We are the Champions!

So today Derrick and I ran in a 5K race held in a town nearby. It was brutally humid but otherwise the weather cooperated. We ran at a decent pace but I wasn't sure how I'd do since I haven't really run "for time" for quite a while. :) But we both ended up finishing in 1st place in our age groups...Total Berad Domination, oh yea. We even got these totally cheesy plastic trophies.

Carter 1 : Mama 0

I experienced one of those classic parent moments today. I had everything intricately choreographed so that I could leave the house on time to meet a friend for lunch. Everything I needed to bring was packed and waiting by the door, Carter and I were dressed and ready to leave, and just as I was walking over to place him in his seat, he barfed all over himself and me. Awesome! He did however completely cooperate for lunch, so I will forgive him, just this once.

My frugal Friday tip builds off something Dirkey used a few weeks back....I lugged up the 12 lb. bag of baking soda my husband got at Sam's Club this morning. Why, you might wonder would anyone in their right mind want such a ridiculous quantity of baking soda??? I can only imagine... However...I recalled that it does have some other practical uses besides baking, so I put it to the test. Poured it all over my rugs and vaccuumed a lttle later to remove any odors, used it to scour the sink and stove top and also cleaned the front of the fridge. I must say, it worked quite well and is certainly safer and cheaper than traditional cleaning chemicals. Maybe that bag won't take as long to go through as I'd originally thought. Do you think if I dumped a bunch of it all over the dog she'd smell better??

The Death Cry

No, it's not the mysterious planet from Star Wars...it's the dreaded Berad Death Cry. Not a day passes by that I don't thank my lucky stars if I don't have to hear it. The death cry is that truly ear piercing, ringing in your ears scream Carter reserves for his most extreme tantrums. I was fortunate enough to experience one of these tantrums tonight, while I was out in the neighborhood on a leisurely walk, with my friend and her 2 1/2 month old. Way to go, Carter. Yes we just happened to be at the furthermost point in the neighborhood when the wimpers turned to cries. A minute or two later it was screams...and then, then dreaded Death Cry. People stare in horror, small children hide behind their parents legs, it's a spectacle to see. Of course, the only thing I could do to try to maintain some semblance of control was to whisk Carter out of his stroller and attempt to carry him in one arm while still pushing the stroller in the other. (No easy feat when you have a 20 lb. beast like mine)

But this was not successful. All it did was bring him closer to my already-ringing ear which he could now scream directly into, no holds barre. Home was a welcome sight to say the least. I can only apologize to my poor friend and hope I did not completely freak her and her poor child out with my crazed son. He did settle down after a little while back at home and is now (FINALLY) sound asleep. Teething really stinks!!! Sighhhhh

The Name Game

If I were an American Gladiator my name would be?????
(this is thanks to Dirkey)

1. Mamazon
2. Destruction
3. your ideas welcome :)

Sleepy Head

Well, it finally happened. Carter slept from 9:30 pm until about 6:30 am...something that hasn't happened in probably about 6 weeks. I could hardly believe it when I woke up to see that it was light out and realized I hadn't been rudely awakened by screaming at least once during the night. Reeling from my newfound energy I decided to make the bed and brush my teeth, only to hear whining from the room next door as soon as this thought left my mind. Well, at least we made it a full night without waking up...that's progress! (I did still brush my teeth, don't worry)

Now Carter is happily jumping away in his jumper chair. I swear if I ever met the person who invented this device I would kiss their feet. You have no idea how wonderful it is to be able to entertain this kid for more than 5 minutes with one thing and not have to hold him and bounce him up and down with my own tired arms. I noticed the other day that I am developing some serious biceps from holding him so much. This concerns me slightly as he continues to gain weight. I hope I don't look like one of those chicks on American Gladiator by the time he's 2 years old.

Two Teeth

Well, there is indeed a reason kiddo has been waking me up 1 to 3 times every night for the past month. Today I looked at his bottom gum and whaddaya know, there were two teeth starting to poke through! Hallelujah, maybe a good night's rest is in sight again. :) When I yelled to Derrick to come upstairs and see Carter's new chompers, he yelled back "what are you afraid I'll miss them?"....geez, the enthusiasm kills me.

In other news, we got a pool this week. Yep, it's a beauty. I love looking out in the backyard and seeing the crystal clear blue water sparkling in the afternoon sun...in the 3 1/2 foot wide plastic pool we got for $4.99. What a deal. Carter loves to splash around in it though and since it finally warmed up here we have already used it twice this weekend.

Gardening again

Today we planted our vegetable garden, which at the Berad household is an all-day event. It also seems to expand and grow more diverse each year. This year we planted cauliflower, 3 kinds of tomatos, zucchini, beans, peas, beets, and peppers, as well as an assortment or herbs. That should keep us busy in a couple months. I know last year we had a fridge full of tomatos and zucchini and I was literally looking up a new recipe every single night to try and figure out ways to use them all. It was crazy. (And by the way, Derrick doesn't even really like zucchini, so why you might ask, do we keep planting 8 zucchini plants every year???) But the garden's planted and looks great so that's a nice feeling.

Carter's been progressing with his eating and is doing pretty well. He definitely LOVES to eat. He also LOVES to put food everywhere except his mouth, it's quite an adventure. Maybe he will like zucchini?? :)

Friday Tip

Ok so it's time for Frugal Friday. This week I'm stealing an idea from my husband. There is a Yahoo Group called Freecycle where you can give or get stuff for free. They have them organized by location just like Craig's List and everything that's posted is totally free. We were able to get about 10 board games for Carter last week, in very good condition, all for free. Candyland, Monopoly Jr, Operation...the staples. It was super! I definitely recommend checking it out here and there, especially for children's items.

Rain, rain go away

Carter and I finally made it out for a walk today in between rain showers. We met a new neighbor with a 4 month-old who also likes to brave the awesome Pittsburgh weather so it looks like we'll have more regular walking buddies in the neighborhood now...yay!

The rest of the day was spent giving Carter a bath, reading, playing with toys, singing and other fun things like that...

I took this picture of Carter this afternoon. He loves to smile and laugh now when I play with him and it's so adorable.

Sleep Deprivation

You wanna know how many hours of sleep I got last night? A whole 4 hours. 2-6 am to be exact. The rest of the evening was spent with a very awake and cranky Carter waking up every 1/2 hour or so. Though at one time in my life (i.e. college years) this amount of slumber may have been sufficient, these days it just doesn't cut it. Needless to say, today was a very low-key day. It's hard to muster up the energy to do much when you are in a sleep-deprivation-induced stupor. What I find to be even more maddening/incomprehensible is the fact that my little cutie pie is chipper as can be today, as if it's nothing for him to pull and all-nighter and then stay awake for the next 16 hours with only a couple short naps. How is this possible? I would like to take all the books that tell me my infant should be sleeping 15 hours a day and burn them in a big bonfire in my front yard. We could have a party and roast marshmallows...wouldn't that be fun???

Getting things accomplished...sort of

So this is an example of why I feel like I never get anything done around the house... yes that is my "clean" laundry right after I took it out of the dryer. So much for being clean! The fur war continues...

I swear May has been colder than April so far and it's killing me. Instead of running today in the 40 degree temps with 25 mph winds, I decided to try a Cardio-Kickboxing video. Carter semi-enjoyed watching me. I don't know if he was amused or more freaked out by my attempts to do jabs and uppercuts and high kicks.

Whirlwind Weekend

Well, we had quite the busy weekend here in the Berad household. Everything has quieted down now after going non-stop since Friday afternoon. The NJ Grandparents and Aunt V visited us for the past couple days along with V's Pgh relatives and my college roommate yesterday, then the PA Grandparents and a few other friends for Carter's dedication today in church.

The dedication went pretty well. Carter of course chose those few mintues while the pastor was praying to start fussing and squealing. Derrick ended up letting him suck on his finger and that pacified him a little...enough to get through the end of the prayer in relative silence. We felt so fortunate and thankful to have some many family and friends there to see him..thanks to everyone!!!

Now that it's just Carter and I in the house again for the afternoon, we don't know what to do with ourselves. So since the weather looks like it's clearing up for a few minutes, I think I'll wipe the dust off the jogging stroller that I haven't used for the last few rainy days and take it for a run.

Organizing...

During one of Carter's longer naps yesterday I dragged out a bunch of my photo albums and a stack of pictures I hadn't yet organized. There were some as old as 2005! My gosh! I got most of them back together I think but oh what a pain. If someone could only tell me how to better organize photos and consolidate my many albums....

Carter's dedication is this weekend and we are going to be busy busy busy. Nani and Poppop are coming out from NJ with Aunt V. Other family, neighbors and friends will be coming over on Sunday for his big day. We are excited.

Derrick also got me a new camera for my birthday which is SO exciting. I should have it within the next week or so and can't wait to get some new pix for the blog.

Well, "The Office" finale is on in 10 min so I better get going!

Nose Prints

Yes you know what I'm talking about if you have a pet. If not, let me enlighten you. I am on an endless quest to rid my house and windows of the ever present nose prints left by my three pets. No matter how voraciously I attack them with my trusty paper towel and bottle of windex, they amazingly seem to reappear with lightning speed. What are nose prints, you lucky petless people might ask? The slimy little marks pets wet noses make when they look out the windows. Apparently, if you are a dog or cat, you can't see out the window unless your nose is pressed up against it. And we can't just leave these little prints on one favorite window, but on every window within reach. I feel outnumbered these days. I feel like my quest for a clean house is a constantly losing battle and the number of creatures trying to mess it up is only increasing. Soon I will not only have to contend with the nose prints but also the hand prints Carter will be leaving behind, once he is mobile. Oh the joy.

Fur is my other enemy. No matter how often and how carefully I vaccuum, it lingers on my rugs, my furniture, my clothes. It is everywhere. If the windows downstairs are open and I haven't vacuumed in a few days, there are "tumbleweeds" of pet fur blowing down my hallway before long. (Don't worry, I don't let it get that bad very often)

Well...I'm off to clean

You know you're a mom when....

Well, another weekend has passed. All but 1 of the 6 ton dirt/rock delivery has been removed painstakingly from our front yard. An exciting weekend indeed. I had a conversaition with my brother this morning and he laughed as I described our landscaping ventures and said "Our lives are so different." Well...yes they are! This coupled with the fact that I made a mental note while mopping the floor that it would be nice to get a new bucket for my birthday got me to thinking about how different my life really is compared to a few short months ago. (Yes a bucket...how sad am I) No more 25th story office window overlooking the city for me...

You know you're a mom when... you can change a baby and talk on the phone at the same time.

You know you're a mom when... your accomplishments for the day include doing the laundry, grocery shopping, cooking dinner, and vacuuming the floors

You know you're a mom when... just about any task you are doing can be animated for your child's entertainment by singing to the tune of "I've been working on the railroad", or "If you're happy and you know it"

You know you're a mom when... just getting a 5 minute, uninterrupted shower constitutes as "me-time" for the day.

You know you're a mom when... your "cute shoes" are in the back of your closet collecting dust while you spend your days wearing slippers or sneakers...or no shoes at all.

You know you're a mom when... date night for you and your hubby might include watching a 1/2 hour sitcom, that you've taped and fastforwarding through all the commercials, so really it's more like 22 minutes...but hey...it's just you and your man!

You know you're a mom when...now you no longer have an aversion to poop or talking about poop...see my post from last week. Sigh...

You know you're a mom when... a good night's rest = 3 hrs or so

...to be continued :)

6 month old picture

Sweetie pie is 6 months old today!

Some laughs

Well, the hubs brought me breakfast in bed this morning. Now I feel bad for making fun of the dirt and rocks. hehehe It's raining this morning so I'm inside with the kiddo while Dada is outside digging in the dirt/rock mess. Looks like fun doesn't it? As soon as the rain stops, I'm sure I'll be right out there beside him.

I saw this blog from another Pgh Mom on the news the other day. This post about kiddie contraptions is absolutely hilarious. A good read.

Carter is 6 months old today. 1/2 year already is just crazy. Where did the time go??? His latest accomplishment is flipping from his belly to his back. Now that he figured out how to roll, he does it constantly, especially while I am trying to change his diaper, which makes that task so much easier.

My Mother's Day "present"

So this weekend will be my first Mother's Day...wow. It definitely has a whole new meaning now that I am a Mom. Certainly puts a new perspective on the holiday and the importance of celebrating all mothers and showering them with appreciation. My dear husband had a very special gift delivered to the house for me yesterday. Well, not the house exactly, more like the front yard. I guess he didn't want me to get bored this weekend and find myself with nothing to do.

Now I really feel kinda bad sharing this with all if you because I don't want to make anyone jealous...but oh what the heck! It's Mother's Day after all, right. So you ready for this? Yesterday he had 6 tons of dirt and rocks dumped in our front yard which we will now be distributing throughout the yard and flower beds...this weekend. I feel so special. ;) sniff sniff

The Poop Rant...proceed with caution

Ok, if you are weak of stomach, be forewarned. I swear there is some kind of conspiracy going on here. Oh yes, I am serious. Derrick has been telling Carter that he's not allowed to poop while daddy is home....which is just oh so cute and all. But I think IT IS WORKING!!! ARGHHH. Much to my dismay, Carter has strangely enough been choosing to deliver his lovely packages between the hours of 7 and 5 which leaves me to do the dirty work quite literally. Jestingly before leaving for work this morning, Derrick gave the little guy a kiss on the forehead and said, "it's ok for you to poop now." Awww, such a tender father-son moment. Right!

But wouldn't ya know, Carter has already been sweet enough to poop not once but TWICE this morning, and who can say how much more there is to come, there is plenty of time left in the day. Now I don't know who the heck told me that Pampers are best for leakage, but what the heck it leaks out EVERY single time he goes and gets all over everything that is touching his cute little body. I've tried Pampers, I've tried Huggies, I've tried no-name brands...they all leak. I think I need to invent a "Body Diaper" that goes all the way up to his neck and down to his ankles to ensure no leakage occurs.

Life's fleeting moments

So I'm about to go off on a tangent here but I've been very aware lately of how quickly Carter is growing up. On Thursday this week he'll turn 6 months old...1/2 year already, I can't even comprehend that! Being a new parent is so hard at times and I know that all along I keep thinking, well when he gets to this next stage, he'll be able to do x, y and z and things will get easier. And then that stage comes and I think, just wait till he's another month older... and those months keep passing and already he's halfway to 1 year old. I find myself clinging more and more to these special moments I am sharing with my son right now because all too soon, he will want Daddy instead of Mommy and he'll begin to grow more and more independent. ... And that is what I want for my son, to grow up strong and independant. I myself am fiercely independant, probably to a fault at times, but it is hard to imagine someone so completely helpless just a few short months ago already growing his own wings.

While we were on our trip, a waitress at one restaurant we ate at asked how old Carter was. She said she has a little boy that just turned 1 year old and said she was so sad and even cried to see her baby growing up. That made me stop and think. I want to enjoy these times with my baby more than anything, despite the MANY challenges and sacrifices involved because I know they will pass in the blink of an eye.

I think too of my own life. Of how easy it is to wish for the next stage to arrive, the milestones you look forward to so much that sometimes your vision for today is clouded...going to college, graduating, getting a job, dating, getting married, having children, watching your kids grow up, and eventually retiring. How easy it is to be in a constant state of wanting more or wanting something different and lose sight of the here and now. I want to maximize every opportunity to make each day count. I want to treasure the simplicity of a walk around the neighborhood, a home-cooked meal, or doing yardwork with my husband.

918 Miles in a Minivan

Sunset on Skyline

Hiking Old Stony Man

Luray Caverns

Well, we survived our first family vacation. I use the word survived not all that lightly...it was a little dicey at times to be sure. We ended up traveling in a big loop from Pittsburgh to Luray, VA, down Skyline Drive, to Charlottesville, VA, then on down the Blue Ridge Parkway to Natural Bridge, VA. From there we drove to Lexington Va, and back home through West Virginia where we stopped to see the New River Gorge. We traveled 918 miles in 3 days, hiked about 12 miles total, and saw lots of new sights. Carter probably allowed us to sleep about 5 hours the total weekend, so that is why we ended up coming home early. Sleep deprivation was severe!

Carter's ready to Hike!

Atop Hawksbill Peak ~ 4,000 ft. elev.

Black Bear - we saw a mother and 2 cubs!

Natural Bridge, VA

New River Gorge, WV