The Cleveland Connection

Jack at 7 Months

2009-08-25T13:30:00.002-04:00

** You are now 20.5 lbs and over 28 inches...still a big boy - In the 92nd percentile for height and 80th for weight. Your head is humongous and is in the 85th percentile.

** You have gotten so big the baby swings motor finally stopped working from the excessive weight.

** You eat a tablespoon of rice cereal in the morning (soon it will be oatmeal...much better) and a half a jar of baby food in the evening. You will eat ANYTHING!

** You drink water out of a sippy cup...sometimes too much comes out and you start to cough/choke and you make a funny face. It's pretty cute.

** You sleep from 8:30 pm to 7:30-8:00 am....and I am still very thankful for your sleep habits.

** You hold your own bottle now, although you have a tendency to play with it while feeding and it gets all over your face.

** You are in the beginning phase of scooting to get where you want to be. It seems that you know what you are supposed to do with your legs, but not quite what you are supposed to do to get your arms moving. So you just kind of projectile your way across the floor.

** You do not like to sit and be still for as long of periods as you used to. In fact, you do not like it much at all and are always trying to move.

** You bounce up and down when you are on your legs.

** You still do not have any teeth....or hardly any hair.

** You have started trying to break (or create) the world record for loudest/strongest raspberries and you are very cute when you spit all over your father trying to do this.

** You just took your first plane ride and had your first vacation in Wisconsin. You did very well on the plane, especially because any time you started to make noise, we stuck a bottle in your mouth and that always helps.

My New Baby

2009-08-14T15:16:00.005-04:00

Welcome to the family Apple iPhone 3G...

I love you!!!

Not a great picture, but here's a photo that you took of me with human baby Jack...

I'm looking forward to all of the good times we will spend together.

Love,
Mommy

Why?

2009-08-05T13:49:00.007-04:00

Well Jillian, my choice for you from the beginning was Kiptyn You didn't listen to me and now here's what happens .

Why aren't the peeps on this show ever normal? Why is there always so much drama???

Jack at 6 Months

2009-07-17T21:39:00.000-04:00

You like to eat paper (e.g. magazines, catalogs, etc...) and you get angry if we pull it away from you because you are not supposed to be eating it.

You are really trying to get up into a crawling position...and you have, for about a millisecond.

You have eaten (in this order) rice cereal, squash, green beans, peas, and applesauce and you have not protested any of them...this contributes to your chubbiness.

You still do not have any teeth, but I swear they are coming soon.

You are quickly growing out of your infant car seat, and just about everything else.

You love to blow raspberries.

You have gotten sick for the first time and had your first fever (103.3)...apparently due to an ear infection. You have received your first taste of antibiotics...and you seem to like it.

Those antibiotics gave you diarrhea, which has been absolutely wonderful for mommy and daddy (I say sarcastically).

You are 19.5 pounds. Up two pounds from your checkup in early June. We only found out due to the after hours visit to the doctor's office for your high fever. You keep getting bigger and bigger and the only assumption that I can make is that you will be 850 pounds by the time you are 20.

It Was Inevitable

2009-07-14T10:07:00.002-04:00

So,

The little guy got sick for the first time yesterday. He was a little bit grumpy on Sunday and then a bit more grumpy yesterday. And Jack is not a grumpy boy. He's usually very mellow. My sister, his "nanny", said that he had been pulling at his ears a little bit, but when we got home, he wasn't doing that. We took his temperature and it was 103.3. We called after hours care and they said to bring him in, so we took the first non regular check up visit to the doctor's office. We thought we might dodge this until Jack went back into a daycare center, but not so. Looks like he has the beginnings of an ear infection (one of his ears apparently much worse than the other). Bummer. They gave him a shot of antibiotic and sent us home with some and we gave him some infant Tylenol. At first, when we tried to put him to bed, he was screaming, crying and just not having it. He wouldn't calm down until I picked him up. I know somethings wrong when he's like this because my baby is a sleeper and usually has no problem going down. Well, after a while of him not going to sleep, we decided to put a couple of pillows under his mattress to raise it a little (as I read on the internet this may help with some babies). Well, he was either very confused by it or it worked because he fell asleep after that. I had to go in a couple of times to give him more infant Tylenol and he fussed a couple of other times, but for the most part, not so bad. At the beginning of the night, I thought I wouldn't get any sleep, but he did well. He had no other symptoms, which is good, and this morning his temperature went down to 99.1. So hopefully with the antibiotics, he will get better quickly. It's so very sad to see him in pain. I don't like it at all.

I'm so Behind the Times

2009-07-07T11:03:00.003-04:00

So, I'm sure a lot of folks already know about this web site, Delicious, where you can bookmark all of your favorite web sites and blogs. You will have to excuse me for my lack of Internet social and bookmarking web site knowledge. I wish I would have known about this before. I bookmark on all of my different computers (work, home, husband's laptop) and so one computer may not have a favorite web site that I saved to another, which is quite annoying. On Delicious you can store all of your bookmarks in one place and access them from any computer. It's brilliant! I have already started taking my all over the place bookmarks and adding them to my account. This is definitely a helpful tool.

My Future's So Bright...

2009-06-28T10:15:00.008-04:00

I got to wear shades!

We bought Jack some cool baby sunglasses from mfs eyewear. They are absolutely adorable on him! He's one cool dude.

Jack had a play date over the weekend. His buddy is three weeks older than him and he seems more advanced for his age than Jack (it's always hard not to compare). I don't think Jack is behind or anything, I just think that his friend is ahead for his age. One difference though is that Jack sleeps through the night and his friend doesn't (his poor mommy). I guess I will take that. I like sleep!

I'm Obsessed

2009-06-25T12:04:00.016-04:00

Thanks to Mary Kate at Our Journey , I found out about Picnik.com , a free photo editing web site (although you can pay for upgrading to premium services) that lets you do so many fun things with your pictures. As soon as I started using it, I was sending all kinds of cool edited photos to my husband and family. I am totally hooked!

Here's a couple of examples of what you can do:

The first photo to the right is the before picture and the photo below was made after messing around with some special "effects". I used the frames feature to make it look like a Polaroid picture, added a couple of cartoon-y characters, and also added my website URL for a watermark (which learning from Mary Kate , you can use to protect the photos on your blog.)

Here's another example of what you can do...

This is a family photo taken a little while back:

Below, here's what I did using the pencil sketch format:

Neat, huh?

You definitely should check it out and play with it. It's so much fun!

The Bachelorette

2009-06-23T10:12:00.005-04:00

So, for all of you out there who watch the Bachelorette, what did you think of last night’s show?

Recap:

Last night we saw Jillian and the boys take a multi-day train ride through the Rocky Mountains, which I for one, would love to do. The scenery on the trip looked absolutely amazing!

Jillian first went on a one on one Robbie the bartender. She did not feel he was ready for the long term and gave him the boot. He was cute, but she’s right, he is probably too young and doesn’t seem quite like he knows what he wants in life yet. Later, Jillian had a date with Kiptyn, Michael, Wes, Jesse, Tanner and Jake where they went snowshoeing and hung out at a dream cabin. Wes let it be known that he is basically there for promoting himself (as if we didn’t know that). Tanner decided that he would put himself out there (as he thinks that he is too shy sometimes) and showed off his package (covered up though) in front of Jillian and the rest of the guys. I can’t help but laugh at him. Later in the hot tub (there’s always got to be a hot tub), she gave my man Kiptyn the rose.

Jillian had her second one on one with Reid, who the boys say is neurotic (and he is a little bit). They went snowboarding and she was impressed that he decided to snowboard when he did not know how (apparently he knows how to ski really well). They spent some time in an ice lounge and then cozied up together. She seems to like him and she gave him a rose.

Rose Ceremony:

Jillian pulls Michael aside as she’s not quite sure if he’s ready at his age for a lifetime commitment. He assures her that he is (and seems to be telling the truth). Jillian has already given out two roses and can only give three more. She gives the three roses to Wes, Jesse and Michael, which means that Tanner and Jake are out.

My thoughts:

I felt really bad for Jake (aka Mr. Perfect). My husband and I have said every time that we see him that he needs to calm it down when he’s around Jillian as it seems that he fell for her way too fast and seems as though he could be a pushover. He was laying his cards down way to quickly and that always scares women (and men) off. But, in his post interview, you can tell that this happens to him a lot and that’s really sad. He’s cute, super nice, employed, and seems as though he really would like to fall in love and get married. He’s the type of man that we women should go for and yet, because he doesn’t seem to have any bad boy in him, we don’t. It’s wrong that we women always complain about men being jerks, yet when the good ones come along, we throw them away. So, I felt bad for him.

I sooo wish she would have gotten rid of Wes. I cannot see what Jillian sees in him and it sucks for her that she doesn’t realize who he truly is. I really wish that Tanner would have whispered when he was leaving that Wes is the one with the girlfriend. He didn’t…but, in the previews for next week, it looks like Jake comes back to let her know. Yay! Usually I don’t like vengeance as it can look desperate, but I really don’t like Wes and think that him lying to Jillian is making her look bad, and so I hope that Jake tells her the truth and that she believes him. If she doesn’t, then something is wrong with that girl. If she really wants a long term partner, she has to stay away from the bad boys and if everyone is telling you he is bad and that he’s not there for you, then there is usually some truth to that. Sometimes you can believe what you hear.

My favorites are Reid and Kiptyn and I am still rooting for Kiptyn to go all the way. He was my choice from the first time they showed him, so I’m glad he’s still there. On Deanna’s season though, Jason was my pick from the first time they showed him, so my judgment may not always be the best. Hopefully Kiptyn doesn’t end up being like him.

By the way, they keep hinting that later in the season about somebody not being able to “perform” in the bedroom physically, but I think they are just messing with us. I mean, really, would she let it be known on TV if she was going to go that far with someone. Seriously doubt it.
Well, Tanner is out. No more talk of foot fetishes, which made me laugh, so I’m going to miss that. Jake, you are sweet and you will find someone, just don’t push too hard to find it. Wes, I hope you go home soon. Jesse, I’m not sure about you yet. You seem cool. Michael, you are fun and sweet, but you are probably a little too young. Reid and Kiptyn, I hope you are the two that make it to the end.

Some of Jack's Firsts

2009-06-21T19:43:00.016-04:00

Well, there's a reason they call it Hotlanta. It was darn hot this weekend and so we decided it would be a perfect time to get Jack into the baby pool I bought him a couple of weeks ago. We went over to my moms house so that she could see his first time too. Jack looked so cute in his little surfer shorts with his big belly hanging out!

By the way, it was Father's Day. Jack, you have the greatest father in the world!

Jack got used to the water pretty fast. He's always done well with baths, so I figured he would probably be ok, but you never know if babies are going to start screaming when you put them in water.

Look at those baby rolls...CUTE!!!

I'm glad that Jack seemed to like the water and have fun. I should have bought some water toys for him to play with in there, although he can't quite sit fully unassisted yet and those will probably be more useful then.

A couple of weeks ago, we gave Jack rice cereal for the first time. Now, I'm not sure if any of you other mothers have tasted this before giving it to your child, but I'm surprised Jack did not call social services on us for making him eat this stuff. It tastes like wallpaper paste mixed with metal particles. It's absolutely gross and Jack agrees:

Needless to say, I couldn't keep the rice cereal in his mouth for too long. Why do the manufacturers of rice cereal or doctors even recommend it if its not going to go down the babies throat??? I assume that it's easiest on their stomachs and so that is why you should start off with that, but my child is clearly not pleased with it!

After a few rice cereal feedings, I decided that I wanted to try something that Jack actually might eat. My husband and I decided that we wanted to start Jack on a few different vegetables before starting him on fruits in hopes that it might allow him to get used to liking vegetables before giving him something sweeter. So we chose squash, which apparently, is actually a fruit (stupid us), but used more like a vegetable because they are not sweet. I have always thought of squash as a vegetable though, so I am going to keep on thinking that.

Here's the first attempt:

"Mommy, if this tastes anything like what you have given me so far, I'm going to be really upset"...

"What the heck...I'm going to vomit"...

"Why do you all hate me so much???"...

So clearly, I thought that he didn't like it. It was written all over his face. He was mad, so we then fed him his bottle and decided to try again afterwards. Well, after the bottle, look what happened...

He actually liked it and wanted to keep eating it! I guess I made the mistake of trying to feed him the new food before his bottle and he just wanted the bottle first. It went fine after the bottle. Yay! I'm so happy that he likes squash. That's my boy!

Therapy Thursday

2009-06-18T09:16:00.005-04:00

Like many couples, my husband and I would both like learn how to communicate more effectively with each other. As I mentioned in my confessions, I need to learn how to control my anger (not in general everyday life as I tend not to be an angry person for no reason, but rather in arguments). When I want to talk to my husband about my wants, my feelings, or something that is upsetting me, I start off calm and I mean to remain so. The difficulty is that my husband is not as comfortable with relationship talks and can sometimes pull away and not be open to talking to me. I realize he is not as comfortable as me but when he retreats and tells me that he does not want to talk about it and keeps putting the issues off, I start to build up resentments because I cannot get my feelings out. So, when we start a conversation at a later time, those resentments are there and when I see him retreating, I get angered more easily.

I am not quite sure how to deal with this. I would like to not hold on to previous anger and just deal with things in the present time. But how is that possible? I feel that my husband would like me to forget any previous “issues” we have had and not bring them into the conversations we have now, but how can you not be affected by the way things have happened before if they have not been resolved? How can we find a way to talk constructively (which for me means not getting angry and for him, not retreating and thinking that I am trying to criticize?). I think this is one of the hardest parts of marriage. Luckily, I have a husband who is open to working things out and I think we can find ways to improve our communication. Our relationship overall is pretty darn great, but I know that it I am going to have to make some changes within myself and not just expect him to...and I am going to give it my all, so we don’t keep going in circles.

Jack at 5 Months

2009-06-17T09:16:00.002-04:00

Jack, you are five months old today...

You are getting better at sitting every day. You can hold your own for a little bit in the tripod position.

You are incredibly strong and pull at everything, including my hair (please stop doing that because I have too little hair as it is).

-- You love standing on your legs and act like you are "the man" for doing it.

-- Your only other food besides formula that you have had is rice cereal, which tastes like wallpaper paste (as mommy and daddy know as we stupidly decided to taste it). Hold on one more month or so baby, then you will get the good stuff...like sweet potatoes, bananas, and squash (not sure if you'll like the squash).

If we try and put a cookie in front of your mouth to see if you will suck on it, you turn your head every time. Yet if we put a scoop of formula in front of your mouth, you chomp down on it. I am perplexed by this. You obviously can't be my son if you don't want cookies!

You are trying your hardest to move/crawl when you are on your belly and pushing yourself up. You grunt a lot since you cannot make that happen yet.

You are about 17 lbs, 5 oz and 26 3/4 inches long. You are in the 77th percentile for weight and 89th for height. You're still a big boy!

You're just about to grow out of a size 2 diaper.

You have sprouted a little more hair (or fuzz as we like to call it). You are still pretty bald though.

You have learned that the pacifier is supposed to go in your mouth and you try on your own to put it in there (you have only done it correctly once and I was very proud).

There are times when we can get you to hold your bottle for 30 seconds to a minute. We know it's just a fluke when you do, but it seems like you want to.

You love to play peek-a-boo.

You still sleep through the night...for the most part. We have our days when you are up four or five times and we cannot figure out why.

We feel no teeth poking through yet, but swear you are teething (indicated by the massive amount of drool and overwhelming need to put everything in your mouth).

You are a mellow baby and many people comment on how good you are.

You are still the cutest and sweetest baby in your mom and dad's eyes and we still can't believe how much we love you!

Friend Makin' Mondays...On a Tuesday

2009-06-16T09:34:00.007-04:00

Every Monday over at Kasey's All That is Good Blog, she gives directions for Friend Makin' Mondays which includes a different activity to be done by readers on their own blogs to get to know their fellow bloggers. Usually, it is anything from answering questions, sharing pictures, and things that help everyone to get know each other and support each other better. I have seen this on a couple of blogs and have decided to join in...albeit a day late...

Today's task is confessions:

There is a candy jar at work with bite size candy bars and I usually eat anywhere from 5-10 a day. I think I eat probably the equivalent of 3 full candy bars on a daily basis. This does not help me lose any of the pregnancy weight and probably why I have been stagnant with the weight loss.
I have not told any of my family (including my husband) or close friends about this blog yet as I am afraid they will judge me for it.
I miss the freedom I had before I had a child. I would not trade my baby for anything though.
I feel that I do not read or watch enough educational books or programs and fill my brain with too much useless knowledge...but that this is all my brain can handle right now.
Related to number 4, I watch way too much reality television.
Like Kasey , I was engaged once before the current hubby. While I will always have fond memories of that man, I do not regret ending the engagement as it has brought me where I am today.
I need anger management. I do not handle arguments well as my husband can attest to.
Even though I have a great life and a pretty good self esteem, I often feel that people are more "with it" than I am and have more exciting lives.
I tend to space out. I was given a most likely award by my cheer group in high school called most likely to space out.

Ok everyone. I have confessed, now it's your turn. Go here for the rules.

Weekend Buys

2009-06-16T08:02:00.002-04:00

My husband and I each gave one another a day off from parenting this past weekend; he took Saturday and went over a friends house to do boy stuff and I took Sunday and did girl stuff...which means shopping.

I have to say, I am not a shopper. I am cheap (everyone always tells me to use the term frugal, but really, I am cheap). I rarely buy anything for myself and when I do, it's inexpensive. It's the way that I have always been, even if I have the money for things. While some people might think being cheap is a bad thing, I'm glad it's a trait of mine (and so is my husband...he's the same way). Occasionaly, I do find items that I want that are inexpensive and so I "splurge" (although splurge for me is not what it means for others). I bought a few things this weekend without spending much money, which I'm happy about.

I got this cute dress from Dots for only $16. I like it because I can wear it for work and on the weekends. It's really comfortable and has a summer-y feel to it.

Here is a perfect example of my cheapness. See the flip flops on the left...I have had those for years...years people. You can see in the picture that they have teeth marks (from my dog chewing on them) and they are ragged and falling apart. But hey, they served their purpose and they were very inexpensive. Well, finally yesterday, I purchased a new pair of flip flops...for only $6! But, I realized that cheap doesn't always cut it. I have only worn them for a very short period of time and they are pretty terrible. They kind of slip off my feet as I am walking and have almost made me trip a couple of times. I don't know if they will become comfortable or not, but I'm thinking that I just wasted $6.

This skirt was only $12. It's got a lot of color, which I like since I can wear it with a variety of shirts. I tend only to buy skirts that have this feature (which usually means I buy black...since it matches eveything).

I found these frames on clearance at Kohl's (less than $5 a piece). I couldn't say no. They had a ton of frames on clearance and so it was sort of hard for me to stop at just these two, but hey, I'm cheap, so I did.

I'm sore and I'm walking funny

2009-06-15T09:05:00.007-04:00

I went to the gym at my work for the first time this morning. I woke just a little before 5:30 am (which was very difficult as Jack started waking up every hour starting at about 2:30, and so I was up three or four times before my alarm). Once I was out the door, being up that early wasn't too bad. I decided to just do the treadmill today and probably will for a while as cardio seems to be what works best for me and changes my body the quickest. I walked at a 4.0 mph pace for 15 minutes, jogged for 12 minutes at 6.0 mph, and did a slow jog at 5.0 mph for 18 minutes, for a total time of 45 minutes and total distance of 3.4 miles and am now paying for it as I am sore and walking funny. It wasn't that much fun and minutes after I started walking I already had a side stitch. I mean really, I have to be pretty out of shape to have a side stitch after only a couple of minutes. But, I learned a trick a while back to get rid of these; breath in through your nose and every time you exhale, pull your stomach in pretty tight. For some reason, if you do this for at least a minute or so, it seems to help. At least it does for me. And, it gives your tummy a little bit of a workout too.

The only fun part of the workout (besides the end of it) was that I got to listen to some new music on my ipod. But what wasn't good was the reason I was listening to new music. On Saturday, I went to download a few songs and somehow managed to delete my entire music library (...tear...). I pressed a button (which did not say press this and you will lose everything) and lost everything. I tried to look in every location on my computer to see if I could find the music that I previously had on it and could not find it (proof as to why I should back this stuff up). I was totally bummed. I had a lot on there from over the years, and it was wiped out. So, I went download crazy and put a bunch of new music on my ipod. Not good for my pocketbook, but it was great to have some new songs on there to motivate me while I am working out.

I stepped on the scale after the workout, and while I will not post the weight here (I like to keep that between me, myself and I), it looks like I really only have about 5 lbs to lose to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight (and really, I am not sure if I should expect to get back down to that). That's not too bad.

One issue that I have when working out is that I get beat red. I mean, as in fire red. Today was no different. If people were watching me, I think they would have probably thought I was going to explode. The redness lasts even after I have taken a shower and put on my makeup. I had to blast the air conditioning in my car for the couple of minutes it took to drive from the gym to work. That helped some and at least I did not look like a tomato. Does anybody else experience this? If so, do you know any tricks to get rid of the redness?

Storage

2009-06-12T16:33:00.007-04:00

So, this is where I normally store Jack's toys; in the living room, in baskets under the coffee table. Not exactly the most pleasing place to the eye, but I didn't have anywhere else where I could just throw them when I wanted to clean up really fast.

Now, here's where they are:

I have had my eye on this wicker chest from Target for a while now and every time I'm there debate whether or not I should get it. I have known that we would need some type of chest/toy chest at some point to deal with the mounting toys that seem to increase every week, but never bit the bullet and got one. That is until yesterday.

I decided to stop by the area where this was again yesterday just to take a look and saw that the chest that I had been eyeing was on clearance from $79.99 to $55.98. I was so happy! I knew this would be the lowest it would go and so I had to get it. And I'm so glad I did. It's much nicer than having to look at the baskets underneath the coffee table, it's a good color, it's sturdy, and it's something that I think can last us a long time. I love Target!!!

This little guy now thinks that I should buy him more toys as that chest is not quite full yet.

So I Know I Can't Dance Like These Guys/Gals

2009-06-11T07:39:00.008-04:00

I have mentioned before that I have a reality TV addiction and I was so happy last night because it was finally time for the top 20 couples to dance on So You Think You Can Dance. I absolutely love this show and last night proved why. It looks like there are going to be many fantastic dancers this season. I wish I could dance the way they do and while I have rhythm, these people blow me away.

As of last night, I think my favorite couple is this one:

Evan

Randi

I have liked Evan all through the auditions. He is so cute...and Randi is too.

I also like the couple of Melissa (the oldest contestant at 29 - yay us old people!!!) and Ade. They both look really strong.

I'm not really sure who will go all the way this year as most of them are great.

We will get to see who the first couple to go home is tonight. Anybody have any guesses of who it will be???

Hello My Old Friend

2009-06-10T08:06:00.003-04:00

For the past week or so, I have not been feeling that well. It's not a cold, or the flu, or anything of the sort. It's women "issues". For the first time since I was pregnant with Jack, I have real PMS symptoms. Blah. I guess for the past few months after Jack, my body was adjusting and getting back to normal and now it is back to normal. Normal sucks! It was nice not having to deal with the pain, the moodiness (and you can verify the moodiness with my husband), the bloating, etc... I realized that something that is probably making it worse is that fact that I rarely work out since I had Jack. Before Jack, I used to work out (either fast walking or slow jogging) at least 4-5 times a week and that always helped my body feel better. A couple of days ago, I decided to re-join the gym at my work and am going to commit to working out at least three days a week there (starting next week). I will have to go in before work and leave the house by about 5:45 am, which I am not looking forward to, but it's the only time that I have that will work. I will probably start off with something not so strenuous, but my goal is to work up a real sweat during every workout. In the past, even when I jogged, I rarely sweat and I rarely was out of breath. Whatever I was doing still kept my body in shape, but it didn't feel like I was pushing myself. It was either that, or I was just in better shape than I thought, so what I was doing didn't really exert much effort.

Hopefully, I will stick to the workouts and next month, the women "issues" will not rear their ugly head so much!

Are any other women dealing with the onset of this after recently having a baby? Do you find that working out helps???

Saturday's BBQ

2009-06-07T15:18:00.026-04:00

We had a great time at the BBQ at our house this weekend. It was good to see friends that we haven't seen in a while and introduce them to Jack, the weather was pretty nice and the food was great (thanks to me and my husband who was on the grill). Here are some pictures of the bean dip and chocolate chip cheesecake dip that I mentioned in a previous post. I made a lot and there were leftovers. More for me!!!

I also made some cheesecake bars that turned out really well.

Man, I love to eat!

Here are some pictures from the BBQ:

There were a ton of mosquitoes flying around and my legs were getting destroyed until I found some bug spray. This year has been really bad in terms of mosquitoes, ants, and other creepy bugs due to the heavy rains. We had to break out all of the citronella candles...even they didn't help much.

Jack's "nanny" (Auntie Jen) brought him to my work last Friday and I took him around to show him off (and he smiled and flirted with all of the girls - daddy would be proud). We then went and met daddy for lunch at the Taco Mac by his work. After lunch, daddy took him around his work, so he had a busy day. Here are some pics from Taco Mac. Jack does so well in restaurants. I think he's fascinated by all of the noise, so he doesn't get fussy.

National Doughnut Day!

2009-06-05T07:28:00.005-04:00

Now this is a holiday I can really celebrate!

It's National Doughnut Day everyone and to whoever created this day, I applaud you. I did not know about this until today when I opened up my browser to MSN and it gave me the best news. I will put this on my calendar and make sure that my family and I celebrate every year.

I love doughnuts. Unfortunately, there are no mom and pop doughnut shops around my current home like there used to be growing up and those were the best. There are some chains a relatively close distance from my home, and those are still great. What's even greater, to celebrate National Doughnut Day, Dunkin’ Donuts is offering a free donut with any beverage purchase today only (participation may vary). I just very well may have to go celebrate with them!

And so, in closing, I wish everyone a Happy National Doughnut Day!!!

Tis the Season

2009-06-04T14:33:00.002-04:00

It's BBQ season and we are having a BBQ this Saturday that's also going to be Jack's coming out party (and I don't mean that kind of coming out...that would be much later in life). Yes, even though he is already four and a half months old, we are just now getting friends together to celebrate his birth. Many have not met Jack yet. We figured we would wait a while to do this so that we could get used to being parents and get past the really hard and exhausting baby stage before having a bunch of people over. I still am perplexed that I decided to go along with this. I don't have the time to have a lot of people over. It requires a lot of cleaning, and cooking, and messing with Jack's schedule. What was I thinking??? Anyway, I wanted to post two of the dips that I always make for any BBQ or party that I throw and that I bring when I am a guest. They are both no bake, super easy to make, and so so yummy! I will try and remember to post pictures of them after I make them for this weekend.

Bean Dip (I got this recipe from my friend Sara. She used to make it for any party at her house. It's famous in that neck of the woods):

Put a large can of refried beans on the bottom of a platter
Mix together a container of sour cream and a taco seasoning packet. Spread that mixture on top of the refried beans
Spread a container of guacamole (16 oz if you make your own from avocados) on top of the sour cream/taco seasoning mixture
Over that, spread a cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Chop two tomatoes and some green onions and sprinkle those on top

Let this chill in the refrigerator overnight.

I do not make my own guacamole and instead buy a store bought container to save time. I also buy the pre-chopped tomato/pepper/onion mixture instead of chopping full veggies as I like convenience, and pre-made makes everything easier!

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Dip

A woman (do not remember her name) who used to always go to parties of my husband's friend would always bring this chocolate cheesecake dip. I would ask her for the recipe every time, not write it down, and forget exactly what was in it. I found one on the Internet though that ended up tasting pretty similar (and I just added a couple of things) and it's the one I use:

1 cup (tub) of soft cream cheese
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 tsp margarine
A few pinches of confectioners sugar

Cream the cream cheese and the whipping cream together in a big bowl. Add the vanilla and mix. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, margarine, confectioners sugar and mix. Fold in/mix in the mini chocolate chips.

I take a large piece of plastic wrap and lay that down on the counter. Then I spoon the mixture into the middle of that and wrap the plastic around it and shape it into a ball. Chill overnight. I use chocolate graham crackers for dipping. It's fantastic and everyone loves it.

I am also going to make some great cheesecake bars for this weekend. I am looking forward to all of the yummy goodness!!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

He's Growing Up

2009-06-02T08:14:00.006-04:00

So, we bought a highchair for Jack this weekend and put him in it for the first time last night. We have not started feeding him anything else but his formula yet, but probably will be starting soon and I had a coupon for 15% off highchairs and thought that I would take the chance to use that. He seemed to like it and it was nice for me because it was easier for him to sit up and I didn't have to keep adjusting his position like I do when he is in his bobby pillow. And, lately when he is in the bobby pillow, he tries to sit straight up and ends up hunched over, so this is much better.

I cannot believe how big he is getting and how he is becoming more like a little boy every day. It's fun to watch, but makes me sad. I know that everything is going by so fast and that I will miss the baby stage when it's gone (although I do like that he is gaining more independence...it makes it easier for me).

I'm pretty sure that Jack is going to love when he starts getting to use this highchair for its intended purpose....food! He loves to eat as you can tell.

2009-06-01T11:06:00.004-04:00

I saw this story on the news this morning about parents/family members being removed from a graduation ceremony for clapping and/or cheering after a graduate's name was called. Apparently, everyone at the beginning of the ceremony is told to hold their applause until the end so that all of the names can be called and heard. Some did not do this and they were removed by police officers. Come on folks. Really? They are proud family members. I remember from going to my siblings graduation and from my own high school graduation, that this is one of the best parts. I never minded family cheering for the graduates. I think removing people goes a little too far. Just turn the microphone up louder, or wait until the cheers die down, or, just deal with it. It doesn't hurt anybody. I think some "rules" are just plain ridiculous! I know that when Jack graduates from elementary, middle, high school, or college, I will be cheering and whooping it up and doing everything I can to celebrate (and embarrass him as my parents did me). Let's see them try and remove me!!!

Nursery

2009-05-29T10:26:00.015-04:00

So, it's time for another addition of Show Us Where You Live Friday from over at Kellys Korner Blog and this time it's the nursery.

The theme of our nursery is a safari/jungle theme. We decided to keep everything pretty neutral even though we knew Jack was going to be a boy because we already have another blue room in the house and I didn't think I could take another. Plus, because we kept it neutral, this room can easily be changed when Jack is older.

This is a DaVinci Emily crib. I love it! It's a beautiful color and is constructed very well. The only complaint is that it scratches pretty easily, but I had read about that before purchasing, so it wasn't a surprise.

We did not buy a coordinated dresser/room set for the nursery and instead decided to keep some of what was already in the room (a dresser and armoire) since they were in good shape and it was the cost effective way to go. I don't like that everything is not perfectly matched, but I would prefer to buy a coordinating set when Jack is older anyways, so we will wait until then.

I keep a lot of Jack's stuff in this armoire. Diapers, wipes, wash and burp cloths, bibs, toys, etc... Didn't want to include a picture right now of the inside because I need to clean it up, but it's great to have in the room and to be able to stick everything in there.

The blanket, mobile and wall hangings are part of a safari themed set from Babies R Us. I love the animals and Jack loves them too. I always tell him that the little animals on the mobile are watching over him and protecting him when he sleeps.

The picture on the nightstand was from my work baby shower. Everyone signed it, but I have yet to put one of Jack's pictures in it. I haven't put a picture of his feet in the little feet frame that I have either. I am bad at getting to organizing my pictures and putting them where they need to be.

Lastly, here is Jack playing in his activity center. He's definitely the cutest thing in the nursery!!!

Switch Flops

2009-05-28T09:05:00.005-04:00

Has anyone tried anything like these switch flops??? It's one flip flop in which you can have many interchangeable straps (using Velcro), therefore getting many different styles of shoes in just one shoe. An older sister informed me of their existence as I was oblivious that there was anything like this.

I am originally from California and I live in my flip flops (even wearing them in rain and snow). I think this is a great idea! I tend to wear the same boring black flip flops all of the time and this would make flip flop wearing much more stylish (and boy, could I use more style). On this web site switch flops by Lindsay Phillips the base of the flip flop averages between $35-$50 and the straps, about $12 each, which is not too bad. I don't know why somebody didn't think of this a long time ago or why I didn't know about this sooner.

John and Kate Plus 8 Debate

2009-05-27T11:35:00.003-04:00

I watched the season premiere of John and Kate Plus 8 the other night. Even before the tabloid hoopla, it was easy to see that this couple was in trouble. Go back through the past couple of seasons and you can recognize it. I don’t watch every episode, but I remember I was over my mom’s during an episode last season and I told her (and this is before the alleged affairs) that you can tell that they don’t like each other. You could see it in their body language. They stopped sitting close together during the interviews and literally looked like they were trying to be as far on the other end of the couch from each other as they possibly could be. They would roll their eyes at each other. They barely smiled. So, it’s not shocking that they are having problems. What I was sad about when watching the show was thinking about how the kids are going to be affected by all of this. Is anyone out there with me that the worst part of all of the craziness surrounding them right now is that there are kids involved and nobody seems to care? Certainly the paparazzi (the p-people as Kate tells her kids to call them) don’t care. It seems to me that the producers are not really thinking about the children in this either because if they were, they should have probably stopped filming for now or all together to give the family time to either get back on track or figure out what they are going to do, without cameras rolling and the pressure that comes along with that. Now, I guess I cannot say too much, as I watched (as apparently 10 million other people did – their highest ratings yet), and that’s what they want. Maybe if all of us stopped watching, they could end/postpone the show and move on. I just hope that John and Kate don’t continue to do the show if/when this really starts affecting their kids. The money and fame are not worth it. But who knows…some people care more about those things. In my opinion, John and Kate need to think long and hard about continuing this show as it would be a shame if their kids suffer.

Goals

2009-05-26T13:00:00.009-04:00

Goals for the week:

Clean, clean clean!!! Mother in law is coming next week and my house is a mess.
Figure out how to work (adjust settings, take different kinds of photos, etc...) my new camera.

Walk for at least 30 minutes 4 times this week

Progress to be posted next week...wish me luck!

...Oh, had one of these from McDonald's this morning (Mocha...nonfat, without the whip cream).

It was pretty good. Still like Starbucks better, but I recommend this as a little bit of a cheaper option. It gave me the caffeine jitters though, but that's my fault since I only had the mocha this morning and nothing to eat (not on purpose...just got too busy at work).

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-26T12:44:00.007-04:00

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. My older sister, Jen, who lives in Missouri, came out with her husband and my niece Tori to visit and my twin sister, Melissa, and her husband and my niece Maddie came out from North Carolina as well. The only siblings that were not there were my brothers Kris and Darin.

We bought a new camera which I have been wanting to do for so long now (not an SLR though...I say as a tear falls down my face). Here are some of the pictures from the weekend:

Jack is in a little Braves outfit here...so cute!!!

This is my niece Maddie. She just turned three and Jack looks like he is going to crush her. I think he will outweigh her by his first birthday. It's ok Jack...you are allowed to be this chubby at your age. It's cute. At my age, it is not cute!

This is me and all of my sisters as well as my mom...so all of the main girls (my niece Maddie decided to join the picture too). Too bad my brothers couldn't be there. It's rare, since we all live in different places, that we even have this many of us together at one time. And when we are together....watch out. We are the loudest bunch you have ever heard. I have to constantly remind my husband that the reason I always talk loud is because I grew up in a family where you had to talk over people to be heard.

I had a great weekend and miss everyone who doesn't live close to me already.

Goals - Updated

2009-05-22T21:53:00.003-04:00

Ok,
It's time for an update on the goals that I posted last week. Did I meet them...?

Drink at least 60 oz of water every day (this used to be easy for me but for some reason I haven’t done it since Jack’s arrival) -- I did this every day but today. I was really busy at work and just forgot to keep re-filling my water. I definitely was drinking much more this week than I had been as indicated by the fact that I had to go to the ladies room every five minutes and literally would have to go again by the time I made it back to my desk.

Walk for an hour at least 3 times at lunchtime over the next week and at least an hour (either with Jack or on the treadmill) over the weekend -- We changed to a summer schedule at work where we only get half hour lunches, but I did walk 4 times for a half hour at lunch over the week and jogged for 30 minutes this past weekend. This is the most that I have worked out in a week since before I got pregnant with Jack.

Clean the toilet (it’s almost too gross to even look at so I don’t know how I am going to do this) -- Done! I can't even begin to tell you how icky this was...yes, I just said icky. I have started using that word a lot since becoming a mom.

Read a few chapters in the book that I am reading that I have had for over a month now -- Not completed. I guess it's an indication of how good the book has been so far. Obviously not enough for me to be dying to read it.

So, I guess, except for the toilet cleaning, I didn't really reach all of my goals completely, but did much better on the things that I am looking to achieve. I'm pretty proud of myself for just working on these things.

I will post another set of goals next week.

Dining Room

2009-05-21T19:52:00.010-04:00

This is the first time I am participating in Kellys Korner Show us where you live Friday. I love getting to see how everyone decorates their place and it gives me some great ideas for my own home!

Now, both my dining room and living room are works in progress (and it's very slow progress), but here is the dining room:

This is the view looking in from the living room. We painted the walls a pretty olive green a while back and I think it's a great color. What's not great is the dining room table. This table is left over from my husband's bachelor days. I cannot believe that in the almost four years since I moved in with him that we have not replaced it. It's got an 80's feel to it and while it's comfortable and fine for eating, I just don't think that it works. I look at dining room tables a lot and the problem is that I am indecisive. I see ones that I like but never bite the bullet and get it because I am afraid I won't like it once I put it in there. Something we have also been debating for a while is whether or not to pull out the carpet and put in wood floors. I think it would look much nicer with wood. It's something we might do in the future.

I am trying to look for a new table that has a wood tone that would coordinate well with the wall colors. I love cherry tables, but just don't think they would look quite right in this space. I am wondering if maybe a deep mahogany color might work well. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

I told myself when I set the tabletop decorations up that I would change them each season, but have yet to do so. It's spring/summer time. I need to lighten up the colors. I would like to keep the pine cones in though. I buy these cinnamon scented pine cones to put in here and they make the room smell nicer.

We found this light at Home Depot on a night after we had gone to a Mexican place that serves really strong Margaritas. I don't know why I remember that. I was a little tipsy though and I remember us going in and seeing it and picking it out really quickly.

I am not sure where this wall hanging/picture came from. My husband had it somewhere and we thought that it worked nicely with the wall color.

This is the view from the dining room out into the backyard. We used to have curtains here, but have yet to hang them back up. It's such a nice window to look out of. This is the only window in the room though and I wish we had more. I love dining rooms that have a lot of windows and light and ours is just not one of them.

This is the view from the dining room into the living room. I said it was a work in progress. There are toys all over the place as well as my husbands technical equipment. We recently purchased a giant flat screen for over the mantle, but haven't hid all of the cords and such yet. This past weekend, we just bought a unit to hold all of that stuff.

Well,, there you have it. My dining room. It definitely needs work and if anyone has any ideas, I am all ears!

Baby, You Look Marvelous!!!

2009-05-21T10:24:00.009-04:00

About a couple of weeks ago, a friend of ours, Larry, who does photography, came to our house and did a photo shoot with us and Jack. He took a bunch of photos and they all came out great, but here are some of the ones that I like best.

Kelly over at Kellys Korner Blog does a monthly update on her beautiful daughter Harper, and, so that I can look back at this blog as a journal of what was happening at the time, I am going to start doing the same. Sorry to steal your idea Kelly, but it’s a great one!

Jack, you are now four months old:

You are about 15-16lbs (We don’t know the exact amount as we do not have a baby scale and I am not sure I trust our home scale). You definitely are a big, “thriving” boy!

You currently eat about 29oz every day and mommy is debating whether or not to start you on rice cereal soon.

You still will cry sometimes when we are trying to burp you during a feeding. You do not like your food being taken away!

You still fit into 3-6 month clothing, but can wear some 6-9 month.

You have mastered rolling from your tummy to your back and love to do it since mommy and daddy cheer excessively when you do. Now, we just need to master the back to tummy roll. We are going to use the same excessive cheering strategy to get you to do this.

You don’t hate tummy time anymore. You lift your head up really well and reach for toys when you are on your tummy.

You sleep through the night from about 9:15 pm -7:15 am…for the most part. When you break yourself out of the swaddle you wake up and sometimes need to be re-swaddled to go back to sleep.

You drool constantly and sometimes it comes out in globs.

You are at the stage where you want everything in your mouth. You shove your entire fist in your mouth and talk like crazy. You want to eat them so much; you even wake up in the middle of the night to shove them in there.

You really focus your eyes on people and objects much more than you were before.

You are talking and smiling a lot, but only laughing here and there. Apparently, mommy and daddy aren’t funny enough for you yet.

You have a little blanket with a dog head that you are attached to that we call your snugglebear (which doesn’t quite make sense since it is a dog and not a bear).

You still have a tendency to scratch up your face with your fingernails, even after they have been cut (as low as we feel safe doing). I think this is from the fact that as soon as you wake up, you take your hands and run them down your face like somebody who is scratching their nails on a chalkboard.

You have a minor stuffy nose and cough that has stuck around but that seems to be getting better.

You are on a pretty set schedule (for naps, feeding and playtime) that you follow very well. This has been very nice for mommy and daddy!

You like bath time and love to look at yourself in the mirror when taking a bath.

You are wearing a size 2 diaper, but those will probably get tight really soon.

You are still pretty bald, but your fuzz has gotten a little thicker in the past couple of weeks.

You are fussing/crying only rarely now.

Your eyes are still blue…a big feat considering that mommy’s eyes are brown and in my family, brown eyes dominate. You got them from daddy.

And, that's who you are at four months Jack! Mommy and daddy love you so much!!!

All Through the Night

2009-05-20T11:55:00.001-04:00

Well, jack finally slept through the night again for the first time in about a week and a half. I woke a few times during the night wondering why I hadn’t heard him yet and getting a little paranoid. At about 5:00 am, I went and checked on him. His arms had come out of the swaddle, but he was still asleep…and breathing, which always makes me happy. I had put him in a long sleeve onesie last night which I haven’t done for the past couple of weeks because it had been warmer outside (and so I was just leaving him in his bodysuits), but it has been a little cooler here in the ATL the last couple of days and so I thought a long sleeve would be good. I am wondering if that did the trick. Maybe he just needed to be a little more warm and snuggly? I will put him in a long sleeve tonight as well and see how he does. Hopefully, he stays asleep!

Here is Jack. He is now four months old and I just can’t believe how much he has changed since he came into this world. He is really more aware of everything, much more talkative as time goes on, and less fussy than he used to be. He also has now learned to roll from his tummy to his back. We practiced a lot this past weekend and now, when we put him on his tummy, all he wants to do is roll over. I cannot believe how fast they learn! It’s a good thing, but not in a way because he still needs his tummy time, but it’s much harder to keep him on his tummy. I think we created a little rolling monster (although he has yet to master going from his back to his tummy yet, but we are getting there).

People told me that it does get easier and I find that with each passing day, it truly does. Except for a few bad weeks (due to some gassiness issues back in the first and second month), he really has been a great and easy baby. We are very lucky.

Now, on to my reality tv addition. Monday night, it was the Bachelorette. Last night, it was American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.

American Idol: I think that Kris did the best in his first two songs, but kind of botched the third song (although I don’t know who would have done well with that song…I wasn’t so fond of it and it didn’t fit either Kris or Adam’s style). I do think that Adam was better on the third song. I like both of them, but I think that Adam is more Broadway than mainstream. I think that he would do well in theatre and, as my husband and I decided last night, will be really big in places like Germany and Japan. I think that Kris would be more popular on current radio though and therefore, I think he should win. I don’t think he will win though. I think Adam has been pushed as the American Idol from pretty early on and that he will take the crown.

Dancing with the Stars: Gilles was robbed!!! While Shawn Johnson is a great dancer, Gilles definitely deserved the crown. Throughout the whole season, he has been consistently great and displayed a passion in his dancing that the others just didn’t. I was disappointed that he didn’t win…but I guess I will survive.

The Bachelorette

2009-05-19T12:12:00.005-04:00

So, I know a lot of people swore off the Bachelor due to last seasons debacle, but I can't help but watch this show. I loved Jillian, and at the time, hoped she would be the one that Jason chose (thank god that she wasn't). She's got a great, bubbly personality and seems to be pretty intelligent. I was glad that she was chosen as the next Bachelorette.

After watching the season premiere last night, this is my favorite guy so far:

Kiptyn

I try to watch the previews for the upcoming season closely to see who might still be there at the end, but couldn't tell if Kiptyn looked to be one of them. He seems to be pretty low key and real and he's my pick so far. There are a few other guys that could be potentially cool, but I will have to keep watching to see if I start to like anyone else more.

I need my sleep!

2009-05-18T11:16:00.005-04:00

So, I have been pretty lucky with Jack when it comes to sleep. He has been sleeping through the night since he was 8 weeks old, except for when he happens to get out of his swaddle...which has become much more of a problem these last couple of weeks. Apparently, his hands taste like beef jerky or something as he wants them in his mouth all of the time and thus is breaking free of his swaddle multiple times a night to get to them. He then proceeds to eat his tasty hands and talk and squeal to them until I come in and reswaddle him. He then goes right back to sleep until he has decided again that he MUST eat his hands! Last night, just between 4-6:00 am, I swear I had to go into his room 5 or 6 times to re-swaddle him.

This brings up a couple of issues for me. One, when he breaks out, should I just let him try and put himself back to sleep and just let him talk and such as he would like and only go in the room if he starts to fuss/cry? I afraid to try this as I am nervous that he just won't go back to sleep if he has the chance to put his hands in his mouth, but maybe I just need to test it out and hope he will fall back asleep. Secondly, and this relates to the first, is maybe I should try and break him of the swaddle habit all together. He is four months old and while he does not turn over at night onto his stomach, he may soon and that would scare me if he turns over and can't get his hands out of the swaddle. My fear in doing this though is that he wouldn't sleep as he almost never takes a nap or goes to bed at night without being swaddled. The picture below is a rare occurrence. He usually won't fall asleep laying on his back without a swaddle. He does sleep in his car seat and swing, but not usually on his back without being bundled up. Has anyone had to deal with this? What should I do? Should I wean him off the swaddle and maybe just leave his arms out? If I do this, will I get sleep??? Sleep is so important to me!

Getting to know The Clevelands

2009-05-16T14:36:00.002-04:00

I found this little get to know you/your spouse questionnaire on another blog that I happened to pass by and after I copied it I had moved to other web pages by the time I was finished, so I am so sorry that I don't have the link to the original blog it came from.

Here's just a little info on me and my husband:

1. Who is your man? Dan
2. How long have you been together? 4 years, 6 months
3. How long did you date? 3 years
4. How old is your man? He will be 35 in August
5. Who eats more? Me
6. Who said "I love you" first? He did
7. Who is taller? He is
8. Who sings better? I would say me, although I don’t let him hear me sing that often…he’s a good singer though
9. Who is smarter? I would say he is more book smart than I am, but I am smarter in some other areas
10. Whose temper is worse? Mine
11. Who does the laundry? Me
12. Who takes out the garbage? Me…I do most of the chores
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does
14. Who pays the bills? I pay my own personal bills; Dan pays the mortgage, utilities, etc…
15. Who is better with the computer? Him
16. Who mows the lawn? He does… we live on a hill and I would fall down the hill if I tried to mow it
17. Who cooks dinner? Neither of us very often, but when we do, I would say we do it equally
18. Who drives when you are together? He does
19. Who pays when you go out? Either of us
20. Who is most stubborn? Me
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Him…I’m never wrong :)
22. Whose parents do you see the most? My mom as she is close…his parents are out of state
23. Who kissed who first? I believe he did
24. Who asked who out? Him (?) We met on line and decided to go out together…I had initiated the on line contact though
25. Who proposed? Him
26. Who is more sensitive? Depends on the subject
27. Who has more friends? We have about the same amount of friends where we live (we are both from other states than the one we live in now)
28. Who has more siblings? Me, four sisters and two brothers. He has two sisters and a step brother
29. Who wears the pants in the family? Our animals and now baby Jack…whatever they say goes :)

Wish List

2009-05-15T11:30:00.003-04:00

We are currently looking into getting a new camera…one that takes higher quality pictures yet is still easy for an amateur like me to use (and not as expensive as a professional camera). I have wanted to learn a little more on photography for a while now (especially since I would like to start taking more pictures of Jack). This is the one that I think I want:

Canon PowerShot SX110 IS

It seems to have all of the features that I am looking for at a great price: a good zoom, slow lag time between taking pictures, a large LCD screen, advanced picture improving technology and seems to produce great looking photos. All of the reviews I have read have been very good too. I think we will pull the trigger really soon and get this. We have a tendency to be a little indecisive with these things as we don’t want to end up wishing we had bought something different, but I definitely want a new camera soon and this one looks to be like it will be perfect. If anyone out there in blog land has used this camera before and has any opinions, let me know what you think.

GOALS

2009-05-14T16:13:00.002-04:00

This idea came from another blog I like reading. I need to set more goals on a short term basis now because it feels like I wouldn’t be able to grasp my head around and be able to get started on any long term goals for a little while:

Here are the rules:

Set a goal for the week and post it in your blog.
Write about your progress on your blog next week.

So...my goals for the week...

Drink at least 60 oz of water every day (this used to be easy for me but for some reason I haven’t done it since Jack’s arrival)
Walk for an hour at least 3 times at lunchtime over the next week and at least an hour (either with Jack or on the treadmill) over the weekend
Clean the toilet (it’s almost too gross to even look at so I don’t know how I am going to do this)
Read a few chapters in the book that I am reading that I have had for over a month now

I will let you know how it goes in a week.

2009-05-13T12:54:00.003-04:00

8 Things Tag

While I wasn't tagged myself, I found this on another blog and thought it would be fun to do!

8 things I am looking forward to

Seeing Jack when I get home from work
Memorial Day weekend when my sister Jen comes to visit
Giving my niece Maddie her b-day gift (she’ll be 3!) Memorial Day weekend
Learning who will make it to the final two on American Idol tonight
My mother in laws visit in June
The BBQ we are having at our house in June
So you Think you Can dance starting soon
The weekend!

8 things I did yesterday

Worked
Took a walk at lunch
Went to the grocery store
Played with Jack
Had a stupid argument with my husband
Looked over the cost of switching to DirectTV (fun huh)
Watched American Idol
Dishes

8 things I wish I could do

Play guitar well
See my niece Maddie more often
Stop eating so many sweets
Relax!
Write well
Take a trip out of the country this year (not going to happen with the baby)
Put more money away
Exercise more

8 things I watch on TV

American Idol
30 Rock
Real Housewives
Survivor
Lost
General Hospital
Dancing with the Stars
The Office

Appreciation

2009-05-13T11:25:00.004-04:00

Sometimes, while I do feel it, I do not vocalize my appreciation for my husband and the things that he does as often as I should (and as much as he needs to hear). This can start squabbles that don't need to happen as he feels devalued. Vocalizing his appreciation is something he is good at though. Today, Dan, I list what I appreciate about you (and it's very possible that I will leave things out as I am a new mom and as any new mom knows, part of your memory and brain become defunct...also, there is not enough room here to list everything) :

Your sense of humor
Your intelligence
Your ability to get me interested in topics that I would normally never have interest in by getting so excited about them
Your concern for our future well being and how well you handle the finances
The fact that you are great at science and math and therefore will have to help Jack out with those subjects in the future
Your mowing of the lawn (as the hill that our house is on makes it practically impossible for me to do it)
Taking care of the big issues/problems with our house
You are a hard worker and very motivated
You love my family and have welcomed them into your heart...and home
You letting our stinky dog sleep in the bed with us and push us to the very corners of that bed
Your good looks (this one I especially appreciate) :)
The fact that you are a great father and love our son with all of your heart (this one I especially appreciate too!)

There are more, of course. I want you to know that even when I go too long without saying it, I do appreciate everything you do for me, Jack and your family. You are a great man. I love you!

What You Have Taught Me

2009-05-12T15:59:00.003-04:00

Jack,
While only a mom for a short time at this point, you have taught me so much. Today, let me tell you one of the things you have taught me that I have really needed to learn (daddy would say this especially):
Patience
Having a baby makes you follow somebody else's time. While I am proud of the schedule that I have you on (and how well you follow it), I have learned that things will not always go the way that I want them to when I want them to and other things can wait. You and your needs come first. Life, while more busy on the one hand, moves more slowly with you in it. I am the type to do everything fast...talking, walking, driving and so on... Because I cannot do that with you, I am learning that it's not necessary for things to get done NOW. The house may get messy every day (which would normally drive me nuts), but I am learning to deal with that more and more every day. Who cares if the house is messy...who cares if somebody in front of me is not driving as fast as I want them to and I cannot get to my destination as quickly...none of it matters. What matters is you! Now, I am not saying that I am perfect. There are still times where I am impatient. But, I am learning thanks to you!

My Little Monkey

2009-05-09T16:26:00.003-04:00

Just needed to say that!

Spray and Wash

2009-05-09T15:34:00.005-04:00

Look who decided she would like to take a bath? I don't think it's a good idea Jade. But do you prefer warm/cold, cold/cold or hot water? Heavy duty or normal cycle? How about the delicate cycle? Yeah, I think that's the best idea.

Not as easy as I thought

2009-05-09T15:30:00.002-04:00

Well, it didn't go as well the next night. Granted, Jack is a little more fussy in the evening times and he has been fighting a little case of the sniffles and coughs, so he may just be a tad grumpy right now.

This is easy!

2009-05-07T16:01:00.003-04:00

Jack is doing so much better with his tummy time. He used to just cry and jam his face into the ground. He still groans a little bit after a while, but seems to like it much more. Mommy just sits there and excessively cheers him on like she is training a puppy to roll over. Too bad I can't give Jack a treat. He would love that!

Welcome!

2009-05-07T11:11:00.002-04:00

Well, I have started to blog in the past and for some reason just didn't keep up. Now, as a new mother, I have lots to talk about. Keep reading for updates on the Cleveland clan which includes me, my husband Dan, our baby Jack, and our fur babies Biscuit, Ninja and Jade. And please bear with me as I start this blogger journey as I am not the most computer savvy.