Category Archives: Family

The Perfect Day

Posted in Family, Isabella/Munchkin, Samson by

Yesterday was (almost) the perfect autumn day for me. There were a few mishaps but overall, it was amazing.

It started out with CJ making breakfast for me. I’m a morning person and CJ is a night person so the weekends usually go that he stays up late while I go to bed by 9:30 p.m. and I get up early (7ish) while he sleeps in. Well yesterday, he got up around 8 and made biscuits and gravy with omelets. It was yummy! I actually don’t like biscuits and gravy but gave his a try and they were delish!

Then we hung around the house, doing laundry and various other things until it was time for Munchkin to take a nap. I put her down and then immediately jumped in the shower (all parents of little ones know how you have to time these things precisely!). After a quick shower and blow dry, I hopped in to bed hoping to God Munchkin would stay asleep long enough for me to get in a few winks. And she did! I was able to sleep for about an hour. It was heavenly.

Once she woke up, we had lunch and then got ready to head to the zoo for their Halloween Spooktacular. I had made Munchkin a mummy costume and was excited to finally try it on her. Well, it didn’t work as I had hoped. What I hadn’t considered when putting strips of fabric on her onesie was that it would take the elasticity out of it. So, I could not stretch it enough to get it over her head! I finally wrestled it over her head but then could not get her arms in. Of course she thought this was akin to torture and screamed the whole time. I finally gave up and took it off. I almost had a meltdown myself and that point and thought about skipping the zoo altogether but then took a few deep breaths and reminded myself that it was not the end of the world. So I put a plain white onesie on her, with her mummy pants and we went from there.

I was so flustered by the costume fiasco that I forgot to take a jacket with me and it was a chilly day. Not to mention that when we got to the zoo, it was so crowded that I had to park across the interstate from it (which is about a 15 min. walk). I almost turned around and went home at that point. But, I remembered that this was Munchkin’s first Halloween that she could actually participate in and kept going. I parked, got Munchkin settled in the stroller with a blanket and made the trek to the zoo.

We arrived just in time for the parade and Munchkin got much delight in seeing the costumes walk by (there were Storm Troopers, clowns, an Iron Man and even War Machine (with moving guns!)). We then walked around, looking at the animals and other kids dressed in costume.

We came to a picnic area where they had a DJ set up playing music. Munchkin immediately started dancing as soon as she heard the tunes. I parked the stroller and let her “chair dance” for a while. Then I took her out to see what she would do. She stood up next to the stroller and started dancing like crazy!

Dancing by the stroller, in her mummy pants

After about an hour of tooling around, we left and came home so Munchkin took take another nap. While she was sleeping, I did some work on the computer and then made dinner. CJ was diligently working on the house, which he’s been painting for a couple of weeks (and it is looking awesome)!
After dinner, we carved Munch’s pumpkin. I got our her shape flashcards and had her pick the shapes that she wanted to be the eyes, nose and mouth. That way, she could design it! She picked a star and octagon for the eyes, circle for the nose and rectangle for the mouth. CJ drew them on and carved away!
Once he was done, we showed Munchkin and she got a real kick out of it!
 

Munchkin seeing her first jack-o-lantern

 
 
Then of course we had CJ and Munchkin pose together!

So proud!

 
And Samson  trying to get at it!
Costumes, zoo trips, pumpkins, yummy comfort food and roasted seeds. Yesterday had all the makings of a perfect fall day! I went to bed a very happy camper.

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!