baby

Rainy Weekend

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We were supposed to have family photos taken Saturday but between Edith having a rough week and the rain they had to be postponed until a later date. Since we had no other plans we decided to take advantage of the free day and got a bunch of things done around the house.

It is embarrassing how disorganized and cluttered our house has become over the last month and it has been way more challenging than I anticipated to keep up with housework since E’s arrival. This month has been particularly crazy with our trip to Rhode Island at the end of August, a few family events, a weekend of solo parenting while Neil was away got work and then last weekend in Montreal, oh and not to mention the lack of naps around this house.

We were able to get quite a bit done Saturday, although our to do list is still a mile long. One thing I did accomplish is a chore/fitness goals/blogging chart for the month of October. There are incentive points to be earned for accomplishing goals and chores. I am hopping this will help us to stay in track and keep us motivated. I have a closet full of clothes that still don’t fit and I am ready to get back into them soon so fitness incentives and better meal planning should help.

Sunday we were up bright and early, actually we almost missed our window to wake up, and headed out to Neil’s 5k.  I had actually signed up for the race as well but unfortunately wasn’t feeling prepared to run so E and I went for a walk in the BOB while we waited for Neil. I also snacked on this new bar from Simple Squares, it was pretty tasty.  It was just what I needed to keep me satisfied before getting breakfast with Neil.

After the race (which Neil did really well in) we headed over to Healthy Living to meet up with friends for a little conversation, a bite to eat and to attend their little harvest festival outside.  We tried a number of samples from local vendors and listened to some music which put E right to sleep.  We decided to take advantage of her sleeping and headed back into Healthy Living to do our grocery shopping and let E nap in the Ergo for a bit.

We are planning on spending the remainder of our rainy weekend napping, catching up on blogs, watching the Yankees game and catching up on some house work. Oh and we are planning to make and devour some pumpkin pancakes with coconut whipped cream for dinner and then heading to bed on the early side and hoping E will to so that she wakes up good and happy to go to baby yoga tomorrow morning.

How did you spend your weekend?

Have you/are you planning to attend any harvest festivals? We didn’t make it to my favorite one this year because of the rain yesterday and Neil’s race today but at least we got to go to a little one.

Have you ever signed up for a race to find yourself unable to/not prepared to run it? what did you do?

Also if you are interested I am giving away these two items I found while cleaning out my closet (email me lindsay@runningwithtongs.com)

Moving Comfort size 36C sports bra- only worn maybe 5 times (got it right before I became pregnant and wasn’t able to wear it while pregnant/now)

Toning for Two tank size large (sorry it’s a blurry photo)

Vacationing In The Ocean State: Sleeps & Eats

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Where We Stayed: Warren, Rhode Island.

We rented a three bedroom, two bathroom townhouse in Warren, RI (about 20 minutes from Providence) with my parents. We found the rental on VRBO and were very pleased with our accommodations. The townhouse was located on the top two floors of a a three story historic home and it over looked the water.  It was wonderful because it had two balconies and a deck where we were able to sit out and relax, enjoy a cup of coffee and take advantage of the grill. The townhouse was so beautiful and Neil and I really wanted to just move in, we loved the layout and the location.

We also stayed an extra night at the Hilton Providence which was in a good location (downtown Providence) but we were less than impressed with the accommodations. I am not sure if it was because we had a baby and they worried she would be loud but when we checked in they said they were going to move us to a higher floor and we ended up being in a room across from the ice machine and on a floor with younger (rowdy) adults and lots of little kids. The bed was comfortable but it was so noisy!

Where We Ate:

We actually picked up a bunch of groceries from Whole Foods and Trader Joes and ate the majority of our meals at the house.  The few meals we did eat out included:

  • Kabob and Curry (take out): One of the nights we picked up Indian take out to enjoy at the house.  It was great because the menu had a vegan section and everything was clearly market dairy free and/or gluten free.  We ordered two curries and pakoras and some house pickled veggies.  The pakoras were delicious and I am so glad I ordered two orders of them! The curries were pretty good not the best I’ve had but not the worst either.  The pickled veggies were …um….well they had a really  off putting smell so I didn’t even try them.
  • Wildflour Bakery: Neil and I visited Wildflour last year and instantly fell in love so we had to visit it again.  The first visit (yes it’s so good we went twice) we had a granola scone, a gluten free lemon blueberry scone, a gluten free raspberry cheesecake brownie and a slow drip coffee for him and a (too) spicy coffee for me. My coffee was super spicy because of the cayenne and although I tried to drink it I just couldn’t. On our second visit I had a yummy broccoli cheddar scone and Neil had a granola scone (what can I say it’s really good) and we shared a green smoothie and a slow drip coffee.
  • Julian’s: When we visited Providence last year Julian’s was on the list to try, however since we were just in town for the day we could only go to one restaurant so we didn’t end up making it there.  This trip it  made the list again and not only did we go once we went twice! Our first visit was for dinner with my parents, I ordered the Mediterranean Spice Fried Seitan Skewers with saffron-olive-portobella bulgar, pea tendrils, preserved lemon, & paprika roasted cauliflower purée, Neil had House Made Vegan Teriyaki Sausage with wasabi-salted pommes frites, pickled cabbage, & hot mustard and my parents both ordered grilled chicken one with asparagus the other had a green salad.  We all absolutely loved our meals and would recommend it to both vegans and omnivores. On our second visit we went for Sunday morning breakfast and word to the wise get there early.  They open at 9am, we arrived at 8:55 and there was already a line.  People had been waiting awhile as well and had already put their names on the list.  As we were leaving the line to get in was huge! At least if you do have to wait you can get yourself one of their tasty (sounding) breakfast cocktails to enjoy outside while you wait.  For breakfast Neil and I shared the St. Jamez ‘Benedict’ fried tofu ‘egg’, garlicky spinach, & vegan hollandaise and the special tofu scramble.  Both were good but not as good as dinner.  We wish we had ordered the benedict and the vegan carrot cake pancakes instead of the scramble, oh well there is always next time.

  • Federal Hill Pizza: Federal Hill Pizza was located just a few blocks from our house in Warren so we decided to try it out with my parents for lunch one afternoon.  We shared the bruschetta flatbread, garlic broccoli rabe, the green salad that was topped with grilled veggies and the pasta with garlic, olive oil and grilled veggies.  The star of he show was the green salad with the grilled veggies, it was delicious and we all loved it.  Overall the food was good, my parents had a pizza there one of the nights and they really enjoyed it as well.
  • Crazy Burger: Neil was able to take part of one day off while we were in Rhode Island so we decided to head out of a drive and that’s when we came across Crazy Burger in Narragansett.  Apparently (we learned this after visiting) the restaurant was on Diners, Dive-in’s & Dives, what brought us to Crazy Burger however was the selection of vegan burgers and other vegan offerings. Neil and I really wanted to try everything (vegan) on the menu but decided to go with two burgers one with the slaw and one with fries.  For our burgers we ordered BIRDIE MAE BURGER: Grilled Tempeh, purple sticky rice, sweet potato, roasted sunflower seeds, and rosemary-pumpkin pesto combine to create a wonderful taste & texture; grilled into a tomato tortilla and the WILD & CRAZY MUSHROOM BURGER: Portabella, Porcini & Domestic Mushrooms mixed w/Italian rice & fresh vegetables; served on a vegan bun with a wild mushroom gravy. Both of the burgers were really good but the mushroom burger was extra tasty because of the amazing wild mushroom gravy (which was amazing on the fries as well).  This is definitely a place we hope to visit again, I mean we need to try all of their veggie burgers to really decided which one is best.

Up Next: Coffee Joints and the Happenings in the Ocean State

Where are your favorite places to eat in Rhode Island?

Vacation?

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So this is vacation with an infant. It’s great to be away but let me tell you it has been a challenge for everyone around here. First off Neil isn’t really on vacation but rather working remotely which makes this vacation not really a vacation for either of us.  Yesterday Neil worked in the morning and evening so we could spend the day together which was amazing and it actually felt like a vacation because I had my partner to help me; don’t get me wrong it’s nice being with my parents but it’s nothing like having your baby’s daddy there to help out.

The second thing is that I think E and I both are thrown a little off because we haven’t been able to keep our normal schedule and we both are adjusting to being in a new place.  I have been feeling a little overwhelmed because E must be going through a growth spurt or something so I haven’t had much down time to relax and then just like normal she gets gassy and fussy at night (I guess we could officially call this colic?) so Neil and I spend our evenings trying to soothe E to sleep and by the time we are done that I have to make dinner and then I’m about ready for bed (so much for down time at night).

There are a number of things I would do differently next time which include making sure that Neil can take a week off rather than work remotely <– huge mistake on our part.  What I am glad we did however was rent a place with my parents so that we could have a real house to stay in with a kitchen, laundry and a comfortable place to relax, oh and a bonus, it is on the ocean! I am glad I have been able to eat well because we have been cooking most of our meals at the house, nothing to exciting though and I have been too tired by the end of the night to even think about photographing our meals. I also have made an effort to get out for a walk everyday usually with E in a carrier of some sort which certainly makes things more challenging.  Yesterday our big fitness adventure was heading to Newport to do part of the Cliff Walk. It was hot, beautiful and a perfect way to get our fitness on as a family.

Today E and I are hanging out at the house just relaxing while Neil works away. I am hoping that E with cooperate tonight so that we can get out and do something after Neil is done working. We are at the house until Saturday so Neil suggested that we get a hotel in Providence or Boston for Saturday night so that we could have one full day as a family without him having to work.  I checked on Hotwire (love love love love love Hotwire) and found a good deal on a hotel in downtown Providence so we are going to extend our vacation by one night which I am really looking forward to.

I’ll do more of a full update of things we did while we were here next week and tell you all about the yummy places that we have gone to eat while visiting Rhode Island.

Also just wanted to say THANK YOU for all of your feedback on the survey and please keep it coming!

We’re On Vacation…well kinda.

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Last Wednesday I was talking with my parents about their upcoming vacation, asking where they were going and what their plans were.  At the time all they knew for sure is that they would be heading to Rhode Island/Massachusetts on Friday and after that they thought they might go to Maine for the week, however they weren’t sure because they couldn’t seem to find any where to stay at a reasonable price.  We got to talking and I suggested they try another area maybe western New York (Ithaca area).  All this vacation talk got me wishing that we could get away and then my mom said “well it’s too bad that Neil couldn’t word remotely and then we could rent a place for a week.”…that got me thinking well what if he COULD work remotely or take a few vacation days? I immediately called Neil and asked him if could work remotely.  He said he couldn’t see why not but he would check with his boss and let me know.

Well Neil got the okay and that is when we started our search for a place to rent, which proved to be a challenge considering we were looking for a place to rent starting Saturday and it was oh Thursday when we started our search.  Well our first thought was to head towards Ithaca but after searching for awhile we found that there really weren’t many places available to rent so we decided to expand our search to basically all of New England (VT excluded).  We looked at coastal Maine, Cape Cod, Rhode Island, and  parts of New Hampshire and Connecticut.  We found a few places in Maine but weren’t completely sold on them because of the internet access for Neil to work remotely and because of the distance (because of the bebe). Well finally my mom received a call from a property owner in Rhode Island.  We checked out the space online and decided to take it.

On Saturday we headed out first to breakfast with friends, then to visit my Grandma (her first time meeting Edie) and then finally we made the trek to Rhode Island.  It wasn’t so bad either- Edie fussed for the first 10 minutes and then three more when wanted to eat.  A trip that should have taken around 4 hours and 45 minutes took approximately 7 hours which included one coffee stop, one gas stop and three stops to nurse- not so bad if I do say so myself! Once we arrived I was so happy to see this:

Our bed for the week.

Today we are all feeling pretty tired out after a busy Saturday but I am hoping that after a (hopefully) good nights sleep we will all be more rested and have a great week. Now I will leave you with a tour of our accommodations for the week.

Also any suggestions for things to do, sites to see and vegan friendly places to eat?

 

oh and just for fun here is Edie upon our arrival to Rhode Island:

 

 

 

Life As A Mom With A 5 Week Old

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For my own entertainment I decided to take a record of all the things I did as a work-at-home/stay-at-home mom in a 24 hour period.  I also used this as an opportunity to write a post for Naturally Family from Edie’s perspective. I had no idea until I got started how many things I try and cram into one day now.  Long gone are the lazy days I am constantly trying to fit in time for housework, preparing meals, blogging and freelance work while first and foremost taking care of Edie’s needs.

So here is a day starting at 7pm on Sunday and going until 7pm on Monday.

  • 7:00p Nurse Edie and then let Neil take over with burping and putting her to bed.
  • 7:30-9:15p Neil and I watched an episode of Suits while I pumped and enjoyed a second piece of chocolate before heading off  to bed. I was exhausted so when I went to bed I left myself really fall asleep while Neil listened in on the monitor since he had to be up late for work.

  • 11:28p Since I passed out cold and Neil woke me up to nurse Edie and then Neil graciously took over and burped and bounced her so that I could get a little more sleep since he was already up anyways. 
  • 3:25a Edie woke me up ready for another nursing session and so we nursed.
  • 4:00a After a big burp and a fart Edie fell back asleep and so did I.
  • 6:30a Edie and I got up, well Edie woke me up, and we headed to the nursery for a diaper change and hen I put Edie in her crib to hang out while I made and photographed Neil’s lunch.

  • 7:15a Edie was getting a little bored in her crib so I moved her to the living room and placed her in the swing.
  • 7:35a I made myself a bowl of cheezy polenta and then moved Edie to the bouncy chair to hang out while I ate breakfast.
  • 8:00a After finishing my breakfast Edie and I had another nursing session and I checked in on blogs while I nursed.
  • 8:25a I put Edie on our bed while Neil and I got ready for the day.
  • 8:30a I changed Edie’s diaper and got her in her car seat and we headed out to stop at the bank and then drop Neil off at work.
  • 9:10a Finally drop Neil off at work and head to the market (for my first shopping adventure alone withe E) but *of course* as soon as we pull out of his work parking lot the “feed me siren” goes off and stays on until we arrive at the market.
  • 9:25a I nurse E in the front seat of the car while checking my e-mail on my phone.
  • 9:45a E is full so I put her back in her car seat, get out the stroller and we finally get into the market to pick up a few items.
  • 10:15a We head home and E falls asleep in the car
  • 10:40a Arrive home and I change E’s  diaper and then put her down for a nap while I put grocery away, eat, write blog post, start working on recipe
  • 12:15p E is up and ready to eat and then have her diaper change which is what Neil and I like to call a “poopsplosion” which results in an outfit change for E.
  • 12:55p E and I snuggle on the couch and she eventually falls asleep on me.  I take a little time to enjoy her on me but then move her to the Boppy so I can get some work done and pump again.

  • 1:50p E is up and in need of a diaper change (or two) and a nursing session.  I nurse her while checking and following up on e-mails.
  • 2:30p I strap E into her swing and I get in a quick workout from my FitPregnancy magazine.

  • 3:00p E and I hang out on her  quilt and “read” her Look, Look book for awhile.

  • 3:15p It’s time for E to have a diaper change and for her to nurse once again.  I nurse her and then start to think about what I need to do for my recipe for dinner.
  • 3:50p I strap E into the swing once again so I can work on my new (2nd time around) recipe for dinner. E naps while I cook.
  • 5:05p E wakes up and it’s time for a diaper change and a nursing session; I follow up on some e-mails while nursing.
  • 5:40p E starts fussing right on cue (around 6pm is when she starts fussing most every night) and I bounce her and calm her down enough so that I can put her in her swing while Neil and I eat dinner.

  • 5:50p Neil cuddles with E and then bounces her and tries to get her to go to bed while I answer e-mails
  • 6:40p I attempt to nurse but E isn’t having it so we swaddle her and Neil goes back to bouncing and I go back to my e-mails.
  • 7:00p Neil attempts to get Edie down but no luck so we take turns bouncing and soothing her and she eventually goes down around 10ish. Then I wake up and repeat.

Head over to Naturally Family and read A Day In The Life of a 5 Month Old

Boba Baby Wrap & Giveaway!

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When we first found out we were pregnant I knew immediately that we would be the type of parents who would take on the practice of babywearing.  As we learned in our Natural Baby Care Class there are a number of benefits to babywearing which just made us more excited to try it out.

Did you know?*

  • Babies that are held/carried often cry less.
  • Babies that are held/carried are calmer.
  • Babies that are held/carried are better sleepers.
  • Babies that are held/carried nurse more frequently.
  • Babies that are held/carried have better digestion, especially those who experience gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
  • Babies that are held/carried develop better.

Once we decided to babywear we had to then figure out which carrier would be the best for us to use.  There are so many different types of carriers (you can read about them here) it can get really confusing and honestly expensive because I really want to try them all but alas I have to reign myself in and only try a few.

Since Edie is so tiny our options have been more limited on which carriers are safest due to the weight minimum of many carriers, many are 8lbs which I am happy to say Edie should be up to now or at least soon. So to start out with we have been using the Boba Baby Wrap which I am happy to say Neil and I have both really been enjoying.

The Boba Baby Wrap is the perfect wrap style carrier – with its unique fabric blend and the no-guesswork tying, the Boba Wrap is a great choice for beginners and advanced babywearers alike. The simple design of this baby wrap, free of buckles, straps or buttons makes it perfectly comfortable for both you and your baby. By evenly distributing the weight of your child, there is no time limit to how long your baby can stay in the wrap, so you may calm and sooth your baby with your warmth, your voice, your movement and your heart beat as long as you are both content! (Source)

It took Neil and I a few tries to get the fit right but after watching a few videos and following the instructional photos we finally figured out how to do it correctly.

What I love about the Boba Baby Wrap:

  • The fabric is light which is great with how hot our summer has been.
  • Edie feels secure in it.
  • Edie sleeps in the wrap leaving my hands free to do other things.
  • I can wear it anywhere.  I love to wear it out because Edie sleeps in it and I can walk around without having to push a stroller and it leaves my hands free to eat, drink or shop.

What I don’t love about the Boba Baby Wrap:

  • It takes some thinking ahead when I am planning to wear it out.  I have found that the best way for me to prepare is to put it on before we head out so when we arrive at our destination I can just take Edie out of her car seat and place her in the wrap.  Prior to doing this I would end up dragging the long fabric on the ground as I tried to wrap it around myself.  It’s not a huge deal but I just wish it was a little more convenient to put on quickly.

Overall we love our Boba Baby Wrap and one day when Edie is bigger we hope to try out the other styles of carriers that Boba have to offer.

Giveaway:

Enter for your chance to win a Boba Baby Carrier, and one of two Boba Wraps! All products can be seen at www.bobafamily.com. With Boba products it is easier than ever to enjoy Freedom Together as a family and Boba wants YOU to get a chance to use their products. To enter to win, “Like” them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/boba), follow them on Twitter (www.twitter.com/boba) and follow them on Pinterest! (http://pinterest.com/bobafamily/).

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*Source: From Babywearing: The Benefits and Beauty of This Ancient Tradition by Maria Blois, MD (Pharmasoft Publishing, 2005) found in excerpt from Mothering magazine.

Disclaimer: Boba provided me with their product at no cost. I was under no obligation to review them if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway.