Blessing...Day 4

Tonight, as I lay my Miss L down to sleep in the beautiful crib and on special bedding that I spent hours trying to find, I am reminded of how special this is. Not everyone has the ability to physically hold their baby, rock them to sleep, bath them or even lay them into their crib. I was thinking of this yesterday at about 5:30am, when she was coughing so much during a period of restless sleep. I went in her room, picked her up from her crib and held her upright for a while as I rocked her in her rocking chair. It was such a bittersweet moment, I wanted her to be free of coughing and back to sleep for both of us...but I loved her cuddles.

For one reason or another, many people are short one of their 5 senses. I feel so fortunate to just have the ability to hold her tiny body, smell her baby-scented hair, see her beautiful smile, touch her baby soft skin and taste her sweet {mostly sloppy} open-mouthed kisses! Our health and hers...I am very thankful for both.

Having fun picking out pumpkins!

Riding the wagon with pumpkins, mums, clay pots and more!



"Mommy says I'm Boo-tiful"

Blessings Day 2 and 3

Okay, November 2nd came and went...so now we're onto November 3rd and me writing 2 blessings at time...but that's okay, as that is life!

Today, I am thankful for my dear husband and that God blessed us with a little doll. I even said this outloud today as we were browsing a shop in the Cities called, Oh Baby! It is filled to the brim with adorable and over-priced baby everything from bedding to bows. When looking at some of the frilly, sparkly, adorable merchandise for my doll, it makes my eyes sparkle and my face light up. And I look to J and say, "I'm so glad God blessed us with a girl." It is not for everyone and by all means, I hope the next (future) baby is a boy...but I am loving our world with Miss L.

Nearly every day I am reminded how sweet and thoughtful my husband is, not only to me but to our daughter. He is my best friend, true love, partner in crime, motivator, and biggest cheerleader.

Here are a couple of photos from our adventures today, particularly the car seat aisle of Target (not one, but 2...and we didn't come home with a car seat)...

Having fun, playing in the boxes!

Where is Miss L?

Blessing #1

With a lot of posts of Facebook illustrating a daily thankful post during the month of November, I decided to do a less subtle method here on my blog.

On this 1st day of November, I am thankful to have a job or jobs that I absolutely love. I am blessed to have found a paid job that I love and enjoy (for the first time in about 6 years!), and am VERY thankful for the best job in the world...being a mommy! Or as Miss L says, "mmmommmmma!" Lots of mmms.

Both jobs are challenging in their own right, and yet both jobs feel so natural and enjoyable to me.

Making a "kitty" pumpkin - Oct. 30th

Happy Halloween! October 31st

I must love this job, if they got
me to dress up as a Chicken!
Halloween Party for 550 people at the Club
October 26th

 

Happy 14-month to Miss L!

Wow, 14 months ago today we welcomed this burst of sunshine into our world. Not that our world wasn't already filled with optimism, blessings and joy...but Miss L's arrival took it to a whole new level.

These days, we are gaining confidence with climbing on anything and everything! Sometimes mom and dad are quick on the draw with the camera, other times, we just have enough time to grab her before trauma occurs.

We have six teeth (4 up, 2 down) and are eating most everything except peanut butter and honey. We recently have slowly introduced egg into her diet after a little rash on the day of her birthday party in MI. So far, so good! Her favorite foods include: cheese, yogurt (pumpkin, especially), pumpkin pancakes, oatmeal, milk, strawberries, grilled cheese, pasta and bread.

We point to everything, understanding that things have titles, exercising receptive language, and says dadda, kitty, and on occassion mmmmmomma. I love how she is particularly chatty after I pick her up from daycare daily.

We have been sleeping in like a teenager lately. Some nights this past weekend, she even sleept 13-14 hours! Definitely learning something or growing

Since we do not have a 14-month sticker to slap on a onesie, here is an assortment of new photos from the past week...

Sitting on the sound amp, we have even caught her standing on the it!!

Standing in the Bumbo

this makes me laugh...her newest "thing" is to furrow her brows...kind of embarassing sometimes when she does it to strangers, but usually follows it with a smile to recover. :)

She always wants to be part of the action...
sitting on the kitchen island while mom and dad make
pancakes (blueberry for him, pumpkin for us girls!)
 

Standing in her doll's stroller...
to look out the window for coyotes!



She loves her couch...and books! Look at that hair!!!

Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu

Today was our typical slow cooker Tuesday since we run from work to daycare to dinner, followed by ECFE class at 6:15pm. I must admit, my planning had a bit of a hiccup today. I neglected to re-set the outlet timer and I "thought" my crockpot was set to turn on at 2pm, when it actually turned on at 8am this morning.

Thanks to a very helpful neighbor whom works from home, she was able to rescue me mid-day so my chicken didn't overcook.

Anyhow, here is the recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu...it was amazeballs {I've been watching too much Guilianna & Bill}...

Six Sisters' Stuff: Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu

Yay Tigers!!

We are crossing our fingers for playoff baseball for our beloved Tigers and were fortunate to be a part of the action this past weekend when they came to Twins Territory!

 

Target Field is truly a masterpiece of a ballpark and is always a treat to attend a game there.

Miss L did great, despite no afternoon nap. She immediately zonked out in the car seat on the way home and stayed asleep all night! Mommy & Daddy stopped for some locally-made ice cream on this beautiful summer-like fall night. Soy Pumpkin with a small top scoop of salted caramel, with whipped cream...more posts to follow about my new interest in salted caramel.

 

As one of her Grandpas clevery put it: "She is quite the catch!"

Despite the English D, she was still loved by Twins fans

She just started this brow furrowing as of late. Case and point!

Tigers win 6-4 and after game 3 on Sunday, went up 3 games over the White Sox. The season after I was born, they won the World Series. I think this could be the year!

Refreshed & Recharged

Last weekend, J and I were fortunate to getaway for about 4 days filled with leisure fun and professional fulfillment in Fabulous Las Vegas. Miss L was fortunate to have 4 days of bonding time with one of her grandmas.

Just as my previous post said, we drank a couple of cocktails on our Southwest flight out west. This, combined with numerous episodes of The League, that Jeremy uploaded to the ipad...and we laughed our butts off all the way there!

Shortly after arrival, we dined at Olives, a Todd English restaurant overlooking Lake Bellagio. This was a great suggestion from my boss, who suggested I go there to do some "market research." The view of the fountains was great, the ambiance-very romantic, and the food was divine! 


J's dish was a masterpiece of scallops atop mashed potatoes atop shredded short rib beef-
as well as avocados, beets and tons of other stuff!
Olives

Bellagio fountains

 

Of course, I could sit there and watch the Bellagio fountains for hours. We also went to a Cirque show, Ka, at MGM...which was an incredible and jaw-dropping performance. This was followed by lots of fun gambling until about 3am. We spent a couple of hours at the same roulette table, making friends and making memories! We were up for nearly 22 hours straight! I couldn't believe it.

Our favorite past-time of vacationing out west is getting up on Sunday morning to watch football while belly up at a bar - enjoying a breakfast and cocktail. So we did just that...at Emeril's Sports Stadium. Breakfast menu had ceased by the time we got there...but we did find this amazingly large and delicious pretzel with cheddar beer dip - to hold us over until we went to our favorite fast food joint In-n-Out!

Mmm...In-n-Out Burger

My private club marketing conference started Sunday eve, at a resort in Lake Las Vegas...check out the view from our room...

The rest of the trip included lots of professional development for me...and J golfed 18 holes (shot a 34 on the front 9) and happened to be partnered up with the Madame of Rosie's Brothel...yep, funny stuff! He gambled more and just enjoyed some leisure time away from a very stressful work life right now.

LOVED the Fall decor throughout each casino!

Lobster tacos at Koi at Planet Hollywood -
delicious, but I should have ordered a double!!

All-in-all, it was the perfect time away from Miss L. We missed her, but not too much. And we knew she was doing well and in great care.

After our return, I felt so refreshed as a mom and wife, and recharged as a professional. It really was perfect! Oh, and I felt very blessed to come home to a clean house and happy baby!

Fun weekend ahead

I am blogging as we sit at the airport terminal waiting to fly to fabulous Las Vegas. I was planning a trip there for a work conference, and J decided to join my fun and we are heading out a day early.

We are nearly doubling our temperature from 50 to 90+ degrees...now, let's hope J doubles his money!!

This trip marks some big milestones, such as leaving Miss L for the first time overnight...or for 3 nights. I'm not worried about her or her grandma that came in to take care of her...but I know I will miss her like crazy. Thankfully, well kind of sort of, I will be busy at conference for most of the hours of my trip.

Also, this is our first flight in 12 months that we can relax, sleep, read, drink(!!) And basically, not entertain or hold an infant. Miss L is a great lil traveler, but as she gets older it is work to keep her entertained constantly.

Soo...we are off to sunshine with our iPad stocked with good TV shows, the nook charged, and plenty of Southwest drink tickets in hand!!

Enjoy the photo of Miss L at Barnes and Noble yesterday evening. She was having a blast on the stage, reading books and of course in great fall fashion with her baby Uggs and a beautiful, hand made poncho mad by my mom.

A Special Birthday Gift

{This post was drafted last month, but just now published...Ooops!}

One really fun perk of living hundreds of miles away is that our family and friends are uber-thoughtful and generously mail gifts to our home so that we don't have to fit in luggage, or ship it ourselves. I am really appreciative of this with every birthday and holiday that arises.

Miss L and I open the door to grab the said package and we dig in together! It is really fun! Some boxes have even been large enough for her to have fun with the packing bubbles while sitting/standing in the box. It is a dual-gift!

Today, we received a lovely bday gift from her Grandpa D. We even used the new gift to read prior to bed time tonight. Accompanying the gift was a special gift from D's nieces...two "dress-up gowns" for Miss L. I believe my mom had gifted these special gowns to D's nieces to enjoy and have fun playing dress-up with in the previous years. The first sight of these dresses brought tears to my eyes, as one dress (pink one) was the dress I wore for my Aunt Kaye Lani's wedding and the other (white one) was the dress I wore at my first communion. Both dresses were hand-crafted by my mother.

I do not wish for the days to fast forward for Miss L to be able to wear these...but I am excited to hold on to these special dresses for the years ahead.

50 Strands of Gray

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was 23 and my {slightly older} assistant was exclaiming at the rightful age of 26 she had tons of gray hairs, and was required to color her hair routinely to keep her brunette locks, just that...brunette. At the time I thought she was exaggerating...boy did I have it coming.

Fastforward five years, and now I completely understand. Everyday I pluck about 20 gray hairs from mane. This has been on-going for at least two years, since our days in Chicago. And on the days I forget to pluck them in the morning, I find them in my rearview mirror en route to work and it drives me crazy. Talk about distractive driving - try plucking gray hairs {by hand} while driving!

I attest these pesky stand-out strands to my husband's job which has moved us 3 times in the past 6 years in 3 states. 

The problem is - I love my hair right now. The color is the closest thing to au naturel since about 1995 and I really don't want the expense or hassle of maintaining color. Plus, I am uncertain if color would help for more than a couple of weeks since most of my gray hairs seem to be always less than an inch or so!

Does anyone have any suggestions as an alternative to color? I need to research some ideas, but I am open to suggestions...

Day in the Life Of [Revised]

I've been back to work {full-time} for nearly 90 days {tomorrow} and boy has our world changed.
I honestly can say for the better. I went into the full-time work field with a littany of emotions -excitement, fear, anxiety, hope and nervousness. I must admit - a large part of me has never been happier.

I LOVE my job! I can say this for the first time since marketing Metropolis Mall in Indy in 2007-2008. My work days are filled with meetings {which I love, b/c we all know how much I like to fill my calendar}, challenges, rewards and fulfillment. I have a great set of colleagues, bosses and an amazing country club to market and sell memberships.

Without a doubt, I LOVE my mommy job even more. Motherhood has been great to me, surprisingly natural and of course tons of fun.

I can tell Miss L LOVES her daycare - the provider, the other kids and the activities. Seeing her get excited to play in the morning is comforting and watching her eyes light up when I pick her up warms my heart.

Our days have changed quite a bit, compared to the first "Day in the Life Of" blog post as featured on The Domestic Wannabe in late February.

6 o'clock hour | Daddy awakes, followed by mommy - sometimes we are getting ready at the same time which is fun. We wouldn't be "A Modern Family" without a TV in our Master Bathroom, so I watch the news and listen for traffic and weather.

7 o'clock hour | Once I am ready, my coffee is brewing and briefcase and diaper bag is placed in the car, I begin to wake up Miss L. She is so cute and cuddly, and immediately is ready to be lifted from her crib. We breastfeed, and then sometimes have breakfast together {we share interest in pumpkin pancakes, oatmeal and she loves Nutri-grain bars}, followed by change of clothes, fresh diaper and off to Daycare.

My day is filled with meeting here and there; an impromptu prospective member tour, sometimes a networking luncheon, lots of work on my computer and lots of strategic marketing and planning.

5 o'clock hour | We have pre-arranged for one of us to pick-up Miss L by 6pm; this is the biggest challenge of the day as we fight traffic, construction and random longer-than-usual commutes.

6 o'clock hour | Right now - pending the weather forecast, the 3 of us hit the trails outside our home for a 3.5 mile run/walk. Miss L LOVES every minute of this nature time.

7 o'clock hour | Dinner - we are trying to mix up our menus, here is this week's line-up:

            Monday - I make a bigger dinner, as I only work until 3pm in the off-season -
            Lemon-Garlic Chicken Roast {with green beans and baby red potatoes} #dinnerfail
            too much lemon

            Tuesday - I try to use the crock pot, since we have our ECFE class at 6:15pm
            Crockpot Salsa Chicken - thank you Pinterest - was delicious!

            Wednesday - OYO - On Your Own - I'm attending a young professionals networking soiree  
            on a boat on the Mississippi River

            Thursday - New recipe: Pasta fagiolle {sp?} Italian sausage and pasta soup

            Friday - maybe Italian Paninis {basil, asiago, proscuitto, chicken, & roast red pepper}

8 o'clock hour | More play time with Miss L, followed by a laundry list of to dos.

Last night, I did 4 loads of laundry {folded and everything}, scrubbed our wood floors in the Kitchen on my hands and knees, dishes, and took a shower.

Tonight, I did dishes, cleaned our office, filed paperwork, ordered checks, researched something for the IRS {yippee!}, and crossed a few thank you cards and notes off my list. Of course, this was after I arrived home at 6:13, to grab Miss L to attend ECFE class from 6:15-7:45. Thankfully, it is < 1 mile away! I also excitedly showed J this amazing events guide/brochure I made at work today. I am so proud of my work, just like I am proud of the mom I have become to Miss L. It is such a great feeling!

And that folks, is our new normal. J just realized it is 12:30am as we both work diligently on our individual to-do lists from the comfort of our respective couches and laptops. Off to bed..

All smiles in her jammies!