a picture of the condiments  for our tacos... the two on the right are made by yours truly... the salsa is out of a jar (sorry not that ambitous)! 

The middle compartment is a spicy chipotle slaw... I made it with cole slaw mix, adobo sauce, cilantro and a little bit of lime juice... SPICY but delicious! Then on on the far right is a "fiesta salad" it is black beans, shoe peg corn, tomatoes, avacado, cilantro and a little lime juice to prevent browning! I then blackened the fish and used corn tortillas..... DELICIOUS! We will for sure be eating fish taco's more often.

We ended our anniversary with a trip to Dairy Queen... Charlie and Mommy love ice cream! All and all it was a nice day... laid back and a wonderful way to celebrate one year of marriage!

Elmo party

Elmo was the first character that Charlie loved. So we decided to have an Elmo party for his second birthday. It was perfect! We had it on Camp Dodge, at a great pavilion in the park. The security guard at the front gate passed out a map with Elmo leading guests to the park. Also, signs helped guests make it to the park. We grilled, sang, played games and visited with family and friends. It was great! And Charlie got so many great toys... he is one lucky boy!

One of the projects I decided to do was Elmo Cozies for guests to use, then take home as a party favor, seeing as  most of Charlie's guests were adults. Two days before the party I decided to do these... so I spent the day calling EVERY store in Des Moines that I thought may have them. I found 20... I needed 32. Hope picked up the last 12 in Iowa city on her way to visit. Below is a picture of them drying...

Thanks to Cece and Dave, they weren't too bad to put together... the cozies are foam & so are all of the other parts, so I bought foam glue, which worked out pretty well. We only had a couple of eyes fall off at the party. We just cut out eyeballs, pupils and noses :) The sticker on the back read:

I'm tickled you could

spend my 2nd birthday

with me!

Love, Charlie

How CUTE! Below is the basket they were held in... great idea from Cece! The sign read... "Elmo loves to keep your drink cold!"

They were a hit and I will defiantly do something fun like this again for Charlie's birthdays!