11 Questions

Laura over at The Diniwilks tagged me in a fun little post and since I am a rule-follower by nature, I will not be able to sleep until I answer her request to play along. Enjoy!

Post a picture of yourself, tell us 11 things we might not know about you, answer the 11 questions asked of you, then write 11 new questions and tag some friends to play along (let them know you 
tagged them!)

Here's a photo of me in Austin this past weekend. Turns out, I don't have a lot of pictures without a baby in my arms anymore. I guess I need to work on that!

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Eleven things you might not know about me:

1) I was born on Friday the 13th.

2) I still sleep with my childhood blankie.

3) In my hometown, people drive around in the country and drink beer for fun. It's called road-tripping. When Andi and I started dating, I asked him if he wanted to go road-tripping and he thought I was asking him to take a vacation.

4) In high school, most of my friends were boys.

5) I love chips of any kind. I don't discriminate.

6) I never flew on an airplane until I was 22 years old.

7) I love geniology and someday I want to visit the place in Germany where my dad's family originated.

8) When I was little, I dreamed of being a broadcast journalist. My parents have home movies of me "interviewing" my younger sister.

9) I love to be in charge, except around my husband. He makes most of life's little decisions about where to eat or what to do on the weekends and I'm totally fine with it.

10) My gums itch every time I eat steak.

11) I never carry a purse. I don't really need it; I just shove my wallet in the diaper bag or give my ID to my husband when we're going out somewhere fun.


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Ok, onto Laura's questions:



1) What are your top five all-time favorite bands?
Top five! Geez, I don't think I have that many. I'm not a big music person. Well, right now I would say John Mayer, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, Dave Matthews Band and Taylor Swift. GAH, that was hard.

2) What are your top five all-time favorite books?
I just finished The Hunger Games trilogy and all three books were amazing. As a kid, I loved Where The Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein and read every book in the Baby-Sitters Club series about a hundred times. Let's see, I just finished Bossypants by Tiny Fey which was a great, easy read and one more ... Baby Wise has been a good go-to reference for me in parenting.

3) What is the craziest thing you have ever done?
Some of my travel adventures with Andi have been pretty crazy. Scaling the side of cliffs, getting lost in the middle of a Jihad neighbhorhood in Paris, renting a scooter and driving through crazy traffic in Thailand. During those times, I always feel like it's safe until he makes a comment afterwards about how sketchy the situation was and I'm always like, "Dude! What the heck?"

4) What is your favorite treat?
Diet Coke. I try to limit how often I have one so when I "treat" myself, I always enjoy it. (Before I got pregnant, I was drinking like 3-4 a day!)

5) What are you the proudest of?
I'm proud of myself for living on my own before I got married and establishing a career (and living that life) before I became a mother.

6) What are you the most ashamed of?
We don't go to church all that often these days, and it's something that really bothers me. I'm very fearful my child(ren) will grow up without the strong religious foundation my parents gifted me.

7) What is your guilty pleasure?
Brain-less time to myself. Watching tv. Reading blogs.

8) What are you really, really good at?
Memory. I easily remember names, past characters I've seen actors/actresses play, family memories, etc.

9) What does your handwriting look like? (post a pic!!!)
I find it hard to write cards and letters these day because I so infrequently use handwriting to communicate. Darn you, technology!

10) Which chores do you refuse to do (or do your best to get out of)?
Taking out the trash. I leave it by the door for my husband. Any other chores, I don't mind doing ... even cleaning toilets!

11) Do you have any tattoos, body piercings, etc.?
No tattoos and I'm so happy I didn't jump on this bandwagon in high school / college. I do have my ears pierced and had my belly button pierced but took it out when I got pregnant.

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... and now for my 11 questions:

1) Would you rather be poor and work at a job you love or be rich and work at a job you hate?

2) What is the single feature people comment about you the most?

3) What is your favorite part of the day?

4) Ever have an imaginary friend as a child?

5) What are the 3 most important things in your life?

6) What is your most prized material possession?

7) What did you do to receive the biggest punishment of your childhood?

8) Favorite and most hated smell?

9) What celebrity are you often mistaken for?

10) Are you named after anyone?

11) Biggest pet peeve?

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Ok, now it's your turn to play along. I tag ... Jen, Katie, Jessie and Raising Snowpeas. Ready, GO! (If you play along, don't forget to post a link to your blog in the comments below this post!)

Austin: Day 3

Austin: Day 3

Monday was our last day in Austin and we decided to get out of the city to explore Texas a little more. As clique as it sounds, we only saw one cowboy hat in the city (and it was more like a cowboy hat sombraro - a cowbraro? - on a Mexican construction worker). I don't think that really counts. Andi said Austin wasn't the Texas he pictured so we decided to change that by heading into "Hill Country." The evening before, Andi hooked up a ride from our hotel's shuttle van driver when he went to grab take-out and asked for some good spots to see while we were in town. Here's a tip: NEVER TRUST THE SHUTTLE VAN DRIVER. We learned this the hard way.

The shuttle van driver recommended we check out Lake Travis. "It's the most beautiful blue water you'll ever see" he told Andi. Lake Travis is about an hour outside Austin and we thought this sounded like the perfect outside-of-town adventure before our afternoon flight home. The shuttle van driver also recommended Salt Lick BBQ, "the best in the country," he said. Lake Travis, BBQ for lunch = perfect.

After breakfast at our hotel, Andi and I loaded Tory into our rental car and headed out of town. Almost immediately, Tory fell asleep in the car which was perfect timing for her morning nap. Andi and I enjoyed each other's conversation on the drive. The sun was shining, all was lovely. As we pulled into the Lake Travis State Park area, I noticed the area looked a little "dry" if you will. There were cactus plants along the road and I swear I might have even seen a tumbleweed. There were definitely no cars around. We pulled up to Lake Travis only to find a small pond. Apparently the beautiful, blue lake is a little low in the off-season. In fact, I think it might be fed by an aquifer. Uh ....

Andi was bound and determined to find a trail to hike along so we drove around for a half-hour or more, looking for a road that wasn't closed! We finally found a small trail and parked the car on the side of the road. I loaded Tory into the Baby Bjorn and we started walking. It seriously felt like a scene from Breaking Bad. We stopped and took some photos with Tory and the cactus plants so our trip wasn't a total waste. Proof she made it to Texas.

After our little stroll along the dirt road, we loaded Tory back into the car and headed back to Austin. Of course our return drive couldn't possibly be as peaceful as our earlier one; Tory screamed her head off the entire way back to the city. Oh my, that child does not like her car seat. If there's one lesson you'd think we would've learned by now, it's that one.

We scratched lunch at the BBQ restaurant (good thing too, as we later realized it was a chain restaurant which was ALSO AVAILABLE IN THE AIRPORT!) (see previous note about not taking advice from shuttle van drivers!). After listening to Tory cry for an hour, I told Andi to hurry up and find food SOMEWHERE and make it snappy. He hit up another food truck court and came back with Korean French Fries and street tacos. Whatever. We took our lunch to-go and headed to Texas' Capitol building to have a picnic lunch in the grass. As soon as we took Tory out of her car seat, she was perfectly content to lay on a blanket under a shady tree. Little stinker...

In desperate need of a nap, we loaded Tory back into the car after lunch and decided to drive around for a bit. The poor, exhausted baby promptly fell asleep in her car seat as soon as we drove away from the Capitol. In an effort to kill time, we found ourselves driving around downtown Austin so Tory could get in a little snooze. At one point, Andi drove down the wrong-way on a one way street directly in front of a police officer. We got pulled over so, you know, that was fun. Thankfully the cop gave us a warning after he discovered we were from out of town and simply made a mistake. As friendly of a place we found Austin to be, I will say the town's streets aren't marked very well!

Still killing time while the baby slept in the car, we found ourselves driving through residential neighborhoods and even by the city's water treatment plant. "When we come to town, we leave no stone left unturned," I told Andi. "We want to see EVERYTHING!" Good lord. Eventually if you can believe it, we found ourselves driving around the outskirts of Lake Travis once again before finally deciding to call it a day and head to the airport. GAH.

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I'm so thankful Andi and I jumped on the chance to visit Austin, as we really did have a lovely time. Most of all, I enjoyed spending quality time together and laughing (mostly) until my cheeks hurt. I feel so lucky sometimes, living the life I do, with an incredible man by my side and my gorgeous baby girl to share the journey. Next time though, I think we'll leave little Tory Bean at home.

Austin: Day 2

More about our weekend trip to Austin:

Austin: Day 2

Sunday started like a real-deal vacation: Tory slept in until 8:00am which means Andi and I did too. We tackled her breakfast feeding of rice cereal and bananas (which she hated, by the way! Tory Girl far prefers mama's homemade banana puree to Gerber's version). Once she was fed, Andi volunteered to take Tory down to the hotel breakfast while I got dressed. Can I tell you how heavenly it was to get ready ALL BY MYSELF for once? Quite the vacation treat, I say. I came down to breakfast to find Andi with perspiration on his forehead. Apparently managing a breakfast buffet and a six-month old isn't so easy, no? My husband made a comment about how he doesn't know how I do what I do everyday and I filed it under NO KIDDING and THANK YOU.

After breakfast, we decided to take a walk around Austin on Lady Bird Trail. Lady Bird promised a pleasant, mostly flat walk with views of downtown Austin and Lady Bird Lake which sounded like a perfect way to start our day's adventure. Conveniently, we hopped onto the trail just outside our hotel and strolled along in the warm morning sunshine. Tory was being a peach in her stroller and we even went as far to hope for a morning nap while we walked.

At one point, we came to a T in the trail. We followed some joggers and took a right turn instead of a left which turned out to be a really dumb idea. Still strolling along, the trail finally turned into a Department of Transportation parking lot. "I think the trail picks up just on the other side," Andi said, so we continued to follow the runners and blindly made our way out of the park. Our quiet morning stroll gradually became more noisy with busy traffic blaring by on the street. Andi stopped a man running by and asked where to pick up the trail again. "Just past those condos," he said. We continued walking, crossing a busy intersection to get there. Finally, we found the trail but it was under construction. Andi asked a gardener outside a nearby apartment complex for more directions. He basically told us we'd have to walk a few more miles back in direction we came but if we did, we should check out the kite festival in Zilker Park. "Very beautiful!" he said.

Super, thanks.

By this time, Tory was melting down (of course) and there was no freaking way I was walking back three or four miles with a screaming baby. We walked up the road to a 7-Eleven and hailed down a cab. I think this picture explains it all:

As the cab pulled away in route to the kite festival, Tory's face was priceless. She looked at Andi and I with a mixture of distaste and confusion. "Get used to it kid," Andi told her. "This is what it's like traveling with your parents." I couldn't stop laughing.

The kite festival in Zilker Park was beautiful. We laid in the grass and fed Tory before deciding to take the Lady Bird Trail back to our hotel (you know, the beautiful part of the trail which wrapped around the lake). Tory napped on the return route and then we hopped into the car to continue our adventure.

One thing on Andi's Austin To-Do List was to visit Whole Foods. It's their flagship store and we thought it'd be neat to see. Plus, we're quirky like that on vacations. The store was crazy big and had a wine bar inside, a full grocery store (with big aisles even - that's always my biggest pet peeve about Whole Foods in our neighborhood), a sushi bar and more. We bought Tory what turned out to be the lamest teething toy for $14.99 and left the store in search of lunch.

We decided to try Torchy's Tacos for lunch, highly recommended by She Likes Purple. We ordered two fried avocado tacos, queso dip and chips and made our way to a nearby park to have lunch outside in the gorgeous weather. The food was fabulous, by the way. I could've licked the queso bowl clean and finally had to throw it away in a yucky park trash can to stop myself from going overboard.

After walking around the park a little bit, we drove over to Austin's South Congress area, a street lined with unique stores and a nearby food truck court. Andi ordered an award-winning coconut cream pie a food truck and we spend an hour or so walking along the strip, browsing through the funky stores. We wanted to stop for a infamous drink at San Jose Hotel (another She Likes Purple suggestion) but Tory was getting fussy so we decided to head back to the hotel.

No vacation is complete without a trip to the pool, so we suited Tory up and went for a dip. She wasn't sure what to think of the water at first, but soon enough was splashing away. And lucky for us, it was Sunday night so there wasn't another kiddo around. We had the entire pool area to ourselves.

After swimming, it was bedtime for Tory. I tackled feeding, bathing and putting her to sleep while Andi ran out for take-out. This time, we ordered dinner from Bess Bistro (Sandra Bullock's restaurant). We dined on crispy artichokes, steak frites and asparagus. The food was pretty good, but probably would've been better served fresh from the restaurant. Someday we'll be able to go to dinner on vacation again ...

Andi and I were in bed by 9:30pm but neither of us were complaining. We had a great day in Austin, plus our legs were killing us from all that walking on Lady Bird Trail!

Tory - 27 Weeks Old

Tory - 27 Weeks Old

Austin: Day 1

Two things are certain about my husband:

1) Andi loves adventure.

2) Once an idea creeps into his head, there's no turning back.

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With only two weekends left before Andi's whirlwind month(s) of work travel, we're trying to make the most of our family time together. On Wednesday, Andi mentioned taking a trip somewhere fun this weekend. I'm all for spontaneous vacations, but where to? We considering going snowmobiling at the cabin, but most of the trails are closed from lack of snow this season. We thought about visiting friends in Northern Minnesota, but they already had weekend plans. So, Andi checked the weekly airline sales and found buzz-kill deals to Detroit, Chicago, San Francisco and Austin, Texas. Austin? Eh, maybe. Our flight wouldn't arrive until 5pm Saturday so we'd only have Sunday and a half-day on Monday to explore the city. Would a trip to Texas really be worth it? We decided against it.

On Thursday, we poked around for another deal on the Internet and came up empty-handed. "Let's just go to Austin," I said, but the deal was already gone.

On Friday, Andi woke me up before he left for work and told me the Austin deal was back. "Let's do it," he said. And so we did.

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Austin: Day 1

On Saturday morning, I packed a suitcase and we headed to the airport. Gone are the days of stuffing a few newborn diapers and wipes into my suitcase. This trip, I added baby food, formula, rice cereal, bibs, a HUGE pack of size 3 diapers and toys to the mix in addition to Tory's clothes, onesies and blankets. Good thing mama packs light.

At the airport, en route to Austin

Once again, Tory was a gem on the plane ride to Austin. She slept for the first half of the 2 1/2 hour flight and was content to play rattles and toys the remainder. It always makes me feel good when the passengers around us comment on how well behaved she was during the flight. Even if I spent the entire flight wrangling a wiggly baby and constantly staying one step ahead to keep her entertained, no else saw me sweat it.

By the time we landed in Austin, it was 6:00pm and nearing Tory's bedtime. To avoid a full-on baby meltdown, Andi dropped us off at the hotel and ran out for take-out while I conquered our bedtime routine. It turns out, feeding a baby in a hotel room with no high chair gets a little messy. Good thing there was an endless supply of towels and a bathroom sink for quick cleanup! So glad I brought her hooded towel, a wash cloth and baby body wash along (add that to the list of must-have baby travel accessories).

Once Tory was asleep in the hotel crib, Andi and I devoured a glamorous dinner from Zax Restaurant. We curled up on the couch in our pajamas and dined on crab cakes, an olive and cheese plate and split a South Texas Burger. Paired with a couple of cocktails from the hotel bar and we enjoyed a fine date night together.  



We had a blast exploring Austin the rest of the weekend. Gotta run, so I'll recap the rest of our trip later!

Mom Guilt

Sometimes the self-induced guilt in parenting is enough to swallow me whole. As a first-time mom, I constantly find myself questioning our daily parenting decisions. Is my child's brain being stimulated enough? Is she getting enough to eat? Too much to eat? When her face is wet with tears because she needs to learn to soothe herself, does it hurt her as much as much as it hurts me? Perhaps my worry is a sign of good parenting; I care enough to sweat the small stuff. Or perhaps I'm neurotic.

"Breast is best" they say, so I knew I wanted to nurse before Tory was even born. It's nutrition only I could provide her and it was important for me to eat right, drink lots of water and limit the fun stuff like alcohol and caffeine. No worries, I was up for the challenge. Battling through nasty colds without taking any medicine and pumping at work in less-than-ideal circumstances; I've made personal sacrifices to support the cause for six months now (and more if you count pregnancy, too). All in the name of motherhood and I'm happy to do it.

No one ever told me about the guilt associated with nursing, though. The books and the doctors never warned me how stressed I'd feel when demand couldn't keep up with supply. When I look at the bigger picture, I know I'm lucky for never having to deal with latching on issues or thrush as many other moms I know. So it never crossed my mind how let down I'd feel when my body started producing less and less milk. I first noticed it when Tory was 3 months old but I chocked it up to my return to work and pumping inefficiencies. I started taking fenugreek pills, ate oatmeal daily, pumped every two hours at work and drank water like it was my job. For a while, it made a difference and I was maintaining demand (just barely). I repeated the mantra "you only need enough milk to get through the next day" to myself and tried not to burst into tears every time I looked in the freezer and watched my bags of milk slowly disappear. A heavy weight pressed on my chest and I looked at my husband like he was crazy when he suggested leaving the baby for a date night ... or worse, an overnight stay without her. The horror! Every time I was apart from Tory, I worried how I'd replace the milk she'd consume in my absence.

When we started Tory on rice cereal at 5 1/2 months, I couldn't keep up with the milk madness. The thought of mixing breast milk (my hard earned breast milk!) into rice cereal which would potentially be thrown away if she didn't finish the portion nearly broke me. I came to the realization I'd have to start supplementing with formula ... if only in the rice cereal. And guess what? We did and nothing happened. Tory didn't even notice the change and I felt the smallest bit of relief.

Two nights ago, after another one of Tory's epic no-sleep nights, I cried uncle. I put Tory to sleep at her usual 7:00pm bedtime and Andi volunteered to feed her a bottle at her next feeding. My gut reaction was to deny Andi's help because it meant I'd have to get up and pump while he fed her. Then I decided I'd had enough. I quietly made her a bottle of formula and placed it in the fridge for Andi to use. If she drank formula and wasn't using one of my last bags of breast milk, there would be no pressure to get up and pump in the middle of the night. I slept from 9:00pm - 4:30am that night and it felt glorious. For the first time in forever, I woke up feeling rested. Following Tory's bottle with Andi, she slept for 5 straight hours. I'm not sure if it was the formula or because she consumed more ounces before falling back asleep but the point is, she slept. Last night resulted in the same; she slept for five straight hours. I'm sure Andi's less than thrilled to be the new Midnight feeder, but it's working.

For the first time in a long time, I let go of the breastfeeding guilt. Formula won't hurt Tory and there's room for both nursing and bottles in our world. I'm not sure why I felt so obsessive about all of this for so long but in any case, it feels good to finally breathe. I hope I can continue nursing Tory for as long as my body will allow. When it comes time to wean, I'll be okay with that too.

Letters to Tory: Six Months

Tory Bean,

Six months and one day ago I waddled around our house, round and pregnant, anxiously waiting the next chapter of my life to begin. The part I saw in my dreams so clearly; your sweet little face, lying on a blanket reading books together, snuggling in bed with Daddy on Saturday mornings. Those are the things I knew would be part of my new life with you. What I didn't know then is how complete you'd make me feel. My heart swells with joy everyday because of you.

Here we are on your half birthday and time has flown by faster than I'd like to acknoledge. I look back at your newborn pictures in amazement because I cannot believe how tiny you once were. Today, your beautiful brown eyes (which have finally turned from deep blue), wiggly worm kicks and infectious personality give us a view of the little lady you're becoming. 

This month you transitioned into 6-9 month clothes and size 3 diapers. They look huge when I hold them up (this can't possibly fit my baby!) and yet they do. You're growing up so quickly. At 25 weeks old, you tasted your first sweet potatoes and loved them! You've also tried bananas and carrots, too. We now feed you a mix of fruits or veggies and rice cereal at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sleep is still not your friend, little bean. Everyone said you'd sleep in longer stretches when you started solid foods but this hasn't made a difference as you're still waking most nights every 2-3 hours. Most of the time I don't mind snuggling you back to sleep beceause I know these days are numbered. Someday soon you'll be sleeping through the night and when you do I'll realize just how fast my baby girl is growing up.

These days, your favorite pasttimes are playing with Sophie the Giraffe, sucking on your big toe, taking baths and slobbering on any rattle you can get your hands on. You're the most ticklish little girl I've ever seen and kisses on your belly, your feet and your neck send you in an all-out gigglefest. Finally at six months old, you're finding interest in rolling over. You learned how over two months ago, but it wasn't until recently you discovered how cool the world is from a belly's point of view.

When I reflect on these last six months, I remember the challenges of our first few weeks together. I didn't know how to be your mom, didn't know the difference between your cries, your favorite songs or the way you liked to be snuggled. These days, that's all become second nature and being your mom is less worry and lots more fun. Your sweet baby sighs and squeaks have given way to boisterous coos, hums and laughter.

I'm often stopped in my tracks when I realize there will never be another time like this for you and me. Our future holds busy schedules, your desire to run and be a kid and hopefully one day, a little brother or sister. Someday you won't want me to squeeze you tight or smother you with kisses and that's why today I cherish every single minute I spend with you. The memories of the last six months will forever be held in my heart with my dreams for our future days together. I love you, baby girl. Happy six months!

Love,

Mommy