Saturday, March 20, 2010

The babe is sick:(



















The babe is sick, her first ear infection. She's had a temp since yesterday and this morning while I was out galavanting around the CO-OP, I got the very concerned call from Daddy requesting my assistance at home. When I got home she was a little blue around the lips and hands and shaking a bit. We took her to the doc and one prescription later, I have to give her the first medicine she has had:( Not big on meds, but we will give it a shot. Sleeping tight as I type, Bobby and I are watching the CATS beat Wake Forest.

Planting the Garden










My friend Beth and I are sharing a garden plot this year. Right behind my neighborhood, are free and gorgeous garden plots provided by the town of Thompson's Station. There are over 50 plots and it is a true effort to support the community in providing local produce for their family and learning opportunities for the whole fam. I'm sure Harper Elle will be out here next year digging around in the dirt.














We planted cool season veggies today and warm season veggies, fruits and flowers over the next couple months. We went to the CO-OP early this morning and went nuts on scooping up one of everything, then we realized we have NO IDEA what all this stuff is going to do.
So we bombarded the helpful farmer working behind the counter into giving us a bit of guidance on exactly what we are getting ourselves into. For now, we have onions, potatoes, leaf lettuce, arugula, head lettuce, radish, and broccoli (my personal favorite). I'm really excited to see what all we get. Last year I really couldn't commit to a garden due to the baby bump but not this year.

Friday, March 19, 2010

In Memory of Kate Clark



















My friend Kate Clark lost her year long battle with breast cancer on March 6, 2010. She was an amazing, sweet, and generous person. She had a calm sense to her that always made you feel comfortable. Her creative eye made her style completely unique. She taught me so much in the short 2 1/2 years I knew her and inspires me daily in ways I can't describe. Her husband and family hosted her memorial in her home last weekend. The house was decorated with so many wonderful pictures of her life and several stories shared by her parents that put smiles on faces which is what Kate would have wanted. She will be greatly missed and may peace be with her family.

Playtime

































Spring is coming, Harper is 7 months













I thought it would hit me at six months that Harper was 1/2 a year old but the feeling waited until seven months. I can't begin to describe "all" the ways that my daughter has changed the way I view, value, and understand my life. To label it is to say, "what was I doing before she came into the world?" I say that as if I had no life and that is not it. I LOVED my life before her, it's just my perspective on most things in my life have evolved in a way I would have never been able to predict. Like, how much MORE I love my parents and respect them, priorities change for the better, the intensity of the parenthood roller coaster with your spouse, the love you can have for someone when they are screaming at you and learning a whole new level of time management.

My favorite part of the day is a toss up....the moment I walk into her room in the morning to get her out of bed and she has a huge grin on her face because she is happy to see me or at the end of the day when I race against the clock to pick her up as early as I can and she starts crying immediately because she is happy to see me. Any thoughts on this one?














Harper Elle turned 7 months on March 16th and has really come to life. Loves to eat! Avocados, apples, carrots, green beans, peaches, pears, peas, squash, and sweet potatoes have been introduced and she enjoys every bite. The avocado seems a little rich, considering her facial expressions towards the end of the bowl. She is sitting alone, grabbing anything in sight, and gives us the best hugs. I always pretend she is saying she loves me when she grabs my arms and of course I reply, "Ohh, I love you too." She laughs when we sneeze and yawn, opens her mouth when Moss walks toward for a nice big kiss, and loves the louder and crazier Bob and I act. During the final game of the SEC tournament last weekend, we were going nuts over the thought that UK might actually lose and she was cracking up by breathing in and out quickly and pulling her legs off the ground in her activity center.


















Bob and I are busy and hectic but excited for Spring and Summer. We are planting a garden this weekend, trying to get out on the golf course and planning our Summer vacation. For some reason I volunteered to play in a Nestle sponsored golf tournament in Las Vegas in April. I love golf but I haven't been out there since before I was preggers:) Yeah, it's ok to laugh at the silly things I do to myself. Did you notice I said Vegas? So now you know why I said I would play... Bobby gets to tag along:)




















Fun things about Harper's personality.
She breaths through her two bottom teeth when she gets excited. She moves her arms and legs the entire time she is eating. When we wait for her bottle to warm, she stiffens so much that she pops the buttons on her onesies. Opens her mouth when she sees you eating and laughs hysterically when you blow on her belly.




Saturday, March 6, 2010

Grandparents to the rescue
















Grandma and Grandpa Cietek came down while I flew out to Orlando. They were such a big help to Bob and I and they absolutely adored their week with Harper Elle. It gets harder and harder to leave her each time but I'm hoping they come back really soon, I know Harper is missing them. I am missing the pizza already, luckily when I got home from my trip....that's the first thing I got to eat. Ooooh so good....can I add come back really really soon:)


















Kisses and hugs, hugs and kisses.












Now, do any of you believe she went without anything that week? That's right, No! Doesn't the description of a grandparent duties go something like this.... to hug and squeeze them every 5 minutes, between each five minutes say something silly and make funny faces, next hold them for their entire nap fixing their hair and smelling their skin, then hold them while they eat the meals, and hold them while they are playing again every five minutes kissing and squeezing their cheeks. Grandparents are the perfect kid candy!



Grandparents Pics





































































Mommy's Bad Week in February










This pic is of Harper in her seat on the way to the airport to drop Mommy off:0(


So this week I am speaking of has finally come and is now OVER. My national work meeting was the last week of February and I had been dreading it since I came back to work. A week in Orlando in February, sounds good right? Well here is the not so good part. Being away from Harper for a week was not on my list for 2010 but since there was no way to get around it, I tried to think of it as a way to get some me time, catch up tons of reading and relaxing. Ummm, well no no and did I mention no!

I became very sick with a stomach virus on Sunday, my day of departure, and didn't feel normal until Wednesday. Unfortunately, my entire family got sick except for the baby.....THANK GOODNESS. I was already stressed out, that's the last thing I needed or her of course. There was no downtime at this meeting or anytime to be sick, physically or homesick. It was so cold and rainy I couldn't believe we were in Florida, and my view from my window sat directly on top of the 1st hole tee box of this ridiculously manicured golf course. What a tease I tell you, a new mom who loves to golf that hasn't stepped foot on the course since last Spring. Ughhh, it sounds as though I'm just whining and that I am. I needed to find everything wrong so I didn't have to focus on the babe.

So I pushed through the week and yes of course, I survived, just like all the rest of the mommies do in the world. But, I have one thing to say that sums it up..... it sucked. Pardon my French, but there is really no better way to get my message across. On my plane ride home, I'm sure I had a perma grin on the entire time, you know the one when you have when you are half excited to get to your destination and the other half of pure exhaustion. I bought Harper Elle a little Minnie Mouse doll as a suvi but I thought to myself, "why would I possibly want to have a momento of this trip?" And then I realized it will remind of how strong we have to be when we cannot get what we want. The facts of life.... you take the good and take the bad. (Don't think I'm getting too serious, I stole this from that old show in the 80's...20 plus years later it is all making sense)


Making Baby Food













Some of you have asked about how on to make your own baby food. Here is my simple steps that I use to save a ton of money, provide super healthy food, and eat locally:)
Squash (there are different kinds and of course this is winter/or butternut squash) is such a wonderful first food and requires very little preparation.
Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and strings.
Turn it over with flesh side down and fill your baking dish with about an inch of water in bottom.
Cook at 350 for about an hour.












You want the skin to shrink up and the squash to give when you touch.
Let is cool just a bit and scoop out all of the squash into a blender, food processor, or food mill. (Your preference). I would suggest blender for squash and make sure you have a bit of water at your side to add into the puree for thinning.














Once you have completed all those steps, pour your product into individual containers (for those babes on the go) or ice cube trays and freeze.
After a couple of hours, pop out the cubes of food from the trays and store in bulk in a freezer container in the freezer.
Each cube is roughly 1 oz or 1 serving size for beginners:)

Hope this helps, please comment on your experiences, recipes, or memories of feeding your babies!

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