dance, dance

I tried to post this awhile back, but for some reason I couldn't get it to work. Always brings a smile to my face though!

here goes nothing...

Well, my friend Kristin and I did not win the lottery for Grandma's half marathon in June (kind of bummed), but in order to keep our momentum and spirits up, we've entered in the Eau Claire Half Marathon on May 1st. That give us 9 weeks to whip our butts in shape and build up to a daunting 13.1 miles! Neither of us have ever run any type of race before, so this should be a good challenge.


We met up at The Running Room in Woodbury after work yesterday and got fitted for some running shoes. This was a new experience for me - walking, squatting, etc. for the sales lady in order to determine the best shoes for me. In the past I've pretty much purchased my shoes based on 'looks'. Great, I know! Ha. Kristin has some over-pronation (basically she has flat feet, so they roll inward) so she was told to buy some 'stability' shoes. She picked hers out in about 30 seconds and fell in love with the first pair she tried on! I took a bit longer... Apparently I have have pretty normal feet and don't under or over-pronate so I got to choose from the 'cushioned' shoes. I tried on a few different brands, but definitely gravitated towards the Brooks ones - they were just so comfy! I ended up getting these beauties...


Inaugural run will be tonight after work. :o)

Any runners out there have recommendations for attire? Is it worth it to buy the expensive running clothes?

one-year-old vocabulary

Peyton's developing quite the vocabulary lately! Here are the words I could think of off the top of my head. Obviously some are clearer than others, but she still gets her point across. :o)

Dada/Mama
egg
Pooh (as in Winnie The)
pup/puppy/Chase
door
open
shoe
boot
coat
hat
Abby (from Sesame Street)
apple
banana
more (plus the sign)
kitty
key
poop
cheese
cook
no (and no-no-no with her finger pointing at Chase - SO funny!)
go
snow
up
hot (this one's hilarious because she does this little hand sign with it - think pulling your hand away from something hot)
bye-bye
Peyton (if you show her herself in the mirror)
shh
kick (as well as the action - thanks Dada!)
nice (as I'm attempting to teach her to be gentle when dealing with the puppy and babies)

She can also locate a variety of body parts when you ask her:
eyes
ears
hair
nose
mouth
fingers/hands
belly button
toes/feet

She also LOVES to help me with the laundry, which is great considering I hate doing laundry. :o) I can throw a pile of clothes on the floor and she'll load the washer (and even started it on me today while I was in the middle of adding the detergent) and she'll transfer clothes from the washer to the dryer. If only I could teach her to fold them and put them away...

29-er

Well, I've officially entered the last year of my 20's. At this point, I'm not really sure how I feel about it - just feels like any other day. Come next year at this time though, we'll see...ha.

I had a very exciting day:
• Got up and worked out at Snap with Kristin
• Ben and I shot our bows at A-1 Archery in Hudson
• Grabbed an exciting Subway lunch and played with Peyton for awhile
• Baked cookies
• Took an AMAZING nap (sign of old age?)
• Went to Agave Kitchen in Hudson for dinner
• Grabbed Dairy Queen on the way home (as if I needed it after my big burger and onion petals)
• Put Peyton to bed

I know, I know, you are probably all very jealous after reading this. ;o)

Here's to another great year!

food? yes, please!

Lately I've really been making an effort to find some new and exciting meal options for us - to get us out of the 3 meal rotation we've been in - and I've totally fallen in love with food blogs (hence my last post). One of my favorites so far is Ree Drummond's site, The Pioneer Woman. So far, we've tried the following:

The MM Sandwich, PW Style

Alissa & Ben approved (Cousin Gavin too). Get the Recipe.

Beef Fajita Nachos

Ben, Alissa & Peyton approved. Just to give you an idea - I made a sheet pan full, Peyton and I shared a small plate full and Ben killed the rest. :o) Get the Recipe.

Mushroom & Swiss Sliders with Spicy Fry Sauce


We both loved the sliders, but Ben was not a huge fan of the onion strings (he said they tasted 'oily'). I liked them. Get the Slider Recipe. Get the Onion String Recipe.

I also pulled a couple of recipes from other sites for the Superbowl party we went to at my brother-in-law's house. All were huge hits!
• Crack Potatoes from plainchicken.blogspot.com - These are your typical cheesy potatoes, amped up with ranch dressing and bacon - YUM! I adapted the recipe to make them in a crockpot for the event.
• Fudgy Brownie Cookies from lifesambrosia.com - A brownie in a neat little cookie package. What could be better? They were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G, especially if you love fudgy, gooey brownies as much as I do.
• Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies also from Pioneer Woman - Not spicy at all (even my sister-in-law ate them), but so tasty!

Hungry yet? You're welcome.

spicy mocha brownies

Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE to bake - A LOT - maybe too much according to my husband's expanding waistline! (He says I'm a 'feeder', but in reality he just can't resist the goodness that comes out of my oven.) Anywho...I was sitting there on Sunday trying to decide what to bake. I found a lot of great ideas online, but had to table them for later due to a lack of certain ingredients. So, I decided to make good old brownies, but not just any brownies, brownies with a twist! I had some white & semi-sweet chocolate chips in the freezer so I figured I'd throw them in. Somehow the combination of white and dark chocolate made me think of Caribou's Spicy Mocha (I developed a slight obsession with these this winter) and BAM! Spicy Mocha Brownies were born. Here's the recipe for anyone who'd like to try them. Enjoy.

Melt the butter in the microwave-safe bowl.

Add the granulated sugar and stir.

Mix in the eggs.

Next, add the vanilla.

Now let's make it a brownie by adding the cocoa powder!

Time for the spices! I used 1 tsp. of cinnamon and 1tsp. of cayenne pepper, but if you don't like things really spicy, use less. And, if you can get your hands on ancho chile powder, give that a whirl (that's what Caribou uses, but I didn't have any at home). And then 2Tbsp. of instant coffee granules.

And finally, add the flour and give the batter a good stir.

Next, toss in 1 cup of chocolate chips or pieces (I did 1/2 white and 1/2 semi-sweet).

Choose your favorite brownie-cooking vessel and lightly grease it. I like thicker brownies so I always use an 8"x8" pan.

Pour your batter into the pan and pop it into your preheated oven. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until set.

Mmmm...my favorite, the ooey-gooey center pieces! :o)

SPICY MOCHA BROWNIES

• 1 cup Butter
• 2 cups White Sugar
• 4 whole Eggs
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• ⅔ cups Cocoa Powder
• 1 cup Flour
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 tsp (or less) Cinnamon
• 1 tsp (or less) Cayenne pepper
• 2 Tbsp. Instant Coffee Granules
  
• 1 cup Chocolate Chips
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8"x8" or 9"x13" pan. Melt butter. Remove from heat and add ingredients in the order listed, stirring well by hand. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until set. Cut and serve.

SUPERBOWL

The Packers are going to the Superbowl and I couldn't be more excited!!! I've been training my little cheerleader to recite the "Go Pack Go" chant and do the touchdown signal. Now I must find her a new Packer outfit for the big game (she's outgrown all her old outfits). I'll try to post a video of her soon. GO PACK!

what's new?

1. Peyton is ONE! Well, technically almost 14 months now, but seriously where has the time gone?? We had a nice Pooh-themed party at the beginning of December for her and she had a great time. She absolutely loved the balloons Daddy picked out for her and they remained in our house for at least 3 weeks. :o) She's been a full-time walker since she was about 10 months and is enjoying running all around the house - pulling things out of every basket, cupboard, nook and cranny. She is right on track with her growth and development too. I believe at her one year appointment she was 50th percentile for her height, 75th for her weight and 100th for her head (poor kid got her parents' big head). She is talking up a storm too - mostly in 'alien' as I like to call it, but she usually attempts at least the first syllable of every word we teach her. Some of her more recognizable words are Pu-pup (puppy), A-pah (apple), Nana (banana) and she does a pretty good bye-bye. She also knows the sign for 'more.' She also learned about (and met) Santa this year and if you show her a picture of him or ask her what Santa says, she makes the cutest little "o" face and says "ho, ho, ho."

2. I got a new job! I now work for TwinCities.com (Pioneer Press website) in St. Paul. It's a bit of a commute compared to my old 10-minute jaunt across town, and with our extra snowy winter some days have been really crappy, but I really like the job and spring is just around the corner...right? ;o)

3. In less exciting news, I've also joined Snap fitness and have been going regularly thanks to my workout-buddy Kristin! It's so nice to have someone to keep you accountable for going. I'm ready to drop a couple of pounds and get myself back in shape finally!

we have a walker!

Please ignore my horrible voice on this...I should have removed the sound. :o)

crawling, standing, fishy-lipped baby

Peyon is now 7.5 months and changing every day. It's so fun to watch her grow and explore! Some of the things she's now doing:

- She has been sitting for awhile, but can now get herself to a seated position from crawling or laying down.
- She has mastered the army crawl and is ALL over the house
- Is obsessed with standing and pulls herself up on anything she can
- Walks along furniture
- Stands alone for a very short time (about 5 seconds - ha)
- Cut her first tooth about a week ago
- Says "ba-ba-ba" and "da-da-da", but no "m" sounds yet. :o/
- Makes an adorable fishy face (see previous post)
- Is also obsessed with our dog, Chase. If he lays down, she makes a bee-line for him. She loves to grab his tail and feet. He doesn't feel quite the same about these activities, however. :o)
- LOVES to jump/bounce in her jumperoo and doorway jumper. Seriously, she gets a little out of control sometimes. Ha!
- Also obsessed with electronic things - cell phones, remotes, etc.

recent pics

A little wrong, but I LOVE her expression in this one.

Taking shelter from the storm last week with Grandma.

Yep, I officially suck at blogging! Oh well...

Peyton is now 4 months old! Wow! She is rolling like champ, obsessed with blowing bubbles (raspberries) and we just started her on cereal (so far it's NOT going so well). Honestly though, it feels like just yesterday I was pregnant and wondering when our little bundle would arrive.

We just had her 4 month appointment on Monday and according to the doctor she's doing everything she should be at this point. She definitely still has her moments, but overall we can't complain. She has been sleeping through the night consistently for at least a month and she's really only crabby now when she's hungry or really tired. Almost makes me want another...ha, ALMOST being the key word. :o)

teething or growth spurt?

Peyton is doing great in the sleeping department - up to even 9.5 hours a night this weekend - but she has been a bear during the day the past 3 days! SO fussy! If she's not eating or being changed, she's crying. She doesn't seem to be eating more than usual...actually less yesterday, and she's been sucking on her hands constantly, which makes me think teething. Isn't 3 months kind of early though? I don't SEE anything coming in, but I guess we'll see what happens in the next few days.

Here are a couple of new pics as well...

Fist bumps for all!

Ridiculous how much she looks like Ben. Good thing I carried her or there may be questions. :o)

pics

Baby B'Gosh Jeans!

Watching me dry my hair - "What is that Mom?"

Hammin' it up for Daddy.

January recap

January was a month of up's and down's for us...

I went back to work on January 4th, after 5 weeks off. It honestly wasn't all that hard for me as much as I love spending time with Peyton. a.) It was only part time and b.) Ben's mom was watching Peyton at our house. I think it would have been way harder to drop her off at a daycare with a bunch of strangers.

A week after I went back to work I was offered a full-time position! This was GREAT new considering I had been working full time since June of 2009. Come to think of it, I don't even know if I mentioned the job in the first place. I am working as a graphic/web designer for Rivertowns Newspaper Group - mainly the River Falls Journal, Hudson Star Observer and the Pierce County Herald. I really like it and it's SO convenient working here in town.

On the 13th, Ben's grandfather passed away. This was his second grandparent in 6 weeks (his grandmother from the other side of the family passed two days after Peyton was born). So, Monday and Tuesday of the next week were spent at the wake and funeral.

Then, that Thursday, the 21st, our dog Raven passed away. She hadn't really been herself since we brought Peyton home from the hospital, but we kind of expected that since she was a dog that craved a lot of attention. At that point she didn't seem 'sick' though, just a little distant. Then we started noticing she wasn't eating as much, but still we just assumed she was a little depressed. Then a week or two before she passed she started having some diarrhea. This is when we knew there was something more serious going on. We took her to the vet and he ran some tests and said her white blood cell count was high so we knew she was fighting some sort of infection. He gave us amoxicillin and some deworming meds to try over the weekend. We also took a urine sample in on Saturday. Monday the vet called with the results and said her billirubin levels were high so he thought it was liver related. We then had him run a blood test, which for some reason he sent out rather than doing in-house and it was going to take two days instead of one. On the second day we called and the results were in but the doctor was not so we had to wait another day. Raven passed early the next morning. Looking at her the night before I just knew she was going to make it. It was seriously the saddest thing ever! I know to some people dogs are just animals, but ours have always been like our kids and she was only four years old - way too young to be taken from us. We still have no real answer as to how she died. The vet is pretty sure it was kidney and/or liver failure, but we have no idea what caused it. We had her cremated and got a really nice photo memorial box for her. Chase (our other dog) is doing well, but life just isn't the same without her. :o(

December recap

Okay, I'm back as promised (for the one or two of you who care, LOL)! Let's see...

The first couple of weeks of December are kind of a blur. Peyton was a little jaundice after leaving the hospital so we ended up taking her back in a couple of times to check her levels. One night with the Wallaby blanket did the trick though. My mom stayed with us for the first week, which was a huge help, even just to have someone to talk to at 2am when Peyton decided to scream for 3 hours straight.

We headed over to Oshkosh for Christmas to see my family. Peyton did great on her first long car ride and slept the entire way (4-5 hours). We only had to stop once to feed her (and us). I also mastered pumping in a moving vehicle. :) Thank goodness for my Udder Cover! While in Oshkosh, Peyton got to meet two of her Great Grandma's, her Grandpa Kitz, her Auntie Kyra and a few of my aunts, uncles and cousins.

Peyton with her Auntie Kyra

Peyton and Great-Grandma Ruth

The Sunday after Christmas Ben and I met some friends of ours at Lambeau Field in Green Bay (only a 45 minute drive from my mom's house) to watch the Pack take on the Seahawks. We had a ton of fun and plan to make it a yearly thing! Ben and I went by ourselves last year, which was a blast, but it was WAY more fun this year with friends! Here are a few pics from the day...GO PACK GO!

2 months old

Wow, I can't believe Peyton is two months old already (and that I haven't blogged in that long either - I promise for a recap of the past couple months later today)!

Peyton is now 11lbs., 8oz. (95th percentile), 23in. long (75th percentile) an her head is 39cm (55th percentile). Little chunk. :o)

According to the little checklist the doctor used for things she should be doing, she's right on track or even a little ahead of schedule. She's eating 4-5oz. per feeding now and with an exception here or there we have her sleeping from about 10 or 11pm to 6 or 7am. Success in my book!

Peyton Nora

Our little girl arrived at 4:00am on Monday, November 30, 2009. She weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 20 inches long. :)

I went in on Sunday evening for a gel application to jump start things, and boy did it ever. They sent me home just after 9pm and told me to call whenever I woke up in the morning. Well, I woke up at 1:30am when my water broke and my contractions were already 4 minutes apart and pretty painful. We made it to the hospital about 2:00am and I was 4cm. At that point I was ready to give in to an epidural because all the contractions were in my back and extremely painful! When they checked me not even an hour later though I was 8cm so there was really no med option and just knowing that things were progressing that fast I knew I could do it. About 3 contractions later I was fully dilated and pushing. Everyone is right, pushing feels SO good at that point! Now quite sure how long I pushed, Ben and I are guessing maybe 20 minutes, and she was out and perfect. :)

Labor was the easy part...

A couple of hours later they had me up to go to the bathroom and I almost passed out. My bp was down to about 80/50 and I was bleeding a lot (more than normal that is). They put me on oxygen and started a catheter and waited for the doctor to come assess the situation. Apparently my uterus didn't stay firm enough as it contracted, which lead to excessive bleeding and clotting. So, he ended up massaging it down and manually working the clots out (AWFUL) and then they had me on several different IV meds throughout the day to keep my uterus firm. I am doing much better now, but my iron level is still extremely low and I'm on some supplements to get that back up. I am actually in the blood transfusion range, but I seemed to be doing well enough that they didn't think that was necessary. I just need to be careful to not over-do it right now.

We got discharged around lunch time today and are in the process of settling in at home. I am sure I will have plenty more pics to post in the coming days, but here are a few. I can't believe I'm a mommy!

the end is in sight!

Just got back from my 40 week appointment and nothing has changed since last week. Baby's head is still down and low and my cervix is thinned out, but no notable dilation. Doctor thinks there's a good chance she will come on her own this week, otherwise I will be going in on Sunday night to be induced. Baby Sanford will be here by Tuesday at the latest! Crazy!

39 weeks

Again, a little late since I'm now 2 days away from my due date, but here is my 39 week picture from last week. Not much to report from my last appointment. Baby is in position and her head is really low (doc said he could feel it quite easily) and I was almost totally effaced, no dilation though. I go in again tomorrow.

I had LOTS of early labor signs last week - won't go into all the lovely details - and thought for sure I'd have her this past weekend, but then everything stopped and here I sit Monday morning, still pregnant. Oh well. I'm not really uncomfortable or anything (with the exception of a day here or there) so I really can't complain. The worst is having to go back to work everyday and hear, "Oh, you're still here?" :o/

I had a good weekend though. My sister came up to visit and that helped me keep my mind off of the fact that I wasn't in labor. Ha. We did a little shopping on Saturday - bought a pack 'n play and some slippers for the hospital - and I introduced Kyra to Potbelly (one of my favorite places to eat in Woodbury), otherwise we just laid low around the house. She left around lunch yesterday and I got the house all cleaned up again, got all the laundry done, baked a pumpkin pie and repainted my toenails. I'm all set now baby! *hint, hint*