My Favorite Pastime....

A view of my cart before checkout.

Proof of my awesome savings!

...is saving money! My sister gave me a great tip and told me that a Ralph's grocery store near her was closing and there were large discounts on their merchandise. Today I stopped by to check it out and when I was there the sales manager was standing with me in the baby food isle and told me that he had just marked down the entire isle so that everything was $.22! There were no signs that announced this so there was not a huge rush on the baby stuff yet. When I was checking out a crowd gathered around me and people began to get excited as my total kept going down and down. People freaked out when the checker announced that I had saved $728.53! It was pretty fun to get $10 boxes of NurtureMe organic quick dried baby food for only $.22! Needless to say, if we have nuclear fallout and Lena survives she will survive the nuclear winter just fine. I called my brother and his wife to give them a heads up on the sale and when they were checking out tonight their checker was commenting on all the money they were saving and then said to my brother in her thick Asian accent, "but this one lady crazy. She save like $750. She buy a lot!" (She was talking about me! Ha ha!) The only crazy people in my opinion are the ones that pay full price!!!

The "crazy" lady with her cheap groceries and a very, very, long receipt.

Seven Months Old!

Happy Seven Months Baby Lena!

On June 3rd Lena turned seven months old already!  This month brought many new firsts for Lena.  She (and I) got really sick and we both had to go on antibiotics and steroids.  Thankfully we are both better now. 

There is a little Punky Brewster / Rainbow Bright action going on in this outfit, right?

She is also in the early stages of learning to crawl and can sit up on her own for longer periods of time.  Our security gates for the stairs just arrived this week- just in time!  We are getting lots of use out of our stock of cute Babylegs now that she spends 75% of her waking hours on her knees and the weather is turning very warm here in Southern California.  

She wears Auntie Rachel's hair blooms well don't ya think?

In her seventh month she made her first big trip to the Midwest.  She did great on the airplane and we are excited to take her on more adventures in the near future!  She is really enjoying her toys and we have pulled out several new ones for her.  She loves other kids as well as animals (especially our dog) and will just light up and squeal with delight when she sees them.  She even enjoys watching herself in the mirror every night when we get ready for bath.  She enjoys music and Dan and I are going to make a "Lena" mix for her which will include some of her favorites:  "Good Morning" from Singing in the Rain, "I Like to Move It" from Madagascar, and "Cotton Eye Joe" by Crazy Frog.  (She has good taste, no??) 

How about that drool everyone!

She still has no teeth but enjoys eating none the less.  Her favorites this month are mangoes, apples and plums, and turkey and sweet potatoes.  Delish!  As far as fashion is concerned she is a bit disproportionate right now.  She is wearing 0-3 bottoms still and just barely moved into a size 2 diaper (which is really still too big).  She is wearing 6 month onsies and tops because she is pretty tall compared to how much she weighs.  I have had fun digging through my stores of Lena clothes looking for fun new outfits to wear.  She has fallen into a very steady sleep pattern.  She wakes up around 6am every morning just in time to say goodbye to Pop, then we have a bottle and play or take a morning walk.  Then she has another bottle and goes down for her morning nap from 9am to 11am.  We get up and eat solid food, play some more or run errands and then come home and take our afternoon nap around 1 or 2pm for a couple of hours.  Then we wake up and have dinner and go for an evening walk or run more errands.  Bedtime is around 8pm and we have a nice lavender bath and listen to music during our night bottle before sleep.  We have so much fun during our day together!

Pop and Peanut: Father's Day 2012

Pop and Peanut in the Park 2012

I am so thankful for Dan.  He is such a natural at fatherhood.  I remember on our ride home from the NICU the one night we had to leave Lena there after she was born I was so nervous and unsure that I would be able to take care of such a small four pound baby.  I was a blubbering mess but Dan had such confidence and assured me that together we could handle it.  In the NICU the nurses were so impressed with him because he wanted to be involved and was so good at feeding and changing Lena.  When I had to stay in the hospital for many days after my c-section our nurses there were also impressed with how involved and caring Dan was: taking milk down to Lena in the NICU and spending time with her, helping to get me mobile, keeping me company. As one nurse put it: "Most of the other husbands just sit on the couch and play on the computer or cell phone."  This first year of parenthood has been an amazingly fun adventure.  I love our little family and I am so blessed and thankful for a loving partner and father for our "Little Peanut".

Me and my dad in the early 1980s.

 And a special Father's Day wish for my dad who continues to shower me and my four siblings (and their families) with so much love.  I am doubly blessed today!

First Harvest

This spring I planted several heirloom tomato and pepper plants as well as some strawberry plants and herbs.  After a couple months we are already seeing some of the fruit of our labor!  All three were delicious!  I can't wait till the plants really get producing.  I am excited to eat lots of fresh tomatoes and maybe try my hand at canning if we get enough tomatoes.

The Shacks go to the Midwest!

First airplane ride!

A little inflight entertainment.

At the beginning of May the Shack family flew into the Windy City for a two week visit to the midwest.  Here is a little recap of our trip along with our Southern Californian impression of life in the midwest.

Our silly observations:

• There are cool old buildings EVERYWHERE you look.  I love the history and how the cities have embraced the past by restoring and repurposing old buildings.  The St. Louis Union Station was my favorite example of this.
• There are WAY more smokers in all of the midwestern cities we visited than in Southern California.  It was hard to get used to and made me appreciate the anti-smoking vibe in California.  
• People are incredibly friendly in the midwest.  It made be realize how unfriendly Californians generally are.  
• I was surprised by how clean the big midwestern cities were.  
• People in Chicago drink WAY too much!

First baseball game to see the Cardinals!

St. Louis
- Union Station
- Pi pizza and ice cream with Rachel (That salted caramel ice cream was great!)
- Campbell House
- Cardinals game
- Ted Drewes Frozen Custard
- Ate at Pappy's BBQ

Grater's Ice Cream! I got peanut butter chip.

Louisville
- Drove by Churchill Downs during the Kentucky Derby (witnessed chaos in the surrounding neighborhoods)
- Simply Thai with Adam and Anna
- Grater's Ice Cream (AWESOME!)
- Saw Downtown Louisville (Brown Hotel, Louisville Slugger Factory, etc.)

A tour of the Red's stadium in Cincinnati.

Cincinnati
- Grater's Ice Cream .. again.. yummy!
- Enjoyed a Cinco De Mayo festival
- Toured Great American Ballpark and Reds Hall of Fame (awesome!)

Lena and I met Dan's Aunt and Uncle Caldwell for the first time.

Indianapolis
- Quick stop at Lucas Oil Field and team shop
- Skyline Chili (5 way)
- Drive through downtown
- Tour Harrison House
- Had a carb-fest at Cracker Barrel
- Met Dan's Aunt and Uncle Caldwell and got a tour of Anderson University

A short dive to Wisconsin to see the Brewers.

Milwualkee
-  Saw the Brewers play the Reds at Miller Park

Sailing on the Tall Windy on Lake Michigan

It might be historic but it is not very comfortable or easy to get to.

Chicago
- Frank Lloyd Wright walking tour (included the Fine Arts Building)
- Riverboat tour
- Sailing on the Tall Windy to see the city skyline and visited Navy Pier
- Ate tons of great food! (Giordanos Pizza, Al's Italian Beef, Andy's Frozen Custard, Big and Little's)
- Saw a Cubs game at Wrigley
- Saw a White Sox game at US Cellular Field (That is five baseball stadiums if you are counting...)
- Visited the Lincoln Park Zoo
- Went to the Chicago History Museum
- Took a historical walking tour of the Loop and Pedway
- Had appetizers and drinks in the Hancock building's restaurant on the 100th floor
- Shopped for cheese and other goodies at the French Market

At the top of the Hancock Building

Giordanos was great!  We ate three meals out of one pizza!

Tiffany Dome - It is so breathtaking!

Even Lena had to take in the beauty of the Tiffany Dome.  So cute!

Miss Lena washing away the day in the kitchen sink.

Lena was a great tourist and spent many hours in the snugglie.

I had my first mother's day with Lena in Chicago and I got the prettiest flowers and a neat card from Lena and Dan.

It was a great trip but we will need to rest up before our next adventure in Hawaii in a few months!

Six Months Old!

Lena has enough hair to wear her clips now!!! (But only for pictures because she would LOVE to eat the clips if I ever gave her a chance.)

Lena actually turned six months on her first big trip!  At the beginning of May we took a trip to the midwest to visit friends, family, and see the great states of: Illinois, Missiouri, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin.  So a big first for Lena at six months was taking her very first plane ride!  It went very well and I am happy to report that little miss Lena is an excellent traveller and will fit in nicely with Dan and I's love of travel.  Lena changed more in month 5-6 than any other month.  She is becoming much more mobile, interactive and vocal everyday.  I keep waiting for stranger anxiety to set in but she still continues to love people.  One her gifts is that she makes everyone feel loved and special. I knew she was friendly but on this trip I realized that she is friend with EVERYONE.  (Remind me to give the "Stranger Danger" talk when she is older...)  I can't count how many times this senario went down:  "Oh what a cute little girl!.  Hi.. hi little girl!"  Lena then always breaks into a huge grin with sparkling eyes and the person melts and the gushes "Oh she likes me!  She smiled at me!"  What the stranger doesn't know is that she does this for everyone.  She likes everyone.  I don't tell them that.  I just let them relish in the moment thinking that Lena has special smile just for them.  But I am happy to report that she likes me (The MAMA)  the most.  Side comment:  I have longed for the moment when I have the face that that a little child longs to see most.  During her sixth month Lena has also discovered animals.  She really lights up when one of our cats or dog is around.  It will be fun to take her to the zoo when she gets older to see some bigger animals up close.  She is content to play for long periods of time by herself.  Sometimes I won't even know she is awake from her nap because she often doesn't cry when she wakes up but instead coos and plays.  In her sixth month she has made the transition to her big girl crib in the nursery and no longer sleeps in our bedroom.  She loves to grab everything but paper is her most favorite.  It is pretty amazing how quickly she can grab things and stick them in her mouth!  She is still pretty much indifferent to solid food.  She has tried bananas, carrots, peas, pears, prunes, peaches, squash, and oatmeal and rice cereal.  Her favorite so far is sweet potatoes and her least favorite is peas.  We are still working on sleeping through the night.  Sometimes she makes it and sometimes she wakes up once or twice to eat.  She has been battling a bit of a cold and we will work on it more when she is feeling better.  She had her six month shots and check up when we got back from our trip and learned that she is really growing!  She weighed in at 13 pounds 13 ounces which puts her in the 12% for weight.  She was in the 25% for both height and head circumference.  She more than tripled her birth weight in six months and has grown almost eight inches! Our little "peanut" is still small for her age but she is quickly catching up.  The coming months should bring more mobility as the doctor says she is strong and I can tell she is dying to move around.

AWOL

Things have been crazy in the Shack family lately.  All three of us got various forms of the flu at the end of April.  Once we recovered we packed up and headed to the Midwest for two weeks and when we returned I got the flu again and then bronchitis and Lena caught a nasty cold.  Fun stuff I tell ya!  All this has left little time to blog but I have a few updates brewing.  Hang with me folks!

UPDATE:  Dan came down with a 102 degree temp and the stomach flu in the middle of the night.  Needless to say the germs have the upper hand right now and I will spend part of the day disinfecting this house!!!