ice ice baby

 

Last week was a doozy.  It all began on Sunday. There was a looming winter weather advisory that was supposed to hit late Sunday night and continue for most of the week. Of course, my normal grocery day is Sunday. If you live in the South, then you will understand that flurries make people go CRAZY.  I knew that grocery shopping would be awful & I was right. The Publix was slammed and the bread aisle was almost bare. I got all of our necessities for the week & we hunkered down for a big winter storm. Ben even bought the boys sleds!

 

You see, Nashville is in what we call a "snowdome." There will be snow ALL around us but it usually misses us completely. Well, last week was different. Not only were we lucky enough to get snow. But we were also lucky enough to get 3 solid inches of ice!

 

WE WERE ICED IN. WITH 3 SMALL CHILDREN.

...and yes. This above picture perfectly sums up how we felt about being STUCK.

 

 

We played in the snow on Monday with our sweet teenage neighbors. Emma pulled the boys around in a sled & they shoveled the snow in our yard. It was freezing cold & Cheney was unimpressed. On Tuesday I took the boys out for an hour while Cheney took her morning nap. Again, it was freezing. I think it was 15 degrees out & I was certain that my feet had frostbite. We had a blast sledding down our hill & playing in the snow. I even snuck G out while the littles napped that afternoon and we played together. It was so fun & made me excited about snow days when our kids are older! Remember, this was Tuesday...and the last day that we were able to actually play outside.

 

It all went downhill after that. The next day our fluffy snow got covered in several inches of ice. Our yard and sidewalks quickly became an ice skating rink. The temperature was about 10 degrees. And on top of that? Cheney got Hand Foot Mouth. Big fat thumbs down. So, we were trapped by the weather and a sick baby.

 

You guys. I have never felt more crazy in my life. If I learned one thing last week, it's that I am not a homebody. Neither are my boys. We were excited just to bust out & go to the pediatrician!

 

 This past Saturday the temperatures finally got above freezing & it rained all day. The ice started to melt & we have never been happier.  So, after a full week of snow & ice, we are over winter at this house! Spring is welcome any time!



Menu Monday

Well, let's just say that I didn't stick to my 21 Day Fix plan. A horrific 6 day ice storm will drive you insane...and it will also drive you to order pizza. There was a lot of takeout this week but we will remedy that this week. Here's what we are having this week!

 

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Monday: Baked Chicken and Baked Spaghetti Squash with Cheese

 

Tuesday: Salsa Chicken (the EASIEST thing ever) -- I make burrito bowls with this & Ben makes tacos!

 

Wednesday: Panko Chicken Bites with Bang Bang Sauce & baked sweet potatoes

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Thursday: Slow Cooker Enchilada Stack

 

Friday: Pizza Night

 

Saturday: Dinner with friends!

 

Sunday:



Sleeping (or lack thereof) Beauty

This girl, y'all. This picture sums up our sleep shenanigans involving Cheney. Look at that sass. We're in trouble.

 

I was so excited to when Cheney fell in love with the swaddle. Our boys both hated having their arms pinned down & it bummed me out in the sleep department. Cheney was obsessed with the miracle blanket until she outgrew it at 3 months. It was glorious because she slept so good with it. But, on the other hand, WE HAVE CREATED A MONSTER.

 

We tried to use a regular sleep sack after she got too long for the miracle blanket (which truly is a miracle, by the way) and that was a disaster. Her arms flapped around like a bird and it just wasn't good.

 

I scrambled to find a bigger size of the halo swaddle & thankfully that worked for a little while.

 

Let me also point out, that at this point Cheney was over 3 months old & still sleeping in the Rock 'n Play in her room. We kept trying (and trying and trying and trying) to get that baby in her crib but she just would not have it. SO, there we were. Growing baby, still swaddled, in a small Rock 'n Play.

 

See, the Halo Swaddle was all good until she started swatting her arms like crazy and escaping. She would wake up with hands up all by her face. So, alas, it was time to retire the beloved swaddle.

 

My cousin, Robyn, was nice enough to mail me her Merlin's Magic Sleep Suit. MAGIC? Sounds awesome, right?! Well, the Magic suit is this fluffy suit that is supposed to help with the startle reflex that wakes babies up. You remember, the flapping bird arms. This is what it looks like:

I have bad news. This suit was not magic for us. However, it looks AMAZINGLY hilarious. Cheney looks like a Michelin baby & sometimes I make her wear it just so I can laugh for a minute. We tried the princess in her crib wearing the Merlin suit & she woke up within 10 minutes. She proceeded to wake up every 10 minutes until I finally said, "swaddle her & put her back in the Rock 'n Play immediately!!!"

 

One night around midnight I was desperate for some sleep and I went online and spent $46 on a Zippadee Zip. It's a really cheaply made sleep sack that helps with the transition from swaddle to regular sleep sack. I say it's really cheaply made because it's made in China, is paper thin, and it is FORTY SIX DOLLARS.

 

Of course our baby girl is OBSESSED. She looks like a mermaid baby wearing it which is pretty awesome.

 

I should add that she is now 6 months old and still in the Rock 'n Play.  At this point I am not even sure why we own a crib. I'm pretty sure she will just move straight to a full size bed.

 

This baby is spoiled rotten and I'm okay with that. Surely, at some point, I will sleep through the night again regularly. Sometimes she will surprise us and give us an 11 hour stretch but most nights I spend some time rocking her at some point. I seem to have gotten a little looser as far as sleep training goes with each child. I just am not ready for her to fully cry it out yet. I asked a mom of 5 boys at church if she was the same way with each new baby. She said yes, but she called it wisdom. So maybe I am just getting wiser? I would prefer to think that instead of thinking that I am creating bad sleep habits!

 

One day Cheney will sleep in her crib all night long. It probably won't happen anytime soon, but we will get there! She definitely keeps us on our toes! 

Menu Monday & a tiny bit of 21 day fix

This week's menu was a little bit harder to plan. My awesome friend Mary is letting me borrow her 21 day fix containers/booklet about nutrition so I can do the meal plan part! I need to drop some pounds and I know I need help with food & portion control. I will being doing my regular Jazzercise (if I can keep these kids healthy) or workouts at home. I don't have the 21 Day Fix workouts, but that's okay. I'll try my best at the eating part! As I type this I am eating salted caramel gelato & drinking wine . It starts tomorrow, okay?! Here's what we are eating this week:

 

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Monday: Slow Cooker Chicken Gyros & steamed broccoli

 

Tuesday: Pita Pizzas for the boys & Leftover chicken, spaghetti squash, & a baked sweet potato for m

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Wednesday: Quinoa Taco Bake

 

Thursday: This girl is cheating and going OUT with friends!

 

Friday: Pizza night for the boys & leftovers for me!

 

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Saturday: Grilled chicken, sweet potato, & roasted zucchini

 

Sunday: Mini Pepper Nachos

Cheney: 6 months old

My sweet Cheney girl, you are 6 months old today!

The Stats:

Weight: 13lbs 13oz

Height: we will find out next week! I would guess 25in.

Clothes: all 6 months

Diaper: size 2

Eating:

You are still eating every 4 hours during the day & taking one smaller bottle in the middle of the night. Your bottles are 7oz during the day and you typically finish them! This month we also introduced solids! You tolerate your time in your little high chair, but you don't love it. I have started with a few purees but you are much more interested in the foods we eat. We will really start baby-led weaning this month like we did with Griffin! So far you have had sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, pears, steamed peas, rice, black beans, & mum mums. You also love my morning smoothies & drinking sips of our water!

Sleeping:

This past month has been a whirlwind of sleep! I blame most of it on sickness. You caught preschool germs and seem to have had the cold that WILL NOT GO AWAY.  There were many nights that you just could not sleep because you were so congested and coughing. Our other issue is that you are a growing girl and are pretty much too long for the Rock 'n Play but you hate the crib.  We've tried so many times to get you to sleep in your crib and you last about 30 minutes. You have also started fighting the swaddle and breaking out a little. We have tried the sleep sacks and the Merlin suit but they weren't successful. I bought a Zipadee Zip sleep sack this week & so far you love it! Girl, you are a high maintenance sleeper! You go to bed at 7:30 and usually wake between 2-3am for your bottle. You wake up in the morning around 6:30 most mornings. I am hoping we are about ready to wean that nighttime bottle! You take 2 naps every day and sometimes still have a 3rd short nap in the late afternoon. You are finally getting better at naps...hooray!

Happenings this month:

-you were sick for the first time. You have had a cold for a few weeks and this week you got your first double ear infection. No fun!

-you are sitting unassisted now! You are still a little wobbly so I don't go far when you are sitting, but you love sitting up and playing with toys!

-you now sit in the high chair during meals!

-you sat in a restaurant highchair for the first time & a shopping cart for the first time.

-you have been sitting in the tub like a big girl for part of your bath. You are really wobbly in the bath tub so I have to keep my hands on you. You still love sitting in the water and splashing!

-you are really starting to chat! You say "ba ba ba ba" all day long!

-You have really started paying attention to the boys. You smile so big when they pay attention to you and talk to you. They love to act silly just to make you laugh!

Cheney, you are such a joy! You are the happiest & most easy-going baby. You smile all day long! The last 6 months have gone by so fast. We are having so much fun watching you grow & develop your own little personality. I honestly don't know what we did without you, baby girl. You make our world a little brighter!

 

Happy half birthday, Cheney!