Ten Months

Tripp,

You turned 10 months on September 1st. So what have you been up to? The better question might be, what have you not been up to? You are SO full of energy and constantly entertain those around you. You're a very happy and very active baby. I think months 9 & 10 have been my favorite so far, but I'll probably say that with lots of ages.

You crawl really fast now and try to get into everything. Papa is anxious for you to walk, but so far you only take steps holding onto furniture or our hands. If I turn my back on you you're playing with outlets, eating the remote control, playing with my cell phone, pulling books off the books shelves, or un-potting our plants. You love that you can stand up and spend a lot of your day standing and holding onto furniture. Your favorite place to stand is at the front door. You like to look outside and watch the leaves/people/cars/dogs/flag. You know how to wave goodbye when people leave our house and you love having visitors.

You never sit still unless you're really tired after your morning bottle. During that time you'll rest your head on my shoulder sometimes and it's the sweetest thing in the world. This usually only lasts about 10 seconds, but every once in a while you'll give me a good few minutes of cuddles. You've gotten better about sitting still to read books and now we can usually get through one or two books before naptime or bedtime before you squirm away. You're favorites are "Brown Bear, Brown Bear", "Little Penguin", "The Wheels on the Bus", and "Time for Bed".  You usually go to sleep at 6:45 or 7pm, after your bath, and sleep through the night until sometime between 5:15 and 6am. You're an early bird, but so are we, so that's ok. You also take a morning nap two hours after you wake up and then (usually) an afternoon nap.

You LOVE to eat. I hope you'll always be a foodie. You want to feed yourself everything, but I can hardly stand the mess so I try to still feed you really messy foods and let you give yourself less messy things. It's hard to say what you're favorite food is since you eat everything. The only food you don't like is hamburger - you spit it out twice when we tried it. Secretly this made me happy. :) You beg for food is somebody is eating and you're not. Also, whenever Papa or I go into the kitchen for any reason you quickly crawl in after us and whine/pull on our legs until we pick you up to show you what we're doing and/or give you food. It's a good thing our kitchen is small, because with you constantly hanging onto my legs, it's tough to move around.

You're very vocal and very friendly. Strangers don't bother you at all and in fact you seem to love the extra attention. You growl a lot, yell, babble, and laugh. You also know how to clap. We're working on "touchdown" and "high five". Somedays you get it and somedays you don't.  If we put you on the ground near another baby you always crawl towards them to say hello.

Summer Recap

This summer was one to remember. We didn't make it up north or to the beach, but we did a lot of other special things I'd like to remember.

Our summer started in mid-May when I became a SAHM and Joe started his internship. He worked hard all summer, loved his job, and can now say that he has an offer and will be starting full time in March! In some ways, I feel like I worked harder than I ever have this summer (taking care of a baby 24/7 is no joke), but in other ways I feel like I didn't work at all since I loved what I was doing. Spending every day just hanging out with my baby boy was so special.

Joe had the car at work this summer so Tripp and I were left to walk everywhere. And that's what we did! We averaged 4-5 miles a day, which made me feel better about not getting to go to the gym. We went to the park where Tripp had his first ride on a swing. We set up a blanket and watched kids playing on the playground. We walked to Kerrytown and the farmers's market a lot. We sometimes attended the storytime/playgroup at the downtown library, and we ran errands to the post office, bank, grocery store, etc. Getting out of the house at least once a day was crucial for this mama's sanity :)

In June, Joe's mom and Aunt came to visit us for a couple days and in August we went to MD to see them. Tripp had his first plane ride and did great both ways. He slept, ate grapes and Cheerios, played with toys, and spent lots of time flirting with the lady across the aisle from us. At Gigi's house he got to swim in the pool everyday which he loved. He also got to see Annapolis and meet our friends Marc and Cher. We also took a weekend trip to Grand Rapids in July. We stayed with our friends Matt and Kelly and visited the Frederik Meijer sculpture garden and had wonderful food at Marie Catrib's and Reserve. Tripp and I stayed one extra day so that we could visit with my high school friends and his future girlfriend Riley.

Tripp hit lots of milestones this summer. I should have been better about writing these down as they happened, but oh well. He began the summer by learning to sit up unassisted (at about 6.5 months). It wasn't long before he was scooting backwards and then "crawling" forwards. His crawl was unique when he started at about 7.5 months and looked more like a swimming motion. He "crawled" without using his legs, until about 9 months when he started to crawl for real. He loves pulling up on everything, can walk holding onto furniture or our hands and has figured out how to climb a few stairs. At about 8 months he finally started sleeping through the night and consistently taking two naps a day. Tripp's main form of communication is growling, but he can also say "mama". He knows how to give kisses (open mouth ones) and waves goodbye. It's been so much fun this summer watching him develop.

Back to School

Today is Joe's first day back to school for his final semester of law school. It's hard to believe how quickly law school has gone by. He might beg to differ since I'm sure his hours of studying felt incredibly long, but to me it's been the fastest 2.5 years I can remember. We've made great friends who we'll be sad to say goodbye to. Our personal lives have changed tremendously - new house, new baby, new jobs.

To celebrate back to school I made pumpkin spice pancakes this morning. Yum! I'm also hoping to get back to blogging and this time of year is as good a time as any to restart. I took an unintended summer break, but time is going so fast I want to document it so we can look back at this very special season of our lives. For example, how do we now have a ten month old!? Wasn't he born last week? :) Hopefully my next post will be a recap to document our new jobs and all the things that Tripp has been up to.

My New Job

My last day of work for company A was May 2nd. I had some good experiences there, traveled to lots of places (Chicago, Charlotte, St. Louis, NYC), moved around several times (Connecticut, D.C., Michigan), and met lots of friends (including Joe). However, my overall working experience was not positive and I don't miss it one tiny bit.

My new job is SO much better. Being a stay-at-home-mom wasn't something I always wanted (sometime I should write about why I'm still slightly insecure with my decision), but as soon as I knew I was having a baby I knew I would want to stay home with him. It's such a personal choice, and a tough one at that, but for me, I wanted to be there to raise my child full time. I'm very fortunate that things have worked out financially and that I have a husband who agrees that it's important for me to stay home and raise our child(ren).

Yesterday felt like my first real day as a SAHM. The week prior Joe was home, we had friends staying with us, and we went out of town for a couple days. Yesterday was just Tripp and me...all day. I loved it! I think Tripp did too. My goal for these first few weeks is to get Tripp on a schedule which will hopefully improve his sleep habits. So far I've been successful in getting him to take a morning nap every day I've been home. The rest of the day is sort of haphazard....but we're getting there. We went for two walks, ran errands that were within walking distance, tried some new food (oatmeal), and spent lots of time playing. I will admit that by about 4pm when Tripp was overtired and fussy and I hadn't talked to an adult all day, I had a moment where his 7pm bedtime seemed like a lifetime away. Even during that moment though, I was happy to be with him.

I happen to think my new boss is pretty cute!

Good Eats

This past weekend we reached a major milestone in the world of babyhood; Tripp ate his first solid food! I’ve felt for about a month now that he was ready for solids, but our doctor advised waiting until 6 months. Well, one week shy of 6 months I decided to go ahead and let him try some food and it was a great success. I decided months ago that avocado would be his first food. Full of healthy fats, vitamins, and easy for him to “chew”. I’ve done a lot of reading about first foods and I am not of the school that believes rice cereal is a necessary introduction to the culinary world. Why feed a baby something that is bland and full of empty calories when you can feed them something tasty and nutrient-packed? So anyways, I gave him a teaspoon full of avocado on Saturday and two on Sunday. Both times he eagerly grabbed at my hand to bring to food to his mouth faster and I was totally impressed that he immediately knew how to make a chewing motion. Considering how much trouble he had nursing and bottle feeding, I am very relieved to see that, at least so far, eating won’t be nearly as challenging. On Monday Joe and I had sweet potatoes with dinner so I fed little man some and he loved that just as much as the avocado. Next on the list will probably be oatmeal.

In related news, Tripp has his first tooth! It broke through last Monday night. I think he has another one on the way. Teething has not been pleasant for any of us – the poor guy seems like he’s in lots of pain. Feeding him some solids has actually been a good distraction to keep his mouth busy in between bottles.

In non-baby news, but still on the topic of food, I went with some friends to a delicious Indian lunch on Sunday. We tried Neehee’s in Canton and it was ah-mazing. It’s Indian street food and even though I can’t pronounce anything on the menu I can’t wait to go back again soon. I think the Papdi Chaat was my favorite item we tried.

What We've Been Up To

April has been a busy month for us. Here's a recap of what we've been up to:

• We spent the first weekend this month celebrating Joe's birthday and Tripp's first Easter. The Easter Bunny came to our house and brought Tripp his first Easter basket filled with argyle socks, link toys, a sunhat, and some bunny ears. Tripp did a great job modeling the ears when our friends Jake and Inga came over to take some pictures for us.
• Joe and I went out to dinner for his birthday at Chop House and enjoyed perfectly cooked filets that filled our iron requirements for the week. We also had some wine, poblano mac and cheese, and asparagus. We then came home and Joe watched the end of the Master's (his second favorite sporting event of the year after the Derby) while I put Tripp to bed.
• We also spent some time in Pinckney celebrating our friend Nash's second birthday. Tripp was a little overwhelmed with his first birthday party experience. He isn't used to so much toddler screeching :)
• The second weekend was highlighted with visits from my aunt from NY and Erin from Chicago. This was my aunt's first time meeting Tripp which was so fun. I wanted to take some pictures of her with him but totally forgot.
• Erin was here to run the Big House Big Heart race. She ran the 5k with some of our other friends and we had everyone over for brunch afterward. Joe and I signed up for the 1-mile fun run with Tripp, but there was so much chaos that we wound up just walking around the Big House a while and then going back home. We still managed to get a picture of Tripp's first visit to the Big House.
• Last weekend I also attended a baby shower for my friend Payal who is expecting a baby boy in May. There are so many babies being added to our group of friends!

In between all of these activities Joe has been trying to study as much as possible, write papers and finish out the semester. I've had tons of work to do - ironically more than most projects - so I'm trying to wrap it all up before the end of the month. Being busy has made the month go by quickly which is nice because we are very ready for this semester to be over!

Five Months

Dear Tripp,

On April 1st, you turned 5 months! I'll probably say this every month for your whole life, but it's amazing to me how quickly you grow and change. You did us a huge favor this past weekend by sleeping through the night, in your crib, for the first time ever! 7:45pm - 5am! This must have been your version of an April Fool's Day joke though because you've been up several times a night ever since then.

This past month you've really discovered your feet and you now love to grab onto your toes and bring them up to your mouth. As evidenced by our usual photo session, you were so interested in your toes that I only got a couple of good pictures. Another discovery is your thumb. As opposed to sucking on your whole hand, you can now just pop your thumb in and out when you need to. It's much easier for you to soothe yourself with your thumb than with a pacifier, and it's also pretty cute. You've also gotten really good at rolling over and often when we turn our backs on you, you will have rolled over from stomach to back or back to stomach. Another favorite activity now is standing up while we hold you. I'm surprised at how strong your little legs are.


You are still a little guy, even though you feel heavier every time I lift you up. At your 5 month dr. appointment you weighed 15 lbs, 4 oz (just under 50th percentile) and you were 26 inches (right at 50th percentile). Dr. Linker said that you are perfectly healthy, but that you definitely have some pre-teething drool so we're waiting for your first tooth any day now.

Cherry Vanilla Pound Cake

When creating my wedding registry, I added a bundt pan. I figured it was an essential thing for a serious baker to have and I had amassed a sizable collection of pound cake recipes I wanted to make. Two years later, I used that bundt pan for the first time. For some reason, every time I thought about making a pound cake I decided that it was too boring and I would make some other cake/cookie/pie recipe instead that I deemed more exciting. Finally, this past weekend, I found a recipe that sounded too good to pass up. I made this Cherry Vanilla Pound Cake and absolutely loved it. It was rich and moist and pretty thanks to the pink frosting. I'll make it again, but only if I have a reason to share it so that I'm not tempted to eat the whole thing on my own! It'd be perfect for a shower for a baby girl or a spring celebration.


Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 3 cups sugar
• 5 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 1/3 cups all purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 10 oz jars maraschino cherries

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a bundt pan with butter and sprinkle with flour
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and beat until fluffy
• Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and beat until well incorporated
• In a separate bowl, mix 3 cups flour, baking powder, and salt
• Gradually add flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until just combined
• Drain cherries, save the juice, and chop the cherries
• Mix chopped cherries with the 1/4 cup of flour
• Add cherries to the batter and gently stir
• Pour batter into prepared bundt pan and tap lightly on the counter to release air bubbles
• Bake approximately 1 hr, 20 mins until a toothpick comes out clean ( I actually had to bake mine for 1 hr, 30 mins)
• Turn pan upside down on wire rack to allow cake to release from pan and cool

To make the glaze, combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoons cherry juice, and 3 tablespoons whipping cream. Mix until the glaze is thin enough to drip down the sides of the cake.

Recipe adapted from Puttin' On the G.R.I.T.S.

Weird Weather

Two weeks ago we had tornadoes. Homes in Dexter were destroyed and we lost power and had some basement flooding. One week ago we had several days in the 80s and one day when I got out of work the radio announced that it was 89 degrees. Today, it's freezing cold outside. Spring weather in Michigan is unpredictable, but these past few weeks have been a little extreme.

Our magnolia tree, which usually blooms in mid to late April hit its peak last week with beautiful blooms and today most of those flowers are now dead and frost-burned.


Last week was so hot that the little man had to hangout in nothing but his diaper, bib, and sunglasses while helping Joe grill veggie burgers and yet today I'm guessing Inga put him in his snowsuit when she took him for a walk.


I'm not complaining since the warm days have meant lots of extra walks outside, but the weather lately certainly has been weird.

Hotel Chillin'

As I mentioned in my last post, we spent the night in Detroit when Joe had a work dinner to attend. We don't travel much these days, so I wanted to take advantage of a change of scenery even if it was only for one night 45 minutes from home.

Here's a couple pictures of Tripp enjoying himself in the king-size bed.

"Mama, these horizontal stripes make me look like I have a pot belly!"

"Mama, I like this big bed! Lots more room, but I'm still going to sleep pressed as close to you as I can!"

Happy Pi Day!

With today being Pi Day and all, I thought I'd write about some amazing pie I had recently. I haven't had much time to bake pies recently, but the pie I had this past weekend was better than anything I've ever baked. These amazing pies came from Love's Custard Pie stand in Detroit's Eastern Market. Joe and I had seen Love's featured on a recent episode of Bizarre Foods that featured Detroit. Since we spent this past Friday night in Detroit, we made a beeline to Eastern Market on Saturday morning and found Love's stand right away. We sampled and purchased the chess pie and the navy bean pie. Both were amazing. The chess pie was probably my favorite pie I've ever had (better than the chess pies I've made and even better than the chess pie we had at our wedding). The owner, who is from Mississippi, asked how it compared to South Carolina chess pies and I told him that this Mississippi version was sweeter and creamier than anything I've had before. The navy bean pie was also really good, and very unique. The bean puree texture was slightly gritty and the spices were similar to those of a pumpkin pie. I can't wait for our next Eastern Market visit so that we can get some more of Love's pies!

Photo courtesy of Love's Custard Pie

Another wonderful "pie" experience from this past weekend was the pizza pie we had at Supino Pizzeria in Detroit. Supino is located just outside of Eastern Market and was recently featured on both Bizarre Foods and Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. Joe and I shared a Bismarck which was topped with mozzarella, prosciutto, and an egg and a Supino which was topped with roasted garlic, black olives, chili oil, ricotta, and mozzarella. Both pizzas were fantastic and we can't wait to go back and try more kinds. We ended the meal by ordering two house-made cannolis. I am very picky about cannolis and am usually disappointed, but this one was authentic and perfect. The shell was fresh and crisp and the filling was perfectly smooth with a powdered sugar taste.

Overall, it was a yummy, pie-filled weekend in Detroit!

A Tale of Two Cookies

In my opinion, chocolate chip cookie lovers fall into one of two camps. There are those (me included) who like soft, chewy cookies and there are those that prefer crisp cookies with a crunch. Of course, there are tons of variations on chocolate chip cookies, but those are the two general sides. The past two weeks I've tried out two new chocolate chip cookie recipes, one soft and chewy and one crunchy.

The first recipe was advertised as the "BEST-EVER Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies". Now, that statement is a lot to live up to. While these were not the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had, I have to say that they were pretty darn good and I will definitely be making them again. There was nothing healthy about them, but they were yummy. Check out the Apple A Day blog for the full recipe.

Photo Credit: Apple A Day

In complete contrast to the cookies above, I also made some gluten-free Chocolate Chip/Almond Butter cookies. I had high hopes for these cookies, but they just weren't for me. I liked the flavor and the high protein content, but did not love that they turned out very thin and crunchy. If I was on a gluten-free diet though I think these would satisfy a craving for traditional chocolate chip cookies. If you like crunchy cookies, give these a try.

Photo Credit: NPR

Quinoa-Spinach Bake

With a cupboard full of healthy grains at home, Joe and I decided to look for some new, healthy recipes this week. He stumbled on this Quinoa-Spinach Bake when Googling quinoa recipes so we decided to give it a shot. We used frozen spinach since Plum Market was all out of fresh spinach and we also used dried herbs instead of fresh. Overall, I’d probably give this recipe a 6 out of 10. It was healthy and made great lunch leftovers, but I thought it lacked a little in flavor. We’ll probably make it again, but kick up the amount of herbs and spices next time.

Image courtesy of Whole Living

Four Months

Dear Tripp,

Last week, on March 1st, you turned 4 months old. How is that possible!? It seems like you were just a tiny newborn yesterday. Almost on cue, you decided that you'd celebrate 4 months of life by rolling over. We've been waiting for you to hit this milestone for a while now since you've been so close. You finally figure out how to drop your shoulder and roll from tummy to back and you've done it 6 times now. I thought it would scare you, but it didn't. As you get better at it, I imagine you'll roll over all the time since it's a great trick to end the dreaded tummy time (although you're protesting less about tummy time now).


You are really good at sitting up and you're becoming much less of a bobble head :). You can sit up on my lap for pretty long periods of time now and you spend most of that time smiling at me and chewing on your hands. Chewing on your hands is definitely your current favorite activity. A close second is looking at yourself in the mirror. You don't know who you're looking at, but I've discovered that you love when I hold you in front of our big bedroom mirror and let you stare at yourself. You just smile and smile, and sometimes act shy and bury your head into my shoulder. It is adorable. Other favorites include hugging George (your giraffe), having momma whistle at you and make a motor sound with my lips, and sitting in your bouncy chair. You can really get that chair going. Sometimes you like laying on your activity mat and sometimes you don't. Generally you always like being on your changing table and for whatever reason you really like getting dressed and undressed. One of the funniest things you do is put your hands behind your head while you're eating in a "I'm just chillin" pose. You babble quite a bit and most of your babbling sounds like you're making a "g" sound. You also gurgle and try your best to laugh. Whenever somebody smiles at you, you usually smile back unless you're tired. Overall, you're a very happy baby!

We still can't get you on a consistent sleeping schedule. With sleep and most things, you do what you want and have a mind of your own. We always put you down around 8pm after your bath (which you love) and sometimes you sleep 3 hrs, sometimes 5 hrs. Last week you slept 6 hrs straight two nights and I thought we were turning a corner, but then you went back to being up after 3 hrs. Naps are similar in that sometimes you take great, long naps, and then other days there's nothing we can do to get you to nap for more than 15 mins. Your Papa and I love sleeping so we're not sure how we got a baby who fights sleep so much. Oh well, we will keep trying for better sleeping habits!


Happy 4 months, little buzz!

Chef Brock...

...is writing a cookbook!?!?!? I couldn't be more excited. I don't know when it'll be published, but I plan to buy it right away when it is. Check out this Charlestonly 10 interview with Chef Brock.

No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

I always knew I would breastfeed my baby. It was never even a question and I never even considered an alternative. Breastfeeding is the healthiest choice for moms and babies and it's natural so why wouldn't I do it? As an added bonus, it's free...or so I thought. Before having Tripp I thought that my only investment would be buying a couple of nursing bras. Boy, was I wrong. Here's my current investment in breastfeeding (this does not include all the formula I'm buying to supplement):

1 lactation consultant assessment and consultation = $150
5 additional consultations and weight checks = $150
3 free consultations and weight checks = $0 (the lactation consultant really liked me and was very impressed with my determination to make it work - i love her!)
1 breastpump = $280
2 extra pump shields = $20
2 nipple shields = $10
1 hands free pumping bra = $35
1 bottle of homeopathic lactuca verosa = $12
2 bottles of MotherLove More Milk Plus herbal supplement = $85
4 bottles of MotherLove Goats Rue = $160
6 bottles of ayurvedic Shatavari herbal supplement = $90
1 unsuccessful ENT visit co-pay = $50 (I'm guessing at this amount...it was probably more)
1 successful tongue clipping procedure = $0 (again - love my lactation consultant)
1 nursing bra and 3 nursing tanks = $80
3 jars MotherLove nipple cream = $30

Total: $1,152

Free? Nope, breastfeeding has cost over $1,000 so far and I know I've forgotten to add some things to the list above. Taking all this into account, I would still make the same choice again and give breastfeeding my best effort. I also will 10000% breastfeed Tripp's future siblings as well as I can and hopefully have more success with them.

America's High Five

Before becoming a mom, I didn't really believe people who said that babies go through 2-3 outfit changes everyday. Then, I became a mom to a baby who spits up/drools almost constantly. I hear this is normal for babies to release all of their bodily fluids all day, everyday, but I'm still not used to it. Despite the need for so many clothing changes, I'm still determined for Tripp to be a well dressed little man. I buy him new clothes all the time (at the expense of my own, now sad, wardrobe). Luckily he's been gifted lots of nice clothing items as well. Here's the little guy modeling two of his newest acquisitions.

This new hoodie is from his GiGi and is lined in the softest, coziest material. It seriously feels like a stuffed animal on the inside, which probably accounts for his big smile. I'd smile too if I was dressed in something so cozy.

Joe picked up this "America's High Five" shirt when he took Tripp for a walk downtown last Friday. Michigan really only has two peninsulas, but here it appears to have three - two formed by glaciers and a third formed from semi-dry drool.

The Barber's Chair

Even though breastfeeding has been a sad failure, I still want the little guy to have as much of the good stuff as possible. Therefore I pump milk 6-7 times a day. I planned to continue this once I started back at work and so far I’m still going. I almost never take a lunch break so honestly, it’s a great excuse to take a ten minute break three times a day. When I arrived at the client site the first day, I asked a manager from my company where I could find a private room. That led to me talking to the client HR who sent me to the medical center. At the medical center, the old, battleaxe nurse told me that I was SOL and to just use the bathroom. I was ready to explain health care law to her, but instead just went back to my company’s manager. She then went to the facilities guys and within a couple of days I had a private room. Our theory is that going to the men was so effective because they wanted to hear the words “breastfeeding” and “lactation” as few times as possible. J I think it also helped that I brought them some of those red velvet cheesecake brownies as a thank you treat.

Still with me? Here’s how the barber’s chair comes into play. The room that the facilities guys set up for me was being used to store hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of batteries. Before that though, the room was a barbershop, complete with a 1970s style barber’s chair. As you can see below it is olive green and looks like it’s from the set of Gran Torino. I laughed when I first saw it, but it is honestly one of the most comfortable chairs I have ever sat in. I’m quite pleased with my new lactation room and old barber’s chair.

Snow Day

For me, today is a snow day. It's not like the snow days in school where I'd wake up early to watch the school cancellations announced on the morning news and then I'd sit around the rest of the day watching tv until I felt like venturing outside and going sledding or playing in the snow. Today isn't about relaxation. I actually have a mile-long to do list. It's as exciting as school snow days though simply because I'm at home.

I've never been a homebody, but suddenly I'm turning into one. I like to go places, travel, be out and about. I'm still restless and miss traveling, but not nearly as much as I used to. I sometimes am frustrated at the amount of work it takes to leave the house and go somewhere as simple as the gym. However, lately all I want to do is be at home. This feeling is in thanks to the little person who now inhabits my house and is currently sleeping in my bed while I do work from my laptop in his nursery.

Last night it snowed more than it has all winter so I decided to email my boss and say that I'm working from home today. I know that wouldn't fly at most workplaces, but my job can all be done via laptop and I really have nothing to lose by demanding a little flexibility. So for today, instead of staring at the cube wall next to me, I'm looking at the trees caked with snow and a stuffed duck who's staring back at me.

Fat Tuesday

Happy Fat Tuesday! While some places like New Orleans celebrates this day with beads and King Cakes, here in SE Michigan we celebrate with paczki. Today Joe and I purchased (pre-ordered so as not to miss out on the awesomeness) four paczki from Zingerman's - rose hip, chocolate pudding, ricotta, and raspberry. We're saving the chocolate pudding for dessert tonight, but I can safely say that the other three were delicious. The rose hip was the most interesting and the raspberry reminded me most of childhood. This was Joe's first year trying paczki since last year I was in NYC on Fat Tuesday and he made his way to Zingerman's after they were all sold out. Tragic that Joe grew up without paczki in his life, isn't it!? I still remember being shocked when I was living in D.C. and nobody had ever even heard of paczki. Good thing Tripp will grow up having a special breakfast of paczki every year on this day. :) Next year when it's time for Tripp's first paczki we might have to make our way down to Hamtramck so that he can have one from an authentic Polish bakery.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Since becoming a mom my baking hobby has taken a backseat to things like playtime, tummy time, and endless loads of laundry. However, I wanted to make an effort to make something for Valentine’s Day. Thanks to Pinterest, I found a perfect treat – red velvet cheesecake brownies. While I am not personally a fan of red velvet anything, I thought that these were too cute not to make. They were a hit with Joe, who unlike me is a red velvet aficionado, and with all of my co-workers. They were also easy to make. As opposed to typing out the recipe here, I’ll just link to the original recipe on The Novice Chef’s blog. I didn’t change anything about her recipe except I did use reduced fat cream cheese instead of the real stuff. While these treats were very cute as red and white hearts, this recipe could easily be adapted for other holidays. For example, substitute the red food coloring for green and use a four leaf clover cookie cutter instead of a heart and you’d have a fun St. Patty’s day dessert.


*Photo Credit: The Novice Chef Blog

Waking Up

Leaving Tripp is extra hard on the days when he wakes up happy in the morning. Normally, he is not a baby who is happy to wake up…I can understand…I love to sleep and hate waking up too. Usually he cries for the first few minutes he’s awake, but sometimes he just opens his eyes, yawns, looks at me, and smiles. He was all smiles and coos yesterday morning when he woke up and that made for a nice start to the day. And because sleeping babies are as cute as happy babies, here's a recent picture of the little guy taking a snooze.

Going Back to Work

So, I’m back to work. 12 weeks of maternity leave + 2 week of PTO flew by. The sleepless nights seemed long, but the days were short. Anybody who’s talked to me in the past two weeks knows that I’m extremely unhappy with this situation. I’m commuting 3 hrs a day and barely seeing Tripp from Tuesday-Friday. Joe is having to do a lot more of the housework and childcare and I’m sleeping even less than I was before. This all stresses me out and my usual stress outlet, the gym, is now something that I don’t have time for during the week. Sounds like I’m doing a lot of complaining, huh? I hate that. I don’t want to complain…I know I should be thankful to have a good job and I am thankful, but I’m still not happy with this situation. I also know that there are lots of moms who have to work outside of the home five days a week and plenty of military parents who don’t see their kids for months. Still, it’s hard. I knew going back to work would be hard, but it’s 100 times harder than I imagined. I’m always so unemotional and with every other situation in life that I can think of I’ve talked myself out of being upset. Being away from Tripp is the one thing that has me really worked up.

The bright spot in all this is that Tripp gets to spend time with wonderful people. His grandma and grandpa watch him once a week and Inga watches him twice a week. No, Inga is not our Scandinavian nanny with blond hair and braids. Inga is our awesome friend who has a little bit of baby fever and some free time on her hands. Thinking about her trekking around Ann Arbor with Tripp in the stroller or baby carrier keeps me amused while I’m at work.

Back to Blogging

Now that I'm back to sitting in front of a computer for 8+ hours a day, I guess I'll make an attempt to go back to blogging. We'll see how this goes...