Monthly Archives: September 2015

Winesday Wednesday 9/16/15

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Hi there! Happy Winesday Wednesday! Sorry for the no show last week- we had to play catch up after a unexpectedly long layover from the day before. But, I was able to get to the beer store at some point last week and enjoyed 3 different drinks that I’m excited to share with you!

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Not only is alcohol extremely less expensive in the states (WOOOOO FREAKING HOO) but there is also a larger variety. So you can probably imagine how giddy I was to take my first trip to the beer store this visit. I managed to narrow it down to three different drinks:

Coney Island Brewing Co Hard Root Beer

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I lucked out because they sold singles of this one. I didn’t want to buy a 6 pack and get stuck with 5 extras in case I didn’t like it! Good news- it was SO good. It tasted exactly like root beer with just a bit of alcohol-y finish. I would definitely drink this again..many times. So maybe it would have been ok to buy the 6 pack?!!

Citizen Cider Unified Press

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Of course I had to pick up a hard cider and man oh man is this a goody.

From the website: 

Made from 100% locally sourced apples, never from concentrate, the Unified Press is Citizen Cider’s flagship cider that keeps you wondering where it’s been your whole life. This naturally gluten-free cider is an off-dry, crisp, clean and refreshing cider that keeps you coming back.

AVAILABILITY: Forever

Apples pressed at Happy Valley Orchard in Middlebury, VT.

Manufactured in Burlington and Middlebury, VT.

Pairings: Pork, soft cheese, spicy food, smoked fish, rustic bread & butter.

It’s 6.8% ABV but I kid you not it tastes just like a premium apple cider sans alcohol. And now I want one. Good thing I have two left in the fridge. Highly recommend this! Bonus: It’s from Vermont. That’s where Ben and Jerry’s comes from.

Two Road’s Brewing Company Roadsmary’s Baby

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From the website: Roadsmary’s Baby is a traditional pumpkin ale with a Two Roads spin, it’s aged in rum barrels for added complexity and depth of flavor. The result is a smooth drinking ale with notes of pumpkin, spices, vanilla, oak and a touch of rum.

Ok…hmmm. I’m still not 100% sold on this one but I think it’s because I drank it wrong. I was actually in a craft beer market earlier today and was chatting with the guy there about it and he said darker beers have to be served at warmer temperatures in order to experience the full flavor. Well DUH! I’m an idiot and totally forgot all about this and drank it ice cold. Ugh. It wasn’t until I got to the very bottom of the can did I actually appreciate the flavor (it took me about 2 hours to finish, so it wasn’t that cold by the end). Good thing I have 5 more in the fridge.

So those were my drinks for last week..I’ve stocked up on more beer (AND WINE!) this week and can’t wait to test them out and share with you next week!

PARENTS (or childless folk who have friends with children and need to bring them relief in the form of alcohol) READ THIS: Top 6 Wines That Pair Best With Your Child’s Crappy Behavior

What are you drinking this week?

Wesley Arlo- 5 Months

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I’m glad to say it..this month went by nice and slow. GOOD. DON’T GROW UP BABY. I think Wes grew way too much this month and I don’t like it one bit. I super cry when I see some newborn photos because I can’t believe just how teeny tiny he used to be. But, I do love to see him learn new things as he grows and he is definitely coming into his own personality.

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Since we’re in NY, I obviously can’t take his 5 month pics with his bear, but this Mickey is just about the same size. Either way…you can really tell he’s grown!

New developments: He’s started grabbing things on his own with both hands. This includes my hair, my earrings, my boobs…He blows raspberries ALL THE TIME. I think he loves the trick, but that combined with his excessive drooling means the guy goes through a zillion bibs every day. The downside from all the drool? He now has infant eczema on his cheeks, chin, neck and chest. It comes and goes in severity and I try my best to keep it dry as much as possible. I also use cream (trying to avoid using the steroid given by the doctor).

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On Sept 4th, we introduced a bit of rice cereal into his nighttime bottle (Still breastmilk). Sept 5th he grabbed his toes for the first time and on Sept 10th he rolled over from his back to front (I didn’t witness this- my parents did. I am BUMMED.) Yesterday (Sept 14th) we gave him his first real food- pureed sweet potato! He loved it even though he only probably swallowed about 1.5 tsp of it.

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I’m not so sure he was a victim of the 4 month sleep regression, but he was a bit more difficult to put down on some nights- he gets overtired and fussy and will wake up as we put him in his crib. So a few times we’ve had to resort to letting him cry it out until he falls back asleep, which only lasts about 5 minutes. His bed time bottle can be up to 10 oz plus a small extra feeding (Which tells me he’s probably ready for solids..the boy likes his food!)

He giggles and smiles ALL THE TIME. He loves to stare at new surroundings and lets out loud sighs with every yawn. (Oh-mah-gawdddd baby yawns are the BEST).

He’s almost outgrown his infant carseat- last time I weighed him he was 19ish pounds- since the straps are starting to be too tight.

He had his first airplane ride! (Sept 8th) I got a picture of him with the pilot AND made sure to get a pair of wings 🙂

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He wears size 3 diapers during the day and 4s at night (although, now that I’m typing this, I’m pretty sure he can be in 4s all the time. Because: THIGHS.) He still loves his baths and even grips the sides of the tub when we try to take him out. And he splashes a lot. My mom got a few baths herself from his splashing!

He’s getting a bit more hair on his head which is covering some of his cradle cap nicely..

He stretches all the time. He wants to be moving all the time. He babbles ALL THE TIME.

I usually let him babble in his crib for about 10-15 minutes before I get him every morning. He loves watching Reggie and focuses on anything that’s red.

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(For some reason I can’t get this photo to rotate, so tilt your head to the right)

He now watches us eat food and genuinely looks sad that he can’t have whatever we’re having.

He naps about 3-4 times a day. 3 naps are about 30-45 minutes and his late afternoon nap is anywhere from 1-2 hours.

He starting to try to sit up on his own- he’s not fully there yet, but it’s great to see that his back is getting stronger! He enjoys tummy time and can turn his head from side to side, but shows no interest in pushing himself up (he has superman arms and likes to keep them straight with his palms back).

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Overall, he is the happiest, healthiest, giggliest, cutest, most sociable (insert a ton of other positive traits here) baby ever and I am so lucky to be the mama that gets to hang with him 24/7!

And if you’re questioning the ‘giggliest’ part, it’s because he immediately turns on his serious face as soon as I get the phone/camera out. Or eat crackers.

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Weekend Recap

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Hi friends! Hope you had a great weekend. I have to take more pictures so I can remember what the heck I did over the weekend since everything seems to just blur together.

Friday:

After breakfast, Wes and I went for a 4ish mile walk. I tried to go on the bike path as much as I could since the city sidewalks are TERRIBLE. I generally try to walk when Wes needs to nap and he usually falls asleep before I’m even down the driveway, so a smooth ride is necessary!photo 1-78

When we got back, Wes stretched his legs out a bit in the jumperoo, I had lunch, and we went to the mall with my mom to pick up some stuff. (UM HELLO Quest bars are only $24/box here! I hate Canada for stupid high prices. And I was able to pick up some cherry Carmex chapstick because that’s the best stuff EVER)

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Before getting back home, we had to make the mandatory stop at Rob and Deb’s for some soft serve. Their last day of the season was Sunday, so it was muy important I get some. I inhaled it in about .4 seconds.

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The evening was pretty low key:

  • I did my workout on the back porch. I started Insanity this week and it’s pretty good! The cardio + humidity = SWEATY JEN. PS: I’m not a Beachbody rep or anything, but the workout programs they have are great for my lifestyle because they are quick and EFFECTIVE.
  • We had tacos for dinner. Wes sat in a high chair for the first time ever and loved every second of it! I especially loved that I was able to eat my dinner with two hands. And sit at a table.
  • I rifled through my mom’s closet of funzies and found an old members only style jacket I used to rock in college.
  • Wes was a major PITA (pain in the a**) to get to sleep, so it took my mom and I almost 2 hours get finally get him settled and to bed. I don’t blame him– a time change, new environment and different routine will do that to you!

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Saturday:

Super fail on my part- I took like ZERO pics on Saturday. From what I can remember of the morning, I was up at normal time with Wes to feed, then I had my own breakfast before my parents offered to take Wes for a walk. Do you know what that means? That means this lady went back to bed for a 90 minute nap. It was GLORIOUS.

I hung out with Wes the rest of the day- some naps/snuggles/feeds/walk then we all went out to run some errands. In the late afternoon, Wes and I went of to my friend Amy’s new house for her housewarming party. It was great to see her and her new place! Wes did great, too. We stayed for a few hours until Wes fell asleep (plus it was raining).

After getting home, I had leftovers for dinner, did my workout, bathed Wes, then went to bed.

SUCH AN EXCITING SATURDAY, I KNOW.

Sunday:

Happy Grandparents Day! We had mimosas to celebrate.

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My Sunday brunch was accompanied by my favorite episode EVER of Friends. With a side of baby mat time. And some blog reading. PS: It’s the episode when Ross and Rachel get drunk in their hotel room in Vegas and get married. Ahhh hilarious.

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It was pretty yuck weather out but my mom and I managed to squeeze in a walk before it poured. The rest of the afternoon/evening was pretty lazy. And then there was pie.

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Before bed, I got my workout in and it was SWEATY. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I didn’t realize it until I was humming Wes to sleep last night that the ABC song and Twinkle Twinkle are the same tune! Mind= blown.

Sidenote: my parents had the Miss America pageant on last night and was it just me or did all of the girls have the most whack walks during the swimsuit portion?!! I couldn’t handle it.

How was your weekend?

When

Weekend Recap

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Yay for long weekends! (What am I talking about..I’m on a 58 week-long work hiatus! And weekends to not apply to those with young children..except for maybe a bit of extra help from the mister)

Friday:

We have a routine in the house every morning. And this routine involves the dogs getting fed and let out prior to me getting Wes. However, on this particular day, I decided to get Wes before tending to the dogs and I wound up witnessing canine protest.

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It’s been pretty chilly/rainy here lately, so I haven’t been able to get in as many walks this week. Crap weather totally cramps my style. Besides my 30 minute workouts each day, it pretty hard to get a lot of movement in (movement that doesn’t involve going to the mall while is HELL on my wallet). I try to do stuff around the house as much as possible so I can get in a lot of steps. Oh, and stairs! Lots of those. Carrying Wes helps with the upper body too. And when the child wants to get in some exercise…

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Reggie only stays nearby since he’s on barf patrol. I swear to God, that dog is the most disgusting little beast. But hey, helps me out from cleaning every once in a while.

Mom made goulash for dinner and we finished watching this season of Hell On Wheels and a few more episodes of Narcos.

OH! And Wes had his first solid food ever! I added 1 tsp of rice cereal to his bedtime bottle (breastmilk) and he gobbled it like a champ.

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Saturday:

The weather really put a damper on any plans we had. WOMP. Highlights of the day include:

  • Tyler taking me to a close by parking lot and teaching me how to drive standard. Eww
  • Wes grabbed his feet for the first time! That rice cereal must be like Wheaties for babies because he was doing reverse crunches and grabbing his toes all morning.
  • We ordered Chinese for dinner and watched the rest of Narcos

Sunday:

Wow. We are really exciting people. This weekend is just giving me a taste of how cabin-fevery I will get in the house with Wes this winter! I had my Sunday standard breakfast of bacon and eggs then headed to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for Wes- I took him to the doctor on Wednesday because he has really bad eczema on his neck from all his drooling. I have been using an OTC moisturizer on it which has been really helping, but I wanted to have the prescription with me since we will be gone for the next month.

Tyler and I also managed to squeeze in a date night while we had mom here for a babysitter. We went to a restaurant around the corner from home and ate like kings. Steak= LIFE.

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After dinner, we went to an empty parking lot and Tyler taught me how to drive standard on his Jeep. All I have to say is thank god for automatic.

We headed home and hopped right back into our house-uniforms… PJs! We missed Wes (but the margarita with dinner was good)

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Speaking of margaritas…

Monday:

I was a ball of anxiety trying to get things packed for our flight. Since it was our last night in Calgary, we went for Mexican and margaritas at Julio’s Barrio. PS: Their food is not good. Their margaritas ARE good.

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I know I’m a bit late posting for this week, PLUS it’s Winesday Wednesday, BUT our trip yesterday took a lot longer than planned and today was a bit of a wash. More on that- and a Winesday Wednesday post- to come later this week!

Winesday Wednesday 9/2/15

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Hi there, ho there friends and happy Wednesday! Hope your week is going well…we’re now closer to another weekend! Yippee.

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I did my best do drink this past weekend, but only got through 1.5 beers. WOMP. Between timing it just right in between feedings, Wes’s bedtime and MY bedtime, well….not much time to indulge. DOUBLE WOMP. (especially since my bedtime usually starts about 15 minutes after Wes’s. I cannot function on sleep that begins with anything less than an 8 in the hours category.)

The first beer I split with my mom was Fernie Brewing Co’s What The Huck.

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This is one of my old favorites from a brewery in BC. I used to order this at some of the bars downtown because it’s such an easy wheat beer to drink and usually ends up pairing well with any food I order. Plus, it’s like PINK. If you ever see this on the menu, order it- you won’t be disappointed.

The second beer I split with my mom was Steamworks Frambozen

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From the website: Summer in a bottle. This seasonal favourite features a beautiful rose colour with a luscious pink head, magnificent aromas and flavours of freshly picked raspberries. The addition of raspberries leaves the palate with elegant undertones of fruity acidity resulting in a clean, natural effervescent taste.

This one was new to me and I knew it would be a doozy given the ABV is 7%. It’s another pink beer and I definitely tasted the raspberries, but could also pick up a porter-like finish because it was a stronger beer. I’d say overall it was tasty, but probably couldn’t handle more than one if I wanted to get a good night’s sleep.

For your reading pleasure: It’s A Thing: Beer Jelly

That’s all I’ve got for now…this time next week I’ll be shopping the aisles of the beer store back home in New York and will have LOTS to share!

What are you drinking this week?