OCD

I've never thought of myself as an obsessive compulsive person, a clean freak, or anything even remotely close to it. But having a baby has definitely brought out any obsessive compulsive tendencies I may have. To what am I referring, you ask? Laundry.

I've never liked doing laundry. If you ask my husband, he'd probably tell you that I'm not even any good at it. But there's something about baby laundry that makes me completely nuts. I can't stand the thought of Chase wearing stained clothes. Ever. And we're not just talking clothes. I don't even like when he gets something on his bibs or burp cloths.

I use baby Oxyclean like it's crack for laundry. Every time I wash his clothes, I pull out every onesie, shirt, sleeper, bib and anything else that might have a stain. Then I spray them to death with baby Oxyclean before putting it in the wash. Thank goodness, that stuff is amazing. I go through it like it's going out of style (and if anyone finds out it is, please let me know so I can go buy every bottle I can find).

Now that we've started him on baby foods, I'm going even more crazy. How do I keep all his stuff clean? I did get some great advice from a friend to set aside certain bibs for feeding only, and to turn the feeding bibs backwards so they can just be wiped down after he eats. But it's a huge struggle to not strip him down naked before a feeding, even taking these precautions. I realize I'm admitting to some serious issues here, but how can baby Oxyclean compete with a baby-sized mess?

Just Because

Photo shoot? Okay.

Funny face? Done.

Punch the air? Sure.

Oops...distraction!

Maybe I'll roll over.

Nah.

I'm getting tired...

This big dome is so heavy!

Okay, mommy...

The End.

Jumping On the Bandwagon

I've been wanting to start making cakes for awhile now. I decided that the time had come about a month or so ago, and I've finally got one I'm proud enough of to post pictures of. It's not perfect and I'm definitely not entirely happy with it. But it's not too bad.

I've discovered that this is a really difficult hobby to learn with a 3 month old. Even breaking the task down over several days can be frustrating when baby boy wants to be held all the time. So I probably won't be doing a whole lot of decorating for the next couple months. But I've got to begin somewhere.

I've named this the strawberry lemonade cake. It's lemon pound cake with strawberry buttercream icing. I'm not very pleased with the pound cake. If anyone has a good recipe for one, please share. In fact, I'd love to receive all kinds of tried and true different recipes...not just lemon pound cake. Enjoy!

Three Months!

I can't believe it. Baby Chase is three months old today! It seems like time is passing so fast and so slow at the same time. He has already grown so much since his birthday, but I also can't wait for him to reach some other milestones - sitting up, crawling, etc. It's all just been a great adventure for our little family!

According to our bathroom scale, Chase weighs 12lbs today. That's a weight gain of 1lb, 2oz since his two month doctor's visit. We won't have an official doctor's visit until next month, but as far as mommy is concerned, he is one healthy, happy boy! He is changing so much lately. Every day his personality is evolving, and he's learning something new. As we speak, he's sitting beside me sleeping and making the cutest noises...from little sighs, coos and groans to stuffy nose breathing. I could just eat him up!

3 Month Updates:

Feedings have remained around six ounces until recently. Lately he's been wanting more, but spitting up quite a bit. So I called the Doctor, who recommended Zantac. That didn't quite sit well with mommy (because he never seemed to be in pain), so we bought some cereal instead, thinking that he just needed something to sit a little heavier in his belly. For the past three days, I've added half a scoop of cereal to his six ounce bottles, and it's worked like a charm. He's consistently going three hours between feedings (we were down to two hours or so), and also napping once each feeding cycle (20-30 minutes). I'm thinking that my intuition was on the money with this one.

He's still wearing 3month size clothes. Some of them are a little snug, and I've also brought out a few 3-6 month size outfits, but for the most part, he's still fitting these pretty well. Side note - why are footie pajamas so much smaller than other clothes? With those, he can barely squeeze into the 3months anymore.

I couldn't be more proud of little man's sleeping habits. He falls asleep around 11:00 pretty consistently (occasionally give or take an hour), and sleeps for 10-11 hours without fail. He's still not much of a napper, but I can live with 20-30 minute breaks throughout the day as long as he sleeps at night! He's also started rolling over in his sleep...from tummy to back (first time was at 12 weeks). I haven't gotten him to do it during the day yet, but he's done it as often as four times in the night. I wake up to find him writhing around on his back like a turtle that can't right itself. So cute.

Talking has become his favorite thing to do. Especially if you talk with him (repeat back the same noises he's making). He will talk to you all day long if you will sit there. It is so cute! Not only that, but he's laughing too! His first LOL was at 11 weeks. Now he laughs all the time. Usually it's a silent chuckle, but if you really get him going, he has the cutest giggle!


Phases. That's right, he's already starting with the "phases." This month, the most memorable were the "I HATE the car phase" and the "I don't want anyone but mommy after 8pm" phase. Thankfully, I think we're on the tail end of both of those. After last night though, I'm concerned we're going into the "I'd rather roll around than sleep" phase. Lord, help me!

It's About Time

About time my life resumed just a small bit of normalcy. Things have been completely crazy over the past few months. I could never have imagined wanting to be on a schedule, but now I am very thankful that I am on my way there.

Chase is getting more and more predictable schedule-wise. I'll break down all the details next week in his three month (ohmygoodness!) post.

I've also started watching the cutest little one-year-old two days a week. Not exactly a regular job, but it puts me on a schedule. Wondering how it's going watching a 12 week old and a one year old? Today I went into the kitchen for long enough to mix a bottle (maybe a minute) and came back into the living room to find this:

How cute is that? And he has a baby brother on the way, so he is getting some good practice in.

Kevin and I also joined up with DRIVEN youth ministries at our local church. It feels SO good to be involved again, and I'm loving catching back up with some of the girls I've known since they were in diapers ;)

I'll try to come back with detailed posts on all of these. Just wanted to give a little highlight of what's going on with us lately, and let you know I haven't completely abandoned the blogging world. :)

Ode to Walmart

Dear Walmart,

Over the years, we've had our ups and downs. You've always been my go-to for any and everything. But I'll never forget that one time, the night before Easter, when Jeanine and I were shopping and they announced that you were closing. You let me down then...we didn't think that could ever happen! But my attatchment to you grew even deeper during college. You provided not only my groceries and school supplies, but countless hours of entertainment, and possibly even the setting for a few dates.

There is some competition. Target is only a few miles away and, it pains me to say this, has WAY better clothes. Don't worry, their prices aren't as good. So you are still the object of my budget-conscious affection.

And today you really came through. You see, I have a two month old son. He eats A LOT...and formula is like gold around here. Thanks to some wise advice, and the encouragement of my Pediatrician, I have come to have a great appreciation for your Parent's Choice brand formula. It is $11 cheaper per can...that's almost half the price of the fancy stuff! Not only that, but rather than give any gross details, let's just say it makes baby's tummy happy. Even at half the price, formula ain't cheap. So to see any of it wasted is frustrating to say the least.

And waste has been a problem with the leaky bottles I cannot seem to get away from! Who wants to see all the formula wasted away either coming out between the nipple and the ring during mixing or travel, or simply pouring all over baby during feeding? I started with Avent bottles, and although I think I've found the trick to stop the leaking, it shouldn't be rocket science (especially not at $16 for two bottles!)! Then I got some Evenflo bottles ($10 for 3). Those didn't pour when tilted, but they leak when shaken, and don't travel well. Today I came across the Parent's Choice bottles for the first time. At 97 cents a pop, it was worth a shot. And wouldn't you know, not a single leak?!? Granted, I haven't traveled with it yet, but I'm giving it five stars so far.

So thank you Walmart, for once again making my day with great prices, and topping it off by providing some quality products as well. Today you did not disappoint.

Steak 'n Shake

A late night college student's best friend. Stereotypical home of waitresses with poor dental hygiene. But that's to be expected.
But at the Steak 'n Shake where we live, I've had enough ridiculous experiences that it finally earned a place on the blog. Now let's be real. I don't have the highest expectations from a waitress at Steak 'n Shake. I'd be okay with average service as long as the food is good. But lately, every time I'm there I walk away shaking my head and trying to figure out what in the world just happened. Let's recap tonight's experience, shall we?
The "Have a seat/Seat yourself" sign was turned sideways leaving new customers confused from the moment they walk in the door. After waiting a few minutes, Kevin decided to seat himself. Only then did someone decide to show us to a table.
Our waitress seems pretty decent *sigh of relief*. That is, until Kevin decided to add an extra order of fries after we had already ordered our food. She looked at him like she had never heard of a french fry before. When we decided to order a dessert, Kevin asked her for a menu. She pointed to an advertisement on the side of the table and said "Well, we have these." To which kevin responded, "Is that the entire dessert menu?" Of course it wasn't. Weird.
I forgot to mention that while we waited for our food, at least two other customers had to walk up to the window and ask for something they didn't receive or had been messed up (something I've had to do there myself previously). What really boggles my mind is that the place wasn't crowded, and there were at least 5 waitresses. They simply had no interest in doing what their jobs entailed. Ridiculous.
Last but not least, we stood at the counter several minutes waiting to pay for our meal. Remember, the place isn't crowded...we were the only ones standing there. Several employees noticed us standing there, and simply ignored the fact...didn't even say that someone would be right with us. It took the cashier finally getting her head out of her butt and break away from what I'm sure was a thrilling conversation to check us out. I have never been closer to walking out of a restaurant without paying.