Dana Daily

Well, Sal's aunt had asked us in November if we'd be interested in a Disney vacation this year. As if we'd pass up a vacation of any type. Of course we said yes. Plans are falling into place. It sounds like this is going to happen. I don't plan on saying a word to the girls for quite a while yet, but we plan to be in Orlando from June 21 to 25. Not as long a trip as the girls and I had in 2010, but a respectable length nonetheless.

Seth's hair was in his eyes again and the back was looking pretty wild so I contacted the salon where I get my hair done. He has birthday pictures scheduled for next weekend, and since I didn't want his cut to look "too fresh," we had to go today. He did great. The stylist, also named Dana, gave him a comb to play with and he cooperated quite nicely. Dana took about 1/2" off all over. The top was especially long. The back is definitely more controlled now, and still curly. Yay. The best part is, I didn't get any "after" pictures. I just checked my phone, and nope, not a one. Whoopsie.

Sal and I had gift cards from Christmas so we decided to have a date night at Outback. I hadn't been feeling well all day with a stomachache, but by dinnertime I was starving. I figured a basic steak and a couple healthy sides would be okay. Since Seth was born, Sal and I have very little time to ourselves and I can recall one actual childless date in the past 11 months. We did take Seth with us, but he was quiet and well-behaved at dinner. He also tried some bread, cheese, broccoli, and baked potato. It was nice to see him doing so well with table food, and actually enjoying it. I do need to talk to my mom, or one of the teachers at daycare about watching Seth for us for a little while so we can have a real date, just the two of us.

The girls wanted to go to Toys R Us today to redeem the gift cards Sal's Uncle Ernie gave them at Christmas. It's somewhat entertaining, but also frustrating, to shop with them. Emmy wants to spend, spend, spend and wants everything in sight. Sarah says she has everything she needs, and decided she wanted to get Seth a birthday present with hers. In turn, Emmy decided she wanted to get him something as well. Sarah found a hula hoop for herself, but there's still quite a bit left on the card. I told her maybe there would be some outdoor toys she would want this summer. At any rate, Emmy spent every last cent of hers, and Sarah is saving hers. Emmy bought The Game of Life . I really encouraged her to go the board game route since the last thing they need are more toys cluttering the floor in their room. Furthermore, toys simply bore them after awhile anyway. Emmy had a hard time choosing between Sorry and Life . Clue was another option, but she isn't familiar with tha...

Forecasters had been calling for the Blizzard of 2016 all week. It came up from the South and hit parts of Virginia, Washington DC, and New York City hard. Pittsburgh was the outer fringes, and even depending on where you were in Pittsburgh determined how much snow you actually got. In the North Hills we got about 3 inches overnight. Just east of downtown received around 8. I had chosen to ignore the impending snowstorm and sent Sarah and Emmy to a sleepover at Emma's house on Friday. I'm sure that if I would have been feeling 100%, I would have made the more responsible decision and kept them home, but as it was I was looking forward to a night "off." Yes, I admit it. They were invited so I took full advantage. Saturday morning we woke up to this and I dreaded the thought of driving down the hill out of our plan to pick them up. Our township does a pretty good job of keeping the roads clear so you know it's a bad storm when it's 10am and the roads look li...

I don't get sick often, and even when I am it's a rare day that I wouldn't keep Seth home with me anyway. Today was one of those days. I came down with a cold (or something) on Wednesday, couldn't sleep that night because of the crazy congestion and took Thursday off as a result. Friday I still wasn't feeling up to par so I ran everyone to school and went home to rest. I still couldn't sleep much, but at least I was able to just relax and rest. By afternoon I was feeling somewhat better. When we picked Seth up from school today, he was reclined on his nap mat feeding himself. The girls decided we had to try it at home. He does well, and it's clearly time to transition from bottles to sippys. I'm debating on switching him to milk soon. Most pediatricians like parents to wait until a baby is a year old before switching, but I think he's ready. So far I haven't been able to break the "rules" though. This is one part of turning a yea...

I consult Pinterest quite often, and yesterday I finally devoted some time to pulling all the ideas I have for Seth's first birthday together. It's so cute, and yes, I'm finally excited. This isn't everything, but here's a generous sneak peek. Seth's "play ball" puppy lovey served as my inspiration, and Sal liked it too. I wasn't finding a cake I wanted from the usual go-tos simply because pastels and baby zoo animals just aren't my thing. These seem to be prevalent themes for birthday parties and I just couldn't get excited about them. Several friends of mine recommended a woman named Lisa who is a professional pasty chef and bakes cakes in her home on the side. She's going to use bold greens and blues and add the puppy face from Seth's lovey. If that blanket didn't mean as much to him as it does, we wouldn't include the puppy, but it's sentimental. I also found instructions on how to fold napkins form a bow tie. I ...

This past month has been one of much growth. Around 10.5 months Seth stopped gagging on (most) table food. He is still learning on how to manipulate food so that he can feed himself, but he's improving weekly in that regard. He loves Puffs, and has tried steamed carrots. He also self-feeds mashed potatoes which he enjoyed. Around 10.5 months he also kicked the rice in formula habit. He hasn't needed the rice in months to control spitting, but he was unwilling to let go of either the flavor or texture. One day he just decided he didn't like the rice anymore and we eliminated it completely. For a few nights we found he wasn't full enough prior to going to bed without the rice, but we increased what he eats at dinner and started preparing an 8oz bottle before bed and that solved that issue. Just as exciting, given his history of ear infections, he came down with a cold and was able to fight it off without developing ear or sinus infections. I was nervous about having...

I'll admit Seth's birthday has been in the back of my mind for quite some time, but I guess I've put off making plans as long as I can. His first is just about a month away. I scheduled photos at Target for February 6. I wanted to get them taken closer to his birthday, but since I want to send one into my hometown newspaper and possibly the tv station there are deadlines for such things. I order a balloon bouquet from Giant Eagle today as well, as a prop for his pictures. I chose shades of blue with some green accents since we plan to highlight puppy blankie in his pictures.  I can't believe that the baby I never imagined I'd have is almost a toddler. Oh my heart.

Naturally it would snow copious amounts the day our mattress was to be delivered. Despite the guys trying to keep the floors clean, I had puddles to mop up after they left. It was a just a minor inconvenience though and so worth it. I love our new bed. Technically we should have more pillows on it, and I guess maybe if we ever decide to sell, I would add some for staging purposes. I've just never been a big fan of all those extra pillows. They look nice, but they end up all over the floor when you go to bed at night. I love how our new room looks. I don't feel like a college student anymore. I can't wait to find lamps and art for the wall. I'd like to hang some of our more artsy wedding pictures. I need some kind of word art for above the closet door. This space needs some major personalization. It's probably wrong, but this was such a pick-me-up, that I can't wait to update and make over other parts of our house. I have my sights set on the fron...

Although the day started out well, it went downhill quickly. I had gotten up early enough to pack Sal's lunch and fold some laundry. I got the stuff that I have to take to work organized and by the basement door. The girls woke up and went through their morning routine. At 7:40, the exact time we need to be leaving the house in order for me to get everyone where they need to be on time, Sarah informed me that she could not find her tennis shoes. She looked everywhere, in her room, in the pile of shoes in the basement, in Seth's room. No shoes. Then came the debate as to what shoes she would wear instead. She ended up in her white pep squad shoes with strict instructions to not step in any puddles. Last week we had a similar situation go down when Emmy informed me within seconds of leaving the house that she couldn't find her Math workbook. We did locate it after a couple stressful and tear-filled moments. The girls know they are to pack their bags and get ALL the...

Sal and I had planned to take the kids to the Museum of Natural History, but after having not slept well the night before after receiving some upsetting news on Friday, this just did not seem like a good idea. Instead we went mattress shopping. Due to circumstances, I've bought more mattresses over the last ten years than a normal person, with kids even, buys in a lifetime. Despite what the Levin's delivery guy had to say, I have been satisfied with my Original Mattress Factory purchases, and Sal seemed to like them as well. We tried a few mattresses out and agreed on one from their Orthopedic line. Don't ask me which model though; I'll have to update that information later. We scheduled a Tuesday delivery, and I cannot wait. I got a text this afternoon from the mom of one of Emmy's friends. She was invited to a sleepover. It's nice to have Sarah by herself from time-to-time, just as it'd be nice to have one-on-one time with Emmy occasionally. Emma...

Levin's delivered our new bedroom furniture today. Our room is small for a master and I knew the furniture would be a tight fit. We have plenty of room to walk around the bed though so it's really okay, and we have so much storage it's amazing. We finally have a room that looks like an adult bedroom and not one belonging to poor college students. We still need to go mattress shopping, but for now our old full size will serve the purpose. I love the dark wood against the dark blue wall. We also fixed the position of the rug underneath the bed. It wasn't easy, but we were able to lift the bed enough so as to slide the rug down so that it sticks out all the way around. We have lots of accessorizing to do, but that will come as well. Sal would like lamps for our night stands and I'd like to hang a couple wedding pictures. Once our room is a little more complete, I'll update with photos.

No, not me, although I have to admit hearing about this new baby and seeing his picture did make my uterus skip a beat. I so love squishy babies, and it's hard to imagine that this stage of my life is over for good. Anyway, this is Isaac Michael and he was born Tuesday, January 5 at 7:50pm. Weighing in at over 10lbs it's understandable how his mom, my cousin whom I used to babysit, ended up having a c-section. Isaac was due December 28, but when he failed to arrive on his own, mom was admitted to the hospital on Sunday, January 2 to begin the induction process. He's having trouble regulating his temperature, and mom is having issues recovering, but I'm confident they'll get everything sorted out and be on their way soon. Such an exciting time.

We have had a terrible time transitioning Seth from jarred purees to table food. He gags on thicker, chunkier textures. Well, this morning he had a breakthrough. I gave him :Puffs to try, as we do from time to time, and he was able to get it into his mouth himself. He pushed it out, but then he picked it up and tried again. When he bit into it he giggled delightedly. Then he swallowed. He was proud of himself and it was just too cute. I don't want to force the issue or push too much, but I'm hopeful he turned the corner. Daycare says he's doing well with the wagon wheel snacks we sent there. We have some Stage 3 foods in the pantry he can try. It has tiny bits of fruit in it so he'll have to mash it. I plan to try that soon, maybe tomorrow.

...but the years are painfully short. I remember this day in 2011 so well. The girls and I were enjoying a nice summer day at our apartment in Ross Township. To entertain them we went outside to the field above our building to take some pictures. I got several good ones that day, but I love this one. My divorce wasn't final for another 5 months. The November picture was taken by Sarah Casile  at Hartwood Acres in Hampton Township. This was Seth's first Christmas and I had no professional pictures of all three kids together so we scheduled a mini session. We received so many really nice images from that quick 20 minute shoot, and I was thrilled. I've remarried and have a new baby. So much has changed in such a short amount of time and I couldn't be happier.

I mentioned in a prior post that we moved the carpet from our room into the girls' room. It looks so much nicer in there too so it was a good change all the way around. Here they are after school yesterday when they discovered the surprise. Their room is kind of mess since we had to move some stuff from our bedroom into there temporarily, until our furniture arrives. I don't love their curtains, but they were pricey so they're staying.

I spent the greater part of this weekend painting our bedroom in preparation for the new furniture. I've mentioned we're getting new furniture, right? ;-) Sal wanted to go even darker on the walls, and I have to admit, it looks pretty awesome. In real life it's not this dark. I really love how our orange comforter pops too. We plan to rehang our white curtains for contrast. The headboard will cover part of the window as well. It's 54" tall and the window starts at 4' from the floor. Ideally we would have found a bed with a shorter headboard, but those are few and far between and we didn't love any of them. I think the taller headboard will work just fine though. Do you like the graffiti I painted on our walls. It's a great way to amuse yourself while painting, and have a little fun. This dark wall is Sherwin Williams' Distance in semi-gloss. Sal and I told the man at the store that we're putting "distance" in the bedroom. Tota...

My college friends and I decided to get together for dinner. We met at Juniper Grill at 7. This was the first time all four of us were together since 1997, and the first time I'd seen Amy since 2002 when we both attended Sara's wedding. I've seen Sara every month for dinner over the last year or so and Heather from time to time as well. When we met in the fall of 1995, Sara and Heather were roommates, and Amy lived in a single room across the hall from them. I was two doors down from S&H my freshman year with a wonderful (sarcasm font) roommate named Cherish (Snyder). Sara, Heather, and I ended up being roommates from sophomore year. Cherish moved to a different dorm completely for the second semester my freshman year and I only saw her in passing for the next 4 years (and that was plenty). Anyway, this was my first night out since Seth was born that wasn't in some way an obligation. It was so much fun. We all had wonderful experiences at Slippery Rock, and i...

We had Sal's Uncle Ernie over for New Years. We had the requisite pork and sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. I don't care for sauerkraut, but by default some ended up on my plate and it wasn't horrible. It actually was a pretty good meal. Uncle Ernie brought pictures with him. Everyone thinks Sarah and Seth strongly resemble each other, and I thought so too. Then I saw pictures of baby and kid Sal. Seth definitely has his daddy's eyes. This is a picture of a picture, but maybe you can see the resemblance too. I've seen this look before.