June 29, 2015 by Stephanie

Talks with Tom #37

It’s been awhile since I have shared snippets of our conversations. Here are a couple snippets of talks we have had lately.

Tom tries to come get me from work every other week for a lunch date since our schedules are so wonky. We were discussing which restaurant to go to this week.

Tom: How about we go to that Greek place?

Me: I can’t. I just went there today.

Tom: It’s a restaurant not a tampon. You can go there again.

And just in time for America this week: this conversation happened over a meal recently.

Tom: I inhaled a little bit of bacon. Very American.

What funny conversations have you had recently with friends or significant others?

June 26, 2015 by Stephanie

George-10 Months

Seriously? 10 months?

Weight: 19 lbs and 4 oz which is the 40th percentile. Height is 27.75 inches which is the 20th percentile. His head is 47 inches which is the 93%. Considering everything but his head was under the 11th percentile at 6 months, he definitely grew this month to catch up to his peers! Always be bulking…His head is just huge. Big brains we hope!

Health: He has been pretty healthy this month. We have been battling some pretty awful diaper rash, and we cannot seem to find something that helps cure it. (We have tried coconut oil, bourdreaux’s butt paste, and baby powder.) He has been a little raspy and snotty this week so there may be another tooth coming soon since this is what proceeded the last two. We are still only at 2 teeth. He is still spitting up after he has formula. He doesn’t do it with anything else, just that dang formula. (He did it with breastmilk too.) Our doctor thinks he is just a happy spitter, and he will eventually grow out of it. He doesn’t seem to be effected by it; it just dribbles out 5-10 minutes after he has finished a bottle. And it doesn’t matter if he has 2 oz or 6, so it is not a matter of being full. It’s obnoxious, not happy.

Diet: He eats what we eat. We have dubbed him Carbisaurusrex. He eats pretty much anything in sight. His hanger issues have gotten so bad that we have to hide food as we are preparing it or he gets a fruit/veggie pre-dinner while we are cooking. And forget him seeing a bottle without it being in his hands-tantrum galore. Then you have to ignore him as he pitches a fit when meal-time is over. It’s hard to keep track of all the new things that he has eaten now, but he is basically eating like an adult. People think I am kidding, but he eats as much as I do at meals. He can pack that food away. There hasn’t been anything this month that he hasn’t liked. He was a BIG fan of Red Lobster. All the other patrons got a dinner and a show from George’s eating antics. He is down to only three (4-6oz) formula bottles a day (morning, before afternoon nap, and right before bed). He has three traditional meals a day, and several snacks throughout. We are also transitioning him to a sippy cup with water and milk.

Clothes: He is wearing 6 month and 6-9 month clothes. Some are getting a little snug so I may be digging out the 9 month stuff here in the upcoming week. He is in size 3 diapers. For as much food as he is eating, I am really surprised he hasn’t had to move up clothes faster.

Sleeping: He is still doing fairly well with sleeping through the night. We put him down at 7:30, and I would say 90% of the time he is asleep within 5 minutes of being laid down. Then he stays asleep until 5ish am, even on the weekends. He does NOT want to sleep in, unlike his parents. And normally during the week he is my alarm clock instead of the mechanical one I have set for 5:40. He still is napping pretty well twice a day, although one is typically much longer than the other. You can definitely tell when he is getting tired; he starts rubbing his eyes. And when I am singing him his nighttime songs he has to stick his hands in my mouth. Then he giggles when I sing long notes as he is trying to hold my tongue. I guess it is his new bedtime game because he doesn’t really do that any other time that I am singing with him.

Likes: Food is still pretty much his favorite. He loves his new walker and trying to make it light up. He loves to stand and try to climb on things. He loves his little play mirror. He loves to dig in his laundry basket. I may have to hide it in the closet he loves it so much. His singing books are really fun for him. He loves to get his teeth brush. I think it tickles him, so he just giggles the whole time.

Dislikes: Diaper changes. It’s like a wrestling match trying to get a diaper off and on. I am surprised we don’t have poop smeared everywhere. He also tried to dive off the changing table the other day, little wiggle monster. He hates seeing food that is not his. At Miss Brenda’s, he does not like his sippy cup to be empty. He throws it across the floor when it’s empty. Generally, he does not like it when he doesn’t get his way so hearing no is not his favorite thing. (He may have gotten a little anger streak from him parents.)

Milestones: At the beginning of the month he was flip-flop crawling, but two weeks ago he actually started crawling. And he hasn’t stopped moving since. He can fully bring himself to a standing position too. He can’t stand completely without holding on to something, but he is making a lot of efforts to do so. So I think solo standing is going to happen here very quickly. You can tell he wants to so badly. Also seeing him standing in his crib on the monitor has to be one of the most terrifying things. He isn’t talking yet, but he yells at you and sings. He is also throwing temper tantrums, so his cognitive level is rising. We aren’t using the pacy too much now. Most days he only has it when he goes down for his bedtime. I don’t even remember the last time Brenda has used it with him during the day. She is much more hard core than we are, and we use it more on the weekend because we are softies at this point. We do take a pacy still with us when we are out of the house just in case he throws a fit, but generally at home he doesn’t have it until bedtime. Unless we are taking pictures…

Quirks: He pants like a dog when he is trying really hard to stand. When he sees other people, he will bury his head in my shoulder like he is trying to hide. He has figured out how to turn on the radio and is pulling all the books off the shelves. Needless to say, he likes to change the landscape of his room.

We parents are: pretty great. I am losing hair due to George’s pulling it all out. We are actually having to parent George now that he is more mobile. I think I say, “No” or “Stop” more than any other word in my vocabulary. We are trying to teach him there are many things he can’t do yet…Tom’s schedule has been pretty great this month, so I feel like we have gotten more time together.

The dogs are: sooo sweet and patient with George. His relationship with them has changed dramatically since he can crawl and climb. He is all over them ALL THE TIME. Crosby just sits there and takes the abuse, even the innocent ball pinch…Grace tries to make out with him hoping for some food/spit up remnants in those baby folds. George also tried to eat their dog food yesterday, and is very made that we would not let him. They share the dinner we give George which I think has solidified their BF status. George thinks it is funny to feed them his food. (But then he gets mad at us when there is no food on his plate.) The dogs have done a really good job leaving George’s toys alone, even though George now thinks the dog bones are his toys.

In two months, we will have a ONE YEAR OLD! I have his birthday already planned out. We just have to make a few things and then wait for the day. I am already so excited to see it all come together. But I also want to freeze time because there is no way I am actually ready for that.

June 25, 2015 by Stephanie

Watching Lately

My TV habits slow way down in the summer months, but I have a few shows I have been keeping up with.

So You Think You Can Dance

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This is one of my favorite shows. The talent and creativity shown is just inspiring. Many of the top 10 end up going on to Dancing With the Stars, so obviously I love the connection. I really like the new judging panel of Nigel, Paula Abdul, and Jason Derulo. Paula is really quirky, and she wears her emotions on her face or by the noises she makes. So you can tell right off the bat whether she likes something or not. I was really surprised by Jason’s dance knowledge, but come to find out he was classically trained in dance since he was really little (like 4 years old I think). And Nigel is just Nigel, the crusty old British judge. They are now done with the auditions, so next week we will see Vegas week. That week always makes me nervous because it really pushes people to their limits, and some prosper and some fail miserably. I do think this new format of street vs stage is interesting. I am not completely sure how it will play out yet, so I don’t know if I like it yet. I love the idea of the mentorship with Twitch and Travis. I think that will be a really cool dynamic to bring to the set. There have been some phenomenal dancers, so I can’t wait to see the numbers they come up with. I loved Jim the ballet dancer if you were curious.

The Bachelorette

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Oh. My. This season. I don’t even really know where to begin with my comments. Kaitlyn really does her own thing, which I can appreciate to an extent. I do agree with her that she does need to kiss people to see if there is that intimate connection, but I still am not sure how I feel about what happened Monday and how far she has gone. That isn’t a route I would go, but that’s apparently her prerogative so who am I to judge her choices. I also wouldn’t go on a reality TV show to find my husband, so there is that. I do not really like Nick being on the show in the first place. I was not the biggest fan of his when he was dating Andi, and I think he is still kind of a sleazeball. And I think there is something fishy about him waiting until the show actually started to reach out to her instead of when they were “talking” before the show began. I think it will be interesting to see how this talk with Shawn goes. I think Kaitlyn is going to blow her secret and the real drama will begin. Also I really liked Shawn until he started showing all the jealousy and got drunk off it. It kind of ruined him for me. You know what you are getting yourself into when you sign up for this show. She is dating 25 men AT THE SAME TIME. Anyway, that convo will be something. I really DO NOT like this new format of doing a cliff hanger every week with the rose ceremonies. It is driving me crazy that they are at the beginning of the episodes now. Grrrr. My favorites after this week are Joe, Jared, Chris, and both Bens. Ben H. is my first choice for her. He seems like someone who can keep up with her wit but also keep her grounded.

Pretty Little Liars

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They said this season would be all about answers, but four episodes in I still only have questions! I honestly have no clue what is going on. But I guess that is the attraction to this show. I wonder if these girls will finally graduate? Also did you know that the actress who play Ali is only 19 in real life? That means she was super young when the show started. Anyway about the show, it is still packed with drama. I am skeptical of this new cop, but you are always skeptical of new characters on this show. I have no idea if Charles is alive or not, but obviously there is something surrounding his time in Radley. Initially I do think that he is alive, and he is taking his frustration out on Ali for living the life he should have, but that doesn’t explain why he hates the other girls. I also think there is something not right about Sara. She is creeping me out. I don’t have much more to say because I am so utterly lost when it comes to PLL.

The Whispers

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This is a new show on ABC. When I saw the commercials initially, I thought no way jose. It looked creepy and scary and not up my alley at all. But it comes on right after the Bachelorette, so I caught the first 5 minutes of the pilot, and I couldn’t help but get sucked in. It is really creepy, but I am hooked on the suspense. I don’t think I can really explain the plot because there are so many different variables that when I try to explain it becomes really confusing. But the premise is there is this entity that is speaking to children and getting them to play this game to do pretty awful things. The parents think this “Drill” is an imaginary friend. And all of the parents seem to have some high power/influenced job. I feel like the ultimate result is world domination through these awful acts these kids are doing (like making their mom fall out of a tree house). There are some other plot lines that are playing into it that I haven’t figured out, but it is only few episodes in. If you are looking for something with a little mystery and suspense this is a great show. It is a little more on the SciFy realm–a little. These kids are phenomenal actors too! This is not a show I can watch before bed (because I am like a child and will have legit nightmares).

The Astronaut Wives Club

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This is based on the book by Lily Koppel. I have had this book on my to-read list for a long time, and I have now since ordered it and will be my next book to read. I have only seen the pilot of this show since it just started last week. Naturally, I love a good period piece show, and this era is on of my favorites stylistically. I could just watch the show to see what the women are wearing and be just fine. So since this is based on a true story, and since I haven’t read the book yet, I was on the interwebs most of the episode to see how much of it was actually true. I would have to say for Hollywood standards, they did a pretty decent job (at least from my brief internet research). Some of the pictures they staged for the magazine, are exactly the ones they did in real life, wardrobe and all. This show is meant to show the side of the wives of the Mercury Seven, which was the space program for the first US man in space. These women became famous and model “homemakers” during this time thanks to a spread in Time Magazine. I am really fascinated by this, so I will definitely be tuning in for every episode. I do know that right now they have only guaranteed this as a summer 10 episode mini-series unless it does extremely well. Then they may come back for another season. From just the pilot alone, I think this would be a great summer investment! (Although, I may just record all the episodes knowing there are only 10, and wait until I finish the book to watch the rest.)

What are you watching this summer? Have you seen any of these shows?

June 24, 2015 by Stephanie

Fit for Me 25/52

What I did last week:

Saturday-BodyPump for an hour. I made it through every track friends. Progress. And my favorite teacher was there!

Sunday-BodyJam for an hour. This is that dance class that is taught by the 60 year old free spirit. Y’all, this is one woman that I would choose to kick my butt every day. I get such a great workout when I go to this class. Sweat is ~~dripping~~ flying off me by the mid point, and it is great. It is such a great class to just let loose and really get your muscles moving. It reaffirms though that this white girl has no business on a dance floor. I can get the moves eventually, but there are some that just do not come naturally. But I am there to have fun and sweat my booty off!

Monday-20 minute core workout.

Impressed by:

I made it through every track in BodyPump. I may have been on baby weights, but I made it none the less. Look at these mom guns.

Struggled with:

I will be honest. I have given up on the plank and push-up challenge. It is doing nothing for me but making me frustrated. I realize that doing 5 minute planks, while admirable, is not something that defines my fitness level. So I am not going to keep doing something that makes me hate myself every night.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

While I wasn’t really more consistent, I did make it to two classes, which is something in my book.

What is my goal for next week?

I realized this week that my 10k race is a little less than 3 months away. I need to get my training started! I have printed out a tentative schedule, so my goal is to actually start that this week. Anyone in COMO want to run with me?

Fitness Thoughts:

I talked about being in a rut with my workouts last week, so I did some online research to find something to kick me into gear. I found this app for my phone, Sworkit. It can work on Android or Apple products. I am just using the lite version right now to see if I like it. So far I think it is great for those days where I just can’t make it to the gym. I am not the greatest at following just a list and knowing how to do an exercise. I like that this prompts you as you are going, but also provides a video of each exercise so you know how to do it. It looks like you can track your progress, but I am not sure how much it shows you since I have only used it a couple times. There seems to be a wide variety of options of exercises (upper body, lower body, core, stretches, yoga, and cardio), and each area has probably around 20 different options. I think this will be nice so I am not doing the same in-home workout. You can do 5 minutes or an hour (or anywhere in between), so I like the versatility there. I used it for my core workout Monday. It was awesome. Once I use it a little more, I will update you whether it was worth it.

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Have you ever trained for a race? Do you use any fitness apps?

June 23, 2015 by Stephanie

To My Mom

Today is my wonderful mother’s birthday.

Y’all, seriously hands down, this is the most amazing woman.

I can’t even begin to explain what she has meant to me over the years.

She is a woman who has always been there, for the good days and bad. She has made us laugh with made up songs, kissed away booboos, and spent Saturday nights making mac and cheese with chicken nuggets so we could watch Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman as a family. (Mac and cheese is still my go to comfort food to this day.)

I remember summer nights riding our bikes in the Kauffman stadium parking lot. I remember going to the zoo to see our favorites: the tigers and elephants. I remember the time spent in the kitchen making cranberry salad and banana bread. I remember the picnics. I remember the Friday afternoon taco runs before we picked up my brother from school.

Now that I am a mom, I am starting to realize what she went through with us. I strive to live up to the standards that she has shown us as a parent.

She is a Godly woman to so many people. She was always “adopting” other kids as we grew up. Our house was always full and always fun. I don’t think she even knows the lives that she has impacted over the years.

You see my mom has been working in the preschool setting (in many capacities) for over 30 years. She directed hundreds of church programs over the years, which are some of my favorite summer memories growing up. She has taught probably thousands of young kids how to write and recognize their colors. I remember spending many nights and weekends in her classroom trying to set things up for her kids or paint the elaborate backdrops for the musicals. (Let’s be real, my brother and I usually watched Lion King or begged her to get out the tumbling mats…) But more importantly she has made every kid who has walked into her classroom feel special and loved.

She is humble, generous, and is more likely to stay in the background so others can shine. But little does she know that her support has meant the world to so many. She has always lived a fairly simple life so she can provide for not just my brother and I, but to so many other kids and families who have come through her life. She always showed us what it meant to be a servant of the Lord and serve others fully.

I only hope that I can be half the mom and woman that she is.

And it is so fun to watch her in her newest role as Gammy to Addison and George.