Thursday, December 27, 2012

Lazy

Confession time....today is one lazy day. We are working through our Christmas hang overs. Between the family trip to Mexico and all the Christmas get togethers we have not stopped running, baking, making, you name it, since thanksgiving. So today, my first day back at this whole stay at home by myself with crazy, we are lazy. We stayed in pjs for most of the day & cuddled & watched cartoons & done the bare minimum. I even watched a show that wasn't a PBS cartoon....when Zach was awake....oh the insanity. For now I'm swearing off pinterest and all the fitness quotes (they can kiss my large christmas cookie enhanced behind) projects & recipes. I promise to try again next week....new recipes, home made snacks, educational activities and all. Until then I'm going to sit here with my tea and watch Zach crawl back and forth in his hamster tunnel.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Merry Christmas!

This year was way more fun with Zach. He opened presents, sort of, and really liked to sit and climb on all of the boxes. We are so fortunate to have so much family to celebrate with and look forward to one more Christmas celebration this weekend. Most special was Christmas morning with our little family. It was nice to have a quiet morning just the 3 of us. We got him a hamster tunnel...not technically but it looks an awful lot like a larger version of a small pet habitat. We are just missing the spinning wheel which seems like a good idea for all this toddler energy. I mean why not? We were debating getting him a dog bed....I mean nap pad. Only the best for our little beast.



Thursday, December 20, 2012

Dear toddler

Dearest toddler of mine,

You are fun. We play cars & have snacks & you talk to me and give me kisses. This stage is fun....most of the time....

It's not fun when you go limp noodle on me and yell, usually only when we're in public. Or when you look me right in the eye after I've told you something (usually no touching the dogs water or no throwing food) and go 'no mama' and do it anyway.

I realize these are normal and the battles and sass will get bigger from here, but maybe we can focus on the hugs & kisses instead of defying my every request.

In totally unrelated news I think I'm going to start buying wine by the box.


Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Mom of the year moment of the day

Zach generally has a very well balanced and documented diet. We are a wee bit crazy about it since he has stomach issues. Today's afternoon snack was half of a mini whole wheat bagel, which he dipped in ketchup, and potato chips. Picture of health right here.



Monday, December 17, 2012

Hola Amigos!

We survived our trip to Mexico for my brothers wedding!  A few things made this trip not only survivable, but fun for the whole fam...

1. Zach is a great traveler.  We were shocked.  I traveled with Zach and my mom last summer and he did awful...just awful...on the plane and acclimating to the new surroundings.  I was dreading travel and having minor anxiety attacks all week, but low and behold, Zach decided he would like to see somewhere besides Northwest Ohio because if it went poorly we were never taking him anywhere outside of the state again...ever.  He slept on his flights, cried maybe a few seconds on each flight and was taking his normal 2 naps a day and going down easy at night by the second day.

2. My entire family was there.  There were more people to entertain and distract Zach when he got crabby.  There was even a few hours during nap time one day where my mom stayed with him (she napped while he napped, perfect) and me and Matt got to go to the swim up bar and hang out together.

3. We realized before hand this was not going to be overly relaxing.  We have a toddler, nothing is overly relaxing.  It was fun, but we knew our days of vacations where we relax by the pool, read, get a tan and have drinks were long gone.  We needed to nap during those nap times just like Zach to recharge.

4. Matt aka husband/daddy of the year.  This trip was for my brothers wedding, which I was in, including a rehearsal so Matt had the majority of parenting duties for the better part of 2 days.  I took over one of the days and set him wild (he may have shown the family blonde hair Matt, his wild alter ego) so each of us had a little time to cut loose.  Matt is such a wonderful partner and dad he made this trip almost stress free.

5. Zach now likes sand.  On the Florida trip mentioned earlier, he hated the sand and the beach.  He cried and would life his toes so they didn't touch the sand.  He now likes to run like the wind in the sand and I think we ended up bringing home about a pound of it in his hair and clothes.  He does not like the waves.  The water washing up to the beach freaked him right out and was met with a chorus of no, no, no mama.

6. They had a kids play area.  We could have technically left him there for the people of the resort to watch, but that seemed sketchy at best, but it was a pretty awesome play area that was air conditioned and made specifically for 1-3 year olds.  That helped a ton since they had cars, videos and pretty much all the toys he has here.

I'll have to make a list of travel must haves for our next trip.  Nothing warms the heart like seeing your little guy playing in the sand and experiencing new things.




Matt napping and Zach watching Thomas the Train


Proof he wasn't good the entire time...I wanted to use this for our Christmas cards, but Matt said no, even though this is usually what we look like


This is the one I actually used on our cards, so if you don't get one in the mail you just received one via internet....you're welcome


Happy baby in the sand


Please note that we are far away from the water, just the way Z likes it


Playing in the sand with Daddy....which means Matt was building sand castles so Zach could crush them...the kid is destructive and hates order, I should be worried



Sunday, December 9, 2012

Another one?! Not a baby, don't get excited

Another post about how I am an idiot....don't worry, not another one about poop, but we do go to Mexico next week so I make no poop story promises for the future. And after posting this I realized the title another one may be misleading, no more babies here for now, we're still looking for the instructions on the one we have.

It started with me thinking I knew what tired was pre child, then assuming I'd still be fun like I was pre Zach, or wanting Zach to crawl so bad....you name it....idiot Jessica.

This weeks idiot moment was me resisting the change from two naps down to one. Zach was showing signs and being a rockstar night sleeper, but still I resisted. Finally he just flat out refused the second nap and we had to make the switch since he was a terror at night. Day 1 was one 3 hour nap and he slept over 12 hours at night....holy hell. Do you have any idea what you can get done in 3 hours?! I didn't either. Day 2 we got an almost 3 hour nap. I was stupid. We actually had time to go to the store this morning without running through or breakdowns since he naps only once and later. Christmas came early at our household in the form of naps.



Thursday, December 6, 2012

Desperate housewife

Nothing says desperate housewife like being the only woman sitting at the bar, having a beer, downloading Thomas the Train books.

So Matt & I take turns with a weekly night off. Every Wednesday one of us has the night off of home/child duties to do whatever we want...meet friends, run errands, etc. We started this for a number of different reasons, mainly because I was slowly becoming a crazy hermit and struggled with mom guilt leaving to do something just for me....and Matt needed time away from my crazy (he'd never say this but it's true, I needed time away from my crazy so I know he did too).

Last night was my night, which I spent at BW3 at the bar downloading kids books and apps on my nook for an upcoming plane ride. I should have probably stuck with Starbucks, because do you know who drinks alone in a bar on a Wednesday? Creepers...and desperate (ahem loser) housewives. In my defense we do not have wi fi & yesterday coffee just wasn't going to cut it. Night off well spent...

Monday, December 3, 2012

Sappy

Yup, it's time for a sappy 'where has time gone' post. Time truly flies with a little one...it did before, but with a little guy growing right before your eyes it seems to speed up the process. I may not always appreciate it, somedays i down right do not appreciate it and day dream of being in an office with adults and eating an entire meal without cutting anything into little pieces, but I've been so lucky to get to be a stay at home mom to see all the changes. I'm not as organized as I thought I'd be, we don't do crafts & learning times like pinterest says I should, and I should definitely vacuum more, but we play a lot of cars and get a lot of giggles. I can't promise I'll cherish each minute, some minutes I'll still day dream about being with adults and want to tear my hair out, but I do not regret a single day spent at home.

What prompted this sappyness when usually this is a place full of sarcasm & poop stories? Zach & I took a walk this weekend...we took the same walk I took almost everyday I was pregnant with him. It was way slower with Zach than it was 9 months pregnant.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Too much?

There are a few ways to determine if you've watched too many kids cartoons as an adult. If you answer yes to any of these symptoms you need to cut back on the PBS:

1. You sing along with cartoon theme songs.
2. You reply when any cartoon character asks a question like they can hear you. Ex. Which animal is it? You yell at the TV the turtle.
3. You start judging cartoon families. Such as Sally's mom on the Cat in the Hat is pretty negligent & the man in the big yellow hat has no business having a monkey....news flash, everyone in your apartment building hates that monkey.
4. You would even think to compile a list such as this one.
5. It takes you longer than 3 minutes after your child has fallen asleep to change the channel or even realize cartoons are still playing.

I'm sure there are many more but Thomas is almost over so my time allotment for doing something besides playing cars, ball or reading books is over. And I'm finally starting to feel better but Zach is cutting teeth & just wants to cuddle & watch cartoons. I'll let you know when I see the curious George when they get evicted, I know it's coming.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Sick Day

I don't think I appreciated sick days enough when I was working in an office prior to having a child.  I'd take the day off and actually rest, maybe visit the doctor, watch some girl movies....while I felt like garbage, it now seems like a dream.  I tried to declare yesterday a sick day, but Zach had other plans.  I admit we watched way more Thomas the Train than any other day ever, we stayed in pajamas most of the day, but Zach did not put up with that for long.  He thought my cough was a game so I would cough and he would laugh then fake cough.  It may not be a sick day that is overly restful, but it was a much more entertaining one and I laughed way more than I have any other sick day.  While all that is true, I better get well soon because I can't take much more Thomas the Train or Zach's new truck book from Aunt Amanda.  


 Play with me!!!  p.s. I think he looks so much like cousin Syd in this picture!


Mama no sleeping....we're playing cars....again



Monday, November 26, 2012

Cleveland rocks

We had a great thanksgiving with a bunch of family and even a small gathering here. It was so nice hanging out with the family & the extra sets of hands were appreciated when Zach was running around. It was Matt's birthday on Sunday so we managed to sneak away to the browns game. I got Matt the best birthday present ever, a rare browns win....you're welcome Matt.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Thankful for forks

We are fortunate to have a lot of family & had an early thanksgiving on Saturday. Zach was way more interested in running around & exploring than actually eating dinner, which means I also got my exercise in between mouthfuls of turkey and stuffing. The big success of the weekend came in fork form. Grandma got Zach to actually try to use a fork instead of just playing with it & throwing it around. I chalk this up to her teacher patience & the fact we were only there the weekend so Zach didn't have time to break said patience. In days full of trying to use the potty as a cup & saying 'no touch' about 1,000,000 times, I had no patience left to attempt silverware. But by Sunday morning if you got food in his fork & put it in his hand he would actually put it in his mouth & even attempt to spear his own food. One small step for a toddler, one giant leap for this family actually eating out in public again.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Warm fuzzies

The honeymoon is over so to speak and this cute cuddly baby is a full blown toddler. Cute is when he hugs & kisses & talks. Not cute is throwing himself on the ground screaming & the constant no out of his mouth. We're struggling on how to discipline a child so small & determining what he understands.

So we were talking about his beloved stuffed animal Ba, aka the blue bunny during an 'oh lord are we already entering the terrible twos' conversation. I told Matt that we should let him tote around bunny and encourage his love so we have something to take away when he was bad. Meanest mom ever or evil genius. It was really more mean, I think I actually said let him love something so we can use it against him. To be fair he had thrown 3 meals on the floor & I was out of coffee & wine.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Perfect

Perfect little Sunday.

Daddy showing Zach how to make pancakes and giving very detailed instructions (which were probably for my benefit since I'm a terrible breakfast maker :)

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Mohawk

You know how cute a little kid Mohawk is right after a bath? Guess what, in the morning after the hair has dried that cute Mohawk looks crazy and no amount of combing will make it look tame.

Here is your proof incase you don't believe me...

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Daddy's boy

Zach loves his dada. Matt is already gone for work when we get up and every morning there is a car that goes by about the time I'm sitting Zach down for breakfast. Every morning Zach waves to the car and says 'bye bye dada'. It is too cute. Matt did say he was glad he never saw it because he wouldn't be able to leave then. Z also takes after his dada with his love of bacon (I'm not a bacon fan to the shock of my family). Zach is such a good eater we figured he would eat bacon, but didn't anticipate his cookie monster like behavior.

Me eat all the bacon...nom nom....

Monday, November 5, 2012

Success and failure

I had a major success and a major failure all in the course of one lunch. The good first. I learned if you hide things in a quesadilla Zach will eat it. Beans on their own were rejected, beans in a quesadilla delicious. Score one for team vegetable and team mommy. While I was busy patting myself on the back I failed to notice Zach tossing pieces of said lunch to the dog. I heard frantic dog feet and toddler giggles and knew it was trouble. Lunch fail. Even if Zach likes something, it is way more fun to feed half to the dog...crap...

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  We had a photo shoot with Zach in his costume before the weather turned crazy.  He is the cutest tiger I've ever seen, but I may be a little biased.  I promise he does smile....I swear he is boggled by the camera and always gives it the stink eye trying to figure it out.





I would like to point out that this pose was not prompted in anyway.....dear lord help us for what the future may bring with this ham....

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Thug life

It may seem like we live in an innocent little farm town, but clearly it's hard out here on the streets...

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Potty or cup?

We received a toddler potty from our neighbor that got it for his grandkids and never even opened the box.  It has been sitting on the shelf for many months.  Well, I decided we would bust out the potty and sit it in the bathroom so Zach can get used to its presence.  He doesn't miss a beat and has been more interested in the bathroom....aka no one in this house pees alone.  I also learned he will sit on the potty so I can actually pee without yelling at Zach to stop climbing the stairs or playing with the oven knobs, it was a win win.  Well, almost a win win.  This particular potty has a cup that catches the stuff that just lifts out the top.  Zach has figured out how to lift out the cup and pretends to drink out of it, complete with an ahhh after like it was so refreshing.  It is important to note there has never actually been any pee or poo in the potty, but anyway you look at it, it's gross.  We're going to search for a new potty that apparently locks in the pee so no one can drink it.  I'll add this to the list of weird stay at home mom problems.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Realistically...

We were relaxing before bedtime, watching Thomas the Train. For those who aren't subject to the torture of Thomas he is a talking steam engine. I loathe this cartoon, Zach loves this cartoon. So all the trains can talk to each other, there are talking cars and helicopters, and there's a guy in charge who is always cross. Don't worry, they've kept up with the times by throwing in a train rap at times...did I mention I hate this...

So this particular gem of an episode has a bus get stuck on a bridge and a helicopter flies in to pick up the bus and save the day. Matt's response, " I mean come on, realistically that helicopter could not lift that bus". Oh to be an engineer. Talking trains fine, inaccurate use math unacceptable.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Lions and tigers and bears...

We're getting into the Halloween spirit around here. Zach's costume was easy to pick out. We got it at TJ Maxx and the decision was made for me by Zach. He kissed his costume so we had to buy it....I figured if your kid slobbers on it you have to buy it. He loves his costume so much he likes to cuddle with it and it may be his new BFF. Zach will be a tiger. I apologize for the pictures being blurry, z does not stop moving ever.

P.s. I published it & had to edit it because I realized it may be strange that Zach isn't wearing pants, is wearing a shirt, & only half wearing his costume. Like I said, he doesn't like to stop so we only got his pants off before he had to start moving again. I'd like to say its rare that he is running around pant less, but it is not. He is a hippie at heart who hates clothes.

Monday, October 15, 2012

1,000,000 things

You know that stereo type that stay at home moms sit around watching soaps eating Bon-bons? I am currently living up to that by watching General Hospital and eating potato chips while little man naps. You know what....I don't even feel bad about it. There are a million things I should be doing, but for now I'm going to take a 45 minute breather to recharge. I may regret it later, but man oh man it feels good to live up to the stereotype right now. Soon I'll be running after this crazy man day dreaming about times not long ago when I got to relax and watch tv for whole weekends at a time....times when I was bored....ha bored....

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Hipster or lazy?

I admit it, I have Toms. Red ones. For those not aware, these are hipster shoes...ugly trendy shoes that slip on. I realize they are ugly, but until you have to put on shoes with one hand and it's too cold for flip flops you cannot mock me. My ugly little elf shoes are comfortable enough to run after a toddler and don't require socks....have you ever tried to put on socks with one hand...almost impossible. Someday I'll enjoy things like shoelaces and sleep again, but until then I thank the young folks of this great nation for being lazy and making slip on shoes acceptable.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Boys...gross

I didn't really think that Zach would be such a boy already. He loves to be dirty and play outside. He loves trucks, cars and anything that makes a loud noise. He will throw down a baby doll to play with the baby doll stroller...you know, push it around making car noises. He already eats more for breakfast than I do and don't get me started on how he is already obsessed with his own wiener. I'm sure there are many girls like this (minus the wiener part), I just didn't think I would have to perfect my car noises and rough housing skills already....it makes me a little excited and a little apprehensive about the future. The only thing I know about being a boy is the haircut, which plagued my elementary years.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Good Morning Sunshine

Zach clearly loves mornings just like his mama....

And he is 20 lbs & 30" long & we can switch to real milk from formula woo hoo.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Sometimes...

I read other blogs and the blog I love you more than carrots really hit home.  She said sometimes she has to remind herself this is the life she prayed for....

Oh honey I hear you.  Sometimes I have to remind myself this is the life better than I even knew to pray for.  Somedays when my house looks like toys r us exploded in the living room, followed closely by a barnes and noble explosion in Zach's room, and I'm failing on every front I have to remind myself....this is what you wanted.  It is chaotic, but I have an amazing son and husband and loyal dog on good days. We're preparing to build our dream house and are overwhelmed by love and support from our family and friends....all before 30 years old (well I'm not 30 yet...the hubs has a few years on me).

Sometimes between teething, dog puke, socks on the floor and all the other little things that don't matter, but somehow become big annoying things, I want to hide somewhere tropical and relive the glory days of college Jessica.

These are the days I need to take a moment to remember this is the life I prayed for...preferably before I give Matt the death stare for putting his lunch tupperware in the sink after I just finished by 4th round of dishes for the day.

I have the most handsome, amazing husband and smart, cute and funny son.  I am blessed in so many ways I need to let go the little things and take time to thank God for everything I do have.  Thank you for giving me the life I dreamed of, even when I'm too stressed out to realize it.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Farm Living

First time riders....Zach and Matt...






For you city slickers this is a combine, a John Deere combine to be more specific (and yes a combine is much different then a tractor and brand name does apparently matter).  We were taking off soybeans by my parents house.  I'm open to all farming questions, someone has even referred me to me as farmer barbie....I assume she has never realized barbie has a waist and I'm missing that essential element among others, but it is the thought that counts.  

Thursday, September 27, 2012

First Love

Zach has met his first love. It is blue. Blue bunny is a stuffed animal and Zach's BFF. He used to only sleep with bunny, but now he'll go up to the crib and try to pull it out. Bunny must be with us at almost all times. His cousins picked it out for him before he was born at a polish festival so it seems fitting. Should I be concerned he likes to lay on top of bunny? This is future Jessica's problem, but his dad was nicknamed cuddles...lord help me.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

First steps

This last week Zach took his first unassisted step. Matt saw him take a step or two to go from one toy to another and my mom saw him take a step at her house. I have yet to see him take a step. I spend 98% of my waking hours with the boy and no sightings yet. I feel like its big foot....people swear they've seen it and believe, but until I see it for myself I'm a non believer. I am glad Matt got to see it first since I know it's hard for him to leave us every morning. I'll let you know when I spot big foot, but for now he's still little bear who just stands and plays and has yet to walk. I was anxious for crawling, but I'm perfectly happy to wait for walking....I can barely keep up with crawling.

And of course a picture since Matt checks the blog at work when he misses us and had made it well known that posts are way better with pictures.

Zach doesn't run around yet, but apparently he drives...

Monday, September 24, 2012

Baller

Zach is apparently a big time baller with his slam dunks. He got a mini sports thing and loves it. He sits in front of it making baskets for far longer than I would have imagined possible...probably because it has a fake crowd that claps for you and little man loves clapping and attention. Matt and I have also had a free throw contest (he won) and decided you could make a drinking game out of this awesome little sports complex. Why yes, Matt and I do play with Zach's toys.

Zach also loves his stand up music/language toy....weren't all of our toys made of wood? All Zach's toys talk and sing to him and teach him Spanish and French...baby Jessica was just lazy with her baby dolls.

He loves all his new toys and it is truly amazing how long they will keep him occupied. Thank you again to our amazing families!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

12 months

1 year old....it still seems crazy.  I'll never forget the nurse telling me at the hospital that it will be long days and short year, truer words have never been spoken.

-Not sure on height and weight, we have our doctors appointment later in the month.

- Size 3 diapers but going strong with cloth.  We took a hiatus from cloth diapers for a bit when he got diaper rash since you're not supposed to use creams with the cloth diapers.  Turns out the disposable diapers gave him way worse of a rash so we are all cloth all the time again (even at night with only 1 pee through incident).

- 12 month clothes....they are starting to get tight, we'll be making the shift to 18 month clothes soon I'm sure.

- Size 5 shoes.  He has weird fat feet so it's hard to find shoes that fit.  They are especially long or wide but they are tall.  They are essentially bricks.

- Napping is going well.  We still have 2 nap times, one at 9am and one at 1pm.  He sleeps at least an hour at each naptime.

- Sleeping through the night again with very few incidents.  Usually goes down between 7pm and 8pm and sleeps until 6/6:30am.

- We joined the y and he is loving the kids zone.  He likes all the toys and other kids.  I think it has been good for him to play with other kids his age.

- Talking up a storm still.....we hear no the most.  But we also get, car, ball, mama, dada, hi, bye bye, dog....I'm sure there are a few more, but I can't keep up with this guy.

- He also likes making animal noises.  He has cat, dog, cow and snake down.  He will sometimes do monkey.

- Still crawling around like a crazy man.  He will stand on his own more and more.  I don't think walking is too far in our future.  I was anxious for crawling, I am happy to wait for walking.

- He gives kisses now.  Gross, open mouth kisses but they are sweet.  I got my first real hug.  If you ask him for a big squeeze he usually just touches his cheek to yours, but once (and only 1 time ever) he gave me a big hug with his arms around my neck...talk about melt my heart.

- His favorite toy is this big car thing he likes to push around, but he got a ton of new toys for his birthday so I'm sure we'll have a new favorite soon.

- Climbing the stairs is also hours of entertainment.

- In love with the front bike seat....both us and Zach.

- Will eat anything except eggs or cottage cheese.  He has cut back on his afternoon bottle and now takes that one in a sippy cup with a snack.

There is so much more it's going way too fast!

A few pictures from his party.  He didn't go crazy with the cake, he was much more interested in getting everyone to clap for him....such a ham.


Why are you all staring at me...


...clap and cheer my minions...


Cake, icing, and attention overload.