The Babymoon / 1 Year Anniversary Celebration

Posted on March 20, 2014 by playinghousewi

We are officially back from our jaunt to Mexico… in fact, we’ve already gotten right back into nursery prep mode. Last night we picked up the crib, glider, and ottoman from Babies R Us and did all the caulking around the trim in the nursery. As my Milly (Mother-In-Law) says, 0 to 60 in no time 🙂

But, before I get too far ahead of myself, I have to say, we had a REALLY great trip. After the worst winter ever, it was so nice to feel warmth… and the sun. Oh did I miss the sun. However, I did get pretty damn fried the first day. I really think it has to be partly because of the pregnancy, because wow did I fry. To the point where I had to take extra strength tylenol just to be able to pee.

Beyond that, it was wonderful. We stayed at the Excellence Playa Mujeres and honestly, couldn’t have picked a better resort. We were worried about spring breakers debauchery run-off from Cancun, but didn’t have a single issue. We got a pool or beach lounger whenever we wanted one, the crowd was a lot of couples (due to the adults only status), and there were tons of activities.

We did trap shooting with an air-soft gun, an aloe vera class, played tennis (Mark only), took a yoga class (me only), saw tons of shows (even a Mexican version of Michael Jackson), and relaxed a plenty.

My first time shooting and I was a rockstar! 2 out of 3! Poor husband didn’t hit anything 🙂

Our lovely room.

Exploring Isla Mujeres via golf cart with the hubs. Took a giant catamaran sail boat over to the island for a nice day trip.

MJ is BACK!

Delicious dinner at one of seven restaurants! This was one of our faves… the Italian, Toscana.

The most heavenly few hours EVER.

So, I need a pool and a hammock… no biggy.

We got the sweet baby girl a little outfit from our first out-of-country family vacay!

This could be why I gained so much weight this month… breakfast on our balcony.

Mixing up a mask in our aloe vera class (I’ll post the recipe soon).

Marky lathering up in our aloe vera class.

Our anniversary! ONE fabulous year with my love.

A special babymoon gift from our concierge. Sparkling cider and a freaky baby cake!

The weirdest and funniest St. Patty’s Day beer tasting event EVER.

Enjoying the balcony on our last morning.

Bon Voyage!

Symptoms

I just had my doctor’s appointment today, which went well. The doc was very surprised (and maybe a little pleased) that I didn’t really have many questions at all. Everything is looking good, although, I did gain a bit of weight this month. She said I needed to put on a little extra because I was low before… but I put on that little extra and then a little extra after that. The nurse said if I get back to my normal eating habits and workout regimen, things will likely even out. Nothing to worry about… but I will definitely not be indulging as I was. EXCEPT for our one-year anniversary cake that is being delivered tonight. SO excited. Our cake lady added the mini cake into our wedding cake package. She made the cutest little design… love birds with eggs in the nest.

Our anniversary cake! Can’t wait to see it (and taste it) tonight!

Other than that, I’m feeling really great! Still have random aches and pains in the back and cramping in my hip, but nothing to complain about. Also, the little nuglette continues to practice her acrobatics in my belly. She is quite the wiggle worm. Oh I just love her. Can’t wait to meet her!! Only 3.5 months left!

The Best Year of My Life

Posted on March 12, 2014 by playinghousewi

I can’t believe how fast time is going. Tomorrow the hubs and I will fly to Mexico to celebrate our ONE YEAR anniversary. Yes, to all you marriage veterans, this doesn’t seem very long, but I literally feel like our wedding was a few months ago. It’s crazy to think that an entire year has already gone by and now we have a wee little one on the way who will be here in less than 4 months. Craziness.

So, in honor of the most amazing year of my life, spent with the most amazing man I’ve ever known, today’s blog is my Top 10 list. The 10 highlights of this past year we’ve spent together…

1) Exchanging our personal vows to each other in front of our friends and family. I cannot explain how grateful I am to have gotten my husband to agree to pouring our hearts and souls out in front of an audience. The words that this man said to me literally brought tears to my eyes. How could I be so lucky? He’s amazing and that moment was one of the best of my life.

Forever.

2) Loving and laughing with my guy. We have so much fun together and I absolutely love my time with him. It’s almost a little pathetic. If I could be with him every second of every day, I’m thinking I’d do it in a heartbeat. Everything just feels a little better with him around.

Splish splashing in Cali.

3) Learning to SCUBA in Fiji together. This was a big accomplishment for us, as Marky has some serious anxiety when it comes to water. But, together – with an amazing Fijian dive guide – we did it and were able to explore over 100 ft under the ocean… together.

4) The Mark/Toby morning routine. Most mornings, I get up first and when Mark and Toby finally drag their butts out of bed, Marky will carry Toby into the bathroom where I’m getting ready to say good morning. I get a sweet, sleepy kiss from both of them and I absolutely love it.

5) Telling Marky that we’re pregnant! The overwhelming excitement we shared at that moment and the monumental concept of the whole thing is just incredible. We created life together. And we made a commitment to each other and to our future baby to bring love and reason and morals and knowledge to her life. We extended our vows beyond each other.

Breaking the news to the daddy-to-be!

6) Running and jumping into his arms. While this is very fun, that’s not the only reason I love to jump into my husband’s arms. Sometimes I feel like a child with my love for him. I get so overwhelmed with love that I want to squeeze him… or hit him. Like a Kindergartner. Something about our run & jump routine fulfills this need. Side note… this is probably what I miss most since being pregnant. A giant belly is not conducive to such expressions of love.

That’s the face of someone who just got hit by 110 pounds running at top speed.

7) Baby & Pregnancy Planning. It has been SO amazing to plan out our pregnancy, birth plan, and child rearing techniques with my husband. His interest in EVERYTHING relating to the delivery is incredible. Already I feel like the most supported mama-to-be in the world. He’s not afraid to read about or watch the gory delivery details. He just wants to soak it all in so we can make the best decisions for me and for our sweet girl. He worries about me and takes care of me. And, he takes the time to read our parenting book and talk through a bazillion parenting scenarios. We have so many, “what would you have done in that situation?” conversations… and I love every single one. I couldn’t have a better partner.

8) Making up. While I don’t love disagreeing or arguing, I do love how we’ve been able to grow from all of our disagreements. With every fight, we get better and better. I cherish the fact that we take every opportunity to adjust our own actions in order to be a better partner for the other. I feel like we have a really great balance of give and take and I feel so comforted knowing that this is something we will only improve on.

9) Mark’s face when he felt the baby kick for the first time. Maybe just Mark’s face period. I just love him. I love seeing him light up and I love being able to share such insane and miraculous milestones with him.

10) Valentine’s Day! Not many men would take their wives all the way to NYC to see a musical. But my hubs had no problem. We spent an amazing and spontaneous day/night walking around, shopping, eating and just being in love. It was the perfect reminder of what we have together. Easy love.

So, lovey, happy anniversary! I love you madly. Here’s to another year of amazingness and to our celebration of the best year ever… which officially begins in less than 24 hours. Oh, and thanks for making me feel like the luckiest lady around. You’re my best friend (if you were with me, I’d give you a high five).

Symptoms

I have fresh fruit juice, sun and sand on the brain! Can’t wait to take my sweet inside baby and the love of my life to MEXICO… tomorrow!!! Also, I’d like to apologize to any of you who may run into us there… I may or may not be rocking a 6+ month belly in a bikini. It just has to happen. Please drink accordingly 🙂

Sunny Sunshine Here We Come!

Posted on January 30, 2014 by playinghousewi

Ahhhh… Paradise!!

We FINALLY booked our trip!! We are headed to Playa Mujeres… a quick 30 minutes North of Cancun, Mexico. And literally, I could not be happier about it. We picked an absolutely beautiful resort (at least according to photographs and the millions of reviews that I read) that is bound to be amazing. I’ve never been to an all-inclusive or to Mexico, so I’m super excited.

We were a little nervous about being so close to Cancun during “Spring Break” time, but being that our resort is adults-only and pretty far from the Cancun Hotel Zone, I’m confident it will be the relaxing and peaceful paradise we’re hoping for.

I had originally been using Expedia to look for trips, but after feeling so overwhelmed and literally spending hours looking up trips in every warm destination across the world, we decided to call a travel agent. We did the same thing for our honeymoon and were a little disappointed with our travel agent experience then. She was super nice, but it seemed that she played the same role as Expedia, but a little slower. Plus, Expedia doesn’t get irritated with you for searching a ridiculous amount of resorts and locations.

Anyway, our experience with this travel agent was pretty similar. In fact, I ended up finding the resort, sending the agent the price I found and gave her an opportunity to match it/beat it. And, when she first sent her travel package to us, she had us flying from Chicago instead of Milwaukee. I ended up having to show her the exact flights / airline we wanted to be on so she could use them in her package. It cost us $100 less with her, but seemed pretty ridiculous. I think I deserve her commission, right?

Why isn’t there a website or a travel agent who you can provide specific criteria to (ie: warm temps, romantic/adults resort, snorkeling, great beach, etc) and they return the perfect trip to you? Does anyone have a good (and helpful) travel agent? Do they exist?

Whatever I guess, right? Either way, we’re headed to sunny fabulousness in about a month and a half and I couldn’t be more excited!!

It’s Literally -22 Degrees F

Posted on January 28, 2014 by playinghousewi

Seriously, Wisconsin? This is bonkers. I can’t even comprehend this craziness. Last year the coldest day of the year was -5 and truly, it was a relatively warm winter with minimal snow fall. This is just unreal. The public schools have now had three “cold days”… ie: temperatures are so severe and dangerous, all are warned to stay inside. Sounds lovely, huh?

Anyway, this crazy weather has increased the already urgent desire to get our dang one-year anniversary/babymoon vacation planned. The vastness of the Internet seems to act as a total inhibitor when it comes to vacation planning. I end up OBSESSING over every review and feel severely overwhelmed and incapable of making a decision. BUT, I’m hoping that we will finally get something solidified this week. That would be such a relief.

I just want to sit in the warm weather with my hubs, sipping a non-alcoholic cocktail, enjoying the sunshine, loving life and celebrating the best year of my life. Ahhh. I almost feel more relaxed just thinking about it.

Speaking of my hubs, I can’t believe that in March, it will have already been a year since our wedding. Time really does fly when you’re having a great time. And, on top of getting to celebrate on vacation, we get to enjoy when we get back… because as part of our “cake package,” we negotiated in an anniversary cake. So, 14 servings of this tasty treat are coming our way…

I can almost taste the sweet deliciousness now…

And just for fun… some wedding memories…

Ugh, my husband is so dang cute.

Sharing the wine.

Enjoying each other (and the speeches).

First dance!

One of the last dances.

Symptoms

Nothing new to report! I ate like crap today and am feeling pretty crappy in response. Urgh. I’ll be better tomorrow! Oh! And did I mention it’s freezing?

I’m ready for a one year anniversary babymoon… NOW.

Posted on January 13, 2014 by playinghousewi

Please take me there immediately.

Before we even found out we were pregnant, Mark and I decided we wanted to take a trip for our one-year anniversary this March. Now, with the baby due at the end of June, it’s even more perfect timing for a nice little celebratory babymoon, last hoorah before baby excursion. And with the below freezing temps and the snow that just won’t stop, I am more than ready to jet off… anywhere.

Now that we’ve gotten the green light from the doctor, we’re starting to attempt to plan our little trip. But, of course, I’m stuck on where to go. We don’t want to spend too much, as it wasn’t too long ago we were lounging on our honeymoon. So with that in mind, we are in search of a destination. Here are some ideas so far…

All-Inclusive in Puerto Vallarta: Mark is concerned that we’re going to just lay around on the beach. It seems as if there are a lot of activities, but who knows. Also, Milly (Mark’s mom) is concerned about the safety in Mexico.
A Cruise: Cruises don’t seem to be the place to be these days. There have been so many crazy stories in the news, I just don’t know how comfortable I feel with that idea. Not-to-mention the fact that it feels a bit isolated from medical help should there be an issue.
Jamaica: I don’t know that this is a better choice than Mexico?
Costa Rica: Again, I don’t really know anything about Costa Rica…

I need ideas that are fit for a giant pregnant lady! Thoughts??

Symptoms

Today I’m not feeling amazing. I slept really well, but for some reason, I woke up feeling really uneasy. Just not a good stomach day at all. And, I’m really tired. I am definitely wishing I was home with my husband, pets and pillow cave.