I told you how I surprised Michael with a trip to Charleston as his 30th birthday gift. What I didn’t tell you was that I sprung it on him last minute!
After work last night, we were able to briefly celebrate his birthday with a quick crockpot meal and a store-bought (and still delicious!) cookie cake. Nora and I sang to him before she went to bed and Michael and I began the hours of packing and preparation for our trip.
Around midnight, as we were just wrapping things up and getting ready to FINALLY go to bed (with the alarm set for 6:00 a.m.), Nora woke up with horrible congestion and a terrible, hacking cough that she hadn’t had when she went to bed at 7:00. Lovely timing, right? After trying unsuccessfully to get her back to sleep in her crib, I ended up bringing her into bed with us and it STILL took me forever to get her back to sleep. Once she finally was sleeping, she was still terribly restless, which = no sleep for anybody.
When the alarm went off (all too soon) at 6:00, I actually called the on-call line at our pediatrician’s office because I was so concerned about Nora’s cough. The nurse listened to Nora over the phone and said that it sounded like it could possibly be croup, so she suggested that we sit Nora in a steamy bathroom for 20 minutes. So, Nora spent 20 minutes playing in her bouncy seat in the bathroom with the door closed while Michael and I moved about the house, getting all of the last-minute stuff ready to go.
It was not the best way to start off our day of travel, that’s for sure.
Soon, we were on our way, and although clearly sick, Nora was in pretty good spirits.
Aside from the MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF STUFF required for traveling with a baby, we didn’t have too much trouble in the airport. The only thing that was truly a monstrous pain in the ass was getting ourselves (and all of our shit) through airport security. I think we used like 12 of those plastic bins. I definitely felt sorry for the poor schmucks who were caught behind us in line.
The great thing about this trip is that it is a great trial run for future trips with Nora. We’ve never traveled with a baby before now, so it’s good to get some experience under our belts before we tackle some bigger trips. Today, we had two flights (Buffalo to D.C. –> D.C. to Charleston), and it was perfect because neither of them were much longer than an hour.
We didn’t quite know what to expect out of Nora, but simply put… she could not have done better.
I nursed her and used the pacifier during take-offs and landings, and she never seemed to be bothered in the slightest. She slept for at least part of both flights, ate during them, and sat quietly. Good girl!
At one point, she even had the giggles…
Upon landing in Charleston, we were patting ourselves (and Nora!) on the back and celebrating our first successful set of flights as a family of three.
Oh, and can I just say… I freaking love the Charleston airport. It was nice and small, easy to navigate, and everything was SO QUICK. Our baggage (the only thing we checked was Nora’s car seat bag) was waiting for us before we even arrived at baggage claim, and there were no lines at the rental car counter. We were able to pick up our rental car without having to take a stupid shuttle and we WALKED from there right outside to the parking lot where we got in and drove off. Oh, and our assigned rental? A Toyota Prius. SCORE.
Nora was happy to be traveling via ground transportation again.
We made a few pit stops at Food Lion and Walmart and headed to check in at our hotel (we’re staying at the Hampton Inn in the Historic District). Once in our room, we were trying to figure out where to head to dinner while we relaxed for a few minutes… but little did Michael know that I had another surprise up my sleeve.
Shortly after our arrival, there was a knock at the door to our room. Michael went to answer it to find a 20-month-old boy standing on the other side. That boy belongs to our good friends, Lynsay and Dave! They and their son, Gavin, are joining us for the weekend, as they drove down from where they live in Charlotte, North Carolina. And we’re actually in adjoining rooms, too. Wheeee! Michael was, once again, shocked.
After getting them settled in, we quickly headed down to King Street to find a place to eat, since we were nearing the kids’ bedtime. (For the record, all of the adults were already zonked, too.) We ended up settling on The Kickin’ Chicken, which was actually really good. It was a casual place with typical American fare–burgers, sandwiches, and of course, chicken. I had chicken fingers (a rare selection for me) and I really enjoyed them.
We’re calling it a night early (Nora and Gavin are both sleeping, and we’re not far behind) so we are ready to get up with the kids sun tomorrow morning and get a good start on the day.
Today is my husband’s 30th birthday.
I didn’t want to get him a “regular” gift for such a big milestone birthday (even though he really does want an iPhone!), so I did something that I’ve never done before.
I planned a trip without his input.
I know. Totally difficult for someone like me, who can be indecisive to a fault, especially when it comes to something that has so many options (like, um, TRAVEL). There were so many times during the process when I wanted to turn to Michael and say, “What should we do?? Flight A or Flight B?!” Or “What do you think of this price for hotel? Yea or nay?” But in the spirit of pulling off a good surprise–which I *love* to do–I did not say a single word.
I’m sure you want to know where I chose to take my birthday boy husband, don’t you? This is also going to be our first trip with our little Nora. It will actually be a much better “first trip” to help ease us in to traveling with a baby, rather than jumping right in and immediately taking her all of the way to the other side of the country.
We are going to Charleston, South Carolina.
And so, now that Michael knows, it is OK for all of you to know, which means… I can ask, like I always do, for RECOMMENDATIONS! Wheeee!
Charleston restaurants, landmarks, activities, etc. If you’ve done it and liked it, we want to hear about it, please!
And, of course, I can’t end a birthday post without officially saying…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MICHAEL! xoxo
Over the weekend, Nora became a rolling MACHINE.
First, I should say that after she learned to roll from back to belly, she kind of “forgot” how to roll from belly to back, even though that’s what she had done first. From the beginning of December until the middle of January, we had a baby who would ONLY roll from belly to back. Then, for the last few weeks, we had a baby who would ONLY roll from back to belly.
Now, it seems she has figured out how to do both.
I had a clue something was going on Saturday morning, when I went to get her out of bed. She had been sleeping on her stomach (her ONLY sleeping position these days), but when I peeked over the side of the crib, she was on her back staring back up at me. Not only that, but the little stinker actually had her binky in her mouth–which she had NOT had in her mouth overnight. I asked Michael if he had gone in there to turn her onto her back and give her the binky, and he said he hadn’t. We were amazed not so much by the roll to her back (I just figured she had finally figured it out again!), but more by the binky… she obviously found it in her crib, grabbed onto it, and managed to turn it around the right way and stick it into her mouth. Genius!
Later that morning, I put her in her crib to play while I was putting away some laundry in her room. I saw her roll from back to belly, then the next time I looked over, she was on her back again. I looked over again, and she was on her belly. She had traveled from one end of the crib to the other!
So we put her to the test on the floor. As it turns out, the girl can get around now:
We are in so much trouble.
As full-time working parents, we’re always on the lookout for quick and easy meals that are at least somewhat nutritious, but taste great, too. And if the leftovers make good lunches, bonus points for sure.
Enter these bean burritos I saw on Annie’s Eats a few weeks back.
They came together really easily on a weeknight, the very few leftovers were gone the next day, and they’re already on the menu again this week. If that doesn’t make this one a winner, I don’t know what does.
Bean Burritos
(Source: Very slightly adapted from Annie’s Eats)
Ingredients:
For the bean filling:
– 2 tsp. canola or vegetable oil
– 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
– 1 tsp. chili powder
– 1 tsp. minced chipotle in adobo sauce (couldn’t find at our grocery store, so we omitted)
– 1 tsp. ground cumin
– 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
– Dash cayenne pepper
– 1/3 cup water, vegetable broth or chicken broth
– 2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
– 6 tbsp. salsa
For serving:
– 9- or 10-inch tortillas, warmed
– Shredded cheese
– Diced tomatoes
– Shredded romaine lettuce
– Chopped green onions
– Low-fat sour cream or Greek yogurt
Directions:
1. To make the bean filling, heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, chili powder, chipotle, cumin, salt and cayenne; stir, cooking just until fragrant, 30-60 seconds.
2. Add the beans and the water or broth to the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the salsa and mash the mixture with a spoon or fork.
3. Spoon about a third of a cup of the bean mixture down the center of each tortilla. Top each serving with a pinch of shredded cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, green onions and sour cream. Roll the tortilla up tightly, burrito style, and serve immediately.
Winter has always been pretty depressing for me in terms of photography–indoors, natural light can be difficult to come by, and it’s often too cold to spend time taking pics outside (especially of babies and kids, who are my favorite subjects).
One of my greatest disappointments in myself as a mother so far is that I have not taken enough “good” pictures of Nora. Sure, I pull out the camera and take lots of what I call “snaps,” but I have not spent a lot of time really photographing my daughter.
But after Nora’s afternoon nap today, I took out the camera and on a whim, decided to place her in some natural light for pics. I opened all the blinds and still needed crank up my ISO, but I managed to get a few I could work with.
And I know I’m biased, but check out those eyes! :)
I think I need to do impromptu photo shoots more often!
About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
