tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71994739459028311232024-03-14T03:08:19.285-04:00The New HartmanLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.comBlogger656125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-29342417860342962262015-05-06T11:17:00.001-04:002015-05-06T11:17:19.081-04:00Second Baby, First ToothI have so many updates that I am behind on making, but since I like to use this blog to keep track of important milestones, I felt that I needed to just jump back in and post this so that I don't forget about it.<br />
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My second baby just got his first tooth!<br />
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His babysitter first noticed it on May 5, 2015, and I'm pretty sure that's the day it sprouted because I'm certain I didn't notice it the night before. It's his bottom left tooth (so, not visible in the picture, since he usually only shows his top gums when he smiles.)<br />
<br />Everyone always says that every baby is different, and that can't be more true with EH and JD. EH didn't get his first tooth until he was 10 months old, and here is JD popping his first tooth at 5.5 months. Incredible! <br />
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Now I just need to get him to start rolling over. But EH didn't do THAT until he was 7 months old, so I figure JD still has a few weeks to practice in order to beat his big brother!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-40547796423212596112014-07-02T12:30:00.000-04:002014-07-02T12:30:01.596-04:00When "Morning Sickness" Ruins Your Life<i>Note: This post was written back in April. I am feeling much better now!</i><br />
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Before I even get started, let's first all agree that the term "Morning Sickness" is crap. How many pregnant people have you known who ONLY had morning sickness that was actually restricted to the morning? My guess is zero. So to start let's agree to use the "Pregnancy Sickness." Or if you have other suggestions for the term, feel free to volunteer them.<br />
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My particular Pregnancy Sickness symptoms made the "morning sickness" term even more of a joke. I felt the worst starting from around mid-afternoon through bedtime. In fact, the later in the day it was, the worst I felt. The 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. hour was typically the worst, and I would fall into bed as soon as Evan was in his bed and basically be immobile for the rest of the evening.<br />
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It seemed to be directly related to the amount of sleep I got, but not always. One theory is that later in the day I was more tired than first thing in the morning, and I think that certainly had something to do with it, but often even on days when I got mid-afternoon naps (nap when the toddler naps!) I still felt the same level of fatigue and exhaustion as other days.<br />
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In those early weeks I was so fatigued, tired, and sick that I left a pillow in my car and went down during my lunch hour to take a nap. Even if I didn't always fall asleep, that time of laying down and just resting with my eyes closed was crucial to my ability to get through a day. By around 10 weeks I was able to get through most days without my lunch time nap/rest, but I found myself having to compensate for that by eating more calories.<br />
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My waistline certainly took a hit during these early weeks. I had a love-hate relationship with food.<br />
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On one hand, the thought of 99% of most foods and beverages would turn my stomach, but having an empty stomach made it even worse, so I usually forced myself to eat. Often I would get my food ready and then it would sit on my desk. I would watch it, think about it, analyze it, be repulsed by it, and had to remind myself over and over that it would make me feel better. This mental pep talk usually did the trick. I was right. During the few minutes that I was actually physically eating, I forgot about my sickness and just gobbled it down. But then, literally 2 minutes after I swallowed the last bite, I would have immediate regret and feel even worse than I did before.<br />
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All rules were off when it came to vegetables, particularly green ones. No amount of mental pep-talking could get me to even think about lettuce. The image that immediately came to mind was when DH was in the hospital and they had to drain his stomach and we could see lettuce from 5 days earlier coming out of his stomach when clearly that should have been processed by now. Gross, right? Can you imagine that particular image - something that I saw WITH MY OWN EYES - on top of already feeling like you were going to throw up anyway? So yeah, no green vegetables. Sorry body, I'll make it up to you someday. <br />
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But of all the ailments, I think the acid reflux was the worst. There was a period of about three weeks where everything I ate immediately felt like it was pushing up on the flap of my esophagus, trying to get out. Sometimes the pressure was so intense that it was actually painful, and the burning that I felt in my chest from the stomach acid that was trying to rise was downright painful. I tried taking Tums but that did little to nothing to help with the discomfort. I never did figure out how to get rid of the reflux - I was just grateful when one day I no longer felt that horrible pressure or burning. <br />
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All of the above sounds horrible enough, right? But on top of it all, the entire Hartman family was hit HARD with a nasty, nasty stomach virus that had us all down for the count for about two full weeks.<br />
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It started with EH who was super cranky and irritable for an entire week. He kept complaining that his throat hurt and he was so clearly not "himself," but he didn't have a fever, and there was no other visible symptoms that made us feel that calling the doctor was necessary. On Friday of that week, while standing on the kitchen counter with DH, he turned around and projectile vomited EVERYWHERE. The entire kitchen was covered, including DH. I was on my way home from work at the time and come home just as DH was started to clean up. Considering that I was on the verge of always throwing up anyway, the overwhelming smell of vomit that permeated every inch of our house at that point was nearly too much to handle, and then I had to take over the job of bathing the vomit-covered toddler, who was clearly much worse off than me. After that episode we thought maybe he was on the downhill to recovery but then on Monday of that week I had to pick him up from day care early because he seemed so sick, and that afternoon he crawled into bed to take a nap, turned around to face me, and promptly started vomiting again. Some weird instinct on my part told me to "catch that vomit!" so I grabbed one of his blankets and successfully capture the vast majority of it in the blanket. We took a very unhappy boy to the doctor that afternoon, where they diagnosed him with a "stomach virus" (helpful, thanks) and sent us home with an anti-nausea medication, which thankfully did seem to help.<br />
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At some point in all of this, DH had two separate vomiting instances as well, I think Sunday night and Wednesday night. But at that point I was so wrapped up in my own self-misery and trying to take care of a very sick toddler, than I don't remember for certain. On Thursday of that week I left work early because I felt so sick, ate Wendy's (because, pregnant, remember? Stupid cravings...) and then went home, took a nap, woke up, and vomited immediately. Calorie free Wendy's, as DH put it. I had no idea if this was the stomach virus (clearly, it was) or morning sickness, but I ended up calling off the next day as well. I didn't throw up again until Sunday night (after eating Wendy's again), and then took off Monday and Tuesday of the following week. Even on Wednesday when I was finally back to work, I wasn't sure if I was going to make it through the day. On Saturday night of the weekend between my vomiting episodes, DH felt so sick that he went to the emergency room, was admitted because of a feared "twisted intestine" and thus spent a night in the hospital with a tube down his nose draining his stomach. He was miserable. At some point, after confirming that the twisted intestine did not exist, he was sent home, only to blow an enormous blood clot out of his nose two hours later which led to copious amounts of bleeding, and another visit to the ER where they had to packed and cauterize his nose. The entire time I was so nauseous (this was late evening, the peak time of my very worst pregnancy symptoms, and I was going to vomit that night although I obviously didn't know that at the time) that I thought maybe I was going to have to be admitted as well.<br />
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Phew.... what a lot of drama, right? Needless to say, it's been a VERY LONG 6 or so weeks.... I think I am starting to see a light at the end of this tunnel, but who knows for sure? What is certain that this pregnancy is SO DIFFERENT from my first that I can't even begin to comprehend it. For a variety of reasons, I am convinced this one is a girl. Whether or not my inclinations are true remain to be seen. But I believe it strongly enough that I have a pang of sadness every time I "retire" EH's clothes to the "too small" bin, because I feel so strongly that I'll never have a need for boy clothes again. Whatever the gender may be, I think it's a win win. I like the idea of the "American dream" of having a boy and a girl, but the fiscally conservative side of me says that having a boy would be so much easier because we already have all of the "boy" stuff (namely, clothes.) 8 more weeks until we know for sure!<br />
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<i>End Note: We know the gender! Reveal coming soon! </i>Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-49471292495813253122014-05-20T14:04:00.004-04:002014-05-20T14:04:38.815-04:00Have You Heard the News?If not, EH is here to share it with you! Check out the video link below:<br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/1evansvideo/">https://sites.google.com/site/1evansvideo/</a><br />
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More details coming soon!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-81094228086244305242014-02-06T12:30:00.000-05:002014-02-06T12:30:02.807-05:00Making TimeI know that my presence on this site has been greatly diminished over the past few months. While I still occasionally feel guilty about it, and I frequently wish that I was writing more, I have been focusing more on the theme of "making time."<br />
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So what have I been making time for? I'm making time to be more present with EH - more active playing and interaction with him, instead of me trying to get him to play on his own while I catch up on the news and email on my phone. I'm making more time to read, which I was sorely missing and is a good way for me to feel like I'm getting "me" time. I'm making more time to cook actual meals, instead of throwing in a frozen pizza every night, and although my cooking efforts will not be anywhere near where they were a few years ago, I am trying to eat healthier and that involve cooking at home more often. And finally - and this is the hardest one - I'm trying to make time for exercising. This is usually the thing that is first to go. I never seem to have the energy in the evenings, but we have a trip to Mexico booked for the summer and I want to make getting into shape more of a priority!<br />
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I certainly don't mean to imply that there aren't things going on over here! EH is still a fascinating little seesaw of toddler emotions, going from saying the cutest, funniest things ever to full-blown toddler tantrum mode. He's super into Legos and just started getting into playing "pretend" which I think it just too adorable. <br />
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Oh, and we're MOVING soon! It's been a bit hush hush but this is happening sooner rather than later so I guess it's time to let the cat out of the bag!<br />
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All of this is to say that I haven't forgotten about the blog, but I am trying to balance my priorities and sadly that means that this little blog here tends to fall at the bottom of the list. But I do hope to post more about our new house, and get some pictures of EH up - he's getting so big!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-63288471864682112792014-01-05T16:46:00.000-05:002014-01-05T16:46:02.342-05:00The Pittsburgh Zoo in January = AwesomeI've lived in Pittsburgh for a long time, and I never had the idea to go to the zoo in the winter. I didn't even know if they were open year round, and besides, the zoo just seems like a summer sort of thing.<br />
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But now we have an annual membership to the zoo, and I always insist on getting my moneys worth on things like that. We also have a toddler who frequently has pent up energy to burn off, and we always hope that running around at the zoo for a few hours will wear him out (it usually doesn't.)<br />
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So, with warnings of wind chills as low as negative 40 degrees coming up in the next two days, we decided to get some outdoor time while we still could. I had no idea what to expect from a January 5th visit to the zoo, but I return from the experience to report that it is definitely worth it (although not without it's share of cons.)<br />
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So, here are some of the pros and cons:<br />
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<b>PRO: Almost no one there</b><br />
If you hate crowds like we do, you'll love the zoo in the winter. There were no more than 50 cars in the entire parking lot - we literally felt like we parked at the front door and waltzed right in.<br />
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<b>CON: They're only so so on the snow clearing</b><br />
The cleared sections of their parking lots, but not the section we parked in. They also cleared the main paths within the zoo, but not all of them, so if you want to go "off the beaten path" that will mean trekking through some snow.<br />
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<b>PRO: Easy to see the animals</b><br />
Since there wasn't a crowd, we could walk up to any of the animal exhibits and not worry about EH not being able to see. And we didn't have to worry about him getting pushed by bigger kids, or knocked over by adults who weren't paying attention. The lions, tigers, snow leopard, red panda, sea lions, polar bear, monkeys, meerkats, snakes, and black bear were among some of the highlights. <br />
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<b>CON: Many exhibits closed</b><br />
Except for the cats mentioned above, none of the African safari animals were out. You could see the elephants indoors, but the smell was overpowering, and EH refused to go in. The giraffes, rhinos, ostrich, and everything else related to the safari area were not out, and were not on display indoors. This was disappointing because EH really wanted to see the giraffe. The deer park was also closed, and since that's the usually path to some of the other animals - like the kangaroos - we weren't able to see any of those. The sea otters exhibit and most everything in the outdoor "waters edge" area was empty. <br /><br />
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<b>PRO: Fresh, crisp air</b><br />
And no sweat pouring off of my skin, like it is in the summer! It was actually really nice to be comfortable wearing a winter hat and gloves - I also get too hot when we're there in the summer! Also there are plenty of indoor spaces (elephant house, monkey house, aquarium, etc) so if you get cold you can easily go inside and still be entertained!<br />
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<b>CON: Most concessions not open</b><br />
This actually didn't bother us since we never eat there and never buy anything in the shops, but if you enjoy this sort of convenience, nearly everything was closed. <br />
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And finally, the biggest PRO of our January trip!!!!<br />
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<b>Penguins on Parade!</b><br />
The penguins were out and about in the snow when we arrived, and it was so neat to watch them playing around. Once kept going down on his stomach like he wanted to try to slide around. Most just waddled around but they were all really adorable. EH was weirdly not impressed, but I was loving it - the penguins are so adorable!<br />
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So, in conclusion - even considering all of the cons listed above - we highly recommend visiting the zoo during the winter. The entrance fee is discounted (probably because there are fewer animals out) if you don't have a membership and will be paying cash. The animals that are out are easy to see and very entertaining. There's no pushing or crowds, and in some sections you feel like you have the entire zoo to yourself. It was in the mid-30s when we were there and it seemed like the perfect temperature (although DH was cold in only his sweatshirt, EH and I both felt great in our winter coats.) The winter animals, like the penguins and the polar bear, are much more active and it's neat to see them in a climate that more resembles their natural habitat, compared to the summer when you can tell that poor polar bear is sweltering in the heat. <br />
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We will definitely visit the zoo again this winter (although it will NOT be in the next two days, when these freezing temperatures are predicted.) Stay warm everyone!<br />
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<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-79035607081635168412013-12-08T22:06:00.002-05:002013-12-08T22:06:36.881-05:00My Son Hates SantaIn retrospect, I should have known it would go poorly. <br />
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We were at a friends house, and EH was just getting settled in playing in the living room with the other kids. We were standing in the back of the room, and every couple of minutes he would look for us, call "Mama" and then run over to me and drag me to the toy area. I was always successful at getting him started with a new toy and then quietly walking away, but we were only there for about 15 minutes before "the event" and so I really should have known.<br />
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We heard the jingle bells approaching and everyone in the room stood up and started walking towards the doorway. This meant that EH's view of us was now obstructed and there were strange noises happening. He started yelling "Mama? Mama?" and running towards us, and you could hear the panic building in his voice. But there were a lot of people to walk through, and even though I was heading towards him as well, he rounded a corner just in time to come face-to-face with the big man himself, and seriously, you would have thought that someone hit him with a taser gun or something equally as crazy, based on the chaos that ensued. <br />
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He started wailing - and by wailing, I mean WAILING - and I quickly scooped him and took him to the other room. But he was nearly inconsolable, and didn't even want to be held. This meant that the next ten minutes or so looked a lot like this.<br />
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And sometimes like this.<br />
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He would momentarily calm himself down, and then suddenly remember the monstrosity that he had just encountered and the sobbing would start all over again. <br />
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We tried to talk to him in soothing tones about "Santa" and all the stuff that goes along with Santa, but he wasn't having any of it. "Ahhhh!!! I no like Santa!!!" was all he would say for a considerable amount of time. <br />
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At one point when he had calmed down a bit, I carried him into the room, but he immediately started crying again. So back out we went. "I no like Santa," he stated again, quite firmly. <br />
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Once, Mrs. Claus even approached EH to give him a coloring book, but the ear piercing wailing quickly scared her away. <br />
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So while the other kids sat on Santa's lap, told him what they wanted, got candy canes and coloring books from Mrs. Claus, and then sat in a circle listening to stories? <br />
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We watched.<br />
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From the back of the room. <br />
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And even then he considered that to be far too close to those terrifying red and white people. "I no like Santa!" he reminded us. <br />
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All conversations went something like this:<br />
EH: "I no like Santa, Dada. You like Santa?"<br />
DH: "Oh yes, EH, I like Santa very much?"<br />
EH: *curious head-tilted stare that clearly stated "You're crazy, dada."* "I no like Santa." <br />
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So, needless to say, EH did NOT sit on Santa's lap. He didn't tell him what he wanted for Christmas and he didn't get a candy cane from Mrs. Claus. She did leave a coloring book for him, but we ended up forgetting that, and I'm not sure that he would have touched it anyway, since he knew who it came from. We purposefully dressed him up in one of his nicest sweaters and we brought the good camera because we thought FOR SURE we were going to the best Christmas-card worthy photo of EH and Santa ever. <br />
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It is comical how OH SO WRONG we were about that. I am fairly certain that EH will forever be traumatized from that experience, and I think it quite possible that if we tell him who brought his Christmas morning presents, he will abandon them all together, because if we learned one thing from that night, it is that EH "no like Santa." <br />
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But after Santa left?<br />
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Right back to being a cute, friendly, charming, cheesy-smiling, talkative, and cute-as-ever toddler. <br />
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Him and Santa just weren't meant to be. Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-57663904414031837912013-11-18T19:57:00.001-05:002013-11-18T19:57:23.791-05:00Fall Fun in the Leaves!Raking leaves (or rather, blowing leaves) hasn't been a ton of fun in the past. It's still a lot of work, but having EH around to enjoy the leaves has made the work much more enjoyable.<br />
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We had beautiful weather this past weekend, and he had a blast playing in the leaves!<br />
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He loved picking the leaves up and throwing them in the air. There was a nice breeze that allowed them to catch a little and blow and he thought that was greatest. <br />
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He spent some time jumping in the leaf pile with his dada (who acquired a tick in the process, but thankfully they left EH alone) and obviously had a blast. <br />
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If that's not a look of pure toddler joy, I'm not sure what is!!!<br />
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And at the end of the day we let him try on the leaf blower, and I'm not sure that he could have looked prouder than he did walking around holding onto that leaf blowing tube. It may have resulted in a huge tantrum when we finally forced him to go inside, but it was worth the cutest and the smile at the time.<br />
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After 2+ years of wanting him to have fun in the leaves we were so glad that this was finally the year!<br />
Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-55078807794784284602013-11-07T12:00:00.000-05:002013-11-07T12:00:00.129-05:00ProvidenceLast week I was in Providence, Rhode Island for a conference for work. Although I didn't get to see a whole lot of the city other than a quick driving tour from my sister-in-law, I did have an amazing view out of my hotel window.<br />
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<i>19th floor of the Omni hotel, overlooking downtown Providence</i></div>
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DH played single-daddy that week and it is an understatement to say that things did not go well for him. I think both daddy and son were glad to have mommy back. It also didn't help that it was a crazy busy week for DH, with travel on both weekends surrounding the week I was gone. <br />
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I like traveling for work, mostly since I only have to do it once or twice a year, and I enjoy having a chance to visit new places in the country including San Diego, Forth Worth, and now Providence. But having a toddler definitely makes it more challenging, and I did miss the little guy. However, I'm hopeful that I can continue to go away whenever the opportunity to presents itself since I do think it's always a good experience! After all, I'm probably never going to stay at a fancy Omni hotel on my own dime!<br />
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<i>Same view, but at night</i></div>
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Providence is a cute little town, and it had a city feel while also seeming really clean and friendly. Perhaps some day I'll have a chance to go back and visit with more free time. But all in all, I enjoyed my time in Providence!<br />
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<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-24673189215375523232013-11-06T09:48:00.000-05:002013-11-06T09:48:21.473-05:00Halloween 2013 - Still no candy!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For the third Halloween of his existence, EH did not go trick or treating. We were all ready to take him this year, but it was raining like crazy and since he didn't know what he would be missing - and since it would still be more for us than for him - we decided to stay home.<br />
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<i>We practiced carrying around his pumpkin the weeks before</i> </div>
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But his Halloween costume didn't totally go to waste! This past weekend we had our annual "Fakesgiving," when DH's side of the family gets together to celebrate Thanksgiving prior to the event itself, allowing us to celebrate Thanksgiving with both sides of the family without any conflict. The morning after Fakesgiving we put all of the cousins in their costumes and set out on a hayride in the back of a truck - except that EH refused to get into the back, and insisted on sitting up front.<br />
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Have I mentioned that we are deep in the middle of the terrible twos?<br />
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<i>Have you ever seen a serious monkey driving a four wheeler? I have. </i></div>
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EH's penchant for throwing tantrums means that we are often those parents who have to remove their screaming toddler from the restaurant or wherever we may be. It also means that all of the other children nearby walk away looking like saints compared to the devilish child that EH becomes when he's in full blown tantrum mode.<br />
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But when he's dressed like a monkey, it's hard to stay mad at him for long.... especially when he's a monkey driving a tonka truck. Too cute. <br />
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On this particular day, EH's tantrum resulted from him wanting to be the ONLY one driving the little tonka truck, and our insistence that he takes turn. Have I also mentioned that he's not very good at sharing?<br />
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So, I promise you that he was a cute little monkey, even though I couldn't get him to stand still to pose for a photo. His little cousins were an owl and a bunny this year.<br />
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One of these years I'm sure that EH will go trick-or-treating, and I figure from that point on, there is no going back, so I'm glad that we were able to avoid the rain but still get to enjoy our little monkey!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-35312572417673855112013-10-11T15:03:00.002-04:002013-10-11T15:03:33.440-04:00Big Boy BedAbout two weeks ago EH's sleeping habits started to take a turn for the worst. This coincided nicely with the timing of when DH decided that it was time to take away the num-num (EH's name for his pacifier.) I say that "DH decided" because I really was against the idea of taking the num num so cold turkey, without any advance notice or thought. It was really hard on EH, and on me. And then of course THIS coincided nicely (NOT) with EH developing a cold. So, not only was he not sleeping because he was sad about his num num, but now he was waking up in the middle night because of a coughing fit and he had no way to soothe himself back to sleep. This meant that I was waking up multiple times per night to soothe him and rub his back, and DH was spending 30 to 60 minutes in his room each evening because now that the num nums were gone EH didn't want to go to sleep unless one of us was in the room with him (which always resulted in him wanting to play instead of sleep.) I quickly lost all patience with all of this and one night I alllllmost gave him a num num in the middle of the night, until DH agreed to take night duty the next night.<br />
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Needless to say, the past couple of weeks have been a big hot mess when it comes to toddler sleep.<br />
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So, where was I going with this?<br />
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Well, shortly after the num num's went "all gone" and the cold symptoms alleviated a little, EH decided he didn't want to sleep anymore. He wouldn't fall asleep on his own, which was devastating to me because he had always been so good about going to sleep without needing us there. On top of all of this he was napping poorly - sometimes only 30 minutes, which resulted in a very cranky toddler come evening. He would wake up in his crib and just start screaming - he almost never fell back asleep (which almost always happened when he had a num num.) He also started to swing his leg over the rail of his crib. He never jumped out, but he was always close.<br />
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So around this time my mom was asking about where EH would sleep once he no longer fit (or would tolerate, in his case) the pack and play. I pulled out the toddler travel bed that we purchased that is essentially a foam floor bed. It rolls up into a bag about the size of a pack and play, and can just be rolled out onto the floor. It's really quite cute.<br />
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When we pulled this bed out, EH started playing and laying on it, and I decided that it was time to see how he would do sleeping outside of the crib. He was interested in this new bed, and I talked to him about sleeping in a big boy bed. That day for his nap (it was a Sunday) he laid down on that floor bed, didn't fuss, didn't cry, and then proceeded to sleep for three hours and fifteen minutes.<br />
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Hallelujah!!!!<br />
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With that sort of success I said "Screw the crib!" and that night at bedtime we did the normal routine - milk, books, teeth brushing - and then went back into EH's room. I set him down on the floor instead of putting him in his crib and asked him where he wanted to sleep. He plopped down on the floor bed, I covered him up, gave him a kiss, and left. I put a gate up outside of his door in case he decided to start wandering around but it wasn't necessary - he didn't make a peep, and he slept straight through the night!!!! It was a amazing!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z7kp2xztdJQ/UlhJ8nG8PII/AAAAAAAAF_s/PFDhVJRgOu4/s1600/20131007_070517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z7kp2xztdJQ/UlhJ8nG8PII/AAAAAAAAF_s/PFDhVJRgOu4/s400/20131007_070517.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The floor bed itself is a cute green and brown design that happens to match his room perfectly, but I put a pee pad down and a sheet to protest - good thing, because he leaked out that night!</td></tr>
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Those results have continued over the past week, and the floor bed has been a godsend. I know that some of the success is simply related to the novelty of this new bed, since he's been getting increasingly confident about the fact that he can just get up and walk around him or to the door. But for the few nights that he slept great, it was all worth it.<br />
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We finally decided to buy a toddler rail for his crib and we removed the front crib rail last night. We talked a lot about sleeping in a big boy bed, and I even read him an Elmo book on the subject. He seemed excited about it and kept talking about the "big boy bed" but when we went back in the room after brushing his teeth, he seemed afraid of the toddler bed, and instead decided to sleep on his floor bed again. I didn't want to push the issue so I let him be. <br />
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He woke up early this morning crying around 5:45, and I went in and rubbed his back. He fell back asleep and when I went into wake him up at 7 a.m. he was in his "big boy bed!" I laughed out loud and took this picture (which was taken in complete blackness - the camera on my phone is awesome!)<br />
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He apparently decided that he was ready to try out his "big boy bed" for real. <br />
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I love the floor bed, and I would keep using it forever if it meant that he would continue to be this dream ofa sleeper. BUT, if he happens to decide that he wants to sleep in his big boy bed I would be thrilled, since the floor bed takes up quite a chunk of space on his floor!<br />
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In case anyone is wondering, the floor/travel bed is the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Leachco-BumpZZZ-Travel-Forest-Frolics/dp/B006UJLHMK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381517993&sr=8-1&keywords=leachco+travel+bed" target="_blank">Leachco Bumpzzz Travel bed</a>. The zipper on the bag of the first one we received broke off the first time we tried it, so I was initially super annoyed, but their customer service department was quick and easy to deal with and they sent me a replacement bag within a couple of days, so I still highly recommend the bed, especially since he's had such amazing results sleeping on it!<br />
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We have a few weekends coming up that are going to involve travel and most likely (now that he probably won't want to use the pack and play) him having to sleep in this bed. So, I'm glad that he's used to it and hopefully he shouldn't have any transition issues!<br />
<br />Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-59969982822138769862013-09-25T13:40:00.001-04:002013-09-25T14:27:23.480-04:00Asking For Your HelpA couple of weeks ago I <a href="http://www.thenewhartman.blogspot.com/2013/08/be-good-be-safe-have-fun-run-blog-post.html" target="_blank">mentioned the blog post that DH wrote for the Be Good, Be Safe, Have Fun Run</a> that he's helping to organize in memory of his mother. <br />
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Well, now it's my turn, and I'm going to ask for your help.<br />
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First, <a href="http://begoodbesafehavefunrun.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/173/" target="_blank">go read the post. </a><br />
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As a bonus, you get to see a picture of adolescent DH as well as one where he's standing on his head. These are not things you get to see very often.<br />
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<a href="https://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/lisamdh/5k" target="_blank">Then, go to my race page</a> and make a small (or large, if you're that kind of person!) donation to the race and to the charity, Supporting Kidds. <br />
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Anyone who has been reading this for any length of time knows that I never ask for favors. I have never before asked you to donate money, or to vote for my cute kid or dog on some annoying website that you have to register for and then receive endless emails from.<br />
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I don't do that because I only ask for favors when it's important. And now is one of those times.<br />
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Please, please, please consider making a small donation. If 20 people each made a $10 donation, or 40 each made a $5 donation, I would meet my goal (and a few more would send me over it!) Some people are embarrassed to make small donations, because they think that it makes them look cheap. I disagree. A $5 donation would tell me that you support our cause, that our blog posts moved you, and that you're thinking about us. That's means a lot. <br />
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And if need more motivation, think about this. The charity that your donation goes to is called Supporting Kidds. They provide support and counseling to young children who are grieving the loss of a parent. Those of us with kids have probably thought about things like life insurance if something should happen to us while our children are still young, but what about the emotional side of a child dealing with grief? Are we as mourning parents prepared to help our kids deal with that and understand what happened? Probably not. I'm sure I wouldn't be. We need organizations like to be there to pick up the pieces for our families should tragedy ever strike. And whether you have children or not, imagine a small child, crying and asking where his mama is and not understanding what "death" is, and trying to explain that to him - I think we can all imagine why services like this are important. <br />
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So, again, <a href="http://begoodbesafehavefunrun.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/173/" target="_blank">please click over and read my post</a> (and read all of the past posts as well!) and consider making a donation, no matter how big or how small.<br />
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Your support means the world to me!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-29129904212452347882013-09-19T20:37:00.001-04:002013-09-19T20:37:22.840-04:00A One-Legged-Turkey Problem<div>
For the past couple of weeks, we have had a problem. It's a serious problem, but a ridiculous sounding one. You see, we have a one-legged-turkey problem. </div>
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This stupid one-legged turkey - we now refer to him as OLT. Yep, he's been around long enough to have a nickname - has been hopping around our yard for nearly three weeks now. I first noticed him on a Thursday morning, stumbling around eating apples that fell off of our tree. At that point I thought, "Aww... poor turkey got hurt and lost a leg. I'm glad he found something to eat." </div>
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Now, two weeks and half a dozen dog baths later, I am all "Let's buy a slingshot and kick that bastard's ass!" </div>
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Lol...oh, how my tone has changed. </div>
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To be honest, I am experiencing major internal turmoil over this
issue. The bleeding-heart-animal-lover-side of me is fighting with
the Montana-style-"get-off-my-land-and-don't-mess-with-my-dog!" side of me. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>See? When he lays down - which he does quite frequently given how tired his one leg gets - he actually looks like a cute little duck</i></div>
<br />
But
I am ready to be more aggressive. Murph finds great pleasure in rolling around in turkey poop, and I seriously cannot believe how much that bird poops. I've given him at least four baths in the past two weeks, including one morning before work, it really threw off my
morning.<br />
<br />
The turkey was still over in the side yard, thinking about coming over for
apples when I took Murph off the leash and noticed he was a mess. In my rage, I
ran off of the porch in my bare feet and work clothes and started running up our steep
hill, yelling at the stupid animal, who didn't seem phased at all and
clearly didn't consider me to be a threat. He took one hop in the other direction then turned his head around and just watched me make a fool of myself. In that rage I also
neglected to remember that I had let Murph off the leash, so he got all
excited about my yelling and his dirty hide ran up the hill, barking
away at the turkey, completely unleashed. Fortunately Murphy was
distracted enough by the word "treat" (which he did NOT get) that he
came back without any problem, and sadly, even with all of that drama the turkey barely moved an inch. </div>
<div>
<br />
Day later, the turkey remains undeterred. </div>
<div>
<br />
Yesterday he brought an entire hoard of turkeys - at least 8 of them - to the yard with him, as well as three deer. I felt like we were living in a zoo. Three days ago I saw him across the street and up the road and thought that surely that was too far of a distance for him to come back any time soon, and I thought that maybe - just maybe - he would get hit by a car if he tried to come back to our side of the street.<br />
<br />
No such luck.<br />
<br />
So, we still have an OLT in our yard, we still have a dog that rolls in turkey poop, and I have no idea how to get rid of him. <br />
<br />
Does anyone know when turkey season starts? </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-53338376078485844272013-08-27T11:12:00.003-04:002013-08-27T11:12:47.133-04:002nd Birthday BonanzaEH's second birthday party was SOOO much better than his first. Besides the fact that he napped horribly on the day of his first bday party, I tried to do everything myself just to save money, which I know now is so terrifically stupid. It is worth EVERY PENNY to spend the money to make the day less stressful and more enjoyable. I would gladly spent a thousand dollars and relax than save a hundred and stress. Oh how perspective changes in just a short year!<br />
<br />
We started the day by sticking a candle in some cream cheese and trying to teach him how to blow it out. He found this to be great fun - and he was actually successful a few times - but after he grabbed the candle and got hot wax on his hand, we decided it was enough practice. <br />
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This year's party included many more little kids than last year, so as a party favor we gave every child who attended a twisty straw cup, like the one you see in EH's wheelbarrow below. We also got out all of the fun outdoor toys that we owned, so that there was plenty for all of the kids to do. <br />
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<br />
The swing set was a huge hit with everyone. The day had started out overcast and slightly rainy and we were worried that we were going to have to shift the entire party indoors or into the garage, which is definitely NOT the ideal scenario. Fortunately the weather cleared up, the sun was behind the trees by the time people started arriving, and the low humidity meant that everyone was comfortable and happy!<br />
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For birthday cake I ordered an almond torte and gobs for the adults, and a little personal smash cake for EH. I added the little dino figurine from Toy Story to make it a little more personal. This year he didn't even try to smash the cake at all! So, I was able to cut it up into 4 pieces - EH got 1 and three of his friends got the other slices. <br />
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When it came time to actually blow out the candles, our morning practice didn't do much good. You can't tell from this picture, but he's actually trying really hard to blow those candles out. He just didn't open his mouth in the right way to direct the air. So during one of his blows, DH sent a gust of wind from behind and blew them out.<br />
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As expected, he loved his birthday cake. And the novelty of the straw cups and the fact that I only put water in them meant that EH drank more water that day that he probably had in the entire month prior.<br />
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<br />
Then it was present time. I wasn't able to get many pictures because I was busy helping EH with opening, but let's just say that he got LOTS of trucks, lots of games, and some cute clothes! He had fun opening his gifts this year.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
After that it was back outside for more fun. EH enjoyed his new dump truck by sitting down in the middle of the corn hole game and declaring "It's my birthday and I'll do what I want!" <br />
<br />
We let him have his day..... <br />
<br />
<br />
He stayed up until 9:30 p.m. - an all-time latest record since he started sleeping through the night. He did sleep in some the next day, but not enough to make up for the late bedroom, so it took another day or so to get him back on schedule. <br />
<br />
But all in all, it was totally worth it. Worth every penny spent and every minute of cranky toddler the next day (which wasn't much, honestly.)<br />
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I can only hope that his future birthday parties are just as enjoyable!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-80387532953866064932013-08-26T13:53:00.003-04:002013-08-26T13:53:30.995-04:00Be Good, Be Safe, Have Fun Run blog postAs some of you might know, DH's family is planning and hosting a 5K Fun Run/Walk in November in memory of his mom, Cathy Hartman. It's called the "Be Good, Be Safe, Have Fun Run."<br />
<br />
In an effort to raise awareness for the event and donations for their chosen charity, they've set up a blog where people post memories or stories about Cathy, and then ask readers to support them as runners. <br />
<br />
I've written a post, and mine will be going up in the next couple of weeks, at which time I will surely post about this event again, and even shamelessly ask you to support me in making a small donation. <br />
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<br />
But today is DH's day, and in many ways, I think it's even more important to support him and his brothers in their fundraising efforts. So I promise that if you decide to support DH as a runner instead of me, I won't hold it against you. In fact, I consider any donations made to either DH or I a donation to both of us as a team. <br />
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<a href="http://begoodbesafehavefunrun.wordpress.com/2013/08/25/on-grieving-loss-and-life/" target="_blank">Click here</a> to be redirected to DH's post on the Be Good, Be Safe, Have Fun website. Read his post, wipe away your tears, and then go back and read the ones that have already been posted. Then, be sure to come back in a couple of weeks to read all of the news one that are up (there are only a few there right now.) <br />
<br />
In case you need motivation to <a href="http://begoodbesafehavefunrun.wordpress.com/2013/08/25/on-grieving-loss-and-life/" target="_blank">click over to the site</a>, here's a little snippet from his post:<br />
<br />
<i>What do you do when your Mom dies?</i><br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://begoodbesafehavefunrun.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/dave_mom_breakfast.jpg"></a></i><br />
<i>
</i><i>What do you do when the most relentlessly positive force – who had
been there for you throughout your whole life – loses a long and
draining battle to cancer at the age of 63? When she was the parent you
called every single day for your entire adult life, not out of
obligation or immaturity, but because she was someone worth talking to,
because she had stories to share, advice to give, and oodles of support
for everything you attempted?</i><br />
<br />
<i>
</i><i>What do you do when you hold your Mom’s hand as she dies in a
hospital bed, and blink to find that it’s 10 days later, and you are
holding your wife’s hand as she gives birth in a hospital bed, to a
perfect first grandchild your Mom couldn’t wait to meet?</i><br />
<br />
<i>
</i><i>What do you do when a newborn’s tears are flowing before yours have even begun to dry?</i><br />
<br />
....<br />
<br />
<a href="http://begoodbesafehavefunrun.wordpress.com/2013/08/25/on-grieving-loss-and-life/" target="_blank">Please go and read the rest,</a> and consider making a donation if you are able. Any amount, no matter how small, will help a charity that supports children who are mourning the loss of a parent. It's a good cause - I promise. <i><br /></i>Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-75363871958752564202013-08-20T21:41:00.000-04:002013-08-20T21:41:03.551-04:00He's 2!August is a bad time to have a baby for someone who works in higher ed. August means long nights, weekend hours, and not much time to celebrate a birthday party! We had a wonderful party, but I've been working so much that I haven't had time to post a single picture!<br />
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He's 2. TWO. Can you believe it? I can't!<br />
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I have some posts started to recap his second birthday party (which went sooooo much better than his first, for a thousand reasons I'll outline in a post soon, I promise!)Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-45237109111866772812013-07-28T15:17:00.001-04:002013-07-28T15:17:37.320-04:00Harvest!<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xLg5QTyVW2Q/UfVuUlChFtI/AAAAAAAAF4I/dcjR9AZIHlc/s1600/20130728_151527-757321.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xLg5QTyVW2Q/UfVuUlChFtI/AAAAAAAAF4I/dcjR9AZIHlc/s320/20130728_151527-757321.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5905747786185381586" /></a></p><p dir="ltr">I got my first real harvest of the summer today - one cucumber, Swiss chard and tons of green beans! </p> <p dir="ltr">The challenge now is convincing EH to eat green veggies, something he has recently been protesting.</p> Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-18984518211622893902013-07-26T17:42:00.001-04:002013-07-26T17:42:42.022-04:00Cool Cat<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WBfVDbG_HPc/UfLtVGKlsBI/AAAAAAAAF34/g65jvO9Gowg/s1600/20130726_073424-762022.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WBfVDbG_HPc/UfLtVGKlsBI/AAAAAAAAF34/g65jvO9Gowg/s320/20130726_073424-762022.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5905043008124203026" /></a></p><p dir="ltr">I think he's ready to go to kindergarten. </p> <p dir="ltr">And he would definitely be the coolest kid. </p> Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-7066767607286516972013-07-19T12:30:00.000-04:002013-07-19T12:30:01.062-04:00First Zoo TripWe took EH to the zoo for the first time on July 5th. I mention the date specifically because it was probably not the best day to take a not-quite-2-year-old to the zoo. The day after the 4th of July... everyone on vacation... kids out of school... steamy hot July temperatures and humidity.... it was tough.<br />
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I preface with all of that because in all honesty, it was more stressful for us than we wanted it to be. I do think that EH had a great time, and he seems to have taken in more than I thought he did, but it was so hot, and so crowded, that we had a hard time keeping him near us, and a hard time seeing many of the animals, because the crowds were so big and lines so long that we just wanted to get through.<br />
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So, if you take nothing else from this post, let it be this - go to the zoo on a random weekday. In the fall. Not around a holiday.<br />
<br />
And I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time.<br />
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So you'll notice that this post is relatively short on pictures, and all of the above explains why. All of the pictures below are from the first 15 minutes that we were there. After that, all of the time, energy and attention of three adults were spent keeping track of a tiny toddler amidst crowds of people and wild animals.<br />
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So, here are the highlights of what we captured on (e)film! <br />
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First up - Kangaroo enclosure!<br />
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Some of the most fun he had the entire day was riding this turtle. Fun and cute - win/win!<br />
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Plus I got this great, frameworthy picture of EH with his dada. <br />
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He also had a blast watching the sea lions swim in the tank (and loved the aquarium in general, even though we don't have any pictures from that.)<br />
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And of course, the petting zoo, where he touched both goats and sheep!<br />
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<br />
I know that the zoo is going to be a really fun and awesome place to take him in the future. We purchased a membership, because as long as you go at least 3 times in a calendar year, you will get your money's worth, and I do want to take him more often now. <br />
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It's just that after that last experience, I have dreams of taking him on a school day in November or December, when it's cool/cold, but not snowing, when there are no crowds and we can just explore and have a grand old time.<br />
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I'm already looking forward to it! If you have a zoo membership too and want to go with us sometime, let me know!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-56124538696579317492013-07-17T20:47:00.001-04:002013-07-17T20:47:41.803-04:00EH's Summer VacationLast week EH spent 8 days at his Grandie's house, all of those with his daddy and some of them with me as well. It was his summer vacation in a sense, and he had a ton of fun.<br />
<br />
Some of the highlights include:<br />
<br />
<u><b>1. Spray Park!</b></u><br />
He absolutely a blast at the spray park. The first time he went with his dad on a sunny day, and it was relatively crowded. The second time he went I was there as well. It was overcast and raining most of the time, plus the water wasn't working for the first 40 minutes or so that we were there. There was another family there with their 4 year old, and Evan started playing with one of his trucks, so we stayed and talked with the family, who was in town from Atlanta for a wedding. They left shortly before the water started running again and then we had the entire spray park to ourselves!<br />
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We left when EH literally started to turn blue. And he still threw a fit about it.<br />
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<u><b>2. The Fair!</b></u><br />
We went to the Mason Dixon Fair on Thursday night, and there were a lot of firsts for him! He got to ride his first merry-go-round, his first train ride, first baby goat encounter, he got to sit on multiple John Deere tractors that were out on display (and was quite possibly his favorite part), ate french fries for the first time, and received his first fair stuffed animal, won by his Grandie. It was a big night!!!<br />
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This fish is now formally known as "Grandie Fish."<br />
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<u><b>3. Boat Rides!</b></u><br />
EH went on multiple boat rides during his vacation week, including two different stints at driving the boat. He was so serious when he was at the wheel, taking his responsibility very seriously.<br />
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First it was just a boat ride....<br />
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But then he got to drive the boat!<br />
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And for those of you still with me here, I'll close with a video of Evan's boat driving experience.<br />
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Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-37946397430355384782013-07-01T19:20:00.001-04:002013-07-01T19:20:33.895-04:00Summer Garden 2013<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DWl9qnles9A/UdIOwnp2xcI/AAAAAAAAF0Y/eOU010wGxWg/s1600/20130701_190236-733896.jpg"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DWl9qnles9A/UdIOwnp2xcI/AAAAAAAAF0Y/eOU010wGxWg/s320/20130701_190236-733896.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5895791090622449090" /></a></p><p dir="ltr">My summer garden is in full swing. I've gone with what I perceive to be fairly low maintenance crops - chard, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, squash, and green beans. </p> <p dir="ltr">I tried growing basil from seed, but so far they don't seem to be thriving. I also started some beach grass from seed and that is also slow growing, but I'm going it will grow as I love me some beach grass! </p> <p dir="ltr">Although it's currently in desperate need of some weeding, I've barely had to water it this year thanks to this crazy rainy weather that is good for little else. And at this rate I'll be ready for some mid-July harvesting, before I get so busy at work that I abandon my garden altogether, which is usually what happens. </p> Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-90731453006599142132013-06-28T16:11:00.001-04:002013-06-28T16:11:02.572-04:00Such a Smartie PantsEH continues to amaze us every day. Even though he's not growing physically nearly as quickly as he did during his first year, his intellectual developments are far more profound and - in my opinion - much more exciting. <br />
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Although there have been a few instances where he would do the traditional toddler babbling and we had no clue what he saying, for the most part he communicates using real words. Considering that he's not even two yet, this is really impressive to me, although I suppose it could be really common and I just don't realize it.<br />
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He knows his numbers up to 10 (usually skipping 9 though, in his excitement to yell "TEN!") and during quiet moments you'll suddenly hear him starting singing the beginning of the alphabet (A B C D E....) to the actual tune, usually one octave higher than I think he should be attempting. It's little things like that that make me realize his little brain is always working... always thinking. <br />
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A few weekends ago we were asking him to name people. He knew most people around the table, but when it came to one of his half-aunts that he hadn't seen in a long time until that weekend, he paused. "What's her name?" we asked. He didn't answer and we forgot about it and kept eating breakfast. But five minutes later, he quietly said, "Amy." DH and I looked at each other in amazement - it appeared that EH had been thinking about what her name was that entire time! We were so impressed.<br />
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In the morning, he says, "Hi Mama," followed quickly by "Pee in potty?"<br />
On our way out the door he says, "Sherrie's house!" excitedly and then asks "Milk?"<br />
If you ask him what he wants to eat, he'll almost always say "Chicken taco." <br />
Today he said, "Go downstairs" as we were heading to the car.<br />
He says "Broom," when he wants his broom, and "sweepin'" when he's using it.<br />
He stops and looks at the pictures on our wall and names the people in them that he knows.<br />
When Murphy is barking he says,"No bark!" or "Bad boy!" and shakes his pointer finger.<br />
When he wants to read a book, he asks "Book?" and then commands you to "Sit. Down." Pointing at the ground where you need to sit. <br />
If you sneeze, he'll say "Bless you." If you say "Thank you" in response, he'll come back with "Welcome."<br />
If you give him something, he'll thank you directly (and then usually also add "welcome" after that.) <br />
When he wants to go outside, he asks "Outside?" and once there usually starts with "Swing?" or "Slide?"<br />
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And the most exciting one that just happened recently!?!? He can SPELL HIS NAME!<br />
Isn't that awesome?<br />
And, I can tell you, oh so cute... <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4qfeG2AEwtM/Uc3tn7Z1vRI/AAAAAAAAF0A/cTbWV1Js3f0/s1600/June+2013+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4qfeG2AEwtM/Uc3tn7Z1vRI/AAAAAAAAF0A/cTbWV1Js3f0/s1600/June+2013+011.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yelling "Ooouuuuuut" - He did NOT like being in the pool at first</td></tr>
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These are a just a few examples of the interactions that we have with him each and every day. It's really quite remarkable. Although he has been known to throw a tantrum or two when he's hungry or if he has a poopy diaper but doesn't want to tell (almost every time he's playing outside, because he doesn't want to have to go back in to get it changed), for the most part he is an amazingly happy baby, and I think that part of that is because he can communicate with us, and we understand him.Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-44774127413934643632013-06-26T20:26:00.001-04:002013-06-26T20:26:55.811-04:00It's starting to look..<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RyQgCfrHgy4/UcuG0RlG2UI/AAAAAAAAFzw/DtLN1uLrx0Q/s1600/20130626_202400-715811.jpg"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RyQgCfrHgy4/UcuG0RlG2UI/AAAAAAAAFzw/DtLN1uLrx0Q/s320/20130626_202400-715811.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5893952769974786370" /></a></p><p dir="ltr">More like a kitchen! </p> <p dir="ltr">Although with a countertop installation date of July 18 we still have a few more weeks to go...</p> Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-70526265696005196492013-06-13T20:46:00.001-04:002013-06-13T20:46:54.742-04:00Have you heard?<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x3zyWUrDEsM/Ubpn_3GVnWI/AAAAAAAAFzU/Xs2ByFOSKms/s1600/20130613_204046-resized-500-714743.jpg"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x3zyWUrDEsM/Ubpn_3GVnWI/AAAAAAAAFzU/Xs2ByFOSKms/s320/20130613_204046-resized-500-714743.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5889133809560296802" /></a></p><p dir="ltr">This is what my kitchen looks like these days. It's looked this way since Monday. Will continue to look this way for many, many, weeks. </p> <p dir="ltr">I have done what I consider to be an impressive job at not being overly whiney about the fact that I have no stove, no kitchen sink, no indoor location to prepare food. </p> <p dir="ltr">Oh, you hadn't heard? Our "kitchen" is now on our porch. Bet you can't wait to see a picture of that! </p> Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-37508323008096773932013-06-05T09:08:00.000-04:002013-06-05T09:08:23.266-04:00Paying to lose - DietBetAfter some quick and rewarding weight loss a couple of months ago, I once again fell off the wagon and pretty much gained it all back (all but 2 pounds.) <div>
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But then summer weather came to Pittsburgh, and I started pulling my summer clothes out of the bins from the attic, and oh my god, they were all too tight. How embarrassing. EH is nearly two years old - can I keep blaming my weight on him when he's 8? 15? 30? Probably not. </div>
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So I had to think about what my main motivators are. First and foremost - at this point, at least - the greatest motivator is fitting into the majority of my summer clothes that are currently snug. But I'm also motivated by money, and so I decided to try something new. </div>
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Enter DietBet - a social networking website where you join "games," put up money up front, and then try to lose 4% of your current weight in 4 weeks. It's basically online gambling for weight loss. </div>
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I am not one to usually like gambling, but the odds are completely within my control, and that I do like. I started with a low-stakes game requiring only $20 to join, and with only 66 other "players." The pot is $1,320. As long as I lose my 4%, I am considered a "winner" and I will get my $20 back. If everyone else also "wins" then getting my money back is all I get. But it's unlikely that everyone will win, and those who "lose" don't get any money back. Basically, the pot of $1320 is split between all of the winners. From what I can tell, an average of 50% of the people win. If I am a winner in this bet, and the 50% average occurs, then I'll get $40 back instead of my original $20. The possibility of doubling my profits - albeit small profits - is an exciting motivator for me! </div>
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There are a couple of things working against me. </div>
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First, 4% is actually a LOT of weight - 6.5 pounds for me! That's 1.6 pounds per weeks! My myfooddiary.com goal has me on track to lose 1.3 pounds per week, assuming that I am 100% committed to eating at or under 1500 calories PLUS exercise 7 days a week. I am certainly not there. But I know from the past that I sometimes lose more weight than what they say I will, especially early on, so we'll see how that goes. </div>
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The second thing working against me is that because I joined the game at the last minute (once I decided to do this, I wanted to start immediately - I might as well start the game at my highest weight!) I weighed in at 8 p.m. in the evening. As most people know, nighttime is not the best time to weigh yourself. My morning weight is usually pretty predictable and reliable, but since I have never really weighed myself much in the evenings, I'm not sure that the predictability will stand. On top of that, my weight will largely depend on how much I ate or drank that day, which can be scary. BUT, it was necessary. I wanted to start immediately AND I know that I will never have enough time in the morning to put on my "weigh in" outfit, set up my full length mirror in a location with good lighting, get my code word for my scale picture, AND upload the pictures within an hour of taking. I can barely get the out the door on time as it is, and I wake up between 5 and 5:30 a.m. each day. (Today I "slept in" until 5:40 and it felt amazing!)</div>
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The third, and final, thing that I have going against me is that DH is going to start renovating our kitchen soon. This means that we won't have an oven, or a kitchen sink for pretty much the entire duration of my four week dietbet period. Our meals will be limited to things we can cook on the grill or in the slow cooker, or eating out, which of course is not a good option when one is on a diet. Eating healthy during all of this is going to be my greatest challenge by far. </div>
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An official weigh in includes two pictures, and you have to follow these rules: </div>
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Photo #1</div>
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Shorts and a t-shirt or tank top (and you must wear the same outfit for your weigh-in and weigh-out photo)</div>
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Entire body must be in the photo, including your face</div>
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You must be standing on the scale that you're going to use for photo #2</div>
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Photo #2</div>
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Your feet on the scale</div>
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Showing your weight</div>
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A piece of paper displaying your "secret word" must in the frame</div>
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Your secret word is a random word that they give you at the time of your registration. I suppose that's how they ensure you're real. Your random word expires if you don't upload your picture shortly after registering, so you can't use the same photo for multiple weigh-ins. </div>
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So, today is the first day of my Diet Bet and we'll see how it goes! (Probably not well, today at least, since I am off work today, currently sipping a cappuccino as I read this with thoughts of going to Chipotle for lunch in my mind.) BUT I plan to exercise and if I have a moderate dinner I should be good to go for tomorrow without gaining, at the very least! I'll let you know how it goes!</div>
Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7199473945902831123.post-69731277477876207202013-05-22T21:07:00.001-04:002013-05-22T21:07:48.142-04:00Little Sister's Wedding(My apologies to my Facebook friends who are also blog readers, as you are going to see the same pictures here that you already saw on Facebook. Sorry!)<br />
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I already showed you the flowers that I did for my sister's wedding last weekend (which I actually really enjoyed doing!) but since I was also <i>sort of </i>the photographer as well, (or, at least, one of a few people who were taking pictures) I wanted to post a few more pictures from the festivities!<br />
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<i>Walking down the aisle</i></div>
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The ceremony was your standard Catholic wedding mass. And maybe it's not a standard part of Catholic weddings anyway (I can't recall when the last Catholic wedding that I attended was), but the priest never said "You may kiss the bride!"<br />
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The sort of awkward expressions on their faces in the picture above are them thinking, "Is he going to say it??" and then realizing it wasn't going to happen.<br />
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<i>In front of the church</i></div>
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Afterwards there was a small reception gathering at my parents house, where desserts, cheese, fruit, chips and salsa and drinks were served. There were a few brief speeches, and then all of the bridesmaids were given wine glasses with our names on them.<br />
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The day was incredibly cold for May, but it didn't rain, and that's really what counts. Trust me when I say that in every outdoor picture you see, I wish I was wearing a sweater, and I was always throwing it off at the last second. <br />
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We tried to take some family shots sans children, but EH decided he that he wanted to be a part of these pictures, and refused to walk away (he also refused to give up the num-num, which he is usually not allowed to have during the day - I don't actually know who gave that to him, or if he just randomly found it.) Anyway, that's why everyone is laughing in the photo below. I like to think of this as EH's first photobomb. <br />
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So we finally gave in and decided children could join in on the photo. <br />
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The sky was overcast, but that made for nice pictures without a lot of shadows or squinting, since it wasn't bright! All in all it was a good day, and in a few weeks we'll be at it again when they have their larger reception for friends and extended family!Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559640681356552938noreply@blogger.com0