Turned it Around

I am feeling much more upbeat that what I let on yesterday. We all have those days that we get a little down and out and I am just trying to make those fewer and farther between. Pick it back up and keep on keepin' on.

The upswing actually started Monday night when Ben suggested that we paint our dining room chairs and put another coat of finish on the dining room table after putting Eleanor down rather than assuming our normal TV viewing positions on the couch. Usually after Eleanor is down, all I want to do is collapse and veg out. I hate that. I want to complete projects and feel productive but usually my tired side wins out. I was happy he suggested this and it also gives us that extra hour to visit rather than zone out to our current show: The West Wing. It felt good to accomplish something. I want to find time for more small projects like this!

So then I had my hum drum morning yesterday but then I got E down for a nap and I did my first workout in the Revolt Now Fitness Challenge. I got to take Eleanor to a family friend's little hobby farm and let her meet their new baby goats. They were so adorable and Eleanor just loved them.

We got home, ate lunch and proceeded to read 835 a lot of books. She was being very stubborn and not going down for another nap which was strange because she had gotten up so early, only slept for an hour in the morning and played outside so I thought she was really tired. My mom stopped by, got her down for about an hour and then Ben got home.

The evening was good, E fought going down for bedtime which was frustrating and then we relaxed for a bit.

All in all, I am realizing that my attitude and days are what I make of them. When I am feeling down I am learning to put more effort into picking myself up. E doesn't deserve to have a mother who is frustrated and down about silly things. She woke up early again this morning, we snuggled watching cartoons for a bit, ate breakfast and headed out to do a little shopping even though it is so gray and rainy today. I just finished another workout while she is napping and even though it is so yucky outside, I feel good.

Happy Hump Day!

Hey, Hey...

...It's Friday!

Another week gone by. Some days seem never ending and then all of a sudden here we are meeting with another weekend. Today feels like a good day. We have been having a rough bit of sleep this week because I think little Miss is getting a molar. Or two. Whoever really knows?!

I always do feel just a bit more chipper when the sun is peeking out which it did yesterday afternoon, today and is predicted for the next couple of days. So nice. I just can't stop thinking about how much fun it will be once the nice weather is more frequent for Eleanor to be outside. She loves it outside and I think she is going to be such a fun age for summer this year. Camping, swimming, the zoo, long walks...gahhh, hurry up summer!

Let's not get to far ahead of ourselves. This weekend we are headed out on Saturday night to celebrate a friend's birthday. We are leaving a bit early so Ben and I can have some alone time before we meet up with the group. The month of January is filled with a lot of work hours for him so we are a bit over due on some time out together.

I am already beginning to think about our garden this year and what we will be planting. We tried starts last year and they didn't really work any better than just putting seeds into the ground when the time is right so I think we will just do that. I also didn't do many flowers on account of not having a functioning brain due to lack of sleep so hopefully I can plant some more flowers this year. That will be another fun thing to do with E babe.

I am also trying to decide if I want to forge into some toddler groups for E. I think it would be fun to get her around some more toddlers however, the only hesitation I am having is that the flu is rampant around here right now! I know I can't keep her cooped up all the time, but when there are high-risk situations, i.e. a group full of germ-y kids, I feel I should keep her away. Maybe we should hold out a couple more months until the sickness dies down a bit.

I also wanted to say thank you to Holly for the mention in her post today. I think it is so nice to have those special girls that we connect with and relate to. She reached 1000 followers which is amazing because just a year ago she was lingering around the number of followers I have. I love reading her blog and staying in touch.

Front Door Facelift

As Eleanor and I were out watering our plants yesterday morning, I looked at the "cans" that I have had sitting by our front door for a couple of years--well, actually since our wedding since they were used to hold flowers at our wedding--and they were empty. And sad looking.

I really like them but thought they needed a little something. Also, don't mind the rose bush, it isn't staying there, we just haven't decided on it's permanent home yet. I had a few errands to run and they happened to be by the dollar store in our area so I figured I would pop in a peek at their fake flower selection. I am not always a huge fan of fake flowers but I figure that not a ton of people go in and out of our front door and obviously guests won't be thoroughly examining them, so I figured for this spot it would be okay. Actually I am not a huge fan of dollar store fakes. The ones at Michael's have come a long way and can actually look quite real.

Anyway.

I picked a few out and I still need to do a bit more adjusting but I think they look pretty good and help the cans not to look so drab.

I don't know why this excited me so much. Probably because it was a quick, easy and cheap spruce. It's the little things, people! 

Any spruces around for you these days?

A Free Moment...

Whew.

This past weekend, yes I realize we are three days into the short week, was quite the whirlwind. Here I chat all about how we stay home a lot, haven't been getting out, don't have many plans and then all of a sudden the "inaugural" week of summer comes--Memorial Day Weekend--and we are out and about and realized it will be a little bit non-stop for the next few weekends!

Friday, we were up early-ish and out and about running errands. Replacement social security card for me, emissions for Ben, Costco for the family and then home to enjoy the rest of the sunny day. My parents stopped by for a short bit around dinner time to say hi to the baby and then we grilled and hit the sack.

Saturday morning, we were up earlier and trying to time out a feeding and then nap time for Eleanor around 9ish because we were hitting the road. Our group of college friends have been going on the same camping trip since freshman year of college and since it's less than a two hour drive from home, we decided to go up for the day and say hello to everyone. The morning was great, E went to sleep in the car and then it felt like all hell broke loose because we were picking up a friend at A park and ride but apparently there was a mis-communication about which one. Well, we ended up getting lost, having to back track and listening to our whining dog. Eleanor slept most of the time but woke up about 15 minutes from our destination. Had we not been such idiots about the getting lost and such, she would have slept the whole way! Oh well. 

We arrived at the site and hung out for a few hours. We got to catch up with some friends, have lunch enjoy being outside in the nice weather and then we tried to feed and get back on the road for another nap in the late afternoon. Well, she slept the first half hour to forty five minutes but once we got off the freeway to drop our friend back off at his car she was not having it and cried the whole rest of the way home. About another forty five minutes. Awful to listen to but we made it. We played outside a little bit when we got home and I made dinner.

Sunday morning we got up a little slower, made breakfast and then headed about an hour south to some friends' house to visit with them and their seven month old baby girl. We had lunch, some yummy burgers, and played some Xbox Kinect--which Ben even got me to play the Micheal Jackson dancing game. I am NOT a dancer. But it was fun!--and then tried to time out feeding and napping again. This time it worked perfectly and Eleanor was a perfect, little passenger snoozing all the way home!

Monday morning we got up slowly and then headed over to my parents' so that Ben could help my dad slaughter their chickens they had been raising and then we had a late lunch. It was quite the experience seeing the chickens so I pretty much stayed in the house. Obviously I eat meat and it isn't about feeling bad for the animals but more the gory details. Ben and I were talking about how weird it is that most people, including us most of the time, are so far removed from their food and where it comes from. I love the idea of raising my own food whether it be a cow or a head of lettuce.

Anyway, we had lunch, my parents played with E for awhile and then we headed home to relax for a bit before having to gear up for Ben to head back to work on Tuesday.

Come Tuesday, Eleanor and I were playing around the house and I noticed she had some sniffles--I had never seen snot come out of her nose before--as well as a little cough and some sneezing more than normal. Ben let me know he was working from home on Wednesday which he decided before we knew E had a little cold coming on. Wednesday night was not pleasant, we took shifts trying to sleep with her because she was not wanting to lie down by herself so I was either nursing her or Ben had her in the recliner. It was a rough night to say the least. It was great timing that Ben stayed home yesterday and having the both of us here was so great. Ben tried to explain to me that it was good that she had a little cold and it would build her immunity up even more and even though I know that to be true I still figured I could keep my daughter in a bubble as long as possible avoid sickness a little longer.

We used Simple Saline "Baby" to flush out her nose and although it was obviously not fun to blast something up her nostril, it help a lot and we got a lot of mucus out every time. The only downfall of it is that we were only able to use it on each nostril twice and it was five bucks for the container. Slight ripoff.

Anyway, the babe did a little better last night, is on the mend today and woke up talking, laughing and crawling around the floor. Such a relief to my heart because I cannot stand it when she can't tell me what's wrong, she has a pitiful look on her face and we can tell she just doesn't feel good.

That's what's been going on around here. A whirlwind weekend, a baby that didn't want anything but snuggles from mom and dad the past couple of days and tomorrow is already Friday again!

A New Spin on Peach Cobbler

Like everyone else, I peruse Pinterest. I wouldn't say I look at it all the time but of course I have lots of pins that I haven't "made" but always want to. So this weekend I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try a recipe.

I saw it a couple months back and thought it was so cute.

Source: sugarderby.com via Allyce on Pinterest

I looked at the recipe a couple days before to see if I needed to get anything at the store since I was headed there. The day of Mother's Day I looked at Pinterest again to see what to do and the website with the recipe was gone! I Googled other canned peach cobbler recipes and found this one. The cobbler was easy to make so we took the pan of cobbler, the cones and ice cream to my parents' for the Mother's Day dinner.

After dinner, Ben scooped everything into the cones and served it up.

Our overall review was that, although it was fun to have it in the cone, it wasn't really beneficial to the cobbler. The cobbler was under the ice cream and obviously we ate the ice cream fairly quickly so as not to melt, but that didn't give it any chance to melt over the cobbler which is usually the best part of a cobbler--melted ice cream on top! Also, I am usually only one for using fresh fruit in cobblers and probably would not go the canned peach route again. Just not much flavor. 

A fun experiment but not over the top excited about it. Buy, hey, it was fun to actually try one of my pins!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I am loving that we have a BBQ to go to this weekend to celebrate some friends moving into a new house!

I am loving this fun cake for a spring BBQ.

Source: zoebakes.com via Erin on Pinterest

I am loving these cute dresses.

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I am loving this beautiful, spring weather we have been having!

Source: weheartit.com via Aukse on Pinterest

I am loving that we have our chickens in their coop and our garden planted. A couple months from now we will be enjoying some fresh eggs and fresh produce!

I am loving taking pictures outside because the natural light is so beautiful. I, by no means, think I'm any kind of photographer, but the natural light sure helps my talent-lacking pictures some extra prettiness!

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Friday's Letters

Dear Friday, I welcome you and this weekend with open arms! Dear Spring Weather, Seriously. Keep it coming. I am loving these sunny days. 80s in the next few days? Yes, please! Dear 2012, Slow down. I cannot believe we are almost in mid-May. Dear Coffee, You are yummy. Dear Red Wine, I missed you and have enjoyed our couple of meetings this past week. Dear Clothes, Wherever you are, I wish I could find some that I felt comfortable in. Maybe I will feel better about wearing some dresses now that the nice weather is here. Combine weird body with nursing {hence, needing easy access} and we have a recipe for slim pickin's in the wardrobe department. Dear Eleanor, Although I am glad it is Friday, 6:30 is not an acceptable wake-up time, got it?!

Happy Friday, Friends!

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The 4th Weekend in a Row With no Rain

Yes, I would say that is something to brag about around these parts. Ben said that to me yesterday and then we had a chuckle that even if it's fifty five degrees and not that sunny, just having no rain is something to be happy about.

This past weekend was really, really nice. A few weekends ago, I think we were feeling like we were in a rut. We hadn't been doing much on the weekends, but they seemed to go so quickly. So, last weekend, we made plans, hung out with some friends, went out to a restaurant and it was refreshing.

This weekend, we stayed home all weekend but it didn't feel like it flew by and it was enjoyable. Friday, Ben worked a half day and was home by one in the afternoon. We hung out, had some lunch and then I went to a home shopping party with a friend and Ben and Baby E had a date. I got home, Ben made some dinner and we  had a good night's sleep.

Saturday morning we woke up and got going slowly. We had the first season of Mad Men from Netflix so we watched a few episodes of that, played with Eleanor and relaxed. After a couple of hours, we both started getting antsy so we got some chores done. Nothing too exciting--vacuuming, dusting, getting some books together to give away, getting rid of some clutter, laundry, dishes cleaning the bathrooms. None of it really felt like work, though, we had some music going and were visiting the whole time. Ben, then, decided to head out and mow the lawn so E and I stayed in the house and she ate, napped and I read and watched the Kentucky Derby. It was relaxing. When Ben finished, we made dinner, had a glass of wine, watched the Spurs game and I headed in to nurse E to sleep.

Sunday morning we awoke to bright blue skies. We had known it was supposed to be nicer on Sunday than Saturday so it was nice that we had done a majority of chores on Saturday. We watched the last episode of Mad Men, made breakfast, talked to Ben's family on Skype and put E down for a nap. We headed outside and played with the chickens a bit and once Eleanor woke up we took Holly down to the lake to throw the ball for her. E got to ride in the front pack, sunglasses and all. Eleanor just loves being outside. She is relaxed and just sort of takes it all in. I love it. When we got back from the lake, we made lunch, laid a blanket out in the yard and let Eleanor roll around while we ate. We came inside for a bit, Eleanor had a little cat-nap and then we took her jumper outside and shaded her while Ben and I read. So relaxing. We came in, had a bite to eat before Ben went to play basketball and then it was just E and I. She napped for a while, woke up, played and then it was time for bed. We had a marathon diaper event before bed {3 diapers before we had a clean one to put her down in!} and once Ben got home, we got her down and she slept great again.

There was nothing major that happened this weekend. Now big event to report on. It was just an all-around, nice, relaxing weekend. At the end of each day we were relaxed, got to smile at each other and say we had a great day. I love that. I love that Baby E is so content when we are all together as a family, get to spend time outside and enjoy each other. I know we will always look back fondly on days like this as she grows and know that they laid the foundation for her loving family.

I just realized I exaggerated a little bit. It did rain on Saturday morning. But that was tolerable because we were doing chores! 

Peep, Peep

We brought home our new family members on April 14th. I call them family members because everything we read says they will end up like pets. I sure hope so, they are pretty funny.

We have been talking about getting some laying hens since last year. In fact, Ben went so far as to build a chicken coop last year. Then we found out I was pregnant, Ben had about a month and a half of straight travelling for work so we decided it may not be the best time for me to have to be caring for chicks by myself. I am a little disappointed now knowing what we know that we didn't just get 'em last year. We could have been enjoying eggs for months now!

I think we kept getting a little nervous because everything we read acts like they are really high maintenance in the beginning but so far so good. They are living in the garage in a big storage tub with a heat lamp. They seem pretty happy. We are really amazed at how fast they are growing and how quickly their feathers are coming in.

I have to admit I have been a little hands off thus far. I have held them a couple of times. Changed the water. However, I hadn't dealt much with the poop until last night.

Ben was holding E so I was on farm duty. As a family we walked around and watered the garden, that Ben planted this weekend,  and then headed out to check on the chicks. Well, even though I had given them fresh water in the morning, they had managed to fill the water again with shavings and there was quite a bit of poop in their food. Again. So it was up to me. I had to scoop the poop. Ben was making fun of me because I wasn't too into touching it. I was more into scooping with the garden shovel, which he informed me is way more wasteful of the food and takes wys too long. "You're gonna have to get a lot more used to poop than that, honey," he let me know.

Hey, Ben, you got the animal poo, I got the human poo. Aka, our daughter's. Wait, a sec, don't get me wrong, I love when you help with poopy dipes. Oy, guess I'll be helping with the chicken poo too.

Lovely Weekend

Oh my goodness. This past weekend we got a little taste of summer and boy did it taste good.

It started for me on Friday, waking up after a bit of a rough Thursday night with the baby, and having invited some girlfriends and their babies over. I was actually glad that I had planned to have friends over because it helped me snap out of the bad night and move on. We all had lunch, visited, watched the babies roll around and it was just all around a fun time.

Saturday morning we woke up to a beautiful day and hit the ground running. Eleanor had slept well the night before and we were so thankful for that. It truly is amazing how sleep the night before can make or break you. We headed to the grocery store, came home and Ben did some stuff outside and Eleanor and I played in and outside. We ended the day with an impromptu BBQ with some friends and their two little boys.

Sunday we woke up, had breakfast and talked with Ben's family on the computer. It's fun for them to see how much Eleanor is starting to change. We again, got some things done around the house, washed cars {which is always fun to do in the sun!} and then got ready for dinner at my grandma's. We, of course, had to have a little photo shoot with the babe before we went.

We had such a wonderful weekend full of sun, family and friends. I just can't wait for summer, nice weather and the endless adventure we are on with our girl. She just continues to grow and change right before our eyes and time is just flying!

**4 month E post coming this week

Friday's Letters

Dear Friday, So glad you are here. Some think it doesn't make a difference what day of the week it is for a SAHM. But it does. Nice to have the Hub home. Dear Baby E, Your baby hands just make me melt. When you are eating and I look down and see your hand resting on my chest, it warms my heart. Dear Crafty Self, Get your act together and make some stuff! Dear Spring, Stop teasing us and get on with yourself! Dear March Maddness, I am excited to watch the games tomorrow and to see who ends up with the championship. Even more excited to watch the championship Monday night. Sorry to The Voice who will have to wait for my viewing until Tuesday. Dear Vegetable Starts, Lookin' good! Dear House, Can't you just clean yourself? Like, I could go to the grocery store, close up the house, press a button and you would be clean when I come home? No? Well, maybe that's how I could make my millions.

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WILW: Spring!

I am linking up with this lady today to declare that I am loving all things spring! Spring is such a fun time of year with winter slowly coming to an end, little peeks of bright sun here and there, a fresh new season and fun, bright colors.

First of all, I am loving that we got some seeds started inside and are already seeing sprouts.

I love these fun jars-turned-vases. I am definitely trying to do some in some springy colors.

Source: thecsiproject.com via Allyce on Pinterest

Love this fun top with a cute cardigan over.

Source: when-im-older.tumblr.com via Allyce on Pinterest

Definitely a good spring nail polish color.

Source: nailstah.com via Allyce on Pinterest

Layers work well here for spring.

Source: wendyslookbook.com via Allyce on Pinterest

I think I have posted this before but I still love it: cute ol' rain boots.

Source: tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com via Allyce on Pinterest

Yum, asparagus.

Source: simplyrecipes.com via Allyce on Pinterest

I am also loving:

::having more motivation to work out.

::borrowing library books on my Kindle.

::feeling more like myself.

Go link up, it's fun!

Fit Friday

I must say, having your husband around everyday when you have an almost four month old is heaven.

I have also forgotten how nice it is to have a workout buddy to motivate and make me want to workout. I have been convincing myself that I can't workout because I would tell myself that right when I got started Eleanor would need my attention or that by the time she had fallen asleep for a nap, I would be hungry and need to eat and then I just couldn't workout right after I ate.

While all of that may be true, Ben has helped me to understand that all of that doesn't matter. I just have to do what I can. And I am learning that some is better than none.

I am happy to report that within the last week I have done two and a half P90X workouts and gone on an hour walk.

Ben borrowed P90 from a friend a while back, actually right at the beginning of my pregnancy so when I was beginning to transform into a whale, he decided he was getting in shape. Nice, huh?

Anyway, I am happy we have the DVDs now because it is perfect for this stay at home lady and I feel so great after the workouts and I know I will continue to if I keep it up. The half workout was because Eleanor woke up and was hungry. I could have gone back and finished but I didn't and that's okay. Besides that it was the core workout of P90X so it was a pretty difficult one. And obviously my core is the most tired and worn of all my muscles.

So my goal for this week is on Monday, after I feed Eleanor in the morning and she is likely to go back to sleep for an hour or hour and a half, I am going to get up and do a workout instead of going back to sleep. I tried to tell Hub that I am going to do that Monday, Wednesday and Friday and his suggestion is to just start with Monday and see how it goes. He is smart like that. I have been wanting to start getting up before the baby and this may be a good way to motivate myself to do it. Or a bad way, depends how we are looking at it.

A Bit of Catching Up

Holy Moly. Where have I been?! No idea. Nothing new. Tending to my home and the baby. Obviously not blogging. I was so proud of myself in the month of February pertaining to the blog but then I kind of fell out of my routine in the month of March.

The month of March has been spent (pretty much unsuccessfully) trying to get Eleanor on a napping schedule. That could be why I haven't gotten a post written. Her reaction to getting laid down in her crib for a nap pretty much alerts the neighborhood that we are very certainly torturing her. She falls asleep in our arms, we walk around, we lay her down and she won't have it. At night, we still swaddle, nurse, rock and lay her down and she is perfectly fine. Anyway, long story short, she is napping in her swing. Not ideal, but at least she is sleeping for some lengths of time during the day.

Husband has been off work for the rest of his paternity leave. One word: awesome. It is so nice that he got two weeks of leave and only had to use one week of it in December. When he used that week coupled with the holidays and such, we were in such a daze, trying to keep our heads above water with our newborn that it just flew by. Now, with our almost four month old, we are basically enjoying a stay-cation. It is seriously amazing to me how much faster I get things done around this place with the Hub home. I can bust out chores like the old days, pre-Eleanor. It is also really fun to have Hub around to see all the fun developments that we are seeing with the babe.

We planted some vegetable seeds the other day to start indoors so we will see how that goes. We did it a couple of years ago and it worked ok. Hopefully it will work better this year. Of course our future farmgirl had to be in on the action.

We most certainly enjoyed the first rounds of March Madness last weekend. We both filled out brackets and neither are doing well but that's ok. We just love watching.

We are looking forward to some nicer weather. Who knows when that is coming but I am hopeful. It has basically been just cold, rainy and sometimes windy which is not great for any type of getting out of the house. 

I am getting a little excited because I have been getting the crafting itch again. I have a few simple projects in mind that will mostly consist of using some things around the house which is always exciting.

We have been going to a few of Ben's basketball games on Sunday nights which is fun because he plays with  the guys in our vacation  group so the other babies are there, we all visit, and Eleanor has been doing really well at them. Evenings are usually our "challenging" time with her but the games keep her entertained, distracted and it actually seems like she is watching!

I am also, slowly, trying to get back in shape. It is really hard to convince myself to workout when Eleanor finally goes down for a nap, I am hungry and just want to sit down. But I am going to try. She also inherited a jumper from her cousin (2nd cousin?) which she enjoys so that could start buying me a little bit more time to do things.

Anyway, nothing too exciting around here, just the usual.

But.

Our usual is pretty enjoyable these days.

Sunny Day Randoms

I know. I had to put "sunny" in my title because in our part of the world, it is a beautiful, February day that I have to celebrate and acknowledge!

First and foremost it is truly amazing what a little Vitamin D does for the mood, soul, skin, hair, etc. Okay, maybe a little carried away but this girl is getting a little tired of the short, dark days so I love a little brightness in my life. I also love introducing my baby girl to one of my favorite things--Mr. Sunshine!

Source: etsy.com via Allyce on Pinterest

It is so fun having friends with babies. We can get together and not feel weird about staring at our babies. Or being a little distracted because you are paying more attention to your baby than the friend you are visiting with. Swapping stories, advice or even some weird emotions you may be having is also nice.

Source: Uploaded by user via Allyce on Pinterest

It has been a long time coming but I am enjoying my Toms. I have wanted them for awhile. Tried them on and couldn't decide. Couldn't decide on a size or color. Thought they looked strange on my feet but good on everyone else. But I have finally decided and I love. And I can't wait to get a pair for Baby E.

 I have discovered the true meaning of coffee now that I have had a child. I have only been having one cup in the morning as opposed to the two maybe three in the past but I truly look forward to it and it is a nice start to the day while Baby E is at her happiest and we are waking up.

Source: earthytoastyspicy.blogspot.com via cindy on Pinterest

I am falling more and more in love with my cloth diapers everyday. Okay, well, not my cloth diapers. But Eleanor's. They are so cute, actually surprisingly easy to deal with and so much less garbage.

Source: familyoffarmers.blogspot.com via Amanda on Pinterest

The sunshine peeking out is really getting me excited for spring and our garden. Also for summer and being warm and grilling and being on the water and introducing E to nature and more.

Source: gardenrooms.typepad.com via Emily on Pinterest

I would love a garden that looked like this!

These are my thoughts for the day. I mean, I have more, but sometimes it is hard to get them organized with a sweet babe kickin' next to me so this is all for now. 

What are your Friday random thoughts?