Falling in Like

Someone once told me that you never really own a house. You occupy a home and then pass it along to the next lucky visitors - who might stay for a few years or a few decades. 

Interesting, right? In this little 1920s home, everyone who has come before us has made their own memories and experienced their own firsts. Since moving in June, it hasn't really felt like "ours" until recently. It's easy to forget how comforting comfortable routines and patterns are until they are broken. I now look back with fondness at our little Bay View apartment because I could easily navigate around coffee tables and flip on light switches. I knew the quirks and we created a little cozy nest to call our own. In this new home, we've all experienced annoying knee bumps due to poorly positioned furniture and have stumbled upon weird quirks (outlets installed improperly so they can't be used when the lights are on - which is an issue when attempting to blowdry hair). 

If you have a similar relationship with your home, a good way to fast-track your relationship status is to create some good ol' fashioned memories. 

Game night with friends, cocktails with family or decorating Christmas trees with toddlers are all welcomed memories from our first six months. All great loves come with quirks and I'm looking forward to getting to know our little house, quirks and all. 

Yearly Recap: 2013

Better late than never. Ever year, I like to recap event with this little survey. Check out past posts from 2010, 2011 and 2012.

1. What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?
Bought a house, spoke at the Milwaukee Listen to your Mother and ran a half marathon.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Last year, I didn't make any resolutions and it felt freeing. I'd like to put some pen to paper - or text to...blog and get some goals nailed down this year. I tend to be a procrastinator (hence, an annual recap a week late) and want a few more days to put this off think about this.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes, two of my closest college girlfriends. I can't wait to meet them both soon!

4. Did anyone close to you die? 

Thankfully, no. Many of my close friends lost loved ones this year. It was tough to watch them grieve but through their experiences, I've learned a lot about gratitude and living life to the fullest.

5. What countries did you visit?
Last year I wrote: Nada. I may have to adjust this question to “counties vs. countries” because there aren't any international trips in our near future. 

And, that still rings true today. In typical Atkinson nature, we had plenty of camping adventures. We also spent a lot of time exploring our new neighborhood.

6. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
Lazy weekends at home!

7. What dates from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
April 15 - Started my new job (where I come to work happy each day!)
June 1 - Moved into our new home!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? 
Here's what I wrote last year: Running. I wouldn't call myself a runner by any stretch but, I can run. I can run several miles at a time and more importantly, I love the way it makes me feel. I feel strong and clear-headed after (almost) every run.

I'm really happy that I still can call myself a runner. After completing my first half marathon in November I felt like a complete rock star. I'm now addicted to the rush of trusting a training schedule and crossing the finish line.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Changing jobs in April. In hindsight, I was miserable at my job but I felt guilty at the time. Guilty about "giving up" after six months. Now, working at a company I love, I'm happy that I left and feelings of failure are gone.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Thankfully, no.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Our first home and a few weeks later, patio furniture. There's nothing like relaxing in your own backyard with a icy cold cocktail.

12. Where did most of your money go?
Mortgage and daycare.

13. What did you get really excited about?
Speaking in front of other mothers, buying and decorating (slowly, slowly decorating) our home.

14. What song will always remind you of 2013?
Blurred Lines - cabin weekend with girlfriends and anything on Songza Drop a Beat playlist - my running go-to!

15. Compared to this time last year, are you: 


• Happier or sadder? Happier.
• Thinner or fatter? Same.
• Richer or poorer? Richer.
  

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?


• Listened. 
• Relaxed. 
• Crafted. 
• Read. 
• Laughed. 
• Ran. 
• Practiced yoga.

17. What do you wish you’d done less of? 


• Complained. 
• Online shopped. 
• Planned. 
• Wasted time on my iPhone. 

18. How did you spend Christmas?
Christmas Eve: Spent the day with Dan, Ingrid and Harper – we opened Ingrid’s gifts, stayed in jammies all day and watched Home Alone.
Christmas Day: Brunch with my dad and dinner at Dan's mom's house.

19. What was your favorite TV program?
Downton Abbey.

20. What were your favorite books of the year?
The Hunger Games trilogy.

21. What was your favorite music from this year? 

Since having Ingrid I miss going to live shows. Seeing She & Him for my birthday and later in the summer, Amos Lee were both highlights this year.

22. What were your favorite films of the year?
Hunger Games, Netflix recommendations.

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
The big 3-0! This summer I hosted friends at our new house for a little backyard party. It was pretty simple, relaxing and perfect.

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I'll be honest here, more stability. Schedules, addresses, jobs - just about everything changed in 2013. I'm learning that the only constant is change. Next, how to cope with this fact.

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?
Re-purposing my closet and mixing in new finds from Target. #girlonabudget

26. What kept you sane?
Running, reading, Harper, Dan, a laughing Ingrid, family, my girlfriends and cooking.

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.

Work hard, play nice.

Take Me Out To the Ballgame

Happy First Day of Summer (and Memorial Day, Move-in Day, First Day of Internet Access - followed by 18 days of no internet access, Last Day of Daycare, Father's Day, First Day of New Daycare)!

During this move/settling-in phase, I took an unintentional break from this space I call BLOG. Fueled by lack of internet (bye-bye Time Warner!) and the blog-break continued during this short stint of warm weather.

One of my blogger pet-peeves is when writers apologize to readers due to their lack of posts. I won't say I'm sorry but will say that I'm happy to be back. Happy to have internet again (AT&T Uverse 4EVA), happy to be settling into our first home and happy to explore our new neck of the Milwaukee-woods (aka, Wauwatosa).

A Disclaimer for the Video Below:
Ingrid attended her first Brewer game on Memorial Day. She developed an innocent but serious crush on Bernie Brewer. For those of  you who aren't on a first-name basis with our beloved mascot, let me fill you in on the details:

Bernie Brewer's profession is a beer brewer. When I was a kid, Bernie would literally slide into a mug of beer for every Brewer home run. When Miller Park was built, Bernie's house and the infamous mug moved to Lakefront Brewery. Bernie's nostalgic house was replaced with a lifeless shed and he now slides down a yellow slide and cheers as fireworks sparkle above his head.

Needless to say that Ingrid went bananas over Bernie, the fireworks, cotton candy and this song:






Next year, I'm hoping she finds joy in the Sausage Race because this year, her number one concern was "Where'd Ernie go?!?"

Happy Friday!

First Haircut

Today, after almost 25 months, Ingrid had her first haircut.

On the way to the kid's "salon" she informed me that she "didn't like haircuts" and wanted to go home to watch a movie. Like all parents of toddlers, explaining things like haircuts, moving, patience, nighttime, ants and orange peels requires some creative thinking. For example:

Why are we not living in the house in Tosa? It's not ready yet.
Why can't we pick up ants? They like to stick together as a family, in the sand.
Why do we need hair cuts? Because that's what big girls do.

Hair cut explanation fail.

I dreaded the experience mainly because Ingrid didn't have a jacket when I picked her up from daycare. It was 50 degrees, rainy and she was dressed in a tank top, striped pants and striped shoes (read: ragamuffin). I'm not proud of the next move: I wrapped her up in (clean) yoga pants and booked it into the salon (wait, "salon").

A reluctant Ingrid instantly fell in love with every mirror, toy, sticker and smock in the joint. The staff had toddler haircuts down to a science: pop in a movie, cover them in a butterfly cape, add some sparkly hairspray and finish it off with gifts. Gifts like stickers and a pom-pom hair clip.

Toy Story 2 and butterflies? Guess I'll zone out. 

As we were leaving I asked her if she liked getting her hair cut. She responded with "Yeah. See ya next week!" I wrapped her awkwardly in a warm bundle of yoga pants, I thought well, this went better and somehow worse than I expected - like a lot of moments in parenthood. These parenthood cliches keep creeping up and I always mistake them for original thoughts.

Lesson learned: always keep a pair of emergency yoga pants in case you're caught in the rain.

First Plane Ride

Ingrid went on her first plane ride to Minnesota. I was absolutely giddy to shave painfully long hours of driving by hopping on a plane for mere minutes.

Wishful thinking, but that didn't happen.

We arrived at the airport cheerful and ready to see Ingrid through this fun "first." Like all kids, Ingrid likes to point to little planes in the sky. Up close and in person, she didn't believe us when we pointed to the huge planes on the ground. She looked at us like we were nuts and waved at travelers.

Once we boarded the plane and settled in, it was clear that the flight wasn't crowded and thankfully there wasn't anyone in the row in front of us. Ingrid had some raisins, we buckled in, pulled away from the gate, waited about 15 minutes and then pulled right on back.

We got off of our plane, waited what felt like two hours and board another plane.

Now, I completely understand that this isn't a heartbreaking story. It was slightly inconvenient and the timing wasn't the best - as it was right in the middle of naptime. I was reminded of Louis CK's stand-up where he points to how ridiculous of a country we are because waiting on the runway for 40 minutes passes for a story.

Honestly, the wait for the second plane was a little hairy, because no one wants their baby to be tired and crabby, and I didn't want to be that person with the screaming kid.

Thankfully, there was a little play where Ingrid could run around:

And, we had these little distractions:

• A full day's supply of Flavor Blasted Extra Cheddar Goldfish Crackers and raisins. 
• Three lonely board books.
• A pack of girls who waved and ohhhed at Ingrid as she toddled back and forth near the gate. 
• Another 18 month old girl to play with awkwardly stand next to, while holding her stuffed Duck three inches from her face. 
• A $9 sandwich. 
• When Ingrid got a little too squirrelly, the PBS Kids app came in handy as she watched Super Why come to the rescue with the power to read. 

Throughout the wait, Dan and I didn't say much to each other and were focused on keeping Ingrid sane. Once everyone was on the plane, our moods lightened up and Dan commented that there wasn't anything to do in that situation except to not talk about the situation.

Ingrid had no idea we were supposed to just get on one plane that afternoon or that I downloaded the app as a last resort, in a frenzied "Why won't this internet go any faster?" panic. When travel delays happen again, I'll remember that she picks up on our nervous energies and by staying calm, we'll all be able to go with the flow even better.

From our travels I learned that:

• People are understanding. No one gave us nervous "please don't sit next to me" glances as we walked down the plane aisles. They commented on Ingrid's boots, which are rather cute. They gave us approving smiles and went back to reading books. 
• Three books isn't nearly enough books. Three is an inappropriate number of books for a short car ride, let alone a flight. What was I thinking? 
• As long as she was happy and safe, I don't care what she's doing. Whether she was standing in the middle of the walkway waving to people, admiring herself in the full-length bathroom mirror, standing on the chair waving to plans, or eating way too many crackers - if she was happy, I was happy. Her behavior never infringed on other travelers. She was being a toddler and toddlers are not little adults. I need to remind myself that she can - and should - act her age. 

Being a mom to a toddler is comparable to running after a ball that keeps getting away from you. Just when you think she's content with books, she's running after a stranger yelling "Neck-ace! Neck-ace!" In Ingrid's defense, she did have a pretty sweet necklace.

If you're traveling with a baby or toddler soon, here are some useful tips:

• Bring a copy of their birth certificate. We were asked for this on the way home and was thankful we randomly thought about this on the way out of the door! 
• For take-off and landings use a pacifier or a sippy cup of water to ease the ear pain. 
• Bring more books. 

Favorite Moment During the First Week of Motherhood - Part Four

During my pregnancy, Dan and I learned that another couple we knew was also expecting. We had the same due date - April 1 (not kidding) - and were not going to learn the sex. I thought I would have a baby girl and she thought she would welcome a baby boy. We were both right.

We ended up taking the same parenting class at our hospital and exchanged giggles as we watched 1980's style movies featuring pregnant moms in tapered overalls and abnormally long fingernails.

Even though we had the same due date, they welcomed their baby boy almost three weeks early and Ingrid was a week late - making them a month apart.

Through those foggy first months of motherhood, we regularly attended a Mom & Baby Networking gathering at our hospital. She encouraged me to attend and I'm glad she did. Through this group, we were able to spend time with our babies, receive tips and encouragement to breastfeed and connect with other moms. Honestly, I looked forward to this class for a reason to get out of the house and to hear everyone's challenges and triumphs.

Just as having overlapping pregnancies with my west-coast girlfriend strengthened our friendship - having a new mom-friend in the area to recommend books and offer support was wonderful. She is level-headed and always offers a listening ear. In short, she's a sanity-saver, and a great mom:


One of my favorite moments of the first week was coming home from the hospital.  It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and my parents, my husband's parents, my sister, niece, and nephew were there with us. The best part, though, was when they all left. Just Chase, Connor, Lily (our dog) and I were home together for the first time. We sat Connor in the boppy on the kitchen floor right in front of the patio doors with nothing but a diaper on. The sun was streaming in the window and we just looked at him for no lie, like two hours. It was so amazing to see all his little parts and how he moved and how he yawned and how skinny he was. That was the first time where I was really like "Wow, we made this thing."

Favorite Moments During the First Week of Motherhood - Part Three

We welcomed Ingrid in April, and in August, our friends welcomed their first son. I loved being pregnant during the same time as one of my close friends (and two sister-in-laws!). Discussing doctor visits, pregnancy-to-dos and weekly progress was fun to do with someone who really "got" it. Then, after we had our babies, it was comforting to have someone to talk to about nursing and shot schedules. 

I know, really, really interesting stuff. But, I loved talking with her as she was "in the trenches" with me. She didn't have memories of these times - or ideas of how motherhood would/should be - she was there - and is there - in the moment. 

As she lives out west, it brought us closer and I'm thrilled because she's a great friend, wonderful nurse and amazing mother. 

• All of our family was scheduled to visit post birth so it felt really special to have my work family come and welcome my son to the world.
• Holding him skin-to-skin right after delivery. 
• Watching my husband hold our son for the first time, and lets face it, every time!
• Being able to hold and snuggle my little man all the time. Haven't been able to do that since.
• Seeing the calming effect that music has on my son.
• Feeling so proud when he passed all his tests. Lab tests, assessments, and the hearing test.
• The first latch.
• Our first walk outside. It felt like such an accomplishment.
• Our first doctors visit and his note that said "Welcome to the world. You're perfect."
• Thinking how do the days pass so fast when you're hardly sleeping.
• Learning how to swaddle.
• The excitement of telling our friends and family that he arrived!
• and of course, any meeting of family and their interactions was so special - grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, etc.

She wrapped up her email in classic mom-fashion: 

And he's up from his nap. Gotta go.


Man, that first walk outside was surreal. I remember walking outside of the hospital next to Dan who was carrying Ingrid and I wanted to laugh. After so much assistance in the hospital, you're sent home with a baby and a backpack of stolen hospital goods. (Why don't they sell hospital-sized swaddle blankets at Target?). 

More to come! 

A Day at the Fair

After last weekend, I'm a firm believer that the Wisconsin State Fair - like Christmas and ice cream cones - is best enjoyed with a small child.

Ingrid didn't know what to do with herself when she saw her storybook characters in person. If you think about it, she really had no idea that bunnies were that small and that cows are seriously that large.

After applying a liberal amount of hand-sanitizer, we did what we came to do - eat a cream puff. And a corn dog. And some mini donuts. Ingrid liked watching the cream puff assembly line - but she loved fork-fulls of that filling even more. 

Later, we discovered the Natural Resources Park where Ingrid played with sand. Then, looked at a turtle and then played with sand again...for a long time. And finally we forced her to walk away, while she shouted "buh-bye! buh-bye!" and waved furiously at the sand - while looking back at The Wonder that is Sand longingly. 

As Ingrid was playing with the sand, I was eyeing this large wooden Smokey the Bear photo-op...thing. I had visions of a kitchy, frame-worthy family photo. Ingrid as a fox, Dan the raccoon, me the deer (see, the sand portion of day was pretty lengthy, a had a few minutes to dream up this scenario up). This is as close as we got: 

Ingrid didn't really get it. 

All in all it was a low key morning filled with simple, sweet memories. She's so friendly - saying hi to nearly everyone that passes. And, she's so smart - answering all of our annoying requests to tell us "what a cow says." It's days like these that make me sentimental for more "first" days to come - first haircut, first day of school - but for now, I'm happy with first trip to the State Fair.