TINaciousPhoto.com

On Melayna’s first birthday, Tristan stayed with Grandpa while Melayna got Mommy and Daddy all to herself.  We took her to see Coleen Swanson, a very talented photographer here in Colorado Springs.  I first met Coleen almost two years ago when my company hired her to do some event work.  Since then, she’s been to numerous events of ours taking pictures.  I love photography and seeing her work really inspired me to take my photography to the next level (DSLR, instead of point and shoots). 

 

I really didn’t know what to expect, but we came prepared with several outfits, including a homemade tutu, and a small cake for Melayna to dig into during the session.  We must have changed her five times during the session.  Coleen let us do what we liked and kept everything natural.  She would see Scott interact with Melayna and start taking pictures.  She valued our opinion and thoughts as well as suggest our own.  She was patient with our curious, active baby.  I was amazed at how easy the process was and how relaxing it was.  When Tristan turned one, we took him to one of the mall places (Sears, JCPenny’s, or some department store like that).  We waited and waited because they were running behind.  While Tristan was cute, he never smiled.  The pictures were too plain, too ordinary.  After our session with Coleen, we got to preview the SOOC shots and choose what we liked.  She took at least two hundred shots!  While I wish I could keep almost every one of them, we had to narrow it down.  I think we got it down to just over fifty.  Anyway, none of the shots were too plain or ordinary.  It was our little girl’s personality shot after shot.  Her cheesy grin when digging into the cake.  That trouble-maker shining through when she was doing something she really shouldn’t be doing.  Her curiosity seeking out something hidden.  And her persistence, always trying to go for what she’s after over and over again.

If you’re in Colorado Springs, or close by, and looking for a photographer that is personal and creative, I suggest meeting Coleen.  She doesn’t just do portraits of babies.  She does family sessions, senior photography, sensual photography, weddings, and more.  She’ll come to you where you want to shoot (the park, the mountains, your home, etc) or you can see her in her studio.  Either way, you’ll be impressed with what she does.  For a sample of her work, check out her site at TINaciousphoto.com. 

 

Here is a teaser photo she sent us after post processing work:

I♥Faces: Week 21

This week is birthday themed!

Here's my submission. This little beauty was celebrating her 2nd birthday. She, like any other youngster, decided to get a nice messy cake face going.
see all the other birthday faces at iheartfaces.blogspot.com

A Mother's Day Tribute

Let me tell you about a mother.

My mother.

This will be the third Mother's Day without her.

The first Mother's Day missed with her granddaughter.

My mother, just like everyone else in the world, was not perfect. But she was my mother. And I miss her.

A little over three years ago, she passed away. My son was only about two months old. My baby sister was just a few weeks old.

I cherish the moments I had with her - the good and the bad ones. I cherish the fact that I got to spend almost twenty-three years of my life with her.

I am sadden by the fact that my sister only got to spend the first three weeks of her life with my mother. I am sadden that my sister won't get to have moments just as I had. I could picture her doing all these things with her (hoping to do them better with her than with my brother and I - even though I believe she did the best job she could). She would be braiding her hair. Putting her in countless number of dresses and taking as many pictures as she could. She would be singing and dancing with her. My sister would be missing out on some of the important moments that mother and daughter share.

I am also sadden by the fact that my children are without their "Lola". They won't ever hear her infectious laughter. They won't ever get to listen to her sweet lullabies. They won't ever get to be smothered by her hugs and kisses.

I am happy that she got to enjoy being a grandmother, even for just a short amount of time. I am happy that she got to at least see my sister before passing away. I am happy to have had her for my mom.


Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful mothers out there!

My mother with Tristan (he was under a month old in this picture)
Me and my baby sister - she was about seven to eight months old here.My baby sister at her third birthday

26 years ago

I came into this crazy world. Yes, today is my birthday. Nothing thrilling. I don't dread it, yet I don't get all excited.

Tristan had a weekend of screaming every time he tried to go number 2, so instead of going to school he stayed with us. We took him to the doctor's and he was prescribed a laxative. Yay. Since we were on that end of town, we met up with my dad for lunch at Red Robin. Of course, I was subjected to the usual ritual of complete strangers singing an off rendition of happy birthday while I attempted to avoid stares from other patrons.

Other than lunch, not much else to report. My mother-in-law got me a really cool gift that I opened last weekend. A tote for my sewing machine (kind of like a suitcase on wheels but for a sewing machine) and a tackle organizer tote (I like to put notions in those lure and bait cases). Scott didn't get anything for me (except roses two days ago) because I spent my birthday money on a personal trainer almost two months ago (well worth it, I think).

Anyway, that's about it. Nothing special, just another day. Oh, and I got to take a nap in the middle of the day (peaceful, bliss - since both kids napped at the same time).

Christmas and New Years Rewind

Alright, so now that I have a few minutes to myself I can post about our holiday. (we'll see about that - the baby is going to wake up and I'm going to have to save this post for a later time)

So, I'm back to work. I went back the day before Christmas and I've been doing the 9 to 5 since (well actually my hours shift a little depending on when I go in, how long of a lunch I decide to take, and if I decide to stay late). I've been so busy that I haven't really had the opportunity to reflect back. Christmas eve the credit union closed early, which means I went home early, too. After heading home, feeding the baby, and giving Tristan something to sustain him for a bit, we headed to church for Christmas Eve service. We met up with my dad. Normally, at church, Tristan goes to the Sunday school classroom and Melayna stays home with Scott. However, since Scott was working and Sunday school was closed, we had to bring both kids to service. Fortunately, they have a separate area for parents of young children to go to. As nice as it was, Tristan still wouldn't sit still. I missed almost the entire service because I was chasing him around the foyer. I wasn't the only parent doing this, which didn't make me feel bad. I just wished I could have known what was being said at service.

Alright, so back at home, Kate comes over to drop off some gifts and hang out with the kids. Meanwhile, I get to baking and boiling eggs. I boiled about a dozen eggs

*Tristan wanted to play with the baby - so she woke her up - now back to our regularly scheduled program*

I boiled the eggs and made pumpkin pie. While everything was cooking/baking I got out everything I would need to make a huge breakfast for the family and cleaned up the kitchen and living room. The whole time I was preparing for Christmas morning, Scott was preparing also by putting together Tristan's new train table (it took him over two hours to put together).

Christmas morning we decided to sleep in. We covered the train table and put the gate up so Tristan would only have our room to go to. After waking us up, Scott heads out to the living room to get the camera ready to record his reaction. He didn't know what to think when he saw it. I'll post the video in a later post, so you can see his reaction.

So, after watching Tristan's initial reaction, I set off to baking. I started with the blueberry muffins. After that, I had everything else to make as family began to arrive. I made blueberry muffins, oven skillet fritatta, Scottish eggs, holiday french toast, and sausage. It was very, very yummy!

After breakfast, we opened our gifts. The kids got spoiled..a lot. Tristan got several puzzles, a cool viewfinder that makes animal sounds and tells you interesting facts, his train table, and tons of clothes (thanks Grandma!). Melayna got clothes, a few rattle/teething toys, a tummy-time mat, and a Winnie-the-Pooh plush. Now, I got spoiled, too. My dad got me a new camera (10.1 MP Fujifilm - not a DSLR - but this one's really nice), my mother-in-law got me a new desk chair (I've had mine since 2001!), Scott got me a Nintendo DS and two games, and I got two more games for it from friends. I didn't ask for all these things, but I'm grateful for them.

After Christmas, I've been mostly trying to get adjusted to my new schedule of working, picking up the kiddo, and so on. For New Year's, I went to sleep early and slept through the midnight celebration. Scott went to a friend's house to play board games and stayed out until 3am. Me...I slept. :)

2008 came and went by so quickly. There were some tough times, but of course we had some great times. Melayna was, of course, the highlight of my year.

By the way, if you'd like to see pictures from Christmas, I have them posted here.

Christmas Pics

Tristan and Grandpa enjoying the train table set

Tristan shortly after waking up to see his new train table

Grandma testing out her new Blue Tooth headset

Melayna on her tummy time mat

As Christmas approaches...

Tomorrow is my last day of maternity leave. My twelve weeks will be up. My first day back will be Christmas Eve day. Fortunately, it is a short day. Fortunately, I will still be able to go with my dad to the Christmas Eve service. Unfortunately, it'll be the first long stretch of time away from my children besides my work's Christmas party a few weekends back. I am dreading it. As much as I enjoy my work and being there, I want so much to be with my children. Tristan is growing up so fast. Melayna is getting so big and doing so much. Did I mention that she does mini crunches? She's lifting her head while lying on her back. It doesn't last long, but she's trying. She just wants to see the everything, especially her family.

Well, I probably won't have too much time to blog once I go back. But that's okay. I'll be busy spending the time I do have with the kiddos.

For Christmas, we started what looks like will be a new tradition last year. There isn't much family left. My dad, my mother-in-law, my brother, and us. Now, I have two uncles in town and Scott has one in California, but there are "situations" there that I'd rather not get too much into. Let's say that my uncles haven't always been the greatest and Scott's uncle was only recently found by his mother. So, our little family gets together at our place, albeit very small place (we only live in a two bedroom apartment), and I cook up a storm for a Christmas day brunch. We enjoy brunch and open gifts and just have a good time in general.

So, that is what the plan is. Instead of doing an all out dinner (since Thanksgiving was plenty), we do breakfast (or brunch or whatever you want to call it).

Here's what the menu will be (unless I change my mind):

• Holiday French Toast - I modified my usual French Toast recipe to include a few extra "holiday spices". The dipping batter is made up of eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. I also picked up a pretty neat trick from a friend: after you've cooked both sides on the skillet, put the slices (I use Texas Toast) on a baking sheet and put in the oven for about five minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  
• Blueberry Muffins - made from scratch of course. I was going to do my Cinnamon Surprise Muffins but blueberries are on sale! They are very delicious when made with fresh blueberries.
• Easy Oven Skillet Frittata. I found the recipe in a Kraft Foods magazine. It can be found here. I did this last year and it was a hit with the family.
• Bacon, sausage, and fruit on the side (I'm thinking raspberries and pineapples for fruit)
• Pumpkin pie (I just love pumpkin pie, so I couldn't resist)
  
• And I'm thinking of making these Cinnamon Rolls from The Pioneer Woman's site. They look oh so scrumptious. Only thing is the recipe makes like seven pans (its meant for gift giving). I guess I'll have to do some giving, huh?
  

My family learned well last year. They know that they should come hungry....very hungry. I guess that is one thing I took after my mother. The ability to over cook any occasion. My friends loved sleeping over at our house because my mother never let them go home hungry....never. We'd wake up to the sweet aroma of pancakes or french toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, or whatever. I guess that is why breakfast is my favorite meal of the day!

Tristan's Birthday Celebration

Since Tristan's birthday fell in the middle of the week, where everyone was working and not able to come by for a little get together we celebrated his birthday yesterday. Before that, though, we had an extra big surprise for him. We purchased tickets to the Sesame Street Live: Elmo Makes Music show. The show was this last Thursday (just two days after his actual birthday). While my friend watched Melayna, Scott and I took Tristan to see the show. I thought the show was wonderful. Very educational and entertaining. It had all the usual characters: Elmo, Count, Big Bird, Oscar, Grover, Baby Bear, Bert, Ernie, and more. The musical numbers were upbeat and usually had some sort of educational or meaningful thought to it. They created familiarity by starting with the opening song just like the show, having a number and letter of the day (which was "J" and "8", by the way), and even have Elmo's World (complete with the opening song, Mr. Noodle's brother - Mr. Noodle, Dorothy - his goldfish, and the closing song).
Despite Tristan's love for all things Sesame Street, especially Elmo, he just sat there. He sat in my lap most of the time (his seat became storage for my bag and our drinks), clutching onto Mr. Bear, his attachment object or lovey. Scott got this neat shot of him gazing at the stage. He very rarely said anything. Did I mention that we paid $100 to go to see the show? We were in the fifth row, but yes, we paid about $100 to go to the show.
By the way, they are great at marketing their products at the show. We avoided the concession stands going to our seats. Tristan barely noticed since there was too much going on around him. 'Perfect!', I thought. We don't have to spend gobs of money on marked up stuff. Oh, but wait! They had an intermission. What better time than to force parents into buying something for their kid to avoid a full blown tantrum? Just shortly after the start of intermission, a guy comes into the auditorium with fifty or more Elmo helium balloons! Great. Every child in the theater wanted one. We're out of cash, so we keep trying to tell Tristan he couldn't have one. Even the the kid on our left had one, the kid behind us had one, and the kid in front of us had one. I could see it happening, a tantrum in the works. And for what? An $8.00 balloon that will either a)pop b)fly in the air if he lets it go or c)deflate in just a few days. So, what did we do? In order to avoid a tantrum, during the long fifteen minute intermission, I took him to the concession stand and bought him an $8.00 penant (they accept credit cards there). Grrrr, they won! They successfully manipulated my son and me so that I spent even more money. *holds head down in shame* Regardless of my son's awe struck silence, he apparently enjoyed the show. He turned back to his normal jib-jabber self during intermission and immediately following the show.

Alright, so no birthday would be completely with cake and ice cream, right? So, Grandma, Grandpa, and a few friends came over to help us celebrate Tristan's 3rd birthday. I baked and decorated a cake, especially made with Tristan in mind. I also made a Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Cream Pie, too. My friend, Dani, shares her birthday with Tristan, but she isn't a fan of cake. So, I promised her this pie that I make sometimes, which she absolutely loves. Besides cake and pie and ice cream, the evening was complete with chicken garlic pizza and philly cheesesteak pizza from Papa Murphy's.

Tristan got some pretty awesome gifts. His own camera! (he loves taking pictures with mine, so Grandma got him a kid tough one). A DVD with four episodes of Word World from our friends (very thankful for because he loves that show but is usually down for a nap at that time). And Fisher Price Cool School (a keyboard and writing pad with educational software). Tristan got to open his gifts from us on his actual birthday. We got him a bunch of Word World toys - animals that are made of letters which pull apart, a fruit basket play dough set, and and aqua writer pad.

All of these gifts truly fit our son's likes and personality. He loved it all! Overall, I think he had a wonderful birthday. He was surrounded by friends and family. He received some wonderful gifts. And most of all, he had fun! Happy Birthday kiddo!

3 years ago...

Three years ago, you came into my life. Forty weeks of waiting. Forty weeks of anticipation. Then finally, you were here. I remember your cries, your baby soft skin, and your gaze. Three years ago, Tristan, you were born. You brought with you an insurmountable amount of joy in our lives. The first grandchild and our first born. You became my focus. You were what I worked to be better for. You changed my life.
Two years ago, you celebrated your first birthday. Not quite walking yet, but ever so ready, your big brown eyes and adorable dimples could melt anyone's heart. You weren't yet a jabber mouth, but rather quiet, observant, and reserved. Although, you could give the biggest belly laughs just for daddy! One year ago, you had your first "real" birthday party. You and the other kids enjoyed painting, making lollipops (they didn't really turn out that good), and decorating your very own cupcakes. You had grown so much and could speak so many words and sentences. You'd become the socialite, basking in the joy of friends, family, and caregivers.Today, you look so much more grown up than ever before. Your baby roundness has given way to a taller, slender boy. You are much more intentional with your words and sentences; you are so much more intelligent. Your favorites are animals, movies and PBS shows, art time, reading with Mommy, Mr. Bear, and chocolate milk. Above all, elephants are on the top of your favorites list. This year, you became a big brother. What a big brother you are! You love to hold her, give her a binky, and give her kisses and hugs. I am confident that you are growing into a great person. While you can be a pain sometimes, you still have a good heart and have lots of love to give. Just know that Mommy and Daddy love you with all our hearts and that we will always be there for you. While we are excited to see you grow and learn, we miss our little baby boy. Don't be in too much of a hurry to grow up, Bubbies! Love~Mommy

It's a bird, it's a plane,

...no, it's Super Why!

I wrote a bit about Super Why! back in this post - if you would like to know a little more about the show.

First off, Happy Halloween to everyone!

So, for Halloween, coming up with a costume idea for the baby was easy. Buy a bumblebee bunting costume from Target for less than $15. Have the baby wear it long enough for others to go "ooh" and "aww" because baby can't wear it in her car seat. Then have the baby wear a cute "My 1st Halloween" sleeper for the remainder of the day.

For a very picky toddler, we have a completely different story. As you may already know, Tristan loves elephants. So, I was going to make him an elephant costume. First, I bought a full body mouse costume (couldn't find an elephant one). I was going to augment the ears, modify the tail, make an elephant trunk, and add tusks. When we tried having Tristan wear the costume (no modifications yet), he wouldn't have it. He threw a fit. So, I had three choices: a) go with the plan, he loves it, he wears it, success! b) go with the plan, he still doesn't want to wear it, disaster, or c) go with something else - something that looks more like, well, real clothes.

I went for option c. This is where Super Why! comes into action. Looking at the picture above, Super Why, the character of the show, is the kid in the green and blue. Honestly, it looked really simple. Blue cape, blue undershirt, green shirt with logo, green pants, blue underwear over pants, and mask. Tristan loves the show and he knows who Super Why is. So, after finding out that my sewing machine wasn't going to work for me, my mother-in-law and I put this outfit together by hand. It would have looked even nicer had the sewing machine been cooperative, but I think it turned out okay. I used Paint Shop Pro to edit the logo image for the front of his shirt. We then printed it on an iron-on transfer sheet.

Kate (my MIL) and I actually had fun with the costume. I couldn't find green pants anywhere. I basically gave up and said he was just going to wear jeans. But then Scott had a brilliant idea. The green shirt I bought to go over the blue one was long sleeve. When I mentioned to Scott my plan to cut the sleeves so that it is a short sleeve shirt, he said that the leftover arms might be usable as pant legs. Though the fit was a bit snug on his legs, it was actually almost the perfect length. So, Kate sewed the "legs" to the insides of blue shorts, while I worked on finishing up the edges of the arms. We then worked on the cape. Because I had to feed the baby, Kate sewed the cape to the inside of the shirt. The belt, I made out of yellow fabric, iron-on velcro, hot glue, and a play-doh lid (for the circle emblem on the front of the belt). I made Tristan a green mask, but he didn't want to wear it.

This morning, Tristan really didn't like the costume - at all. He didn't like the mask. He didn't like the cape. We kept telling him that we're going to get candy, but he had to wear his costume. We got out the house with some protest, but when we got to the senior home to meet up with the mommy groups (there were three mommy groups there, all with little one's all dressed up), Tristan forgot about his cape and costume. I think he likes to fit in - so, when he saw other kids dressed up, he felt right at home. He had a bunch of fun trick-or-treating at the senior home. Afterwords, we went to my work to visit. My boss had fun taking Tristan around the office to get some treats. Tristan loved every minute of it. Meanwhile, the baby got passed around the office giving the women their "baby-fix".

After lunchtime, we headed to the mall with our friends to do some trick-or-treating. We split up - mainly because Tristan wanted to do his own thing (he didn't want the candy, he wanted to play on the indoor playground). Even though, we really didn't get to hang out with our friends, it was still fun. Tristan got some candy, he played on the playground, and then we got him a turtle (see pictures below).

Overall, we had a busy Halloween. By the time, we got home, it was dinnertime already. After dinner, and feeding the baby, I fell asleep holding her. My little nap is giving me enough energy to get through this post, finish up a few things, before I completely crash for the night.

I hope your Halloween was a fun and safe one! Ours was definitely fun and safe. I can't wait until next year's Halloween. Melayna might be walking (Tristan was a late walker, so it is hard to tell how she'll be). Tristan might be more cooperative with getting dressed up. And we might make it to my work's children's Halloween party (this year's was really early - the weekend after Melayna was born).

Well, here's some pictures of the kids. I'll get some better ones of Melayna in her bumblebee costume later.

"My First Halloween..don't scare me" I think it is too late for that. :)

He looks guilty. I wonder what he's up to. By the way, when I said that the leftover arms were almost the perfect length, you can see why in this photo. If they were just a tad longer, you wouldn't be able to see his socks. But alas, we had to make do with what we had.

Here's a good front view of the emblem on the shirt. And here is his newest furry friend, Patch. We've been reading the same bedtime story for almost a month. It is called "Patch's Lucky Star". It is a short and simple tail, but Tristan loves it. So, instead of adding to his pachyderm collection, we convinced him to make a turtle (we were at Build-A-Bear). The store attendant asked Tristan what he wanted to name it, but he couldn't think of anything. That is when I suggested Patch.

Almost there

I'm so tired, exhausted, and achy all over. I waddle when I walk. I struggle to bend over and pick up things from the floor. My belly hurts. I've been getting contractions (nothing too painful and not too frequent). I think my body is telling me that it is ready, in fact, overdue. In reality, I'm about two and a half weeks out from my due date. She can come anytime quite honestly, but we'll see about that. I have an appointment tomorrow. We'll see if I've progressed any. Last Friday, I wasn't even dilated yet. :(

Well, last week we had a golf tournament to run. That was completely and utterly exhausting. I had to leave at five in the morning and didn't get home until after 5:30pm. We hired a photographer to take pictures of the teams and just the tournament in general. We did a group picture and fortunately I was far enough away from the person next to me that I was able to crop myself out of it. So, here it is.
I know, I'm huge. But I'm big, beautiful, and pregnant. :P

I realized that this is one of the very few photos of me pregnant. So, here's one for the scrapbook and blog! :)

So, the day after the tournament, I came to work with my desk covered in confetti, streamers, and pink balloons. Oh, and a plastic top hat (the kind from New Year's celebrations) decorated with pink felt rattles and duckies, and the words "It's a girl" on the front. They had munchies, sandwiches, and cake in the breakroom. They also planned games and everyone pitched in to get me some gifts. Adorable outfits, a picture box, small photo frame, small photo album, burp cloths and bibs, and $125 gift certificate to Kiddie Kandids! How blessed am I to work with such great people. I can't wait to get baby girl's pictures taken. I may have big brother join her in a few pictures!

Then this past Sunday, was my baby shower. Rebecca did a wonderful job of everything. The decorations, the cake, the games, the food, everything. She's so awesome. I'm so thankful to have her as a friend. I wish we lived closer so that we could hang out. I got lots of cute clothes, a baby bouncer, and other cute baby things. And throughout this week, I've gotten a few other gifts from friends who couldn't make it to the shower. One of my friends can sew and make quilts. She made a quilt and two receiving blankets (they are perfectly sized - big - and nice and thick)! They are absolutely adorable. I love handmade gifts.

So, aside from being showered with gifts, this week has been pretty stressful. Tristan decided to climb his dresser and pull the whole thing on top of himself. Scott called me at work to tell me that Tristan had done this. My first thought, panic. I broke down and freaked out. Scott told me that he went into Tristan's room, after hearing a loud crash followed by our son's screams, to find his tv had fallen all the way across the room and the dresser on the floor, no Tristan in sight. Using one arm to lift and hold the dresser up, he used his other arm to pull Tristan out. Besides being shook up, our son only suffered minor bumps and bruises on the face, head, arms, and back. Since I had the car with the car seat (Scott drives a motorcycle back and forth to work), I took off from work. In tears the whole time, I couldn't get over what could've been. We took Tristan to the doctor's, doctor said he was fine, offered a flu shot since we were there, and made use of our copay by getting Tristan his flu shot. Then we were off to Target to find a temporary solution to Tristan's broken dresser. The good news: while we were there, we picked up a costume for me and baby girl. We're going to be matching bumblebees! I'm so excited. We tried getting something for Tristan, but he's refusing to put it on. :( Oh well.

Alright, I'm exhausted and I still need to put Bubbies down for bed. Hopefully, I'll have more to report tomorrow after my appointment.

My shower postponed...

This week is a very solemn week at work. An employee of over 15 years passed away from cancer. While we knew it was eventually going to happen, it still is a shock to many of my colleagues. I didn't know the employee very well nor did I work with her before. I am saddened by what has transpired but not near as saddened as others who have worked with her. At least now her pain and suffering has ceased and she is, I hope, in a much better place.

I had told my friend, who is doing my shower, that if she would like to reschedule the shower, I would understand. She worked side-by-side with the employee that passed away this week. I could not celebrate when such a sad event has occurred. And I wouldn't expect her to do so either. As such, my shower has been postponed until the following Sunday (14th). I'm not sure if I was ready for it anyway. I always feel awkward receiving gifts.

One of my three bosses (I technically have one, but I'm just outside the offices of three executives), came to me today and said that he and the two other bosses would like to get me something for the baby. He told me that once my shower is over, he told me to tell him what we still needed. I'm not sure what he's planning, but I told him that he and the others didn't have to. Regardless, he still wants to do something nice for me and the baby.

This week was Tristan's first week of no daycare. I am really sad about this. He loves playing with his friends, always looked forward to seeing his teachers, and the activities they do. He's learned so much and his day is nicely structured. In fact, they were already putting him in the preschool room during his last week there. The benefit of keeping him home is mostly monetary reasons. It'll really help us save money having our friend Dani watch him. Fortunately, he has a playmate, Arianna. I'll have to get some pictures of the two of them playing. Scott watches Tristan in the morning until he leaves (around 1:00pm). Dani takes over and she watches him until I get home (between 5:30 and 6:30). The nice thing about the set up we have is that Scott gets plenty of "Daddy" time with Tristan - despite his new evening schedule. Another nice thing is that Tristan is only watched four days a week (Scott is off Friday's & Saturday's, I'm off Saturday's & Sunday's), and for only 5 hours a day. In order to keep him busy and learning, I've been spending my evenings with him reading, doing art time, and taking him outdoors (the weather has been mild - 70's for temperatures and no rain). I try to emphasize with Scott that he needs outdoor time when he has him, too. And if he can do activities with him, that would help. I don't want him to grow bored, especially after having most of his days full of art, singing, reading, learning, and so much more.

Today, I guess he was a bit of a handful for Daddy. He kept getting into stuff, disobeying Daddy, and more. I told him that it is the social interaction and the activities that he misses. Since he isn't getting it, it is probably confusing him and causing some frustration. Well, since Daddy went to gaming tonight, I decided to let my son have some art time before winding down for bed. Here are some pics of my beautiful boy painting:

After art time, we cleaned up, hopped into bed and read a few books. He's gotten up three times since. :( Some nights he's great, other nights he keeps coming out of his room. Tomorrow, if the weather is okay, I'll take him to the park. He loves the slides and the sand pit. It'll help him get rid of that energy he's been building up inside all week. Sunday, he's going to the zoo with Grandpa.

Well, I'm heading out for the night. I'm tired. Although, I need to step it up, I've only got 5,200 steps on my pedometer. Actually, I usually don't get more than 4,500 steps, but yesterday I walked on my lunch break and broke 7,000. I'll explain the pedometer thing some other time, though.

Week 32 Pregnancy Update

This week I had another appointment. At my last appointment, I was told that she may be measuring a bit big - so this time I got another ultrasound. Dr. Christensen confirmed Dr. Rygiel's suspicion after measuring my belly and doing an ultrasound. She is measuring a bit on the big side, which means that she may come before my expected due date (October 5th). I'm half-and-half with this news. While it means that I'll see my little girl sooner, it is less time to get work done. On the bright side, she's got hair - Dr. Christensen pointed it out on the monitor when she was measuring her head. With 7 1/2 weeks to go, she'll probably have bunches of hair. It'll be a nice change from Tristan - he didn't have much and was practically bald most of his first year.

Besides my appointment, this week has been busy. I finally got back on board with weekly meal planning (I'll probably post it up weekly on this blog to keep myself in check - you can learn more about weekly meal planning at blog link in the bar to the right - I'm an Organizing Junkie). So, Monday night (I started late, so my weekly meal plan started Tuesday), we went shopping after dinner. This week's meals were tricky to plan because two of the days I had engagements to attend to in the evenings. So this is how it went:

Tuesday:
Pizza-dilla Margaritas (Rachael Ray recipe), tortilla chips, and salsa
This is a quick, tasty, meatless recipe. If you like quesadillas then this is a great recipe. It takes only a few minutes to prepare the tomato mixture and four minutes per quesadilla (total of 3 - 4 sliced up into pizza wedges). The basil and oregano really bring this recipe to life.

After dinner, I headed to our bi-monthly Toastmasters meeting. I wrote on this once, you can see my original post here. Since starting it has been a blast. I've done my first two speeches and numerous impromptu "table topics" speeches. I've been Toastmaster twice and evaluator twice. I thoroughly enjoy the structure of each meeting, the company (all from work), and the idea of improving my public speaking skills. Unfortunately, this is my last meeting until who knows when. Scott's schedule has been changed and he'll be working nights starting in about a week. This leaves me with no option for childcare. While I'll be missing out on the great meetings, I feel I already learned so much in my short stay.

Wednesday:
Bacon Cheeseburger Roll-up with Curly fries
This recipe is relatively quick and very, very easy. I got it from a Kraft recipe magazine that I get for free quarterly. There are a lot of great recipes I've tried and we've even tried our own variations. If you want the free quarterly magazine, just go to www.kraftfoods.com and click the sign up button in the upper right. When filling out your profile, you'll have the option of opting to receive the magazine. Great thing about getting the magazine is that you'll usually get some coupons for the products featured in recipes and such.

After dinner, I went to my friend, Rebecca's house. She's about a half hour drive away but it was totally worth it. She offered to do a baby shower for me and I'm so stoked about it. This was my first visit to her house and I have to say that I think it is absolutely gorgeous. I love her decor and there is so much room! I guess living in a two bedroom apartment, anything bigger would be much more impressive. Rebecca seemed to not think her house was that great, but I beg to differ. She keeps it so tidy. We sat at the kitchen table for a few hours chatting about stuff and planning the party. I found out that we have a few things in common - scrapbooking (but we haven't done it in a while), Guitar Hero (Yeah!!), and a need to keep things under certain control (she's probably more so than I - I just give up to easily). I didn't get home until 11:00pm! I'm usually asleep by this point.

Thursday:
Filipino Beef Steak served over white rice
This was a first for me, but a variant on something Scott came up with. Whenever steak is on sale, we usually stock up. Scott tried a simple marinade of Soy Sauce and minced garlic - which we absolutely love. When I came across this recipe, I had to do a double take. It uses the same ingredients, in addition to a few others. So, I thought, 'what the hey', let's try this. The lemon juice balances out the salty soy sauce and topping with onions just gave it that extra twist of flavor. I was going to make fried rice with it, but it recommended topping the rice with the sauce mixture. So, I'll do the fried rice tomorrow.

Friday:
Leftover smorgasborg.
This is to keep my sanity and have a night of no cooking, no pots and pans to scrub, and worry free night. This only works if you make enough for leftovers, though. Fortunately, we had enough. It is best to do this on a week day - towards the end of the week - so that when you get home relaxing can come immediately (hopefully).

Saturday/Sunday:
Tonight I will be making pork roast with roasted red potato wedges. Both new recipes that I am looking forward to. Tomorrow, is an unplanned night - good to have one of these because changes do happen - such as the fried rice. So, I'll make fried rice with something I can find in the freezer. Easy!

Tonight, I'll be planning out my meals for next week and preparing my grocery list for the week. I'm limiting myself to only $65! I hope this is doable. I've got some non-food stuff to buy - like wipes for Tristan.

Out of the loop...

...for a few weeks.

Okay, I know what you're going to say. 'You made a promise'. 'Once a week, you said'. Well, I have no excuse. I only have an apology.

My birthday is coming up. A little over a week, actually. Scott has asked for $150-200 from the budget to spend on my birthday. My first thought: excessive! But when I look back to his birthday, well, not quite as much. Back in January, I threw him a World of Warcraft themed party. He went on a quest where he found his gifts through clues. He got a video game (his mother chipped in for that), I made him a t-shirt with a screen shot of his gnome mage, and I bought him this uber gamer chair (it looks almost like a race car seat but it rocks). Before this chair, he went through a few others - cheaply made, of course. I bought a custom picture cake using a screen shot of his gnome mage. Oh, and that night, we went to a Colorado College hockey game (in fact, I had to be out on the ice during one of the breaks). So, I did go all out with food, gifts, and fun.

But when I think of myself, I believe I am not as deserving or that I really don't need or want much. I have asked for only one thing: Estee Lauder's Beautiful (perfume). It was something my mom wore and I love wearing it, too. Besides that, my ideal birthday would be: sleeping in (Scott could take Tristan and let me sleep until 10!), homemade breakfast served by two of the most important men in my life: Scott and Tristan, a dinner out or in with family (includes my dad and mother-in-law and brother), and a day of just relaxation - no worries. Honestly, as far as gifts go, I really want clothes to go with my growing tummy and accommodate rapidly approaching summer temperatures. That, and a new pair of shoes - comfortable, yet somewhat stylish. If anyone reading this knows me well enough, they would know that style and being hip aren't at the top of my list. I'd rather be comfortable and look frumpy, rather than be uncomfortable and look stylish. Good thing is that there are clothes and shoes that you can be both.

I don't need or want video games. I don't want any movies. I don't desire any electronics. Wow, I really don't want anything. I've got everything I need and want at the moment. Well, most everything.

Honestly, we're tightening our budget to work off our debt. So, $150-200 is quite excessive. I don't know if I can convince him otherwise. I don't want a party. I don't want too much. I don't want what I don't need. Eh, oh well. I can't control what he does. And obviously, he wants to surprise me.

Well, until next time have an enjoyable, worth-while day (or week).

to be continued...