Week + Weekender

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Whoa..talk about a wonderful and crazy week! The amazing weather hardly makes it feel like the weekend is winding down and having my mom here with us makes it even better! I didn’t get to do a recap of the week on Friday because I posted Wes’s first birthday (which I think is way more important) so let’s see what I can remember. Apologies in advance for the excessive photos 😉

Monday: From all that I can remember (eek) I got my workout done in the morning and we walked the neighborhood in the afternoon- making sure to hit the playground before returning home. Chicken caesar salads for dinner!

PS: No joke, I was doing the second week of 22 Minute Hard Corps this week and could already see the changes! My core is much stronger and my arms and butt are getting more definition! (I think I might chat about this later this week since it might also be due to some hormonal changes…man, you just never know! But these workouts feel GOOD!)

Tuesday: My mom flew in! We haven’t seen her (or my dad…but he stayed home. boo) in just over 6 months. It really is 100% no fun to live so far away from family. I crave moments where I can just have mom and dad come over for dinner or to watch Wes for an afternoon. But…it is what it is right now.

We headed straight to Costco from the airport to stock up on essentials, made homemade chicken tenders for dinner, then called it an early night. Not without a glass of wine first!

Wednesday: We considered Wednesday our ‘transition’ day. It was nice for just the three of us (me, my mom and Wes) to hang out and get into the rhythm of a slightly different weekday now that grandma was in town! We did manage to get out of the house and run a couple of errands which was nice. Lots of snacks and maybe even a couple of presents for Wes!

We had pulled pork sandwiches for dinner and hit the hay. Wes really took to grandma so fast and has been super bubbly which has been great!

Thursday: Wes has his one year appointment at 10am, but woke up so early in the morning that he was already down for a nap by 9am and I had to wake him to put him in the car to go. I hate doing that, but I knew that it was still early enough in the day that he would get a good afternoon nap in anyways.

He wasn’t too happy at the appointment and wanted me to hold him the whole time. I didn’t mind at all since I rarely get those good cuddles, but I didn’t like seeing him saddish.

We headed to the Tim Horton’s drive through on the way home for a couple of coffees and picked up a timbit for Wes since it was his birthday eve. No shocker- he gobbled it in two bites!

He was still pretty clingy the rest of the day and snuggled with grandma throughout the afternoon. Heart=melted.

Tyler picked up a pizza on the way home from work for him and my mom and I was out the door by 5:30 to attend a winemaker’s dinner at Pampas Brazilian Steakhouse (more on that later this week!)

Friday: My baby turned ONE! We celebrated just as the sun came up with balloons in his crib and he LOVED them. Poor Tyler’s alarm still hadn’t gone off yet and we were making so much noise. Whoops!

We had pancakes for his birthday breakfast (my idea, obviously) and Wes hung out with grandma to play. They even facetimed grandpa for the Happy Birthday song!

I think we walked over to the shopping center to pick up a couple of things too. It must’ve happened, because there’s photo evidence!

After his morning nap, I attempted to take his one year photos and was so excited for him to wear some new garb! Luckily, I have come across so many great small shops lately that I was able to assemble something rather last minute. I absolutely loved each piece 🙂

wesleyarlo12months

The leggings are from Baby H Designs (she made the leggings/hat Wes wore when he came home from the hospital), moccs from Posh Panda, and bow tie from Will & Co

After a somewhat successful photo session, all clothing was removed so he could enjoy his very first cupcake! I would have preferred it to be something I made myself (I am anti-any-baked-good-from-a-store-since-homemade-is-better) but I thought this was too cute to pass up when I stopped by Crave.

IMG_4688 from Jen Linton on Vimeo.

We had to take a quick bath after that because it was a bit messy and Reggie was losing his mind over all the potential frosting to lick. We opted to all stay shirtless after the fact (plus, it was warm out) and I whipped up these amazingly delicious baked chimichangas for dinner. Best part? We had leftovers which were easily wrapped up and thrown in the freezer! Edited to add: I just remembered that Wes ZONKED for nearly three hours after noshing on the cupcake. It was a great little break for me and my mom, but it made for a less fun night of trying to get him to bed…almost 9pm!

Saturday: Even though Wes went to bed so late on Friday night, he was up at 6am on Saturday. No fun for this mama because my eyes just felt heavy as bricks! I made sure to get both our breakfasts ready before getting him from his room and we hung out in the living room for a while. On one hand, early mornings are no fun because who wants to get out of bed, but on the other hand, I absolutely love those quiet morning hours with Wes when it’s just me and him….and maybe one or two of the doggies who make it out of the bedroom.

The little guy is getting more adventurous in his eating and was asking for a lot of my mom’s cereal. So cereal he got! Afterwards, he was back to sleep for almost another 3 hours! Although I didn’t want him to miss out on the gorgeous weather, I knew he needed the sleep and it was nice for us all to be able to do our own thing for a little bit.

After his nap, we spent a long time hanging out on the patio! When it’s this nice out, it’s a sin not to sit outside and enjoy it! He really loved the fresh air and looking out 🙂

Once Tyler got to a point in his renovations where he could take a break, we had cake! Well, technically only Wes had the cake. No party this year for the birthday boy (1. Because he won’t remember it, 2. Because we have no family around to come and my girlfriends all live so FAR AWAY, and 3. Because umm…isn’t cake enough??!) I sort of feel bad about it, but so long as he’s happy that’s all that matters. He really enjoyed the cake even though he really didn’t understand the concept 😉

Also, I really need to dress nice for some photos, but can’t see the point when we’re just in the house! Besides, DOG. HAIR.

Timing worked in our favor this time and he was in bed at a relatively normal time! We had lasagna for dinner and watched Ride Along 2 before getting in bed.

Sunday: I heard Wes stirring in his crib at 6am and of course he went back to sleep but I couldn’t. I laid in bed for a few minutes before getting up to start coffee, make waffles for everyone, and fix my BAE breakfast.

At 8:30 I decided to put Wes in the stroller and walk to the library to return some books and maybe stroll around the neighborhood for a bit. I was walking one of our usual loops and just before we got back to the house, he had fallen asleep. Since Layla is a barking beast when we get to the front door, I opted to keep walking throughout the neighborhood until Wes woke up. Cut to one hour later and I finally decided to just throw in the towel because my fitbit died haha.

I had him bundled in the stroller because there was still a tiny nip in the air, but by the time we were back at the house it was practically HOT out. I changed Wes and we hung out on the patio for a couple of hours..and even managed to have a picnic lunch.

I even braved to snag a few photos in our backyard. It worked out pretty decent- the grass is (dead) nice and dry from the warm weather, and there was no dog poo! I should probably mow it sometime soon, but we’re never back there. Oops.

Layla is such a great pup with Wes. He loves her so much and is always grabbing for her and hugging her and even just laying on her and she takes it all like a champ.

We came inside for a bit because it was getting a bit too warm and I took the dogs for a long walk. After coming home, Wes went down for a nap, I worked out, and finished up the laundry.

Then it was a nice naked afternoon of crawling, climbing, babbling, and giggling.

Tyler made burgers on the BBQ for dinner and we all got to sleep pretty early after all that sun, exercise, and renovations (for Tyler).

It looks like there is still more sunny weather ahead this week, so we will be having many more outdoor adventures. I can’t wait!

Wesley Arlo- ONE YEAR

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

I can hardly believe I no longer have a baby. Instead, I have a big and bubbly TODDLER. The past year has absolutely flown by and while there were several ups and several downs, I wouldn’t trade the past 12 months for the world. I am so glad I get to be this little boy’s mama and he makes me the happiest lady around. And pretty strong, too. <–from all the carrying and tossing…;)

wesleyarlo12months

He had his one year checkup yesterday and weighed in at 23.6 pounds and exactly 2 1/2 feet tall. I think he’s going to grow to be taller than both mom and dad!

bow tie from Will & Co; leggings from Baby H designs; moccs from Posh Panda

As of March 17th, he was a crawling machine. Since then, he has progressed to pulling himself up, standing, and even attempting to step up onto things. Most of the time, he’s practicing his going up and down the step from our living room, which is equal parts hilarious and a pain because he’s either REALLY happy doing it or REALLY unhappy doing it.

I’m pretty sure his legs got the majority of his growth spurt over the past month, and the crawling has thinned him out a bit. He’s wearing his size 5 Baby Dry diapers at night and size 4 Cruisers during the day. All of his clothes still fit- 18/24 months-2T. And he’s in big boy shoes! 5s or 6s depending on the make. He wears 2-4y socks but the ankle is still pretty tight on him.

He’s got 6 teeth- 4 up top and two on the bottom. He eats EVERYTHING. Chicken is finally an acceptable protein, so it’s nice to be able to give him some leftovers from our dinners. And he really loves pasta with sauce! And pickles. And olives. And all crackers and fruit and cheese…..I could go on forever in this category 😉

Still no real words. Most of the time it’s dadadada, but he has started to really imitate the dogs or even us when we clear our throats! He knows his name and will react to ‘no no’ whenever he’s about to do something he shouldn’t- like mess with the cable box or touch Reggie.

His naps are still a bit touchy. Most days it’s now only one nap and that can range anywhere form an hour to almost two hours. If he falls asleep early enough in the day, I’ll try to get him to rest again- even if it’s just quiet time in his crib. I’ll check the monitor and if he doesn’t fall asleep, he’ll usually just be sitting there with his blankie or standing up along the side and trying to pet his rocking horse. Bed time is around 7 and he will sleep for 12 hours.

Wes still loves riding in the car and I think it’s mostly because he gets a kick out of seeing himself in the mirror. He will randomly laugh at himself! He’s pretty good in the stroller for walks- mostly because the newer Bob we got has a lot better back support, and he will sit in the shopping carts whenever we’re out shopping.

Wes like to clap and pat his belly and play peekaboo with his blankie (or just recently using his hands!) He has fantastic coordination and loves to roll his balls and can put his toys together or turn them on, or basically do whatever function they’re designed for.

Again, I still can’t believe he is a whole year old already. And now that he’s hit this stage, it’s like everything is just flying by! Before we know it, he will be walking and having conversations with us! Eek.

Wes- If the internet still exists when you get older and you’re reading this, I hope you know how much of a joy you are to your daddy and I and we absolutely love you to death. xoxo

In case you missed it:

wescollage

Weekender

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

It’s 9pm on Sunday night as I finally sit down to type this and it is the first time all weekend I’ve actually just sat to rest. Even though I guess I’m not technically resting if I’m typing this..There has just been so much going on with the home renos, some outings, workouts, phew! I’m excited for my mom to get here this week so I can have maybe just a few more extra ‘me’ minutes every day while she chases after the munchkin. Here’s what we were up to this weekend!–>

Friday: Breakfast on the floor! I love mornings where I get a little extra time to myself so I can make pancakes. Maybe this particular morning I should have been on my game a bit better since the second batch in the pan got a little ‘crispy’. STILL GOOD THOUGH.

After a relatively easy morning with Wes- i.e. lots of Reggie pestering and my workout, I headed down to Rose and Crown for lunch. A lunch (beer included) that I won via twitter thankyouverymuch. It was a perfect day to sit on the patio and I enjoyed the conversation with the people there. I got the turkey and brie sandwich and it was DELICIOUS!

I was only gone a couple of hours and was back on Wes duty for the remainder of the afternoon while Tyler worked his hump off with home renos. Friday he did a lot of wiring stuff and prep for the installation of a fan in the ensuite shower. I don’t dare interject because it’s all at a skill set way above my pay grade.

For dinner, we had salsa verde burgers on the BBQ and I’m pretty sure I inhaled mine in less than 4 minutes. During one of Tyler’s routine home improvement store trips, he managed to pick me up a little surprise and I was a VERY happy wife. It makes up for the lack of together time we get with all these home projects!

Now that Wes is crawling around and slowly perfecting his ability to climb the step up from the living space, he likes to hang with the doggies. Even when they’re begging for a bit of burger from daddy. Please note: they only beg from Tyler and not me because they KNOW they won’t get anything. I’m not that nice to share my food!

In care you’re wondering, the green rag is a Layla drool rag. We have them all over the house because she’s a friggin faucet!

After Wes went down, we watched Amazing Race and the first hour of the Revenant before heading to bed. Sunburns make me tired!

Saturday: When Wes only has one nap he tends to go to bed earlier (woohoo!) but it also means he’ll wake up a bit earlier too (BOOOOOOOOOOFACE). I was up before 7am with him and made sure to get both of our bottles ready before getting him from his room.

The rest of the morning/early afternoon was pretty much a wash- I walked the dogs, did some household stuff and hung out with Wes while Tyler was WORK WORK WORKING on the house. By the time 3pm rolled around, I was on the road to check out an Orange Theory Fitness private class with a bunch of my friends. (I refuse to refer to them as blog friends because that category is just so silly!) The workout was great- the first half was done on the treadmill and the remainder was circuits of strength and rowing.

I particularly enjoyed the fact that we were all geared up with heart rate monitors and could see our progress on the big screens. I thought I was pushing myself, but hardly had any ‘splat’ points (when you’re in the orange zone). I can’t get too down on it though- I just have a really low resting heart rate! I was going 9-9.5mph for some of those sprints, dang it!

Can I just add that this location is sandwiched in between a liquor store and a Fatburger?! If I lived in that part of town I would either be in that shopping center all the time OR I’d avoid it all the time! Haha.

Most of us headed out to dinner afterwards. I have to admit, I didn’t order anything because A.) I’m cheap, and B.) I didn’t really want anything from that restaurant. I was happy to come home later that night and snack on some of Tyler’s leftovers and have a beer while we finished watching the Revenant. I think I earned it after burning 517 calories?

Sunday: Another early as heck morning! I need my mom to get here ASAP so I can at least just lay in bed for a few extra minutes. I’m pretty much awake just before 7am every morning anyways, but a lot of times I just don’t want to get out of bed and adult.

I made my standard BAE breakfast and……YOU GUESSED IT…..hung around with Wes while Tyler worked on the house. Is this post redundant or what?!

Just before Wes went down for a nap I was able to do the Resistance 2 workout from 22 Minutes Hard Corps. I couldn’t tell if it was actually more difficult or if my chest was a tad sore from the heavier weights I used for chest flys at OTF the day before. Either way, it felt good.

During Wes’s nap, I did some of my freelance work then we waited around for what seemed like FOREVER for someone to show up and buy the first Bob stroller we got (the orange one! Loved it, but was able to get a much newer used one for a bargain). She was a total low baller and I was *this close* to just telling her she could leave without it. So annoying.

I made a batch of my favoritest chocolate chip cookies EVER- this time using the mini Hershey kisses and they turned out ridiculously tasty. Do you have any idea how hard it is to not eat them all while they’re still warm?!

While they cooled (and in an attempt to avoid temptation) I walked Wes to the grocery store for some random items we needed. It was a bit cooler out, but felt nice to have some fresh air and to NOT hear the banging of hammers or the whirring of random power tools.

For dinner we had steak. Alberta beef is pretty much the tastiest thing around, and these babies didn’t disappoint. Wes even snagged quite a few bites from my plate even though he already had his dinner!

I would have liked more greens on the plate, but what can ya do. I eat healthy more times throughout the week than not (don’t refer to my chocolate chip cookies, haha).

Wes had a nice long bath then we hung out for a bit before it was his bed time.

I rounded out the evening with a walk with the dogs, a cardio workout (CALL ME CRAZY BUT I JUST HAVE SO MUCH ENERGY) and some more freelance stuff.

Fingers crossed for a good, long sleep tonight!

From the Week

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Hey friends! Happy Friday! It’s gonna be another gorgeous one over here, and I can’t wait to spend as much time as possible outside to soak it all up! Got a few things on the agenda this weekend, so it should go by in a flash. Bummer. Backing it up…

Monday: Right after breakfast, Wes and I walked to Safeway to pick up groceries for the week. I actually made a meal plan and lucked out that all of our dinners only required minimal additional ingredients.

The rest of our day was pretty laid back (from what I remember). I did day two of 22 Minute Hard Corps and we played in the basement for a while before Tyler got home.

Dinner was zucchini ‘meatballs’. They were pretty good taste-wise, but still a bit mushy. I’l have to simmer the heck out of the zucchini next time! Wes played with one for a while, but didn’t manage to get any pieces in his mouth.

Tuesday: Man, I need to up my picture game so I can remember what the heck we did! The usual morning hang outs..oh right! I actually got up early to do my workout while Wes was still sleeping! I even got in a shower too (perks of being able to shower in 60 seconds).

I had an interview that afternoon and ended up landing the position on the spot! Keeping it on the down-low, so don’t ask! I’ll share eventually 🙂

As soon as I got home, it was time to head out again to attend the media launch for the 2016 beer for Alberta Beer Festivals! I was really grateful to be able to attend AND bring Susie along. We chatted at Pig & Duke downtown until I ran out of time on my parking spot then we headed over to Last Best for another beer. If you haven’t been there yet I HIGHLY recommend checking them out!

I was home in time for dinner- which was Pickle Brined Baked Chicken Tenders then put Wes down and walked the doggies. I even squeezed in a second workout that evening since I had some extra energy.

Wednesday: The best part of waking up at butt crack? Being able to make a pancake breakfast. Only thing that would make it better would be if a handful of bacon was on the plate and a splash of Baileys was in my coffee 😉

While Wes was down for his morning nap (I’ve been lucking out all week with him taking 2 naps a day) I had a quick Skype meeting for a freelance job. Timing worked beautifully and Wes woke up just as the call ended so we had lunch and headed out for a walk and to cross a couple of errands off the list.

In case you didn’t see on my Instagram or Facebook pages, there is a limited time sale on a few of the Focus T25 programs and they are REALLY good prices. The sale started on April 5th, but we don’t know how long it will last. SO….if you’ve been thinking about biting the bullet, now’s the time! It’s my favorite program 🙂

For dinner we had BBQ pork tenderloin which was out of this world delicious. I rounded the day out with a long bath and simultaneously completed some online certifications I need for my job.

Thursday: Man oh man was Thursday a beautiful day. It seems that our ‘day’ doesn’t really start until after breakfast/workout/morning hang outs/nap/lunch and I’m pretty a-OK with that. I love my morning routine with Wes. But after all that stuff was done, we hung out on the patio for a good long while. It seems our patio absorbs the sun’s heat so much that the temperature was a bit warm out there, but none of us were complaining.

After sufficient patio time, I put Wes in the Bob and we walked to the liquor store. You know, as you do with an 11 month old while you’re still on mat leave. In the middle of the day. BUT- it was National Beer Day! And I celebrated by wearing my newest favorite shirt.

We walked back home so I could put the beer in the fridge then headed back out to the park to take advantage the last few weeks we have left with our playground. Apparently the city deems it too dangerous and since our part of the neighborhood doesn’t have enough appropriately aged children to use the area, it’s getting demolished. Wah.

We had Korean Grilled Chicken Breasts for dinner and paired it with a new Wild Rose beer. (Native to Alberta…or should I say, Albeerta?! ha I’m so funny)

Tyler has been full speed ahead on some home improvement projects, so my weeknights usually consist of me managing Wes while he work work work work works. Sorry, that Rihanna song has been stuck in my head all week.

So that’s our week in a nutshell..now on to the weekend!!

Weekender

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Happy Monday! (said no one ever). I’m exhausted from the weekend and I could use an extra ‘day off’ before the week gets started! Dang it. We didn’t do a whole heck of a lot over here, but there was a LOT of outside time because the sun was out 🙂

Friday: Otherwise known as Pancake Day. I was able to make them just as Wes was waking up, so we both enjoyed our food on the floor. And someone finally decided to hold on to his bottle by himself- even if he doesn’t understand he’s got to tip his head back to get the goods 🙂

The rest of our morning consisted of chores, my workout, doing my hair, and a nap. I let Wes crawl around for a bit before he went down for a nap and he ended up bonking his face on the floor and got a bloody nose. The poor kid was scared out of his mind and it took a long time to finally calm him down.

While he napped, I had a Skype interview (which went well!) and then we lunched.

My favorite part of the day was heading outside! We walked around the nearby shopping center and stopped in Safeway for a couple of staples before circling the neighborhood and coming back home. It felt so nice to be able to enjoy the warm sun and not wear a jacket- I’m hoping by typing this I don’t jinx it and we get snow next week.

Tyler brought home burrito bowls for dinner and I quickly had to get out of the house to take the dogs to their annual vet checkup. The good news: they’re both healthy. The not so good news: annual check ups are $$$.

Afterwards, I relaxed in the tub and watched the first five episodes of The Ranch on Netflix.

Saturday: I could relive Saturday morning just about every day. I started the day off with chocolate Shakeology and had a wonderful QUIET morning with Wes. He was so happy to be crawling around the house and exploring that he tired out pretty quickly.

When he went down for a nap, I took the puppies out for a LONG walk. All three of us really needed to take advantage of the warm weather and it was such a pleasant walk around our homey little neighborhood. Nevermind that tons of people were out gardening…in April!

I actually wasn’t craving any sweets but decided to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies. And since I needed to check if they were good- I enjoyed one on the patio with a cup of coffee. YOLO.

Then it was time for our great big Lowe’s adventure. Tyler had a laundry list of things he needed to pick up, so Wes and I tagged along. He was a happy camper since I kept him filled with snacks!

It seems like we spent eternity there, but we managed to get two carloads of stuff and then it was time to head home for dinner. Wes enjoyed- and I mean REALLY enjoyed- pasta and we had pizza.

Tyler and I watched Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and we went to bed. As soon as I shut my eyes, Wes started crying, so I had to make a quick detour to his room for a little snuggling then it was lights out!

Sunday: If Friday is Pancake day, then Sunday is BAE day.

The morning was filled with typical play time with Wes and chores. But I got to do one extra special task- I got to pick up all the poo in the backyard! I admit, I got a bit lazy about it for a while, yuck. With the extra dry temps lately, I was able to get everything that was back there, which makes for a nice clean slate. Please tell me I’m not the only person who isn’t always on top of dog doody duty?

After that- and a good hands-washing- I did Day 1 of 22 Minute Hard Corps. I was really excited to start this new program and I’m looking forward to progressing through the next 8 weeks.

In the afternoon, we went to Babies R Us to pick up some gates for the stairs then returned to Lowe’s for more home stuff. Wes got a bit antsy this time around and I decided to head back early with him, only to discover a major diaper blowout. Not a fun ride home. That is all.

I felt so bad for the little guy because he had bonked his forehead earlier in the morning and a nice bruise had started to form. Couple that with a diaper blowout and a now-grumpy mom trying to get him to nap…I mean, that’s just not a fun combo! He did eventually go down and it was a nice little reset for both of us.

We hung around the rest of the afternoon and Wes was able to more freely explore after Tyler put the gate up. Happy baby! I took the doggies for their walk and came home to maybe squeeze in another workout. I think my body needed the extra burn from all the pizza. Seriously, pizza makes me bloat like you have no idea.

We watched the finale of Walking Dead then headed to bed.

Here’s to a great week ahead!

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