Unexpectedly Expecting Baby

Valentine's Cards at Tiny Prints!

2012-01-31T15:14:00.005-06:00

Can you believe it's already January 31st? I mean, seriously. Tomorrow begins the second month of 2012, and with it comes one of my favorite holidays - Valentine's Day!

My excitement about V-day dates back to some baller classroom parties my teacher's put on for us back in elementary school, and those memories of first crushes and receiving valentine's and chocolates propelled me through my awkward single girl phase before I arrived at nearly-married B. Anyhow, I want Ava to have as wonderful a memory and anticipation of Valentine's Day as I do, and so I try to do it up right each year, complete with personalized Valentine's.

This year at Christmas, we saw some pretty fantastic cards come our way from Tiny Prints, and so I knew that I wanted to give them a try! They have some amazing Valentine's card selections, from full-sized Valentines Day Greeting Cards to smaller Valentine Cards, and I was immediately drawn to this design. Now, we'll be able to knock the socks off of our friends at our moms group's valentine's day party!

As for you, you can find out more about Tiny Prints and all their awesomeness by checking them out at the following places:

-"Like" Tiny Prints on Facebook for updates about great promotions!
-You can get up to the minute Tiny Prints news by following them on Twitter, or
-You can find them on everyone's new social network fave, Pinterest, for great creative ideas!

Which is your favorite Tiny Prints card this year?

Friday Phone Dump.

2012-01-27T09:58:00.003-06:00

Too cool for school:

Happy girl!

Ready to weather the storm (which was really and truly terrifying! A tornado touched down five mins away!!!):

Ava taking dinner into her own hands:

"Princess, mommy!"

Ava is obsessed with being a "tiny baby" right now. Sigh.

And last, but not least, our new froggy friends, Mickey and Minnie Mouse :)

Wordless Wednesday: Bridal Portrait Preview!

2012-01-25T07:56:00.001-06:00

Obviously I can't/won't post any of my dress prior to the wedding, but here's a couple of our little flower girl to tide you over :D

Girl's Weekend!

2012-01-23T07:59:00.000-06:00

David's bachelor party was this past weekend, so he took off with the boys to Vegas, and my mom, Ava and I got to have a girl's weekend. We had a GREAT time!

Friday, since I unfortunately still had to work, we loaded up all four kids and drove down to New Braunfels to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Safari for the second time. It was awesome.

After we dropped the boys back off at the end of the day, we headed to Michaels to make a quick stop to look for a flower girl basket for Ava. Over $100 and an hour later, we walked out with the makings for some DIY wedding crafts, including A's flower girl basket, her flower girl headband to coordinate, and - most importantly since my bridal portraits were the next morning - the makings for my flowers. I hadn't been planning to do silk flowers, but I wanted a bouquet to do my pictures, and most of all wanted to do wedding stuff with my mom, so we decided on colors and flowers then and there. We spent the rest of the night putting them together and chatting/watching TV and movies together :)

Here's the finished bouquet (pardon the crappy phone picture):

Saturday morning began bright and early, since we were planning to take advantage of the natural morning light for my bridal pictures. I had been stressed about how to do my hair and makeup, since I was planning to have them professionally done and my pictures started at 9am and I had no one booked yet, but my mom and I made it happen. It was awesome. She's definitely the mother of four girls! Ha!

I won't say much about my bridals, except that I always have a hard time in front of the camera that way. When photographed interacting in a normal setting, I'm all about it. But just me, in front of the camera, trying to act natural? FAIL. Thankfully, my photographer is so fantastic, she made it work and I can't wait to see the final product :) There will be a sneaky sneak peek this week for Wordless Wednesday of our flower girl :)

After that was over, we headed over to Central Market to play and eat lunch, since we were all starving after hours of "playing dress up" (Ava was such a trooper!!!!). We had a great afternoon! From there, we went home, and just chilled out for the rest of the night and Sunday before my mom left after lunch, enjoying one another's company. Ava LOVED having grandma in town!!!!!

Friday Phone Dump.

2012-01-20T07:50:00.000-06:00

I'm out and about exploring Austin and New Braunfels with my mom, who is in town for the weekend while David enjoys his bachelor party in Vegas, so I'll leave you with this for the week. This is an absolutely perfect way for me to clean out my phone camera each week, and also let you know what we're up to when we're not around. Thanks, Emily!

Playing at the park:

She's got quite the arm!

Being a perfect angel at church!

Charlie's littlest angel:

From our playdate this weekend with the girls:

Lovin' on daddy while he BBQ's (safely, of course!):

Mommy's little tomboy:

I'll be back Monday to talk about our fun weekend, including a wildlife safari and bridal portraits!!! Have a great weekend!

"Balyina!"

2012-01-19T07:48:00.000-06:00

"Mommy, balyina (ballerina)! Nutcracker! See toes?!"

She makes my heart swoon :D

In other news, taking her to the Nutcracker left an obviously huge impression on her. She talks about it almost every single day!

Wordless Wednesday - Besties.

2012-01-18T07:44:00.000-06:00

My Trip to Carter Physiotherapy: Part 2

2012-01-17T07:49:00.005-06:00

If you haven't read about my first trip over to Carter Physiotherapy, you can check it out here.

My second visit started right where the first had left off, re-checking my hip alignment for progress. Thankfully, and due to the miraculous hands of Dr. Carter, I was able to do the at-home stretches to the point of alleviating my pain, and my alignment showed signs of improvement also! Score!

Though the appointment was initially scheduled in order to do a second treatment for my existing back pain, the visit's purpose changed dramatically when I revealed that I had woken up the day before with one of the worst cricks in my neck of all time. It was so bad, in fact, that 36 hours later, it was still going strong and keeping me almost entirely from turning my head to either side or looking up and down.

Dr. Carter checked it out, having me look in all four directions while manually feeling for the cause of the tension, and admitted that it was more than your run of the mill crick in the neck. A major reason likely had to do with the way I had fallen back to sleep around Ava in the middle of the previous night, so the pain I felt functioned more like that of an injury than your standard "I slept wrong" type of pain. Anyhow, once he was able to get a detailed explanation of where it hurt and what provoked it, he set to work on trying to alleviate the pain.

Now I'm sure this is starting to sound like a glorified massage. But let me tell you, it was much more than that. Sure, he did use some massage techniques in order to decrease the tension in my neck, but he was also constantly evaluating the effect he was having on the area by having me look to the sides and up and down to see exactly how much my range of motion was increasing, and studying the way in which his techniques were affecting what was going on with me intramuscularly. And, if we're being completely honest, it was more painful than your average massage!

What I can honestly say also, though, is that the pain was entirely worth it, and I felt relief almost immediately! Whereas I walked in grateful for my blind spot mirrors and with a very limited range of motion, I left being able to turn my head significantly farther in each direction, especially to each side. I was sent home with instructions to apply ice three times daily (with a barrier to prevent the ice from burning my skin), and to work on my posture in order to keep the muscles relaxed. And, much to my extreme relief, I felt significant improvement immediately that carried over to feeling completely healed within a few days!

Here is more on what Dr. Carter recommends for the all-too-common crick in the neck!

Wolfy.

2012-01-14T20:45:00.005-06:00

Ava has an imaginary friend.

I would have told you she was a bit young for an imaginary friend. In fact, I don't remember having one until I was five, though I don't remember much at all before I was five, so there is that. Anyhow, Ava's invisible friend has emerged with full force in the past few days, and it's pretty stinkin' adorable.

His name is "Wolfy". And yes, we've clarified that he's a boy. She told us so. She also mentioned that he's blue, and, duh, a wolf. She's been obsessed with wolves since we saw one on Little Einsteins a few months back, and brings them up often, so this really isn't the biggest surprise in that her imaginary friend takes wolf form. I get that she's trying to make sense of her fears, and anytime she talks about being scared, it's always been "wolf!", so this is definitely helping that.

When you ask her about Wolfy, she'll tell you he's a "nice wolf". And lately, that nice wolf is EVERYWHERE. We'll be sitting cuddled up on the couch watching Dora, and she'll say, "Mommy! Wolfy! RIGHT THERE!" Sometimes, she'll pull a pillow off of the couch and lay it on the floor and say, "Wolfy nap". The other day when we were playing outside with our (real) dog, Hank, she told him, "Hank, sit," Adding, "Wolfy sit too." Awwwww.

I kind of like Wolfy, to be honest. And I think it's a cute way for her to work through her fears :)

Cheers!

2012-01-12T07:42:00.004-06:00

Ava is obsessed with the word/concept of "Cheers!", and she totally seems to understand it (we may be drinking too many weekend mimosas at brunch...)!

It started off that she would cheers our cups at the dinner table, which we got a kick out of. Now, though, she does it for everything that's the same. Yesterday was one of the most precious instances:

Putting Ava into the car after the park, she was staring deeply into my eyes.

Ava: "Daddy has green eyes."
Me: "Yes, you're right!"
Ava: "Mommy brown eyes."
Me: "Yep, just like Ava."
Ava, pressing her eye to mine: "Cheers!"

GAH! She's just so cute. She's also been cheers-ing our toes together, since they're both painted the same color, and the other day when we were both blowing our noses, she touched her kleenex to mine and went, "Cheers!"

I love this age. Totally almost makes up for the fact that she dropped her animal on the ground earlier and said, "aw, shit." :X

Wordless Wednesday: Dancing at the Zoo!

2012-01-11T07:59:00.000-06:00

An Impromptu Trip to the Cameron Park Zoo.

2012-01-09T09:44:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, itching for something fun to do in the gorgeous weather, we made the nearly 100 mile drive to Waco, Texas to the Cameron Park Zoo. We didn't decide until mid-morning to go, so we timed our departure to directly after our early lunch, and it worked perfectly. Ava slept the entire drive, and when we got there, she was refreshed and ready to go!

The gibbons hammed it up for us!

The bald eagles made me sad :( Poor caged birds!

This was seriously the most child-friendly zoo I've ever visited. There were themed playscapes everywhere!

The cutest little monkey:

Aren't these fish fascinating?

There was a little cave you could crawl into where you could see the alligators up close and personal. Ava was brave!

The regal jaguar - one of my faves!

Ava in a teepee!

How awesome are these owls?

Their herpatarium was world class:

Ava wasn't remotely afraid of the snakes!

I'm partial to the giraffes...

When asked what her favorite animal was, Ava told us the rhino!

The elephant wasn't posing for us :/

The majestic lion:

She was not cooperating for this one:

Christmas in January.

2012-01-08T19:26:00.007-06:00

We had a fantastic Christmas this year. Our backyard has been officially stocked, housing a playscape, a playhouse, a baby slide, a cozy coupe, a trike, and a ride-on car. Now, thanks to the fine folks at Wayfair and their awesome reduced prices, we also have a wagon!

Ava's been acting like she's wanted a wagon for some time. The boys have one, and she really enjoys riding inside of it while in their backyard. My only reservation about getting one for her was a combination of a.) they can be a bit pricey, and b.) the red Radio Flyer that the boys have can have a bit of a rough ride, with having more than one rider in the wagon being a bit nervewracking without seat belts. Enter, the Step 2 Wagon for Two Plus.

We got this gorgeous, durable green wagon for Ava as a gift for Christmas, and we finally had the time and good weather to play around in it today. Not only was it a pretty easy assembly (a plus for this spatially-challenged mama!), but it's also incredibly good quality. The wagon, which is built for - per the name - "two plus", also has an optional add-on trailer that matches that we are likely to look into purchasing in the future. In case that wasn't awesome enough, the wagon features seat belts, which is a huge plus for this safety-conscious mama, as well as two cup holders, two seats for Ava and a friend to ride along, and a seat with storage. What more could you want?

One of the best features, though, is the turning radius of the wagon. Because of the way the wheels are set, this bad boy can sail around corners without any snags, making it easy on both mom and kiddo!

If that's not testament enough about the quality of the product, check out Ava's own review:

(Note: for disclosure information, click here. I was provided with this wagon in exchange for agreeing to review the product, but the opinions expressed above are entirely my own.)

Picky Eater? No Problem!

2012-01-04T07:02:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned the other day in my two-year wrap-up post about Ava, she's gotten increasingly picky lately. My child who would once eat fruits and veggies until the cows come home is now falling into the "kid food" trap, which is only being compounded by her inability to eat dairy.

I was getting really frustrated, and then, something awesome happened. One of the gifts Ava received at her birthday party was a plate called Ms. Food Face, and it is solving some of this frustration for us big time!

The plate consists of a plain face without hair, and you can use food to make it look however you'd like. This is one time that playing with your food is a good thing! Today we used it twice, and we made both a Marilyn Monroe lookalike with scrambled eggs as hair (she had thirds!), as well as the little lamb below. She cleaned her plate!

If your little ones are going through something similar, I highly recommend Ms. Food Face, as long as you don't mind a bit of playing with your food and are even remotely creative! We love it!

For anyone interested, here's the link. Also, for any local Austinites, you can buy Ms. Food Face at both Terra Toys and Toy Joy :)

Happy eating!

My Trip to Carter Physiotherapy: Part I

2012-01-03T07:10:00.001-06:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been having all kinds of issues with my back. Namely, my mid-to-low back on both sides of my spine has been basically made sore by a repetitive stress injury, one that was caused by lifting the infant carrier in and out of the car on a regular basis, as well as tossing around four kids each day. Luckily, I finally reached out to get some help, and found myself in the extremely competent and professional hands of Dr. Jarod Carter with Carter Physiotherapy.

One of my first concerns when scheduling my appointment was regarding pain. Anyone who has ever known someone who has gone to either physical therapy or a chiropractor with the hope of easing pain in their back has heard horror stories about the potential for pain involved, and so I went into my appointment with this in mind, worried that he'd have to crack or pull something that would - at least momentarily - make my pain worse. Thankfully, this did not end up being the case. Here is what he did instead:

My appointment began with an explanation of what I was feeling, as well as a thorough evaluation of my bone structure, amongst other things I have a minimal understanding of, despite his attempts to explain the process to me :) He had me stand on one foot on one side and then the other, and discovered that one of my hips, either due to leg length or postures and habits, was slightly off balance and higher than the other. Not coincidentally, that just so happened to be the side that my pain was occurring on! Because of this, and with Dr. Carter maintaining the utmost respect and understanding that moms are busy ladies, he gave me some exercises to do at home to help. The best part? The two particular exercises/stretches that he sent me home to practice take just minutes a day, and have already seemed to offset my pain!

After the evaluation, it was time for the hands-on portion of the hour-long appointment. I laid down on what could only be described as a massage table, all the while dressed in my yoga pants and tank top, while Dr. Carter checked my range of motion in my joints. He explained that sometimes pain that is felt in one place can be caused by dysfunction in another, less obvious place, so he did a thorough exam for that purpose, to see what exactly was going wrong. Between the imbalance in my hips and the repetitive motion straining my back, he was able to target his treatment to those areas for amazing results in just one hour!

Dr. Carter varies from your run-of-the-mill physical therapist in that he is well-schooled in Manual Therapy methods, which, rather than requiring gym equipment, manipulates the problem areas manually. While there were a couple of times that I felt discomfort, nothing that he did was downright painful, and I felt relief by the end of our visit! Between that and the exercises I've been doing at home, I have not had pain in my back since my appointment!

For anyone, mothers of young children or otherwise, who are experiencing muscle pain or other athletic type injuries, I would highly recommend you hightail it over to see Dr. Carter, especially if you're short on time and want to see immediate results! I'm so happy I did!

Ava's Second Birthday Party!

2012-01-02T08:15:00.001-06:00

First, if you haven't, check out Ava's awesome birthday and our family trip to the UT campus. Seriously? One of my top five days ever!

Now, let's get down to business. Ava had her birthday party yesterday, just in time to close out the year in style, and we had a BLAST. Check out pics of our super fun time:

We had such a great turnout despite some last minute cancellations due to the holiday, and we couldn't ask for better friends and "family" to celebrate with. Happy birthday party day, A!

Ava's Second Birthday, and First Trip to UT!

2012-01-01T10:29:00.009-06:00

We had such a fun day on Ava's birthday. I'm so glad that both David and I were off this past week, so that we could both be able to spend the entire day with her. We started off with just some early morning plans at the bounce house we love, but then we swung by David's office, and decided to have an impromptu day on campus, which Ava loved. Truth be told, of all the things that I've shared with Ava in her two years, taking her to the campus where David and I both went to school was one of the most special! Such an amazing day!

Starting her birthday off right, at Kids N Play! We love this place!

Ava's birthday lunch!

Visiting Daddy's office on campus:

Both David and my former dorm:

Awesome Longhorn street signs:

DKR Memorial Stadium - where the magic happens :)

Ava throwing up the hook 'em at the statue! SO PROUD!

Ava and mommy riding the horse statues in front of the alumni center:

Ava kissing Bevo:

Ava and mommy in front of Bevo statue:

The Texas Exes alumni center:

Mommy giving the hook em' in front of her life member scroll!! So exciting!

The Honor Roll of Texas Exes Life Members!

UT Map:

Just like our family!

Littlefield Fountain with the Tower in the background!

Side view of Littlefield Fountain

Ava exploring our old stomping grounds!

The Tower - an Austin monument!

Ava and Daddy on Inner Campus Drive

The turtle pond! One of mommy's favorite places on campus!

Ava loves daddy:

Mommy's old home base, Gearing Hall

Ava: future sailor?

Happy Birthday, Ava!

Happy baby, riding her new horsey from grandma!

Ava: Two Years Old.

2011-12-31T08:11:00.000-06:00

Ava had her two-year well check recently, and the doctor has confirmed what we already knew: she's awesome.

Ok, I'm kidding. I mean, yeah, she's awesome, but unfortunately that's not one of the boxes he can check. Instead, how about healthy, growing and developmentally on target? Works for me :)

As far as her stats go, homegirl is TALL and thin. Mommy is jealous :)

At two:
- Ava is 35.5 inches tall
- Ava weighs 27.4 pounds
- She wears size 2T clothing, though she can fit into 12-18 month shirts. Her legs and too long for anything but 2T.
- She still has her paci. I mean this in the nicest way when I say: if you have a problem with this, it's your problem, not ours. Ava is happy, we're happy, her doctor is happy, the dentist isn't concerned, and quite frankly, I'm not the type to rip her security item, quite literally, from her mouth. She'll give it up when she's ready, and that is that. And no, this isn't directed at any of you, but a few family members who have been giving me hell about it have me riled up.
- Ava is still breastfeeding at night, and that's another thing I won't be apologizing for anytime soon. She nurses before bed, and in the morning sometimes as well if she feels like it, and both my OB/GYN and her pedi applaud it as opposed to thinking it's "weird". Yes, another thing I'm defensive about. We're working on weaning, but again, when she's ready, she's ready.
- She still cannot have dairy :( We're still hopeful that she'll outgrow it, but dear Lord, it's taking a while.
- Ava is getting pickier with the eating. She'd live off fruit snacks, strawberries, saltine goldfish, pretzels and raisins if we'd let her. Alas, we won't. She's still pretty good about eating meat, and she loves beans, but she isn't as great at the veggies as she once was. I blame her age.
- Ava is really affectionate, and gives hugs and kisses freely!

- Ava loves loves LOVES to play with animal figurines. She's never happier than standing up all of her animals, Lion King style, and then knocking them over. Mommy loves other things more.
- Ava has become obsessed with playing blocks recently. Wooden blocks, rainbow blocks, mega blocks, you name it. If you can make "big castle!" with it, she's game.
- Ava could play dress up all day, every day. She particularly loves tutus, dresses and tiaras, along with any jewelry!

- She loves stickers. Stickers are better than candy!
- Ava could easily be potty trained if I'd get off my lazy butt and do it. It's just hard with all the kids I have with me each day. We'll be working on this more in the coming months.
- She is so compassionate with animals. She LOVES our cat, and not many would say that :)

- Ava loves to swing and slide on her playscape ALL. DAY. LONG. Unfortunately the weather has sucked throughout December until this week, so she hasn't been able to play on it as much as we had hoped, but she's gotten some great use out of it this week.
- She is the sweetest, most polite little girl I've ever met. She says, "thank you", "welcome", "scuse me" and "please with almost everything she says, and even says "sowwy" when she's done something to upset someone. I am so proud of her!
- She talks, and talks, and talks. Ava easily says 500-1000 words, if not more. She literally will repeat anything that we say. Usually this is adorable, except when she yelled "oh shit!" when she dropped her paci at Target one day. Oops.
- Ava is still obsessed with Dora. Anything Dora is a winner in my house!

- Ava loves books, and will bring them nonstop to me, sit in my lap, and saying "read books, mommy!" She gets pretty demanding about it, too. Her favorites are anything Dora, look-and-find books, and cute classics like "Barnyard Banter" and "Goodnight Moon".
- Ava is still a total mommy's girl, though a few times lately she's shunned mommy and been all about daddy. I know it makes David feel great, but it totally breaks my heart!

I'm so looking forward to and already enjoying Ava being two!

Catching Up: Holidays and Ava Turns Two!

2011-12-30T19:49:00.009-06:00

Wow - it's been two and a half weeks since I last posted! OMG. That's a first around here. I wish that I could provide some reasonable excuse for my absence, aside from being out enjoying my abundant blessings! So much has been going on around here, so let's play a bit of quick catch up.

First and foremost (though not chronologically!), Ava turned TWO! Holy cow! How am I the mother of a two-year-old?!? It still blows my mind. We had a fantastic day with her on her birthday, but so much to say and so many pics to share about that, I'll need to write a separate post. Look for that in the next few days...

Also, David and I have been insanely lucky to both be off this entire week together! We've been having a crazy fun time together all week, knocking things off our to do list and just reveling in the opportunity to spend an entire week as a family of three. Ava has been loving it! So much so, actually, that three times this week she skipped her nap. Uh oh. Also, she's been sleeping in until 9am! Booyah! Happy vacation to mommy!

Another fun time that shouldn't be overlooked is Christmas! We had such a lovely, blessed Christmas. David's parents came up on Christmas Eve and we were able to spend the day with them, as well as Christmas morning. Ava loves her grandparents, grandpa especially, and so she was so happy to see her extended family!

She had such a fantastic Christmas - complete with her playscape (we built back over Thanksgiving), a wagon that I'll be reviewing after the first of the year, some amazing rainbow design blocks from nana, a Mickey Mouse that she's obsessed with, some wonderful Christmas books and a beautiful dress, and a train table, amongst other things. She also got some lovely gifts from the two families I work for, including a fabulous Dora dress-up outfit and a little V-tech laptop! We are so insanely blessed :) Ava was really, really into Santa this year, and we also got an elf visitor that came. We can't wait for him to come back next year!

Another extremely fun thing we've done since I last posted was that the D's took Ava and I for a girls afternoon at The Nutcracker, put on at the Long Center by Ballet Austin. I went two years ago when I was like 38 weeks pregnant - haha! - but I was more nervous about this show. Turns out, I worried for nothing. Ava was amazing. The production was 2.5 hours, with an intermission halfway through, and Ava sat fascinated and watched the whole thing. Now, when she sees a ballerina, she says "nutcracker!" Needless to say, it left an impression! One of her favorite parts had to be meeting the little mice from the ballet outside during intermission!

Alright, I'm off to prep for Ava's birthday party tomorrow! More posts on birthday fun, The Nutcracker, and her party to come! Also, I recently saw Dr. Jarod Carter of Carter Physiotherapy, and he worked wonders on my back, so I'll be talking about that and how he can help you as well!

Ava: Block Connoisseur.

2011-12-12T08:34:00.000-06:00

*The only thing I built was the ramp and the bridge with house :)

To Register, or Not to Register.

2011-12-10T07:16:00.000-06:00

As most of you know, we're doing a pretty low-key wedding. Instead of devoting the eleven months between when we became engaged to our actual wedding going crazy and spending my annual salary, we've decided to be financially responsible adults and have a small, family-only ceremony, followed by a small, family-only luncheon reception afterwards. Because of this, we've really debated whether or not to bother registering. I mean, we've been in our house for several years, so we're pretty set on a lot of things, and it just seemed wrong to register when we're having such a small shindig.

After much discussion, though, with my mom's group, it seems we're probably going to anyhow. People have been asking about our registry and certain family members will still obviously want to send us gifts, and my friends made a good point in that, if they're going to send you gifts regardless, shouldn't you at least get something you might use? Long story short, I'm currently in the process of trying to throw together a registry.

LIke I said, I bought this house five years ago now, and, knowing my way around a kitchen, have managed to collect quite a few of the normal registry items. Instead, we're looking at registering for things like china (I hosted Thanksgiving this year on our regular plates, which was fine, but still - some china would be a nice touch) and other decorative plates for holidays and display, as well as other holiday helpers such as a nice knife set, etc.

My question to all of you, then, is what you had/will have on your registry list, and what was one of the more surprisingly useful items you received?

Girl's Night Out: Ava Edition

2011-12-09T10:29:00.000-06:00

Last night was not your typical girl's night out. Instead, David has his final, and so Ava joined me and the two little ladies I watch while I worked my normal Thursday night late night. Though I can see the benefit in her going home with David normally and staying on schedule, we had a blast! It was like a big pajama and pizza party, complete with a trip out to check out Christmas lights. Check it out:

Our Second Emergency Trip to the Doctor.

2011-12-08T13:43:00.002-06:00

We've been relatively lucky with regards to emergency visits so far (knock on wood). I know a ton of kids that get sick constantly, and Ava, thankfully, isn't one of them (thank you, extended breastfeeding!). Aside from one trip to the ER back in April for suspected heat sickness, we've been blessed - well, until yesterday, that is.

So many factors conspired together for this to have happened. I wasn't originally going to go to the library, but decided to so that the mom could sleep a bit since she wasn't feeling well. Also, Ava has been obsessed with "seat drops" lately in gymnastics, where she drops onto her bottom on the trampoline. Unfortunately, so much so, that she does the outside of class - sometimes, like yesterday, on the cement. Anyhow, here's what happened, and here's how to not repeat my mistakes.

We had just checked out some books and movies, and were leaving the library. R was at home napping with his sick mama, so I had Ava, the baby, and the oldest child. We were having a nice time, discussing trees and pollution and just going about our business. I had the baby carrier in one hand, and was holding Ava's hand with my other, while the oldest walked alongside of us, old enough to know he had to stick right by me when we cross the street. We were crossing the parking lot, and at the moment, in the middle of the street, Ava decided to seat drop. Just then, a car turned in the drive (it's a very busy city library), and so - stupidly, in retrospect - I attempted to pick up Ava with my one-hand, pulling on her right arm to try to get her out of the street as quickly as possibly. My other hand had the baby carrier, and I didn't want to set that down or lose sight of the oldest child, so many things were going on at once, and I just didn't think it through.

Seconds later, the crying started. Normally when something seems amiss with Ava, I don't rush her to the doctor. She's never had an ear infection, or anything like that, so frequently the doctor isn't the first thing I think of. In this case, though, I could just tell by her cry that something was horribly wrong, and my poor baby - who almost never cries and is insanely tough for a little one - was hysterical. When I tried to hand her her book to see if she'd take it with her right hand and she refused to move it, I knew we needed the doctor immediately. I called as we pulled out of the parking lot, and he got us in ASAP.

Once I dropped the kids off at home and navigated rush hour traffic to get there, the rest was a big, sad blur. Ava was hysterical, screaming and crying the ENTIRE drive, something completely unlike her, so I knew it was going to be bad. I was terrified her wrist was broken, and so I was really careful with it, especially when I had to get her undressed. Our pediatrician is amazing, and came right in to examine her. She just laid there under her blanket, crying but being so brave, while he checked it out, and thankfully it wasn't broken. Unfortunately, however, she had what he referred to as "nursemaid's elbow" - or, a dislocated elbow! She was completely unable to move her wrist or extend her arm, and he told me that he'd have to set it. Could I feel like a worse mother?

Thankfully, it was quick. While I'd be lying to say it wasn't the worst mommy moment in history (you know how on Grey's Anatomy when Callie sets a bone you flinch? It was THAT noise...ugh!), it was over before we had time to register, and - strangely but thankfully - the second he set it, she was fine. Crying stopped, she was able to use it and reach for things with it, and by the time we left, it was like it never had happened!

For me, though, it's another story. I felt SO insanely horrible. I didn't pull on her hard or anything, and the doctor explained that this is actually an injury he sees ALL THE TIME. It can happen while swinging your child between two parents or twirling them around in circles, and it happens in really young children because their joints and bones are still so pliable. While that helps defend them against broken bones, it does make a dislocation disproportionately easy. He said he sees this every couple of weeks or so (!!!), which made me feel like less of a terrible mother, but only slightly.

Today she's 100% fine. Between the doctor visit, the balloon, chocolate and McDonalds we plied her with after, and a good night's rest, it's like brand new. Mommy, however, is scarred for life!

November Phone Photo Dump.

2011-12-05T07:01:00.003-06:00

One of Ava's favorite things to do currently is line all her animals up Noah's Ark style. While it was cute the first few times, it's not a total pain in my butt. If I had a dime for every time one animal fell over and caused a domino effect animal slaughter, subsequently triggering my daughter's new tendency towards histrionics, well, I could pay someone else to do this particular task for me.

Love this photo SO much. It so wonderfully captures Ava's personality!

Surrounded by boys, per usual. Daddy's going to have a heart attack.

My Tuesday/Friday kiddos (the days that R doesn't have school...)

Zingo!

Swinging!

Playing with the turtle statue while mama scopes out wedding stuff at Mayfield Park!

Mommy's little gymnast!

Baby Friends.

2011-12-02T07:44:00.003-06:00

As much as I complain about the stress that comes along with managing the lives of five separate children - and then my own child and my own household - each week, there are some major perks. Mainly, despite being an only child, Ava has no idea that she's not one in a family of many children. Check out the cuteness:

Children: A Pain in the..Back?

2011-11-29T08:06:00.003-06:00

As most of you know, I'm with four small children all day long. While you likely recognize that that in and of itself can be a real pain in the...nevermind (kidding...kind of), what you may not know is that it can also be physically painful - namely, in my back.

I may have mentioned before that I've been having trouble in my back. It started when Ava was still a baby, and most likely can be attributed to the constant lifting of her infant carrier in and out of my car, often several times per day. Picking the heavy car seat up and making a twisting motion concurrently has led to some intermittent, yet sharp, pain in my low-to-mid back. While I initially ignored it (something I don't recommend), the pain has come back with a vengeance now that I'm working with an infant - and therefore her infant carrier - yet again. Even something as seemingly simple as pulling the Maclaren out of the back of my car is enough to trigger the pain, making both my life - and my job - more painful than necessary.

This has me stressed for several reasons. First and foremost, I'm 27 for crying out loud! Nothing makes you feel older than premature back pain! Second, I've had many friends boast the benefits of a chiropractor. While certainly chiropractors know a thing or two about the back, these same friends admittedly see their chiropractors on a weekly basis for adjustments, making that option seem more like a temporary fix rather than an actual solution. Enter Carter Physiotherapy.

Dr. Jarod Carter is an Austin-based Manual Physical Therapist. If you're scratching your head and wondering what, precisely, that means and how it differs from your automatic mental image of an exercise-room based physical therapist, you're not alone, but let me see if I can enlighten you. Manual physical therapy uses a hands-on approach, and can bring results in just one session. If you're anything like me (a young, busy working mother of a toddler), time is one thing I'm short on, and so fast, yet permanent, results are key to me being able to be treated.

I'm going to see this miracle worker on Monday, and I'm extremely excited about my visit! I'll check back in after my appointment to let you know how things go - and to let other Austin-area mommies with similar pain (I know there are a lot of you out there!) know where to find relief!

Continuum Games Review and Giveaway!

2011-11-27T19:19:00.004-06:00

The holidays are quickly approaching, and as such, I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to test out two great games from Continuum Games: Lumps, and Family Talk 2.

As you all know, my own daughter is a bit young for organized games, but luckily the older children that I nanny for are not, and had a blast playing with me while I tested out and reviewed them both.

First, we'll start with Lumps, as the holiday theme is appropriate to the time of year. To play Lumps, you gather the pieces of coal (dice) in your hands, give them a lucky shake and let them fly. The goal is to score the most points in three rolls by rolling pairs. What makes Lumps exciting is that there are four different types of dice and only a few of them have high numbers on them. After your first roll, you have to decide which dice to keep and which dice to roll again. Though the preschooler I watch found this game a bit complicated (as she should have - it's made for children 6+), she did pick up on the excitement, and I loved that I was able to make her feel included and modify the rules a bit to fit her developmental stage. The third-grader was far more capable of playing along, and particularly loved the little stocking that the game dice came in. For those who do not celebrate Christmas, or are interested in a less seasonal edition, Lumps comes in a year-round edition as well. This would make a great stocking stuffer for a school-aged child!

I also reviewed the game Family Talk 2. The game cards come on a portable key ring, great for traveling or taking in the car on those holiday road trips! The game is made for 2 or more players, ages 3+, though you'll likely be able to play longer and ask a wider range of questions with the older kiddos, who have the added benefit of being able to read the cards themselves.

The questions start off simple enough - such as "What is your favorite flavor of cake?" - and grow increasingly probing - for example, "Have you ever had a crisis of faith when your faith was tested?" While a lot of these questions could be great for school-aged children who are increasingly interested in their family members and history, the single best age group for this game seems to me to be tweens, who may be increasingly isolating themselves from their families and need conversation starters. Whatever age your child is though, learning more about each other as a family is sure to be a wonderful experience!

Both Lumps the Elf Coal game and Family Talk 2 are available at Hallmark Gold Crown stores, Books-A-Million,
Go! Games and 100s of specialty toy stores in the US, as well as on Continuum Games' website.

Now, thanks to Continuum Games, you all have the opportunity to win copies of these games for yourself!

As a mandatory entry, hop on over to Continuum Games website and leave me a comment letting me know what your favorite product/game on their site is! Also, make sure you're following me on Google Friend Connect :) That's it!

For additional entries (one entry per action - leave a separate comment for each!):

"Like" Continuum Games' Facebook page
Follow Continuum Games on Twitter
Follow me on Twitter
Tweet about the giveaway with the following text: Enter to win two Continuum Games on @unexpexpectbaby blog http://bit.ly/vbnsui (maximum of once per day)

Good luck, and happy gaming!`

*Disclosure: For the purposes of this review and giveaway, I was provided with both games free of charge. The opinions expressed, however, are entirely my own.

Wordless Black Friday: Merry Christmas, Ava!

2011-11-25T17:53:00.003-06:00

This is technically her Christmas and birthday present, but David's dad had to help him put it together, and they won't be back before Christmas. This bad boy right here? Took the two (sometimes three, when David's brother was still here yesterday) guys about 14 hours total! I'm so thankful for my fiancé - he's the best father ever :D

As for what Ava thinks of it, she keeps climbing up the ladder and then jumping up and down, yelling, "Happy! Happy!" I think she likes it!

Thanksgayving: My Favorite "Holiday"

2011-11-22T22:19:00.004-06:00

First and foremost, before I get into a picture post about my favorite event of the year, I just wanted to say thank you to all the lovely ladies that made me feel so much better after my last ~~meltdown~~ post! Knowing I'm not alone in being overwhelmed and occasionally short on patience makes me feel much better :)

OK, now moving on to the fun stuff!

As I've mentioned the past two years (2009, 2010), I'm involved in an annual Thanksgiving potluck that functions as both a major party and a charitable event. It may come as no surprise even if you don't know me well, but I have always been and will always be a friend to the gays. In fact, prior to David, my friends consisted of 99% gay men, but now we're just getting off topic.

Anyhow.

Each year ten of us come together to host a huge (over 800 invites went out this year, with about 450 attendees!) party at a bar downtown, where everyone brings a dish, participates in a silent auction (botox, anyone?), and brings canned food and other items to donate to those in need. I am so, so, so incredibly blessed to have such generous and wonderful friends, and look forward to this event more than almost anything else about the holiday season (well, aside from A's birthday and Christmas moments for her!). I should mention that unfortunately this year David and Ava stayed home, and though I was disappointed, I totally understand why he wouldn't want to spend the afternoon/evening wrangling her in a bar packed to the brim!

Without further adieu, here are pictures from this year's shindig (I should note that we hired a professional photographer this year, and so my pics were few in comparison. I'll post those when we get the images!):
This year the location changed, as the bar moved to a bigger space, so I made sure to get a good rooftop shot:

Most hosts, some others:

Ava's godfather and me:

One of my very best friends:

One of the best parts of Thanksgayving is that it brings in out-of-towners I only see this one day a year!

Young Folks:

So very many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, starting with amazing friends and family! Happy Thanksgayving, y'all!

Overwhelmed.

2011-11-18T12:39:00.003-06:00

I've seen a lot of posts this week where people have been honest about not only the good things happening in their lives (which are easy to share, of course!), but the bad. As such, I thought this would be a good time to be honest with you all about some things going on in my life that aren't always easy to share.

As you know, I suffered from postpartum depression. I didn't elaborate too much about the extent, but suffice it to say that it was pretty bad. Thankfully, I got help immediately, recognizing the signs and wanting to ensure it didn't get worse. Now, two years later, I have finally weaned off the medication, something I have been terrified of doing.

In some ways, I still feel a touch of it. Surely it's not considered PPD anymore, but since this is the first time I've been off the Zoloft since Ava was born, it feels PPD-ish to me. At the same time, though, I did not realize just how much the Zoloft suppressed other emotions aside from the overwhelming sadness I was feeling, and I'm glad to have taken steps to get off of it.

Don't get me wrong, I don't by any means want to discourage anyone who needs it from taking something and seeking help for postpartum depression (or any depression, for that matter). I 100% believe in getting help, and would go back on it again in a heartbeat. But I have definitely started to feel a wider range of emotions - particularly affection towards others - that had seemed to be switched off. Not that I was cold b$tch or anything, but I wasn't my usual warm self. For this reason, I am conflicted.

Though I went off of the medication and am grateful, I do seem to be struggling a bit. I can't tell whether or not it's at least in part due to withdrawal (I have heard these things can be a beast to come off of sometimes), or if my body chemistry remains forever changed after having Ava, but I never stop crying. It's getting better for sure, but two weeks ago, it was all I could do to get through the day.

Another part of this is my job. I'm really struggling with my job, folks. Being with four kids, three of whom can be exceptionally high maintenance at times (the baby is colicky, the middle one has extreme attention span deficits, and the oldest has behavioral problems and is frequently referred to by his therapist as "on the spectrum"), is making me crazy. I feel constantly as though I'm going to snap, and unfortunately, sometimes I feel that Ava is on the receiving end of this. Silly things that should just roll off of my back become cause to snap at her occasionally, and I absolutely hate that my job is affecting her. More than anything in life, I want to be a good mother. I pride myself on just that, and have always been proud of the mother that I am, but occasionally I worry that I'm not doing a good job because of all of the stress that I'm under. Don't get me wrong - I don't spend my days screaming at my child or anything. It's not that. It's just that I want to be a patient, positive parent, and sometimes, when she's running circles around the car while I'm trying to load up all four of them, well, I'm not patient.

I keep hearing from my mom's group that I should quit, but they're exclusively SAHM's that don't understand that I have no choice but to work. For the foreseeable future, we're going to be a two-income family, as much as I wish that we weren't. If staying at home was an option, I'd take it in a heartbeat, but it's just not. I'm just trying to balance two jobs, full-time parenting, and managing my household and two others and plan our wedding, and I'm coming up short. Any advice on how you guys find balance is welcome, for both my sanity and Ava's.

I'm not even sure what the point of this post is anymore, except to exploit the fact that I do NOT have it all together. I know nobody's perfect, but I'd sure like to be closer!

Date Nights!

2011-11-14T12:35:00.006-06:00

Y'all. I have had reason to throw on a dress, put on heels and curl my hair FOUR times in the past week and a half. And while one was for a bachelorette party with the ladies, the other three were for nights out (twice at weddings) with David! Hallelujah!

Proof that I spend time with someone other than Ava:

*Sorry, Ava, that you inherited mommy's tendency for your hair to curl and react to humidity, as indicated in that last picture :/

It's That Time of Year: Shutterfly Holiday Cards!

2011-11-10T09:56:00.001-06:00

I’ve been slow to warm up to the idea of the holidays this year. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that it’s still hitting 80 degrees here on a regular basis, but I feel like I’m stuck somewhere back in August. Then, in setting up my calendar for the upcoming holiday season’s events, one deadline did excite me: placing my order for our 2011 holiday cards!

As you may remember from last year, we ordered our holiday cards from Shutterfly, and boy did we ever get a positive response! Our cards turned out absolutely delightful – far beyond what I had hoped – and so when considering my holiday cards for this year, there was no doubt in my mind that we’d be repeat customers.

On top of our Christmas Card order this year (we’re waiting to take some holiday-themed photos to choose our actual card and place our order), I’m going to be taking advantage of some of the other awesome photo items that Shutterfly offers, both for myself and for gift ideas for friends and family.

Here are some of my favorite ideas:

-Personalized 2012 Calendars! Who doesn’t need a calendar to get organized for the upcoming year? And rather than looking at stock pictures of waterfalls and animals, something tells me the grandparents would much rather look at cutie pie pictures of their favorite little granddaughter!

-Photo Books. Each year/during pregnancy, I have made my blog into a (lengthy!) photo (and text) book, and ever since, I’ve been hooked. If any big event has happened where photos have been taken without restraint, it’s been turned into a photo book at my house! With the holidays approaching, this seems like a perfect gift idea!

Have you started thinking about your Holiday/Christmas cards yet? When do you normally place your order? Will you be gifting any personalized photo items to friends and family?a

Ava's Birthday Dress: Voting Time!

2011-11-09T09:33:00.000-06:00

So Ava's second birthday party will have a "Pink Poodle in Paris" theme, and so I'm wanting to commission a dress on Etsy that will go hand in hand with it. I've found three that I like/love, but want to know what you all think.

Here they are:

1.

2.

3.

I've almost completely ruled out the second, but still thought I'd keep it in the running for now. Also, the first poodle matches the poodle on her party decor, so that's something to think about as well.

Ok, go!

Ava-isms.

2011-11-08T08:04:00.000-06:00

Lately, Ava has been saying such adorable things, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to share a few!

-This morning, while trying to find an episode of Dora on the revised Nick Jr. lineup (why are they always changing the times that shows come on?!?!?!?!), we stumbled across Winnie the Pooh and stopped for a second, since it was one of those celebrity voice-over shorts and it happened to be Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day. Now, I'm not a big Pooh fan, mainly because my mom is the world's biggest fan, so potentially I was just overexposed, but I do like that story. Anyhow, after it was over, we kept flipping, but Ava kept asking us to turn it back on, yelling "Winnie the Poop! Winnie the Poop!", and then later, "Winnie the Pooh Pooh!" HAHAHA.

-Ava has only just recently started to drop the "sh" sound in place of an "s" (yesh for yes), but she still says it in a few different instances. Mainly, she asks on a regular basis to "shit" on the potty (instead of sit on the potty). HAHA!!!! I love it. Until she asks in public, and then it's unfortunate that I'm super pale and blushing is so obvious on my face!

-Ava lately has become more aware of what it means to be in trouble. Rather than just knowing that mommy is upset over something, she recognizes a feeling of guilt, and has started to hide her face behind her hands when she's done something wrong. More often than not, this "something wrong" includes overturning her snack/food bowl. Drives me nuts!

Christmas/Birthday Gift Idea.

2011-11-04T13:22:00.003-05:00

Well, we only made it to her second birthday before doing a combined gift, but if they're as awesome as this, it's ok, right?

Now who wants to help me put this bad boy together?

Happy Hallowean!

2011-11-03T10:24:00.000-05:00

Nope. Not a typo. Also? I know Halloween was a few days ago, but I just could NOT come up with a relative title for this post, so that's the best I could do. Deal with it.

Anyhow, this is the post where - rather than revealing Ava's fifth Halloween costume - I ask for advice from any extended breastfeeders out there. That's right. We may not have had a heart to heart about it in recent months, but I am still breastfeeding Ava.

I know that most people may think that's a bit odd. In fact, I definitely fell into the aforementioned category prior to having a child. But between Ava's love of nursing and the comfort it gives her, and her milk protein intolerance, it's been the best choice for us. I could go on and on justifying why I'm still nursing my 22 month old, but - long story short - it's been what has worked best for our family. The end.

Now, though, I'm feeling like that ship has sailed. More and more I'm wanting to start the weaning process - and more and more she's pushing back on my attempts. I try to put her off when she wants milk and I feel like she doesn't really need it (aka bedtime/naptime), and she collapses into pitiful cries of, "Mama milk, peeeeaaase! Pease?" Then she starts signing please. Ok, Ok, Ava. I get it.

So - I need advice. Any weaning tips for a toddler. Also, anything to make it easier on mom? As much as it'll be nice to have my body entirely to myself for the first time in 2.5 years, I will admit to feeling sad about this time being over. Also, I definitely don't want to do it abruptly and have it mess with her feelings of security and comfort - I'm a real weirdo about my child not feeling abandoned or rejected at any cost.

Thanks, guys!

Halloween Photo Bomb!

2011-11-01T16:52:00.008-05:00

First, our pumpkins :)

Costume number one: pumpkin for the fall fest. Fail.

Costume 2: Angelina Ballerina for a Halloween Party! Better...

Halloween morning (aka before the madness and overstimulation kicked in...)

Betcha didn't know Tink did gymnastics?!

Tink at the park :)

Mid-afternoon dress-up:

Preceeded by a mid-afternoon meltdown:

Surrounded by her many admirers!

Debuting her Halloween costume!

Someone got a bit sick of her costume about five minutes in, but we managed to talk her back into it...whew!

Pink poodle playing in the sandbox:

What a gorgeous peacock (and baller costume!):

Setting out on our trick-or-treating adventure:

Hmm..whatcha got in there?

P lends a hand :)

Checking out her stamp:

"Knock knock"

She may have gotten a bit tired there towards the end!

Family pic!

In sum, Halloween was awesome. I LOVE this age! Seriously, I much prefer this holiday being a parent, as opposed to a drunken college student.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Where Did The Day Go?

2011-10-27T15:31:00.003-05:00

Holy cow. How has it been nearly a week since I posted? Oh wait, that's right. I'll tell you how...

For a general rundown of what it's like to be a mother of one, yet nanny to five (three at one house, two at another), here's an excerpt from my day today.

Because I'm working so much, I've been getting sick a lot more. Bleh. As such, today started out bright and early, when Ava and I left the house at 7:30 to make an 8:10 doctor's appointment so I could miss only half an hour of work, which will be made up tomorrow afternoon. Blah. Anyhow, at said doctor appointment, I fit about two months worth of stuff into the visit, including the upper respiratory infection I currently have, the swollen lymph nodes that have been keeping me up at night, and the referral for PT that I needed in order to be seen at my friend's clinic, because lifting the travel car seat in and out of the car has done a number on my back.

From there, I went to work. This began with me dropping the boys at school, then running to the pharmacy to drop off my prescription. Unfortunately there's no drive thru at the one closest to my job, so I had to drag Ava and the baby inside, resulting in Ava's second lollipop of the day (the first was at the doctor...). It was 9:15.

Then, we headed over to Toddler Storytime at the library, which requires my child to sit still and listen. Ha. HAHAHAHA! Picture this if you will: Hattie screaming while I attempt to feed her the soy formula she's currently on (another milk allergy - what are the odds?!?!?!), while Ava LITERALLY runs circles around me, while yelling, "CIRCLES!" at the top of her lungs. That's her new favorite thing.

Afterwards, we went back to the pharmacy to pick up my prescriptions, since there is no such thing as "waiting around for it" when you have two under two, am I right? Anyhow, we picked those up, made a pit stop at the gas station, and then I drove around until Ava fell asleep. I'm not a lazy parent, but it's so much easier if she looks sleepy in the car to drive her to sleep than try to put her and Hattie down at the same time. I feel only slightly bad about this.

While they napped, I did two loads of laundry, loaded the dishwasher, and ~~stuffed my face~~ ate my lunch. I would've chosen to do something more awesome with my time, except it's not my choice. I'm responsible for those things at work, so there's no indulging the sentiment that the housework can wait. Unfortunately, it can't.

Then, I drug both girls out of bed, praying one would stay asleep (no such luck), and hauled them to school to pick up the boys in the pick up line. After listening to them bickering in the third row, I dropped them off at home, then Ava and I went to get Stella from HER preschool, all while dashing home, to job #2, to meet Peyton at the bus stop. Now, I have to go, because she's due at tennis in twenty minutes, and I am doing carpool today, before returning to make two cakes for the cake decorating contest at Peyton's school tomorrow.

In retrospect, it could be months before I blog again...

Don't Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life

2011-10-21T08:20:00.000-05:00

I just recently read a book by Sandra Beasley, a woman who has grown up allergic to dairy, soy, wheat, shellfish, tree nuts, many citrus fruits and more, entitled, "Don't Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life". Initially, I was interested because, while I consider myself empathetic, I wanted to see what it would be like to grow up with those types of allergies. The ways in which she experienced the world - and everyday situations that we take for granted, like birthday parties - was something I was curious about; after all, Ava has been touched by a similar (though much less severe) fate, and doesn't seem to be outgrowing it. I dove into the 250-page novel, part memoir, part historical and scientific history of food allergies, wanting to know what we were up against. Could Ava live a normal life in spite of being unable to eat dairy? (I should mention that her previous experience with eating a slice of pizza was a fluke, at least as far as later experiences have gone. We're back to square one as far as her ability to consume milk and other milk products, including butter, cheese, yogurt, etc). Moreover, I was curious as to some of the alternatives out there: what advice could this woman offer a mother searching for ways to ensure that her allergic child would not end up feeling left out and isolated from her peers?

What resulted was half what I was hoping for, and half unexpected. I read the book in its entirety in one day, and am definitely the better for having checked it out from the library. While my initial thought was that I would recommend it to my friends who also have children with food allergies, I felt upon completion like it should be required reading for the general population. I cannot count on one hand how frequently I run into misinformation about food allergies, with dairy being amongst one of the most often misunderstood. I've seen people hand her cheese ("If the milk is heated, it shouldn't bother her!" ???), ask if she could have butter instead of cheese on her pasta (apparently our country is in serious need of a review of the food pyramid....), and, with the best of intentions, offer up pesto in place of both (there is parmesan in pesto). While I don't expect everyone I spend time with to be experts on the subject, I do feel as though it wouldn't hurt anyone to know what consitutes dairy when around a child with a milk allergy on a regular basis. As a nanny, I always ask parents if their child has any food allergies, as well as their playdates, friends at birthday parties, etc. It's just common courtesy in my opinion, especially in this highly allergic world.

I'll get off my high horse now, but if you have a spare afternoon, the book is a great read, and eye-opening to those living with someone with food allergies!

Wordless Wednesday - A Mommy/Daughter Hayride.

2011-10-19T07:37:00.001-05:00

Elgin Pumpkin Festival at the Christmas Tree Farm!

2011-10-17T08:19:00.002-05:00

Saturday we took a trip out to the Elgin Christmas Tree Farm's annual Pumpkin Festival. This place is really only about half an hour outside of Austin, and well worth the drive, especially when you consider that Meyer's Elgin Sausage and Southside Market (two BBQ joints that had a very public food network face-off for best BBQ!) are just about a mile away! YUM!

You may remember that we took this same drive out last year for Ava's first major pumpkin patch excursion, but this year was a whole 'nother ball game, with Ava being leaps and bounds ahead of where I thought she'd be. She literally ran through the entire excursion, petting the animals and swinging and picking out a pumpkin with me. So glad that I had David in tow with me this year!! Here are some pics (and yes, we're decked out in burnt orange every Saturday!)

Ahh, the sweet scenes of the countryside:

The hayride had a "spooky" theme :)

Antique tractors:

Hayrides through the farmland:

Lots of chances for photo opps!
They had a sweet petting zoo...

and hayrides!

Ava's response to, "Say cheese!"

Cool kid:

She would've stayed on this swing all day!

Driving a tractor:

This growth chart was seriously thwarted by the sloping hill...

Ava and I both loved this picture!

Riding the train with daddy (and mommy in the car behind them!):

Family shot!

Friday Photo Montage

2011-10-14T08:44:00.000-05:00

What happens when I take too long getting Ava into the car:

My nerdy family :)

Ava likes older men...

Ava loves Hattie!

Ava's new bestie, the frog in our front yard:

Hanging out with her friends on a nice day:

My cool kid:

Pretty little girl!

Weeeeee!

My little tom girl:

Ava and Spencer, cuddled up on the couch in the morning :)

Wordless Wednesday - Playground Fun.

2011-10-12T08:18:00.000-05:00

The Meeting of My Two Worlds: Sweet Berry Farm

2011-10-11T17:15:00.006-05:00

Yesterday was YET ANOTHER school holiday (kill. me.), so in order to pass the time outside of the house, we took a day trip to Marble Falls to Sweet Berry Farm for some pumpkin picking and other fall fun! It was a great experience, though a bit overwhelming at time with me and the four kids, not to mention the hour and fifteen minute drive each way. Even still, the drive was simply gorgeous, and it gave me time to unwind while all four kids were tied down to their seats! I'll take that anyday!

To make matters even better and more exciting, we had been invited by the D's (the family I used to work FT for, and now work two afternoon/evenings a week for...), so I was going to get to see my girls and introduce them to the boys. Ava was in attention-heaven!

The farm itself was gorgeous. We'll definitely be going back as a family next year!

We sat on pumpkins:

Painted pumpkins:

We took pictures with cutouts:

Picked flowers:

Went through a corn maze:

Saw a newborn donkey (it was born Sunday!)

and went on a train ride (so exciting for Ava!)

I went with the three kids I watch, and Ava, of course:

...but we met up with my ladies, too!

Ava was very confused by the meeting of her two worlds, particularly when P held the baby!

All in all, a successful, yet lonnnng(!!!) day!

Pioneer Farms.

2011-10-10T08:04:00.002-05:00

Friday, we took a trip out to Pioneer Farms, an old-fashioned colonial farm situated not too terribly far from my house. It was ripe with history, not to mention farm animals - Ava's favorite part, and we had a great time. The only caveat was how hot it was compared to what I was hoping it would be. Oh well. Fall will come eventually (fingers crossed!)!!

Love me some Longhorns!

It was way bigger than we thought it would be!

The "square":

Ava spent the ENTIRE trip running!

Old-fashioned farmhouse:

"Hee haw! Donka, mama!"

This windmill was pretty awesome:

She was NOT shy about the cow - haha!

Leave it to Ava to find the one animal we can pet freely at home...

Ava and Rhett pet baby bunnies!

Old School Farm Equipment:

The Blacksmith's Shop:

How picturesque:

Windmill:

Hook 'Em!

2011-10-08T12:02:00.002-05:00

As you all know (seriously, there's no way you could've possibly missed it at this point), David and I are Texas Exes, aka graduates of The University of Texas. As such, we're also die hard Longhorn fans. Today is one of our biggest games of the season, as the Longhorns take on the Oklahoma Sooners (it's 12:03PM, and OU still sucks!) at the Texas State Fair for the Red Rival Rivalry (nee "Shootout").

Is it bad that I'm ridiculously proud that Ava is running circles in front of the TV yelling, "Hook 'emmmmmmmmm!"?

Why Ava Shouldn't Wake Up at 6:30.

2011-10-03T10:03:00.000-05:00

Or, alternately, why we will go for a walk to the park every chance we get.

Is This Heaven?

2011-09-30T15:32:00.000-05:00

If gas wasn't still hovering over $3.30 a gallon, I would have driven around for hours!

Wordless Thursday - Perfection.

2011-09-29T15:31:00.001-05:00

B vs. MRSA

2011-09-26T09:35:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday! I don't usually welcome the start of the workweek with such vigor, but I also don't usually spend my weekends in the hospital certain I'm dying.

Let me start from the beginning. This past weekend was uneventful, but the weekend before was one of the worst in recent history. It started the same as most: I was working late Thursday night like always, mentally prepping myself for my Friday and ready for the weekend, one that was meant to be spent getting my brake maintenance done and just generally relaxing. Instead, things went entirely downhill.

I had noticed that my eye was a bit swollen under my eyebrow, but figured it was just due to the ingrown hair I had scratched earlier. I thought nothing more of it until I woke up Friday morning with my eye swollen down into my eyelid, making it difficult to fully open. I got through to my doctor's office first thing, who informed me that I had a staph infection, and subsequently shot me up with antibiotics* and sent me home with two more. He said he was treating it aggressively given that the weekend was starting, but that it probably wouldn't be a big deal. He also told me that if it started to take a turn for the worse, to go immediately to the ER.

(*I am horrified to note that I fainted after the shot. They didn't warn me that I might feel a bit of a rush after the shot - in my butt I might add - and I went to stand out and passed out. This is the same doctor's office where I threw up on a nurse when I had rotavirus. Any suggestions for local PCPs are welcome LOL)

Anyhow, I took the rest of the day off, seeing as how I was still feeling a bit woozy, and went home to rest. The rest of the day passed by uneventfully compared to the morning, aside from the redness and pain in my eye causing a bit of an inconvenience. I was hopeful the antibiotics would kick in by morning, and so I called it an early night and hoped for the best!

Fast forward to 2AM, and I woke up with a raging fever and an eye that was swollen completely shut. Wanting to err on the side of caution for the sake of preserving my eyesight, I woke up David and together we carted all three of us off to the ER.

The one good thing about the ER at 2:30AM is that there isn't much of a wait. Instead, or perhaps because I looked like the hunchback and was scaring small children, they took me directly back. I'm the type of person who always wonders if they're overreacting, but I knew immediately I wasn't when they hooked me up to an IV, explaining that they'd be giving me a morphine drip for the pain (it was intense) and would be giving me three separate antibiotics over the course of several hours. I also had to be taken in for a CAT scan to make sure that only the eye socket and surrounding tissue were involved, and that my actual eyeball was not infected - an infection that could lead quickly to blindness. Holy scary! David took the baby home to rest, since they said I would likely be either admitted or there at least until morning, and I got dosed up on all kinds of drugs. Note to self: do not update Facebook status on morphine, or take the chance your grandmother will be able to quote you as saying you're "high as a kite". Oops.

I'd love to say that's the end of the story, but it's not. Not even close. To make a long story a bit shorter, though, here's the abbreviated version. I was discharged around 9AM, sent home with painkillers and three new antibiotics, and went home to rest. I slept basically until 3:30pm, while D took Ava to a birthday party (what an angel!) on a mere few hours or sleep, but was woken up by intense nausea and a migraine so intense I could barely function. With the swelling in my eye increasing and the pain enough to make me scream, back to the ER we went, the entire time me telling David that I was certain the infection had spread to my brain and giving him instructions on Ava. I was THAT convinced I was going to die. It may be humorous now in retrospect, but I have never, ever, ever felt that bad in my entire life. Scary.

Once we were back at the ER, the news was grim, but the prognosis was good. I wasn't dying, I was just suffering from an intense and severe case of MRSA, the terrifying, antibiotic-resistant strain of staph that has circulated through the news for it's severity. Noting the increased swelling (which was the reason behind the intense pain in my head), the doctor on duty notified me that he'd be cutting into and draining the abscess on my eye in order to clean out the infection, and inserting antibiotic gauze that would have to be removed the following day, with a third trip to the ER. Super duper. They came in and gave me a shot of morphine, then inserted a liquid nerve block into my eye to do the procedure. It didn't take more than ten minutes, but nothing like "don't move, or I may end up sticking the needle into your eye" to make ten minutes feel like an eternity.

Though the worst was over, I then started to throw up repeatedly. Over, and over, and over. Mrs. D had come to be with me at the hospital so David and Ava could have a break for dinner and so I wouldn't have to be alone, and she then proceeded to drive me home, only for me to throw up in her car. Awesome. The weekend just kept on getting better.

I am happy to say that I'm better now, though it wasn't an easy journey. My future FIL had to come and stay with us to help out since I was completely out of commission, and we existed on take out and a slightly lesser version of clean for several days. Even now, I'm just starting to get my energy back, and the nausea didn't subside until they changed my antibiotics yet again.

The one thing I can say, though, is that Mondays are pretty damn awesome. Any day that's not spent in an ER or mentally preparing my will or one in which I'm able to find the energy to play with my daughter is now the best day ever!

My New Job (in Photos).

2011-09-23T14:36:00.000-05:00

My entire brood, out getting ice cream/sorbet at Amy's Ice Cream. People look at me like I'm crazy (or haven't quite mastered the art of birth control!)

Lunchtime fun!

Baby H:

Pals:

@ Storytime:

Burrrr:

Awww!

Jumpstreet!

2011-09-22T09:27:00.000-05:00

We recently tried out a new place that opened up in Cedar Park (eh, not really Cedar Park, but really right next to Lakeline in super NW Austin). Anyhow, I didn't have the best expectations going in, because to be honest, it's pretty pricey for the older kids (it's done by the hour for those that are tweens and teens, but we have a long time before then!), but it. was. awesome. Seriously! I had such a super fun time bouncing along with the kids, and everyone slept like a baby the entire way home and for hours afterwards!

The concept is this: it's like an inflatable world, except sub extra large trampolines for the bouncy houses, and put them against the walls and all kinds of angles and voila! Jump Street! One of the best parts is that for little ones, it's really inexpensive. It was $4 for the under 3 set and it was good for all day (though no re-entry, sadly). $4 all you can bounce! Definitely a steal, since many of the bounce houses start between $7 and $10 admission. Yowsa!

They also had some inflatable structures, including a steep slide with a huge (and terrifying) crocodile on it, as well as a bounce pit with a monkey theme. Ava didn't care too much for the bounce pit after the initial few jumps, but that slide? She just couldn't get enough! She just kept going up the stairs and down the slide, waving "hi!" to the crocodile everytime. So stinkin' cute. Seriously, the stairs are steep, the crocodile scary, the whole thing pretty dark, and the slide a lonnnng way down, and she loved it! My little thrill-seeker is afraid of nothing!

Check out some pictures from our visit:

Wordless Wednesday - Versatility.

2011-09-21T09:23:00.002-05:00

I can be rugged:

and I can be glamorous:

I can even be a bit of a hipster:

One Lonnnnng Weekend.

2011-09-15T08:51:00.000-05:00

As you'll remember, this past weekend I had S & P for the entire weekend at their house while their parents were in Vegas! While it was a super fun time and I loved every second of having the girls and getting to spend time with them, I was TIRED! We did so much: we went to a birthday party at Kids N Play, we met up with some friends to swim at Westwood, we went to Central Market for dinner and to play on the playground, we made numerous trips to Starbucks, went to Ramsay Park, and just had a great time hanging out playing games, playing in the backyard, and watching a movie. It was awesome, but even A was exhausted.

Check out all the fun we had:

Wordless Wednesday - Checking Email.

2011-09-14T08:59:00.000-05:00

Ava's 2nd Birthday Party Ideas.

2011-09-13T08:05:00.000-05:00

Sure, it's early. OK, it's exceptionally early. But my time these days and in the forseeable future is limited, so I take my planning and ordering time where I can find it, and that was last weekend. Here is what I have up my sleeve for Ava's second birthday:

Thoughts?

As for a cake (which may not have to be vegan this year!!!!!!), all ideas/resources/cake pan URLs welcome - same with party favors and decor ideas!

Catching Up.

2011-09-11T12:59:00.000-05:00

I've been a bad blogger lately. Forgive me?

Let's see - what's been keeping me away? First, my new job. I have yet to start full-time (that begins tomorrow - yikes!), but I've still been rounding out about 25 hours a week with four kids, and if you don't know from personal experience, that's a LOT. Add in my second job, the writing I am attempting to keep up with and failing miserably, and my 'round-the-clock gig as Little A's mama, and I'm not making excuses when I say that blogging has taken a backseat to attempting to preserve my sanity.

Also, I've now been at work for the past 53 straight hours, as I worked Friday, and then went directly to pick up the girls from school and have had a two-night sleepover with them while the D's are in Vegas. I'm definitely not complaining, seeing as how I miss their faces terribly every day that I'm not here, but it's definitely keeping me on my toes.

What else is new...hmmmm. Oh yeah, if you missed my post yesterday, we let Ava have a piece of pizza (two, actually, but I didn't want to call her out!), and she hasn't reacted. HALLELUJAH. There is hope.

One big piece of news from last week is that I finally, after years of debating, purchased a MacBook Pro. Woot! I'm a straight up Dell hater, especially seeing as how mine was only months old when it started seriously underperforming, and I've been wanting to make the switch to Apple for a long, long time. And now, finally, at long last, I have. Side note: What apps do you have for your MacBook that you'd recommend? I got a $100 App Store credit, and other than iTunes, have no idea what to do with it :) Suggestions welcome and appreciated!

Alright - that's all the free time I have until the D's return later this afternoon, and then I'll surely be planting my tired booty on the couch in my PJs and watching TV to try to zone myself into a zen state of mind before I start my 52-hour workweek. Woosaahhhhhhh.

Ava's First...

2011-09-10T12:45:00.002-05:00

...piece of pizza!

WHAT WHAT!

So, as you all know by now, Ava has been fighting a long battle with a total dairy intolerance. The allergist we saw said it wasn't a true allergy and that she should outgrow it by three, but no luck so far. That is, until now.

I'm at the D's all weekend, watching the girls while they try their luck in Vegas, so we ordered pizza for an easy dinner last night. Not wanting Ava to feel left out and wanting to test and see, we offered her a piece of pizza and crossed our fingers! Not only has she not reacted yet - about 20 hours later, but she also loved it SO much she ate two pieces! Wowsa!

Let's hope that she doesn't react and we're looking at the end of her dairy intolerance and the beginning of a whole new world of foods she can eat!!!!

Wordless Wednesday - God Bless Austin.

2011-09-07T19:12:00.000-05:00

Texas Bloggers Fire Relief Efforts

2011-09-05T13:58:00.004-05:00

As you all know, I live in Austin. Central Texas has been my home - and the love of my life - for thirteen years now. It's where I had my first kiss, where I went to college (hook 'em!) and found myself, where I bought my first home, and where I fell in love, got engaged and brought Ava into this world. And now, in the most gut-wrenching turn of events, it is burning.

We have been fortunate so far to have been spared by the fires in the past 24 hours, but there are many - thousands, even - who have been displaced, both temporarily and permanently. Hundreds in Bastrop alone have lost their homes and all that they hold dear, and no longer have a place to lay their heads or raise their babies.

Because we're so fortunate as to have been spared, we have to do anything and everything we can to help.

As such, please grab the button to the side (at the top) to promote awareness of relief efforts that myself and a wonderful group of local Austin (and surrounding Central Texas areas) bloggers are spearheading to contribute to the relief efforts started by the Red Cross.

You can go here to donate to the Central Texas chapter of the American Red Cross, and a link to other ways you can help can be found here. More information to come as we throw it together. A special thanks to the beautiful and kindhearted Missy at Wonder, Friend for this heartwarming idea!

As for any locals tuning in, next Sunday's Austin Family Brunch, hosted by LiveMom, will be serving as a benefit/donation drive for disaster relief efforts. You can find out more about the event, taking place at Joe's Place on E. MLK, by clicking here

To link up and spread the word, join us below!

Wordless Wednesday - "Toes?"

2011-08-31T07:58:00.002-05:00

(Note: The more appropriate title would have been, "Toesh?" A is at that adorable age where s's are frequently followed by h's...ie: yesh. I LOVE IT!)

Bye-Bye, Bar Stools!

2011-08-30T07:01:00.000-05:00

Whereas I rejoiced in the loss of our futon, I'm not quite as happy about our temporarily having to move the bar stools out of the dining room. Here's why:

Housekeeping? Housekeeeeeping!

2011-08-26T07:12:00.000-05:00

I've been MIA this week as I have been attempting to adjust to my new job(s). So far, one word can sum the experience up: exhausting.

For those who didn't know, my three-year gig as S & P's full-time nanny (which, for the past two years has really amounted to 25-30 hours - awesomesauce!)came to an end last Thursday, with the girls both starting school full-time Monday. Wah. Needless to say, it was a weepy weekend. Anyhow, now - since I can't stay at home :( - I've started as a nanny for a new family that I've known through D's work. I'm working forty hours a week with a 5-year-old boy, W, a three-year-old boy, R, and a ten-week-old baby girl, H. Oh, and Ava, obvs. Anyhow, needless to say, it's chaos. I've been attempting to get into a routine during my first week, but really it's more a survival game currently. If I can get through the day with all four kids alive and accounted for without checking myself into a mental facility at the end of the day, I've done my job and I've done it well. Ok, ok, that may be a slight exaggeration, but really, unless you've spent your days with four kids five and under, you can't possibly know.

That alone I could handle, but not wanting to say goodbye to my girlies, I'm still working T and Th late afternoon into the evening with S & P. Ava called S "sissa" before she could say her actual name, and even S - who is about to be five - will tell you that Ava is her sister. Aww. Anyway, it was important to me not only for my sake, but for Ava's, to stay on with them for those 12+ hour a week.

For you non-math genuises out there (ahem, me), that's a whopping 52 hours a week.

As such, my writing has become almost nonexistent. I'm so, so tired at the end of the day already, and this is my FIRST. WEEK. Holy hell. What's worse is that Thursday is going to be really rough each week, with me working 8:00 - 2:30 and then going straight to pick up S and go to the D's until 11. FIFTEEN HOURS, Y'ALL. Every Thursday. Eek.

Anyways, enough whining. I'm fortunate that the income amounts to a big raise, more or less, but it's still a lot to handle. I would've gladly stayed with the D's making less for less hours, um, forever. But I'm attempting to take full advantage of it and using the extra money to fund Ava's fall and spring gymnastics classes, which start Monday :D

What else is new? Hmm...oh, re: America's Supernanny. They want someone who is at least thirty. Lame.

Also, in a fit of productivity, I bought Ava's second birthday party decorations. Y'ALL. My baby will be two in four months! WTF.

What do you think?

Last but not least, let's talk potty training. So, I had mentioned a couple months ago that I was wanting to potty train Ava since she seemed ready. Well, I put that on hold pretty quick when we booked our trip to CA, since nothing big like that should be done before a big break in the routine. Now that we're back, though, I've been following her lead and waiting for another sign she's ready. Well, she gave it to me yesterday, when I dug out and assembled this beauty (and by beauty, I mean eyesore):

Ava had become obsessed with coming into the bathroom and helping me wipe and flush, so I took that opportunity and ran with it. I put her on the potty chair three times yesterday, and all three times she went teetee (it just sounds weird to ask a small child if they need to peepee, so teetee it is!)! AND, she wiped afterwards! SO adorable! We've been rewarding her with sweetarts because she loves them and can't have M&M's. Then, today we took the portable potty seat with us to work and put it on their potty, and she went there too! YAY AVA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so proud of my big girl!

Alright, off to round out the last 3.5 hours of this day and attempt to get these kids to sleep so I can have some semblance of "me" time. Ha!

Valuable Lessons.

2011-08-25T06:06:00.000-05:00

Look what Ava learned this morning:

F.

Look what else Ava learned today:

They balance each other out, right?

Wordless Wednesday - We're Real Adults Now!

2011-08-24T07:30:00.000-05:00

Buh-bye, futon. I won't miss you at all.

When One Door Closes...

2011-08-19T14:49:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my final day as the D's full-time nanny. Friends, my heart hurts. So, so much. But, since I'm not yet in a place where I can even talk about how hard it is for me to say goodbye to being with the girls everyday and being an integral part of their upbringing, I'm choosing to turn my attention to something different, instead: what's next.

As you all know, I've taken a job as a full-time nanny to a new family. What you also likely know is that I'm super dreading it. I know that sounds awful, but I've had a pretty sweet deal the past few years, and will be going from two basically self-sufficient little ladies, to now a two-month-old, a three-year-old, a five-year-old, and Ava. Yowsa!

Anyhow, I was approached about something, and I've decided to pursue it, if for no other reason than the timing is right, and I've had long shots work out by taking a leap of faith in the past, so why not at least try?

Anyhow, on to the news portion of this post! A great friend of mine lives in L.A. and works as a production assistant on several different shows. Normally, all this means for me is that I'm stuck missing him the 97% of the year he's in California (and I do miss you terribly, darling!). This week, however, that means something else for me. He's brought to my attention the fact that a network is currently casting for "America's Supernanny" to take the place of Jo Frost and her British-born self, and he's recommended me to his friend in the casting department. That's right, folks. I'm throwing my hat in to the ring for this opportunity.

Now, 99.9% of me says that this will turn out to be nothing. But that .1% chance of this taking me somewhere I never would have expected has been right in the past (my NYC gig), so I figured why not? It's almost the exact same time of year (just five yaers later!), same situation with my job, and when opportunities like this come knocking, you open the door.

I'll keep you all posted :D

A Mom I'd Like to Know.

2011-08-19T07:28:00.000-05:00

Fellow mamas, here's a lady I hope that more and more of the population can be like. This story warmed my heart <3

A Day in New Braunfels.

2011-08-18T08:27:00.006-05:00

Tuesday I had the awesome opportunity to take the gals down to New Braunfels to spend the day. We left at 9AM, and headed straight for the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, located midway between New Braunfels and San Antonio. It was AMAZING. Seriously, it far surpassed by expectations. I could tell you all about it, but why not see for yourself!

This sign made me crack up:

You learn something new everyday:

Ava thought the zebras were hysterical:

So, that little item on the ground behind us? That's our Kai-Lan book. Oops.

Afterwards, in case that wasn't enough for a full day of fun, we headed over to the New Braunfels Children's Museum (aka McKenna Children's Museum). Austin has an awesome Children's Museum - don't get me wrong - but this one was EVEN BETTER! I will definitely be going back!

(As an amusing side note, when Ava was "grocery shopping", she bypassed the dairy section entirely! haha)

Geez. I'm tired just looking at these again! Hope everyone else is having as fun of a week!

Wordless Wednesday - Yum!

2011-08-17T08:25:00.000-05:00

My Wedding Shoes!

2011-08-16T07:53:00.000-05:00

Last week, in the midst of my productive frenzy, I found my wedding shoes!! In my defense, I kind of had to! My dress came in six weeks early and I needed to have my shoes to take to my fitting!!!!!! AHHHHHHHH!

Anyhow, here they are!

I know those last two pictures really suck. The full length was in the room where Ava was napping, and so instead of having decent lighting, I was trying to balance in 4.5" heels while trying to hold the blinds with one hand and the camera in the other. FAIL.

The pictures don't do them justice - I LOVE them! Simple, elegant and yet with a bit of flair!

Ava's First Haircut!

2011-08-15T08:18:00.000-05:00

5th Annual Ice Cream Festival at Waterloo Park: Saturday, August 13

2011-08-12T07:24:00.000-05:00

I feel a bit silly wanting to go to this festival (since as we all know, Ava can't have ice cream), but I definitely wanted to share with my loyal readers in Austin and the surrounding areas because, well, it's FREE ICE CREAM! WOOT!

Anyhow, here are the details on tomorrow's 5th annual Ice Cream Festival in Austin's lovely Waterloo Park, taking place for 10AM - 7PM.

Not only does it promise to be a delicious time, but there are many children's activities, games and live entertainment, as well as concessions that go to support local charities. How can you say no to eating ice cream for a good cause? Dogs are welcome also!

Hope to see you out there! Let me know if you want to meet up and say hi :)

Traveling With a Toddler On A Plane: Our Story.

2011-08-11T09:40:00.000-05:00

Things started off well enough. We were seated next to this very kind businesswoman who was happy to skip out on our aisle for an upgrade that she could charge to her employer, leaving Ava with her own seat. We were thankful for this, and excited about having the entire row to ourselves. That is, until we realized that the extra space made Ava feel stir crazy (surely the fact that our plane took off at nearly 6PM Texas time and landed at 10 had more to do with it...)

She initially read her Dora books, of which we had plenty! We seriously bought out the Dora section of our local Half Price Books so she would have new and novel Dora things to keep her attention.

When that inevitably lost her interest, we searched and searched for Dora on the seatback TV's (thank God for JetBlue!) to no avail, and only could find super crap shows like Spongebob. NO. FREAKING. WAY. Never fear, though...we're resourceful. We turned to Animal Planet instead and caught a show all about dogs - Ava's idea of heaven!

When the show ended, we took some time to just stare out the window. That may not sound awesome as an adult, but for a kid at 35,000+ feet? Bliss.

We played a bit of musical seats...

Try as I might to get her to lounge on one of our laps, she preferred the floor. Whatever. I'm not the type of mom to care or fight pointless battles. She wasn't hurting anyone, so lie on the floor to your little heart's content, Ava.

Figuring she was likely getting tired, we changed her into her pajamas, which seemed to give her her second wind. Of course. She then played peekaboo with the woman behind us. Thankfully, A's adorable and the woman fell for her charms - whew!

Starting to get tired again - a feeling that rounded out the remainder of our flight, and thankfully led to her passing out in the car on the 15-minute drive home from the airport.

All buckled up for our final descent!

Sure, it didn't go as well as our flight out did, but that's due mainly to the time of day (we left at 8AM our time - perfection - she even napped!). To keep her busy and keep her from getting restless, I recommend many, many different toys, a mix of new stuff and old favorites, as well as something that will prove slightly challenging, but not enough so to make them freak out - for us, that was the sewing cards. Also, SNACKS. We went through a ton of snacks, though she just wanted a few of each thing. I'm so glad we brought so many. We also brought a ton of candy with us (dum dums, smarties) so that in case the worse happened and she was inconsolable, we could bribe her. Thankfully, we didn't open a single one! Woohoo!

Wednesday Nostalgia.

2011-08-10T14:30:00.002-05:00

I've been on a serious cleaning and organization spree lately. Seriously, I've crossed more off my never-ending to do list in the past four days than the past four weeks or more! Wowsa.

While cleaning out and putting away Ava's baby clothes and toys earlier today, I came across a large peacock feather. Ok, no big deal, right? We've only been to the "Peacock Park" - aka Mayfield Park - many, many times. But it gave me a chill to see it. I remember the day that we found it and brought it home. Ava was only a couple of months old, and I had taken her to Mayfield for the first time and had both girls in tow. I was so touched that they found it and yet let Ava have it - it was so symbolic of their general nature towards her, and so I kept it.

In a little over seven and a half months, we'll be married in that park.

It makes me a bit emotional to think that before Ava was even thought of, and during my pregnancy with her, and than many times in her little life we've tread on the ground that will be the very place we say our vows to one another.

Peacocks really are magical.

Wordless Wednesday - Naptime with Puppy

2011-08-09T22:05:00.002-05:00

Tea Party (And I Don't Mean The Crazy Political Kind...)

2011-08-09T08:49:00.003-05:00

I am the proud parent of an exceptionally girly girl, y'all. In fact, on the cusp of a nervous breakdown Saturday morning after a day and half straight of unexplained misbehavior and tantrums, I loaded A up into the car to get us out of the house and save our sanity! The result? Tutus, dress-up princess shoes, and a tea set. Here's how the afternoon went:

TGIF.

2011-08-05T20:34:00.002-05:00

First things first, TGIF. Ava is being a serious BUTTHEAD - today has probably been the worst behavior she's ever exhibited, all for no apparent reason. Perhaps two year molars?

Thankfully, she's cute enough to save herself. Take for example at bedtime tonight. Ava, for whatever reason, will only take her pink pacis now. UGH. In case that's not a huge pain in the ass. Anyways, she loves the pink ones so much that she's started to chew through the nipple of them, and so I can't let her sleep with them in her mouth for fear that she'll bite through it and choke. Anywho, we switch them out once she's either asleep, or it is dark enough she won't notice. Tonight, I had done just that, when Ava pulls her paci out and puts it up close to her eyes.

"Ba?" (that's what she calls her bink) "Ba???" "Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba" (with increasing hysterics). "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" (for blue - she realized I had swapped hers for a blue one - apparently a cardinal sin!)

Hahaha. She's too smart for her own good (and for my sanity!).

Keeping A Busy on the Plane: Idea #1

2011-08-05T08:31:00.000-05:00

Learning to "sew" via lacing cards. Ava ATE. THIS. UP. Seriously, she was bound and determined to master this technique before we landed, and more or less, she did. Great, great, great investment for traveling (and days when mama needs to chill out!)

California Trip - 2011

2011-08-04T14:58:00.007-05:00

I'm lacking for words, since I'm not feeling at my best and still had to go to the optometrist this morning and then work a nine hour day that still has six hours left on it, but here's a photo bomb recap of our vacation trip! Full post on advice for flying with a toddler forthcoming another day :) Enjoy!

Day 1: Arriving, and relaxing

Post-travel family pic (excuse the tired looks)..

Riding a big girl trike! What a big girl!

Playing with aunts and cousins!

Day 2: Cover's Apple Ranch and Down Time

Fun times at Cover's Apple Ranch and Petting Zoo (though super disappointed the train was down!)

Day 3: Pinecrest Lake

One very full car (1 of 3!) en route to Pinecrest

Welcome to Pinecrest Beach

Ava's major lifevest. No one was going to drown on this mom's watch:

Ava & G-pa!

Papa-paparazzi:

Shocked she would go in the COLD water!

Floating with mama :)

The gorgeous scenery that is Pinecrest Lake:

Day 4: Home again...

Our big family pic, with the three of us, Ava's three aunts (my baby sisters), and my grandparents:

Headed home!

Ava LOVES planes!

I'm Baaaaaaaaaack!

2011-08-04T09:30:00.002-05:00

..though still on a posting hiatus, thanks to the summertime sickness that's overtaken my household. Bleh.

I'll be back soon - hopefully tomorrow - to give a vacation rundown, including super cute pics of Ava being...well, super cute, and some tips on flying with a toddler! Hope everyone has had a great week!

Guest Post: Footloose in Zilker Park

2011-07-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's been three days since I attended Austin's 53rd Annual Zilker Summer Musical and I'm still singing, "Everybody cut, everybody cut!" The energetic production of Footloose at the Sheffield Hillside Theatre in Zilker Park was so fun I had a hard time not jumping up and dancing along. But I have that problem whenever I hear '80s music. (When Toni Basil's "Hey Mickey" played over the speakers at intermission, I may have embarrassed myself a little, by singing too loudly). And this musical has three great '80s tunes: "Footloose," "Let's Hear it for the Boy," and "Almost Paradise."

Every year, I think the cast and crew of Zilker Summer Musical perform better than the last. For a play that is free to attend, the quality is amazing. Footloose boasts a talented cast with strong vocals. The live orchestra makes the performance even more enjoyable. And the choreography with big musical dance numbers seals the deal. It's a great way to spend an evening, relaxing on a blanket in the park, watching the sometimes poignant and often humorous tale of a troubled teenage boy unfold.

There are a few things you may want to consider before taking small children to the musical:

The play starts at approximately 8:30 p.m. and does not end until 10:45 p.m.

There is some violence - the main character's uncle hits him in the face and the teenage boys are always itching for a fight.

There is some innuendo - the main character says, "You make her horny" and two characters talk about doing "it."

There is quite a bit of talk about alcohol and drugs.

There is minor language - "He can kiss my butt"; "Where the hell where you?"; "Can I please kick his butt?"

Footloose plays Thursday through Sunday nights at Sheffield Hillside Theatre, across the street from Barton Springs, through August 13, 2011. The play is free but you may need $3 for parking and donations are accepted at intermission.

For more information, visit the Zilker Theatre Productions website.

Guest blogger Heidi Gollub loves exploring Austin with her four kids. You can find more of her adventures at Free Fun in Austin.

Guest Post: Top Things to Do in Austin

2011-07-29T07:45:00.001-05:00

Hi guys! I'm J from The Bee's Knees. I blog mostly about random things, with photos of my adorable Baby Butterbean thrown in here and there.

I was so excited when B asked me to guest post for her while she's out and about, but I had no idea what to write about! And then? It hit me! Last week I started a sort of project on my blog. It's my Big Texas To Do. A Texas bucket list, if you will. I realized I've lived in this wonderful state all of my life, and have hardly experienced any of it! Anywhoodles, since B and I share a love of Austin, I thought I'd share some of my Austin to do's with y'all! I picked my top three things for parents to do with and without their kids. Alright, I'll skip the long intro, and get down to the nitty gritty!

Mom and Dad Only
1)Live Texas Music at the Nutty Brown Cafe
Great food, great music, a great time. They have live Texas music (my favorite!) every weekend, and during the summer, an Austin radio station hosts the Free Texas Music Series on Wednesday nights. It's a free concert, y'all, from some of Texas' best artists! You gotta check it out!

2)Kayaking on Town Lake
Town Lake is absolutely gorgeous! There are many hiking and biking trails to enjoy, among many other activities along the lake, but honestly, the kayaking and rowing has to be the best. I've never done either, but I've heard it's so much fun! Plus, the view is gorgeous!

3)Watch the Bats Fly From Congress Bridge
Also found on Town Lake is something truly amazing. Every summer night, the largest urban bat population in the world leave their homes from under the Congress Bridge to go out for an evening fly. Now, this is obviously something you could do with the kids in tow, but it sounds incredibly romantic to me to spend a little time watching the bats, and then mosey on down to one of the amazing restaurants downtown for dinner with your honey!

Pure Family Fun
1)Zilker Park Kite Festival
America's oldest continuous kite festival, Zilker Park Kite festival was started in 1929. It's held the first weekend in March (weather permitting) and, here's the best part, it's free! There's a kite contest, as well as a kite making workshop. There are concessions and pets are welcome too!

2)Deep Eddy Pool
Deep Eddy Pool is the oldest man-made swimming pool in Texas. It started as a swimming hole in the Colorado river, and then became a resort in the 1920's. The pool is fed from a hand-dug well, and the temperature varies from 65-75 degrees and is opened year round. There's a wading pool for the kids, which is open March through October. During the summer, the pool hosts Splash Party Movie Nights, and shows family films on a screen visible by swimmers and waders. Plus? It's kinda pretty!

3)The Triangle Farmer's Market
The Triangle is Austin's largest mid-week market. It's open Wednesdays from 4-8pm. Their website boasts live music and splash pads for the kids. It's a part of the SFC Farmer's Market, which is a project of Sustainable Food Center (SFC), a local non-profit that "creates opportunities for individuals to make healthy food choices and to participate in a vibrant, local food system." Live music, homegrown food, and a splash pad? Count me in.

So, that's it guys, that's a few of my Austin to do's! So, if you're I. Austin, or if you're planning a trip here, definitely check out some, if not all, of these amazing places!

Guest Post: Fighting Off Your Preschoolers Summer Boredom

2011-07-28T08:00:00.001-05:00

I've been fortunate enough to have the lovely Emily Patterson from Primrose Preschools offer to guest post for me today, while I'm off enjoying the sunny California landscape with my extended family. Thank you, Emily!

With only a month or two left of summer, you're child probably feels like they have done everything so far this summer and undoubtedly utter those words that no parent wants to here: "I'm bored!" But with some imagination and planning ahead
by parents, you can be sure to fight off boredom for the rest of the summer months…and at the same time stimulation your child's learning process so that they don't lose what they have learned.

Studies show that without stimulation, children can lose up to 60 percent of what they learned during the school year. Primrose Schools, a family of 200 accredited private preschools, suggests the key to overcoming summertime boredom and the “brain drain” effect is to encourage imaginative play and have a plan in place to keep children engaged during the
summer months.

Summer is also a great time to encourage children to let their imaginations soar. School schedules can sometimes be demanding and time for less structured, imaginative activities is often scarce. The freedom of summer gives children large blocks of uninterrupted time to create projects of their own choosing that can last several days or even longer.

Here are a few ideas parents can use to keep young minds active:

1. Beat the Boredom Jar: At the beginning of the summer, sit down with your family and brainstorm a list of activities that can be done alone or that you can enjoy doing together. Encourage your children to share their own ideas
and help you decorate and label a simple jar as the family “Boredom Buster Jar.” They’ll feel more involved in the project and more likely to think this is a “neat” idea, if they participate in the creation and idea generation. Next, write everyone’s ideas down on slips of paper and as a group decide which ones should go in the jar. Anyone in the family can pull any idea out of the jar to fight the summertime boredom blues.

2. Stories Alive: It sounds too simple, but reading is one of the most important ways to keep young minds engaged during the summer. Make reading even more fun by finding ways to bring the stories to life. Read a book with your children and have them act out their own scenes that come from the book or create the world that the book lives
in.

3. Art Treasure Chest: You’ll need to gather basic art supplies–child safe scissors, glue, markers, tape, and construction paper. Put them in a special box along with empty oatmeal boxes and paper towel rolls, colorful magazines, and bits of aluminum foil. They’ll probably have some good ideas of other household items that can be recycled to fuel their creative energies.

4. Fort Building: Children love to build all kinds of structures--from small towns to large towers. Constructing forts or tents is an activity that can keep children focused and problem solving for hours. All the items you need can be found around the house–some chairs, cushions, blankets… and of course adult supervision.

5. Cookbook Fun: Have you ever shared your favorite cookbook with your children? Take it out and ask your children to choose a recipe to try. Measuring can be a fun and easy way to keep math skills fresh…and you can teach your children to make smart and healthy choices in the kitchen as well.

6. Listening Game: Lie down in the backyard, in the den or at the park and listen. What do you hear? Do you hear what I hear? Can you imitate the sound? This is similar to watching the clouds and naming the shapes, and it encourages everyone to slow down and focus on listening.

7. Camping Out: Pretend to campout in the backyard. Plan a meal, pack a backpack and set up a campsite. You might
even decide to spend the night!

8. Scavenger Hunt: Make a list or picture cards of common household items and have your children find the items on the list. You can do this just with your family or invite friends and neighbors to join to make it a competition.

Ultimately, we know every child is different, with different interests and learning styles so having a variety of ideas is a great way to be prepared during the summer months. Involving children in the planning of ideas gives them an opportunity to
express their individuality and creativity.

Parents can use this list of ideas as a starting point for summer activities that offer a balance between the freedom of child-initiated play time and more structured activities.

Wordless Wednesday - Tutus, Headbands and Heels.

2011-07-27T07:43:00.003-05:00

We're officially on a plane to California to see Ava's grandparents, great-grandparents (nana and papa), aunts, cousins and then some, but I've got some lovely ladies lined up to guest post for me while I'm gone. In the meantime, here's some Wordless (ish) Wednesday for you!

The Zilker Zephyr - A New Favorite.

2011-07-26T12:40:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, in a fit of pre-vacation fever, I decided to take the girls to Zilker Park to spend the morning playing on the playground. After Ava's first train ride on the 4th of July, she would wake up in the middle of the night yelling "choo choo!" excitedly, and has been obsessed with trains ever since, so we decided to take a ride on the Zilker Zephyr. It. Was. Awesome. Seriously, it goes around a lot of Zilker Park, including the Great Lawn and over Barton Springs and Town Lake, making for a fantastic view! I was worried that since the train ride is over 20 minutes that she would get antsy, but she was mesmerized:

S & P loved it also!

Sitting like a big girl!

Mama and Ava (excuse the tired-mom look I'm rockin'. It was not hair washing day lol)

Disappointed.

2011-07-24T13:34:00.003-05:00

There has been an incident in my area involving a breastfeeding mother being shamed and told she had to stop nursing her baby in a public place. I could tell you all about it, but seeing as how my post would reek of my own rage and personal bias over the incident, why not go check out what went down here.

Anyone else in Austin interested in a nurse-in? If you're not, would you be willing to send in a letter? Kim gives many great addresses and suggestions for doing so in her post.

Let's please help to educate those who are of small enough mind to still think of breastfeeding as disgraceful.

Ava Wants to Know...

2011-07-22T07:21:00.002-05:00

Does this Barbie couch make my butt look big?

Swingin'.

2011-07-21T11:38:00.003-05:00

My baby girl is practically a teenager!

Look:

And one more for the cuteness factor:

Wordless Wednesday - Pretty, Pretty Princess

2011-07-20T07:06:00.000-05:00

The Itsy Bitsy Spider...

2011-07-19T14:51:00.003-05:00

...bit me.

That's right, folks. I have fallen prey to a human-hungry, ferocious beast of a spider. Actually, I cannot confirm what type of spider bit me, since I didn't see or feel it, but I have the bite to prove it - not to mention the symptoms!

I noticed a little bite when changing into my swimsuit on Friday to take Ava to the Domain Splash Pad (oh yeah, there's the other embarassing thing. It's on my chest!). I noted to watch it, since I was bit by a brown recluse back in July 2007, so I am naturally nervous and overreactive about bites. Thankfully, I am, since sure enough, just like the first time, I was asymptomatic initially, with that dormant period giving way to a major migraine, fatigue, and generally not feeling well by Saturday evening. In fact, I was in bed by 7:30! That's a first!

Anyhow, despite having strange symptoms, the bite was not yet swollen or painful, so I continued to be watchful but uncertain of what was going on, at least until Sunday night when it became painful and swollen almost instantly. Off to the doctor first thing Monday I went...

It's definitely a spider bite, though he couldn't confirm that it was another brown recluse bite. Hopefully it's not, though it has definitely followed a similar trajectory to the experience I had three years ago. Fortunately and unfortunately, the doctor didn't want to beat around the bush, and cut into the bite and drained it in his office, a procedure they did the first time in a hospital emergency room in the middle of the night when my arm started to turn black around the bite site. This time, though not as severe, was still a horrible experience, as I had Ava with me and she was screaming hysterically thinking we were at the doctor for her, and I didn't get the shot of lidocaine I got the last time. For as much as I make myself out to be a giant wuss when it comes to the dentist, I'm apparently a hoss when it comes to grinning and bearing it! I was sent home with antibiotics and pain meds, and that's where we're at now.

I'd love to tell you I'm feeling better, but it looks swollen and green-ish again today, so I'm feeling a bit worried, not to mention sore and tired. Oh, and I'm at work. Duh. Hopefully these antibiotics will kick in soon!

Fro Yo Cuteness.

2011-07-16T08:27:00.002-05:00

I'm starting to think this inability to eat dairy is not something she's going to grow out of. Thankfully, she LOVES sorbet!

Wordless Wednesday - Hot.

2011-07-13T07:59:00.000-05:00

A Birthday Party, A Craft Project & A Bout of Food Poisoning...

2011-07-12T07:59:00.004-05:00

Let's start with yesterday first, since that's more fun!

Yesterday was P's eighth birthday party at the super awesome, throwback-to-my-childhood Skate Center! Woot! Despite it coming on the heels of one lonnnnnng day, we went and took A with us, and I'm so glad we did! She obviously couldn't skate - they didn't even have skates in her size - but she had a great time making us chase her all over the rink, playing defense to her desire to skate. Fail. Other than that, though, she was great! And who could blame her for wanting to skate? I spent half the party in flashbacks to my childhood of backwards couple skating to Mariah Carey. Ahh, memories.

The rest of the day was pretty eventful as well, with Ava having gymnastics, me having to work, and a bunch of errands in store. Oh, and a meetup with my mom's group. Here was the fruit of our errand-running labors:

One of the cool things about being a nanny is that while most people are saying, "I wish they'd had that when I was a kid," I'm out there taking full advantage of these new ideas for kids. Case in point: Ceramics Bayou (a name it took me three full trips to finally get...oops!). It's one of those paint-your-own-pottery places that has popped up all around Austin in recent years, and I love it! Ava always lends me a hand (literally) for my projects, since that's about as creative as I get. I highly suggest checking out Ceramics Bayou if you're in the Austin area!

Now for the less fun news. Sunday night, we decided to use our Groupon to The Melting Pot. NIGHTMARE. Though the fact that my toddler was running amok the entire time (I didn't realize the meal would take HOURS!) had nothing to do with the restaurant - my bad - I did, unfortunately, get some pretty serious food poisoning. We're talking, I was sick before we even got home :((( Super sick. Ugh. I'm only just now feeling more like myself and less like a wisp of a person. To make matters worse, we didn't even get to eat together, since one of us was busy taking Ava outside to play while the other ate, AND we accidentally ran off without A's babydoll, Baby Sophie. Thankfully, D played the part of the White Knight and rescued her post-birthday party!

As to the food poisoning, I hate to sound bitter, but I don't think I can ever set food inside there again. I adhered strictly to the cooking times, and yet still ended up as sick as I'd ever been, and I'm guessing it was the shrimp. In that way, it was actually a blessing in disguise that Ava was being Satan's toddler, since she normally eats off of my plate. The only thing worse than a violently ill mommy would have been a violently ill Ava. It pains me to even think about it!

Either way, it's passed now. I'm feeling well enough to drink coffee (thank God, since I could've used it yesterday!), so that's a big plus, and today is a new day!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Travel Tips for Toddlers?

2011-07-09T20:26:00.002-05:00

It's that time of year again. It's shaping up to be an annual tradition for us to take a quick summer vacation out to California to see my family each summer, and that trip will be taking place in just over two weeks. As such, I'm interested in any and all tips that may come in handy when traveling with a toddler, especially given that she will NOT have her own seat. Not to out myself as the cheapest person alive, but I just couldn't spare the extra $350 when she could technically still fly for free. Ask me how I feel about that decision after the trip, though.

Anyhow, I know I saw somewhere a great toy that clipped or suctioned to the airplane seat back trays and gave someone's child hours of fun. If the mama that posted that great invention is reading this (I cannot for the life of me remember who it was - sorry!), can you please let me in on the secret?

Other than that, what should I pack to take on the plane with me? What are things you packed that you didn't actually need, or things you wished you had? Any anyone with successful ideas on how to keep my extremely energetic and rambunctious toddler from going berserk will be handsomely rewarded...not sure with what yet, but I'll keep thinking on it ;)

Two weeks until vacation leaves just enough time to make a zillion Target trips and turn to Amazon for anything I can't find! Thanks, ladies!