On Friday we had a busy day. The weather in MD has been absolutely gorgeous the past few days, a nice change from the close to 100 degree temperatures we were having earlier in the month, so the kids and I started the day at a local playground with lots of friends. Then we headed home for a quick lunch and I then dropped Noelle off at school and Kel took his nap. After pick up, we hit the pool for a few hours and then went home to eat a yummy dinner and relax a bit before the kids went to bed.
After the kids hit the hay, I got ready for one of my favorite mom group events - freezer swap! Freezer swap is a twist on the freezer cooking days I started after Noelle was born. While I love these weekend events with a few friends, they can be overwhelming to prepare for, so I only do them every few months now. Instead, I started a mom group freezer swap that we do monthly, and I supplement with some of my own freezer cooking in small batches a few times a month.
Freezer swap is great. About 12 women come over, each with 6 of the same frozen or ready to freeze entree to trade. We draw numbers and then draft the meals, just like you would draft for a fantasy football team. Once everyone arrives we all meet one another, tell a little info about our meal, and then spend an intense 10 minutes or so selecting our meals to take home. It is pretty funny as you see people strategize to get what they wanted to take home! After the draft, the moms hang out, snack, sip wine, and chat for an hour or two. I love the event and I especially love that it gives me 6 new meals each month, as well as about 12 new recipes since we each get an email copy of all of the meals for the month. Some of my favorite freezer meals for my cooking days have come from the ladies at the swap!
Local mommies, let me know if you ever want to join our swaps! And man, I really love Fridays!
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Friday, July 26, 2013
Swimming!
Noelle has made such progress on the swimming front in the past few weeks. On July 4th she finally had the break through where she decided it wasn't the most traumatic thing ever to put her face in the water. All of the sudden she would put her face in on purpose, without us having to "accidentally" dunk her. Next up was pushing off and kicking and picking up items from the bottom.
Last weekend we got her to add a few strokes. She definitely can't get far yet, and she has no clue how to do the breathing thing, but she has made such progress! The only bad thing, now she wants to be in the big pool even more than before. That's hard if I am solo with the kids since Kel can't go in there til he is potty trained. Thankfully most of my friends are in the same situation so we usually divide and conquer the kids!
Here is my princess doing some awesome swimming. We are so proud!
Last weekend we got her to add a few strokes. She definitely can't get far yet, and she has no clue how to do the breathing thing, but she has made such progress! The only bad thing, now she wants to be in the big pool even more than before. That's hard if I am solo with the kids since Kel can't go in there til he is potty trained. Thankfully most of my friends are in the same situation so we usually divide and conquer the kids!
Here is my princess doing some awesome swimming. We are so proud!
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Orioles Magic
Last week my boss offered Orioles tickets to me. Good Orioles tickets. Second row by the visitor's dugout good (thanks Todd!). My first thought was to offer them to the number 1 lady in my life. Laura turned me down due to work. However, the number 2 lady in my life was available. The best part? It would be Noelle's first baseball game! She had seen me play in lawyer's league softball games (competitiveness is there, but not the talent), but never something on the professional level.
Noelle had not been very good the few days before the game, so we kept the game a surprise and decided to make it a game time decision, so to speak. Unfortunately, earlier in the day, it rained. A lot. Downpour for hours type rain. When I picked the kids up from day care, the rain was starting to clear and since Noelle had been pretty good, the game time decision was to change into our orange and black, drop Kellen off with the sitter, brave the rain, and head down to Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
On the way there, Noelle got really excited about spotting the Orioles and Ravens stadiums. It did seem, however, that she was more excited about the Ravens than the Orioles and was asking if they were playing and if we could go there instead. I guess she is more of a purple than an orange fan. However, once we parked and started to walk by the warehouse, Noelle started to get a little more excited. She tried to hand her ticket to pretty much anyone she saw that looked like they worked there: the security checking backpacks, the people giving out the floppy hats at the gate, and finally the ticket checkers by the turnstiles.
Inside the stadium, Noelle was single minded on wanting a hot dog. I convinced her that we should go down to our seats, dry them off, and watch a little of the game first. Once we made it down to her seats, Noelle had two disappointments. First, the Oriole Bird was too far away to talk to her. Second, our seats. Her exact words were: "Dad, why do we have to sit down here? Why can't we sit up there?" "Up there" being the nosebleed seats. I guess Noelle and I have different ideas of what is a good seat!
Once Noelle got over her disappointment, the game got under way and a barber shop quartet sang O Canada and the National Anthem (got to love games against the Blue Jays). However, after two batters, Noelle had to go use the bathroom. Since it was Noelle and Daddy only, that meant the men's restroom. At a stadium. On a Friday. With a bunch of drunk men. Awesome. All I could do was give Noelle the same instructions dad's throughout history have given their daughters when they have to go in the men's room: don't stare and don't touch anything. Let's just say, for this and the other four restroom breaks, I am glad I brought a lot of wipes and that you can convince drunk people to let your daughter go in the stall before them.
Bathroom break out of the way, we grabbed our super dogs and headed back to our seats. Finally getting to see some of the game was great for me, but once Noelle's hot dog was done, she had a hard time sitting still and paying attention to the game.
By the fourth inning, though, we got into a good system where she could sit on my lap and watch the game, jump up with me to cheer (especially for the three Orioles home runs!), and thank the college guys next to us for standing up every time we had to make another bathroom run.
On one of those runs, Noelle got pretty excited when our usher told us to stop by fan services to get a special treat. The O's do a really nice little packet for kids first game including a certificate, Oriole Bird postcard, key chain, and a few other things. Since Noelle didn't get to talk to the Oriole Bird, it was a good consolation prize.
Once the game was over and the O's marched on to victory, Noelle was excited to get ready for the Friday night fireworks!
The people in front of us didn't stay, so we got to move down to the front row for an unimpeded view. Noelle even caught the eye of the camera guy in front of us while she was dancing and she made it up on the big screen!
The fireworks were great and the music during them was 80's themed, so both of us enjoyed them a lot.
On the way out, Noelle had her favorite part of the night, getting to hear the one song she had been waiting for: Seven Nation Army. Waiting to make it out of the stadium with the crowd singing a few "Oh O O O Oh Oohs" definitely made the slow movement not as bad for her.
I think Noelle was asleep with 15 seconds of getting in the car, but overall, a pretty successful first O's game for Noelle. The O's are undefeated with Noelle there, so we'll have to do it again! Let's go O's!
Noelle had not been very good the few days before the game, so we kept the game a surprise and decided to make it a game time decision, so to speak. Unfortunately, earlier in the day, it rained. A lot. Downpour for hours type rain. When I picked the kids up from day care, the rain was starting to clear and since Noelle had been pretty good, the game time decision was to change into our orange and black, drop Kellen off with the sitter, brave the rain, and head down to Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
On the way there, Noelle got really excited about spotting the Orioles and Ravens stadiums. It did seem, however, that she was more excited about the Ravens than the Orioles and was asking if they were playing and if we could go there instead. I guess she is more of a purple than an orange fan. However, once we parked and started to walk by the warehouse, Noelle started to get a little more excited. She tried to hand her ticket to pretty much anyone she saw that looked like they worked there: the security checking backpacks, the people giving out the floppy hats at the gate, and finally the ticket checkers by the turnstiles.
Inside the stadium, Noelle was single minded on wanting a hot dog. I convinced her that we should go down to our seats, dry them off, and watch a little of the game first. Once we made it down to her seats, Noelle had two disappointments. First, the Oriole Bird was too far away to talk to her. Second, our seats. Her exact words were: "Dad, why do we have to sit down here? Why can't we sit up there?" "Up there" being the nosebleed seats. I guess Noelle and I have different ideas of what is a good seat!
Once Noelle got over her disappointment, the game got under way and a barber shop quartet sang O Canada and the National Anthem (got to love games against the Blue Jays). However, after two batters, Noelle had to go use the bathroom. Since it was Noelle and Daddy only, that meant the men's restroom. At a stadium. On a Friday. With a bunch of drunk men. Awesome. All I could do was give Noelle the same instructions dad's throughout history have given their daughters when they have to go in the men's room: don't stare and don't touch anything. Let's just say, for this and the other four restroom breaks, I am glad I brought a lot of wipes and that you can convince drunk people to let your daughter go in the stall before them.
Bathroom break out of the way, we grabbed our super dogs and headed back to our seats. Finally getting to see some of the game was great for me, but once Noelle's hot dog was done, she had a hard time sitting still and paying attention to the game.
By the fourth inning, though, we got into a good system where she could sit on my lap and watch the game, jump up with me to cheer (especially for the three Orioles home runs!), and thank the college guys next to us for standing up every time we had to make another bathroom run.
On one of those runs, Noelle got pretty excited when our usher told us to stop by fan services to get a special treat. The O's do a really nice little packet for kids first game including a certificate, Oriole Bird postcard, key chain, and a few other things. Since Noelle didn't get to talk to the Oriole Bird, it was a good consolation prize.
Once the game was over and the O's marched on to victory, Noelle was excited to get ready for the Friday night fireworks!
The people in front of us didn't stay, so we got to move down to the front row for an unimpeded view. Noelle even caught the eye of the camera guy in front of us while she was dancing and she made it up on the big screen!
The fireworks were great and the music during them was 80's themed, so both of us enjoyed them a lot.
On the way out, Noelle had her favorite part of the night, getting to hear the one song she had been waiting for: Seven Nation Army. Waiting to make it out of the stadium with the crowd singing a few "Oh O O O Oh Oohs" definitely made the slow movement not as bad for her.
I think Noelle was asleep with 15 seconds of getting in the car, but overall, a pretty successful first O's game for Noelle. The O's are undefeated with Noelle there, so we'll have to do it again! Let's go O's!
Friday, July 12, 2013
Fun on the Fourth
The Fourth is big in Catonsville. Like line your chairs up a few weeks before the parade to get your spot big.
And we did it up! The day started with a swim at the pool before early naps. Then it was time to head to the parade. We had a plan this year, as Bryan's injured knee combined with Noelle's size meant we certainly weren't walking 2 miles each way in the close to 100 degree sun! So we parked one car close in the morning, drove the other as close as we could get it, and took the wagon the rest of the way!
After a quick stop to get lemonade (Kellen clearly was not sure the stop was a good idea), we got to our reserved spot and met our friends to watch the parade!
Bryan and Greg had scoped out a big shady spot and we enjoyed the parade for the next 90 minutes or so. The highlight was definitely the fire engines that started things off! We were all hot but it was lots of fun! (And I promise Kellen is just flushed, not sun burnt in the pictures - I spray that kid with SPF 55 like every 5 minutes!)
After the parade we headed home and hosted a few families for a 4th of July cookout! Well, the kids and I hosted and Bryan headed to the airport. He went to Florida that evening to see his brothers for a few days while Raymond was home on leave from Afghanistan. So the kids and I ate and played for a couple of hours with some of our favorite friends.
Finally, we capped off the day when I took the kids to their first 4th of July fireworks display. We went to the community college because I couldn't handle the crowds at the high school but it was great viewing! The kids got tired and we left as the finale started (and it still took us 46 minutes to get to our house that was basically two blocks through the trees from our spot), but I would go again in a heartbeat!
Happy Fourth!
And we did it up! The day started with a swim at the pool before early naps. Then it was time to head to the parade. We had a plan this year, as Bryan's injured knee combined with Noelle's size meant we certainly weren't walking 2 miles each way in the close to 100 degree sun! So we parked one car close in the morning, drove the other as close as we could get it, and took the wagon the rest of the way!
After a quick stop to get lemonade (Kellen clearly was not sure the stop was a good idea), we got to our reserved spot and met our friends to watch the parade!
Bryan and Greg had scoped out a big shady spot and we enjoyed the parade for the next 90 minutes or so. The highlight was definitely the fire engines that started things off! We were all hot but it was lots of fun! (And I promise Kellen is just flushed, not sun burnt in the pictures - I spray that kid with SPF 55 like every 5 minutes!)
After the parade we headed home and hosted a few families for a 4th of July cookout! Well, the kids and I hosted and Bryan headed to the airport. He went to Florida that evening to see his brothers for a few days while Raymond was home on leave from Afghanistan. So the kids and I ate and played for a couple of hours with some of our favorite friends.
Finally, we capped off the day when I took the kids to their first 4th of July fireworks display. We went to the community college because I couldn't handle the crowds at the high school but it was great viewing! The kids got tired and we left as the finale started (and it still took us 46 minutes to get to our house that was basically two blocks through the trees from our spot), but I would go again in a heartbeat!
Happy Fourth!
Grandma, Pop Pop, and Uncle Mike Come to Play
The last weekend in June my parents and brother came to visit. We loved having them and packed a lot in to the weekend! We played at the tire park; checked out the nature center's snake, bugs, and Terrapin!; hit the pool twice including for a "swim lesson" with Grandma; crammed 5 adults, 2 kids, and 2 puppies in the car for a trip to Opie's; played Pinochle; and acted as baseball all stars and went to the Orioles game as previously mentioned. It was a great weekend and we can't wait to see them in a few weeks at the beach!
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
All Stars
In honor of All Star Week coming up, I thought I'd post some pictures of my all stars playing with the stuff they got for Christmas (well, Noelle had the glove already). I am pretty sure they are almost ready for the pros!
My family came to visit the weekend before 4th of July and we had a great time, capped off with the Hayhoe four hitting the Orioles game to see the sweep of the Yankees! Go O's!
My family came to visit the weekend before 4th of July and we had a great time, capped off with the Hayhoe four hitting the Orioles game to see the sweep of the Yankees! Go O's!
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Last Thursday Noelle and I made our third trek together down to Hopkins. This time we saw the GI doctor. We had a much better experience than our first two times down there together and I have decided that since 2 out of 3 doctors we have seen at Hopkins were good I like the institution again! First, the doctor was nice, actually examined my daughter, and spoke to both of us. Second, she actually had some real explanations and suggestions. I feel like we at least now know there is a medical reason for all that we have been through over this year plus journey to being full potty trained and that is a relief. We'll follow up with GI in 6 months after we maintain the medicine Noelle is taking and make some of the diet changes they suggested. It looks like gluten is not part of the problem - yay, freezer swap participation can continue! - but some of Noelle's favorite fruits and carbs are being cut out. Thankfully she seems to be ok with diet changes that she thinks will make things easier for her so that is nice!
In the meantime, we have had more problems over the last few days than we have had the past few months. I think it has been a combination of things that have caused everything to happen now, but it is definitely frustrating and it is hard not to get angry when your almost 4 year old has multiple accidents in a day several days in a row. We are trying to keep our patience though and Noelle is trying her best! In a few months we'll head down to the urology clinic at Hopkins where nurse practitioners use some behavioral and biophysical strategies to help kids that have these kinds of issues. I am really hopeful this will be what she needs to get this all totally figured out!
For now, at least Noelle enjoys the entertainment Hopkins has to offer while we wait to be seen!
In the meantime, we have had more problems over the last few days than we have had the past few months. I think it has been a combination of things that have caused everything to happen now, but it is definitely frustrating and it is hard not to get angry when your almost 4 year old has multiple accidents in a day several days in a row. We are trying to keep our patience though and Noelle is trying her best! In a few months we'll head down to the urology clinic at Hopkins where nurse practitioners use some behavioral and biophysical strategies to help kids that have these kinds of issues. I am really hopeful this will be what she needs to get this all totally figured out!
For now, at least Noelle enjoys the entertainment Hopkins has to offer while we wait to be seen!
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