My life as I know it

There is the path of least resistance and then there is the path that I think will be even less resistant than the path of least resistance which actually turns out to be a path with crater-size resistance. Are you following me? Six months ago, when Graham was ready to start eating solids, I decided I was going to make his baby food and save us some money. I was convinced I could make it cheaper and then also make foods that aren't available in the store to broaden Graham's pallet, if you will. In the interest of saving money, I didn't buy the baby food-making blender that I really wanted and instead used the blender we already owned. I had intended to blog about my baby food making experiences long ago but never got around to it. Maybe it's best. A few months ago, my post would have been all rainbows and butterflies. Because that was before I realized that sometimes making your own baby food doesn't save you money but actually costs you more. The day I realiz...

Someone asked me recently how I'm adjusting to being a mom. The answer to that question is an easy one. I love every single second of it. It is hands down the best and most meaningful job I've ever had. Nothing in this world makes me happier. From the moment I held Graham in my arms for the first time, I forgot about what life was like before he was here. Everything has more meaning now and I am overwhelmed every day by how much I love him and love being his mom. That being said, five and a half months into this gig and I still have no idea what the heck I'm doing. If a "mom of the year" award really did exist, I do something on a daily basis to ensure that I would never receive that award. HEADLINE: Inexperienced parents pinch son's leg in car seat, cause scene at wedding People (namely my father-in-law and my husband) had been telling me for a while that they thought Graham's car seat was getting a little too snug. I knew that he is supposed to f...

It is 9 p.m. on a Saturday night. And not just any Saturday night: It is the Saturday night before St. Patrick's Day. So what am I doing to celebrate? I am sitting in my basement, alone, listening to the ocean waves from Graham's nursery on the baby monitor, watching Hart of Dixie on Netflix and I just finished a glass of milk and some chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. It seems the days of green beer might be a thing of the past for me. I did contemplate putting green food coloring in my glass of milk, though, but decided it would be too much work. If you would have told me a year ago that this is what the future had in store for me on St. Patrick's Day, there is no way I would have believed you. Two years ago on St. Patrick's Day, I was sick and had to work and yet I still went out after work. Last year I was pregnant but still partook in the festivities (minus the beer, of course). Let's face it: I love a good party and any excuse to dress up and have f...

Do you ever go through life thinking, "this could only happen to me?" I feel like that is my life's motto. This is just another example. *** The request was simple: stop in on my friend's cat a few times while she and her husband were in Myrtle Beach. They only live about 10 minutes away and I was happy to help, so I said yes. Today was my first day on duty. To say it didn't go well is the understatement of the century. When I arrived at their house, I was greeted by the cat at the top of the stairs. The greeting went fine. She sniffed my hand, let me pet her and then she went on with her business. The first thing I noticed was a birthday gift for me on their dining room table (which was an extremely nice surprise) so I went over to open it. All of the sudden and completely out of nowhere, while I was reading my birthday card, the cat charged me and started attacking my legs - my bare exposed legs. On a 95+ degree day, it never occurred to me that maybe...

Week: 29 Baby length: 15.25 inches Baby weight: 2.5 lbs. - the weight of a pineapple Bump size: 38.75 inches Weight: +23 pounds (+.5 lbs. from last week) Cravings: Jones Salt & Vinegar Chips Look out, I'm breaking all the rules. Technically Baby R is the size of a butternut squash this week. But Giant Eagle only had HUGE squash that were twice the size I needed and about triple the price I wanted to pay. So I decided this pineapple weighed about 2.5 pounds and would be a great (and tasty) substitute. Thanks for your flexibility on this issue. I appreciate it.   Cravings My BFF Kari had her shower this weekend and I stayed with her on Saturday night. She got me a bag of Jones Salt & Vinegar Chips (my fav) and I dominated them. Baby Movements The baby's movements are very frequent and very strong. People are actually noticing my belly moving while I'm sitting still. You can also see random parts of my belly poking out or my belly lo...

It seems the only time it's cute for someone to be running around saying, "I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date," is when you're a fictional little white rabbit. Pat and I had very little going on this weekend and were able to be completely lazy both Saturday and Sunday. It was great. Except for the fact that the only two obligations we did have, I made us late to both. Pat does not find it cute or endearing and I don't blame him. On Saturday night we had Pat's uncle's retirement party and I was providing the music. I wanted to get there about 15 minutes before it actually started so I could have the music going before people arrived. 15 minutes early turned in to 20 minutes late, all because I waited too long to get ready. I felt horrible. On Sunday afternoon, we had a gymnastics meet for Pat's cousin Lia. We wanted to make sure we got there right on time so we didn't miss any of her events. We ended up getting there 15 m...