First Few Days of Oct.

It's funny- I am SO ready to not be pregnant and meet this little guy, but on the same hand its a bit depressing to know that my one on one time with Maeve is slowly coming to an end... okay, that's REALLY depressing. We have a great schedule worked out and each day is a blast with her- and I'm really not exaggerating- sure, we have tough days but I truly, truly enjoy our time together and I wouldn't trade a minute of it. With all that said, I've been packing our calender and days with things that I know we aren't going to be able to do once the turkey makes his appearance (at least things we won't be able to do right away...).

A few days ago, Maeve and I took a trip up to Chuckie Cheese- it was SO MUCH FUN! She played hard for a couple of hours and zonked herself out on the way home. We've also been soaking up these last few days of "nice" weather ("nice" meaning its not raining...) and going to the park. I'm not sure what's going to happen when it snows and we literally cannot go outside to play. Maeve will not be a happy camper... I've also been on this cooking/baking kick- and while Maeve can't sit there for the whole 30/45 minutes it takes to make something, she does like pouring things in the bowls, licking the mixers and eating the finished product. :) Just this week alone, we've made pumpkin spice cookies, chocolate chip oatmeal raisin cookies & those amazing apricot bars I blogged about a few weeks ago. (I know what you're thinking- "Ashley if you're going to be cooking up all that stuff don't complain about your weight anymore!"


Maeve holding a box of cookies we baked for Dadda...

Tuesdays have quickly become my favorite night of the week- strange, because its the one night Ryan's not home- he has night class until 9:50. When he first registered for that class I was upset, thinking "WOW that's going to be one packed day of no rest and all play for me!" But it's turned out to be a wonderful thing. I call it "Maeve & Mom day." We go out for dinner (no sense cooking for just us)- usually its "Culvers"- I love their chicken sandwiches and Maeve gets a free scoop of custard. We also visit my mom out at the studio and Maeve gets to dance with the big girls for a little bit. Then we either come home, take a bath and watch a movie until Daddy gets home (yes I let her stay up to see Ryan- she is SUCH a daddy's girl and loves it when he tucks her in at night :) or we run some late night errands. Last week we went to "Michaels" to pick up some craft supplies for her upcoming birthday.:) I know once the baby comes, our sweet little Tuesday nights will no longer exist, so I'm really trying to take advantage of them while I can.

Another big hit around here has been "colors" (aka coloring). Maeve BEGS to "colors" all day long. Not a big deal right??? That's what I thought, but its really, REALLY not a good idea to leave a 2 year old alone with a pack of crayons. She had never really strayed from the coloring book (maybe a little on the table here and there) but the other morning while I was making breakfast and Maeve was using her "colors" she snuck in the hallway and did her "colors" all over the wall... and of course it just had to be a red crayon. So this makes for a dilemma- the kid wants to color ALL THE TIME but I can't have my eyeballs glued to her 24/7- especially when I'm in the kitchen either cooking or doing dishes (there's a big wall that separates the kitchen from the living room). There have been many tantrums pitched because I won't let her color while I'm in the kitchen unless she's in her high chair (and of course she refuses the highchair...so bring on the tantrums).

Maeve & her coloring destruction. I really don't find it to be a big deal... it comes right off with those magic eraser things. But Ryan, who is set on selling this house is kind of going nuts finding random drawings on the floors, walls, cabinets, etc.
Weekends are filled with what else, but football. I'm not going to try and hide it- I couldn't care less about football (or any other sports except for the Olympics). It's funny, I see a ton of my girlfriends on facebook with "football-ish" status's and no matter how hard I try, I can't get excited or even interested in it. My husband however, is addicted. Therefore, football is on the tv all the time. He's even taught Maeve how to scream "TOUCHDOWN" and throw her hands in the air. He is more pleased with this than he is with her ABC's or counting to 10. Hmmm... Today is the big MSU vs. U of M game and just to bust his chops I'm rooting for U of M. I also dressed Maeve in gold & blue today :) haha... And trying to get in the spirit of the game, I made a big football food spread... my husband is very happy :) And he'll be even happier if MSU wins.




Our mini football party... Maeve LOVES playing with the black olives (what kid doesn't?) I'm not sure how much food she actually ate, but there are squashed olives all over the living room...
Our next few weekends are packed- and I love it. It speeds the month up which brings me closer to November!!! Next weekend is Maeve's "real" birthday (OMG TWO!!!!!!!!) The weekend after that is her birthday party (invites are in the mail on Monday- I PROMISE!) The weekend after that, we're taking her to the zoo boo walk up in Battle Creek, and the weekend after that is HALLOWEEEEEEEEEN!!! We're also making a few trips out to "Flavor Fruit Farms," although that all hinges on the weather so who knows when exactly we'll make it out there. We've all been feeling pretty well lately and I'm crossing my fingers that it stays that way! There is so much to do and tons to get in... but I do have to say, I love fall... and I love how this fall is going so far.

Shopping With Maeve.

No, its not her birthday... nor is it Christmas, Easter, Valentines Day or any of the other gifty holidays. It's just a normal Thursday- BUT Maeve has had a really rough week of teething and fevers. She's hardly eaten anything and has been up every night for an hour or so just whining. FINALLY her teeth popped through last night! :) She is still fussy- but I took a look and her gums look pretty inflamed... ugh I hate teething. Anyways, Maeve (and I) have been eying this adorable HOT PINK shopping cart at "Toys R Us" for about a month now- its not like its super expensive or anything, but Ryan has seriuosly threatened to start chucking toys out the window if we come home with any more...oops. Unfortunately, today, I couldn't resist- I broke down and bought the shopping cart AND a few collections of food to go with it. I wasn't going to tell Ryan until he noticed it (it's a semi large toy so I didn't think it would take long...) and sure enough when he came home for lunch he saw it and gave me the "we have way too much" lecture. Ahhh well. Maeve has been happy as a clam "grocery shopping" all afternoon. And I PROMISED that I would spend my entire day tomorrow organizing and weeding out the toys we don't really use anymore (even though that's a tad bit pointless seeing that there is another baby on the way who will want to play with baby toys...). Anyhow, here are some pics of Maeve with her shopping cart.







Maeve's idea of shopping is throwing all the food out of the cart and onto the floor. Then she picks each piece up, one by one, and puts it back in the cart. I tried to set up a little mini "grocery store" on the table but she liked picking the food up off the floor better. :)

A Break From The Monotony

Who knew it (a break) would come in the form of a massive snow storm? I guess I shouldn't be too blown away since this IS Michigan. And normally I hate the snow- but because in approximately 8 days I will be in Florida, for some reason the snow became more tolerable for me today. Anyways, we woke up EARLY this morning- which is super baffling to me since Maeve is waking up around 4 every morning and screaming/crying/whining for about an hour to an hour and a half (we really can't find a rhyme or reason for this- its not her diaper, she isn't sick...). You'd think the kid would need to sleep at some point, but sadly, her afternoon naps are becoming shorter and shorter, her stints in the middle of the night are getting longer and she's waking up earlier in the mornings. I just don't get it...
When we came out to the living room I noticed it was extra dark- I looked up at my skylights that are over my kitchen and saw that they were covered in snow. I thought maybe we had gotten that yucky inch that makes everything look ugly and cold. But looking out on the deck my mouth dropped open- "WOAH THAT IS A LOT OF SNOW!" Even for Michigan- it really was a lot of snow. We had been planning on having this big nacho/Mexican feast for the big game tonight but something just sounded so cozy and good about this baked apple oatmeal that I make sometimes. Luckily we had just been to the store yesterday and had a full bag of apples. I spent the morning peeling and putting it all together in the crock pot. Maeve spent the morning watching "Mickey Mouse Club House" and eating her favorite- raisin toast.
After the oatmeal was in the crock pot and baking, I got Maeve ready to go run some errands. Easter is quickly approaching and I had NOTHING. I went a bit crazy at Target- we have more Easter candy than a family of 6 could probably eat... but whatever. :) Lunch was ravioli from a can- kind of gross- but one of Maeve's faves. and every once in awhile I can handle eating it too. Ryan of course was very excited to come home to hot ravioli rather than his usual cold sandwich.
Now the good thing about this snow is that its not Antartica-freezing outside. Its actually pretty mild. I think Maeve got out to play in the snow a grand total of twice this year. So as much as I hate it, after her nap I'm planning on bundling her up and taking her out in it to play. I'm fairly confident she'll love it.
Yes I would've much rather have had a warm, sunny day at the park. But its funny how something as common as snow in Michigan can stop everything and turn an ordinary day into a nice break.

***Just a note- I am pretty sure Ryan will still end up with nachos tonight- it will probably be just Maeve and I eating the oatmeal and toast :) Oatmeal isn't much of a basketball food I guess....***

"Tasty Time" With............. Maeve!

To say the least, Maeve's naps have been pretty horrible lately- todays lasted a grand total of an hour. Yesterday's (Friday's) nap lasted 45 minutes IF THAT. Let me tell you that this is scaring me quite a bit. What will I do when my 18 month old JUST WONT NAP ANYMORE???? Terrifying thought... so yesterday, when she started crying to get up I looked at the clock and thought to myself "What the heck are we going to do for 4 hours on this rainy, cold day in this small house?"

I decided to make some cookies. For one, I was craving them and two, I figured this would kill 45 minutes or so. Normally when I cook its not a pretty scene- its me rushing around the kitchen, my OCD in full force (trying to keep all cooking areas clean!!!) and Maeve clinging on my leg screeeeeaming for attention- its bad. So I thought to make this experience better for all involved I would strap Maeve into her high chair, remove the tray and wheel her right up to the counter to "help." I wasn't sure how well this would go over- Maeve isn't a "sitting" kinda gal. But actually everything went really, really well! It was fun! We made chocolate cherry cookies (which are completely divine- I have the recipe if you want it!!!) and cinnamon chocolate chip cookies. Maeve did AWESOME- she "helped" me pour things in (after every "pour" she'd clap and say "YEA!") and she loved watching me use the mixer. However, the highlight of her day was when I handed her a mixer and let her suck/eat all the cookie dough off. She was in a complete state of bliss! Yes, yes I know raw cookie dough isn't a fabulous thing to give your child, but I have lots of memories of my mom handing over the mixers to Meghan and I- I'm pretty sure we enjoyed those more than the actual cookies! So I figured, I'm pretty healthy- a little raw cookie dough never hurt me, it should be fine for Maeve! And it was :) And just like Meghan and I, she much preferred the dough to the actual cookie!

I'm so excited that Maeve is getting older and able to participate in more and more things. It makes life just that much better :)

Slacker!!

Yup, my hand's raised... oops- totally been slacking on the blog. For good reason though! It has been busy and sickly around here! And unfortunately this post is gonna be a bit short... but I just wanted to update and let you all know that we are still here!

Ryan- sick all last week with a cold/flu? It was horrible not having my other half to help me out with Maeve! Especially since Maeve was sick herself. Fortunately Ryan and Maeve are feeling much better! Ryan still has a cough that wakes the entire house up every night... but fevers, yucky nose and sore throats are (hopefully!!!!!!!!!) a thing of the past!

Maeve- like I said, was sick all last week. Super sad to see her down and out :( She was running a high fever for 3 days and had a runny nose. I took her into the doctor and they ran a battery of tests (strep culture, influenza test!) and everything came back fine. SO it was viral- a cold- but nonetheless it made for a cranky and sick bubba cakes.

ME- woooooh! Between taking care of Ryan & Maeve last week I'm exhausted myself... this Saturday is my last gymnastics meet- I am kinda sad... the cash flow (or MY cash flow) will be abruptly stopping after Saturday.

Spring break is coming up sooooon! And I couldn't be more excited- seriuosly- I go to bed GRINNING at night with thoughts of the ocean, SUNSHINE, Universal & good FOOD swirling and twirling around in my head! Just tonight Ryan came home with our confirmed rental car paper work & UNIVERSAL tickets (from AAA). SO we are SET to go- we just need to get to April 15th!!! :)

OTHER good news- I went to the doctor this morning for some blood work (they're checking my thyroid & iron levels) and I got weighed- drumroll...................................I WEIGH 119!!!! That is 4 lbs. away from my goal weight!!!! :) I think I've said it before, but the scale has been out of the house for a couple of months now so I had NO CLUE where my weight was number wise. I knew my clothes were fitting much better and lots of people were asking if I had lost weight :):):) but I was so excited to have a NUMBER. And now I am motivated as ever to lose these extra 4-5 lbs. and not only be at my goal weight, but also at my pre-preggo weight!

Spongebob fever is still raging around here- Maeve is ADDICTED! We watch spongebob allllll day long! And she stomps around the house saying "PUN BOP PUN BOP!" Its super cute and I guess there could be a worse cartoon for her to be in love with... but I was really thinking her first "obsession" would be a Disney princess of some sort... hmmm.. guess not. But its kinda cool because we're going to Universal Studios on spring break and they have an entire spongebob section in the park so she will LOVE that!!! I'm hoping we can meet the life size spongebob character and get a pic with him :)

Maeve also is in love with her nuks. BLAH- its kind of annoying me because she's not talking as much now that she's got a stinkin nuk in her mouth. But I try and pluck it out a few times a day to get her talking... she is ALL about animals- and can say most animal noises... meow, moo, "blah"-her frog noise? :), sssssssss (snake), a high pitched noise which is for dolphins... woof... lets see what else? OH she loves trains- we live right by some railroad tracks and sometimes on lucky days we get to see a train go by she goes "CHOO CHOO!!!" and gets soooooooo excited! :) She is also more in love with the dogs than ever- constantly chasing them, pulling their tails, laying on them, hugging them, etc. I keep telling Ryan she needs a sibling- because at the moment she totally thinks the dogs are her playmates :)

WELL sorry this was so choppy, random and short... but it's the end of the day and I'm exhausted!

~Continue to keep Haleigh Cummings in your thoughts and prayers! I know things aren't looking too great for a safe return, but you never know!!! I am glued to Nancy Grace every night in hopes that there will be a break in the case... crazy.

Spongebob Fever...

It has been a tad bit crazy around here lately- Maeve is either teething or has a cold... its so hard to tell- but anyways she has been a night owl... up at LEAST 5-6 times a night- not for long periods, just crying for 5 minutes or so. But its super hard to feel rested when you're waking up every couple of hours. And then you'd think that she would be really tired and sleep in later in the mornings or something... but nooooo, we're still up at 7 :( So yeah, the lack of sleep is really getting to me and to Ryan AND to Maeve- she just doesn't know it :) She is soooooo cranky- all the time- we took her out for dinner on Saturday & Sunday night of this past weekend and she was a little stink! Lots of whining, crying and clinging- sooooo not fun. One thing that does make her really happy though is SPONGEBOB SQUARE PANTS. OMG- its hilarious. She catches sight of him everyyyyywhere! At the grocery store this morning all I heard was "Pun Bop Bop Bop." Its super cute :) but for a chick who is cranky and wants what she wants when she wants it, it makes for a very difficult time at the store. We walked out with SPONGEBOB cheese-itz, SPONGEBOB cereal and SPONGEBOB temporary tattoos... haha- I am SOOOOO that mom that will do whatever to appease my child- especially in public places! If it stops her from crying and allows me to finish shopping, its in the cart :)

Anyways not sure where her recent obsession came from- but she just loves her some "Spongebob" and yeah, she watches the show too. Which, for kids shows is actually pretty funny... so I secretly like watching it too :) When we got home from shopping, I put one of her tattoos on her arm- she got craaaaazy! haha :) She was stomping and jumping all over yelling "PUN BOP BOP BOP! PUN BOP BOP BOP!" it was hilarious :) I got a pic of her FIRST AND ONLY tattoo :)



Let's hope this week flies by!!!