Stay at Home Mom (for a day or two)

This week our daycare was on vacation so I had to make arrangments for Leah. On Monday my good friend Katy watched her for me. A huge thank you to Katy for helping me out! When she first arrived, Leah clammed up and became super clingy to me. She was crying and didn't want me to go to work. I left the house while she was still upset. Luckily, Katy texted me 5 minutes later and said she was completely fine. It made me feel so much better. They had a fun day of playing and acting goofy. Here is a short video from their day.

My Dad watched her on Tuesday. They also had a great day! I took Wednesday and Thursday off to be home with Leah and then and Rob will be home with her tomorrow. Being home these past two days were wonderful and gave me a small taste of being a stay home mom. It was so nice to have such laid back mornings and not rushing around to get out the door.

On Wednesday, Leah slept in until 7:30 am. After she got out of bed, we lounged around for awhile in our pajamas and had a fun morning.

Leah enjoying pancakes for breakfast

So happy her momma is home with her

Such a good girl!

We played with Sushi 

Leah loves her Sushi 

 We kicked back and watched a little TV

After having a low key morning, she went down for a morning nap. When she woke up, we decided to stop into my work. I haven't brought her into work for a long time so she was able to meet some of my coworkers. We had lunch with Ashley and Jason. Leah was such a good girl, I was so proud of her. She sat like a perfect little lady throughout lunch. After I left the office, we hit the mall and shopped for awhile. I needed to pick up some last minute things for our trip THIS weekend! :)



On our way to Mommy's work



Today was a fun busy day! Leah suprised me by sleeping until 9:00! Wow - that is late for her! I always have to wake her up at 6:30 for work! We had plans for a playdate today with some of my friends. I never get to do play dates so since I was off, I wanted to take advantage. Me, Jaime, Jenny and Sara took our kids to a place in Wheaton called Kid Town. It was so much fun for them and I would definitely go back! Maybe next time we can go on the weekend so my other working mom friends can come too! It is a large play area that has several themed play rooms. (They had a police station, fire station, vet office, etc). It is really cute! They also had toys galore! Lots of cars, strollers, babies and so much more. They also have a stage area where kids can get on stage and dress up in costumes. It was pretty crowded today when we went because they had "Mulan" from the Disney movie make a guest appearance. Overall, I think Leah, Jack, Julia, Greyson and Deacon had a great time!

Leah dancing on the stage

The kids could see themselves on the TV

 Leah trying keep up with Julia!

 Jack and his car!

 You can't tell, but this room was dark and had neon lights with stars.

 Julia having a good time!

 Leah loving the fishy's

We had gotten to Kid Town right at 10:00 and close to noon I knew Leah was ready to go! We packed up and said bye to our friends. We came home and Leah went down for a nap. When she woke, I decided to go to the gym and then take her swimming afterwards. I dropped her off at the daycare and she was not a happy camper. She wanted no part of being there and turned on the water works. I snuck out of there as fast as I could, hoping she would calm down in a few minutes. I did 45 minutes of cardio and when I came back to get her, they told me she cried for 14 minutes. If a child cries for 20 minutes, they send someone out to track down the parent. Luckily, we didn't get that far, but I feel bad that she doesn't like it there. Maybe the more she is there, the more she will get used to it. We'll see. After I picked her up, we went outside to the pool. Leah had a great time. She loves being in the water! She laughs hysterically and it is so stinking cute. I know she was wiped out afterwards because she did not fight me when it was time to go home. It was close to dinner time so I know she was hungry too.We ate, took a bath and are now relaxing! My two days home flew by, but it was nice to get to spend quality time with my little lady!!

Sheffield Garden Walk and Festival

We woke up on Saturday morning not knowing how the weather was going to turn out. We were hoping for a nice day because we had plans to be downtown for the afternoon. One of Rob’s coworker’s is on the Board for the annual Sheffield Garden Walk and Festival and was having a kick-off celebration at his home before the fest. Rob’s whole company and their families were invited to the party and then would receive free access to the festival. We left our house and headed downtown around 10:30. Traffic was a bit heavy and took us just over an hour to get there. Luckily the weather was warm, but not too hot like it had been all week.

Rob’s coworker’s home was amazing. It was a traditional brownstone in Lincoln Park. They had a huge backyard with an awesome roof-top deck with an amazing view of the whole city. It was perfect for entertaining! They had tons of food and drinks. We hung out for a while talking with everyone and had some lunch. There were probably about 50 people there. Everyone was excited to see Leah because Rob talks about her all of the time and has pictures of her in his office. We brought her to his office around Christmas time, but she has gotten so much bigger since then. Leah was running around having fun. After a while, we walked over to the festival. It was fun. They had a lot going on – they had a Kid’s Corner, organized Garden Walks, Architectural Tours, Sidewalk Sales, tons of food and drink vendors and several bands playing on the main stage. The kid’s area had pony rides, a petting zoo and other crafts and entertainment. Overall, it was a fun afternoon.

After the festival, we all came home and took a family nap. It had been a long day in the sun, so a little R&R helped everyone! We spent the rest of the day picking up around the house and running errands. We capped off the night by making a fire in our new fire pit and enjoying some wine. It was perfect!

Hobby....Shlobby

So after my blog from yesterday, Rob complained that I made him sound like a nerd with his gardening hobby. It was not my intention to poke fun at his green thumb or give anyone the impression he was a “nerd” for growing vegetables in our backyard. Doing yard work and landscaping is tough work and I give him all of the credit (and appreciation) in the world for taking care of it all (so I don’t have to). Rob has all sorts of things he enjoys doing and it got me thinking about my own hobbies. Do I even have a hobby? According to the dictionary, a hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one's leisure time. Leisure time…what is that?

Between working full time and being a full time mom, I rarely find “me time.” Can Leah be considered my hobby? All of the things I enjoy doing typically relate back to her in some fashion or another anyways. For example, when I was planning her 1st birthday party – I loved putting together all of the details and working on all of the DIY projects. I spent hours making sure her party would be perfect and I had so much fun doing it. I guess I can’t consider it a hobby because I don’t do that kind of stuff on a regular basis. I love scrapbooking and putting together photo albums of all of the pictures I have taken (which usually only consist of Leah). I am so far behind with her baby book and haven’t had any pictures printed since before she turned one year old. Ahh – there goes that leisure pursuit. I love to travel and go to places I’ve never been. Considering it has been over two years since I have been on a "real" vacation, traveling is probably a far cry from being considered one of my hobbies. When I was in my 20’s it was always a favorite pastime to go see different bands play at bars and festivals. I still enjoy listening to live music but the opportunity to do so is far and few between. My new “hobbies” consist of doing fun things with my little girl, making sure she is experiencing life to the fullest and presenting her with new learning opportunities.

There are tons of other things I love to do (like shopping, cooking, reading, etc.) but I guess those are more considered to be interests. When it comes to cooking, I love to try new recipes and experiment with different ingredients, but I am usually not cooking just for the fun of it. I have a family to feed! When I go shopping now, I am rarely buying anything for myself – I am spending all of my cash on cute little outfits for Leah and the things she needs. Reading…is a pretty sad story too (no pun intended). I just finished my first book in almost a year (unless Snuggle Puppy, Good Night Moon and The Going to Bed Book count). I truly do enjoy reading – I just wish I had more time to do so! I love, love, love going to get mani’s & pedi’s, massages and getting my hair done! All of those things make me feel good about myself and again I wish I could do them all more often! After giving it much thought – I think I will consider “blogging” as one of my hobbies. It fits all of the criteria to be a hobby – it is something I try to do on a regular basis and I do it for fun! What are your hobbies?

In keeping with my cooking “interest,” here is a recipe I tried for dinner tonight. It was easy and seemed to be a crowd pleaser among my family. Just thought I would share! It is a Weight Watchers Recipe and was 7 points.

Turkey and Spinach Lasagna Rolls
Weight Watchers Recipe

Ingredients:

6 lasagna noodles
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 lb uncooked ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, yellow, seeded and finely chopped (I used a red pepper since I didn't have any yellow)
16 oz marinara sauce
1/3 cup of water
1 cup fat-free ricotta cheese (I used low-fat)
5 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (I used the full 10 oz package)
1/4 cup basil, chopped fresh
2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten (I used egg beaters as a substitute)
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheeses

Directions:

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse the noodles and lay them flat on wax paper.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the turkey, onion, and bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until all the pan juices evaporate and the turkey browns, about 10 minutes. Stir in the marinara sauce and water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened and the flavors blend, about 5 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, spinach, basil, Parmesan, egg, and nutmeg in a medium boil. Spread the ricotta mixture over the length of each noodle and roll up from one short end.

Spread half of the turkey mixture in the bottom of an 8X12 baking dish. Add the rolls. Top with remaining turkey mixture. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle with the mozzarella. Bake until heated through and the top is golden, about 10 minutes longer.

Rob and his Green Thumb

When it comes to gardening, landscaping, planting flowers or any other sort of yard work, I want NO part of it.  I’ve never had any interest. Rob on the other hand, enjoys doing all of that stuff. When we first moved to our house almost 2 years ago, Rob was thrilled that there was room in our backyard for a garden. He planted a small variety of vegetables last year and we enjoyed fresh tomatoes and cucumbers all summer long. He also made homemade tomato sauce. This year, he stepped it up a notch and planted pickles, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, oregano, onions, cilantro and chives. He is so proud of his little garden. There is one humungous cucumber out there that was growing out of control. He named it Willard and decided to pick it tonight. It is almost as big as Leah! He also thought it would be a good idea to jar some home-grown pickles. I am not sure if I should be impressed or a little concerned! Ha!!

Leah and Willard

Rob's Jarred-Pickles

Part of Rob's Garden

I am happy to say I am down 13 pounds since I first started my weight loss venture at the end of May. It has been a lot of hard work and I still am not where I want to be, but it is a start. Sometimes I want to give up, I feel like I am doing great - eating right and exercising and then I get on the scale and it is up 3 pounds. What the heck?! I know everyone’s weight fluctuates, but it can be downright frustrating!  We’ve been going to the gym 3-4 times a week and eating really well. For the past 2 weeks, I seem to be on the right track and have had some good progress. Rob on the other hand is down 26 pounds! The weight seems to be flying off of him! I am very proud of him, but sometimes I get upset with myself that I haven’t experienced as much success. Why do men have such an easier time losing weight!? I guess every day is a new day and I will continue to put in the work.

Tonight at dinner, Leah was such a funny little girl.  I didn't have time to make dinner so we had turkey sandwiches - gourmet, I know. I cut Leah's sandwich up into bitesize pieces. She always tries to offer me some by saying, Mom....here. Mom....here. Sometimes I'll make her happy and take the bite she is trying to give me. But tonight, I had my own turkey sandwich and I didn't need any of her bites. I said No, Leah eat it. She kept persisting and finally said "Momma - try it!!" It made me giggle. I am always telling her "Just try it" when I am trying to get her to eat something new. She amazes me how much she remembers and repeats.

Our weekend was pretty lowkey, but here are some pictures from it. We had a birthday party to go to at Blackberry Farm in Aurora. We only ended up staying about an hour but we able to see almost the whole farm. Leah seemed to enjoy herself. We also decided to stop over to the Plainfield Fest afterwards. It was a fun afternoon.

Daddy, Daddy.....Cookie!

I’ve dreaded this day, but knew it might eventually happen. Late this afternoon Leah was out in the backyard running around like usual. Rob was getting the grill ready because we were going to cook out for dinner. Sushi (our dog) was sniffing around the yard too minding her own business and I was in the house cutting up vegetables for our salads.  Then I heard it. Rob yelled “Lor, come out here NOW.” He was loud enough that I could hear him from inside the house. I panicked – did Leah fall, did she get stung by a bee, did she get hurt? I ran outside to find Rob holding Leah’s arm up in the air away from her body. I looked at her little hand and saw that it was covered in something. Was it blood? Was it mud? Oh - it was far worse. As I looked closer, I discovered Leah had poop all over her hand. Ugh! How disgusting! I went and swooped her up and brought her in the house to scrub her hands with soap. Rob was laughing but also a little grossed out. He said Leah came running up to him yelling “Daddy, Daddy…..Cookie” as she was smashing it in between her fingers. As soon as he figured out what it was is when he immediately started calling me to come get her. Thank GOD she did not try to eat her “cookie.” I guess we’ll need to be more prompt about cleaning up Sushi’s “business” in the future. Ahhhh! I hope this is the one and only time this happens!

Besides the poop incident, we had a pretty good weekend! Friday I had summer hours at work and had a half day. I picked Leah up early and spent some time playing before she went down for her afternoon nap. After her nap, she woke in quite a mood! One minute she was acting so silly, goofing around and then the next minute she was crabby mcgee turning on the tears and attitude. She was being a handful. She usually is always in a pretty good mood.  I don’t know what her deal was but when Rob got home from work we decided to take her to the pool. Leah loves the pool so we figured that would turn her mood around. Luckily, it worked.  She was back to her happy-go-lucky self in no time. Phew. Rob seemed to have her under control at the pool so I decided to get a quick workout in. It felt good. After about an hour of pool time, we decided to take her for ice cream and call it a night.

Saturday was typical. We started our morning taking turns going to the gym to get our workouts in. Leah really doesn’t like the daycare so lately we haven’t been taking her there. In the afternoon, we felt like doing something but didn’t have much going on. We decided to stop at the cemetery to see my Mom and then make a trip to the “Taste of Westmont.” It was another scorcher so we only stayed for a little while. Leah enjoyed herself.  They had lots of things for kids. She especially loved the balloon they gave her.

Later that night, it was date night! I was in Vegas for our anniversary so we were doing a belated celebration. My dad agreed to come over and babysit Leah for us. She was so excited to see him, she didn’t even notice when we left for the night. We had dinner reservations at Redstone. We always go to Redstone on our anniversary (well considering it was only our 2^nd anniversary – it was our 2^nd time going there for our anniversary, but plan to make it our annual tradition). After our wedding two years ago, we all went to Redstone for a post-celebration. After dinner, we decided to head over to Oak Brooks Hills Marriott Resort for a celebratory cocktail. We got married at Oak Brook Hills and hope to also make this an annual tradition to stop there for a cocktail and reminisce about our big day. There was another wedding going on that night and I had to peek in. I didn’t want to keep my dad at our house too late so we headed home after a while.  It was so nice to get out and celebrate our anniversary! Our upcoming trip will serve as our second honeymoon – since I didn’t get to enjoy our honeymoon to Aruba to the fullest. Ha! Just two weeks shy of our wedding, we learned that little Leah would be joining our family! I am very much looking forward to spending a week in Mexico! 3 weeks!I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

4th of July Weekend

Happy 4^th of July! I am bummed we have to go back to work tomorrow. It’s been a fun, busy weekend. The weather has been the nicest it has been yet this summer. I am not complaining but it was a little on the hot side. Rob was home all week with Leah (since I had been in Vegas for the first part of the week). On Friday, since he was home he took Leah to the pool. By the time I got off of work, I met them there around 4:30. They were there with Lisa and the kids and Amy her family happened to be there too! They had a great time. We decided to head home and go grab something to eat. We are still being sensible about what we eat. We ended up at Gordon Biersch at the Promenade and then called it a night.

Saturday was HOT, HOT, HOT! We made plans to go the Eyes in the Skies festival in Lisle. We walked around for awhile and had some lunch. Leah was pretty miserable since it was so hot. She was soaking wet with sweat and I think beads of sweat were running into her eyes. She did not like that one bit. We decided it was time to go. We came home and took a family nap. It was much needed! By the time we got up, it was late in the afternoon, but there was still plenty of daylight left. We went back to the gym to get some more pool time in. Leah had a blast!

On Sunday afternoon my Aunt Carol was having a BBQ at her house. After Leah’s nap we ran a few errands and then headed over there. It was fun. We spent a lot of time outside and Leah burned off a lot of energy. We stayed for a few hours and came back to our house. We took another family nap. Man – I wish we could work these into our regular work weeks! It’s amazing what an hour can do! We bummed around the house for awhile. I finished reading the book I started on the plane to Vegas. We were undecided what we were going to do for fireworks – if anything. We ended up watching Plainfield’s fireworks over at the high school. Leah loved them and I am glad we took her. After each firework, she would yell “Pretty” and “Wow.” She was too little for fireworks last year so I was happy that she sort of got into them.

Today we didn’t have much going on. Leah shocked us by sleeping until 8:30 am. This is SO unlike her. She is usually up by 6:30 since I have to wake her up at that time during the week for work. We were lazy this morning but decided to make a trip the zoo. Surprisingly it was not very crowded. We were only going to stay for a little while. I took her for her first ride on the carousel at the zoo. She seemed pretty indifferent about it. She didn’t seem to love it, but she didn’t hate it either. We decided to take her to the dolphin show too, which she really seemed to like. Leah has seen the movie “Finding Nemo” about 5 times now. Every fish she sees is “Nemo.” When she saw the dolphins she kept clapping and yelling “Nemo, Nemo, Nemo.”  It was pretty funny. After the show we stopped at the gift shop and saw they had little “Nemo” pool toys so we picked up a set for her. She hasn’t put it down since we got home. After the dolphins, we had lunch and then made a stop at the children’s petting zoo. This is always by far, her favorite part of the zoo. Here are a few pictures from our zoo trip today.

After the zoo we decided to hit up the pool. It was hot outside and a dip in the pool is just what we needed to cool ourselves off. Leah always has such a great time at the pool. She loves the water for sure. We dunked her a few times to see how she would do going underwater. It did not seem to phase her. She didn’t hate it and acted like nothing happened. She has a problem with closing her mouth though. We told her several times to close it and she would, but the second we went to put her under – it was wide open. We’re working on it. We stayed at the pool until about 4:00 and by then it was way past Leah’s naptime. I put her down for about an hour and a half before waking her up. (I do want her to be able to go to bed tonight!) We grilled out for dinner and took a long walk afterwards. No fireworks for us tonight. I am all about kicking back and relaxing the rest of the evening! Happy 4^th of July everyone!