Monday, June 29, 2009

Now that I'm a Mom...

- I am a much better driver. I pay so much more attention than I used to and I am so much more cautious and vigilant about the other cars around me. Don't all the speeders and reckless drivers know I'm carrying precious cargo?! Don't worry, I'm not putting a "Baby on Board" sticker on my car anytime soon, but I wouldn't mind one that says "Don't Drive Like an Idiot" :)

- I am truly a better, more compassionate, sensitive person. I don't think I've said anything bad about anyone since having Madelyn, because all I can think is that whoever I'm about to talk about is/was someone's baby, and if anyone ever said anything bad about Madelyn I would give them a very large piece of my mind. I'm even less judgemental of people's lifestyles, because I know I'll support Madelyn in whatever life she wants to live when she gets older, as long as she is safe and happy.

- I probably wash my hands 30 times a day. Seriously.

- I am going through a post-partum nesting attack. I'm a nester by nature, so the fact that I relentlessly cleaned, cooked, and organized throughout my pregnancy came as no surprise to anyone. But, now that little one is here, I feel the need to further simplify Everything. My philosophy for my life now is "less is more". I don't need 6 black shirts that look exactly alike, or 19 picture frames that I don't even like, so the extras are going to Goodwill. And I have so many hotel toiletries I am not buying any more lotion or shampoo until they are all gone! I also probably print 3 recipes a day that I want to make. I try to keep these compulsive behaviors to times when Matt isn't home so he doesn't think I'm going looney.

- It has become increasingly important to me to workout and eat healthy because I want to set a good example for Madelyn when she gets older. I want her to know that it doesn't matter what you look like, as long as you are happy and healthy, but that it's very important to take good care of yourself.

- I take the time to enjoy the many small pleasures in life that often get missed in a typical hurried day- a really good song, a glass of wine with Matt, a nice breeze, Madelyn's baby breath which I sneak sniffs of while she sleeps :)

- If I don't write down every "to do" or reminder the second it comes to mind it is gone. Gone. I never understood this about my mother until now (she will appreciate this :)

Happy Monday :)

We are busy getting ready for a trip to Florida for the 4th of July to visit my mom and take little Madelyn to where mommy grew up. You can't even begin to imagine that mass amount of items you need to take a 2 month old 6.5 hours away. It requires that I begin packing three full days in advance to ensure nothing is forgotten, but truth be told, I always start packing early, even when it's only for myself.

Among the trips to Target to get last minute items and snacks for the car, I'm busy doing laundry, cleaning the house, paying bills, cleaning out the fridge, and tying up all of the loose ends as we'll be gone Wednesday-Monday. I am super excited and I cannot wait for my mom to see Madelyn's big smiles. This morning Madelyn was in her swing and everytime I walked up to her and smiled she got the biggest grin on her face. There just isn't anything better in the world!

She is the most amazing baby- she sleeps around 9 hours a night now (woohoo!), still rarely fusses, and is so good when we take her out places. We are so so lucky.

In honor of Matt's first Father's Day as a new daddy, here are a few pictures of him with his little angel :)










Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Aloha

Being home during the day I've realized that daytime television is an absolute disgrace. Many days I don't even turn on the tv. I can't stand soap operas or talk shows, so I usually end up on TLC or something similar. One thing I have begun doing is watching the Rachael Ray show. I am not a big fan of Rachael's. Nothing personal, something about her overly-bubbly personality just rubs me the wrong way. BUT, she has made some very yummy-looking recipes on her show lately, one of which is below. I made this recipe for Hula Joes for dinner tonight- it a Hawaiian spin on the sloppy joe, loosely based on a Hawaiian pizza. It's not the healthiest thing on the menu (absolutely NO veggies), but serve it with a salad and it's not too bad. It calls for ground pork but I used turkey. It's husband-approved and took less than 20 minutes- two major "pro's" in my book. Enjoy!

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/hula-joes/

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Covergirl

My good friend Jenny, (as mentioned in the previous post), came to take pictures of Madelyn yesterday and sent me a little preview this morning. They are phenomenal!! I can't wait to see the rest!! I really can't stop looking at them.







Sunday, June 14, 2009

Big Night Out

Saturday night Matt and I ventured out for the wedding of a guy he grew up with. It was a night of firsts- the first time we've really gotten dressed up since Madelyn was born, first time we've left her with someone, and the first time we went out just the two of us! The sweet ladies in the church nursery watched her during the ceremony and then Matt's parents watched her while we attended the reception. Here is a picture of us all dressed up :)


The wedding was really fun and it was nice to get out for a formal event. But, I will say, I was definitely ready to get home to our little monkey, not only because I missed her but because I was exhausted! I am so boring, and I really crash around 9:30 these days.

This week our good friend Jenny is coming to take pictures of us which I'm so excited about. She takes amazing pictures and I highly recommend her! If you live locally, definitely check her out here:)

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Baby Smiles

In the last week or so Madelyn has started smiling at us and it just melts my heart everytime. I actually think she already knows what the camera is, because on more than one occasion she started smiling as soon as I started taking her picture. Naturally, I'm sure she's a genius :)

We are just loving life these days. We have started venturing out with Madelyn a lot more which has been really fun. This Saturday will be the first time we're both away from her as we're going to a wedding and Matt's mom is coming to watch her. It will be a fun (and free!) date night, but I don't doubt we'll miss her every minute.
I've actually started cooking dinner again! I think Matt and I are equally excited about this, because it's very relaxing to me to have a glass of wine and cook dinner at the end of the day. I so look forward to having Madelyn help me in the kitchen when she gets older. Hopefully I'll have some great new recipes to share shortly.

Here are a few pictures of our smiling baby. As you can see, she is very photogenic :)


















Wednesday, June 3, 2009

I Love NY

This picture courtesy of my sister Lindsey, Madelyn's Aunt Lulu, who lives in the Big Apple. Too Cute.


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