well its been a while ...

Fresh from our 12 hours drive at night while the kids sleep, I was thinking I haven't updated the blog in a while. In my head it had only been a few months... Sorry I guess a few months these days means 16 months! Anyhow moving on, for anyone who doesn't know I am staying home with the kids this year. What we are doing next year is yet to be determined. So I intend on trying to update more, however now that Michael is pulling himself up on everything and Ellen is crawling everywhere Claudia leads her, I may still not find that much time. So in light of me staying at home I have decided we need to trim expenses, here is where you come in. I am working on ideas and ways to trim expenses, I would be willing to try any you may be aware of too. So many of the upcoming adventures I will be bloging about will be our adventures trying these items/methods. Ready for the first attempt: homemade laundry detergent. I know, I know, I know, why create more mess when you have 3 little kiddos? Because we have three little kiddos - who seem to create an immense amount of laundry. I have scanned through pinterest, and found other blogs from homesteaders. So the plan is to use borax, washing soap, and felsnaptha. The project will start friday : ) don't worry I will try to keep you updated. Remember send me those ideas!!!!

10 months, 1 week, and 1 day!!

Oh my how the time does fly!!!!!

It seems like just the other day I was updating our blog.... my sister and fiends who hound me about it - would say it has been months... but who is counting - they are!!! so I will now appease them and compose a message about our last few months.

February
Well lets see February was very cold and this year we got enough snow to ensure there will not be a drought this summer! This month we got our first tooth!! It popped through on her 7 month birthday. We celebrated by making waffles, homemade and from a scratch batter - Little Miss LOVES waffles!! She chewed and sucked on them until they were gone. Christian and I had a school break toward the end of the month and Adrian came out for another visit. This time he didn't get bubble gum all over the sheets. The month ended with Grandma Gorycki hurting her foot and landing in the hospital. We ended up staying in Chappaqua for a week and little miss had to go to day care for about 2 weeks. Pureed foods she loved this month: String Beans, Peas, Pearsauce, & Bananas. She also started sitting up unassisted this month!!








March
March was a very long month, Miss Claudia had her first St. Patrick's day. Which she did not celebrate with green beer, instead she was ill and kept mommy home from school... Aunt Sara and Forrest came for a visit mid- March, and it was a good thing they did because Christian and I contracted some food poisoning and Aunt Sara really helped out :) The remainder of March was
pretty uneventful. Claudia really loves Jumping in her bouncer, her current favorite foods are waffles, green beans, pureed turkey with vegetables, and peaches.



April
We had many adventures in April. Christian and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary! We visited Lancaster Co. Pennsylvania for the first time, and Claudia received her first couture dress from Aunt Lisa. Christian was able to see RUSH live at Hersery park, Claudia and I waited for him in our hotel suite!! Claudia is a great traveler, she doesn't fuss too much in the car and will go to sleep for hours :) After our adventure to Hersery - Claudia and Mama headed to Michigan for a few days! Claudia was able to see other little ones cousin Colton, and friends: Nolan, Kailin, & Hailey. We had a great time being home and Grandma spoiled us rotten! Aunt Lisa even made little miss a beautiful Easter dress. Claudia and I flew back to NY after 4 seemingly short days and prepared for Easter! Sara, Forrest, Michael, and Lydia Joined us for Easter this year. We had bread shaped like bunnies and a "big ass" ham. Perfect Easter :) Claudia enjoyed Easter dinner with us feasting on rutabaga casserole, orange jello, rolls, and potato dumplings!!













May
Spring has sprung as so has baby!! Little Miss has been pulling herself up on everything. We have redecorated the living room to accommodate the babies needs. So far the fireplace screen is in front of the TV to protect the dvd player and collection. the end table and buffet server have been relocated to non- baby locations and every outlet is full of a tiny plastic plug thing. I have often thought of redecorating our living room... but I really didn't ever think I was going to decorate to fit the needs of a baby!
May also brought my First Mothers' Day!! I was treated to a new Raclette Grill, flowers to plant on the patio and the in-laws took us all out for lunch, i got to pick where - we had DimSum... yummm :)
Miss Claudia has finally protested all baby food except cereal and wants to eat whatever we are eating. Non-typical food for babies she has had and likes are MahiMahi, Okra, Guacamole, gnocchi, Polish Sausage, and pickled beets. I am determined to not have a picky eater. So far I think it is a successful pursuit :) Claudia has been saying Mamma, and Dadada, a few times we have heard Hey, and my in-laws think she says potato (not sure about that one...) She is going to their house during the day for daycare...






In other family news this month, we have a new graduate and a new addition, very proud of Benjamin for Graduating from Michigan State, and Bradley has adopted a pup, Rusty!!




Well thats all for now folks... I will try to update again before summer vacation, but no promises!!

Love You All!!

6 Months, 2 Weeks, and 6 Days!!!!!

I have no idea why this didn't post.... sorry I guess it has been sitting as a draft for a few months... I was wondering why some people have been hounding me, hehe! I guess I am showing off my tech savvy!! xoxo



Well here we go again, I guess this blog was just meant to be updated every 3 months...

We have had a lot of "1st" in the past 3 months. 1st Thanksgiving, 1st holiday card photo shoot, 1st day back to work as a mom, 1st day staying home with Grandma and Grandpa Gorycki, 1st birthday as a mom, 1st Christmas, 1st New Years, 1st solid food... I am certain there are more I have missed.... time flies! So as with the last post we will have a run down of the time past month by month. Enjoy!


November
November began with another quick trip to Michigan, little miss and I had to see our "peeps" before I had to go back to work. We also had a fabulous holiday photo shoot with Aunt Sara and Great Aunt Nancy. Many laughs were had by all! The 22nd day of November was one of the hardest days in my life, I had to leave my precious little girl and go to work. I was only able to make it out of the house, because my dear friend Lea was waiting on the train foe me. I was very glad to have her near that morning :) Thanks Lea!

Gobble Gobble Gobble! at Turkey Day Little Miss met Uncle Adrian for the first time!







December
Christmas season was a very busy time in the Gorycki house. With the return of Mom to work, all tasks needed super organization. We did manage to make it through the month :) and ended the month with Christmas in Michigan. I spent my 31st birthday in Scarsdale, I got my first "Happy Birthday Mom" card... it was the perfect gift. I was also spoiled and received beautiful Christmas China by Lenox. We celebrated St. Nicholas day with Christians parents Michael and Lydia, it was really nice - this year I roasted my first Goose :) Yumm! Claudia started eating cereal this month, she likes the oatmeal more than the brown rice and prefers them both me mixed with mashed banana.





January
My baby is 6 months old this month!!! Where in the world did the time go? she is still bald and toothless, but oh sooooo cute :) she is continuing to eat the cereal and has been enjoying the baby jumper :) Uncle Ben says she is going to fly away. This month we have been snowed in more times than I want to think about, this may be the snowiest winter in my lifetime ...brrrrrrrr.... Walking up Fordham road to work is not fun on the unkept sidewalks. However I think it absurd that my students who live blocks away, can't make it to school after I have trecked in miles... Oh well, their loss...

Little Miss had to switch over to the big girl car seat she was too long for the safety rating of the baby bucket seat... boo no more sneaking the sleeping baby in the house.





Well that is all for now - hopefully you will get another post before Easter!!

Love you all
xoxoxo

3 months 2 weeks and 5 days old!!

I had intention of keeping this blog current, updating every other day and telling all about out wonderful journey from couple-dom to family...... What was I thinking? It has been so busy since July I have barely had any time to myself. But now Little Miss is settling into a schedule and I am finding time to get some things done. So I will give a brief synopses of the past 3 months, 2 weeks and 5 days - I will attempt not to ramble and keep it flowing... Ready?

July
Well the first two weeks after bringing baby home were quite busy, Dad had a pretty severe allergic reaction to a medication and was pretty miserable for almost a week, while he worked with an allergist to get it under control. I had some complications that had me visiting the doctor two times a week for a while... Even with all the issues her parents had, Miss Claudia adjusted to her new environment like a champ. Gaining weight well and sleeping lots. Week 2 brought Grandma and Grandpa Gulick out from Michigan. They were able to stay for a week and I really appreciated all their help. Grandpa Greg was going a little stir crazy in the suburbs, but he managed to garden my patio area twice a day, my flowers and tomatoes were very sad to see him leave. July wrapped up with Claudia's first photo shoot by Aunt Sara. The pictures turned out great and they were sent out as announcements.



August
In August we traveled. When Claudia was 4 weeks old we made our first trek to Michigan to meet all her cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, and relatives there. We were able to meet many and our stay was entirely too short. We returned to New York for a few doctors appointments and Christian to finish summer school state exams. The following week we were on the road again, this time a little family vacation, we were off to Nancy and Ed's cabin in Maine. Claudia is a great traveler, by the time she was 7 weeks old she had been in 9 states, and in the carseat for countless hours!!




September
September started quietly. Claudia attended her first wedding and even was able to sit through the ceremony without fussing. We also were able to successfully transition Claudia to her Crib in her own room this month. She began sleeping longer stretches. She was going to bed around 8:30 and waking up 2 times through the night. Mid-September brought a lot of unexpected chaos to our family, on the 17th my Father, Greg, had a stroke and was hospitalized for 10 days. Aunt Sara came down to our house in NY and Claudia took her first train, bus, and plane ride to rush to see Grandpa. We are thankful to the many family members and friends who were able to help take care of Claudia and do so many acts of kindness for the family.


October
Another month another plane ride, this one was scheduled though!! October 7th is Grandma Cheryl's birthday and Miss C and I flew home for a few days. This month also marks Miss C's 3-month birthday. At her check up she weighed in at 14 Lbs. 8.5 ounces and 26inches long. I can't believe my little girl is growing up so fast. Claudia loves the bath, she splashes and kicks until the warmth leaves water. Her bedtime routine is paying off most nights she sleeps two 6 hour stretches, and a few times she has slept 10 and 12 hour stretches :) YEA!! This month we also started going to Mother Goose Story hour on Friday mornings. I am able to go with her because I have not gone back to yet!! I will go back toward the end of November. Until then we send our days running errands, doing laundry and taking nice walks around the area. Today is Halloween Claudia's first and we spent the day with family. We had lunch with Michael and Lydia (christians parents) then we carved pumpkins. I think they were the first pumpkins Michael and Lydia had caved in over 20 years!! I love starting new traditions!!

Home at Last ..... or so we thought!!

Yesterday the 16th we were discharged from the hospital. Mommy, Daddy and Claudia all managed to make the 3 mile car ride home. It only took us 15 minutes Daddy was driving very slow....

We introduced Miss Claudia to her room and she seemingly approved of her accommodations by settling in for a nap. While she was sleeping Christian and I had a little lunch then headed in for a nap as well. Christian awoke when his parents arrived with groceries and dinner :)

When I awoke I found that my suture line was leaking. Unfortunately, at the time I didn't know what it was and all that I knew is I was covered in blood... So consequently I freaked out causing Christian to freak out and us to head to the ER! Yes I said us we didn't take Miss Claudia - too many cooties for her!! Grandma and Grandpa Gorycki gladly agreed to babysit. After we arrived at the ER we were fast tracked through the paperwork process, never a good sign. The doctor saw us immediately and sent us for blood work and a sonogram. Seems as though the blood thinners I was prescribed caused the clotted blood behind the suture line to hemorrhage out - something that the Doctor said would happen again. The sonogram showed a reservoir of fluid waiting to come out. Once we understood what had happened we both felt much better. We were given dressing supplies and discharged. Now we are all home happy and taking it easy.


This week we are eagerly anticipating the arrival of Grandma and Grandpa Gulick!!

Claudia Jean Gorycki!

At 8:44 am Claudia Jean was brought into the world.
W: 8lbs 11 oz
H: 19.25"

She is quite beautiful,however, I am bias.