A {busy} Day in the Life of Post

I thought it was time for a day in the life of post—so here is my Tuesday! I am so out of the habit of doing this that I forgot to take pics of my breakfast and so I decided to just eliminate the food from this post.

I woke up shortly before 7:00. It takes me a little bit to wake up and be ready to take on the day, so I just laid in bed for a little while. I headed downstairs and had to smile when I found this note from hubby on the table. He leaves me a note every morning. <3

I heard baby girl talking in her room at about 7:00, which was at least an hour earlier than her usual wake up time. She just sat in there quietly hanging out—completely content.

She likes her alone time here and there. It’s kind of funny because just about every day she goes over to the door to the stairs and wants to go up to her room. I’ll put her in her crib like she’s going down for a nap and she will spend an hour up there just laying down quietly but not going to sleep. She has started to only take one nap per day now, but she still likes that second “quiet time”—which is alright by me because she usually needs it.

Anyways, she kept acting like she was going to go back to sleep so I finally decided to try to sneak downstairs without her hearing me. Hubby found a way to do so and it’s genius. If we walk with one foot on each side of the hallway the floor doesn’t squeak as much. hehehe I’m sure that we look pretty ridiculous doing it—but it works! And sure enough, she was sound asleep.

I used the time to sit down and do some writing, enjoying the muted light, breeze from the fan, and quietness. I also started drinking a big glass of water—which is something I like to do first thing in the morning because it makes my body feel good.

I actually got my shower in and got ready for the day before baby girl woke up. She slept in extra late today. When she finally woke up, we had breakfast and then got ready to leave.

Hubby was going to be working super late, so I wanted to keep busy throughout the day so that baby girl didn’t get fussy. So the was a little more “fun filled” than most days. Hubby needed to pick up some eggs from his parent’s for a coworker and he wasn’t going to be able to, so I volunteered to go get them for him.

I know his parent’s love their time with baby girl, so I asked if they wanted to spend some time with her while I went for a walk. They were thrilled. This was the first time I asked someone other than my mom to watch baby girl…and doing it didn’t make me anxious like it would have in the past. I think the fact that she’s older and has shown me her growing independence makes me feel much more comfortable with leaving her alone with someone I know and trust. She’s also at an age that’s easier for them.

Oh my goodness, I really enjoyed my walk. I was reminded of why hubby wants us to move out into the country. It is so peaceful out there. I just walked up the gravel road to the next farm and back—which hubby says is exactly a mile away (so I would have walked 2 miles total)—but my Fitbit told me I walked 1.75 miles so it’s probably off a little bit…or maybe it didn’t count steps every time I was wiping away the sweat from my face! Eek.

It was a hazy day, but hot and humid. My MIL commented that it was nice and cool out and they had their windows opened. It never ceases to amaze me how they do that. I get soooo hot and moody that hubby is more than happy to run the AC…haha. And I’m only truly comfortable when it’s set to 72!!

Here I am towards the beginning of my walk—still nice and cool from the Jeep AC… so no oceans of sweat running down my face yet.

We’ve had so much rain lately. The water in the creek was rushing along.

I was going to listen to my iPod, but I decided to listen to the peacefulness instead: the crunch of the gravel beneath my feet, birds chirping on the lines overhead, the soft whoosh of butterflies in front of me, bugs singing in the grass, and water rushing out of the fields through the tile systems. It was really beautiful.

The Iowa corn has gotten so tall and so quickly too! I guess the hot weather and rain will do that. There’s a saying that the corn will be “knee high by the 4th of July”—I would say it’s probably to my shoulders!

On the way back I was facing the hot sun and was feeling tired so I decided to listen to podcasts. I love listening to podcasts when I can—usually when I’m working around the house when baby girl is napping.

On the way back, I found these items on the side of the bridge. I was kind of fascinated by this…odd! It made me wonder where they came from, how old these pieces were, etc.

When I made it back to the in-law’s place, I could see baby girl happily exploring. When she saw me she just burst into tears! I picked her up and she wouldn’t let me put her back down. I guess when she saw me she realized I had been gone! She looked at me like I had betrayed her! Poor baby—but it is good for her. She will learn that mama will always return!

It was lunch time, so I headed to a nearby Subway for lunch. Yummy! I have to order a kid’s meal for baby girl because she literally eats the entire sandwich! This girl eats so much—but she is SO active, so I guess she has to get the energy somewhere. She’s a typical toddler though and eats in cycles—sometimes she hardly eats a thing at a meal or two.

She enjoyed waving to everyone who walked in the door and yelling out “DA DA” to every tall dark headed man that came in…lol. That always makes me feel awkward…

You can see her pretty blue eyes in this one.

After that we headed home. She doesn’t fall asleep in the car very often anymore. I have a backpack full of toys that I keep in the front seat and when she gets fussy, I hand her one at a time. I have all kinds of toys with buttons that make sounds because that’s what she likes best—oh and some books because she loves those too right now.

When we got home I put her down for a nap. She just hung out in her crib for the LONGEST time trying to avoid her nap. She was content for quite a while but then started fussing. She throws everything out of her crib and she can’t sleep unless she has her lovey and her pacifier. I had to make a few trips up to her room to retrieve everything for her. I gave her a couple of books and she eventually settled down and slept for a really long time! She really needed the nap and I wanted to make sure that she took it.

Thankfully, she woke up a happy baby! Sometimes you just never know—sometimes she goes down for a nap an angel and wakes up a little devil! haha

I was pretty tired, so I just hung out while she slept. A vacation day it was! I finally got to enjoy some coffee, I read some blogs, read my book, and got supper together. I made myself a bbq chicken pizza on a tortilla with garden fresh green beans and I made her a chicken parmesan pizza on a tortilla and she also ate some avocado. She had fun making a mess!

After supper, we played and read books. I picked up my book to read a little and so then she picked up her books and would read too. It was cute.

When it 7:00 and the pool would open up again for the evening, I pushed her in the jogging stroller and walked up there. When she saw the pool she got so excited. The water was a little cold but it didn’t stop her.

She is so brave—when I expect her to be scared, she is completely fine. I want to hold onto her hand the entire time and she’s always trying to get away from me—the second I let go, she fell down of course. She got her face in the water and it didn’t even phase her! I expected screams but nope—totally fine. I was the only one upset. lol.

She is incredibly persistent and she spotted something in the lifeguard office and so she repeatedly kept trying to go in there. Oh my goodness! Other than that, all she wanted to do was step up and down from the pool to the edge—she is obsessed with stairs of any kind.

When I was starting to get tired of keeping baby girl out of the lifeguard office, we headed home.

And then it was bath time. After that, she was all tired out and bedtime was no problemo! She was out like a light. I think she requires constant activity and action so I’m going to have to provide that for her!

I did a little maintenance with my flower pots and then decided to call it a night.

I think today proves that I am finally over this “relapse” of PPD. On bad days it’s a triumph to just take a shower. It’s so nice to feel like myself again and have lots of energy! I got over 12,000 steps!

So that was a super long post…are you still with me?! I guess I have a lot of things to say! I’ll try to do these posts every once in a while and I’ll also try to remember to take pics of my food next time!

Our First Family Bike Ride

We had a fun weekend camping for the first time this year and finally being able to be the active family that we want to be.

My goodness, the first camping trip takes a lot of preparation. We brought our camper home and I cleaned it, which didn’t take much time because I cleaned it really well last fall before we put it away for the winter. The hardest part was all of the packing and purchasing of essentials. It took SO much time—especially with the little one following me around.

And then we found out that baby’s new car seat doesn’t work in hubby’s truck so we ended up driving separate vehicles. It wasn’t a big deal but it’s harder to keep baby girl entertained when I’m alone. It was about an hour and a half drive. We just have to have some type of brake system installed in our Jeep and we’ll be good to go for the next time.

So we had all of that and then we arrived and found that the forecast had changed and there would be rain for the weekend—but it did all turn out to be ok. It rained at all of the right times and our plans weren’t interrupted. The rain made the air cool during the morning and afternoon—so that was a plus!

We camped at Lake Red Rock, which is near Pella, Iowa. I had never seen the lake before and it is a really beautiful area. Our campsite had an entrance to a great paved trail that wound through a gorgeous dense forest with huge trees and all kinds of wildlife. I’d say it was the prettiest trail we have ever biked on.

We got a bike trailer so that we can go biking as a family. Baby girl did really well and didn’t get fussy until the very end because she was tired and needed another nap.

We have a helmet for her but she was refusing to wear it. It will be non-negotiable in the future and I’m sure she will get used to it.

This trail was seriously hilly. There were quite a few times we had to stop and walk up the hills or we would make it to the top gasping for air and had to take a break. Really, the Fitbit registered us climbing 33 flights of stairs on this bike ride. Talk about getting back into biking by hitting a hard trail first thing! We haven’t biked in a couple of years since two years ago I was pregnant and last year I was struggling with just trying to get through the days as a new mom with postpartum depression. Both hubby and I aren’t in the shape we were two years ago either. Whew! It was a fantastic workout.

It was so peaceful on the trail. We saw and heard song birds. A fawn ran across the trail right in front of us. A chipmunk sat still on a log just a couple of feet away from us. A thousand cotton tailed rabbits bounced across the trail and into the deep green forest. Butterflies were everywhere—and a variety of them. Purple, yellow, and white wild flowers graced the trail edge. There were glimpses of the lake every so often, including a marina with sailboats resting on the waters.

I was reminded that biking is most definitely my favorite form of exercise. I love being out on the trails experiencing nature, getting my heart rate up, and feeling the breeze in my face.

We turned around when baby started to get fussy and storms were looming on the horizon. Poor hubby had a little mishap on a wooden bridge on the way back—it must have rained in that area and it was very wet and his bike slid over. He caught himself so he was ok. Thankfully, he told me to walk when I caught up to him. My bike kept sliding over when I was walking it across!

Biking has always been a favorite activity for hubby and me. I’m so happy that we will be able to continue this as our family grows. It was a little bit different with stops for diaper changes and snack time, not to mention hubby having to pull around another 30+ lbs. in a trailer!

Overall, the ride was about 10.5 miles and took us about 2 hours because of numerous stops. I was starving when we got back to our campsite. I was happy that I had planned ahead and brought delicious fresh fruit to snack on! It was so refreshing.

That evening hubby and I got to enjoy another campfire and kick up our feet!

As I mentioned I would, I tracked all of my points over the weekend. I did really, really well until yesterday. I ate 1.5 donuts and also had pizza! This was simply because of lack of planning—I was hungry on our drive and by the time we got home I didn’t feel like cooking and pizza just sounded amazing. I ended up using 3 extra points. I think I’ll be ok though because I will do well for the rest of the week.

I’m looking forward to our next family adventure!

Swimsuit Shopping

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I’ve spent the entire morning trying to find a new swimsuit for a good price. My current one is a little too low cut and not exactly “baby safe” if you know what I mean. I’d rather not take the risk of showing WAY too much at the pool when the little one decides to grab my swimsuit.

I’m also planning on taking the water aerobics classes this year. I’m looking forward to it but I’m a little nervous and afraid I won’t be able to keep up! I took this class once a few years ago when I was a lot more fit and active. But I have to start somewhere and I love the water so this seems like a perfect idea. I’ll also get a little alone time, which I am looking forward to. Hubby thinks it’s a great idea and doesn’t have a problem watching baby girl for an hour twice per week.

I ended up buying two things and I’m not sure if either will work. I found them at AlwaysForMe.com.

The first one was on clearance for $15 and is more of a “sport” type swimsuit which I thought would be good for all of the bouncing around in the water during water aerobics. I’m not going to lie, this isn’t all that cute but I think it will get the job done.

I’m hoping it will look ok with navy blue bottoms that I already have.

Since I had to pay a standard shipping rate anyways, I decided I might as well grab another suit. This one was a clearance for $39. I thought the little skirt was cute—I’m not so sure how it will look on me, but I’ll give it a try!

I would have liked this one in black, but they only had my size in the fuschia. Hopefully it covers well and isn’t see through or something!

I chose both suits simply because of the prices. I hope they turn out ok! If not, I’ll head to Walmart—but it will be difficult to swim suit shop with a one year old!! And I just hate trying on swimsuits. Who doesn’t?

I also hope to get them by next Tuesday when the classes start! Fingers crossed!

I’m hoping to spend a lot of time at the pool this summer with baby girl. We might get a family pass so we can go whenever. We also picked up a small pool for the yard—but it’s not super ideal. I get grossed out by all of the bugs floating in it! Eww.

Do you have a new swimsuit for the summer? Where did you find it? Are you taking any water exercise classes?