Fall has Arrived!

This summer was surprisingly mild, with only a handful of days over 100 degrees and several major rainstorms to keep the drought that we had last year at bay.  And with the beginning of fall comes one of my favorite things...pumpkins.  :)

There happens to be a pumpkin patch that they set up at a church here in town at the beginning of October.  Yesterday it opened, and with it a wonderful photographic opportunity for munchkin!  This year I am so excited that he is going to be able to enjoy it more than he did last year (he was busy learning to walk last year at this time--both a happy and sad time for me!!).  He already picked out a costume (well, pointed and kept saying "rooster" as we walked by the costumes in the store), and tho we won't be going trick-or-treating, he'll get to dress up and be his silly self.  :)  Needless to say, I can't wait to see him!!

After finding out that the pumpkin patch was set up and open, I decided to take Z out there after his nap while everyone was at work or school.  Clothes that I was sure were too big for him suddenly fit, and I found a pair of overalls that I have adored since he was tiny that was perfect for the pictures I wanted to take.  All dressed and ready to go, I packed up little man and off we went to the land o' pumpkins!

As my little guy has gotten older, he has realized what a camera is.  He also knows that I want him to look at it...and has lately decided to look every where EXCEPT the camera!  So I spend a lot of time snapping pictures of him looking off to the left or right, up or down, and sometimes I will be lucky to catch a smile at me. :)  I am hoping that he outgrows this unfortunate habit, but--in my opinion--he's adorable no matter what angle I get of his super cute face!

We had a lot of cars driving by, and so he felt compelled to wave at a lot of them.  :)  My super friendly baby!

Now...I can't wait for him and his Halloween costume! 

Monday Madness!!

I don't know about the rest of the world, but Daylight Savings Time has really screwed up all things sleep in this house.  The teething troubles continue, and are just compounding the loss of an hour.  Little guy doesn't realize that time has changed, and wants to stay on his normal nap schedule, which is now not possible.  So for the last two days he has not had his afternoon nap because he feels the time that I want him to go down is too early, and the time that he wants to go down is too late.  *sigh* At night he doesn't want to be by himself anymore, and can't seem to find a comfy spot--meaning hubby is up with him most of the night.  This is all adding up to a very tired bunch of people--and me not wanting to do any training for the 5k hubby and I are doing in two weeks.

Otherwise, I am trying to keep up with what I have on my plate.  I am trying to plan a super secret date for hubby and I, and a new format for this blog.  Each day will have a certain topic, and will follow that every week.  At least, that is the plan.  I tend to not stick to plans all the time, so just fair warning!

But for now, I need to get back to an unhappy toddler that is trying to take over my computer...

Teething terrors

My poor little guy is going thru a rough patch. Teething time is torture time in this house...at least, this time it is. He's sprouting two teeth right now, and it looks like a molar is trying to make its appearance as well. Of course, none of the treatments that we have used before are working this time, and he is miserable. Refusing naps, bad diapers, constant screaming, biting, lower appetite...I wish that there is more that I could do for him. *sigh* For now, all I can do is give him his teething rings, teething tablets, and Tylenol.
I am looking forward to this phase being over! That and him being able to tell me what is wrong.
Then again, I do love having him as he is now...I wish he wouldn't grow up so fast!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Catching Up

I had every intention to keep at blogging from when I wrote my first post, but life had other plans for me!  No matter, I am back.  :)

Now, the past few months have been SUPER busy.  Mostly with moving, followed immediately by little man's first birthday party, and then some health issues that I had to deal with.  Moving is done (completely unpacked!!), the party is over, and I am on track with my new diagnosis--and feeling better than ever.  So much so that hubby and I have signed up for not one, but TWO 5k events!!

Z's first birthday was wonderful, but extremely stressful.  Thanks to Pinterest, I was feeling like the most uncreative mommy on the face of the planet, not to mention lazy.  I mean, I am a SAHM, so I should be able to do all of that, right??  Mind you, I did not live up to the party I modeled after, but I did go for the "Winter One-derland" theme.  I am still very proud of what I DID do, and I will share a few pictures of my creations.

Me with one of the two food tables.

The Picture Tree

Marshmallow Snowmen (found here)

Snowman Nutter Butters

Revamped S'mores

Z's first birthday portrait and some of the food labels

Food labels

One table of food, mostly done

Cupcakes, round two (my batch failed)

Second table of food (mostly done)

Finished first table

Birthday boy eating his cupcake!

I made 17 dishes, 5 were gluten-free (we had some guests that have Celiacs, and I really didn't want them to feel left out), and I had to buy the cupcakes.  I had planned on making some awesome sounding blue velvet cupcakes in these cute snowman paper wrappers that made them look like they were melting snowmen.  However, they flopped big time, and I was rushing to the store at 10pm the night before the party, buying 6 dozen mini cupcakes since that was all they had.  I hadn't planned on making so much food, but there were three main issues:  (1) I had people that had specific dietary needs, and had to make food that they would be able to eat,  (2) I wanted to make sure that there was a balance of savory foods and sweet foods, and (3) we had invited 70+ people to this party, and not very many people RSVP'ed like they were supposed to (meaning I had NO CLUE how many were going to show!).  In the end, we had 30-35 people come, plenty of food, and a very happy (and very tired, once it was over) toddler! :)

After breathing a sigh of relief that the party headache was over (technically four migraines), I launched my never-ending quest to figure out how to make my life healthier and rid myself of prescription meds--and be done with pain.  I'm obviously not getting any younger, and soon we are going to want to start trying for another kiddo.  I won't do that while on prescription meds, as it scares me to go thru pregnancy again and running the risk of hurting our future child.  Now, because we were having guests at the party that were gluten free, I wanted to make sure when I was making the food that I was doing it correctly.  I started researching what gluten free meant, why people would want to take gluten out of their diet, and how to prepare food without gluten while still having it taste good.  It was rather interesting reading, and I noticed that a LOT of the symptoms of gluten intolerance/sensitivity were problems that I had.  I emailed my doctor right off, and she said that it would be worth checking out.  A few days later my little guy had an appointment, and I piggy backed to get a blood test done (we have the same doctor).  I was very eager to get the results, but all it said was it wasn't Celiacs.  But I had already decided to go gluten free (GF), and had been for a week.  Already I was feeling better, so it was decided by her that I was "non-Celiacs gluten intolerant." 

So now I am navigating the new waters of a lifestyle without gluten.  It isn't always easy, and I will say I get frustrated at times.  But I can't deny that there has been a major change in how I feel.  I am no longer on fibromyalgia medications.  I can walk without the pain that I had come to expect, just a feeling of normal.  I don't dread getting out of bed in the morning, or wondering how I am going to keep up with my child.  Instead, hubby and I are getting back in shape, have registered for two different 5k's, and I am a LOT more active than I used to be! Plus, I plan on sharing my favorite recipes, the ones I fail at making, and anything else that comes to mind.  :)

Happy Tuesday!!

Hello! My Name is...

Hello!  My name is...Jennifer.  Or Jen.  Or Jeni.  Just depends on how long you've known me...different times, different nicknames.  The newest addition to my list of names is "Mommy," and is, in my opinion, the best name yet.  :)

I am a stay at home mommy to a sweet little boy.  He's my miracle baby--I was told plenty of times that I wouldn't be able to have children.  But lo and behold, on my wedding night to my eHarmony soul mate, along came my darling son.  And life hasn't been the same (happily!!) since! Here's how it all started....

In a previous life, I was a busy career woman.  I had plans to become someone that my old job couldn't live without.  I worked for a university police department in emergency management, and on the side I taught freshman students about personal saftey and sexual assault on campus.  I loved what I did, and I did it well.  However, I was also going to school to finish my degree (that I had been working on finishing for 13 years), and I decided to intern with my job instead of work.  My soon-to-be hubby (at the time) was able to support the two of us while I was finishing up, and at the end of the semester (spring 2010) I graduated with my BAAS with specialties in Psychology, Sociology, and Social Work.  Five days later my hubby and I were married (which was five months after we had been matched on eHarmony).  :) 

Both hubby and I got to be really busy the next five weeks.  I can't remember for the life of me all that I was doing, but I know that I was tired and grumpy and not feeling my best.  A few days before we took a road trip to Colorado for some family camping, I did the mental math....and rushed to the drug store for pregnancy tests.  Six positive tests later, there was no way I was going to be sleeping until I talked to the doctor! 

I was a high risk pregnancy due to medical conditions, and spent a lot of time in bed.  For the first time in my life I was able to gain weight...and did so to the tune of 65lbs!  Now, in my defense, I was 100lbs to start with, so I had some gaining to do.  The bonus of being deemed high risk is that you get a ton of sonograms--most are 3D!  We got to see our little man well before he got here, and the debates raged on who he looked like, what features come from which side, and just how adorable he was already. :)

Fast forward to the end--we induced a week early (I had thrown out my hip), but had to have an emergency c-section because neither the baby or I were tolerating labor.  It was scary, and even worse when they had to take my son to another hospital because they didn't have a NICU at the hospital where I delivered.  I was discharged from the hospital only 30 hours after my c-section (pump being carried over my shoulder, no less) since they wouldn't transfer me to the new hospital--bloody insurance.  Grrr.  Still mad about that!!  In the end of it all, even tho the doctors thought that my baby would be in the NICU for four to six months, he was out in nine days.  My little trouper!!

Now, he's a whopping 11 months old, hit every milestone on or before the time, and is healthy as could be.  Me, I am a super proud mommy!!  Now that we have moved to a new city and life is finally settling down, I've made the decision to blog about our life, our adventures in parenting, and my journey to being a super mom and domestic goddess!!  Welcome to our (crazy) home!!