my best friend's wedding: part 1

My bestest friend in the whole world got married last weekend.  Married!  This guy is perfect for her.  Perfect, I tell you.

Meghan is originally from Cincinnati and her husband (!) Nick is from the Pittsburgh area, so their wedding took place in the picturesque, historical and quaint town of Gettysburg.  I'll tell you more about the actual wedding and location in Part 2 - that it was incredible is an understatement.

Since the wedding was out of state, I had to make a big decision:  drive or fly.  Another decision that was made for me:  I would definitely be taking Connor.  He's still up all night long and still nursing - done deal.  He's never been the greatest in the car seat and eight hours of driving on three hours of sleep obviously wasn't appealing.  I decided that we would fly, and I actually convinced my sister-in-law (Jeff's sister) to go with us!  Woo hoo!  You're the best, Jackie!

Deciding what to pack was something I spent quite a bit of time thinking about prior to the trip.  Checking a bag was not something I felt necessary, so I needed to fit both mine and Connor's things into a carry-on.  Now that the trip is over, I can say with certainty that I am so happy with the few items I brought for us.  I took into consideration Connor's age - 6 months was perfect.  He sits up and was able to play on his own (in the airport, hotel, etc.), but not crawling so fast that I had to chase after him.  He's also not so big that I had to buy a seat for him in the airplane.  I boarded him as a lap infant.

WHAT SAVED US ON THIS TRIP:

• NURSING.  You guys, I don't think I could've managed this with formula and bottles.  I know it's been done before by Supermoms but it would've been so stressful (finding clean water).  Breastfeeding eliminated so many items that would've taken up space in our suitcase, and any time Connor fussed on the plane (which was as soon as we sat in our seats) I put him up to the breast and he would calm right down.  He ended up sleeping straight through three out of the four flights.  We had no issues with ears hurting from the pressure difference - in fact, I did a lot of reading that said LEAVE THE DAMN BABY SLEEPING, don't worry about having them suck during take-off and landing.  So I didn't.  And it was perfect.

• A MEDIUM-WEIGHT STROLLER.  I really struggled with this one.  My other options were my heavy Chicco stroller and a small umbrella stroller.  Ya'll, take the medium weight.  I have this one and it was the best decision I made for our trip.  I mostly used it to transport the diaper bag because Connor likes being held, so it was crucial that I was able to push/maneuver it with just one arm.  It also has storage underneath and two cupholders.  One for Jackie's grande hazelnut latte and one for my grande decaf soy vanilla latte.  BAM.  We gate-checked it for each flight, and most airport cargo workers were very helpful with folding & unfolding, etc.

• A CARRIER.  Most Mommy's these days have a carrier of some sort and it makes so much sense to travel with it so you can have two arms.  Mine didn't get used a ton on the trip, but it was imperative in the situations where I did use it.  (One being at the reception when Connor was tired and a little chilly.  I put his hat and sweater on him, strapped him and and he was out within seconds.)  Something about hearing Mommy's heartbeat and the low hum of laughter, chatter, and Beyoncé's Diva in the background just puts a baby to sleep.

• TOYS.  This seems obvious, but there were a couple toys that were essential and prevented tantrums of gigantic proportions.  1 - A binky strap.  What's the real name?  I don't know, but those things that connect the pacifier to the baby's shirt/stroller/car seat are amazing.  Even though Connor refuses to suck on it, he likes to chew on it.  There were many instances where I needed him occupied but didn't feel like handing him a toy.  2 - Links.  The best.  (I couldn't find the exact package I bought but I believe they're Sassy brand from Target - these are similar) You can connect them to anything to make things longer or reachable for your baby.  I just hooked a long chain of them onto the stroller tray while we were walking through the airport.  Since they're connected, you don't have to worry about the toy falling on the ground and thus saving yourself a sanitizing session.

One thing I do regret is not taking my nice camera.  For some reason I thought it'd be too bulky but now that we've been through it, I see that it wouldn't have been any trouble at all.  Darn.  

Anyways, after doing some sight-seeing it was time to get ready for the wedding!  I'll be back with details!

i promise i'm alive

I know, I suck.  It turns out that if you only get two hours of sleep each night for weeks, you spend your spare time closing your eyes.  That, and I've kind of been on a picture-taking hiatus, from my Big Girl camera anyway.  There's something about living in a moment without taking a picture.  Amen, amiright?

Easter was phenomenal.  Both my boys worked it as if we bounce around like bunnies and eat chocolate every day of the year.  Oh yeah, we do.

I'd post some family pictures (we did look adorable) but I look three months prego in all of the shots.  It might have something to do with quitting my personal trainer and eating whatever I want the past two months. 

Wow, I really do suck!

One thing I have been doing right (and always strive to do right) is being with my boys.

Spring break has been amazing so far, although tough as usual.  How do you SAHM's do it?  It's like every day is wonderful, but by 8 o'clock you feel like you've run a marathon.  Connor is sitting up on his own and crawling.  Yes, crawling.  I just wasn't prepared for my five-month old to be crawling yet.  I've kicked it in high gear to get all the small toys thrown stored away - I'm going to have to buy one of those psycho-mom octagon fences where I can throw Connor if I need to grab a beer cook a meal or something.

Anyways, I'll be back with more randomness as soon as I get back to work next week, starting with thoughts on the newest "cool" thing to do with your friends, which is painting a picture.  Have you seen that?  Everyone is going to painting parties and going home with some dumb picture like it's high school art class.  I cannot think of a worse way to spend my time.  Obviousy art class wasn't my gig.

See you soon!

what i feed my toddler

If you're lucky enough to have children, feeding them (especially a two year old) could quite possibly be the biggest battle of your life.  One day they love scrambled eggs, the next day they throw them on the floor.  All they want is dessert:  "But I want ice cream"  "Eat your dinner then you can have ice cream."  (Takes one bite) "Okay I want my ice cream."  "No dude, eat all of it."  "But I just want the ice cream."

YEAH, ME TOO.

Fortunately for me, Patrick is a pretty decent eater.  And by that I mean he will try almost anything and he's also pretty good about being bribed.  (Mother of the Year right here.)  When feeding a toddler, I think the key is to just put it on their plate.  Even if you're 99.9% positive your child will not even glace toward asparagus, just cut it up and put it on there, and do it over and over.  Kids may not like something the first time they see it, but if it keeps coming around they're more likely to give it a shot.  There is nothing more annoying than a kid that will only eat hot dogs, french fries and macaroni & cheese.  It's not the kid's fault, it's the parent that is enabling them.  Just put it on their plate.

That being said, if you're responsible for feeding a child/children, sometimes you just want some ideas.  You're sick of making the same lunches and dinners time and time again.  I decided to take some shots of the types of meals I put together for Patrick.  Trust me, I understand it's nothing special.  I'm not trying to be anything but a normal, exhausted Mom that's attempting to get some semi-nutritional food into my kid's stomach.

So if you're lacking in the idea department, maybe these will inspire you.

By the way, if you need real family dinners, here's what's on my menu this week:

• My parents got me a cookbook for my birthday written by my new idol:  "The Pioneer Woman."  I'm going to try her favorite meatloaf.  Have you guys seen her blog?  It's amazing.  She's amazing.  
• I made these creamy taquitos a few weeks ago and I'm dying to make them again.  If you like chicken and cilantro they're right up you're alley.  They're really kid-friendly too - just go easy on the chili powder.
• A craving for Chipotle has me wanting to make this sweet barbacoa pork that can be put in the crockpot and left on all day.  Super easy to put together in the morning before a day at work.  Or even easier, just go to Chipotle.
• With Jeff not eating sweets until Easter, I've calmed down in the dessert department, buuuuuut...I will be picking up my new Pampered Chef brownie pan any day now so I'll have to try these brownies for a crowd.  The crowd will include:  Patrick and myself.  

catching up

Before the boys got sick, this is what happened.

classic birthday selfie.

• I turned 29.  Jeff keeps giving me crap for being in the last year of my 20's.  It doesn't feel super, but it doesn't feel bad either.  In fact, it's much easier to remember that I'm 29 - there was something about the 26, 27, 28 age that made it hard to remember.  Does that mean I'm close to thirty?
• I bought myself a present for my birthday.  I'd been wanting one of those "statement" necklaces for quite some time and ran into (the one pictured above) at Target.  It makes me feel like a real woman, and that was my exact intention.

• Jeff turned 30.  That evening, I made some of his favorites:  ribeye steak, frosted cauliflower and fruit pizza.  I have been using the same recipe for fruit pizza for years and really wanted to change it up this time, so I called our last book club host and asked for the recipe she used (thanks Heather via Meghan!).  It's much lighter and tasted simply divine.  Despite giving up sweets for Lent, Jeff got permission from me to scarf it down.  Who do I think I am?  St. Bernadette?  Whatever, I just kept saying "it's our birthday week."

Fruit Pizza

2 tubes of sugar cookie dough

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1 t. vanilla

1 container of cool whip

assorted fresh fruit

Bake cookie dough according to package directions (I flattened mine out on my Pampered Chef stone - it took 19 minutes).  Let it cool completely.  Blend cream cheese, sugar and vanilla.  Fold in cool whip.  Spread over cookie and top with fresh fruit.

• This guy.  I knew as soon as I wrote the post on living stress-free with a toddler that I was completely setting myself up, and it happened.  My kid went nuts.  Certifiably.  I mean, Patrick has his bad moments every single day, but nothing like this past weekend.  He was out of control.  It actually scared me.  Dumping milk all over the dining room floor, climbing on the washer and taking things out of the cupboard to put in my floor plant, pulling folded washcloths out of the cabinet onto the floor, getting stuck in Connor's exersaucer, running towards the road, out of control.  Then someone told me.  Have you heard of antibiotics causing hyperactivity in toddlers?  Patrick has been on amoxicillin for a week so I immediately looked it up and found a plethora of information on this side effect.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  

• We took our first trip to the park this spring.  Spring!  Yessssssss!  It felt like the dead of winter, but hey, when ya need fresh air you get it any way you can.  However, right now it's 63° and sunny so I'm outta here!