Cam spent the day with Grandpa

Today my dad came up to spend the day with Cam & things went swimmingly from what I hear. It was my dad's first time having one on one time with his ONLY grandson. Cam is his third grandchild, but it's pretty special that he now has a grandson! I hope they are able to share many great times together, going to baseball games or playing catch.

You'll see the adorable little Yorkie here in the picture & that happens to be my dog, Pudge. I say "my dog" because at one time he technically was mine. For as long as I can remember, I would beg my parents to let us get a dog. Everyone in the house was on board other than my dad. So, finally, we all came to the decision (not including my dad's) that we'd go pick out a dog. I remember that I was a sophomore in HS and around 15 years old when my sister, cousin & I went to Alsip Nursery in Frankfort, IL & fell in love with the most precious little dog I have ever laid eyes on. Later that night my mom & brother went to pick Pudge up as we had put a deposit down earlier in the day. He was so small when he first came home that we could barely see him in the grass! Every single person that met Pudge fell in love. How could you not?? As cute as he is, he is sweet!

It's weird to spend time with him now & think that at the time we brought him home, I was only a kid in high school. So many things have changed since then. College, marriage, graduate school/internship, multiple house purchases, a move to FL and a baby! Here I am at age thirty, spending time with my son & my childhood dog. I can only hope & pray that the rest of Pudgey's days on Earth are pleasant and free of pain.


Cam wants to pet sweet, Pudgey Bear!


Cam & Grandpa spend some great one on one time together to bond!


Ah!


So glad to be home from work with my boy!


My 2 dogs; one from childhood, one from adulthood with my baby in the middle!

Is the weekend here yet??!!

These past two days at work have been very trying/exhausting & I am SO looking forward to the weekend. I'm sitting at my desk as I type this, hoping that tomorrow will be a smoother day! My sister, Lauren was sweet enough to come up to our house from Sarasota to watch Cam. He has had a cold for what seems like forever & we just feel that if he could have a bit of time away from day care, it would do him a world of good. My dad will be coming up to watch him tomorrow, so hopefully Cam will behave. Cam's grandpa loves him to pieces, but he's more into kids when they're able to verbalize what they need! It will be good for them to have some one on one time together though!

Well, just in case I happen to lose my mind before Friday is done, I'm in the right place because the hospital where I work does have a behavioral health unit. So, if I do get admitted there, come on in & pay me a visit in my padded room!!

Time Management!

Monday through Friday has become quite a whirlwind since I've officially gone back to work on a full-time basis! By the time we get home from work, get Cam fed & bathed, he's already going to sleep, so we only get about an hour and a half with him. Mornings are fun because Cam wakes up around 6:45 so we get some fun time with him before leaving the house.

It's the in-between stuff that takes such time management... dinner, dishes, cleaning, laundry, getting bottles ready for daycare, etc. Monday & Tuesday, I'm usually energetic & getting everything done, but my energy level dwindles as the week wears on. By Thursday, my thoughts are, laundry?? Who cares! I like to get a lot done during the week to free up the 2 precious days we have off during the weekend. Having Monday off for Memorial Day was AMAZING! It made me feel like we had so much time together & since then, my work week has flown!

Don't you just wish we could ALL have every Friday or Monday home, to spend together as a family?

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Anniversay to us!

This Memorial Day weekend was not only my 30th (GULP!) birthday but also our 7th wedding anniversary! So much has happened since we first met at the age of 16! This year has been especially memorable as we are now blessed with Cameron who we absolutely adore more than anything in the world! I feel like the luckiest person to have a wonderful husband, son, family & friends.

We celebrated the weekend at Matt & Kelly's Saturday. We played poker & I won 2 out of 2 games, yipee! Sunday was spent with my entire family & friends & to me, that makes it the most perfect birthday there could be.

Happy Memorial Day! God bless all the men & women who risk their lives on a daily basis to keep our country safe! God bless the family members that are away from their loved one's & fear for their lives each day.


Me & my hubby! Happy 7th Anniversary!

I
It's an Ally sandwich with Merry, Matt & Kelly!


Me & the Big Guy!


My WONDERFUL friends who I love!


A storm's a brewin!


Love my mom! Even more appreciative of her now that I too am a mom!


My sweet, loving Pudgey Bear! 16 years old!


Nowhere else I'd rather be!


I requested a black & white cake!


Mikayla is waiting patiently for a piece!


So is my precious god daughter, Maddy!


Umm, maybe black frosting was NOT the best idea!


Well, you live & you learn. NEVER get black frosting for a wedding cake! It will NOT make for good pictures!


Touched by all the generosity!


Just a tad excited!


Romie was also born May 24th! Of course, I'm 29 years older than her!


Too cute!


Right on Mikayla's heels!


Mikayla loves Romie!


Lauren & my hairy hubby!

Easy weekday dinner

I'm always trying to come up with easy dinner ideas that use the ingredients we typically have in our house anyway. The dreaded question between Mike & me usually starts before noon while we're e-mailing each other at work... "What's for dinner tonight?" So, tonight's dinner was sparked by Mike mentioning the word "frittata" (I know, what normal guy just comes up with that idea out of the blue??)

So, I cut a potato into small cubes & boiled them. As that was cooking, I sauteed some onion & garlic & added the drained potatoes along with sun-dried tomatoes, salt & pepper & let that brown a bit. I wisked some eggs & skim milk & poured that into the pan & let it set up a bit & brown on the bottom. As that was going on, I added some leftover, low-fat spinach & feta sausages we grilled the night before, topped the concoction with cheese & transferred the pan to a 350 degree oven. That baked for about 10-15 minutes & finally I broiled it for about 3 minutes to finish it off. Then I covered the pan with foil, shut the oven off & we ate about an hour or so later when we had Cam settled. Below is a picture that really doesn't do it any justice as I assure you it was very good. And the best part is we both have leftovers for work tomorrow! Dinner? Done!

The last week of my 20s

As I sit here at 11:11pm (make a wish!) on this Sunday night, I realize that one week from today I will be 30. I remember being a kid thinking that I would never get old, feeling like time stood still. Now it seems that I wish time would slow down; sometimes I can't even remember what month it is. I just feel like I want to savor time instead of wishing my life away. I'm the type of person who always looks ahead & I don't want to look back at my life years from now wishing I had just enjoyed being in the moment. So, it is my wish that this decade will be more about enjoying each day & each moment. So many things have changed over the past 10 years; at this time 10 years ago, I was in an apartment in college with my friend Amanda. I still had 2 years of school + my dietetic internship ahead of me. I was 3 years away from marrying Mike & 9 years away from having my first child. Who knows what the next 10 years will bring?!

I hope for good health & happiness to those that I love. I wish for my baby boy to have the best life that we can give him. I look forward to watching him grow & seeing our friends & family grow in size as they have children (or more) too. This is a very big year/decade for me as I am now accountable for a life other than my own. I have a little boy (who happens to be sleeping in the next room) who is relying on me. I look forward to many more adventures & experiences!

Sunday in the park

We met up at a nearby park with Matt, Kelly, Leah, Lauren & Josh. It was a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon! We all brought sandwiches & drinks, so we didn't have to spend much money & we were able to enjoy each others company. Cam had a blast on the swings & he was able to flirt with his girlfriend, Leah! Happy Sunday to all!


She is so pretty!


Cameron is too darn cute!


Me & my boy


It's the whole gang!


Cam likes us to take turns pushing him!

Summer Fun!!

Apparently Josh likes to play Guitar Hero with his mouth open & Lauren with her eyes shut!

Cam's first time on a hammock

Enjoying my first Mother's Day

Swimming with my slippery, little fish!


Cam's feeling festive!

Birthday Girl! 6 years old already!

Getting ready to celebrate my goddaughter, Maddy's 6th birthday

The joys of day care! The uncertainty of parenthood!

Any parent can attest that sending your child to day care can be a stressful situation. You're letting go of the control you had while being home with the baby, hoping the baby will stay on a good schedule. Then they go to day care where you see a bunch of little faces looking up at you with gobs of snots dripping from their noses. And you think to yourself, "well, it's only a matter of time until my baby gets sick."

For us, that time came pretty quickly! Cam got his first cold which lasted three weeks; he even needed to be on Albuterol nebulizer treatments. Then he kicked that cold, stayed home with his Grammy for a couple of weeks and BAM! within a couple weeks of being back, the sniffles started again. Now we're back into a full blown cold with fever.

So... we send our children to day care so that we can go to work & make a living to support our family. But then we can't work when they get sick even though they contracted the sickness from day care! You just can't win! Mike had to leave work early today because Cam was running a fever & he'll be taking tomorrow off as well since a child can't come back unless the fever has been gone for 24 hours. I know that kids will get sick at some point & it will be either now or when they start kindergarten, but it can be very stressful!

But to all you parents or parents-to-be who will eventually need day care, try not to fret! There are definite positives about it: 1) Baby learns to socialize at a young age 2) Less likely to develop seperation anxiety 3) Baby gets to watch kids in other developmental stages & may be more encouraged to roll, crawl, walk, etc. 4) It allows Mom or Dad to have a life outside the house which may help you appreciate your baby more than if you were together 24/7.

And to all you stay-at-home moms or dads, hats of to you because that is probably the hardest job you can have! I would probably end up in a mental institute if I had to stay home all day with my baby. Don't get me wrong, I love Cam more than anything in the world but I'm a person that needs to have time for myself in the working world.

It basically boils down to the fact that when you become a parent, so many things change regardless if you work or stay at home. You always question yourself; am I spending enough quality time with the baby? Should I skip cooking dinner & play with the baby or let the baby watch a Baby Einstein video? And I know that no matter what age/stage your child is in, there will always be concerns or challenges; they may be different, but they're still there. Being a parent is a challenge, but at the same time, it is the best gift you can be given. Looking at your baby, knowing that you created him (or her), is the most amazing feeling in the world. It's something I will never take for granted.

So, let's all hope that Cam can kick the crap out of this sickness he's currently fighting with!

Happy Anniversary!

Just wanted to say Happy Anniversary to my parents who are celebrating their 37th year together! I love you guys! Funny how my parents met in high school & got married & Mike and I did the same. Not many people can say they married the first person they really ever had a relationship with. Is that sad or romantic?? You be the judge!!

Me, a blogger??

I know I've dabbled a bit in the blogging world while working on Cam's site here & there, but I thought it would be nice to have a page of my own. I'm the type of person who would never think to have a blog because who would want to know what I'm doing on a daily basis?! But, I'm not even going to focus on that, I'll just use this site as a place to post pictures & talk about the things that might be on my mind. If anyone visits my site, wonderful, and if not, that's fine too!

I decided to choose the name "Balancing Act" because that's what I feel my life is on a daily basis. Between juggling work, marriage, being a mom & managing a household, things can get a bit overwhelming.

If you are visiting my site, thank you and I hope you enjoy!

Love,

Allison