Holy. Crap.

The past year has been such a blur of emotions. As a new mom with a full-time job, this doesn't surprise me. What did surprise me was when I felt myself starting to come into my own as both a mom and a wife…I'm not sure if I would go so far to say that I'm starting to find myself, but I really think that I am. The changes are subtle and a lot of people may not even notice, but to me, they are profound. I'm starting to weigh options and activities against the marathon of pregnancy, childbirth and breast-feeding. I'm making decisions based on how important they are to me and not because they are the things I should be doing because everyone else is doing.

I made one of those decisions a few days ago. I registered for the Cap City 1/2 Marathon on May 3.

Let me type that again - maybe so I can read it again. I registered for the Cap City 1/2 Marathon.

Me.

Me who hasn't really exercised much since B was born because I can't seem to justify the time spent away from him.

Me, who hates running with a passion and who whined and complained through two (yes, two) half-marations in 2010.

Me, who abruptly stopped running after those two marathons (after getting into the best shape of my life, by the way).

Those scenarios and examples were the definitions of the old me…or maybe the previous me.

All I could think of when I hit the "register" button on that 1/2 Marathon was, "I can do this."

Me, who carried that tiny human for 9 months.

Me, who held on through labor until I got to 9cm.

Me, who made a ONE YEAR commitment to breast-feed and did it.

Me, who wants to be a strong, healthy momma and wife for my two boys and fur baby.

Me.

Becoming a mom has shifted how I perceive myself. I don't know when it happened, but realizing it is incredibly humbling and empowering. The old me, would have thought that 12 weeks of training (or in my case, 4 1/2 months) was FOREVER. Now, I realize that  this is just a blip on the calendar that will happen whether I run or not. The pain of training and running has faded away and all I can remember is how powerful it was to log those miles and feel that sweat. Instead of dreading the training ahead of me, I'm looking forward to the journey.

Tiny Humans are Portable: Part 4

Now that you have all of the background information, its time to get to the vacation prep itself. You know, the important stuff like, what did I pack, what did I need, what did I end up buying? I'll tell you this, for me, packing and prep is part of the fun of the vacation. Usually though, I only have to worry about myself and maybe Nick, but this time, I got to pack and prep for a whole other person! I was thrilled. In the months (yes, seriously) leading up to vacation, I ran through various scenarios in my head to try to determine what should be packed and where. I pestered Nick with a SWOT analaysis of which stroller we should take and how many varieties of snacks would be optimal for our trip. Here's where I landed, knowing that we had a washer/dryer for quick clean ups:

B's Packing List:

• 7 outfits (one for each day)
• Swim diapers - one pack
• 3-4 bathing suits (this was overkill, but they were cute and I couldn't stop buying them)
• Sunscreen (lotion and spray)
• Sandals
• Tennis shoes
• Socks
• Onesies
• Two bedsheets
• 4 bedtime blankets
• Nail clippers
• Shampoo/body wash
• Sand toys (these were readily available to buy in Aruba, but I found some for $0.50 here)
• 4 sippie cups
• Books
• Toys (that didn't make noise or that had an off button)
• Snacks
• Puffs
• Raisins
• Teddy Grahams
• Yogurt Melts
• Cheese-its (B looses his mind over these)
• Diapers
• Wipes
• Diaper cream
• Mini First Aid Kit
• Baby Tylenol + dosing chart
• Umbrella stroller - we have the Joovy Groove and LOVED it. 

B's Diaper Bag/Airplane Packing List (these are from the list above, not in addition):

• 2 outfits (plus the one he was wearing)
• Diapers (I read a guideline that recommended 1/hour your were traveling, which was overkill, but I was happy to be prepared)
• Wipes
• 2 sippie cups (one for milk, one for water)
• 2 blankets
• Books/quiet toys
• Snacks (see above)
• Diaper cream/wipes
• Shoes/socks
• Umbrella stroller
• iPad

For the plane, we packed up his diaper bag and our carry-on. I also loaded my iPad up with apps. His favorite is the Giggle Gang, which is apparently JUST as funny without sound. More on that in my post about the actual trip itself.

Tiny Humans are Portable: Part 3

If you are looking for a family friendly resort in Aruba, you need to take a look at the Divi Aruba Phoenix. I stumbled on this hotel while searching the various travel sites. When I started looking closer, it seemed too good to be true. This property is more than hotel, it is a condo resort, which works perfectly for anyone, especially people traveling with a tiny human.

What made this resort perfect for us?

Our room, or should I say condo. It had a bedroom, two full bathrooms, a living area, full kitchen, dining area, washer/dryer combo and two balconies. This extra space gave everyone some much needed breathing room and gave B a lot of areas to run around and explore. The full kitchen let us keep some snacks and milk on hand, for quick snacks and the washer/dryer combo was just what we needed to clean sandy suits.

Baby butt - totally entertained by the washing machine!

The amenities were fantastic. The resort had two restaurants and a small carry-out on site, which meant that we really never HAD to leave, and often we didn't, except for dinner. The staff at all of the restaurants was pleasant and so very accommodating to us and to our tiny human. They didn't blink an eye when we arrived at our romantic dinner on the beach and asked for a high chair.

The location. This resort was RIGHT on the beach. We walked out of our building, right to the pool area and on to the beach. I thought that this would be very important, and it was. Having everything RIGHT THERE was great and convenient and worth a little extra money. We alternated between using the beach and the pool and never had any issues finding chairs to call home for the day.

View from our balcony, facing the water. Blue water and white sand and palm trees, oh my! Under the big cluster of palm trees were lots of little grass umbrellas and chairs for lounging.

View from our balcony, facing the property and the pool. Gor-geous!

I have to say it again...location! The Divi Aruba Phoenix was at the far end of the high rise hotel zone, but it was still within walking distance to restaurants, bars and shopping. Once we figured that out, nightly sunset strolls became part of our vacation routine. The sunset in Aruba is so gorgeous that I tended to get a little snap happy on our way to dinner.

Looking down the boardwalk, towards the other high rise hotels, restaurants and shops.

This. Every night.

Bottom line. The Divi Aruba Phoenix was the perfect resort for us. The atmosphere was lively, but family friendly. The location was perfect and the rooms had everything that we wanted and more. Would we go back? Absolutely. We wouldn't stay anywhere else.

Tiny Humans are Portable: Part 2

Before we decided on Aruba, we established some vacation guidelines.

1. Beach/pool
2. Family friendly
3. Passport required
4. Warm weather

Since we had no idea what it would be like to travel with B, these seemed reasonable to us, and it turns out, we were right. In addition, to meeting our vacation criteria, Aruba has a couple of bonuses that we thought would be great for our first family vacation. Aruba's beaches are incredibly calm because of the direction of the wind and the island has a state-of-the-art desalination plant, which means that we wouldn't have to worry about the safety of the drinking/eating water.

Now that we had the destination, the planning process began. Before we I booked the flights, we I researched the hell out of the different hotels and resorts. When we take a trip, I typically begin with TripAdvisor, just to scope out the options that are available. I love that site for many reasons:

• It lets you choose all sorts of amenities, based on what your vacation preferences and needs are
• You can view photos from fellow travelers! This is a very cool feature because fellow travelers will tell it like it is. When I was making our final selection, photos from travelers were the deciding factor between two different resorts.
• Traveler reviews, with dates. This gives you some context around the comments, gripes and compliments. 

When I began searching, I didn't have a particular place in mind. I knew that we wanted to stay ON the beach, which eliminated a few properties right away. Once I found a few candidates, I looked on the hotel/resort's website for additional information, along with room tours and rates. I also used Google Maps to narrow down my selections. That really helps to figure out how "close" to the beach a resort REALLY is. Thanks to Google Maps, I was able to eliminate a few places that were across the street.

Once I had a few possible resorts, I started shopping for rates. I used the usual sites; Expedia, Travelocity, etc. to compare prices and deals for the week. When I found the lowest price, I actually ended up calling the resort itself to see if they could do better, and they did! Details on where we stayed and what we got, coming soon :)

Tiny Humans are Portable: Part 1

Before our party of two became a party of three, Nick and I traveled. A lot. We took cruises, weekend trips and sightseeing tours of Europe. After we announced that we were going to have a baby, I can't even begin to tell you how many people told us about the rude awakening that we were in for, when it came to our two vacations per year lifestyle. When people would tell us that everything was going to change (duh, really), we would politely smile and nod, knowing that we were still putting money into our travel fund and that our intentions were to fly somewhere with our tiny human, while that tiny human could fly for free. While we were at it, we also decided that the tiny human would have a passport and that the passport would have at least one stamp in it, as soon as possible.

While B was incubating, Nick and I had long talks about how B would adapt to our lifestyle instead of the other way around. After all we were here first, and B is technically the third wheel. From the very beginning, we never "holed up in the house" with our baby, we took him out and about. B's first outing was to Jeni's when he was two days old. Was it scary? Yes. Did everyone survive? Absolutely. That first outing set the stage for B's portability and provided the reassurance to us that he was, in fact, extremely portable, just requiring some equipment that we weren't used to before.

When we first started out, the outings and preparation was a very strict and choreographed process. I would nurse B while Nick packed the diaper bag and the car, so we could literally pack him up as soon as he was done and have 2-3 hours before the next feeding time. Soon, my comfort level with nursing in public made it so that we could go out and about whenever and wherever we wanted. Nursing in public became a little joke between Nick and I, and I'm pretty proud of my list of locations (dressing rooms, restaurants, parking lots, festivals, farmers markets, rest stops, picnics). We took him everywhere and were so proud when people commented about how they couldn't believe that we were still doing what we were doing, but with a tiny human in tow.

While we were festival hopping and enjoying the spring and summer, we were still putting some money into our travel fund, trying to decide on our next adventure. Our first stop? The post office, to get a passport for B. Of course, he sat for his photo like he had done it a million times before. (Note: before you get a passport for your tiny human, make sure to read all of the requirements - both parents need to be there with a lot of paperwork).

Once the passport application was submitted, we began planning our next vacation. After over-analyzing (it's what we do) and debating, we decided in June that we would be heading to Aruba in November.

Products I love: Kashi™ Hummus Crisps

When I was invited to join the Kashi Hummus Crisps BzzCampaign, I jumped at the chance. Kashi has been one of my favorite brands for quite awhile and their cereal and granola bars have been a staple in my pantry for a long time. Since Kashi is known for real and healthy ingredients, I was very excited that they were stepping into the snack food category. 

As part of my BzzKit, I received a bag of Kashi Hummus Crisps to try for free and a small stack of coupons. The flavor that I got to try was the Sea Salt & Olive Oil, although the crisps also come in Caramelized Onion and Sundried Tomato Basil & Feta.

As I expected, these chips were delicious! I say "were" because the bag has been gone for quite some time. They are the perfect standalone snack or sandwich accessory. The texture is very light and crispy with a subtle flavor. The bag is a good size and contains three generous servings (27 chips/serving). Really, you could eat the entire bag for just under 400 calories, which isn't too shabby, if I do say so myself. Did I eat the whole bag? No. But I did think about it.

I can't say enough about how delicious these chips are. I've since tried the Caramelized Onion, which is also delicious, but I would suggest having gum or mints on hand, because that flavor is pretty strong. My next trip to the grocery store will include the Sundried Tomato Basil & Feta, so I can truly pick a favorite.

As a BzzAgent, I did receive these chips for free and this blog post is one of my campaign activities. Being a BzzAgent is tons of fun and gives you the chance to try lots of new products for free or at a discount! Check it out here: https://www.bzzagent.com

Birthday Balloon Wreath

I've been slacking in the blog department lately. Lots of reasons, but those will make for some good posts, so you'll have to wait. One of the biggest reasons is that I'm getting ready for B's FIRST BIRTHDAY! In typical me fashion, I'm going a little over the top, but trying my best to keep it somewhat under control and personal. I'll have a whole post with all of the fun and photos, but first - I have to share this super cute balloon wreath!

I first got the inspiration (or should I say Pinspiration) to do this after browsing Pinterest for birthday ideas. When I realized how easy and fun this would be, it was a no-brainer that it could be a decoration for this birthday and beyond! I pinned several versions of this wreath, but landed on a hybrid of my own.

I found everything that I needed at Super Wal-Mart, but you could easily avoid Wal-Mart and head to Joann's, Michael's or Party City. I would have done that, had I had time, but I digress.

1. A foam wreath in your desired size
2. 1-2 spools of ribbon, approximately 2" wide
3. 2-3 bags of balloons. The number of bags that you need will depend on the size of the balloons that you used. I used 12", just to give you an idea.
4. A box of straight pins

Here's what you do:

  

1. Pin one end of the ribbon to the wreath and wrap it around until the wreath is covered. Secure the other end of the ribbon with another set of pins. Using a ribbon to cover the wreath helps to cut down on the number of balloons that you need.
   
2. Start pinning the balloons to the wreath. Bunch and tuck and arrange until you have the look that you want! 
   

Here is my finished product! I used about two bags of 12" balloons, trying to make the colors look random. I plan to hang it from the front door, using extra ribbon.

I'm thinking that I might add some elements from his birthday theme to the wreath, but that may end up to be a game time decision. Since the wreath is foam, it will be easy to stick some extra decorations in there that I can remove after the party. I'm really happy with how this turned out and even happier to have completed another Pinterest project. I'm adding this to my "Pinned it then made it/bought it/did it" Board!