Home Improvement on a Budget with a Toddler: Part 1

Hello faithful readers.

My mother-in-law has put in a request for more Edie photos. I admit that picture-taking (and posting) has decreased by a solid 85% since Edie's first year. One explanation is that so much more time is spent engaging and chasing her and making sure she's not climbing into the dishwasher. We are no longer staring googly-eyed at a cute, immobile, magical baby. Another reason is that Edie's hip to the iPhone and wants it. Most picture-taking ends in a grabby cry-fest. So we keep it to a minimum.

But now that I have my own iPhone I've been messing around with Instagram. With a click of a button you can make your photos look straight out of 1963 (see below) or 1982. You know we like that old timey ass shit. Anyway, I will try to post more Edie pics today.

I've been tackling some small-scale home improvement projects, including painting the kitchen (with my parents), consulting my Aunt Kitty who is making us living room curtains, framing artwork, and changing light switch covers. The woman we bought our house from straight-up loved polished brass fixtures. I do not. And I don't think anyone else in this house cares, so I'm the project designer, manager, and foreman.

I've spent quite a bit of time pouring over magazines like Rejuvenation and Smith+Noble. I mostly order samples because they're free, and I feel like I'm making some kind of progress. I'm a long-time fan of blogs such as Apartment Therapy and DesignSponge. I love collections, color, roadside finds, affordable artwork, modern design, and shoestring solutions (which is why Smith+Noble is more an idea source). Although built in the '40s, our home is in great shape and has been well maintained, but I haven't really dived into making it ours. Here's early Saturday morning playtime caught on camera. I consider this a 'before' photo. Note the lack of curtains, stopgap entertainment unit (made by my Dad circa 1978), and wisp of blue on the walls. Can you spot the kiddo?

Here's a close-up. I love the morning light.

I'll continue to post as we make progress. Next on the to-do list: paint our hallway, which is a grand undertaking that will include painting up a staircase, and installing new kitchen lights (again with the brass- it needs to go!). My Dad is eager to knock down the wall dividing our kitchen and dining room, and we're on board, but we're not yet there financially. In the meantime here's some parting family shots.

Edie's obsession: Daddy

Good night!

Maxin' out our library card

Tonight Dave had basketball so I took Edie to our town library. I had some books to drop off, some books on tape to pick up, and the library is just an all around rad place (especially when you're feeling broke-- you can leave with an armful of free goods). First I had to whisk Edie upstairs to the adult section so I could take care of business without her seeing the kiddie floor and going bananas.

Forget browsing with a 1.5yr old. Edie apparently has something against the Dewey decimal system, and showed it by rearranging the New Releases to better suit her tastes. We left the adult section in a state of minor dissarray and hit up the children's floor.

Edie used to love the baby room, which is a fully padded cell, chock full of toys and a beautiful mural. Now that she walks she's graduated (although she rattled the baby room gate as if she were in exile). She loves watching the bigger kids (pretty much everybody, since she's such a pipsqueak), and running around the entire floor, her educational domain. Puppets, and pint-sized ATMs, and kitchens, velcro walls, and toy farms, oh my! At first I tried to contain her but then sat back and let her do her thing.

It's really cool that she understands so much of what we are saying now. She says all done, and touchdown! (Mary Ellen taught her that one), and responds when we ask her to do stuff like get her shoes from the closet. I love watching her try to put them on. Someday soon...

Edie is also very into Sesame Street. I'm not a huge t.v. fan, and definitely do not think t.v. is great for kids. But Sesame is such a quality show with good messages that I can get behind it. She watches maybe two episodes per week, and starts dancing as soon as the music starts. I can't believe some of the characters like Maria, Gordon, and Miles are still on the show; they were on in the early 80s. And they look good! Working on Sesame Street for 27+ years must be good for the soul.

Set it and forget it

As the time between blog posts indicates, I've been pretty swamped with a new new job, my baby, my husband, 8-day power outages, family illness, and weekend getaways. I keep thinking things will slow down soon, but they don't! And my 5:50am alarm sure does go off early.

My new job is going well. The last few days have been very busy, which I like, because the day just flies by. I ate lunch at 2pm today. That never happens. My clock strikes breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday. I look forward to each meal, and have always reacted to those who claim "I just forgot to eat!" with sincere skepticism. Today I didn't forget to eat, I was just trying to finish a few things before I took lunch.

One bummer is that I now work full-time. I'm the first to admit, I had a very lovely on-ramp back to work after I had Edie. Following my maternity leave, I worked three days a week for about 10 months. In between jobs and newly planted in CT, I had July off, then began working a four-day week. A full year after going back to work, I'm a full-timer again. I'm certainly not the first mom to do it, but I really did enjoy my days home with Edie.

I miss my girl but have been streamlining operations at home to make room for hanging out. For example, we hired a bi-weekly (not live-in, unfortunately) housekeeper on a friend's recommendation, and her rates are totally affordable. I've also been trying to order groceries online. The housekeeper is going well, but the food delivery has not totally taken hold. I have two gripes with Peapod: when something I order is out of stock, they don't provide an alternative. I ordered one type of eggs the other night, and they were back-ordered or something, so I got no eggs. They should just send a comprable carton of eggs. And, what's with the 89 plastic bags? Ever heard of Mother Earth?

Also on my streamlining to-do list: sign up for delivery dry cleaning. They pick up and drop off for no extra charge. Seems too easy.

To counter my new commute, which for the first time ever is in a car, I intend to download episodes of This American Life and KEXP's Music That Matters podcasts. KEXP is a wonderful, unique Seattle-based radio station that I really miss. CT radio makes me want to cry a little, or get satellite radio.

Lastly, Dave and I have started a new family work-out routine. We're training for the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day, and have been running with Edie after work. We bought some reflective gear and a flashing light for her jogging stroller. Although it's already dark at 5, we stick to the main roads and wear our shiny gear as we run around the 'hood together.

One year

Happy (belated) birthday to our beautiful little girl, Edie Harper! They say it goes fast, and it does. The long, brutal nights and her falling asleep on our chests seem long ago. Now she's putting pasta on a spoon and cruising around in her beloved shoes (with assistance). What's in store for next week?

Sometimes you feel like a nut

Ah sweet, sweet Saturday. I've got an Americano in hand (lukewarm now, but it was good), I worked out, and we've got some fun plans with friends on the docket. I think Saturday morning is my favorite time of the week.

We had a major breakthrough recently on the whole Edie-eczema-food allergy front. After Christmas I did an ellimination diet where I cut out wheat, dairy, soy, and corn for two weeks. If you've looked at the label of anything packaged there's a 90% chance it includes one or more of those ingredients. So I basically cut out all processed food and went back to nature to try to pinpoint why Edie's skin was so irritated, especially after she ate.

At this point she was on a primarily milk diet; whatever I eat is passed on to her. I wasn't feeding her anything packaged. The horror! I considered her my junk-food-ometer. If I ate crap, she was going to pay the price, so I stuck to fruits, veggies, meat, and nuts. Lots of nuts....

Fast forward to late February, and her skin is still red and itchy, she's uncomfortable despite my non-wheat and dairy diet, and I'm also uncomfortable due to my lack of yogurt, cheese, and English Muffins. We know it's something in addition to- or other than- wheat and dairy, but we are overwhelmed with all the potential aggrevators ("Maybe it's dog hair....or non-dairy sorbet, or the stuffing in our couch!").

So Dave makes an appointment with an allergist. One allergy test and an hour later, and we have a new culprit- peanuts! And maybe other tree nuts! Whoa. This is, in a way, good news. It's way easier to cut out nuts. They're not so ubiquitous. Edie's daycare is already nut-free (which is crazy to me, don't kids eat PB and Js like it's going out of style?) And yes, I WAS snacking on nuts and cooking with almond milk since I thought dairy was off limits. Sorry, girl.

Her skin is a lot better now; not perfect but leaps and bounds better, and she even seems happier now that I'm not loading up on nut-products.

Breakfast for dinner (and other weekend highlights)

It's Sunday evening and I'm recovering from our jam-packed weekend. Who do we think we are- a couple of D.I.N.K.s? Lots of stuff happened. Edie had some memorable moments, including her first foray into the world of solid food. Awe.some. Some babes start eating earlier (like Edie's cousin Camden) but our pediatrician gave us the green light at 6 months. Edie ate a couple bites of rice cereal enthusiastically, then I think she got exhausted. It was pretty entertaining.

I'm looking forward to Edie's culinary adventures. For some reason I think she is going to be a good eater, which is a long shot, because Dave and I were collective awful eaters growing up. But our girl has had a healthy appetite since the moment she was born (in the hospital we called her Edie the Eater). We'll see!

Speaking of eating, today I had breakfast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Breakfast was oatmeal, lunch was bacon, eggs, and baby carrots. Dinner was gluten-free pancakes, real maple syrup, chicken sausages. Breakfast is the best meal of the day, so why not keep eating it?

Yesterday we celebrated Dave's grandma Edith's passing. She was a great woman who lived to be 100! Throughout her life she was very devoted to her family, the quintessential t.v.- watching, card game-cheating, mashed potato-making grandma. Dave has really fond memories of growing up near his grandparents, which is a wonderful thing to have. We're lucky that Edie got to meet her namesake last summer. It's my favorite memory of grandma Edith.

Lastly, we took a family outing to this great indoor pool and swam around with Edie. Dave is a total ham- going through the water features, blowing bubbles, making faces...I think he might've had more fun than her.


It was a good, crazy weekend by all accounts.

Camo Baby

Can you find the baby in this picture? She's conducting a covert operation.

Which way is home?

Although we love snow, I'm happy to report that we narrowly escaped the blizzard of oh-10 yesterday. Our plane departed Hartford at 12:05pm, and the flight attendant announced that all flights after 2pm were cancelled. They de-iced the wings and off we flew. Honestly, it felt like we were escaping in a getaway jet!

Edie is a great traveller but we had a hard time getting her to sleep and staying asleep. At five months old, she is already aware of her surroundings, she knows when she's in a new bed, and she knows how to take a stance. Dave, my mom, and sister took her in the early mornings so I could get a few more hours of sleep but it was pretty brutal. Last night we all crashed in our own beds, and for the first time in a week, got some much needed ZZZss.

We are finally gonna try to eat Paleo. I always make excuses about why we can't do it (how can I give up the cheese!?) but Edie's having some unfortunate (and persistent) skin issues, and her pediatrician recommended I restrict my diet. She says to cut out wheat, dairy, corn, soy, and eggs. It pretty much aligns with the Paleo lifestyle (which prioritizes meat and veggies). My one modification is I'm not cutting eggs, because I really haven't been eating them, and I'm sure they're not the culprit. Today we had to give Edie baby Benadryl to ease some crazy skin reaction, and I figure why not try Paleo? So tonight I made bacon-wrapped chicken strips with sun-dried tomatoes, and kale sauteed in olive oil. SO. GOOD.

I just ordered a bunch of groceries on Amazon Fresh that fit within our new menu. I not a huge fan of Amazon Fresh, because I can get cheaper food at our store up the street, but with a baby in bed and work in the morning, ordering food while looking at Paleo recipes online is damn convenient. And that's what I'm paying extra for. It's gonna be on our doorstep before we even get up!

It's great to be back in Seattle. We had a good trip home, spent time with our wonderful friends and families (and they got some QT with Edie), but it's just so nice to sleep in our own beds and fall into our familiar routines.

Kitzman Family Snow Day!

Seattle gets hit with a snowstorm once a year, and even if they're not big storms, they bring the city to its knees because there are like, two snow plows. And no one knows how to navigate Seattle's steep hills in the snow. And many people do not even own shovels. So when the snow gets packed down and the temperatures drop, it's a snowpocalypse.

Well yesterday was such a day, and I might've scoffed at Dave when he pre-emptively checked for school closures in the morning, but the joke was on me when I tried to get a bus home at 4pm. Ever the weather optimist, I thought the snow wouldn't stick and I was playing it safe by leaving the office early. I heard a fellow public transporter mention that he'd been waiting for the #5 for an hour (not my bus but generally a good bet), so I hopped on a local bus a few minutes later. This one takes a roundabout route on an average day, and I figured it'd take a while, but all buses would. After inching through a few intersections, we waited in gridlock a mile from downtown for two hours. Two painful hours. I tried to pretend I was on an airplane, to just sit back and enjoy my book. But after an hour and a half I said 'Cuss this' and got off and walked.

It was frig.id. And my phone was on the verge of dying, so I walked into the nearest establishment (Jillian's) and asked Dave to pack up the baby and pick me up. Now I know why I never go to Jillian's. For one, they have a dish called Chicken Fettucheesy. For two, they have waiters who neglect your freezing ass unless you are wearing a Seahawks jersey. My hero Dave arrived with the girl, in my warm chariot and we were home in 7 minutes (3 hours after I left work). Curse you, Seattle Metro!!

Dave's school was cancelled today, and I decided to work from home. In between naps, we bundled Edie in her new snowsuit and braved the cold but beautiful day. Dave took a snooze, I actually got some work done, and we made grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch. I think Edie was wondering, "Hey, why are we all together? I'm supposed to be at day care". But she was happy and so were we.

For dinner, Dave made "Indian Spiced Kale & Chickpeas" with pork chops, a recipe from our CSA, and it was awesome. We finished it off with some hot cider and rum. Snow days are good as long as you don't have to be anywhere.

Workin' 9 to 5

I'm back on the work trolley and all's well so far. There were no major meltdowns or stressors, and work is pretty mellow right now. On the first day, I woke up to torrential downpours, and since we walk to Edie's daycare I was slightly put off by the weather. But no worries, while on maternity leave I bought a sweet Patagonia jacket that laughs in the face of rain. And Edie has a big ol' canopy on her stroller.
I got up and got ready, then woke her up for 'school'. Once dressed in her cutest first-day-of-school outfit, she immediately had a panty blow-out. I changed her and did all the other necessary baby stuff and we got on the road. Over the past few weeks, Dave and I have been visiting the daycare with Edie so we could all to get used to it. The caregivers seem to know what they're doing (I mean, they're professional baby people) and Edie is so young that she doesn't seem to care one way or another about being there.
Marianna, the self-proclaimed Grandma of the establishment, welcomed Edie with open arms and I felt that she was in good hands. I got a bit choked up leaving her but had to catch my bus, so off I went without tears.

When I picked her up that afternoon, the ladies said she was great, but how do I put her to sleep? I was thinking 'I thought you might be able to tell me, he he'. She was plum tuckered though, because as soon as I got her outside she was snoozin' away in her stroller. That night she slept like a little log- she must've been so worn out from taking in all the new things to do and see and smell, and all the new babies to meet. The next day when I picked her up, she was babbling a lot. I think she heard all the other babies chatting and wanted to get in on the conversation.
Last night after two half-days of work I was so beat! I went to bed at 8:30, true fact. I hope I can swing three full days starting next week. It feels good to be back in the real world. Although today I met a mom with a three-week old at the coffee shop and thought, wow Edie was three weeks old just a minute ago!

lookin right at ya

Here's Edie at PEPS. She's the one looking right at the camera.

My PEEPS

We started our PEPS group tonight, which stands for Program for Early Parenthood Support. Dave insists on calling it PEEPS, so that's what I now consider it. A group of six or seven couples who have babies the same age get together once a week for three months to share the highs and lows of parenting, talk about life with baby, and shoot the breeze, all while missing Monday Night Football. We rotate hosting each week, and the whole deal is run by a volunteer facilitator.
[Dave wasn't even in attendance, I might add. He was playing his supposedly last softball game of the season. Edie shed one tear for her absentee father.]

Tonight was good. We shared our birth stories (which is like crack for pregnant ladies and new moms), discussed our pre-baby expectations for parenthood compared to how it actually is, and divulged our expectations for PEEPS. In a nutshell, we want cameraderie. Or the moms want cameraderie and they made the dads join. At least that's how it went down in our house. I also wanted to see other babies Edie's age, and maybe get her some baby friends.
Of course Edie wanted to eat five minutes into our introductory circle. I'm pretty modest about breastfeeding, and reluctant to feed in front of thirteen strangers. So I slinked off to the host's stairs to feed her. Meanwhile, the facilitator is explaining the ins and outs of PEEPS, and says that it's okay to feed/change/comfort your baby at PEEPS. Obviously I assumed since we all live in liberal, natural birth-centric Seattle, it was okay to feed your baby at our meetings. I just didn't want to be the first one to bare a boob. But I came out of hiding and went back to the group, where some other moms were feeding too. All in all, Edie was a peach and very interested in the host's designer lighting.

I'm looking forward to seeing our PEEPS again and introducing Dave to the group.

She smiles!

Edie has started smiling and cooing. We thought she was adorable before but this just clicks it up a notch. This morning I went in to her room and she smiled when I leaned over her crib. Her favorite place is on the changing table. She's just happy as a clam when she's there.

And here's Edie playing with her Crinkly Friend butterfly toy.

All in the Family

The last few weeks have been family-tastic. My jet-setting sis and Jeff flew out to meet Edie over Labor Day weekend. On par with Seattle's lame summer, the weather was grey, so we were all pretty content hanging around the homestead, taking turns making googly-eyes at the baby and playing Boggle on Jeff's iPhone. We also ventured out for daily Americanos, my first Bloody Mary in a long time, and some world-renowned bar-b-que down in Olympia, WA. It was a mellow but thoroughly satisfying weekend.

I get sad when I have to say good-bye to my family, but it brightens me up knowing that I'll see them again soon. I'm flying home in October with Cookie, my mother in law, to introduce Edie to our East Coast people. I'm also thinking of our trip as a trial run, because Dave and I are planning on going home for Christmas. I expect traveling with Edie at Christmas to be a little nutty.

Dave's parents have been coming down on a weekday afternoon to spend time with Edie. Cookie lets me take her car to run errands, so I've gotten a haircut and went running at Green Lake. These are the things that become a little trickier to accomplish with a little nugget. The first time I left Edie, I was going over the finer details of how to warm up her bottle and fasten a cloth diaper. Meanwhile, Art and Cookie couldn't get me out of the door fast enough. I will say, it's nice to get some time off, even if just an hour or two. Everyone wins!

Lastly, Becky (Dave's sister) came by on Saturday afternoon to whisk Edie off our hands. I used the time to study for a professional exam, while Dave vegged on the couch and watched college football. Dave suggested we go to our favorite cocktail bar, Oliver's Twist, (pending I change out of my stretch pants) and again I could see Becky thinking, "Don't let the door hit you on the way out!" (in a nice way).
We ponied up to the bar and realized that we hadn't been alone in a loooong time. It felt nice to have an adult conversation and a glass of wine out. After our drinks, Dave didn't twist my arm too hard to convince me to go out to dinner. I texted Becky, who swore everything was going well back at home, so we headed for some Oaxacan tapas in Ballard. When we got home at the late hour of 8pm, Edie was fast asleep in Aunt Becky's arms. Becky weathered Edie's evening freak-out session like the veteran parent that she is. Thanks Aunt Becky for date night!

More and more, Dave and I appreciate the value of being close to family. What does this mean for our move back East, I wonder?

License to Chill

Well, well, well. What do we have here? The end of summer? But you're here so soon....

Maybe it isn't the official end of summer, but it sure feels like it because Dave's going back to work, which means I'll no longer have a daytime companion of the adult variety. Someone I can talk baseball with and hand the baby to when I want to eat lunch. Looks like it's just me and the little sack a' taters from now on...which is fun, she's just not one for conversation.

Edie's favorite hobbies include sleeping on me (which is the most awesome), sleeping while moving, and eating. She has no interest in being held without undivided attention. She's like "You think you're gonna check your email but I see you're not looking at me-WAAAAH!". It is pretty interesting to see how newborns communicate with very limited means. Crying= I don't like it, try something else. Not crying= I guess this is okay. It'll be cool when she can smile so we get some positive feedback.

I am thoroughly enjoying time home with Edie. It's a completely new pace of life for me. The last time I had three months off was after graduating college. I was looking for a job in NYC, had a lot of time on my hands and a dwindling savings account. That combo sucks. Furthermore, I was raised under the impression it was a sin to be inside on sunny days. But now I have the license to stay in all damn day if that's what Edie and I want. Guilt free!
(picture above: me using the sound of my hair dryer to get Edie to sleep)
It's nice to have a job to return to in a few months, but in the meantime I'm under strict orders to take it easy, enjoy my new baby, and lavish her with attention. As much as I like to get out and do stuff, we don't venture far because she eats so often; errands are highly efficient. We've been watching a lot of MLB with Dave, we go on daily walks and get coffee around the corner and we've introduced Edie to the wonder that is Sunday brunch. Feeding and singing and dancing and reading and changing and bathing her...the days just seem to pass, no problem.

So that's our life in a nutshell. We gotta say goodbye to Dave each morning now, which is a bummer. But someone's gotta bring home the bacon!

Welcome Camden!

Edie doesn't know it yet but her new best friend was born today. Michelle and Jay welcomed Camden Aster Edmands to the world after another looong delivery. Michelle and I grew up together (with my sis, Ashley, of course). We were in the same grade and have gone together like peanut butter and jelly since 1980. I hope Edie and Camden have as good of a relationship, especially once we move back east. Think of all the shared birthday parties! Cheers to Michelle and Jay!

Here's Edie, no pics of Camden yet. Dave requested her excited face, but this is what she gave us instead:

At long last!

After enduring two weeks past my due date, four days in the hospital, and four methods of induction, we finally welcomed our beautiful daughter, Edie Harper, to the world on August 1st. She is a peach and we are adjusting to life as a family. I suspect this blog may be high jacked by Edie-related ramblings. She's just the coolest little bean!