From the Week

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Monday

Mondays. Mondays are already ew on their own. But to start it off bright and early with a consultation for my wisdom teeth? Barf city. On the way to the appointment, I had a pretty delicious smoothie (vega chocolate nutritional shake, pb2, quinoa, greek yogurt, almond milk.)

I put Wes down for his nap as soon as I got home so I was able to fit my workout in. Once he was up, we played for a long ass time. My knees are starting to take a severe beating with all the up and down from the floor with a heavy baby!

After Wes went down for his afternoon nap, I headed out for yet another appointment, this time for my annual physical. The good news- my blood work came back with flying colors and I was in and out of there in about 20 minutes.

For dinner, Tyler whipped up some fajitas. SO DELICIOUS. It’s one of our go-to’s when we can’t decide what to have. I could probably eat them every day.

The evening was pretty typical- I walked the dogs, Wes got a bath, and we hung out until it was time for the dude to get to bed. I put him in his jolly jumper to wear him out a bit before bed time, and the kid.can.jump.

Wes jumping from Jen Linton on Vimeo.

Tuesday

Same old same old kinda day. Lots of playing with Wes.

Baby boy is obsessed with flipping now. He even slept on his belly during his naps! Layla’s not super impressed, but she’s tolerating it. Reggie could care less since he hardly touches the floor (he sticks to his bed or the couches as often as possible).

Long naps are great because I can get in my workout, shower and attempt to look somewhat human.

Later, I met up with Leigh and Brie at Craft for dinner. It was really nice to get out of the house and have some girl talk- even if I did stay up way past my bed time! Fish tacos for the win. The only downside: it started to snow while we were out. Ewww.

Wednesday

I woke up at 5 and noticed that Wes was on his tummy again, so I slept pretty crummy for another hour or so before getting up- it’s still a new position for him so I’m a bit paranoid he will suffocate or get stuck and freak out. (I know, I know, he’s most likely fine but I can’t help it!)

I did a lower body workout in the late morning that left me absolutely dead and wobbly. This means not only was it a great workout, but it was a CHORE trying to walk back up the stairs afterwards.

We had an appointment for Wes to check on a scratch he has on his nether region which turned out to be fine. I’m betting he just wanted in on the doctor-appointment action.

We picked up some groceries before heading home for lunch.

You know it’s a pretty decent day when you can take a 2pm soak while the baby sleeps. I’ll take it.

We had pulled pork sammies for dinner and went to bed just after 8pm.

Thursday

It wasn’t even hard getting out of bed at 6:15am when you’ve had about 72 hours of sleep. That was fantastic. And yet, my cardio workout for the morning was ROUGH. I was gasping for air like a fool- but it was so worth it afterwards.

Wes has been really great going down for naps lately- he’s out in almost 5 minutes each time. I think I have finally started to pick up on his tired cues so I don’t haphazardly attempt a nap time when he’s not ready.

He slept on his tummy the entire night before, so I won’t be wrapping him in a blanket anymore.

Another thing- he figured out how to use a straw! I bought one of the Playtex straw cups and had him attempt it only twice before he got the hang of it. Solid food feedings are now just too funny- he wants to eat EVERYTHING and drink EVERYTHING and throw EVERYTHING.

And I somehow manage to still get in my snack plates. Even if it does come with a staring owl.

I also baked a loaf of apple cinnamon bread that is delicious! I didn’t make the topping as listed in the recipe, but instead topped with sliced apple pieces and dusted with cinnamon/sugar.

Dinner was a stuffed sweet potato (loaded with pulled pork, broccoli, cheese and green onions).

I took the pups out for a walk and it was SO SLIPPERY. Goddamn snow and ice. No wait, goddamn dogs. They’re terrible on the leash (better lately) and when combined with inclement weather..I am doomed.

I poured myself a glass of wine after Wes went down, but ended up only taking a couple of sips before calling it a night. WHO AM I.

…From the Week

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Monday

So we think we’ve figured out why Wes was so grumpy- the kid is just like the dogs and likes to go OUTSIDE everyday. He was just having a nasty bout of cabin fever! After our usual morning routine and his nap (which lasted AN HOUR!) we bundled up and headed outside for a walk/run errands. He stayed awake the whole time and seemed to be so happy to look at all of his surroundings.

I was able to go to the bank, pick up some groceries and round out our walk to the library and get both Wes and I library cards! (Seriously, non parents friends- I know this is such a snooze fest, but I am beyond thrilled to bring up to 99 FREE books home for Wes at a time. Not 100…only 99 at a time. That’s what the library said.)

Since outdoors and activity seem to be a constant need for the wee one (at what point do they transition to wanting-to-do-nothing kids…college?) I waited a bit after Wes’s lunch to throw in the Happy Baby Workout DVD that was gifted to me (thanks Athena, Liz and Ashley!)

Good news: he only barfed twice! Thank goodness it wasn’t during the bench presses.

I was a sweaty mess after this workout- a 21 lb baby is quite the workout equipment. This tired him out enough for his second nap of the day.

Fast forward a bit, and we had stir fry for dinner, I walked the dogs and that’s the end of that.

Tuesday

Today’s objective was to keep Wes as busy as possible to alleviate any grump attitude. Our morning went by pretty smooth, so after the breakfast/play/workout/nap, we went over to the mall to pick up a few more fleece pjs for Wes. Size: 24 months. INSANE.

After we got back, we had lunch then walked over to the library to check out some books. I quickly grabbed a ‘Quick Picks for Baby’ bag and it wasn’t until I got home did I notice one of the things I checked out was a CD of lullaby renditions of Madonna songs. Day= MADE.

I put Wes in the jolly jumperoo and played the CD and entertainment was had by all.

For dinner, I had a salad that I put together the day before and let marinate in the fridge overnight. It consisted of shaved brussel sprouts, walnuts, mozzarella, raisins, apples and a homemade maple honey vinaigrette. YUM. We also had some cheese tortellini (but that was mostly for Tyler).

I took the pups for a nice long walk after dinner. Mostly to help my digestion. But I guess in a sense it was also to help the dog’s digestion as well. Aka: Layla does her major pooping on our walks.

Wednesday

Another pretty good day in the books! I did a pilates workout in the morning and even managed to do my hair/makeup while Wes took his nap! GASP. We then ventured out to the mall because there was a vest I wanted on sale.

I guess I wore a vest to go out and buy a vest.

It was a successful trip and I wanted to get more steps in, so we kept walking the mall for a while. Wes told me when he was done browsing, so we beelined to the nearest exit and got outta there.

Mr. was HUN-GRAY! He ate with a wide open mouth and was so happy to eat eat eat.

We played around for a bit and before I knew it, it was time for Wes to nap again. I’m trying to get as much as possible done around the house when he sleeps but sometimes I think I just need to nap too. If only I could fall asleep as fast!

To get more fresh air, we walked back over to the library to return yesterday’s books and pick up some more. We are really lucky to live so close to practically EVERYTHING. After I picked out about a dozen books, we left and I wound up walking around our neighborhood for an additional hour.

Dinner was turkey burgers and roasted potatoes.

Thursday

Ugh. I don’t even want to talk about it. Got a 3:30am wakeup courtesy of THE BABY. He didn’t go back to sleep until 5:30 and then still woke up at the usual 7:45. My whole day started out of whack, because I wound up eating breakfast at 5am and then when back to sleep when he did. I guess I can’t complain because I did get a cumulative 8 hours of sleep from the night, but those early morning hours are very headache inducing.

I didn’t get my workout done in the morning because mum SEE ABOVE. But it’s all good, I’m rolling with this *off* day. As close to tears as I was over the course of the day, I am super appreciative to have a happy and healthy baby so I’m just taking it all in stride.

I bundled us both up around 10am and walked over to the UPS store to pick up a package only to find the store was closed due to an emergency. WOMP. Trying to make the best of it, I walked around the neighborhood for another hour and Wes slept for most of the ride. Phew.

His second nap of the day wasn’t until 3pm at which point Tyler asked me if I wanted anything from the liquor store on his way home. My response? “ALL THE ALCOHOL”. My lunch consisted of some fruits, some veggies, some cheese, and a POT of coffee. Ay yay yay.

Again, not upset about this off day because I mean….CUTE MAN ALERT.

I ate leftovers for dinner, did my workout, then headed to bed. I am all about hitting the hay as soon as Wes does. I need sleep to function!

PRAISE JESUS THE WEEKEND IS ALMOST HERE!

How was your week?

{Eats}…From the Week

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Not much to recap here since it’s really only covering Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so I thought I’d share some of the dinners we’ve enjoyed this week! There might be a few pictures of Wes in there, too. Can’t help it.

Tuesday: We had burgers on the grill of the smoker and some fries made in the actifry. Holy moly does charcoal give burgers the BEST flavor!

Tyler made my plate since I was feeding Wes and he gave me enough ketchup and mustard to last infinity. So I stole some of his burger 🙂

Wednesday: I made Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini Boats. They were so good! I ate mine way too fast and had a bit of a tummy ache.

We met up with Leigh and Amelia earlier in the day to walk along the river. Wes tried out his Bob stroller and you can tell it was a hit.

Wes contemplated eating Sophie.

Thursday: I made Crockpot Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Pasta. It was pretty good in the flavor category, but the consistency was a little dry. I kept adding additional chicken broth, but it didn’t help much. And of course I had to add some veggies, because #healthfreak (<—-HAHAHAHAHA yeah right).

I also made a batch of Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars for two reasons: 1) because I was in the mood to bake, and 2) because it’s friggin dessert.

GO MAKE THESE NOW.

Wes ate his rattle.

Now it’s time for a no-pants weekend! Wes already got a head start. (Who am I kidding, every weekend is no-pants weekend. Make that every DAY. Every damn day.)

What’s the best thing you ate this week?

Weekend Recap

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Friday

Pancakes! Ah, I missed my Vitamix so much. The bad boys were drenched in maple syrup and I just about licked the plate.

The morning was pretty low key: workout, errands, cleaning…. booooooring. But this guy finally fit into a pair or harem pants my mom made. Is he going to be a blondie? From his eyebrows it looks like it!

After Tyler got home from work, we made a pre-Thanksgiving trip to Costco and managed to get out of there under $100. I don’t think that’s ever happened. Still: a turkey, chicken, and some veggies= $98. Jeeze.

Wes has been really loving his solid foods. I picked up a few more organic squeeze packs for him and we’ve yet to come across a flavour he doesn’t like. The kid kicks his feet and grunts if you don’t feed him fast enough. Don’t worry, I didn’t let him have any wine- although, he was pretty keen on grabbing the glass!

We’ve been practicing our tummy time and rolling a lot this week and he FINALLY did a completely unassisted flip from back to front (TWO of them!). To the non-parents, this is no biggie, but I assure you it’s the most exciting thing since sliced bread.

The pups were itching for a walk, so I caved and took them for a quick one around the block. The sunset was INSANE.

And that picture is facing east!

Wes fell asleep at 7:30 and we watched Spy before heading to bed. Tyler and I agreed it was probably the funniest movie we’ve seen in a long time.

Saturday

Wes didn’t get up until 7! That’s a lot of sleep. Good boy.

Only difficult part is that it’s still dark as hell out until around 7:30, so it still feels like the middle of the night.

We enjoyed a nice long morning before it was time to head to Wes’s first pool class at the Y! I have to admit, I was pretty nervous about it- mostly for the whole locker room part. I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage with a baby who can’t yet sit up on his own. Luckily, it went pretty smooth and the boy loved the water. He was kicking and splashing a lot, just not smiling or giggling. He was mostly interesting in staring at everyone.

After his class, we ran to Rona where we left with nothing but Girl Guide cookies. These are the BEST cookies.

Then it was to Safeway for Thanksgiving fixings and Babies R Us for Wes’s convertible carseat. We got it for a pretty sweet deal. It regularly retails for $350, was on sale for $250, and we had $200 worth of Air Miles vouchers to redeem. Ended up paying only $60! Score.

Some fuel for all the shopping:

Then it was back to a few more stores for the essentials.

Does anyone get emails from Lucie’s List? I absolutely love them- they’re so helpful with Wes’s growing stages. Anyhoo- the latest email was about solid food and there was a lot of info on rice cereal vs oatmeal for babies and I was really glad to have read it (something about glucose yadda yadda in the rice. It made me *personal decision* run out and grab some oat cereal to swap out for the rice I had been giving Wes). And beer. Muy importante.

The evening was pretty good- we played around with Wes for a long time. The kid is seriously so fun to hang out with now– he rolls and giggles and well, it’s just the best. We enjoyed a delicious steak dinner, gave Wes a bath, watched Amazing Race, and I made brownies for Sunday. Once Wes went to sleep (8pm) I headed downstairs to get in my cardio workout then we watched Southpaw.

Sunday

7am wakeup! Dare I say I’m getting used to this?

So, I think I was in denial that Wes is growing up because I’ve had him in the infant car seat in the stroller up until today. He napped while I took him for a walk and cried about him growing up.

I have the Bob Revolution as well, but still have to take the adapter out of it from the previous owners. I really lucked out and found it on Kijiji for $150 and it came with the fleece liner, snack tray and weather shield! Can’t wait to use it for long walks instead of my City Mini GT (just to extend the life of it for future kiddos).

While we were out of the house, Tyler set up the smoker for our Thanksgiving turkey.

Then he made me breakfast. #besthusband

The afternoon was pretty low key. Wes napped, I worked out, Tyler watched football. Blah blah.. Then there was the turkey dinner! It was pretty good..I ate more turkey than I have in years, but not so much of anything else. There were carrots too, so there’s a veggie. And those brownies? They’re almost history. It’s gross how much of a sweet tooth I get.

Once Wes went to sleep, I laid in the tub for a bit and was in bed by 8:30. (Asleep by 8:31).

Monday

5:30am wakeup. Thanks, Wes. He ate and slept for a bit longer (giving him about a 12 hour sleep!) but I couldn’t get any more shut eye. As hard as I tried. Gave myself a big pat on the back for falling asleep so early the night before!

I think one of my favorite things about this baby is how he can look so peaceful in his sleep and simultaneously fart louder than a vacuum.

After breakfast, we went for a nice long walk then came back for more lounging. There were some naps- and it wasn’t just by Wes. I don’t think I’ve napped in ages and it felt glorious! Post nap, I finished the brownies. You know, to get rid of temptation.

I roasted some sweet potatoes and zucchini to pair with leftover turkey for dinner then headed off to a spin class. It was a new to me instructor and I absolutely LOVED her class.

Any workout that can incorporate this song into the mix is a winner in my books:

PS: Remember how the beagle stole/ate a box of quest bars? Well, the last two have been recovered! And in vary precarious places, might I add. That means the pooch didn’t consume any of my $$$$ protein bars so I’m a happy lady.

How was your long weekend?

What’s your favorite protein bar?

Take any group ex classes lately? What was it?!!

…From the Week

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Monday was our last full day home in New York. Ugh face. But hey, I got a whole month there! Not too shabby. We tried to make the most of the last day and took a family drive to the mall. SO EXCITING, HUH?!! Ha, well I had to return some things I bought for Wes (kid doesn’t fit in 18 month jeans! What the hellllllll) Afterwards, we drove to Grant Cottage only to find out it was closed. Womp. In case you’re wondering, Grant Cottage is the cottage where General Ulysses S. Grant died. See, those are the types of attractions near home. Thrilling.

We picked up my aunt for lunch at Panera and it was delicious. Half of me NEEDS one here in Calgary and the other half of me doesn’t want it because it would take all my money. Wes ate mangoes and flirted with the entire 70+ year-old population. Small baby boomer town = lots of places filled with gray hairs. Everywhere.

Oh, and I tried that limited edition pumpkin quest bar! I thought it was gonna be yucky but it was SO GOOD. I should probably buy a box. (no jen, no. you have no money.)

I packed. And I packed. And then there was more packing. It was a tight squeeze. I’m glad I won’t be flying for a while. PHEW.

Wes was in his carseat for a good part of the day, so I put him in the Ergo and went for a long walk. I would love it if somebody would strap me to them and walk around so I could nap. Could you even imagine?

The night ended with a weenie roast! It was on the small scale. Like, micro-mini.

Tuesday. Ahhhhh Tuesday. I am SO glad Tuesday is over. Let’s bullet point Tuesday, shall we?

2:45am wake up. Except my alarm wasn’t until 3:15. Can someone say anxious?
TSA lost my laptop. I had about 3592730293 bins to go through security (camera, laptop, stroller, car seat, breastmilk, toiletries, jacket, shoes, diaper bag, backpack…..) I had a minor anxiety attack before they finally recovered it.
The first flight was pretty uneventful. I got the row of three seats to myself, so it was easier to feed and change Wes.
RAN from arrival gate to departure gate of second flight. Made it just in time. Wes starts screaming profusely as I got to our seat so I started to feed him. No sooner did that happen, the flight attendant told me I needed to move seats to be on a side that had extra of those pig-nose bag thingies that drop from the ceiling in case of emergency (who cares what they’re really called). Cue MORE SCREAMING. And there was no changing table on the flight…I’m just going to end this bullet point because: RAGE.
I unpacked everything once we got home because I wanted to make sure there were no foods in my luggage that Reggie would get into. We went to run some errands and came back to find Reggie had gotten an ENTIRE box of Quest bars from the counter. 7 were among the wreckage (unharmed), 3 were recovered from various hiding spots and 2 are MIA. PLEASE NOTE: He buried one in the pillows of the guest bed and got so ferocious with his nose-burying, that his nose bled…..ALL OVER THE WHITE DUVET. Cue more rage.
Frozen breastmilk thawed en route and leaked all over my laptop. You know the end result because I’m typing from said laptop, so that’s good.

No pictures from Tuesday because: see above.

Wednesday

This was a total get-our-lives-back-in-order day. I was stressed x infinity about the number of things that needed to get done around the house- reorganizing Wes’s stuff, laundry, cleaning the dang house, groceries…….

Wes woke up nice and early, but I didn’t mind since I actually got in a good night’s sleep! I quickly got started on the eleven thousand shows that were recorded while I was gone, while Wes went through the usual eat/poop/lay/jump morning routine. We then went to the store to get some essential groceries. There was approximately ZERO perishable items in the house and one cannot survive on boxed goods alone.

PS: notice it’s the same jumperoo as the one I bought in NY? The kid is obsessed with it, so I had to find another one!

I set up Wes’s compact high chair and he got right to it and ate SO MUCH. High five for that thing.

And some stuff I won in a giveaway arrived! Yesssss

The weather was SO NICE that I put Wes in the stroller and walked to the bank to deposit some stuff, then continued on a nice long walk. It was hilly too, which felt good since all my walks back home were completely flat. By the time we got back home, I was drenched in sweat. LOVE.

I put together a dinner of turkey burgers and roasted veggies, then took the dogs for a walk and got in my workout. It was nice to have a little me time, but I did feel bad for putting Tyler right back to serious baby-duty (Ok no, I don’t feel bad).

Also: posted my extremely in-depth review on the latest pumpkin beers. If you missed it, you can read it here.

Thursday

In the morning, I did my pilates workout while Wes was in the jumperoo. As luck would have it, he fell asleep just as I finished so I put him in the stroller and went for a nice long walk. It felt really good to get some fresh air and quiet time.

I picked up some stuff at the grocery store for dinner..mind you, it took two trips because I forgot my wallet the first time. WOMP. And somehow this pint of gloriousness made its way into my cart..

Dinner was Crock Pot Sweet Potato and Quinoa Turkey Chili (I used beef instead since we had turkey the night before). I highly recommend it, it’s SO good!

Wes had a couple of friends during/after his own dinner.

Poor Wes, the stupid eczema is back on his neck and chest. This dry weather is taking its toll and I’ve been slathering him with CeraVe every two seconds.

So that’s this week in a rather long nutshell! Back to the same-old same-old routine at home!

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