Back to work!

I've been back to work for a week and I wanted to update about it. It has gone really well. Wayyyy easier than I thought it would be.

My back to work schedule starts at 6 when Julian and I wake up. I'm ready and gone by 7-7:15. Then I spend the day with some really great 2nd graders. I walk out the door at 3:05 and I'm home around 3:30. My mom has her three days a week at my house and Julian watches her the other two. They have a rule that they must send me pics throughout the day....





















That's all I have time for these days :)

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15 months and eating

I want to use this as a reference for my next toddler. She is totally growing out of being a picky eater! I'm so excited! She now eats what we are eating (mostly because I make the family what I know she likes. If I do make something 'new' and she doesn't like it, I make her Annies.)

Eloise loves:
Apples
Bananas
Pears
Grapes
Peas
Yogurt
Smoothies
Ice cream - vanilla and chocolate
Anything chocolate including cookies, cakes, brownies
Kidney beans
Ground turkey
Cheese
Baked ziti
Pasta with marinara sauce
Almond butter and jelly sandwich
Grilled cheese and squash sandwich
Cocoa almond butter
Macaroni and cheese with cheddar
Turkey chili
Sweet potatoes
Fried
Sweet potato fries
Chicken nuggets
Pizza on a tortilla
Pieces of corn sometimes (?)
Bagel with cream cheese
Instant oatmeal that's flavored
Chestnut
Kashi berry blossoms
Earths best snack granola bars
Buttery crackers
Hummus
Popsicles (she licks)
Any sort of chip I've had that she begs for


Eloise doesn't like:
Pesto pasta
Blueberries
Meatloaf
Pieces of tomato
Real pizza
Mashed potatoes or pieces of potatoes
Broccoli

I am so thrilled her 'likes' are so much more than her 'dislikes'! I can't wait to see what else she likes!!





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busy bee

Now that Eloise is as such a fun, social age, we are beginning to get her involved in more programs.  She definitely is shy, and takes a while to warm up.  But, within an hour or so, she becomes a little busy bee.  She likes to entertain the crowd (she sings and dances with her princess or does funny things and laughs at herself). She is starting to understand playing with friends, even though sharing isn't her forte.  I am sure she will learn.

As of right now she goes to Swim Class on Monday mornings and that's all.  I am going back to work in exactly 2 weeks (!!) and then my mom will be taking her.  I am even thinking about signing her up for the next spring session of swim lessons.  She usually enjoys it (today she cried the whole time, who knows why?) and I think it will be good for her to constantly be in the pool.  Then every Tuesday, while I am working, Julian is going to drop Eloise off to my mom at the Barnes and Noble in the Monmouth mall and they have toddler story time at 10:30.  Then my mom is going to drive her up north and do lunch with her great grandmother. Probably after a quick trip to the Disney store haha. Everyone is so excited about Tuesdays up north, because all my aunts and uncles will probably be dropping everything they have to do, to go eat lunch with her.  Wednesdays are just regular days at home with her Nan (my mom).  They can go to the park and play in the playroom. Thursday and Friday's are Nan's days off.  So Julian is in charge.  Every thursday from March 29th-May 3rd, Eloise and her daddy are going to music class.  It is 45 minutes long and they sing and dance and play instruments.  I am surprised that Julian agreed to do this, but he seemed happy to join in and take her to toddler music class. HA! I hope he takes pictures because I would LOVE to see how this works. Friday's are days at home with daddy.  I am hoping that Eloise and Julian can take me out to lunch on Friday's once I get settled.

So that is Miss Busy Bee's schedule for the Spring. I am sad to know that I won't be there every second to play with her but I am even more happy she has fun things to do every week!

I am also very excited for summer.  I have a list of about 15 things we want to do this summer (dorwood splash park, sesame place, hershey park, camden aquarium, please touch museum, philadelphia zoo, etc.) and also we are going to see if there are some more mommy and me programs we can join.  I am interested in Mommy and Me gymnastics. I found a program at Devlin gymnastics for her age group that is pretty close to our house. They also have an art and music class at the Atlantic club and maybe some more swim classes.

I can't wait to watch Eloise experience all these fun, new things! Hopefully she will enjoy most of it :)

turkey chili

Eloise has a few 'go to's' as far as dinner is concerned: Mac and Cheese (it used to be only Annie's but she has really branched out. She'll eat any mac and cheese as long as it is made with cheddar. She also likes peas in it. I have come to terms with her picky eating), pizza on a tortilla, trader joe's chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries, and turkey chili with beans from the slow cooker.  She really enjoys this recipe and I am so happy to make it once a week for her. I changed a few things but this is the original recipe from my slow cooker cookbook.

CHILI WITH BEANS

1 lb each: lean ground beef, ground turkey (I only use the turkey, but I am sure it will be good with ground beef, too)
2 large onions, chopped (It depends how many onions I have, on how many I put in )
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
2 cans (10 1/2 oz/each) tomato sauce
2 cans kidney beans, rinsed, drained
2 TBS chili powder
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Cook ground beef and turkey in lightly greased large skillet over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes, crumbling meat with a fork. Combine meat and remaining ingredients, except salt and pepper, in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. season with salt and pepper.

boo-ya. Easy peasy rice and cheeseyyyyy and yummy. Even Miss Priss agrees.

Now go put those ingredients in a slow cooker and waste your time on pinterest.

Lent

Growing up Catholic, I usually gave something up for lent. It was usually chocolate or soda or gum. The real important stuff. I think one year I gave up cursing. I should have given up midriff tees. Why didn't anyone say anything??

Then, during college, I realized how 'not catholic' I was. I went to CCD, I went to church, and I still didn't know much. I had become Catholic in culture and not religion. So not what I wanted.

Now, I am a Christian. I know stories of the bible, I know prayers and I know Jesus.

This is all besides the point.

Anyway....I haven't given anything up for lent in years because I'm not Catholic (in culture or religion). But, I was thinking of starting up again. I mean sacrificing something for 40 days can really remind you each day what He did for us.

Then, I found this blogpost. Perfect.

Just what I was thinking

So, with that said, I am giving up Facebook for the rest of lent.  I wanted to pick something that I spend too much time doing.  No, every time I want to check Facebook, it will remind me to what sort of sacrifice was made for me.  Shouldn't be so difficult in comparison.


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out and about

 I have about 24 days before I go back to work.  I was so worried about how I would feel about this big transition in our lives.  Surprisingly, I am not too worried or anxious about it.  If anything, I am just ready to start so I can stop thinking about what it will be like.  Of course, any changes in your life will cause some tension.  I am a little worried about how the dynamics will change, but Julian and I are both ready for the change.  The best part is that I am easing my way back into working full time.  I work for about three months (with a one week spring break in there! yay!) and then I am off for the summer.  It makes life a tad bit easier knowing that.  

Since work starts so soon, Julian and I decided to have a week full of fun outings.  Since the weather was so nice this past week, we took advantage and had each day planned out so we weren't just sitting around or doing our usual park outing.  On Monday, we had her first swim class, and then took her to Barnes and Noble to pick out a book and get a cookie.   On Tuesday, we drove up north to visit with my grandmother (Eloise's great grandma June).  It is so nice visiting and seeing my grandmother with my daughter. It is pretty amazing.  My grandma really appreciates us visiting and enjoys little miss so much.  We should really go and visit at least once a month. On Wednesday, we went to the popcorn park zoo.  It was a beautiful day out and since it was the middle of the week, there weren't many people there.  We took our Maclaran Umbrella Stroller because it's lightweight and easy.  But, little did we know, the whole place is filled with sand.  We will definitely bring the Bugaboo next time! Eloise really enjoyed  the animals and I think she liked the bears the most.  

 Julian and Eloise in the Reptile House....not Julian's favorite.

 Mommy and Eloise looking at the Camel and the Llama's.

 Eloise pointing to the monkey!

 Feeding the crazy goat!

 Hi, Mr. Monkey!

 Comparing beards.

 Waving to the animals.

 So tired after all the roaring he did.

Boo Boo the Bear.

What I really like about the Popcorn Park Zoo is the fact that all the animals there are rescued.  So you get to read their stories about how they got to come to the zoo and why they wouldn't be able to be re-released into the wild.  It's a sweet little zoo and we will surely be back!

On Thursday, we took her to the Point Pleasant Boardwalk and we visited the Aquarium.  I think she enjoyed the aquarium more than the zoo, because you feel like you are closer to the animals.  It was fun!

 It was a beautiful day at the boardwalk!

 Hanging with the fish.

 Daddy and Ellie

 What a cute seal!

 Sitting still for a picture...

 So happy because she just ate some funnel cake!

Beating Julian at Skee Ball!

*Then, on Friday we went to Nan and Pop's house and hung out there.  We had such a busy week, it will be nice to have a relaxing weekend at home! This fun-filled weekend gets me excited for what this summer is going to bring us! Lots of outings I hope :)

Swim class

Eloise had her first swim class today! I was nervous because she typically hates the water. I think seeing the other kids (there were three of us in the class) get in the water helped. She pouted a couple of times, but mostly she had fun.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but we sang songs and splashed a lot. They learned how to get in and out of the pool, blow bubbles and kick our feet. They learned to 'jump' in and go under. They had water poured over their head with a bowl and they played with toys. They used noodles and 'floated' on their backs. I really was impressed with the class and am so proud of my little girl. She went all the way under and didn't even cry! And now she has two new friends (Talia and Christopher). Talia is a month younger and Christopher is about 6 months older. It really worked out well. I only have a couple of pictures from my phone, but I'll add my camera pictures when I get a chance!









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