Since the holidays have come to a close (minus New Years which I don't really count), I have decided to get back to the gym. I felt it would be a wise idea, seeing as I ate my weight in Sugar Cookies this year. I know I have mentioned it before, but I have no will power when it comes to eating just ONE cookie. What makes matters worse is that my Christmas cookie cutters are extremely large; therefore I would say it is safe to say the following equation would apply 1 of Kathryn's sugar cookies = 3 normal sugar cookies.
I always feel a little guilty after my eating sprees; so I decided a workout with the trainer would help rid me of my guilt and jump start me for the famous New Year's resolution (gym-3x a week). This of course is one of my many resolutions; should be interesting to see how long it can be upheld. Workout was extremely intense; I don't think I will be able to lift the baby tomorrow........my arms are killing me.
Jake and I wanted to take James to the Milwaukee Public Museum today, to see the frog exhibit. When I researched the ticket prices, I decided it best to wait until Monday (seeing as it is still the holiday and we can get in for $5.50/adult versus the $20.00/adult it would have cost to go today). We never know how long James will last in the stroller, lately since he has become an extremely mobile little man it is not very long. Instead of the museum, we ventured out to my home away from home (Barnes & Noble). All of the Christmas books were 50% off (and I of course save an extra 10% as a member), so we snagged hardcover copies of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," and "The Polar Express." He will appreciate them next year, even though we read the Grinch tonight.
James is growing and changing at a scary pace, I fear it is only going to be a matter of days before he starts walking. He is still busy getting into everything, and is very curious. He started doing, "SO BIG!" which I only felt was appropriate considering he is SO BIG. Off the charts big for that matter; people are always amazed when I tell them he is only 9 months (he definitely has the build of a toddler). He becomes better with the sippy cup everyday, and his favorite food is Spaghetti (and CHEESE). The day he no longer needs the bottle will be both glorious, and sad at the same time. I feel like I am moving at warp speed.
Looking forward to date night with the hubby tomorrow.....we haven't had much time to just chill out together. His exam and the holidays really cramped our "together time." I look forward to some good laughs and probably a few good cocktails, as well. Better get my beauty rest, so I don't have to load up on under eye brightener for my date......I am sure I will be having my special date with James and a bottle at about 4 a.m.!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Holiday Hangover
I have a holiday hangover, not from drinking too much but from all of the holiday hoopla! Here is a snapshot of what took place over the weekend:
December 24th: I had planned on going to Christmas Eve mass at 4:30 p.m. I prefer Christmas Eve mass to attending Christmas Day, because nobody wants to be hungover on Jesus' Birthday. In all seriousness, I really like to hang out in pajamas all day after opening gifts. Not to mention, it is much easier to not have to worry about James' morning nap schedule. Well, I planned on eating our Christmas Dinner after mass so I decided I better start cooking at about 1 p.m. On the menu: Smoked Turkey (which was already smoked but needed to sit in the oven for a good hour), Creamed Corn, Green Bean Casserole, Wild Rice and Cornbread Stuffing, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and Pumpkin Pie for dessert. This was my very first time cooking Christmas dinner, and I was a bit frazzled in the process. I was a bit off in my timing, and started to panic. Luckily, Mom was here to step in and add her two sense. This was a good thing for everyone, as I was starting to crack up (picture Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation after Uncle Louis burns down his tree). In the meantime; everyone had decided that they did not want to go to Christmas Eve mass and would rather go Christmas Day. Ummmm....Jake, James, and I were already dressed in our Christmas outfits. If I would have known there would be a change of plans, who knows if I would have even packed a shower into my crazy day. The dinner ended up being a success, so I enjoyed a glass of Jameson and started to "mellow" out. We opened gifts (which is also something I like to save for Christmas day), and then everyone tiptoed off to bed. James loved all of his new gifts, but I have YET to find something that will hold his attention for more then five minutes!
December 25th: We headed to 11 a.m. church; which as I had feared interfered with James' napping schedule. He did get a solid hour in, but then Jake and I had to gently wake him up so we could make it to mass on time. We tried a new church, which was recommended to me by a few people. I was not so fond of the priest at the church we had been attending since we moved to Wauwatosa. I really liked the priest at this church, I also really liked that it is only 3 blocks away from our house! We came home from church, ate a big breakfast, and then everyone crashed for an afternoon nap. It was a very uneventful day, but lovely nonetheless. We ended the day by grilling up some delicious fillets, and watching the movie Easy A (very true to depiction of high school).
December 26th: This is when my hangover set in. I was exhausted and needed to reclaim order within the house, after all of our guests departed. I could not find the stamina to do it. I felt as though we had to cram so much activity into so little time, and Jake had the stress of his boards exam so he wasn't really able to get into the holiday spirit at all.
Which brings us to today, I am happy to have a few vacation days to burn yet. Jake hung out with James all day, and enabled me to take a nap (3 HOURS). So finally this evening, I started cleaning and doing some laundry after James was tucked in. I feel like I should be able to enjoy the rest of vacation.
My lessons learned over this holiday season: Don't set unbelievably high expectations for yourself (again this is where you can picture Clark's Griswold Family Christmas), DELEGATE....DELEGATE......DELEGATE, and take time to enjoy the little things. After all, the holidays are all about celebrating our savior; not about what kind of feast we eat or how many presents we receive. That is the number ONE thing I want to teach James; it is a time to reach out to those less fortunate and celebrate Christ.
Hangover......GONE.
December 24th: I had planned on going to Christmas Eve mass at 4:30 p.m. I prefer Christmas Eve mass to attending Christmas Day, because nobody wants to be hungover on Jesus' Birthday. In all seriousness, I really like to hang out in pajamas all day after opening gifts. Not to mention, it is much easier to not have to worry about James' morning nap schedule. Well, I planned on eating our Christmas Dinner after mass so I decided I better start cooking at about 1 p.m. On the menu: Smoked Turkey (which was already smoked but needed to sit in the oven for a good hour), Creamed Corn, Green Bean Casserole, Wild Rice and Cornbread Stuffing, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and Pumpkin Pie for dessert. This was my very first time cooking Christmas dinner, and I was a bit frazzled in the process. I was a bit off in my timing, and started to panic. Luckily, Mom was here to step in and add her two sense. This was a good thing for everyone, as I was starting to crack up (picture Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation after Uncle Louis burns down his tree). In the meantime; everyone had decided that they did not want to go to Christmas Eve mass and would rather go Christmas Day. Ummmm....Jake, James, and I were already dressed in our Christmas outfits. If I would have known there would be a change of plans, who knows if I would have even packed a shower into my crazy day. The dinner ended up being a success, so I enjoyed a glass of Jameson and started to "mellow" out. We opened gifts (which is also something I like to save for Christmas day), and then everyone tiptoed off to bed. James loved all of his new gifts, but I have YET to find something that will hold his attention for more then five minutes!
December 25th: We headed to 11 a.m. church; which as I had feared interfered with James' napping schedule. He did get a solid hour in, but then Jake and I had to gently wake him up so we could make it to mass on time. We tried a new church, which was recommended to me by a few people. I was not so fond of the priest at the church we had been attending since we moved to Wauwatosa. I really liked the priest at this church, I also really liked that it is only 3 blocks away from our house! We came home from church, ate a big breakfast, and then everyone crashed for an afternoon nap. It was a very uneventful day, but lovely nonetheless. We ended the day by grilling up some delicious fillets, and watching the movie Easy A (very true to depiction of high school).
December 26th: This is when my hangover set in. I was exhausted and needed to reclaim order within the house, after all of our guests departed. I could not find the stamina to do it. I felt as though we had to cram so much activity into so little time, and Jake had the stress of his boards exam so he wasn't really able to get into the holiday spirit at all.
Which brings us to today, I am happy to have a few vacation days to burn yet. Jake hung out with James all day, and enabled me to take a nap (3 HOURS). So finally this evening, I started cleaning and doing some laundry after James was tucked in. I feel like I should be able to enjoy the rest of vacation.
My lessons learned over this holiday season: Don't set unbelievably high expectations for yourself (again this is where you can picture Clark's Griswold Family Christmas), DELEGATE....DELEGATE......DELEGATE, and take time to enjoy the little things. After all, the holidays are all about celebrating our savior; not about what kind of feast we eat or how many presents we receive. That is the number ONE thing I want to teach James; it is a time to reach out to those less fortunate and celebrate Christ.
Hangover......GONE.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Tis The Season
I have taken a much needed break from blogging. The holidays are a very hectic time, and it was especially hectic for our family this year. Jake has spent the past two months studying for his part 2 boards exam; it is a miserable 2-day test. He completed the daunting task yesterday afternoon. So he has a load off his shoulders (and mind); and I have an extra set of hands to help out every now and again!
We celebrated Christmas with Jake's family last weekend, and it was a great success. Aside from the fact that I was exhausted from baking, decorating, and cleaning the house without any help whatsoever (Jake was busy with his studying)! James got to meet Santa, and did NOT need to be pried off of me with the Jaws of Life! He still does not understand the concept of opening gifts, and the most exciting gifts are the boxes which the toys come in.
James has been teething, and is having a terrible time. He did not take a nap yesterday; so he was VERY crabby the whole day. My sister and I decided to brave the mall, and all of the last minute shoppers (crabby baby in tow). He didn't want to ride in his stroller at all; so the stroller simply served as a giant rolling mound of shopping bags!
Here I sit, the day before Christmas Eve; making my grocery list for Christmas Dinner and admiring our beautiful tree. I can't help but thank the lord for a year full of blessings; James, good health, great friends, and an amazing family.
We celebrated Christmas with Jake's family last weekend, and it was a great success. Aside from the fact that I was exhausted from baking, decorating, and cleaning the house without any help whatsoever (Jake was busy with his studying)! James got to meet Santa, and did NOT need to be pried off of me with the Jaws of Life! He still does not understand the concept of opening gifts, and the most exciting gifts are the boxes which the toys come in.
James has been teething, and is having a terrible time. He did not take a nap yesterday; so he was VERY crabby the whole day. My sister and I decided to brave the mall, and all of the last minute shoppers (crabby baby in tow). He didn't want to ride in his stroller at all; so the stroller simply served as a giant rolling mound of shopping bags!
Here I sit, the day before Christmas Eve; making my grocery list for Christmas Dinner and admiring our beautiful tree. I can't help but thank the lord for a year full of blessings; James, good health, great friends, and an amazing family.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
What.....I don't get a day to be hungover?!
So, last night we hosted the first Siegert Family Fish Fry! It included lots of great food, great friends, and many beverages! We had a splendid time, James was a complete ham (as he always tends to be with a fresh audience). He showed off his new trick, when I say "No No" to him he shakes his head! It would be interesting to count how many times I have to say, "No No" in a day.
He had a hard time falling asleep, as he has over the last week. I tried the cry-it-out method last night, which I HATE to do. There is no worse sound then hearing your child wail, but I really have no choice. I can either rock with him all night long, or rock him and lay him in the crib while he is drowsy (which used to work fine but lately he has been wailing at the TOP of his lungs). He slept right through the night, until 6:45 a.m. Any normal day of the week, this would have thrilled me but killing two and a half bottles of wine with my girlfriend resulted in a massive hangover. I brought James into bed with Jake and I, and luckily he was content just to snuggle for an extra half hour. Shortly after 7 a.m. I had to drag my butt out of bed and start my day.
Moms don't get sick days, and they definitely don't get days to be hungover. Especially not when they have a husband studying for a boards exam. I don't have the luxury of tag-teaming it with Jake these days. My headache was gone quite early, but I was EXHAUSTED all day. James refused to take an afternoon nap, so I let him lay in bed with me and he finally drifted off for a good hour and a half. We wore our PJS all day, James got some fresh ones after his bath but I will probably opt to keep mine on and jump in bed very shortly. There is always tomorrow for a shower!
He had a hard time falling asleep, as he has over the last week. I tried the cry-it-out method last night, which I HATE to do. There is no worse sound then hearing your child wail, but I really have no choice. I can either rock with him all night long, or rock him and lay him in the crib while he is drowsy (which used to work fine but lately he has been wailing at the TOP of his lungs). He slept right through the night, until 6:45 a.m. Any normal day of the week, this would have thrilled me but killing two and a half bottles of wine with my girlfriend resulted in a massive hangover. I brought James into bed with Jake and I, and luckily he was content just to snuggle for an extra half hour. Shortly after 7 a.m. I had to drag my butt out of bed and start my day.
Moms don't get sick days, and they definitely don't get days to be hungover. Especially not when they have a husband studying for a boards exam. I don't have the luxury of tag-teaming it with Jake these days. My headache was gone quite early, but I was EXHAUSTED all day. James refused to take an afternoon nap, so I let him lay in bed with me and he finally drifted off for a good hour and a half. We wore our PJS all day, James got some fresh ones after his bath but I will probably opt to keep mine on and jump in bed very shortly. There is always tomorrow for a shower!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Holi-DAZE!
Well, it's the most wonderful time of the year (so they say)! I have been feeling completely out of sorts, and have not been able to enjoy the anticipation of Christmas. I was away from home for TWO weeks, so I feel a bit like those Little Tyke toys (the weebles- they wobble but they don't fall down). I can operate like a machine when my routine is "ON" but it has been hard to get back into my routine with all of the things that needed to be caught-up on at home (i.e. cleaning, laundry, stocking the fridge, bills) and working a full-time job in the process. I feel defeated at the end of every single day, because I have yet to make it entirely through my to-do list. I have been a walking zombie over the course of the last week.
To make matters worse, James started round two for teething and it seams to be MUCH worse then the first time. The screaming at night can get rather intense,and Tylenol is the only thing that helps ease his suffering. So, I have pretty much come to the conclusion that I will NEVER get a good nights sleep until all of his teeth come in (eek- he only has two at the moment)!
I was able to get the tree and various Christmas decorations up, and to my amazement James has NO interest in the tree. His favorite toys are still the remote and my Blackberry.
My sister and her boyfriend will be staying with us tomorrow night, so I will have a little time to put my feet up because my sister will go into Auntie Overdrive! I am hoping for an uneventful weekend, so I can mentally gear myself up to host TWO Christmas celebrations at our house. I don't consider myself to be the best hostess, so I will have plenty of practice to improve over the next few weeks! I am thinking some Hot Chocolate and the move Elf should get me out of my DAZED state of mind, and kick me into holiday mode!
To make matters worse, James started round two for teething and it seams to be MUCH worse then the first time. The screaming at night can get rather intense,and Tylenol is the only thing that helps ease his suffering. So, I have pretty much come to the conclusion that I will NEVER get a good nights sleep until all of his teeth come in (eek- he only has two at the moment)!
I was able to get the tree and various Christmas decorations up, and to my amazement James has NO interest in the tree. His favorite toys are still the remote and my Blackberry.
My sister and her boyfriend will be staying with us tomorrow night, so I will have a little time to put my feet up because my sister will go into Auntie Overdrive! I am hoping for an uneventful weekend, so I can mentally gear myself up to host TWO Christmas celebrations at our house. I don't consider myself to be the best hostess, so I will have plenty of practice to improve over the next few weeks! I am thinking some Hot Chocolate and the move Elf should get me out of my DAZED state of mind, and kick me into holiday mode!
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