Monday, December 31, 2012

Baby's First Christmas

Who invited this big kid to my baby's first Christmas?


Seriously, doesn't she look so big and grown up.  Must be the stripes!  I think the Christmas jammies may have been my favorite part....


Friday, December 21, 2012

Home for the Holidays

This video made me laugh!  So, so true.  I've been away from "home" for over a decade now so I'm kind of use to it. I remember the first couple of years of college I would try to make a ton of plans and try to see all these people (like old teachers!) but now I rarely go anywhere that isn't the house of a direct family member.  Every once in awhile I venture out to Bob Evan's to meet one of my high school or college friends for breakfast.

Jim and I will be heading to Ohio for New Year's Eve.  Aside from seeing my crazy awesome little niece and nephews and hanging with the fam, I'm most looking forward to driving really slow with almost no one else on the road.  On the other hand I'll be hard pressed to find a good cup of coffee without driving 45 minutes.  Damn you suburbs...you win every time.



Monday, December 17, 2012

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

It's no secret to those who know me, I love the holiday season.  I grew up in a home that was decked from top to bottom and smelled like cinnamon and spice all December and well into January.  There were soft twinkling lights and special fancy glasses with candy canes.  My mom loved to decorate for the holidays and putting together little special themed gift baskets for friends and family.   I even had an annual holiday gift exchange and sleep over with my girl friends.

It was only natural that it would stick with me.  I think I was the only college kid with my own tote of Christmas decorations and my own tree (not table top size) in my little college apartment even though I don't think anyone else was really around to see it but me. The first few years Jim and I were together it might have been a little overwhelming for him to deal with my excessive holiday cheer. Thanks to a certain little cutie pie, he's finally starting to come around and has enjoyed every step of the holiday season without complaint this year. 

Saturday we survived our 2nd annual "Robinson Family" Holiday Party with pretty good success (a look back out our first annual). Our house is nice and open and perfect for holding lots of people.  This year we went for a little more kid friendly party (aka lets get this thing started early so everyone is out of here by 10:00) with a freshly painted and babyproofed basement where Riesling was a lovely hostess and entertained her little friends (I suck.  There are no pictures).

Although the crowd cleared out early enough we were still pretty exhausted on Sunday and just had a lazy family day.  It's so nice and cozy with the tree lit and a few candles burning.  We did venture out to see Santa at the Historic Langhorne Library.  Riesling didn't exactly hate Santa, but I wouldn't go so far as to say she actually like him either.  


"I guess I can trust a guy with sleigh bells"

"Let's see...did I forget anything on my list?" 

 "Daddy you better not leave me with this guy"

 We didn't get any super smiley happy pictures but I still pretty darn cute.  It's such a sweet little thing that our town does.  There were maybe a half dozen kids when we were there and they hand out cookies, juice boxes, and coloring books.  Santa is really patient and will let you take a million pictures if you want.  There's no crazy line or crazy shopping mall madness going on.  We will definitely be making it a yearly tradition. 
 


Monday...

"Be the change that you want to see in the world."

~Ghandi

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Family photo

I was determined to send out a photo Christmas card this year since it was our first year as a little family.  We had the best intentions of having professional pictures taken in the Fall but it just never happened.  So here we were only weeks before Christmas trying to get a family photo.  I would have preferred doing it outdoors but it was rainy and gloomy all weekend.  So, we were stuck trying to make the best of terrible lighting, a blank wall in our basement, a squirming snot nosed teething baby, and a self timer. It wasn't our finest hour but we got an acceptable shoot for the card.  There were definitely a lot of that did not make the cut....



 

(I actually like this one even if it wasn't card worthy. )

Monday, December 10, 2012

Monday...

"Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me."


~Seymour Miller & Jill Jackson, Let There Be Peace on Earth

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Me, Myself, and I

Why is it so hard for moms to take time for themselves?  Mom guilt is such a weird thing.  I get so focused on making sure everyone in my wee lil family is Ok that I forget about me.  In some regards it's no big deal but not only do I sometimes just need a break from the long days, I don't want to get o the place where I can't find the "me" anymore.  I think it's important to stay an individual and engage in small things you enjoy.

I've really been working on taking some quality time for myself, like recently taking a 3 hour photography class ($25 Groupon! wootwoot), letting Jim hang with Riesling while I go to the grocery store alone, which most certainly includes a pit stop at Starbucks, or going out for a drink after work to celebrate my birthday with my coworkers even though it means Jim putting Riesling to bed (gasp!).

I don't know why I struggle with taking a time out so much, especially on days when I really need it.  If I'm tired, worn out, or frustrated after a long day with a cranky teething baby I'm not being my best mom self anyways.   And just an hour alone helps clear my head and I come home refreshed and ready to dive back in. Like I said mom guilt is weird.  Aside from those occasional outings solo,  I'm also working on taking better care of myself on a day to day basis.  Again, healthy mommy equals happy mommy.  Here's my hit list:

Drink more water.  It is ridiculous that I have to put this in writing, but for some reason during the winter months I tend to forget about hydration.  I don't drink much else besides coffee, tea, and a glass of wine at night so it's not like I'm drinking a lot of soda or anything, I'm just not drinking anything at all.  No good.

Take my vitamins.  I go through spurts where I forget all about those magic little pills.  I take D3, prenatal multivitamins, and a B12 everyday.  I also like to take an Omega 3 supplement of some sort, I prefer flaxseed or flaxseed oil in a smoothie or something but if I don't fit that it I need to remember to take the pill.  I started

Eat lunch. Another stupid one.  Why am I not taking time to freakin' eat?!  Usually what happens is that I get some consumed with playtime, nap time, squeezing in chores, and getting an afternoon walk in with the dog that I just grab something quick.  Blue chips & hummus with a handful of almonds is not a proper lunch.  I just don't want to take the time to prepare something.  Work days are better because I pack a salad or leftovers the night before so I think I'll just try to prep something the night before for the other days too.

Workout at least 3 days a week.  Jim and I both struggle with this one.  Neither of us wants to get up early and take a morning shift at the Jim and we both kind of hate working out after dinner so it leaves a really small window Monday, Wednesday, & Friday for one of us to go to the gym after Jim gets home from work (no daycare at the place we belong to).  Of course there are the weekends which we tend to pile up with projects and family time and just kind of forget about weight lifting.  Luckily my job is physical in nature so I'm not sitting at a desk for long periods, we walk everyday with the dog, and Riesling is 20+lbs upper body workout all day long.  So, I'm not completely neglecting myself.  I think I need to start adding a in home workout during morning nap time a few days a week.  Any recommendations for videos or quick but effective routines?

Finding balance is hard but I definitely think I'm doing better than just a month ago.  I'll keep you posted on my success!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Letters from Riesling

Hello Friends & Family,

Now that I am getting to such a big girl my dad says it is time for me to "start pulling my weight."  Lots of chores we do as a family and some stuff is more one persons job.  Like Sofee dog cleans all the crumbs off the floor and Daddy puts out the trash.  I have become an excellent helper for Mommy.  We fold laundry together and I dump the basket over and push it all over the room, then I throw the piles of clothes or towels all over the room so it looks really colorful and pretty.  I am also a big help at running the vacuum.  I love being close to the action so Mommy has to hold me on one hip while she pushes with the other hand.  I like to grab the cord but I'm not allowed to put it in my mouth.  At dinner I throw lots of stuff on the floor so Sofee dog can feel useful.  Maybe she needs more chores on her list because I find her sleeping during the day an awful lot!

Love always,
Riesling

Monday, December 3, 2012

Monday...

“Even if it has not been your habit throughout your life so far, I recommend that you learn to think positively about your body.” 

~Ina May Gaskin, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth