Mommy and Me Archives - NAPTIME MEETINGS

{Little} Big Girl in a Bigger City

Every year we do a big girls trip to San Francisco with a bunch of the girls in my family. The ages generally range from about 10 to 85. You wouldn’t think it would be that exciting but it’s the trip I look forward to every year. This year Kallie got to come with me! It was her first time on an airplane and as it got closer, I got pretty nervous for how it would be. To make matters worse, she has had a chronic sickness for like 5 months, and got tubes the morning of the day we left. She’s a trooper. Luckily she slept the whole flight there. Best baby.

Our first day there was jam-packed. We went to Sausalito and it was so much fun! It’s such a cute little town. We ate at a yummy burger place called Napa Valley Burger (http://www.napavalleyburgercompany.com). Kallie loved the slice of cheese they brought out for her and she slept like a champ on the fairy over. We had our first experience with Uber there and it was a little shaky (with 12 people) but we finally seemed to be able to figure it out. From there we went to the Golden Gate Bridge and the sun was shining the whole time! It was gorgeous. From the bridge we caught a bus on over to Ghirardelli and indulged in all the goodness. By that time, we were totally worn out and just went back to the room and laughed the rest of the night. Kallie was just an entertainer and loved being the center of attention for all of these girls who just ate her up.

The next three days can be summed up in two words: eating and shopping. But for real. We went to Mr. Holmes Bakehouse one morning in search for the infamous Cruffin. We got there 30 minutes before it opened only to find out the oven was broken. Jokes on us. We still had their amazing donuts but I was not pleased with our loss (#firstworldproblems). Our last morning there we ate at this adorable and delicious breakfast place called Mymy (not to be confused with Mamas, which was closed that day). We got a smorgasbord of food but my favorite was hands down the lemon ricotta pancakes. I’m salivating just thinking of them.

The flight home I think Kallie snorted caffeine because she was EVERYWHERE. I had never been more happy to hear the wheels and landing gear release and to finally be off of that airplane. Overall, she was awesome the whole trip but we were both ready to get home to Josh. She took 2 hour naps in her stroller everyday and was just another one of the girls along for the fun with us! Here’s to many more years to come!

How have your travel experience with your littles been?? Any tricks?

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Thankful Turkey Hands

Growing up we would always make a thankful turkey, artfully crafted out of the shaping of our hands (man, our moms were geniuses) and would then write things we were thankful for. Back then, a good majority of what I was thankful for encompassed things such as my favorite blanket, my books (nerd alert), candy, Beauty and the Beast, etc. Although I’m still extremely thankful for all of those things, they’ve moved their way down on my list…slightly. This year, my thankful list is hard to include just 5 things, but I’ll see if I can prioritize.

Kallie. This has been hands down the greatest year and so fun to see each new thing that she does. She has such a funny personality that is also sweet and sincere at the same time. She has such a light about her that she literally is the sunshine in every room. I know I am so biased in my opinion of her, but she really is such a perfect little baby.
Josh. I guess I could have combined 1 & 2 in “family”, but I think this year Josh deserves his own bullet point. This past year I’ve had to get a few different surgeries and Josh has been so helpful and supportive through it all and helped me do things and has seen things that I’m sure he never thought he would have when I was his blushing bride on our wedding day. He is always supportive of me with every new, crazy idea I have and will back me up, even if he doesn’t fully agree with me. As much as he tries to hide it, he’s a genuine softy and is always looking for ways to help other people. And he’s loyal as I’ll get out. Something I know I can rely greatly on.
Work. As silly as it is, work this year is in my top things to be grateful for. I not only love what I do, but I love whom I work with. It’s like I get to go and hang out with my bff’s everyday and get paid to do it. I keep on waiting for it to be a big surprise that I’ll wake up from, but I actually am able to do something that I enjoy with people that I love, that also allows me to work a flexible schedule so I can still be present with Kallie. My job definitely makes the cut this year.
Modern Medicine. I’m extremely thankful for modern medicine this year. As previously mentioned, after I had Kallie I had to go in for 2 D&C’s because I started to hemorrhage 2 different times. Without the great doctors, I could have easily bled out and would not even be here today to be writing a thankful list. With Kallie’s bouts of RSV, multiple colds, coughs, eczema, allergies (I swear this kid has been sick for 3 months straight) I’m glad there is medicine that can help her to feel better and allow her to be the sweetheart she is. Now just knock on wood that Josh isn’t next…
Support System. I wouldn’t be able to function everyday without my wonderful support system. This goes so beyond just friends and family (but they are included too). From the people that bring me a Diet Coke or Rice Krispie treat when I’m having a bad day, to my mom and Paige and the people that help me with Kallie every day, to the person who will make a comment on something they enjoyed reading on here (you don’t know how happy that makes me – it’s like my 2^nd baby with my thoughts vulnerably out in the open), to my people I can just vent to and be fully myself to, to just the overall awesome group of people that are in my life; I am thankful for you.

It’s interesting that as I get older, my turkey-hand thankful list is comprised less of actual things and more of the people that are in my life and make my life happy. Thank you for being you.

What are you thankful for this year? What made it on your thankful turkey hand??

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A Humbled Heart

A few nights ago, I was rocking Kallie to sleep (as I do every night) when Josh came in after she’d been asleep for about 45 minutes, and I finally conceded to put her in her crib. There are certain nights (more often than I’d like to admit) where I hold her perfect sleeping little innocent body, and my eyes well with tears and I fully understand the expression that “my heart just might burst” because of how grateful I am for her, and the opportunity I have to be her mom.

This same night as I was looking down at her sweet face, my mind wandered to the people in my life (and all moms who have experienced this) who have lost a child or who have difficulty getting pregnant, and my heart goes out to them. I am continually impressed with the strength they have. On my sleepless nights when Kallie isn’t feeling well and just needs to be snuggled, I am not upset that I have to get up with her and miss out on my precious sleep (that’s what caffeine is for). Instead, I am grateful for the chance to hold her and be with her. I would rather have a million sleepless nights than one night without her, and I can’t help but think about and send my love to those that are having struggles that I can’t even pretend to understand.

Each one of you is an example to me of how to be strong day after day when you feel like you are crumbling inside. And no matter how much it hurts, you are able to be the one that encourages me and puts in perspective what a struggle really is. Your example helps me to see that a deal that falls through or that a meal that goes unmade because I didn’t have the energy really isn’t that big of a deal. My arms are outstretched and my heart is humbled at the thought of what you are experiencing. Tonight, I will hold my baby extra tight. Tonight, I will be extra grateful for my miracle little one. Tomorrow, I will look again to your strength and perseverance to lean on and learn from, and hope to offer some comfort and support to your anguish.

What does your mind wander to at night? What are you grateful for today? Who in your life is an example to you?

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Wrapped Up In You

The moment I heard that Garth Brooks was coming to SLC, I was determined to go. I have been a diehard Garth fan since I was 8 and I had my new Christmas stereo that I would play his CD in over, and over, and over, while I would belt it out. When Josh and I were dating we would pretty much do the same thing, but in a car while we were driving. Needless to say, Garth holds a special place in my heart. And it was a great excuse for a Date Night. I always forget how important it is to make time for date nights because I always want to bring Kallie with us, but it is definitely necessary for Josh and me to have time to enjoy being together. This was the perfect night for it too.

We wanted to get down to the Delta Center (OK, I guess it’s now the Vivint something or other arena, but it will always be the Delta Center to me) early so that we could eat and beat any lines. By the time we ate our Costa Vida and got through security, we still had a good hour and fifteen minutes to spare. We decided to go check out our seats to see how truly bad they were. We hiked up the stairs to make our way to the upper bowl, started walking to our gate while trying to hide how heavy we were breathing from the climb, when a man in a black hoody stopped us to ask us a question. Josh and I both were slightly annoyed because we thought he was trying to sell us something. He asked us where our seats were and we kindly let him know they were clear in the heck at the top. He coyly smiled and said, “not anymore!” and handed us two tickets for the SECOND ROW! Dumbfounded, we just kept staring at him, then the tickets, then back at him asking him how this was possible. He said, “I work for Mr. Brooks, and he likes to take care of his fans.” I had full body chills, the biggest grin I could muster, and told him I wanted to hug him.

We stumbled our way to our seats, still in shock, and couldn’t believe this was really happening. We were waiting for Ashton to pop out saying he punk’d us. But it was real. And it was amazing. I still get giddy thinking about the entire night. We were so close and he sounded so good and all of my life dreams came true. I felt like Garth and I were BFF by the end of the night and I’m sure he felt the same. He sang every song that I loved and I belted each one out with my off-tune voice. Between the singing and the screaming, my voice was gone by the end of the night. Yep, I was that person.

During the show and much to my surprise, John Stockton showed up on stage to present Garth with the banner for him selling the most tickets in SLC ever. I think John got a bigger cheer than Garth did. To top the night off, while Trisha was singing “She’s In Love With The Boy” they were doing a kiss cam. I was half watching it while watching Trisha, when I looked up and saw two very familiar people. Wait a minute! It was Josh and me! I’ve never been on the kiss cam before! Luckily a few friends in the crowd were able to snap a quick picture while we were on the screen. I didn’t want the night to end. It was so fun to spend a night with Josh and I still am reminiscing over everything! Thank you strange man in the black hoody, Garth, John, Josh, and the camera man for truly making it a night to remember.

What are some fun date nights you do?

What crazy things have happened to you at a concert?

: Tickets changed to 2nd row

: Dumbfounded

: Selfie #1

: GARTH!

: So close.

: Seflie #2

: John Stockton <3

: Selfie #3

: New BFF

: Kiss Cam

: After the Kiss Cam. Bashful

: So in love

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Workout When?

Between getting to work around 6:30-7:00 am and coming home to play with Kallie and Josh, my time for working out seems to have been eliminated. Pre-baby, I was one of those annoyingly consistent 6 days a week worker outers (maybe one day I’ll get back there). Now I need to try and fit my workouts in when I can and have to get creative. And I’ve had to learn to be OK if I miss a day too. In no way am I a fitness expert, and I may not have perfect form, but I love to be active. Here is one of my favorite workouts to do with Kallie – my nice 30 lb weight (yes – she is 15 months and weighs 30 lbs)! It allows me to play with her at the same time I’m getting my work out in.

50 jumping jacks (Kallie likes to dance by me)

50 baby-weighted squats

50 baby-weighted lunges (25 each leg)

10 baby lifts/tosses

1 minute plank

Repeat 3 times. Remember to have fun with it!

Kallie dancing while I do lanky jumping jacks

Baby-weighted squats #2

Baby-weighted squats #1

Baby-weighted lunges #1

Baby-weighted lunges #2

Baby lifts/tosses #1

Baby lifts/tosses #2

Baby lifts/tosses #3 (this one is her favorite one)

1 minute plank while Kallie monitors form.

What are some of your favorite workouts to do with your babies?! I love adding new tricks!

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Where to Work?

Going into the professional world, I always assumed that when I had kids I would work from home for at least part of the time. I held onto this assumption even for a few weeks after I had Kallie. I surprised myself by ultimately deciding to work everyday in the office (although on a somewhat flexible schedule of getting in early and leaving a little early). Luckily, my work was great with me and wanted to work with me on the option that would make the most sense re-entering the workforce post baby. I’ve been trying to have a lot more focus on being present which played a big part in my decision. It all boiled down to: when I was at work, I wanted to be at work. When I was at home, I wanted to be home.

I know that a lot of people work at home and do it very successfully. I love having the option to work from home when I need to or if I need to finish some things up after Kallie goes to bed. With my personality, it would be hard to work from home continuously. When I start something, I like to do it until it is done [insert Netflix binge watching] or until I have a dedicated time to stop. I felt that if I worked from home, I would never feel like I was giving either work or home life the appropriate amount of attention and would never feel “done” (and I would just want to play with Kallie all the time). Granted, I don’t think we ever feel as though we allocate enough time to our responsibilities at home because there are always things that we can be working on, but it would be so much harder for me to feel like I was being there for Kallie even though I would be home. I would be in every sense of the word “even when you’re here you’re not here”.

Love when I get to spend time with my Kallie.

By compartmentalizing these two huge components of my life, it has allowed me to be a better me at work and a better me at home. During my time at work I can be completely focused (albeit our 12:00 Diet Coke runs), and when I get home, I can more easily flip the switch to “just be” with Kallie. I try to put my phone to the side and focus on her. There are obviously times when I need to take phone calls at home or login to finish something, for which I am grateful I have the ability to do work from home, but overall I appreciate the separation of work and home.

What is your setup and what have you found works best for you?!

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I’m on a Boat

A few months back, a group of our friends were planning a cruise to the Western Caribbean and we thought it would be a great idea to go and get away. As the trip came closer and closer, it hit us harder than we thought it would at the time of booking: we have to leave Kallie. I had traveled a couple of times for work but those were just 1-3 nights at a time where I had full FaceTime capabilities to still see her everyday. This was going to be 8 days in the middle of the ocean with spotty, overpriced internet. I started to panic. I wasn’t ready to leave my baby that long. Everyone assured me it would be fine, and I knew she would have the best care, but it made me sick to my stomach at the thought of not seeing her for that long.

The cruise turned out to be great, but I missed Kallie even more than I thought I would. The second day we were gone, we got a text from her babysitter Paige that Kallie was running a little bit of a fever and they were taking her into the doctor. My heart sunk. Josh and I had all sorts of parent guilt because we were out basking in the sun while our baby was at home sick and on an antibiotic. She needed her mom to hold her and snuggle with her. We were lucky she had my mom and Paige to give her a lot of love while we were gone. We tried the best we could to not stew over it, I may have shed a few tears about it, but there was nothing we could do about it.

Paige would send us a million Snap Chats a day so we could at least see her because FaceTime or Skype didn’t work very well. The highlight of each of our days was sitting around our phones and waiting for each video to load so that we could see a 10 second glimpse of what Kallie was up to, or how she seemed to be feeling that day. I know we sound so pathetic, but it really was our favorite part of every day.

Our cruise went to Haiti, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel (Western Caribbean). Everywhere was gorgeous! The boat was awesome with a Flowrider and rock climbing wall! I was sore for a week after from doing both of those – joke’s on me! Josh took the cake for most competitions won including mini golf, black jack, ping pong, and a few more…such a proud wife moment. At Haiti, they had a big water park full of inflatable toys that we played on (so fun) until someone got stung by a jellyfish and I got bit by sea lice (whatever those are). The rest of the time we decided to play it safe and stay on the beach and soak in the sun.

Jamaica was a blast!! We did a canopy zipline through the jungle and then hiked up Dunn’s River Falls (note – if anyone does this cruise make sure to book your excursion through the ship because all of the places have contracted with the cruise lines and you aren’t even able to go to some if you didn’t do it through the ship). In Grand Cayman, we found a private boat to take our group of 14 out snorkeling and swim with the stingrays. That was such a surreal experience! A couple of the guys, unbeknownst to us, were putting squid on our backs so the stingrays kept on swimming up on all of the girls. It was so scary but cool at the same time. Mostly scary though. I couldn’t stay in the water too long because I chickened out. I jumped in long enough to experience it, get the picture, and peace out. I would highly recommend it, though.

Cozumel was surprisingly one of my favorites. We rented scooters and rode around the town, went to the little shops, and ate at a local, authentic restaurant. It. Was. To. Die. For. Out of all of the exquisite food the whole week, that was our favorite! We just got yummy tacos, fresh guacamole and fresh salsa and it was SO good. I’m salivating just thinking about it. Josh and I really liked this stop because unlike the other ones where we were going, and going, and going, this one we got to spend more quality time together (heart eyes).

By the time the last day came around, we couldn’t WAIT to see Kallie. It was hard to sleep that night in anticipation. When my mom showed up at the airport with her, Kallie had the biggest smile and was so excited to see us. I guess she really does know who we are :). Come to find out, my mom had fractured both of her legs while we were gone, too, and still took care of a sick Kallie before and after work – she is a saint! She didn’t want to tell us because she didn’t want us to worry. Needless to say, Josh and I felt AWFUL once we found out. As much fun as I had on the cruise and loved being able to spend more time with Josh and our friends, I was SO glad to be home with my little sweetie! It is good to take a break from work and the daily grind to get refreshed, but it will be a while before we take our next long vacation sans Kallie!

Did you have as hard of time as we did leaving your littles for a trip?

What has been one of your favorite trips?

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Sunday’s are for Baking

Weekends are always cheat days and Sunday’s are the cheat day of the weekend. Kallie is the best little helper whenever we make things. She’s the taste tester (I know you wouldn’t think she likes treats by looking at her but……she loves em). Today we made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies because it’s fall and they are our favorite so we take any excuse to eat anything pumpkin we can. The best part about these: 3 ingredients. The 2nd best part about these: no eggs so Kallie can eat as much of the dough as she wants.

1 15 oz can of Libby’s canned pumpkin

1 box of spice cake mix (whatever kind is on sale)

As many chocolate chips as you want

Mix. Drop on cookie sheet (I use an ice cream scoop). Bake 18-20 minutes at 350. Eat all in one sitting.

You’re welcome.

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I’m Raising a Puppy

The other morning after I’d hit snooze one too many times, I was rushing to get ready in time to make my early morning meeting that I always seem to have scheduled on mornings such as these. I threw on my clothes, put on my left shoe and, alas, my right shoe was nowhere to be found. I hobbled all around the house at 6:02 in the morning looking for my shoe (aka Kallie’s favorite toy) trying to be as quiet and discrete as possible, which can be a task for me – just ask Josh, the more doors slammed and foot stomps the better – yet it was nowhere to be found. At this moment, it dawned on me that I was, in fact, raising a puppy.

10 reasons my baby is actually a puppy:

She chews on everything: my shoes, blankets, fingers, blocks, balls, you name it. If it fits, she will chew.
Her favorite chew toy is my shoe and she moves them everywhere.
She pees on me unintentionally.
She eats food that’s fallen on the floor before I can pick it up.
She gets really excited anytime someone walks in the door and her head perks up to see who it is.
We clap and reward her every time she does a trick.
She’s cute and cuddly and has a lot of rolls.
She follows us everywhere we go.
She loves to give kisses.
She is so lovable and makes everyone happy when they are around her!

What does your baby do that is puppy-esque?!

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Screw Sleep Training

As you can tell from every other post: I like to have a plan. I like to feel like I am prepared. I can alter the course once it’s in motion, but I like to have that initial blueprint. While I was pregnant, I was terrified to have a baby. I didn’t know the first thing about being a mom. I had a dream pregnancy and would have liked to have been pregnant for 9 more months, because I knew how to take care of her in there. I just drank a lot of water, tried not to eat too much pizza and ice cream, and went to bed early. Easy. To try and appease my mind craving the preparation, I decided to read a highly recommended book Baby Wise.

I read it intensely, made my own Cliff’s Notes version so I could regurgitate everything to Josh (not a chance he was going to read it) and felt as if I now understood everything I needed to know in the first few months of having a baby. I felt a small sense of preparedness. For any of you that have read this, you know there is a big section on sleep training and how to get your baby to go down without relying on being rocked or nursed to sleep by the mother. It made great sense to me when I read it and I had plans to execute it to perfection so that I would have a perfectly trained baby by the time I was to go back to work.

And then Kallie was born.

She was so sweet and I hungered to hold her and be with her when she was down. My favorite thing to do every night (and every few hours) was to rock her to sleep. There is nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby. After about a month, I was ready to start this so called “cry it out” method. I figured I’d start while Josh was out golfing because he couldn’t stand the thought of her crying at all. I laid her down in her crib, swaddled with precision, and had the soothing sound of rain coming out of her noise machine. I turned on her monitor, walked out, and shut the door. And that’s when it all went downhill. Kallie began to cry. And cry. And cry. After what felt like an entire one of Josh’s golf rounds, I looked at the clock. It had been 3 minutes. I waited 2 more and couldn’t stand it anymore. I ran in, swooped her up, and we rocked until she was fast asleep.

While on maternity leave, my mind would become blurred to this experience and I tried 1 or 2 more times, but to no avail. Once she was asleep, she did a great job at staying asleep until she needed to be fed. She consistently started sleeping through the night at about 5 months (with a few sleep regressions mixed in there) so I didn’t feel like I was doing her a total coddling disservice.

Once I went back to work, there wasn’t a chance I was going to try it again. She is 14 months now and I still proudly can say that I rock her to sleep every night. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. I know that at some point I will have to let her learn how to fall asleep on her own and that sleep training enthusiasts are cringing, but right now that is our time together. Because I am not with her all day, that is a precious time for me to be able to hold her and nurture her. I don’t necessarily even do it for her anymore; I do it for me. She’s so active and busy now that this is the time where she still feels like my baby and not the grown up she seems to be being lately. I look forward to our snuggle time every night where I can just kiss her chubby little cheeks and we can giggle and then she can sweetly fall asleep.

I know that sleep training can be a great thing and works really well for some people. For me, I need my snuggle time. And for that – screw sleep training.

Did anyone else have a hard time with sleep training? Does anyone have any good stories with sleep training to encourage the ones like me who could cut it?

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Who I Am