Super secret Christmas presents…

 Everyday life  1 Response »
Dec 192010
 

I don’t have any pics from today because the recipient of this super secret present reads the blog:) I’ll have to share after Christmas but suffice it to say, we loved the idea so much, we did it for ourselves too!!! hehe…now don’t you just hafta know??!

The rest of today has been only moderately interesting. Today is a Steeler Sunday and we actually get it on our TV down here (normally it’s Redskins or Ravens) so most of the day has been an effort to get all the running around done before the game. Unfortunately I have a TON of work and a really important demo tomorrow so I’ll be working thru the evening to get things ready. Crossing my fingers da Stillers make it a quick and painless game and just put the Jets away fast.

Noah’s definitely got something going on these days. Either teeth or a growth spurt but he’s just not his normal self. He’s sleeping horribly and just screaming at things, getting frustrated really quickly. An increase in chewing on things leads me to believe there are more teeth on their way but who knows. I hate that it hurts him so much and really hate having to dose him up with Tylenol or Ibuprofen so often to handle the pain. I’m considering trying a Baltic amber necklace or anklet. I’ve heard great things about amber and the natural analgesic properties it holds. I guess I’ll let you guys know if it works:)

Holiday card are done, just need to put them in the mail now and I’ve left all my wrapping to tomorrow night. DH is ripping up the ceiling on the porch to put in a new light (which he decided was a great project to start at 5:00 with only minimal light available)

Anywho, that was a way random post but I thought I’d check in. Countdown to the holidays…t-minus 3 days (until our festivities start)

Fun filled Saturday…

 Everyday life, hilarity, Noah  3 Responses »
Dec 192010
 

Well at least for Noah it was! A string of sleepless nights has him a bit delirious I think because he was happy and hilarious today. Perhaps he was just that way anyways. Regardless, he was on a roll today just gabbing away, cruising the furniture and crawling from room to room. He emptied my tupperware drawer with glee and then proceeded to toss everything around the kitchen. That’s only after he used me as a human jungle gym and attacked the camera. Case in point:

About 1/3 of the time when you tell him to smile and point a camera at him you’ll get some sort of toothy open mouthed smile like you see above. The piggy snort happens only if you’re really lucky! He thinks it’s hilarious and dissolves into laughing fits along with DH and I.

Here you find him babbling and not listening to me:)

Then he tried climbing into or over the toy basket. Perhaps it was a bit cruel to just stand there and watch him struggle but I promise it wasn’t for long and he laughed at me when I went to help him. Nothing gets in this little guys way anymore. He climbed Mount DH this morning (DH was laying on the floor in the nursery and Noah climbed clear over him to get to his toy.

And last but not least, he’s back to his favorite gesture – no! All while trying to climb over the basket again.

Right in the middle of all that fun was a quick shopping trip to get some last min things. It’s a hair raising experience shopping in those last few shopping days before Christmas. The highlight of the trip (aside from getting home in one piece) was a very sweet little boy who was completely smitten with Noah and who told me about wanting a Pot Belly’s for Christmas and how it all had to do with food (I didn’t quite follow the entire story line:)). His dad, bluetooth ear bud in place, told me that his vocabulary is just exploding right now and that he has no idea where these stories come from. I got a kick out of both of them. They were having lunch at the cafe in el Target…

Anywho…thought I’d fill you guys in and share some cute videos:)

It’s a proven fact…

 DIY, Everyday life, Noah, Renovation  1 Response »
Dec 142010
 

that blogging slows down during the holidays. Really! I read an article on it. Anyways, blogging has slowed down here because well, life has picked up and is moving at a wildfire pace. Perhaps an update would be quicker in bullet form:

- In a testament to her obsession with tennis balls, our Vizsla Macie tried to climb a tree to retrieve a ball that had gotten stuck. I really didn’t think she could do it but after about 20 min of circling, jumping, biting and false starts she literally jumped up on to the lower branches of the tree (about 3 feet off the ground) and channeled her inner cat as she tried to walk out to grab the ball. She was interrupted by DH and ended up hopping down before she got out to it (the branch would have never held her).

Look VERY closely…you’ll see her in the tree:

- Christmas card photo shoot number two was successful! I ordered our prints and they should be here any day now. I can’t wait to share!

Here’s an outtake to share…we call it “Jazz hands”

- 1 year, 1 month and a few days later our kitchen reno is done (save for a few outlet covers that need replaced). Now, on to the next project – the sun room! I’ll get a pic of the kitchen one of these days and I hope the color conveys.

- Aside from spending a few hours at the mall killing time with Noah while DH painted, I’ve managed to do ALL my Christmas shopping online thru ebates! I’m waiting for my refunds to all hit but I’m up to $30 so far!

- I’m really looking forward to Christmas and seeing all of our families! My SIL, BIL and Nephews should be in their new house by then and I’m super excited to see it! Last time I saw it it was all studs and no stairs.

- Work is picking up – end of the year sales push means lots of demos and prospective customers to woo…thankfully they’re some pretty awesome prospective customers with really compelling stories to craft a demo around. (My main job is to listen to the prospect, figure out their pain points, and craft a demo to who how our product can solve those problems…pretty awesome stuff!)

- In Noah news he’s doing great. 4 teeth that he’s been putting to work lately on just about everything (including my chin when he was particularly frustrated and I was in the way). He’s showing more preference for foods he can feed himself and our food than his purees. Meaning I have a closet full of purees that we’re going thru much more slowly now. He’ll eat purees if he’s really really hungry. Otherwise he’s mooching off our plates.

I think that’s it for now. I have a few projects that I’ll blog about if I remember to take pics:) I finished a crocheted scarf for myself as a test and have a brimmed hat for Noah about 3/4 of the way done. I have plenty more yarn, just need to find the time. Time….ah yes, need more of that somehow…:)

Not one to back down…

 Christmas Ideas, Everyday life, photography, Products  1 Response »
Dec 082010
 

or be deterred….our first try at a Christmas card shot failed miserably. They just didn’t turn out how I wanted them to. Part of the problem is that I tried to do it myself. I’m firmly convinced now that any shoot with Noah now needs to involve both hubs and I. One to actually snap the pic and the other to catch, chase, pose, and act silly so Noah will smile. So, tonight I’m going to try again! I’m going to get the mantel area all beautified and maybe even get some lights on the tree so we can try that too.

I’m determined to get a good shot partly because I’m just that stubborn and partly because I want a great Christmas card to send to our family and friends of Noah’s first Christmas. I was on Shutterfly’s site and they have so many awesome designs to pick from (and the prices are just right too!). Not wanting to reveal too much I’ll show you three that I like that may or may not end up being our final design (if I get that dang picture…these may be New Years cards instead!).

And those are just from the first 5 pages of designs, there are so many more!

Once we actually get the picture (and oh yea…we will get the picture!) and the cards have been mailed I’ll share the final result here:) There’s still time (not a ton but some) to do this yourself! And if you go to Shutterfly, you can get 50 free holiday cards for doing exactly what I’m doing now – blogging! Go to: http://bit.ly/sfly2010 to sign up!

Friday Update

 Everyday life, Noah, Shape Up  1 Response »
Nov 122010
 

It’s been a long week away from home and I’m super glad to be back with my boyz! DH and Noah survived the week without me here but DH is definitely very tired (and has caught the cold that Noah had before I left). The ironic part is that Noah was an angel. He was the easy one! It was the dog that kept him up (if it’s not one thing it’s the other right??!) She decided that while mommy was away, she’d ingest something to make her sick and with her sensitive digestive system the only way to right it was with meds. So, off to the vet DH tromped yesterday to get her stuff to stop the vomiting and other fun bodily functions. She’s on the mend and DH got to sleep i today which made him happy. I’m happy to be back with my Noey (who greeted me at 5am by standing in his crib yelling mamammamamama and grinning ear to ear – I love it!)

I did weigh in this AM and as expected it was not pretty. Being on travel makes it really hard to eat right. Just about anything you get from a restaurant is loaded with calories. I tried to choose the lowest calorie intake on the menu but even that was 7 or 800 calories for a meal. Argh…oh well, back on track!

This week – 133.4lbs (up 3 from last week).

Next, Stats by the month:
Week 1 – 142lbs (7 weeks postpartum)
Week 4 – 140lbs – ouch…no excuses, I have a new workout regime and a new resolve for eating healthy…we should start seeing that number drop.
Week 8 – 135 – Hallelujah! Real progress now! I don’t expect it will continue at this rate but we’ll see.
Week 12 – 133 – time to get back to counting calories:)
Week 16 – 136.5 – taken on Monday. NOTE: this is on a new scale which disagrees with my old scale so we’re kind of resetting a bit.
Week 20 – 134.5
Week 24 – 133.6
Week 28 – 130.1
Week 32 – 133.4 Long week of traveling and eating like crap has struck! Time to get back on the wagon!

Since I haven’t had time to take many pics of our little man, I’ll share some video. The first one is a shot of him crawling! He went from army crawl/lunge to full on hand and knees crawling in just a few days. Now he’s unstoppable!

This second one was a few weeks ago. We got a bunch of apples from an orchard and they were so cute and little. Perfect for his hands. Since his teeth were just starting to break thru at the time he really couldn’t do anything but gum and play with it.

Anyways, we have a pretty tame weekend ahead of us thankfully. Hopefully we’ll get out and enjoy the beautiful fall weather while we can!

Taking care of yourself….

 Everyday life, Sappy  7 Responses »
Oct 112010
 

So, working from home has its benefits but one of the draw backs (if you see it that way) is that there’s no motivation to get dressed in the morning. PJ’s or Jeans and a t-shirt with a ponytail is completely appropriate attire. After 4 years the only time I ever got myself ready is if we were going out somewhere (which, after Noah, was not very often!). Since realizing that I’m heading back to the office world, I figured it was time to get back into the habit of actually taking time in the AM to beautify and you know what I found? That I actually feel better about myself! Sure, it’s more work and more time in the AM and I actually had to go out and buy some clothes that weren’t t-shirts and pajama pants but even if I’m just sitting at home applying for jobs or cleaning the house, I feel better about myself and feel more productive! DH even commented that he’s excited to see me actually getting ready in the AM (but quickly added that I was beautiful before too).

Then I got to thinking, how often do we just fall into what’s easy or get so involved with taking care of everyone else (husband, house, little one) that you forget about yourself? For me, it’s just about every day. My needs are always last. Showers don’t always happen and I generally grab what is quickest to put on. The hair gets pulled back and hopefully the teeth get brushed (ew…i know). I realize everyone says that’s the reality of being a mom. But, I think to be the best mom you can be you have to also feel good about yourself and that means taking care of yourself. It doesn’t have to be some big drawn out production (although spa days are nice:) ). A few minutes to yourself in the morning to reflect and affirm, some eyeliner, blush, and a new sweater, or a nice cup of coffee and the news before everyone else wakes will do. It’s the little things that we can do daily to remind ourselves of who we are and that we matter too. If nothing else, it’s nice to soak up the calm before the storm of the day:)

See, a little makeup and a sweater can go a long way:)

Cool giveaway…

 Everyday life  1 Response »
Sep 222010
 

I can’t believe I’m sharing this because the more people that enter the less chance I have of winning but I’m nice like that:) (plus I get an extra entry for doing it….I’m not totally unselfish haha…:))

My friend Emily is having an awesome give away over on her blog: Wife, check. Mom, Check, now what?. She’s a Gymboree-aholic and has some extra Gymbucks that will go to waste so she’s giving them away to one luck reader! Hope on over and check her out!

Premier Week!!!!

 Everyday life  1 Response »
Sep 212010
 

I love this time of year! The air is cooling off and has that smell to it, the pumpkin spice latte is back at Starbucks (not that I order them but it’s a signal of fall:) ) and ……it’s premier week! I don’t know about you all but I love premier week (and every week after that in the season). Thank goodness for DVR’s because some of my favorites collide time spots! For me it’s One Tree Hill, Greys, Glee, and Private Practice…what about you? What are the shows you just can’t miss??

Where do I start??

 Everyday life  5 Responses »
Sep 012010
 

So things have gone sideways here lately which is why I’ve been MIA. We were away for the weekend (and I have some great pics to share when I get a chance) but just prior to leaving I found out that I’d been laid off:( 7 years of service to them and all I get is “we’re sorry to have to do this but we’ll miss you”….oh well..on to bigger and better thing for sure.

And that brings me to my absence (and continued absence probably). You’d think since I have so much time on my hands I’d have all day to blog but searching for a job and tying up the loose ends of the job I left are rather time consuming. I’ve also picked up some freelance stuff thanks to a few friends so that’s keeping me busy. But, hopefully in the next few days/weeks I’ll have lots to share (when I find time to do it!)

For now however, I’ll be on and off….rest assured, Noey’s doing well…growing like a weed. I need to take some new pics of him to share…add that to my to do list:)

Sleep…

 Everyday life  3 Responses »
Aug 262010
 

So the time has come to try to get Noey falling asleep on his own without me rocking him to sleep. The doc mentioned at his appt on Monday that we really need to break the habit now otherwise he’ll be a bear to deal with later. My problem is – I LOVE LOVE LOVE when he falls asleep on my chest. I love staring at his little squishy face and smelling his hair as he sleeps. And I hate to hear him fuss or cry. But alas, unless I want to be rocking my 3 year old to sleep, this has to happen at some point and I suppose now is as good a time as any!

Now, I’m not a cry it out fan – AT ALL! Like I said before, I can’t stand to hear him fuss or cry but the only way we were going to get on this self soothing train is to allow some fussing and potentially a little crying -yikes! I don’t subscribe to any one particular sleep training method, but rather I’ve found something that seems to be working for us. A little Ferber, a little Weissbluth, a lot of mommy kloep:) Now, we just started this three days ago but it seems to be working!

First, I’m very aware of how much sleep he’s had for the day and will adjust his bed time accordingly to make sure he gets at least 12 hours of sleep (preferably 13 or 14 hours). Second, as he gets home from daycare (or throughout the days on the weekends), I’m watching for his sleep queues. It’s pretty much a given that they start to show up within an hour or so of being home or within 2 – 3 hours of him being awake. For naps, we simply head off to a quiet spot and I’ll hum to him until he starts to nod off. Then it’s down on a blanket or in his crib if that’s near. For bed time, we start with a set bedtime routine as soon as he starts to show sleepy signs so he knows it’s time to wind down. We’ll have a bath, a gentle conversation or song while getting him dressed, a bottle or a story (depending on if he needs the bottle) and then it’s into the crib.

Since I can’t stand to hear him cry my method was to let him fuss all he wanted but if he started to wail, I’d rescue him, rock him until he stopped and put him back down. Rinse and repeat. The first night it took a while to get him to sleep. He was pretty tired and probably had fallen over the “over tired” wall which meant he fought me tooth and nail! I had to rescue him twice and he fussed for another 30 min before finally nodding off. Night two only had one rescue and 10 min of fussing. Last night no rescue or fussing AND he slept clear from 7:05pm until 6:30am! A first in this house (even though I was up at 3 and 5 to check on him).

Plus, we tried it for his nap this AM and he fussed for about 20 min (with some crying that I couldn’t get to because I was in the shower) and then was out. I felt bad having to wake him to go to daycare – he was so soundly asleep. Another benefit of this is that when he does wake up, he’s more able to put himself back to sleep. I heard him up once last night but after about 2 min of fussing and rustling (probably burying his face in the mattress) he was back asleep. Normally we’d have to go in and rock him again!

So, I can’t say for sure if this is the ticket but so far it seems to be working!

Noeys first NFL Game…

 Everyday life, Noah  1 Response »
Aug 222010
 

I love when an opportunity just kind of drops in our laps and my wonderful hubs has the wherewithal to say yes even though he couldn’t consult with the master schedule (me)!

His program lead had two Redskins tickets for yesterdays preseason game against the Ravens and couldn’t use them. Hubs figured that if we had anything scheduled, we could move it for this since this was a very rare opportunity and we’d probably never get to do it again. I’m so glad he said yes! I’ve never been to an NFL game and what a great way to start Noey out on the road to loving football:) I was sad it wasn’t for our Steelers but I figured we could root for the Skins and not betray our black and gold too much (since we don’t face them in the regular season.)

So, DH got the tickets but wouldn’t tell me where they were. All he told me was that we had a Platinum parking pass (the best pass you can get). You can kind of deduce where we were based on our pass (they don’t give Platinum passes to regular seats). However, he still wanted to surprise me and kept it a secret. After arriving at the game, DH led us over to the special doors designated for Suite users/owners and said, “yup, I think these are the right doors” (with a big ole grin on his face!). We were going to watch the game from his company’s lower level suite!!

Turns out they have a double suite right on the 50 yard line! I’m so spoiled now – how can I go back to a regular stadium seat after that? They had all the food and beverages you could want. Stadium seats, bar level seats, and plush leather seats by the TV’s depending on how involved you wanted to be with the game. There were 4 different flat panel tvs – two broadcasting the live field feed and two broadcasting what network TV was showing.

I felt odd having Noey there so far after his bedtime but he did perfect! He entertained folks with his cute smiles and laughs and then promptly fell asleep around 9:00 (which was only a little later than normal). Everyone adored him and commented on how happy he was. I was just happy we had a long 2 hour nap together in the afternoon which lead to him being such a happy baby!

Overall it was a great treat! I told DH to let the guy know that if he ever needs to offload those tix again we’ll happily take them!!:)

I love…

 Everyday life, Noah  5 Responses »
Aug 172010
 

While rocking in the chair with Noey after his 4 am feeding I typed this into my iPod…

I love…
The way he smiles in his sleep
Rubbing my cheek on his soft hair as he takes his bottle
His tiny smushy lips
His dreamy giggles
His breath on my neck as he snuggled
His post bottle, pre bedtime snooze on my chest
The scratching he does with his little hand as he falls asleep
The big sighs he gives in his sleep when I lean into kiss him
That he’s a belly sleeper
Burying my nose in his hair and inhaling the melon scent from his bath
How he coos in his sleep
His little snores and snorts as he changes position
The peaceful look on his face…

He’s growing and changing so fast that I don’t want to forget a second of what it’s like when he’s this small and so willing to snuggle on my chest.

Spoiled much?

 Everyday life, Noah, photography, Travel  1 Response »
Aug 102010
 

We figured out that Noey just wants to be part of the action and the more time he spends up right rather than laying down the happier he is. So, during one of our crafting times, my mom and I put him in the high chair with all of his toys to keep him entertained and he’d hang out, playing, talking and just generally having a good time.

Green Beans…

 Everyday life, Noah  1 Response »
Jul 272010
 

So we had our first taste of green beans this week and I think he likes them…you be the judge…

5 months!

 Everyday life, Noah, photography  3 Responses »
Jul 252010
 

A day or so late!:) I took his pictures on the right day but work was crazy and getting ready for the weekend put me off so I’m a little late on getting this posted.

I can’t believe we’re to 5 months already! I held a two week old that weighed more than Noah did at birth and it just blows me away how tiny he is. Noah is a moose compared to him – such amazing things happen in only 5 months!

Now he’s:
- rolling from back to belly and belly to back pretty easily. I never know what position I’m going to find him in when I get him in the morning.
- going to bed between 7 and 8 and generally waking up now around 6:45am. He spends the time just talking to him self in his crib. I usually go in around 7:00am and grab him and he’s all smiles waiting for me. I love it!
- still at one feeding per night. Generally between 2 and 4 somewhere but he stretched it to 5:00am the other day – that felt weird!
- weighs 16.8lbs or so. If he were in disposable diapers he’d be in 3′s (we used sposies while in California – no washing machine and a poo-fobic hubby:)). I’ve opened his one sized cloth diapers another row of snaps!
- all smiles and giggles! Strangers get a kick out of him because 98% of the time he’s putting on a show…screaming, talking, blowing bubbles, laughing.
- has tried rice, oatmeal, squash, bananas, and green beans. So far, while bananas seem to be his favorite, he’s taking everything equally. He even attacked a spoonful of green beans this AM – I was impressed! I had a big plan on when i was going to intro what but that’s gone out the window. I still stick with the 3 day rule but I’ve been bouncing between fruit and veggies depending on what I grab first.
- He’s mastered many of the toys on his Baby Einstein table as well as his car seat toy bar. It’s fun to watch him push buttons and react to when they start to sing. He’s still not super coordinated but you can tell his motions are getting more and more deliberate. If he’s tired he’s really uncoordinated but most of the time he’s got it down pretty good.
- seems to like sitting at the piano with mommy. We take about 30 min after he gets home from daycare to play. I’ll play a song and sing to him, he adds his two cents by screaming or whacking the keys. I really hope he has a ear for music – it’s a big part of my life and I want to share it with him (and of course we hope he’s athletic like his daddy too…he can be like Finn on Glee!)

He’s just an amazing little boy. Just when I thought I couldn’t love him any more, he smiles and my heart explodes with happiness:) Seriously, that smile could melt the coldest of hearts I’m positive!

Weekend Recap…

 Everyday life, Noah, photography, Sappy  No Responses »
Jul 252010
 

We had a fabulous and fun filled weekend with lots of fun pics! The highlight was driving up to PA to meet our newest nephew! He’s 2 weeks old and about 9 lbs and OMG, not only is he gorgeous, he felt like nothing when I held him! I can’t remember Noah that small but I know for sure that he was. I managed to snag some quality snuggle time with the little man which was wonderful!

Later that day, while the mommies were inside staying cool, Grandpa Kloep had set up the baby pool and water gun stations for the boys to enjoy. And did they enjoy! Heck, I even dressed Noey and let him play in the pool for a bit. Unfortunately he’d just woken up from a nap (okay, maybe I woke him…I really wanted to see what he would do in the baby pool) and was a tad cranky and not very tolerant of all the screaming and splashing so we made it a quick dip.

The big boys ended their time in the sun with a few adult beverages and some relaxing under the sprinkler…

I love that my sister-in-law and her family have moved closer to the grandparents. Now when we go up, we can see everyone at one time and now I’ll get to see more of my awesome little nephews! I think DH is similarly pleased. He had so much fun playing with them and rough housing (and it didn’t hurt that they still fall for his magic tricks:) ). Watching him play and interact with them just melted my heart! Noey is a very fortunate little man to have a daddy like that. I can already see some of the silly things they’ll get in to together.

Wordless Wednesday…

 Everyday life, Noah, photography  3 Responses »
Jul 212010
 

Found this while off loading the memory card….

San Fran Day 1

 Everyday life, Travel  No Responses »
Jul 202010
 

Warning: VERY picture heavy post ahead…
So, while I went to work, Dad and Noah went for a trip around SF. We arrived early on Wed so they had a full day to have fun. He strapped Noah to him in the Ergo, stuffed the diaper bag and off they went. Here are a few pics from their day…

The wandered around Yerba Buena gardens, took the cable car up to Lombard, walked down to the ocean and then back around to Market. Dad attests that Noah did wonderfully and had a good time wandering the city.

4th of July Weekend Recap

 Everyday life, photography  No Responses »
Jul 062010
 

So this weekend was a full one for the little Kloeps! We made the trek north to visit with Gramma and Papa! So much fun was had that the weekend is easier retold in bullet form:

- After we sprung the dog from the vet (with a bag full of meds and some $600 odd dollars later) we took our first family trip in the new car. Macie was happy because she could stretch out in the back. We were happy because all of our stuff fit!

- Noah got to meet a few more of his cousins at my Aunt’s 3rd of July picnic! We’re about 1/2 of the way thru meeting all of the cousins. They’re spread out all over so it’s going to take a while to get to visit them all.

- Mommy managed to sneak away for an afternoon showing of Eclipse with Gramma. Shirtless Jacob was almost enough to convert me to “Team Jacob” but alas, true love holds on and I remain “Team Edward”. While Mommy and Gramma were out drooling, Daddy and Papa took turns entertaining Noey. They were both thankful when Gramma and I came home and took over:)

- We lit up Papa’s fire pit in the back yard and made some s’mores after Noey went to bed. Had a few fruity cocktails to go with it. S’mores and Guava/Mango juice really don’t jive. Milk is a better accompaniment.

- DH stopped at one of the many fireworks stands and picked us up a variety pack of fireworks. We spent the evening lighting them off and taking pictures (shown below)

- Noey got some quality time with gramma and papa. They were good grandparents and took turns loving on him:)

- Noey, DH, and I drove out to visit Abby, Patrick and JP (friends from college and their new little boy). He’s less than 24 hours younger than Noah! JP was overdue and Noey was early…funny to see them side by side.

- The trip home was interesting…..6 hours, 2 detours, and a screaming baby – ’nuff said! (but it was fun driving the new car!)

- What made the trip home worse (outside of all the traffic and crying child) is that Noey’s found his voice. Before this weekend his cries were quiet and tolerable. You moved quickly but it wasn’t an emergency. Well, all that is over. He’s found his volume button and cranked it all the way up! Cries, talking, screeches…you name it, he does it, at full volume! Think 4 months is too you to try to teach the “indoor voice” concept?:)

- We kind of knew this before but gramma reminded us of it…Noey hates – I stress HATES – when you blow on his belly…you get a 2 second WTF look and then he exercises those lungs of his. Only mommy can calm him down.

- My Google reader is at 815 unread posts – you all have been busy over the weekend!!

Think that’s it…well, there was more but it’s all details. Here are some pics for your patience:)

When it rains, it pours…

 Everyday life, sick  No Responses »
Jun 302010
 

(this is going to be a long post…sorry…)

To say that this AM has been interesting is an understatement! It started yesterday when the dog decided that since we all got a good night sleep (Noey slept from 7:15pm to 6:30am!), she’d wake us up with the sounds of her vomiting all over our carpet at 6am (if it’s not one thing it’s another right?…no sleeping past 6am anymore).

To add insult to injury, as she was walking back inside from her morning potty break, she got stung by a bee. I thought the vomit was a one time thing until about 4:00 in the afternoon when she started tossing her cookies over and over again (5 times in the course of 3 hours…cleaning up doggie puke is sooooo much worse than baby poop!). A quick call to the vet, some pepcid, and a barricade to contain her in the kitchen – we all went to bed. What we woke up to in the AM was something I was not at all prepared for!

She’d decorated our entire kitchen floor with her bodily fluids – in every form imaginable (sorry…TMI). DH spent the next hour cleaning and scrubbing and praying that the OxyClean would get the stains out without ruining our natural stone floors (btw…it did! Total miracle cleaner) While he did all that, I called the vets and made an appt to take her in ASAP (and all the while, Noey is quietly playing in his crib, talking to himself…I love that little boy!). We’ve been thru this before with her and know that once it reaches this point the only thing we can do is hospitalize her for IV fluids and meds.

Once the vet looked her over, she confirmed that this is what we dealt with last year. However, at this point we have no idea what’s causing it aside from perhaps a virus or something environmental (in our backyard perhaps). She has a sensitive stomach to begin with so a virus that induces vomiting is harder on her than on other dogs and it escalates quickly. Having been thru this around the same time last year I know what we’re in for and that is an overnight stay in the vet hospital and very hefty vet bill. She’ll pull thru and we’ll go on with our summer and probably not face this again until next year. These are the days when I wish we had pet health insurance:)

And like the title suggests, when it rains it pours. See, I also had a dr’s appt this AM. I woke up on Monday with a sore eye. It was bloodshot and just sore in general. I thought that I’d maybe overdone it at boxing and strained too hard doing sit ups or something but over the course of the next few days it only got worse and I could see I’d developed an ulcer or something in the center of the redness. Off to the eye Dr. (that is, after I could find one – there’s only two in my local area that take my insurance and one was out of town!). It turns out that I tore the covering of my eye somehow. I must have scratched or rubbed in my sleep which then tore it..who knows. Anyways, I’m on antibiotic drops for the next 10 days to prevent infection as it heals on its own. thankfully Noah and DH are in good health. I dont know if I can handle more sickness.

I tried to take a shot of my dilated eyes but FAILed…so here’s a pic of our Macie..the consumer of my next paycheck…

oh…any yesterday when we went to cook the salmon that we bought from Costco, DH found a worm swimming around in the juices….ewwwwww…just ewwwwww….

Vote for Noah!

 begging, Everyday life  1 Response »
Jun 302010
 

We need your help! I entered Noah in This Mama Rocks’s Photo Content and he’s currently in 2nd place by about 10 votes. Voting closes July 9 but I’d like to get him comfortably in the lead before then:)

Click on this link to go straight to the photo album…

There are two Noah’s – I should be tagged but just look for the yawning baby with the cute bear ears hat on:) The desc says Noah 10 days old.

You do need to be a fan of her page but that’s not a big deal, she’s got great give aways and posts so it’s worth it!

Lazy Green Mama Birthday Extravaganza

 Everyday life, Maternity Products, Products  2 Responses »
Jun 292010
 

My good friend Julie over at The Lazy Green Mama is having a giveaway blowout part in honor of her little Hazel’s (Zel for short – how cute is that?!) first birthday! I remember the day she posted that Zel had arrived – a month early! And I’ve followed her as she made her way from the Pacific Northwest back to our home state of Pennsylvania! She’s hilarious and seriously resourceful! I love reading her posts and always learn something or laugh out loud.

Head on over there to check out some of the fab things she’s giving away – today it’s a Thirsties Duo Diaper! Tomorrow – who knows but I do know that it will be fab and something you don’t want to miss!!

Cry Baby…

 Everyday life, Sappy  7 Responses »
Jun 242010
 

…and I don’t mean Noah. Pregnancy and his subsequent birth must have permanently altered my body chemistry because I’ve found a new strength in my emotional response that I’d never experienced before.

For example:
- I’m unable to watch anything birth related without crying like a baby.
- I read stories on peoples blogs about sickness or sorrow and I feel their pain and cry too. I’ve had a deep down ugly cry in response to their stories on more than one occasion.
- Upon hearing the news of a distant family member getting the heart transplant they needed, I teared up. I don’t even know the woman personally yet I found myself having to suppress tears.
- Finding out a close friend is pregnant
- Beautiful writing gets me every time. It could be happy/sad whatever, if it’s eloquently written, I fall into the story and find myself in tears.
- Looking at my son and realizing how much I love him (and watching my husband beam with pride at our little boy)

and the list goes on…

Now, I realize these situations probably do warrant a good emotional response but I’ve never been that person. I’ve never been “weepy”. I’ve always had my emotions under control and would be able to outwardly project a calm, cool, collected facade when in fact I was crying inside.

Now, don’t get me wrong, before this pregnancy and birth I would cry at sad movies and other situations that warranted a good cry but these days I find myself crying/reacting to/feeling so much more. I’m not sad otherwise in fact I’m quite the opposite. I’m in love with my life, my child, my husband, my family, and everything. And I don’t want this to trigger alarm bells in anyone, I’m just surprised at this new inability to turn off the waterworks:)

Perhaps it’s because being a mom has opened my eyes to an amazing new world …or it just could be the lack of sleep…

Happy Birthday Daddy!

 Everyday life, hilarity  No Responses »
Jun 222010
 

DH turns one year older today and celebrates the second anniversary of his 29th birthday….I’m just glad he did it before me to pave the path!

Happy Birthday

Now off to figure out what to make for dinner!

Daddy’s Breakfast!

 Everyday life, Recipes  No Responses »
Jun 212010
 

So we’re a day late on this one! I had every intention of making DH his favorite breakfast of french toast yesterday but I couldn’t just do regular french toast – no, this was a special occasion so I needed to do it up right – blueberry stuffed french toast. The problem was that I didn’t have all the ingredients and my plan to get to the grocery store on Saturday just didn’t work out so…long story short. I prepped everything yesterday (after he said that he’s rather have dinner type food for dinner – not breakfast food) and made it this morning – a day late but well received none the less.

Here’s DH loving his blueberry stuffed french toast (looking a bit rough, a hard driven volleyball to the face leaves marks!)

And the second picture was when I made him pause so I could take a pic of my masterpiece before he housed it – only 2 min after I set his plate down:)

I made up the recipe from bits and pieces I found on the internet. I’ll try to recount it here:

Blueberry and Cream cheese stuffed French Toast

Cream Cheese Filling
small tub of cream cheese (6 or 8 oz?)
1/8 cup milk
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1-2 tsp of vanilla extract

I started slowly by putting only part of the milk and part of the sugar in, mixing with my electric wisk and tasting as I went. I wanted a creamy and slightly sweet filling. In the end I think I ended up with what I specified above but in all honesty, I went with taste testing over ingredient measures:) My advice is just start slow – a splash of the milk, a few tbs of the sugar and work up until it’s the consistency and taste you want.

I refrigerated mine overnight but that wasn’t necessary – just happened to be how I put things together.

Blueberry Syrup
1/2 pint fresh blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 cup water
small lemon wedge to squeeze and some lemon zest

I heated the water and sugar to a boil (simple syrup) then added the blueberries and let them cook down (stir gently) at a mild boil. They start to burst when you stir so if you like more whole berries like I do, just stir gently. If you prefer more syrup than anything then have fun, you can strain out the bits later with cheese cloth.

I squeezed part of a lemon (maybe 1 tbs of juice) and then zested it (about 1/2 tsp) into the mix. I boiled a bit longer until the sugar was all dissolved and I was happy with the taste. I then put it in a jar and plopped it in the fridge overnight. This I think is a must. The syrup had time to cool and the flavors to come out. When it was hot you couldn’t taste all the blueberry goodness!

French Toast
3 eggs
2 slices of Texas Toast (the big thick stuff)
cinnamon

Beat the eggs, dredge the bread in the egg mix (both sides) and then drop on a hot pan, sprinkle with cinnamon. Flip once to make sure all the egg is cooked (i made sure the edges of the bread hit the hot skillet too so the egg on there would cook) and plate.

To plate everything

Place one piece of toast down, spread the cream cheese mix on it like you would peanut butter. Drop the second piece on top (now you have a super think sandwich). Add more cream cheese mix and top with the blueberry sauce. If you want to get fancy garnish with confectioners sugar – DH was too hungry for pretty things so I just gave it to him as is:)

I tried to get a picture of Noey cooking but he was uncooperative..something about being too small to access to stove or something…:) However, never fear – there’s another post coming with Noey goodness! Stay tuned!

Welcome Welcome

 Everyday life  1 Response »
Jun 082010
 

Check out our new digs! I’d been wanting to change for a while and finally had the time to sit down and figure out WordPress and their templating system.

The migration from blogger to WP was pretty easy. I already had hosting and the domain so that was no sweat. It would have been even easier if I’d chosen to stick with a default template but no…not me. I had to get fancy and create my own theme and what not (okay, I heavily altered a free template to get what you see here). It was a crash course in CSS and a refresher in PHP (boy it’s been a while since I used that part of my brain…)

Anyways, have a look around and let me know if you see anything amiss!

Big things coming….

 Everyday life  No Responses »
Jun 072010
 

It’s been quite around here lately but for good reason. We’re all on the mend now from the sickness that took over the house plus I’ve been working on something new for A Little Kloep! Hopefully I can get things situated, tested and ready for a big debut later this week. Until then things will probably remain quiet because these changes are taking up most of my evenings leaving little time to actually write blog posts.

Anywho…hold your horses, this is gonna be big…haha..

Books…books…books…

 Everyday life  2 Responses »
May 272010
 

During my elementary school days I was the queen of BOOK IT!.  Each month you’d have a goal to reach – be it number of books, number of pages, time spent reading etc…and when you reached it  (as verified by your parents of course) your teacher would give you a reading certificate that you could exchange for a personal pan pizza at PizzaHut!  It never hurts that pizza was involved but for me, while pizza was nice, I was jones’n for those stars for on my cool arse hologram pin! I think I filled four or five pins during my elementary school days. And I ALWAY wore it proudly on my jean jacket (along side my dinner plate sized Donnie Wahlberg pin).   I’m actually glad to see that the program still exists and I hope that it continues to exist when Noah is old enough to read.

For now, I want to instill in him the same love for reading that I had.  A generous gift from my co-workers enabled me to just about buy out Amazon and their book section! I grabbed a few of my all time favorites (Where the Wild things Are, Tiki Tiki Tembo, Ferdinand the bull) along with a few of the newer published books (Cloudy with a chance of meatballs, Pickles to Pittsburgh)

Photo Credit Amazon

What were some of your favorites growing up??

3 months old!

 Everyday life, Noah, photography  No Responses »
May 232010
 

So here we are – 3 months old!  My little Noey is growing up soo fast!  We did our monthly photo shoot this AM and I love love love that he’s starting to be more responsive and actually smile when I ask him to (or rather coo and make funny high pitched noises until he smiles).

So, here’s the recap:

- We’re all getting more sleep!  He goes down around 7 or 8 and is up around 4am to eat then down again until 7 or 8 on most days (this is a relatively new development – normally he’s up at 1am, 5am, 8am
- during the day he’s eating 4 – 5 oz every 3-4 hours (we’re up to 30-32oz a day!)
- he started daycare a few weeks ago and so far so good.  He seems to be thriving.
- he’s figured out a few of his toys – if he bats long enough he gets them to flop and make noise.  It’s pretty consistent now
- he smiles at everything – the walls, the drapes, other people (women especially – he has every woman in a 10 yard radius of him wrapped around his chubby little fingers almost instantly)
- he holds weight on his legs pretty well.  He’d rather be standing than anything these days. When he’s on his back he’s just kick kick kicking those little legs.
- still very much loves his baths and actually tolerates diaper changes pretty well.
- he’s obsessed with his hands.  He plays with them, clasps them, stares at them and tries to fit both of them in his mouth at the same time.  Now and again he’ll manage to get his thumb in but he’d rather just his fist.
- is in size 1 disposables although we’re not using a ton as we’ve switched to cloth!
- he’s on the tail end of his 0-3 month clothes and fits most of his 3 and 3-6 stuff.  I tend to size up on the pants due to the bulk of the cloth.

We didn’t have a dr’s appt for a well check up but did end up there for a sick visit (clogged tear duct) and found out that he’s 13.5 lbs.  He soooo doesn’t look like he weighs 13.5 lbs…

I calibrated my monitor and I’m not sure I like it…he looks green in all my pictures….I’m hoping he looks normal to everyone else.

Mission Monkey…

 Everyday life  2 Responses »
May 142010
 

As a mom, reading the story below makes my heart break over and over again.  Putting myself in her shoes and trying to imagine what she’s feeling right now is difficult and I’m sure what I can imagine is only 1000000th the pain that she’s feeling today.

Let’s support our fellow mommy and blogger today (and every day until they kick this cancers butt!).  Go to mypixiedreams.com to read on and to leave your support – this momma and her family really need it now!

And if you want to help with the hospital bills that they’re surely going to face, use the clicky below to donate to Monkey!

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