Chatty Lauren

Fun Friday!! (aka "Lauren Day")

This morning started out with a tea party.

Then we hit the playground at Winter Park Resort.

Met up with my Dado when he finished skiing.

Took a wagon ride through the resort. Random strangers wanted to stop and take my picture. Ahhh the paparazzi!

Worked on my "Scrinchy Face" a bit. Bascially made this face at everyone we saw at the Derailer for Apres Ski

Posed with Mama- maybe a bit of "scrinchy face"- but, heh- mama has no make-up on and isn't exactly Beyonce either!

Snowboarding with my ipod!

I just spent a fun morning snowboarding, while Jeff stayed in the condo with Lauren. What a fun Friday morning!! Now I am exhausted and starving. Thanks Jeff!!

Sunflower Butter

At daycare, they use sunflower butter in place of peanut butter, and Lauren's teachers told me she really likes it. So, I bought her some- yummy!! It is so delicious, I cannot wait to have a PB&J myself! I havent had a "peanut butter" sandwich in so long, and I would really love to.  I have tried almond butter, but it just isn't that same. Lauren is enjoying sunflower butter on an english muffin right now- yum!! (messy though...)

Pig-let

So, she is starting to feed herself. I know I have to let her learn, but yuck-o she is messy. She LOVES soy yogurt (it is more sour than regular yogurt, I like it too) and is getting pretty good at feeding herself. 

Wiggles!!

So, I would have to post every 20 minutes to keep you all abreast of all the new things Lauren is learning. When I picked her up at daycare today- she was sporting this cute 'do- wiggles! This is what I used to call piggy-tails. I dont know why- my mom probably knows. But I didn't know that Lauren had long enough hair for wiggles. Luckily, Chantelle her teacher at daycare knew better. I think she will be sporting this look alot- she is so darn cute, and i LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the wiggles.

One of Lauren's favorite pass-times is to feed Casey treats. She can say "treat" and "Casey" and she is all about giving them to him. Sometimes she sucks on the milk-bones, too. Yuck-o!  The most impressive part is how gentle Casey is when he takes a treat from her. He is a good sport too- he will take a treat and run off to eat it, and when she calls he comes running back for more. Once I put her to bed, I go pick up the 3-4 extra treats off the couch or out of his bed that he didn't want to eat. What a nice boy to humor his little sister!

Farm fresh eggs

Look how pretty my eggs are! I have a friend at work who has chickens and brings in fresh eggs. They are so yummy, and look how pretty they look! The best part- she swears the chickens are well fed and loved!!

Lauren's Cheddar

Funny story- so, since Lauren is dairy& egg allergic it is actually sometimes difficult to feed the child. Jeff makes frequent trips to Whole Foods to buy stuff to make "weekend food" for her when I am working the weekend and the two of them are on their own. New Year's weekend he bought the Tofutti (fake/soy cream cheese) and made 7 layer dip for them to eat during football. This last weekend he wanted to make nachos. Most of the "fake" cheese that you find at the store actually contains dairy- so it wont work for Lauren.  Well, Jeff has a plan:
Jeff: I am going to run to Whole Foods and get that Vegan cheese
Me: Well, how do you know it is really dairy-free.
Jeff: the guy who told me about it is a VEGAN.
Me: well, how do you know it tastes good, like cheese
Jeff: the guy said it was really good

Fast forward a couple hours.

Jeff: I got the cheddar for nachos and the mozzarella for pizza, the check-out guy was super excited I was buying vegan cheese.
Me: Why?
Jeff: Cuz he is a vegan and he says it is really good.
Me: really?
Jeff: yeah, he says that it melts just like cheese. He also told me about a pizza place that makes a great vegan pizza- we should try it for Lauren.
Me: Did you tell him you hunt elk and like to eat the meat??
Jeff: no.
Me: would you eat vegan pizza? As in, NO MEAT??
Jeff: Well, no- we would order it meat-lovers.

Just cracks me up-thinking of Jeff at Whole Foods, chatting it up with the Vegan sales guy. You know this guy is excited to see another man so passionate about vegan cheese, when really Jeff just wants his daughter to have a meat-lovers pizza.  The good news? Despite the fact that the "cheese" is bright orange and tastes horrible- Lauren loves it! We made her a chicken quesadilla on whole weat tortilla with "her cheese" and she was loving it. Good call, daddy! You keep up with those Vegans!!

Mangos!

So, tonight I am enjoying some tasty mango and laughing at myself for thinking I didn't like them. Here is how the story goes: I tried mango from someone at work and didn't like it- it was all stringy and way too sweet. So, I decided- I dont like mangos.  Then, Jeff buys them at the grocery a few years later- and same thing- all stringy and super sweet- not to mention so hard to figure out how to cut it up.  So, we both think we dont like them.
Costco has this yummy, fresh (overpriced) fruit bowl that I love to buy- it has some hard, dark yellow fruit that is kinda tangy and sour. My co-workers and I ponder what this could be- taste after-taste. Mango? Papaya (no!)? What is it?? Can't be mango cuz I love it, right??

Well, the grocery had mangos for 50 cents each, so I bought a few- and yummy!! Turns out if you dont let them get too ripe they are hard and sour. Lauren, Jeff and I are all big fans- as a matter of fact- Lauren has packed mango and kiwi slices for her breakfast tomorrow (along with an egg-free, dairy-free blueberry waffle) sounds yummy, huh? Her daycare thinks she likes exotic food- funny don't ya think? She just eats what we eat. Guess we are quite the exotic crew...

Teething? Oh Joy...

Poor Lauren- we think she may finally be teething. She is screaming non-stop for the last few days. There really is no more drool, but she grabs her gums and cries. Poor baby. We have tried tylenol, motrin, cold teething rings, cold washcloth, vibrating teethers, popcicles, orajel. What else is left to try? She really isn't eating- I think it just hurts too much. Of all the interventions- the popcicle and motrin seem to be the only two that work- sometimes. She is up alot at night crying too. Any suggestions? I dont want her living on popcicles and motrin. :(  How long can the screaming go on? It is wearing us out- Jeff and I went to bed before 9pm tonight, drained!

Brett Favre "Pants on the Ground"

I LOVE this guy!! Too funny. (thanks Alyssa!!)

Movie Night

Ok, so one of my crazy rules for Lauren has been that she cannot watch TV at all until she is over 1 year old. As in- NO TV, no cartoons, no baby einstein, no kids movies. I just dont think it is good for babies- they need to interact with their environment and experience it- not stare at it.  So, most people think I am a bit crazy- but she is my daughter and I get to be crazy with her if I want to.  Well 1 year has come and gone, and we really haven't felt the need to push the TV on her - so the only TV she has watched has been a little bit of football with her daddy- and she isn't that into the NFL. Well tonight Lauren got a movie in the mail from Grandma V.  Finding Nemo- seems like a great movie for Lauren's first movie.  My mom thinks that she needs to watch it to prepare for our upcoming trip to Orlando and Sea World. Thanks Grandma! Lauren is going to try to watch a bit of this movie soon!

Children's Hospital relief to Haiti

There is a small group of nurses and physicians from Children's (where I work) that have gone to Haiti to help in the relief efforts there. It is nice to know some of these people, and to know what kind hearts they have to sacrifice thier time (and comfort) to help people who are less fortunate. They are keeping a blog to diary what they are up to there- it is interesting, click this link to see their blog. I also added them to my blog list on the right, if you want to check in on them.

Wild socks

I peeked in at Lauren in her crib this am- and these funny socks cracked me up. I had to sneak back in and take a quick picture.

Spaghetti dinner out

Sunday night we tried out a new restaurant in Winter Park.  They have italian food, and one of the few things that was egg/ dairy free was spaghetti. This is Lauren at a nice restaurant with linens and candles- feeding herself spaghetti.  She really wants to be able to use a spoon- so here she goes. She did incredibly well, actually.

Laundry helper

Disaster in Haiti

How horrible about this earthquake in Haiti, it is such a poor country to begin with.  I have been following the disaster a little bit on CNN. Today I was captivated as they tried to rescue an 11 year-old girl who was still trapped under the rubble- I was crying through my lunch break. I just found out that they were able to free her, and am praying that she will be OK.  If you want to make a donation to the Red Cross International Relief Fund, just click on the link and it is really easy to donate online. 

But this story has really got me riled up. Pat Robertson, a Christian evangelist (read: guy who makes lots of money "selling" religion), is blaming the disaster on a pact that the Haitians made with the devil. Really?? So, he thinks hard, working innocent people- including children and clergy and healthcare workers- were struck down by God to pay for a pact made by people hundreds of years ago. Really??  I think the guy needs to read the bible a bit more and learn some humility.  The God that I believe in does not create disaster to punish people- I cannot believe that. Especially because I work around children with cancer on a daily basis. This guy has got to check himself- if anyone is going to be punished by a higher power, my money is on Pat doing some hard time himself. What a jerk!

ps- as I am writing this, the mormans just stopped by.... that should teach me to rant about religious stuff.... gotta go....

She is sassy...

So..... Lauren is copping an attitude. I knew it was only a matter of time, but the crying and screaming- got me a bit frazzled. I am worried that something is wrong with her, but she turns it on and off pretty conveniently- like whenever she doesn't get her way. Big cries with tears and all.  I am really missing my sweet little angel these days. She points at stuff and goes "eh eh eh" wanting you to give it to her, and if we dont- DRAMA!!  What do I do?? I need some good mama tips right 'bout now.  First and fore-most: we dont give in to it- we are not going to. We dont want to reinforce the naughtiness, so we chose to mainly ignore the drama, unless she is totally sobbing them we pick her up and snuggle her. But we dont give her whatever she is demanding. So far- she is just getting worse.  Maybe she is testing us? Maybe she is teething (she has NO TEETH yet, so we dont know....)? Maybe her ear infection never cleared up and she hurts (but only when she wants something???)?  I am going to read Parenting with love and logic- but I am not sure if that addresses babies at this age. I just need advice if anyone has it- she is a sweet little angel, and I want her to be a good girl. My big fear is to have a bratty child that no one wants to be with- so I really want to start good parenting behaviors now so she will be a sweet, happy girl.

Ponytail!

Let's go Packers!

Free Workout music

Go HERE for a FREE Music Download from Biggest Loser and Subway! (it doesn't work to click on the picture). I just downloaded mine!
Songs include:
•Bleeding Love By Leona Lewis
•American Boy By Estelle
•Umbrella By Rihanna
•Stronger By Kanye West
•4 Minutes By Madonna
•Love Story By Taylor Swift
•No Surprise By Daughtry
•Sugar by Flo Rida
•Paparazzi By Lady GaGa
•When I Grow Up By The Pussycat Dolls
•Second Chance By Shinedown
•Damaged By Danity Kane

Bad Soup

In an effort to find easy diet food that I could have for lunch at work, and because I had a coupon I tried Campbell's Select Harvest Light soup. I was way overpriced, even with a coupon. But I thought, what the heck- if it is tasty and easy it might be handy to have. Well, it tastes terrible. Like, I could not even finish it. I tried, but ended up dumping it out. Yuck! Do not buy this soup. :(

Good book anyone?

Anyone have a good book recommendation? I have been reading a lot more lately, since I got a kindle for Christmas. Right now I am re-reading Pride and Prejudice- most of the classics are free in  the kindle store, they actually have a lot of free books, I just have to figure out which ones are worth reading.
Please give me suggestions if you have read anything good lately!

Beads

Lauren playing with her Mardi Gras beads. She cannot decide what is more fun- shaking them or staring at them very, very closely. She kept bending over and staring at them like this- makes me laugh out loud at her. Goofy kid!

Angel

This story really warmed my heart this week. In Vancouver a 11 year old boy was almost attacked by a mountain lion, but his golden retriever Angel stepped in to save him.  What a sweet dog- truley an angel. She is the little boy's best friend. You can click the link to watch the whole story, if you haven't already seen it. The dog is expected to make a full recovery- a police officer shot and killed the mountain lion.

Coach

On monday I went into the coach store to admire all of the pretty bags.  I was enjoying myself until the pushy sales lady got involved. Then, she started to comment on my coach bag. She complimented me on what good shape it was in, and when I mentioned how dirty it was- she gave me pointers on how to clean it. "We have to take care of our nice bags" she said. LOL! my "coach" that I was carrying is a total knock-off!  I am not sure this lady should be working at coach if she cannot tell the difference (cuz I sure can!). Too funny!

Red Velour

Thanks Grandpa Randy!

Woman's work

Jeff is spending the night up in Winter Park and Lauren and I are having a girl's night. It is snowing like crazy, and although I shoveled the sidewalk after work, it is was really getting deep again. I decided it was best to shovel now, rather than wait till it freezes down.  So, despite the fact that I was already in my pajamas (new ones Jeff got me for Christmas from Victoria's Secret) I went out to shovel quick. My thoughts- would've been nice if the pajamas came with matching gloves rather than matching slippers! LOL!

A new year, a new me!

I did it! I just joined weight watchers online. I am determined to loose the baby weight that I have carried around with me for 1 year- I cannot believe it. I kept hearing, Oh, nursing will make you lose it. Oh, once you stop nursing you will lose it. Once you get more sleep, the pounds will melt off. Blah, blah, blah. Once I start eating less and working out more, I will lose these stupid 10 lb.  So, I am posting it for the world to see- I am on a diet and determined to lose 10 lbs. My goal is by February 24th when we go to Florida. I will be happy if I have lost most of the wieght by then.  It is my nature to follow through on my committment, so I feel if I blog about this goal, I will be too embarrased not to accomplish it!! Feel free to cheer me on, even join up with me if you want. This is going to happen, and man- am I happy. I cannot wait to have the good ole Nicole back. :)

Work it!

So, today I am working my but off!! I already went to the store, focused on organizing my list and coupons, and saved $38 (total bill $91)! I have emptied and cleaned every inch of the refrigerator, and am taking a break before starting the cupboards. I need to get this all done soon, cuz I am hitting the outlet malls and buying some stuff- FOR ME!!

If you hadn't guessed, Lauren went to daycare today and I have the day off. I am fighting the guilt, is this an awful thing to do? Put her in daycare when I have the day off?? Well, every day last week when we picked her up at daycare she said NO and wanted to stay, so I talked myself into the fact that she is happier at daycare than running errands with me. And I only work 2 days this week, so she will go to daycare mon-tue- wed and then thursday we will have a fun day and hit the park. I do feel lonely, though. Cannot remember the last time it was just me and Casey in the house alone....

Lauren is Walking!

I will try to get a photo to share, but Lauren is walking!!  She has been starting to take a few steps for the past few weeks, but just in the last day or two she is really getting up and taking off on her own. How fun!!

Happy Birthday Casey!

Today Casey turned 12 years old!!! Horray!! What a sweet wonderful dog he has been all of these years. The last 12 months have been tough on the guy, but he is a good sport and knows we love him. And Lauren's newest passtime is to give him treats, so it all works out. Happy Birthday little Smoochie!

Travel home

So, part of the reason I was drained and took a bit to post my Xmas stuff- besides the camera charger issue- we had a bit of trouble getting home. Our flight was 7:50am on sunday out of appleton. We paid a bit more to fly direct to Denver, thinking that connecting in O'hare would be a mess with Lauren and Casey.  Well, my cell phone rang at about 12:45 in the morning on sunday- our flight was cancelled. Crap, i tell you - the weather was fine. None-the-less, many, many hours on the phone. Telling us we will get home Monday or Tuesday night connecting through O'hare (WHAT!!??). We had to work on monday!!  So, I was up all night, calling United (hate those guys...) and thank you to Leon at United, he got us on a flight out of Madison on Sunday. Thank you to mom and randy for driving us all the way to Madison. On the bright side, I missed Madison and it was great to be there (if only for a few minutes in the airport) and now Lauren has been to a town that Jeff and I both love. 

Christmas Day

This pic is Lauren on xmas morning. This is when my camera died. :(  And I forgot the battery charger. In the afternoon on Xmas day we went to my aunt and uncle Terri and Jim's house- everyone was there- even Santa!! I hate that I dont have any pics.  They had a nice bash at their house- got to see a bunch of people!! The bad news, I had an encounter with a peanut M&M.  I took benadryl, but when taken on along with a glass or two of wine- I was having a hard time staying awake. Lauren was afraid of Santa, but he was very authentic and fun! My aunt took some photos- so if I get copies I will post some later.

I had to include this pic of last Christmas- she was so tiny and fragile, can you believe it??

Christmas Eve at my mom's

Xmas at my mom's. You can click on the pics to make them bigger. This is Kalleigh, she is Lauren's cousin who is (exactly) 4 years older- they have the same birthday!

Christmas Eve Brunch

On Christmas eve we went to brunch at my aunt and uncle's house.  The had a ton of yummy treats, and the kids were breaking in their new Wii games. My grandpa was just taking in the whole thing, I am not sure he can believe the Wii games- but he was happy to see the kids playing. Lauren was a bit of a stinker, but cute as ever. She is still stuck on making her "skrinchy face" for pictures, you can see. My cousins Taya and Micah made Lauren a baby blanket, it is double layer fleece, and oh-so cute.  I think I like it most of all because it is not pink, but still really girly. Dont get me wrong, I LOVE pink, but the girl has a few pink blankets already- so the blue and yellow is a nice change. We have been using the blanket to cover her up in the morning on the way to work, since it is cold in the car at 6:15am. 

And, the ultimate score!! Cari gave me a gift bag from her and Doug, Micah and Taya- I started to open it and saw it was Green Bay Packer apparel- Oh cute, I think. Lauren will be so adorable decked out in the green and gold.... but alas!! Not for Lauren, this time mama gets the gold!! They gave me an official Green Bay Packer jersey- Brett Favre, number 4 in green!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whew hew!!  I have so wanted one for so long, and I really, really still wanted one even though he (ughh) might wear purple these days.  THANK YOU!!!

Round Robin

Starting with the WI Xmas updates (finally...). On the 23rd we went visiting friends and family in the evening, what we call a Round Robin in the midwest (read: visiting and having cocktails while viewing the Christmas decor of friends and/or family).  The entire trip I was a slacker with the camera. We went to Susie and Tom's house and Lauren got gifts (shocking, right??) and we had vino and I was in awe at their Big Mac ornament on the tree (my really guilty pleasure= Big Mac, no pickles.)

Next, we stopped at Barb and Rick's house. I hardly recognized the place! Long gone are my 4 boy cousins, and the house has gotten a make-over. It is beautiful, and the funniest thing? They are corny and sleep in a sleeping bag!! (on thier bed, of course).  They are camping nuts- emphasis on the word "nuts".  Lauren loved my aunt Barb's little wooden baby chair and we took it home for the rest of our visit. It was just her size- I cannot believe i didn't get a picture of it. My brother and Tina stopped by and Lauren was infatuated with Tina. I have at least 6 pictures like this of Lauren staring up at her adoringly. Gus, Tina- what do you think that means???

Merry Christmas!!