Funny things...

Well, I felt like I needed to write again today because funny things have been happening. Let me start off with a  little back story: We moved into this house last August and every once in a while we receive mail for the former tenants. One night, the former tenants came to the side door (you have to go through a door next to the garage to the laundry room) and knocked and were asking for mail. I was a bit creeped out by them going through the garage area to knock on that door instead of the front door like any normal person would do. They were looking for a specific piece of mail from their child's school. We told them we give the mail to the landlords and then they left their phone number if we ever got their mail from the school. I don't feel like it's my job to call them every time they get mail here. They should go to the post office and do a change of address for- better yet, they can do in online! (I hope you can understand my frustration).  So every once in a while when we're sending our rent check to our landlords, we'll send any accumulated mail for the former tenants. Well, yesterday was a bit of a breaking point. We received their W-2 forms from their employer. I decided it was best to email the landlords to let them know this was going to be coming with the rent check tomorrow (today) and that this needs to be addressed because if their work doesn't know they've moved there could be some bigger problems. Anywho, I got an email back within a couple hours from our landlord. He thought it was kind of amusing and that he would be contacting the previous tenant. I was glad he found humor in it because that is kind of a big deal document (especially because it's tax season). He then said if it was okay that he would stop by tomorrow morning (this morning) and we could leave the mail in the mailbox and he would pick it up. I'm so happy that we have a great response and helpful landlords.
Today is our park days. It was decided which park so I was anxious because it's about a mile away (.9-1 mile away). I had made a goal that if the park that is chosen each week was a mile or less away that I would walk. Boy, was it a great walk. It makes me want to call whoever is in charge of the city sidewalks to make the corners handicap friendly, especially with 2 schools that I walked next to both on the way and back home. Penny loves being in the stroller when we go outside. She's so fascinated by birds and trees and plants in general. I was so happy to get my cardio out of the way for the day because I could put it down for 2 miles and they were 20-25 minutes each. Plus, we decided that we were going to go out for dinner tonight so I need to burn some extra calories :)
Penelope has been walking so much more (as you can tell by the video on the last post). These last 2 days she has been more daring and adventurous- walking more and more on the tile but still a little cautious. Plus, she is a big chatterbox. I'll post a video of her from a few nights ago chatting so you can see what I get to listen to every day. It's so cute. She's mimicking sounds that I say and sometimes you can tell what she means.
Well, I need a nap or lunch or both :) Until tomorrow!!

Another Day

Theses last couple days have been crazy. I'll start off and say that Thursday my phone started acting weird. It was shutting itself off during the day (with a full battery) and by the end of the night the phone was about half full of battery power and completely shut off. Being a mom that goes around, I felt like this was a very bad and inconvenient thing. When I mentioned it to Chris he said it was a feature (Chris doesn't like talking on the phone generally). Chris suggested we charge it over night and see what happens Friday. Well, Friday the phone was 100% charged and as I took it off the charger it shut down again. Darn; I needed a new phone. And I knew exactly what kind I wanted :) For those who don't know, Chris works at Apple. So, yes, I wanted an iPhone. Chris was hesitant because we haven't had a data plan before plus the cost of a new phone (much less an iPhone). But Saturday just before lunch we did it. So now I have an AMAZING phone that can help me remember things!
On the news of Penny, she is walking more and more. She is still hesitant on hard surfaces like tile and concrete. That kind of makes me happy. But she had a blast walking in the foyer at Church today. Plus she looked ridiculously cute today. Here's a quick video of her walking tonight (sorry it's on it's side):

Well, I enjoyed our book club this week in discussing Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. Friday, I had a girls night out which was fun. I got to know more of the women in the ward my age and how they and their husbands met. Plus the food was great. We had Thai food. Saturday we tried to keep low key (and get the iPhone). I think now that I have the phone I have some questions but when I got it I didn't. But it'll be fine in due time :)

Until tomorrow!

Looking Back....

Penelope just turned 13 months yesterday! It's amazing to me to see how much she's changed physically and how much she does now. I'm so grateful that we have cameras and take pictures so we can look back. Penny enjoys walking holding one hand of mine more now and is getting more adventurous by trying to walk without my hands anymore. It's a slow process and can't wait until she walks by herself all the time. She is a big talker! She is mimicking sounds more; when she eats, I am always telling her what I'm giving her and sometimes she'll respond by making similar sounds to those of the food I'm giving her. She loves doing peek-a-boo when she's in her room behind her door. It's adorable.

Something I'm working on is making our wedding album. Our 4 year anniversary is this year and it's something that I really want to do. Looking back at our engagement photos and wedding pictures I've become disappointed in myself. I know my body has had a baby and it's still working on bouncing back from it but it doesn't stop me from being hard on myself. I have some major weight to loose and I am trying to make an effort to get back in shape. I've got an app to record my calorie intake and once a week I've been doing a workout video that has 10 5 minute workouts that target specific areas. It's been working out pretty good because Penny isn't taking consistent naps as far as how long they are. I really want to step it up but it's kind of hard. Every morning after I drop Chris off at work I go into Target (if Penny isn't asleep) and walk around and get what I need but I figure I'm walking around for about 40 minutes. Our elliptical is kind of squeaky so whenever I get on it when Penny is napping it wakes her right up. I've had a suggestion from someone to join the Y because they also provide child care (which is what I really need). Chris is a little hesitant at the idea because he wants to make sure I'd be committed to going often. Only time will tell how I will be able to accomplish this goal of mine.

Chris has been working hard at work. They like him enough to keep him busy.

Well, until tomorrow!

Good times

Well, Penny slept so well Sunday night into Monday. I partly blame that on us being out so late Sunday night. We were invited to a game night. I watch and enjoyed it while Chris enjoyed playing. Monday, I was able to help get lunch preparations ready for a Mom's Morning Out that someone does at Church for us.
Last night was rough- something just didn't agree with me. I still don't know what it was that set it off but I'm sure that's not how Chris envisioned midnight going. He was already up on his computer (I don't know if it was because Penny was making noise or if he couldn't sleep). I prepared myself for what might happen by calling out to Chris "Can you grab my hair clip from the coffee table?".  I am feeling better though and went about my day today like normal.
Mom's Morning Out was fun with a great lesson. For the first time, I left Penelope in with the other kids for a nursery type experience. I had to let them know that I brought Penny a sandwich because they normally do peanut butter and jelly and I haven't exposed Penny to nuts yet. Thankfully, they brought her in toward the end of the lesson and said they saw her with a sandwich and took it away which made her sad (but she wasn't sad or crying when they brought her in).  She ate her sandwich in peace and then while we were having lunch, I sat her in her bumbo and let her eat and I gave her her sippy cup with milk. I didn't notice immediately but while she was drifting off while drinking. It was quite funny to watch but I quickly took her out and held her in my arms while she drifted away while drinking her milk. It was cute.
Yesterday, I finished my book for book club this week!! I really enjoyed listening to it. The book is called Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. I would recommend it to anyone, especially people who liked The Help because it seemed to be around the same time period and was just as enjoyable.
So after my morning being rough, Chris was feeling a little bad that he was going to be going on splits with the Elders. Thank goodness they sent me a text to say a last minute meeting was going to be at the same time so they had to cancel. So, tonight Chris will be home and we'll have something nice for dinner. Penny will hopefully be a joy to deal with tonight.

Well, I'm off to get Chris!

A Rainy Sunday Afternoon...

Well, I think it may have stopped but it was a nice change (Actually, it's been raining for a few days). Penny was all dressed up nice a cute today for church. She got TONS of complements on her walking skills and her dress. I have a Target addiction... Let me explain it better: It gets dark here before 630pm so I don't like Chris riding his bike to work until it stays lighter out later. So I drop him off and pick him up from work. No big deal for me really because Penny enjoys the car ride (or sometimes will fall asleep for her morning nap) or Penny and I get to go into Target. If she falls asleep just as we have dropped Chris off, he tells me. If not, we got to Target mostly to wear her out. So there are certain sections where I KNOW they have clearance stuff (that way I don't feel as bad if I find something I like for her to possibly get). This silver dress was 50% off! The thing I realized today that I didn't think through was it has circles on the outer layer that have glitter on them. Yes, that means I was constantly brushing off glitter from my shirt and skirt today. But she was SO cute! I couldn't help myself. And I know she was cute by what happened during the third hour of church. Penny has been having a rough time being not loud during Relief Society. So we go out to the hall and I walk her around (I make her doing some walking). Today, we were in the foyer by the nursery. Well, one of the kids threw a ball out into the hallway. Penny saw it and booked herself over there! I sat down next to her and we were playing with the ball. The nursery doors are opened and have baby gates in the doorway. Lined up against the gate were 3 little boys (If you're in the ward, here are which boys: Caleb, Andrew, and Everett). They were leaning against the gate so hard that it came crashing in on top of them. It was so cute; I wish I had a camera. She is going to be a heartbreaker, I know it. Penny overall seems to be in a better mood. In fact, Penelope and Chris are taking their Sunday afternoon nap. We got a lot cleaned up yesterday. We still have to finish up cleaning our bedroom. The office looks a lot better and so does Penny's room. I had to do another sort of her clothes on what fits her now and pack up what doesn't. I think I'll need to buy another container soon to put stuff she doesn't use and can't fit into anymore. I have a pretty packed week full of planning for our 10yr old primary girls activities, visiting teaching, book club, girls night out, and mom's morning out. I'm getting tired just thinking of everything going on. But I so need it. I love getting out of the house and doing things. It was too wet to go to the park yesterday or else I would've been all over that. Chris is very much a homebody during the weekend. We're so different in that respect. He wasn't like that when we lived in Ohio. We both think it's because Chris worked from home in Ohio and I would be out at my job. So, he was more willing to go places when I got home from work than he is now. All he wants to do on Saturdays now is "nothing". He knows it's not going to happen or will rarely happen but that's what he would rather do. As the weather gets better, he would love to go to the park with Penny. For Christmas, he and Penny go a kite that looks like Nemo (a clown fish). I'm sure they'll have fun with it as weather  permits. Well, I should try to get a Sunday nap in too before it's too late. I've only got 5 chapters to listen too before Thursday night too so until tomorrow!

A Parent's Job is Never Done

Penelope is doing well today. She woke up a couple times during the night but we were able to plug her back in (put her pacifier in her mouth) and she would go right back to sleep. But at 6am, a pacifier wouldn't do. She was up and ready to go for the day. I wish I could be so joyful that early. I thought I'd be nice because it's the weekend to let Chris stay asleep (or at least in bed) while I got her food ready and changed her. Chris normally is the one who gets up with her in the morning because he needs to be up by 7 to get ready for work.  Anyways, we have been planning on having a family over for dinner tonight. And I am a BIG procrastinator.... It's harder to clean the house by myself with a crawler/walker in the house. For a long time I could put Penny in her bouncer or excersauser to play in and I could get things done. Now I have to wait until she's asleep to do light cleaning OR wait until Saturday morning when Chris is home. And Penny has TONS of toys and clothes around the house thanks to Grandmas and Grandpas. This family we're having over hasn't been to our house before so I feel the need to make as much of it clean as possible in case they ask to take a look around. We've been in this house now for almost 6 months and there are boxes that are still unopened and ones that are open but the contents are still sitting in it. So far this morning, I have swept the dining room, kitchen, and halls, taken everything off the dining room table (and it's now on the couch), washed the table, cleaned out the highchair, and starting to clean off the island in the kitchen. Still so much to do and yet here I sit typing. Chris is going to do the dishes (and I'll take Penny to the grocery store so we don't have to tag team her) and I said I would take care of everything else. We'll see how it goes. I've also been putting away appliances that we don't have room for on the counter tops. That is no easy task because we just got a KitchenAid and as much as I really want it out to use it has to go in the cupboard so we can serve dinner so beautifully. I'm making a lasagna tonight and no bake cookies (Chris' favorite). Don't worry; there will be some steamed veggies as well. We're lucky that Penny isn't a picky eater yet. Plus, she's mastered the sippy cup and doesn't need the handles on it anymore. She still prefers warm milk in the morning but she is doing really well with the organic whole milk we get (with DHA and Omega-3). We want her to be the healthiest she can be. Well, it's off to the coal mines, I mean cleaning for me :)

Felling a little better...

We had a long night with Penelope. Because she's been clingy, crying, and generally moody, she hasn't been eating like she normally does. So it just makes sense that she would wake up at 1135pm wanting food. Thankfully, Chris is a sweet guy and determined that on his own and make her some food. After eating, changing, and burping, we were able to put her back down. Fast forward to 4am (okay, not really that long after): she wakes up crying. In my head I go "you're not hungry, you don't need to be changed therefore I will give you tylenol". I didn't give her a full dosage (mostly because I want to know how little I can give to relieve the pain). I go back to bed and lay there knowing that this is not going to work. Sure enough, Penny starts crying like crazy at 430am. I would be too if I woke up at 430am but I digress. I go get her and say to her "I know you're not hungry; I know you don't need changing. So let me cuddle you while we watch Tangled". About 40 minutes in she's really cuddly and obviously is tired. We then decide she can go back to bed along with us going back to bed. Thankfully she didn't wake up again until 725am. Chris was already up checking on things at work and made her a bottle. We noticed after she was done with her morning bottle, she was crawling around, chatty, and playful. In my head, I go "You stinker. You choose the day we're going to see the doctor to be happy?". We saw the doctor this morning. I go over the fun list of what Penny has been like this week. The doctor listens to her heart and lungs- everything checks out there. We then go to her ears. Her left ear is clear and fine but there's a very small amount of fluid in it. Not enough to be concerned about or enough to be able to give her something. The doctor then goes to Penny's mouth (where she is still getting 2 bottom molars). The doctor says unless Penny spikes a fever again (because Monday's was due to the chicken pox vaccine) there's really nothing we can do. The upside is though that she's in a happier mood. Let's hope this just fixes itself.

Better late than never

WOW! This has been a crazy couple of days. Let me start by saying how much I love Penelope: I love her no matter if she's happy, sleepy, or sad. Penny has been having a rough time. When she cries for just being set down on the ground at the park or screaming like a banshee or being cuddly at night I still love her. I keep telling people when they ask that she's just sensitive right now. I keep going through the list like I said in my previous post and I just can't figure it out. She is not herself. So, we're going to see the doctor tomorrow to see if it's her teeth or her age or (worst case) an ear infection. Sometimes I feel like a bad mother because I don't know what's wrong but I understand that no one is perfect or can know everything. This picture pretty much sums up how Penny has been doing:

Chris is busy at work.

I have been trying keep track of my calorie intake via a cool app (my fitness pal). The only hard part I'm finding is when I do my exercise (walking in Target for an hour) it's hard to guess how many calories I've burned. I am also using a DVD from Denise Austin (10 5-minute workouts) which is great for when Penny is napping so I can adjust how many I do and where I target. I must be doing something right because I'm down 1lb. Hopefully this will be a continual process. I know that slow and steady wins the race so don't any of you worry. I have up graded my diaper bag to a purse that can fit the essentials for Penny (only 3 diapers, pack of wipes, 1-2 outfits, snacks, sippy cups, and a few other things) along with my things (wallet, phone, iPod, keys). I really like it (especially because it was on clearance at Target). I've been dealing with sinus' going on (headache, runny nose) which is making taking care of a screaming child a little more difficult (trying to be more patient with her).

Well, I will defiantly post tomorrow to let you know how the Dr appointment goes. I hope they can figure this out.

Starting a blog...

Well, here it goes. I'm going to ween myself off of Facebook and do this instead. This is mostly going to be about how our Penelope is growing and developing and also a place where I can write what I'm thinking and not worry about being judged for it.


Penelope is just over a year old now and is becoming an independent girl, which we love. She can walk and is a big babbler. Last night started out great with her: we made sure she was full so she wouldn't wake  up hungry in the middle of the night again and she fell asleep in my arms (which she typically doesn't do). We thought we'd be smart and go to bed early as well (915). Well, the cries started coming at 1145pm. As a parent, you go through the check list of why the baby is crying- She didn't need a diaper change, she didn't need her pacifier, she didn't want food, it might have been her teeth coming in. Then the realization came that she was burning up. We were kind of expecting this at the end of the week due to her chicken pox vaccine given to her at her last doctors appointment. But oh boy was it going to be a night. I started off by giving her a small dosage of tylenol and rocking her. Penelope was crying "Mom, I don't want to be held or rocked". All three of us came into the living room where I double checked her temperature (just over 101) and then put her on the floor to play. And play she did. You would not have known that this child even had a temperature. She was playing and having a good old time. I finally got her in a mood to sit on my lap to watch the movie Up. By 1am, I was putting her back down into her crib and going back to bed. I hope we won't have a repeat of this tonight.


Chris is staying busy at work. Usually, that's about all he can say to me about it. But thankfully, he loves what he does.


I am finishing up a book for a book club called Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. It's pretty good. So far I would recommend it for anyone who wants a good book to read. I have to admit though, I'm not reading it- I'm listening to it.  Having a little one makes it harder to sit down and be able to just have a good read. Plus, having my glasses on for a while gets annoying to me. I'm working on getting more fit or at least staying within a certain calorie count. I'm working on adjusting Penny's naps so I can try to get a workout in or clean the house. Sometimes the cleaning bug happens before I think of working out. But I want to get down from the size I am to where I was when Chris and I were dating. We'll see how it goes.


Well, until tomorrow!


Alisa