Mother's Day 2013

This year was my second Mother's Day and I think it was even better than my first one!

We left for Pennsylvania Friday evening, stopping at a Chili's along the way for dinner. Landon slept great in the car, but took awhile to go down when we were at Jeff's dad's house. He was also up at 6:30am Saturday morning, which made for an interesting day.

On Saturday morning we set off to Sesame Place. I've written on here before about how much Landon absolutely loves the Imagination Movers show on Disney and their music. They were playing several shows at Sesame Place this weekend, so we bought some tickets awhile back and stayed with my in-laws since they only live 40 minutes away from the park. We picked the 11:30am show because the next one was during Landon's usual nap time, and the final show was at 4:30 and I knew we would be done at the park by then. Once we got there we had about an hour to kill before they opened the theater, so we took Landon on some rides. He LOVED the carousel and Flyin' Fish! He went on both rides several times.

Then we went to the Imagination Movers show. Now, keep in mind that if my son slept all night and woke up at 7:15 like he usually does he wouldn't be due for a nap until 12:30. The show is only 45ish minutes, so we should have been fine. However, Landon woke up at 6:45am after broken up sleep instead of his usual solid 11 hours. He was starting to get tired and cranky before the show even started. He took a 5 minute car nap on the way to Sesame Place, but that obviously isn't enough. Once the show started, he really got into it, clapped and jumped to the music, and had fun, He did get a bit antsy and wanted to run all around the venue, which of course we couldn't let him do and that caused some tantrums. I think he would have even more fun than he did this time if he got more sleep. I'm really hoping the Movers come to CT in the fall so we can go to a show with a well rested toddler! If Sesame Place is the closest they get to us, we will absolutely go back, we'll just do a Sunday show instead since Landon always sleeps better the second night somewhere unfamiliar.

The Imagination Movers show was really, really awesome! For the vast majority of the show at least 1 Mover, if not 2 or 3 were in the crowd giving kids high-fives and stuff. Mover Scott came over to Landon twice, and the second time he put his arm around him for a couple seconds because the kid was clearly overtired and cranky. I thought it was super sweet and I really loved how interactive the show was. I was sad we couldn't do the meet & greet since we weren't season pass holders (and it was before another show), but I definitely want to do that at another show in a different venue sometime. They seem like the nicest guys and I want to personally thank them for making an awesome TV show that my kid has actually learned words and dance moves from, and music that my husband and I actually LIKE listening to with our son in the car. All of us parents know that some kid music makes you want to plug your ears, but not the Movers. Their stuff is catchy and wonderful.

After the show ended, we got lunch, Landon went on a few more rides, and then he slept the whole 40 minute car ride back to my FIL and step-MIL's house. I tried to get him to nap more at their house, but that didn't fly.

Today we went to Jeff's step-brother's house to have Mother's Day brunch with him, his wife Kim (who is about 2 weeks away from having another baby boy for us to love on), their son Troy, Kim's mom and her boyfriend, and my FIL and Step-MIL. Kim and her mom both got all of the moms flowers which was so sweet. We had a delicious meal, and it was so cute to watch the boys play outside afterward. Troy is about 9 months older than Landon and was so cute with him. After all of that we drove home, went to Dinosaur BBQ for dinner, took a walk with Landon, and put him to bed. Jeff and Landon got me a new Coach wristlet that I've been wanting and a box of Tagalongs cookies. All in all, it was an awesome weekend and I hope Mother's Day keeps being this great every year :)

Landon is 23 Months Old!

My baby is almost 2! I have 1 more of these monthly posts to write and then I am done until the next baby. I am loving this age in many ways, but it is so bittersweet watching my baby boy grow up. He's all little boy now and not a baby at all anymore. Landon has been interested in a lot of the same things as previous months, and he's talking even more too!

* He loves pretend play still. He likes to "cook" and "cut" foods in his play kitchen, and he loves to have us "taste" his creations.
* He is obsessed with being outside, so we go for walks or to the park as much as possible. Now that he's older, having no back yard really sucks.
* He adores the swings and slides at the park. He likes climbing up the stairs and going down the slide over and over again.

* He loves just going out in general and is always asking to "go bye bye." He's getting more difficult to take on random errands though. He gets pissed off if he's in the shopping cart or his stroller for too long, but if I need a lot of stuff I can't just let him wander the store freely. I have to move fast or do some errands alone or with Jeff so he can watch L in the store while I shop.
* He is still OBSESSED with elevators, escalators, and all doors. He always points doors out and tells us if they're open or closed. He also loves opening and closing doors himself.

* He's really into opposites right now, mainly "up/down" "open/closed" and "on/off" and he will correctly tell us what something is in regards to those terms.
* After over a month of crappy sleep that resulted in him waking up in the middle of the night and sleeping in a pack n play in our room, we decided to convert his crib into a toddler bed. He's still had a few off nights, but in general he's sleeping much better not being confined in his crib. Whatever works.

* He can identify a bunch of numbers, count to 4 (and to 10 with help from us), and he can identify the letter O by himself. He will point to a few other letters if we ask him.
* He knows all of his shapes, but now he is starting to use the names instead of just pointing when we ask where one is.
* He will say "blue" "green" and sometimes "red" but he doesn't always correctly identify them.

New words/phrases: He has well over 50 words. I stopped keeping track once he hit 50 because that's the goal for age 2 and I wanted to be sure he was there. I might have missed a few words on this month's list.

* nose
* hot
* help
* bar
* again
* cheese
* these
* potty
* baby
* yes
* yay
* open
* grandma
* pee pee
* poo poo
* 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, O

* oh well
* all done
* all gone
* bye bye (mommy, daddy, duckie, etc.) or "go bye bye"
* I poo
* (person's name, usually mommy or daddy) pee pee *lol. He hears me say "Mommy has to go pee pee" a million times a day, so it's no shock that he picked up on this phrase.
* baby go up (he calls himself baby, will not say Landon)
* (person's name) bye bye

He is talking in 2-3 word sentences more and more! It's so fun to hear his language develop!

Next month I will have a 2 year old. How did we get here already?

When Are You Due?

I will be the first to admit that I am not a tiny person. I'm almost 5'9" and I'm what some would call "curvy." I've had somewhat wide hips for many years and I have ALWAYS had big thighs. It's in my genetics, thanks dad's side of the family (it's also the reason I have to wear a size 12. My waist is too small for that, but I need that size to fit over my thighs and ass). Anyway, I've also never had a totally flat stomach no matter how many sit-ups I do. I run 3 miles 4-5 days a week, try to eat well, and overall I am pretty happy with my weight and my body. I have my insecurities like everyone else, but I pride myself in keeping my body at a normal, healthy weight for my height.

Like a lot of women, I have had some permanent changes in my body since having a baby. My hips are wider, my girls are bigger and not up where they used to be, and my rib cage has permanently expanded. I have stretch marks. My body also birthed an almost 10lb beautiful baby boy which I take pride in. I love my son and everything my body has gone through to get him here was well worth it and I will do it again someday for another baby.

I have had to get all new clothes since having Landon even though I am the same weight I was before ever getting pregnant. My body just isn't the same. My old shirts are too short, and my old pants don't fit right. I used to be able to get pants at Old Navy or Gap, but their bottoms don't fit me correctly anymore. I have to order shirts in tall sizes now due to a combo of a long torso, bigger girls, and a wider ribcage. Over the summer I bought myself 2 pairs of jeans at Express and I was really happy with the quality of the pants and their fit. I like that their jeans don't give me "mom ass" so they were well worth the price I paid for them.

Last Sunday I was trying to get dressed for church. It was too cold for a dress without tights or leggings, but too warm for a long sleeved dress or cardigan. It's that awkward time of spring when you have no idea how to dress. I realized that day that I had no nice pants that fit. My pant collection is limited to jeans, yoga pants, leggings, and PJ pants. I wound up wearing a short sleeved dress with leggings, but my husband commented that he wasn't a huge fan of my outfit and why didn't I just wear nice pants (he wasn't being mean, just honest). I told him I'd go buy some the following week.

This afternoon Landon and I had nothing to do, so off to the mall we went. I figured since Express jeans fit me so well I'd try out their dressy pants too. I tried on a pair of normal black pants and black cropped pants. Both fit well in my usual size and I was happy with the way they made me look. I went to the counter to pay and the following conversation happened:

Employee: (as I was swiping my credit card) I love your nail polish! (Essie "Playdate" a fun purple) Purple is one of my favorite colors! My room is purple! I used lavender for the walls with dark purple accents.

Me: I love purple too! If he (motioning to my son) was a girl, I was planning to do a purple nursery.

Employee: Do you know what you're having this time? When are you due?

Me: (Completely embarrassed and shocked that she asked me if I was pregnant) I'm not pregnant yet, just bloated today.

Employee: Oh, well good luck to you whenever it happens!

I don't even get an apology? Not cool and that is probably the part that pisses me off the most.

I mean, I know I was a bit bloated/puffy today, but damn! I know for a fact I do not look pregnant, let alone far enough along to know the gender. I also know I wasn't wearing anything to justify that mistake. I was in yoga pants and a normally fitting t-shirt! I cannot believe this woman, who was in her 30's or 40's, asked me that. She should have known better. I spent the rest of the afternoon looking at my stomach from various angles to see if I did indeed look pregnant. It takes a lot to offend me, but this did and I don't know if I will ever be able to shop at that particular Express again. I was pretty embarrassed even though I KNOW I'm not overweight or look like I'm carrying a baby.

When I taught health and we got to the sex ed/pregnant unit, I always told my students that they should NEVER ask a woman if she is pregnant (and they listened. They suspected I was pregnant for weeks, but didn't have the nerve to ask me until I was almost 20 weeks, it was obvious, and they had heard a rumor that I was after a baby shower was held for all of the pregnant ladies at work). Clearly this woman needs that lesson too.

However, the day took a turn for the better when Landon decided to pee all over Jeff while Jeff was trying to comb his hair after bath time. Why he didn't put the diaper on Landon first like he usually does is beyond me, but I got a good laugh out of it :)

Spring Has Finally Sprung!

I really feel like the Northeast part of the country had the winter that wouldn't die. We had a really mild winter last year, and this year it snowed a lot in February and March, and it stayed cold for what felt like forever.

This week we FINALLY had some beautiful spring-like weather and Landon and I took full advantage of it.

Sunday was a little chilly, but we took Landon to a park in the afternoon anyway and he had a lot of fun. We don't really have much of a yard (one of many reasons we need to move), so we have to take Landon elsewhere to play.

On Monday after we went grocery shopping and put everything away we went to a small park a few minutes away from our house and I let Landon run loose for 40ish minutes. We went on the slide, the swings, and just ran around. Landon had a blast and napped really well which was a bonus for me :) Then, after music class, we joined the other moms and their kids (my good friends and Landon's buddies) at another playground in Old Greenwich. Landon got to do some more climbing and running around. It was so nice to be outside!

Landon loves the slide in case you couldn't tell from all of the pictures of him sitting at the top of it :)

On Tuesday we went to the Children's Museum and took advantage of their cool outdoor play area.

Landon also played in the museum's water area, went on their indoor slide, and used chalk for the first time. Tuesday afternoon we went to my friend's house. Her daughter is about 6 months older than Landon, and they have a fabulous fenced in backyard. My friend and I sat on the porch and watched our kids play and run around in the sunshine. It was amazing.

On Wednesday we had MOPS in the morning, and then I took Landon to open gym at Great Play in the afternoon. It was nice out again, so we took a long walk after open gym. Landon had lots of fun smelling flowers and pointing out several rocks, sticks, trucks, doors, etc.

It's supposed to be chilly and rainy the rest of the week, so I'm glad we got outside when we had the chance!

Mom or Babysitter?

Last Monday was a rough night. Landon didn't sleep well and he wound up in his pack n play in our room. I'm pretty sure his 2 year molars are not coming in yet, and he's not sick. We're not sure why he had a rough night, but he did. When he winds up in our room, I have to turn off my alarm set for 6:20am because it will wake Landon up and he won't go back down. This means I can't run that morning. I don't like it, but Landon waking up that early after a rough night isn't a good thing for anyone.

We didn't have anything major planned for that day, just a trip to Target in the morning. I had to shower and do my hair and makeup to look presentable, but my plan was to get my run in while Landon napped. I figured I'd just shower again, but not re-do my hair and makeup since we weren't going anywhere, and that's exactly what I did.

About an hour after my shower, a friend of mine texted me saying she and her daughter (who is about 6 months older than L) were bored and did we want to go to the park. Of course we wanted to go to the park because we were bored too. It was windy out, so I decided to just throw on a little makeup and put my hair in braids so it didn't blow around and get in my face. I wore yoga pants and a hoodie.

It wound up being a lot colder and windier than we though, so we didn't last long at the park. We went to the library, but the kids got bored there pretty fast too. I asked my friend if she wanted to get some Starbucks up the road, and she said yes, so off we went. Starbucks was way more crowded than we expected for a Tuesday afternoon, but we got a table and settled our kids down in our laps and enjoyed some iced coffee (and fruit snacks for the kiddos). One of the men at the table next to us started talking to our kids a little bit and asked us how old they were. My friend answered for both of us. He then turned to my friend and said "So both of these kids are yours right?" My friend was like "No, just the girl in my lap." and I chimed in and said "This one is my son."

It dawned on me later when I looked at myself in the mirror that the man who asked that probably thought I was my friend's nanny or something. My friend is a few years older than me, but she does not look old by any means (and I have way more grey hair than she does). However, she was dressed in jeans and a nice top and had her hair up in a bun. Not a messy bun, a sleek, neat looking bun. Meanwhile I was dressed in PJ's compared to her and had my hair in braided pigtails. I look a lot younger when I wear my hair that way, but I didn't think I looked so young that someone would mistake me for my friend's nanny instead of the mother of my child.

Maybe at age 28 it's time to say goodbye to the braided pigtails if I'm going out in public for any reason. I certainly don't want to look old and matronly, but I also don't want to look like a 20 year old babysitter either.

You Know You're A Starbucks Addict When... *UPDATED*

I never experienced Starbucks until the town I grew up in got one when I was in high school. It became a hangout for all of us before and after football games, after school, when we just wanted to get out of our parents' houses for awhile and chat, etc. At the time, Frappuccinos were my favorite, specifically mocha or chocolate malt (side story: When I went in one day in high school to order the chocolate malt Frapp and the barista told me they didn't make them anymore, I was so sad that I guess he felt bad and gave me a coupon. Buy 1 Frapp, get 1 free. I thought that was pretty sweet and I used with a friend a few weeks later. I also used to get free drinks sometimes when a friend of mine was working). Back then they didn't really have "skinny" versions of anything and I gained a little bit of weight due to my Frappuccino obsession. I also tried mochas, cappuccinos, vanilla lattes, etc.

In college we had a Starbucks right across the street from campus. One of my good friends and housemate one year worked at it and we'd go when she was working to say hi and get a drink. I have fond memories of going there on Friday mornings with a friend before student teaching at a BOCES location our senior year for a little treat to get through the day. In the fall we'd get a pumpkin spice latte, and at Christmastime we'd indulge in a gingerbread latte. I looked forward to that every week and I know she did too.

I cannot believe I forgot this when I first published this blog post, but I met my husband for the first time at a Starbucks. We "met" on Match.com, but our first in-person meeting was at a Starbucks that happened to be the halfway meeting point of the towns we lived in. We ordered drinks and talked for hours. We were there so long and so wrapped up in our conversation that a barista had to come over and tell us they were closing because we were oblivious. I remember thinking in that Starbucks as soon as I saw Jeff that he looked like he'd be a good husband. I left knowing I would see him again for another date :)

The frequency of my Starbucks visits stopped a bit when I started my first teaching job. There wasn't one too close to work (I wasn't aware of the drive-thru one right off an exit I passed every single day driving home), and I was just too busy to stop on Greenwich Avenue or Putnam Avenue for some coffee before work.

Now I'm a mom and back on the Starbucks train big time. The funny thing about my addiction is that I always get decaf because whenever I do have caffeine I get extremely shaky and miserable for at least an hour. I just love the taste of coffee, I don't use it to help with my sleep deprivation. The addiction really got bad when Jeff informed me of the drive-thru Starbucks right off of Exit 6 in Stamford. I was taking Landon to music class in Old Greenwich, and he was working from home and asked me to bring back some coffee for him. When I explained that dragging Landon out of the car to get coffee was a huge hassle and I wasn't doing it, he informed me of the drive-thru. Life. Changing. That location is right on my way home from any activity I do with Landon for the most part. I also live in a much bigger city than I did growing up, and we have Starbucks all over the place. If I want to take Landon to the mall to play at Barnes & Noble, there's a Starbucks both in the mall and the actual bookstore. If I go to Target to get all of Landon's toddler snacks, meals, and overnight diapers because they're cheaper there, there's a Starbucks right when you walk off the elevator. If I want to go to the Ridgeway Shopping Center to check out Old Navy, Michaels, Carter's, etc. there's a Starbucks. They're everywhere, and I like to treat myself to my favorite drink fairly often. I have a gold card, and I get a free drink for every 12 stars I earn, which for me happens every few weeks. It's my guilty pleasure and it makes me happy. It's the little things, and considering that my current job is all about putting an almost 2 year old boy before myself (which I'm happy to do and I adore Landon), I see no harm in a little something just for me.

My addiction is at the point where some locations know me and my order without me saying it. There are two baristas at the Target Starbucks and two at the drive-thru one that know my order by heart. In fact, I went through the drive-thru this afternoon, and one of the baristas who knows me was working at the window. My usual is an iced, grande, decaf, skinny, mocha. However, Landon and I had been at the park for an hour, and I was THIRSTY, but not for a milk-based beverage. I ordered a venti passionfruit unsweetened iced tea instead. When I pulled up to the window, the barista looked at me and said, "Don't you usually order an iced, decaf, skinny mocha?" I had to explain the reason for my changed order because I am such a creature of habit and order the same thing almost every. single. time.

I'm very lucky to have a husband who says that while my obsession is incredibly excessive (it is, I know this), he doesn't mind. He likes Starbucks too, and I often bring him home something if he wants it (in fact, we had Starbucks coffee and food every morning on vacation for breakfast last summer and we always get some on the way home from church). Landon also enjoys a tall iced water if he wants one when we go :)

Do you have something you're obsessed with? What little things do you do for yourself as a treat? I can't be the only one who does something like this.

Landon is 22 Months Old!

I can't believe I only have 2 more of these posts go to! I've decided to stop the monthly posts once Landon hits 2 and just do updates from time to time.

This was a pretty cool month, but it's had its ups and downs!

* Tantrums are becoming more frequent and severe. I know part of it is frustration because he doesn't have all of the words to express his feelings, but it doesn't make them any easier to deal with. Along with that is constant whining if he's not getting his way, he wants more attention, wants my food, etc.
* Landon is VERY opinionated and will let you know if he doesn't like/want something.
* We had our first full blown, back arched or acting like dead weight fit over getting into the car seat. That was fun.
* He likes hearing the same songs over and over or reading the same books again and again.
* He claps and sings to his favorite songs. Very cute!
* He learned sheep (finally), frog, and duck sounds.
* He had his first stomach bug and got us sick too. I was the sickest by far, but it wasn't fun for anyone in this house. Hopefully we're done with that for a long time
* He's still obsessed with elevators, automatic doors, and escalators.
* He LOVES to be outside, and now that it's finally getting warmer out we go to the park whenever we can.

New Words/Phrases. We had a bit of a language explosion this month:

* Closed
* Poke
* Quack
* Mommy (instead of Mama)
* Daddy (instead of Dada)
* Boo
* Baa
* Achoo
* Book
* Yea (this one makes life MUCH easier. I love that he will answer "yea" or "no" now).
* Ribbit
* Roar
* Move
* Doors
* Help
* I bounce
* I dance
* All done