Random Things Thursday

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

I’m gonna quit saying I’m looking forward to the weekend because I could just let time freeze for now. I’m loving my time with my baby boy, I’m loving (shock and awe…wait for it) doing chores around the house, and I’m loving being able to run errands during the day and avoiding the wretched weekend crowds. Tomorrow my little man will be 9 months old which brings me even closer to my return to work and I am getting more and more sick to my stomach about it!

Wes tried smoothies for the first time this week! The first one was a mixture of fruits, greek yogurt, oats and almond milk and the second had some spinach added to it. The LOVED the green smoothie- I had to slow him down! He uses this cup and it seems to do the trick in ensuring a slower flow. He’s also been able to munch of some rice husks which seem to disappear in the blink of an eye. This guy loves his food!

2. Thanks to Brie’s post earlier this week, I was able to take advantage of Victoria’s Secret sale- buy a sports bra, get a legging for free! I had a store credit, so it cost me nothing AND I rounded out my quick shopping trip with a stop at the used kid’s store and picked up some oldie buy goodie books for Wes.

3. Dinners from the week have been pretty easy and super tasty! Monday: Slow Cooker Gnocchi in Creamy Pork Sauce (I used chicken) Tuesday: Mild Italian Chicken Sausage with couscous and sautéed zucchini Wednesday: Asian Turkey Meatballs with steamed broccoli and rice. I plan on making a slow cooker pot roast tonight with leftovers for tomorrow!

4. Monday and Tuesday nights have been tiresome! Wes got up at 5am Tuesday morning and 3am Wednesday morning to feed and each time it took him nearly 90 minutes to get back to sleep. I don’t mind because he rarely does this and I love the extra cuddles, but it really gets to my brain and body when I try to get some shut eye afterwards! It’s a good thing he’s cute.

The lack of sleep causes me to take some obnoxious (and cute!) photos of him 🙂

5. I finished Making a Murder on Tuesday night and Ken Kratz is just super creepy to me. That is all.

kratz

6. I’m 90% sure about which day home we will choose for Wes. I checked out another on Tuesday and it seemed a bit too crowded plus the caregiver will be having surgery just as Wes will start there so I’m taking it as a sign it’s not meant to be. We are checking out another place today, but I think my heart lies with the place we checked out last week. It’s $$, but I think Wes will get better attention (which is the most important part!)

babysit

7. Tyler noticed that Best Buy OF ALL PLACES had Quest Bars on sale online…the deal (keyword DEAL: regular $39.99; sale $32.99/box) was up until yesterday. So I bought three boxes. These are on my short list of things I will splurge on. Also on that list: Sodastream CO2 canisters (I go through one every 2 weeks), Vega nutritional shake powder, Bio Oil, and anything for Wes.

questbars

8. To all my friends in the US: you can come visit me now. Do you know what the exchange rate is right now? Granted, most everything here in my expensive, but still…MORE MONEY IN YO POCKET! Seriously, come visit me. (hint hint: I’ve been here FOUR YEARS and only one person has visited!!!)

money

Tell me something random!

From the Week

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Well, I can’t say that I have much to share from the past few days. Wes has been teething like crazy and with that has come some yucky moods, lots of drooling and SNOTS-R-US. I feel bad for the kiddo, the tooth is taking it’s sweet time and he absolutely hates having his nose cleaned or wiped.

Monday: This was Wes’s worst day. He was really stuffed up and just a bit lethargic. I put him in his feel better jammies and they seemed to do the trick….at least for the afternoon. We had lots of cuddles and play time and he still managed to get in his two regular naps.

Dinner was quick and easy: One Pan Honey Garlic Chicken and Veggies

Wes went down at 7pm, so I took the dogs for a walk. When I came back, he was up again and Tyler and I took turns soothing a sleeping/screaming/hoarse baby until he went down for good again at 10:45. I felt SO bad for the little guy- he would fall asleep in our arms, but instantly scream murder as soon as we put him down. I guess he just needed some extra cuddles!

Tuesday: Wes woke up a bit better, so I was able to run a couple of errands with him in the early afternoon. I deemed it another ‘sick’ day and he got a lot more cuddles- this time from the pups too.

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And apparently it tired them all out..

We had chicken quesadillas for dinner. Correction: I had guacamole for dinner- with a side of quesadilla. YUM.

I was on some weird sugar buzz (didn’t know a handful of Skittles could produce such craziness!) and poor Layla fell victim..

Our walk was cut a bit shorter than intended after we encountered (and by encountered, I mean we walked RIGHT INTO) a coyote. The dogs wanted to play and I started screaming and running. We must’ve been a sight for a neighbors.

Wednesday: Another stay-in-the-house-all-day day. Crap weather means any trip outside of the house is most likely to a store which means money will probably be spent. And that cannot happen, my friends. I need to save money!!! So, to kill time we had fun in the tub.

Then I decided…meh the heck with the cold weather, let’s go to the library! I bundled up the Mr. in his new snow suit and we walked over to the library (which is only a block away).

Apparently the afternoon tuckered him out and he slept for a couple of hours. While he slept, I got dinner ready- we had taco macaroni casserole (I subbed greek yogurt for the cream cheese/sour cream and didn’t tell Tyler. He didn’t notice!). I could really see the white of his tooth when he woke up which got me all too excited so I wanted to commemorate with some pictures.

But..the dang tooth still hasn’t made it’s grand appearance.

I ate the last piece of cheesecake that Tyler made, so I needed to replenish my dessert stash. STAT. Double chocolate chip cookies it was. I used this recipe, I used semi-sweet chips instead of white chocolate.

I started watching Making A Murderer before bed and just as I thought- had the wierdest/scariest/worst dreams.

Thursday: I did my workout upstairs while Wes was still awake. It felt good to get it done earlier in the day than usual and Wes was syncing my jumping with his in the jumperoo. I’d like to think I burned more calories from laughing throughout my entire workout!

Obviously the grump face is from the pic being taken PRE-workout.

After lunch, I went to a prospective day home for Wes and I absolutely LOVED the woman- everything is exactly what I was looking for! It’s a great environment, I’m just nervous that it’s a bit pricier than what I can really pay. BUT- I would rather pay her rate than something less and have it be a crappy place, YA KNOW?! Kid comes first.

I’m still super jazzed about our meeting today, and I can only hope the stars align and she can take Wes starting April (Don’t get me wrong, I would MUCH rather stay home myself with Wes, but I would consider this woman to be a close second!)

PS: The outing required I humanize myself. Fashion sweats for the win!

Tyler had to pick up some tools from a co-worker’s house on the other side of the city, so I had a makeshift dinner of veggies, quinoa and eggs.

I watched more Making a Murderer and called it a night.

How was your week?! Best meal you ate?!

TGIF and have a great weekend!

Random Things Thursday

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Hey there, everyone! How are you doing? I’m having a hard time keeping track of what day it is since the holidays always throw me for a loop plus Tyler is home all this week. But I’m glad it’s only Thursday (just had to check the calendar again to make sure) and Wes and I have a few more daysof him home with us.

So, some random stuff to share with you today- hope that’s ok. (They’re actually my favorite kind of posts because I don’t have to sound cohesive at all. Phew!)

I loaded my 2015 Best Nine montage on Instagram. Turns out pregnancy and baby photos are pretty popular. Glad the post-delivery donut made it in there too 😉

Costco now carries a jumbo pack of Honest Co. body wash + shampoo. I’ve already used it on Wes and I can’t believe how soft it makes his skin and hair! I’m jealous and want to use it too. It’s a sweet orange vanilla scent which you can smell straight out of the bottle, but becomes very light and natural smelling once used. So nice since I don’t really want Wes to smell like an orange?

honest

I FINALLY used the Essie Sleek Stick appliqués that I received for Christmas a few years back. They were super easy to apply, but they don’t last too long- I felt like I had to avoid doing certain things so they wouldn’t peel off. But they’re really cute. (I don’t think they make them anymore?)

We headed to the mall yesterday and I scored a couple of Nike running shorts for $10 each! I bought three pairs of these YEARS ago and absolutely love them- but never bought more since I couldn’t justify the regular price tag (hahah I gag writing this because I’ve managed to buy $$$$$$$$ in Lululemon since, but that habit has been kicked. Thank God.) The best part? They don’t ride up when I do cardio- something I have never experienced before. LOVE. And you’re welcome for the grainy crotch shot with the Terminator/Alien poster background.

Of course, I have to throw in some pictures of Wes for good measure. I snapped a pic of him yesterday while he was eating because I think it might be the last gummy smile pic I get before his bottom teeth pop through. Is it bad that I am massively depressed about him getting teeth? I want him to stay a baby forever.

Oh right! I chose a winner of the ookpix giveaway (where WERE you guys? I expected way more entries…next time people…next time!) and the winner was KORI! You need to send me a pic of the canvas once you get it!

And then there’s some recent eats. Nothing fancy because we’ve been pretty lazy.

Before I go, I have to ask for some feedback- MAKEUP REMOVER. What kind do you use?! I’ve always used the bottle of Maybelline remover with a Q-tip, but just tried some Neutrogena wipes and really like how wipes work- but I cut them into 4’s so I can stretch out the package. Anyone have any recommendations on what I should try? Preferably something natural? I’m all ears!

Happy New Year’s Eve!

From the Week

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Monday

Well, yay. Wes woke up at 2am. It was just for a feed, but I could NOT get back to sleep afterwards. Our bedroom was super warm, so I tried to catch some shut eye in the guest bedroom, but it just wasn’t happening.

The good news is that Wes then woke up on the right side of the bed later that morning. We got the usual done then headed over to my hot yoga/spin place to pick up something.

It was snowing out, so no walk for us. Besides, we had the good fortune of having to wait for the person come to fix the water heater. And guess what? After I had to run outside and chase him down to not leave our house- he looked at the heater for all of .2 seconds before stating that he needed to order a part and he would be in touch tomorrow. UM GUY I can’t wait until tomorrow. Cold water in snowy weather is not ideal. Especially for more than 1 day. Insert all the rage.

Anyhoo- we had salsa chicken for dinner which turned out freaking delicious. Afterwards, I put on THREE layers and took the dogs for a long walk around the neighborhood in the dark. I HATE WINTER PEOPLE. Cold + dark + no hot water = SEND WINE AND DRY SHAMPOO AND WET ONES.

Tuesday

Ok, so maybe going ‘real’ showerless for a couple days is good for my sleep? Because I slept for 9 hours and 10 minutes without a single blip. Or so says my fitbit. I woke up feeling amazing! And to top it off, I had prepared a bowl of brownie batter overnight oats the night before, so breakfast was all ready and waiting for me. BA-BAM.

I ran out real quick to run some errands before the guy came to fix our hot water tank. Now for the bad news: the HVAC people didn’t come. Which means another day sans hot water. Don’t even get me started-it is the worst customer service EVER. RAAAAAAAAAGE.

To combat this evil (and my stink) I made a giant peanut butter cookie. I should mention I was wearing my oh-so-sexy mom uniform.

It was DELICIOUS. Wes had a nice long nap and we did some reading and lots of jumping in anticipation for Tyler to come home. You know, so we could all sulk together about our lack of hot water.

I made us a super easy and quick Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry for dinner. It was really good! I highly recommend it AND adding sriracha 🙂

I got the coolest package in the mail, too!

One of my friends asked me to be her bridesmaid! Amy is one of my New York high school friends and we have been through A LOT together: matching tattoos, an apartment in Boston, boyfriends (yeah, we may have dated some of the same people. whoops), and lots and lots of drunk stories…which are the best kind. She still lives in the town where my parents live and her wedding will be in that area next October! Bonus: she already sent me a pic of our bridesmaid dresses and they are THEBOMB.COM. I can’t wait!

Wednesday

The day started off with some blood work. Ewww. It was just for my annual physical, but it had to be fasting, which made me a hangry lady at the lab. Thank goodness it was done quickly, so I was able to get home and have a shake for breakfast. Note: it was 7:30AM. WHO AM I THAT 7:30 IS LATE FOR BREAKFAST???? Ahh.

Wes was great the whole day- his afternoon nap even lasted 2 hours! Tyler and I were a bit grumpier because of some hiccups with getting our hot water tank repaired. The customer service was TERRIBLE and the tech was absolutely clueless on what to do (we even heard him on the phone with the tank manufacturer who was actually upset with him for not having any tools to properly diagnose the problem). Yikes.

Once the guy was gone and the tank was fixed (hooray, it only took him 3 visits!!!!) I took Wes for a nice long walk. It felt really good to get some fresh air and I was in even better spirits knowing that a HOT shower was in my near future.

Dinner was chicken and dumplings- my favorite dinner growing up. It was delicious.

I took the dogs for an evening walk- the double dose of fresh air felt unbelievably good, we bathed Wes, then I laid in the tub for as long as my body could take it. I might have even had a glass of wine too. Ok, well only a few sips because the hot water + wine made me a bit buzzy.

Thursday

It was a pretty great day! Wes slept in, I got my workout done…and I put on real people clothes! Gasp.

Only downside is that my hair dryer bit the dust. I think Tyler and I are having the worst luck with things ‘working’ for us.

After Wes woke up from yet another long nap (kid’s on a roll this week with tons of 90 minute naps!) we ran some errands, had lunch, and I did the ever important task of baking a DELICIOUS ginormous chocolate cookie.

I got some good smiles out of Wes throughout the afternoon. So nice, since we are pretty much stuck in the house! I really really HATE this cold weather.

I made spaghetti pie for dinner before meeting up with Susie to go to a local comedy club. It was a pretty good show, but not as vulgar as I was expecting (is that a good thing?!)

TGIF!!!!

Do you have any fun plans this weekend?

Three Things Thursday

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

1. I got back into the habit of falling asleep to watching Netflix on my phone in bed each night. (does that not sound like the worst sentence ever?! pff) Well anyways, it works because it’s taken me four nights and I’m still only 8 minutes into One Fine Day. That’s about 2 minutes a night and BOOM, I’m asleep. PS: I love watching old rom coms because flip phones? HAHAHA

2. I have been loving my workouts lately. I feel so proud of myself for really giving it my all. Most of my workouts are from Beachbody (21 day fix, 21 day fix extreme, insanity, t25) but there’s also some spin in there and LOTS of walking every day. LOTS. The Beachbody is great because they are quick and effective workouts that I can do without really having to think. Something that really comes in handy when my brain is already fried from having a baby in the house.

So guess what? I just weighed myself the other day and I’m 20lbs less than what I was pre-pregnancy. But the weight all came off from one place: my butt. No joke. All my clothes fit the exact same except for the hiney-region. (I attribute about 90% of it from breastfeeding and the other 10% from lack of binge eating/drinking as in pre-baby days. Or maybe it’s the other way around.) It’s kind of gross because my butt looks like how someones belly looks like after losing a TON of weight. It’s also pretty gross that there was an extra 20 lbs back there. But it makes me laugh because that just shows how big my butt actually was. Ok, I’m going to stop saying butt now. Butt.

3. I’m craving girl time like WHOA. I miss hanging with friends! Especially when it involves wine and not talking about baby-related things (although I am guilty of somehow always bringing the conversation back to Wes). I find that I am in such a better mindset when I get a couple of free hours to just be me. And what better way to be me than to do it with friends? Unless I’m getting a mani/pedi or massage, then that is definitely better.