Sleeping habits - the adult version

No, no - not that kind of adult version.

 

I’m talking about actual sleep here.

 

More precisely, cuddle habits.

 

Allow me to set the scene.

 

 

It’s 10pm and the two of us climb into bed.  Jon grabs his 3 pillows, places two under his head and one on top of his face.  He lays on his back.

 

I climb in, move both of my pillows off to the side, and snuggle up to Jon.  He shifts.  I wait and when he’s done, I snuggle up closer.  He shifts again and tells me he’s uncomfortable.  I say “ok, then you snuggle me.”  He sighs, turns and spoons me.  I snuggle up with my pillows and let out a happy sigh.

 

 

10 minutes later Jon shifts away.  I let out a frustrated sigh.  Jon falls asleep in 5 minutes.  I stay up for another 30 because I can’t fall asleep unless I’m snuggling.

 

Tell me - are you a snuggler?

If you’re snuggling, are you the big spoon or the little spoon?

Best Mother’s Day EVER

This year was my first Mother’s Day.  Wanna see what we did?
We woke up (early as usual) and spent some time playing and smiling with Peanut.  Then we showered, dressed, packed a diaper bag and headed to our favorite breakfast place.

This place has flamingos everywhere. I love it.  The best part about our brunch (aside from my company) was that it was the first time this year that we got to sit outside. 

(Side note – I really need new hi-lights. Don’t worry I have an appointment next weekend so you won’t have to look at my icky roots any more.)
Peanut, as usual, woke up just minutes before our food arrived so Jon and I took turns holding her and eating.

After breakfast (and a quick stop at home to feed Peanut and grab the pups), our little family headed over to the beach.

Did you notice anything different?

Peanut-butter face is in the big girl stroller!

Sunday morning Jon and I decided that it was time to let Peanut try the stroller without the car-seat attachment.

She loved it! 

We reclined the seat for her nap and then pulled it up when she woke up.

The puppies had a really good time too, since it’s been a couple of weeks since they’ve had a decent walk.

After about 5 million pictures by the beach,

we headed home to take a snack break (for Peanut) and to drop off the pups before our next destination.
We picked up some lunch (Cohen’s in Madison – YUM!) and headed over to the Clinton Winery.

Jon and I did the tasting

while Peanut took a nap (she’s not 21 yet).

Then I got a glass of my favorite Chardonnay (2005 Estate Reserve Chardonnay) and we set up for a little picnic.

All in all, this was pretty much an amazing day.  I couldn’t have asked for anything more from my first Mother’s Day. 
What about you?  What did you do on Mother’s Day?  Was this your first Mother’s Day?

Friday Five - why I find marriage challenging

Last time I did a post about why I love being married.  This week I thought I'd do the other end of the spectrum - why I find marriage challenging.  Feel free to leave a comment with yours!

1.  Because there is more than one way to do things.  Did you know that?  In case you did not, allow me to blow your mind.  There is more than one way to do things!  Yeah.  I'm not pulling your leg.  When Jon and I got married we were still very polite around one another.  Then about a year into it things got real.  For example, Jon was loading the dishwasher and I said, "Hey honey, those don't go there."  And he said, "Why not?"  And I was at a loss for words.  "Well, because I don't put those there."  He looked at me, shook his head and kept going.  I'll skip over the fight the follows and jump right to the fact that the dishes came out clean.  Apparently there is more than one way to do things and your way is not always the right way.  Having a baby brought this to a whole new level, but I won't even get into that.

2.  Because sharing finances isn't easy.  Even for us, who have never really known adult life without sharing all the financial responsibilities.  What my husband might consider to be proper spending (i.e. 2 rounds of golf, followed by beers) might not be what I consider to be a good use of our hard-earned dollars.  In the meantime, I don't think that Jonathan considers a $5 latte or yet another silly gadget on amazon.com to be a great idea (not that he ever actually tells me that).  But with shared finances you sometimes have to bite your tongue and let the other person spend some dollars the way they want to.  PS- I find that having a "fun" fund for each person is a "must" to save your marriage. 

3.  Because you have to share the remote control.  I don't know what goes on in your household, but in ours the TV is a pretty important member of our family.  That means that there are lots of fights over what we will watch.  Especially when our "shared" shows aren't on.  Then we have to choose between Pawn Stars (his) and Teen Mom 2 (mine).  This isn't always easy.  Even with DVR.  Thankfully for us we also have Netflix.  I'm not proud to admit this but there are evenings when Jon will be sitting with headphones hooked up to his iPAD while watching Netflix next to me on the couch because I won the remote privileges.

4.  Because you have to compromise.  Unfortunately, no matter how alike you are, at one point or another you're going to have to compromise.  This means you are going to have to give up something.  Have I ever mentioned how stubborn I am?  Needless to say, I am not a fan.  Yet no amount of my feet stomping and pouting seems to convince Jon that we should move the couch for the umpteenth time when he just wants to relax.

5.  Because there is no end to the annoying habits.  You'll just have to learn how to live with them.  Marriage is a long-term commitment.  Apparently when you say "I do," you not only promise to love and cherish your spouse, you're also promising to ignore the fact that he just said the same joke you've heard 509846053968 times and the gum-chewing noises.  Even when it's really hard to let those things go.  Even when they really really annoying.  Ok, I may have to work on this one.


Alright peeps, you know the drill.
Got a Friday Five?  Link up!

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Chores

Those of you who have followed along with my blog, Facebook, or Twitter must know that I'm a bit of an obsessive person.  I obsess about routines and schedules, diets, exercise, cleanliness...the list goes on.  Usually I can keep my need for order and cleanliness in check, or at least to myself.  But starting in my pregnancy and going forward I've started to lost it.

At one week over my due date I was scrubbing the kitchen floor on my hands and knees.  When Peanut was born I thought I could let go of the chores but things go even worse.  Anything out of order seemed to drive me insane.  I started seeing dog hair everywhere.  And therefore I would frantically run around the house with a vacuum cleaner anytime Cailey's white hair would make its appearance (which, since it's winter and she has her long winter coat, is all the time).  By the time Jon would come home from work I would look like a mad woman pulling my hair out and exhausted from trying to keep the place clean and taking care of the baby.

So my genius husband told me to make a list - something I had done a couple of years ago when I was overwhelmed with something else (I can't even remember now).  We talked about the fact that I needed to lower my standards, especially since Peanut got her shots and has all my immunities now.  So we came up with a daily chore list that would allow me to feel good about a clean house, but allow things to be just a little less crazy than I'm used to (vacuuming every single day just wasn't in the cards for us anymore).

So I made a list.  Then I rewrote it.  Then I looked it over and changed it again.  (Umm, didn't I just tell you I'm a little crazy like that?)  And finally, it was something that would work for our new family.  So we hung it up on the mirror in the front hallway/living room.  Right next to my two favorite pictures.

And Katie's card.

This gives us Thursday, Friday and Sunday off from doing any chores so we can enjoy some time as a family.

How do you deal with chores in your home? 

Dear husband of mine

Happy Valentine's Day, my love.

We've had our share of amazing Valentine's days.  Enjoying amazing romantic dinners and getting away for a weekend.  But this year beats them all.

This year we had a third wheel tag along.

This was the first year that we didn't get to go out or leave town for the weekend.

This year we had to stay in and spend the evening at home.

And you know what?  I loved every moment of it.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Hope yours was as wonderful as ours.

Happy birthday Hubs!

Today is a very special day.

This guy

is 28 years old.

Well, old man, what can I say?

You're my best friend,

my partner in crime,

my true love.

I can't nor want to imagine a single day without you in my life.

You're an amazing husband

and a wonderful father.

We love you and wish you the happiest of birthdays!

PS- I think Peanut has a present for you in her diaper.

Boas, girls, champagne and spas

Now obviously I can't go too far into the details of what really goes into a Bachelorette party because it's so mysteriously awesome.  But I can give you a tiny little glimpse. 

We spent some time getting dressed up and then doing paper work.

We picked out the most ridiculous color for our fingers and toes.

We made sure to leave a trail wherever we went to find our way back home.

We had snacks to keep our bellies nice and full.

We sat around and chit-chatted.

We had some...juice.

Then we finished the night off with a very calm and quiet dinner where absolutely nothing exciting happened.

Okay.  That probably is not how it happened but there's no way I'm sharing the real thing with ya and ruining the mystery.

Daycare - a major decision

Sometimes I feel like I'm a 15 year-old kid that fell asleep and woke up as a 27-year old.  Somewhere in the past 12 years, time decided to fly and leave me, mouth wide open, staring after it, wondering what just happened.

Don't get me wrong, I'm totally aware that I spent the past 12 years racing through time, anxious to get to the next moment in my life.  Just 4 years to finish high school. Just 4 years of college.  And then, suddenly, we were in the real world.  It wasn't too bad at first - we were just a couple of kids playing house.  And then we decided to get married.  What's the big deal? We're just a couple of kids playing house.  And then we decided to buy a house.  Okay.  Pause here.  This one was actually terrifying. I hyperventilated as the lawyer pushed over a stack about yay high over to me and it screamed "YOU'RE ABOUT TO SIGN YOUR LIFE AWAY!"  But that was only about 30 minutes and then we were in the front yard of our very own home, toasting with champagne and taking a ride on our lawn mower.  After all, we were just a couple of kids playing house.

About five and a half months ago we made yet another huge decision.  We decided to have a little Peanut.  Yes - it was a huge decision.  Yes - we thought for years about this one.  But we were still a couple of kids, making some big decisions.  We were excited to have Peanut, but not much really changed.

Until it became a reality.  That was approximately a month ago when these two kids decided to take a step into our very first daycare.  And then it was suddenly real.  We were at a daycare.  We were making a huge decision for our little Peanut.  Our first major decision about someone else's life.  Someone else who wasn't even born yet!  Someone who would rely on us to make all the major decisions.

So these couple of kids put their very adult hats on and walk in and out of about 5 more daycares in the area.  And you know what we learned?  When you walk into a daycare that's right - you feel it.  Just like the day we looked into one another's eyes one night and knew we were meant to be.  Just like the day we walked into the little fixer-upper house and knew it was meant to be our first home.  We walked into one of these daycares and knew that we found what we were looking for!

This daycare is super perfect for us - it's privately owned, but not in someone's house.  It's run by someone who has kids and loves them.  The main belief in this daycare is that kids are meant to be loved.  And held.  And taken care of.  The place was open and bright.  It's minutes from our home and minutes from our work.  It's not exactly what I would call on the "cheaper" side, but our little Peanut deserves the best.

To do our due diligence, we're still seeing another 2-3 daycares to solidify our decision, but I'm so excited that we found some place that fits us and our beliefs about raising our little Peanut.

So - I'm dying to know.  What was/is important to you about picking a daycare?

Earthquake Zinfandel - Lodi Appelation - 2007

Tonight, Jon and I decided to go for a special little treat - a bottle of Earthquake Zinfandel.  Jon and I bought this bottle of wine on our Valentine's Day getaway this February.

We've never done something big for Valentine's Day, which is only a few days after Jon's birthday.  But this year I talked to my best friend, Inna (the one that's about to have a baby), and she told me that she and her husband once went to Portsmouth, NH for a weekend and had an amazing time.  Jon and I were feeling stressed and overwhelmed from work and life, so it was the perfect little getaway.  We got a co-worker to doggie-sit for us and took off to Portsmouth.

Portsmouth is gorgeous!  If you are ever looking for a little get away (and live nearby) or if you live far away but want to visit a quaint little town, Portsmouth, NH is your kind of place.

This quaint little town has everything for a romantic getaway, or even a nice weekend with some girl friends: good food, cute shops, amazing wine, and beautiful scenery.  Some of our favorite places were The Friendly Toast (there's another location in Boston area now!), Ristorante Massimo,  Popovers on the Square, and Cava.

Oh the food...mmm...I can barely stop myself from drooling right now.  Anyways, a bunch of the shops had some fun things like hilarious cards, dog treats (we got some v-day presents for Travis and Cailey), and entertaining tourist traps.  We had a really good time just walking around the streets, drinking coffee, and stopping in various shops to get souvenirs for ourselves.   One of the shops that we sopped in was a cheese and wine shop, and they had a tasting!

I love love love wine tastings!  Like food, wine is something that I love and enjoy tasting varieties of.  We went in and had an amazing time tasting chocolate flavored wine, a red sparkling wine (we bought a bottle of this as well that I'll blog about when we open it - it's delicious!), and some red Zinfandel.  I was still day-dreaming about the tasting when I decided to browse the isles of carefully arranged wine and tasting their cheese and crackers when I stumbled on a rack of Lodi Appelation wines, as well as M. Cossentino wine.  These vineyards are among my favorites!  I'm dying to visit them next time we are in CA.  In the meantime, I settle for buying these somewhat pricey bottles of wine.  Naturally, Jon and I bought a bottle of Earthquake, Seven Deadly Zins, and CigarZin from Cosentino.

Jon and I had the CigarZin before vacation so I'll have to blog about it another time.  Tonight we opened a bottle of Earthquake red Zinfandel.  And let me tell you - it is delicious.  We enjoy a bolder taste in our red wines, so if you usually drink Merlot or Pinot Noir, this is probably not your kind of wine.  But if you prefer a bottle of red zinfandel, a good Cab, or a nice thick Malbec, then this would be right up your alley.

There is nothing like taking your cutter and slicing the top of the wrapper in a perfect little circle.

Admiring the top of that cork makes my insides squirm.

Then I use my electric wine opener that my little sister gave me for Christmas and voila!

Oh yuck...please ignore that my fingers are all cracked and bleeding...I just washed my hands about 50 times because I was cooking chicken and Jon won't let me touch a single surface unless I've washed my hands twice. 

Anyways, here is my delicious bottle of wine.

It is magically delicious.  Now I am off to drink my wine...and make another post about dinner (the one that made my fingers crack).