Life as a SAHM- A Fall Weekend

This weekend we spent lots of time together as a family, doing all the Fall things. We went to a fall festival with friends, carved our pumpkin, roasted and ate pumpkin seeds, and watched Hocus Pocus, my favorite Halloween movie! Miss A sat still for about twenty minutes tops, which was surprising, as the only thing she will sit and watch from start to finish is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. My heart was happy and full this weekend.

 

 We took pictures on our front porch before we left to the festival. Reason #3538 why my heart was happy- Miss A LOVED her costume and I LOVED it too! I was squealing over how cute she looked. As soon as I put it on she walked around the house looking for Dada to show it off. I thought for sure she was going to take her hat off in .0 seconds but she kept it on the whole time!

 

It was chilly out so I put on her thick white stockings and a long sleeve T underneath her costume. Luckily her strawberry suit is pretty thick and warm!

 

Walking around the festival with Dada. There was so much to see- ponies (which she liked until they stuck their tongue out at her), bounce houses, games, food, and all the other kids in costume.

 

Must-have family photo op. Miss A was not in the mood for more pictures, clearly. Sorry little girl, Mama can never have enough pictures!

 

We met up with our friends and tried to take some pictures of the girls together. I love this one because it shows how hard it is to get two babies to look at the camera and sit still at the same time. Impossible! :)

 We tried to play some games but Miss A was not interested. I don't know what set her off but she was really unhappy indoors. Maybe it was the noise or all the people in strange costumes?

She was much happier outside on the playground. Until we went to see the ponies.

She was okay petting them, but the minute this guy stuck out his tongue or looked at her, she screamed! Haha.

On Sunday we carved and decorated our pumpkins. She was very involved; sticking her hands inside to grab the "guts" and playing with the seeds (I had to keep a close eye on her for that).

I think they turned out pretty good! If you're wondering why three of the spiders legs are red, we ran out of the black ink and I figured red would work- for blood, of course!

I think she liked them. 

How was your weekend? Did you do anything Fall related? I'm so excited for Halloween now, I wish it was today!

The Sleep Chronicles

Today I'm guest posting over at Being Mrs. Beer. Jess is having a baby sleep series on her blog and I jumped at the chance to share my story. If you or someone you know is in the midst of sleep deprivation, with a baby who isn't sleeping through the night (obviously, I'm not talking about newborns), then this series is for you! I hope you'll take a minute and visit Jess' blog.

"Adeline let us know right away that she was NOT a good sleeper. The first night in the hospital gave us a glimpse into what the next seven months were going to be like. Granted she was only a few hours old and I didn't expect her to sleep through the night (obviously), but I never thought it was going to continue like that for so many months. She was up the whole night, crying, wanting to be fed, and held.
 
In the beginning, Adeline slept ALL day, during the day. There was nothing you could do to wake her up. She slept through the vacuum, the TV, phone calls, and our dog barking. One thing I could count on was her getting enough to eat because she would wake up when she was hungry. She did exactly what all newborns do- she ate, pooped, and slept. Except at night.

She ate every two hours around the clock, which meant she was up every two hours, and sometimes more often than that, for about four months..." 

You can find the rest of our sleep story here.

The Toughest Job

There are some days you want to rip your hair out. The screaming doesn't stop. The tantrums continue for longer than they should. A nap doesn't happen.

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Then are there days filled with laughter and sunshine. You play, run, explore the backyard, watch the leaves fall off the trees. These are the days you'll remember.

Yesterday was not one of those days. It was a hard day. I'm going to blame it on teething because I have nothing else to blame. I swear her teeth take FOREVER to come in. Her top right tooth is almost all the way out (am I the only one with a fifteen month old with three teeth!?) but her left one is taking it's sweet ol' time. I know she's in pain.

Distraction is really the only way to get her through it. At night, Tyenol lends a hand. We went to story time, out for a walk, and to run errands. You might think I'm crazy to take a screaming teething child out in public but it actually seems to help. She likes to people watch and "help" me shop. She also likes being in the car (thankfully) and since she was refusing to take a nap I knew she'd eventually fall asleep in the car. I grab a book to take with me so I have something to do in the car because I can't take her out of her car seat once she falls asleep. She's not one of those babies who will go back to sleep if you wake her. So in the car I wait and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Yep, sometimes being a Mom is hard. You have to take a breath and count to ten. You have to drink lots of coffee. But then you have to think of all the wonderful things that happen every day. Her face lighting up every morning when I come to take her out of her crib. Hearing her say a new word. Watching her learn imaginative play. Following close behind as she learned how to walk. These moments I take in and breathe in deeply, because I never want to forget.

Baby, you are a handful sometimes. But you are so worth it.

Our Mini Beach Vacation Recap

We may have been a little late to the party. With Fall officially arriving this weekend, it was about time we were able to make it to the beach!! All summer I have been DYING to go. Not just because the last time we went was while I was still pregnant, 7 months pregnant, actually, but because this would be Miss A's first time at the beach. But with moving in late May, settling in to our new home in June, and the hubby starting residency in July, there was just no time to go to the beach. Until now.

As soon as I knew about the hubby's time off, I searched for a hotel by the beach. Luckily I found a few on Groupon and we decided on Myrtle Beach, which is a few hours away from home. Miss A did amazingly well in the car; she napped, ate lunch, and played with a few new toys and books. As soon as we arrived, we checked into the hotel and changed into our suits. It was a little cloudy, but the sun eventually peeked out and warmed us up. 

I'm happy to report that Miss A absolutely loved the beach. I swear she had the time of her life. We were so excited to see how she was going to react. She loved everything- the sand, the waves, and the water. The only thing she didn't like was when a huge wave almost rocked her over! Luckily we were tightly holding her hands. The current was very strong so we definitely didn't want to go in very far. 

She played in the sand for quite a while. We had buckets and shovels yet what she really wanted to do was use her hands. Trying to prevent a toddler from eating sand is impossible. I'm sure ate a couple of tablespoons worth!

Of course, Daddy made a giant hole and buried her in the sand. She didn't mind one bit!

We thought she was going to take off running at some point to explore the shore. Instead, she wanted to hold on to our hands. It was much harder than I thought it was going to be for her. She kept sinking right into the sand! Once she got her feet wet, she was thrilled. She didn't want to stop! Back and forth we went, and every time the current came in, she squealed. 

She also liked the seashells. She'd point at one she liked, bend down to pick it up, and hand it to me.

After we polished off all our snacks, we started getting hungry and packed up to shower and change for dinner. There were so many restaurants to choose from, all sitting right on the water. 

Miss A was by far the most behaved she has ever been at a restaurant. She must have loved the fresh air. She also loved the classic rock the restaurant was playing and couldn't stop dancing.

Before we called it a night, I had to find myself a vanilla ice cream cone. With sprinkles of course. Isn't that the happiest face you ever did see? 

The next day we woke up to chilly temperatures. I was disappointed, but I expected it. It was too cold for Miss A to get in the water so we walked along the shore until it was time to check out of our hotel.

Even though our trip was short, it was so worth it. Seeing her squeal, laugh, and play in the sand and water was too precious for words. I'm going to remember this trip forever. She had so much fun! My husband said it was one of the best days of his life. It was one of mine too. Now I can happily embrace Fall with open arms. After all, it was 60 degrees when I woke up this morning! Thank goodness we made it to the beach just in time.

Five on Friday

Happy Friday! Be sure to link up with these ladies to join in on the fun!

1. Happy Baby, Happy Mama

If you saw my previous post, you know that Miss A had a terrible virus this past week. She had a high fever for days, wasn't eating or drinking very much, and was totally not herself. We went to the ER where she had to have an IV for fluids and antibiotics in case of an infection. There were lots of tears and screams. From the three of us! But I'm happy to say that Miss A is finally feeling better as of yesterday, as you can see in this picture. Thank you to all who follow me on instagram for your well wishes.  

2. Pumpkin Mania

It seems I can't write a Five on Friday post lately without talking about pumpkin! Until I started blogging, I never really enjoyed pumpkin treats. I hated pumpkin pie. Never had a pumpkin spice donut. When I was still living in Miami, it never really feels like Fall. Ever. It's too hot to wear boots and cute comfy sweaters and scarves. When we moved to Michigan, I was amazed at the first sign of the leaves changing. Then I finally understood the Fall craze. We went apple picking for the first time and had cider and fresh donuts. I was hooked. In love with the season. I started making my own cookies and pumpkin bread and fell in love with the flavor. Now that we've moved again I'm excited to experience Fall in North Carolina! Here are some of my must-make-immediately pumpkin things I found this week.

Pumpkin Pie Steel Cut Oats

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

 3. Sticky Labels

I loooove labels. I love labels even more when they're customizable and come in pretty colors and with cute graphics. I ordered a set of sticky labels from Mabel's Labels last week and I'm so happy with how they turned out!

4. Toddler Fall Fashion

Forget about shopping for me this year. Okay, maybe not, I deserve a new sweater or two right? But look at all the new fall sets from Carters!! I.love.them.all. They're having a sale right now and it's taking everything in me to not buy everything. I may have created a wishlist for her. Or is it for me? ;)

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

5. Grocery Budgets

Ugh. Let's talk about groceries. And budgets. I know, I know, this might not be a fun topic for everyone, but I'm curious- do you have a grocery budget? If so, how did you come up with that number? How do you stick to it? Do you use coupons? Shop at more than one store? I'm trying to come up with a grocery budget and it's much harder than I thought it was going to be. I'm keeping track of how much we're spending for one month to see what we're spending and I'll take it from there. This was our haul from Aldi, where I only spent $47! Teach me your ways.

Happy weekend!

Sick Days

Today I don't have a What We Ate Wednesday post for you. I completely forgot to photograph what we ate lately because Miss A has been sick.

While I loved the extra cuddles and naps on my chest (something she hasn't done since the early days), I'd much rather have my active little destructive monster any day. It's when their sick that you truly appreciate how active they are. 

After having a fever hovering between 103 and 104 all weekend, we had to take Miss A to the emergency room on Monday. She wasn't getting any better, she was getting worse. Let me tell you, there are definite perks of having a doctor for a husband. We were seen right away.

She had an IV put in and her blood drawn. Her screams will forever haunt me. I can't look whenever I'm getting a shot or getting blood drawn. I could NOT look at what they were doing to her so I held her hand and failed at keeping back my own tears. She got fluids and a dose of antibiotics in case of infection. All her tests came back normal, which was wonderful, yet at the same time, I wanted answers. What was wrong with my baby?

She started feeling better after a while and snacked on some Cheerios. I was so happy to see her eating something! We were discharged several hours later with the request to make an appointment with her pediatrican the next day for a follow up, which was yesterday. It turns out she had some pesky virus. Miss A broke out in a rash while we were in the doctors office, while the doctor literally checked her over. The rash confirmed the doctor's suspisicon of a particular virus. I'm so happy we know what it was and that that's all it was- a virus.

I know it could have been worse and I'll take a virus over something scarier any day. The hubby and I are not cut out to have a sick baby! We were such a mess. I'm glad this is all almost over and my baby is becoming herself again. Now if only I could prevent her from getting sick again. ;)

What We Ate Wednesday

Today I'm participating in What I Ate Wednesday, a link up I've always wanted to try. I'm always looking for new ideas on what to eat, I get bored easily, especially with breakfast and lunch! I took a different take on it and decided to show you what Miss A and I ate one day. Here we go!

Breakfast: 8:15 am

I ate: frozen waffles with sliced bananas, granola, and honey

 Miss A: toast with applesauce and slices of banana (which she poked at and fed to the dog)

Morning snack: 10:30 am

Miss A: Strawberry yogurt and a couple of Mum Mum's

I ate: A Kashi cookie spread with peanut butter and a couple graham crackers dipped in peanut butter

Lunch: 12:30pm

 I ate: A peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a sliced apple (it was a peanut butter kind of day!)

 Miss A: A whole wheat tortilla ham and cheese melt

Afternoon Snack: 3:00pm

I ate: Greek yogurt with sliced bananas, granola, chocolate chips...and a swirl of peanut butter!

Miss A: toddler cookies and watermelon 

Dinner: 6:30pm

I ate: garlic roast chicken, rice pilaf, and cesar salad. So good!

Miss A: pieces of chicken and a few bites of rice, she usually eats whatever we're having for dinner

Happy Wednesday! What did you eat today?