Category Archives: Isabella/Munchkin

I hate the grocery store

Posted in Family, Isabella/Munchkin by

But I love all the food I come home with!

Grocery shopping is something I dread. I don’t like dealing with the crowds or waiting in line at the checkout or scouring the shelves for something I can’t find. Plus, the cheap skate in me sees dollar signs as I continue to fill up my cart.

To counter that, I clip coupons. Yes, I’m a coupon clipper. I don’t go crazy like some women do. I simply check the Sunday paper looking for deals on things which we normally buy. A coupon is not a savings if it ‘tricks’ you in to buying something you wouldn’t normally get.

Anyway, today I realized that I needed to bite the bullet and go. Our cupboards were getting bare and Munchkin was running out of some essentials too. So I began the process: 1) take a quick inventory and make a list of what’s needed 2) go through cookbooks and plan meals for the week. Add necessary items to the list. 3) Go through coupons and see what can be used. 4) Pack Munchkin in the car and hit the road!

I have a routine once I get to the store too. Start at produce and work my way across the store, checking off items on my list as I go. I try to stick to the list and the coupons but I occasionally add extra things. I’m also starting to “stock up” and add items that we use regularly that we might not need right away, but if it’s on sale, makes sense to grab.

Today I had Munchkin with me. She is actually a really good shopper. She sits in the cart and pretty much watches everyone. Sometimes she is antsy so I always have a good supply of toys/snacks with me to keep her distracted. Today she was in to the whole “experience” so as we walked down the aisles, I pointed out things to her that she would recognize. “Peaches!” “Red apples!” “Crackers” We got stopped by no less than 3 people telling me how cute she is. She simply flashed her best smile at them and giggled. What a charmer!

Most of the time the overhead music sort of fades in to the background for me, along with the other white noise like people on their cell phones, the chop of meat on the butcher block, the squeaky wheels of the carts, kids screaming for mom, and the beep of the cash register. But today I really noticed it because Munchkin noticed it. She was cart dancing! She would bop her head, shimmy a little, and swing her feet. It was so darn cute! That in turn made me want to dance so we moved up and down the aisles, shaking to the beat.

I was able to get lots of yummy healthy options for us to have on hand. When I got home I went in to organizational mode and started putting things away, while also tossing old items. The cupboards not only look full, but also neat and tidy!

Right now I have some chicken noodle soup in the crock pot, simmering. Dinner will be that with some whole wheat rolls and brownies or cupcakes for dessert. Yum!

Crafty costumes

Posted in Holidays and Seasons, Isabella/Munchkin by

I’ve never been very creative when it comes to crafts. Art I can do. Crafts, no. Scrapbooking? Photography? Yes. Needlepoint? Crocheting? No.

But now that I’m a mom, that is starting to change. For Isabella’s 1st birthday, I made her a onesie that has the number “1” on the front and the Team Trader logo on the back.

Front

Back

Now we’re in October which of course means Halloween. And that means costumes. Last year I bought Isabella a costume. She was only a month old so it didn’t seem worth the effort to make something. But this year I didn’t want to go buy something that any other kid could wear. I wanted to make her something special. But what?
 
Well it hit us the other day as we were watching her walk. CJ commented that she looked like Frankenstein or a mummy because she walks stiff with her hands out in front. A mummy! That’s what she can be! So I went out and bought some white pants, a white shirt, hat and twin sheet. Last night I started the costume and it was really easy. I ripped up the sheet into strips and simply glued them on the clothes, going around so that it looked ‘wrapped’. I even took some of the strips and soaked them in tea to give them that yellowed, old look. I will attach those pieces tonight once they’re dry. It looks really cute. I’m toying with the idea of writing “Mommy’s Mummy” on the front or just leaving it as it. We’ll see.
 
I’m quite proud of myself for getting all crafty and attempting to make something. I can’t promise to do this every year but for now, it’s kind of a fun challenge!

I could get used to this

Posted in Family, Isabella/Munchkin by

I took last Friday off of work so that CJ could work on painting our house. Which means I got to be with the Munchkin full-time for 3 days in a row! And let me tell you, it was awesome.

Friday we had a play date with a friend of mine whose baby is 5 days older than Munch. They had fun walking around and exploring. We took them to the park, which was Munchkin’s first real taste of sand and playground equipment. She was tentative at first but eventually got in to it and after a while, she was walking all over the place and playing running her fingers through the sand, etc. It was really cool to watch her get over a fear right before my eyes and then embrace it.

Playing in the sand

Saturday she and I ran a few errands and otherwise just hung around the house. Sunday was more of that, with a family dinner thrown in. She is really getting in to this whole walking thing now and literally does laps around the house (from the living room, through the dining room, to the kitchen, then down the hall to our bedroom, then Samson’s room, then her room, back down the hall and starts all over. No wonder she’s tired at the end of the day.

Here she is crawling over Samson to get to a volleyball. That's my girl!

I gave her a haircut Friday night (her 2nd one – she has a lot of hair!). I basically just trimmed up the back and her bangs. She has little pixie bangs now. And she looks so darn cute! Yeah so I’m biased but really, she is such a doll.

After her haircut, sucking on the comb.

All this time with her really makes me wish I didn’t have to work full-time. Being with her everyday or even every other day, would be such a gift. And I got so much done around the house too! Granted, not all days would be full of rainbows and sunshine like this weekend was, but it sure gave me a taste of the other side.

Looking out the window while cuddling with her monkey (and wearing her Steelers shirt!)

There are advantages to working too and the grass is always greener. I know that I’m where I need to be for now. But another 3 day weekend sure would be nice!

Cry Me a River

Posted in Family, Isabella/Munchkin by

Oh what a night.

It started out OK when we put Munchkin to bed around 8pm, which is a little later than usual but not by much. She went down easy because she had missed her afternoon nap. I went to bed shortly thereafter and life was good.

I was in the middle of a nice dream about Derek Hough when it happened. The beast awoke.

Around 10:30 I heard her screaming and could hear CJ in there consoling her. She would calm down for a few minutes and then start screaming again. This went on. And on. And on. I finally got up at 11:30 to see if I could help. Hubby desperately handed her off to me. I could see he was frazzled and had that crazed look in his eye that said “if you don’t help me now I may literally go crazy.” He had fed her and given her some Tylenol. Now it was time to work my “mom magic”.

I changed her diaper and then we snuggled in the rocker. Only, she didn’t want to snuggle, she wanted to scream bloody murder. She didn’t have a fever and she wasn’t pulling on her ear or anything. I was baffled.

I finally got her to calm down and snooze. Then she woke up and screamed. Then she’d snooze. Then she’d scream. Again, this went on. And on.

We finally decided we just needed to let her cry it out. So at the next screaming fit, we let her cry. And boy did she cry. After 5 minutes, I went in to tell her it was OK and then left. And she cried. And cried. I finally decided “screw it!” and was going to take her out on the couch with me and try to sleep with her. As soon as I picked her up, she was stopped crying. We went to the living room (by this time it’s after midnight) and cuddled on the couch. She snuggled up to me and then when I tried to put the blanket over her, she freaked out again.

I’m running out of ideas so I grab another bottle and she sucked down 6 more ounces. I thought maybe this was the answer to my prayers and she’d drift off to sleep now so I placed her back in the crib and crept out. She was quiet for 5 blissful minutes and then it started up again.

Out of desperation I called the 24 hour nurse help line. They asked me a checklist of questions, all of which were things I had done, and her answer was to take Munchkin to the ER.  Gak!

I thought I would see how the next few minutes went and then make that determination. She woke up once more and then finally conked out at 1 am.  I got to sleep about 1:30 and slept til 6:45.

I still don’t know what was wrong with her. Maybe she was overly tired and got herself so worked up that she couldn’t calm down. Maybe she wasn’t feeling well. Maybe she was possessed by a demon. Who knows. All I do know is that today I feel like a zombie. Guess I’ll be starting Halloween early!

1 year later

Posted in Family, Isabella/Munchkin by

Every year our extended family drives about 45 minutes south of Omaha to Nebraska City to pick pumpkins, get some apple cider, visit Arbor Lodge and just enjoy the small town life. Last year when we went, I was 3 weeks in to being a new mom and dealing with a brand new life. I was also desperately trying to lose the baby weight.

Here’s what I looked like then:

 

NE City 2009 - at about 165lbs.

 

I was bigger and Isabella was smaller. Here’s what we look like today:

 

NE City 2010 - 138 lbs

 

I look better, I feel better and am all around more comfortable in my skin. Today’s trip was much more relaxing than last year’s because I am settled in to my life and love every minute of it.

Happy Fall!