Back at it!

Its been over two years since my last blog.....so I'd like to give myself a warm welcome back and update everyone as briefly as possible! Since my last post, I've had two birthdays (I'm now 32! aaaaaah), learned that my sweet Finn has Autism, given birth to my second child, Owen (who is an adorable little ball of energy), moved from Fallon to Reno where I have successfully kept a new (paying) job for over a year(This is hard for a girl to do when she shares her hubs with the US navy), taken the boys to Lake Tahoe, North Carolina, and Mexico (do not recommend with toddlers), bought two new cars, a house, planted a garden, ran 3 half-marathons, and have officially embraced soccer mom status (Yes I attend pilates on the reg and have considered botox).

I will just fast forward to our most recent adventure though.  Finn is OBSESSED with city buses, trains, cars, bull dozers etc--basically any episode of mighty machines on netflix.  So Jake and I decided we should spend Memorial Day  weekend in San Francisco where he could experience all of those things hands on!  Last minute accommodation on a holiday weekend in San Francisco can be quite pricey so I immediately sent a message to my friend Gosia to see if she had any ideas for affordable places to stay.  Of course she did! Why don't we just stay in her friend's 2-bedroom fancy downtown condo?  So thats what we did.

Day 1: The boys surprisingly snuggled in the spare bedroom and woke up saturday morning raring to go.  First we hoped on the "F Train" which was a cable car type train that we rode down to the Fisherman's Wharf area.  Finn was mesmerized by the boats "ships" and all the water (the bay).  Of course there was a person with a bubble machine making huge bubbles for the boys to catch.  So cute.  They could have chased bubbles for hours.  But of course we couldn't just stay there catching bubbles.......jake and I had the bright idea to rent bikes with the toddler trailer and bike across the golden gate bridge with those little guys.  All I can say is that we made it.  Beautiful bike ride but make sure to PACK SNACKS if you plan to take little munchkins for a ride that long.  (MOMMY DADDY FAIL).  Once we were across the bridge and in Sausalito we had a blast.  We ate at a Greek restaurant- Owen threw his pita bread with chunks of hummus on it at everyone in the restaurant and Finn announced that he made a "BIG POOP!"--Everything was back to normal.

Day 2: On my friend Gosia's recommendation we took the "J train" to Dolores park where there were some amazing slides, sandboxes, and overall good kiddo fun.  The boys had a blast.  Owen really loved running and screaming at the pigeons.  We took the boys out to eat lunch in the Castro neighborhood.  Very colorful but could definitely tell no one wanted kids in their restaurant -- "Oh no, no high chairs here, sorry"  "Oh no we only have these high top tables, sorry" and of course the eye rolls and stink eye glares.....but Ok fine we found a cute little cafe that had a grilled cheese for the boys and a pastrami melt for jake and me. After lunch we hopped on the "L train" to the San Francisco zoo.  It was a pretty sad zoo.  Having visited the San Diego zoo, my expectations were quite high.  Even Finn was unimpressed.  He was extremely concerned that alot of the animals didn't have any friends.

Hes such as compassionate child.  Ironically, its Finn that struggles to understand the importance of having a friend...He is taught that its important so he can point out the absence of a friendship, but he continues to mostly play alone.  Still working on this with his teachers.

Day 3: HOME SWEET HOME  in Reno.  LOVED the city, but its nice to be back in the mountains and the familiarity of our "biggest little city."

Jake left today for a 2 week detachment so I'm single momming it (with the help of two very competent and caring babysitters) for the next two weeks.

Hopefully I will start updating my blog more frequently.....until next time...stay healthy, happy and hydrated y'all.

Sunny California

Well we left Top Gun land for sunnier pastures :) First stop was a night in Reno at the Silver Legacy Casino ($37/night!) because I was too sick/congested to drive any farther. Finn had a blast! He ran all over the casino and got kicked out of every bar he stumbled into (you have to be at least 21 to enter the bar and gaming areas). The happy hours were all over the place so we took advantage of those as well. We returned to the room around 8 o'clock and Finn fell fast asleep in his crib, worn out from his exciting day.
After Reno we pressed on to San Francisco. Jake and I had both been before on separate trips with friends so it was nice to tour the city as a family. We stayed in the Marine Memorial Club which is a hotel conveniently located downtown for service members--(only $70/night!) They offered a free happy hour every evening on the top floor overlooking the city from 4-6 which we took advantage of and also a buffet hot breakfast every morning with everything you can imagine- including strawberry blintz (spelling?) One day we strolled around the city 8 and 1/2 miles! Our legs were sore from climbing all the hilly streets! We walked from our hotel on lower Nob Hill, up to Coit Tower (best views of the city), over to the Golden Gate bridge, down to Alamo Park to see the "Full House" row of houses, then finally took a bus back to our hotel. Finn was a trooper--we found as many parks and patches of grass as possible for him to run around on. The second evening we were there we met my friend Gosia for dinner and happy hour and caught up with her.
Yesterday we made it to Lemoore, CA where we will stay for the remainder of our trip until we move to Fallon (I will go in 2 weeks, jake in 6 weeks). Lemoore, CA is a pleasant place (if you can get past the cow dung smell lol) with a pleasant climate. Today was sunny and mild so Finn and I went to the park to play while Jake went to take care of some things on base. We bought groceries at the commissary last night and my goodness its such a better commissary than the one in Meridian!!! Better produce, sushi station, bakery! I was in heaven! We even met a really nice lady there who had a couponing spreadsheet pulled up on her ipad--she was explaining to us how she took a free class on base and now her grocery bills are cut in half! I immediately signed up!
In two weeks Ill head back to Fallon, NV, picking my parents up along the way. I will receive the move on March 1 and unpack everything into our new house! I couldn't be more excited about our house and our proximity to the beautiful mountains and hiking/skiing/sno shoeing etc opportunities!

Top Gun Land

We finally made it to Fallon, NV or what I like to call it, "Top Gun Land." Seriously, just as we passed the "Welcome to Fallon" sign (which I failed to snap a picture of for my album), there was a "Top Gun Car Wash" and "Top Fun Day Care." I mean, it was a pretty cool movie and all........but wow!
Finn was SO excited to arrive--he had been in his car seat a total of 7.5 hours today--half the day he was wet because he dumped two juice boxes all over his jeans and carseat :( he never cried though. As soon as we pulled in to get gas in Fallon, he started squealing, clapping his hands and pointing to Jake saying, "Diddy! diddy!" Too sweet.
The landscape here reminds me of Napoleon Dynomite or where cousin Eddie lives in one of the National Lampoons movies where they make a stop at Eddie's house. Lots of desert with sky scrapping rocky mountains in the background. There is ALOT of jet noise as well. I will make some videos to post soon so you can get an idea.
Tomorrow we are shopping for houses! Wish us luck!!!!

We have found our happy place!

We have been in the Denver suburb of Golden for 5 days now and I still cannot get over the majestic beauty of this place! Waking up and seeing snow capped mountains out your window or elk roaming in your back yard just creates a positive vibe for the start of your day. The people here are the friendliest I have EVER met as well. Forget southern hospitality--thats a myth I long ago debunked. People here are genuinely interested to get to know you and help you in any way they can. For example, Allison's upstairs neighbor brought us homemade cinnamon buns while her next door neighbor came by to give us his cell phone number in case we ran into any trouble etc driving in the snow--or if we just needed anything. Imagine that happening in Mississippi where people are so obsessed with their kids and church they rarely lift their heads to say hello much less welcome you to the neighborhood. I really think this is where Jake and I would like to settle--another option to put on the table at least!
Yesterday was just awesome! I got to catch up with my friend Allison during a run through the scenic mountains while Finn napped and Jake rested at the condo. After that we showered up and headed over to Boulder, CO for a superbowl party at Jake's cousin Dena's house. Again, the picturesque, snow capped rocky mountains that lined our 30 minute drive seriously took my breath away. No city has ever captured me like this. Today we have another exciting day on tap. We are headed on another run through the mountains, then to breakfast burritos at a local spot that has a playground for Finn, then Allison and I are headed to a spa to get mani/pedis, and finally she will take us to some of her most favorite scenic spots so we can break out or new camera and try to capture some pictures of this heavenly place-(not that pictures will ever be able to do it justice).

"Massive winter storm to clobber Denver"

Cranked out 8 hours of driving to make it to Denver today and beat the snow storm expected to "clobber" Denver tonight! The trip was as smooth and uneventful as one can imagine with a 16 month old...until we stopped for supper in Golden, CO. We had researched and picked out a quaint little vegetarian hole-in-the-wall deli for supper so we could get some much needed roughage in our diet. We pulled into the parallel parking spots right around 5:20 only to find out that the deli closed at 5 :( FAIL #1. Since it was freezing out (winter storm blowing in etc), we scurried along to the next available eatery which happened to be a typical American Shaq-portioned plates tavern--but we were starving! We ordered our meals while Finn drew on the kid-paper-menu with the crayons. Dinner was delicious and to our surprise, our little man who has RSV, a fever, an ear infection and therefore no appetite, ate a whole half of grilled cheese! Things couldn't have been going better. As we paid our bill and were about to leave, I decided to check Finn's diaper as we had a 20 minute drive still until we reached my friend Allison's house. I peeked in the back of his diaper and sure enough, there it was, the smell hitting me in the face with force--a full diaper of butternut squash soup diarrhea.....I quickly dashed to the women's room to change his diaper--travel wipes and single diaper in hand. Of course there was no changer (Restaurant FAIL #1) so I laid Finn on the counter hoping no one would come in. The soupy mess spilled onto the counter and as I frantically ran out of wipes (FAIL #2) I started wetting paper towels to clean him up. And of course it had to be one of those sensor activated paper towel dispensers and not the hand crank ones I could better control grrrrrrrr. Finn survived...I tripled washed my soiled hands and carried him back to our table--he was all giggles as usual :)

After that fiasco, I am sooooo looking forward to relaxing at my friend's house. We are staying put for a few days and checking out this beautiful mountainous metropolis!

on the road again

Day1 of our cross country adventure we made it swiftly and safely out of Mississippi (whoooo hooooo!), quickly across the corner of Tennessee, and into the fine town of Little Rock, Arkansas. Finn was such a trooper--never complaining or even crying! We booked a Holiday Inn with an indoor pool (pricey b/c its a luxury in the south--Arkansas is still considered the south) so that Finn could splash around in the pool. Of course he was too exhausted (and sick as well) to enjoy it so we let him run back and forth down the hallway til he was tuckered out. Since he was sleeping in the room with us, we had to turn the lights down and snuggle him in his pack-n-play then sit in the hallway for about 30 minutes until he was fast asleep. Then we sneaked back in for some much needed shut-eye ourselves. 6 hours of driving down--7 on deck for day 2.
Day2 of our cross country adventure we made it quickly out of Arkansas and into Oklahoma which I describe as vast expanses of absolutely NOTHING.....except for maybe some cows, horses, tumbleweed.......I would rather live in Meridian :) Finn was not as happy this time. He figured out that each time we put him in his car seat that he was going to be there for a while---a concept he was definitely not happy about. Every time we pulled into a rest area or a spot to eat, he started babbling and clapping his hands lol. If only I could understand what he was saying. We made Wichita, KS our final stop for the night--a surprisingly eclectic town with quite a few options of ethnic food which made me really happy! We decided on a Medditeranean restaurant for supper--(Finn even ate hummus!)
Tomorrow we are planning to make it to Denver, CO if everything goes smoothly. More updates to come.

Farewell Meridian!

Annnnnnnnnnd, 7 months later I'm back lol. It's finally time to bid farewell to our wonderful friends here :( As much as I complained about Meridian, I have to remind myself how convenient and easy my life was here--working 2 days per week, training on the Bonita trails with dependable running buddies, day care 5 days a week literally across the street from our house, fun friends our age who are always up for a dinner party or poker night. We had it pretty good here. We moved out of our house on Thursday and have been staying on base in the equivalent of a hotel suite (called a BOQ) on base so that I could finish out my last day of work on Monday--TODAY! Tomorrow morning we are headed out to the wild wild west. Unfortunately Finn has a fever of 103 and RSV (a bad respiratory virus) which is going to make the trip so miserable for him :( All that I can do for him is make sure he is hydrated and drinks pedialyte. How frustrating to know that nothing can really be done to make your baby feel better.
Our plan is to make it as far as Little Rock tomorrow. We have booked hotels with indoor swimming pools and in towns that have children's museums so that Finn will have something fun to do after each 6 hour car ride--sadly I think that he might not be up for those things. Then hopefully we will be in Denver by Friday and spend a week with my friend Allison and her fiance!

Stay tuned--I'll keep updating about our move out west.

9 months!!!

I can't believe its been 3 months since I last posted something! I actually have time to sit down and post something because Jake is gone again :( and Finn is sleeping :). Since I wrote last, he has begun to crawl!!! Thats his newest trick. He has also started clapping! Hes growing up so fast. He already has 4 teeth (2 on top and 2 on bottom) and is drinking from a sippy cup at daycare I just realized this today when I read his day care sheet. Those ladies have him off the bottle and eating table food snacks! What a big boy :) Finn was baptized June 5th and got to visit with his God-parents Katie and Will, his grandparents, great-grandma and cousin Courtney!
Mommy is getting the hang of things too. A couple days during the week I wake up at 5am, pump out milk then head out the door for a run at 5:45am. Jake gives Finn the breastmilk bottle while I get a run in. Then on Saturdays I meet a friend to do long runs as we are training for a half-marathon in October. Hopefully I'll be finished breastfeeding by then so I don't have that hurdle (the pump) during the trip.
We have moved down the street into a new house as of June 1 and joined the country club nearby so we can all swim during these HOT summer days and Jake can golf. So far we are really enjoying it. Alot of our military friends have joined so we have a nice group to hang out with at the pool. This weekend we are having a cook out at our new house! Even Finn has a buddy coming ;)
At work the hospital has changed over to electronic charting which is throwing everyone for a loop--and with Finn starting to wake up during the night again............my exhaustion is explained. Speaking of exhaustion, I better get ready for bed! Its almost 8pm!! :)

6 months

Wow! So much has happened since I last posted. I have returned to work :( booooo and the only reason I'm able to type this is because Finn has learned to play independently! Work is going well. My days are really busy. I wake up by 5:30am every morning to pump milk for day care. Then Jake and I get Finn and ourselves ready for work--Jake packs up my pump and pump parts and gets Finn's bottles ready for day care while I shower and get dressed. He also makes us breakfast. I could not have been blessed with a more awesome husband/baby daddy ;) After that I drop Finn off at day care then go to work where I pump 3 times to make milk for day care the following day! whew! Besides working, we've been to Mexico and to Pensacola to run a St. patricks day 5K. Finn is such a good little traveler. After returning from Mexico we started feeding him bananas pureed in breastmilk. He seems to really like it! Next we are going to try sweet potatoes. He had his first sick baby visit yesterday :( A trip to Dr. Ross and now hes on antibiotics for an ear infection. Hopefully it will be all cleared up before our trip to Charleston next weekend for our friends' wedding!! Keep tuned in! Hopefully I'll have some more time to post more soon!!!

Finn 11 and 1/2 weeks old

As Im writing this blog I have bitter sweet feelings about Finn being 11.5 weeks old. Hes getting cuter and bigger every day but with every day Im a bit closer to having to return to work and send him to day care =( We just spent Thanksgiving with my side of the family in NC--an 11 hour drive each way!!! Finn was such a champ. He ate, played, coo'ed and soiled his diaper-just like any normal baby-and we still made the drive in record time! When we arrived in NC, my parents had the house pimped out with a pack-n-play and a bouncy chair (courtesy of great grandmother barbara)!! Finn went nuts for the chair and slept in his pack-n-play maybe two nights.....mostly he slept with us. He met TONS of family and friends--my mom's friend Dulce and her family, aunt sally and uncle william, both sets of great-grandparents, uncle eddie, aunt ashley, God-parents Katie and Will, Lillian and her mother, Carolyn and Mike, Beth, Stephanie, the people of Stanhope Church.....I was so proud of him for being so friendly and sociable. He let everyone hold him and charmed them all with his million dollar smile ;) Now we are back in Mississippi and cherishing our last few days together before I go to work and send him to day care with bottled breast milk =( Tonight we get to put up the Christmas tree!!! So many memories to make and hes growing up way to fast!

San Diego! 8 weeks old

Finn and I got to spend 5 days with Jake out in San Diego while he was there for work! We arrived Saturday night around 6pm after a pretty uneventful flight considering I was traveling with an 8 week old baby! (AMAZING the amount of luggage a 12 pound infant needs to go on vacation for 5 days!) We had an amazing time! We went to the San Diego zoo, the Balboa park and museums, Sea World and the beach! On the way home the flight attendant gave Finn Delta wings! Finn is learning to become a very content little traveler; especially since I've become comfortable using my hooter hider in public and nursing him while walking.

Houston we have our first smile!!!

This week was a tough week for little Finn. He had been extra fussy over the past few days so at his 6 week check up I told the pediatrician and she was concerned so she ran some tests. I thought i was going to lose it in there--the nurse put a plastic catheter down his penis to draw out urine then another nurse drew blood from his tiny arm. His eyes got so big and he was screaming so loud he couldn't catch his breath. I was so upset. But the good news is that they found out he was just hungry and dehydrated--my milk supply had gone down since I had been pumping more than directly feeding him. So I took him home with specific orders to feed him feed him feed him then bring him back tomorrow. The next day he had gained 3 oz! Then he was able to get his shots which made him really mad--but I was able to comfort him quickly.
The past 3 nights i've been able to put him to bed around 9pm and he sleeps til about 2 or 3am then he will go back to bed around 4 after I feed him and sleep til about 7. Its been great for Jake and me because we can finally get some rest. He slept last night from about 10pm til 430am which is really a record--and when he was finished eating, he flashed me his first big baby smile!!!! It was the cutest smile I've ever seen. Hopefully he will start doing it more often so I can snap a picture of it!
News on the mommy front--my weight is down to 163 from my top preggo weight 193--still have about 20 pounds to go but making progress!!! I will post pictures the next time I update.

Almost 6 weeks old!!!

The past two weeks have been a blur and a blast with Jake's parents and sister Jacque in town. With all the extra help I've been able to run or walk everyday, attend the navy ball with jake, and do a few things for myself. Finn is developing such a cute personality. He has definitely gotten used to being held and rocked all the time. He likes LOTS of attention. Last night Jacque and I took him out to the LSO shack to watch the planes land. We arrived a bit early so we got to watch jake brief his guys at the squadron. Jacque and I had Finn dressed in his "Daddy's little wingman" shirt and bomber jacket (presents from our friends Damon & Diana and Nana and Papa) which Finn soiled about ten minutes after we arrived. I had snuck out to the ladies room to nurse him so he would stop squawking and mid-feeding I felt the bubbly squirts flow out--then I flipped him over and saw that he had soiled his new outfit. Standard ;) Of course I didn't think to bring an extra outfit because he was looking so cute! So Jacque and i wiped him up as good as we could and headed out to the LSO shack. Finn LOVED the noisy planes--he went right to sleep. It wasn't until we returned home and tried to put him to bed in his crib that he started screaming his head off. We are SO very grateful for our rocking chairs--almost the only way to calm him enough to get him to sleep!

Meet Nana and Papa

Finn was so excited to return home from our Chattanooga trip and meet his Nana and Papa! They've been here for 4 days now and Finn cannot get enough of them! Its been blessing for us too because we can actually sleep, shower and leave the house for more than a 1 hour stretch of time.

Chattanooga or Bust!!

After ALOT of discussion and debate Jake and I decided to take our 4 week old baby on a road trip (4 hours) to Chattanooga, TN. He was such a trooper! We only had to stop once on the way there and on the way back to feed him--otherwise he slept the entire way there and back. We stayed at a cozy bed and breakfast overlooking the mountains and a pond. The establishment didn't keep cribs on hand so we put Finn in dresser drawer which worked out nicely. During the weekend we took the little guy hiking, strolling around down town and out to dinner. Its a whole different ball game with a baby--we had to time everything around his feeding schedule which wasn't a big deal since we came prepared with a breastpump and a travel changer.

Finn's Update

Hi My name is Finn Jacob Mattheisen and my Mom told me I could update the blog today! Last night I didn't want to go to bed early with Mom & Dad so I put up a fight until they let me drink my milk in their bed. Mommy snuggled with me until I fell asleep and the next thing I knew, it was 2:30am and I was lying in my bouncy seat and STARVING!!! I screamed to Mommy to give me more milk so she rocked me back in my room while I ate. Then in the morning, Dad gave me a bottle of milk before he left for work. I didn't want him to leave--I like for him to hold me. But it was ok because I got to go see him after he played golf at work. It was so much fun because I got to meet all of his friends while they all held me and passed me around. After golf, mom, dad and I went to the commissary for groceries. Dad carried me in the papoose while mom pushed the cart. I didn't really want to go because I was sooooooo hungry. But we left pretty quickly and came back home so I could have dinner and a nap. I really like milk--its my favorite. Anyway, hopefully mom and dad will take me to chattanooga tomorrow so I can see the fall leaves and go for a hike in the papoose. Goodnight everyone!

8 and a 1/2 pounds of fury

I only have a few moments to update the blog before the little munchkin wakes up! This week--week 4 of Finns life--has been a busy and frustrating one. He is a darling during the day but when 7 pm rolls around we are just not sure how to pin point his cries. Is he hungry? is he tired? does he need a diaper change? is he too hot? too cold? is he gassy? The hungry cry we are pretty sure we can identify because he roots around with his mouth open, shakes his head violently and sucks on his hands--not just thumbs but the whole hands. So needless to say this week Jake and I have been operating on around 3 hours a night of sleep. This is not a good situation when the main bread winner has to fly a plane for a living. Last night we finally broke down and let him nurse in our bed so I could lie down and get some rest then let him sleep in his bouncy chair next to our bed. We hope this won't become a habit ;) Tonight Jake is flying on the night page so its just me and the little guy. I've already pumped a bottle for Jake to feed him in the morning so now I'm just waiting for him to eat once more before I try to place him in the crib. Wish me luck!

All hail King Finn!

Its amazing how a tiny 8lb 2 oz human being can take control of every aspect of your life. We call him "King Finn" as he dictates when and where we go, how long we can stay, when we can eat, when we can sleep etc. For example, today I have not showered, brushed my teeth or left the house. King Finn decided he was not going to be put to bed last night no matter how many times mom fed him (with sore achy nipples) so we stayed awake from about 7am on the 28th til 2:30am on the 29th only to wake up again at 4:45am on the 29th. Then once he was up for good today (the 29th) he decided to eat and scream and soil his diaper every 15 to 30 minutes until saint Jacob was finally able to calm him and get him to sleep in his bouncy seat around 3:30pm (graciously, mom had been relieved around 2pm to go take a much needed nap). Now all I can hear is the peace and quiet and I'm not sure what to do............shower? eat? clean? rest more? put away laundry? or update my blog--guess you can figure out which one I decided to do. Next in line will be shower if King Finn will stay sleeping just a few minutes longer--fingers crossed. How do single moms do this? I have the most supportive husband in the world and I'm still struggling. Hopefully he will be calm and cooperative tonight--saint Jacob has gone to work for a few hours so I get to go it alone with his majesty.

I said "MORE MILK MAMA!!!!!"

Only 10 days we have known each other and Finn and I have already created our own little routine. We wake up between 6am and 9am depending on when Finn last ate, and eat breakfast. Finn eats first then I burp him, and put him in his vibrating music chair for some R & R. After that I eat breakfast--quickly--so I can get to pumping out his leftovers to add to the freezer full of breastmilk so Daddy can feed him in a few weeks. Then about every 1 to 3 hours Finn will scream out "MORE MILK MAMA!" so back to the breastfeeding chair we go for another 45 min to 1hr long chow session ;) In between these feedings we are averaging about 13 dirty diapers in a 24 hour period--how do I know this you wonder? Because we keep a log of his doo-doo diapers in the "Doo-Doo Diary." Whoever changes his diaper records the time he goes and if there is anything peculiar about the doo-doo the doctor might want to know. When hes not pooping, eating, sleeping or screaming he likes to play under his baby Einstein. His new favorite thing to do is look at the musical lights on one side of the Einstein then roll to the other side and stare at himself in the mirror. He is becoming more alert everyday. I make sure to take lots of video so we can show Daddy when he gets home from work.

8 days old

Today we had Finn's second doctor's appointment/weigh-in. Our little chunk is up to 7 pounds and 6 oz!!! What a champ!!! This time we prepared the diaper bag with 6 diapers in case he decided to chunk his diaper and start screaming again--but this time he surprised us by being so content and polite. The only time he cried was when the doctor made him lie on the cold table in his diaper so she could examine him =( If he could eat real food we would have rewarded him with a lollipop today--but a milkshake from mama's moo-moo factory is all he got ;)