Wordless Wednesday

When dad was away, we sent him a message!

Dinner recommendation

Tonight we made another outstanding recipce from Cooking Light. You must try:
Spicy chicken cakes with horseradish aioli and mashed sweet potatoes with steamed asparagus. I also realized, to my chagrin, that I didn't have any mayo in the fridge, so I just substituted ranch dressing and it tasted great. Tell me what you think!

I made it!

Aron is back and while I was sure he was going to get caught up on his sleep (to which I'll admit I was a bit jealous), he actually had an exhausting trip. Between driving out to Garland twice to see friends for dinner and preparing his presentation, my hubby got very little sleep on his business trip out to Texas. He arrived safely last night, back into the throws of parenting. He did an excellent job staying connected to me via phone--we talked several times a day and I was able to keep him updated on Mags and my emotional state. The time alone with her went very well and we only had one major meltdown on Friday night. Shelley and Randall came over and brought dinner--deep dish pizza and 2 quarts of Oberweiss as a special treat! We watched some TV, then Randall left and Shel and I hit the sack. On Saturday morning, Shelley gave Mags her morning bottle at 7:30 and allowed me to go back to bed for an hour and a half. Later, we headed to the nearest Half Price Books, grabbed a Starbucks, and perused the selection for over an hour. With our arms full of purchases, we left and came back home. Randall picked her up shortly thereafter, and I only had a few more hours alone without A. I did a few house-related things while Mags napped, then it was time to pick him up from the airport.

Thanks for all the prayers, phone calls, and love in general. I could feel it!

How cute am I?

Momma and I are just hanging out and waiting for daddy to get back from his business trip. I've had a great time with her alone. I slept good last night, have had great naps today, and I love to play with her during my wake time! We read books and she talks to me and we listen to music. But, I love when daddy plays guitar for me and sings, so I hope he hurries home!

Thanks

I haven't been responding to comments like I normally do, but when I blogged about my feelings on motherhood a few weeks ago, many of you wrote back with such encouraging and uplifting words that *truly* ministered to my weary heart. So, thank you for that. I especially loved what Patrice said about us living in a global community in that even though I cannot be near my family or closest friends, God still uses forums such as this blog, to meet my needs. I am humbled to have such a community.

What the next few days hold

Aron left about 20 minutes go to fly to Dallas for training for work. He returns on Saturday night. Needless to say, I was not too happy when his overnight trip turned into a 2 day trip. I'm not looking forward to going at it alone these next few days, but alas, I must. Shelley has been so kind to come over tomorrow night to spend the night and hang out. I know the moral support will be an extra boost of confidence for me. I also know that I'll come out of this time alone just fine, but looking on this side of it, it seems overwhelming and exhausting. Thankfully, Mags is really doing quite well overall. We've been scheulding her feeding/waking/sleeping and she's following it like a champion. We do have our moments of hard feedings and short naps, but still, Maggie seems to be a happier baby because she is well rested. Nights esp. are some of her best time (late night and middle of the night, that is), so I hope this will ring true while I am the single parent. However, if she has moments of hysteria in the coming days, as she does every couple of days (for who knows why), little encouragmets bolster me from hour to hour: her sweet smell when I wake her up to eat, her smiles when I read to her or play with her, her coos and sweet noises she makes when playing in her crib. I'm postive the Lord plants these along the way to give new moms a boost.

Wordless Wednesday

Random Product Info

Following in the footsteps of fellow blogger, Laurie, I thought I'd post a few remarks about some random stuff that I have bought/discovered recently. I like getting tips and suggestions so share yours as well!

Body and Health Care:
*Trader Joe's Shave Gel--hands down, the best ever. I like it because it can be used by both men and women, you only need a little bit, and thus it lasts a long time. I like it in the Honey Mango scent. If it's not available, the Alba brand is also excellent.
*Oil of Olay Ribbons body wash--great scent, leaves the skin soft. I like the pink bottle best.

Food:
*Fat Flush tortillas: Just discovered these last week at Whole Foods and they are outstanding. Aron and I are hooked. They have a great texture and flavor. We ate them with some newly discovered hummus by Basha, which can also be purchased at WF. Tasty!
*Trader Joes UFOs--giant mint flavored chocolate chips; we just eat them for snacks. I haven't actually cooked with them.
*Ginger Peach tea by Republic of Tea--Rachel got me into this and I'm addicted! Subtle flavor and delicious when iced.

That's it for now.

Wordless Wednesday

Mema and Pops

Aron's folks were in town this weekend (to see Mags more than us :) and we enjoyed our time with them. Saturday we ran some errands at Target and got coffee at Starbucks. I introduced Mike to the superb Chai's at The Coffee Beanery (I've already won over several fans--it's better than Starbucks' Chai) and he thought it tasted good. Later, Laurie and I were able to hit a few fun stores in the area, including 2 baby stores. She purchased Maggie some cute, winter Robeez shoes for next year. We found a to-do-for French bakery, purchased too many goodies, grabbed lunch for the 4 of us and came back to the flat. After lunch and Maggie's feeding, we all piled in the car and headed downtown to Millenium Park. Immediately stepping out of the car, we were exposed to some harsh Chicago weather--wind chill made it feel in the low 20s! Determind, we walked through the park, over the bridge, and under the Bean (pictured below). It is indeed a beautiful place and will be fun to come to in the warmer summer months. Laurie was an incredible asset to helping with Mags. She fed, changed, played with, and rocked her to sleep. This freed me up to nap some and even spend some time with my good friend Laurie (same name, pronounced differently), Shel's sistser, who was in town. We grabbed coffee at, where else? The Coffee Beanery (where I of course, won her over to their Chai tea latte)! Later, we hit a few stores, then came home for dinner. Laurie, the MIL, had cooked a delicous meal of brisket, carmelized carrots, rice, and sourdough bread. The meal was finished off with blonde brownies and ice cream. Yum! The grandparents, to be known from here on out as Mema (me-maw) and Pops, left early this morning. We'll miss them immensely and bid them come back anytime. Many thanks, for all the love and help you gave us this weekend.

Dinners

This is one aspect of our daily lives that I am still adjusting too...finding time to make meals for us. If we ever have more children and live in an area where friends bring us meals, I will never forget it! I can see how invaluable this is to a new family. Less you think I'm complaining about the fact that we don't know many people, I must write that my friend Rachel (my roomate from Bible college back in '97) lives here and brought us a yummy dinner on Monday--cheesy chicken with broccoli and rice. Many thanks! We also have 2 other friends who have said they'll bring dinner in the coming weeks, for which we are grateful. Last night, I found the time to cook a recipe that Aron and I love; we hadn't eaten it in a few months. From the ever-useful and wonderful Cooking Light magazine, Roasted Chicken Chimichangas are a hit (thanks, La, for the recipe)! I recommmed them highly--very easy, very tasty, healthy overall, and makes great leftovers. Yum! Make and tell me what you think.

Wordless Wednesday

BTW--I know this is not a "wordless" post now that I'm writing, but I just wanted to say that each Wednesday I'll post a new pic of Mag; my good friend Patti does this with her son and I'm stealing the idea. :) And since I've started writing already, I just must add that I really think Mag looks like my sister, Shannon, when she was little. Mom, comment? Ok, one more thought: Do you think Mag's hair looks red? We think it does!

Day 1 update

Yesterday was my first day going at it alone at home with Mags. Overall, it went pretty smoothly; huge praise! We did the usual routine of feeding, wake time, and napping. I even ventured out to the park for a walk with her. During our outing, she fell asleep (of course) and I used the opportunity to call a few friends and catch up. It felt so good to be out with her, knowing that I took her up and down the stairs and got her all strapped in alone. I'm sure this doesn't seem like that big of an accomplishment to many, but for me, it was a huge boost of encouragement! She did have one major meltdown when we got home; sigh. Those are the WORST; I feel bereft and unsure of how to soothe her after I've tried it all. You just have to play it out and try all that you can until she calms down. I took a short nap when she napped in the afternoon. Because Aron left for work at 6:15am that morning, he got home around 4:30pm, right after I had finished a feeding. He walked in the door and I handed her over to him. He played with her and put her down to nap. It was great to have him back in the house at night because I was able to wash and fold some laundry, cook dinner, do the dishes, pack his lunch, write some thank yous, catch up on email, and straighten up a few things around the house. Productive! It felt so good.

Today is Aron’s long day at work…sigh. He actually has a meeting tonight with the CEO of James Hardie who is in town. It’s from 4-6pm, then he still might have some work left bec. it’s Wednesday—the long day. I’m not sure how it’ll go. Overall, yesterday was a positive experience, so this boosts my outlook for the day.