The Roasterie is an awesome local coffee roasting plant in Kansas City that also has a couple cafes around town. A coffee shop connoisseur, The Roasterie is one of my favorite local landmarks. Their Leawood store is great for meetings, while the one in Brookside is excellent for working and schmoozing, which probably why it can be hard to find a seat.

A few years ago, I went on my first tour of the roasting plant when I worked at a day camp. This was one field trip the counselors may have enjoyed more than the kids (I was completely enthralled). Since then, the factory has expanded to include a larger coffee shop on site and an event space. Unfortunately, the new room was not completed until after my husband and I were married. #weddingfail Continue reading →

Before summer even began, I wanted to take Baby for a swim. However, the prospect seemed like a pretty daunting task. I’d have to find and pack the normal swimming stuff (bathing suits and towels), plus the baby swim gear (baby sunscreen, rash guard, swim diapers, hat, baby raft). For the sake of making memories and practicality, I really wanted my husband to come with us the first time, too (aka I needed someone to take a picture).

My original plan was to check out an awesome indoor pool at our local community center before the outdoor pools even opened. I had a couple free passes, and liked that being indoors would protect my little redhead from the sun (and save me from the chore of applying sunscreen to a wiggly baby). My husband was not so into it, and whined advocated that swimming should only happen outside. Continue reading →

Beautiful summer days are perfect for long walks with Baby and Sirius, our black lab/Catahoula leopard “puppy” (he’s a solid 60 pounds and almost two years old). Sirius might love our walks the most, but Baby is a champ at chilling in his stroller, chewing on his toys, and taking in the neighborhood sights. It’s great to get outside, breathe in the fresh air, soak up some sun, and fit in a bit of mild cardio. I also use our walks to sneak in some “me time” by listening to podcasts as stroll. One of my favorites is The Jillian Michaels Show. Continue reading →

My goal for this post was to write about what Baby was eating at 9 months old. It had been a very slow moving journey to get Baby to eat solid foods. We started with cereals and veggie purees when he was six months old, but could only get him to happily eat cookies and rice rusks and puffs.

I spent three months tricking Baby into opening his mouth so that I could spoon in some mush (or gruel, as my husband calls it), only to scrape it off of his chin and try again after he spit it out. I tried to convince him that it would be easier on all of us if he didn’t need to eat the same bite eight times, but he politely disagreed. Sometimes not so politely. Who knew babies loved to spit? Continue reading →

I live in my husband’s hometown. I’ve made some great friends in this new land, many of them inherited from my husband’s childhood. I try to claim them as my own now, especially because I see some of them more often than him with his crazy work schedule.

Still, when Baby was born, everything changed. I’m one of the first to have a little one, and now when my closest girlfriends are leaving to go out on Saturday night, I’m heading into bed to catch some z’s before Baby’s early wake-up.

My parents and sister live about four hours away in St. Louis (Go Cards!). With FaceTime and texting, we’re able to stay close between visits. I’ve been lucky to see at least one of them in person every couple months or so. Moving away was my call, but it’s still been hard not having them nearby. There’s no place like home when it comes to the art of doing nothing together, getting a helping hand, or just knowing that everyone under the roof has known you since you were born (I like being the baby). Continue reading →