A Little Adult Fun

I had the most fun I had in a very long time last night. My 2 Brother-in-laws and 2 Sister in laws along with my nephew came over for the night. Once the kids went to bed, we had a great time! I pumped all week long so I could have a few drinks and I am sure feeling it today! I think it is important to have adult nights...I honestly think it makes you a better parent. We all need to kick back once in a while! This morning, Bella was being a little fussy and my BIL, Justin helped and took her into the living room. He is so good with her, and it was so cute when he made her laugh. I love watching her change and react to different people and silly things. I don't think I have smiled more in my life than I do now with Bella. She makes everything that I do worth it!

I have to go back on the diet today, but I must say that my meatballs and ziti came out great and I fully enjoyed! Today Jeff and I cleaned up the house and I organized her room a bit. She has so many toys that she can't even play with yet, it is crazy! Tomorrow Jeff is off for half of the day, and the rest of my week is still unplanned...I love it!

Being Social

Sadly, most of my friends do not even live near me anymore, and not to mention, none of them have children yet! So, rather than just spending my days socializing with a baby, I have decided to join a mothers group I found online. On Tuesday, I went to my first meetup at the mall. It was so nice to get out and meet other moms who I can talk to and relate to about what is going on in my "new world." I first met Becky (one of the moms I have got together with before) at California Pizza Kitchen. As I sat there with Bella in my one arm, and my fork for my half order of Chinese chicken salad in my other (the only item on the menu under 400 cal!), I looked around and thought, "wow, it was not that long ago that I was sitting eating lunch with one of my friends and looking in admiration at the stay at home moms lunching." It was a surreal experience thinking back to these times, and realizing how lucky I am to be able to go lunch on a Tuesday afternoon then stroll around the mall...ask me a year ago and I never thought this would be. I am so blessed to have a husband that works 2 jobs so I can stay home with my daughter, he really is the best! This past weekend was our family Hanukkah party at my parents house (about a month late.) It was so fun seeing Bella with Mikayla as they are only 11 days apart. Bella kept rolling onto Mikayla with her legs, so cute! I will have to upload pics.
Today I am feeling adventurous and will be going to Carters and the market with Bella. My Brother-In-Law, SIL and nephew are coming for a visit this weekend so if they want to eat, I have to shop! I have been following Weight Watchers, so I think I will have to save up my bonus points for this weekend. I will be making slow cooked meatballs and baked ziti with garlic bread. Yum!

2010...Better than 2009?

I don't think so! 2009 was an amazing year for us...having a baby being at the top. New Years Eve was quite for us. I made these 2 3.5 pound lobsters which were delicious. As you can see from the picture (to come), I really didn't even have a pot big enough for them, but squished them down, one at a time, as much as I could. My, how my New Years Eve has changed! Bella didn't make it till 12, she was fussy and I put her to sleep around 11. It was nice to strike in the new year with Jeff by my side, a glass of wine in my hand and the hope of an amazing 2010. Anyway, I called Bella's Dr. yesterday to ask him about starting her on rice cereal...the answer was NO. And the reason for this is that it could give her allergies. He doesn't recommend cereal until 4 months. In my head, I am saying, "what the heck does 3 weeks more matter if it makes her feel more content for longer?" Whatever, I am doing what the Dr. says. Bella has her 3 month appointment on Friday, I can't wait to see how she has grown. Not looking forward to the shots, but what can you do. Today will be another quite family day at home...just the way I like it :) This blog is for me to print out after a year as a memory, but just wondering, is anyone reading this?

Merry Christmas!

Today is Christmas, 2009...Bella's first. Christmas Eve began with a 2 1/2 hour car ride upstate, to Jeff's family. I was so nervous that Bella would cry most of the way, but she did great and slept most of the way. The family was so generous with gifts for Bella. She got so many cute outfits, a big bird she loves already, and her first pair of earrings from Pop. We all had a great time visiting with everyone, but the day goes so fast. Right now, we are watching the Disney parade and it is just making me excited about bringing her to the parks one day. Before I was a mom, I never really understood what people meant by "you really get enjoyment out of seeing your children happy," I now get it.

Winter, go away!

So Bella and I are stuck in the house as Jeff has taken my truck to work with the baby seat base in it...safer than driving his car. This is going to be a quick week anyway, with Christmas coming up, we will be going to upstate NY for the holiday to Jeff's family. I am hoping the weather holds out for us. I am nervous about the long drive with a 12 week old baby...she is def. a back seat driver ;0) I have to post pictures from the snow storm we got. It was nuts...24 + inches! For Hanukkah, I got the Wii Fit, and I love it. It has def. helped me on my diet. Having fun while exercising is a genius idea! However, Bella does not nap much, so it is hard for me to get on to it as much as I would like to. Last time I weighed myself, I lost 6 pounds...I am guessing after the holidays I will gain a bunch back, but it is a start! Jeff will be getting home early tonight, so I will be heading to the store to get some groceries to go with the recipes in my Weight Watchers momentum cookbook mom and dad got me. Glazed pork roast with apricot glaze...yum!

We Have Been Let Out!

So, I started another blog after I forgot the password to this blog, then I forgot the password to that blog, remembered this one again, and now I am back. Bella is now 11 weeks old...12 weeks on Wednesday. I still just can not believe how fast time has gone. Again, I am hoping this blog helps me to be able to look back and see how much time has passed and all of the things we have done. Today we had the end of a bad snow storm...we had about 24 inches! I can not wait until Bella is old enough to play in it! I took some pictures today and will try to remember and come back to post them.
As of last time I wrote, Bella and I did not even leave the house yet to do much of anything other than going to the Dr. and my parents house. Well...against Dr.'s orders, I could not take just being in the house anymore, and honestly I think it was making Bella stir crazy as well. So, I bundled her up and off we went to Babies R' Us and the supermarket. No, not the most glamorous of places, but it made both of us feel better and it sure made the day pass by a lot quicker. You realize how difficult it is to really get out of the house now with a baby. Long gone are the days of just jumping in my car without worrying about heating it first, and jetting off to the store. Now, I must do the following: Step 1. heat up the car, Step 2. get baby bundled up in car seat, Step 3. grab diaper bag, Step 4. realize you forgot to pack clean binky and enough diapers so put baby down (baby begins to scream) grab what you need and get baby...oh, forgot to change baby before you went out...go back a couple of steps and repeat from step 2.
Not easy! Anyway, our trip to the store went well, until Bella started screaming in the middle of the supermarket and people give you one of "those" looks. Give me a break! Overall, I was very happy to get out of the house.
I joined a website called meetup.com, and found a group of moms from Long Island. I actually met up with one of the moms from the group at Borders on Friday. She was really nice and her baby was so cute. I hope we can get together again soon! It will be nice to start to get to meet more people around my age who have babies around Bella's age. Oh, I forgot to mention, while at Boarders, when waiting for the girl to show up, Bella started screaming and these old women playing cards started giving me the most nasty looks...it was very hard for me to keep my mouth shut! Then again, pre-baby if I was out, I know I was one of those women thinking in my head, "control your kid lady!" I learned my lesson...you have no clue until you have your own children! Bella is the boss, and I would not have it any other way :) Oh!! I almost forgot to mention, today was the first day Bella laughed! It was the sweetest sound <3 I am so proud of my little girl.

And Here We Go...!

So I have decided to start a blog as a way to document what is going on with Bella and I day to day, and maybe it will be a little something I can show to her at a later time to share our little adventures. Bella is now 7 weeks old...yes 7 weeks and 3 days and I can not believe it. As of the last time I brought her to the Dr. he told me not to bring her out before she is at least 4 months old. So, here we are, in our house spending "real" quality time together! I will be honest, most of our days probably will not seem very interesting to the average person, but to me they are the best. Tummy time, reading time, music time and repeat...I love every minute of it. I never thought I would even be able to stay home with Bella for even a couple of weeks. But now 7 weeks later, we are still making it by the grace of G-d...and Jeff working 2 jobs. It is not easy, we never get to see each other but we are doing it...somehow!