Fishing.

Last week a new park opened nearby that has a pond (small lake?) for fishing.  The park itself isn't spectacular right now as they haven't finished the landscaping and whatnot, but Wade is excited.  We went the second day it was open he was so excited.  We had bought Harper a fishing pole a couple of weeks ago in anticipation of going fishing so we seized the moment and went fishing.  Unfortunately, the weather turned a bit chilly and windy and Harper was due for a nap.  I think she lasted roughly 10 minutes before the crankiness won over her and we walked around the park until she passed out.  But I definitely feel we will be back shortly.

Memorial Day Weekend (through iPhone pictures)

our weekend included: 

breakfast at Starbucks (yum!):: going to the park with momma and daddy :: momma in her hat :: harper in momma's hat :: spending time with papa :: swimming for the first time this year :: strawberry shortcakes for dessert :: more poolside time

Some Randomness.

After yesterday's serious tone, I thought today could be a calmer, happier post.  Completely random and with less words.  Enjoy your weekend.

Cuddling with Charlie the day we got her back.

Quality time with daddy.

Just too cute for words.

Easter.

Easter Sunday was a really lovely day.  The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, and Harper had a great time looking for (lots of) eggs.  I would have posted a video but I get distracted easily and forget to watch what I'm filming instead of watching Harper.  So the videos are bumpy and a bit nauseating.  But got all dressed up to take pictures, hunt eggs, and eat.  I hope your Easter was just a blissful.

Bedtime

I've been trying to find ways to simplify all areas of our life.  We've cut out almost all processed foods, I've been adopting a more Waldorf-like atmosphere in our home (more on this to come), and I've been trying to make our "routines" more simple.  I don't have a set schedule that we follow everyday.  We usually take our time saying good morning and rising out of bed followed by a slow transition to the kitchen for breakfast.  We spend our days either on the go running errands and meeting people for lunch or we stick to the house where we read, listen to music, play with blocks/trains/animals/dolls/instruments, or (if we're lucky at this time of the year!) play outside.  Harper is also into helping me do chores throughout the day.  After all of that (with a little nap thrown in somewhere), we make and eat dinner.  


And that's a very brief overview of our days.


And then there's nighttime.  It used to be a time I dreaded, back when Harper had colic.  Then I tried a more regimented schedule that lasted just a few short weeks.  Between my night classes and Wade's, it was just too difficult.  Our current bed time "routine" is working pretty well and has Harper asleep the majority of the time within 30-45 minutes.  It's like this:


- Take vitamins, let dogs out one last time, last drinks of water, and potty time for everyone


- Dogs in their bed and everyone puts on their jammies


- Snuggle down in bed with a couple of books that get read no more than twice each (otherwise she'd stay up all night looking through them!)


- Lights off and we sing songs like "The Wheels on the Bus" (of course!), "Six Little Ducks","You Are My Sunshine", and "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean."  What's really great about this is that Harper has recently started singing these songs along with me.  I've even heard her singing to herself or her animals/dolls while playing.  Cutest damn thing EVER.


Some nights, if she's worn out enough, the singing alone is enough to soothe her to sleep.  But if she's particularly wound up, we snuggle up next to each other and she has to hold my hand(I love holding her hand, but this is something she has to do for security, I think)(or rub the skin under my neck which becomes unbearable after awhile), and I usually have to redirect her several times to lay still and close her eyes before she falls asleep.  We have had very little tears doing this.  If she does cry it is because she A.) Doesn't want to go to sleep, even though she's beyond tired or B.) Doesn't want to put on jammies so we just wear a diaper and t-shirt.  Obviously, this is all subject to change as we approach new milestones, but, hey, it works right now and I love it.  It's happy, peaceful, and honestly fun!  Having her in our bed is something I will always remember and cherish.


P.S. Harper has lately become very into what belongs to whom.  At night we have to identify which pillow belong belongs to Momma, Daddy, and Harper.  And heaven forbid if one of us is on the wrong one!  Still, another absolutely adorable thing she does.  But then I'm biased, right?

Slowly Transitioning

As I stated before, we're slowly transitioning to a more whole foods diet.  I read Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food last weekend (so much good information and a quick read = excellent book) and reevaluated what we were eating.  This lead me to purge almost all of our processed foods by giving them to people who wanted them (my brother and cousin took some, the rest I donated which I'm not exactly happy that I gave my processed food to other people, but they were content with it I guess).  I say almost all of it because Wade kept his soups, tuna fish, and some crackers that he likes and can finish up on his next work rotation.  We also kept some bread, self-rising, all-purpose, and cake flour, white and brown just because you never know.  We might really be craving something not-so healthy, but in moderation (like serious moderation) I think that's just fine.  So here are some pictures to show you what's been going on:

The food that we got rid of.  A lot of food (obviously not what we gave away) had just been sitting in our kitchen for a long time.

The food that I bought at Trader Joe's

Our pantry after shopping and cleaning it out.

Our fridge after shopping and cleaning.

Our cabinet after cleaning.  The top shelf has the non-whole foods items, the second shelf has a mixture (the mac n cheeses to the left are a bit questionable, but okay in a pinch.  The bread crumbs actually have homemade ones in it and the oatmeal can on the right has homemade granola in it.)

No knead whole wheat bread with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and orange zest dipping sauce

After I made smoothies for breakfast one morning, I froze the left overs to make popsicles.

We are by no means perfect at this.  We are just beginning.  Each day is a new day at this and some days we struggle more than others.  But the more processed foods we cut out and the more real foods we eat is better than before!

Getting a Little Real

I have been reading this blog about trying to incorporate more "real foods" into our diet and eliminating processed foods.  I have been working on this for awhile, especially when it comes to organic foods, but the information she provides on her blog have helped to expand my knowledge on the subject even more.  I don't want to change the atmosphere and topic of this blog.  Afterall, this is something that I do for Harper.  But I would like to share some of the recipes I try and the things I buy.  We are starting a new budget next week and I am going to attempt to do our own little challenge; hopefully one that will become habit for us.  I would like to include this on my blog because what I am doing affects Harper and I do this kind of thing out of love for her.  Plus, if there is anyone else out there that is interested or is doing the same thing, perhaps this might be informative or it might spur them to make similar changes.  I'm reading Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food right now since that is where the "100 Days of Real Food" challenge came about.  I think my including this in my blog I will be able to write more frequently as well.  I do take pictures of Harper, but not as often as I used to.  I take videos more now since she doesn't sit still for very long!  I'll have to update you all on what she has been up to.  Let me just say that even though I may be biased, I think she could win a "Cutest Kid" contest with her pigtails and her singing her ABCs!

Here are some pictures of our groceries and food as of late:

The items on the left(apple sauce, PB, nuts, unsweetened coconut, and yeast) were not local items, but the items on the right (milk, eggs, chicken, and honey) were all from Indiana.  Unfortunately I didn't have my frequent shopper's card, but it broke down like this:
Organic Applesauce: $3.55
Almonds: $ 1.56
Walnuts: $1.99
Yeast: $2.55
Chicken: $5.74
Natural PB: $4.75
Unsweetened shredded coconut: $4.49
Organic eggs: $3.99
Organic milk: $4.49
Local honey: $5.75
Total: (after a $.55 discount on the nuts) $38.31

Delicious homemade eggsalad, organic stone wheat crackers, and organic celery

Homemade chewy granola bars.  Seriously people, these are ridiculously easy to make and really good!
 (recipe here)

Easter Then and Now

On Easter Day last year, Harper was just 5 days old and was still in the NICU.  I don't even think we realized it was Easter then!  The March of Dimes came around and gave all the babies baskets, though I do remember that.  This was little, tiny baby Harper last year:

 And this is my not-so-baby-anymore 

Such a big difference a year makes!  Yesterday was a wonderful day filled with baskets, candies, delicious food, and family time.  Somehow we didn't manage to color the eggs we boiled, but I don't think Harper minded.  It was a rainy, gloomy day anyway so we're shooting for next year.

Hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend!













 

Yes, I Found the Pictures!

Somehow our last day's photos ended up in another folder, hiding themselves from me and giving me a heart attack.  Thankfully, I found them yesterday.  Granted, there weren't many and they aren't as good as my previous pictures (and my camera died early unfortunately), but they're still memories I want to be able to look back on.
We spent this day at Animal Kingdom and Harper loved it.  There were great shows, rides, and a safari.  Harper is really into animals so I had no doubt she would have a good time.

A Little Self-Help

My husband was the first man to make me feel beautiful.  Make-up or not, dresses or sweat pants, he loved me for me.  As cliche as it might be, it's true.  There are many of us who have gone through many horrible, terrible, no-good, very bad boyfriends before "the one."  And that's how it happens.  But to me, Wade was exceptionally special.  He not only made me feel good about myself in a way I had never before allowed myself to feel, but he made me laugh, he challenged me (in sooo many ways, more good than bad), he didn't put up with crap, and he was always 100% himself which made me do the same.  That's why I knew from very early on that he was the man for me forever and always.  And I also knew that I wanted to have 10,000 of his babies.

It was during my pregnancy that I began to feel myself change,  both literally and figuratively.  Being on bedrest obviously doesn't leave much time for exercise so my body was, and is, less than perfect.  Let me pause to say that I'm was a perfectionist.  I've never had good self-esteem and have always been extraordinarily hard on myself.  That includes my appearance.  Pregnancy offered a new challenge to my self image.  I'm not so vain that I would jeopardize my child's life in order to save myself from some jiggly thighs.  So, I had to let it all go.  And go it went!  And you know what?  I was completely and utterly okay with it.  Before she was born, my baby girl started to change me.  For the better, I might add.  (And that's just one way pregnancy changed me.  Of course the thought of a little, teeny person growing inside of me pushed me to new heights, but you knew that already I'm sure).

Now that she's been a part of my life for nearly a year, I can look back and see just how much I have evolved as a woman.  I feel stronger, more secure, more open and honest, more at ease with myself.  In the first few months of her life I had so many women tell me, "You're such a relaxed mom.  I don't know how you do it!"  The truth is, well, I had to be.  I had a child who screamed for hours on end, for days, until I was a blubbering heap on the floor.  But just looking at her, even screaming or crying or pitching a huge fit, can bring me back to reality.  It's not about me.  It's about her and "listening" to her tell me what she needs.  I've found it's easy to put her before me in everything, but in doing so I've found a side of me that has brought me a sense of peace.  I absolutely love being a momma.  There is nothing in the world that I would give it up for.
So, Harper, my love, thank you for changing me in ways I never thought possible and giving me the greatest role I could have ever hoped for!

Home Again, Home Again

We're finally home!  After a week spent in sunshiney Florida (not to mention a 24-hour period spent with horrible food poisoning the day before we flew back!) we're back to our routines once again.  It was a nice little getaway traipsing around Disney World theme parks and the beach.  A good time was had by all, but we were definitely ready to come home.
Here are just a few of my favorite pictures that I've uploaded so far: