Monday, February 28, 2011

A storm's a comin'

At least that's what the weathermen are saying. These are the same men that said we would get the snow storm of the decade this past winter...and it missed us completely by running to the other side of the state. I've lost faith. However, we are under a tornado watch until 4pm. Crazy! The rain has started, so lets see what follows.

So far this morning, we've had an fun morning. With 65 degree weather by 10am this morning, we took advantage of it before the rain set in. We opened up all the windows in the house to get rid of the stuffy winter air in here. We took a little walk around the yard and soaked up some Vitamin D and fresh air. Cheyanne loves a good breeze on her face. Apparently wind is pretty funny, especially when it makes the plants sway. I wish I had had my camera on me to capture her giggles when it blew. Once the sprinkles starting coming down, we sat on the front porch for a few moments and enjoyed watching the rain drops fall. I love looking at things through her innocent eyes. Everything is new and fun and beautiful. Even something as simple as rain.

Then we came inside for a photo shoot. Go figure. We're working on sitting up on her own. She's a swayer. Or sometimes even a nose diver. Its a real work in progress.






______________________
Update: The local weathermen lied again. Brisk sprinkles amounted to a big fat nothing. B.O.R.I.N.G. Not that I was wishing for a tornado or anything...

Day 27 Blog Journal - My worst habit

Day 27 - my worst habit

Easiest one so far!! Pro.cras.tin. Oh I'll finish that later. ation.

I am the worst procrastinator in the entire world I'm afraid. I always get things done, somehow, but I'm usually beating myself up at the end of it swearing up and down I will never procrastinate again. Until tomorrow that is.


Its a horrible habit. I hope with everything in me that Chey does not inherit this trait from me. I'm pretty sure every year it lands on my new years resolution list. Some moments in life are better than others, but overall, yep, I am a procrastinator.

I've gotten better ::stop rolling your eyes Mom:: but I struggle with this habit constantly. Although, with a baby by my lonesome, I try and stay on top of things the best I can. Bills get paid on time. Baby gets everything she needs on time. Unfortunately, its usually my personal things that fall to the waste side until I can't handle it anymore. Example A. The scrapbook. Yeah, the scrapbook that I started 3 months again and the last page I touched was pre-Christmas. Yeah I'll just get to that later.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

It's All About Me

This is so true baby girl. There is absolutely no denying that.



Day 26 Blog Journal: Your week, in great detail

Day 26 - your week, in great detail

Oh, I'm sorry. Perhaps if you just read Day 25- your day in great detail five times, that should answer this one.

Baby wakes up around 6am. I give baby medicine and put her in bed with me. We sleep for about an hour until she wakes up to eat. Once awake, we say goodbye to Nana and Skipper as they leave for work. Depending on how we slept the night before, we either lay back in bed to cuddle and watch Hoda and Kathie Lee on the Today Show, or we begin our day of play. Fast forward 2 hours of play. Baby lays down for late morning nap around 11am. Momma jumps in shower while baby naps. Momma jumps out of shower to get dressed, hurry through a few things on her to do list for the day. Baby wakes up hungry. Feed baby. Feed self while baby plays in jumperoo or on floor mat. Tummy time. Play play. Laundry or some other random chore that can be done with baby in tow as at this point baby wants nothing but to be held. Baby takes afternoon nap. I squeeze in whatever other things are mandatory on my to do list such as pay bills, make phone calls, catch up on my blog, etc. Baby awakes ready to eat again. Play play. Hopefully catch a little of either Ellen or Oprah during play time. Nana and Skipper get home and take baby for a few moments while I let my arms rest (jk). Dinner. Phone call from the Giant when he gets out of class. Baby time. Get baby ready for bed starting at 8pm. Usually put baby down just as the Giant calls again as he is getting ready for bed as well around 8:30pm. Perform juggling act of soothing screaming baby fighting sleep and carrying on an adult conversation trying to get filled in on whatever has gone on in the Giant's world that day. Postpone the phone call until baby is completely asleep and I am able to relax and talk like a normal human being. Ah breathe. Finish phone call. Fall to sleep. Wake up around 2:30 to put awake baby back to sleep. Perform this a few more times throughout the night. And wake up at 6am to do it all over again.

Throw in a few random shopping trips on Saturday and maybe slip in a church service Sunday morning if I'm lucky, and that about sums up my week. Wow, I just bored myself. Moving on...

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Day 25 Blog Journal: Your day, in great detail

Day 25 - your day, in great detail

Are you kidding me? Hello?? I have a baby. There will be no "in great detail" today. I'll give you the rundown.

Baby wakes up around 6am. I give baby medicine and put her in bed with me. We sleep for about an hour until she wakes up to eat. Once awake, we say goodbye to Nana and Skipper as they leave for work. Depending on how we slept the night before, we either lay back in bed to cuddle and watch Hoda and Kathie Lee on the Today Show, or we begin our day of play. Fast forward 2 hours of play. Baby lays down for late morning nap around 11am. Momma jumps in shower while baby naps. Momma jumps out of shower to get dressed, hurry through a few things on her to do list for the day. Baby wakes up hungry. Feed baby. Feed self while baby plays in jumperoo or on floor mat. Tummy time. Play play. Laundry or some other random chore that can be done with baby in tow as at this point baby wants nothing but to be held. Baby takes afternoon nap. I squeeze in whatever other things are mandatory on my to do list such as pay bills, make phone calls, catch up on my blog, etc. Baby awakes ready to eat again. Play play. Hopefully catch a little of either Ellen or Oprah during play time. Nana and Skipper get home and take baby for a few moments while I let my arms rest (jk). Dinner. Phone call from the Giant when he gets out of class. Baby time. Get baby ready for bed starting at 8pm. Usually put baby down just as the Giant calls again as he is getting ready for bed as well around 8:30pm. Perform juggling act of soothing screaming baby fighting sleep and carrying on an adult conversation trying to get filled in on whatever has gone on in the Giant's world that day. Postpone the phone call until baby is completely asleep and I am able to relax and talk like a normal human being. Ah breathe. Finish phone call. Fall to sleep. Wake up around 2:30 to put awake baby back to sleep. Perform this a few more times throughout the night. And wake up at 6am to do it all over again.

Yeah, that's my typical day. Riveting I know.

Caught red handed or sometimes blue VIDEO

Its nothing earth shattering, but she is just too stinkin' cute. Please ignore the annoying Momma voice.

Caught red handed or sometimes blue


What? I'm not doing anything.


But now that you mention it, this red thing looks pretty yummy.


What's that you say?


Are my eyes mesmerizing you yet? Slight of the hand...slight of the hand...


Alright, maybe if I bat my eyes a little...


Nevermind! I'm just going for it!


Fine! You caught me. Yum yum!


Ahhh it's so worth it.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Texas Highlights

What a fantastic trip last week! I could not have asked for a better time. 

From the minute we landed, everything just seemed to work out. From being able to stay at the hotel on base (saving us mucho dinero!) the entire time to being upgraded to a larger rental car to getting to spend extra time with my husband, it was just easy. For the first time in four months, we truly felt like a family again. Even though it was short lived, it was the best feeling being a wife and a mother all at the same time at the same place. What a novel idea, right?

I first have to brag a little and say my Giant is such a good daddy. Three months without changing a diaper and he jumped back into it like its an old habit. Baby cried? He's calming her. Baby's ready to get up? He's got her. Baby needs to take a bath? Go for it Daddy! He's such a natural. No matter how long he's away, he knows what to do when he's back. Thank you babe for all your help this week. It was a nice change and break for me.

Quick highlights of the trip (in no certain order of sequence): 


1. No crying from baby the entire flight to TX. Go baby!


2. Plane diaper explosion tradition continued.

3. Flight attendant almost got punched for not wanting me to take care of said diaper explosion.

4. Formentioned flight attendant's jacket accidentally got used as diaper changing cushion due to this Momma's slight annoyance and silent accidental vengeance issues. I'm working on it.

5. The giant looks fantastic. He's gained some muscle definition back and no longer looks like a string bean out of basic training. Sexy sexy, if I do say so myself, which I do, cause its my blog. ;)

6. First time we've all slept in the same bed (yes all three of us) in three months. Insert big awesome here! And we have established that a certain high maintenance baby girl does in fact require the most room in the bed. Not only does she sleep with arms completely sprawled out beside her, but she now has begun to roll in her sleep. Yes, roll.


7. Cheyanne loves her Daddy. Those two are insperatable. Two peas in a pod, no matter the length of time apart.



What a daddy's girl. Those two melt my heart instantly.







8. Cheyanne was christened at the base chapel Sunday morning. Her attire composed of a christening gown made for her great grandfather (my Grandaddy, RIP) one hundred years ago worn by many family members along the way including me, a gold diamond ring given to her by her great giant grandparents, a baby bonnet worn by her giant grandma, and sweet shoes from her nana with her name and birth date embossed on the soles. She looked more than perfect and behaved like a sleeping angel- because she shockingly slept all the way through the service. Miracle!



9. We asked my sister and brother in law to officially be her godparents and most importantly they accepted.

10. I had the best gelatos I have ever tasted in my ENTIRE LIFE. Seriously. Best. Ever. Wine raisin flavored I think. Not rum raisin. Wine raisin. Mmmm.


11. The giant and I got to enjoy some adult time down on the san Antonio riverwalk with a big (and I mean big) margarita that got us a lot of attention. Well actually I don't know if it was the large shared margarita or the baby asleep in her stroller as we downed that margarita. Once she woke up and saw that pretty glass "toy," there was no going back to sleep. She was in awe. And despite the look of the picture, she didn't get that close :)


12. The Giant was able to get time off and take us to the airport to say goodbye. Bitter sweet.



13. We were delayed 2.5 hours in the Dulles airport waiting on a working plane, because ours didn't. Entertaining a very tired baby awake way past her bedtime in an airport with tons of people and no quiet place to sit? Awesome.

14. All around amazing time. I'm ready to go back!

Day 24 Blog Journal: Where I Live

Day 24 - where I live






I love my home state.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Laughter

does a body good!



Ignore the funness had by pulling Momma's hair

Day 23 Blog Journal: A Youtube video

Day 23 - a youtube video



Everything about this cracks me up.

No no

that is not a banshee that you might hear if you pass by our house today. Nope, that would just be my sweet, happy, delicate, screaming at the top of her lungs daughter! What is going on today? Was there something with the moon last night that brought this out in her? She has always been vocal, but oh. my. word. She is not loud. She is LOUD!! She apparently has lots of things to say today, loudly. At least it is a happy banshee scream. I think. I don't know if I'm actually hearing so well anymore... but I'm seeing a smile with those bright eyes... most of the time.


Look who's getting too big for her bouncer seat? How is that possible?

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Day 22 Blog Journal: A website

Day 22 - a website



http://www.operationhugahero.org/

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Day 21 Blog Journal: A recipe

Day 21 - a recipe

Below is the recipe for beef tenderloin.  If you want a cheaper cut of meat, you can always marinate it to tenderize it.  I have used london broil and flank steak with the following marinade, grilled it, and cut it on the diagonal.  They are also good.
 
Beef Tenderloin:
1 (4 to 6 pound) beef tenderloin
Dry mustard
Salt and pepper
Mild steak sauce (optional)
Mushrooms (optional)
 
Trim tenderloin of fat.  Sprinkle with dry mustard and rub serface well.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Place in shallow roasting pan.  Brush steak sauce over tenderloin.  Roast in preheated very hot oven (450) for 30 to 40 minutes (rare) or 45 to 60 minutes (medium) being careful not to over- bake.
 
Meat marinade:
1 1/2 cups of salad oil
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup wine vinegar
2 crushed garlic cloves
3/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon black paper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1/3 cup lemon juice

Monday, February 21, 2011

What just happened?

Here's my question. What just happened? In five days, my daughter has gone from being a momma's girl through and through to being a die hard daddy's girl? When did this happen? From the minute she saw him five days ago, he's all she wanted. What am I? Chopped liver? This was actually said earlier today... as I tried to rock a very tired crying baby to sleep, I hear  "It's okay baby. Not everyone is as experienced as me at putting you to bed. Here I'll take her." I roll my eyes and chuckle."Sure," I think."Go ahead. Try." Would you believe that I could barely get her out of my arms and hand her to him before there was complete silence? What the crap?! Apparently daddy really does have the magic touch with his little girl. Cause its not like I'be been doing it on my own for the last three months! She is definitely a daddy's girl and we are definitely in trouble when she gets older. I hear it now, "daddy puhhleeeez!?" Yep, its a sure thing.

It's been a great trip and we are sad to leave. But tomorrow we fly home. I'll have more posts to follow then. Sorry my blog has been so boring. I'll make it up.


Day 20 Blog Journal: A hobby of yours

Day 20 - a hobby of yours

Um, is this not the same as Day 19? A talent. A hobby. Hmm same thing to me. However, I have a baby. I don't have any hobbies right now. Boring, yes I know.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Day 19 Blog Journal: A talent of yours

Day 19 - a talent of yours

Crafts. I enjoy all crafts. But I'm probably best at knitting. That's my talent.

I need pictures. I'll work on that.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Day 18 Blog Journal: My wedding/future wedding/past wedding

Day 18 - my wedding/future wedding/past wedding




Friday, February 18, 2011

Day 17 Blog Journal: An art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)

Day 17 - an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)


My father is a beautiful artist. He can paint just about anything. He gave me this painting a long time ago, years after he painted it, and it remains one of my favorites that he has ever done. My parents' house is filled with his paintings. This painting will always be hung in my home, no matter where that home may be.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Day 16 Blog Journal: A song that makes you cry (or nearly)

Day 16 - a song that makes you cry (or nearly)

Oh come on. Geesh. How much time do you have?

Right now, probably anything, well anything about someone being away from home or missing someone or military centered lyrics or basically any sappy country song.

Example.




Yep. It happened again. Ugh.

I long for the day that I can turn on the country radio station and not have to quickly change it to keep the water works at bay. That day's not here yet.

One song that I love (that yes is sappy but so sweet and positive)...

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Day 15 Blog Journal: Your dream house

Day 15 - your dream house

I am a HUGE Frank Lloyd Wright fan, so this is by far my favorite naturalistic FLW home. "Fallingwater" one day I will visit you in Pennsylvania.


But I'm also a sucker for all Charleston homes, like this one... Shoot, I'd take a shack if it even resembled this one.

Ah to live in a home like this. I'll keep dreaming.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

5 months

has come too quickly. I'm one day early posting her 5 month post, but seeing as we'll be in the air tomorrow on our way to see her daddy, I figured, what the heck?.

She is more fun each day. And growing like a weed! I'm guessing that she is somewhere around 15.5 pounds and is 24.5-25 inches long.






She smiles about 75 percent of the time. That 25 percent she isn't smiling, she is either asleep or going to sleep. Speaking of which, doesn't happen all that often. My 21 week email said 5 month old babies should be sleeping somewhere around 14 1/2 hours a day. Hmmm, how about 8? Which then of course means her Momma is sleeping, oh, about half that. We start her heading to bed at 8pm which sometimes works, sometimes not. More than not, her schedule is asleep by 8:45pm, stretch of long sleep until midnight or 1ish (maybe eat), back to sleep then up every hour to three hours to fuss, be soothed, then fall back to sleep. Its a nightly routine. I've gotten really good at tiptoeing in at the slightest wimper and popping her paci back in before she wakes up enough to fight it.





Tummy time is still a challenge, but depending on the day/mood, she puts up with it for about 2-3 minutes at a time. She is pushing up a lot and we've been practicing moving her legs at the same time. How do you encourage crawling? I'll be doing my best to support the crawling. She loves to stand any chance she gets these days, so I think she might just try to be a walker from the start.

She talks and talks and squeals and talks more. She takes squealing to a whole new level. Decibel level that is. What usually starts out as a fun little giggle game escalates quickly to a ear piercing dog hearing level squeal. Usually right next to Momma's ears. What??....?...





Everything goes in her mouth. E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. I'm constantly wiping things down, sanitizing, wiping her down, wiping me down... yeah there's a lot of wiping during my days. Everything is interesting, yummy, but interesting.

She has quite a sense of humor. She loves to make people laugh. Getting or giving a giggle goes a long way with her. Add a clap and your golden.





We dance. We sing. We read books. We play Itsy Bitsy Spider. We roll over from front to back and back to front. We suck our fingers, any finger, but it must be upside down to truly enjoy it. Sometimes we even like to combine our paci and finger together for a real good time. So, yes, this is what we do every day. And we love it.

Oh my how she has grown in her 5 months of life. Slow down baby girl! I can't keep up. So, lets take a breather and go see Daddy now!

Day 14 Blog Journal: A non-fictional book

Day 14 - a non-fictional book

I wanted to finish this book before I gave the Giant his kindle for Christmas, but alas, my slow reading abilities got the best of me on our flight to TX last month. But, as soon as I get my hands on the Kindle, I'll be back at it. I'm intrigued to see his take on things.

Monday, February 14, 2011

For my special valentine

Dear
,

!!!

I
especially today.

Today is special because 

today, we had our first date at
How romantic! ;-)


Happy

years, Babe!





Love, Your Wifey

____________________________
And Happy First Valentine's Sweet Girl. Next year I'll give you lots of sweet Valentine goodies, but this year you'll have to settle for lots of sweet Momma kisses instead.