Date Night!

We finally got to have a night out..it's been at least a few months. And much needed! Sometimes I loathe the single life but then I remember you only tend to remember the good things about memories; which is pretty crappy. So when I think back when I was single I only think about: Spontaneous plans with my friends usually focused around drinking heavily, late night Taco Bell runs, driving to Chicago for a night out, meeting new people, going on dates, just driving around, and who could forget: Living at Home...haha

Truthfully before I met Matt I was living at home so I never really got to experience the "single and having my own dwelling" part of Sex and the City..LOL However the things I tend to forget are: the loneliness when there is nothing going on, spending way to much $$ on alcohol and food, working a shit-ass job and barely keeping up, having to answer to my parents, bad dates, wanting to get married, and wanting to move out and have a family.....

Ironic right?! Well the saying "the grass is always greener" isn't popular because it's wrong..AND this is what I want...I'm just in a weird funk right now..so a Date Night is exactly what I needed!

Time to do whatever we want and act like children..YAY!

So we dropped the boy off w/ grandma and grandpa and headed off for drinks, a little shop shop, dinner, and a movie...go BIG right?! I had so much fun...being able to eat and drink without someone staring me down and demanding a bite of EVERYTHING. Sidenote: I found out I can eat cottage cheese since he doesn't like it..YES! Also deciding on a whim what we want to do, not having to lug around our whole world in a giant duffel bag, not having any poopy diapers..yea it was pretty much paradise. AND since this was a sleepover visit I got to sleep in my own bed and not listen to the monitor. I slept like a fricken baby, well not my baby but whoever coined this phrase that had a sleeping baby?!

As much as I missed Drew and couldn't wait to pick him up on Sunday I feel like breaks are a necessary part of human nature. In fact I'm not sure that Duggar chick is real...I think she's a robot because I can't imagine having that many children and spending every waking minute with at least one of em! Holy Cannoli's.

Needless to say it was a blast and he didn't sleep pretty much at all at Grandma and Grandpa's...Poop. So we took alot of naps on Sunday :)

~Candace

Swim Class-Continued

Starting something new with a child is always Anxiety-ridden. It's always a million questions going on in my brain..What will the place be like? What will the bathrooms be like? Will I bring enough stuff? What will the people be like? Will he cooperate? Will I have to shit? And the list goes on and on...I am learning better ways of coping with these times..definitely a lot of deep breaths, fake smiles, and keeping my mind off it with other distractions.

Mondays Class was interesting. I found myself putting people into categories...The Dad who is trying to hard and his kid hates it. The Dad who has no clue on what he is doing. The Mom who got forced into this and hates it. The Kid who absolutely hates the water which makes me wonder if they take baths. The Kid who is way too old to be in this class and is bored. And last but not least the Mom who is taking this wayyyy too seriously.

So where do I fit in? Nervous Mervous praying I don't drop my baby in the 5ft deep water? Yea I think that is my category. Anywho this was fun..I sure do love people watching. We had a Mom who wore a latex bathing cap, complete with a wetsuit..I find myself wondering how in the hell did she get that thing on with what looks like a 4mo old with her. I was barely able to keep Drew on the changing table while I changed HIM let alone myself? I just wore my suit to the class...that battle was for another day.

Then there's the Dad who is throwing his kid around and shouting things like "KICK KICK KICK" "YOU CAN DO IT" etc. Ummmm this Dad knows it's Water Babies and not Competition Swim right?! I felt bad for that kid you can tell this isn't what he signed up for in his mind.

So the first day went swimmingly..HA Pun! Drew loved it, he did his whole "EEEEE" excited noise and splashed alot...by the end he was limp in my arms while I floated him around soooo relaxed I was jealous. When is it MY turn??

Wednesdays class was a little more eventful to say the least. AGAIN I thought I was going to try to be more prepared since changing him in the locker rooms was NOT ideal. I put his suit on as we left my Mom's. We pull up and I hear a "Grunt".....THAT can't be good. Maybe it was a toot? Hell no who am I kidding. REALLY DREW?! As I am realizing this I am imagining the items in our "swim bag"...Diapers? No. Wipes? No. Change of clothes? No. WHAT DID I BRING? Shit how am I going to swing this?

I make it into the changing room and put him on the table. Grab the hard-ass papertowels, put some water on them...Then I assess the damage. And boy was it a doozy. God-forbid it be one of those hard stools right?! I do the best I can to clean him up along with rinsing out the remains out of his swim diaper...YUMM The smell alone could knock you on your ass. I feel bad for the poor soul who used the room after us..there was nothing I could do...I was totally unprepared.

At least the pool is heavily chlorinated so the odds of anyone smelling us is out thank god. So I guess from now on I will bring a huge bag of stuff along with not changing him into his swim diaper until we are about 30 seconds from entering the pool..Sheesh.

And in case you were wondering this IS how we look in swim class, my perfectly toned bicep and my hair and makeup done...HA yea right.

~Candace

9mo Check-up and Swim Class!

Oh jesus I know I have been M.I.A. for AWHILE. Apologies readers sometimes Life takes a hold and doesn't let go! Any way I am getting back in the saddle..got my new desk and it's all put together in the bedroom..away from the Kitchen Table so I can focus on what really matters...JUST KIDDING, what really matters is my KID DUH! But yea so I'm hoping it will push me to write a little bit more since it's so close to the bed! The last thing I want to do at night is sit at the kitchen table typing away.

Well SO much has been going on. So much that I totally forgot about Drew's swimming class starting on Monday..So Sunday night when my parents were over for dinner I thought "Oh yea I gotta look up when I need to sign him up for that thing...Oh April 7th"..."When's April 7th" "Oh shit, it's tomorrow!" I ended up calling the park district in a panic to get him in since the next one starts in June and we are already way too busy to put a swim class in there. They were able to get me in..Phew that was a close one.

WAIT! I don't have a freakin' bathing suit! Ahhhh! So my Monday consisted of...Get him up and fed and down for a nap at 10am. I assumed he would sleep til 1045-11 and we could be out on the door to the mall....get a bathing suit and shoes for him...eat lunch there then head to his doctor appt at 2..be back home for dinner then swim class from 6-7...NOPE!

Man Who am I kidding when I think this kid is on any type of schedule?! He ended up sleeping until 1145! So then I gave him his bottle, packed us both up and headed for the mall...Tried on like ten different suits and liked 1. Man this body sucks..I thought my body before was bad?!

We head over to the food court where I get a FREE Jamba juice...yea my good looks! Just kidding! Their CC machine was down and she saw the tears starting in the corner of my eyes since I was realizing that it was this or nothing for lunch...and nothing for lunch...while I am used to it now kind of sucks esp seeing how I was hella busy the rest of the day. So she offered me one for free..Thank YOU kind lady you have saved my stomach from eating itself...oh wait maybe I shouldn't have!

I give him his baby food in the stroller..which I was praying he would take it that way..looked at the clock and realized it was 115....Seriously where does the time go. I really had to pee...but again NO TIME! I slurped up my jamba and headed to the car, time for a quick diaper change which is somewhere along the lines of fighting a Suma Wrestler and a limited-mobility 80yr old man at the same time...NO Your Leg goes there! Off to the doctor.

First time at this doctor and I didn't realize I would be running in a 5K today...I had to park in
Bum-fuck and carry Mr. 20lb sack of dirt all the way into the building, elevator to the 3rd floor and thank my lucky stars the LAST office at the end of the hall...keep in mind I still have to pee..Thank god I've been working out otherwise I prob would have wet myself. I huff and puff while handing her my insurance card and my eyes wander to the chairs...hurry I need a rest!

Well I GET to sit down..as soon as I do Drew wants to take off again..man this kid never stops, at least there is a book shelf w/ books on it because of course he isn't interested in anything I have brought for him. So I let him wander over there while I catch my breath. The door opens and in comes a little boy probably 4mo old. Well time for me to get up...Drew sees him and starts his excited "YEEEEE" crawl over to the boy...he loves kids and I'm not sure why? They exchange little baby hellos. Then he gets called into the office.

Finally we get called in which means it's work time for me again. Get him all undressed. Of course we need to change Mr. Peepants again. Take him over here to get weighed and measured. Explain to the nurse why I am such a good parent..HAHA. Then wait for the Doc...he starts shredding the paper which is pretty normal at this point and anything to keep him content right?! She comes in, I then explain to her why I am such a good parent and she pokes and prods him while he shreds paper. Nurse will be back with two shots and a finger poke..he continues to shred. She comes back I hold him while she does all 3 above items and console him when he lets out a single yell after the first poke. OH no insane sobbing? GREAT!

All done, now get him dressed, get all of our shit amongst the paper shreds. Checkout with the checkout lady. Then carry him all the way back down the hall, in the elevator and out into the cornfields where I parked. The greatest moment was getting to sit in the car...AHH...damnit I still have to pee!

Get home, get him and all our crap out of the car..put cartoons on for like ten minutes so I can pee and catch my breath...Finally! So we kinda chill out until dad comes home and eat some food and pack our swim bag, he didn't really nap since he did little ones in the car to and from the doc and to swimming so I really didn't get a mini rest like I normally do.

Anywho we get to swimming and I realize how IMPOSSIBLE it is to get those little swim diaper plastic things on...HOLY SHIT I needed like a tube of petroleum or something so I could slip him into there. Thankfully I was already in my swimsuit...that battle was for another day. When we get out by the pool he is so fricken excited it actually makes me soooo happy that we did this. Although I could have passed out at any moment seeing him like that was totally worth it! Needless to say after swimming we were both ready to pass out, he got to sleep on the car ride home and I did not.

I have more details on the swim class but that's for another day since this post is super long already! Stay tuned!
~Candace

Recap..I've missed you! Plus New-finds!

Oh my I am a Bad Blogger!! I have an excuse though! Last week was my birthday...O Happy day, yea right we haven't even celebrated it since I had a cold and then Drew caught something over the weekend and Monday started throwing up everywhere...Man that is FUN! So I've been a little busy, smelly, and exhausted. BUT I have some good news..this post is going to be about fun, new gadgets for babes...Which is super exciting especially because that's all I spend my money on these days.

So let's get started..a few weeks ago my Aunt came in to town and had bought Drew a set of Primer books..what is a primer book you ask? Well they don't really have words, it's more for beginning concepts, to get them to understand what weather means, or noises, etc. These books were also made up of our favorite stories like Alice in Wonderland, Jabberwocky, etc. They are the cutest things ever AND they are on Zulily today for a GREAT price, so get your ass on there and buy em up!

Another crazy-awesome baby idea...The Otteroo...now you have to watch the video cuz me just telling you what it is will freak you out. It's an inflatable tube for your child's head so they can float in water..can be used as young as 8 weeks old! Now, would I buy this and use it? Probably not because...babies+water=scares the shit out of me! But it is a very cool concept for those braver than I. See the video HERE

Now that maybe the weather is getting nicer...it is right? You might want to think about getting back into your jogging routine w/ your little one. Well a company I just started hearing about is Baby Jogger, they have a new "system" that allows you to purchase add-ons if you end up having more children so you don't have to go out and buy a double-stroller per say. see HERE and the options are endless, two newborn carries, 1 newborn and 1 regular child seat, two child seats, rear-facing, forward-facing. 16 total configurations...kinda wish I would have seen this one before purchasing mine..ya know, just IN CASE! Very cool.

So another really cool thing that isn't very new...but people who have seen mine have said "where did you get it?" So I thought I should mention it on here. We live in a condo...so not a whole lot of extra room for the baby gadgets, I decided we would get a portable highchair instead of a stand alone and that way it was double duty, here on our kitchen table it's our highchair but we can also bring it places that might not have a highchair OR I can take it down when we have company over. Also I might add that it has a higher back than a normal restaurant highchair so if your kid is in between sitting up sturdy and slouching still a little this is great because it offers extra support at that certain age. I think ours was around $60.

Ok and last but not least...as you are thinking of all those great outdoor activities you are going to do with all the nicer weather we will be having...ErgoBaby came out with a new Performance line..great for going on walks, being outdoors a lot, etc. This thing is amazing, can do 7-45lbs! So no need to buy multiple carries, has 3 carrying positions, and has UV protection and a hood for the little babe head. Also keeps mom/dad/baby extra cool w/ it's lightweight durable design. Don't be scared about the price, this is basically 2 of those other baby-holders combined. See HERE I might be bribing someone very shortly to buy this for me :)

And that's it, weekly roundup of some good finds. Have you found anything worth sharing??

~Candace

The Sickness Strikes Again

Seriously I had no idea my body had the physical capability to be sick this Winter as much as it has. I mean this is Ridiculous, I am NEVER sick and if I am it's like for 2 days then done! I try to eat pretty healthy and keep up my immune system but jesus this winter has been one helluva ride.

And it's so annoying to have a cold and a runny nose with a baby now approaching toddler, like when do I have time to do anything for myself now I have to put "blowing nose" in there, more like wiping nose since I rarely make it to the tissue box in time these days. And not giving it to Drew, Forggetaaboutit. That shit was happening no matter how many bottles of sanitizer I go through, it just does, when you are with someone for 13hrs a day you are bound to catch whatever they have.

So now on top of me feeling like shit, looking like shit, hey maybe even eating shit, I have to deal w/ a child who's nose constantly runs, he's cranky and isn't sleeping well....GRRRREAT, not like I wasn't tired enough now we have to throw waking up a few times in the middle of the night in there! Seriously who up above hates me?

No amount of caffeine is helping me these days when I'm sick, Drew grabbed a piece of papertowel off the couch today and I was so tired I let him have it to see what he would do....he sat there and ripped it into a gazillion pieces, but you know what? It took him like 1/2hr and that 1/2hr I was able to sit on the couch (not the floor w/ him) and actually relax so it was worth it! Dad came home and was like WTH? Hey don't ask questions when my voice is horse, my eyes are watery, my nose dripping but your son is still alive, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Ok that was my short rant, I'm done with winter and being sick..no for real...so stay the eff away from me sickies!

Workout-Schmerkout!

Well I've been going to the gym pretty steady for a few weeks now..and I do say I have noticed a difference, both in how I feel and how my body looks. I finally got over a measley weight threshold that I've had for a few months so that's good, and some of my fat has turned into muscle. So although I'm not droppin hella LB's on the scale I AM noticing a difference in definition.

But like most of the population I would LOVE some immediate gratification, and maybe like 4 weeks to get my body back in the shape pre-baby! Who am I kidding, this would take a whole team of people to get me back that quickly...so that got me thinking...do these companies exist and what would the cost/timeframe be. Would they simply come to your house and kick your ass for an hour plus and then make all your healthy and nutritious meals for you? Would they do all the grocery shopping for those meals? Would they clear out your pantry of all the bad shit? So I decided to do some research and by research I mean google-ing :)

Well I really didn't come to any company specifically advertising a "Complete body after baby diet and exercise regimen" So I'm challenging someone out there to do it! LOL Because us mom's are far too busy with the little one to actually focus on putting this together ourselves, not all of us are like that Maria Kang girl..ha.

What I did find were some at-home personal trainers which I would def. do if I could. Going to and from the gym is probably the hardest part for most people and I dread running on a treadmill, much rather run outside! So for about $1/minute you can hire your own personal trainer that will come to your house and kick your ass for you. This posed another question in my mind, although I HATE driving to the gym they do provide daycare..so what would I do in this case? Well I am fortunate to have a jogging stroller, so I could bring him along for that ride, the rest of the session I would either need help or try to sit him in front of the TV or something? So I advise that new company to come with caregivers also, so if the person needs it the trainer could bring along a nanny for the little one(s). So you figure $60/session 3x's a week=180.00/week

For food, I really couldn't find an at-home nutritionist, or one that would go grocery shopping and prepare meals for you. What I did find was the food delivery service. A lot of them had where you could select what calorie range you are in. The prices are all over the board w/ this one, I found a really nice local one eatfitchicago.com for about $15/day you could pick from a menu and the menu tells nutrition facts on all the items and they will deliver it for you. BUT this one along w/ a few others I found seem to be just making the food and shipping it, so 3 day max in advance they advise which isn't practical at all. More popular names like Seattle Sutton or Nutrisystem come frozen or are easily frozen so you could order a whole shit-ton and be prepared for awhile. Prices range from $15-$60/day depending on if it's all 3 meals or just 2 and if you are doing 5day or 7day. I've had a friend do the Nutrisystem one and she seemed to like the meals.

Total Cost for a month of at-home personal training and food=$1280.00. Son of a nutcracker!

So Ladies, those are our options for now, if anyone wants to lend me a HUGE chunk of money we could get this business started, and then I'm sure quickly following would be the "Comfortable Husband diet" since our men also seem to gain "pregnancy weight".

Here's some motivation for ya ;)

Money Saving Tips for New Moms

With all my new-found freedom of being home (HA!) I have been some what of a Hoarder with our money..haha. Now I feel bad spending money since I'm not making it (even though I'm saving us a lot on Daycare) and now I make every dollar stretch a little more. Here's some ideas that have come to me in the process. And keep in mind your Sanity is Numero Uno priority so if any of this makes you overwhelmed or like you don't have any time for yourself then Nix it! Just some helpful hints and maybe you can walk away with one Ah-ha!

Use your damn mini's! I am a repeat offender of this, buying all these mini shampoos, conditioners, stealing the ones from the Hotel visits for our twice a year vacations..Make sense? NO! So instead of buying Shamp and Cond I've gone through our HUGE Tupperware of mini's and have begun using them, not only is nice to switch it up every now and then but it's great putting these to use, because by the time I get to go on vacation with a little one I won't need 8 mini bottles of shampoo! So use em up!

I'm sure myself along with every other new mom thought making their own babyfood is a moneysaver...well it is and it isn't. Once your baby is old enough to eat straight up pureed table foods then YES it is a money-saver, you can take your dinner that you are about to eat and puree it up so that is good. During the beginning however you have to make certain combinations and cook it up and store it..the storing is where it gets expensive. So if you had like single packets of veggies and fruits ready to cook and then you can use it right then you would be saving money. If you make a huge vat of it like most of us do to save on time..then you have to buy little pouches or jars to keep them in and freeze em up, the ice cube tray didn't work for some of my purees, they wouldn't come out nice and clean so I could throw them in Ziploc bags and be done with it. The cheapest recipes to make are w/ apples, squash, bananas and the more expensive would be recipes w/ avocados, mangos, berries, etc. Now that he can almost eat anything I just buy a huge container of applesauce..Organic, no sugar added, etc. Every morning I give him 2Tbsp of Oatmeal with applesauce and then 1/2 a package of a yogurt/fruit blend babyfood. That way instead of eating the whole package and then some I'm substituting some of it w/ the cheaper applesauce and the Oatmeal as a filler. He is still mostly formula so this doesn't hurt his nutrition at all. Also Cheerios are way Cheaper than Puffs, so I buy both to mix it up but mostly give him Cheerios.

Along the same idea w/ baby products, obviously buying in bulk is a money-saver, Diaper/Wipes..just remember if you are partial to a certain brand they may or may not have them all the time. I've also seen certain formula's at Costco that I didn't even know they carried, they were roughly like $8/cheaper when comparing cost per ounce which is a good savings. Also if you were going to make your own baby food you can get your produce way cheaper there also.

Once your child is around 9mo old if you aren't breastfeeding or can't or whatever the issue may be check with your doc and you can switch the little one to Toddler formula which is about $10 less a can than the regular stuff. I DEF look forward to that in a few weeks!

On a side note, check your home bills...like AT&T has a new share plan that existing customers can use, same plans before but you share your data/talk/text, which if you are already on a fam plan the only difference is sharing your data. I switched ours and will be saving $30/month! For the cable I usually downgrade in the summer when we will either be outside or doing activities so we won't be home so it saves a little during those months.

Baby Re-Sale shops are kinda scary when you first walk in with all the plastic nasty toys, children running around, and the weird smell that permeates. BUT if you have time to look past all that you can find some great deals from there. I got my glider for $75, it was super nasty but we made sure all the parts snapped off and I just needed to throw all of them in the washer and it was like new! Also the clothes...especially for the first few months since they grow so fast! We got brand new clothes with the tags still on for close to nothing! You just have to have the time and energy to focus on the prize! A lot of the stuff is gross and nasty so beware.

Some diaper brands offer points for purchasing their products. Then you start saving all of your points to get other things. Huggies plan was pretty good, I stopped saving them cuz it does get a little ridiculous and having only one child in diapers takes forever to add up all your points. But if you had multiple children in diapers or are just good at saving stuff then this is for you! I think I finally have enough points to get 1 package of diapers for free right now..haha!

Let me know some of your ways you save $$!

~Candace