Back Home Again...In Indiana

A few weekends ago, Natalie and I made our very first trip home to Indianapolis to visit family.  Since Matt happened to be in Hong Kong for work, it was up to me to take command of the first long road trip with an infant.

And can I just brag on my little girl for a second and say that it went so well?  I mean, I woke her up at the butt crack of dawn, she was fussy for maybe 2 minutes in the car, and then she slept for 3 hours straight without making a sound.  She then got a little fussy...but as you might expect, the drive from Northeast Ohio to Central Indiana has some stretches of road where there is no civilization in sight.  Weird.  I know.  So we went about 10 more minutes and when I was about to pull over, Natalie fell back asleep.  Score!

I had about 40 minutes left in the drive before I had to stop to feed/change her.  Perfect.  She was not at all pleased when I put her back into the car seat for the remainder of the trip, but 20 minutes of screaming on a 5 hour trip I can handle.

We stayed at my parents' house that evening.  Natalie did beautifully in the pack 'n play and only woke up once during the night because she is freaking houdini and escaped from the baby straight jacket (aka:  sleep sack).  It was actually welcomed, though, as I had picked up Matt from the airport that evening so she got to see him sooner than expected.

Natalie with my brother!

The next day, we traveled to Bloomington for a wedding.  But beforehand, we were able to catch a quick bite with Miss Shaina and her husband.  The visit went so quickly and by the time I knew it we had to go.  We had the best time and I cannot wait to make it down to visit her again.  Plus, Natalie keeps asking me when she gets to see that pretty lady again....

The wedding was so beautiful!  It was outside at the bride's parents' house which was so gorgeous.  Unfortunately it rained that day...but the bridal party was so easy going about the whole event.  Check out my sweet friend Mallorey and her rain boots she sported for the ceremony.  So her.  Just perfect.

The next day I hosted a small get together for my friends and family to come over and meet Natalie.  It went so well and for the most part....Natalie was a peach.  I'm so proud of her.  She had a very full weekend and was really well behaved.  But you could tell on Monday she was happy to be home and in her own crib. 

The whole trip did leave me feeling very confident in our ability to travel together...and I cannot wait to make it back home again!

Grill + Wine = Best Weekend Ever

Our little family of three enjoyed a much needed lazy weekend!  We've been running around traveling and Matt's been gone for work...it was so wonderful to just spend some time with each other.

 

Since it was finally nice out and not raining for a change...Matt and I grilled out on Saturday night.  It was the most wonderful thing ever.  I am in love with the smell of 'grill.'  You know?  If they had a cologne called "Grill It" I would totally buy it for Matt.  There's something about a man who smells like meat...

Anyways, we had yummy chicken and corn on the cob...and I popped open the bottle of wine Matt lugged home for me from Hong Kong.  It was delicious.  I had my allotted 2 servings (which when actually measuring is really not the amount I thought it was for years...) and it was plenty to have me enjoying myself as this mama has not drunk anything for, well gosh, a year?  Oh dear.  That is just sad. 

Natalie has her 4 month appointment this afternoon and I cannot wait to see how much she has grown!  Perhaps I should do her 3 month post before her 4 month one?  Hm.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend!!

XOXO

Remember When I Made Cakes?

I know?  Me either.

I always thought when I stopped working and was home all day with Natalie it would be so super easy to start making cakes all the time.  I would be home...therefore of course have all the time in the world...everything would be easy peasy...and I would be making money on top of doing something I loved!

Right.

Although I can see it in her eyes that Natalie really wants to help me with my cake decorating endeavors, the girl has no skills.  Her frosting technique leaves much to be desired.  So I am forced to work on these little puppies after she goes to bed.  In other words, I had more time to work on cakes when I was working full time.

I was an idiot.

But last week a sweet friend of mine from playgroup asked me to make a cake for her son and I jumped at the chance.  A new client!  Something to do that involves making icing!  I'm in!

The request was for a dump truck cake and pirate cupcakes.  Quite a weird combo if you ask me...but here's what we settled on:

 

 

 

 

I thought everything turned out really well.  Those pirates took freaking forever...but I was really happy with them.  It was my first time working with fondant on the cupcakes and creating a design so there's only better things to come!

Home Sweet Home

Natalie and I are taking our very first trip back to Indy this weekend.  We're going to a wedding of one of my besties from college.  Unfortunately since Matt is out of town, I'll be making the drive by myself.

Five hours in a car with a 4 month old. 

Not necessarily something I would choose to do by myself.  At least not for her first trip.

I'm pretty nervous about how she'll do.  Little Miss is so funny about the car.  Sometimes she's a peach.  And other times, she screams whenever I stop.  Stop lights.  Stop signs.  Waiting to turn.  Screaming!  But once I start again...she's fine.  I'm optimistic since this trip is 85% interstate...she'll sleep for most of the trip.

My plan is to wake her up a little early so she will (fingers crossed!) go back to sleep in the car and sleep for a few hours.  Then we can stop, eat, and perhaps she'll sleep again??  Ha!  That's what I'm worried about.  That second leg.  Hm.

So anyone traveled a long distance in the car with an infant before?  Got any tips for this new mama?  Can't you just hear her screaming her little lungs for hours?  Oh dear.  I'm making myself nervous.  And I haven't even mentioned packing for a princess who spits up every hour.  Eek!

While I Was Away...Someone Grew!

Thank y'all so much for your sweet words of encouragement on my post yesterday.  I could not ask for better friends.  It means so much to me to have your love and support.  I feel it surrounding me and I am so grateful.

Natalie and I have been having a good time together whilst Daddy is gone.  Sure, we miss him SO much...but there are some advantages to having him gone.  Frozen taquitos for dinner every single night.  No empty Dr. Pepper cans to pick up in the morning.  Total control of the remote.  Things could be worse.

See, someone's happy!  Doesn't she look so innocent?  Don't let that little face fool you.  Only minutes before was she screaming in the dressing room at JC Penney's.  And yes.  I was completely undressed.

Can I just add that shopping for a dress after you've had a baby is not super fun?  Not that I went in the store thinking it would be a blast...but golly gee people.  Way to kick a girl when she's down.  How my hips got even wider than they already were, I will never know. 

And since I am the worst blogger alive, here are some updated pics of my sweetness.

I seriously could not love this girl one ounce more.  She has completely changed my life and I could just eat her up!  I cannot wait to see her little smile in the mornings when I come get her out of bed.  There is no better way to start a day than with a smile from your daughter!

7 Days and Counting

Written Saturday 5/7/11

Natalie and I are having a girls' week this week.

Matt's out of the country.  Yep.  You read that right.  He's not just out of town.  The man is currently on a 20 hour flight hovering over the Pacific Ocean.  Please don't feel too bad for him.  He's in business class living the good life.  I know, right?  Jerk.

Tonight was night number one of seven us girls will spend without him.  And honestly, I'm feeling overwhelmed.  I knew this trip was coming so I pulled on my big girl panties and put on a brave face.  But tonight, I totally broke down.  I kept thinking about how all of the responsibility of our little girl is solely on me.  Me.  And I feel very alone.

I find it odd that this is effecting me so much...especially since Natalie and I spend so much time together already just the two of us.  Matt's job keeps him late during the week so he usually is getting home when I'm putting her to bed.  But he's still my rock.  My little cushion if something goes wrong.  If she won't go to sleep, I know he'll be home to rock her and calm her down.  If my arms hurt from carrying her all over creation because she refuses to be put down....he'll be there to take over.  He's there as my sounding board when I get worried about her.  We figure things out together.  We're a team.  Even if I'm at home doing the "heavy lifting," I know I can because I have him to lean on.

But when his plane took off, a wave of worry rushed over me.  Suddenly I felt so nervous, like I wouldn't even be able to put her to sleep by myself...even though I do it every single night.  All the confidence I had in my abilities as a mother completely evaporated.

I'm not sure why this happened.  Matt's been on trips before.  This is not the first time I've been alone with our little girl.  It is definitely the longest stretch...and the furthest he's been away...so maybe that has something to do with it.  I can't be sure.  Whatever the reason, I'm hoping these feelings fade as the week progresses. 

Fortunately, Natalie is currently sleeping soundly in her crib.  She went down easily and will more than likely sleep 12+ hours just like every other night.  But no one will be there to move her video monitor when she scoots herself out of the picture at 2:00 a.m.  And when I wake up to that empty screen in the morning, I will miss my husband even more.