New Year's Resolution among other things

There are so many things swimming in my head, so I'm going to attempt to make sense of them...

- Today is June 30, which means the end of many companies' fiscal years. Coincendentally, Mr. F and I are trying really hard to baby proof as Aidan has proven he is mobile via scooting and army crawling and looooves to put things, anything, in his mouth. Additionally, as the demands of school are lightening we desperately want to get our apartment in order, decluttered and vacuumed (ok, the last one is just me, but you know...) So after rearranging furniture, shredding old bills like crazy people and actually putting away all the clean laundry (hooray!) we have decided to make a new year's resolution to keep our apartment in the ship shape it is today as well as any future home we may have. I understand life sometimes gets hectic and with kids this not always possible, but maybe if we start working on the habit now, it will become routine. New Rule: "if you touch something, it must be put in its proper place" (translated: no picking something up and leaving it out or putting it in another place just to look organized) Wish us luck!

- Resolution #2: Loose weight. All of our lives Mr. F and I have played a wide variety of varsity sports and enjoyed being active. However, between 3rd year hospital rotations, thesis and a baby we're not in the best shape of our lives. Fortunately, we walk everywhere and rarely eat out. And I'm proud to say after gaining... umm... ALOT of weight during my pregnancy (thanks to alot of fluid rentention and a few too many grilled cheese sandwiches), I've got less than 5 lbs to go to pre-baby weight. YES!! Anyway... we're committing to stepping it up a notch, getting to the gym more, and trying to get back in shape. Oh, and the elevator outage at work for the next 3 weeks (I work 5 floors up)forcing me to take the stairs is an added bonus. ughh.

- Slow Cooking: I.Love.My.Slow.Cooker. There, I said it. Seriously, the thing is amazing and especially in an UN-air conditioned apartment, cooking in the summer time is not fun. I make all kinds of things from Corned beef & cabbage to kick-ass chili and even pulled bbq, but this morning I came across the holy grail of crock-pot recipies blogs... http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ Enjoy!!

- Aidan has recently started to refuse anything but a boob. Seriously, the kid used to take a bottle no problem, especially from Mr. F or at daycare. However, he is now refusing anything but nursing or eat solids. WE ARE SO FRUSTRATED. We have tried everything from a sippy cup with and without a valve, a million different nipples and bottles, letting him feed himself, breast milk only, breast milk and formula etc. etc. etc. Please, if you have any suggestions, we are allll ears.

Ok, I think that about covers it...Happy Hump...oh, wait, its only Tuesday. Nevermind.

Love, True Love....

I can hardly believe it, but yesterday was our first anniversary!!! This past year has been the hardest, most fulfilling, wonderful year and I can honestly say I've never been so happy. To celebrate the momentus occassion, Mr. F and I stayed up all night... with Aidan who has a terrible ear infection, temperatures of 103 and vomitting. Awesome. We toasted with coffee instead of champagne cause it was the only thing that kept us going. Last night things finally calmed down and we ordered chinese food and watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall after the little guy went to bed. It is so heart breaking to see your baby throwing up, but I Mr. F and I really pulled together as a team and helped him get through it and managed to keep smiling even when were covered in puke :)

Thriller

I had originally intended to post picutres and a video or two from our Texas trip, but just havent had time to upload them from my camera yet...heck, I'm still not even unpacked. They are coming, I promise! HOWEVER, Mr. F has a few days off and we've been talking about rearranging our apartment. our 1 bedroom apartment. for 3 people. Well, I came home from work yesterday and what do you know, Aidan's crib is out of the bedroom and in the living room (hooray!) and the ac units were in the windows! We even lowered the mattress because the kid is able to start pulling up on the railing. HOLY COW he's so grown up!

And as everyone and their mom knows, Michael Jackson died yesterday. It was a weird moment when I found out, kind of like when Princess Diana died... I just kept thinking someone made the story up. The thing I was most struck by was the immense sadness of his life. Seeing all the pictures of him as a little boy just breaks my heart thinking of the abuse and non-existent childhood he had. I'm thankful for the music he left us and I hope his pain is gone.

Finally, on a much lighter note, I was walking down Broad Street during lunch today and was struck by a certain fashion faux pas; the plethora of bra-less women who should NOT go bra-less. My mom's mantra has always been "a proper foundation is essential to pulling off any outfit" and as usual, mom knows best. So ladies, if you are old enough to own a bra, you should be wearing one. Thankyouverymuch.

Happy Friday everyone!

Everything's bigger in Texas

Whew, what a whirlwind last few days! However, I'm happy to note we had a wonderful time in Texas introducing Aidan to Mr. F's aunt, uncle and grandma and the whole traveling thing went off without a hitch...almost... Truth of the matter is Aidan was a fantastic flier. The kid is 7 mos old and really enjoyed the planes, including taking off (notoriously tough on little kid ears). He was so interested in staring out the window and even managed a nap on each of our 4 flights. Now his mother on the other hand...not such a good flier...even the happy pills didn't help. Ughh.

Of course Aidan came down with a massive virus on Thursday (we were leaving on Friday), but managed to recover and be in good spirits half way through the trip, but not before getting Mr. F and I sick, and we are still not fully recovered.

While were in Texas Aidan spent alot of time in the pool and LOVED it. That kid was born to be in the water and I even gave him his first swimming lesson (the lifeguard in me couldn't help it!). He really enjoyed splashing and kicking his legs. We also spent time with Mr. F's grandma. She moved to the USA from Egypt in the 1970's and treated us to lots of nursery ryhmes in French and Arabic. And of course, Mr. F. celebrated his first Father's Day. He did receive a tie last year from Aidan in utero, but this year he got lots of sloppy kisses and Aidan even has started babbling da-da. He doesnt quite know what he's saying, but it doesnt matter! I think we're still a few months away from ma-ma, but I dont care...the joy on Mr. F's face was unbelievable. Aidan is one heck of a lucky boy to have the amazing father he has and I am incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful husband. There is no joy like seeing the two men I love playing together.

In other news, I'm back at work and a little bored, which means online shopping! I've been dying to get a larger frying pan since mine is 8" and allll the non-stick surface disappeared long ago. So today I picked up this little baby from overstock.com. Did I mention I got it for $25...thats almost $100 off the original price. HOORAY!

A few recent pictures

summer reading

So now I've graduated, finished that darn thesis, and am finding myself in need of some good reading material. You know, the fun, don't have to underline/highlight etc., kind of reading. I have the comfy chair on reserve and with Little Man getting to bed earlier and Mr. F studying, I NEED a few good books! So,any and all suggestions welcome...well, except sci-fi, or fantasy:).

counting blessings

It finally happened...and I've been dreading this day for quite some time...my first student loan bill arrived in the mail. Now, if i were gainfully employed (permanently, cause a 12 week internship with no benefits doesnt count), or weren't paying an astronomical amount in daycare, or well... you know watching more money go out each month than comes in, maybe I wouldn't have had such severe heart palpitations. However, because we are poor students, we qualify for economic hardship deferment. THANK GOD. When I called the loan agency the guy actually laughed at me when I told him our cash flow stats coupled with the fact that Mr. F is still in medical school...and don't even get me started on those loans... It's days like this I question the intelligence of my decision to go to grad school, but then I remind myself that school is an investment and you've got to spend money to make money, right? right?! oh, I hope I'm right!

While we may be the stereo type of the "poor grad student" I know there are countless other people out there loosing their jobs, in debt up to their ears, and loosing their homes. This is why every night before I fall asleep I say a prayer of thanksgiving for a roof over our heads, food on the table, and the love of our family.

I heard on Oprah once about counting your blessings and you'll realize you are rich. I thought that was a bit odd at the time, but now I see the value in it and I hope you feel the same.

opa!

This past weekend was gorgeous, which makes up for the crappy, rainy weather we've had this week, and we headed out to a Greek Festival down the street from us. It was fantastic, although the WHOLE lamb on a spit was enough to turn my stomach just a little. I am not, and could never be a vegetarian, but that was tough to look at. Mr. F and I indulged in some homemade baklava and mousaka, which is eggplant and mashed potatoes with ground beef. Its DELICIOUS!! And of course, Aidan was looking adorable in a blue and white seersucker outfit that shows off his delightfully chunky baby thighs and the old Greek ladies loved it :)

Its hard to believe my first week of work is over already...only 11 more to go till I become unemployed again, and that stinks! However, in the last few days I've had several experiences that affirm my career choice and I'm so excited to get into my field in a professional capacity. I can honestly say this is the first time I'm excited about my job, or at least future jobs (cause how much fun can an intern really have? :) Today I got to sit in on a committee meeting and not only did I understand all of the jargon, but I understood the legislation and theory behind the decisions being made. So I did learn something useful in school, after all! Plus the people I work with are very nice and most of us happen to be graduates of the same program in different years. Finally, taking the Little Man to day care has been super tough and I'm having mommy guilt like crazy. I mean, he was already going 3 days a week and that was good because I was able to get critical things, like grocery shopping, done. But now I miss him sooo much and feel bad that he's gone all day. I know he likes it and is getting great social interaction and we feel comfortable with the staff, but still... And to top off the working mom experience, I get to close the door twice a day and pump in the office! I bet they never had an intern with a breast pump before! Its a little awkward for me, but we're trying to keep Aidan on breast milk in addition to veggies and fruit and a little formula here and there until he's a year old. Plus, I'm just not ready to stop nursing.

This weekend we're heading to MD for some mini-family reunion fun and its Aidan's first overnight somewhere other than his grandparents. Keep your fingers crossed it goes well...this is a mini test for our upcoming TX trip for an other side of the family mini reunion!

the meaning behind the name

it has recently come to my attention that "with wiz" seems like an odd blog title, so here's the explaination...

when you order a cheesesteak in philly you
a. NEVER call it a Philly cheesesteak, drop the Philly... we know where you are
b. order it with or with out cheese wiz and i ALWAYS order mine "with"

so there ya go:) with wiz it is!