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| Collard Greens!!!! |
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| Mojitos!!!! |
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| Can you stream Netflix? If so, make your husband watch! My husband has got so many tips! But your spouse will need to be open-minded. :) I got an amazingly cooked dinner and romance from tips from these fab five! |
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Favorite Things
Favorite Things
Favorite Things!
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| CitraSolv! My second mother Kathy got me into this and I love it! You can find it at Whole Foods and Vitamin Cottage in Fort Collins! |
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| Queso-Melt is a necessity in our household. It is like my Velveeta but WAY better! |
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| Oh need I say more! It is rated an 81 from Wine Spectator and inexpensive! |
Retro
There is a lot to be said about Facebook in both good and bad. However, I have chosen to look and utilize it as good. It has been 5 months since Cy has been home and a lot of my activities that I became custom to are just really hard to do right now. People that I normally talk to have been missed, but there are a few people that I never loose touch with on a daily basis. They are the people that I chat with on Facebook. via email and Instagram.
One of my earliest memories was of my grandmother was sitting at her desk writing letters to her friends. She was amazing writer and wonderful at how well she kept in touch with people. She had friends she had met once but wrote letters to on a regular basis until she died. Maybe a picture of kids or grand-kids, but mostly just feelings, thoughts, etc...In her pantry next to the kidney beans was stock piles of cards. I swear I think that she bought them every time they went on sale and even after she passed I still took some with me...and that was almost 20 years ago. My grandmother was an amazing woman who made a huge impact on my life and defines who I am today. One thing that I always admired her for was her passion for keeping in touch. She was an amazing woman!
Things have changed since my grandmothers time, things have become easier. You no longer have to buy paper, envelope or send out in postage. You can have that friend on Facebook or Instagram and keep up on what is going on in their lives. Instead of sitting down and thinking of your letter you can make a comment on a post and you know...it does count. I love these social media sites for this vary reason. Being my age I have friends all over the place and I am sure I will move again in my life but what I love is the easy way to keep in touch. Even without social media...we have the Internet! Shoot an email to a good friend across the seas. I have become closer to friends via Facebook and I love it! Wishing that some of my friends lived closer or I to them.
I think if my grandmother was alive today she would be so impressed with how accessible it is to keep your friendships healthy and alive. I acknowledge this writing situation as I have gained some really close friends and they are not even in my backyard. Friends whom I can't wait to hear about their day or see the pictures of their first day of school. It is just so wonderful! I feel so thankful everyday for the people in my life. For the people whom makes me smile and laugh through their words. People always think friends have to be at your back door when really they can be across the ocean floor.
Remember...keeping in touch is easy. Pay attention to those relationships that are healthy and maybe sometime...pick up a pen...and write an actual letter.
Peace and Love
One of my earliest memories was of my grandmother was sitting at her desk writing letters to her friends. She was amazing writer and wonderful at how well she kept in touch with people. She had friends she had met once but wrote letters to on a regular basis until she died. Maybe a picture of kids or grand-kids, but mostly just feelings, thoughts, etc...In her pantry next to the kidney beans was stock piles of cards. I swear I think that she bought them every time they went on sale and even after she passed I still took some with me...and that was almost 20 years ago. My grandmother was an amazing woman who made a huge impact on my life and defines who I am today. One thing that I always admired her for was her passion for keeping in touch. She was an amazing woman!
Things have changed since my grandmothers time, things have become easier. You no longer have to buy paper, envelope or send out in postage. You can have that friend on Facebook or Instagram and keep up on what is going on in their lives. Instead of sitting down and thinking of your letter you can make a comment on a post and you know...it does count. I love these social media sites for this vary reason. Being my age I have friends all over the place and I am sure I will move again in my life but what I love is the easy way to keep in touch. Even without social media...we have the Internet! Shoot an email to a good friend across the seas. I have become closer to friends via Facebook and I love it! Wishing that some of my friends lived closer or I to them.
I think if my grandmother was alive today she would be so impressed with how accessible it is to keep your friendships healthy and alive. I acknowledge this writing situation as I have gained some really close friends and they are not even in my backyard. Friends whom I can't wait to hear about their day or see the pictures of their first day of school. It is just so wonderful! I feel so thankful everyday for the people in my life. For the people whom makes me smile and laugh through their words. People always think friends have to be at your back door when really they can be across the ocean floor.
Remember...keeping in touch is easy. Pay attention to those relationships that are healthy and maybe sometime...pick up a pen...and write an actual letter.
Peace and Love
Sunday, September 2, 2012
8 Pounds and a Muffin Top later...
These past 4 months I have literally ate my feelings! TCBY at work almost everyday, fast food (I know so bad but when you are starving and driving a kid around for hours what other choice), sweets, root beer floats, brownies, did I mention the sweets. Seriously, Jeremy and I have strayed so far but we are flipping a bitch and coming back around!
I have been back hitting the pavement and as long as my body can handle it...I love running. I take Cy on my runs and we do about 20 minutes (run/walk) and I have convinced my awesome husband to do strength training with me once a week. My goal if we can get some form of exercise 3x a month...that is good for now. This doesn't include all the walks and chasing around a toddler! Now the hard part...the food!
Loving food and living well I believe can go hand and hand...and I love good food. Even what I feed Cy is somewhat gourmet and he has developed a taste for some good food, hence since the kid rarely eats regular toddler food (mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, hot dogs...the kid won't eat). I keep praying that he will be a chef and not the chef at Applebee's but a chef at a famous restaurant or maybe open up his own! I hope all our travels expose him to amazing cultures and food! Living my life I want for me and my family I basically decided on smaller portions, no fried food (unless for a treat), limited dairy and reducing some other areas. I like everything, meat, veggies, beans, cheese, etc. So I figure diversity is important. With having Cy we kind of eat the same thing all the time and that is probably not the best, but our reality. I am a HUGE fan of eating Mediterranean/Italian/Spanish style with an occasional steak. I am excited to see how much I will loose as December is my goal!
Feels soooo good to be getting back in the saddle again! Even if I run one day I feel great! Healthy body = Healthy mind! Slowly getting back in gear! I actually told Jeremy today that I might be okay with a little Muffin Top! As I love to eat and enjoy a good glass of wine...can I never have a muffin top? I am not sure but what I do know...is that to live is to eat!
I have been back hitting the pavement and as long as my body can handle it...I love running. I take Cy on my runs and we do about 20 minutes (run/walk) and I have convinced my awesome husband to do strength training with me once a week. My goal if we can get some form of exercise 3x a month...that is good for now. This doesn't include all the walks and chasing around a toddler! Now the hard part...the food!
Loving food and living well I believe can go hand and hand...and I love good food. Even what I feed Cy is somewhat gourmet and he has developed a taste for some good food, hence since the kid rarely eats regular toddler food (mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, hot dogs...the kid won't eat). I keep praying that he will be a chef and not the chef at Applebee's but a chef at a famous restaurant or maybe open up his own! I hope all our travels expose him to amazing cultures and food! Living my life I want for me and my family I basically decided on smaller portions, no fried food (unless for a treat), limited dairy and reducing some other areas. I like everything, meat, veggies, beans, cheese, etc. So I figure diversity is important. With having Cy we kind of eat the same thing all the time and that is probably not the best, but our reality. I am a HUGE fan of eating Mediterranean/Italian/Spanish style with an occasional steak. I am excited to see how much I will loose as December is my goal!
Feels soooo good to be getting back in the saddle again! Even if I run one day I feel great! Healthy body = Healthy mind! Slowly getting back in gear! I actually told Jeremy today that I might be okay with a little Muffin Top! As I love to eat and enjoy a good glass of wine...can I never have a muffin top? I am not sure but what I do know...is that to live is to eat!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Life, Love and Liberty
A friend of a friend on Facebook (funny how that works) recently made a post about toxic people and I found it hitting home as Jeremy and I were just talking about it today.
Part of my own journey toward change has involved recognizing that the power to change lies within myself, and I can’t place blame on any other person for what I choose to do with my life or choose not to do with my life. That being said, my own experience has also shown that the people I surround myself with play a major role in supporting me in my desire to change, accepting the person that I am or dragging me back toward the person that I used to be.
There are different types of people we may have to weed out of our lives if we want to move forward in a positive direction. Keep in mind that I’m not discussing all difficult relationships; some challenging relationships are well worth keeping.
There is no way we can survive in this world by ourselves and I am sure at times that I have been judged as a toxic person and visa versa., but that past few months have made me rethink and as we come out of the trenches...there really isn't many people around. I remember recently watching "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" (don't judge) about a firefighter who was badly burned and his friends who were by his side during recovery. It made me think who I have lost contact with while I struggled with the challenges and joys of adoption these past few months and REALLY who is close to you. I mean if people can't empathize with me in this situation...imagine if it was worse or tragic.
Tips of Keeping up with the Friendships/Family (I got this from somewhere on the internet but can no longer find the site.:) ).
Peace and Love
Part of my own journey toward change has involved recognizing that the power to change lies within myself, and I can’t place blame on any other person for what I choose to do with my life or choose not to do with my life. That being said, my own experience has also shown that the people I surround myself with play a major role in supporting me in my desire to change, accepting the person that I am or dragging me back toward the person that I used to be.
There are different types of people we may have to weed out of our lives if we want to move forward in a positive direction. Keep in mind that I’m not discussing all difficult relationships; some challenging relationships are well worth keeping.
There is no way we can survive in this world by ourselves and I am sure at times that I have been judged as a toxic person and visa versa., but that past few months have made me rethink and as we come out of the trenches...there really isn't many people around. I remember recently watching "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" (don't judge) about a firefighter who was badly burned and his friends who were by his side during recovery. It made me think who I have lost contact with while I struggled with the challenges and joys of adoption these past few months and REALLY who is close to you. I mean if people can't empathize with me in this situation...imagine if it was worse or tragic.
Tips of Keeping up with the Friendships/Family (I got this from somewhere on the internet but can no longer find the site.:) ).
- A commitment to your happiness A true friend is consistently willing to put your happiness before your friendship. It's said that "good advice grates on the ear," but a true friend won't refrain from telling you something you don't want to hear, something that may even risk fracturing the friendship, if hearing it lies in your best interest. A true friend will not lack the mercy to correct you when you're wrong. A true friend will confront you with your drinking problem as quickly as inform you about a malignant-looking skin lesion on your back that you can't see yourself.
- Not asking you to place the friendship before your principles. A true friend won't ask you to compromise your principles in the name of your friendship or anything else. Ever.
- A good influence. A true friend inspires you to live up to your best potential, not to indulge your basest drives.
Peace and Love
Thursday, August 23, 2012
PADS
My husband and I can not express how much love we have for our son Cy. However, I definitely know that I went through a period of minor depression. Nothing serious by all means but I can tell this past few weeks how much better I feel and realized I wasn't myself.
I always knew Cy would be around 22 months or so when we would bring him home but in my mind he was still a baby and not a toddler. Going from no kids to a toddler was crazy! This child can talk, has an opinion, it was crazy! All the books and training were geared toward bringing home and infant. As much as our social worker would tell us to not take his grieving personal, it was hard not too. I also felt pretty alone, that nobody understood or could relate. Then there was, "my kid is perfect" or "why is he not adjusting ours adjusted quickly." Was something wrong with Cy?
The answer no. I put so much pressure on other peoples opinions and situations that I didn't really LOOK at my own baby. I think one of the biggest problems, while I enjoyed people coming to visit, it put a lot of added pressure on me. So when I should have been trying to figure out being a mother, a wife now that we have a child it was hard enough without having to be "on" and entertain. I don't want people to get the wrong idea, I appreciated everyone coming in to meet Cy but I think in the long run we really should of had people wait. The other difficulty was grieving.
Cy really struggled with the loss of his foster family and it was so painful. I am a control freak and I truly think the fact I couldn't control this was really difficult for me. I loved Cy from the second we got him and bond more and more with him everyday! Bonding and me not attaching to him was never an issue. However, I have to be honest...I had fears. What if he grew up and we didn't raise him right and he retaliated. What if I don't teach him well. It is a lot to raise a good man, will I do a good job? I doubted myself and my abilities as a mother. My husband was great as he told me he always knew I would be a good mother, but would I be? I am sure ALL new moms have these fears. I have to thank our social worker Maggie as she was amazing for me! She was there for me often and after awhile it got easier. I couldn't have done it without her.
I definitely feel good now but realized in the moment and looking back that I struggled a little. I think the hard part for me is doing it on my own. My friend Sarah (I know we have the same name, both from Minnesota and seriously are SO similar) was great. When I confided in her she was very helpful. I am very thankful for her! She never judged me and completely understood what I was going through. Our conversations made me laugh and realize that what I was going through was actually normal (to a point ;-))
Now coming out I feel so much more empowered and feel that others if they ever go through it don't be afraid to talk about it. I am thankful that mine wasn't severe and I was aware of it.
I did find some great links for you to check out if you want to read more about PADS.
Post-Adoption Depression
First Year Home with your Toddler
Baby Shock
I love this women's blog! I Am Not The Babysitter
Peace and Love
I always knew Cy would be around 22 months or so when we would bring him home but in my mind he was still a baby and not a toddler. Going from no kids to a toddler was crazy! This child can talk, has an opinion, it was crazy! All the books and training were geared toward bringing home and infant. As much as our social worker would tell us to not take his grieving personal, it was hard not too. I also felt pretty alone, that nobody understood or could relate. Then there was, "my kid is perfect" or "why is he not adjusting ours adjusted quickly." Was something wrong with Cy?
The answer no. I put so much pressure on other peoples opinions and situations that I didn't really LOOK at my own baby. I think one of the biggest problems, while I enjoyed people coming to visit, it put a lot of added pressure on me. So when I should have been trying to figure out being a mother, a wife now that we have a child it was hard enough without having to be "on" and entertain. I don't want people to get the wrong idea, I appreciated everyone coming in to meet Cy but I think in the long run we really should of had people wait. The other difficulty was grieving.
Cy really struggled with the loss of his foster family and it was so painful. I am a control freak and I truly think the fact I couldn't control this was really difficult for me. I loved Cy from the second we got him and bond more and more with him everyday! Bonding and me not attaching to him was never an issue. However, I have to be honest...I had fears. What if he grew up and we didn't raise him right and he retaliated. What if I don't teach him well. It is a lot to raise a good man, will I do a good job? I doubted myself and my abilities as a mother. My husband was great as he told me he always knew I would be a good mother, but would I be? I am sure ALL new moms have these fears. I have to thank our social worker Maggie as she was amazing for me! She was there for me often and after awhile it got easier. I couldn't have done it without her.
I definitely feel good now but realized in the moment and looking back that I struggled a little. I think the hard part for me is doing it on my own. My friend Sarah (I know we have the same name, both from Minnesota and seriously are SO similar) was great. When I confided in her she was very helpful. I am very thankful for her! She never judged me and completely understood what I was going through. Our conversations made me laugh and realize that what I was going through was actually normal (to a point ;-))
Now coming out I feel so much more empowered and feel that others if they ever go through it don't be afraid to talk about it. I am thankful that mine wasn't severe and I was aware of it.
I did find some great links for you to check out if you want to read more about PADS.
Post-Adoption Depression
First Year Home with your Toddler
Baby Shock
I love this women's blog! I Am Not The Babysitter
Peace and Love
Monday, August 20, 2012
It's Been Awhile
It has been awhile since I last wrote and I have so many great things to talk about!
Cy is attaching and bonding more and more every day. He has such a beautiful personality that shines through and makes my heart go pitter patter. He is playing independently more and more AND he talks all the time. Half the time I have no idea what he is saying but it can be pretty funny!
Here are some of Cy's favorite things:
I know for me I am starting to settle in. We met with our social worker yesterday and we talked how things are starting to feel better and flow. I am starting to get a feel of when he is overtired, or had to much, or hungry, etc...It has taken us awhile to figure all that out. As he is getting more comfortable with us, we are with him and the routine. The reality of there are no breaks, changing how you do everything, planning, organizing, etc...Pretty much all the normal stuff as a parent that you feel and go through. I LOVE being a mother and especially to Cy. As we bond more and more I hate being away from him! He is finally off the bottle! He is eating more and more solids! We are still struggling with sleep (or I should say Jeremy as he does full sleep duty) as he wakes up every few hours. However, he did sleep through the night last Thursday and Friday! Whoo! He will take medicine willingly now too. We feel like it has been baby steps for each hurdle and we are slowly overcoming it.
I see us now trying to reach out to people and hang out more and more. We hung out with friends at New West Fest and people have been swinging by the house. I actually took Cy to a friends house last Friday (it was awful and he literally was all over the place) but the point is that we went out! Jeremy is the resident neighborhood dad, meeting people all the time. Which is great! I love our neighborhood and our town so much! I know we will not be in Fort Collins forever but while we are here we are enjoying all our awesome town has to offer!
Peace and Love!
Cy is attaching and bonding more and more every day. He has such a beautiful personality that shines through and makes my heart go pitter patter. He is playing independently more and more AND he talks all the time. Half the time I have no idea what he is saying but it can be pretty funny!
Here are some of Cy's favorite things:
- TRUCKS! He loves them! Points them out. Wants to read about them before he goes to bed.
- Airplanes. If he even hears one in the sky he says, "Ooo plane" and points to the sky.
- He loves our neighbor Matt and his dog Bindi
- He is open to trying everything
- He enjoys helping me cook
- He loves Aunt and Uncles Jill, Eric, David, Melissa, CoCo and Owen
- He really enjoys watering the garden
- He is getting better about swimming and being in the pool
- He prefers our Jeep over the Prius. No idea why but he likes riding and playing in the Jeep.
- He loves music! Still and probably always!
- His recent new words (there are a lot) "mine" or "me"
- He loves to climb and pull himself up! We are doing parent/tot at GK to get his gymnastics skills on.
- He is really eating now as he has grown almost 4 inches in 3 months
- He said "home" this past week and put his arms up in the air in his room! This is big because he usually says "home" and wants to leave. I almost cried!
- He loves all his cars that he can ride or scoot around on.
- He loves playing the guitar.
- He definitely mimics all we do which can be entertaining at times.
- Cy loves the ladies and is a little mac daddy.
- He LOVES Grandma Irene. His reactions when she comes over are priceless.
- Manchego Cheese
- Chips
- Popcorn
- He can eat spicy food sometimes
- Any "Annies" product he loves!
- Loves Chocolate!
- Cy is super shy and social at the same time.
- He LOVES going to the park and swinging.
I know for me I am starting to settle in. We met with our social worker yesterday and we talked how things are starting to feel better and flow. I am starting to get a feel of when he is overtired, or had to much, or hungry, etc...It has taken us awhile to figure all that out. As he is getting more comfortable with us, we are with him and the routine. The reality of there are no breaks, changing how you do everything, planning, organizing, etc...Pretty much all the normal stuff as a parent that you feel and go through. I LOVE being a mother and especially to Cy. As we bond more and more I hate being away from him! He is finally off the bottle! He is eating more and more solids! We are still struggling with sleep (or I should say Jeremy as he does full sleep duty) as he wakes up every few hours. However, he did sleep through the night last Thursday and Friday! Whoo! He will take medicine willingly now too. We feel like it has been baby steps for each hurdle and we are slowly overcoming it.
I see us now trying to reach out to people and hang out more and more. We hung out with friends at New West Fest and people have been swinging by the house. I actually took Cy to a friends house last Friday (it was awful and he literally was all over the place) but the point is that we went out! Jeremy is the resident neighborhood dad, meeting people all the time. Which is great! I love our neighborhood and our town so much! I know we will not be in Fort Collins forever but while we are here we are enjoying all our awesome town has to offer!
Peace and Love!
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