LATE Weekend in Review

Posted on February 17, 2016 by playinghousewi

2/11/16

I’m all sorts of tardy with my blogging. Remember when I was 25 weeks pregnant? Yeah? Well, don’t expect to see a photo or update because somehow it’s already Thursday. BUT, I will post this very late update from our fun-filled weekend!

This past weekend was busy busy and Charlotte was just perfection. She is in this stage that’s literal magic. She’s still very much a sour patch kid, as my husband and I like to call her (a name we once used to describe me), but her sweet moments are just SO sweet and frequent.

Anyway, Friday we laid low. Our internet was out, so I’m pretty sure we ended up going to bed early that night. On Saturday, I took Charlotte to gymnastics class while Mark installed the new light fixture in the nursery (for baby boy) and waited for the cable guy. When we got home, it was time to pack up right away to meet our friends at our local nature preserve for the Winter Frolic.

It was absolutley adorable. There was a story time, a petting zoo (which was actually VERY creepy… it was reptiles and dead animal furs… C was creeped out by the furs), an indoor farmers market, a horse drawn carriage, and more. We had a lot of fun!

Then, after the frolic, Mark left right away to go have a little boys night and left Charlotte and I to fend for ourselves 🙂 She napped and when she woke up, we went to my parents’ house for dinner. Charlotte had a blast carrying her tiny person chair all around the house and loving on her teddy (who has become even more of an obsession since we ditched the paci).

On Sunday, we painted in the morning and did lots of playing. Then, post-nap, it was superbowl time! We headed to our friends’ house to watch the game and spend time with their little kiddies. The whole thing was great.

Charlotte and their oldest, Ellie, are at a really good age to play together. They’re a year apart and always seem to be on different pages, but on Sunday, they played so well! AND, our friends have a new little one, too! You know how C feels about babies… so you can imagine how excited she was to sit with mommy and baby Ari and rub little Ari’s back. The whole thing was great!

Playing

Look at that hand holding..

Hugs!

I can’t even… so cute.

Dancing ladies

Hugs for Ari

Dancing Queens!

Holding Daddy’s hand

All in all, a total whirlwind of a weekend (that left me feeling like I needed another weekend on Monday) and a total blast!

A Busy Valentine’s Day Weekend

Posted on February 16, 2016 by playinghousewi

My Vday weekend update starts with a mini celebration this past Tuesday. Like the geek that he is, the hubs has spent 12+ hours over the past two(ish) months re-watching (in order) all of the Star Wars movies to refresh his memory before seeing the new movie on the big screen.

Now, if you’ve been to our house, you know that we have a pretty small TV. So, each of these 12 Star Wars Hours were spent curled up about 2 feet from the TV. Anyway, I told Mark I needed him home early so I could workout on Tuesday night, but instead surprised him with tickets to go see Star Wars at the iMax 3D theater. He was very pleased 🙂

On Thursday, Charlie brought in a little gift for her classmates. Because this is a religious school that does not celebrate Valentine’s Day, we kept it nice and general. But of course, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to give valentines 🙂

I’ll do a full blog on the sensory bottles “we” made for her class, but the gist is that while I had hoped it would be something C and I could do together, it turned into me binge watching “The Fall” and making 12 sensory bottles until around midnight. BUT, the kids loved them!

On Friday, we went to my parents’ house for dinner with my bro! As always, it was great being able to see him and giving C the opportunity to fall even more in love with her quirky uncle.

Saturday morning, C went to gymnastics (where she was a little gymnast rockstar, according to Daddy) and then we went to our favorite spot, the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum, for a Valentine’s Day Ice Cream Social with our friends.

Charlotte loved it! She pointed out every single baby she saw, she peeked into every stroller, ate her first cup of ice cream and about 2.5 cheese sticks, she discovered Mr. Potato Head, did her first exercise class, and played with her best girls, Ellie & Ari.

C’s face when Mommy says, “Say Cheese!”

And when Mommy says, “Say puppy dog!”

That evening, it was time for Marky’s VDay date that he planned for me. Not only was I surprised that he had planned anything (no offense, love), but I was so pleasantly surprised by our activity.

We went to Sur La Table for an Italian cooking class and it was fabulous! We had so much fun. (Thanks to Milly for watching the tiny one and giving us a night out!) We cooked a tasty salad, tenderloin and pasta carbonera… with custard for dessert. We had such a great time cooking and enjoying each other.

Definitely a perfect Valentine’s Day celebration.

On Sunday, the actual Vday, I decorated the bathroom mirror with little hearts (cut out from Charlotte’s beautiful artwork) that listed just some of the ways I love my sweet man.

Then, we were off! It was Baby Day!

First stop: the hospital to visit my beautiful friend who just had a tiny little man on Friday. Will. Oy. How cute, huh?

Then, we played cupid fairy and dropped off some cupcakes at a friend’s house who just recently had a little guy.

With all the driving (probably 2 hours total), I decided to give C her Valentine’s Day gift from Mommy early. I’ll do a separate post, but I made her a memory game with cards featuring our family. She LOVES THEM!

And our next stop: Another baby visit! This time we were off to our friends’ house to meet their newest addition, Mackenzie, and play with their older daughter, Madison. We brought lunch and caught up and watched the girls play. Charlotte is finally at an age where she’s really playing with her friends. It’s a blast to watch.

By the time we got home, it was 2 or 230 (we left the house at 9am). Thankfully, Charlotte napped right away so we could all get a little rest in. Then, Mark’s dad and step mom came over to see the little lady and brought us some dinner on the cold snowy evening. It was great!

All in all, a total whirlwind of fun and love.

Another great weekend

Posted on July 14, 2015 by playinghousewi

This summer has been so much fun! I feel like with my June 27th… Or 28th (I can’t remember) due date and my July 16th delivery, I spent a whole heck of a lot of the summer waiting for baby to arrive and hibernating once she did.

Regardless, we are definitely making up for it now. Between the fun family activities and visiting with friends, it’s just been a blast.

Friday we had a low-key evening with my folks. Nothing too crazy, just a quick dinner at mom’s and then off to bed for the little one and some wine and relaxation (aka tutu making) for hubs and I.

Tutus are done!

On Saturday, I went and got a mani with my mom and sis and then mom and I went to Costco… It was time to do some party shopping.

Then, Mark’s momma came over to play with C and Marky and I headed to our friend’s for her lake’s annual fire works and a fun little BBQ!

On Sunday, after some family snuggles, we met Mark’s mom at the breeder because she got a new and totally adorable new pup. She’s the cutest!

After naps, marky and Charlie went to his dad’s for their weekly visit and I went to my friend Jenna’s kiddies’ bday party! She made the cutest dang ninja turtle cakes ever. Also, I’m obsessed with her potted plants. Such a pretty arrangement.

After the party, it was time for dinner with my brosef who’s in town!

Post-Due-Date Weekend #1 Update

Posted on July 1, 2014 by playinghousewi

It feels a little cruel to have neglected my blog for the 4 days post-due date. I’m sorry to say, it isn’t because I’m sleep-deprived with a new baby. While I might be a touch sleep deprived, baby is still inside.

So, here’s our weekend:

On Friday, I had lunch with this hot momma! Only 3 months post-partum and she looks this good! And check out that little man… such a cutie!

Baby Phoenix!

Momma & Baby!

Friday evening, Marky and I went out for a delicious seafood dinner (complimets of my aunt and uncle who gifted us with a very geerous gift card!) to celebrate the big due date. After, we stopped by Mark's mom's house to say hi and visit with this cute little lady pup.

Friday evening, Marky and I went out for a delicious seafood dinner (compliments of my aunt and uncle who gifted us with a very generous gift card!) to celebrate the big due date. After, we stopped by Mark’s mom’s house to say hi and visit with this cute little lady pup.

Saturday morning I went for a mani/pedi with mom, sis and my sweet niece. I chose a salmony pink.

Gabbers drying her nails.

After nails, Marky and I went for lunch with Pop, Mark’s 97-year-old gramps! (And Toby of course.)

It was humid… check out those feet… and it was only 1pm (ish)

Hence, while Mark fixed some wires at Pop’s house, I rested my ogre feet.

After Pop’s, Marky and I relaxed a bit, went for a nice walk with pups, and then went swimming. I swam laps for a little over an hour. It felt amazing. And my feet even recovered a little. Temporarily of course.

Big Belly Selfie. After swimming, we had dinner with my parents and then Mark and I went to the park to catch the local fireworks!

After such a busy day/night, ice was a requirement for those feet.

Sunday pretty much looked like this or the inside version of the same position.

While hubs worked on our financials.

At some point during the weekend, we had our chair delivered. And… I don’t like the color. Urgh.

My attempt at a panoramic of the room. The chair is too similar in color to the walls. And I don’t know that I like the fabric.

Lots of Celebrations & Fun – Weekend Recap

Posted on May 12, 2014 by playinghousewi

On Friday, the weather was starting to heat up and everything was feeling great. Work was a little slow, but I had the pup with me, so that made it sillier.

My pup, the contortionist.

After work, we headed over to our friend Mike & Kari’s for a little BBQ get together. Mike and Kari had a wee little one, Madison, just about a year ago and she’s perfectly adorable and behaved and so sweet. Anyway, our friend Tricia and her boyfriend joined too, and we had a little “pre-birthday” celebration for Tricia and I (Tricia’s bday was yesterday, mine is Thursday).

Birthday shenanigans.

Make a wish!!

The gang hanging out!

Saturday morning we got up early for our first labor & delivery class with our doula! She had tons of helpful information to share with us (some of it a repeat from our hospital class), and it really went well! I’ll share more about this in a separate post.

The remainder of Saturday was spent running errands and doing chores around the house. Your standard grocery shopping, meal prep, yard work, vacuuming, etc. Then, Saturday night, the hubs and I just relaxed and got to bed early.

Then Sunday was the big Mother’s Day brunch at our house. We had my sister and her family over and my Milly (mother-in-law) and Pop (Mark’s grandfather) over. Unfortunately, my parents did not come, as they went to a baseball game instead. While this is something my mother and I fought about and have since “resolved,” the feelings of disappointment and frustration definitely reemerged yesterday. I know the baby hasn’t arrived yet, but it was technically my first mother’s day… it would have been nice to share the day with my own mother.

Anyway, we did a waffle bar that really turned out wonderfully! We had different spreads for the waffles (butter, nutella, fudge, jam) and then tons of toppings (syrup, whipped cream, honey, berries, bananas, chocolate chips, powdered sugar, yogurt… that might have been all).

The table set for 8!

Yummy parfait compliments of Milly.

Wheat & Original Waffles… both delish!

The spreads!

Mmmm toppings!

Delicious egg bake!

That’s a tasty plate!

The waffle bar in action!

Pop & Gabs laughing it up!

That’s a spoonful of chocolate chips!

Heyyyyy!!

What are you looking at?

Where’d I go?

Here I am!!

Third helping??

Have I mentioned I suck at quantities? These are all leftovers!

Here are the recipes I used…

Whole Grain Waffles (I thought these were pretty darn good!)

Waffles of Insane Greatness (These are the original waffles and I’m not gonna lie, they were pretty damn good)

Sausage & Egg Casserole with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Mozzarella (This REALLY hit the spot. So light and fluffy and awesome)

After everyone left, Marky and I totally just took advantage of the day. First the boys crashed…

Food coma.

Then, we snuggled up on the couch and took a nice nap. All the windows were open, allowing for a nice warm breeze. It was wonderful. Once we woke up, we moved to the hammock for some more R&R.

Ahhh heaven. But I’m not going to lie. As we laid there, I couldn’t help but think, “holy shit, I’m going to miss this.” It was so quiet and peaceful and just us. I know that when baby comes, she will offer us new and different perfect experiences like these, but regardless, the thought made me feel a little guilty.

After nap & hammock time, we went to the store to put a little icing on our unhealthy day. In honor of Mom’s Day, we bought all of my cravings for dinner. Now, this is something we haven’t really done more than a couple times. But, I figured, might as well enjoy satisfying these little cravings before the pregnancy is over, right? So this was our dinner…

Frozen pizza (yes, I have a total weakness for the stuff)

Caesar Salad Kit

And here’s the kicker….

Jalepeno cheetos! My favorite chip!

The boys’ couch!

We watched Delivery Man with the windows open and just enjoyed the night. The movie wasn’t great, but the day and evening were perfection. I couldn’t have asked for more from my amazing hubs. I should also mention that he wrote the sweetest card EVER and got me a gift certificate for Nordstrom Rack (one just opened and I’ve been dying to go check it out)!

Symptoms

I’m definitely at a much less comfortable place than I’ve been for the rest of the pregnancy. It’s still manageable, but I’m achy all over, my back doesn’t feel great, and my hands and wrists are quite sore. Thankfully I read on BabyCenter that this was normal. I’m trying to do wrist stretches periodically throughout the day, but it doesn’t seem to help. Oh well, right?

A Busy Weekend Recap

Posted on May 5, 2014 by playinghousewi

Another weekend recapped in photos…

Toby and I were on the same page on Friday afternoon. We were definitely feeling sluggish and just over it. Especially after putting in some extra hours last week.

We were both pleasantly surprised when the hubs popped in for a surprise visit after his training session was let out. That helped with the afternoon.

After work, we all napped for a little before heading to my sweet friend Kate’s parents’ house for a farewell dinner. She’s abandoning us and moving to Seattle. New job at Expedia!

Carrie brought her tiny little 6-week-old man, Phoenix to the dinner!

Such a smoosher.

He’s way too cute!

We enjoyed a night of pizza making, GREAT food, and perfect conversation.

Why would she ever want to leave this??

Resident Chef Erica shaping the dough.

Mmmm cheese!

How cute are they?

The boys!

Watch out, Kate! First comes Seattle, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in the baby carriage 🙂 I think your hubs-to-be might be ready!

Is that an AMAZING looking pizza or what?

I have to include this salad dressing recipe, because it was AMAZING! Compliments of Kate’s momma. SO tasty.

On Saturday, we were supposed to have our first labor class with our doula, but she had to cancel because she had a birth on Friday night. I know this is crappy to admit, but I struggled/struggle to believe it. I had emailed her as a little reminder on Friday night and she emailed me back within 10 minutes to cancel and say she was on her way to a birth. Maybe I’m just being skeptical. Oh well.

The lack of class left room for EXCESSIVE amounts of yard work…

Marky trimmed trees…

A lot of trees.

And I was in charge of raking and picking up sticks. So, after literally almost 8 hours of hard labor… at 8 months pregnant… I decided that it might have been a little bit too much. By the end of the day, I had a few Braxton Hicks contractions right in a row, which kind of scared me. It could have been from over exertion or dehydration… but either way, it was probably too much. I felt fine while we were doing it though? In fact, it felt nice to get in some exercise and enjoy the sunshine.

After all that gardening, Marky and I chowed down some Mexican food! Mmm. I was in bed by 10.

Sunday was another big day! It was my sweet Ashley’s bridal shower… with a derby theme! I’m not going to lie, I was a little anxious about having to get dressed up in a theme, because having to get dressed seems to be quite the challenge these days, but I somehow managed. I miraculously squeezed my 8-month-prego belly bump into a pre-pregs dress, threw on a blazer and a hat and was “off to the races.” Well, actually, I stopped for a mani with my mom and sis first! I’m not so sure about my color… it’s a little blah or maybe just too close to my hand color.

The color’s a little lame.

Anyway, the shower was absolutely gorgeous and I had such a great time! It was great to see all my ladies, eat delicious food and play some silly games.

The beautiful bride-to-be!

The bridesmaids (minus a couple)!

I’m second from the left! I’ve decided that black + a blazer = a pregnant woman’s best friend! I had quite a few conversations with folks I hadn’t seen in a while that were interupted by, “OMG! You’re pregnant! I didn’t even notice!” Now, I read a lot of articles and posts about things NOT to say to a pregnant momma… for the record, let’s add that one to the list of things TO SAY!

How gorg are these flower centerpieces? This pic is taken in my kitchen… yes, I was lucky enough to bring this prize home!

When I got home, poor Mark was still in the yard slaving away. Learning my lesson from the previous day, the hubs set Toby and I up on the hammock so we could keep him company.

And watch him work…

Ahhh finally sunshine!

All in all, it was a jam-packed and fun-filled weekend!

Symptoms

Ohhhh my back! I’m feeling a lot better than I did Saturday night, but I’ve still got some serious aching in my back from all that yard work. Good news? I think I’ll survive 🙂 I’m also a bit tired. I woke up at 4 am to pee and could not get back to sleep. I ended up reading until around 5:30 and then my alarm went off at 6:30. I know, I know… practice. Whatever. I’m tired.

But, as I lay there in bed thinking about the baby, I did get pretty excited. Even a little excited for the late night feedings. Not all of them… every night… every two hours… but just to breastfeed my little girl and love on her. And also, I was thinking… in waking hours, you change and feed a baby every two hours(ish)… do you have to change a baby every two hours at night, too? My guess is yes… but oofta. That’s rough.

Anyway, I just can’t wait to meet her. As of today, there are only 53 days left! Ehh… I don’t like that number. Sounds too high. As of today, there are only 7.5 weeks left! That’s better!

Holy Packed Weekend

Posted on April 21, 2014 by playinghousewi

Ya know those weekends where you need a weekend from the weekend? Yup! That’s where I’m at. Although, I can’t complain too much because it’s in the 70’s and sunny today. Too bad i’m back at work.

Anyway, the crazily busy weekend…

Friday night we went to Mark’s dad and step mom’s house for a nice dinner and to hang out with Mark’s sister and her girlies. They played with Toby the Wonderpup and we all brainstormed baby names. No conclusion was made except for the fact that I have a lot of name rules and names I just don’t like. The struggle continues.

On Saturday morning, I went with my mom and sis for manis. I chose a nice, easter-egg-inspired look.

Post-mani, it was time to head to my brother-in-law’s work to go through THREE PALLETS worth of baby gear…

First pallet coming off the shelf…

HOLY BABY GEAR!

The guards.

More gear coming down…

Mini bassinet!

Our official tester…

Gabby approved!

Once we packed up about a pallet and half’s worth of gear into the conversion van, it was time to bring it to the house and unload…

Baby gear takes over.

That’s a lot of stuff…

And of course, once it was in the house, we had to unload! Thank goodness for my sis, who helped me weed through a bazillion boxes of baby clothes!

Once my sister and her fam left, we had our second set of visitors for the day! Mark’s sis and nieces came for a slumber party. NOTE: These faces are a direct result of the captivating movie, The Last Unicorn.

Sunday morning snuggles before the kids and Mark headed to the zoo and I went to make returns and purchases at BuyBuy Baby!

That evening, Marky and I went to dinner at my mom and dad’s house and then we all (Mark, his sister, the nieces, and I) met up again at our house for more play time and organization time.

This morning, the girls helped Mark give Toby an impromptu foot cleaning in the sink. It’s still a bit muddy outside.

Marky, Babyboo and I with Emily this morning!

Symptoms

I’ve been feeling pretty great. The little babe has been in the head-down position for the past couple weeks; however, yesterday she seemed to have flipped into the breech position. HOWEVER… this morning it really seemed to feel like she was flipping. I’m not 100% sure at this point. I know she still has a couple weeks before it actually matters, but even from a comfort perspective, it’s way more comfortable when she’s head down. I don’t love those tiny feet tapping on my bladder.

Other than that, I’m pretty much all done with all the purchasing. I found some awesome nursing bras from Target that seem to fit really well. They’re supportive without being restrictive and have no wire. Here are the bras. I got the black and white polka dot one… because it’s adorable! I also picked up a couple of these nursing tanks. So, I think I’m pretty much set to pack my hospital bag this week.

Also, I think I mentioned last week that my AMAZING friend works for Kohl’s Corporate and was able to get us a SERIOUS discount on just about EVERYTHING left on our registry. Everything from swaddles and bibs to our stroller, baby monitors, diaper pail and hamper. And here’s the fun part… There happened to be a special going last week, so she got 65% off! Our total spent from $660 and total saved was around $930! Talk about a deal! We ordered 25 items ranging in price from $9.99 to $519.99 (full price). Woo! I love deals.

Needless to say, I will be running home from work daily to check for packages. SUCH excitement.

One more little tidbit… tonight we have our childbirthing class at the hospital. We are taking this class (6 hours total, split between two days) and a private class at our house with our Doula (8 hours total, split between two days). Hopefully we’ll learn a few things 🙂

Playing in a Winter Wonderland

Posted on December 9, 2013 by playinghousewi

It was a SNOWY, COLD, and BEAUTIFUL Wisconsin weekend. As with most of our weekends lately, we were overbooked and jam packed. Here’s the update…

Friday we had a lovely dinner with some of our favorite new parents and their sweet little baby. It was great! The pup came with and “played” with their GIANT golden doodle. My friend gave me the book, Belly Laughs, by Jenny McCarthy. I’m pretty excited to read it.

On Saturday, I got my nails done with my mom, sister and niece, then got my hair done. It was a nice little morning. Then, it was off to celebrate my friend’s birthday with some cookie making and dinner!

Apparently this is what 29 looks like… one martini and three waters. CHEERS!

Little Erica making a wish!

The birthday girl.

And look at the sweet little onesie my friend, Carrie, got for the babes…

The apple of my eye.

On Sunday, the snow began. While it’s a pain in the butt and obviously very cold, it’s also pretty darn fun! I think Toby is a fan…

Then, we trekked our way out to have a Santa brunch with my parents, grandparents, sister and her fam. It was delicious and a blast. It’s not every day that you get to hang out with Santa AND his reindeer.

Winter Wonderland…

The Reindeer!

Making sure Santa knows exactly what we want this year… one healthy baby, please!

Of course, I must include photos of my cute little nephew.

And another…

Post-brunch, we went back to my parents house to curl up on the couch, watch a little football a shitty movie (word to the wise, skip Girl Most Likely… it was painful!), and relax. We did watch the show Naked and Afraid, which was pretty awesome. Also, my parents – who are crazy Brewers Baseball fans – gave us a cute little presie for the new baby!

First little sports outfit! Can’t wait to take the tiny child to a game… and eat so many hot dog nitrates 🙂

And now, it’s back to Monday… the work week begins… again. But, on the positive, at least everything is looking beautiful!

Pulling out of our neighborhood. Beautiful snow, beautiful sky.

Symptoms

The biggest symptoms lately have been my emotions and my boobs. Holy smokes are they sore. And giant. It makes me quite sad. I’m not a fan of my growing chest and am starting to worry about just how big (and painful) they’re going to get. I’m going to have to get special bras if they keep this growth spurt up. Yikes. And they are definitely very tender and achy. The other prevailing symptom is my roller coaster of emotions. I am a very snappy, tearful, bipolar version of myself, which is REALLY exhausting. One minute I’m ecstatic, one minute I’m crying, and then the next, I’m threatening someone’s life. It’s too much. This week, my goal is balance and mental stability. Think centered thoughts, think centered thoughts.

Another Picture of the Baby Boo & a Weekend Recap

Posted on November 25, 2013 by playinghousewi

Baby “Blob” Lang! Ultrasound #2

Today was our second ultrasound appointment, and my doctor’s way of appeasing my stubborn mind. As I’ve mentioned before, I was not convinced by the due date given at our last ultrasound appointment, so my doctor had suggested we do another one. Well, turns out the ultrasound tech and the fancy machinery is staying pretty consistent. My most recent due date was June 30th and today it was adjusted to June 27th. As I stated before, I am totally prepared to accept June 27th as the day and begin tracking the baby’s growth accordingly.

So, here’s where we’re at… I’m officially 9 weeks and 3 days pregnant, our baby is just over an inch from head to rump, and the heartbeat was 174 beats per minute.

Ultrasound 1 vs Ultrasound 2

It must be mentioned, that my mom is now convinced it’s going to be a girl! Only 10 more weeks until we find out! Also, I didn’t really see the heart beat last time, although my hubs did. This time, it was so clear and amazing to see. That little heart is working hard and was totally crazy and wonderful to be able to watch.

I’m not 100% sure, but I think we might have another ultrasound at 12 weeks for the nuchal screening. Can’t wait until the babe looks a little less like a blob and a little more like a sweet baby.

Weekend Recap

It was, once again, a pretty busy weekend. We were still furiously working to get my grandparents set up in their new place. Here’s some progress…