Busy Week

I started this blog with the intention of posting regularly for the benefit of our families however when my mom asked me today what the address was so that she could finally go see it, I realized that I was doing this more for myself. I find blogging therapeutic. I get to celebrate, complain, whine to no one in particular. No one gets jealous or mad, no feelings get hurt, and I feel better!!! However, when life is norm- it leaves little to write about. There were a few small things worth mentioning this week.... On weigh-in day for team lean, Bucky has lost a total of 10lbs! :) I, on the other hand, have lost- just not as much (1.8). But hey- it is better than gaining. Maggie has decided that she likes to wake up once a night for a paci reinsertion and a back rub. Budget cuts stink. MAP test scores are overrated and overemphasized (that is for another day though). Science Fair Projects done at school have aged me AT LEAST a decade.

Cooking

Bucky and I both are doing Team Lean sponsored by the Family Y. We have signed up, had our initial weigh-ins, and are now on the road to lighter, healthier us. With Maggie watching EVERYTHING that goes in our mouths (and trying to grab it for that matter), we figured it was time to get some better eating habits. We have had grand discussions about what to and not to eat, what kind of foods to buy, how to cook things. I LOVE cookbooks, I have read every recipe, tallying up calories and fat grams in my head. We are ready. Full speed ahead. SPEED BUMP! Wait... to do this, someone actually has to cook these nice healthy meals. What?!?! Cook?!? Something other than tacos, spaghetti, meatloaf, and potatoes? Huh? I have spent today creating this weeks menu. After much thought and reading, I am no where. I have been to food network, facebook, and everywhere else I could think of looking for recipes. (Bucky is turning out to be a pickier eater than I would have thought.) Everything looks so daunting! Long list of recipes with soooo many steps. Have you ever tried to stir constantly or add something slowly while whisking with your toes being run over by a kid in a walker? Who has the time or the patience? Not I. But... GREEN LIGHT! I was led to the following blog crockpot365.blogspot.com ! She made a recipe in her crock pot everyday for a year. Jackpot! They don't have many ingredients and I am set. I am going to try a soup recipe tomorrow. I think that will battle the cold nicely. I have owned by crockpot since I got married and can probably count on one hand the number of times I have used it. But here goes... wish me luck!

Our First Illness

We can check off another 1st. Maggie had her first "illness". She woke up around 11:00 Thursday night sick. I do mean sick. She continued to be sick until the wee hours of the morning. Nothing has ever broken my heart more than to not be able to do anything to make her feel better. It was sooo pitiful! She ended up in the bed with us (which seems to be happening more and more these days) so that we could keep an eye on her. As pitiful as she was when she was getting sick, not 30 seconds later she would look at us and smile like nothing was wrong. After about 5 loads of laundry and Pedialyte later, she was back to her old self. But not before sharing her illness with me! Fun!

We have take-off!

For weeks we have been waiting... anxiously anticipating... those first few motions... Success! As of yesterday morning, Maggie can crawl forwards (she had backwards down a couple weeks ago). Look out though- there is no stopping her now. We all need to offer a little prayer to Dana who is going to have her hands full. :) I am going to try and post a video- we'll see how technological I can get- wish me luck!

Christmas

Christmas has come and gone... with a whirlwind of activity. We spent Christmas Eve with my family and then drove to Bucky's parents for Christmas Day. Maggie got to spend time with her cousin Landon, they interacted more this time! For every smile and laugh for family, there must have been 20 minutes of tears.

Maggie has been such a good sleeper for so long, I had completely forgotten what it was like to get up ever 2 hours, but she reminded me! I think there was so much going on that she couldn't figure out how to unwind so we cried and cried and cried. No sleep for the Brown family. I have stuck my guns about Maggie not sleeping in the bed with us until this. She slept in the bed with us for both nights we were at Bucky's parents. Thankfully, she went right back to crib no problems when we got home!

Here are some cute pics Dana got before Christmas. I will post ones from Christmas Eve and Day as soon as I can!

Joys of car seats...

Early December... - Got on the scale one day with Maggie and it calculated that she was 21 lbs! Oh boy! Oh no- the infant seat only goes to 22 lbs. While I know my weighing method is not exactly scientific, we decided that Maggie had outgrown her infant seat and concluded that it was time to spend the $$ and get a convertible car seat. Mid December... - began researching the options. While I know that I am blonde and all, I really did read anything and everything I could find about different seats. I read reviews, consumer reports, talked to others, EVERYTHING! Last weekend... -ventured all the way out to Babies 'R Us, determined to buy one. Nope. My head was about to explode! I came home and read more reviews, more reviews, and more reviews! Spent the week trying to figure out which one I wanted. Today... -went to Target to get one. Came home with a different one after about a 45minute debate on which one to get. Waited until Maggie woke up from a nap and tried it out- before trying to install it in the car. Hated it! It made her look all slumped and curled up. Also- since she is such a dainty little thing the strap was going to work for long. It was already hitting her chubby little thighs. :) Guess what went back? So tonight... - there is a different car seat in the box waiting. Tomorrow we will check this one out and hope it works. Good luck to us!

Props to Single Parents

Bucky has been duck hunting, since Sunday... so I have a brief view into the lives of single parents and what can I say... WOW! I don't know how they do it! My house is a wreck, the laundry is piling up, but Maggie is happy and that is what is important. I have always been amazed at how single parents seem to have it together but my respect for them has grown 10 fold after the past few days. I will just be glad when he returns early tomorrow morning and I get help : )