Oops I did it again...

Joe and I traveled with Adrianna for the first time on a plane! We went to Ohio to see my brother-in-law graduate with his masters degree from AFIT (Air Force Institute of Technology). I have no idea what his degree is or what it means. I tried reading his thesis, I didn't know most of the words he used existed in the English language...I know it has something to do with electrical engineering but that's as far as it goes.

Well, I was so surprised at how prepared I was for this trip. I had everything I needed packed for Adrianna; bottles, diapers, wipes, food, you name it I had it! I even neatly packed the diaper bag with a change of clothes and toys for the plane. We got to the airport 2 hours early so we decided to eat breakfast and feed Adrianna. We had an hour to kill after that so we took her to the kids play area and she had a blast! She loves the slide. We boarded the plane, had a nice woman help us with closing the stroller and checking it plane side and found our seats. The flight attendant was saying that she couldn't believe how good Adrianna was doing so far, I couldn't believe it either but to be honest Adrianna is always so good in situations like this. She causes me as little stress as possible. Any stress I may be feeling is usually my own fault. Cabin door is shut, we are taking off and they are now doing beverage service on the plane. I tell Joe we should feed the baby now since it had been about 3 hrs since we last gave her food. I took her bottle out, asked for water to mix her formula and went into the diaper bag to look for the plastic divider I carry that has pre-measured formula. I'm frantically looking for it at this point. Joe keeps asking "where is it, where is it" I yell back I DON'T KNOW! Adrianna is crying hysterically from hunger....I'm panicking....then it hits me. I left the stupid formula on the table in the restaurant where we ate breakfast! What is wrong with me and my brain lately?!

Hoping to solve the hunger issue I let Adrianna drink 7 oz of water....don't judge me...and she ate a biscoff cookie (those yummy biscuit cookies they give out on Delta flights). I guess she was satisfied because she ended up falling asleep during the flight. It didn't help that the 2 hour flight ended up being close to 3 hours because of a massive storm in Ohio. The plane ride was so bumpy and I was so stressed and worried about the lack of food in my child's belly that I almost got sick! She ended up eating around 5:30pm. She at rice cereal at 10:30, drank 7 oz of water at 2:30 and ate her regular food at 5:30. What is it with me and starving my child? I laugh at all of this now, but trust me I did NOT think it was funny at the time. Ahh the adventures of mommyhood....I have plenty of stories to tell her when she gets older.

The graduation was great btw and we got to spend time with my BIL and SIL which was awesome. We also got to see some good friends from our time in GA. They all have babies (well not all but a good bunch of them) and some are even cooking baby #2! I love that we all had kids around the same time, gives us even more in common. Good laughs, good times.
I made sure to not forget Adrianna's formula on the flight back, she did great on this trip. Such a good baby....we are the luckiest parents in the world =)

Babies do the darndest things

I spent some time thinking today about friendships. There are people in my life that will always be a friend to me, no matter how little we keep in touch. People that, although we haven't seen in months or even years, I will still feel comfortable around as if we never missed a day.

As my life has changed and progressed, there are fewer and fewer people I call "friends." I know plenty of people, but never seem to get that connection with them. Being the first (and only) one married from my close group of girlfriends has caused us to grow apart in some ways. It doesn't help that they live in New York and I in Massachusetts (We move around every 3 years or so). Having a baby completely changed the relationships I had with my friends. I am at a completely different place in my life so it is no wonder we have grown apart. I still love them and love to get together when we visit NY but I can't help but feel out of place or "old." OLD, I'm only 25! But lately it feels like I'm the only 20 something stay at home mom I know. I have yet to meet a younger stay at home mom....someone I can relate to and share who I am today with. Someone that knows the me now, not the me when I was single or in college. It's a lonely SAHM (stay at home mom) mom world out there it seems. Is what I'm doing so unique nowadays?

I am kinda different now than I was then....like 4 years ago, yup in so little time ha! Not different in personality, but different in maturity. My daily routine is very different than many of the 20 somethings I know. While most are working 9-5s I am feeding a baby that has had me awake since 6am. While most go to happy hour on Fridays, I look forward to our "dinner out" day....where, might I add, I don't do much eating because Adrianna is very cute and likes to play with mommy ALL the time. =) I wake up at 6am eat dinner at 4:30pm and am in bed by 9pm. We don't party on the weekends, instead we do family things like go for walks and take lots of pictures. I love that we have that kind of like, I don't regret a single thing. I love that my job is to play with my baby girl (plus housework, cooking, grocery shop, take care of my little poop machine) but staying at home is NOT easier that working by any means.

Once upon a time, I had a career. I worked in the social services field for a couple of years. I used to scoff at soon-to-be moms that decide to stay home instead of work. I didn't know any better. I learned very early in mommyhood that unless you have a child you will never know why other moms make the decisions they make. I totally get why some moms go the all natural organic route for their kids. I get why some moms decide to exclusively breastfeed while others opt for formula. I get why some go back to work and some stay home. I get why some co-sleep while others put their babies in their own room after 2 months. I get why some believe in no tv at all while others think educational shows are okay. I get why some opt out of day care and some take their babies to day care as early as 6 weeks old. It is all situational. I don't judge anymore, I have done things with Adrianna I swore I'd never do....letting her sleep in bed with me and being a SAHM are 2 main ones. I didn't know what it was like until I had my own. You never know why moms out there make the decisions they make. Some do it because they have no choice and some because that is what they grew up knowing. One thing I know for sure is that EVERY mom is making the very best choice they can for their child. I am thankful Adrianna changed that about me, she made me stop judging other people's decisions...what an ugly personality trait that was. She has changed me for the better. I love more, I care more, I am more open with people and just learn to appreciate each given day. Babies do the darndest things don't they?

Happy St. Joseph's day

When I first met my husband, 7 years ago today, I had never heard of "St. Joseph's day." Italians always have an excuse to make delicious food and pastries...and I'm not complaining I love the lifestyle! Well there is a delicious cannoli filled pastry that is traditionally enjoyed on March 19th called St. Joseph's cake. Its pretty much a Zeppoli filled with cannoli cream....you give it to the Joseph's in your family. I had the pleasure of enjoying that yummy treat for the first time 7 years ago.

My Joseph is so special to me. We met through his twin brother, Paul, while I was working at a local Starbucks during my college years. I would have never imagined that he would be the man that I would marry, the future father of my child(ren). Love happens when you least expect it but when you need it most. His family quickly became my family and vice versa. They have always treated me like a daughter, grand-daughter, niece, sister, like I have always belonged. My in-laws really are amazing people. They are giving, compassionate and understanding....always willing to lend a hand. My mother in law is my second mother. When my mom was going through her health complications I felt like I had a second "mom" making me feel at ease. She was there at the birth of my daughter when my mother couldn't be and I will always be thankful and grateful. 

Joe and I clicked from the very beginning and have been through it all, well not all but it sure feels like it. We had a successful long distance relationship full of trust. Joe commissioned into the Air Force after we had been dating for about a year. We were apart for almost 2 years and that made us stronger as a couple. We got married on June 15, 2007 and have a beautiful baby girl together. We travel, enjoy life, enjoy spending time with our families and just continue to grow as individuals as well as in our marriage.

And now we have the perfect little family. Our Chihuahua pups, Rosie and Guinness

 and our wonderful daughter Adrianna. March 19th will always be a very special day in my heart. My happy St Joseph's day..

Picture perfect day!

Joe and I took Adrianna to the park yesterday for the first time. She had so much fun! The first thing I wanted to do with her was get her in a swing. I have wanted to play with her in the park from the time she was born. I remember thinking "I have to wait sooo long before I can play with her." I guess it wasn't that long of a wait because it's here. She is just such a fun, smiley, affectionate, sweet little baby and I love that she interacts with us now. The smile on her face when I was pushing her in the swing was priceless. I am so thankful for every day I have with her. A friend turned me onto a blog. Another Day Stronger She warned me it would be sad but I wanted to read it any way. A mom had lost her precious little baby girl at 4 months old. She had stopped breathing suddenly while at her babysitters...her story made my heart hurt. I hugged and kissed Adrianna so much after I read about the pain this family had gone through. She recently wrote a post about it being one month since her baby girl Maddie went to heaven. She asked for the mommies reading her blog to take their babies to the park, take lots of pictures and just love on them in memory of Maddie and link the pictures to her blog. These are for you Maddie, here are some pictures from the park:

That night I just wanted to cuddle with Adrianna and tell her how much I loved her. We cuddled until way past her bedtime and I was OK with that...I just couldn't put her down. I did eventually =) I am completely in love with my baby girl<3

The snow is gone!

Being home with Adrianna has been wonderful, but it does get pretty boring sometimes. It didn't help that the bulk of my time home with her I have been forced to stay indoors because of the immense amount of snow and bitter cold temps.

This was pretty much what we saw all winter

We did do some light traveling and tried to go out at least once a week to a restaurant or even to walk around at the mall. It just wasn't enough. During the day I would go crazy! I cleaned the same things about a hundred times, tried to do some organizing, and even decided to learn how to bake. It was pretty rough. Even going to the grocery store was hard....lets just say that having Adrianna in the car seat on top of the shopping cart did not work, I couldn't see over the damn thing! Being short stinks sometimes! 

Now that the temp are warming up, its in the 40s now vs the teens, I am trying to find some baby friendly activities to do during the day. I signed Adrianna up for Little Gym classes. We went last week and she had a blast! Singing, crawling, playing with bubbles and exploring....what a cute little class. She is in the "bugs" class which is the 4-10month age range. It's nice to be with other moms with babies of a similar age. You always wonder if you are the only one going through some of the unexpected trials that come with having a baby but when you talk to other moms it just makes you feel good that you share similar experiences. I even like to compare Adrianna to the other children to see where she is developmentally. I know i know, every baby is different, but I have to say Adrianna is right there with her peers on every aspect of development...as much as I could observe in a 45 minute period. That made me feel so at ease, Adrianna is not behind at all! In fact, she may even be a little ahead of the game in certain areas like crawling and walking which is awesome for her (but now the real work begins, yikes!) 

Now that Adrianna can sit in a shopping cart all by herself

I can actually do big food shopping during the day. May not sound fun, but for me it just gets us out! Her being able to sit makes it easier to go to the mall on our own and clothes shop, I love baby clothes! It helps that Adrianna is a ridiculously easy going baby. She never fusses or complains when we are out together. It's nice that her and I can go out and spend the day together...outside! I am so looking forward to taking her to the park, she's going to love the swings! My goal for the next few months, to be more active during the day! No more hanging around at home, this baby weight needs to melt off somehow! 

Poor Adrianna has been teething pretty badly in the last few weeks. Nothing has cut through yet but her little gums are so swollen. She had a terrible diaper rash over the weekend that is just now getting better. I don't know why all teething babies get diaper rashes, can someone explain that to me? Anyway, months ago I was looking though a friend's pictures on facebook and I saw that she used something called "teething biscuits" for her teething baby. I asked her about it because I had never heard of them. My mother was a teething tablet kinda mom so that is what I remember my youngest brother getting when he was teething (I used to steal some from the bottle and eat it because it tasted like sugar...not sure how safe that was) Well my friend said she swore by teething biscuits so off I went this past weekend to find them. Target had them, a little pricey but if it gets her (and me) some relief I'll pay any price! I gave them to her on Monday and she loved them! Note to self: these damn biscuit things are messy as hell! Next time I gave them to her in her highchair...I learned my lesson the hard way. Here are some super cute pictures of her from today...lets say she needed a bath right after....I can't take the stickiness!

 I love her! In the last picture she was trying to escape...ha! Bath time is always a mess, she doesn't sit still!

Who needs sleep...oh yea, me =/

Picture found here

It's not that I thought when having a baby I would be able to get the same amount of rest I used to get, it's that no sleep paired with "mommy brain" is a dangerous combination for me apparently. There are lots of things I learned about babies in the last 8 months. I had been around babies all my life but had never been responsible for one, and let me just tell you that when you think you know it all is exactly when you are tested beyond your so called "knowledge."

List of things that I did NOT know about babies:

• They do not poop everyday, but when they do boy do they make up for it
• Some babies are spitty. My baby, if not bottle fed while sitting and having her at a slight angle, will spit up all 6oz of milk she just drank... every time...
• The amount of laundry that is produced by these little guys is unimaginable! 
• Baby heads are not durable. You bonk their head on the side of the sink, they don't cry and you think "Oh that was nothing".....think again (long story...)
• I know they outgrow clothing, but my child was wearing 6 month size one day and literally the next outgrew EVERYTHING!
• About growing, they really grow fast. It is amazing how much and how quickly they change
• Their cry will make your mind all fuzzy. When my baby cries and cries while I am trying to prepare her bottle I will be guaranteed screw up the oz to scoop ratio about a hundred times....I've wasted more powder that way =/

With all that said, being sleep deprived is the most shocking of the things I did not know. I knew I would be sleep deprived, tired, all the good stuff that comes with having a baby but I never thought that it was dangerous. How you ask? Only I manage to do seemingly stupid things with little to no sleep. Adrianna has been sleeping through the night since she was 2 months old. Within the last couple of weeks she has decided to wake up every hour starting at about 2am all the way to 7am then sleep until 7:30am and be up and ready for her day. I have been trying to re-learn the feelings of sleeplessness, but the tricky part is that more is expected of me now with little sleep than was expected of me when Adrianna was a newborn. OK, feel free to laugh...or not because what I am about to say was NOT funny at the moment it happened.
There are three major "stupid" sleep deprived things I have done.

The first was when Adrianna was about 6 months old. We were visiting our family in NY and were sleeping over Joe's parent's house. I had to be up the next morning fairly early in order to have Adrianna fed and ready to be driven to my parent's house so Joe and I could do some after Christmas shopping. That night Adrianna decided sleep was not what she wanted to do so I had to keep getting up to rock her, change her, feed her until she finally fell asleep around 6am. Joe woke up at 7am and decided to take Adrianna into the living room and let me get ready to go out. I thought he said "I'll have my mom feed her." He really said "we'll have YOUR mom feed her." 7:30am we drop her off at my parents....not fed but I didn't know that. My mom calls around 10:30am to tell me that Adrianna has been crying hysterically and they have tried everything to calm her down. At the time she was eating every 4 hrs so I told her we were on our way home so they should go ahead and prepare her to eat in a few minutes. Joe heard me say "well she at around 7 so she should be getting hungry by now" and yelled out, "She didn't eat at 7!" I starved my child, her first meal of the day did not happen until almost 11am that day....I felt like a total failure. I laugh now but boy did I cry that day. Not so bad, right? I've done worse
2 night ago Adrianna also decided she would wake up every hour from 2-7am. I was exhausted the rest of the day. I could barely go up and down the stairs, stand upright, or function. I managed to make dinner and get Adrianna to bed around 9pm. Joe and I decided to head to bed early, while upstairs I asked him to get me a glass of water. He goes and grabs me a glass of water and comes back up with a horrified look on his face. He tells me I left the stove on! ON! I LEFT THE STOVE ON! WITH AN OVEN MIT NEXT TO THE FIRE! A GAS STOVE ON! If he wouldn't have gone to get me water....I shudder at the thought of what could have happened. I cleaned the whole kitchen after dinner that night, including the stove and did not see it on....that's how tired I was. This was not funny at all actually....but today I did much worse.
Again, working on 2 hrs of sleep, I woke up and got Adrianna and I started with our day. We were so excited about going to our first Little Gym class today, which she absolutely loved! Afterwards we headed to Target to buy some more Pj's for my growing little girl. I have a mini-van...'10 Dodge Caravan with automatic sliding doors, duel DVD players, all that good stuff. I take Adrianna out of the car, put her in the stroller, close the door and proceed to walk into Target. An hour later we are done and are walking out to the car. As  I get closer I can't believe what I am seeing....I left the door wide open! I can't believe I left my car door wide open with an expensive car seat, my wallet (I only carry my debit/credit card in the diaper bag because my wallet is too bulky) my coat and money all out in the open...up for grabs. Not to mention any crazy murderer or car thief could have snuck into my car and waited for us to return....I shudder at that thought. Luckily that didn't happen, and all of my things were still in the car when we returned.

Moral of this story, sleep deprivation is dangerous. Or maybe it's just me...oy!

Did you get your ashes?

It's that time again, time to give up something you love and not eat meat on Fridays. I used to think of this day as such a burden. Who wants to give up stuff they love? I certainly never used to take it seriously. I look back at all of the times I would sneak meat on Fridays and say I was giving up something I could easily do without and I realize that perhaps I didn't fully understand the meaning of Lent. I'm not sure I still do, I like to think my return to Church is a learning journey and I still have plenty of unanswered questions. My interpretation of giving up something I love for Lent is to make you focus on who you are as a person. Can I live without this item for 40 days? When it gets tough can I pull through? Do I ask for help? Who do I turn to when I feel weak? All of these questions led me to one answer, God. This "item" I gave up for Lent can perhaps be a metaphor of my life. I have found that when there is nothing left to help the situation I pray. I hadn't prayed in a very long time....my mom got sick in December of '09 and had to have major brain surgery. When I couldn't cope anymore I began to pray. I asked others to pray as well and I believe that is the reason why my mother is healthy and recovered today. She is not 100% yet but she is working on it. I have learned that I cannot become stressed over things I cannot control. It is what I pray about when I go to Church among other things.
Joe and I both decided that going back to Church was the right thing to do. We realized that we were both spiritually out of balance....and maybe if we tried to get back on track with our faith we could learn how to better manage the hardships that have happened and probably have yet to happen in our lives. Life is difficult enough, why deal with the everydays on your own when God can help. We are still working on giving back to our community. We are brainstorming charity ideas...lets face it I need to plan these things because Adrianna does not leave time for much else. I think it is time we give back. We have been blessed with a lot and whether it be working a blood drive or a homeless shelter I think we will feel as if we are making a difference. I am very tactile, I need to physically do and see immediate results in order to feel satisfied....might explain why my weight loss efforts are non existent at the moment, ha!

Don't get me wrong, I am not preaching nor have I become a person that turns to God for every little thing. This is more of a personal change. I still drink and like to party and have a good time. I am just willing to put more thought into the things I do for the sake of Adrianna...I am her example and I believe she is soaking everything I do in. I may want to stop the cursing and lounging and show her that it is better to be active....I'm working on it! =) I still have a lot of growing to do in my relationship with God and with Jesus. I am choosing to work on that relationship and explore how it will affect not only my life but my daughter's life. I would like her to have a well rounded view of how the world works. How can I teach my child about God and Jesus and our faith if I am not comfortable with my own understanding in the topic. I hope that Joe and I keep our promise of turning back to Church, it feels great so far and we only have a lifetime to go. BTW, Joe gave up swearing for Lent. Let's see how THAT goes, ha! I gave up diet Coke...my only option is drinking water because I don't like anything else...well maybe an occasional glass of wine =)

And now, here is a picture of Gods greatest gift to me:

How can you resist this face!

I have an 8 month old!

Who stole my newborn and gave me a big girl?! Time has just flown by. People always told me that Adrianna would grow up quickly but she has grown faster than I thought. In the last few months she has learned how to sit up on her own, crawl, and even walk a little. She says "mama" and "gaga" and "baba" and it is like music to my ears! Over the weekend we bought her a dinosaur push toy thing which she can use to practice walking and she is so in love! It's like she is an expert!

Yes, she is wearing a matching Dino suit :)

Since my last post I have definitely gotten used to being a mother. I feel more confident in my abilities, it helps when my wonderful husband tells me how great of a mother I am :) I have also learned to enjoy my new role as a stay at home mother and wife. I have been practicing my cooking and baking skills and I must say I didn't know I had it in me!

Chocolate brownie heart cookies :)

Joe blames his extra few lbs on my new found love of cooking. It's all about time management. I plan out my menu and cook the same or similar things every week (Pasta Sundays, Soup and chicken cutlet Mondays, Spanish chicken Tuesdays etc) It makes me feel so accomplished. For a while I kept complaining that taking care of Adrianna was not as time consuming or as difficult as I thought it would be so I found myself being bored or feeling lazy. That has all changed now that she is much more active. I am a busy body, I like to keep busy during the day, even if it is staying indoors doing housework. It is starting to get a bit warmer out, meaning staying above freezing finally, so I am started to look forward to being able to take Adrianna to the park and just being able to enjoy sunshine. She is such a bundle of energy I need to find a way for her to get some energy out. I am going to try and research some mommy and me activities that are cheap or free, I was going to join one of those baby gyms but with them being so pricey I want to Really think about it before spending the money.

Over the last few months we have done some traveling, mostly to NY to see family. Most recently we went on a trip to VT to go skiing. Adrianna absolutely LOVED the snow....I wasn't crazy about skiing but at least I can say I tried it.
In the next few weeks we get to visit some old friends and family out in Ohio. It will be Adrianna's first plane trip...oh boy am I nervous. I'm hoping it's not too stressful for her and for me. We're looking forward to seeing Joe's brother Paul graduate from his AFIT Masters program and seeing his wife Brittany which we haven't seen since the holidays. Should be fun to see our good friends from Robins as well, there are some little kiddos Adrianna and I can't wait to meet! Should be fun!

Here are some good recent pics of my baby girl :)

Adrianna at xmas with Santa (5 months)

Mommy and me!

I can hold my own bottle! (6 months)

Standing up in her crib! (6 months)

Daddy was her valentine (7 months)

Enjoying the snow (almost 8 months)