Baby Tag's Sprinkle

My sweet friend Alison (and Brad and my mothers) threw a Sprinkle for Baby Tag, which was lovely :) When Alison first mentioned throwing the shower I told her thanks but no thanks, I always get uncomfortable in situations like that and really hate being the center of attention, but she was relentless:) So, we got together and chatted about what would be most comfortable for me and it came together beautifully! I invited about 20 of my closest friends here in Richmond and we just hung out together, ate some delicious food, and enjoyed Carytown Cupcakes (YUM!). Our friends were so kind and gifted us with some wonderful items that will be just perfect for Baby Tag. It was such a lovely lovely event and I am so glad Alison wouldn't let me say 'no'!!

Snow Fun

We finally had snow! It was COLD this morning, 11* when we woke up. Cy and Brad had a lot of fun in the snow and I enjoyed taking pictures:) I am so glad we had Cy because it used to be me that had to get out in the snow and wrestle around with my husband…now Cy gladly does it;) They have so much fun together.

American Tap House

We met Tim and Laurie for a snow day lunch at the American Tap House today. This is the first time that I have eaten here and it was good. Brad loves it because they have 70+ beers on tap…I can't wait to drink again! Anyway, I had the veggie pita and fries and Brad had a pimento grilled cheese and fries. We had the "Governor's Suite" for our table which was wonderful;) Just as we were finishing up, our server brought this delectable dessert over for free, which was so nice! It was delicious. 4 scoops of ice cream on top of a belgian waffle, topped with strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream. YUM!

Winter Abundance

So far the Cooke family is rocking this vegetarian thing. Truthfully, it hasn't bothered me one bit nor Brad until he was tempted in Philly to have a chicken cheesesteak. He stayed the course however and is still meat free:) My new favorite meal is vegetarian egg rolls, they are so delicious and easy! Tonight I made this Winter Abundance Bowl which is absolutely amazing. It is comprised of green lentils, sweet potato, red cabbage, broccoli, jasmine rice, and avocado. Cy is doing well trying new things too. I modify his meals just a bit so that I know he will get enough to eat. For instance, tonight his dinner was sweet potato, lentils, rice, raw carrots, raw broccoli, hard boiled egg, avocado, and apple slices. He are every last bite, and so did we! Yum!!

Snow Day #2

Well, snow day #1 was a bust. No snow! But, we had a great day. Cy and I ran lots of errands, I actually went to the pool for a swim, played around the house, made delicious veggie egg rolls for dinner (my new favorite meal), and got some school work done. It was great. The best part of all…it started dumping about 6pm and got COLD so they cancelled school again! Awesome :) Between the conference and the snow days, I haven't been in school in 8 days. It's like another spring break;)

Last night, Cy put the snow day superstitions into practice to ensure that we got the day off. He slept in his pjs inside out, put ice in the toilet, and slept with a spoon under his pillow. I had not heard of this before, he heard about it at school. Brad asked how I couldn't know about it, I reminded him that I grew up in Florida. We definitely never got snow days!!

Looking forward to hanging out with the boys again today. Going to lunch at the American Tap House, will probably go back to the pool for another swim and will keep working on my lesson plans for my maternity leave which should start in 4 weeks (at the latest :))!! Love it!

SNOW DAY!

Finally! We are getting a snow day. I didn't think it was going to happen for us this year. It has been such a mild winter. We are supposed to get 4 - 6" tomorrow, we shall see about that:) I'm just happy to have one more day free of school, lots to do to get ready for this baby with regards to lesson plans and sub plans. It's hard to plan for 5 - 6 weeks of school when I'm not going to be there!

I'm looking forward to one more day of sleeping in and get to spend the day with Cy. I'm sure Brad will take Cy climbing in the afternoon, can't wait until I can play too! Few more weeks...

Oh Canada!

Brad and I had to go to Oakville Canada for the International School Experiential Education Network Conference (ISEEN) last week. When we were asked to go I thought, Yes! That would be a great get away for the 2 of us right before the baby comes, but, as the time got closer I started to get a bit nervous about the whole thing. Everyone kept saying how they couldn't believe that "they" were letting me go…I couldn't figure out who "they" was, my doctor, the airlines, the insurance companies? My doctor said all was well. I went to see her just before I left, I definitely didn't check with the airlines or my insurance. We just hopped on the plane and hoped for the best.
Luckily, there was no baby drama on the planes.  We flew out of RIC to O'Hare and all was well until we got to Chicago. The plane left and arrived on time in Chicago but when we arrived, they apparently didn't have a gate for us. So, we sat on the tarmac for almost 2 hours. That was less than comfortable and took up our entire layover. Once we finally got off the plane we had to bust it as fast as we could to get to our next gate. We got on the plane on time, moved about 6" back from the gate, and then sat…for another 1.5 hours. UGH! My poor back. We arrived in Toronto pretty late and our rental car was re-rented to someone else. Nice. So, we just took a cab to Oakville (about 30 mins) rather than try to find another one. The bad part of not having the car was that we lost our flexibility. I booked us a day early so we could go to Niagra Falls in the morning before the conference started and we weren't able to do that. It was about 1.5 hours each way and not something we could do without a car. So, we made due. We strolled around Oakville and took in the sights. It's an adorable little town.
The conference itself was busy. We were up and moving from 7am - 9pm but it was exciting and we both got so much out of it. Next year it's at Andover in Boston and I would definitely like to head back.
Our flights home were uneventful and I was less nervous heading back. Everything was on time and on schedule and when we got to the airport in RIC our sweet Cy jumped out and surprised us. My parents brought him to meet us at the airport, it was such a wonderful surprise after not seeing him for 5 days!

Movin' On Up!

Cyrus is transitioning out of his preschool class and into a pre-kindergarten class this week. He is very excited, and so am I. I had to get all kinds of school supplies for him this weekend and he will have actual homework now, which is cute. Basically that entails reading for 15 minutes a day and some other little learning worksheets and such. He's ready to make the switch. He is at a point where he is writing his name, my name, Brad's name,etc...and reading sight words. He can count to 100 and does a great job with basic addition and subtraction. He has all the days and months down par, in order, and he is pretty good at locating most states on the east coast and Colorado since he knows he was born there. He is still not too interested in crafty things like coloring and cutting and I am sure he gets that from me. There are 4 other kids from his class moving up too so I am glad he won't be the only one. I am so proud of my little bug!!

Frozen

Cy and I went to see the movie, Frozen, last week. It was so much fun going to the matinee with my little man. We don't have tv, we turned it off years ago, but we do have Netflix. Even so, Cy is not allowed to watch tv during the week so the weekends (Fri/Sat night) are considered "movie night" in our house. So, to do something so special as to take in a movie at the theatre, well, Cy was thrilled :) I had to laugh at myself though because I was definitely "that mother" who snuck in snacks. We had air popped popcorn, cheese sticks, and apples. Poor boy :)

8.5 months

Uh oh, I know that puffy face. Reminds me so much of what I looked like in Middle School. I had the same puffy face when Cy was born. 

We are getting there!!! I had my 8.5 month check up with the doctor and she seems to be growing just fine. I am a bit concerned because I haven't put on any weight in about 5 weeks (I have gained 24 pounds and am holding steady) but the doctor said that Tag is measuring just fine and the she is still growing, guess I am just not which is fine by me. I am off to Canada next week and then when we get back we are into the weekly meetings with the doctor. Very exciting! Sleep is not easy, my back is hurting pretty much all the time and the veins in my legs are protruding and painful this time but I'm trying some compression socks to see if that makes a difference, stay tuned on that one. 

All in all though, this has been a great pregnancy. I am ready for it to be over but that is just because I am not a good pregnant woman. I am thrilled that I have easy pregnancies and that the baby is doing well. Maybe she'll come a bit early this time?! One can hope :)

St. Mary's Hospital

Brad, Cy and I had our appointment at St. Mary's today to check out the Birthing Suite and the recovery area. It is actually much nicer than I thought it would be. I know I was spoiled by giving birth in Steamboat so I am glad to see that this hospital will be nice, warm, and comfortable as well.
It took us 11 minutes to get to the hospital from our house so that's comforting. The policy at the hospital is that we will labor and deliver in one room, recover in that room for about 2 hours (if all goes well and I have a vaginal birth again), and then move to a recovery room where we will stay for 2 nights for a vaginal birth and 3 nights for a cesarean.
St. Mary's does implement this beautiful policy of "magic hour"where they ask the the new mom and dad spend the first hour of the baby's life with just the three of us, for a whole hour, bonding and enjoying the moment. I love that. With all 4 grandparents in town now I will cherish that time with the baby before they get to the hospital, and even before Cyrus comes in to meet Tag. I think that is going to be so wonderful.
So, I am looking forward to meeting this beautiful little girl in about 6 weeks at St. Mary's…just wish I didn't actually have to birth her :) OUCH!!

Sprinkle

My sweet friend Alison has decided (against my wishes) to throw me a Sprinkle to celebrate this sweet baby girl that I am growing. I just received my invitation in the mail today. It's so cute. She is so good to me.

Heat Pump

On the coldest night of the year, our heating pump decided to stop working. I was home most of the day and thought it was chilly but didn't really notice that it was down right cold until Brad came home. He mentioned that it was cold so we looked and the temp in the house was down to 60*. Brrr! So, he checked it out and the heating pump was definitely not kicking on. Why do things like this always seem to happen on Friday afternoons?!
So, as the day progressed the temp in the house dropped. Luckily, the downstairs of our house has it's own separate heating pump so, we moved into the guest area downstairs. It was actually nice;) Warm and toasty with the downstairs fire place burning brightly. We hunkered down there all night, and had a picnic dinner. Cy slept on the blow up mattress, Brad slept in the bed, and I slept on the sectional. It really was one of the best nights sleep I've had in awhile actually. My back has been killing me in our bed, so that was actually nice.
Brad called Dominion on Saturday morning while I was at the swim meet and they came and fixed it. By time I got home, the house was toasty and warm. Never a dull moment at the Cooke house:)

Brrrr….50* and still dropping

Taking over the guest room, between my sewing table and moving in, we basically destroyed the guest room :)

The Minature

For Christmas this year, Jill presented me with her Miniature ring that Brad gifted her with during his Ring Figure during his Junior year at VMI. The Ring Figure event represents an important milestone in the life of a cadet, second only to graduation in importance. Each class is responsible for designing a unique ring, which incorporates symbols significant to the group. The elaborate Ring Figure tradition known to today's cadets dates to the 1920's; prior to that time, rings were received in a much more informal setting. Miniature versions of class rings are sometimes given to fiancées as engagement ring or to Mothers as a 'Mother's ring'. 

Generally, when we go to VMI functions, most of the women wear their miniatures and the men always wear their rings. I am so so so glad to have one of my own now:) I love it. I need to send it off to have it resized because it's too big right now and I'm going to do that this week. I love it.

Burp Cloths

I have been experimenting with my new sewing machine, and I LOVE it. It's amazing!!! I've only made a few burp cloths so far and have had a great time with it. Here are my creations so far:)

I have some good ideas of things I want to

Making the Switch :(

I really REALLY enjoy my coffee creamer. I generally use Coffee Mate Sugar Free Hazelnut but here's the thing, it has a LOT of ingredients. Regardless of how yummy it is, I can't get over the amount of ingredients that I can't pronounce. So, I am switching to Half and Half. Not as sweet, not as yummy, and definitely not the little slice of heaven that I look forward to each morning. I'm going to give it a shot and see how it goes. Hmph.

Idiopathic Vestibular Event

Last night, my sweet Skylar gave me a heart attack. I was cooking dinner in the kitchen when she stumbled in like a drunk person. She fell down in the middle of the floor and just looked at me. She is 14 and does fall sometimes but this was so weird. So I just patted her a bit and talked to her until it seemed like she was ready to try again. We got her up and asked her to walk a bit and the same thing happened, it was like she had no control over her back end. I promptly burst into tears. Henry has been fading pretty significantly for the past 6 months so I'm prepared for his passing but Sky has been just fine so this was shocking.

So, she wobbled into the sitting room and laid under the table. I promptly got on the internet to see what was going on. I came across something called an Idiopathic Vestibular event which is very common in older labs. It comes on very quickly and then tapers off over the next 24 - 48 hours. They don't really have a definitive answer as to why this happens but an inner ear infection can trigger it. This could be the case with Sky, she always has ear issues.

When we woke up this morning, she seems to be fine. She ate both dinner and breakfast last night and is acting totally normally today. I may still bring her to the vet to get her ears checked but if she continues to get better I can assume it was an IVE and there is nothing the vets can do about that. It's hard having old dogs. Sky has been with me for 14 years…I love that dog.

From The Mouth Of Babes...

Cy and I were driving around, running errands, the other day and we got on the topic of baby Jesus and God, which we often do. Cy and I have been going to church a lot more this year and we do spend a good bit of time talking about God so I love when he brings it up on his own and tells me what he thinks. Cyrus asked me if he was going to be as big and as strong as God one day and I told him No, there would be no way that he would ever be as strong as God because God has to take care of the whole world. Cy said it would be great to be as big as "him". I asked him, "how do you know that God is a man and not a woman?" And, without missing a beat, Cy said, "well mama, God is both". Blew me away. How can he understand that at 4?

I don't guide his spiritual journey because I don't feel qualified to do so. My own spiritual journey has been so tumoltuous and I have finally arrived at a place with my understanding of who God is to me which I am grateful for, but by no means do I intend to direct Cyrus in how he should believe in God and who God should be for him. Because of this, I worry that he misses out on things without me "directing" him, but this one little comment from him tells me that I can just turn it over to God and let God take the reins.

New Year's Day Dinner

All the parents came over tonight for a delicious New Year's Day dinner. I used my new crock pot to make our annual sauerkraut dish (sauerkraut, turkey kielbasa, carrots, and kale), my mom made her pork and sauerkraut meal and Doc and Jill brought the southern classic of black eyed peas and sausage. It was so yummy!

Brad told me a few days ago that he wants to go vegetarian for awhile. I was a vegetarian for about 10 years so I am ok with it but we do have some meat in the fridge that we've been trying to eat. So, after the meal tonight we're pretty cleared out in the meat department. I have actually made a few DELICIOUS dinners this week that were meat free and yummy. My only stipulation is that we are not going to fall back on rice or pasta every night just to fill up (which is what I did when I was a vegetarian). So, I've been looking on Pinterest for good recipes and of course, there are tons and tons. My favorites this week were Cuban lack beans, coconut and lime rice, and mango & a Kale, Leek, and Lentil with Tempeh dish. Yum.

Welcome 2014

It's that time of year again, when we announce to ourselves exactly what it is we would like to work on to become a better version of ourselves. Here is what I have come up with for this year…

Motherhood:

• I want to continue to be the kind of mom that Cy wants/needs, especially since we are going to have a new little person in our lives. I am worried about this transition so I will focus on being the same mama to him then that I am now
• I would like to implement a date day with Cyrus during this first year of Tag's life so that we can continue to work on our relationship as he grows.
• I want to be accepting and patient of this little girl who is about to enter our family. I had a hard time adjusting to life as a mother with Cyrus, and now that I know what to expect, I want to face this challenge a little more proactively and head on this time around. 

Marriage

• I would like to practice more kindness with Brad. It's not that I'm not kind to him and it's not that we don't have a great relationship but I do find that sometimes I am more patient and forgiving with people that mean way less to me than my husband does. Sometimes, I give all I have all day long and he gets what's left over at the end of the night, which is not always loving. So I will work on that.
• With this new baby coming, I would like to try to focus on making sure we have time to spend together as husband and wife and best friends, without the children, so that we can continue to grow as a couple and not just as parents.
• Continue to do things that we enjoy together, especially outdoor activities when we are both happiest.

Self:

• I want to practice more "grace" in my daily life. This word is somewhat of a mantra for me, has been for quite some time. I think one of the most wonderful characteristics a person can possess is grace and be willing to afford that to others. I focus on it daily, with my students, with my son, with strangers (except when I'm driving, and then I'm just a total bitch), and most importantly with my husband. But, in the moments, the really important moments, I find it hard to practice grace and giving of grace to others so this is one of my goals. To practice grace in the hard and the important moments and to give this grace to others. As they say, "those who live in a glass house should not throw stones".
• After the baby comes, one of my goals is to get my body back in shape. I don't really care about what I weigh. Often times, I think there is a perfect # on the scale for me when in reality it's more about my strength and speed than that number. Before I got pregnant, I was stronger than I may have ever been in my life. I was toned and had a pretty decent six(ish) pack…but the scale said I was about 7 pounds heavier than what I deemed ideal for myself. So, I choose to ignore the scale and focus on my fitness.
• Races: sign up and do them. I would like to do 4 - 5 sprint triathlons this season plus another 1/2 ironman. I also want to throw in a few half marathons and 5k/10ks. I'd love to train for a longer (50K) running race again but it depends on the kiddos. I am not sure what my training schedule will look like have a new baby plus my sweet boy but I will do my best. I'm not thinking I'll PR this season but just being in the game will be momentum for me. 

Financial - Our financial life is SO much better than it has ever been and it is wonderful to breathe easier again, it's been a long time. We are close to being where I want to be and have come a long way since the days of Over The Moon. My financial goals for the year are: 

• Become debt free in 2014. We are close, so stinking close (although Christmas set us back a bit), to being debt free and I just want to get there. We paid off both of our cars last year and one credit card. We have 2 credit cards left that we can pay off in about 7 months. After those are gone, we will not owe anything to anyone…I can't imagine what that will feel like! 

• My goal last year was to just put something away in savings each month, regardless of what it was. We have done that this year and have done well with it. It is so comforting to have a backup should we need it. My goal is to continue to put a money into our savings each month but to increase the amount quite a bit. Having a second kid in daycare is going to make this a bit of a challenge next year but we'll do our best. Cy and Tag in daycare will cost us about $2000 per month (puke) but it's for only one 9 month period and then Cy will enter Kindergarten at Collegiate (for free, I still can't believe that) and we'll be down to one daycare payment again. We are going to feel seriously rich when both kids are out of daycare with an extra $2000 per month…I am DEFINITELY getting a new road bike then :)
• Continue to spend only cash and not use our credit cards. We did use them for Christmas a bit this year and though I was glad we could do it, all this "stuff" is just not worth that heavy feeling of having extra debt because of it. We've been great at just using cash for everything, it was definitely uncomfortable switching to this system but it has made all the difference for our financial life. 

So, there you have it. Pretty ambitious year I think but all worthy of my time and attention. I am hoping that writing it here will help to keep me accountable throughout this year.

My Hospital Bag

After packing Tag's overnight bag for the hospital I started feeling a little anxious about my own bag, so I packed it up today. It's been so long that I had to look online to see what kinds of things I should bring with me to the hospital. I definitely don't want to bring too much stuff but knowing myself, after I have the baby, I am going to want to clean up and get cozy and cute…so I kept that in mind:) It is so hard to know what's going to fit. They say everything will be about the same size it was at 6 months so I'm going with that. I don't remember from last time but I do remember that I packed some of my normal clothes to wear home last time and could not get my belly into it. I didn't know how big my uterus would still be after, but I know this time:) So I'm bringing some cute maternity things that aren't too obviously maternity:)

I decided on:

• a going home outfit of tights and a flowy top with flats
• a pair of black yoga pants and two other comfy but cute tops, depending on what I'm feeling like
• a robe and my new cozy Ugg slippers that I got for Christmas
• something to sleep in
• flip flops
• undies and sports bras
• toiletries 
• a boppy pillow
• snacks for me and for Brad (apparently, not all hospitals are as amazing as Steamboat and this is a requirement): plantain chips, fruit leather, Almond thins and Justin's almond butter, & a few bars
• a Tumbler for water
• electronic chargers

That should do it, I hope I'm not forgetting anything. So, now we hurry up and wait :) 7 weeks and counting….

Tag's Overnight Bag

I packed Tag's overnight bag today to take to Canada with us in a few weeks. I am sure that all will be well, but, should I go into labor while we are in Canada, I want to make sure I have some things for her in the hospital and for the flight home. That would be so crazy, doable, but crazy. I hope that does not happen.

I packed a few Aden and Anais swaddle blankets, three outfits, some teeny tiny diapers, shoes, hats, and winter swaddlers, and a few other odds and ends. It's so weird to be packing a diaper bag again, it's been so long! I am super excited about meeting this little one though, sooner rather than later (but not Canada sooner!).

Tag's cute diaper bag. I found it on Land's End and love it. I tried to take the picture far enough away so the name is not discernible yet:) I love the polka dots!! So cute

Williamsburg

We decided to go down to Williamsburg to visit Todd, Sallie, and the girls for the afternoon. It was so fun. We don't see them very often so we try to get together when we can. Brad and Todd went for a mountain bike ride and Sallie and I took the kids to Kid Burg, which as a really cool play area. Sallie made a delicious vegetable soup for dinner and we hung out until 6pm when Todd had to go to work. It was really fun and the kids had a great time together, as always.

Sewing Machine!

My mother got me my first sewing machine when I graduated high school, to take to college with me. I have used it, lots, throughout the years. I busted it out a few weeks ago to start making some things for Tag and for some reason the setting to load the bobbins is not working. I just mentioned that to mom and what do you know, but she got me a NEW one for Christmas this year! It is nice too…fancy! I can not wait to set it up and figure out how to use it. When I say my original one was basic, that is an understatement. This one however does all kinds of things and has something like 170 different stitch options. There is a DVD I need to watch in order to use it. I can't wait! I have so many ideas of things I want to make :)

Mountains Beyond Mountains

Brad has been talking about getting a tattoo for a few years that represents our family but has been struggling with that to get. He finally decided on mountains and yesterday we all went with him to get his new tattoo. I LOVE it. I am a tattoo and piercing kinda gal, I don't know if it is my generation or if I just like that little bit of nonconformity in people but I love them:) So, clearly I am in love with Brad's new art. I told him it increased his "sexiness" a good bit, if that is even possible :) 

Here is the significance: obviously, the mountains speak to both of us very much, they are a part of who we are as individuals and as a couple (and now family). There is one peak for each member of our family. Cyrus declared which peak represented which member of the family, including Tag's peak:) The full moon is to represent Brad and I. Brad asked me to marry him, in the mountains under a full moon, while we were doing a midnight ski. I love love love it! I will be getting another tattoo after Tag comes and am pretty sure I know what I will be doing as well. Mine will not be nearly as big as Brad's of course, but it will be very significant to our family :)