My lists have lists

Today is one of those days where my To Do Lists seem to have to do lists.

We are preparing to head to the family Cottage on Lake Michigan for the long weekend and we leave tonight.  I am actually proud of my planning so far... I have already completed the grocery shopping, finished the laundry, and made lists of what to pack for myself and my daughter (the hubs is on his own - which really is not a big deal because packing for him consists of throwing a bathing suit, a t-shirt, a pair of flip-flops, and -if we're lucky- a toothbrush, into a bag and throwing it into the car).

So I am rewarding myself with an hour of internet browsing while the kiddo sleeps before I snap back into action.

I finally developed our pictures from the disposable camera that we had to use while our digital camera's charger made it's way home from Florida, and I have two observations: 1) the quality of disposable camera photos is equivalent to crapola and B) I have been taking the "preview" option on my digital camera for granted... like, whoa.

Here are a couple of the shots that turned out decently:

Mother's Day - the baby seat was my new gift!  Can't wait to use it at the Lake

Clare and me on my birthday - I may have scared her...

Sleepy Baby!

Our roses went crazy this year!

I hope you had a happy May like we did.  Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

~Maura

Now back to your regularly scheduled postings...

We threw a birthday party for Clare over the weekend.   It was a ball, but I was pooped afterward.  I hope to have some photos to post soon (including the obligatory cake-smashed-on-face shot that 1st birthdays bring).  My camera is still sleeping, waiting for my charger to arrive from Florida.

I also have some ideas for party decorating on-the-cheap to share.

Did I mention that it's also 86 degrees today in Northern Indiana?  We broke down and turned on the air conditioner.  It's too humid to blog much today.

But I'll be back soon with lots of new stuff! :)

~Maura

One year ago today...

... I was recovering from major surgery.

My feet were swollen.
My face was puffy.
I had something called "referred pain" in my shoulder.


But those things were so far from my mind.


Because I had this:

Clare on her original birthday.

This was the first official picture ever taken of her!

My mom says that she came out fighting...

She practically crawled up my chest at 30 minutes old because she was starving!

Today my girl turns one!

Clare and her daddy at the Zoo!

She's full of giggles and silliness.

She's still a ravenous eater.

She's curious and fearless (a sometimes scary combination!).

She's stubborn too. (I have to admit she gets that from me)

She's moments away from taking her first step.

And it seems, only hours away from speaking her first sentence.

A few days away from her first tooth falling out.

A few weeks away from a bike with no training wheels... from braces.

A few months away from her first date.... from prom... from college.

Didn't the training wheels just come off MY bike?

I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here.

She's the most beautiful, terrifying, miraculous thing that has ever happened to me.

So I have to wish her happy birthday on this sunny 20th of May, 2010.

Mommy and Daddy love you so, baby girl!

(and now I have to go, as she is currently shoving dead leaves from the doorstep into her mouth!)

In the words of Randy Jackson...

Yo! Yo-yo!


Ok, maybe not.  I apologize for that open.


This post is not about American Idol - a show that I was formerly addicted to, but with the addition of Glee, Parenthood, and NCIS to my TV repertoire, something had to give, and Idol got the boot.

This post is about my constant struggle to exercise (perhaps all the TV shows listed above have somthing to do with it??).    I am a Yo-yo exerciser.  Ever since I left home for college a decade  (ahem) a few years ago, I have struggled to maintain motivation to exercise.  I love to work out once I'm out there actually doing it, but all too often I get lost somewhere between putting on my sports bra and tying my sneakers.  I actually get up some mornings, put on my exercise garb, and proceed to wear it all day without breaking a sweat.  (That is unless I go shopping... I can work up a good sweat in the aisles of Target).  I'll go for a week, sometimes two, of really doing well, and then I get lazy again.  It's a vicious cycle.


Let me give you a little background on my history with exercise.  While growing up, I was pretty athletic.  My parents encouraged all four of us kids to try different sports.  In high school, I played soccer and basketball, eventually giving up basketball to play soccer year round.  And I was pretty good.  Good enough to be chosen for the "All-State" team in my senior year.  I was proud of that.  And I practiced everyday with few exceptions.  Year-round.  Lots of running.  Lots of activity.  I was buff!  

Me on the field, many moons ago.

I went on to college and was "recruited" by my school to play at the collegiate level.  I was heading to Saint Mary's College - across the street from Notre Dame (I have often been described as having blue and gold in my veins... I was raised on ND Football).  For various reasons - from extreme homesickness in my first month at school, to the fact that being a part of the team meant that I could only attend 1 (ONE!) football game per season - soccer in college did not work out.  I lasted 1 week and that was all she wrote.

Kim and I - GO IRISH!

Quitting this team was the beginning of my fall from fitness.  Over the next four years, I would make my way to the gym occasionally  (moreso in the summers when I was at home and bored during the day), but I never really got back to that place where exercising and staying in shape was a priority.  There were so many other things to do (and boys to meet, and beers to drink)... that exercise became something that I would fit in "when I had time".


Fast-forward to present.  I am now married and have had a baby (that is to say I got married in August 2008 and within 3 weeks of the wedding I found out I was pregnant!).  My body has been stretched, swollen, stitched and strained.  I now have an extra 35 lbs (it hurts to even write that) that I can't seem to shake (I gained nearly 65 lbs while pregnant).  I have good intentions each day to at least do some crunches, some push-ups, try to jog... but so often life gives me convenient excuses.   "It's cold out" "There is SO much laundry to do" "the bathroom needs to be cleaned"... and the list goes on.

The morning of my induction - those Cheerios didn't last long...

But lately I have really begun to see exercise as more of a preventative medicine than a way to look better.  Don't get me wrong - looking at myself in the mirror right now is down-right DE-PRESSING and I'd give just about anything to get my former 6-pack abs back ... but I have decided that it can't be about how I look.  It has to be about how I feel.   Because nowadays, there is another life depending on me and I want to be strong and healthy for her.  

Me and the kiddo - she's 2 days old here

And if my jean size gets smaller along the way, I'll probably throw a party in my own honor I'll be that much more happy!


So here's to hoping that I can train my brain to stay motivated.  I'll let you know how it goes...

Home is where your Mom is...

A Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and moms-to-be out there.  

Me with Clare (2.5 mo) My Mom, and My Grandmother... 4 generations!

(Can you tell we're all related? Same face x 4)

Hug a mom this weekend!!

My, How Things Have Changed...

Cinco de Mayo has a totally different meaning when you have a kid.  The biggest excitement of our night was getting our daughter to try a little taco meat.  (Which, I might add, wasn't hard at all.  I could probably place a live earthworm in front of her and she'd give it a try - she'll eat ANYTHING!).

I made a fun mexican meal, complete with Chipotle-style rice (love!) and black-bean-and-corn salsa... we even had Corona with lime... of which i proceeded to drink 1/2 a bottle and promptly fall into a food-induced salsa-and-salt-laden stupor.  We were a couple of lime-scented couch potatoes for the rest of the night.

I ran the gamut of spanish phrases/words that I know, which took about cinco minutos.
Biblioteca.  Beunos Dias! Siesta. Yo Quiero Taco Bell...  and I'm out.

Somewhere out there my 23-year-old self had a tequila shot and laughed at old ladies like me... and probably said something like "I hope I never get old"...

... but in my 28-year-old book, last night was perfect.  I spent it with the ones that I love the most, with a full belly and elastic-waist pants.

I hope your fiesta was equally as fulfilling!!

~Maura

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!

OLE!