tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187793612024-03-07T15:15:52.883-05:00Cherry ExtractUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger504125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-31634253408913828642020-07-19T21:00:00.002-04:002020-07-19T21:00:29.326-04:00Thank You Boogie WipesEvery weekend, when I am mentally able, I have a goal to go through stuff that shockingly, moved with us from CA, and most of this I haven’t touched since we moved. Perhaps some of it moved with us a few times over the last 20 years.<br />
I haven’t let us move in to our new home. Not really.<br />
I set up the kids rooms, but have just been getting by everywhere else. It’s not great to live like this.<br />
It’s been 2 years. It’s time.<br />
<br />
Thank you things. I needed you at one time, and now I don’t. A lot of these things are past their dates and I still have guilt throwing them away. Somethings could find new homes, but I just can’t, not everything. I’m sorry Mother Earth. <br />
<br />
I will keep needing to remind myself that it’s ok to let these things go. That they are causing me more worry and effort than the benefit that they might bring maybe, someday.<br />
<br />
It has taken me 4 hours to go through a small container of stuff that I mostly threw out. All bathroom type stuff I haven’t looked at since we moved 2 years ago. Mostly expired. And mostly items purchased 5-20 years ago. It took me so long because I had to go through it all multiple times. Had to convince my it was ok to let things go. That I didn’t need to keep any of this for those just in case moments.<br />
<br />
It is a physical manifestation that shows me I am wasting money.<br />
It is a physical manifestation of the mess in my brain.<br />
My brain is full. And it’s chaotic and I can’t be the best I can be anymore and I am NOT living up to the standards I hold myself to.<br />
So it’s time.<br />
It’s time to be better.<br />
It’s time to do something to remove the clutter from my brain, from my worry, all of it is a drain on me and I want to be better for me. For Eric. For my kids. For my friends. For my family. For my co-workers.<br />
<br />
Thank you and goodbye wedding day lip liner and blush.<br />
Thank you and goodbye old toddler Boogie wipes.<br />
Thank you and goodbye really old ovulation tests.<br />
Thank you and goodbye broken shower caddy.<br />
Thank you and goodbye the leave in conditioner spray bottle that always sprayed really nicely for the last 20+ years so I just kept refilling it with watered down conditioner, but I couldn’t find since we moved and I haven’t really missed, so I probably don’t need it.<br />
Thank you to all of the things that I have kept around and made me feel less wasteful if I could save it to use someday.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-18106423122107658852013-04-05T08:15:00.001-04:002013-04-05T08:15:20.916-04:00Downside of a sleeperMy LilMiss was and still is not a great sleeper. Nature vs nurture? Probably a little of both at play here. But as a full time working out of the house mom, that suited me as I was her night time parent so the hubs could recover to keep up with her during the day, after all I was just sitting at a desk using my brain, that doesn't require much sleep. (I kid!)<br />
She nursed a lot through the night until she was over a year old, and she was in our room until almost 2. Even though I wasn't with her much of the day, i still had the night time. We were fine that her bedtime became later than most kids her age as that gave me time with her. I fed her dinner, we'd play a little, bathe her, and have a long bedtime routine. She's a great cuddler! Alas, now at almost 3 she still wants us there as she falls asleep which is adorable and sweet but not always practical because someone will generally fall asleep in her room with her and that leaves no adult time, house work time, free time for us. <br />
<br />
Enter Little Dude, who isn't one of those sleep through the night the day they come home kids, but he does sleep way better than LilMiss. The bummer for me is, he is ready for bed around 6 or 6:30 and I've only just gotten home. Hubs usually has him cleaned up, in an overnight diaper, all slathered in diaper cream and in jammies as I walk in the door. I take him and play for a bit and then it's generally a half way decent nursing session before he passes out. If I'm lucky, I'll have gotten home early enough or Dudes has taken a later afternoon snooze, that I can cook dinner for everyone else before Dudes is beside himself tired. <br />
<br />
LilMiss was never successfully in a crib so she was in our bed or in her own bed in our room. Lots of cuddle time, kicks in the head, gut and other sensitive parts, and screaming jarring nightmares about her falling out of bed. She'd wake 3+ times a night, crawl over and cuddle my head and fall back to sleep...holding my head. <br />
Dude is in a crib. Doing it differently. He does wake most nights at least once, but that is purely a 'FEED ME' time and he goes right back to sleep. Some nights I let him sleep in my arms before putting him down, or I'll pull him into bed with me but I don't sleep well like that. With LilMiss, her continuing to bedshare seemed necessary. This guy, we all sleep better with him in his crib. <br />
But am I missing too much? Sure, I'm sleeping more (sorta - thank you insomnia) but am I going to regret being so absent during this phase? Will we not have as tight of a connection? Is sleep really that important? (Don't answer that)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-89806318031124984242013-04-04T04:42:00.001-04:002013-04-04T04:42:25.600-04:00Hello old friend/enemyAnd here I am, 1:30am on a work night and I'm once again not sleeping. Insomnia has always been a battle of mine and usually triggered by stress. Guess this means I'm stressed. Yay. <br />
<br />
It's fairly lonely and I almost want to wake the baby and feed him or something so I feel like this not sleeping is somewhat productive and that maybe his cuddly warm snuggles will help me drift off to sleep. <br />
<br />
Since waking a baby, who is finally starting go sleep through the night (hallelujah!), is crazy talk, tonight I opted to read some of the 100s of unread blog posts in my reader feed before Google decommissions Google Reader and remember back to the days of my bloggy community. Part of me misses the community, part misses the improvement of my writing, there is the ever popular therapy aspect, and now that I have kids I miss the sharing and documenting of their awesomeness. <br />
So as usual, I turn to blogging when insomnia hits hard and I write yet another post about writing posts and not sleeping. Maybe that's my new theme. Woo. Exciting stuff. Don't you want more?<br />
<br />
Well I guess that was enough for my brain because now I'm yawning and as the sleep experts say with regards to getting babies to sleep....watch for the cues and don't miss the window!<br />
<br />
Hope no one else reads this because they aren't sleeping when they should be. <br />
<br />
Sweet Dreams!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-14518698780602983982013-01-30T11:59:00.001-05:002013-01-30T12:01:55.444-05:00Budding artistThis happened during last night's bedtime avoidance scheme. While annoyed at the late hour, I was also beaming with amazement and pride to see LilMiss's scribbles turn into drawings. <br />
<br />
Her first "drawing" (that I noticed) was done on Grammys birthday card a few weeks ago when she drew a birthday cake complete with candles, buttercream roses and sprinkles. I don't know why I didn't take a picture. Probably the same reason I've never written down and notable moments in either kids lives. <br />
<br />
Our family. <br />
L to R<br />
Grammy, Cosmo the cat, baby brother LD, Mama, Daddy and LilMiss in pink of course.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVpnfy4Njdyx4NFOPqSBE2F9bjZiWZKAxqnNuiTQaWlNMf3Q19L3XeXBaXuT3yGOn1sqei_ncqS3tFUgUFVl9c3-CsCrf5HHE_aDvL9vZ7eqiKwpLRXPfonmz0Dd4eCM2WAIJ3/s640/blogger-image--1878980102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVpnfy4Njdyx4NFOPqSBE2F9bjZiWZKAxqnNuiTQaWlNMf3Q19L3XeXBaXuT3yGOn1sqei_ncqS3tFUgUFVl9c3-CsCrf5HHE_aDvL9vZ7eqiKwpLRXPfonmz0Dd4eCM2WAIJ3/s640/blogger-image--1878980102.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-45651985991004524472013-01-22T09:14:00.001-05:002013-01-22T09:14:48.175-05:0048 Things MemeJulie just did this, who got it from Issa, and I was awake after feeding the baby at dark o'clock so why sleep when I could do a meme for over an hour and make my hands/arms hurt?<br />
<br />
I'd do the proper bloggy thing and add links to my buddies mentioned up there and down there, but I'm on my phone and don't even know if this app can handle HTML so I'll come back later and add links. Maybe. Likely not. If you're reading this you likely already know how to find them or are them anyway. <br />
<br />
1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?<br />
Not that I'm aware of. <br />
<br />
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?<br />
A little over three weeks 3 weeks ago, the husband went out of town suddenly and I had both kids at home with me. Pretty sure the baby was crying and I needed the toddler to do something and she wouldn't. Pretty sure there was pee involved. <br />
<br />
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?<br />
NO. It's usually ok for the first few lines and then gets sloppy and horrible. <br />
<br />
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?<br />
Coppa or really good prosciutto. Ok just about any cured meat. <br />
<br />
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?<br />
Yes. <br />
<br />
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?<br />
I think so. <br />
<br />
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?<br />
Noooooo! Ha!<br />
<br />
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?<br />
Yes.<br />
<br />
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?<br />
I was going to say yes but Julie's answer is making think I should say no. <br />
<br />
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?<br />
When I was pregnant with LD I bought Cap'n Crunch. Yummmmo<br />
<br />
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?<br />
Most of the time. Depends on what's in my arms and how badly I want them off. Like if I have a sleeping baby in my arms and I want to lay down and snuggle....hell no. Those are getting kicked off any way I can. Snuggles are too awesome. <br />
<br />
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?<br />
Physically - No<br />
Emotionally - No and Yes. Depends on what mode I'm in. <br />
With my heart - No<br />
With my brain - Yes. Stubborn is another word for it. <br />
<br />
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?<br />
Butter Pecan, Goooood Vanilla, Hazelnut, Chocolate chip<br />
<br />
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?<br />
I'm not sure. I shall observe and update if I remember. <br />
<br />
15. RED OR PINK?<br />
uhh. If I were to look at my closet I'd say....oh that's not a good judge as I have one red thing and one pink thing. <br />
I used to be anti-pink as I perceived it girly, soft and weak. And now it's my daughters favorite color and while she's girly as in she likes princesses, bows and such, she's no weakling in any sense of the word. <br />
I'm told I look good in Red. <br />
<br />
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?<br />
Oh now this one could be long but I'll go with my temper, challenge with listening and selfishness. Kind of all those things that make others see me as strong, they are also bully-ish. <br />
<br />
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?<br />
This may sound silly, but at this very moment, I miss my kids. I'm laying in bed at 5am after a 4am feeding for LD and I'm tying to sleep train them both to sleep on their own because we all need our sleep but man I miss snuggling my kids. <br />
<br />
18. WHAT IS THE TECHNIQUE THAT YOU NEED TO WORK ON THE MOST?<br />
Listening<br />
<br />
19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?<br />
I'm in bed so no shoes. But I am wearing fuzzy pink socks. Oh...I guess that's 2 pink articles of clothing....<br />
<br />
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?<br />
Costco chicken and broccoli. <br />
<br />
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?<br />
LD breathing as he sleeps. <br />
<br />
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?<br />
Colbalt Blue<br />
<br />
23. FAVORITE SMELLS?<br />
Vanilla<br />
Pretty much anything cooking in the kitchen savory or sweet but things coming to mind are cooking meat and breads (quick or yeast)<br />
This is weird and likely hormone related because LD just started solids - breast milk poo. <br />
<br />
24. HOW IMPORTANT ARE YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS TO YOU?<br />
To me? on a scale of 10 with 10 being fanatical , id say a 7. Not very and yet if you have opposing views I am baffled many times. <br />
<br />
25. MOUNTAIN HIDEAWAY OR BEACH HOUSE?<br />
Ohhh toughy and why I love living here. I can have both (not really due to money and time which is tied back to money) but I can get to both the beach and mountains within a few hours. <br />
I'm craving the mountains right now though. <br />
<br />
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?<br />
No thank you. <br />
I used to enjoy ice skating and gymnastics but now find sport watching for the sake of the sport to be boring at least on TV. I'll do it for the social aspect though...and the food. <br />
<br />
27. HAIR COLOR?<br />
Dark Brown brown brown with UGH grey highlights. <br />
<br />
28. EYE COLOR?<br />
Brown<br />
<br />
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?<br />
Yes. <br />
<br />
30. FAVORITE FOOD?<br />
Meat! Sooo craving a steak right now <br />
Salmon sashimi<br />
Cheese<br />
Summer fruits which include tomatoes<br />
Potato chips any flavor as long as they are crispy and salty and preferably thin thin thin. Not a fan of those homemade ones that are thick. <br />
<br />
<br />
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?<br />
Happy endings. I can't stand suspense or scary stuff<br />
<br />
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?<br />
All the way through? No idea but I've partially watched many kid movies recently. <br />
<br />
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?<br />
Grey <br />
<br />
34. SUMMER OR WINTER?<br />
SUMMER!!<br />
<br />
35. FAVORITE DESSERT?<br />
Usually I'd say ice cream but for some reason I really want to say pie - Berry crumb to be exact. <br />
<br />
36. STRENGTH TRAINING OR CARDIO?<br />
Cardio<br />
<br />
37. COMPUTER OR TELEVISION?<br />
Computer<br />
<br />
38. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?<br />
Nothing but there are a number of started but not finished ones on my Kindle. <br />
<br />
39. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?<br />
Who still uses mouse pads?<br />
<br />
40. FAVORITE SOUND?<br />
Tonight was listening to my husband and toddler playing and laughing, LD's belly laughs or the err erring sounds LD makes as he's falling asleep (which he's not doing right now by the way as he's awake for some reason - 5:45am- and struggling to get back to sleep though not exactly crying or err-ing)<br />
<br />
41. FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC?<br />
NOT KID MUSIC! <br />
Pop, Alternative, Dance/Electronica- Drum and Base, Trance, House<br />
<br />
<br />
42. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?<br />
I'm guessing Maine or Cancun. <br />
<br />
43. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?<br />
I'm usually right. ha!<br />
I don't think so. <br />
<br />
44. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?<br />
Over that way in California (duh this is a security question)<br />
<br />
45. WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW?<br />
Over this way in California aka right here<br />
<br />
46. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR HOUSE?<br />
Diarrhea if you had eaten a jar of mustard and peas. Wow lots of poo references today. Pretty sure my landlord mixed a bunch of paint together. <br />
<br />
47. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR CAR?<br />
Silver<br />
<br />
48. DO YOU LIKE ANSWERING 48 QUESTIONS?<br />
I liked reading people's answers so figured it was the fair thing to do. Honestly I grew tired and my hands started hurting a long time ago.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-38104638353625102972012-11-18T12:23:00.001-05:002012-11-18T12:23:31.997-05:00What's in your stuffing?Thanksgiving is around the corner and the grocery stores will be packed with people over the next few days. Guess how many grocery trips we'll make leading up to the big feasting day? No fewer than 5 is my guess. <br />
<br />
Between forgetting stuff and limitation of our cold food storage, many trips are in store. <br />
<br />
In an effort to limit this I always make my shopping lists. I love a good list to calm the chaos in my head but for some reason this year I've stalled out. I'm tired, I'm intimidated by all that needs to happen (cleaning, everyday stuff, entertaining guests, mom's birthday, etc), and I'm undecided on a few things like....THE STUFFING!<br />
<br />
This is the first Thanksgiving in a long time that I'm cooking the traditional Turkey dinner for a crowd. Usually we have beef as we are also celebrating my parent's Birthdays so I cook whatever my dad wants which is always beef, and I'll cook a mini thanksgiving meal for just my small family at some point during the week. I always make the standard celery stuffing which is very tasty but I always hear about other bread stuffings so many other families have so I may veer off my usual path this year and looking for ideas. I've had oyster stuffing and some with sausage which the person who made it loved sooo much but I didn't really, preferring the kinda boring but yummy celery laden variety. <br />
<br />
What's in your family's stuffing?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-59873185448213626662012-11-16T19:12:00.001-05:002012-11-16T19:12:46.332-05:00InconsolableLilMiss has night terrors, day terrors and anything in between terrors. It happens at night and sometimes during the day when she wakes(or doesn't really wake) from a nap.<br />
<br />
Have any of you found triggers when/if your kids had night terrors?<br />
<br />
The other night she appeared hot so I changed her jammies while she kicked and screamed, and once she cooled down she passed right out and was out the rest of the night.<br />
<br />
Today as she was screaming in my ear after waking up too early from a nap and she suddenly said she had to pee, continued to scream with snot and saliva dripping from her face while on the potty, and after getting up she said she wanted some banana bread and magically she was all better.<br />
<br />
I've read some people say TV will cause them, others say any change can be a trigger for their kids. Admittedly she watched a lot of videos today and her Grandma is visiting so a few things have shifted a bunch this week. Who knows. Those little developing brains keep us on our toes.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-17033184692688480752012-11-14T23:31:00.001-05:002012-11-14T23:31:21.308-05:002.5 going on 13'Super cute', 'Sweet', 'Adorable', 'Awesome'; All words I regularly gush when I'm talking about LilMiss. <br />
<br />
And in the last few weeks I have added 'cheeky' and 'ornery'. <br />
<br />
She's still a loving sweet girl but man the tantrums, the blatant rule breaking, the laughing when mommy is at her wits end, the WHINING, the repetitively asking for something over and over again, the refusal to share. Ahhhh<br />
<br />
On top of it all, we're potty training and I really really want to be all cool and supportive with accidents but man at the end of the day when everyone is tired and it's past LDs bedtime and he's screaming, I do not always keep my cool. Especially when I find panties with poop in them from an earlier accident (cool lost on the person who left them there not the one who pooped in them). And then tonight with the 3rd pee accident of the day as she pee's in the closet. Maybe I was disappointed as we had had no accidents for a week even during the night and naps. I got cocky. I seem to loose it more with regards to her fighting hand washing. That's not an accident. That's being 2. I hate when I loose my cool. Ugh the guilt. <br />
<br />
I am not looking forward to 3 or 13. Can I get a patience upgrade please?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-4268304839967408032012-11-13T22:25:00.001-05:002012-11-13T22:25:00.087-05:00Any Progress is ProgressWe've made some good progress on the Dump Zone aka office recovery aka finding a guest room in the land of clutter. And my parents said we can borrow a new queen bed they just bought for their guest room so we don't have to make any quick decisions on a bed/sofa bed when we think we may need to move our bedroom assignments around soon or move all together. And I'm sure The Guests will enjoy that bed more than a sofa bed. Score!<br />
<br />
We are so deadline driven. We've been wanting to tackle that office for a while, so it's nice to have a tangible deadline. Of course we've cleaned/organized/purged in there before but we seem to just mess it up again. <br />
Man we really need less stuff. <br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-36087099977967988812012-11-12T18:01:00.002-05:002012-11-12T18:10:59.395-05:00"Dealing" with the Dump Zone Part of preparing for The Guests includes cleaning up our dump zone of a home office and figuring out how to make it a guest room for at least 2 adults, and maybe one young lady but that's likely pushing it.<br />
<br />
By dump zone I mean, anything we have in the house we don't want the kid to get into, it goes in there. Any papers to be filed or to be dealt with in some way... in it goes. boxes and boxes of networking cables, old routers, hard drives, all things computery really, there's a mess of it. Crafty/sewing/artsy stuff, I'm not sure where but its all in there. The cat litter box? it's in there too.<br />
<br />
Total dump zone. Even if there is a drawer for a specific type of item that drawer is a mess or overflowing so you can't really close it. There is a lot of stuff that has been shoved into the closet or in cabinets and mushed so a lot of ruined stuff too which is painful to see.<br />
<br />
Eric and I have an issue where we can't just buy one or a few of something we think we'll want more of. No, that would be smart. We buy a bunch of something or one of every color just in case. Or a sampling of different brands to see what we like best, most of the time with the intention of doing returns. but instead, it all just ends up in the office or in the garage/attic (the other dump zone). Sigh. TOO MUCH STUFF!<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvVbQZkG-UA0JBXgpWugUOW5uSglRcka8Y_vwy56CbTZlut8RCGbEgULNv7JGD6LhS8cqW68tcoitFiWkY5v6d3nCgCtGCV13V8nxbi_-9gfo3J87YDUqP4rEjXkMBgPEAdkzw/s1600/IMG_2938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvVbQZkG-UA0JBXgpWugUOW5uSglRcka8Y_vwy56CbTZlut8RCGbEgULNv7JGD6LhS8cqW68tcoitFiWkY5v6d3nCgCtGCV13V8nxbi_-9gfo3J87YDUqP4rEjXkMBgPEAdkzw/s1600/IMG_2938.JPG" height="149" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My "desk"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So "dealing" with the mess is what we've been doing in the brief moments when both kids are occupied, happy or napping which doesn't happen often or for long periods of time. At the moment I really want to just throw it all out.<br />
<br />
Don't even ask me what The Guests will be sleeping on once we make the space. That's still TBD. ugh Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-38631587087414512792012-11-11T19:07:00.001-05:002012-11-11T19:07:38.384-05:00A Call for Meal IdeasI have house guests for the next 2 weeks. One week is just adding my Mother In Law to the chaos here but for the other week we also have Eric's sister's family staying with us. That's 3 more adults, and 2 girls (13 and 8). Never mind the a accommodations/bathroom/transportation resources part and ending the visit all happy and still family....how am I going to feed everyone?<br />
<br />
I imagine every other day grocery trips as I only have a side by side fridge and a chest freezer (currently empty and unplugged). <br />
<br />
As a fun bonus, the girls are all picky eaters and Eric's sister prefers no pork (which is the main meat in this house), and any other meat be sourced from farms practicing free range, organic, humane husbandry and really she and her mom prefer vegetarian or fish based meals. Oh yea, and I'm not rich either. <br />
<br />
Please pass on any ideas you have for easy to prepare meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner!). And also prep ahead type stuff. I have almost a week of MIL help before the rest arrive so she can at least entertain the baby (I hope) while I do as much prep stuff as I can. Tough part is LilMiss is going to want to help the whole time too. Weee<br />
<br />
I don't even want to think about the dishes. OMG<br />
Thanks!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-79238242381143127782012-11-11T01:21:00.001-05:002012-11-11T05:14:21.492-05:00The One With No Title because I'm too tiredSuper short post today. I am EXHAUSTED and LilMiss threw an epic fit when Eric tried to read her stories instead of me. Man this MAMA everything thing is heartbreaking. Do we "give in" and give her what she wants? So hard this one. Doesn't help there was almost no nap today and very little eaten and it was an hour past her bedtime. <br />
<br />
2am Update: she just woke up and screamed for what felt like a very long time. I assumed Eric was with her but no. So I just got her back to sleep and then LD was crying as I got back to my room. <br />
I shall go cry now too. <br />
<br />
Today was a lovely day to visit friends we haven't seen since I was pregnant with LilMiss. It was great watching our kids play and LilMiss was introduced to the world of Disney Fairy movies and legos. We're in trouble.<br />
<br />
It was nap time for the puppy and LD. <br />
<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEism7tzVEiBl0n_7iwYsCxL7OOomVKQq0UgimOiDqRyRj_Yvaz37eJ3y-46zfjzIq6MX3D4gFhryAePMlPCHzhRh12GdFu1V5Nnxy-Sdch_xpYiNYLSAflc9-I8UO18e52VAQ3j/s640/blogger-image-2052618252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEism7tzVEiBl0n_7iwYsCxL7OOomVKQq0UgimOiDqRyRj_Yvaz37eJ3y-46zfjzIq6MX3D4gFhryAePMlPCHzhRh12GdFu1V5Nnxy-Sdch_xpYiNYLSAflc9-I8UO18e52VAQ3j/s640/blogger-image-2052618252.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-90586445204609796562012-11-10T11:54:00.001-05:002012-11-10T11:54:02.933-05:00And away goes $ down the drainWe rent. <br />
Our landlord gives little care to our costs to live here. <br />
Insulation is little to none. <br />
Windows are old and drafty. <br />
The water heater is electric. <br />
<br />
I turned on the space heater in my room weeks ago since I'm back here with the baby and it's the worst in terms of heat retention. But last night the central heating has been turned on and likely will not turn off for a few months. <br />
<br />
Oh how I want to move. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-76183062424766013332012-11-10T02:00:00.001-05:002012-11-10T02:01:24.526-05:00MAMA!!!!!!!LilMiss has become exceptionally clingy to me lately. I expected it after giving birth to her brother but now, 3 month later it is hitting hard. <br />
<br />
"Do you want to go to the playground with daddy or go with me..."<br />
"Go with you Mama!"<br />
"But you don't know what I'm doing"<br />
"GO WITH YOU!" And the tears and foot stomping begin. <br />
<br />
Anytime I'm doing something not involving LD, "Help you Mama? I want to help you!"<br />
<br />
And lately I've been getting LD to bed earlier so I can be a part of her bedtime but it seems to have backfired as now she doesn't want me to leave...as in she wants me to sleep with her. And the screaming to the point of gagging begins. <br />
<br />
Last week I could tell her "Mommy is going to bed give me snuggles!" And she'd run to me and hug and kiss me and say "Night! See you morning!" And then run back to her daddy for her bedtime routine of teeth and hair brushing, stories and songs. <br />
<br />
She's been waking in the middle of the night screaming for me. Waking from naps screaming for me. Has a tantrum if I'm not the one making her a snack or a meal. <br />
<br />
It's kind of awesome to be so needed/wanted and then again ....<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-75068811625062893832012-11-09T01:28:00.001-05:002012-11-09T01:28:28.842-05:00Quick ExitFor the last week or two (I honestly don't remember) we said goodbye to diapers for LilMiss and went cold turkey to panties. Oh yea, that's right. I'm talking potty training!<br />
<br />
She'd been using her potty off and on for about 6months but nothing consistent and we weren't pushing it. Just the occasional prompting. We certainly didn't think we'd be want of sound mind to deal with a newly potty trained kid when we were bringing home a newborn so we put it off. <br />
<br />
Then more and more kids in our playgroup started doing it and many with some serious and quick success so we went for it and really she was ready. There are often accidents when we're out but at home she's 100% solid. <br />
<br />
Today was of course no exception to that rule. After dance class, playing in the park and then lunch out a kids gotta go but she's so afraid of public bathrooms she just won't do it. Eric tried. But while they were at a bookstore, while I was having lunch with co-workers, it happened. Enough to fill her shoes and leave a puddle. "Daddy I'm wet and cold!" She said and Eric looked down to see this puddle an he just grabbed her and ran. (Hand meet head). <br />
<br />
He swears it was a teeny tiny puddle. But uh. Ewww! (Plus now he's wet too since he picked her up)<br />
<br />
I've learned to bring at least 2 changes for her but now I am packing shirts for him too. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-91508004709354810452012-11-08T02:46:00.001-05:002012-11-08T02:46:28.759-05:00Tough Neighborly SituationSo our neighbors, whose dog was attacked by a raccoon, have gone to the city to complain about our backyard being overgrown and a harbor for rodents and the city has fined us. There are blackberries growing along the fence mixed with invasively growing ferns. The city fined us without seeing it. <br />
<br />
Um yea. Thanks. Hope your dog is ok. Glad we offered to help during the attack and after and were willing to put ourselves in danger. <br />
<br />
This is the 3rd time they've had the city fine us for various yard related things. We are renters with a landlord who doesn't care about the property to do anything to help deal with the wildly unmanageable and fast growing invasive weeds in the front and the invasive ferns and blackberries in back. We don't want to put too much $ into this place but are expected to "maintain" it. How do you maintain weeds?<br />
<br />
We've put mulch in the front to deal with the lack of lawn/weed patch but there is no match for the weed growth once the rain starts. It's mainly oxalis which looks like clover and you can't really mow it and it puts up flower stocks which do grow high enough to be considered by the city to be too tall. Trouble is if you mow it it looks even worse. And oxalis cannot be removed without removing like a foot deep of soil and its everywhere. Drop one little bulbette and you've still got them. There was only dirt there during the oxalis' dormant period (summer/fall) so I'd hope the mulch would be an improvement. Alas the neighbor still complains the landlord should put in a lawn. I don't think they have any idea the effort/$ involved in that. <br />
<br />
We know we need to cut back the blackberries now that the season is over but need to retrieve the chainsaw from my parents. We were just discussing when we could do this a few days ago. But now it stings that someone is making us do it RIGHT NOW!<br />
<br />
They must be blaming us for the raccoons and therefore the attack. There are no raccoons in the small blackberry thicket. Maybe a cat but no Raccoons. Sigh. <br />
<br />
Before we moved in I told Eric I was concerned about maintaining the yard but he assured me it would be fine. Easy stuff. I don't think he banked on the effort kid care takes and having neighbors who care enough to call the city regularly. Also...Eric likes the weeds as opposed to bare dirt. <br />
He now says....maybe a barren yard of grass would be easier to maintain. Sigh sigh sigh. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-34273031410504247942012-11-07T01:03:00.001-05:002012-11-07T01:03:38.395-05:00Explaining democracy to a 2.5 year oldMy LilMiss loves her some TV. We limit her programming choices more than we limit the amount of it currently. One of her new favorite shows is 'Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood'. It is a spinoff of Mister Rodgers Neighborhood. Kind of a continuation of the characters in the land of make believe as seen through their kids, yes Lady Elaine has a daughter! It's pretty adorable. <br />
<br />
Very timely, last week's episode was on voting. We've used their catchy tunes and story lines to attempt to explain the process to LilMiss. She still doesn't get that just because you voted for A doesn't mean A will win the vote. She's 2, it's still all about her and what she wants when she wants it. We'll keep working on the concept. <br />
<br />
Today we talked more about it and that Mommy and Daddy were going to go vote on a very important contest. Eric described the president as the mommy or daddy of the country we live in. I chuckled only because I had tried explaining it earlier and just said its a very important person who has to makes lots of decisions and choices. She was more focusing that she'd get to go with us. <br />
<br />
Today came and the time got going by really fast . Getting up late, Playgroup in the morning, groceries and lunch, nap, dinner and bam we're speed walking to the polls with 2 kids with 50minutes until the polls close. <br />
<br />
I showed her the ballot machines and having to pick boxes representing my choices but she wanted to help and that got tricky. Instead it was time to run around outside with Daddy :)<br />
<br />
In the end, we voted and she got an evening walk and maybe some of the stuff going on stuck in her spongy head. We'll see how it goes next time we ask her to make choices or she and her friends want to do different things. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-56420034210536685002012-11-06T01:31:00.001-05:002012-11-06T01:39:51.938-05:00Poor PupI had thought of a number of lovely topics or stories to write about for today but my brain and heart are now hurting for my neighbors, whose blind sweet dog was just attacked by a raccoon. By the sounds of it, the raccoon did not let go for quite a few minutes.<br />
<br />
Eric tried to help (and ripped the chain lock off our door in the rush to assist) but he was torn if he should run into/through the neighbors house without warning. <br />
<br />
Elizabeth came running to me saying she was scared and at one point hid under the table. <br />
<br />
Not thinking, I ran outside holding the baby and handed him off to Eric as if I could somehow help more. Of course then realizing I just left my scared daughter hiding under the table by herself. <br />
<br />
Cosmo, my cat who hasn't been feeling well today and I thought I'd be taking him to the emergency vet tonight, seemed to perk up with the excitement and then proceeded to freak out along with the rest of us, also cowering under the table. <br />
<br />
They took the dog to the emergency vet. I just hope he's ok. <br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-14764322768223674182012-11-04T09:05:00.001-05:002012-11-04T09:30:33.995-05:00Time for some introductionsSince it's been a while since I posted and I had forgotten my daughter's pseudonym so I went back and read some old posts. LilMiss. That's right. I'll try to remember that. Of course I also just put up her picture which I don't remember if I had some rule against doing...oh well. <br />
<br />
On to introducing our new member of the family and the little guy currently asleep on my chest/lap ( I really should put him down in his bed but he's just so warm and cuddly!). In writing, I refer to him as LD, short for 'Little Dude'. I called him this in utero so it has just stuck. We learned he was a he at my 13week ultrasound and confirmed at the 18 week ultrasound and he's been Little Dude ever since, well except to LilMiss who refers to him as 'Baby Brother'. We're a very literal family (her stuffed animals are also named Kitty, Little Bear, Big Brown Bear, Pig, Blue Dog.... You get the idea)<br />
<br />
LD is actually named after our siblings which we didn't have intentions of doing but when you get handed a deadline of "I need the birth certificate form filled out in 30minutes" when we thought we had a few more days we kind of panicked. This idea of naming him after my brother and Eric's sister had been bounced around for a while but we couldn't settle until the deadline hit. Naming your kid after a sibling seemed odd and confusing at first but now it just makes sense for him. I think it also helps us since we live far from our siblings and miss them both. Brings them a little closer. <br />
<br />
LilMiss and LD's first meeting<br />
<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-zYI0UZ_XYAllQvPG9JelOu0-kaUjNDhHPuHZgCMujM-p40vSzpJTkczpCkhzeFmuaC3uhNLU2NVCz31TU3LX3hVw_Fil7aVj-Q3R7fSHSAKqnc_s1weqkb3NVOe3uLoHu-kq/s640/blogger-image--98761561.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-zYI0UZ_XYAllQvPG9JelOu0-kaUjNDhHPuHZgCMujM-p40vSzpJTkczpCkhzeFmuaC3uhNLU2NVCz31TU3LX3hVw_Fil7aVj-Q3R7fSHSAKqnc_s1weqkb3NVOe3uLoHu-kq/s640/blogger-image--98761561.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-12892188488108857022012-11-03T12:44:00.001-04:002012-11-03T12:47:31.685-04:00Been BusyUmm yea. So I've been busy. <br />
<br />
My baby girl is now 2.5years old and I had a baby boy who is now 3months. Crazy!<br />
<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbzsNzHbgXZUlsSlGefJNWnZEkGThhCTqtJHEf6JGUTwuptUQ2EA6Be6PywBXr_pxMYLuArxxZtcd68I8DC2rM4AH2Zd2BgAeo7bxyH4dWwBQzyP2N5oDXgdF9e1yxxSaywU3/s640/blogger-image--77029826.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbzsNzHbgXZUlsSlGefJNWnZEkGThhCTqtJHEf6JGUTwuptUQ2EA6Be6PywBXr_pxMYLuArxxZtcd68I8DC2rM4AH2Zd2BgAeo7bxyH4dWwBQzyP2N5oDXgdF9e1yxxSaywU3/s640/blogger-image--77029826.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMx3zQ7SjeEcoLyzUdET2vAJDHcvKeWglAdzPV9FceAizpu2T10bB9mOnzJK6nGKYW6j_WFQUxQ5Yd0BuKoIusfLhjS5YHBpZReUcznLnF1rnZ9wiGykAa2lwPihRxpDB0h1Vj/s640/blogger-image--782476760.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMx3zQ7SjeEcoLyzUdET2vAJDHcvKeWglAdzPV9FceAizpu2T10bB9mOnzJK6nGKYW6j_WFQUxQ5Yd0BuKoIusfLhjS5YHBpZReUcznLnF1rnZ9wiGykAa2lwPihRxpDB0h1Vj/s640/blogger-image--782476760.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-78139956167682176592012-11-03T01:58:00.001-04:002012-11-03T01:58:03.853-04:00Trying AgainI've missed Blogging. There I said it. I continue to read the exact same blogs I've read for years...let's say 6 or so years. I've added very few to my feed reader since the hey day of blogging but I still enjoy how you can really get a sense of who a person is and what they are dealing with in a post longer than a Tweet or Facebook update (granted some of my friends really need to stop with the book length status updates!). Of those few blogs I follow, even fewer are still actively updated. It's just not the thing to do anymore, or life gets busy, or more that social media has just changed a lot in the last 5 years. <br />
<br />
I still think up post ideas, though not nearly as frequently as i once did, but now have even less time to sit and write. A few years ago I slowed down with my own blogging and moved over to Facebook claiming that was all I had time for. Then onto Twitter because sometimes my brain is chatty and I want to share little things too frequently for Facebook but still no chunks of time for writing a post (for some reason a blog post must be long and well planned and thought out in my head) . And then came Instagram because ...well the babies and food were the most exciting things going on in my world since I work too much and it's easier to share those things with photos. And that brings me to today when I have some time on my hands in the middle of the night when there is little to photograph in the dark and Twitter goes silent and Facebook? Well I still just don't have much to share there ... Not sure why.<br />
<br />
It's November again and I figure I'll try out NaBloPoMo one more time. What the hell. Why not. And just like the procrastinator/always late person I am, I am starting on day 2. <br />
<br />
Hi blogosphere. Did you miss me? Heh. Hello? Anyone still out there? Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-61806829516446271342012-01-31T12:42:00.001-05:002012-01-31T12:46:07.082-05:00Testing TestingThis is a test to see if this thing is still alive and kicking because I have been missing the blog. Missing writing. Missing reflecting. Missing remembering! And darn it, I miss my peeps too. I'm tired of just lurking. I'm ready to participate again.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-87645661802319275832010-12-12T15:39:00.000-05:002010-12-12T15:40:11.022-05:00Happy Holidays from Us!Just had to share this cuteness!<br />Happy Holidays everyone!<br /><br /><br /><div class="sflyProductPreviewWidget" style="width:425px; height:494px;"><div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetTop" style="height:6px; background-image:url(http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/top.gif);"></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetCenter" style="height:482px; padding: 0 6px 0 6px; background-image:url(http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/bg.gif); background-repeat:repeat-y;"><div class="sflyProductPreviewLogo" style="width: 105px; height: 34px; padding: 14px 0 0 14px;"><img src="http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/logo.gif" /></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewContainer" style="height:350px; text-align:center; padding: 0;"><a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery"><img src="http://images-community.shutterfly.com/prs/v1/0DbMmbNy3Yg/0DbMmbNy3Yg5K/p/67b0de21b3127d902548/JPEG/1292186295000/0/" /></a></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewMessageContainer" style="height:55px; background-color:#f4f4e9; text-align:center; padding: 15px 0 15px 0; line-height: 19px;"><div class="sflyProductPreviewTitle" style="font-family: arial, sans-seris; font-size: 15px; color: #333333; font-weight: bold;"><span>Mod Ornaments Holiday Card</span></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewSEOText" style="font-family: arial, sans-seris; font-size: 13px; color: #333333;"><span>Create <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards" style="color: #6666cc;">modern holiday cards</a> at Shutterfly</span></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewViewCollection" style="font-family: arial, sans-seris; font-size: 13px; color: #333333;"><span>View the entire <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery" style="color: #6666cc;">collection</a> of cards.</span></div></div></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetBottom" style="height:6px; background-image:url(http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/bottom.gif);"></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-44121953611990010262010-12-02T23:56:00.001-05:002010-12-03T14:50:33.255-05:00Yay me!Ever step into the elevator on the top floor of a building and see your keys fall from your hand in slow motion, and then be forced to stand there listening for them to hit the ground, But you have to stand there listening for what feels like forever because you are having to wait for them to fall several stories down because you are the lucky winner of the drop your keys right in the crack of the elevator threshold game?<br /><br />I have. Tonight. Lucky me!<br /><br />the next day Update - The Elevator repair company came out this morning and retrieved my keys. I really don't want to know how much I just cost the company for a 5 minute service call.<br />Thankfully people were still in the building so I caught a ride home last night, and I live close enough to work so I enjoyed a lovely stroll into the office this morning.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18779361.post-90295704455268307002010-11-24T19:39:00.000-05:002010-11-24T19:50:29.289-05:00A SAHD's first venture into preparing dinnerSo last night my husband wanted to cook us a yummy dinner as part of his new SAHD responsibilities. He called me at work to find out what time I'd like dinner to be ready ideally. He's still new to the world of multitasking which cooking a multi-dish dinner takes... ok so he's still new to cooking in a timely manner in general but that's not the point I'm trying to make. Takes practice you know. Throw in learning constant new tricks to take care of a quickly growing baby and you've got a good time.<br /><br />The dinner turned out awesome, even if we did have to reheat it in the microwave since SOMEONE wouldn't stay asleep long enough for us to sit down to eat and we ate around 10:30pm, but again, not the point I wanted to make.<br /><br />He put his sights on making brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes and lamb chops. The Brussels sprouts were roasty and not at all bitter. They were pan roasted with BACON FAT, bits of crispy bacon and caramelized onions. This was more of a holiday kind of dish and yes I think I'll ask him to make them for Thanksgiving this week. He seared off the lamb chops in the cast iron pan, and they came out a little (very) rare. Practice... he needs more practice. But then comes the mashed potatoes....<br />We were out of butter, or at least enough to REALLY make mashed potatoes so he substituted cream cheese. I love him.<br />THAT's THE POINT I'M TRYING TO MAKE.<br />That is all.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1