Let me be totally honest- I've never been an early bird. There was a stretch of high school where Amy and I woke up at 5 am to go running. Well those days are long gone! I had a class at the U of U that started at 7:30 in the morning. I had to jump on the bus at 6:30 just to get there on time. Well- I was never on time, slept the whole bus ride and then slept when I got to class! Hey- I still got an A!
Staying up late, however, has always been something I was good at. For the first year of marriage I don't think we made it to bed before 2 am. Even when we caught our flight to Hawaii in the early morning- we just stayed up all night long instead of waking up early!! And now having completed 3 years we had still hardly made it to bed before 1 am... until now.
Jake is taking some classes this summer- and they start at 7:30 am. Needless to say we found it imperative to go to bed earlier. And believe it or not I've found some good things about waking up early!
Early Bird Pros:
I get to play with Peewee when he gets up.
I have more time to do chores.
I can have breakfast earlier.
I have time to actually get ready for the day!
I can take a little nap in the afternoon!!
Early Bird Cons:
It's
hard to wake up early.
The roads are busy are the school zone lights are flashing.
Peewee doesn't like to be waken up to be put in his car seat- hey who would?
We don't get to stay up late to hang out together.
Even though I
have time to get ready doesn't mean I actually do it!
And I often forget to get breakfast, and don't spend the time doing the chores I should... oh well- I'll get the hang of it!
Night Owl Pros:
Jake and I get to spend more time together.
When Peewee wakes up (instead of us waking him up) I just bring him into bed with us!
It's quiet at night (as opposed to in the morning!)
It's lots of
fun to stay up late!
I never go to bed wondering what tomorrow will bring- because it's already tomorrow!
Night Owl Cons:
After Peewee has come to bed with us for a little bit he wants to get down and play, so we let him play while we sleep instead of playing with him.
It leaves me feeling tired and lethargic, like why on earth would I blow dry my hair today?
I don't get in the shower til 1 pm sometimes- which can really cut into my day!
I miss phone calls that come any time before 10:30 in the morning.
Once I finally get around to thinking about breakfast it's already noon so I sometimes skip and wait to eat lunch!
Being the first week of early bird habits I'm inclined to say that I like being a night owl better. However... I'm pretty sure Early Bird beats out Night Owl in the long run and will prove beneficial and productive, and even make me happy!
**Please note that being and Early Bird DOES NOT make me a "morning person" and nobody should try to call me at 7:30 am just to chat. Also, I should not be awakened by anyone other than my son or husband as I can still be very grumpy and irratable. :)
Swiss cheese tastes best on toasted wheat or rye bread with a few thin slices of corned beef, some saurkraut and some spicy mustard. Must be served warm!!
Parmesan cheese contributes best to a white pasta sauce made with lots of cream and butter and some garlic! Warm them all up together on the stove and serve over any noodles- delicious!!
Mozzarella cheese tastes beste with Italian dishes. Without it, Lasagna would be a bust. Also, I secretly love those little mozzarella cheese sticks :)
Fresh mozzarella, however, calls for something a little more elegant. Slice it up and serve it with some really good fresh tomatoes (if you have those nice big heirloom tomatoes go with those for sure!) Layer cheese and tomatoes alternately, along with olive oil, salt and pepper throughout. Oh- so so so delicious. Also, this tastes really good and refreshing on homemade pizza with your choice of healthy and fresh ingredients. 
K this is kinda ghetto but this is the very best spreadable cheese. It's sharp cheddar and this brand rocks the house. It tastes awesome with Ritz crackers. 
And finally, the good old American cheese slices still make for some yummy melty grilled cheese sandwiches. They are kinda nasty by themselves but if you cook it just right, I can't resist the crunchy buttery bread and the creamy melty cheese spilling out with every bite I take. Ohhhh- yummy!!!
Time is moving along so quickly. Yesterday we celebrated/ mourned Peewee's 8 months of life. As a mommy it's heartbreaking and exciting at the same time to watch our little boy grow up. 
He was just a tiny little guy when we brought him home. He fit snugly on my chest and curled his feet into my belly. And he loved being there- all the time. 
Now he's branching out, turning into Mr. Independent. However, every so often he whimpers for me to pick him up- which I do- and he'll stay in my arms for a few minutes and give me a hug. Then it's back to the floor to find all the treasures hidden thereon. 
He wants to eat all the food on my plate, or basically anything he sees go into my mouth. He can reach for it- often causing quite the mess that, as a mommy I'm obligated to clean up. Oatmeal cereal on the floor. Chocolate cupcakes squished into the carpet. Juice spilled all over the counter. And the occasional reach for his own dirty diaper causes me to sometimes slightly tug at my hair ;)
But his daddy comes home and relieves me of my hair tugging so that I can enjoy his cute smiles all over again. I look into those beautiful blue eyes and see me- and the rest of him is all his daddy's. He loves us both so much that even though he's very content to be playing all by himself- he whines when we walk out of the room. We laugh and wait for the huge smile to creep across his face that comes when we walk back in!
He's discovering new foods, new friends, and new experiences. He loves to play with his toys. He mostly loves shoving all his toys into his mouth until he chokes- only to do it again. He's coming so close to crawling it's killing me! But even without the crawling he somehow finds a way to scoot on his belly, backwards, to his destination and then sit up. So I can walk out of the room and come back to find him wedged beneath the chair and the desk, stuck under the bed, or crammed in between the bars of his swing, whining for me to come rescue him. 
His very first tooth is coming in and he's not too happy about it. But still he smiles- continuously. From 7:30 in the morning til 9:00 at night he's a joy to be around. He even has this high pitched yelp he uses to show excitement. It mostly comes out when he's surrounded by his cousins. 
And after bottles, diapers, baby food smeared on all the bibs (thank heaven for bibs), toys strewn all over our room, yelling, whining, laughing, giggling, crying, smiling, scooting, chewing, and plenty of messes- he ends up with a very happy- and very tired- mommy and daddy who love him very much! Happy 8 months Peewee!
But if he's not wrapped like a papoose this is what he looks like at bed time. Hmmm. 
