• Thoughts

    Best of 2014

    This was a year, y’all! On Christmas Eve this year I kept thinking “This time last year I had a hunch I was pregnant.” On Christmas I thought, “I was pretty damn sure I was pregnant this time last year and was keeping my hunch a secret.”, and remembering how much I was analyzing my possible symptoms before getting a pregnancy test. The day after Christmas this year I thought that it really couldn’t have been a whole year ago that I went to visit my friend Stephanie and was too nervous to tell her I thought I was pregnant and to ask her if I could please use her…

  • Baby Teddy,  Family

    Forest at 14, 15, & 16 Weeks

    The last three weeks have been rough here at the house. The three of us have been recuperating from being sick, officially diagnosed in Forest as RSV and an ear infection. I finally caved and went to the urgent care clinic and was told I had an ear infection and sinus infection. Chris healed easier than all of us and was probably down only about a week whereas I am hanging in here at the longest at three weeks. What’s left is some sinus drainage and a nasty cough. Forest coughs on occassion but we’re giving him a daily Albuterol nebulizer treatment along with liquid amoxicillin. Giving a baby liquid…

  • Hiking,  Outdoors

    Thanksgiving Day Jaunt to McKinney Falls State Park

    Our trip to McKinney Falls State Park was very short as the sun was already low on the horizon that afternoon. We visited both the upper and lower falls but our plans to see the old cypress in the park were thwarted when learning that the bridge on the trail to the cypress was out. Apparently it was a little rough crossing and I doubt a stroller was going to make that trek. So, we made it a short trip and decided we’d have to see the rest of the park another time.

  • Thoughts

    Influenster #FrostyVoxBox

    It has been awhile since I had gotten a Vox Box but I was sent a survey from Influenster back in November to determine if I was going to fit their target audience for the #FrostyVoxBox. After I submitted it several weeks went by and I never heard back from them. I had submitted another survey for a different box several months before that and didn’t get chosen for it so I figured I wasn’t going to get this one either. Then, finally, I got the email saying it was coming in the mail. Overall I’d say this was a pretty good box and I’ve now used the brush, which…

  • Hiking,  Outdoors,  Texas,  Travel & Places

    Thanksgiving Day Hike at Hamilton Pool

    On Thanksgiving morning we got up from our hotel in Austin and tried to find something we could take for lunch with us on our day hikes. The only place open was an H-E-B grocery store and we made do with some pre-made sandwiches and random snacks. In hindsight we should have thought it out a little better and brought stuff from home but that’s not what happened. Our goals for the day were to hike at Hamilton Pool and at Reimers Ranch next door with a stop at McKinney Falls State Park on the way home. We ended up ditching Reimers Ranch and only hitting the first and last…

  • Texas,  Travel & Places

    Thanksgiving at the Lady Bird Wildflower Center

    We arrived at the wildflower center in the early afternoon with the light just right, producing glorious color everywhere we turned. The light made the Virginia creepers at the entrance look spectacular in their fall dress. Virginia creeper might be one of my favorite native vines in the fall. Out and about in the gardens there were quite a bit of butterflies flitting about like this sulphur. And this skipper. I tried to identify it but without a photo of the wings open I am not having much luck. This gulf frittilary was a great ‘old’ friend to see. I think this is a common checkered skipper. Light, the light…slanting…

  • Baby Teddy,  Family,  Forest Friday,  Memes

    Meeting Animal Statues | Forest Friday

    Oh man, I meant to write here more this week but we were all three hit hard by whatever upper respiratory infection virus that is going around. Forest has had it longer so he seems to be recuperating better, though he is still snotty. Chris got sick but seemed to have it maybe the mildest out of the three of us, and I—well, I got hammered by it. Forest may have been hammered by it too, but it was hard to tell as he wasn’t always fussy. I thought I was on the mend on Wednesday and went to work after taking Monday and Tuesday off only to wake up…

  • Baby Teddy,  Family

    Forest at 12 & 13 Weeks

    How are we already at 3 months old? Y’all???? *sniff, sniff* Forest’s growing up! There have been lots of changes in the last two weeks, he’s really shed that newborn baby phase and taken hold into the just-a-baby phase. Every day a new little light flickers in this brain, activating some other process that had previously been quiet but is now actively engaged. Like grasping, that’s taking off a lot! I only use blankets on Forest when he’s napping on the Boppy or in the Mamaroo, places we keep an eye on him but he’s now figured out how to grab the edge of the blanket and pull up on…

  • Baby Teddy,  Family

    Giving Thanks For Breastfeeding

    As is usual with my longer posts these days, they are always up later than I intended. So, here’s a Thanksgiving post a week late! There’s probably TMI for some of my readers, but that’s life and it’s my blog and I’ve gotta write what I’ve gotta write. Avert your eyes from this post if body part talk makes you squeamish. Also, this isn’t meant to be a judgemental post re: formula v. breastfeeding. It’s just a post about my experiences and some information I wish I’d known beforehand. This year has been one eye-opening life changer that’s for sure. Of course I’m thankful for my family and friends and…