Friday, December 16, 2011

Day 18

Day 18: Something you miss.

I miss summers in New Hampshire. I miss driving up to my family's cottage on Lake Winnipesaukee and going on boat rides. It was so relaxing up there and the air was so clean. I have so many good memories at the campground and it's one of my favorite places to be.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Day 17

Day 17: Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs.

Oh good an easy one! Although I have no idea where my iPod is so I'll use the small amount of music on my iTunes.
1. "How Long" Spoken
2. "Lucy Locket" Kid's music
3. "Words, hands, hearts" Yellowcard
4. "After" MxPx
5. "Breakdown" Relient K
6. "Action" The Starting Line
7. "Bloodless" Emery
8. "You make me, me" MxPx
9. "10,000 Miles" Craig's Brother
10. "The Bad Times[reprise]" Dogwood

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Day 16

Day 16: Your opinion about your body and how comfortable you are with it.

I've been avoiding this one but I guess I have to get it over with at some point. I've never had huge issues with my body. I have a thin frame and have always been fairly thin to average. My main issue is my stomach. I have been cursed blessed with the family trait of a pot-belly. Even at my thinnest my belly always seems to stick out. As a gymnast in my younger years it wasn't really noticeable. When I stopped working out regularly I became really self-conscious about it. I have pictures that look like I'm pregnant when I'm not! My brother once edited a picture for me to flatten my belly because it was so bad! I know part of it is because I tend to slouch and then my belly sticks out even more. After having a baby it's just gotten worse. I know I need to work out more and I hope I can discipline myself to do that. We just got the Kinect for XBox and a dancing game that's really fun but also a good workout. My goal is to dance at least 3 times a week to start.

Friday, December 2, 2011

She's not a baby anymore

Is it just me or does 15 months sound so much older and more toddler-like than 12/13/14 months. This is the first "month-day" that makes me really feel like I don't have a baby anymore. More than ever my little R always knows just what she wants and is determined to get it. Just the other day I watched her open up the fridge(with just a tiny bit of help from mama), climb up on the flat bottom below the drawers, reach up to the top shelf, and grab her sippy cup. She also won't hesitate to stand up on her tiptoes to reach on the table or counter and grab some crackers that were left out. We're lucky if she gets more in her mouth than on the floor in that way but hey that's why we have dogs right? Right. This is probably one reason the furbabies love her so much. Little girl please slow down a little!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Day 15

Day 15: Death row meal

Do I have to pick just one? This is a hard choice for me because I have 2 favorite meals. Those who know me well enough could probably guess!
Prime rib and chicken fingers.
I'll take both please! I love prime rib and it's definitely something I choose when I want to treat myself. Cook it medium with lots of au jus, a side of mashed potatoes, and some green beans and I am a happy girl. Chicken fingers are my comfort food. I may have been called "the chicken finger girl" more than once. It's my go-to meal when I'm at a new place or can't decide what to order. I like them with honey mustard and french fries.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Fun down south

Last week we were down in Sierra Vista while Travis finished up a block of training classes at Ft. Huachuca. He was only supposed to be there for 3 weeks but during the 3rd week they told him he had to stay for one more. We had had quite enough of missing each other so we packed up the dogs and the baby and headed down south. The weather was beautiful while we were down there. It was a little boring while Travis was in class because he had to take the car which meant I had to stay in the hotel room the whole day.
One night (Wednesday?) we went to Daisy Mae's Steakhouse with 2 of his buddies. While the atmosphere and service were nothing to write home about the ribeye we all got was A-MA-ZING. We also confirmed that Raedyn is not a fan of potatoes. The next night we went on a nice drive to Bisbee. We saw the old copper mine and then drove through the town which was so cute. It was dark by when we were driving by the shops so I'd really like to go back during the day and check it out some more.
The Mine

Bisbee
Travis got out early on Friday so we went to Tombstone. I had heard a lot about it so I was excited to go check it out. The town was really neat but after spending a whole week in a hotel we didn't have the money to spend on the activities and food. Travis of course had to buy some Sarsaparilla but that was the extent of our spending that day.
Tombstone

Raedyn seeing a horse for the first time

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Fun up north

It's been busy times for the past week and half or so. Last weekend (7-8) we headed up to Payson to go camping. I was expecting it to be quite a bit cooler than down in the Valley but was I surprised when we got up there and saw SNOW on the ground!

It was freezing the night we got up there so Raedyn and I stayed in the nice warm car while my awesome husband set up the tent.

There was no one around us so we were able to let the dogs roam free for the most part. They had a blast! Raedyn got us up nice and early on Saturday and we got a fire going and had some breakfast.

We got Raedyn all bundled up and she had a great time walking around exploring.


We went on a hike, came back for lunch, and then went to the Tonto Fish Hatchery.




We roasted marshmallows for s'mores but ended up forgetting the bag with the graham crackers in it so I improvised.

We were going to stay another night but after forgetting quite a few things we were all pretty much over camping by Saturday evening and went home early. It was still nice and relaxing family time.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

First stomach bug

I guess it had to happen sometime! Other than getting thrush as a newborn and a few sniffles here and there, Raedyn has been perfectly healthy for the last year. Yesterday I noticed she was a little fussy and tired. We were going to go to The Little Gym but I decided to keep her home just in case. I was sitting down on the computer chair and she came up to me and wanted to cuddle. Now that she's walking, this doesn't happen often so I was enjoying it while it lasted! Without warning she throws up ALL OVER ME! She has never actually thrown up before besides the normal baby spit-up. My clothes, the chair, and the floor were covered but somehow Raedyn only ended up with a little on her arm. She seemed fine afterwards and she didn't have a fever so I wasn't too worried but we hung out at home most of the day just in case. She threw up one more time just before going to bed and that was it.

She's been fine today so we went to the park to have a picnic and play around a little. It wasn't too bad in the shade while we were eating but in the sun it was so hot! We didn't stay long but it was nice to get out of the house.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Day 14:

Day 14: A picture of you last year – how have you changed?


That was me about this time last year. Raedyn was only a few weeks old and I was exhilarated and exhausted at the same time. Part of me felt like I might never get the hang of motherhood. I put a lot of pressure on myself to "do it all." Even though people always tell you "sleep when the baby sleeps" I felt like I was being lazy or a slob if I left a few dishes in the sink. I wondered if I would ever feel like myself again.

Now, I'm still exhausted more than I'd like but I've stopped being so hard on myself. As conceited as it may sound, I feel like I'm a pretty good mom. My daughter is healthy and happy so I must be doing something right! It's easy to fall into those feelings of needing to be the perfect housewife/mom when you stay at home. I've been focusing on myself a little more and learning new things.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Day 13

Day 13: Goals

I want to be a loving wife and mom to my husband and daughter every single day. Some days are easier than others but I know I must always love even when it's hard.

I want NEED to finish college so I don't feel like I wasted 4.5 years of my life and actually get a degree to be proud of. I want to get rid of my pot-belly and feel strong and sexy again. I want to be more diligent at recording milestones and memories as my daughter grows.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Day 12

Day 12: Something you don’t leave the house without.

My cellphone, house keys, diapers, and lip balm.

The end.

Ok that was boring so I'll leave you with some Raedyn cuteness!




Friday, September 9, 2011

Day 11

Day 11: A quote you love.

It's the perfect day for this question. While on facebook today I had an old status pop up from this day in 2009. It said "Love can take a little, love can give a little more." It's actually a lyric from a song by Skillet and it's one of my favorites. On this day 2 years ago Travis was well into Basic Training for the army. It wasn't an easy time but songs like this helped to get me though. I was reminded that in love when both partners are giving more than they take, both are happy. It seems simple really but sometimes we get so caught up in what we want and what we're not getting that we forget to think about the other person and their needs.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Day 10

Day 10: Something you’re afraid of.

I'm afraid of being the center of attention. I have always been pretty shy and although I've gotten better over the years I still prefer not to have everyone's eyes on me. I'm afraid of screwing up in front of people or embarrassing myself. I'm afraid that my daughter will have the same issues and I don't want that kind of life for her.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Day 9

Day 9: A favorite picture of your best friend.

Does this really need an explanation?


Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Looking back

Tomorrow is my sweet "little" baby's first birthday. In honor of this I thought I would post my birth story and some pictures. :)

Raedyn Hope was born on Wednesday Sept. 1, 2010 at 12:53pm. She was 8lbs and 20in long.

I started having contractions at about 2:30am on Wednesday morning but they were so mild I assumed they were just the same braxton hicks I had been having. When they wouldn't go away I started timing them and they were 5-10 min apart. I still didn't believe it was the real thing but I kept timing them and when they started gettting closer together I woke my husband up. He wanted to get to the hospital right then but I was worried they would send me home so I started walking around the house to see if it they would let up. Of course they didn't and they got to about 3 min apart when we decided it was time to go in.

We got to the hospital at about 5am and they checked me and I was 5cm! I was so relieved that we didn't have to be sent home! L&D was packed that day so I was actually in triage for quite a while. We ended up getting put in the only room they had available which was the "isolation room." It was not nearly as welcoming as the room we saw on our tour.

Over the next 3 hours the contractions got really intense and were less than a minute apart. I felt like I barely had time to catch my breath. I was sure they must be doing something. The nurse checked me again and I was still only 5cm! At that point I decided to go ahead and get the epidural so I would have the strength to push when the time came. I was glad that I was still able to feel the contractions but they weren't painful. The doctor came in and broke my water and started me on pitocin.

Within an hour I was at 8cm and about 2 hours after that I was ready to push! I was totally watching Full House in between contractions! I pushed for about 45 min and then she was out! When they put her on my chest it was seriously the best moment of my life so far. She was so beautiful! She stopped crying as soon as I started talking to her and she opened her big eyes and stared at me.






Day 8

Day 8: A place you’ve traveled to and where else you want to travel.

Kenya!








I would love to travel to Australia, Ireland, and Germany!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Day 7

Day 7: What makes you happy.

My husband.
My daughter.
Chocolate.
Hugs.
Swimming.
Star gazing.
Helping people.
Kids.
Music.
Best Friends.
Reminiscing.
Old pictures.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Day 6

Day 6: Pet peeves.

Being interrupted
Nosy people
Doing the dishes
People who can't spell simple words and who RiTE LyKe DiS
Bad drivers
People who hear something new or different and automatically think it's stupid/wrong/gross etc. without doing any research on the subject.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Day 5

Day 5: What song inspires you.

Right now I'm loving "In your arms" by Meredith Andrews.
Video

Lyrics:
I'm turning the world off
Embracing the silence
Walking away from all the voices
That are Screaming in my ear


I've been too caught up
I've been so stressed out
All of the noise replaced the whisper
That used to be so clear


So I close every door
Put my face back on the floor


And I'm in Your arms
Where I belong
There's no other place for me
Than right where You are

Some things just don't change
When I call Your name
You never hesitate to wrap me in endless grace
When I'm in Your arms


I'm letting my fears go
Giving You control
For You are the one who holds me closer
In my soul's darkest night


Everything I see
Is so temporary
So help me to run the race before me
With eternity in sight


Now I close every door
Put my face back on the floor


And I'm in Your arms
Where I belong
There's no other place for me
Than right where You are

Some things just don't change
When I call Your name
You never hesitate to wrap me in endless grace
When I'm in Your arms


To sit at Your feet
At Your table of mercy
To gaze on Your beauty, my Lord

To drink from Your well
And be changed by Your glory
How could I ask for more
Jesus, how could I ask for more


And I'm in Your arms
Where I belong
There's no other place for me
Than right where You are

Some things just don't change
When I call Your name
You never hesitate to wrap me in endless grace
When I'm in Your arms


It's a beautiful song and it reminds me to take the time to shut out the world and just be embraced by God.

Monday, August 22, 2011

The Little Gym

I have been looking for things to do during the day to get me and Raedyn out of the house. I checked out the website for The Little Gym and found out they let you go to an introductory class for free! Raedyn and I went today and she had a blast! She wasn't as shy as I thought she might be and by the end she was off exploring by herself. I really liked the format and how the class had some structure but was still laid back. The instructor let us know not to worry if the little ones wanted to wander off instead of sit and participate the whole time. The class we went to was for 10-19 months so most of them have pretty short attention spans. It's $88 a month which isn't too bad since you get to go to 2 classes per week. You sign up for one class per week and can pick any other class to go to for free. I'll have to fill Travis in on the payment part of it but I hope we'll be able to work it into the budget.

Day 4

Day 4: Your family.


I'm married to my best friend Travis and we have an adorable baby girl named Raedyn. Travis and I met on a mission trip to Kenya in 2006. We started dating around October of 2006 although neither of us remember exactly when. He proposed in March of 2007 at Fenway Park when we went home to visit my family. We got married on August 8th, 2008 at Castleton in Windham, NH. I found out I was pregnant on January 2, 2010 and Raedyn was born on September 1, 2010. We also have 2 dogs. Keira is a 2 year old German Shepherd mix and Lexi is a two year old mutt.


Sunday, August 21, 2011

Day 3

Day 3: Your first love.

That would be my high school boyfriend who we'll call Z. It was the summer when I turned 15 and we had been on a mission trip with our youth group. We liked each other but were both too shy to do anything about it. My friend H had enough of our shy smiles and telling gazes at each other so she took things into her own hands. It went something like this:

H: Do you like her?
Z: Yeaaah
H: Do you like him?
Me(very quietly): Yeah
H: Then ASK HER OUT!
Z: Will you go out with me?
Me: Yes

Oh young love! Haha! We dated for a little over 2 years and it definitely taught me a lot about relationships

Friday, August 19, 2011

Day 2

Day 2: Nicknames.

I've had plenty of nicknames through the years but none have ever really stuck. When I was a baby my nickname was Chubbabubba. Yes, I was a chunky baby. Other nicknames from my childhood were princess, bug, crybaby and my least favorite Allan's(or Heather's) little sister. My husband has plenty of "pet" names for me like princess, sweetheart, baby, and bum. My newest one, given to me by the cutest little baby, has got to be my favorite of all time. She calls me "Mama."

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Day 1

Day 1: Introduce, recent picture of yourself, 15 interesting facts.

This is me.
Well a very made-up me! My sister-in-law had fun doing my hair and make-up for this picture.

15 facts
(I can't promise they'll be interesting)
1. I'm extremely shy...until you get to know me
2. I lived in the same house for the first 18.5 years of my life
3. I grew up in a tiny town in southern New Hampshire
4. I can bend my elbows backwards and clap with one hand
5. My husband proposed at Fenway Park 5 months after we started dating
6. I originally moved to Arizona to go to college with my high school boyfriend
7. I graduated high school with high honors
8. I was always the "good girl" in high school but had one night of rebellion involving a B&E
9. I had stitches 3 times before I entered Kindergarten
10. I used to be a gymnast
11. I never had a single craving while pregnant
12. I am a Christian
13. I met my husband on a 5 week mission trip to Kenya
14. My favorite place to be is on a speeding boat on Lake Winnipesaukee
15. I care way to much about what people think of me

It's time

Time to keep up with this blog! To help me get going I'm going to do a 30 day blog challenge. I found a few different ones in my internet search but I think I'm going to stick with this one.

30 Day Blog Challenge

Day 1: Introduce, recent picture of yourself, 15 interesting facts.
Day 2: Nicknames.
Day 3: Your first love.
Day 4: Your family.
Day 5: What song inspires you.
Day 6: Pet peeves.
Day 7: What makes you happy.
Day 8: A place you’ve traveled to and where else you want to travel.
Day 9: A favorite picture of your best friend.
Day 10: Something you’re afraid of.
Day 11: A quote you love.
Day 12: Something you don’t leave the house without.
Day 13: Goals.
Day 14: A picture of you last year – how have you changed?
Day 15: Death row meal.
Day 16: Your opinion about your body and how comfortable you are with it.
Day 17: Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs.
Day 18: Something you miss.
Day 19: Things you want to say to an ex.
Day 20: Something you wonder “What if…?” about.
Day 21: Something you’re proud of.
Day 22: What do you want your future to be like?
Day 23: Favorite Movies and TV Show.
Day 24: Something you’ve learned.
Day 25: Something you are looking forward to.
Day 26: Your Dream Wedding.
Day 27: Photo of your city .
Day 28: What stresses you out?
Day 29: Who is you hero?
Day 30: A picture of yourself this day and 5 good things that happened since you started the challenge.

I hope this will give me the jumpstart I need!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

4 months

Raedyn had her 4 month doctors appointment yesterday. We finally managed to jump through all the hoops necessary to get her on our insurance so it was a little late. She weighed 17lbs 9.5oz and was about 26in long although I don't think the length is accurate because of how they measure her. She also got 2 shots and the first one didn't even phase her! The second made her scream so loud but she stopped as soon as daddy picked her up. :) The doctor also gave us the green light to start some cereal whenever we felt comfortable with it. I'm not sure when I want to start and origianlly I was going to wait til 6 months but she just seems ready for it. I have a feeling she is going to love it!
Here she is showing off her battle wounds.