June travels from the Midwest to the Northeast

Life has been so busy in the Schwartz household that June blogging got sidetracked. In June, we had a great family trip (me,Jay,Eva,Nana) to Rhode Island! It was Jay's first time to visit the Northeast and for Eva as well. We stayed in my Aunt's friend's house which was only a few minutes from the beach. However with it being June in RI - the water was freezing! Eva was terrified of the waves but eventually we got her into the water but only a few minutes b/c she started to shiver.



Jay found his new favorite food - steamas (steamers which are basically A clam). We went and looked at out old house in Kingston where I spent three months every summer for about 15 years. We went to Narragansatt and saw the pier and walked along the wall (ate a Del's). My cousin Susan took Jay and I out one night to Newport, RI. My other cousin ,Lauren, flew in from Prince Edward Island. We even had a mini family reunion involving the lobster people vs the steak people - its a long standing tradition.


As soon as we got home to Memphis, Jay and I flew out the very next day to MN where we went to our friend's - Bo and Kate's - Wedding. It was a beautiful outside wedding in Stillwater,MN. Kate wore an elegant ivory dress with a little bird's cage veil. The colors were yellow and gray. It was very nicely done - and so much fun. Although, everyone had to move inside b/c tornado sirens went off! There's a funny moment to remember.

We also got to see Sarah, Liz, and my nephew Milo! He was as cute as ever and getting so big. We all went out for a night of Ethiopian food at the Blue Nile and it was yummy. Jay and I felt like true city people taking the light rail from Sarah's condo to the airport. Imagine that - public transportation that makes sense! ha! Below is a pic of an old Sears building that Minneapolis converted into condos, restaurants, etc. A.K.A. useful things.





(Jay and nephew Milo)

Iowa Trip

Eva took her first flight up to Cedar Rapids,IA to see her new baby cousin - Miles. With much anticipation(Jay did not go with us)Eva did really well sitting on my lap for the first flight to Minneapolis and then changed flights to Iowa. I was amazed at the generosity of strangers who volunteered to help me with my bags and stroller.

We had lots of fun watching Eva "play" with Miles. She even gave him a kiss on the head which she doesn't do for us. Miles is definitely going to be a BIG kid since he is 7 weeks and already weighs 14 lbs (Eva weighs 19) and is wearing 6 month clothes b/c he is so long! Milo is such a cute baby - he loves to smile which is usually followed by a very serious face.
Grandma Alice and Grandpa were wonderful grandparents - cooking, cleaning up, and holding babies the entire time. It was a great trip and we'll be back (with Jay) in August!

Moms of Girls

This morning I went to the first group session of "Moms Of Girls" - a section of moms from my first time mom group. We are reading "Bringing Up Girls" by James Dobson who is better known for his book, "Bringing Up Boys" which has been out for awhile. We just started the first two chapeters but already we seem to have the same concerns for our daughters.

We discussed the pressure from peers and the media to be thin and pretty - starting from an even younger age than us! It seems as though every other commercial is about staying pretty and having a perfect body image. We all agreed that how we carry ourselves and how we treat our own bodies will have a profound effect on our girls.

It is scary to think that we are raising our girls in a time where you can buy a thong for a child. Yuck. But I feel as though by giving our girls a healthy atmosphere and setting definite limits are important in raising strong/healthy children. We have our work cut out for us!

1st Mother's Day

This weekend was my first mother's day! We celebrated Mother's day by having my mom, Jay's mom, and Shannon (and of course Trent,Tyler,Maddux,and Olivia) over for a little BBQ get together. Wow, our family is getting big! It was actually a nice and kind of cool day so we sat out on our patio with our new umbrella and newly landscaped backyard. :)

We ate central BBQ, potato salad, and three bean salad topped off with pies from Fresh Market - Delicious! Jay arrived from New Orleans with gifts and flowers in hand - what a wonderful husband.

Mother's Day really had a new meaning to me this year. Until you are put in these shoes - you have no idea how much time and love goes into this full time job. I appreciate everything that my mother has done for me - she really is a wonderful and loving mom. I gave my mom a necklace with a pea pod in which there was a white and pink pea (white for milo and pink for Eva). I gave Jay's mom a pea pod with 2 pinks and 1 white. I love etsy.com

Maddux loves opening and closing doors so he was fascinated with the screen door. I love being around my nephew because I know what Eva will be into in a few months! Cousin Olivia is cute as can be - she is smiling now!

New Trips and Teeth

Due to Eva's recent virus, we have postponed our trip to MN too see my sister's baby Miles. We were looking forward to the trip but its not worth the risk if anything happened to 5 week old Miles and a baby with diarrhea on a plane is unimaginable to me.

Soo, we will be flying on May 20th to Cedar Rapids,IA to see Miles as well as my entire Iowa family. My "cousin" Alex is graduating from H.S. and her family will be throwing her an "open house". Apparently, this is where anyone is invited to stop by to say hi and congrats (Iowa is safer than Memphis it appears).

Jay is leaving to New Orleans tomorrow morning for his friend's bachelor trip. He should make it back in time for our Mother's Day cookout at our house. :)

Also, we can see one top tooth coming! It is a speck of white it is breaking through the gums. Ouch! We just learned about the recall of Tylenol and Motrin - which is ok for us b/c generic motrin/tylenol are not included in this. Trying to save a buck really paid off this time!

Really Good Things do Happen...

We finally got our front porch!!! I have been waiting 2 years to get it. For everyone that may not know, we turned a midtown duplex into a house and we never finished the outside of the house. I guess marriage and baby and finances got in the way of that one. But it is done and it is so beautiful! I love sitting in the rocking chairs with my family just enjoying the few nice days we have left in Memphis. We have already picked out the house paint color which is going to be a nice neutral creme color. I'm thinking the shutters will be a natural green color... We are also going to tear up the old cement walk way in the front and create a new path on the side.

Sick Eva

So, I was just braggimg the other day about how Eva is 8 months and hasn't gotten sick. I guess I should of knocked on wood because today Eva had diarrhea and was spitting up more than usual. I feel especially bad because Grandma Alice was watching Eva today while this happened!

She wouldn't eat lunch which is a rarity and she screamed when it was time for her nap. My gut instinct tells me that she is teething as diarrhea and fever are common during teething. But we'll call the doctor tomorrow if her BM have not improved. I just hope that this passes soon so I can have my happy baby back!