January Review

The first month of 2011 is basically over. And what a busy month! I owe a few posts about our adventures, but for now, here's how my resolutions are going.

R1: I wrote Grandma S once and went out with Grandma O twice. Both visits with GO were birthday related, but I figure the second time counts since I haven't ever gone to breakfast with her on her big day (because in the past I have been working).

R2: For the first half of the month, Zoey and I weren't together, so we didn't walk. When we got back home from our adventures, I had a nasty cough. And it was cold. Usually colds and the cold don't bother me, but this cough didn't appreciate cold air and would send me into a coughing fit. So, I waited until the cough was gone to start with our walks. That only left us the last week of the month to walk. I think she likes going on walks again.

R3: While on our cruise, I did run two days for a total of 4 miles (146 to go!). I would have run more often, but on port days I did plenty of swimming in the ocean and was too tired to do much more physical activity.

R4: I made 6 new recipes! I made:

Chicken Pasta Florentine - This was ok. Not very flavorful, but not bad either.

Boston Market Meatloaf - For meatloaf it was pretty good. I don't like meatloaf. Ben loves Boston Market's, so I gave it a try. While eating it, I was apologizing for never making meatloaf. Turns out Ben isn't really a fan either, but he just happens to like Boston Market's. So, I guess I don't have to make it again.

Spiced Halibut and Broccoli-Quinoa Pilaf - The fish was just ok. But the pilaf was great! Recipes were from RealSimple magazine.

Impossibly Good Chicken - I think that if it had a different name, I would have liked it better. It was good, but I was expecting awesome. Recipe from a Rachel Ray cookbook I have.

Hungarian Goulash - This is in the crock-pot for tonight. It's from my Forget It crock-pot cookbook.

It's a New Year

After taking last year off from New Year Resolutions, I'm ready to have some again. In no particular order...

Resolution 1 - Be More Involved With My Grandmas

While making krumkake this year, I realized that I don't spend nearly enough time with my Grandma O. I see her at birthdays and holidays and krumkake making days, but other than that, I rarely see or talk with her. This is just plain silliness. And it has got to stop. Neither of them are getting any younger, and I really should take advantage of their time. The plan is to talk or get together with my GO once a month, not including family functions. Since my GS lives in MO I plan to write to her once a month and plan a road trip to visit her (probably in the summer so I don't need to worry about snow and ice).

Resolution 2 - Walk the Dog

Back before I had Adelyn, I walked Zoey every M-F before getting ready for work. I loved having some quiet alone time with her. And she loved sniffing everything. Since Adelyn was born, I have been a major slacker. Those of you who are moms can relate, I'm sure, to how much a baby can throw off your routine. My plan is to walk Zoey 5 times a week, except for when she or I are out of town.

Resolution 3 - Run!

Two years ago, my resolution was to run 100 miles. And I did it. Then I was too pregnant to run. I really want to get back into running. I like it. I thought about just setting my goal at 100 again since last year I didn't run much at all. But I feel like running should be easier now that I don't work outside of the home. ??? So, the plan is to run 150 miles.

Resolution 4 - Be Creative in the Kitchen

Two years ago I also had a goal of making 2 new recipes a month. It was fun to try out new dishes and not have the same thing all the time. This time, the plan is to make 5 new recipes a month (2 is just way too easy). As part of this, I plan to start using some of my cookbooks that I rarely use. The other day I was looking for a recipe and realized that I have a lot of cookbooks with great sounding recipes that I never even look at.

I feel like there was another one, but I can't think of what it was. So, we'll just go with this list.

Adelyn's First Christmas

I loved celebrating Christmas with Adelyn this year. And from what I could tell, she loved it too!

On the 23rd, my mother-in-law came into town. She came in early so I could get any loose ends tied up without my little helper. But, I was already done with almost everything. But she still got to babysit so that Ben and I could go to the movies.

Christmas Eve day we celebrated with Ben's parents. Breakfast was coffee cake brought by Mickey. Lunch was "Those Sandwiches", veggies and dip and Jell-O Ribbon Salad. All was made ready the day before, we I just had to bake the sandwiches and set the table. Dinner was our traditional Chinese take-out.

Before dinner, we opened presents since Adelyn goes to bed usually before 7. She was much more involved in this process than I was expecting! She loved to tear the paper off the presents. It was so cute! Ben got a bit of video that I will put up on YouTube.

Christmas Day we went to my parents for brunch then to my Grandma's for dinner. It was a long day (we left home around 10:30 AM and got back around 7:30 PM). Adelyn was so excited to see Auntie Krys and Uncle Pranob (haven't seen them since August) and with everything else, that she didn't want to nap. I was sure that she was going to have a major melt-down at some point, but she didn't! As we were getting ready to leave my Grandma's she got super tired and whiny, but my cousin Leah kept her occupied until we were ready to leave. I thought she did great with all the commotion and new people.

This year, the Christmas story had a whole new meaning to me. I'm sure that Mary didn't know everything that her son would do for us, but if she had even an inkling of his sacrifice, I really don't know how she managed to hold it together. I would do anything to protect my Adelyn. I want to protect her from the evil and hurts in this world. I know that I can't and shouldn't protect her from everything and that breaks my heart. So instead, I pray that she will be strong enough to handle it and to mend quickly.

Merry Christmas!

First Stamp

This Thanksgiving, once again we hit the road. This time our destination was Costa Rica to visit Ben's brother and his family. To me it is so funny that infants need passports. But anyway, Adelyn in now the proud owner of a stamp from Costa Rica!

We had a great time while there. We were there for 10 days and honestly, the time went by super fast. Ben had to work a bunch while we were there, so I spent a good portion of my days with Sara and the kids. Simon was super interested in Adelyn. And by interested I mean that he kept poking her in her eyes. So, we had to keep those two separated. Once Adelyn can crawl and get away, I'm sure it will be an easier visit.

One day we drove to a volcano. I was so excited! And it was awesome. It was Volcano Poas. There is a great view of the current crater. It was busy cranking out clouds of sulfur. But it didn't stink as much as I thought it might. Then we hiked up to the old crater that has formed a lake. It was another awesome view. And an awesome workout to hike up to it. With a stroller.

The last part of our trip we went to Jaco so Ben could learn how to surf (his #1 priority for our trip). We rented a condo that was right on the beach. I LOVE being so close to the ocean. Watching the waves breaking is so relaxing. I could get used to that.

Two interesting things: 1. There are virtually no road names or signs in Costa Rica. You just have to know how to get there. Or know local landmarks. 2. If the Russian Mafia is after you, you can't just run to the embassy and expect them to let you in and protect you. You have to have an appointment...

In a very short nutshell, that was our trip. Ben and I are already talking about our next visit there.

Two Firsts

I know, I know. Adelyn will be experiencing a lot of firsts. But today we had two!

1. This morning she went to her first funeral. A good friend's dad passed away, so we went to the funeral. My friend has been an amazing daughter! I hope that I can be such a blessing to my family as they age. She has a multitude of siblings, and yet she was the only one that took the time to be with her aging and ailing father. She made the hard decision to move him to a home last year. She has visited him at least twice a week since then. Even though he sometimes would yell at her and sometimes would think she was his wife (who passed away 5 years ago). Her unselfishness caused her a lot of stress, but she always put him first. Richard, may you rest in peace!

Oh, and Adelyn did pretty well. She started wanting to talk when the priest started the sermon, so we went and hung out in the foyer. We could still see and hear everything, but she could make happy baby noises and not disturb anyone.

2. She participated in a research study at the U of M. They wanted 4 month old volunteers for a visual perception study. It was kind of cool. They recorded her responses to different stimuli and used eye-tracking software to determine what she was looking at and for how long. Not sure what they are going to use it for, but it was pretty neat. The ladies in the lab said that she did great. (Not exactly sure what that means, but whatever).

In both firsts today, I am reminded at how social our little girl is already. She knows that when someone smiles or talks to her, that they like it when she smiles back. We might have our hands full with her... :)

Feels Like the First Time

Today I finally got off my lazy bum and went for a run. I have been yearning for a run (crazy, I know) for a while. But every time I thought about going on one, something would come up. Today I decided enough was enough and I went for a run. It is a beautiful day out there! I ended up running 2 miles. It felt pretty good until the last quarter mile or so. I did a route that would end in the woods by our house (I thought that sounded like a nice reward). But I forgot how hilly it is down there! Yikes! But I did it. In 23 1/2 minutes. Not bad for the first time out in ... well, probably about 36 weeks.

A Pair of Yellow Socks and a Pink Elephant

This past weekend we were off again. This time to Dallas, TX. Ben was going for a seminar. Adelyn and I decided to tag along. We felt that coming to Dallas was the perfect trip to see how it would be for us to come with Ben on business trips. Mainly because we have friends there so I wouldn't feel so alone. I don't think any of us were recovered yet from NYC, but what do you do?

The flight to Dallas was ok. For the first time, Adelyn wasn't her happy traveling self. She cried a bit before her in-flight nap. It was less than 5 minutes of crying, but seemed like forever to us since we do not want to be "those" parents with "that" baby.

Our first night was so much fun! We went to our friends, Val and Raul's house for dinner. Val made some killer lasagna. We had a great time hanging out with them. The rest of the trip Ben was pretty occupied with the seminar. Adelyn and I joined him for lunches and one dinner.

Friday morning I was getting Adelyn dressed when I realized that I only packed one pair of socks for her and they were yellow! (To my credit, she did have one yellow outfit). It was a good thing we were headed to Walmart to grab some breakfast food to have in our room.

On the way home, Adelyn cried a bit again when she was trying to get to sleep (still don't get how crying soothes them to sleep). But really, I think she did great all things considered. After we got off the plane I changed her diaper. Midway through changing it I realized that I left her pink elephant on the plane! I quickly finished up so that we could try and get it back. Luckily they did find it and the elephant was saved! (I'm not sure if she has a favorite toy or not, but the elephant has mighty tasty feet that she loves to chew on so we would have been sad if it was lost).

So now we're back home. Adelyn and I will be home for a while. Ben will be going to Vegas in another week or so for another conference.