Tag: farmer’s market | Baby Doodah!

Weekly Wishes – Celebrate

Posted on October 14 by Jillian416 • 4 Comments

It’s time to celebrate with Weekly Wishes!

Weekly Wishes is a link-up started by Melyssa from The Nectar Collective. It is a place where you can post and share you wishes and goals for the week ahead on your blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, etc and then link it up on Melyssa’s blog. I LOVE doing this because it holds me accountable for the week ahead. I’ve shared my goals with the world (through my blog) and I know people will read and wonder whether I stuck to my goals. It definitely keeps me honest!

It has been another perfect Fall weekend in Buffalo, the weather was just beautiful, sunny and warm. Who could ask for more!? We had a pretty laid back, but awesome weekend. Saturday, Emmett and I made our weekly trip to the Elmwood-Bidwell Farmers Market for fruits, veggies and cheese. I got a brand new cheese flavor from First Light Farm & Creamery, it is amazing and I’ll be sharing what it is, later in the week.

We did almost have a small catastrophe, Emmett carries around this small stuffed monkey that Seamus and I bought him when he was brand new, he loves that thing and it goes with us everywhere. Well, it was in the buggy with him and at some point, without me realizing it, he threw it out. When I finally noticed it was gone, I had no idea where he’d dropped it or how long ago it had been. I had only gotten through a couple vendors before I had to turn around retrace our steps. In my head I’m running through how we’d find something similar for Emmett to hold (I mean, he sleeps with this thing and demands it before bed), when I thankfully saw it lying on the ground right on our street, completely unharmed. Phew!! Crisis averted!

Sunday was a day at home, spent tidying up around the house. I did about 7 loads of laundry because I always do everything on Sunday afternoons, we also went grocery shopping and then watched some football. The perfect Fall family day!

This week’s Weekly Wishes theme is celebrate. I chose the picture above because one of the most fun days recently, was the day we celebrated Emmett’s first birthday. We did have a party for Emmett and that was a lot of fun, but we held that a few weeks after his actual birth date, the picture above is from the actual day of birth. We had a really wonderful time that day. Seamus and I both took off from work and spent the day celebrating with Emmett. We did things that interested a 1 year old, not things that interested us. It was such a special day, and when the time of his birth rolled around, I made sure to spend a moment sharing what we had experienced at that very moment. The moment, Emmett took his first breath and made his first cry. Music to my ears! I plan on doing this yearly with him, for as long as he’ll allow it. 🙂

Back to my Weekly Wishes!

My first wish from last week was to continue to be an active participant in the Everyday Happy e-course. If you read my post yesterday, you can see that I am doing my very best to remain vested in this program. I want to be happy and I want to make an effort in that happening. So this goal is a COMPLETE success! Woohoo!

Next up was to create a “to-do” list of everything that needs to be done around the house. I failed this one, big time. 🙁 I seriously forgot that I had made this one of my goals. Grr! I’m irritated with myself for that. Guess that means I need to check-in with my Weekly Wishes post more frequently this week.

Finally, I gave myself a goal of working out 4 times and even made a schedule of what I should do on each day. This one is a partial fail, I did walk a few times with Emmett, but it was no where near the level of exertion I need to lose weight. And, now that I’m done nursing, I need to be more mindful or the weight that I lost before my wedding, will all come creeping back. Yikes!

And now for this week’s goals –

Do 1 load of laundry a night. I’m so sick of having 6 or 7 loads of laundry to do on Sundays because I was lazy and didn’t do any during the week. There’s no reason why I can’t come home from work and throw a load in the washer. This one will make my weekends less stressful, worrying about how I’m going to get everything done and still find time to relax.
Create that “to-do” list I mentioned last week. This will help with getting things done. If I have a list in front of me of tasks that need completion, when I find that I have 15 spare minutes, I can jump on one and get it checked off. Is there a better feeling than checking off an item on your to-do list?
WORKOUT! Yep, that deserves caps and it needs to happen this week. I’m sick of reporting any failures on this goal to you, so I need to hold myself accountable. I’m going to give the schedule I came up with last week a try. “Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, change clothes at work and come home and either do a wog or ride my bike, with Emmett. Wednesday, change clothes at work and ride my bike. Friday, off. Saturday and Sunday can be any form of cardio, walking, wogging, biking, just as long as I stay active.”

Okay, those my goals for the week. Help hold me accountable, folks!

Please join me in linking-up with The Nectar Collective.

Your turn!

What do you have to celebrate this week? Share in the comments below!

Check out all of my other Weekly Wishes and see what I’ve been working on.

Filed Under: Weekly Wishes

Active Weekend – Unofficial End to Summer

Posted on September 2 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

Since this weekend is considered the unofficial end of summer, I wanted to make sure I made the most of it. We were active and busy every single day and I wouldn’t have it any other way. If you had asked me a year and a half ago whether I’d want to have a jam packed active weekend, my answer would have been no. Now? I love it! I love having something to do with Emmett and Seamus, it makes the weekends so awesome!

On to what made this last weekend of summer, so great…

Emmett actually let us sleep in until quarter to 7 on Saturday, which was wonderful considering he had kept us up most of Friday night. Once he did wake up, we spent our usual time in our bed cuddling and waking up and then got up for breakfast. It was still early, and the cloudy sky had started to turn sunny, so I decided that Emmett and I would head out on a walk and end up at the Farmer’s market. It was pretty humid, but it felt good to get outside and to grab some delicious fruits and veggies from the market. This week’s spread was similar to last week’s.

I grabbed some tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, red onion (that ended up being rotten inside, yuck!), nectarines, a cinnamon roll (for Emmett and I to share) and finally some First Light Farm and Creamery Garlic and Dill Chevre (of course).

Once we were home, we attempted to put Emmett down for a nap but since he had taken a quick little nap in his stroller, he fought going down in his crib. He fought hard too! He scratched me and kept hitting me to get down, I knew he was exhausted because he kept rubbing his little eyes and yawning. Eventually I gave up trying to put him down in the crib and we went back in our bedroom and took a family nap.

Have you seen anything sweeter?

I eventually dozed off too, for a good hour and a half! I think we were all still behind on sleep from Thursday night / Friday morning. It felt good to nap and we all woke up in much better spirits! We played for a bit and then went out to grab some Five Guys for dinner, definitely not the healthiest but it sure was tasty. My favorite part about Five Guys are their fries. They fill up the fry container and then just throw (about) another small fry on top of the bag, and they’re SO good.

I made plans Saturday evening, to go out for a bike ride with a couple friends, and Emmett in his trailer, on Sunday morning. Emmett woke up bright and early at about 5:30, which gave us plenty of time since our ride wasn’t until 7:30. We ate breakfast, got dressed and then played, while we waited for my friends to show up.

We rode 5 miles down to Canalside where we stopped and got some coffee (and milk for Emmett). It was gorgeous down there! The City of Buffalo has done a really nice job of beefing up the waterfront to attract more visitors. Emmett was so cute by the water, I let him out to walk around, he was watching the birds bounce around and playing silly games with my friends. Rest assured, he had a good time!

Our ride back was decidedly more difficult than the ride down. There’s a very steep incline, that you have to go up in order to get back home. Sadly, I got off and walked at one point, I just couldn’t make it up the hill. I couldn’t peddle fast enough to keep my bike moving forward. I think if I didn’t have the trailer and Emmett, I might have been able to make it. It would have still been a challenge but definitely something I could have accomplished. Either way it was a great workout with great friends!

We got home, Seamus had just finished up his workout at the gym, so we all had a small snack, showered and then headed out for some lunch. We ended up at Milos, the food was fantastic! Seamus needed new work pants so our next stop was the Eastern Hills Mall once we were finished with lunch. We weren’t in any hurry so we walked the whole mall just to see what other stores were there (we haven’t been to this mall in years) and so Seamus could find a couple pairs of pants that weren’t astronomically expensive. He found the best deal at Sears and bought a couple different pairs.

Emmett was the best little boy. He just sat and was friendly with all the strangers we came across, smiling at them and waving. He was very very happy!

We got home and played for awhile and eventually it was time for dinner, then bath, milk, cuddles and bed. We were both so worn out!

And finally today, Labor Day! Emmett once again had us up early at 5:30, I went in and nursed him and then we went back to our room where we all cuddled and tried to get Emmett to sleep for just a bit longer, it didn’t work out. We were up and making breakfast before we knew it. That’s okay, when you’re up early, it gives you time to get everything done that you need to.

We went to Target and got some household items that we needed, and also a few items that weren’t needed. (It’s just not possible to go into Target for only what you need.) Then to Wegmans for our weekly grocery shopping, it was dead when we got there but eventually got pretty busy. I’m assuming it was because of all the kids who return to school tomorrow and Wednesday.

We got home, put the groceries away and then put Emmett down for a nap. While he slept I was able to relax, clean and work on my blog! Call me productive!

Our weekend ended with a trip to Babies R Us for new shoes for Emmett, he lost the pair we got him two weeks ago, well we have one shoe but the other is gone, it disappeared into thin air. We also hit up Kohl’s for gym shorts for Seamus and then Anderson’s for ice cream for the whole family.

We were active and busy and it felt good to enjoy the last “unofficial” weekend of summer.

Your turn!

What fun things did you do this weekend, to end your summer right?

Filed Under: Daily Updates, Family

Wonderful Weekend – Fun as a Toddler

Posted on August 26 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

That title says it all, it was an absolutely wonderful weekend!

We didn’t have any major plans this wonderful weekend, but I did knew that I wanted to get Emmett out of the house as much as possible. The warm weekend summers are slowly but surely coming to an end and I want to do as much as possible before the first flakes flies.

Emmett woke up very early on Saturday morning (5 am) and I decided to take full advantage of that. We ate a quick breakfast and then decided to hitch up the bike trailer that my in-laws (THANK YOU!) got Emmett for his birthday. It was so awesome! The trailer is the inStep brand and is just perfect, it has room for 2 kids and little pockets on the side that Emmett can put little toys or snacks in. We put on his little helmet, got him all buckled in and away we went. I think we were riding for about 15 minutes, before I turned around and saw that he was fast asleep. So when people ask me whether I think Emmett had a good time or not, I say, heck yes he had a good time, he was comfortable enough to fall asleep. We ended up riding for 6.5 miles and then heading back home because I wanted to get to the farmer’s market before it got too busy.

We stopped home, used the bathroom and then pulled the jogging stroller out to head to the market. I was concerned that Emmett wouldn’t be very pleased with going from one enclosed buckled in seat to another, but he was just fine, in fact, he seemed really happy. Once we’re at the market, he’s always happy because he has so much to look at. He’s totally like his momma, a people watcher!

The colors of fruit and vegetables at the market were just beautiful. Check out this spread I picked up, tomatoes (so many tomatoes), cucumbers, red onion, zucchini, red potatoes and some Chevre from First Light Farm and Creamery. I barely bought any produce at the actual super market, just some lettuce because they didn’t have much at Bidwell. That makes me happy because I love supporting local and things that are fresh, never shipped, ALWAYS taste better.

After all that early morning activity, Emmett was really sleepy and I needed a shower so we headed home for both. While he slept I worked on my blog post, 5 tips for New Moms and got that nearly completed so we could have some family fun after Emmett woke up.

We headed out for some ice cream at Anderson’s and then some playground time. We always get Emmett a baby sized dish of vanilla frozen custard and he eats about a quarter of it and then daddy finishes the rest. 🙂 It really hit the spot. We headed over to a nearby playground next and we swung and swung. He loves it! He giggles and smiles the whole time and it just makes me so happy. After awhile there was another baby waiting to get on the swing so we decided to try the slide. Check out this picture, is it not the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?!

Finally, we ended up in a ginormous sandbox, which Emmett loved. We didn’t stay long because we had forgotten sunblock and didn’t want Emmett’s skin to be damaged, but he thoroughly enjoyed himself. He even whined a little bit when we forced him to go, he’s turning into such a little boy, no longer our tiny baby, in fact he turned 13 months on Friday. (OMG!)

Sunday was another early wake-up for Emmett, 5 am again. I normally don’t mind getting up that early but I was really feeling sluggish Sunday morning. Didn’t matter though, we sat down to some breakfast, ate, then I showered and we headed out to the grocery store. I really like taking Emmett to the store, it gets him out of the house and able to experience something new and different each week. Since it wasn’t even 9 am yet, it was pretty quiet at Wegmans and our trip went quickly.

We unloaded and put away the groceries and then it was time to head to Grammy and Grandpy’s house! We were heading down there to celebrate a belated birthday with my dad (it was back on 8/13/13). Nothing special, just some playing, a light lunch and cuddles with Grandpa. We did have some cake but Emmett wasn’t interested, he was having more fun playing with all the new and different toys that live at Grammy’s house.

We headed back to Buffalo around 3:30 and were home in time for dinner as a family. We were all feeling lazy, after a busy weekend so we decided on some pizza… I think that Emmett thoroughly enjoyed himself!

Shortly after that, came bath time and bed. Emmett was going between super cuddly to meltdown mode, when that happens we know it’s nearing bedtime.

We had such an amazing weekend, I didn’t want it to end!

And an announcement!

The winner of the The Magic Path of Yoga Giveaway is:

Commenter number 12, Betsy G! Congratulations! Please use the Contact Me link above and send me the address you’d like the game shipped to.

Your turn!

What fun things did you fill your weekend with?

Filed Under: Daily Updates, Family

Weekend Fun and a Couple Videos!

Posted on July 29 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

We had a lot of weekend fun in the Baby Doodah! household this weekend. It was one of those weekends that we’ll all look back on and think, “remember that weekend when…”

Almost every Saturday, after the morning has passed me by, I regret not getting out of bed sooner and getting the day started. I mean, I get out of bed early for work, why wouldn’t I want to get up early so that I can enjoy the day the way that I want to. This Saturday (and Sunday, but we’ll get to that in a second), I did exactly that.

I had a really hard time wrangling myself in from buying all the fruit at the farmer’s market. It all looked so so good, bright, colorful and delicious (I wish I had gotten pictures, bad blogger!). We ended up with plums, peaches, cherries, garlic and dill chevre (from my favorite dairy, First Light Farm & Creamery) and fresh garlic and herb sausage. The plums and peaches are out of this world and you all know how I feel about First Light and their products.

The rest of the afternoon was spent napping, playing and cuddling until dinner time. We went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner because Seamus was in the mood for beef and I really didn’t care where we went. Sadly, the meal was pretty disappointing on all fronts. Seamus’ steak was bland, Emmett wasn’t a fan of his mashed potatoes and my salad was nothing fancy (it tasted decent though).

After dinner we spent some time at Party City shopping for party decorations! Emmett’s first birthday party is this coming Saturday, I can’t wait! I’ll share his theme and everything else birthday party related after the party happens. 😉

I worked hard to keep the same attitude about getting up early, as I did on Saturday and it worked. We did spend some time in bed cuddling but not quite as long as normal. Emmett ate breakfast and I showered and we both headed to Wegmans for some groceries. It was one of the most pleasant shopping experiences I’ve ever had. There weren’t many people there and all of the shelves were full and neat. I’m pretty sure I’ll be making this a Sunday morning ritual!

Once home, we unpacked the groceries and let Emmett roam free while we did. He started to act tired so I attempted to put him down for his late morning/early afternoon nap, but it didn’t work. He fought it and started throwing a tantrum so I decided to can the idea, at least for now. Instead, I grabbed Seamus and we started cleaning up our dining room.

Emmett helping momma sweep.

We have decided that we want to turn the dining room into a playroom for Emmett, that way he will have a place where all of his toys can live (I will kind of get my living room back) and it will be a safe place for him to play. At the time we were just using it to store boxes and items that hadn’t yet made it to the basement, but the cleaning needed to be done. I don’t think there are many people who enjoy cleaning or organizing but we sucked it up and went to work. Within about an hour everything was stored and the room was swept, perfect for playing (or rearranging furniture).

Emmett started showing his fatigue again by getting mad at everything, so I knew it was imperative that he get his little bootie to sleep. With just a few snuggles and a bunch of hugs, he fell fast asleep for nearly 3 hours. Woohoo!! Free momma time! I actually used that time to make some updates to the blog, I added some new widgets and plug-ins, so if things are looking different to you, you’re not crazy, a few things have changed.

He woke up in a fantastic mood, which is always a wonderful thing. We got him up and changed and ready to play some more. Seamus and I both wanted to get out of the house but didn’t want to spend a lot of money, we decided a trip to Anderson’s would be perfect. Seriously, could my day get any better!? I wasn’t in the mood for any big ice cream dish so I settled on a vanilla milkshake and it really hit the spot.

A few weeks ago I had purchased Emmett a baby pool but had yet to fill it up, I decided since the day had been so perfect so far, I’d do it before we left for ice cream. Seamus stayed in to make us dinner (I am so lucky!), while E and I went out to play. At first he wasn’t happy about it but once he got used to the water he kept splashing and chasing his toys. I had so much fun watching him and got a great video of him being simply adorable.