Saturday, July 23, 2011

Good lil campers...

I have been M.I.A because the fam and I went camping for a few days at Moreau Lake State Park.  Me, Pete, PJ, Mikay, Rocket and Pocket... and my bro in law and his two kids.  We had beautiful, hot weather, it was so perfect for two days at the beach!

 My lil man just loved camping! Actually, he pretty much slept the entire time, except for the first night.  The kids really enjoyed having nothing to do and make their own fun... such as chopping down trees.  Don't worry mom, Mikayla didn't actually hold the ax!



 Mikayla and Emily really had fun together, playing with the puppies... it was Emily and Patricks very first time camping! Hard to believe Mikayla has been camping for 4 years and Ive been camping for 26 years!
The weather was so hot that we spent both days at the beach... Me and PJ in the shade, and Pete out on his lovely, lovely sailboat.  I didn't get a chance to ride, but Mikayla went on it and loved it.


I, of course, did the camp cooking, which I just love.  Once I learned how to actually use the grill I decided I enjoy cooking on it and coming up with fun things to eat.  I only took photos of one of the meals... breakfast... on the second day, so I had to improvise and use what we had on hand.

We drank "Cowboy Coffee", which was instant coffee but we didn't have sugar or cream! It also took forever to boil, because if you use a grill for any other purpose it just takes forever. 



You see grilled pepperoni, mini-bagels, and eggs with leftover peppers and onions, all slapped together to make a wonderful sandwich.

The kids and I (ha.. sounds so weird!) were able to spend the hottest day (99!) at my parents by their pool, and here are a few photos from our visit...




Tonight will consist of packing for... my vacation!!! We are going to Maine for a week, and I cant wait!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Tankinis

I did the dreaded task today... I went bathing suit shopping!! I ended up buying 3 Nike tankini tops, and I will keep the one I like the most, if not two.  I bought the three in my size, so we shall see! I find the Nike bathing suits flattering, and since they have all types of bottoms it allows you to mix and match.  They are also made really well and so not expensive, they were on sale today for 50% off at Kohls.

My widdle meaty boy is sleeping ... like a baby..hehehee

and for a quick snack when I got home I took an all natural pita pocket, spread some pesto on it, and added 5 pepperonis and some fresh mozz cheese and popped it in the toaster oven until the cheese got all melty and gooey. 
When my lil Mikay comes home soon we are going to take a family trip to the grocery store to stock up on more groceries! I just love going grocery shopping, don't you?!

Looking through my hubbys phone this morning I found lots and lots of photos from my labor and delivery, so I leave you with these two
Theres a 9 and a half pound lil man in there!!

Look! 9.86!!

Salad for Breakfast

PJ slept from 12-4 am last night!! He wasn't so good in the morning... he was up from 7am to about 10, but who cares?!?! I got 4 un-broken hours of sleep!! 3 hours the night before, 4 hours last night... hopefully soon he can sleep 6 hours, that would be amazing!

For breakfast I just had a repeat of last nights dinner.. salad.  Do I usually eat salad for breakfast? No.  But, I don't trust the milk in the fridge and I'm currently out of eggs, so I made a salad.

This time I added broccoli, pickles, bacon, and a tomato.  Its pretty good but I know I will need something else soon.  I will shed this baby weight :)

I'm not sure what is on the agenda for today, I do know I'm about to take full advantage of PJ's nap and take a shower, by myself, that never happens!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Salad and Shopping

Today I feel like I accomplished a lot...outside of my home.  First we drove to someones house to buy one of these off Craigslist .  We now have three... but wont have three for long - I need to decide which carrier I like the best.  I really wanted a Baby Bjorn because, well, its expensive so it must be good.  I used it with PJ on a power walk tonight, and its okay.  I need to test out the other two before I settle.

I also went to Target to get some clothes that fit post-pregnancy.  I was ideally looking for a new bathing suit (at least a top) to wear to Maine but came up with NOTHING.  Ugh. Pete, PJ and I went to Paneras for lunch today and I got the Turkey Artichoke Panini with a Greek Salad

and Im a sucker for adding a treat for just $0.99.

After, I went for a power walk with PJ and the pups, then fed my Gap Outlet addiction.  Its dangerous living next door to one :).  Luckily, I found a bunch of clothes from Target and Gap that fit and don't look like I'm trying to stuff myself into them. 

My goal to lose weight is to just watch everything that I eat and drink plenty of water.  I ate two salads today, so I feel that is a good start. I ordered a cheap side salad from a pizza joint today, then added some leftover pulled pork, bacon, jalapeno peppers, and broccoli. 

Back in the swing of things

Last night PJ slept for 3 hours straight!! I woke up at 4:50, fed him, and by 6 am I wasn't even tired because I felt so refreshed from a "long" period of sleep.  However... i did force myself to go back to bed, I do have to take full advantage of all naps.  This morning Pete was watching Tour de France and had PJ with him, so I enjoyed a nice, quiet breakfast outside:

I made a dippy egg, fried some turkey lunch meat, and added some bacon and mustard all on two slices of good bakery bread

Yuummm!! I enjoy cooking breakfast every morning but haven't really had the opportunity to do so lately, so this was a nice treat! Yesterday Mikay, PJ and I all went to my friend Maureens house to swim, and here's a photo of Mikay and Daisy, Maureens doggie:

Now on the agenda today is to find some clothes that fit!! I REALLY need to drop 20 lbs, and would like to drop 30, but its hard because if I don't keep up my caloric intake my body wont produce PJ's food... so for now I'm going to bite the bullet and just buy some bigger clothes since I don't fit in anything I own.  Boo. I cant start running again until I get cleared by the doctor, but I have been walking.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

PJ!!

Peter Andrew Vottis Jr. was born on June 23rd at 10:05 pm.  Pete (Sr..hahha) and I went into the hospital to be induced at 6am that same day.  I was in labor for 14 hours total... and only had to push for 1 hr 15 minutes.  I was so super nervous to go into the hospital and give birth again, I pretty much had anxiety over doing it, however, it was a piece of cake compared to the first child! Its true what they say... the second is much, much easier!

What really shocked me is after PJ was born I had Pete and the nurses taking a guess at how much he weighed... I guess something around 8 lbs... and when they weighed him he was 9 lbs 9 oz and 21 1/2" long!! Holy cow, I never ever expected that! Just to compare it to Mikayla Christine, she was born Oct 17th 2005 after 26 hrs of labor, 4 of those hours pushing... and she was born 9.7 and 22" long. 

I feel pretty fantastic after giving birth this time, the first time I didn't think I could really even walk after two weeks... but this time I was up after one hour and even took a shower the next day!

Being home and breastfeeding is both fulfilling and overwhelming.  I did not breastfeed with Mikayla because it just didn't work out for me, and my heart wasn't in it, but PJ decided he enjoyed it as soon as he was born, he took to it really well.  He eats about every 2 hours for about 45 minutes, giving me a solid hour of sleep at a time, all night, even now.  I try to pump as much as possible and wasn't really getting ahead, but I looked up tips online and managed to freeze about 11 oz so far.  I want to have it in case I ever leave my lil munchkin I want to leave Pete some food for him!

My husband has been so super-duper fantastic throughout this pregnancy and birth.  Am I surprised?... absolutely not.  He wakes up during the night and provided I am able to leave him a bottle he will feed and change PJ and then walk around with him until he goes back to sleep... unfortunately some nights I am unable to provide this and just do it all night anyway.  But my husband is a dream, he is just so in love with PJ and takes really good care of him.  If it wasn't for the breastfeeding I know he would do even more!

I was able to cook dinner yesterday... and nap two times... and I feel like I'm actually beginning to get into the swing of things.  Its been 3 weeks today (!!!) and is taking this long to adjust.  I read that it can take 6 to 10 weeks for your milk to be in sync with your child, and I feel my body is beginning to do so. 

PJ is just such a joy, he is not a crier and is overall a really good baby.  Mikayla has been such a great big sister, we bought her Mario Kart for the Wii and her and Pete have been playing a lot lately, since we pretty much hang out together as a family (and all I do is breastfeed/pump on the couch!!).  But she doesn't seem to have any issues, she is pretty independent anyway. 

my fav...sleeping together in the hospital




big sissy gift


lil superhero



bath time!!


found his thumb
Hopefully I will start blogging again, because its something I enjoy doing!