Indy Householders'

"How is everyone sleeping?"

2011-08-19T13:34:00.000-04:00

That seems to be the standard question after the "Awww he's so cute, how old is he" I wish I had a go to answer, but the truth is for 5 weeks I've avoided saying the word sleep out of fear that Ethan will suddenly start waking up every 2 hours. The first week of July Ethan started sleeping through the night (STTN). Not just 5-6 hours. He was sleeping 8-10 hours!! As all moms know, the first rule of STTN is you don't talk about STTN!!! I'm only breaking the rule today because I saw way too much of that cutie in the wee hours last night.

Apparently, Ethan felt that we needed to be reminded that sleep should not be taken for granted. He woke up hungry at 11:00. I fed him and he fell right back asleep. At 11:20 he was up. He wasn't fussy, didn't need a diaper change, happy as can be, cheesy monkey smiles, making all sorts of I'm so excited to see you noises. Rock, crib, shuffle back to bed, rinse and repeat every 20 minutes until 1:30. I brought him to bed with me. Something pre-kids I swore I would never do! All those things we swore we would never do when we had kids are quite humorous now!

There's a slight problem with having him in bed with us. We have a full size bed. It's freakin' small!! There is barely enough room for Dan and I to sleep comfortably in it, add another person, another person who sleeps like a star fish and no one is getting any sleep. I put Ethan on my chest/belly to make a little more room and think when did this boy get soooo big???!! I'm laying on my back, sudo propped up, with a couple extra pillows behind me and one under my shoulder to keep it from cramping. It is virtually impossible for me to sleep on my back. I'm a side slash belly sleeper to the core. I manage to drift off and Dan starts snoring next to me. Of course. I kick him, he rolls over. I drift off and Ethan does that crazy arms legs flailing thing that babies do. I drift off, the dog starts snoring. Super. At 3:00 I put Ethan back in his crib.

I spend the next hour waiting for him to wake. I feel my anxiety creeping in, the same anxiety I had with Brady, the 'he's going to be up at any moment, it's not worth me falling asleep just to be woke up 10 minutes later'. Looking back, Dan and I have realized that I had more anxiety than the typical new mom. At 5:00 he's up again. Dans' alarm will go off in 15 minutes. Dude! It's your turn! Dan deals with him, gets ready for work and wakes me to tell me good bye around 6:15. Brady is up at 6:40.

So why am I sharing a long ass story of my sleepless night????? Because a few months ago a night like last night would have broke me. I would have been a crying, yelling mess. Crying because I didn't like my emotions, because I had no desire to see my children between the hours of 9 pm and 7am and felt terrible for feeling that way, and wanted to sleep for the love of all things holy!! Yelling because Dan was laying there SLEEPING while I was dealing with Ethan. I would have woken up cranky and bitchy, my moodiness would have affected Brady and we all would have had an awful day.
Thankfully last night and this morning turned out differently.
The fact that when Brady woke me up I was able say Good Morning Big Guy with a happy tone and a smile. I was able to get him breakfast and feed the dogs with out counting down the hours to nap time. For the first time I feel like I'm becoming the mom that I have always wanted to be and that is a great feeling.

Well, I have to say it sometime....

2011-08-12T12:11:00.000-04:00

I've only shared this with a few individuals. Individuals who are so close to me that I know they would never judge me. Individuals who know my deepest secrets and who will take those secrets to the grave with them. I haven't told anyone else because I did not want to be judged. I did not want looks of pity. I didn't want to hear people tell me to "just get over it". By keeping silent, I'm adding to the stigma, so here it is: I have ppd. Postpartum Depression. I'm on medication and will remain on medication for the foreseeable future.

I felt it coming and thought I could fight it. I couldn't. Apparently I'm not strong enough. <---- That is the ppd talking. I am strong enough, strong enough to admit I can't go it alone. Strong enough to admit I can't continue like this. Strong enough to know that my boys and my husband deserve better than what I have been. They deserve the real me. Not the swallowed up, pushing everyone away, freaking the fuck out over little things me.

So, I'm on medication and I'm dealing with my issues and I'm learning to ask for help. And so help me, if you say any form of the following I will mentally punch you in your face! God will heal you, Have you tried natural remedies, I had thirteen-kazillion kids and never had an issue, Just be happy you have kids or ppd isn't real are not helpful things to say to me.

December - before Christmas

2011-04-08T21:28:00.005-04:00

Heading out to cut our own Christmas tree.

Brady thought that the snow was pretty tasty and that the tree held it at the perfect height.

Of course, it is tiring work walking through all of that snow. But Brady found a good way to see the sights, and get the tree back to the car.

Of course, after you get the tree, you need to decorate. This was the first year that Brady was able to help put up his ornaments on to the tree.

Brady was mesmerized by the candles that we use on the nativity carousel.

We went to the Jingle Rails exhibit at the Eiteljorg Museum. A room full of model trains that were running through a very elaborate series of scenery.

This scene was of downtown Indianapolis. Brady thought that the trains were really cool.

Brady thought that the snow pile was great. He could slide down the hill on his own after we put him up there.

November

2011-04-08T21:09:00.003-04:00

In November, we went up to Wisconsin for Thankgiving.

Brady helped Grandma make some Thanksgiving turkey sugar cookies.

Brady and Adelaide got matching moose pj's. After five attempts at getting them to sit on the steps and get a picture, this was a close as we got to a picture with both of them.

Brady having fun with the slide. He thought it was hilarious to have moose go down the slide.

We also went to a nice Christmas parade in Grafton. It was a bit on the chilly side, but that couldn't keep Brady from stylin' with his monkey hat and shades.

October (part 2)

2011-04-07T22:33:00.002-04:00

Before we carved pumpkins, Brady wanted to play some catch.

Brady wasn't real sure about cleaning out the pumpkin, but once he got a spoon he was pretty happy.

Now his method of carving the pumpkin was a little on the unconventional side.

Zoo Boo was fun, and Brady loved wearing his monkey costume.

He sort of understood the concept of trick-or-treating, but mostly just liked the candy part.

October (part 1)

2011-04-07T22:19:00.004-04:00

Grandma, Aunt Jamie and Uncle Kyle came to visit over fall break. They decided to head to the zoo while Mom and Dad had a day away.

The zoo is extremely hard work, if only someone would help.

Enjoying the slide with Aunt Jamie at the zoo.

Riding the carousel.

Getting a better view of all the animals.

Racing Grandma up the hill

Picking out a pumpkin, but deciding it is much cooler to throw or roll them.
Brady thought the Apple Cider slush was pretty good.

September

2011-04-07T21:53:00.005-04:00

Dad and Brady decided to take a father-son hike one Saturday so we packed up the hiking carrier and headed to the IMA 100 Acres.

It was kind of bright, so we had to wear our shades.

Brady's favorite exhibit was one called "Free Basket".

He thought it was great to run around the "basketball" court and climb over the arches.

Brady was much more involved this year with our annual apple picking excursion.

He had to wear his boots.

Of course the biggest news for the month was announcing that Brady would become a big brother in April 2011.Shawnna is due April 28th, 2011 and like Brady, we won't be finding out whether Brady will be getting a little brother or sister.

August 2010

2011-04-07T21:31:00.002-04:00

Ok, so yes, it really has been like 9 months since we updated the blog, but we have a valid excuse, or at least an excuse. So, we will get caught up just in time for our next addition.

Indiana State Fair

It was extremely hot the day that we went to the fair and there weren't many animals left. But we still managed to have some fun.

Brady loved the farm setup that they had. 1st you gathered the eggs.

Then you gathered some grain to feed the cows.

But his favorite part was driving the "tractor". Mom had to have him ride the Oliver tractor like his Great Grandpa Pell had for the farm.

Of course, he couldn't reach the pedals, so he needed a little help.

July

2010-08-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

After our mini-vacation over the 4th, the remainder of July was a little slow.

Dan drew a race track on the chalk board.

Sausage Race!!

We took in an Indians Game, taking advantage of BOGO tickets with our Zoo membership. I love the lawn seating at the Indians Stadium. Brady has such a difficult time sitting still right now. He is able to move around and play with with his cars without bothering other people.

Waving to the crowd. He can be such a ham!

4th of July

2010-08-17T11:39:00.000-04:00

We spent 4th of July in Wisconsin. Fun Times!! We hadn't seen Kevin and Nikki since Christmas. Brady and his cousin, Adelaide were able to play together. Brady got to see his second Brewer game. We watched the Cedarburg Parade on the 4th. Then we travelled up to the Dell's for a day at Noah's Ark.

"Hands off my breakfast, Lady"

"Hey, Cousin Brady, Show me how to run like you!"

"Maybe this will help with teething, Adelaide"

Miller Park

Waiting for the Parade to start.

Noah's Ark

"woah!!! Maybe I'm not ready for the big slides!"

It was hard to tell who had more fun, Brady or Grandpa.

Dinner at Famous Daves afterward. "Hey Brady, do we get to eat ribs too??"

June

2010-08-17T10:58:00.001-04:00

Swimming Lessons!

"Pooooool"

Look at these two!!

Brady had corn on the cob for the first time. Not a fan.

His first Oreo was well received!

"mmmmmmmmmmm"

What's for Dinner??

2010-08-12T10:31:00.000-04:00

What's for Dinner?? That's the 20,000 dollar question around here. It is not uncommon for me to decide what is for dinner at 3:00pm and do a quick run to Kroger to grab missing ingredients. Of course, this doesn't really mesh with my thrifty side. Now that we are doing Dave Ramseys Total Money Makeover and following the envelope system for our budget, three extra trips to Kroger REALLY do not mesh!

I am slowing getting in the groove of weekly meal planning. This is one of my favorites meals because it is sooooo cheap and easy. And is made with things I usually have on hand. The majority of the ingredients are pantry staples. When beef roasts are on sale, I will buy two or three and store them in the freezer. This way, I don't have to pay full price for beef later. I always check out the "Half Off" bakery racks for French rolls or Hoagie buns.

Slow Cooker French Dip Roast Beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 beef rump roast, 2.5-3 lbs
1 Tb dry minced garlic or 1 clove fresh
1/2 ts thyme
1/2 ts basil
1/2 ts black pepper
1 10oz. can beef consomme
8-10 french rolls-split

1. Place onion in slow cooker. Place beef on top of onion. Sprinkle garlic, thyme, basil and pepper over roast.

2. Pour consomme around beef. Cook on low 9-10 hours.

3 Remove beef. Let it sit 10-15 min. Strain brother through sieve. Allow collected broth to stand for 10-15 min. Skim fat from broth. Season broth if desired.

4. Pour broth into individual soup cups or ramekins. Thinly slice beef. Pile beef onto buns, serve with cup of broth for dripping.

Notes:
-I like to sear the roast in a hot pan first. I add the consomme to the pan to get all the yummy bits off the bottom. Then add everything to the slow cooker.
-I use a gravy separator with a strainer top to strain the broth and deal with the fat.

Linking up to Life As Mom. Click for more slow cooker recipes!!

May

2010-08-09T19:53:00.000-04:00

Mother's Day!!

Brady with his Great Uncle DJ

Bradys First Zoo Trip

"Did you SEE that?"

Sprinkler!!

Swimming at Grandma and Grandpa Householders

Thinking of joining Swagbucks???

2010-08-09T13:18:00.000-04:00

This week is a GREAT time to signup! It is Back to School week with Swagbucks.
Enter "BackToSchool" when registering, and you will earn 40 Swagbucks. Add, this to the 30 Swagbucks they give you to get started ...and you are at 70 Swagbucks without even trying!!! This promotion is good thru Sunday August 15th.

-There are five one of a kind Back to School Themed Swag Bucks in varying amount. If you collect them all, at the end of the week, you will earn a 50 Swag Buck bonus!

-Special Facebook and Twitter Promotions

-Swag Code Extravaganza on Thursday, which will include at least 5 Swag Codes.

It is easy to earn Swagbucks, which you redeem for prizes like Amazon Gift Cards, by doing your regular online searches. You simply use the Swagbucks search engine instead of the engine you are using now. It can be even easier to search by adding the Swagbucks toolbar.

You can also earn by entering "Swag Codes" that can be found in the Swidget (Scroll down, you will see the Swidget on the right hand side). Codes can also be found by following clues that are posted on the Swagbucks Facebook page, Twitter page and the Swagbucks Blog.

I have been a Swagbucks member for just under two weeks and have already earned 10 dollars in Amazon Gift Cards. At this moment, I am halfway to earning another 5 dollars!!! I just wish I had signed up sooner!!!

April

2010-08-06T14:23:00.000-04:00

Well we got a new dishwasher in April. Mox felt like he needed to check it out to make sure it was up to his standards.

HAPPY EASTER!!

"Ohhhh...What's in here??"

M&Ms...yuummmmm

Opening an Easter Basket from Great Aunt Karin

"Did you see this chicken Dad!"

"Hey Issac, let me drive!"

Dan and Brady built a sandbox. Wood sponsored by Grandma and Grandpa Householder.

He was a bit hesitant to get into the sand.

But once Daddy showed him how fun it is to play in the sand....

Now we can hardly keep him out of it!

Brady is such a fun kiddo right now. He does the funniest things. Like...

sitting naked in his Bumbo

March

2010-08-06T11:24:00.000-04:00

Brady is getting soooo Big!

Dans Mom and Dad where here for a visit. Grandpa helped Dan lay the new flooring. Grandma helped me keep Brady out of the way. We went to the Indy Home and Garden Show and the Indianapolis Children's Museum.

"On." "Off."..... "On." ..."Off."

Brady thought the Bob the Builder exhibit was neat. Too bad Bobs' show is soooo boring.

Did you notice the wardrobe change??? Someone had a little too much fun playing in the water table : )

"Catch me Mama!"

There were new baby chicks at Aunt Hollys' house! They are for Issac to show at the fair.

"Whoa...that one is bigger than me!"

" I'm not sure I want to pet that one Issac"

February

2010-08-06T09:31:00.000-04:00

Daddys Monkey

Bath Time!

Helping Daddy make Brownies

"What chocolate???"

Finger Painting is lots of Fun!

Sledding!!!!!!

"My turn to use the drill"

"The inside looks good Dad. What's next?"

January

2010-08-05T20:18:00.001-04:00

Dan failed to mention that Brady learned to walk in December!!

There's no stopping him now!!!!!

Mega Bloks Dump Truck

Budding Artist??

"How do I get Grandma on this thing?"

Cheese!!!!

"I can stir too Mama."

Brady LOVES to help!

He even helps with laundry...............

Just keeping in real Folks!

Busy December.... part 2

2010-02-04T20:17:00.005-05:00

After a week in Florida, we were ready to come back and went from 75 deg weather to 8 inches of snow in Wisconsin. Brady had gotten to see his first snowfall (a decent snow storm that knocked power out at Grandma and Grandpa's house).

Then before we left, we celebrated Brady's birthday with part of the Householder crew. With this came Brady's first taste of chocolate cake, (which you can see he kind of enjoyed).

Then after we got home, we celebrated his actual birthday with cake and presents with the neighbors. By this time Brady was getting the hang of this presents thing and really enjoyed opening them. We learned the hard way that it is a bad idea to open the "best" gift first because he would lose interest in opening anything else.

But before Brady's birthday we got some exciting news that Brady's first cousin, Miss Adelaide Sophie was born Dec 14th. Unfortunately we wouldn't be able to see her until Christmas when we went to visit them in Illinois.

The next thing on Brady's agenda for December after his birthday was a haircut. Although his hair wasn't really long, it was long in the back (little rat tail) and on the sides where it was covering his ears. He did a great job and didn't seem to mind at all sitting in the chair and getting his hair trimmed.

He looked like such a little boy after that. We will leave Christmas and after for another post.

Busy December... part 1

2010-02-04T19:49:00.008-05:00

It was a busy December for the Householder crew. It started right from the start with Shawnna's sister's wedding the first weekend. Brady was a one of the ring bearers in the wedding and Shawnna was the matron-of-honor. Brady got to be pulled down the aisle in his new wagon (an early Christmas/birthday present).

After almost 12 hours with only a 30 minute nap the boy was done. Which was a good thing because, we were ready for the 5 hour drive up to Wisconsin.

Earlier in the year, Shawnna and I had decided to take a vacation with just the two of us and had originally looked at going up to Door County, but were offered the chance to use some leftover timeshare points to rent a condo on Anne Maria Island on the Gulf Coast of Florida. So, we drove up to Wisconsin to drop off Brady and then to fly out of Milwaukee to Sarasota, FL.

The weather was far from perfect (these pictures are from the few good weather times we had) but it was relaxing and we ate some good seafood and one great meal at Harry's Continental Kitchen.

Happy Halloween!!

2010-01-22T21:29:00.003-05:00

My favorite nickname for Brady is Chunky Monkey. It was only fitting that his first Halloween costume be a monkey : )

Look at that Smile! and those eyes!! This boy melts my heart!

Fall Fun - Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-27T20:19:00.007-04:00

Nothing says fall quite like going and picking out a pumpkin from the field. So a couple of weeks ago we headed off to Anderson's Orchard just outside Mooresville to get pumpkins and some apples for baking.

First a family picture (only take number 5) and borrowed the neighbor's wagon.

Brady thought the pumpkins were pretty cool. But he was torn between the tall pumpkin or the round pumpkin.

Happy with his choice.

Then it was time to carve (or taste) the pumpkin.

The final pumpkin family.

Brady Stats 9.0

2009-09-25T22:21:00.003-04:00

Brady went for his 9 month appointment on Tuesday and here are the stats:

Length: 29 inches (75 percentile)
Weight: 22.9 lbs (90 percentile)

He has been walking behind his push toys or anything else he can push or hold on to for the last month or so. He loves all sorts of finger food, peaches and bananas have been his favorite so far. He is babbling/talking, with his favorite being Da-Da, even though it covers much more than just Dad.

Otherwise, he looks like such a toddler, especially when he wears his shoes and pants. And he recently cut his third tooth, with the fourth one right behind it (top two middle teeth).

Hopefully, everyone is enjoying the more frequent posts as we have had more time to think and post.

Stroller/Shoulder/Everything Bag

2009-09-24T11:14:00.004-04:00

This is the Lickety Split Bag from Made By Rae.
I love this bag! It is the perfect size. I made it with four pockets, 2 outside, 2 inside. I love the pockets. They are tall enough to hold my wallet or bottle of water. Because there isn't any interfacing, the fabric is very pliable, I can even fit Bradys' sippy cup in the pocket.
I've used it for toys, snacks, clothes, books, produce, and to hold my coupon binder. I use it most often hanging it across the stroller as a 'green bag'

Summer 2009

2009-09-08T20:33:00.007-04:00

So we didn't have a real busy summer this year but we did get to experience a number of firsts with Brady this summer. First swim lessons, state fair, Milwaukee Brewers game, Indianapolis Indians game, Children's museum and apple picking. A couple of these we haven't written about or shown pictures on the blog so I figured I would catch these things up.

Children's Museum for the King Tut exhibit

I am so glad we were able to find discounted tickets for the exhibit. It honestly wasn't that great. Brady was great while were were at the museum. He especially liked the Fireworks of Glass exhibit.

Swim Lessons at the YMCA - Brady absolutely loves the water

This kid is a fish!!

Indiana State Fair - petting a Jersey cow (Mom's favorite)

Bradys Great-Grandpa Pell would be so proud.

Indianapolis Indian's Game

I was a little worried about sitting in the lawn, as Brady has mastered crawling, but we didn't have any problems. He even tasted his first hot dog while we were there.

Apple Picking - so we can make applesauce (Brady's favorite)

We gave him a taste of an apple. He held on to it and chewed on it for 45 minutes!! We had to take it from him when it was time to go. I was amazed!

He keeps getting bigger and his personality (curiosity mostly) is really coming through. But all of that I will save for another post.