The Final Coundown: Days 10-6

It is so crazy to think that we will be moving away from Lexington in less than a week. David and I have lived here for 7 years, and what started out as our college town has become our home; the place where we spent our first 3 years of married life; the place we made the best of friends; the place where we brought our daughter into this world. Although we are so excited for our move to NKY and we are confident that it is the right decision, we will deeply miss Lexington.

During the last week in this bluegrass city we wanted to make sure we hit up our "hot spots". Even though we lived in Lexington during our undergrad years, David and I have always lived a kind of low key social life. We have obviously been busy with school, but him and I are definitely introverts and so we have found places in this city which are calm and beautiful and fun for us. So this list will not be a "what you should do while you are in Lexington" list, but it will give you a glimpse into our everyday kind of life that we lived here. Also... there will be a lot of food. Because we love to eat.

Day 10 - On Wednesday, May 2nd, I went walking with a friend at the Arboretum. This is by far one of my favorite places in Lexington, and I don't know of anywhere like it in NKY. It is a big, beautiful park which (obviously) has a focus on displaying all kinds of trees and plants found around Kentucky, and other places. They have a beautiful flower garden, a shady trail through a small forest, and, my favorite, a 2 mile loop walking trail. It is the perfect place to get exercise on a beautiful day, or to have a picnic on a nice night.

Day 9 - On Thursday David and I celebrated my last exam with a couple of doughnuts from Magees. My eyes have been opened in this city to the beauty of small bakeries. I wasn't really a doughnut person until I moved here, but I am sure that when we transition back up to NKY I will want to find a yummy small-town bakery. The doughnuts at Magees are out of this world. So thick and sweet and delicious - definitely a meal. This bakery is literally 3 blocks from our current apartment so we visit it a lot and it will be very missed.

Day 8 - Our last day at the University of Kentucky! David graduated on Friday evening and I cleaned out my desk and finished my teaching duties. UK was the main reason we came to Lexington in the first place, and it is mostly what has kept us here for all of these years. Even though going to UK was not even an option in my mind during my senior year in high school I am so happy that it is the place I chose to get all 3 of my degrees from. I truly got a great education and had some wonderful opportunities from this prestigious institution. Oh, and I did plan on documenting all of these things with photos, but I have been forgetting my camera! However, David's mom snapped a few good ones on Friday.

Day 7 - On a the cloudy Saturday morning of our first day with no school we went to the Lexington Farmer's Market that I talk about all the time. We really, really love it and I hope to be able to find something like it once we moved. We bought all of the things we had always wanted to buy, and some of our regular items too. We got homemade pasta and bread, fresh corn on the cob, some local ground beef, a block of sundried tomato and basil cheese (YUM!) and a delicious bacon date scone for breakfast. Everything was so good. I love the idea of taking a part of our grocery budget each week to support local farms and eat some good, organic things. I hope that as we continue to increase our income over the next few years we can incorporate as many local products into our diet as possible.

Day 6 - This was a rough day because it was our last time attending Southland Christian Church as members. We love our church down here - and it is not dramatic to say that it has changed us and molded us as people. We have a great community of friends at Southland and the thing that we are most nervous about with the move is finding another home church. We have faith that God has a place for us in NKY and we are definitely excited to see how our experience there will shape us also. But... we will really, really miss our church.

Today we also visited the dog park at Jacobson park for the last time. This was the dog park that we took Rooney too all the time when he was a puppy. It is a really beautiful place and we have so many Saturday afternoon memories associated with it.

Check back at the end of the week for what we did during our last 5 days in Lexington! Now time to make some tacos for dinner. Happy Cinco Seis De Mayo!

Quick Updates

I have so much to write about but I am really trying to make myself study... so I will just get a few things off my mind and then get back to it.

First of all, Lydia had her 4 months pediatrician appointment on Friday! It went really well. Our girl weighs 13 pounds and 14 ounces these days and is 24 inches long. Needless to say, they are happy with her weight and everything else too. Since she is just about 14 pounds she is onto size 2 diapers at night... so crazy! She got her second round of vaccinations at the doctor and it was so much better than last time. She only let out one big wail and then I was holding her in my arms as she quietly fell asleep. So sweet. We did have a not-so-great encounter with a doctor there which makes us not at all sad that we will be changing pediatricians very soon. It wasn't anything horrible - but the doctor had very different opinions than us on co-sleeping and the cry-it-out method and he presented his opinions as "doctor's orders". David and I just nodded and pretended to agree, but it did make me question the job that I am doing parenting... which I know it shouldn't, but I am just not totally confident yet! This is another post all on its own.

 The second update is on my postpartum progress. I went to the doctor yesterday (just for one last routine checkup before I am off of the awesome student insurance), and I am right at my pre-pregnancy weight! The doctor and nurse both commented on how quickly I lost it and asked me what I had been doing. That was definitely a confidence booster and I was thankful for it during a very stressful and emotional week. I still have a long way to go before my pre-pregnancy shape returns but it is good to know that as I continue to eat like a horse with my bottomless appetite that I am heading in the right direction.

Lastly... I have 2 more days. Today I need to buckle down and study hard for my final tomorrow morning, and then tomorrow I will take my exam and then have to grade all day. But 48 hours from now I will be a free mommy and all I will have to worry about is Lydia - oh, and packing up our entire apartment for the move. Even then, I just can't wait to have the stress and weight of school off of my shoulders.

Almost there. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers if you wouldn't mind :)

Seven Snapshots "Sunday"

I plugged my camera into my computer today expecting to find 0 pictures and instead found 21! We forgot the camera over the weekend when we traveled to NKY, but it looks like taking pictures of our little girl throughout the week is a habit for both David and I these days.

 Sleeping with her bear :)

 Headbands finally fit!

 

 David's last day of class!!! Compare to his first day of class this semester...

 And here is another picture that we can compare to an old one. She is getting so big!

After a bath! She is very sleepy..

Cooking Lately

Something that David and I really love to do together is cook. Ever since we have been in grad school together our one time of day when we can spend a little bit of time with one another is dinner time. We have always tried to make it a priority, and so our routine for a long time was to come home from school around 5 and then cook and eat dinner together. We never made anything fancy, but we ate at home 95% of the time both to save money and try to eat healthy.

Since having a baby this routine has drastically changed. For the first 3 months dinner time was a bit hectic. Usually Lydia would need to eat right when we got home and at this time she was still taking 45 minutes to do so. That means David would be getting dinner ready by himself with my only my instructions as help. Some days things are still hectic, but in general we are starting to get a system these days. Lydia eats quickly and then she can lay on her play mat or sit in her Bumbo while I cook dinner. I really do love cooking... it is relaxing for me, and I love the outcome too.

So here is a good recipe that I have made lately, along with a couple easy ideas for breakfast and lunch:


1) Peanut butter oatmeal.
Anytime I tell someone that I had peanut butter oatmeal for breakfast they look at me funny. Someone made me this combination the summer that I spent at Cornell and ever since then it is easily my #1 choice for oatmeal. If you like peanut butter you should try it! Basically, just cook your oats on the stove with milk. While they are cooking put (about) 1 Tbs of brown sugar, and 1 heaping Tbs of peanut butter into a bowl. When the oats are done, just stir it up and enjoy!

2) Black bean quesadillas.
For the past 2 weeks I have cooked up a can of black beans with a little bit of chopped onion and red pepper, cumin and garlic salt in a skillet. Once the beans are a little soft smash them. I spread the black bean mixture onto a whole wheat tortilla and add some mexican cheese, and then put it on my panini maker. I have a delicious quesadilla within 10 minutes! You can garnish the quesadilla with salsa and/or sour cream, and obviously add whatever else you want to it. I refrigerate the leftover black beans and it makes for 2 more easy lunches throughout the week.

3) Spinach and Artichoke Dip.
My usual lunch of choice is Tricuits and cheese. So, sometimes I spice things up and incorporate some vegetables into this staple by making Spinach and Artichoke Dip. I use the recipe here, and just use sour cream instead of mayo (because I hate mayo...).

4) Homemade Meat Sauce
So this is the only "real" recipe in this post.

Last weekend David and I bought some fresh ground beef from the farmer's market (it was cheaper than what we buy at the store!). I decided that I needed to do something a little fancier with it, so I made homemade meat sauce. It was delicious if I may say so myself... and it made like 10 servings!

I adapted the recipe found here as follows:
1 lb of ground beef
Chop the onion and pepper very fine - this way you don't have to involve a blender
I used 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes and one large, fresh chopped tomato
I left out the mushrooms, balsalmic vinegar... and the bay leaves (b/c Kroger didn't have them)

From that point on I followed the recipe pretty closely. I browned my beef in a separate skillet while the oil and onion were cooking so that I could drain the fat and, like I said, I didn't wait to dirty the blender so I just chopped the onion and pepper small and it worked out fine.

It really was good, and even though it took a while to cook it was really easy! Definitely a recipe I will be repeating.

I know this post is a bit random, but I want to start getting back into cooking. And I wanted to share the yummy things that I have been eating since I am finally excited about food again!

Sick day.

Lydia Grace has caught her first cold :(

She has had consistent allergies most of her life, so when she was stuffy on Monday David and I didn't really think very much of it. She was also more fussy than usual, but that has been normal behavior lately because I am pretty sure she is starting to cut teeth. She slept for 14 hours (only waking up 3 times to eat) on Monday night, and yesterday she was in a pretty good mood until bedtime. At that point some serious fighting began. She was so stuffed up, and was coughing so she was refusing to nurse. She cried for 2 hours... and it was so hard. I felt so powerless and just cried with her for a while. David did everything that he could do while also preparing for his final.

Last night was pretty much sleepless. Lydia would fall asleep for 30-45 minute intervals, but would then wake up fussy and stuffed up. Around midnight we gave her some Tylenol thinking that maybe her ears were hurting. That helped her to sleep for maybe an hour and a half straight. Around 5 a.m. we all got up and I took her temperature. Sure enough, it was 100.2. A low grade temp., but still a fever. We tried Tylenol again and it only made her gag and then spit up the little bit of milk that she had eaten around 4.

At 7 I called the doctor and she assured me that it is probably just a cold. As long as Lydia eats well at her next meal we can just stay at home and rest together until she is feeling better. She recommended another form of Tylenol which would be easier to give to Lydia and said we could use it if we wanted, but we didn't have to since her fever wasn't too high. Lydia has been sleeping since 6:45 at this point, and she is still rocking peacefully in her swing. I hope that once she wakes up she will eat well and then all of my worries will be gone.

The timing of this cold is... less than ideal. David is currently taking a final and he has 1 more tomorrow. I have a take home exam that is due at the beginning of next week (!!) and I have 1 final to prepare for also. But today I know my priority is to take care of my baby, and my professors are, as usual, being so understanding. These past 16 hours have really made me thankful for the healthy baby that we have! I know that we will get through these last 2 weeks and that everything will work out, but if you could keep us and Lydia in your prayers it would be much appreciated!

Seven Snapshots "Sunday": Guest Edition

Man our weekend was so busy! But truly wonderful. It was our second to last weekend in Lexington (tear...), so we tried to see as many people as we could while also spending enough time focusing on finals and getting chores finished. I threw a baby shower on Saturday which was a ton of fun and David and I got to go on a double dinner date with a great couple Saturday night! All of the excitement and fun meant that Sunday after church was full or work and chores so I didn't have anytime to post pictures. However, I have a few minutes now, so here are some photos that one of my best friends Melissa took for my family last weekend. My side of our family hasn't had a photo taken together for almost 10 years! So it was about time, and they really turned out wonderfully. Also, I couldn't pick only 7... so there are 10, but I didn't think you would mind.

The Plan

If you know me, you know I am a big time planner. I like to know what is going to happen so that I can get excited about the future and start to anticipate change. I really like change, which may seem weird since I am pretty type A. But I love the feeling of starting fresh - of having the opportunity to create new habits and new memories. So it is a really big deal for me that our plan for the time after graduation is just now coming together since graduation is a mere 2 1/2 weeks away at this point!

Here is a run down of dates and big events that are coming up for us:
April 30th - David finishes finals
May 3rd - I finish finals and hopefully finish grading also.
May 4th - David graduates from Law School!! So proud :)
May ? - I officially graduate at some point, although I don't plan on walking..
May 5-11 - David and I pack up our tiny apartment in Lexington :(
May 12 - We make the move to Northern Kentucky!

That is right friends, we are moving back up to Northern Kentucky for sure, and it is happening in less than 4 weeks. As much as I like change, I really don't like to move... so much packing and unpacking... it gets a little overwhelming. But as you saw above, David and I will have a full week after school is finished to accomplish it together.

When we get to Northern Kentucky we will actually be moving in with David's dad and step mom. They are super generous and awesome, and they have a 2 bedroom apartment in the basement that will be our own space. We are so blessed! Since David doesn't even take the Bar exam until the end of July the earliest we are hoping that he will have a job is August, and until he has a job it doesn't make sense for us to sign a lease since we don't know where we will be living. We hope he can find a job in Cincinnati by September or October and then we can move into our own place in Northern Kentucky or Cincinnati. Until then, living with our family is a great option because we can save so much money.

Which brings me to the next part of the plan that makes my heart so happy. We decided that I don't need to work this summer... oh joy! I will have the wonderful opportunity to stay at home with my baby girl. No distractions or other worries; no more running around and leaving her with a different sitter each day of the week. I can just focus on her and on being the best mommy that I can be. I plan on teaching aerobics for the fun of it (and we get a free gym membership!), but this won't be anything above and beyond what I would already be doing since I want to work out everyday anyway.

This decision was really hard for me to make. I had been looking for part time jobs, praying a lot about it, and just hadn't felt anything that I wanted to do. David and I sat down and talked about things last weekend and then we looked at our budget and finances together. After praying about it, he strongly felt like I should stay home with Lydia. We have made good financial decisions for the past 3 years and now we have money saved for exactly this time in our lives. He knows how much I would love to stay home during this time in Lydia's life and he felt that that is exactly what I should do. Come August one of us will need to find a job, but for the summer months I can relax and be with my baby!

I can't describe to you how excited I am for May 4th to be here. As much as I have enjoyed the past 3 years and as thankful as I am to have had these opportunities, I can't wait to slow down - even if it is only for 3 months or so. When I leave Lydia these days it isn't as gut-wrench-ing-ly painful as it was when she was 3 weeks old and the semester had just started. In fact, in a lot of ways I enjoy getting out of the house each day and having some adult conversation. However, I always miss her. And more importantly when I am home with her I long to be able to focus solely on her and not have to worry about my next homework assignment or lesson plan. It will be wonderful to get to live each day with her. I plan on still getting out of the house everyday, but now she will come with me!

I feel so blessed to have all of the opportunities that we do and to have the amazing family that we have to support us. We will miss Lexington tons... but that is another post! We know that for right now this plan is God's plan for us and that makes us both really excited for the future. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next few weeks as all of this change happens, and I will be sure to keep you updated. Happy Wednesday!