New Routines

Oh how life has changed (I think I say that every time?!)! Claire is 12 weeks today, I started back to work last week and am working from home again, and Claire is now being watched during the day by a lady down the street.  Maybe I'm a bad mom because I really love being back at work and don't feel guilty having someone else watch Claire during the day. Claire's babysitter is also watching 3 boys (a 15 mo. old, and 3 & 4 yo brothers) and I love knowing that Claire will have some playmates! I do miss her though and look forward to 5:00 when I can pick her up! I think of it as quality time spent with her now as opposed to quantity. And that's what works best for us right now.

Anyway, here's a little recap of our past month. I don't post many pics on FB these days, more so from forgetfulness... so here's your dose :)

1/25/16... Sleeping while I make dinner.

1/25/16... It was warm and sunny out, so we took a walk to Lake Erie. It's 0.8-miles down the road from where we live! Of course, you put this girl in her carseat, and she falls asleep! The lake was beautiful and half frozen over.

1/26/16... Claire's 2-month appointment. She was happy the entire time... until they gave her 3 shots. Ouch :(    ...11 lbs. 9 oz., 23"

2/3/16... Sometimes the crying is too much to handle. So instead of consoling her, I take pictures...

...and then she's happy again playing in her MamaRoo. Talk about mood swings.

2/4/16... Cuteness overload this day while she was playing. She was all smiles and arms flailing for those toys above her.

 ...and of course, trying to eat her hands.

Last week, I had to fly down to Birmingham to get reinstated at work before I could begin working again after maternity leave. So Ross, Claire and I flew down Wednesday and came back last Saturday. I was all nerves planning for this trip. How would Claire do on the flights? When would I feed her during all of the travel? How do you possibly nurse in public while trying to maintain as much privacy as possible? How would I pump at work? etc. etc. etc. A million thoughts ran through my head and I had Plan B's, C's and more like a maniac. All in all.... the trip couldn't have gone better!!! Once again, Claire proves to us that she is such an easy baby (aside from nighttime fussiness) and goes with the flow. She must take after her dad's laid back personality!

Ross & I opted not bring the carseat or stroller. I love packing as minimally as possible and with her size, we figured it would be just as easy to carry her through the airport in my wrap, and rent a carseat with the rental car. Best decision ever to not have to lug that stuff (at least for this trip)! I fit all of our items in 2 carry-on suitcases and 2 bags. Go me!

Claire ended up sleeping on all 4 flights! (2 down to Bhm, 2 back). It couldn't have gone better!

**Sidenote: Claire slept in the wrap on the first flight. Apparently this is against FAA regulations to have them in the wrap during take-off and landing. No one said anything the first flight. So the other flights she just slept in my arms while I held her.

One her first flight, the flight attendants and pilot signed a little card for Claire's 'First Flight' that they handed to us when we got off the plane. It was adorable and I can't wait to add it to her babybook!!

The 2nd flight was the only flight where she was awake for a bit. I played with her rattle with her for 40-minutes. She was all smiles and really trying to eat both of her hands. Guess that's a lot of work because she slept the remainder of the flight :)

More smiles during her playtime...

Almost conquered eating both fists...

Flight #1 coming home. Asleep already!  And lucky for us, none of our flights were full so we were able to keep our middle seat empty and spread out a bit :)

Dressed in her dachshund hoodie and ready to meet my coworkers!! She put on a good show and was all adorable and good and well-mannered. Yay!

 This is how Ross babysits during the day in the hotel while I was at work. I can't blame him, haha.

Asleep at the restaurant while Ross & I ate dinner. I've decided that hoods with ears are the cutest thing ever! I must buy more!! More.HOODS.WITH.EARS!!!

Overall the trip went smoothly! Though I did have a few casualties along the way...

Casualty #1, I left my coat behind on the first flight. Whoops! Good thing I didn't forget the baby *wink wink* A coat can be replaced so I didn't fret too much. Though I did like it :/  darn.

Casualty #2, left my corporate credit card at the restaurant for dinner the first night in Bhm. Luckily they had it when I called to inquire about it the next day and I swung by to pick it up! *whew* Disaster averted. 

Casualty #3, lost the copy of Claire's birth certificate for our flight coming home. I nicely exclaimed to the Travel Lady at the counter checking us in "You can clearly tell she is under 2 years of age!" but she said is was procedure. Anyway, she let us go without charging us for a ticket, but said we would need the copy next time we fly to Bham or we would be charged for Claire to have  seat. Yikes.

I blame all 3 incidents on my 'Mom Brain.' That's a thing, right?!
 

2/15/16... And lastly, I teased Ross that he didn't buy his daughter her first Valentine's flower. So the next day he came home with a flower he received earlier that day at work. Kind of cheating. But whatevs. I'll take it :) And Claire tried to eat it.

So that's it! I've now officially survived Claire's first 12 weeks. I've heard those first 12 weeks are the toughest (I hope!). It's.ALL.A.BLUR.  It's exciting, testing, scary, thrilling, rewarding, and more. All emotions rolled into one. I wouldn't change it for the world. But I can't wait to see what is to come...

*Kristin*

Art in Avondale Park

The fun of living in any new town I imagine is just exploring the area. So far, Ross & I have done just that. This past weekend, we checked out the annual Buck Creek Festival in the town south of us, called Helena (rated in the top '100 places to live in the US,' which peaks my interest! haha). It was a casual hang out, lots of good food and gave us something to do in this gorgeous weather. Sorry though, I didn't bring my camera.

But that brings me to my next topic, the weekend before when Ross & I checked out 'Art in the Park' at Avondale Park, a bit north of us. The drive there was quite interesting, going through some very deteriorating neighborhoods, and Ross was wondering where on earth I was taking him! But alas, we stumbled upon Avondale Park which was quite the hidden gemstone.

It was a VERY small art show, which local artists only, but was worth a day out. They had tents set up for the artists, Firetrucks for the kids to explore, and so forth.

We even brought Dakota with us, just to get her out of the house and hopefully burn off some energy!

Look ma'.... trying to wear my hair curly aka au naturale!! You'd be so proud!

Moving on, Ross & I have decided we are bad 'parents' as I remembered to bring water for Dakota, but no bowl. Sooooo, we couldn't stay very long, since she was panting in no time! oopsie daisy!

Also at the festival were musicians playing in the outside amphitheater, which was quite nice. It was pretty dead when we were there, but it seemed like it would be a great place to hang out if they had more events set up on the weekends.

The first picture shows the stage, and the second shows the sitting area. I love how they tiered the seating right into the hill :)

As we were leaving, we saw baby ducks (ducklings?). lol

And lastly, for my dad, on our drive home, we saw his favorite Two Men.....

 HAHA. I had no clue they were based nationally and not just in Pgh.

Well, that's been our weekends so far, and I'll remember to keep our camera handy for our next adventures!

*Kristin*

And it keeps on Changing...

I'm about finished thinking that I have things all planned out b/c in 5 minutes, I'll have a complete and opposite plan instead :)  I refuse to even make a decision about what I'll eat for dinner, because let's face it, I can't make up my mind on anything right now!!!

First, the house was to be listed on March 1st. Then we decided we'd wait until we finished a few projects, so we held off for a week. Then one more. Then a few days. NOW I'm ready to list it. Pronto. But wait... we still need 2 more days to finish the projects that should really be done BEFORE we list, otherwise giving buyers the impression that the house needs 'work.' Okie dokie, so by the end of this week hopefully it will be on the market. Or next monday. Or next wednesday. Who knows anymore. And I'm going crazy thinking about it.

Next, I originally was going to stay here until mid-June after my friend's wedding and hopefully after the house is sold. This was Ross' and my original plan, together we agreed. Now? I want to move sooner, but have to be realistic, so maybe sometime in May? The earlier the better, but still hoping the house is either sold or under contract come May. The hubs is bored and wants me to move NOW, but that is just day-dreaming :)

Moving options? Welp...that is a revolving decision as well. The first time we moved Ross to AL, we rented a Budget Moving Truck and did most/all of the loading, unloading, and driving ourselves, which also resulted in getting a hotel room one night on the road, for a total of about $1,000 for the first move! It ran us a lot higher than expected. So for this time around, it just may be worth it to hire a company to move us while Ross & I drive my car down ourselves. A few estimates are coming in at $1,500-$2,000 for a company to load, unload and drive, which is better than what I expected! That way, we get professionals to load and unload all of our stuff (bonus points!!) and Ross and I can drive the 17-hour drive in one day since we'll only have my car to drive. AND Dakota will be able to ride along with us in our car. I'm absolutely fearful of bringing her on a plane, so I wouldn't mind driving my good old Chevy Cobalt the whole way without cruise control (darn car!). Oh, that dog is spoiled!!

So if you ask me over the next few months how things are going, and you get a complete and opposite answer of what I told you the first time....well, too bad. Just look at my life right now! It's a revolving mystery :)

I shall like to blame thank my hubs for the chaos!

*Kristin*

Today is the Day...

The truck is being packed.
The car is being towed.
We're off tomorrow to make the long haul south.
I've counted a million and one boxes that are going with us,
And a million and one feelings of anticipation of what's to come next.
I'm happy for Ross and his immediate move;
Sad for myself to have to come back to Pittsburgh without him.
But I'm going to make the next 5 days count.
Gonna do my best to not be stressed
And just enjoy living in this moment,
Because I really feel like we're starting a new chapter.
And it's bittersweet to leave our closest friends and family behind.
But I hope we find more of ourselves in Sweet Home Alabama :)

*Kristin*


p.s. - I downloaded a blogger app to keep me connected on the road, so stay tuned :) A girl's gotta have something to do during a 16-hour drive!!

A Weekend Getaway to a New Beginning

Out of my huge to-do list, I've managed to neglect the blog.

Apparently finding auto insurance quotes, motorcycles insurance quotes, moving truck rental quotes, internet provider quotes, turning on electricity at the apt., and getting renter's insurance asap for the apt....... are all more important then updating the world (ok, there's only like 3 of you who actually read this, hehe) about our trip to AL!

But the trip to AL was a huge success! One, because we found an apartment we both love, Two, because we talked said apartment down on the price a bit (go US for negotiating :), and Three, because we're both even more excited about the move now due to the gorgeous weather we lucked out on while there, and the nice area we found to live in ....so now I say....SELL OUR HOUSE QUICK! B/c guess what ya'll (you like how I sneak in the southern lingo?!), I can't move to AL until the house is off our hands.  I guess one mortgage and one rent payment add up pretty quickly! So Ross gets to go off and enjoy the sunshine while I sit here and freeze away. Call me Jealous. Or Kristin. I go by either :)

But on to our trip....

We arrived Thursday morning to high 60's and sunshine. Apparently we should've packed more t-shirts! Our hotel room at the Residence Inn by Marriott was awesome, although Ross swears the Embassy Suites was much better, but I wasn't about to start complaining considering it was company expensed! Here are a few pics of the room:

Let the apartment hunting begin!

We had a Nissan Sentra rental car. It had only 7 miles on it when we got it, fresh from the dealer....HELLO new car smell :) And that was about where the good of the car stopped. We dropped it off with 450 miles on it. Whew...that was a lot of driving in 4 days!!

Our hotel from the main highway:

Ross' previous stay in Bham at Embassy Suites. I have to admit...it DID look better than ours from the outside, haha.

Our apartment community.... Our garage is on the left of the pic, and our apartment is cut off on the right of the pic.

We're the bottom unit.

A small pathway out to the 'courtyard' area...

That's our back 'patio' that walks directly out to the back courtyard, aka....Dakota's yard....

Sadly...I didn't think to get any pics of the INSIDE of the apartment. O well :) You'll just have to come visit!

City line of Bham....I think I count 4(?!) skyscrapers. Geesh.

Ross drove me out to where he'll be working. Definitely not a town you'd want to live in.

 This is the administration building he's working in....

 This road leads out to all the steel-making plants. We didn't have access so we only did a drive-by!

Logan's Roadhouse = Yummy Food!

And throwing peanut shells on the floor!! Here Ross is building up his pile, haha...

The waitress thought he was trying to be polite and collecting them to not make a mess. Oh, if she only knew the scheme he was planning!
 

Haha...and don't worry, his pile was about twice as large once he was ready....

Firebird Grill had awesome steaks! Company expensed? Yes Please! This was our splurge :) This is where Ross' Director brought him when Ross was in town for the interview, and Ross wanted me to try it out.

 Wine & Beer sold in the grocery store? CHECK!

Ross' new hot spot...a fishing lake stocked with bass, catfish and a few others.

Do you dare drive to the other side? No thanks. Not in our poor lil' Nissan, lol. But I guess it actually wasn't as deep as it looks....we saw a mini van go through with no fear!

Lastly, we took a short hike the last day to see Peavine Falls in Oak Mtn. State Park. Very hard to capture a photo, but it was a fun little adventure.

And the road leading up to the falls had an awesome overlook.

The end!

~Kristin