Jessie Time?

Yesterday was a fairly busy day for us...we had two whole outings!  Mock me if you will, but I find two trips in one day with an infant to be quite the challenge.  Once I got home from our afternoon walk I was totally exhausted and so was Jack.  I wanted nothing more than to come home and do nothing for a little while-to be in a place with no noise and nobody else.  Well that didn't happen and I'm pretty sure won't be happening anytime soon.  So the question came up..."when on earth can I make time for myself?"  I have heard from so many people that you have to take care of you.  So ok, when do I have time for that?  My solution this morning...a 6:00 cup of coffee by myself!  Yay!  Jack is sleeping and Adam is at the gym.  The house is completely quiet and I am happy.  Does anyone else have trouble finding quiet time in a day? Solutions?  I'd love to hear some ideas.

2

I think that , so far, Jack is less than impressed with being two months old.  For his two month birthday he got his first run-in with congestion/runny nose as well as three shots.  Happy two months, Jack!  To show his appreciation for all of the fabulous two month birthday gifts, he shed his very first real tear.  I kind of felt like a bad mom taking a picture of my kid while he was crying instead of snuggling him BUT it was his first tear!  It was so stinkin' cute!  Plus, the picture took about five seconds and it was followed but lots and lots of snuggling.  So please, don't judge.

Here is what our little bean looks like at two months old.  Pretty cute, right?  He wanted to wear his pants riding up to his chest in order to match his old man receding hair line.  For some reason he only lost the hair on the very top of his head but I am happy to say that it is quickly growing back.

Crossfit Mom update:  Nearly fell on my face doing a push up yesterday.  C-section=no abdominal strength=near face plant at the gym.  Good to know.

Sew perfect....sort of

I finished it!  And it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself!  My Aunt Dodie was so kind to not only get Jack the fabric for his bedding but also to make his bedding!  I initially wanted to make it myself but quickly realized that I needed a helper.  Someone who is more of a perfectionist than I am as well as someone who has more sewing experience than I do.  In the end I wasn't much help at all with the bedding and Dodie made about 99.3% of it on her own-I only sewed a couple of stitches.  It looks fabulous and I am so grateful that she took on this huge and time consuming project for Jack (and me).  The left over fabric was calling out to me "make a pillow!" and I have really been wanting to start sewing more so last week I took to the sewing machine to see what I could do.  I forced myself to take the time to measure everything, iron everything, pin everything, etc.  I was determined to get it right as my usual habit is to get it just good enough.  There are a couple of things that, looking back, I could have done differently.  For example, I got carried away while sewing my last corner and didn't have the sense to rip out a few stitches before righting the fabric.  I wrestled with that stinkin' pillow for about thirty minutes trying to get it right side out.  It's true, I have a witness!  My friend Marleen was a doll and talked with me while I struggled to get the thing turned.  When it came time to stuff the pillow I decided it would be best to take out a few stitches which, amazingly, made it much easier!  Who knew?!  Like I said, there are a few things I could have done differently but at least now I'll know for next time!  So here it is!  The finished product!  I had fun making this pillow and I look forward to my next project-an apron!  My Aunt Mae helped me sew one last summer so I'm going to see if I can remember what she taught me and make one on my own!  Aunt Mae, if you are reading this, I would expect some more sewing questions coming your way in the near future!

Crossft Mom Take 1

Yesterday my mother in law took Jack for the entire afternoon which left me with, wait for it....down time! It's funny because I felt so anxious having time to myself.  I kept on thinking, "ok, I can get, this, this, and this done.  Or should I nap...or go to the store?"  It took me about thirty minutes to decide what to do with my time.  I finally decided to go to the gym first, then pick up a little around the house, and then work on a pillow that I have been wanting to make to match Jack's nursery bedding (pictures to come later).  Don't worry, the nursery still isn't completely finished and yes, he will be two months old tomorrow...but I digress.  So I put on my new lululemon pants (thanks Annie!) and headed off to the gym for the first time in a long time.  I started on the treadmill and walked for about half a mile as a warm up followed by...

3 rounds
Row 500M
5 Thrusters
5 Push Press
5 High Pulls

I kept on telling myself, don't push yourself too hard but one of my biggest pet peeves is girls who go to the gym all dressed up and tinker around on the weights.  Plus..no one there knows I just had baby so I felt like, amidst all the muscle-y men and women for that matter, I had something to prove.  It's like when I was pregnant I wanted to tell people, "I can push myself harder but I've got a baby on board so I'm taking it easy."  I know it probably seems silly but hey, that's just how I felt.  I always say that I'm not competitive but I'm beginning to think I may be a little more competitive(/prideful?) than I care to admit.

So today I feel sore.  My legs, my arms, all sore.

Chloe and Jack

One of the first things that people ask me when they meet Jack is how Chloe is doing with him.  I was pretty concerned about this, myself, before Jack arrived.  You see, Chloe is not exactly the most disciplined dog in the world.  It's hard to tell why but it probably has very little to do with the fact that Adam and I have done very little to discipline her over the past three years.  With that said, Chloe really is a sweet dog she just has some quirks. One quirk is that she barks excessively when new people come over or the doorbell rings (in the house or on tv-doesn't matter).  Another quirk is that she love lotion!  I mean, she really loves lotion.  She will lick it off your legs or just try to eat the bottle if she can.  Anyways, when we brought Jack home we let Chloe sniff him out a little and really, she didn't mind him much at all.  She was very into his toys and stuffed animals (I think a few of them have lost their eyeballs already) but she has always been very sweet with Jack as you can see.  If he starts to cry she will go and sit by him wherever he is.  Perhaps one of her favorite things is to lick his head after he has had a bath-usually we put lotion on him.  A habit that Adam and I try to discourage as best we can.  All in all she is doing quite well with him but we are not foolish enough to  be too trusting of her.  She is a dog, after all.    

On a different note, I have officially been given the go ahead to start exercising!  I think I'm going to go this week for the first time in a loooong time.  Wish me luck!

Beet Soup

Lately I have been wanting to try out different recipes that include veggies and foods that I might not normally cook with.  I discovered sometime last year that I really enjoy beets-especially in salad so I came across this recipe for beet soup that is served in a roasted acorn squash.  As you might imagine, Adam was less than impressed at the thought of eating beets for dinner.  I overcame the criticism, loaded little man up in the Moby and we ventured into the kitchen to cook us some dinner.  This was not a difficult recipe and it actually turned out pretty good!  My sister served it as an appetizer at a dinner party and it was a big hit!  Here's a link to the recipe-try it out and let me know what you think!