The stomach flu diet

The good news: I lost 4 lbs in 3 days.

The bad news: It was because I had the stomach flu.

Hubby and I both did, actually. It sucked. Like, REALLY sucked. We're talking two days of vomiting and diarrhea, being unable to keep any fluids down, Phenergan suppositories, a low grade fever and muscle aches (from dehydration maybe)? And having to send our (healthy!) kid away to spend the night with his grandparents so we could sleep it off.

It was rough. But we've pulled through, and so far this morning I've kept down herbal tea, a lightly buttered Eggo waffle, and some ginger ale. We both plan to go back to work tomorrow. Today Colin is at daycare, and we're wiping down every possible surface with Clorox wipes to try and rid the house of these dastardly germs forever.

More to come soon!

Some of MY favorite things

Since I'm always talking about the stuff Colin likes (or that we like as parents), I thought I'd take a minute to share a few of the things I'M loving right now. These are the things that help me stay sane and hold onto my identity as Katie, not just as "mama." :)

A hot shower - one of my favorite ways to relax. A "five minute shower" often turns into twenty minutes or longer. It's just so peaceful and cozy, letting the water run over my neck and shoulders. I take my showers at night and they help me wind down for bed. Lately, hubby and I have been taking showers together a few times a week as well. I know... steamy, right? Seriously though, it's mostly just a nice way to connect and spend a few minutes together without the interruptions of technology and the craziness of the workweek.

A nice cup of tea - I love my cup of coffee in the morning, but if I have any too close to bedtime, I'll be up all night. My newfound solution? A hot cup of caffeine free tea. (Are you seeing a theme here? I like to be warm!) My current fave is Stash Lemon Ginger tea with a little honey in it. An added bonus is that it takes away my late night urge to snack. In case I haven't already mentioned it, the hubs and I are doing Weight Watchers together, and I've already lost about 9 pounds. Not too shabby!

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on my DVR - This guy has quickly become the most likeable late night talk show host, in my humble opinion. Because we're in bed by 10 most nights, we like to DVR Jimmy and watch him the next day after work. It's possible I have a weird sense of humor, but the games he plays with celebrities crack me up so much. Also, he has the most hysterical laugh ever.

Pinterest - Yes, I have given in to the craze. You can see what I've pinned HERE if you're interested. There's a whole lot of daydreaming going on right now, thanks to this dang website. Oh! I was also excited to see that my avocado baby food tutorial ended up on Pinterest, and was repinned by several people! It's always good to know somebody reads this thing. :)

Girl Scout cookies - Yes, I realize this is not the best thing to have on my "favorite things" list, considering I am trying to lose weight. However, I have come to realize that if you don't splurge every once in a while, you'll get totally burned out and get the urge to binge. If I weren't on Weight Watchers, I'd probably break down and eat a whole box of Thin Mints, but I won't. I'm pacing myself. It's not easy, but I'm doing it. (I may or may not have taught Colin about the wonders of Thin Mint cookies too. Don't judge.) And don't even get me started on Caramel Delights. That must be what food in heaven tastes like. Oh, Girl Scouts. Why are your cookies so delicious? Thank you for not selling them in stores year round. If you did, I'd probably be really, really fat.

More to come!

 

Testing, testing...

I've experienced some issues with Blogger comments and Disqus, so as a last ditch effort I'm giving IntenseDebate a shot. If you'd like to help me test it, please comment on this post so I can see if it works. :)

Thanks, friends!

What We're Loving Right Now

We've tried just about every sippy on the market, and one of the few Colin has been able to use on his own is the Munchkin Spill-Proof Sippy Cup. I'm not sure what it is about this one- maybe it's the soft spout, or maybe the shape is easier to grip. Either way, my little man does pretty well with it.

One of Colin's Christmas presents was the Melissa & Doug Chomp and Clack Alligator Push Toy. He learned to use it on Christmas Day, and we couldn't be more proud! He still uses it quite often, and probably will until he builds up the confidence to walk more than a few steps without it.

And since our little dude is starting to take steps, of course he needs some cute shoes. Since I'm all about practicality, though, we tend to buy one good pair and use them until he outgrows them. We love Stride Rite shoes! Until recently, Colin wore the "Elliot" and just a couple weekends ago we went and picked out a new pair in the "Landon" style. So cute, right?

Don't ask me why, but Colin's favorite toy ever ever ever is the Playskool Busy Tumble Top. He hits the thing over and over, gets the balls popping around in there like crazy, and then dances to the "beat" by flapping his little arms. It is just the cutest thing!

In the Vaughan house, we love us some Eggo waffles!! (Who knew you could order waffles on Amazon, by the way?!) Colin thinks they're the bees knees. He eats them plain, torn up into kid-sized pieces. I used to crave them when I was pregnant with him, so it's no surprise that he loves them so much. :)

If you're opposed to letting your kids watch TV, look away for this last one. We recently acquired a fancy schmancy Philips dual screen portable DVD player for the car! We're only using one screen at the moment, and we're going to hang onto the second one for future little ones. I can't tell you how awesome it's been to take a car ride and not have a fusspot in the backseat the whole time. I'm not sure why, but Colin gets cranky in the car most of the time after a few minutes of driving. Since we got the DVD player though, he hangs out with Mickey, Diego or Bob and Larry (the tomato and cucumber, respectively - of course) and has a blast!

What things are you loving right now? If you do a post like this, let me know- I'd love to check it out!

Colin and Daddy

Ever since our family of two became a family of three, I've fallen even deeper in love with my husband. There is something so special about navigating the choppy waters of parenthood with the love of your life by your side. The way Colin looks at his daddy tells me that he loves him just as much as I do, too. It's so sweet. Whenever Colin is fussy, Daddy scoops him up and takes him into the nursery, where he'll point out all the sea creatures on the walls. He'll point at the whale and say, "Look at Mr. Whale! Want to touch him? Say, 'Hi, Mr. Whale!'" Colin reaches his chubby little hand out and touches the whale, and he smiles at his daddy.

I knew Justin would be a great father from the time we were expecting our little guy. He would rub my belly and talk to our baby, telling him of all the things we had planned for him and letting him know how much we loved him and wanted to hold him. After Colin was born, Justin's fatherly instincts were always right on. Together, we dealt with his jaundice, breastfeeding issues and eventually the switch to formula, silent reflux, eczema, and sleepless nights. Together, we fell more in love with our baby boy and with each other. Sure, it hasn't always been easy, but it has been totally worth it and I think parenthood has made us better people.

Sweetheart, I love you so much. Thank you for being such a great husband and father. I can't wait to see what else God has in store for us and our little family.

 

Just some words and pictures

Eating spaghetti at home for the first time

The boy has some pretty fierce bedhead after naptime

Hello, handsome

I am absolutely in love with being the mother of a thirteen month old boy. He seems to understand us more and more each day. When he stands up in the bathtub and I say, "please sit on your bottom," HE DOES! When I ask him if he's sleepy or hungry or wants milk, he laughs this really goofy, nervous sounding laugh that seems to mean, "YES, Mommy. I want that." He even thinks is funny (and let's be honest, so do I) to take his paci out of his mouth and pop it into mine. I love my smart, silly, handsome, crazy, learning-all-the time boddler (that's baby/toddler) so much, and can't wait to see what new adventures the next months will bring.

Showin' off his brand new toofies!

...and using them to chew on Puppy.

More to come!

Where to find me when I'm not blogging

I apologize for the lack of posts lately. Work has kept me pretty busy, and Colin and I have both been sick with colds this week. I haven't been so great at keeping up with the blog, but I'm still here. I'm on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram (username: sbuxsweetie) quite a bit, so come join me there if you haven't already!

I thought about bringing back the {Kid}ding Around Friday link-up party, but I don't know if I have the time to commit to it just yet. Would anyone be interested in linking up if I do bring it back?

Also, if you have any ideas of what I should blog about next, please do share. :)

More to come soon!

Weekend getaway

In the almost thirteen months we've been parents, we've never left Colin overnight. That is, we hadn't until this past weekend. On Friday, we loaded up our luggage, dropped our little man off with Justin's parents, and headed for Sullivan's Island. Our good friend, Jonathan, was getting married and Justin was a groomsman, so we took advantage of the opportunity to have a little weekend getaway, just the two of us.

Overall, the time away was really nice. We did miss our little guy, and he also came down with a cold while we were gone, which made us feel pretty bad about leaving him. He was in capable hands, though, and while we missed him, we never felt like we shouldn't have left him. He spent the majority of his time with Justin's brother, Tim, his wife, Shannon, and their 4 year old daughter, Emily. Colin LOVES Emily and is always laughing at her when we're all together. It also doesn't hurt that they have a dog, Myles, who loves to give kisses and is great with little ones.

Out for a stroll on Saturday | Colin getting kisses from Myles

We tried to make the most of our trip and sleep in, but the hotel bed was rather uncomfortable and I wasn't feeling so great myself (had the whole achy, virusy feeling on Saturday and Sunday like I was fighting something off) and couldn't sleep past 8 am. We did allow ourselves to relax on Saturday. When we woke up, we took our time getting ready and went to IHOP for breakfast. The food was pretty good, but the meals were a little pricey. I kept thinking, "I could make this at home SO much cheaper." After that, we went for a drive around Charleston and ended up at Folly Beach, where we walked along the Fisherman's Pier. It was beautiful, but the wind was freezing cold so we didn't stay there very long.

Taking pictures before the ceremony | Absolutely gorgeous wedding venue

The wedding that afternoon was beautiful. It was obvious that Jonathan and Amanda are head over heels in love with each other; they're such a gorgeous couple and fit so nicely together. We saw some old friends and met new ones, and danced at the reception. It was definitely worth the trip.

Wordless Wednesday: Ten Little Toes

Project 52 Week 4: Simplicity

The theme for this week is "simplicity."

So here I am, unedited, without makeup.

Laid bare by the sun. Just me. Simple.