Sunday, September 30, 2012

Zzzzzzz...

9 Months, Week 4

Saturday afternoon we had my office fall party at a family farm down in Camp Springs, KY. We left the house at 2:30, arrived close to 3:30 - yes, this was a far drive for a work party. But it was fun because I’ve know one of the family members for years and they’re a great family with a lovely working farm. 
There were animals to pet, a corn maze, a pumpkin patch, hayrides, drinks and food and the  Comet Bluegrass Allstars. We left around 4:30 and arrived to say a quick happy birthday to our friend William at 5:30 and root on the Bearcats. 
We finally arrived home and got Nora dinner and put her off to bed a little after 7pm. 

I heard Nora at 5:41am. Sigh. 
Since she’s older now, I just laid there and ignored her babble. She laid back down and made some peeps every 10 minutes. 
I finally got up to get her around 6:30am. 
I left the house and started my long run at 7:30am. Finished my 10.5 mile run around 9:20am. 
Arrived home with donuts as my reward and re-calorie charge. Life-giving coffee and a shower around 10am as Dottie & Mike arrived to help fix last items around the house and watch Nora as I cleaned. What a huge help! We couldn’t be more thankful for that help to work up to the immediate showing we had before we’re even on the market! 

- cleaned the master bath 
- dusted above the cabinets in the kitchen
- dusted the ceiling fans and master bath fan
- washed the windows outside
- pulled remaining weeds outside
- cleaned scuffed up doors
- cleaned scuffed up baseboards
- patched hole in basement wall

Melissa called at 2:30 to let us know they were running early and would be here at 2:45. We all ran around tidying up and putting items away... we grabbed Ailo and Nora, shoved into the Subaru while Melissa and her clients waited in their cars as we pulled away. 

Interlude: shopped for shoes for Nora at the Cincy Premium Outlets up the highway. 

Home at 4pm. Bengals and a celebratory beer for working our asses off today. 
Get dinner for Tim & I because I am NOT cooking tonight. 
Dinner for Nora. 
Bath for Nora. 
Bottle and bedtime for Nora. 
Eat dinner.
Unload dishwasher.
Wash bottles.
Browse internet, post blogs.

I'm OUT.
Zzzzzzzzzzz.......

On the Market

9 Months, Week 4


This weekend was our big push to get the house as ready as we could for listing. 

I bought some mums mid-week to make the house have a little more “pop” outside. 
Friday night Tim mowed while I pulled some weeds. 

Saturday our realtor, Melissa, came over at 9:30 am with contracts and took photos for our online listing. The photos turned out well, I think the house should show well. I’m always amazed when looking at homes online, how many people don’t bother to declutter and simplify. Or I’m just too into HGTV : )

Melissa informed us that though we weren’t “live” until Monday, she had a client who is downsizing and looking for a ranch, could she bring them by tomorrow to see the house around 3pm - !! I balked a bit, but of course we’re not going to say no.

Sunday would be interesting.


Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Hudy 14K

9 Months, Week 4

I’ve been training for the Cincy Half Marathon on October 20th. I had been training for the Half Pig last year when I became pregnant with Nora and my body said “Chill out man!” So it’s been a goal of mine for a while to reach 13.1 miles. The Hudy 14K was a perfectly timed practice this weekend.

I’ve been running around 10 miles on the weekends, but this was my longest race that I’ve participated in. 14K is just under 9 miles - 8.8 I believe. Tim was a little apprehensive about what to do with Nora for 1.5 hours/her naptime/etc. I’m glad he decided to come along - Nora did just fine! Our great friends the Sheehans were there - both us wives ran the 14K while the Dads and babies walked the 7K. 

The race was great - perfect 60-degree-ish weather, sunny and dry. I finished under 1.5 hours and had a pace of 9:33 - really good in my opinion! I was extremely proud of myself even though two of those hills nearly did me in. 

Tim, Nora and the Sheehan clan cheered me across the finish line which is the BEST feeling [even though Nora was passed out in her stroller]. 

Hopefully the Cincy Half treats me well too!
Me with my medal and post-beer! [Yes, most races conclude with beer ]

Nora’s first race!

The Sheehans including Tom’s Sister and Dad in from England!

My lovely and functional medal!

Anne and myself celebrating our finish!


Just Some Photos!

9 Months, Week 4

Why did Mommy think this hat would fit from last winter??

Thankfully Grammy Batty got me this hat for the cool fall walks.

WHO DEY!

Aeeeiiii!

Socks Taste Good.

9 Months, Week 4

What Nora likes doing this week: 

- Letting go and standing on her own
- Getting mad when she’s taken away from a harmful situation
- Burrowing into crevices; i.e. between the ottomans, behind chairs, behind your back
- Playing in her crib before the PM nap
- Chewing on her socks

Mmmm!

La la la!

Mom, I’m gettin’ too big for this thing.

Monday’s result of crib-play - SHE TOOK HER PANTS OFF.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

I Made It!

9 Months, Week 3

Leaving home on a Sunday for the airport sucks. Leaving home on a Sunday for the airport when you have a 9 month old and it’s the first Sunday Bengals game sucks even more. [ha] What tears I had were on the way out of the neighborhood, so I did pretty well. 

Getting to NYC was smooth. The research I attended went well too, and had a nice time with my client. I stayed at the Courtyard Mariott on 40th by Bryant Park. Great location, walkable to our research facility. 

Monday after research, I got back to my room around 5pm and we weren’t meeting for dinner until 6:45. I felt lonely and trapped just sitting in my room, so I grabbed my phone and some money and wandered around a bit. Bryant Park had a little beer garden with some pergola and chairs so I got myself a seasonal IPA and just sat and called Tim to say hello. It was pretty nice! 

We had dinner at Candle Cafe - it’s a vegan restaurant, but no one is vegan. I tried tempah for the first time and it was good! We got some cookie ice cream sandwiches at Smush and I called it a night around 10pm. 

Tuesday was rainy and windy. After research, my client took me to Rockerfeller Center where I saw the statue featured on 30 Rock and the “ice skating rink.” Tourist! We were making our way to Uniqlo [a very awesome Japanese clothing store similar to Gap] when we came to an entirely blocked off avenue. Police everywhere, barricades, and waves of police and secret service cars - Obama! It was pretty neat seeing the presidential limos going by - I waved : ) 

Dinner Tuesday was just my client and me, so we went to Eataly - Mario Batelli’s Italian market and eatery. It has about 5 restaurants inside the market. Really neat even though I don’t really have an opinion on Mario. I had some very basic, but very delicious penne with tomato sauce and basil - and two glasses of prosecco [I love all the wine with business trips!]. 

I was in bed at 10pm... I woke up around 3:53am because I knew my alarm would be going off at 4:30am for my flight. Ugh. I got up around 4:10am, in the cab at 4:40am, at my gate at 5:40am. A gatekeeper [heh] asked if anyone was on the Washington 7am flight - she had room on the 6am flight, so I hopped on! 

At Washington at 7am, I tried to see if there was space on the 8am to Cincy. No luck. I had to spend 2 1/2 hours killing time in DC. Ooph. Two coffees were a bad idea - I got too jittery and “coffee belly.” The flight home was fine - landed at 11:20, grabbed some Subway, back in the office at 12:30 because I had to attend a client weekly meeting at 3:30-4:30. Awesome, huh? And I was dehydrated to boot, because I felt very cloudy and out of it. 

Picking up Nora last night was so awesome - I’m pretty sure she was saying Mama the whole drive home : ) I’ve been cuddling her ever since! 

View from research facility - not bad!
Bryant Park beer garden

Bryant Park on a perfect evening

Times Square Tourist

30 Rock Tourist

Rockerfeller Tourist

Tourist!

Tourist while waiting for Obama to pass

Eataly market [this does not do justice on how large this market is]

Fruit and Chocolate sweets from Eataly - I had to do both!

Sunrise on the way home xx


Just Some Giggles!

9 Months, Week 3


Sunday, September 16, 2012

9 Months!

A touch behind on this one, but here’s her 9 Month bear photo!


6 Months

3 Months

Toddling and Robbing

9 Months, Week 2

Nora loves to stand! The windowsill, the ottomans, the coffee table. Nana reported that she watched Nora climb from a box onto the coffee table and laughed at her! T-r-o-u-b-l-e!

We’re also on a sippy cup hunt - we have two Playtex straw cups which she gets very frustrated with - I think because the milk is very hard to get up and stay up. She pushes it away frequently. I also received a free Momma by Lanisoh that’s a round cup with handles and a very flexible straw that is easier to get milk from and Nora sticks with it... until the end of the straw can’t reach the last 1/2 inch of liquid. Bad design!

My Mom had an exciting day with her this past Friday, the 14th. Around 3pm she reported that 4 cop cars and a DEA van were a few houses up - apparently two robbers disguised themselves as “yard workers” with a van and trailer full of equipment. They were walking around yards, “cleaning up” and casing homes to rob - !! Thankfully the cops nabbed them. Thankfully it wasn’t our house. Thankfully we have a dog who is extremely friendly but knows who the strangers are and can be frightening if he wants!












Thursday, September 6, 2012

The Inevitable Business Trip

9 Months 

It’s finally here - my first business trip after having Nora! The last time I travelled for work was right when I found out I was pregnant - April of 2011!

I’m heading to NYC in one week for two days of research. Not bad, and I’m not terribly anxious - I just stopped nursing at bedtime this week - ! And Nora has wonderful care, no matter who it is [obviously]. I think it will just be “weird” to be focused on work and be away...

I’ve nearly forgotten how to fly on my own, but am slightly looking forward to “me” time, even if it’s just a glass of wine [or two] in a hotel room by myself. 

And I kid you not, sleeping “in” until 7am - or later - will be freakin’ amazing!

You know what I’m actually upset about? I’m missing NY Fashion Week by one week! DAMN!

Anna Wintour [Vogue editor], Diane Von Furstenberg, Oscar de la Renta, and SJP

Monday, September 3, 2012

Out of the Comfort Zone

*Non Nora Post!

We had said we were going to list our house by March of 2013 - if another bebe comes along, we simply do not have room to walk around each other in this cozy ranch. We had met with a realtor and had a few simple projects to complete. 

We had thought, well, neither of our jobs are changing, so we’ll probably stay within the general vicinity, maybe a touch south. Then Tim snagged an interview at a SGS International in Florence, KY ... and was hired! They do a lot of design production work and Tim would specifically be Design Adaptation. And strangely enough, he’ll literally be adapting Febreze designs that my team produces! So we work on the same files; however, we’ll probably never be in meetings together. 

This pushes the move into fast-forward. We’ve nearly finished polishing up our bathroom, painted the garage wall, replaced some basement ceiling tiles and have ordered up new carpet for our bedroom. We hope to be on the market by end of September, if not sooner. 

Our search definitely pushes us South; within the 275 loop [wahoo!]. It seems obvious we’d to straight to Northern Kentucky, but it just feels strange; the principle of moving to a different state, and I’m just not familiar with their neighborhoods and especially their school systems. As of now, we’re toying with Wyoming, Madeira, Loveland or Milford... but honestly who knows! 

I’m not terribly stressed about selling, a little apprehensive about finding a house we really enjoy [and not settling], but strangely enough what I’m most “worried” about is not being able to enjoy the fall season and holidays if we move during then - ! I really want to soak in the fall and holiday season with Nora and I just don’t want the house stress to consume us that we can’t enjoy ourselves. 

So cheers to Tim after 8 years at Meadwestvaco, and here’s to a swift and smooth transition for our family! 

My lovelies

Becoming Big Girl

9 Months! [well, tomorrow]

New big girl car seats, crawling at the speed of light, pulling up to stand against everything and two teeth emerging from her bottom gums - whew!

We’ve been working on non-puréed foods with slight success. Nora does decently with whole wheat pasta, but not a fan of raspberries or cottage cheese. Greek yogurt with fruit is obviously a winner. 

We’re trying to practice every day with the sippy cups with some success, but she usually gets fed up and just plays with the straw, so I pour it back in the bottle for her. I’m not convinced we’ll be “done” with the bottle by 10 months! 

Last weekend we met up with William & Evelyn for the Taste of Blue Ash - baby friends!

And today we went to meet Tabitha White - 2 weeks old now and very cute. I went to hold her and once again, I’ve reverted to be afraid to hold newborns! I’ve nearly forgotten what it’s like after 9 months! It was lovely to meet her and see how Doug & Sue are doing with a second child.

You know, just under the chair.

Sharing the view

I like to stand - against everything!

Nora & friend Evelyn at Taste of Blue Ash

Bananas are OK by me!

Jeggings and silver shoes to meet my new friend Tabitha!
(These 12mo jeggings still seemed small on me!)