Family Trip to Asheville

For my birthday, mother's day, and our 7th wedding anniversary, Greg wanted to take me to Asheville.  He actually suggested doing this trip a few weeks after Allie was born, and I told him he was insane.  After three months with our little girl, I am finally comfortable enough to consider traveling with her though.

A while ago (I think before I started blogging), we went to Asheville and stayed at the Grove Park Inn, which is a pretty fancy hotel nestled in the outskirts of Asheville overlooking the city and mountains.

I think this was 2008?  Check out my short hair!

The Grove Park Inn a pretty amazing place.  It's also kind of ridiculously expensive to stay there, eat there, or use their spa, hence it being my present for three separate holidays.

Greg splurged on a room with a view, that was also dog friendly (for a fee) so we could bring Clyde, and included breakfast.  He also got me a massage at their fancy spa and watched Allie and Clyde for me so I could have an hour of bliss.

Our journey started around noon last Wednesday, when we hit the road with a full car of baby, dog, and adult luggage.  Yes, we're crazy.  It takes a little over two hours to get to Asheville from Charlotte, and I we did end up stopping at a rest area once we got close to Asheville so I could nurse and change Allie, which worked out well.

On the way I stalked my friend Jen's blog for ideas of where to go, since I know she frequently visits Asheville and raves about amazing food she has while there.  I noticed that French Broad Chocolate Lounge came up on almost every trip she took there, and she said the carrot cake was a slice of heaven.  We immediately bee-lined for the bakery so that I could get my hands on some of that carrot cake :)  First we decided to walk around Asheville a little though.  When we parked, we noticed it was looking kind of ominous and checked a radar app I have on my phone.  It looked like rain was coming, but we ventured out with the stroller and both the baby and dog anyway.  We found a dog store and ducked in, thinking we'd maybe wait out the rain there, but after it did little more than sprinkle, we decided to head back outside.  This was a mistake.  It definitely unloaded, and we were lucky enough to find a closed restaurant with an awning for us to hide under, but were stuck there for about a half hour while we waited out the downpour, which included hail!

Allie somehow slept through the whole thing (thank god), but Clyde was scared and trembling while huddled on our laps.  Finally the storm let up and we ventured back out.  We had an early dinner at a place called Farm Burger.  I had a chicken burger and Greg got the veggie burger and we split some garlic fries.  I also fed Allie again in the rest room, which was a single female one, perfect for private nursing.  Asheville is probably the one place I could nurse in public without a second glance, but I like our privacy ;)

After dinner we went back to the bakery and I got a slice of that heavenly carrot cake, plus a piece of chocolate layer cake, to go to have at the hotel later that evening.

We got checked in, and then decided to just go for drinks at one of the hotel bars since we weren't really hungry after our burgers.  They had a menu of centennial martinis since it's the hotel's 100th anniversary, and each included a souvenir glass.  Greg and I liked this idea and both ordered martinis.

I can't remember what was in this, but it was kind of dessert-like and came with a piece of pistachio biscotti.

Greg's martini was more like a margarita- kind of citrus flavored.

We enjoyed a great view while drinking our fancy martinis.

Allie did pretty well, but woke up a little fussy at one point, so here I was rocking her a little to get her back to sleep.

Both kid and dog did well in the room, which was a relief.  The next morning we went to our included breakfast, which was amazing, and which I forgot to get any pictures of.  They have a two room buffet with juices, pastries, oatmeal, fruit, cold cuts, an omelet station, and a hot area with eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, eggs, french toast, pretty much everything you could possibly eat for breakfast.  I had fruit, an omelet, potatoes, grapefruit juice, and coffee and it was delicious.

After breakfast, I made sure Greg and Allie were all set and then headed off to the spa for my massage.  The spa at the Grove Park has a couple pools, both indoor and outdoor and I received a tour of all the facilities, which was I welcome to use that day.  Unfortunately, I really didn't have time to do anything but get the massage since Greg had Allie and Clyde, but the massage was really wonderful.  I chose lavender scented massage oil, a focus on my neck and shoulders, and some relaxing music.  My masseuse was wonderful.

Once we checked out of the hotel, we headed back into Asheville one more time to get some lunch before heading back to Charlotte.  We found a place called Carmel's that was dog friendly and sat outside.  It was a gorgeous day.

I had a spinach salad with grilled chicken and pears that was delish.

Allie slept through lunch.

We took a quick walk around after eating and then decided it would be wise to hit the road before sooner than later to make sure we didn't spend two hours in the car with a screaming baby.

It was a quick, but memorable getaway and it's nice to know that we can do this kind of thing with the baby and the dog with a little team work and planning.  We had a good time!

A Day In the Life With a Six Week Old

Today I thought I would show what a day in the life with a six week old baby is like.  At least what it's like with MY six week old.  This is not how every day is, because Greg was home today, and sometimes he's not, but it's not too far off from how a lot of our days are.  This was yesterday.

2:15am- Allie cries and wakes us up.  Time for her first night feed.  I'm impressed because she made it from about 10pm til then, which is a big stretch for her.  I feed her and change her and get her back to sleep, which ends up taking almost an hour, because I have to get her out of the bassinet and settle her down again after trying unsuccessfully the first time.  Changing her usually makes her more awake and harder to get back to sleep, but we knew she had pooped (we heard it), so it was necessary.  I swaddled her arms in the second time she fussed and that seemed to help her get back to sleep.

5am (ish)-  Allie wakes up again.  I feed her and she falls back asleep pretty easily this time.  Score.

8am-  Allie is awake.  I turn off her white noise, gather her up, and head to the nursery to feed and change her.  My husband and dog continue to sleep for a while.  Greg couldn't sleep for a lot of the night, so I know he's still pretty tired.

After feeding and changing Allie we head downstairs and I put her in her boppy lounger.  She watches me while I make a batch of juice with our juicer (I've been into it lately, this is like the third time I've used it this week).  I used carrots, apples, pineapple, papaya, grapes, orange, lemon and strawberries.  I have to stop and put her pacifier back in Allie's mouth about 30 times.  I also pop a piece of banana bread in the toaster oven to heat it and smear some peanut butter on it for a quick breakfast.

8:40am-  Allie is fussy and not liking being in the boppy or being held in various positions.  We head to her play mat so I can see if she needs stimulation.  It works for about 10 minutes before she gets tired of it and cries.

9am (ish) Since I know she's been changed, doesn't want to be held, and doesn't want stimulation, I guess that she is probably still hungry so I try feeding her again on my other boob.  Success- this was why she was fussy.

After eating she drifts off in my arms, and I transfer her to the boppy again so I can get some coffee and type some of this post while chatting with my husband, petting Clyde, and watching the Today Show (multitasking!).

10am- Allie wakes up and we hear her poop.  Her poops are usually a loud squishy sound, unmistakable.  Sorry, TMI?  I change her and we decide now would be a good time to give her a bath.  We usually do baths about every other day, and I usually do them in the morning so I can put her in a clean outfit after.

10:25ish-  Bathed and changed into her outfit (Hello Kitty pants and a matching shirt), I put her in her crib for a bit while I put some of her laundry away.

10:45am-  I feed Allie again.  She seemed fussy again and I guessed that she probably hadn't eaten enough at 10 and wanted more.  Yup.

10:55am- I microwave my coffee, which I haven't really had time to drink, hold Allie, and Greg and I discuss plans for the day- lunch and a walk.

11:30am- I finally take a shower (late!), while Greg holds Allie.  We take turns holding her, putting her in the Rock N Play, and getting ready.  We also discuss logistics and plans for a trip to Hilton Head in a few weeks, which stresses me out, since I now am planning trips with a baby and have no idea how she'll do in the car for 3+ hours or how she will sleep...  The discussion gets us kind of sidetracked so we take a while to get ready.

12:50pm-  I feed Allie again right before we are ready to go so she'll be good for a while.

1:12pm- We finally leave the house and head to our destination- Rock Hill, SC.  We haven't been there in a while and want to check out the restaurant options in the downtown area.  Luckily there are a few new ones that look promising.

1:30pm- We find a pizza place called Millstone Pizza and Taphouse that looks cool and decide to eat there. We split a salad with tomato basil vinaigrette and a mushroom pizza.  Both are delicious.  We like this place! Allie sleeps through lunch as usual, confirming to me that lunch out is an easy option with her at this age.

2:20ish- We then head to Glen Cairn Gardens for a walk around the park.  It's a beautiful day and the park is scenic so we enjoy our little walk.

flowers!

The park isn't that big and we still want to walk more, so we also hit Cherry Park to do a loop there after.  Allie sleeps through both walks.

4pm (ish)- We leave the park and decide we need ice cream, so we stop for hot fudge sundaes at Steak and Shake drive thru on our way home.  Clyde wanted a Frisco melt, but we told him no (he got some whipped cream from our sundaes).

4:20pm- I quickly do dishes while Allie sleeps for a little while longer in her car seat.  She has basically been asleep since we left for lunch around 1pm so this was her long nap for the day.

4:30pm- I feed Allie.  While feeding her I hear the definite sound of her filling her diaper.  After her feeding I find that she's had a little blow out and it's time for an outfit change.  I opt for a zipper sleeper so we don't have to change her outfit for bed again tonight, since we're staying in the rest of the night.

5:15pm- I head downstairs and put Allie on the play mat for some play time.  I also play fetch with Clyde while talking to Allie and helping her bat her toys.  Greg works on our taxes.

5:30-6pm- Greg and I discuss the plans for our trip to Hilton Head more and we decide on a course of action.  I call my mom to discuss it with her.

6:10pm-  Allie gets fussy on the play mat so I hold her for a while, and then we move to the couch so I can put her in her boppy and work on this post.

7pm- I feed and change Allie again.  Allie pees on her changing pad while I have her diaper off.  Good times!

7:20- I start working on dinner- scalloped potatoes with broccoli, one of my husband's favorites.  Allie hangs out in the boppy and watches.

7:30- Greg gives Allie her daily dropper of Vitamin D, which she gets because I exclusively breastfeed and she lacks this from my milk (for those of you who don't know).

7:40-  Allie falls asleep.

7:50-  Allie is awake so I play with her for a bit while waiting for dinner to come out of the oven.

8pm-  Dinner is ready.  This is later than we normally eat, but we were kind of thrown off by late lunch and ice cream.

8:20- Change Allie's diaper.  We heard the explosion while eating, so knew it was time.

8:25- Feed Allie and put my pajamas on.

8:35- Attempt to watch an episode of Burn Notice on Netflix.  Allie falls asleep on me.

9ish- We head upstairs.  Allie sleeps in the bassinet.  Greg and I play with our IPads.

10pm- I see on Facebook that a guy I grew up with is going to be on Chef Wanted on the Food Network, and decide to watch.  Usually I go to bed at 10pm, but I am curious to see him.  (He is eliminated in the first round).

11ish- Allie fusses, so I feed her, change her, and put her back to bed.

Like I said, this isn't every day, and we were late doing most things on this day (lunch, dinner, bed), but it's not too far off from where we are at this point.

Non-Pregnant Weekend Activities

I admit, my blogging has turned into quite the pregnancy journal as of late.  My phases as a runner training for a marathon and food blogger are kind of distant memories right now.  It's funny, because I used to look at friends that blogged and became pregnant and wonder how their blogs went from more variety of content to strictly once a week pregnancy posts, but now that I'm here, I kind of get it.  I actually spend a few days a week working on pregnancy posts so that I can remember all the things happening that week.  It usually doesn't leave me a whole lot of time leftover to blog about anything else.  Also, many of my weekly activities involve pregnancy news- like classes, nursery projects, shopping trips to Buy Buy Baby, etc... so as you can see, pregnancy has kind of taken over my life now!

That said, I do have a life outside pregnancy.  I think I'm just too busy enjoying the moments to whip out a camera, or even remember to bring my DSLR most of the time though.  Over the weekend I did do a few fun activities and even captured them on my IPhone.  Clyde and I met Kelly and Rascal for a walk.

It was a gorgeous day and we walked in the scenic, mansion heavy South Park area.  We also had a nice lunch outside at EarthFare after where I hoovered a big salad from their salad bar and a peanut butter brownie, that yes, went un-photographed (bad blogger).

Greg and I regularly send pictures back and forth of Clyde when one of us is with him and the other is at work, so I sent him this cute shot of Clyde on Saturday afternoon...

Sunday, I took advantage of another social opportunity and got together with a fun group of girls at Diana's house for a pot luck dinner.  If you read her blog, you know that she's coordinating an eat-in month challenge, so this was a way for her to be social but not go out.  This group has been dubbed the "Epic Eaters", and they often go out or get together for fun food consuming activities.

I made Jenna's pumpkin mac and cheese, which you can see in the photo below on the right, next to Jen's awesome scones.

There was also potato salad, kale and apple salad (so good!), goat cheese and crackers, dumplings, pork and rice...

And a big dish of apple cranberry crisp that Diana made, which was good, because I NEED my dessert lately!

Also, for the ladies who could drink, our friend Dion brought the most interesting jello shot ever created!

A fish bowl!  Cute right?  Here are the girls digging in.

We had a great time eating and hanging out.  I actually ate way too much.  I'm finding that it's harder to tell when I'm full while pregnant and really have to watch how much I eat or I regret it later.  Good thing I can take Tums, because I needed them Sunday night!

Anyway, that's just a little snippet of my non-pregnant activities lately.  I'm really trying to savor these last moments before the baby comes because I know it's not going to be so easy to just up and do these kinds of things once she's here and I have other responsibilities.  

Thanksgiving 2012

Greetings!  I'm down in Hilton Head again for Thanksgiving weekend with my parents.  I was just rereading my recaps of Thanksgiving from previous years and this year was fairly similar to 2010 and 2011.  There was a turkey trot, a walk around the plantation, and the usual excellent turkey dinner with fixings.

The big difference was that this year my mom did the Hilton Head Turkey Trot instead of me, being that I'm on my running hiatus since I'm preggo.

Earlier this year my mom decided to get into running and even wears the same sneakers (Asic GT-2160) I do.  She's usually does about 2 miles, but I told her a couple months ago, I knew she could do a 5K if she just kept increasing the distance a bit.  A couple weeks ago she sent me a text saying she was signing up for the Turkey Trot because she'd run 3 miles :)  I actually wanted to walk it, but then thought I should return the favor and spectate for her and also keep my dad company.

My mom was so cute, she actually got up and made herself the typical pre-race breakfast of toast with peanut butter and banana, and had pizza and pasta the day before for appropriate carb-loading.  She took this seriously!

She had some issues with her IPod and heart rate monitor, but tinkered with them to get them set up before the start.

Finally it was time for the racers to line up, so we followed her to the start line to see her off.

My dad and I hung out in the car for bit because it was pretty chilly, but then made sure to head over to the finish line with plenty of time to catch my mom come through.  Soon enough we spotted her shirt and she was bobbing towards us!

Looking strong!

She did great, her gun time was 43:45.  I was totally impressed!  Great for her first 5K :)

After racing we headed home to have a little more breakfast (fruit and pumpkin bread).  We started some Thanksgiving prep and took some time to relax.  We put the bird in the oven.  Later, my mom, Clyde, and I went for a walk on the plantation.

Still my favorite place for a walk or a run!

Clyde loves the trails on the island portion of the walk.

It was a really gorgeous day- perfect for a scenic walk around the plantation.

Back at the house we got serious about cooking.  On our agenda- stuffing, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce shaped like a can (love that stuff), and of course the turkey and gravy.

Clyde went nuts as usual once the turkey came out of the oven.

My meal!  Mmmm.

Everything was delicious.  I enjoyed every bite.  We had pumpkin pie with whipped cream later.  I copped out and bought the Costco pumpkin pie this year instead of making my usual pumpkin cheesecake, because I was just too frazzled to bake this week, but Costco's pumpkin pie is seriously awesome too.

I know I have a ton to be thankful for this year with my pregnancy and our baby girl on the way.  Greg was on a trip, but we celebrated earlier in the week.  I made him his favorite sides, since he's not a big turkey guy.

Anyway, hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as well!