Five for Fridays (for two weeks)

 

 Alot happened last weekend...  We were out of town, so I didn't get a chance to do a Five for Friday, so I combined them into one.  The first big thing.... pictured from above #1.  Breslin got to go to the Breslin Center for the first time in his life!  We went to Midnight Madness for the MSU Spartans, and in hopes to keep Breslin on California time, while in Michigan, we thought going to Midnight Madness would be perfect!  He absolutely loved the cheerleaders... (he's definitely a Burrill boy!)

 #2 Breslin got to meet most of his Grand Rapids Burrill family while in Michigan.  Julie, Aunt Terry, Blake, Nick, Dan, and Leesa drove all the way from Grand Rapids to Williamston to meet Breslin and hang out for only about an hour.  Thanks guys for making the trek... It truly was worth it.

 #3  Breslin finally got to meet Chayla and Darreal.  They drove out to the Michigan game from DC.  We try to meet up and plan one football trip that we both can make it to!  This one was it!

 #4 I guess is a pretty big deal as well....  In order to get to Michigan... we had to take an airplane!  Breslin's first airplane trip was when he was just four months, and he did GREAT!  We got compliments on both the flight out there and back.  It's a good thing he did great, because flying is going to be a major part of his life...

 #5 We got to meet up with my favorite people!  Anna and Lauren!  And Breslin got to meet his future wife, little Miss Teagan!

 Then some extras... Lauren, unfortunately had to work the whole weekend we were back.  Luckily we did get to hang out and spend some good quality time on Friday with her, and then we ended up meeting her hubby and parents at their tailgate spot on Saturday before the game!  Oh, how I miss and love all of them!

And the reason we went back.....  To watch Michigan State yet again beat Michigan for the fourth year in a row!  Breslin's first plane flight with mom and dad $900, Breslin's first trip to the Breslin Center - free, trip to the Student Book Store $150; tickets to the game - $150; watching MSU beat U of M for the 4th year in a row... PRICELESS :)

Five for Fridays

1.  Well we found out that Breslin is allergic to something in the "mommy's milk."  We have exclusively nursed Breslin with mommy's milk and have yet to use formula.  If we want to continue to do so we have to figure out what it is that I am eating that is giving Breslin an allergic reaction.  So last Friday I gave up dairy, eggs, shellfish, seafood, and nuts.  Hopefully his reactions will go away by his next doctors appointment (which is October 20).  Then I can reintroduce each of those foods one at a time to single out which food item it is.  If it doesn't clear up by the doctors appointment we will probably have to switch to formula :(  We would at least like to go 6 months... but we were planning on doing mommy's milk exclusively for the first year.  So hopefully this works.  It's hard on me, but I am always up for a challenge... so if giving up dairy (and all that other stuff which I don't really eat) is what I have to do to make my little man feel good, then I will!  Plus I should drop about 50 pounds because I won't have my daily ice cream night cap and no more excessive cheese.  :p

2.  Along with #1, it's not just the dairy you think of (ice cream, butter, milk, cheese, etc.) that I have to give up.  It's also everything that goes into milk... the biggest one is the protein products that comes from cow milk, and let me tell you, this is in EVERYTHING....  Grocery shopping was quite a challenge... and I feel like I will be living off of salads... but it is what it is, and hopefully it will be worth it.

3.  We had fall break this week, and we went to Palm Springs with the other Burrill's to just kick back and relax... and that we did!

4.  Gotta love a three day work week!

5.  It was a big weekend/week for the sports of the state of Michigan.  Michigan State beat Ohio State at Ohio State for the first time in 12 years... that other collegiate team that is from the state of Michigan won their Big Ten opener... then on Sunday, the Detroit Lions came back from 24 down to the Dallas Cowboys to come back and win the game in regulation, and then on Thursday the Tigers beat the Yankees in the ALDS (I think?!?!)  So people in Michigan, or from the state of Michigan should be feeling pretty good!  Like those pic below says... the big cats are back!

Five for Fridays

1.  MSU got back on a winning streak against Central Michigan... hopefully the trend will go through to tomorrow... when we play Ohio State.

2.  Breslin man got his first little cold :(  We took his temp on Sunday, it was 101, so we had to drive down to Encino to see an emergency pediatric doctor that is open on the weekends....  they took it, and his temp was 88.1... of course it was... but the total hour of driving, there and back, and the $70 office visit charge, was totally worth it for peace of mind for us...

3.  Well, you guessed it... if Breslin had a cold on Sunday... Mommy got a cold on Monday... that has lasted all the way through to today, and because I am nursing 100% I can not take any cold medications...., and daddy got a cold on Tuesday that is still alive and kickin!  We appreciate Breslin learning how to share a such a young age ;)

4.  Breslin got to have an Auntie and Nathan day on Monday.  Even though Breslin didn't have a temperature, and seemed to be doing fine, we thought it would be best to keep him away from the other kids at daycare for one more day.  And let's be honest, we didn't really have to try to convince Auntie Mitzi real hard on this idea.  So Breslin stayed with Mitzi... and of course Mitzi turned it into a part time photo sesh!

5.  I am so glad this week is over... just being sick, fall break around the corner, it just seemed like the never ending week!  But it's over and I welcome the four days we get for Fall Break!  Yeah :)

Five for Fridays... or Saturday

Whew... what a busy busy week... glad it's over.

1.  Covered a class during my prep period on Monday and Tuesday... I vowed I would never use up my prep period with coverage two days in a row again.... (but Im doing it this week... that vow didn't last long).  But instead of getting paid the $34 for class coverage, I am hoping to get in six class coverages before our trip to Michigan, because then I can use it as a comp day, and it won't count against my days off...

2.  It was a test week at school.  I had 150+ Algebra 2 Trig tests to grade on Thursday :/ ugh, and with test days I also have 150+ homework checks to grade and record, 150+ calendars to grade, and 150+ pretest corrections/extra credit to grade... hence it taking me five or so hours after school + the hours during the school day spent grading... Then on Friday I had my Geometry test... this time at least it was only 35 tests to grade, so not as bad.

3.  I am still training for the half marathon in Vegas December 4.  On Sunday I ran five miles.... tomorrow I will be running six.  I don't have ANY time during the week to get any running in, so I run about 2 or so miles on Saturday and then my long runs on Sunday.  I am hoping to squeeze in a quick run or so during the week as well, but its so hot after school I just can't.

4.  Sadly, MSU lost to Notre Dame last Saturday, but having Breslin as a distraction from the loss made both me and Brady handle the loss like normal people, versus the fanatics like we are.  Along the same lines...  How about them Lions...  Detroit 2-0 people!!! what what!  Watch out now!

5.  Breslin's new thing:  Bouncing... in about a month or so, when we are finally for sure about his head stability we are gong to have to get him a bouncer... OMG, he just light's up when we bounce him.  I have a video that I will post later, it is ssssssoooooo adorable.

Five for Fridays... or sunday

1.  Last Sunday Wes, Brady, and Breslin all helped me put together my SmartBoard.  What was only planning on taking about 45 minutes ended up taking 3 hours.  As Brady says, with all the technology stuff, doesn't it always take longer than anticipated?

2.  Back to School night was on Thursday night.  I love Back to School Night and seeing all the parents of my students, but this year, was a little different, I would just rather be at home with my little one.

3.  We got out Delta Skymiles credit card, and used it to book our flight back to Michigan, this way we get double miles for our flights and get a mile for every dollar we spend.  For people like Brady and I, you can see why having this credit card is a great investment.  On the down side it does have an annual fee of 90.00, but on the upside you get free bags... so the annual fee pays for itself with one flight!

4.  Have been able to get a few things scrapbooked in Breslin's baby book while he is taking naps on the weekend.  And am sort of staying caught up (well at least with his stuff).

5.  The weather was GREAT this week.  Nice and cool in the mornings and 80's during the day.  However, I hear that it is supposed to get back into the upper 90's this week :(  Bummer.

Seriously guys....

When is enough enough with this Michigan State pictures?!?!?!  Well, mommy says... there can never be enough :)

Five for Fridays... or Saturday

 1.  (Above pic)  Breslin conked after his first full weekend of football!!!!  Last Friday was the MSU game, but then on Saturday we spent all day at Casey and Kris's house watching football all day long... This pic was taken during the Oregon game last weekend... he is out like a light.

2.  Gave my first tests this week for my Alg 2 Trig classes... Class average in each class ranged between am 87 - 88%.

3.  I got a SmartBoard for my classroom... I will share pictures of that once I get it up and running in my classroom!

4.  We are dilligently trying to watch our money, because those stupid hospital bills from Breslin's birth still keep coming in (you would think three months later and about 4 grand later that they would be done coming...).  But because we are watching our money I am cooking more at home and making some real good meals (they taste good to me at least).  Now I really do feel like a parent running a household... taking care of a baby, making home cooked meals....  Thank goodness for the cleaners, cuz I just don't think I can clean on top of it :)

5.  And I am a blonde again!!!  It has been a good two years.  It is a legit blonde too (pic below).

Yup... That's What I Do... I roll over!

3 months old on Friday... Look how Breslin man has grown!

 3 months

 2 months

1 month

Five for Fridays... or sunday

Wellp.... to get ready for football season this week Breslin....
1.  Had an MSU photo session with Mitzi.  If you wanna check it out, visit www.photobymitzi.com and click on recent sessions... a sneak peak of a few are up here.
2.  Starting on Wednesday he wore a MSU onesie everyday!
3.  We had a whole bunch of people over here on Friday for the first MSU football game of the season.
4.  Breslin-man watched his first ever MSU football game on his 3 month birthday.
5.  And MSU won it's season opener against Youngstown State... it wasn't a very exciting game, nor was it a convincing win, but that gives us things to work on for next week.

What do you do when its 107 degrees out?

Spend the afternoon in the pool :)

Six days until MSU football!

Go Michigan State!

Playing like the big boys do!

Yup... look at me and my new toy.  I turn three months old next week... and this toy it's for four month old babies!!!!  Look at me go!  Mommy and Daddy think I am growing up too fast, but I am just having soo much fun!

Five for Fridays... or Saturday

1.  First full week of school with students!  I am finally starting to see the personalities of all of my classes.  Looks to be a fun semester!

2.  Breslin man is growing by leaps and bounds!  He can keep himself occupied playing with his two favorite toys.... he has a little butterfly and a blanket with tags.

3.  Beaumont's new favorite thing is to keep Brady and me awake ALL the time.  It is not Breslin that keeps us awake through the night, it is Beau.  His favorite thing to do in the middle of the night is climb up Breslin's screen door... which makes ssssssssssssooooooooooooo much noise. 

4.  It was HOT this week especially Thursday and Friday creeping into the 100's

5.  We are anxiously awaiting football season.  Only six more days!

Five for Fridays... or Saturday

1.  Breslin started daycare this week.  He did great, however mommy on the other hand struggled.  The first day I only had to leave him from 7:40 - 12:30 because we just had a big staff meeting and then a department meeting.  So it was a good ease in day for the both of us.

2.  With #1, we think Breslin has a little girlfriend at daycare!  We take him to an at home daycare where the lady takes care of a total of 6 little ones.  But Lily (6 months) and Breslin are her two littlest ones, and I think Lily loves having another baby around.  Lily just plays and Breslin just stares at her!!!!  So cute.

3.  School started on Thursday with students.  I like my classes, I am just waiting for my students to open up with there personality a little more.

4.  Breslin man is growing by leaps and bounds... he rarely fusses at all anymore, only wakes up once during the night to eat, is so alert, takes the bottles, now actually plays with stuffed animals and rattles, and is becoming very self reliant (he amuses himself much more!)

5.  Slowly but surely we are going to get a morning routine going.  It is definitely a lot different getting yourself ready and a baby in the morning.  Both Thursday and Friday I have forgotten at least one thing that I needed to bring to school... It'll get easier.

Five for Fridays... or sunday

I missed last weeks five for Fridays....  So here we go..  Five for Friday's over the last two weeks...

1.  Went to Vegas to celebrate Michael's 21st birthday.  My whole family + the William's came out!  It was Breslin's first vacation EVER!

2.  Played Black Jack at the tables for the first time ever in Vegas.  Won $40.00!

3.  Had an AMAZING Rock Band session with the Dos's.

4.  Mom drove all the way back to Michigan.  It's the first time all summer that it's just been the three of us; Breslin, Brady, and me.

5.  Breslin had his first set of shots... very traumatic for everybody involved :(

Vegas 2011

 Poolside

 The only way to stop from overheating out there.....  poolside

 You guessed it... the Chandelier Lounge

 The ladies having a drink after the show.

Dawn, me, Aunt Joyce, Megan, Christina, and mom.

 The boys, minus Brady (Brady and I had already seen Elvis, so Brady stayed back in the hotel with the Bres man).  Greg, Michael, and Scott.

 Old Town Vegas... Fremont Street

 Family Photo

Dawn and mom on Fremont Street

We went to Vegas to celebrate many things.  First and foremost, Michael's 21st birthday, then everything else we celebrated was major things that happened this year... Megan got her certification in personal training, Dawn and Greg both celebrated their 50th birthdays and their 29th anniversary, my mom and dad celebrated their 30th anniversary, me and Brady had our first child, Christina will turn 30 in a few short weeks, and Michael's friend Scott graduated from college.  I absolutely love the Williams and had a great time.  I definitely wish we lived closer and could hang out with them more. 

The first day we got there, we all went out to dinner, followed by a little pre drinking, and then the "kids" (me, Brady, Michael, Scott, Christina, and Megan) went and had a few drinks at a lounge in MGM.  The next day we spent the morning/afternoon by the pool, did some gambling, then went off to walk around the strip and had a great dinner together at the Cheesecake factory in Caeser's Palace, and then Christina, Brady, and I went over to the Tropicana that night and gambled.  Brady lost 40 bucks in about 5 minutes playing his first time at craps... I don't he'll be playing that game again anytime soon.  And I lost 40 at the roulette table... I was winning, but oh it can go so fast.... :(  The next day we spent ANOTHER morning at the pool, then got ready to go to Aria and saw Viva (the cirque show based upon Elvis's life) everybody loved it.    Me and Christina put 100 dollars on black on roulette... and lost :(  But we had a great time at the lounge called Chandelier... which is in one of the above pictures.  It literally feels like you are in a chandelier.  Later on that evening we went to a club in our hotel and had a blast (however.... my lungs suffered because it has been FOREVER since I have been anywhere where there has been cigarette smoke... and let me tell you, there was plenty of cigarette smoke (why anybody smokes still... is beyond me).  The next day Christina had to leave and so did Aunt Joyce.  The ladies went to the pool again in the morning, then we all headed out to Fremont Street.  OMG, that was great!  I had no idea what was down there.  We ate at Tony Roma's for dinner and those had to be the best ribs I have ever head... fell right off the bone.  Then we walked up and down old Las Vegas.  That night we did our last little bit of gambling; me and Dawn hit up the slots... but finished up with black jack... AT THE TABLES :)  We talked about how nervous we were, but we figured we would give it a shot.  I had ran out of money, but Dawn had twenty dollars left, she said, you get ten, I get ten and lets play... so we did... and Dawn ended up being up 60 I think, and myself up 40!!!  We had a blast.  I absolutely love the Williams and truly think we should do a Vegas trip... or just any kind of trip at least every other year!  I had so much fun, and miss them so much.  I wish we lived closer!  All in all the Vegas trip was a success, and Breslin kicked some major ass spending his first time away from home for four nights!

Five for Fridays

1.  As you can see from the pictures above we took Breslin man to the beach for the first time ever!
2.  Attempted surfing for the first time since last year
3.  Bought Breslin a whole bunch of new stuff from Target.... thank you Rod and Sarah Tapp.
4. Did Dos workouts all this week.... (Francine Dos that is!)  Just trying to kick the pregnancy belly.,.
5.  We celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary on July 28... My oh my does time fly!

Five for Fridays

1. Met Christina's boyfriend.  He flew out to be with the family this weekend as well.
2.  Had a lot of family bonding time!
3.  Horrible Bosses = Hillariouos
4.  House feels empty now, had 7 people here, now 4 remaining... and in two weeks just the three of us.
5.  Have really started getting into the groove of working out again... I am right now somewhere between 145 and 147... trying to get back to the pre pregnancy weight of 138...

Five for Fridays

 1.  Christina has been out all week!!!!

 2.  We got more family pictures this week... Mitzi's favorite saying for the picture above... "Raise your hand if your cute."

 3.  Wait... could it be?!?!  Is that my dad?!?!  Yup, my dad made it out to California after five years to visit his grandson :)  And we got to do family pictures out in California!  Thanks Mitzi for the pics :)

 Yup... that was a squirter... hopefully it didn't get on my shirt!

 4.  We have gotten to do a lot of family bonding time this week....  pool time, ping pong, rock band, cards, and movies.

 

 

 5.  We got to meet Christina's boyfriend this week too.  His name is Steve, he flew out from New York to hang out with us.

My little bug a boo

Five for Fridays

1. We celebrated our first Fourth of July as a family
2. If you didn't see the post I just posted... we got some smiles this week from the Bresmeister :)
3. I got my hair highlighted for the first time in two years... (last year I couldn't get it highlighted because of the pregnancy... and the year before I couldn't get it highlighted because of the health issues that were going on, still to be determined on what that was all about...)
4. Still studying for the CSET.... It's tomorrow... wish me luck.
5. Breslin slept in his crib ALL WEEK!!!! :)

Smile :)

Five for Fridays

1. We went to Kelly and Gio's wedding! It was beautiful.
2. Left Breslin with mom for five hours... and everyone... (including me) survived!
3. Went and saw "Super 8" it was AWESOME!!!
4. Breslin is now 4 weeks old is continuously growing.
5. CSET is a week away. I better pass this sucker...

"Mommy's Milk"

Nobody knew Brady was a song writer?!?!

Five for Fridays

1. Aunt Joyce and mom came out to visit Breslin. Aunt Joyce only for a few days, mom, for the whole summer.
2. Breslin LOVES his baths... I wanted to post a whole post on pics from his bath... But it was slightly innapropriate... so I will only post the appropriate pic.
3. Made it to a lunch out at a REAL restaurant, ChiChi's with mom, A. Joyce, Brady, Breslin, and I.
4. We had one night this week where Breslin only woke up once!
5. I somehow still am finding time to study for the CSET... which is now only two weeks away.

Five for Fridays

1. Slowly but surely we are getting the hang of this parenting thing.
2. Breslin's umbilical cord remains fell off! He's got an innie belly button.
3. I had a doctor's appointment to double check my blood pressure now that I am off of the medication... 117/78!!!! :)
4. Had our first dinner out as a family of 3.... It was a little rushed and not relaxing at all... but we did it! I HAD to get out of the house, I was going stir crazy.. Brady has baseball camp and baseball games that get him out of the house, but I have to hang around inside all day and feed Breslin around the clock... so it was nice.
5. We had to have the fire department come out and take care of a rattlesnake that was found in our backyard. How many firemen does it take to get rid of a rattlesnake? 3! And we thank them, because our cats every once in a while escape to the outdoors and the Mandel children come and swim at our place, so I am glad that it got taken care of so everybody (including our animals) are safe!

Five for Fridays

Wow... Crazy week :)

1. We have been parents for one full week! It is not as overwhelming as everybody has said it was going to be, but maybe that's because Breslin is a perfect little angel. And I also seem to have more energy now then when I was pregnant... lack of sleep is not an issue over here so far....

2. I did however underestimate the recovery time for me after giving birth... the pain and uncomfortableness... and other things.... were pretty unbearable the first couple of days... I told Brady, one and done with Breslin because of this recovery.... but now that we are a week out from having Breslin, I realize the recovery is bearable and whatever pain and uncomfortableness I have been going through this last week it is well well well worth it.

3. Took Breslin for his newborn pics (see post below for some sneak peeks).

4. Learning how to be a family of three, and it is working out really well.

5. Have been showered with visits and warm wishes and dinners from family and friends. We really appreciate all of it. An extra thanks to those who stopped by with food... again, my underestimation of my recovery process left me being very immobile and not very capable of making food.