Peas

Facebook Is Down

2010-09-23T15:52:00.003-05:00

Facebook is having a meltdown. A tantrum, it's tired. With 1/2 a billion users worldwide, it's just had enough. What are we all going to do??...start twittering? Or maybe actually be productive at work?? Today, most users are apparently just getting a "Service Unavailable" failure message and the on-line social world has pretty much come to an end. I know because this is my favorite time of the day to be on-line!! I'm home from my day checking email, doing paperwork and am not quite on mommy duty yet. Seems like my 4 o'clock social hour will just have to wait til tomorrow. Wonder how many people out there need a valium without access to their beloved Facebook page? haha. You may have to actually go outside and talk to someone. Oh the horror!!! It's ok, I'm sure mega bagillionaire Mark Zuckerberg will have his baby up and running again soon.

Just To Clarify...

2010-09-22T17:18:00.003-05:00

No, I have no idea who "visits" this website! I just received an email from a friend (you know who you are) who is starting his own blog and wanted to know what tracking system I use and if I can see who is visiting....either that or he is actually stalking me and doesn't want me to know...haha, joking!! Unless, are you? ;)

No really, I use Google Analytics and it's just basic info. I can see how many hits I get and from what web broswer (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc) and that's about it really. I can also see how many pages on average are visted and the average length of stay. But, I have no idea from who or where the hits are coming from. And I am nowhere near 100 hits a day, not even close...but enough that I keep writing! ;) So, go on stalker friend and stalk away!! haha..again, I joke.

2 posts in one day...i'm gettin' crazy.

Wait, What? I'm 30?

2010-09-22T14:31:00.006-05:00

...or 32, same thing. Right? Is 30 the new 20? And will 40 be the new 30 and so on? God, let's hope so. This morning my doorbell rang and it was the UPS guy delivering my first wine package from last weekend!! He immediately stated that someone over 21 needed to sign...I laughed and asked him if I looked 21...he said "around that". I seriously wanted to lunge out of the doorway and plant a big smacker right on his cheek. But instead I laughed, told him I had 2 kids and was in my 30s. He is now my favorite person of the month....I wanted to tell him how much I love him...he's lucky I didn't start making out with him! haha...kidding, of course!! But it got me thinking about being 30 and what comes with it...I'm learning quickly what's good and what's not so good about this decade. Let's start with the obvious. I'm getting older...not old, but older for sure. I'm not a young little thing anymore (even though I may try to be at times) and I do not look 21, that guy was delirious. My body is different, a little slower, doesn't listen quite as well and is a little less resistant to abuse. :)

But at the same time my head is clearer, I'm wiser and more confident, more secure. At some point I became more mindful, more present and more aware of my effect on others...just like a deeper self intuition or something. I don't really know how to describe it, just stuff I would have never cared about or thought of in my mid 20s. Probably stuff that would be good for later posts...stuff that you could write a whole book about, or for me at the very least an entire post on.

I've also noticed that in our 30s the dating dynamic has changed drastically. I have a good friend, he's 35, single and still trying to find someone. Recently he went out on a date with a girl and instantly liked her, she had it all. But toward the middle of the date she tells him that she has a child. So, at 25, any guy would go running the other way. At 35, it's different. This didn't seem to phase him I guess maybe it becomes more the norm when dating a woman in her mid 30s. By mid to late thirties, people just have baggage....ex spouses, children, ex fiancees, etc. The divorces start rolling in one after the other...I found out a couple weeks ago that a friend recently filed for divorce, which I hear more and more. Which brings up this question about marriage...Is it really natural for human beings to be committed to only one person for their entire lives? Looking at the history of marriage (which I have...and it's fascinating) and as a man made institution, I just wonder at some point if it will cease to exist. But, again, this is a topic that deserves it's own post...sorry for the digression. Back to dating...it's seems to me that people in their 30s are looking for something different, something real. It's not about the surfaced stuff from your 20s, like "we like the same things" or "we look good on paper". It's about connection and a much deeper level of communication. The kind of connection that doesn't happen with just anyone....perhaps with a chance of lasting a lifetime.

So, 30s just feels different. Here's to getting better with age! :) Cheers...(I'll be clinking my wine glass a little later to myself as I bust open my wine delivery). haha

Blocked

2010-09-16T22:43:00.006-05:00

Somehow I've managed to develop a case of writer's block, an affliction I have yet to endure. I love to write and typically (when I have time) the words can't come out of my head fast enough. And for those of you who know me well, you know I'm like this in conversation as well. I can talk to a brick wall for christ's sake...so what is this thing? It's annoying, that's what.

But, I think I know why. I think I'm wishing this blog were anonymous. I mean, how much can you really say when everyone reading knows who you are? I feel like I have to watch every little word I type. It's not like I want to blog about terrible things or anything crazy, but a lot of times I just want to be honest about stuff. And let's face it, some people just can't handle the truth. So, I have to watch what I say, avoid certain controversial subjects and I can't ever discuss issues going on with individuals in my life because they would know who they are. Right this instant as I'm typing, I can think of a couple entertaining and very bloggable situations in my life, but I don't want to deal with the wrath that would be putting it out there for all the world to read. So it stays locked up.

You all know I tend to leave the filter off my mouth at times...I say it as it is and I say it as I see it. What you see is what you get...yea, true, but only to some degree. There is still a ton of stuff floating around in my head that only I know. And I'd love to share b/c I love to share, but unfortunately (or fortunately) I think I may have to wait till we're one-on-one.

I guess this isn't quite like a diary, is it?

Soul Mates

2010-09-05T21:39:00.008-05:00

So, last night over a few drinks and good company I found myself deep in the neverending debate about the existence of soul mates. Do they exist and if so, who are they? The pop culture definition of soul mates is one of romance...your one and only, we were meant to be, the Romeo and Juliet effect. Most people never stop to truly understand what a soul mate is, so the term is used loosely without much meaning. It's also typically used to define just 2 people in this world who are meant to coincide, who were made for each other, just those 2. My friend included has fallen into this cultural stereotype. And frankly, I have to respectfully disagree.

I don't believe at all in soul mates the way the masses define the term....that there's only one person out there for you that was created for you. I mean, really, if this were the case, we'd all be walking around lonely and depressed because with almost 7 billion people on the planet, the chances of us running into our one and only soul mate are slim to none....basically never gonna happen!!

But, it's not that I don't believe in soul mates, because I do. I just think of them differently. I believe that all of us have an abudance of soul mates out there. I also believe that the term "soul mate" does not have to refer to a romantic partner or spouse. A soul mate could be a friend, a parent or even someone you barely know. To me, a soul mate is someone that you connect with, have a strong sense of familiarity or perhaps even someone you feel a strong affinity for. Let's face it, we don't "connect" with everyone. So think of those individuals in your life or in your past that you felt instantly connected to. I can think of a few in my life and when I think of these people, I have a strong feeling of familiarity, comfort and connection. It's almost hard to describe and in each case these feelings came quickly, if not instantly. Those are my soul mates. To me, a soul mate could be anywhere at anytime.

So, if you're out searching for your one and only, maybe you should stop, slow down and pay attention to all the people already around you.

This Post Has No Title...

2010-08-25T22:54:00.007-05:00

There comes that time in every parent's life when their young child comes to them with the age old question..."Mommy, how are boys and girls different?". However, tonight it came out of Anna a little like this...

As I am drying her off after her bath...

Anna: "Mommy, what are those things that boys have?"

Me: "What do you mean? What things?"

Anna: "You know those things that boys have and girls don't have...they're like this"...and she now proceeds to use some hand motion to try to explain to me that she is talking about a penis.

Me: I AM TRYING TO INHALE MY GIGGLES, so I can't speak at all. Trying to seal my lips shut so not even a smile escapes. It's not that she's asking me the question that's funny, it's the way she is asking it...and it gets worse. So now she is just staring at me, waiting for an answer when she says...

Anna: "You know, mommy...those things....they're like trunks!"

Ok, now, let me just be clear that we have had the boys have penises, girls have vaginas discussion before. But for some reason she must not have been listening because as I proceed to explain this to her she just looks at me mesmerized, as if she has just uncovered the worlds greatest revelation.

Something tells me this time she won't forget.

Mommy Dearest

2010-08-17T22:07:00.008-05:00

Yesterday, one of my dearest friends became a mommy for the first time to little Abigail Katherine. No, that's not her pictured above...although that appears to be the cutest baby alive, baby Abby is actually much cuter.

So, naturally this brought me back to my own early days of mommyhood. There really is no way to prepare yourself, is there? I mean, you can take all the classes, do all the right things, have one of everything stocked at Babies R Us, but when that baby take his/her first breath you suddenly realize....you're about as prepared as you are when the teacher yells "pop quiz" and you haven't so much as peeked at your text book.

Becoming a parent is arguably the biggest change one will ever endure and in my mind tops the list of all major life events...including getting married and even the stress from the death of a close family member. Becoming a parent shakes you to your core and simply changes you forever. It's true that becoming a parent opens up a whole world of feelings that you didn't know you were capable of. So, how could you possibly prepare for something that you didn't even know existed? The answer? You can't.

So, I laugh thinking back to those first few weeks...not really sure how to even put one foot in front of the other, not knowing whether I was coming or going and really having not one other care in the world that didn't revolve around this little 8 lb child. Days, weeks and months went by when I didn't put her down. Trust me, not by choice. Let's just say that Anna came into this world knowing what she wanted. We even have ultrasound video of what appears to be her crying in the womb. So, as soon as she got a chance to actually use those little lungs, it was all over.

But, we survived what I thought would never end and now 4 years have passed and I'm left wishing I could have those days back.

Well, maybe just 1 of them.

My Facebook Rules

2010-08-12T15:03:00.018-05:00

So, yes, I am a self proclaimed lover of Facebook. I think the concept is genius and as someone who appreciates my social circles, I am happy that I can come to one place and see what all of my people are up to. And yea, that includes best friends, close friends, acquaintances and even a few people that I don't even know very well.

However, I do think a few rules need to be established...maybe even be made into law.

#1. Do not post on your wall for all the world to see the demise that is your relationship. I don't want to read about how much you hate someone or how wronged you were. I don't want to know the intimate details of the argument you had or the terrible things he/she said to you. Keep your wall light and your personal agony private. Call your best friend to air your dirty laundry...

#2. Would you please give up the games? The Farmville, the Mafia Wars, the Fish and Zoo whatever. Come on people!! Each time I think I have a game blocked, a new one pops up on my news feed. Please let it go. What is really going to happen if your crops die???

3. Please do not post every little tiny thing that you do all day, every day. You went to the grocery store, yay. You're at work, yay. You're in the car on the way home from work, yay. You just took a pee, yay. You just cut your toenails, yay. Really, I love my news feed, so post all you want...just make it relevant!!

4. I just have 2 words to say: ' Tagging Etiquette'. Need I say more?

5. Why leave us hanging? Posts like "The best thing happened to me today" or "What a tragedy" can become a research project if not ignored as I go fishing through your profile to find out what you are talking about. Just spill it!!

6. Don't stalk. If I "ignored" your friendship request the first time because I have no idea who you are, please don't turn around and send me another friend request.

7. Play nice on the playground. If you don't like something that someone else posted, ignore it. Unless they are asking for your opinion, just simply move along...

8. Wynne, this one's for you ;) If I wished you a Happy Birthday by phone, text message AND sent you a hand written card in the mail...don't get pissy that I didn't write it on your Facebook wall!!

9. Keep posting pictures!! I love seeing pics of the babies, the kids, the moms, dads, adults, places you go, things you do...everything really. Old pics, new pics, funny pics, sweet pics, event pics, dumb pics, amazing pics...all of them!!

10. No, really, just keep posting in general. I love hearing what you're up to, the trips you take, the new things in your lives, kids birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and the funny everyday stuff. I actually wish most people posted more!

Just a reminder...this is the last automatic email I'm sending out in case you are receiving my updates in your inbox and didn't read the last message. From now on, if you'd like to read, please just come visit on occasion when you feel like it!

Blog Overhaul

2010-08-11T16:12:00.002-05:00

Sorry I've been s0 MIA, I feel like a few other things in my life have needed special attention lately. Plus, as always, I'm always wondering if I should continue the blog. BUT, you guys continue to surprise me by your visits! I haven't so much as peaked at this page in over a month, but when I check my visitor numbers, you continue to be going strong. Thank you for being interested in the insignificant nonsense that I blab about!

Sooooo, I feel like it's time for a change for this blog. We no longer have any highchairs around here!! I'll be doing a blog overhaul for a few weeks probably, so bare with me. But, I'll start posting again! Another change, I'm going to stop the automatic updates by email, so if you are currently getting my updates in your email and want to read, be sure to come visit! I'm changing it up because I'm not exactly sure what the content of this blog will be going forward and quite frankly, I don't want anyone taking offense at anything I say. Lord knows I tend to leave the filter off of my mouth at times. ;) So, be sure to visit at your own risk. I'm sure I'll be discussing the same nonsense....stuff about what a joy and a pain motherhood is, my sarcastic sense of humor, my battle with aging, making sense out of this world, the things and people I love and the things I could live without.

Let me start by saying that my dearest and oldest friend Michelle got engaged a few weeks ago and I am so happy for her. The other night on the phone she asked me if I would be her Matron-Of-Honor and of course I said that nothing would honor me more. Under one condition....

I am in no way, shape or form called a Matron of any sort, ever. Doesn't that word Matron just sound old? Dowdy? Boring? I will be the Maid-Of-Honor, end of story. :)

Thanks for reading, listening and taking a walk around my head at times. Come back soon!

Just A Sunday Note

2010-06-27T20:48:00.002-05:00

I've been here mentally recovering from my 10 yr college reunion last weekend. These are the things I've decided:

1. I'm 31...college was a LONG time ago, but feels like just yesterday.

2. I LOVE my girlfriends. Just like Samantha said in Sex In The City...they are my true soul mates. I am such a lucky girl.

3. I missed my babies, but time away from them is crucial.

4. Like one of my college girls said yesterday...WE STILL GOT IT! Hoping we can still say that in 10 more.

5. I didn't realize how homesick I was for Miami...but luckily Chicago is truly a close 2nd.

6. At 30+ yrs old, teaching the college kids how it's done....that's priceless!

6. Where did the past 10 years go!?!?!?

Oh and a random side note...my kids LOVE Usher's new song "Hey Daddy" and have been running around all night singing "hey, hey, hey daddy". Hmm, thankfully they think they're singing about their daddy!! :)

Compliment

2010-06-17T21:01:00.002-05:00

Tonight Anna bestowed upon me the most lovely compliment. Here it is...

Struggling to get her dress off for bathtime she says to me,

"I need help!" Then pauses for a second when I don't help her right away and repeats herself...."I need help old lady!"

WHAT? Really. I mean, cereal.

Sale! Theory, Sanctuary...need I say more?

2010-06-15T22:41:00.009-05:00

Oh Joie, the Stars have aligned! Call your Boss for the day off tomorrow because I have Juicy news! Bloomingdales is having a Splendid little sale! Actually, more like one of those "everything in the store is on major sale" kinda sale. And all our friends will be there...even Alice & Olivia!

And if your friends Marc, Rebecca and Nanette are looking for a new playmate...(Three Dots) I heard Vince wants to play! So stop all your Citizens of Humanity and drag them to Bloomies with you! ;)

The Dishes Are Done

2010-06-13T18:54:00.004-05:00

One thing I've learned in my 5 short years of marriage is that men and women have starkly different definitions of "doing the dishes".

To a woman, doing the dishes is a constant chore, something neverending. Including constantly scouring the house for any and all sippy cups, lose utensils, snack traps and scrubbing all dishes after every meal before going in the dishwasher just to repeat each and every day...sometimes twice.

A man will walk into a sparkling clean kitchen with a glass of water in his hand, open the dishwasher and see that it's full, add his one little glass and some dishwashing liquid and push the "on" button.

Later at some point that same evening he will exclaim to his wife "did you see???...i did the dishes!" And he will expect some type of medal for his sacrifice.

Prom Pics!!

2010-06-09T09:13:00.011-05:00

Ok, so there's a part of me that wishes I could go to Prom again. The dress...the hair, the dancing...the boy!! But, no, these pics aren't of my Prom (although those would be entertaining!!). They're of Anna's first Preschool Prom!! No, she didn't have a date...as if! But, Daddy was the next best thing and even bought her a sweet little corsage.

Anna in her very first prom dress!

Enchanted Garden Prom!!

Yummm, dessert!

Anna & her date Daddy

Anna & Mommy

Anna and her bestie Savannah

Anna with her other bestie Madisyn

Of course the boys have balloon swords while the girls twirl!

Anna & Savannah with their teacher Ms. Christine

And of course Mommy can party too!!!

Mommy You're Embarrassing Me

2010-06-08T17:15:00.004-05:00

Anna gave me a good chuckle at my own expense in the car on the way home tonight. This is my best attempts at a recap:

Anna: "Mommy, I like it when daddy takes me to school!"

Me: "I know honey, daddy took you to school on Friday didn't he? I know you really like that."

Ok, here it comes...

Anna: "Yea, I like it when daddy takes me to school because he looks the best!"

?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

WHAT DID SHE JUST SAY?

Me: "What was that? I think I heard you wrong...why do you like it when daddy takes you to school?"

Anna: rolls eyes "Because I told you, I said he looks the best!"

Me: "oh, you don't think mommy looks good?"

Anna: "Yea you do mommy, you look good....(pauses and contemplates for a second)...well, I mean sometimes you do and sometimes you don't"

Me: "oh, well when don't I look good?"

Anna: "When you have your little glasses on....not your big ones, i like your big ones (sunglasses)....and when you're hair isn't down"

Whoopsy, she just might be referring to the mornings when I roll out of bed, throw on some jeans, pull my hair back and haul them off to school without brushing my hair or my teeth. I guess it's time I start worrying about embarrassing her! lol

Shabby Chic Tea Party

2010-05-31T11:40:00.013-05:00

I can't believe my Josephine is 2 already! Wow, time flies. Here are pics from her Shabby Chic Tea Party b-day party from last weekend! We had great weather and lots of fun! Thank you again to all of you who helped celebrate. I thought I'd start out with the little guest of honor herself...

Thanks for looking! Wondering where I purchased something?

Scalloped circle shabby chic invites - Milla Love www.etsy.com/shop/millalove

"J" and "2" Cupcake toppers - Milla Love www.etsy.com/shop/millalove

Teacup favor tags - Milla Love www.etsy.com/shop/millalove

"Josie" and "Happy Birthday" shabby chic banners - Milla Love www.etsy.com/shop.millalove

Tea Party door sign - Milla Love www.etsy.com/shop/millalove

Josie's "2" Tea Party outfit - Mandy Ann Clothing www.etsy.com/shop/mandyannclothing

Pink tissue paper poms - Party Poms www.etsy.com/shop/partypoms

Pink pom garland - Party Poms www.etsy.com/shop/partypoms

Mini pink pom ties - Party Poms www.esty.com/shop/partypoms

Square tiered b-day cake - Lovin Oven www.lovinoven.com

Cupcakes - Lovin Oven www.lovinoven.com

Petit Fours - Lovin Oven www.lovinoven.com

Tea Sandwiches/Scones - Tea Harbor

Invite matching scalloped "J" cookie favors - Lovin Oven www.lovinoven.com

"Sip, don't slurp" sign - Glitter N Grunge www.etsy.com/shop/glitterngrunge

Teacup Windchimes - Hobby Lobby

Shabby chic wooden "2"s - courtesy of me

Hydrangeas - Sandi's Florist

The rest? Michaels, TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby, Macys, Ebay, Sam's Club, Starbucks, Target

Music/Entertainment - Jeanie B! www.jeaniebmusic.com

Cute little girl? - Homegrown :)

Gimme My Refund!

2010-05-28T21:44:00.014-05:00

Do you know what this little do-hickey is? It's called a Clarisonic skin brush....made by the same genuises that produced the Sonicare toothbrush. You know, the automated toothbrush made for those people who are just too lazy to actually move their hand up and down to brush their own teeth. God forbid you should have to manually brush your teeth...oh, the horror!!!

But, I somehow managed to fall victim to this little device above. It promises to clean your skin 6x better than manual cleansing and remove dry patches, clean up problem skin and maybe even reduce fine lines. And, so it seems, every last little consumer review is nothing but ravetastic (yes I just made up that word). Finally one day while browsing needlessly through Sephora, I bit the bullet and decided to try it. I hoped it would do all it promised and more. And with a price tag of $195, it better!

I took it home and got started that evening, so excited! My skin was going to be like a baby's bottom.

Wrong.

After 5 days I saw absolutely no difference, so I packed it up and marched back to Sephora to get my money back. However, I fell victim again. I was just about 5 inches into the store when I was already being lectured about how I didn't give it enough time. So, I turned around, took it back home and for the next 6 weeks used it religiously in the morning and in the evening every single day.

Well, I finally returned it today. I really can't say anything bad about it, I just felt for the spendy price tag it better work some small miracles on my skin....and it didn't. Sure my face felt soft and glowy right after using it, but it didn't last. Plus, I felt like I was getting better results from just a simple glycolic acid at home peel once or twice a week. So, naturally, i took it back!

It's amazing how much this bothered the Sephora girls...you woulda thought I called their baby ugly or something. As if it weren't bad enough that I had a team of 3 lecturing me on what a miracle the Clarisonic is, the rest were standing around giving me the "i can't believe she's returning that" stares. It's total blasphemy!!

But, hey, you can't say I didn't give it a fair try! Sorry Clarisonic.

Party Love

2010-05-28T09:35:00.003-05:00

It should come to no surprise that my favorite party planner is Kim from The Tomkat Studio...if you've been here before, you've heard me talk about her! Not only does she have fabulous taste and creative gifts, she is also gorgeous, a great mommy and so incredibly thoughtful. And she is busy, busy, busy!! She still somehow managed to post Josie's party before me! THANK YOU Kim for all of your generous words and inspiration. As always, I'll be reading! You can check out Josie's Shabby Chic Tea Party feature HERE on Kim's website.

Move Over Crocs

2010-05-25T19:01:00.005-05:00

No surprise, my kids wear Crocs. What kid doesn't? But, in my opinion, no matter how many Jibbitz you cram on them, they are still ugly as sin. I am so tired of looking at Crocs...seriously good riddens!! So, here are my top 4 little girls summer shoes for playground and water play for this season:

Keen Newport Shoe $40

Geox Roxanne Sandal $55

Havianas Flip Flop $22

Teva Psyclone Sandal $28

How Can It Be??..

2010-05-25T18:55:00.003-05:00

...that one of my nearest and dearest has been blogging for over a year and I didn't even know!! I'm not sure how I missed the boat on this one considering she is blogging about some of my favorite things (party planning, flowers and home decor)!! Please check out Alex's blog and enjoy her timeless and refined taste at http://prettyluckymorning.blogspot.com/. I also posted her link as a permanent fixture on my blog roll. I have so much to catch up on!!

Party Central

2010-05-24T15:57:00.005-05:00

Hi, I'm here. I'm just in full blown party planning mode!! We just had Josie's 2nd birthday Shabby Chic Tea Party and we all had so much fun...more pics to come! Thank you to all who came and celebrated with us!! Now I'll be working on this year's Preschool Prom at Anna's school. Prom committees and all. We're doing an "Enchanted Garden" theme, so throw any good ideas my way. Add in a baby shower and I barely have time for my real job! :) Joking. Kinda.

I'll be back soon with more Tea Party pics!

I Frenched The Dog

2010-05-12T20:28:00.007-05:00

Well, almost. Tonight we were running late, so naturally I slaved in the kitchen and made my kids a gourmet meal. A Kids Cuisine. I also made a salad plate for myself, but after "more milk", "my fork!", and fits over eating enough for dessert, the next thing I knew it was bathtime and I had yet to take a bite. So I figured I'd get around to eating later and left my meal on the table.

As soon as dance party and bathtime were over, we came back down and I hoped to sit and eat. But as soon as I sat down I realized that almost all of my salad dressing was gone from it's little disposable container (I was using my fav take out salad dressing). I immediately went to Anna to blame her for the missing salad dressing and ask her what she did with it. She denied it vehemently, but I didn't believe her. Surely if Josie had gotten her hands on it, she'd be covered head to toe in vinaigrette. This also coming from a child who just a few days ago while sitting at her mini table and coloring vigorously right on it herself with a marker, yelled over her shoulder (not thinking I was looking), "Mommy!!!..Josie is coloring on the table!!".

So after huffing and puffing with her for about 30 seconds, I marched back over to the table and picked up a big piece of lettuce with my fork and jammed it into the container trying to get the little bit left at the very bottom. I swooshed it back and forth and all around...I was getting every last drop if it killed me. Afterward, I do this 2 more times.

See, I didn't give myself enough time to really think this through. But, it slowly dawned on me. Anna was with me the entire time, so when would she have done this? Also, if she did take the salad dressing out, where was it? There was a little bit on the table, but not an entire container full. And what?...like she took a spoon to it and ate it like ice cream! I don't think so.

So, I realize....it was the dog. The dog must have gotten her little face just high enough to lick, lick, lick the center of the container...but she couldn't quite reach it enough to knock it off the table so she could finish it off (which explains the little bit left in the bottom).

ICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If that weren't bad enough, I spent the rest of the evening profusely apologizing to Anna for blaming her. I told her that sometimes mommies are wrong and asked her if she would forgive me. She said she would, but she made sure that I knew that on Kai-Lan (one of her favorite shows), Tolee doesn't forgive Rintoo.

Oh My Poop

2010-05-10T21:38:00.010-05:00

At what point do you realize that your 2 year old has crapped in her pants with no diaper or underwear on?...about the same time you realize the dog has taken a piss in your shoes. This happened to me tonight. Not kidding.

Somehow Josie came home without a diaper on and I didn't notice until it was too late. I was so busy cleaning up the present that the dog left me in my shoes...GASP! (but don't worry...they were cheapo flip flops) that I didn't notice the poo until I grabbed her to go upstairs for our evening "dance party". Boy did I get a nice surprise. And after a quick surveillance of the room, I knew I had my work cut out for me. Poo turds everywhere, stepped in and smashed, on her shoes, pants, floor...and she thought it was the funniest thing she had ever seen in her life. It took me 2 1/2 hours (and half a bottle of wine) to get this place back up and running.

After baths, both girls were dismissed to the couch so I could clean and disinfect all the floors. The whole time Josie just sat laughing and singing "stinky poopy, stinky poopy". So glad someone found it funny.

Foofa Frenzy

2010-05-06T13:39:00.011-05:00

O. M. G. Someone please save me from the Foofa frenzy. Look at Miss Foofa up there looking all peaceful and innocent. Right. I am subjected to the Yo Gabba Gabba madness on a daily basis and yesterday Josie received a very thoughtful and considerate b-day gift from her Mimi in the mail. A talking Foofa.

Well, someone call the President because Foofa sparked World War 3 over here....tears and fits of jealous rage from Anna and possessive screams from Josie. As Josie clutched Foofa for dear life, a few times I asked her nicely if Anna could just hold her Foofa for a moment. This only prompted her to grip Foofa tighter and scream at me "NO!! MY HOO-HA" Yes, she calls her hoo-ha.

And at bedtime I thought maybe I had a window of opportunity for Anna to play with Foofa because Josie went to bed and accidentally left Foofa in Anna's bed. Boy was I stupid. 60 seconds after leaving her room and right as Anna is thinking Foofa is all hers...

we hear frantically from Josie's room..."HOO-HA!!"

And this morning I woke up to desperate screams coming from Anna's room...."Mommy, where's my Foofa?!?!?!" You didn't get Foofa Anna, Josie did. "Yes I did, where's my Foofa????" Anna you're dreaming.

It was small miracle that I even got Josie to school without a major meltdown over parting ways with her Foofa pal. My only saving grace was that 'Hoo-ha' said that she would sit in Josie's carseat and wait for her to get out of school.

Foofa hasn't even been here 24 hours and we already have tears and blood shed.

Thanks mom.

The Perfect Present

2010-05-05T22:12:00.004-05:00

I love being a mom...for reasons like tonight. Tonight Anna's class threw a Luau Party for all the mom's for mother's day. We dressed up, had treats, did fun projects and the kids put on a little performance for us. I definitely had my mom glow on. Anna was so cute...each time she would do her little part in their performance, she would finish, look right at me and her whole face would be beaming with pride. It might help that I was the obnoxious mom in the back with the "whoot whoot"s and the "yay Anna"s! :) Anyway, at that moment, there was just no place else I'd rather be...and looking around at all the waterworks, it seems all the moms felt the same way.

But, the best part of the party was one of my gifts! Anna made me a beautiful picture and on the back were her answers to questions her teacher had asked her about me and it was titled "My Mommy". This is when the entertainment began. All of the kids were asked the same questions about their mommies...and after only a moment of reading our sheets, most mom's were in hysterical laughter. Here are some of the funny answers that I can remember from a bunch of 3 yr olds:

My mommy looks beautiful....when she puts her hair on.

My mommy is....200 years old.

The nicest thing she ever did for me was...buy me stuff.

My mommy loves to eat...in the bed with my daddy.

This one below is the best one of all...just to set the stage, the mother of the little girl who wrote this has her hair highlighted pretty blond and has obvious dark roots...I'm already laughing and I haven't even typed it!:

My mommy's....eyes are small and she has beautiful black hair underneath. LOL!!!

Jeez, these 3 yr olds. Such entertainment. Ok, so I have to share all of Anna's answers. This might bore you, but I just love my present!

My Mommy by Anna

My Mommy's eyes are...blue and she has beautiful long hair

She is...35 years old and her favorite colors are pink and purple. (just to set the record straight, i am NOT 35 yrs old)

Her favorite flower is...yellow.

She loves to eat...pizza.

The best thing she makes for me is...pizza.

She takes good care of me and makes me feel better when...she lays on the couch with me.

My Mommy likes me to eat to...stay happy and healthy.

I think she looks beautiful when...she has lipstick on.

The nicest thing she ever did for me was....hold me.

My Mommy and I like to go....to the Mickey Mouse store together.

This year for Mother's Day I want to tell her....that I love her.

Oh The Irony

2010-05-03T12:25:00.004-05:00

I find these pics below so ironic...and so amusing. We aren't Toy Story overloaded over here, but I'm sure there are pleny of families who are. Where one more "to infinity and beyond" may just entice a parent to drive themselves off a cliff, at least in their mind! ;-) Our weakness over here is with the Wonder Pets and Yo Gabba Gabba, not Toy Story. However, with Toy Story 3 on the horizon, I see the insanity just getting worse. Walk in to any Disney Store and Toy Story paraphenalia takes up about 1/4 of the place already!! So, my sweetest cutest little nephew Cole is and has been on the Toy Story train for quite awhile now. And while he's such a trooper tagging along with a bunch of girls to American Girl, the pics below are of his Woody's trip to American Girl with us!! Cole must have gotten tired of carrying poor Woody and wanted to give him a ride. It's just so ironic that he is strangling poor Woody when millions of parents out there really wish they could! ha After we took these, we laughed and laughed.....and laughed some more.

HELP!!!

And here's the little culprit below with his Woody.

Busy

2010-04-27T20:25:00.004-05:00

I was going to blog tonight, but I'm busy...busy with 4 things:

1. American Idol

2. GLEE

3. The Hills

4. The City

:) Let's see how much Heidi messed up her face. Poor, poor girl. Loving Tuesdays!!

Urban Inspired

2010-04-22T19:39:00.004-05:00

Ok, so I have a good excuse for not posting for so long this time...I didn't have a computer!! But, it's back now. So, hopefully the posts will start flowing more frequently again. Today I got an email from my favorite wedding photographer SIMON YAO saying he'll be here in Chicago this summer and asking if we want to do a session with him somewhere in the city. Well, we already have A & J covered by the uber talented Miss Andrea Brogle in early June, but I've been kinda wanting to do a session with just D and I considering we got married 5 yrs ago this past December...and I think he just keeps getting hotter!

But, I've been hesistant for 2 reasons. a) the hunt for the right photographer is enough to make me crazy. And b) because those of you that know us well, know that we are sooooo not the overly cheesy romantic kind...barf, ick. I SO do not want any images of us on a the beach gazing longingly into each other's eyes with mounds of cheeseball flowers behind us. It is just...how should i say it?...not us.

But, I've been thinking it would be so "us" to have images captured in a truly urban Chicago setting. No matter where I live, I will always be a city girl at heart. I just love the energy, the frenzied activity, the anonymity and the character. Plus, we just love this city and while others may think of The Cubs, the lake, and Michigan Ave when they think of Chicago...the images below are how I see Chicago as our home. Do you know how many times we've walked up similar El steps or crossed that river? And so, I'm inspired. And hoping that Simon will go for it. But, if not...i'll be searching for someone that will.

So below is the oh so famous Kinzie St bridge. Those that live here probably recognize it. I'm sure a bunch of gorgeous wedding pics have been taken here. Actually, Alex (if you're reading), was this where some of yours were taken? Hmm, may have to get your photographer's info...

How Chicago and urban are these El platform steps below? I can picture some great images on these steps.

Ok, nevermind the bridal party, look at this amazing cobblestone alley. Does anyone know where this is? It looks like theater posters on the wall. But I love the exposed brick and think images here could be really cool.

I have no idea where this pic was taken, but how Chicago is this pic?

Even pics near an actual El train/on the El have lots of potential.

And who could ignore the gorgeous Chicago architecture...Alta Vista Terrace for example below. I feel like lots could be done on those sidewalks.

Whoops

2010-04-14T09:22:00.003-05:00

SORRY everyone, I should have posted the Etsy shop info for the items in the previous post. I received a few requests, so here are the shop URLs:

Custom little girl hats: Sweet Savannah Baby
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SweetSavannahBaby
Check out my A & J somewhere on her site modeling their red Marni hats!

Custom linen french rose pillows: Dede Etsy Shop

http://www.etsy.com/shop/dedeetsyshop

Tea Party Sign: Glitter N Grunge
http://www.etsy.com/shop/glitterNgrunge

Travertine Chicago coasters: Reformado Photography/Espresso Thy Art
http://www.etsy.com/shop/re4mado
If you are local to Chicago, you can also go in and purchase at the cafe at:
Espresso Thy Art
4019 N Damen Ave
Chicago

If you decide to go in, just let them know you are coming ahead of time to make sure that they have the specific coaster you want in the cafe. Enjoy!

I ♥ Etsy

2010-04-13T23:07:00.003-05:00

I have been spending WAY WAY too much time on Etsy lately...mainly for Josie's party, but jeez I can't stop shopping there. I think I can officially call myself an Etsy addict. If you haven't checked it out yet, go to http://www.etsy.com/ to find the most amazing handmade goods. You'll be assured to have items that no one else will have and everyone will want! But, I love to share, so here's just a little sampling of my most recent purchases...

We have these hats in red and A & J wore them all winter! When I saw them in pink, I just had to order them...it's so reminiscent of the 1920's or something.

Oh my, these pillows, I love. Kim from The TomKat Studio actually posted a link about these on Facebook and they are TDF....of course you can customize your own colors. Kim, if you happen to be reading, I bought 2!..thx!! I hope they are just as gorgy in real life.

This sign...how perfect for Josie's Tea Party?

I think these below might just be my favorite...they are tiled coasters (maybe travertine) with pictures of Chicago somehow printed on the front. I bought a set of four...the pics below are of Navy Pier and our old church St. Clement's! The other two in my collection are a pic of the Chicago skyline and the old Marshall Field's bldg (now Macy's) on State.

Show Me The Bagels!

2010-04-11T20:44:00.005-05:00

If you think by giving up bread you may be able to shed a few LBs, think again. Well, I should take that back...you probably would if you did it the right way. But, not so much when you end up substituting salami and potato chips for the bread you are sacrificing. I think I mentioned previously that I gave up bread for lent...yep, 6 weeks. And I was totally committed! Not one little crumb touched my lips for 6 weeks (ok, outside of a couple sundays where I had some pizza crust).

So imagine how many pieces of deli sliced turkey it would take to fill you up at lunchtime...maybe the entire bag from the deli counter. So, instead of turkey, most days I'd have WAY too many slices of salami or roast beef and top it off with some cheese and prolly some potato chips. Gross, I know. But, have you ever tried to get full day after day without bread? And I'm not a big pasta eater, so I maybe had pasta once in the 6 weeks of lent.

Well, lo and behold, lent comes to an end, I step on the scale and have gained 3 lbs. I didn't eat a single bread crumb for 6 weeks and gained 3 lbs. How could this happen? Well, I googled the amount of fat in one piece of deli salami and found up to 9 grams. Uh, I think I found my answer.

So needless to say, no more fatty lunch meats for me....and I've had a big fat round doughy bagel every single morning since Easter Sunday.

We're Having A Party!!!

2010-04-07T11:19:00.003-05:00

IT'S TEA PARTY TIME!! For those of you local, the invites will go out in the next couple weeks. But, save-the-date for Sunday May 23rd from 3p-5p to celebrate our little Josephine Mae's 2nd b-day! You all know I love a good party and I'll share the details afterward, but if you wonder what I'm up to, here's a sneak peek:

Also, I'm so excited that JeanieB! of Chicago will be providing live children's music for the party. We hope you all can make it!!

Easter!

2010-04-05T11:55:00.003-05:00

Just a few pics! Check out my Facebook page for more.

Built-In Entertainment

2010-03-31T22:03:00.003-05:00

I'm finding that one of the best things about having a 3 1/2 yr old around is the constant flow of entertainment. Anna's just so funny! I have to share her ramblings from tonight...

First off, I apparently have a boyfriend that I am unaware of. Tonight while we were praying for our usual list of loved ones, somewhere between Aunt this and cousin that, she slips in "mommy's boyfriend" and then continues on with herself. So, I stop her and ask "what did you just say?...who is mommy's boyfriend?" and she erupts into belly shaking giggles. She then tells me that it was an accident and she didn't mean to say that, but she apparently thinks the idea of it is so funny. Then I realize...this child is laughing at me!! I realize that I must be so old and uncool in her eyes that I couldn't possibly have a boyfriend. So, I triumphantly exclaimed "Well, Anna, as a matter of fact, I do have a boyfriend". Her laughing abruptly stopped and she looked at me wide eyed with a very worried look and said "mommy, what? you have a boyfriend?" and I said "yep, and his name is daddy". Sorry D.J., she thought that was even funnier.

The other hilarious thing she said tonight was practically said in her sleep. I had eaten a chocolate chip cookie just minutes before I went upstairs to check on the girls before heading to bed. While in Anna's room, I bent down to tuck her in and kiss her on the cheek (she usually doesn't wake up). But tonight, as soon as my lips hit her cheek, her groggy eyes flew open and she exclaimed "I smell chocolate"! LOL

This Dude Is Scary

2010-03-28T16:17:00.005-05:00

He is. Let's face it...The Easter Bunny is one scary dude. He even freaks me out a bit. So why is it that each Easter we all torture our poor children by taking them to "sit on the Easter Bunny's Lap"? I dunno, but we do. So yesterday we did just that...we took the girls on what was supposed to be a fun family outing to see the Easter Bunny. Josie just had one look at him and lost her mind. I mean, she completely freaked out. But we had taken the time to get all cute and hauled everyone out over to the mall, so of course come hell or high water we were gonna get that pic. I mean, who doesn't have a decade's worth of pics of their kids freaking out on Santa's lap? One day she'll look back at this picture, laugh and say "aw, wasn't I cute?...look at me crying and freaking out...isn't that just the cutest thing...I was so upset, how cute was I just freaking out like that?".

Huh?? No!...isn't this like child abuse or something? ha Josie was so discombobulated after her 5 seconds sitting near (not even on) the Easter Bunny that she couldn't even get her bearings about her. She was just walking in circles and running away from us screaming. She wouldn't even come near me...I think the thought of me bringing her back into even the vacinity of the Easter Bunny literally put the fear of God in her.

But, on the other side of the Easter Bunny's lap sat Anna Jane, timid but smiling and happy. She was scared, but her desire for presents totally overrode her fear. See, she had to be sure that the Easter Bunny knew exactly which Bike she wants him to bring her for Easter this year.

Bedtime

2010-03-24T19:17:00.004-05:00

Whoa!! I can't believe it's been over 10 days since I last posted. I think that's the longest I've ever gone. We've just been so busy. The weather's getting nice, we took a trip to Cincy, I've been selling tons of crap on Craigslist....oh and then of course there's that thing called work. But tonight all I want to talk about is Bedtime, otherwise known as "the most torturous time of my day", every day.

It's amazing to me that my kids' personalities are the exact same as they were at merely a week old. That brings me to bedtime. Thank God I was blessed with at least one child that loves everything about bedtime...loves her bed, her room, the dark, her blankie, her paci and frankly, just wants to be left alone as soon as the clock hits 7pm. Sometimes I try to rock Josie before bed and most nights she'll have none of it, reaching out and asking for her crib. And sometimes after I think she's been asleep for an hour, I'll sneek quietly into her room and there she'll be sitting up and reading to herself or playing with her baby just loving every moment of solitude.

See, Josie is my saving grace for the hot mess that is Anna at bedtime each and every evening. You would not even believe the shrieking and snot curdling screams that are coming from her bedroom right now. And each night it's the same story. I put her to bed and all of a sudden she needs one of everything in this house...a band aid, a kleenex, socks, her kitty, her toys, a book, etc etc. Then she has to go to the bathroom or something hurts and needs ice. This could go on and on and on, so when I limit it and don't allow it, she puts on this show. Seriously if the Nanny 911 camera crew were here even they'd be shocked and appalled.

And see the picture above?.. that was Anna the first 3 months of her life if I so much as thought about putting her down. I realized quickly that she wasn't colicky, she was just stubborn and knew exactly what it was she wanted...even just days old...and she was going to make damn sure that the whole world knew it too. Of course, I wouldn't want her any other way and this persistence to always get exactly what she wants will hopefully make her wildly successful. But, please God help us through the teenage years...

My Mom List

2010-03-13T14:00:00.005-06:00

I like this depiction of motherhood above. I like to imagine that this is what I look like when I'm at home with my mom hat on...multitasking like a pro while wearing my fabulous shoes, hair shiny and bouncy and full, make-up applied perfectly, delicious dinner in the oven because of course I'm a fabulous cook...all done with a smile. And there's my content little baby playing peacefully by herself...wow, she's so advanced, I'd think to myself...what a great mom I must be. HAHAHA...right. Try me for real at the end of the day...barefoot in sweatpants and t-shirt with what I am sure are boogers on my sleeve, make-up rubbed off from a hard day's work and hair frazzled and messy. I slave in the kitchen taking the Kids Cuisine out of the wrapper and placing it the microwave while my kids terrorize each other and the dog and destroy my house. How's that for the cover of Parenting Magazine? :-) Well, awhile back I listed all the many reasons that sometimes I feel like anything but a mom, but lately I've been thinking about all things that make me, without a doubt, a mom. Here are a few...

1. Way too frequently, the following words come out of my mouth: "If I have to tell you one more time", "1-2-3", "Do you wanna go straight to bed?", "Absolutely not!" and "What did I just say?".

2. I think Justin Bieber looks like a baby...literally.

3. I traded my sophisticated weekends full of dinners and adult parties for weekends full of activity running and birthday parties with little snot nosed kids.

4. All of our money goes to diapers, wipes and daycare, so I get excited when we get Babies R Us coupons in the mail.

6. Instead of a teeny tiny purse just big enough to hold my phone, id and key, I'm now a walking drugstore and at all times carry around a bag most 16 yr olds would consider an "overnight bag".

7. Now I go to bed at a time when I used to eat dinner.

8. I am now that obnoxious mom toting multiple kids around in the backseat with dvd player going and driving carefully in the biggest most ridiculous gas guzzling vehicle available...and I love it!

9. I look in the mirror and sometimes see little girls that are 30 yrs younger.

10. I have mom joy. I seriously think only moms can have this because I'm not sure you really know how much you are capable of loving someone or something else until you have children. It's like being in a constant state of falling in love.

Move Over Dave Matthews Band

2010-03-09T08:54:00.002-06:00

It is a slight understatement to say that my kids are obsessed with Noggin (aka Nick Jr)...the entire line-up. Kai Lan, Yo Gabba Gabba, Backyardigans, Blue's Clues, Wonder Pets...for those of you who are subject to the same torture...i know, I know..if I hear "the phone, the phone is ringing" one more time I may throw our flat screen out the window. I can't even escape Noggin in the car!! I swear somewhere the Nick Jr bigwigs are sitting together in a conference room laughing and coming up with ways to torture innocent parents by only creating 3 different shows of each kind and replaying them over and over and over. But thankfully, my kids are just as obsessed with The Laurie Berkner Band, who gives a refreshing reprieve from the otherwise unbearable repetition of Doras and Diegos. And I actually like Laurie Berkner and find myself shamelessly turning up the volume when she comes on and dancing around the family room with my girls like I'm 4 again. Her tunes are catchy for the parents and the kids know every word! Sometimes at night when we're upstairs getting ready for a bath, Laurie Berkner will come on downstairs in the family room where Noggin was left playing to an empty audience. Anna will hear one note, scream "Laurie Berkner" and all girls (myself included) will go tearing downstairs to dance along to "i'm sittin here I'm one day old, now I'm sittin here I'm 2 days old".

About 6 weeks ago we took the girls to The Laurie Berkner pajama party concert and they had a blast! To check out the band and find out when they may be coming to your neighborhood, click HERE.

A Light At The End Of The Diaper Tunnel

2010-02-26T10:46:00.006-06:00

I am here to confirm, that yes, it's true...your child will not go off to college wearing a diaper. But, honestly I was beginning to wonder. With Anna pushing 3 1/2 and not a trace of potty interest, in fact pure disdain, I wasn't sure we'd ever get her separated from the security of the diaper. I started to feel the pressure right around her 2nd birthday as other parents began to exclaim that their child had been potty trained for 6 months already and more and more of her friends began sporting cute character undies to school.

Or how about this summer at the lake when some distant family member showed up for a day at the beach with her potty trained 12 month old BOY!!! Yes, you read that right, 12 months old. All the while, my 3 yr old frolicking around on the beach, saggy diaper and all...dancing and giggling and going as she pleased. But, seriously, what's next? What...someone is going to tell me their child was born and immediately sat on the potty??? The peds claim that the average age for potty training is 3 1/2, but Puh-lease!!! Does that mean that everyone I know and their brother is lying about their child's potty going abilities? I dunno...but, I can tell you that it seemed Anna was the last 3 yr old on Earth still in a diaper.

So, Hallelujah, it finally happened. We had tried it all...candy, stickers, toys, staying up with no bedtime, charts, cute undies. You name it, we tried it. One day we were out of diapers, so I even told her if she pee-peed on the potty I'd take her to the Disney Store and she could literally shop her little heart out. I told her she could have the whole store if she wanted, and I meant it. I would have pulled up a semi and loaded mickey after mickey into it if it meant she'd use the potty. But, all the child wanted that day was to go to Babies R Us and get her diapers. Wow, we're screwed.

But, finally the pediatrician had a brilliant idea...and this worked. So, take note if you have potty training woes...couldn't hurt to try! We started by telling Anna that it was fine if she used her diaper, but that she had to physically go into the bathroom to do pee pees or poopys. This went on for about a week...and religiously she would announce her need to go, run into the bathroom and relieve herself. Then with some prompting from her little sister, who sits on the potty like it's the most thrilling thing in life, Anna started sitting on the potty with her diaper ON and going. Within a couple hours of that and with the help of a few m&ms, BAM she was full blown potty trained. No accidents, nothing, total control. There was no sitting on the potty every 20 minutes for 10 minutes for 3 days straight....so basically no potty training misery. I guess that's the good news about waiting until 3 1/2!!

So, here we are, day 5 and she's doing great. All that needless worry for nothing. So, if your soon to be 3 or 4 yr old is still hanging on to diapers, don't worry! The doctors are right, who woulda thought?...they will not be going off to college in Depends.

No Bread

2010-02-19T13:19:00.003-06:00

What in the h*ll was I thinking? I gave up bread for lent on Wed and my stomach is screaming. I'm starving.

And today is Friday which means no meat. So, no meat and no bread. Did I tell you that I'm starving?

Good thing we're off to dinner tonight, good Seafood! But, lunch? Cauliflower maybe...a block of cheese...or maybe peanut butter by the spoon. This.is.torture....and here comes the phone call from my mother claiming I will wither away to nothing. :)

To Pop Or Not To Pop

2010-02-18T17:54:00.004-06:00

As I sit here watching my 2 little tyrants attempt to terrorize and kill one another, I ponder...do I go pop some popcorn, kick my feet back and grab a front row seat to the toddler fight club? OR, do I continue to console, threaten, bribe and demand? hmmm...decisions.

wait...i'll be right back, the microwave's beeping.

The Gift Of Giving

2010-02-17T14:37:00.015-06:00

I have found that giving feels best when it's anonymous, when nothing at all is expected in return. There's just some sort of peace that exists when you do something purely for the goodwill of someone else. Giving with expectations doesn't feel good, it doesn't feel right....expectations of thank yous, acknowledgement and praise. Really, if those type of expectations exist, is it really giving?...or does the gift or good deed suddenly become a selfish act?...and is that why it feels best to give anonymously?

Look at that adorable face above. This picture is of Kate McRae, who I know many of you are already familiar with. If you haven't read her story, you can read it HERE and follow her mom, Holly's blog. Each and every day this little 6 year old is fighting for her life when just a few short months ago she was living without a care in the world, the way every little girl should. In December, Kate spent her 6th birthday in the hospital, very ill. As I posted previously HERE, my friend Kim at The TomKat Studio threw her the sweetest little birthday party in her hospital room. And when I found out what she was planning, I just had to send something....something small, but something I hoped would make Kate happy, even if just for a moment. Something anonymous...

Which is why I was shocked when I checked my mail this afternoon and found a hand written thank you note from her parents and the sweetest pictures of Kate. Of course, I cried again. But really? I can't believe they even took one second out of their time with her to write this note to me, so unexpected...I'm just so touched. What an amazing family! I know today will be a very difficult day for Kate. Please, please pray for her and continue praying....there is no better way to start this lenten season.

Isabelle Grace Jewelry

2010-02-13T20:36:00.023-06:00

While nothing can compete with the sweetness of our little niece Isabel Grace, my Valentine's Day gift by Isabelle Grace Jewelry just might be the sweetest thing in my jewelry box! Anna & Josie (via daddy) surprised me this year with the perfect gift and I just love it! They made me the necklace pictured above with their names on the front, birth dates on the back, adorned with little gold hearts and their birthstone charms....my heart is swooning! I know, you must have one for yourself or someone you love, right? So, get them here at ISABELLE GRACE JEWELRY (caution: they don't come as pictured, you have to build them piece by piece). You can also click below to check these out at My Retro Baby for more economical versions...
MY RETRO BABY

Thanks to my thoughtful and sweet hubby. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

News Flash: Valentine Is With An "N", not a "M"

2010-02-11T22:01:00.005-06:00

Ok, so we all know those people who get themselves a little confused this time of year and mix up their Ms for their Ns. But, just to clarify, it's ValentiNe, not ValentiMe. This.drives.me.crazy. I just listened to a poor newscaster on a live news segment say the word ValentiMe on 5 separate occasions. All I know is, if D.J. had asked me to be his ValentiMe, we would not be married. haha...kidding!

kinda.

Musings Of A 3 Yr Old Part 2

2010-02-09T20:48:00.002-06:00

Tonight while getting out of the bath I told Anna that Josie is now the same age she was when Josie was born. Immediately I could see the gears in her head churning as she looked at me with those inquisitive eyes and said...

Anna: "Yea, but I came out of your belly first, right?"
Me: "Yep, that's right"
Anna: "And THEN Josie came out of your belly"
Me: "Yep"
Anna: "Mama?...um who's belly did you come out of?"
Me: "Well, you know who!...who's do you think?"
Anna: "Um, I think it was Daddy's."

Haha.

Musings Of A 3 Yr Old

2010-02-08T19:19:00.002-06:00

Last night we had what Anna calls her "Superbowl Party", but really it was just a little family soiree. But, while we were cuddling on the couch tonight, she looked at me quizzicaly , narrowed her eyes a little and the following conversation ensued:

Anna: "Mama? Um, where were you at my Superbowl Party"
Me: laughing quietly..."what do you mean?"
Anna: "Were you at my Superbowl Party with my cousins?"
Me: "Yes, Anna I was there"
Anna: a little giggle "oh, I don't remember"

Um, I was there the entire time...talking, drinking beer, eating pizza, cleaning, etc. I fed her, several times told her to quit running, and sat across from her at the table as I cut cake for her cousin's b-day and served her the piece she specifically asked for. See, mama is chopped liver when her cousins (who she worships) are around!! :-)

Glitter In The Air

2010-02-05T09:52:00.004-06:00

Wow! Did you guys see this? I'm so glad Oprah had Pink on this morning for her Grammy performance of Glitter In The Air because it was truly transcendent. I have always loved Pink, but on Sunday I watched her perform this in utter amazement. I kept thinking...oh, surely that's a stunt double...or there's no way that's a live mic. But, yes it was her and yes, she was singing live! I have a new found respect for Pink...and what a great song. If you weren't tuned in and missed her performance, catch it here....

CLICK HERE

Om

2010-02-01T21:51:00.005-06:00

Saturday night we took the girls to our quaint little mexican restaurant for a fun family dinner...code for strong 'ritas for mom and dad! We knowingly have about 45 minutes before all h*ll breaks loose and our little ladies are out of their seats terrorizing the entire restaurant. And on Saturday, they were right on schedule!....but as we hurriedly whisked the server away to ring up our tab, we looked over and instead of dancing up and down the aisle, Anna was standing perfectly still, balancing on one foot with her arms perfectly arched over her head. When I asked her what she was doing, she exclaimed "my tree pose"! Uh, ya...yoga is part of the preschool curriculum these days. Oh how times have changed!! I'm pretty sure when I was in preschool I was pushed into the swimming pool (yes, there was a swimming pool...oh the horror) by some annoying little brat...it having gone completely unnoticed by anyone, let alone a teacher or adult of some sort. So obviously no one was concerned with a preschooler's inner peace back then!

It's Okay, I'm With The Band

2010-01-31T14:13:00.003-06:00

Is it possible to make your little sweetheart even sweeter?...maybe! The Matilda Jane spring 2010 Hammond Bay line is almost here!! The season officially starts on Feb 15th, so find your local trunk keeper and get yourself to a show! Enjoy the sneak peek below...

Me?...A Mom?

2010-01-27T20:50:00.008-06:00

This morning I took Anna to the Kindergarten open house at our Catholic school to check it out and meet the teachers. During a tour of the school, she was so excited to see the big kids and I could tell she was just completely mesmerized by them. They fascinated her...it was almost like she finally realized that she in fact would not be a grown-up when she got to Kindergarten, like she had previously believed and that there was a whole other world out there waiting for her. And I just kept thinking, am I really that mom dragging her kid through this open house peering into the classrooms staring at all the pimply faced pre-adolescents? And am I going to blink my eyes and those will be my kids? Jeez, I guess some days I just don't feel like a mom. I mean, aren't moms supposed to be embarrassing, boring and just flat out not cool (no offense mom)? Really, here are just 10 reasons why I sometimes have to stop and wonder...am I really a mom?

1. I love Taylor Swift and download her stuff onto my ipod...some Miley Cyrus stuff too. I also know just about every word to any song on the Billboard top 100 at any given time.

2. I would scream and kick and throw a teenage tantrum if someone took my cell phone away. My monthly package must consist of unlimited messaging and call time otherwise I just might die.

3. I love my trendy flannel shirt, although I have yet to succumb to the black leggings and boots look...and considering spring is right around the corner, I think may be home free.

4. Almost every night, the girls and I have a dance party in their rooms...so not much has changed from 10 years ago.

5. I listen to music constantly and at extremely loud obnoxious levels. Anna has to ask me to turn it down and to stop shaking my booty.

6. Gossip!! I am diligent about making sure I stay up to date with the who's dating who, who did what in Hollywood. I would actually read Tiger Beat if it somehow happened to appear in my hands.

7. "Whatever" and "Totally" are still staples in my vocabulary.

8. I am a huge texter. But, OMG..I can't do it quite as fast as the kiddos and I NEVER do it while driving...KWIM?

9. I will be at the very first showing of the new star studded movie "Valentine's Day" on Feb 12th and can't wait!!....already got a sitter.

10. I still love the mall.

She Stops Time

2010-01-22T13:52:00.008-06:00

Gasp! You have to check out these images by my favorite photographer Andrea Brogle. CLICK HERE TO SEE HER WORK. I mean, are you kidding me with those newborn pics? AMAZING. And the ones of those darling kids...somehow those are not pictures. Don't you feel like those little ones are standing right in front of you? I'm not a photographer, so I just don't really know how to explain it. But, what I do know is that I'm picky...and that she's the best.

There are seriously mornings that I trudge upstairs only to find that one of my girls somehow changed overnight. So, to me, you can't put a price on good photography....it's really the closest thing you can get to stopping time.

Dear American Idol Try-Outer,

2010-01-19T19:06:00.003-06:00

Um, hi. I'm not quite sure what you were thinking getting up in front of Simon and singing that god awful song, because it was really bad. In fact, it was horrendous, no..torture...and now it's been aired for all of America to see. So, who actually told you you were any good? I'd be pretty mad at my friends for lying to me. But, if it's any consolation...thanks for the entertainment.

Sincerely, Reality

A Loss For Words

2010-01-17T20:47:00.008-06:00

Really, I don't know how else to say it...but some people are just special. Kim from The TomKat Studio is one of them... Click below to read about the hospital birthday party she threw for little Kate McRae. Wouldn't it be a a wonderful world if we were all like Kim?

http://tomkatstudio.blogspot.com/2010/01/kate-mcrae-my-visit-to-phoenix.html

Warning To All Parents

2010-01-14T11:53:00.003-06:00

I hate to make a post like this, but I just can't believe as a parent, how terrifying this world can be. I heard this story first hand from a parent witness who's child was at this party.

Over the weekend a 5 year old little girl had a b-day party at a Chuck E Cheese. After the party, the mother was at the front paying and the little girl was standing next to her. The mother glanced away briefly to pay, looked down again and the girl was gone. It was chaotic with lots of kids and families leaving, so of course she was frantic. When the mother glanced toward the door, she saw a strange man holding her daughter's hand leading her outside. The mother immediately started screaming, so the man dropped the little girl's hand and started running. The police think the man may have temporarily sedated the little girl with an ether soaked cloth just long enough to make her disoriented so she wouldn't scream or cause a scene. Fortunately the little girl is fine and with her family, but the parent who told me this story said the mother is understandably traumatized.

It's sad that we have to be so cautious and suspicious all the time, but I guess it simply comes with the territory of being a parent in this day and age. Please if you have young children, know where they are at all times and if you're in a public place, NEVER take your eyes off of them. It's sad, but never even for a second.

(for those of you who live close to me, it was not a Chuck E Cheese near us)

My Hubby...

2010-01-11T17:52:00.006-06:00

Yep like all married couples, some days I just wanna kill him...and some days I know he wants to kill me. But, today I gotta brag about how wonderful he is. Ladies, brace yourselves because you almost won't believe this. Listen to what D.J. did for us this weekend, in no particular order...

1. Did all the girls' laundry
2. Went grocery shopping and set us up for the week
3. Shoveled off the foot of snow that was on my car
4. Brought me flowers
5. Emptied the dishwasher at least once
6. Gave ALL little girl baths ALL weekend
7. Emptied all the trash including the stinky diaper can

And the best part of it all is that I didn't even ask (or nag...whatever you want to call it). And no, it wasn't a dream. I am just one lucky girl!

Pocket Full Of Posies

2010-01-11T09:48:00.003-06:00

As I've said before, I've been having a love affair with Benefit...and not just for their cute packaging and creative marketing, but because their stuff is amazing. Are those pretty cheeks of yours always too red? too pink? too orange? too powdery? too fake? Well, forget all those lil' old lady powders...I've got the answer...Posietint! I have been through bottle after bottle after bottle of this stuff. Benefit launched Posietint years after their original Benetint and I must say it's a major improvement to it's older sister.

What it is:A poppy-tinted lip and cheek stain. What it does: Benefit's Posietint is a petal-pink stain that plants a kiss of see-through tint on cheeks and lips. With hours of smudge-proof, just-picked perfection, you'll be the prettiest bloom in the bunch!

My advice for application...do not use the applicator. Instead use your finger. Posietint starts to dry/stain immediately upon application. So, if you use the brush, you may see little pink streaks. I simply take my finger to the applicator to get a pea sized amount and then rub in circles on my cheekbones briefly until blended well. Do one cheek at a time.

Enjoy your perfectly flushed cheeks!

SNOW DAY

2010-01-07T15:20:00.003-06:00

Snow, snow, snow...snow bunnies, snow angels, snow balls....

Mom Jeans?

2010-01-05T09:17:00.007-06:00

Ahem, um no thanks. I'm sticking with Joe's, Paige, and True Religion.

The Road Not Taken

2010-01-04T13:16:00.010-06:00

Have you ever wondered how the h*ll you got here? And I don't mean in a physical sense, like "how did I get in front of my laptop today"?...oh yea, that's right, 5 minutes ago I walked over and sat down in front of it. No, I mean like the paths you've taken, roads you've traveled. Yesterday while I was putting away the final remnants of this decade's last holiday season my mind started to wander a bit. Is it really 2010? Wait, wasn't it just yesterday that I was sitting in the bleachers at a high school football game, freezing my @ss off without a care in the world besides making sure I looked cute? No, it wasn't...that was a long stinkin time ago. And I've traded that life over again several times now.

It's interesting how certain paths we take lead us down other paths, which would ultimately change our whole entire lives. Let me preface this by first saying that I have been given immeasurable blessings and would not change one little thing. But, yesterday, in my cozy living room surrounded by the two most beautiful little creatures, I wondered...how in the world did I get here? What would've happened if I had made different choices, where would I be right now? What if I had chosen a different college or stayed in Europe after graduating from Miami. Knowing my independent, spirited self, I'm kinda surprised I didn't. What if after college, I had chosen another city to run off to...NYC, LA. Even becoming a Pi Phi changed the course of my life...I certainly wouldn't have known Erin, so I would have never met D.J. What if instead, I married one of my old boyfriends...or someone I was gonna meet, but never did. Or what if I had never gotten married...what if I was still single somewhere. What if I didn't have lunch with D.J. that one last time. Hmmm, doesn't it make you wonder...is it all predestined? I dunno.

And don't you wonder what little decision might change your life next?

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays Slideshow

2009-12-30T10:07:00.006-06:00

Merry Christmas! Every year I'm humbled and thankful when the frenzied holiday season comes to a close. This year is no different. I think it's just the prospect of rest and relaxation that the new year rings in each year. January through March is always bitterly cold, but also slow and uneventful, which will be welcome with open arms around here.

But, this holiday season was especially fun. We spent Thanksgiving at home with Mimi, Aunt Kimmy, Ellie & Cole and participated with enthusiasm in the Black Friday shopping craze. D.J. and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on Dec 11th and spent lots of nights out with each other and friends this holiday season. A big thanks to our wonderful sitters (and the year isn't over quite yet...see you tomorrow Nikki)! We had our Hartman Christmas here in Chicago the Sunday before and spent Christmas Eve at Molly's house with Katie & Jack...Thank you Kay & Big Jack for always making us feel like family. Anna & Josie slept in their own beds on Christmas Eve (I'm sure with sugarplums dancing in their heads) and had so much fun Christmas morning. We only had a couple minor fits of jealous rage with present envy! :-) Then we packed up the next day and headed to Cincinnati to see Nana, Papa and the rest of the Hartman/Buening family.

So, I literally have over 1,000 photos...so I put together a very condensed slideshow:

CLICK HERE for slideshow

and just a couple for fun below...

Twilight

2009-12-22T19:09:00.004-06:00

I'm a reader. I love to read. I also like to watch tv, don't get me wrong, but most nights it's some book that has me entranced until I can no longer keep my eyelids pried open. So I'm not sure why I protested against the Twilight series for so long, but, I finally gave in. I read Twilight. I would put myself into the category of really liking it, but not obsessed with it. I read it in a normal amount of time, 7-10 days. If I'm totally in love with a book, I'll read it in one sitting. If I'm not crazy about it, it may take me a few weeks.

When I was a little girl I used to speed read with my neighbor. It was always a little bit of a competition to see who could read a book the fastest, so somehow I mastered the art of reading a book without really reading, but just skimming. So knowing that Jacob the werewolf becomes a bigger part of the story in New Moon, I picked up the book, but just skimmed it. Over the course of an hour, I basically had the main story line and I'm not crazy about it. I don't like that Edward was gone for most of the story and that Jacob became such a big part of the plot. So, I don't think I'm going to really read it, but instead skip to the 3rd book. I read the end, so I know Edward ends up alive and back with Bella and I'm more interested in what happens to them.

Which led me to whether or not I was going to keep reading at all. If you haven't read the entire series you may want to stop reading, this may be a spoiler. But, I just couldn't bring myself to keep reading unless I knew that Bella would eventually get what she wanted, to become a vampire and truly be with Edward forever. Her getting older as Edward stayed a yound svelte 17 just seemed so cruel to me and nothing I was really interested in reading about. I also don't know if I could keep reading repeatedly about all of Edward's efforts to simply keep Bella alive. Not to mention her human mortality that, even if Edward did keep Bella alive to live a nice long life, would eventually leave Edward alone and broken hearted....causing, I'm sure, for him to eventually take his own haunted life. So I confimed today from one of my nieces (thanks Claire) that Bella's wish does in fact come true and that was all I needed to know. So at some point, I will pick up the next book in the series with hopes that it's better than the 2nd.

Because in my mind, if Bella isn't with Edward, then what's the whole point of Twilight?

Mommy Blunder Of The Week

2009-12-17T19:46:00.002-06:00

Today at school Anna made bird feed and of course, this was something we needed to take home with us. It was packaged all flimsy with no lid, so on the way home when it spilled in the front seat, I mumbled "ugh, damn bird seed".

A nanosecond later I heard innocently from the back seat, "Mommy, the damn bird feed falled?"

I laughed all the way home.

Kate's Crazy Cool Christmas

2009-12-13T23:04:00.003-06:00

Everytime I think of Kate McRae I sob my eyes out. The first time I heard her story was from my favorite on-line party planner Kim when she started posting about little Kate. Kate is a 5 yr old little girl from Arizona who mid-summer was diagnosed with a very large, very aggressive, very malignant brain tumor. She immediately went into surgery, but unfortunately the surgeon was only able to remove 1/2 of the tumor. This family's world was turned upsidedown in a matter of just hours...who knows what the future holds for Kate, but please pray for her! And click HERE if you want to follow Kate's website.

Kate's Crazy Cool Christmas is a holiday toy drive for all of the children at the hospital treating Kate. So last week I went out, gathered up a bunch of toys and shipped them off to:

2211 E Pecos Rd. Suite 2
Chandler, AZ 85225

I know handing out all of these toys is making Kate and her family very happy! Won't you join me?

Talk To The Moose

2009-12-09T21:06:00.005-06:00

Anna loves this!!

I love my comfy sweater, I love my comfy sweater...how cute are these boots? How cute are these boots?

O Tannenbaum O Tannenbaum

2009-12-08T19:57:00.007-06:00

While we're on the topic of traditions, a family tradition that I have always loved and each year look forward to the most is the act and art of picking out our seasonal Christmas tree. And yes, I believe it's a bit of an art...something that needs to be practiced each year and mature over time. Seriously, call me tree crazy, but I'm not kidding. What kind of tree...how tall, how wide, too skinny, too round, strong branches, bare spots, straight trunk, scent...etc. So, yea, an art form per se. Thankfully I learned from the best...I can remember as a kid wandering through the fields of some random Christmas tree farm in Michigan, my mom with an eager look in her eye and a saw in her hand just waiting to cut down that perfect tree. Come hell our high water, we were getting the best da*n tree there. I seriously don't think I've ever in my life decorated a fake tree.

Ok, so this tree craziness has carried over into my adult life....I always have to have a Frasier Fir, every year, no exceptions. They are the best! The second I step foot out of the car at the x-mas tree farm I make a b-line for the Frasier Firs without even the slightest glance at the rest. It's just a personal preference. To me, they look the best, have the strongest branches and smell the yummiest. So each year D.J. and I pile in the car and head West about 20 min to this cute little Christmas tree farm to get our Frasier Fir. Ok, I'll admit there is no traipsing through the middle of the fields with a saw (picture Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation here)..Thank God, BUT I am still just as particular. We wander through the rows of freshly cut trees till we find the ONE, then we warm up inside with some hot chocolate and cookies while browsing the cute little store. I LOVE it, but I gotta be honest, I'm glad we only do it once a year...it is some serious work.

Big, small, real, fake, red, green or purple, I hope you are all loving your Christmas tree as much as we are!

Elf On The Shelf

2009-12-06T20:35:00.006-06:00

So today is St. Nick's day and this year St. Nick brought us "Buddy", our Elf On The Shelf. He was given the moniker "Buddy" after the main character in the movie Elf...seemed like a good Elf name I guess. Anyway, Buddy came today and will stay with us until Christmas. All day long he watches over the girls to see if they are naughty or nice and each evening he retreats back to the North Pole to give Santa a daily update. Before the girls awake the next morning, Buddy will be back at our house, but perched in a different location. Hopefully the girls will have fun finding him each morning!

If you haven't heard of Elf On The Shelf, check it out...the kit comes with the Elf plus a cute book you can read each year to your kids explaining his/her role. Everyone is talking about it this season...so hopefully with Buddy here, the girls will be on their best behavior!

Jimmy & Janie

2009-12-01T20:27:00.003-06:00

American Girl Place: Heaven for girls (big and small)...torture for boys (small...see pic below). But apparently the big boys like American Girl 'cause D.J. helped the girls campaign for 2 new babies and they won.

Gratitude List

2009-11-26T07:14:00.006-06:00

On Thanksgiving Day, more than any other day of the year, we are unified as one nation to celebrate all of our good fortunes. Even the most cynical must have a list of things he holds dear. Whether your thanks are directed up to God, to someone you love or just out into the open air, today is the day to express them. So, here's mine:

I'm thankful for my two children and loving husband...their good health and happiness. I'm thankful for our families and my abundance of good friendships. I'm thankful for all of the luxuries that are easily taken for granted...clean safe water to drink, the comfort of a warm home and warm bed, grocery stores just a stone's throw away filled with food to keep me full my entire life, the best medical care including vaccinations from diseases that still ravage many countries. I'm thankful for being born an American....the freedom everyday to do whatever I want to do without repression or condemnation. And I'm thankful for my own good health.

Compared to those things the excess that we live in each day seems trivial...like flat screen tvs and heated steering wheels.

My cup runneth over...

Lush Lash

2009-11-23T18:41:00.004-06:00

I just took the longest, hottest, steamiest, most relaxing shower of my life!! I must have been in there 20 minutes...I definitely have prune fingers. I'm wondering why I don't do that more often...maybe that's a luxury I'll get to take advantage of while I'm off off this week. It also helps that Josie went to bed at 5:30...she was just so pooped from her fun weekend. She wasn't feeling well, but she rallied anyway...my kind of girl!

I'm so happy to hear that so many of you ran out and got the Ooh La Lift and are loving it! I'm telling ya, some of this stuff is really good. So while we're still on the eyes, I wanna tell you about mascaras...which is another thing I've hunted down and slaughtered. My eyelashes practically do not exist and what few are there are so fair you could barely see them even with a flashlight! Seriously. Soooo, my favorite for now (and it usually changes), but this has been a favorite for a couple years now is Make Up Forever Professional Smoky Lash mascara. I've only been able to find it at Sephora, but actually now that I think about it, I've never looked anywhere else. But, most of the lovely ladies at Sephora will tell you it's the best. It lengthens, adds volume and does all the things you want your mascara to do. Just make sure to get the full effect you put on 2-3 coats.

Now, if I'm going out on the town (which lets be honest is a rarity)...but still!...then I bring out the big guns....the paint on false lashes. The stuff I use goes over your regular mascara and it is ah.may.zing. It's called Imju Fiberwig Mascara and it's literally is like a wig for your eyes. I know there are a bunch of other paint-ons that I'm sure also work really well...the point is, try one. My sis-in-law Jill described it well when she told me when she washes the paint on lashes off you can see the little lashes fall off into the sink. But, it goes on like mascara. Hello, genius!! Great for date night, ladies night...or just anytime you wanna go Beyonce with that extra glam look.

haha...ok, so Anna is on her way up the stairs to bed with D.J. and the Backyardigans are on in the background. Of course they are singing...so half way up the stairs Anna stopped and said to me "shake your booty Mama"!!

EAT PRAY LOVE

2009-11-20T21:32:00.004-06:00

Add in laughter and isn't that all we really need in this life? If only it were so simple. I'm only midway through the book Eat, Pray, Love and I love it. It's so, shall I say, indulgent? But so inspiring. After a heartwrenching divorce and a severe bout of debilitating depression, the author decided to uproot her life and spend 4 months in Italy eating, 4 months in India praying, and 4 months in Indonesia loving. What 30 something can do that? I guess someone without the contraints of tiny little faces needing to be tucked into bed each evening. For me, reading a few pages of this book each night is like a little get away...I read each page envious of the time that she spent traveling, getting to know herself...sometimes even in complete solitude and complete silence. But, I know deep down I could never do anything like that. Being the social butterfly that I am, I can guarantee after spending one day in an ashram in the middle of nowhere India, far far away from civilization, expected to be in prayer for 18 hours out of the day....I would have booked myself a first class ticket on the next flight out of there and thoroughly enjoyed my glass of wine and in flight entertainment on my way back to the big city.

I'm most intrigued by her time in India. She spends 4 months trying to reach enlightenment and figuring out the ways of the universe, why we exist...you know, all of those extistential questions with no objective answers. I'm not sure that many people ever take the time to even consider these things...and who can blame them? With hectic day to day lives, who has the time? But, some theorists claim that the root cause of much anxiety lies within the basis of those 2 concepts. Enlightenment is basically being present and freeing your mind of any thoughts other than just being. So you are just here, now, alive...not worried about tomorrow, not thinking about what you have to do or didn't do. Just being and enjoying it. But being that we're humans, this is impossible to do even 20% of the time. Even if you can try to implement this a little into each day, you may see a lift in levels of anxiety. The second concept (the age old question that everyone has their unique answer to)...why we exist, is just so, what's the right word?...deep. It's spiritual and intimidating. But perhaps those with a strong faith in their purpose in this life, may have less anxiety. So, it's not surprising that spending 4 months focusing on these 2 things leaves the author feeling rejuvenated and elated.

I'm fascinated by this spiritual indulgence...something that can just eliminate all anxiety and doesn't have to be taken with a glass of water. But, mainly because I know I couldn't do it. So I'll just take her word for it and continue reading...

Confirmation Of Aging

2009-11-18T20:43:00.002-06:00

3 telltale signs of aging...

1. It's Wednesday and I'm still not fully recovered from Saturday night.

2. I'm seriously contemplating and considering buying a Cadillac.

3. Tonight Anna saw a picture of Mimi (my mom) and exclaimed "that's you Mommy!"

Ooh La Lift and Eye Bright

2009-11-12T21:39:00.004-06:00

So, while we're on the eyes I thought I'd share the all time best eye brightening routine. I've been battling dark circles for years (even with 9 hours of sleep a night and plenty of hydration), so my primary focus has been lightening...which just happens to make you look younger. If you have been blessed with no or minimal darkness under your eyes...God luvya, and I hatecha!! JOKING, of course...I love you all. But, you beeznatches can just skip this post all together. But, if you're like most of us, read on...

I'm basically just a facial product junkie in general. I have tried it all and the 2 best make-up lines for me are Benefit and Smashbox. I could seriously talk about Benefit all day long and completely bore you into oblivion. There are a couple of their products that I dislike...like the Bad Gal Lash mascara melts onto your face (which is just the look you want) and the Hello Flawless powder foundation made me break-out. BUT, most of their stuff is amazing!!!

When I use the following 2 Benefit products after applying the PTR Power K eye cream as mentioned in my earlier post, my dark circles virtually disappear, which is just short of a miracle. So the first is Benefit's Ooh La Lift. I've been using this for years and never go without it. The second is Benefit's Eye Bright pencil.

First take the Eye Bright pencil and draw 2 or 3 cat whiskers on the outer side of your eye. Then draw a crescent shaped moon on the inside of your eye near the bridge of your nose. Take the Ooh La Lift and make 3 dots with the applicator under your eye. Mix all these together by patting (don't rub...never rub under your eye) until blended. Voila! Bye Bye dark circles, Hello hot 20 somethings!!...haha kidding....just sayin for the single ladies. :-)

Holy Guacamole & Orange Sticks

2009-11-10T21:16:00.005-06:00

I'm not sure how it happened, but we have ourselves a bebe de guacamol!! At dinner on Sunday, we just happened to look over and Josie was inhaling the guacamole. Not sure how she discovered it, not sure how she knew she liked it, but she must have piled it into her mouth for a good 20 minutes straight.

Going in for more...

when her own wasn't enough, she resorted to licking it from Anna...

hmmmmmm....

i guess her little cup of guac wasn't enough, goin for the big guns...

Also, tonight Anna said something super cute. The book she chose to read before bed is titled Baby's First 100 words. It's basically a book of 100 pictures of everyday items...so I pointed to each picture and asked Anna to tell me what was it was. She nailed them all except 2 or 3. One of the ones she struggled with was a picture of pealed and sliced carrots. When I asked her what they were, she paused for a moment, looked at me quizzically and said "orange sticks"?? ha...I swear we feed them carrots!!

Thanks for all of the emails/notes about my post on anti-wrinkle products. Just one more thing I want to mention...whatever you try, be sure to give it 30 days. And yes, I will definitely post more reviews soon!

Anna's Fairy Godmother

2009-11-08T21:09:00.005-06:00

I thought Fairy Godmothers were make believe? Well, I think I'm gonna have to whip up a tiara, magic wand and a pair of wings for Katie! :-) When Anna was born, choosing Godparents felt like such a huge undertaking for us. Would whoever we choose take a special interest in her as an individual? Would whoever we choose acknowledge their role past the actual baptism itself? Would whoever we choose support her as a Catholic at all stages of her religious development? Would they create traditions with her that were theirs and only theirs?

Ideally, these were things we hoped for and wanted for Anna. We wanted others besides us to let her know that she's special not only in this world, but also with God. But we also realize that life is busy and that being a good Godparent doesn't necessarily require that you do all of those things...or any of those things really. I just have to say how especially touched I am by the interest Katie has take in developing her relationship with Anna as her Godmother over the past 3 years. One of the traditions that Katie does each year with Anna is to celebrate her baptismal birthday each November. This year she took Anna to 1154 Lill and made her her very first custom handbag. My heart just melts imagining them picking out fabric together!! These experiences for Anna are priceless. I tried to explain to Anna what she celebrates in November and I'm not quite sure that she understands yet...but what she does understand is that she has a very special relationship with her Godmother.

So thank you Katie! As my BFF and Anna's Godmother, we are so blessed to have you in our lives. You can see in the pics below how happy this made her.

Sephora's Goin' Down

2009-11-07T21:13:00.004-06:00

My mother always tells me I should be happy that I have oily skin because I'll have less wrinkles when I'm older. Well, guess what?...now I'm older and instead I just have oily skin PLUS deep expression lines...that wasn't supposed to happen. I also used to tell myself that these lines were symbols of my past, that they told a story....uh huh, all I have to say to that is...whatever. I gave up on that feel good concept completely about a year ago and started attacking these annoying little suckers with guns blazin'.

My primary place of worship has been Sephora. Certainly there have to be a million different ways to zap these in order to regain my youthful appearance, especially considering the price tag on some of this stuff? Uh, not so much. I remember the first time I brought home some official anti-wrinkle cream. I thought it was going to be some sort of magic potion that just "poof", would erase every last little wrinkle line. I had been a wrinkle cream virgin and just honestly didn't know how this stuff was supposed to work. I am here to tell you right now...do not believe the hype of these products because MOST of them do not work. I say most because I have found a few products that have been about as close to plastic surgery than I'm probably ever going to get without taking the plunge.

So...after about a year of taking out all our local Sephora's, I thought I'd share my favorites. The first product I must tell you about is Peter Thomas Roth's Power K Eye Rescue. Omg, this stuff is amazing and will take 10 yrs off your eyes. Just sayin...recently I found myself at an urgent care center and the doctor who took care of me asked me where I went to school. Now, I know I don't look THAT young, but GOD LOVE HIM!!...just sayin'. Well, not only have I been genetically blessed with oily skin, but also dark circles. This stuff has eliminated almost all of the fine lines around my eyes and has dramatically reduced the dark circles. When I ran out of this for the first time, I didn't replace it right away and after about a week I started wondering what in the heck was wrong with me. Everytime I looked in the mirror I saw someone who looked like they hadn't slept in a year and was constantly re-applying whatever I could get my hands on to try to minimize the dark circles. Then it hit me that I wasn't using the Power K Eye Rescue. Well, I rushed right out to get it again and haven't gone a day since without it. The only downfall to this product is that is is mucho dinero for simply 0.5 ounces. But trust me ladies, it's worth it.

You didn't think I could share all my favorites all at once, did you? So, come back to check out more at a later date. Besides, this day of shopping, ballet and the circus with a 3 yr old has me completely wiped out...the old lady must go to bed.

All Bugged Out

2009-11-04T22:40:00.004-06:00

Huh? Is this for real?....Well, if you've always dreamed of carrying around a dead bug on your wrist preserved forever in some sort of indestructible plastic, your prayers have been answered:

Bug Bands Collection
#579
$16.95
add to wish list
These cool wristbands feature REAL bugs kids will love to wear—from a shimmering beetle to a giant-sized hornet! Each wristband has a different, fascinating bug that’s permanently encased in indestructible, lightweight acrylic. Plus, the nylon bands easily adjust to give every kid the perfect fit! Set includes all 4 wristbands. Our exclusive. (5 years & up)

Yes, this was on the back cover of one of the junk catalogs we received today. Seriously, how are these selling?

I ♥ Catalogs

2009-11-03T21:51:00.003-06:00

And I'm not talking about all those catalogs just full of junk, those get an immediate ticket on the garbage train....i'm talking about linens from Restoration Hardware, handbags from Saks, sweaters from Nordy's, sparklies from Tiffany's, holiday plates from Williams Sonoma...ya know, those catalogs!! I love them...so it's a darn good thing it's catalog season! I counted today...yea, we got 11 catalogs in the mail, most of which ended up in the trash. But I still ended up with a good handful of catalogs full of stuff I just might need! :-) So each night I retire to bed with my pile and struggle to keep one eye pried open just so I can keep up with this influx of holiday merchandise. But, I love it! Most of the time, I'm just window shopping...suprisingly looking is almost as fun as buying. Not quite, but almost. However, I just succumbed to these from Chasing Fireflies...really? how can one resist???

Seriously, get them now. Most sizes are already on backorder. ;-)

Pumpkin Art

2009-11-01T09:46:00.003-06:00

I almost forgot...D.J. & Anna's trick-or-treater greeter!

Bye-Bye Jack-o-lanterns...

2009-11-01T09:20:00.005-06:00

...hello pumpkin pie! I'm so happy November is here...this is my favorite time of year so I'm thoroughly enjoying the pumpkin spice candles and puffy winter coats! I hope everyone had a great time last night celebrating All Hallows' Eve. We had Care Bears visiting all weekend...

Visit my facebook page for more pics...

An End To The Madness

2009-10-26T21:44:00.002-05:00

STOP!!...is exactly what I said to D.J. 10 minutes ago when he trotted into our bedroom, scooped up a giant jar of vaseline from the medicine cabinet, turned on his heel, and headed back toward the kitchen. "Is that for the pumpkin"? I inquired. He confirmed it so....but that little tiny bit of a chemist in me just cannot comprehend how vaseline could preserve a carved pumpkin. So of course, I did what any well educated pumpkin carver would do, I googled it!! Check-out below what we found!! Who in their right mind would take the time to do this experiment? But, THANK YOU crazy pumpkin carver person for your dedication! You can STOP the rubbing of the vaseline madness now and read below.

ps. As I write this, D.J. is on his way to pick up some Chlorox Clean-Up with Bleach

The Great Pumpkin Preservation Study - How To Preserve A Pumpkin Properly

Pumpkin preservation is a topic that I have been asked about endlessly. Since I began this website in 2000, I have been asked over and over how to preserve a pumpkin. From the beginning I had the habit of spraying my pumpkins with WD-40 to keep the bugs away from them.I told other people to use this technique as well. I even published it in my book. Other books mentioned using Vaseline, but I knew that spreading vaseline on every cut surface of your pumpkin as a preservative was ridiculous. Who slops goo all over their pumpkin?Anyway, after 9 years I have decided to launch a complete study of pumpkin preservation methods. Was I giving out good advice? Is there a simple solution out there that will work? Is it easy to apply, commonly found in the home, and does it make your pumpkin last? These were questions that I hoped to answer.I gathered up a collection of possible pumpkin preservatives and a batch of freshly picked pumpkins and went to work.

First, The Pumpkins: I acquired 14 similarly sized pumpkins from my friend's pumpkin farm. Holtz Farm in Ida, Michigan is my regular pumpkin supplier so I was comfortable asking them questions like "Were these all planted on the same day, Are they the same breed? Were they given equal water and pesticide?" You get the picture. I was starting a serious experiment and I didn't plan on tainting the results.

Second, The preservatives: I've been at this a while and I've heard lots of talk about what works and what doesn't. I tried to gather anything that seemed to have even the slimmest chance of working. Here is what I tried (from left to right in any photos): K-Y Jelly, 5% Bleach Solution, WD-40, Clear Spray Paint (clear coat), Wet Platinum Silicone Personal Lubricant, Amonia, A Control (no preservative at all), Vaseline, Hair Spray, Honda Spray Polish (automotive spray polish), Chlorox Clean-up (with Bleach), Furniture Polish, Vinegar, My Son looking like a badass, and finally, Not Carving the Pumpkin In The First Place.

Here is how it went down:Carving the pumpkins took the longest amount of time. I used a coffee can as a template for the top opening, that way it would be the same size on each pumpkin. I then gutted each pumpkin until it was clean and reintroduced 12 pumpkin seeds (these would allow squirrels and other pests to retain equal interest in each pumpkin). I cut the eyes, nose and mouth with the same size holes by using the same paddle drill bit on each pumpkin. I carved all of the pumpkin in assembly-line fashion so that no pumpkin was left carved longer than the other. The process took approximately 4 hours.

I applied preservatives just after the completion of carving. Preservative was applied to every cut or scraped surface and the entire interior of the pumpkin. For the sprayable materials this step occurred without incident. The products that needed to be spread by hand proved to be more problematic, especially the Vaseline.Spreadable Products: At this stage of the study, I already had one suggestion. Don't use any preservative that cannot be sprayed on a pumpkin. K-Y and Wet Platinum Silicone Lubricant, although rumored to do a great job were almost impossible to apply. These involved pouring this lube on my hand and then massaging it onto the pumpkin. Neither I nor the pumpkin appeared to enjoy this.Vaseline Petroleum Jelly was an even bigger pain in the posterior. I began with enthusiasm because many other works on pumpkin carving suggest vaseline as a pumpkin preservative. I plunged my hand into the tub of vaseline and emerged with a walnut sized stream of it. I then started rubbing it on the pumpkin which was fairly difficult. The Vaseline wanted to stay on my hand and did not seem too interested in evenly coating the pumpkin. It was like painting a comb with peanut butter. Then, when I had used up my first glob of jelly, I went to get more from the tub and upon putting my hand back into the jar I ruined its entire contents. Pumpkin guts were left behind in the vaseline jar. So long Vaseline. It is amazing that anyone every suggested you in the first place and a crime that the lie was perpetuated. I am very happy to end your reign as a suggest pumpkin preservative. Vaseline Stinks At Making Your Pumpkin Last Longer.

36 Hours Later: Checkpoint 1 - A day and a half later I checked on the pumpkin lineup to see any initial issues and found two: The Clear Coat Spray Painted Pumpkin cracked. I guess the lack of ability to let moisture in and out of its skin did it in. Clear Coat was off the list, I would extrapolate that shelac, Polyeurethane and other furniture finishes probably fall into this category as well.Vinegar attracted flies. Apparently, the flies must have though my pumpkin study was some sort of delicious pickle bar. They really enjoyed the Vinegar coated pumpkin. Ick.

84 Hours After Carving: Checkpoint 2 - The first specks of mold had started to form. Some pumpkins have more (the control (no preservative at all), the hair spray, and the vinegar) all have spots larger than the diameter of a pencil. Squirrels have eaten their way into the Vaseline, Vinegar, and furniture polish pumpkins. The Clear Coat pumpkin and the amonia pumpkin are starting to get mushy already. They are noticeably further ahead in the rotting process.

6 1/2 Days After Carving: Checkpoint 3 - I was away doing some publicity, and I would have liked to have done another checkpoint before this one, but the results were interesting. Heavy, fuzzy mold had formed on all but 3 pumpkins. The WD-40 and the 5% bleach solution pumpkins have only slight molding. Some pumpkins have started to go soft in large areas: Amonia, Control, Vaseline, Vinegar, K-Y Jelly, Wet Silicone Personal lubricant, WD-40, 5% Bleach, Hair Spray, Honda Spray Polish (automotive spray polish), and furniture polish pumpkins are all going mushy. Vinegar, Clear Coat, and Amonia pumpkins have actually all caved in. The uncarved pumpkin is completely normal, no ill effects whatsoever.

8 1/2 Days After Carving: Checkpoint 4 - The correct preservation product is clearly the Chlorox Cleanup With Bleach. The Chlorox pumpkin has less mold and rot than any other pumpkin. A couple of pumpkins have less mold than average, but the Chlorox Cleanup With Bleach has less rot as well. It hasn't lasted as well as the uncarved pumpkin, but it is superior to the other products.

10 1/2 Days After Carving: Checkpoint 5 - I am going to discontinue the study here. The pumpkins are stinking up the yard and the flies are getting out of control.

I will make one final conclusion: Preserving your pumpkin with Chlorox Cleanup will help keep mold and squirrels away and will allow it to last approximately twice as long as using no preservative. Chlorox Cleanup With Bleach also had no noticeable affect on the color or appearance of the pumpkin. Conclusion: I suggest you preserve you pumpkin with Chlorox Cleanup With Bleach. It will last about twice as long than it would without any preservative

The Mommy Paparazzi...

2009-10-20T22:20:00.009-05:00

...strike again.

SPOTTED!!

check out my Facebook page for more!

I Have An Addiction...

2009-10-14T13:12:00.001-05:00

and it needs no words....

The 30 yr Old Angel

2009-10-13T20:44:00.007-05:00

Each year on my birthday, there was always one thing that I could always count on...that one of these porcelain little ladies above would be neatly boxed up and wrapped just waiting for me to open. As I got older, as soon as I laid eyes on that one present...the perfectly wrapped box that each year got bigger and bigger, I knew exactly what was waiting inside. Quite honestly, I was always much more concerned with whatever else lay inside all of the other boxes....and most years, she was opened last with a sigh, after all of my other birthday present options had been thoroughly exhausted.

But over all of those years, after all of those presents, the angels are the ones I now treasure the most. I have 22 of these angels!! She starts as a new baby and goes to 21...each year she's posing differently, holding tight to something new and growing. The pics above don't show her size difference, but each year she gets bigger and bigger...just like the young recipient. A few years ago, my mom boxed all my girls up and handed them over and when Anna was born, I started our own tradition.

When I came home from the hospital after Anna was born, I dug out my "new baby" angel, the first of the set, and displayed her in Anna's room. And when Anna turned 1, together we put the "new baby" angel back in the box and found the "1" angel, took her upstairs and found her a nice little home in Anna's room. And just a couple months ago when Anna turned 3, together we took the "2" angel down to the box and found the "3" angel. She was so delighted and loved her new "3" angel...just one more affirmation that she's now a big girl!! I did the exact same when Josie was born, found my "new baby" angel and so on.

Can you believe that I recently saw my angels for purchase in my favorite ridiculously overpriced on-line/catalog baby boutique? I pulled the pics above straight off the website!! They are the exact same!!! My mother must have purchased my "1" angel 30 years ago...and the "1" angel you can buy at Chasing Fireflies right HERE is the EXACT same little lady. But, I love that the ones in my girls' rooms were actually mine, and then given to Anna and then to Josie. Thanks mom for such a priceless tradition.

What She Doesn't Know

2009-10-04T18:38:00.004-05:00

Anna Jane: it's amazing what she's knows....but what she doesn't know is even more amazing. This morning, like most mornings, I was putting on my make-up with Anna sitting next to me sifting through my creams and powders. She so much wants to be a big girl...all of the glossies and sparkles seem to just fascinate her. But, when I took the cap off of my foundation stick, it had the markings of a curious little girl all over it. It was gouged and smeared and pretty much useless. I immediately turned to Anna and asked her if she had been playing with my make-up and for the first time that I'm aware of, her little imagination concocted the most intricate tall tale of how my make-up had been destroyed.

She looked me square and the eye and proceeded to tell me that Josephine had gotten out of her crib in the middle of the night, had come into our bathroom and somehow with her magical super baby powers figured out how to out-smart the kiddie proof cabinet locks. According to Anna, she then went right for my make-up bag, took out this foundation stick and massacred it. Now, of course I know this didn't happen....when Josie's awake, I'm on her like flies on poo and I'm such a lite sleeper in the middle of the night I would seriously wake up if a fly sneezed let alone one of my children tore my bathroom apart. Also, this little story would then need to conclude with Josie putting all of these items back, somehow waddling back up to her room and climbing the rails of her crib to get herself back into bed. Uh huh, yea.

So what do you do? The following is a line from the book "The Secret Lives Of Toddlers"...Having a heart to heart with your toddler about the shamefulness and moral weakness of lying is about as good a use of your time as talking quantum physics ...hahaha...i think that says it all.

Also, someone recently told me that when toddlers begin telling little white lies that it's actually a good thing. That it means that they're cognitive capabilities are expanding and that they are beginning to understand depth of thought and consciousness...Nicole, did you tell me that? I can't remember and I'm no pro at this toddler business, so I have no idea...

But it got me thinking about how much they know after just 3 VERY short years. But out of nowhere and just as quickly, I started thinking about all of the things she doesn't know....all of the things I NEVER ever want her to know, but I know can only be contained for so long...

Like why some children have no food to eat. Like why we are at war. Why someone laughs at someone elses pain. Why some people are judged based on their race or religion. The fact that devastating accidents happen. That this world is big and not everyone can be trusted. She doesn't know yet that not everyone has a mommy and daddy that love them. She doesn't know yet about loss. She doesn't know that mother nature isn't always kind. She doesn't know that people take the lives of other people..........................But, I know those things simply come with the territory of being human and if we didn't suffer, what kind of world would we live in?...probably one with very little compassion or humanity.

Even so, we want our little ones to live in their innocent worlds for as long as humanely possible. But, sometimes being a parent feels a little like having your heart broken over and over and over again.

Happy Birthday Blog!

2009-09-30T15:41:00.003-05:00

A year ago today was my very first post on this blog! I was laid up with a kidney stone and had an abnormal amount of extra time on my hands, so thought I'd give it a go. I can't believe that was a year ago!! Time just seems to go by faster and faster.

I've been thinking lately about whether or not I want to continue posting, writing, updating. I mean, who's reading this anyway? Outside of the normal friends and family that I know probably come here frequently, I have no idea!! And I don't care enough to pay for some in depth tracker device that provides all of that hit information. So instead when I started, I put a hit ticker on the page just to see how much traffic this is really generating.

I glanced at the ticker before starting this post and it was at 8,217. So, is this a lot? No, not at all. Buttttttttt, it's enough to keep me writing! I figure I'm a good portion of those hits...if you count me down for 2 hits each day every day (which is definintely inflated b/c there are days on end that go by when I'm not here at all), even so, that's still just 730 hits. I also know that this ticker number is pure hits, not unique visitors, but again, that's still 7,000+ hits coming from somewhere other than my own laptop. Plus, every now and then someone random will send me an email, message me on Facebook and reference something that I posted on...and I think 'cool, he/she read my blog'. So, yea I'm gonna keep it up for now!

So whether you've been here once or 2000 times....thanks for stopping by!

Forever 21....

2009-09-28T19:16:00.005-05:00

literally??? So what are we gonna do about this thing called aging? If you had the chance, would you opt to live forever? Would you choose to stop time and if so, at what age?.... 17? 21? 29? 40?

I went out on Saturday night and got carded...now at 21, I would've been ticked off and would've spent the rest of the evening rolling my eyes at whoever dare question my mature age. But, now, at 31 and 2 children later, it's a different story. When someone cards me, I LOVE it and I love them and I'm happy. For those of you naturally blessed with youthful glowing skin, you probably don't care...but do you know how much those anti-wrinkle creams cost???? Just take one step into your local Sephora and you'll need a valium and a glass of wine just to get you to the check out counter.

I have become an anti-wrinkle product junkie...I'm hoping by the time it's really bad I'll be able to take a magic pill, and POOF, wrinkles be gone. But, until them, I'm gonna try my damndest to keep them at bay. Thank god Sephora has an awesome return policy cause most of these overpriced creams don't work. So if you're thinking about giving something a chance, call me, because I'm pretty sure I've tried it.

But if I had the chance to stop time, would I? If I had the chance to freeze myself as I am today forever, would that make me happy? As novel as it sounds, I venture to say that my answer would be no. In the world we live in today, living forever is a concept that's unthinkable and uncomprehendable. But, it may not be that far off. One word...nanotechnology. Many believe that this technologic advancement is the key to our everlasting life. Nanotechnology has the potential to push back on human life and let humans drink from the well of immortality...some say within 20 years. Think artificial hearts, artificial livers....fixing organ deterioration at the cell level and literally turning back time. Sounds fascinating...but who would choose this? A life that never ends....sounds exhausting.

As much as I loved being a kid, I don't want to be a kid anymore. And as much as I loved being 21, I wouldn't want to be there again without all of the people I was there with the first time around. But even if we could all freeze time and live forever together, as we multiply and multiply where would we all live? And who are we to disrupt the circle of life? Can you imagine what life will be like 100 years from now? OR 1000 years from now?

hmmm, I don't know. But, just because I'm working hard to find the magic potion for smoothing out those unwelcomed fine lines...it doesn't mean I want to live forever.

Honey, I'm Home...

2009-09-24T19:01:00.009-05:00

Today I reached an all-time mommy low. :-) Shortly after we got home tonight I was emptying the dishwasher while the girls were enjoying an episode of Max & Ruby (one we've seen a million times) when an all familiar smell forcefully made it's way from the family room into the kitchen and right into my smell buds (BTW, I'm convinced that every cartoon on television really only has 4 episodes in existance and they just replay them over and over and over ad nauseam to torture the parents). Anyway, I've picked up some annoying bug and have been completely congested for the past 3-4 days...a cookie may as well be a carrot cause they taste the same to me right now. But even without my sense of smell intact, I still fell victim to the stench of a 3 yr old's poopy diaper.

The first thought that entered my head was that maybe it was my just my imagination, so I ignored it for a few minutes. But when the offending odor refused to leave and the 3 yr old in question confirmed from the family room that she did in fact have a poop in her diaper, I knew I was gonna have to get creative.

So the second thought in my head was of my poor unsuspecting husband. I had just talked to him on the phone about 45 min prior to the incident, so I knew he was on his way home and should be walking through the door at any minute.

So, yes, I actually did this: instead of taking my dirty child upstairs to change her, I walked across the room, picked up the phone and dialed my hubby's number to see where he was in his commute. Yes, I was hoping he was going to tell me he was about to pull into our neighborhood, so that in good conscience I could wait and pawn our dirty little girl off onto him.

But of course traffic was bad or something....yada yada....something about picking up dinner....and darn it OF COURSE I was gonna have to do it. He wasn't close enough and I just couldn't justify waiting until he arrived, although I suffered an internal battle over it for a good 10 minutes. So with gag reflex in full effect and just short of asking Anna Jane to walk upstairs and change herself, I begrudgingly took her up and did it myself.

True story. haha

Here It Is...

2009-09-22T20:22:00.002-05:00

...the skinny on what I think about healthcare reform. Sooo, personally, I think Obama's got bigger fish to fry, like recovering the economy for one. But if we're gonna hash out healthcare reform, then yes, I agree with the liberals on one thing....healthcare costs are inflated and sky high. I just don't agree on the policies needed to improve healthcare for the masses. So, how can we improve healthcare in the US? I can tell you for absolute sure that a government controlled public option is not the answer. If you want to look into a crystal ball and predict the outcome of that one, just take a look at govn't run state medicaid...it's a total disaster. OR take a look at other countries who currently use socialized medicine. Also, I don't think people realize that it is flat out illegal for a hospital to turn someone away based on their ability to pay. I work in the inner city where half of these people have no insurance....they are never turned away and don't pay a dime. If someone needs urgent medical care, they get it and they get it immediately. If one hospital can't handle it, they transfer to another. This is not the case in countries who've adopted govn't supported healthcare...they'll be lucky if they can afford to keep up the sidewalks out in front of the building.

So for those of us happy with our current healthcare, the claim is that if we have private insurance, we can keep it. That sounds great in theory! The questions is, for how long? The answer, not long. The reason is because as soon as a government supported healthcare option exists, the company that you work for that is paying the majority of your healthcare costs is gonna say...wait a minute, they have this government option now and we would save a ton of money by not offering them private healthcare insurance. So they won't and they'll stop your private option. And then the private insurance companies won't be able to compete or survive and we'll all be relying on the govn't to pay our healthcare costs. When that happens, the availablity and quality of care will plummet.

Why? Because of money of course. See, some people fail to realize that the healthcare industry has to be profitable. Otherwise, who is going to pay for all of the technology and medical advancements....and who's going to pay all of the incredibly talented physicians that we all depend on to keep us healthy??? These people are not going to work for free!!! If you think the government can pay for this, think again. Just today I visited one of my accounts....a state supported medical facility. The building literally should be condemned, the driveway's full of pot holes and weeds, no money to even buy toilet paper. Scary. That's why claims will be denied and care will be cut off.

So it's not that I don't think that everyone should have good healthcare! In a perfect world, that would be ideal!! But it's never going to be perfect...and if we go to socialized medicine, how much money you make won't matter....it won't matter if you're rich or poor because we'll ALL have poor healthcare. Some of us saw the writing on the wall a long time ago and luckily millions of others have taken a true interest in their own healthcare, have done some homework and are saying no!! So, I'm feeling more confident that the majority of americans are totally against this healthcare plan...right and left both.

Of course I don't have the answers on how to reform healthcare and decrease costs, but I have a couple ideas. First, how about tort reform???? I can only imagine the financial consequences of all of the wasted resources spent on baseless claims against physicians. And then those claims that are won, are for astronomical amounts of money. It's sad that today physicians have to spend so much time practicing defensive medicine instead of truly doing what they love and just taking care of their patients.

Another idea is for free market insurance options. How about opening state lines up to insurance plan competition?? There are over a thousand different healthcare plans out there, but state to state, you'll be lucky if you have a dozen options. Here's a lesson in ECON 101...competition drives down prices. Or what about an increase in availability to pre-taxed healthcare accounts???

So, yes, I think healthcare absolutely needs to be affordable, but I also think we are all responsible to some degree. In an idealistic world, we'd all have free state of the art healthcare availability...but seriously, in reality, who's gonna pay for that??

Don't Stop The Paparazzi

2009-09-21T22:18:00.003-05:00

Where O where did my energy go?? I know, I know, I've been MIA again, but I swear, I'm here. I'm just knee deep in the daily grind...if I'm not talking neurotransmitters, I'm changing diapers!! I'm still trying to carve out the time to blog about healthcare reform, in the meantime just a few random thoughts...

I just have to say how much I love Facebook! A long lost Miami friend found me on Facebook a few months ago and tonight I actually spoke to her on the phone for the first time in probably 10 years!! She ironically just moved less than 30 min from us, so I'll actually see her soon. Thank you Facebook gods!! Julie, I can't wait.

Don't you just love Lady Gaga right now? I'm your biggest fan, I'll follow you until you love me, papa, paparazzi. I swear sometimes I feel like I'm still 17...if only I had the energy.

Filled With Glee

2009-09-11T14:34:00.003-05:00

Say hello to my new obsession. As I've said before, the first true love of my life was music... and when you mix good music with good comedy, I'm hooked. I LOVE this show! So, who else is watching?? I especially love the comically biting one-liners from cheerleading Coach Sue played by Jane Lynch...ya know from Best in Show?...ok, if you haven't seen Best in Show, stop what you're doing and go get it. And I LOVE the Glee arrangements of Kanye's Gold Digger and Rihanna's Take A Bow....missed them?...just turn up your speakers. Mix in teenage strife and it's my kind of show.

So that's where I'll be every Wed night at 8c! If you have yet to tune in, join me this week...

Reform?...Nah, Not Tonight

2009-09-09T21:13:00.003-05:00

I came here tonight to blog about healthcare reform, but then logged in and lost the energy. So instead, I thought I'd share a couple cute things Anna said today:

While hugging her goodnight she said, "mommy, I love what you are and I love what you do". I've gotta ask D.J. where she got this, definitely a book...Snuggle Puppy maybe??

We were talking about birthdays tonight and I told her she wasn't going to be a grown up for a long time...she said "yea, I'll be in the 3's class for a long time and THEN I'll be a grown-up".

While changing her dirty diaper tonight I told her that big girls use the potty and she said "mommy, remember? the doctor said no more potty!" She heard me on the phone with the pediatrician last week when he told me she wasn't ready to be potty trained and to go back to diapers...now she uses it to her benefit any chance she gets!

And BONUS: I took yesterday off and we spent the ENTIRE day together shopping. Last night while tucking her in I told her how much fun I had had with her that day...and she replied "mommy, you're my best friend"...HEART MELTING!!

Maybe tomorrow I'll find the energy to attack the healthcare debate...lord knows I've got lots to say...

Fall Nostalgia

2009-08-31T19:32:00.008-05:00

It never seems to fail that every year when the summer comes to a close and the first cool breeze of the season blows in, I get nostalgic. And even though, until tomorrow, it's still technically August, this past week has been like the perfect September. Fall is my absolute favorite time of year and I ALWAYS get wrapped up in nostalgia...over things like back to school--when everyone else returns to campus after summer session is over, shopping with all my girlfriends for the perfect homecoming dress, watching my crush play in the first high school football game of the season, trick-or-treating no matter what--rain, shine, or sleet, all of my countless birthday parties filled with all of the friends I've met along the way. I think the last birthday party I had was my Sweet Sixteen, one that I'm sure my poor mother would like to forget.

But today the overwhelming nostalgia I felt was for holding Anna Jane when she was just a tiny little newborn. The cool air brought on this vivid memory of her at probably 8 weeks old...she was wearing this cute knit pink hat, Bengals jersey onesie, and little tan corduroy pants. It was a gorgeous October day, a lot like today, just cooler...and obviously a Sunday cause the Bengals were playing. After cheering them on for a bit, I strapped her into the Baby Bjorn and we went for a long walk down Lincoln Ave, just the two of us. She was so happy that day, those big brown eyes just taking it all in....so much to learn. If only now I could just have 5 minutes in that moment again...

Today she moved into the early preschool class and everyday I watch her become more and more independent, more and more confident, become more and more a little girl. Almost daily, I tell myself, remember everything about this right now...how her face looks, what her voice sounds like, hold her as much as she'll let you and enjoy her every moment...because soon she'll be thinking the same about her own children.

In the meatime, as they are busy growing, we can enjoy reliving some of the things that bring on our own nostalgia. It's one of the greatest things about being a parent...the halloween costumes we're picking out just aren't for us anymore.

Top 5 Signs That You're Bored

2009-08-25T20:02:00.004-05:00

5. You just ate 2 Bagelfuls...but skillfully removed all of the cream cheese first.

4. You find yourself watching and engrossed in the most horrendous show to ever air on television..."More To Love"

3. You consider going to bed at 8pm - and you consider taking work material with you to read for fun.

2. You find yourself Facebook stalking your own page.

1. You turn on the Wii.

hahahaha...what happened to me tonight???

When It Rains...We Party!!

2009-08-18T21:04:00.010-05:00

Well Anna had her "purple party" at the spray park and it was cold, windy and it rained and it poured...and it rained some more. Despite the weather, everyone made it out and I think the kids had a little bit of fun....

Anna's Purple Princess Cake...isn't she cute???

The kids got in a little fun before the weather totally went downhill...

The wind was blowing all the centerpieces around...this is a hodge podge of what was salvagable!!

My poor poor Pom Poms...not only are these not cheap, they have to be assembled!! It took 4 of us 2 hours the night before to assemble these...that's 8 man hours of hard labor (thank you mom and Kim)! They just melted in the rain...

The wind kept blowing the match out...

The birthday girl is having fun...that's all that matters!

At least there's still lots of smiles....

and yummy cake...

Do you see my sad little pom lying in the puddle in the corner?? uh huh, yea.

But all that mattered was good company....and hmmm, good cake!

Anna sported her purple "3" dress to match...

and all the kiddies went home with a purple cookie...

Later at home, we warm up and the fun continues...

hmmmm, that was good!!

The best part...Anna opens her presents!!

The Birthday Girl!

What a fun day!

but...if only it had been like the day before...GORGEOUS...

Maybe we'll try the spray park again next year..and leave the poms at home!! :-)

Leavin' On A Jet Plane

2009-08-17T20:31:00.009-05:00

Hello! I know I've been so MIA, but August has been crazy! Orlando, then Michigan then Seattle. Tonight Anna asked me who daddy and I visited in Seattle...well, no one...but this is what we did do!...

Nick, Nicole, Fred & Barb (if you happen to be reading this)...thank you, thank you, thank you!

So, what did I think of Seattle? I loved it...it's the perfect combination of outback living with fine dining and all of the luxuries of the big city. ahhh, such a great trip...

ok, so I have lots of cute pics of the girls from michigan, anna's party, etc...coming soon! stay tuned.

Anna's Having A Party...And I think Tonight's Gonna Be A Good Night!

2009-08-01T13:00:00.005-05:00

My BFF Katie recently said that "I Gotta A Feeling" by Fergie and the gang just makes her feel good! I have to agree with her. You can't help but make a fool of yourself in the car when it comes on the radio...and it's one of those songs that makes you jump right to the dance floor when you're at a bar and the DJ starts spinning it. Another of my all time faves that just makes me feel good is "Forever" by the all controversial C Brown.....but whatever, I still love it.

So, turn up your computer speakers and join the party!!

Mommy Needs A Drink!

2009-07-29T20:11:00.005-05:00

Is there a full moon tonight? The tantrums started as we were leaving the Kindercare tonight. We were there late celebrating the annual open house and Anna had spent 2 hours bouncing in the bounce house, decorating cupcakes and playing relay games. She had been her sweet, charming little self the entire time. But, all good things must come to an end, right? So, on our way out the door, she decided she really must have crackers. That was fine...she could have crackers, no problem. But, she decided that the ones at the exit door were not good enough and she needed some other crackers (i still don't know exactly what she wanted). I told her that the crackers at the door were her only option...well, this instantly threw her into a fit of rage.

So now she's on the ground screaming for crackers that don't even exist...blocking the front door her arms and legs flailing. I knew immediately that nothing I could say would tame this wild beast, so with my bag, keys and Josie in one hand, I scooped Anna off the floor with the other and headed out the door. Needless to say, it was a struggle all the way to the car and even more of a struggle to actually pin this child down long enough to strap her into the carseat. The drive home was misery...between sobs and sniffles she just kept screaming for these imaginary crackers. And when we got home, it only got better...

Once unrestrained and out of the car, she continued to put on this show right in our driveway for the entire neighborhood to witness. Of course, everyone was out to enjoy what had been their calm, peaceful evening. One couple was out walking their dogs, 3 of the local kids were throwing around a baseball and my other neighbor was out washing his car. After a quick, but pointless attempt to coerce Anna into the house, I just left her out there to deal with her own hot mess. Don't worry, it was brief...just long enough for me to catch my breath, ask God for some additional patience and stick Josie somewhere safe so I can deal with her seemingly possessed big sister.

I go outside and AGAIN, I scoop her off the pavement and practically have to drag her inside. Once inside, I try to calm her down asking her to use her words to tell me what it was she wanted. Well, now she wanted cheese. Ok, I can do cheese! We have like 50 different cheeses in the fridge...YAY! so, I pull them out one after the other and to my disarray none of them are good enough. She doesn't want this cheese, doesn't want that cheese...she decides she wants some cheese that again, just doesn't exist. The tantrum resumes.

That's it, this child is clearly beyond all exhaustion. So with legs and arms flailing again, I drag her upstairs kicking and screaming. I have to literally pin her down just to get a new diaper on. Pajamas are completely out of the question at this point in time...I will sneak them on her later after she's fallen asleep. I kiss her, tell her I love her, give her her blankie and off I go to make my drink! The kind of screaming that commenced, was screaming that I probably haven't heard from her since she was a newborn. For those of you who have had fussy newborns, you know what I mean....barely able to breath, screaming that almost sounds like gargling, face beat red. The intensity died down after a few minutes of this and I could finally understand the words beneath the screams. She wanted a bath, wanted to brush her teeth, read a book...all the things we normally do before bed...but we aren't normally this tired, so i let her go until she sobbed herself to sleep.

Ironically, I just talked to my sister who said that her kids were so unbearable tonight that she told my mom "I don't think I can be their mom anymore"!! LOL

Diary Confessions Of A Girl

2009-07-24T18:14:00.003-05:00

I think every little kid should keep a diary, if not for the sole purpose of entertaining them when they're older! My mom has been cleaning house over the past year or so, and when I say cleaning house, I mean purging everything under her roof that is no longer useful. I am a purger, I hate clutter, so I'm not sure why she's waited this long to do it!! But, while in this process, she came across boxes and boxes of stuff, my stuff. And somewhat like a punishment, she made me take them home!! I couldn't just toss them out without actually investigating what's inside. What if I threw away something extremely valuable?..something I couldn't live without? Even being the purger that I am, I had to at least take a look...so, I came across a diary. I remember this diary, but I don't really remember what I had to say to it. Here are just a few excerpts that had me LOL:

Dec 28th, 1987 "Diary, there is someone in school m'i ni eolv iwth " apparently I felt the need to talk to my diary in code.

Dec 30th 1987 "Today diary I've figured out my sister is a big bratt...whine, whine, all she ever does is whine. I've had it with her...I've put up with her for 7 years...since she was born!"

"while you're up, lets talk (or write i mean)...Kim just said she saw Tom Cruise (bragger) and she has never seen him. (Yawn)"

Jan 2, 1990 "Later Heather gave us our Christmas present. It's perfume and it smells good...it's called Malibu Musk and it comes in a can." ---I laughed out loud at this one again just now while writing it.

"I made my mom a calendar, I worked hard on it, very hard and all I get is a thank you and a kiss. Then I get yelled at for everything else I do."

Jan 2nd, 1990 "My favorite song is "Blame it on the rain" by Milly Vanilly. I wanted to go to Harts or K-mart to get his tape, but my mom doesn't want to go."

Dec 31 1991 "I was going out with this guy named ### ##### at the beginning of 8th grade, but he was a jerk (one of the many)"

Jan 1st 1996 "I know he plans on staying together, but I'm guy-crazy. That explains everything" ---writing about what will happen when I graduate and go to college.

Jan 14th 1996 "Right now I'm stricken with guilt. See, today is our 9 month anniversary and we kinda had plans. Well, I cancelled on him and went out with my friends which turned out to be the biggest flop. So, now he's skiing and instead i'm laying here thinking of him".

Feb 14th 1996 "This has probably been the worst Valentine's Day ever! I didn't get crap, I don't feel good and I endulged in chocolate. It can't get any worse than this." -- well, that's what happens when you blow him off to go out with your friends instead!

Oh to be young again...

Katie's Birthday Dance!

2009-07-21T12:21:00.003-05:00

My bestest friend Katie turns 31 today. Happy Birthday! Sooo, I opened up my hotmail this afternoon and this email from Mandy was sitting in my inbox: (btw, I can't stop laughing)!!

Click Below To View

Katie's Birthday Dance

Insanity

2009-07-20T21:46:00.002-05:00

For a short period of time this past weekend, I fell into about an hour's worth of temporary insanity. Yes, I temporarily wanted another cute little snuggly baby!!! ahhh, I know, what was I thinking??? That's just what happens when you hold the cutest, sweetest little newborn. We made the 7 hour trek to Ohio last weekend to meet Sarah's new little guy. And OMG, he is to die for cute and for a brief moment, he made me want another. But, no worries, it was temporary....at least for now. :-)