Reading Review

Hmm..well, I didn't really get to read a whole lot this month. It seems that packing, a baby and having a husband graduate from medical school kind of limits your amount of time to just lay around and read. Never the less I did have the opportunity to read one lovely little gem this month.

Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell, AMAZING! I love Candace Bushnell to begin with mainly due to creation of Sex and the City, but she has had some great books too. Lipstick Jungle is no exception. In this story you follow three successful New York women, Victory an up and coming fashion designer, Wendy a movie producer and Nico the editor of Bonfire magazine. These women are not your average New York women, they work hard and play hard. As all three strive to get to the top of their profession, they find that they have additional obstacles in their way... husbands with egos, creative ideas that go wrong, and even an almost discovered affair. However, these minor set backs wont stand in these ladies way. The three of them will someday rule the city or as they like to call it the Lipstick Jungle.


I hope that once we are done with our move to Michigan I will be able to get back on track with my reading. According to Goodreads I am now 3 books behind on meeting my goal...oops. Oh well, I have a lot of books on my reading list for this summer/fall. What's on yours? Have you started your Goodreads challenge yet?

Jason's First Day and Last Day

Four years in the making...I am proud to introduce Dr. Jason Lehr!! Yay! Last Friday was Jason's last day of medical school. I feel that with all the time and studying that he put into the past few years this day should come with something a little special...like a parade or something. If you have a spouse who's a medical student or if you are one yourself you know what I'm talking about!

Last Day of School

We started this chapter of our journey 4 years ago in Kirksville, MO. We were newly weds...like I'm talking we got married 4 days before white coat ceremony. It was our first time living far away from home, and our first time living together (even though we had been dating for 8 years). We had a lot to figure out on our own, and sometimes it seems we are still figuring things out. Those two years in Kirksville were some of the best and the worst times for us. Jason was very busy studying and that left me alone a lot. I ended up getting very lonely living that far away from all my friends and family, but then we met a great group of people (Boehms, Beck, Kims, and Meaghan) and we formed our own little family. After two years in the tiny town of Kirksville Jason and I were ready for a new city and the next part of schooling, but we were also so sad to leave our little Kville family.

First day of Orientation in Kirksville

Our Family!

Beck and Joe

Jessica, Erin, Bianca and Myself

Moving to Ohio was our next adventure. There is something about moving that puts a little spring in my step. I don't know if it's because I am the only one in my family to live out of state, or if it's the adventure of somewhere new (which also can overwhelm me too). The move to Ohio was a lot smoother, I had gotten used to the idea of spending alone time, because Jason was even busier with his rotations. I also took the liberty of adopting our puppy Cooper to give me someone at home when Jason was away. We also were able to meet people right off the bat and form our little Canton family. For Jason these past two years have been really hard because he was so close to the end that he developed a little senioritis, also with Jackson and I at home he felt that he was missing out on baby time. It got even worse once the match took place and he knew he was going to go on to residency...what's the point of going to rotations when you already have a signed contract for next year? As a teacher though I pushed him to keep going and to do his work...they could still fail him you know!

Our big moving truck!

My first born

Mom and I at the Crew game

Amy and I after her big race!

The ladies and I doing some Xmas baking

The day my world changed

Now our two years in Ohio are done and we look forward to our next adventure in Michigan. Our family has expanded from those two kids starting out to our family of four. I can't wait to see what the next four years hold for us! I hope you have enjoyed this chapter of our family journey and stay tuned to what residency holds for us.


 

Jackson's Two Months Old!

It doesn't seem like it has been that long since my little dude has come into our lives, but the calendar doesn't lie...he really is two months old. We had our Dr.'s appointment and Jackson had his first set of shots. That was by far the hardest thing that I have had to endure. The worst part was when he was crying and looked at Jason and I like, "Why are you two not stopping this!" Ugh..I think I'm going to make Jason go to his 4 month appointment alone. I don't think I can go through that again.
However,  we also got our new stats:
Length: 23 inches
Weight: 13 lbs 6 oz
Jason and I have gotten into the habit of betting on who can guess Jackson's weight and height. Last month I guessed right on height but was way off on weight. This month I got them both right, felt pretty good about my predictions!

Jackson is now starting to get into more of a sleeping and napping routine, more out of desperation of me wanting to get some sleep at night than anything else. He is alert a lot more during the day and loves to play when he is awake. He really likes to spend time on his play mat and Cooper often times joins in on the fun. Jackson really loves his puppy time, and thinks that Cooper is the funniest thing in the world. He is getting stronger every day and is able to spend a lot more time on his tummy without getting really really mad. We have rolled over from our front to our back a few more times, but it's still not very consistent, and recently we have been making an effort to roll from our back to our front.

Laughing at Cooper

He loves to smile and shows his smile off to everyone every chance he gets ( I think he likes our reaction to his smile the best, because we go nuts!). Jackson is filling out more and is starting to get little chubby rolls on his arms and legs, which are the cutest things ever. He has recently started to take interest in his hands and we often times find him trying to suck his thumb...not to thrilled about that, but what can you do? 


Jackson is tracking a lot more too and is starting to recognize our voices. He really likes to hear Dad's voice when he comes home from work, and often times will be giving smiles before he can even see Jason. Definitely a Daddy's boy!

Smiling for Daddy

This month has been a busy one. We celebrated our first major holiday as a family. Jackson looked so cute in his little Easter suit. I always wanted one of those super cute kids in church in their very cute Easter outfit and I finally got one!

We also celebrated the Twins season opener. Jackson looked really good in his Twins outfit until he had an accident right on through it...Jason is hoping that Jackson's little blowout isn't a prediction as to how the Twins season is going to be.

So interested in the game

In addition to that Jackson made his first flight home to South Dakota. As I said in my previous post Jason's Grandma passed away from a heart attack and so we made a quick trip home to be there with the family. Jackson got to meet his Aunt and Uncle for the first time as well as his Great-Grandparents on Jason's side and a ton of cousins, Great-Aunts, Uncles and second Cousins. It was quiet the trip..Jason and I were really exhausted when we got home and are still trying to recover as well as get Jackson back on somewhat of a sleeping schedule...a lot easier said than done, but we will make it through.

Jason, Great-Grandpa Lehr, Grandpa Lehr, Uncle Ryan and Jackson. 

Jackson and Cousin Kinley

Jason, Me, Carissa, Uncle Ryan and Jackson

Aunt Angie

Lessons From A New Mama

Well here are this months lessons/tips I have learned and want to share.For those of you who know me well you know that I'm a frugal person. I love a good deal and I love sales, it doesn't matter to me if it's a name brand item or off brand as long as it does the job it's supposed to that's all that matters to me. The first few lessons are on having the bargain babies, or as I like to think of it as parenting on a budget. Then I want to cover something that I think is important and is something that every new Mommy thinks about....name brand or not name brand and then which bottle is right. With so many choices out there in these two categories how are we supposed to know the answer? Well, guess what we aren't supposed to it's a matter of trial and error, so here are my first trials and errors.

Lesson 1
 I approached the diapering situation with the same mindset as I do with any other purchase, how can I make this cheaper? Seriously diapers are one of the most expensive items that I think us parents have to purchase and it's so disappointing because it's only function is to hold pee and poo and then you throw it away...literally throwing away money! So, I did what any parent would do...I did my research and I have come to find that it's all a matter of trial and error. I understand that this tip isn't going to be helpful to those parents who have children with diaper/wipe sensitivities, but for those of you lucky ones that it doesn't matter this is what I have found. Other parents have said use Pampers or Huggies because you will have less blowouts that the off brand diapers. My parents can attest to this that it is false...if a kid is going to have a blowout it doesn't matter if they are wearing Pampers or Babies R Us diapers, it's just going to happen. Which leads me to my solution....buy what's on sale. I found Target does great sales on Pampers so for all of Jackson's newborn diapers that's what he used. They worked fine...like I said he had a few blowups on my parent's when they were visiting but what can you do. Now that Jackson is bigger and in size 1's quickly moving to size 2's I did the following...BOOM!

Babies R Us day after Thanksgiving sale. I was able to purchase all those diapers (16 boxes) and 12 boxes of wipes for $230. Now like I said if you have a child who has diaper or wipe sensitivities then go with what works for you but if not give the off brand a try...you might find your able to save a little cash.

Lesson 2
Clothes...clothes...clothes they need them and we want to buy them all the cutest little items that we can get our hands on because they are soooo cute! Truth be told I am super guilty of this and I think if you look at your credit card bill you will find that you are too. I have come to realize that babies at least don't need a ton of different outfits and they really don't need top of the line, designer clothes because guess what...they are going to spit up, drool and poo in these clothes that you just had to have for $30 an outfit. Here is the other thing about clothes at this age...they grow out of them so incredibly fast that you might not even get through all the outfits that you envisioned them wearing. I came up with a little solution to this epic problem but clothes on clearance. A lot of times stores like Target and Babies R Us will have their out of season clothes for super cheap do some quick math and see how many months old your baby will be at that time and buy some outfits on clearance. Last fall after Jason and I found out we were having a boy my friend Jessi and I went to the outlets. I was able to buy swimsuits, shorts, t-shirts, pants etc. at a really cheap price because they were all on clearance. I know you worry about things being out of style for you child but guess what everyone loves a little baby and their clothes don't typically follow the trends that adults do. Now when you kids get older and they start to have an opinion on what they wear your wonderful days of buying on discount might come to an end, but until that time you call the shots and you set the budget.

Lesson 3
Free money! That's right I said it Free Money! You know how sometimes you get those silly register yourself for these items or take this survey and we will send you a complementary sample of whatever the product may be. Well I have to say that I did that and I hit the jackpot. Now I know I have mentioned this before but I am breastfeeding Jackson and things are going very well, but I have this little voice in the back of my head saying that we may not be able to go the distance and make it our first 6months (that's my goal) to a year on breast milk and that I am going to eventually have to cave in and buy formula...which for any parent who has had to buy it or has looked at the price of formula yikes! So I filled out a few surveys and then BAM! Similac and Enfamil sent me bottles, and samples of their formula. I was so excited when I received my first samples because I thought yay I have something to try so Jackson will be able to use this until I can get to the store and buy some more. Well, it didn't stop their now both companies send me coupons that are good towards any type of their formula (one coupon good per formula) and occasionally they send me containers of powder formula. Fortunately for us we have not had to use any yet, but it's reassuring to know that I have a good stock pile of it if I need it. The other nice thing is that the powder formula doesn't expire until 2015 so I can hold on to it for Jackson's first year and then if we still don't need it I can donate it to the food bank or something so someone else can use it.

Lesson 4
Ok so the final lesson that I have I don't have a way to make it cheaper or lower the price of it, but it was a overwhelming process for me and I hope to be able to help out other Mommies. Quick other than the formula isle what is the most intimidating isle in the baby section..ding ding ding that's right the bottle section. Playtex, Dr. Brown, Tommee Tippee bottles. Fast flow, slow flow, medium flow nipples. These ones are closer to nature, these ones help with gas and spit up WHAT DO YOU CHOOSE?! Here is the hard part...it's all based on trial and error. You may go through 2 or 3 different kinds of bottles before you find the ones that work the best for your baby. Here is my suggestion though, and this is what I did, register for a couple of different kinds that you think might work...read the reviews that people put online line and then make an educated guess. The nice thing is, is that since you may receive it as a shower gift if it doesn't work for you baby at least you didn't lose out on any money during the process. For my shower I registered for two kinds of bottles Tommee Tippee anti-colic, which was supposed to be closer to nature and really good for babies and then Playtex VentAire. I tried the Tommee's first because they were the ones I was really rooting for and it was a failure. The nipples were too big (he was premature - I don't think I ever mentioned that) and he ended up practically drowning in milk and then it was leaking out the seams of the bottles it was crazy. Then of course I was getting upset because my milk was leaking all over the place and well I worked hard to produce that. We tried the Tommee's for two days and called it quits and switched to the Playtex VentAire's and we love them. Jackson has taken to them very well and we haven't had any problems. 

So there you have it folks 4 mini lessons/tips from the New Mama...now remember I'm no expert I'm just sharing what I have found to work for my little family along the way.

Jackson's first Easter

Well, the first big holiday with our little man has come and gone. I have never really minded being away from my family until now. Going through the Easter holiday with just Jason, Jackson and I made me realize how much Jackson is going to miss out on being so far away from our family. Never the less I was determined to make his first Easter special. So, we started out our day with the family church service at St. Stephen Martyr Lutheran here in Canton. Now I know that when you are in church you are supposed to be completely in the moment with God and believe me I was for the most part, but I also was checking out all the little kids in their cute Easter outfits. Jackson himself was even sporting a special outfit, which made him the cutest kid in church if I do say so myself.

After church we wanted to stop of Chipotle for lunch but unfortunately they were closed so we settled for lunch at home. We tried to take some family pics too but they really didn't turn out, Jackson was tired of being in his Sunday best so...we switched him over to his second outfit of the day!

Church was exhausting!

After everyone ate and got changed into comfy clothes Jackson was able to finally open his Easter bags/gifts from Grandparents and Mommy and Daddy. He really did get spoiled for his first Easter.

I got him the monkey bag

With dinner cooking away in the crock pot and Dad and I totally exhausted we took a family nap time before dinner. Now, I know it sounds crazy because like I said it was just the 3 of us and Jackson isn't exactly eating solid foods, but I can't let a holiday slip by me without a family meal. So, I made ham, stuffing, green bean casserole, red jello salad (a Lehr tradition), and pie for dessert. It was an amazing feast with lots of leftovers for us to enjoy for the next few days.

Although our family was able to salvage some of the holiday we were also in mourning. Jason's Grandma Lehr passed away Easter morning. She was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago and after a few surgeries we still don't know where the cancer had started, or where it had spread to. Grandma was supposed to start chemo on Monday April 1, but had a heart attack the night before Easter. She was unresponsive upon arrival at the hospital, and passed early Easter morning. Our little family is going to be making the trip back to South Dakota for the funeral on Thursday. It is a loss that has shaken our family to the core, Grandma Lehr was an amazing woman and she will be missed dearly. We would like to thank all of our friends and family members for their kind words and prayers during this difficult time. We truly are blessed to know such wonderful people.

French Silk Pie

There are some traditions that you just can't mess with. One of our family traditions is to have French Silk Pie at every holiday and special occasion. My Mom found this recipe when she wanted to try something new when my great-grandparents were coming over for dinner. I have tried my best to carry this tradition by making this pie on special holidays. I know that I am supposed to be watching what I eat right now....but honestly you cannot mess with tradition.

French Silk Pie

Bake pie shell according to package, allow to cool before adding filling. 

 

Filling

1/2 c. butter

3/4 c. sugar

1 oz unsweetened chocolate

3 Tbs. cocoa

1 Tbs. vanilla

2 eggs

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Then melt the unsweetened chocolate in the microwave, add to butter and sugar along with cocoa and vanilla. Blend well add 1 egg then with mixer beat for 5 minutes. Add 2nd egg and beat for another 5 minutes. Pour into baked pie shell and chill for 2 hours.

Topping
1 c. whipping cream (one of the small containers)
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Hershey bar or chocolate chips

Combine whipping cream and powdered sugar. Beat until peaks are stiff. Add vanilla and blend until mixed in well. Put topping on chilled pie filling and then add shaved chocolate curls or chocolate chips.

Enjoy!