What To Buy New Parents

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I’m interrupting my running posts because my BFF, Kate, suggested I write this post on what to buy new parents.

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I’m actually hosting her sprinkle on Saturday — and BOTH of my sister-in-laws just had babies (yep, I’m officially an Auntie — times two!), so this is timely for me as well.

For starters, I should tell you that when I’m shopping for new parents I rarely buy off their registry. Yes, I’m one of those people. WHY? Well, because truly most of my favorite baby items are never ON the registry. And if they are, I hope their friends/other family members buy them. I’m not saying you YOU shouldn’t buy off the registry, but if you see 25 small blankets, 4 baby bath towels, and a wipe warmer — you can probably assume they got to the store and thought “OMG WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?” It happens. In fact, it happened to me.

I was one of those new parents once – and I was NEVER opposed to experienced moms buying what they liked. And you know what? Most of the time what they liked, I ended up liked too.

Small Gifts ($5-$15)

If you don’t know the parents well, or you want to buy a bunch of little gifts – here are a few suggestions.

Wubbanub

Oh, how I love these things. They make the pacifer SO HARD to lose – and that in itself at a huge victory. Plus, they are adorable. I mean.. remember this?

"I love my wubbanub." (Thanks to @kwidrick!)

E still loves his. He has one at daycare and two at home. He uses it only when he’s napping and I can him dropping that habit soon. I know that so many people will tell you not to introduce a pacifier when they are newborns, but I did with all of mine and they were never (EVER) confused about where they were getting their milk from!

Also, I have a thumbsucker – and let me tell you – that is a MUCH harder habit to break!!

Cute Outfit

I love, love, love buying baby clothes and will almost always throw in an outfit or two just because. My favorite places to shop for infants are Carter’s, Crazy 8 (<–my absolute FAVORITE place for baby jeans – and kid jeans), Target, The Children’s Place, and Old Navy. I love the “higher end stores” as well (especially, Janie & Jack, Gymboree, and Baby Gap) , but most of the time their clothes are little too pricey for me to justify.

Butt Paste/California Baby Wash/Aquaphor/Coconut Oil

My kids have all had sensitive skin as infants, and all of these products had helped minimize rashes/eczema break outs. The Coconut Oil is especially a miracle product because you can use it for all kinds of things (it’s also handy for constipation). We use it almost daily after a bath and seal it with Aquaphor.

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Diapers

Obviously. Seriously – when in doubt, BUY DIAPERS. They can always be returned for for bigger diapers if the baby outgrows them (unless your husband opens a pack mistakenly in the middle of the night – then they become gifts). New parents will never complain about diapers. Old parents won’t either.

I’m personally not a brand snob – but I do think that Pampers makes the best disposable diapers for newborns. Huggies are a close seconds — and Huggies are what I use now with E now that he’s older. Like most things baby related, certain brands/styles work for different babies. It’s ALWAYS good to have variety.

Medela Steam Sterilizer Bags

Screw getting a steam cleaner or boiling your pump parts, bottles, nipples, pacifiers, etc. If you have a microwave and one of these bags (which can be used up to 20 times) you are set. The best part? It SAYS pump parts on the bag – but you can use it for anything you need to sterilize. Bonus (besides the price) — it only takes a minute and 30 seconds!

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Lansinoh Breastmilk Bags

These bags are better than any other breastmilk bag out there! If you know the mom is going to try to nurse/pump, then it’s a welcome gift.

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Bottles

Yes, there are a million and one types of bottles. Chances are the parents-to-be only registered for one kind. Since, I’ve been burned at this game — I recommend new parents register for 4-5 DIFFERENT type of bottles (just one bottle of each) and then later – once the baby has decided which bottle it prefers (some don’t have a preference, but some do and it’s baffling), they can go back and invest.

So, if you see a register with just one kid of bottle – don’t be able to pick out a different kid. There are a lot of REALLY great brands. B was a Dr. Brown’s baby, L was a Playtex Nurser baby, and B is a “whatever the heck the milk comes in is fine with me” baby.

Tommee Tippee Bibs
Dude… these are the BEST BIBS EVER.

Truthfully, I’m not a big bib person. I don’t use the cotton ones for spit up/drool (that just means more laundry!). However, when it comes to eating – these bibs are awesome. They catch a lot of food and they are completely washable.

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I don’t know how it took 3 kids for me to discover them either.

Medium Gifts ($15-30)

Sleep Sheep/White Noise Machine

I looooooove E’s Sleep Sheep. We just used a white noise machine with the B & L, but the Sleep Sheep is even better.

Morning baby spam: chillin with his friends. He loves the heartbeat sound from his Sleep Sheep.

E also has a Sleep Dumbo (his daycare provider gave it to him for Christmas!) that we use at bedtime that plays Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (which is what he naps to at daycare – it helped us finally make the transition to his crib).

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Sophie the Giraffe

I know it looks like a $20 dog toy, but it’s SUCH a great teether. We actually left E’s at church a few weeks ago and haven’t seen it since, so I’m going to have to replace it.

Sophie must taste good. He jumps when he makes her squeak - it's hilarious.

Swaddle Blankets

I’m a huge fan of swaddling – because I think it really does calm newborns/infants and helps them sleep longer. I’ve tried a few blankets and my favorite is definitely the ones from Swaddle Design.

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Their Ultimate Receiving Blankets are BIG and allow you to do a tight wrap – which is how I was still able to swaddle a gigantic 8 month old without his hands breaking free! They are flannel and while it seems like they could be hot – I used them the entire summer here (100+ degrees every day) without an issue.
They also make Muslin blankets, which I like – but I experienced A LOT more breakouts because they aren’t as sturdy. However, they are fabulous for covering a stroller or car seat!

Play Mat/Gym

You don’t need go pricey on the play mat/gym — but it’s one of my favorite baby items. It’s so functional!! E is almost 10 months and still plays on his. Although, it will probably be retired soon!

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Larger Gifts ($50++)

Rock ‘n Play

You know about my love-hate relationship with this thing. Even though this thing kept the baby in my room longer than intended – I still swear by it. How I survived without it for my other kids is BEYOND me!

Pack ‘n Play

We still use the one we received as a gift 8 years ago. If I had to name ONE baby gift that I couldn’t imagine living without? This would be it. It’s VERY multifunctional – it serves as a baby jail AND a crib. And helps you contain the baby tornado!

A glimpse of things to come. #trouble

Most people do register for this item — so if you see it’s available and want to splurge on a big gift, this is a GREAT one to pick.

Baby Carrier

When B was little I tried out a million baby carriers. A Moby (which I loved), BabyHawk, Ring Sling, and Peanut Sling are just a few. I didn’t find one I LOVED, but I used the ones I had often.

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Heh.

When L was little I bought the Beco Baby Carrier and it’s still by far my favorite. I also have an Ergo that I bought with E, and it’s just easier to get the baby into the Beco!

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I even did Disney with a 3-month old – in the middle of the summer – with it!

Regardless of which one is used, babywearing one of my favorite parts about having a baby. It’s like snuggling while being in motion.

If you see someone has an Infantino or a Baby Bjorn on their list and you want to splurge – surprise them with an Ergo or a Beco instead — or even a Moby. They are all ergonomically correct and MUCH better for the baby’s hips and the parent’s back.

Jumperoo/Walker/Exersaucer

Skip the swing, bouncer, and Bumbo – and go for something the baby is going to use for more than 2-3 months. A Jumperoo, Exersaucer, and Walker can be used for 6-9 months — sometimes even longer if the baby is slower with mobility!

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We have all three and use them at different times depending on what I’m doing at the time. For example — sometimes I just need him to be happy while I’m making dinner – so he goes into the Jumperoo, where my kids can jump with him and I know he’s not trying to put cords and dust balls into his mouth! Like he did this morning…

An HDMI cord, a sneaker, and a bookcase. #babyMacGyver #trouble

Soo… there you have it! This is definitely NOT the be-all, end-all list, but these are well-loved, well-used baby items (at least in my house) that I highly recommend.

Is there anything I’m missing?? Are there any favorite baby items YOU love to give as gifts?? Feel free to add suggestions in the comments!

Best Damn Race- Orlando {Recap}

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Also known as… the race where I PR’d and also flashed some dude my crotch. <–you read that right.

Saturday was the Best Damn Race – Orlando. There was a half, a 10K, a 5K, and a 10k/5K challenge. I ran the half.

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The name had a lot to live up to. Thankfully, it delivered. But, I’m ruining the story and getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the very beginning…

I feel like I signed up for this race forever ago. I wanted to be one the people who only had to pay like $5 to race. I don’t know who these lucky bitches are…but I logged on RIGHT AWAY (I was on maternity leave — it was THAT long ago) and was still more than 100 people out. Woomp woomp.

But that’s okay because I DID convince a few people to run this race with me. Most notably, my good friend Tracy, who had previously stuck with 5Ks and  triathlons — and my my friend Keith who just got back into this running game after running sprints in college. And of course, Paula was in from the start.

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I also know that my local bitches (love you guys), and a few Tampa ladies were all in — so even if it wasn’t the BEST damn race, it was going to be a pretty GOOD damn race.

I’ve learned over the years that in order for it to be a good race, I needed to ensure that I am stressing Paula out as little as possible. This involved leaving the house at 5:45….for a 7:15 race. At the time, I was like “DUDE”, but now that the race is over and there was a {spoiler alert} happy ending for all involved, I fully endorse a ridiculously early wake up.

I pulled myself out of bed at 4:45. It was not easy because for some reason I couldn’t go to sleep until midnight (and there was a 3am wakeup). Once I was up, I was fine. I got dressed, threw on a little makeup (mostly because it includes SPF and I don’t look dead to the world), brewed a cup of coffee, and then snuck in a quick nursing session with E. It was either that or pump – and I’d much rather nurse — and he barely woke up. After BFing, I drank my coffee, collected my thoughts, put all of my crap on me, and hit the road.

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Crap. FYI – look for a review on the handheld soon. Short recap is that I LOVED IT.

I amazed myself (and probably Paula), but actually leaving the house ON TIME. I got my friend Tracy at 6, and was at Paula’s by 6:20. We then headed downtown, parked without issue, and headed over to Lake Eola for the race start. We also hit up Panera on the way for a quick pre-race pee (it’s SO MUCH BETTER using a real bathroom) – and then headed to the start.

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Can you see my pores?

At the race start we met up with a million blogger friends and a few work friends as well. We nervously chatted for about 20 minutes and then lined up with a few minutes to spare.

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Picture stolen from Meghann

Paula and I commented that we had never been that close to the start of a race before (even at the Baldwin Half we were further away!)– and we were in line with the 2:00 hr pace group! It was really the perfect number of people to race with. Not too crowded, but still enough people to feel a little competitive.

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No idea that I’m about to flash a stranger in an hour or so.

So, the race…

I went into this running it for fun. At least 10 people asked me what my goal was, and I seriously didn’t have one. So my standard response was “To have fun.” I wasn’t feeling a PR. Really, I wasn’t. I got a pretty sweet PR in January and didn’t really expect anything better. I hadn’t done more than 6 miles outside since then (and the max I did was 8 on the treadmill), although I have been feeling really strong during my weekly early morning runs. And just… happy. Therefore the goal was to just have a happy run.

As I took off, I spotted Victoria, Meghann, Beka, and Carissa ahead of me. I knew that Victoria and Beka were gunning for a sub 1:55 and that I wasn’t going to be able to keep up, but I figured it would be fun to stick with them for a few miles. It was fun chatting with them – although I was actually pretty amazed that was possible because we were averaging an 8:30 pace. After about 3 miles, I Victoria, Beka, and Meghann pulled ahead – while Carissa and I ran at the same pace for a few more miles. We were both thinking “Why the hell are we running so fast??” There was no answer to that though – it just felt GOOD.

The Best Damn Race course was similar to OUC in some parts (same area, similar cobblestones that I wanted to punch), but not others. Probably the BEST part of the course was running around Lake Underhill at mile 5ish. It was just such a pretty day and the weather could NOT have been better. I swear there were birds sitting on my shoulders chirping — that’s how surreal this run was.

Around Mile 6.5 we started on the out-and-back part of the course. It was through an older, but pretty, residential area. It probably would have been boring and a little tedious (there were a lot of turn arounds – in fact there were something like 40 turns/corners in this race!!) if I didn’t know so many people running – but instead I got to see at least 5 people I knew and mentally high-five them. Mental high-fiving was fun. It was a pretty awesome pick me up – especially because everyone looked so damn happy.

There was one little blip in my run. At Mile 8 I had the urge to pee SO BADLY I couldn’t stand it. The only time I’ve ever had to pee during a race before was when I was pregnant, so this was SO bizarre. I decided that it was either pee myself or go to the porta potty – and when I saw the porta potta at Mile 8.25 I jumped in it (I was thankful there was no line!). Unfortunately, I did not do a great job of locking the door (I SWEAR I LOCKED IT) and while I was mid squat peeing, I dude opened it. Yes, I just wrote that. A DUDE OPEN THE DOOR and got an amazing crotch shot of me, MID PEE. (Are you visualizing this yet?)  I screamed.

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He yelped. I pulled the door shut. I didn’t look him in the face and I’m hoping he was ONLY looking at my face. Then I pulled myself together and got back on course. He wasn’t there when I jumped out (thankfully) and I just kept on running. What else can you do?

I lost about 2 minutes (and ALL of my dignity) in the porta potty, so I had a little catching up to do. I have to say I don’t normally run a sub 9:00 pace at mile 9 and 10 — but for some reason not only did I have no issue hitting that pace, but it felt good.

Around Mile 11, I got a text from Dan that B had gotten a double during his baseball game. I was so proud!! And forever reason it made me simulanteously tear up and speed up. Lol. Around this time I also noticed this dude running close to me. He kept creeping up (but not in an evading way) and then backing off, before he finally sprinted past me at Mile 12. He seemed super fit, so I was kind of impressed with myself for keeping up with him!

I have to say, I really enjoyed the last mile of the race. We ran straight down South Street (which is a slightly downhill stretch that I welcomed with open arms after running up hills on the cobblestone for the last mile) and then turned onto Rosalind and then turned onto Central for the finish. Right before the turn onto Central, I saw a co-worker (who is typically faster than me) and set my sights on catching him. About 400 meters from the finish I caught him and then managed to pass him (turns out he was hurting, so I tried not to rub it in).

And then I crossed the line and saw my time on my Garmin — 1:54:14. NO FREAKING WAY. My official time ended up being 1:54:12. The race was SLIGHTLY short, but eh, who cares. If this had been any other race where I jacked up my Garmin, I would have never known. Also, I would have PR’d even if it was long — so I’m rolling with it!

BDR

I was kind of in a daze when I get my medal! I saw Beth (who was volunteering) and introduced myself (and also smacked her with my medal – sorry!). I was on a such a high, I probably looked and sounded like a delirious fangirl. (She was VERY sweet)

I then found Victoria, Beka, Meghann, and Amanda and heard all about their AMAZING races too! It was like PR after PR rolling in…. Paula, Katy, Tracy — who ran her first in 2:05 (amazing!!), and Keith who ran his at least 10 minutes faster than he anticipated. ALL PRs BABY!! We celebrated with beer — of chips and beer and lots of photos.  

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Then the guy from Mile 11 (turns out his name is Tyler) came up to me and introduced himself. He thanked me for pushing him to keep going. I thanked him as well – you’ve got to love a little friendly competition. This is reason 309438 that I love the running community!

After the drinks and food it was time to ring the PR Bell.

1:54:14 (unofficial) #bestdamnpr @bestdamnrace

It was a sweet, sweet moment!

It was especially sweet because this was  my last half marathon until October (I have a 10K and a 10-miler coming up this month and I’m hoping for MOAR PRs!!). What a DAMN GOOD WAY to end the 2013-2014 half marathon season!

So the verdict? This was THE BEST DAMN RACE.

Pre-Planning Planning

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I’m not always Type A, but when I decide to commit to something, I go all in.

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Maybe “all in” isn’t the term I’m looking for… more like obsessed? It’s like I can’t stop my brain from trying to plan for the future. What’s funny is that I’m really not all that obsessive about small details. So I don’t stress about things like what day an event is, how I’m going to there, or what time I need to be there (this drives my husband insane), but I do like to have a general perspective on what’s going on during the week, month, year, etc. I’m a big picture person and I like to set goals and accomplish them. Sometimes.

And by perspective I mean – spend hours and hours doing research. Obsessive, research. And I love every minute of it.

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Truthfully, I love doing research, especially comparative research. It’s partially why I love my career – and also why I love Google so much. I will Google the crap out of anything. Sidenote: Need something Googled? Let me know.

The best part? My love for research carries over into running.

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In fact, even though training for Chicago doesn’t start until June/July  – I am totally geeking out over here researching training plans.

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Kinda like Jimmy Fallon and this lamb goat. Well, not really — I just really wanted to share this gif. Edited: Kara informed that it’s actually a GOAT. Derp.

I don’t know what my time goal is going to be (OK, I’m lying – my goal is sub 4:15 – but I would be happy with a sub-4:30 because… PR), and I don’t know what kind of speed work I want to incorporate. I SO know that I want to try a 4-day running schedule (like time I did 3 days) – with at least one day of cross training, if not two.

So these are some of the training schedule I’m currently looking into:

I’m actually NOT opposed to hiring a coach – because isn’t it GREAT to have someone hold you accountable???

I am also mentally trying to easy my way into “training season.” I think my biggest challenge is going to be waking up EARLY on a Sunday without a running group. I also want to do at least one longer run during the week (7-9 miles), so I’m going to try to figure out which morning works best.

So, as you can see, I am pre-planning planning.

What makes you nerd out??? Any marathon plans or maybe a coach you can recommend??

E and Me {9 Months Postpartum}

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I think the last update I did on E was 6 months… well, somehow it’s 3 months later.

It's hard to believe this happy, giggly guy is 9 months old today!

Pure joy

It’s pretty amazing how much a baby can change in 3 months. E is still my laid back, chill baby – don’t get me wrong – but he’s bigger, faster, smarter, and has opinions! Oh my.

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E had his 9-month checkup on Wednesday and he did what ALL of my kids have done starting around 9 months — he started dropping on the weight chart. He was in the 95th percentile — and he’s now in the 75th. I’d heard it with all of them at this age, “You should stop nursing as much and give them solids more.” With my first, I freaked out – and no matter what I did the percentile kept dropping. Both B and L were in the 20th percentile for weight when they were 2 — and are now both in the 50th. This time, instead of freaking, I nodded. He eats PLENTY and I’m not going to give up any breastfeeding session. I mean he still GAINED – he was up to 22lbs 6oz (from about 20.5lbs). And did he GROW. He is also still completely off the charts in height – coming in at 31 inches (that’s 2.25 inches in 3 months!). Sooo….yeah.

As for other stuff…

He’s sitting, he’s rolling, he smacking his hands on anything and everything (and laughing about it), he’s waving (particularly when prompted with hi or  bye), he’s says ‘da’ and ‘ma’ (and I’m fairly certain he says “ba bye”) and he is happy. Almost always. He loves giving kisses (it’s his newest trick) and loooooves the bath.

Curly.

Pretty sure he’s gonna have curly hair…

He also love, love, loves his brother and sister. He gets so excited to see them and prefers just hanging out with them. I hope it stays that way!

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However, he HATES getting strapped into his car seat. Thankfully, he’s easily distracted.

He usually only takes his paci when he's in his crib... It's that kind of Monday.

As far as milestones go — he’s NOT like his siblings at this age — he is not crawling, he’s not pulling up, and he’s not even creeping (rolling gets him where he wants to go).

Caught red handed. #cordlover4life

I can still get to cords. That’s all that counts.

He CAN stand holding on to something (the Dr. had me show him), so all is fine – and truthfully, I am NOT complaining! Like I said, he’s chill. He can roll if he wants something or — someone will get it FOR him. It doesn’t help that he is the size of an average 18 month old — his body is like “whatever dude.” I’ve seen him get on his knees and rock maybe once or two in the past few days, so I know it’s coming. And I always dread it. Can we just move onto walking? Crawling is gross. Everything within eye level is in the mouth.

Just chewing on my toes. Waiting on my flight.

But chewing on my toes is totally cool, mom.

One area that he’s excelling in is teeth – he has four teeth with more on the way. The bottom two teeth were a piece of cake. The top two teeth were a bitch.

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Teething makes him sad. And clingy.

Teething is pretty much the worst. But everyone knows that right? It’s too bad we need them to eat.

Boys.

What’s funny is that while he’s adding teeth — B is losing his. Ahhh… the circle of teeth.

As for sleep… well, he’s in his crib and wakes up about once a night. Of course, the nights he doesn’t wake up — I STILL wake up. So that’s fun.

Butts up.

I know I have to put an end to the wakeups at some point – but I don’t mind it at the moment. I feel like I hardly get to snuggle with him these days, and his 10 minute feeding in the middle of the night makes up for it a little bit. Also, I’m a sucker.

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Who can resist this face?

As far as health goes – I’d say he’s a pretty healthy kid. We’re had a few colds this “winter” but nothing crazy. He’s had some random stomach and constipation issues (I got to use a Q-tip for something I NEVER thought I would last month. Yay.)  - and when he gets congested it seems to turn into a mild croup cough (it’s happened twice now). He also has mild eczema that we remedy with a little coconut oil/aquaphor mix (put the coconut oil on first and then seal it with some Aquaphor so that the oil isn’t staining everyhing). It’s amazing how effective that mixture is!

As for me…

What can I say that I haven’t in months past? I’m still breastfeeding/pumping — and therefore down about 10-15lbs from my normal weight. I am doing my best to enjoy this calorie burn for 3 more months — because once I wean from the pump, I know the weight will return (a very healthy weight — that I am COMPLETELY happy with, ftr).

Truthfully, I still have my ups and downs. My biggest challenge is postpartum anxiety. I don’t experience it daily, but every now and then it creeps in. I’ll start stressing out about the most mundane things (and when E was sick— forget it) and drive everyone crazy with my thoughts and concerns. Sleeping helps – as does running. I really need to do more of both.

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I also need to get my HOME in order again. I feel like I’ve gotten back to “normal” in stages. First, it was work. Then it was working out, and now I’m in the stage where I need to focus on keep my house in order again. The most annoying thing? LAUNDRY. OMG, we have so much of it!!

Oh, and maybe I’ll actually go on a date with my husband again soon? I keep saying this is going to happen. Can somebody clone us so we have time??

So, in a nutshell – E is still happy, life is still crazy, and he’s now been here longer than he was “in there.”

Up close and personal.

And we couldn’t be happier!

Next up… planning his 1st birthday. So….does anyone want to plan it for me? :)

Things I Keep Meaning To Tell You

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I am really trying to slow things down, but right now life just feels like it’s on hyperdrive. Somebody press pause! So… this is just some of the stuff that’s been going on with me…

I made an impromptu trip to Massachusetts last week. 

Unfortunately, it was for an incredibly sad reason… My great aunt Connie (also my Godmother), passed away.

You were with me from the very beginning and will always be in my heart. RIP Aunt Connie. You were one of a kind. ❤️ #tbt

Isn’t this picture the best? Yes, I still make that face AND have the double chins.

She was one of the most amazing and determined women I’ve ever known, and I can only hope that her spirit continues on through me and my kids – especially my daughter. She didn’t have children, but she was a L&D nurse and helped deliver hundreds of babies including my dad, my brothers, my cousins, and – yes- me. I know she was with me in spirit when I delivered all of my babies – especially last  May when my labor/delivery went an unexpected direction (I guess you could say she was my honorary doula). I’m glad she got to meet each of my kids…

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My trip was very, very short – about 36 hours and I brought this little man with me.

Serious face. Must be sad about leaving his Boston family.

I figured he would provide a few smiles (he did) and I know my aunt would have appreciated that he was there. He was a great little traveler.

It’s never easy saying “goodbye” to a loved one, but I will carry her memories with me, always.

I picked a charity!

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I will be running the Chicago Marathon for the Ronald McDonald House Charities in October! I have some big plans for some fundraisers – I hope I just have enough time to make it all happen. More details to come. As well as some begging (but for a really GREAT cause!).

I picked a 2nd marathon!

SpaceCoast

I was originally thinking I wanted run the Jacksonville Bank Marathon – but it’s the weekend after Christmas and that timing is JUST not going to work.

So, I went with Space Coast! It’s November 30th – the weekend after Thanksgiving – and 6 weeks after Chicago. I was hesitant to go with Space Coast, because it’s still pretty warm in Florida (of course, it’s February and last week it was in the 90s), but the medal and the timing won me over. I’m hoping that my extended family will also come and cheer me on (HINT HINT) since it’s so close. There’s nothing better than having cheerleaders at a race.

I cut my hair — and tried Keratin for the first time.

New year, new hair!

I know, I know – Keratin is full of chemicals… but it is AMAZING.

I have never been able to just wash, blow dry, and style my hair in 10 minutes — and now I can. I think my coworkers are shocked because they have NEVER seen me wear my hair down this often.

I also LOVE my cut. I went with a “Lob” (long bob – I had to ask) and it’s perfect. It still feels long in front, but it’s not incredibly annoying. I went in not knowing what I wanted — short, long, ACK! and thankfully my stylist knew exactly what to do. She is amazing.

I’m an aunt!

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My youngest brother is a daddy – and I couldn’t be happier for him! It’s funny to think that of all of the roles I’ve taken on him life – sister, cousin, wife, mom… the one that has eluded me the longest is aunt! The little (big) guy arrived last week and I am finally going to meet him this week. Related: My kids have a cousin!! They are getting another one in April – I can’t wait :)

I am trying really, really hard to still include strength training in my weekly workouts.

In fact, I have a new at home workout for you….

All you need is 25 minutes...

It took me 25 minutes and made me sore. I even included burpees which I REALLY, REALLY hate. So, you should try it too.

Life is crazy and full and it’s not going to slow down any time soon.

In the next few weeks I have two races, two baby showers (one that I am throwing), and a wedding. There’s also family visiting, a night in with friends, the start of baseball season, and L’s birthday party that I have not yet schedule or planned. Does it count that I’m thinking about it?

Thankfully, there’s wine. Lots of it.

2 hours of baseball practice with all the kids, by myself = a giant glass of wine.

What are you looking forward to in the next month?