Saturday, January 24, 2015

Weekly wrap up: NC edition

I'm blogging from the most wonderful place in the world - HOME! Seriously, I always seem to forget how wonderful Wilmington is and then I come back and I wonder how I was able to go so long between visits. Matthew loves all the attention, I love showing him all of my favorite things from growing up, and I secretly think Daniel's falling in love with the area. The weather has been pretty fantastic :)
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Daniel's been on the waitlist for a TY program in Spartanburg, SC for a few months. It's supposed to be a great program, we've heard nothing but great things about it. This place does Saturday interviews (which is weird, but it happens), and Daniel's waitlist day was January 31 (the day we were planning on going back to WI from NC). On Tuesday, Daniel got a call - he was offered an interview spot! We spent the next hour discussing the plan - does Daniel take the spot? Do Matthew and I fly home as scheduled? Do we all go back together? We were/are flying in and out of Chicago and the thought of dealing with Matthew, a stroller, a suitcase, and a carseat by myself kind of freaked me out, so we decided to extend our trip by a day and all go back together. I didn't want to watch the Super Bowl anyway!

Matthew watching us debate
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On Wednesday, we flew home! Our drive was uneventful (including a stop at Chick-fil-A) and were able to get our bags checked and through security with plenty of time to spare. Matthew was a DREAM, he loved people (and airplane) watching! He and Daniel both zonked as soon as the wheels went up, which I thought was pretty impressive! It was so nice to go outside and not need a coat, the weather is definitely starting to tempt Daniel.

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On Thursday we spent the morning at home, then Daniel left at 1pm to go to Newport News, VA for an interview. Mom came home from work and took Jillian, Matthew, and me to Costco. We got a drink and a churro and Matthew decided he wanted to try a straw. He was not successful...

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Yesterday we all had lunch with my mom at the hospital cafeteria. Matthew displayed his impressive vacuum skills and ate some of Jordan's pizza, Mom's chicken tenders, and my fries. He also had a squeezy pouch and bottle. His pants don't button for a reason! We spent the rest of the day at home, Matthew was pushed around by Aunt Jillian for a good chunk of the afternoon. Daniel enjoyed his interview, we'll probably rank the program fairly high.

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Today I went to the gym with my dad for a spin class. I hadn't been since the class at the WAC because the sign up was full each time. The class is usually my dad and the instructor, but there were about a dozen people there today! I loved that I could ask for a padded seat at the front desk, but I was disappointed the instructor didn't do the workout with us - she stood at the front of the room and counted and adjusted the music volume and drank coffee.

We went to the HomeExpo & Remodeling Show downtown today; it was not as exciting as I'd hoped it would be. I thought I'd be able to get a good look at some different types of granite and tile, but no one was really interested in talking to me once they realized I live far away and don't actually have a home of my own. My parents are looking to renovate their bathroom and got some good ideas, so it was a good outing for them.

Mom, Jordan, and I went to Flaming Amy's for lunch, where I promptly ate all of the calories I worked off during spin. We went to the mall and a few stores nearby, then I got tired and grumpy and made us come home. My mom bought some Girl Scout cookies while we were out, I opened a box on the way home and that made me feel a bit better.

Something I love right now - Lemonades
It's Girl Scout cookie season and I am LOVING it! My mom called the other day and told me a little girl came around the neighborhood and already had cookies with her, my mom just gave her the money and she got her cookies right away! My favorite is the Lemonades, they are so good! Last year I bought a "hospital box" and saved it for when I was recovering after Matthew was born, I swear those cookies motivated me to push for 3.5 hours!

(source - this links to a Lemonades cupcake recipe!)

Did you know there's a link on the Girl Scout page with recipes that use cookies? I'm totally going to make the peppermint chip cheesecake!

-Jenn

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Weekly wrap up

I have a husband again! These past few weeks have given me just a taste of what it's like to be a single parent and sometimes it's not very fun. I know there will be plenty of other times where Daniel is gone or busy and unable to help out as much as I'd like, but the next few months shouldn't be too bad. I'm sure I'll have another reality check again come August, boo.
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Poor Matthew has been sick this whole week! With Daniel gone at the beginning of the week, the single mom/sleep deprivation madness set in and I let my Googling get the best of me and I was certain my baby was going to stop breathing because he was so congested and unable to cough or sneeze anything out. I definitely checked on him way more than usual those nights! Luckily he's doing better, I think he'll be fine for when we fly home on Wednesday (!!!).
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The program where you enter your rank list opened this week, Daniel and I have already had some tense discussions about where to put what programs. Our top 5 and last 3 are pretty solidified, it's those middle ones that are giving us a hard time. Luckily previous classes at MCW have been really good at matching in their top 5, so I'm not too worried. Daniel likes to joke about going in and switching things around at the last minute and I always say I'm going to change his password and not change it back until the list has been properly submitted. I might even do that anyway...
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Something I love right now - Property Brothers
These days, Daniel and I constantly reminded about the impending changes we'll be facing in a few months. To try and escape the overwhelming-ness of it all, we've allowed ourselves to get sucked into the HGTV collection on Netflix. Property Brothers is our favorite; we love picking out elements in each episode that we'd like to incorporate into our future home (and which ones we can definitely leave out). We're also kind of learning about the process of home buying, which will be important in the next 18-ish months (rule 1: never skip the home inspection!). One of the benefits of settling down in the Carolinas is the connections my dad (he's a structural engineer) has with contractors, inspectors, architects, etc. I like to remind Daniel about that whenever I can :)


-Jenn

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Weekly review

Matthew is 9 months old! This checkup was great because there were NO shots!

(Oh my goodness, I had no idea Blogger could do this!)

Height: 29.25 (86%)
Weight: 22 lbs 9.5 oz (91%)
Head circumference: 46.7 cm (91%)

Funny story:  It snowed the day before his appointment, so the roads were kind of slick. As I was driving to the doctor's office, a red sedan went flying by me. I was going 45-ish, he was going at least 65 (the speed limit is 40). A few minutes later I came over a little hill and saw that car spun out into a snow bank! I saw the tire tracks where he changed lanes, he must've hit some ice or something. I laughed as I went by because there wasn't any damage to the car, but I'm sure there was a bruised ego!
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We tried some new recipes this week, inspired by a Pinterest search for healthy meals from Aldi. Here are the ones we liked best...

Honey mustard salmon with asparagus - I don't like honey mustard, so Daniel used spicy brown mustard and added just a little bit of honey. He made a lot of the sauce, our food was kind of swimming in it, but it was still good. We would make it again.

Brown rice black bean bake - This is a nice and easy recipe that tastes good with chips, in a tortilla, or just on its own! There's a bit of prep work, but it was definitely manageable. It makes a 9x13 pan, so there's a lot of leftovers too. We would make it again.
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I cut all my hair off and I love it! I went with an Anne Hathaway-inspired pixie cut and I have no idea what I'm doing with it but I think it's cute! Training my bangs and a new part is a lot harder than I thought, if anyone has any tips or tricks, let me know!

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I went to my first spin class at the gym and liked it a lot! The seats are super uncomfortable though, that's going to take some getting used to. Daniel got a gym pass as a late Christmas present and is going to come with me when he can, I'm hoping we can motivate each other! He actually came with me to yoga on Thursday! I usually go on Friday and LOVE it, but tried out the Thursday class just to check it out. I was super disappointed, the teacher kept saying she was going to spend January "going back to the basics" then used the proper names of the moves and techniques (I doubt anyone else in the class heard Virabhadrasana and knew it was Warrior). She also talked way too much, and that threw off my balance for a lot of poses. I think I'll stick to the Friday class!
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I went to Plato's Closet recently with a bag of my clothes, shoes, and bags, and like five of Daniel's shirts. They took three of Daniel's shirts and gave me $5. We just got our last loan check of med school (ahhh! and yay!) and we really need to stretch it until July. Part of me was upset that PC didn't take more, but at the same time I realized that I'm not 17 and the clothes I was trying to sell are not geared towards 17 year olds. So, I tried my hand at selling on eBay this week. It did not go well. Guess I'll be making a stop at Goodwill next week.
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I threw a baby shower for my friend Steph on Tuesday, it was fun/stressful to find decorations and food for a dinnertime shower. I kept it low key and game free (to be honest, I'm not a big fan of games at showers) and we had chips and pretzels with dip, a fruit tray, Oreos and milk, grilled cheese and tomato soup, and some soda. The only picture I took was of the favors I made, all items courtesy of Dollar Tree!

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Daniel is smack in the middle of a week of interviews. From Thursday-Wednesday he interviewed/will interview in Chicago, Dallas, Cleveland, and Indianapolis, along with one here. I have a love/hate relationship with these stretches of absence - I hate that Daniel's gone, but I love the groove Matthew and I have. I also HATE cooking for just me. When Daniel comes and goes it throws off the routine we have, and it's amazing how structured you have to be with a baby! Matthew has a cold right now, so he's been sleeping poorly, so I've been sleeping poorly. Daniel came home tonight after a long few days and I cried within 45 minutes of him being here. He didn't even do anything, I just got upset with him over little things because I'm tired. He's leaving again tomorrow morning and I'll have him to myself again on Thursday, I just need to hold out for a few more days! I keep thinking about going home in a couple weeks and that helps :)
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Something I love right now - Fools Gold by Fitz and The Tantrums


I recently added a Fitz and The Tantrums station to my Pandora mix and I am loving it! These guys (and girl) work so well together and make such fun music! Matthew's favorite song in utero was The Walker. Also, I no-so-secretly think that Michael Fitzpatrick looks like a flamboyant Benedict Cumberbatch.


Am I right, or am I right?

-Jenn

Friday, January 2, 2015

So this is the new year...

One of my resolutions for 2015 is to blog at least once a week. Here goes nothing...

We bought our groceries at Aldi today. My sister-in-law recently mentioned how much money she saves by shopping there. I don't have a lot of experience with Aldi, but I like saving money on food, and I know the selection is pretty limited. Luckily Pinterest has lots of of ideas, so after some heavy research, we set out with a list. I have no idea how the carts work though, Daniel got ours from an old lady and at the end I just pushed mine back in and then a guy ran after me with a quarter. Maybe I'll have Daniel help me next time. Luckily Matthew loves going on trips, he was a champ the entire time! I'll do a meal follow up next week.

We leave for NC in 19 days. Excited would be an understatement!

Something I love right now - Chris Pratt
Daniel and I finally got around to watching Guardians of the Galaxy and we both enjoyed it. We also love The Lego Movie and Parks and Recreation. This Buzzfeed piece makes me laugh every time I look at it (butter is also my favorite food). He's got a great wife and an adorable son and I want to be friends with them!

     

I feel like this is a very disjointed post. I hope once I start writing more these things will flow better.

Until next week (hopefully)!

-Jenn