Travel wrap up

We are finally home "for good" now. Meaning we don't have any more travel plans in the near future.

Our last few days in Florida were amazing. Friday Mel and Ryan went to Seaworld so Rylee and I did some more shopping. I bought her a few cute things/souvenirs. I was walking around the mall killing time waiting for it to open when I came across these:

They looked SO good and I was REALLY glad that they were closed so I wasn't even tempted to buy one. I think that I will plan on making these sometime in the near future perhaps at a holiday event.

I also saw this:

Paul Blart mall cop!

On Saturday we packed most of our stuff for Dave and Kathie to take with them and we then headed to Sean's cousins house for a visit and dinner. They made an amazing dinner of BBQ Chicken, asparagus, carrots, and potatoes complete with crescent rolls and baked apples. The chicken was huge and really juicy! I was in a food coma afterwards as it was all so good! Then we watched Despicable Me 2. It was a perfect way to end our time there and I was really sad to go.

Yesterday we got up bright and early and headed to the airport. The flight was uneventful and Rylee was really good. My parents and Sean picked us up and we went for dinner and got groceries before waiting the two hours in the border line up to get home. 




I got two new "treats" while in the states yesterday and they are actually REALLY yummy. Totally perfect for a little sweet something with a cup of tea. 

As soon as we got home we got Rylee ready for bed. I knew that we were going to have a bit of a struggle getting her back into her routine so I slept upstairs to avoid going up and down multiple times during the night. She did have one crying episode in the middle of the night that lasted about 30 minutes. I didn't give in to picking her up or giving her a bottle and she fell back asleep on her own and didn't wake until morning. 

So far today she has had two naps and seems to be doing quite well. I plan on sleeping upstairs for a few nights to make sure she gets back into her routine as smoothly as possible.

I have wanted to get Rylee a sock monkey for a while now and I finally found one I really liked in Florida. As you can see she has already taken a shine to it. Follow more adventures with Rylee and Socks here on my blog!

When I got home from BC and Chicago I was completely beat. I was exhausted and very frazzled. I was able to do some mental visualization in order to get back on track but I was still not feeling 100%. 

This trip to Florida was awesome. We had such a great time and other than one rough night Rylee was really good and went to everyone lots. I am excited that I came back rested and feeling GREAT. I am full of energy, have already done my meal planning of the next two weeks and am ready to go. Big difference from last trips. 

I had a really healthy lunch today too!

Tuna with lettuce on vegetable bread with apple slices, snap peas, and my energe!

Tonight the menu is Shake n bake chicken, asparagus, salad, and stuffing. I love this time of year as it is "crockpot season" and so many wonderfully yummy and healthy things come out of that! Of course I'll keep you all updated on anything that turns out stellar!

Moms know a lot -- but Grandmas know more

I know it has been a while since my last post and I promise you that I wish I had been able to write more but as you read what I've been up to you'll understand why I've been a little bit busy. 

The first few days of the trip did not go as smoothly as I had anticipated. In fact it was total chaos for me. Rylee was not adjusting well and was having quite a few meltdowns. This was totally not like her at all -- so understandably I was frazzled. This happened day and night too. I was feeding her at her normal times (even with the time change) and this was not a tired cry. 

Her screaming escalated and I started to think that perhaps it wasn't just travel like I had thought but maybe something was wrong. Everyone was being so helpful and trying to figure out what was wrong but nothing was working. 

Then a few days into the trip my aunt says "maybe she's going through a growth spurt". I had been feeding her enough by normal standards but maybe she needed more. Then it dawned on me that they have a 6 month growth spurt. 

Rylee has never acted and different in a growth spurt so I didn't know what to expect. As soon as I started feeding her more she was back to her normal happy self! During the day anyways. She was waking up often during the night to feed (at home she sleeps through the night). 

By the end of the trip she was fully back to herself during the day (minus the normal long naps) but was not sleeping more than 45-60 mins at a time. She would wake up every time she was out down so it made for very long nights. 

We had a really good time with my family and I got a new appreciation for single moms (granted my family was right there and a BIG help but it's not the same as her daddy). 

We are still on route home -- stock up the diaper bag -- turn around and fly to Chicago tomorrow! 

I'll write more about my trips and such soon. I'm really looking forward to getting back to our normal schedule soon! 

Travel queen

Hello from the West coast! Sorry for the lack of posts this week but as you can imagine I have had my hands full with traveling and the baby and that fun stuff. 

Early Tuesday morning Rylee and I got on a plane to come visit my family in British Columbia. On our first flight we had the two seats to our self and rylee just slept the whole time. On our second flight they moved us so we had an empty seat beside us which was very helpful! 

Rylee did sleep for part of the flight - did fuss for a bit but not a ton - and I had her bottle ready for when her ears started popping and she was quite fine. Although if I didn't have her bottle ready we might have been in for a major meltdown. 

By the time we got on our third flight she had had enough. She was tired and grumpy but seemed to enjoy the lady next to her playing peek-a-boo with her. Thankfully it was only a 13 minute flight. 

Since we have been here Rylee has been quite fussy and having a hard time adjusting her schedule. Rylee is usually quite laid back and chill so compared to a normal day for her yesterday was rough. She was up lots in the night and didn't want to go to sleep. 

Given how Rylee has been I have been doing really well staying on plan. I made a plan for the day of traveling and brought lots of healthy snacks to munch so I was we'll prepared. Yesterday I made a meal plan for while we are here and got some groceries so staying in track will be pretty simple I'm thinking. 

Yesterday morning Rylee and I went for a long walk -- which we do everyday at home -- however the difference is the hills here! They are massive compared to our flat land! Yesterday and last night my

Knee was REALLY hurting but it seems to be okay today. Next time I'll be sure to stretch before walking here to prevent injury. 

We have been having a lot of fun with my family so far. Today we are going shopping then I am going to see my Nanny's new apartment before going to my WW meeting. I think we are having sushi for lunch -- the sushi out here is so good it has ruined sushi at home for me so I try to eat it often while here. 

This morning we had a FaceTime chat with Sean and Rylee just stared at the phone and couldn't figure out why she could see and hear her dada but not touch him. The look on her face was super cute -- my little snuggle monkey! 

Until next time! 

Spaghetti squash

Over the weekend we got our house deep cleaned and it is all finished now. It feels SO great to have it so clean and organized. 

For dinner last night I made spaghetti squash with meat and veggie sauce and topped it with crumbled light feta. It is probably my new favorite meal!

Last night we went to Walmart to get a bunch of things that we need for Rylee's and my trip to BC tomorrow. I could not get over how picked over the shelves were. I mean I knew school supplies were going to be sparse but we didn't need any of that stuff so I thought we would be okay. Boy was I ever wrong they didn't even have parchment paper or whip cream! 

My meal plan for tomorrow is:

Normal breakfast

Snack: cheese string, apple, almonds

Lunch: tuna sandwich, pepper strips, snow peas, pudding cup

Snack: apple sauce cup, diced peaches snack cup, apple

Dinner: eat when I get there. 

Once we left there we came home to finish up the cleaning and do some

laundry so I can pack for the trip. 

Over the next couple of weeks Rylee and I are going to be doing a lot of traveling. At first it seemed very daunting to be traveling alone with an infant however I feel that I am very organized and made lots of lists so it should be very smooth. The airports are really good about allowing you to take your stroller with you right to the door of the plane which helps a lot. 

Tonight my parents are coming over for a little while to watch Rylee while I pack and to say goodbye to her and me of course (but mostly her). I think the person it will be hardest on will be Sean as he's going to really miss Rylee a lot. 

A little while back we had Rlyee's six month photo shoot here are a few pictures for you to check out:

Until next time!