Category Archives: friends

Being a kid again

May 8, 2014

One of the things I was really looking forward to about being a parent, was getting to be a kid again. Not having a care in the world and just simply, being a kid. Do you remember those days? The days when you would run free throughout your backyard that you pretended was your very own jungle, the gentle wind blowing through your hair as you run as fast as your little legs can carry you, then laying around in the soft green grass staring at fluffy white clouds… The days when you would play hide and seek with your best friends, or run wild during a game of tag, or play some other silly (but totally awesome) made-up game that your innocent child imagination made up… I miss those days. I want Ivy to feel the same freedom and complete bliss I felt as a child. The utter happiness of just being a kid with no worries. Enjoying the beautiful nature and all it has to offer. Letting your imagination run wild. All of the joys of being a child.

I’ve been looking forward to retracing my childhood with Ivy and experiencing those child memories again and attending some “family events.” The events that I wouldn’t dare go to without my very own child, but always secretly wanted to. One of those events was last weekend called “Springtime in the Country” at the Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum. Springtime, ahhh :) I think it’s finally here to stay. When I think of spring, I think of green grass, new smells, flowers, and warm weather. I think of my childhood when our lilacs would start blooming and we would go pick them to put together a gorgeous bouquet. I think of running around through the sumac trees with my sisters chasing after each other, running wild and free. But another exciting thing I think about with spring, is all of the baby animals! And THIS is what “Springtime in the Country” was about. Celebrating spring’s newest additions. Now this is screaming “family event” and something I would have just LOVED as a little girl. There were all sorts of baby animals!  Baby calves, baby ducks, baby kittens, baby bunnies, and other baby animals, but best of all, there was a new baby pony that was only 3 days old! So cute. Now Ivy is a little young for this, but I was certainly excited to check out the baby animals! (Insert my inner kid excitement! EEEEEE!) I mean, who doesn’t love a baby bunny!!!! Ivy and I met some of my friends out there with their children for the afternoon, and booooy, it was a delight, bringing me back to my childhood…

Cohen and Ivy sittin’ in a tree… oh wait… I mean, looking at a horsey

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Ivy and Rilynn petting the brand new baby pony

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Rilynn had no fear! She LOVED that little pony

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Ivy, the baby bunnies are over here!! 
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Ok, sooo, maybe (well, obviously) Ivy wasn’t that interested, she’d rather watch the people, but I sure enjoyed myself, being a kid again :)

 

High heels, hair loss, and hangovers

May 5, 2014

Having a new baby has really changed our lives. Ivy is always on my mind and I try to spend every second I have with her. While she goes to bed for the night at 6:30 each night, that means I only really get a couple of hours with her, and then by the time the weekend comes around and I get all weekend with her, she’s like a new baby with a new trick she’s doing, usually something quirky that Grandma has taught her. Week by week, changing rapidly, and I don’t wanna miss a thing (damn that was a good song… cue the Liv Tyler and Ben Affleck make-out sesh. I totally wanted to be her in that movie, didn’t you?!). Soooo, with me being obsessed with Ivy, John and I haven’t exactly gotten out lately for a night on the town. Frankly, I enjoy our nights together with a bottle of wine cozying in on the couch with a good flick, takin’ it easy, enjoying our new house together. But, this weekend, our friends rented a limo bus to head to Archie’s Waeside in Le Mars, Iowa to celebrate their birthdays. John and I couldn’t miss this! Trouuuuble aheaaaad…

Saturday rolls around and I’m like, AHHH what the HELL am I supposed to wear? I haven’t been shopping at all for myself!! Moms admit it, it’s WAY more fun buying things for your baby now, so that was a large problem. I managed to find something, and then I dusted (seriously, dusted) off my black heels that I’m preeeeetty sure I haven’t worn since last January before I was pregnant. Ok, outfit, check, and reality check, next outing, buy MYSELF something! Good grief, I’m no fashion diva, but I realized I miss treating myself to a new pair of Hudson jeans and a cute top. And new heels. And maybe a pedicure. And manicure. And hair dye. And well, everything. BLAH

The worst thing about post-pregnancy is hair loss. Now I had a pretty damn good pregnancy, no sickness, no weird food cravings, I could still eat everything, and I continued running. So all of those strange pregnancy side-effects, I got nada. But then you hear about how pregnancy gives you glowing skin, healthy thick hair, yada yada yada, well I got none of those either. When my friends told me all about the hair loss effect, I was PRAYING I wouldn’t get that. 5 months passed by and I thought I was in the clear, well then KABAM. Here come the CLUMPS out of my head. It was terrible. As I was getting all pretty pretty for the night out, it was difficult to be excited about my hair and getting all glam glam as clumps were coming out, and I SWEAR I have lost some serious volume. I managed to get some semi-good curls in then wiped up a mound of hair off the floor. UGH. Ok, outfit check, hair, kinda check.

I will have to say, that since being pregnant, and now having a baby, I really don’t miss drinking my socks off. The hangovers, the headaches, the nausea, I HATE that. Somehow, I ended up drinking my socks off on Saturday and HELLO HANGOVER on Sunday. UGH. I haven’t experienced the whole “hangover and newborn baby” yet, so I tried to pull myself together as Ivy woke up at 6:30am. Now that was a time I was NOT proud of. Feeling like absolute shit as Ivy just wanted to play and smile. I don’t need to do that again for a LONG time. Thankfully Daddy was feeling a tad bit better than me, so I passed her off and headed back to bed. Maaaaybe I didn’t need that final shot of jager bomb, maaaaybe I didn’t need to stay up till 1:30 am, maaaaaybe I didn’t need to have 2 margaritas and probably a whole bottle of wine (or 2, who really knows). Well not maaaaaaybe, I just didn’t. But hey, it was fun getting out with friends and feeling like a crazy obnoxious girl again. Next time, if you’re out with me, take that last shot away from me though, I’ll thank you in the morning.

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 (Notice… the picture is blurry, bc that’s what we were seeing… BLURRED LIIIIINES)

A Weasel Christmas

December 19, 2013

Weasel Christmas? What? Well, meet THE WEASELS. These 9 girls are my best friends from high school, Rough Riiiiiders. Now almost all of us have kids and babies! Some even have 2! So we decided on a Weasel Christmas to do a gift exchange with the babies. HILARIOUS. Ivy was the smallest and Megan’s little girl Rilynn, who shares the same bday with Ivy, October 1, just LOVED on her. It was hysterical. Then all the other little ones joined in. Too cute.

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Juliet is curious – what is this face?

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Is she saying “help?” She doesn’t know what to think of all this attention!

DSC_0131Oh Rilynn, sooo sweet

 

A visit from the Weasels

October 10, 2013

Now that we are FINALLY out of the hospital, that means I FINALLY get to show Ivy off!!! That was torture being in the NICU when all I wanted to do was have everyone meet her. But now, time for my best friends to see the little girl. Gina and Tori came to town from Minneapolis and Chelsey even made a surprise visit from Chicago! They all loved holding her, and the little miss just slept while we all chatted away and drank some wine, which I thoroughly enjoyed after having 9 months of sober time.

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Gina and Megan cuddling up with Ivy

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