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Friday, October 30, 2015

A little update








Well, I've obviously had other more enjoyable priorities besides my little blog these past few months.
But seriously, where does the time go?!?!

I can't believe our little pumpkin is already almost 14 months old and I am 18 weeks along with baby number two!!!  The second pregnancy is waaayyy easier, in so many ways.  I always thought it was going to be harder chasing a little one around and being pregnant at the same time (and I'm sure it's trickier 35+ weeks along when you feel like a whale) but it's not that bad.  It keeps me in better shape and I'm more focused on keeping Ev entertained, making the time fly by soooooo much faster.   Still can't believe we are almost at the halfway point.  Two short weeks and we find out for sure what we are having.  Charlie already insists it's a boy, I think it's a boy and so does my sister Jenny, who is never wrong!!!  Jenny always tells all the moms she knows what they're having and she's always right.  It's kind of scary!

Second time round is also way easier because I don't have to attend baby showers or buy rocking chairs and cribs or assemble a nursery!  Everything is already ready and waiting from day one.  We have a few gender neutral clothes and some boy outfits and blankets that were once my 19 year old brothers (thank you classic Baby Gap!!!) so we are all set to go!
Just praying that this time round the birth goes smooth and much faster.  
Knowing better the second time round, I'm taking things a bit more seriously and exercising 3X a week and THIS has made a HUGE difference so far.  
Having only gained a few pounds in four and a half months of this pregnancy was probably what I did in the first month of pregnancy with little Ev.  Live and learn. 
When I was pregnant with her,  I had bad acid reflux almost from the start and I mistook it as signs of hunger pains.  I ate all the time trying to get rid of the awful feeling.  Fingers crossed, I haven't had any acid reflux issues with this little one, thank goodness!!! 
 I'd rather have bald babies than acid reflux!!! =)

And with baby number two comes more lifestyle changes, ones that I'm extremely excited and nervous about all at the same time!!!  I'm hoping that these baby steps in a new direction help benefit my little family in many ways.  Exciting new adventures ahead!!!  I'll post more about this later, once everything comes together.

I'm grateful to be back, even if for just a short little post.  It's been too long.  But it's left me free to enjoy my sweet little babe and all the new things she does every day!  We've had a very happy and Fall-filled October and we hope you did too!!!

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

A Work in Progress

It's always been a struggle to stay on top of things, to plan in advance and execute those plans on time, much-less early.  So, I've really been working extra hard on trying to be better at this virtue, skill, talent... for me, it happens every so often and when it does, boy does it feel great to be on top of things!
Man, the older I get, the more my weaknesses stand out and the harder I have to work at accomplishing these personal goals.   

These past few days have been filled with many scores for the win!  Work sheets in 4 days early, a bridesmaid dress ordered for a Fall wedding, plane tickets booked, car rental booked, hotel booked, worked on planning Evenlyn's first birthday party, booked her 1st birthday photo shoot, ordered her birthday party/photo shoot outfit, ordered wedding gifts months in advance, researched baby gates that will actually fit the bottom and top of our staircase and throw in the ultra exciting accomplishment of ordering cases of diapers and dipewipes that get dropped off right at the front door!!! 
And all in a few good days work.  Now if only all my weeks were this productive =)

But the best moments of all have been spending more time with my baby girl who is growing up so fast.  It scares me to think that her 1st birthday is just a few short months away.  I'm trying really hard to focus on the here and now.  We've been enjoying the great outdoors together and walking outside as much as possible before the summer heat hits.  We've been enjoying breakfast picnics in the front yard and eating outside on patios whenever possible.

I love watching her learn, develop and grow.   I love watching her enjoy eating her food a ton!  Charlie is adorable when he says he could listen to her gab and talk forever and ever.  He is madly in LOVE with his little girl and it's the sweetest thing to watch!  He is such a great papa and I'm so proud of him!
Couldn't love these two people in my life more!!!


Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Wednesday Happenings



Can't believe this little peanut is going on 9 months in just a few short weeks!!!  It will be her 1st birthday before I know it.  Sad to think that I need to start planning for it soon.  

Evelyn and I are going to be spending many hot summer days at the pool together.  An extra little perk of the club I belong to is that it already includes our pool pass so we are ready to go!  I've had her swimsuit ready to go since March and so the minute the weather was right, I took her for a short swim and she loved it.  I think we have a little fish on our hands!  It was adorable, she was clapping, smiling and giggling at all the other children in the pool.  Our little social butterfly!

This little girl just loves to eat!  I think she would probably eat just about anything I'd be willing to give her, or anything she is fast enough to grab straight out of my hands. (including a cake pop, that stinker baby =)  But for now, she enjoys squash, sweet potatoes, avocados and her all organic happy yogis, yogurt puffs and gentle teething wafers! Okay, okay, so we have lots of fun in Target and Whole Foods finding fun baby snacks =)  She still nurses like a little champ, which I love!!!  I think I will cry the day she decides to give this up.  I don't think I will ever be ready for that day to come. 

Funny how when you have a baby, your budgeting and expenses totally change to accommodate the diapers, wipes, snacks, sippy cups, baby gear and clothes!  Good thing I have more fun buying things for Evelyn than I do for myself.  

Speaking of self, a new mom-self, this was the first Spring ever that I made the effort (and it really didn't take much at all, seriously) to put together a capsule wardrobe.  I've been curious about these capsule wardrobes that people keep posting about.  I think I always thought they were more of a hassle to put together than they really are.  Here I thought I would have to go out and buy an entire matching wardrobe, but thanks to fitting back into most of my pre-pregnancy clothes, it wasn't half bad.  I emptied everything else out of the draws and closet and let me tell you, life is SOOO much easier!  I did throw in two new easy mix-match shorts and shirts combos.  A black pair of birkenstocks and bright yellow but still post-partum accommodating swimsuit and the wardrobe was complete!!!
I would definitely rather have a few quality pieces that I LOVE and wear every day than a bunch of things I'm not really a fan of and have a hard time putting together. 

Have you tried a capsule wardrobe?  What do you think?  
Did it free you up to focus on other things?
I'd love to know your thoughts!!






Thursday, April 2, 2015

A Currently AND Throw Back Thursday

3 Generations waiting for the 4th one to be born!!!

Holy cow wow!!!
  I just came across this picture sitting in a draft that I never got round to typing.
This seems like forever ago and yet just yesterday all at the same time!

Now my sweet little Evelyn is finally here and growing up soooo fast.   In just a few short days she will be 7 months old....whhhaaa?!?!?  How is time flying by so quickly?  I love that my little girl shares both her great grandmother's first name and her grandmother's middle name.  Funny to look up at this picture and "see" three ladies with the name Lois, I LOVE it!!

A little Currently update for you:

Sipping: a homemade peppermint latte.   I've been terrible about drinking way too much coffee these days!  I wish I could drink it just like water.  On this note, I'm contemplating buying an actual coffee pot.  Can you believe I don't own one?!?

Wearing: a new J.Crew scent that I instantly fell in love with and trust me, that never happens.  I love that "57" comes in a little roll on bottle that I can carry around with me in my purse, so handy.

Purging:  pretty much everything that isn't quite necessary.  I LOVE to purge!  Could be an addictive hobby of mine =)

Sleeping: oh so well.  I'm definitely grateful for a baby that sleeps like a champ.  For a stint I was doing great at getting up an hour/hours before anyone else and hitting up the gym, but this past week for some reason has been tough.  Must be the grey weather. 

Buying:  all toys wooden.  There's nothing quite like a unique quality wooden toy made in the USA.

Writing:  hand written notes to friends and family because it really does feel good to do something productive other than laundry.  There will always be cleaning and sometimes it's hard for me to let the dirt go and focus on other things.

Trying: to hold on tight to my baby girl.  I look at her sweet face and think about the day when she won't be so little anymore.  I want to soak up every minute she is a baby and willing to let her mother hold and snuggle her. 

Creating: a capsule wardrobe because a mama needs it easy and simple.

Enjoying:  gym time.  It feels so incredible to run and sweat and detox the body.  I've realized that it's not only great for the body, but also mentally clarifying.  Now that all my baby weight is gone ( and that was no small sweat :) I'm closer to my ultimate summer goal.  I have my motivation though.

Eating:  one new recipe a week.  It's been a goal and a very wonderful goal at that.  Just recently I was shopping at Whole Foods and put together the most amazing curry chicken recipe ever.  A new addiction.  Lately I've been trying to buy more items that are organic and just buying less of them.  Except, I don't know what happened with my sweet tooth this past week, it went all haywire and nuts!!!  I've got to be better about this :)

Needing:  a girls day out with my mom and sisters.  Life is so busy, it's hard to find time to just enjoy an entire day together.  Maybe when this weather gets a tad nicer!

Listening:  to a new favorite song, My Heart is Open by Maroon 5 (feat. Gwen Stefani) love love love.
But then again, I love Adam Levine.  Yes, I'm a big fan of The Voice and felt bad for Adam when people weren't picking him. 

Hoping:  to get back into blogging a little bit more.  I'm on a mission to figure out how to put together a collage of all my favorite baby items!!!  I have sooo many!

Following:  a new wonderful blog by..... MY VERY OWN MOM!!!!!  So proud of her that she finally started one.  She has been wanting to for a long time now.  She is an amazing and very gifted writer.  Go check her out HERE.

Have a very Blessed Easter Everyone!!!

xoxoxo,  Maggie







Friday, February 27, 2015

Our New Routine

It's been a good 3 months since this new mama set her foot in blogland, and I couldn't have been happier with the little hiatus.   It's quite refreshing, really.  
Sometimes it's nice to step away from the screen and refocus oneself.
These past three months I've given all my time, love and attention to my little one, my husband and even myself and it's felt pretty darn great!!!  Now it seems time to put a little focus on blogging again.  So here I am with a little update on how our days go by!  And if anyone has figured out how to slow down time, please past the know-how along, because somehow, even with nursing and changing diapers all day, these days seem to fly by way too fast!!!

After having a baby there came a point when I had to firmly decide it was time to stop (or at least strongly limit ;) enjoying ALL the sugar and ALL the carbs I wanted because heck, since I had to give them up for SOOOO many months while I was pregnant, it was time to make up for past sacrifices.  While the eating cycle can go downhill during those times when I eat whatever I want and however much I want, I definitely prefer those times when I'm on a motivated cycle of being super disciplined, healthy and active.  
About two months back, I joined an amazing cardio kickboxing class that my husband teaches!  It was a great start to getting back on track and losing lots of baby weight.  Last month, I took the next plunge. I joined a health club AND signed up with a Pilates Reformer trainer.  
Now these days I've already hit up the gym before my husband and baby are even awake!  My husband couldn't be sweeter or more encouraging and so I continue to go.
The other amazing thing about the gym is family swim time!!!  We are definitely looking forward to swimming together.  Evelyn LOVES the water and so this will be another great way for us to bond and relax on Sundays as a family :)  Oh and Pilates Reformer?!?!  I'm hooked.  It's amazing and I wish I could do it twice a week.
Best part about working out several times a week is all the energy it gives me to play with this little baby!!!
 We then spend the next hour or two playing together, singing songs, dancing and reading books.  Funny to see what activities makes a baby so sleepy!
 And then if I'm lucky, little Evie falls asleep in my arms.  Usually she prefers to be laid down in her crib or on my bed for her morning nap.  I turn on her soothing white noise and she is down for 1-2 (sometimes 3 if we are all extra lucky) hrs. That's my chance to do EVERYTHING!!!!  It's like telling yourself "on your mark, get set, GOOOO"
Amazing how quickly you can get laundry, cleaning and cooking done when you have to be focused.
 Then after morning nap time, Evelyn cooks with me and we play toys again!
Daddy comes home for lunch and we enjoy quality time together.
And that in a nutshell is our "new" morning routine and I couldn't love it more!!!
I love being a mommy.  I love and enjoy all the new challenges that come along with being a mom.  I guess I've never really seen being a mommy as a challenge, personally, but rather as an opportunity to juggle new adventures.  Yes, it can be tiring some days and yes, I only have one child so far, but I've learned to do some things at a much slower pace and I'm okay with that.  Many times, it just takes a new and fresh perspective, or a more positive outlook on just what kind of mission I'm on.  
I'm on a mission to be there for this little human being.  A person totally dependent on her mother for love, for food, for comfort, for acknowledgement, for bonding time, for every little need she has.  I want her to know how much I love her and love being there for her every second of every day!!!  I want Evelyn to know how much her mom loves motherhood and loves being her mama!
If I can do that, then it's a good, good day, no matter our routine!