Category Archives: vacation

Random Friday Thoughts – Baby wearing

It’s true what they say about becoming a parent for the second time.  You’re more relaxed overall and tend to let more slide. With Enzo I remember being really picky and concerned about everything we gave him to eat. He never had sugary sweets before he turned 1, and then it was few and far between. While we’re still careful what we feed the kids, I think Phoebe had tastes of “bad” foods a lot earlier than he did. We try to stay away from too many processed foods, but when we do pull them out, I don’t feel as guilty as I used to.  With two kids and full-time jobs, life gets crazy.

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We’re gearing up to go on vacation and I’m recalling some of our first trips with Enzo.  Now we’ll be traveling with two kids and I’m hoping to bring even less than with him. Granted, Phoebe is older than Enzo was when we first flew, and we’re “cheating” a tad by renting some things when we arrive (like boosters so that way the kids can eat meals comfortably in our rental condo).  The goal is still to travel with less, and that means bringing only our foldable nice umbrella stroller and mostly wearing Phoebe when we’re out and about.

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I’m really excited that Enzo has agreed to be worn for part of the trip, though!  We bought a new custom carrier that is just a tad too big for Phoebe right now, but fits Enzo really well and he thinks it’s cool (because super heroes).  At first I had to talk him into it, but it was so comfy he didn’t want down and wanted me to run around the house with him… while also having to hold Phoebe. Talk about a workout!

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I’m really excited about being able to potentially ditch the stroller, though. Josh doesn’t mind the new carrier (again, super heroes) so we can each wear a munchkin and maybe even see about getting rid of our big bulky stroller in the future. There’s nothing worse than being out and about and wanting to go exploring, only to realize that your stroller can’t fit anywhere.

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Phoebe is generally happy to be worn, aside from cranky moments here and there where she doesn’t seem to know what she wants and will pull my hair and be naughty.  For the most part, though, baby wearing has been a lifesaver with two kids.  I can wear Phoebe and still interact with Enzo because my hands are free as well as cook and clean.  Plus, carriers have magic sleepy dust… if Phoebe is having trouble sleeping she’s guaranteed to take a nap while being worn.

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This also makes for good reading time for mama. 😉

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Weekend Away at the Company Cabin

One of the very nice perks about Josh’s new job is that the company has cabins that are available for employees to use.  Because of Josh only being recently hired we didn’t think it was something we’d get to take advantage of this year, but lo and behold a free weekend came up, he put his name into the lottery and his name was chosen!

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“Cabin” we discovered was an understatement, so we invited Josh’ sister and brother-in-law and their kiddos to join us.  There was plenty of room for all of us to spread out and it had plenty of amenities.  We knew a lot of things were already provided, but still brought more than we needed to ensure our bases were covered (and now we know for next time what we don’t need).  I wasn’t sure whether or not to bring Phoebe’s jumper at first, but in the end I’m glad we brought it because Lady likes to jump.

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While lots of space is nice, I could never live in a place that big long-term.  You know how sometimes at night when you want a glass of water, but it feels like such a long walk and you don’t want to (even though the walk really isn’t that far)?  Well, in this house, the walk really was that far.  Plus, you have to yell to be heard and I could hardly see Phoebe from the kitchen if she was in the living room and I didn’t have my contacts in.  Yeah, yeah, first world problems.

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It really was a nice place, located in a quiet community on a lake with a nearby restaurant and playground for the boys.  One of the really nice things were all the dragon flies during the day keeping the mosquitoes away.  I don’t know if they’re always there, or if we just came at the perfect time, but it was so nice not having to worry about being eaten alive.

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We did get some rain on and off, so it was a little hard to plan any day trips.  The cabin was located near Brainerd, so it was tempting to go visit Paul Bunyan Land, especially since we stopped there on our mini-moon after we got married, but instead we stuck around and played outside and in.  There were plenty of cars and trains and books and movies for the boys to keep them busy when we weren’t outside.

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Overall both kiddos did well in our home away from home, and I think we’re going to see about switching Enzo’s toddler bed out for a full-size bed one of these days considering how well he did in a regular bed.  It was also nice being able to lay down in bed with him when it was time to read books.  He didn’t typically want to go bed while on vacation, and for the most part we let him stay up later than his normal bedtime, but even he started to realize that he did actually want to sleep – he just didn’t want to be left out of any fun.  Considering both of our kids wake up at 6:00-6:30 during the week so we can leave the house by 7:00-7:15, they don’t typically sleep in on the weekend, so the lack of sleep and lax routine started to take their toll a bit by the time Monday morning rolled around.

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It was nice to have a lazy weekend, though, and even Josh and I got a nap in each.  It was a very nice luxury, even if Enzo doesn’t always realize right away how lovely they are.  I’m kind of glad we can count on naps for at least another year.  😉 Toots is also starting to fall into a more regular nap schedule, which day care will probably help with as she gets even older.  She naturally seems to nap around 9:00-9:30 and then again in the afternoon, sometimes even three naps if they’re short.

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Anyhoo, it was a nice family getaway.  Enzo got to play with his cousin every day (which made him very, very happy), Josh got to go fishing with his brother-in-law at least one time, and I even stayed up late (way past my bedtime) one or two nights having some nice chats with my sister-in-law.  I’m hoping that one day I’ll have more to chat about than kids and parenting, but probably not. Ha ha. Nah, one day I’ll have more time and energy, but watching a baby grow into a person is just fascinating.  You learn so much about yourself and your entire perspective changes at times.  That, however, is discussion for another day since this post is probably much longer than it should be.

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Planning our next big adventure…

It’s nice to have something to plan for again. As long as nothing big changes, we’ll be heading out on our honeymoon road trip in May after I finish the Spring Semester Finals! Yahoo! Thanks to a good friend, we already have a trip fund started, and we have decided on a route! It’ll be based on two major stops – first, New Orleans and then we’re going to drive to Florida down to the keys for some fun and sun. We’ve never been South or East, so it’ll be a new adventure for both of us. We’ve been working on finding lots of destinations to stop at – museums, weird random things, funky eateries, you name it, so soon it will be time to narrow down our options. I’m looking forward to a leisurely trip, yet I have a feeling it’s going to be jam-packed as well. The hardest part will be figuring out where and when to stop and reserve hotel rooms, so hooray for research (I actually really like research).

Ah, the open road… the thought just might get me through the winter. 😉

Ho hum

It’s so hard to come back to reality when you’ve been on vacation for over a week. I’m slowly getting back in the swing of the things, but yesterday was difficult – my first day back at work at both jobs. As can be expected I had a full inbox and I’m still working through it. I did, however, have time on Monday to put together a slide-show from our trip to Colorado. I may go back and tidy it up a bit, but for now, here is the link.

2009 Road Trip from Heather Pennington on Vimeo.

We had such a good time and I wish we could have stayed longer. I didn’t get to see half the people I wanted to and didn’t get to spend enough time with those we did get to see. It was also nice to do a few things I hadn’t done before and Josh got to see some new sites and do some touristy things he had never gotten the opportunity to do before including going to Mesa Verde, the hot springs in Pagosa and riding the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which thankfully we decided to only do one way. I had forgotten what a long trip it is.

I don’t think I’ve cried or laughed so much in a while, though. What a mix of emotions on this trip! It looks like my little brother might beat me to the altar, but I couldn’t be happier for him and Crystal getting engaged. I wasn’t expecting that surprise when we stepped out of the car! I cried – what a girl! Then sadly, Buddy the family dog was put to sleep a couple days later, so that definitely put a damper on things. He was a good dog and had a long life, though. That is the worst part about having pets – watching them go. On the plus side, after spending as much time as we did in the car we didn’t have any arguments – just me getting irritable at times or plain crazy after being couped up in a moving vehicle for so many hours. I got pretty squirmy towards the end. :p

It’s pretty amazing that we’ve never had an an actual “argument” or “fight” in the almost two years we’ve been dating. We might have come close once or twice to arguing, but that’s it. Mostly Josh is just awesome and lets me have space when I’m irritable or grouchy or tries to make me laugh which may or may not work. :p He’s definitely had a calming effect on me, and my mood swings are less frequent, or at the very least they don’t last as long. I’m a lucky girl to have found such a good man. He’s calm and doesn’t get angry or yell and doesn’t take his irritations or frustrations out on anyone else (something I need to work on a lot), he’s understanding, and fun, and everything a girl could want. Josh – I love you. 🙂