To Love and be Loved

It's Friday!

2010-05-14T05:52:00.000-07:00

Friday-Fill Ins!

1. I just had the best sleep I've had in a long time.
2. I'd love to go to Paris.
3. The third sentence on the 7th page of the book I'm reading: Even in morning disarray, with a belly like scow, she was majestically good-looking.
4. Getting ready to pack for our beach trip tickles my fancy.
5. I was walking through the house and tripped over the baby gate.
6. My husband makes me laugh!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to painting my nails, tomorrow my plans include driving to the beach and Sunday, I want to relax, relax, relax!

To Be Ten Months

2010-05-12T11:31:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Lily's ten month birthday last week. It's getting harder and harder to get good month milestone pictures. She is obsessed with the camera, so that makes it a little more difficult. We finally got some good shots after bringing out the bubbles.

At ten months Lily is crawling around like crazy. She is constantly pulling herself up on anything she can find and loves to wave and clap. It's weird to me that she is doing all these new things. I guess I just never imagined her not being a helpless baby.

To Loathe Mondays

2010-05-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

The weekends are supposed to be for relaxing, catching up on sleep, and not doing anything in particular. Well, this past weekend did not involve any of the above. Kirby had not been acting his normal self. I guess it all started on Thursday evening. He was super clingy and shivering.

Anyways, on Saturday afternoon I took him outside. He was using the bathroom for a ridiculous amount of time. Just squatting there for two straight minutes. Finally, I decided to look, just to see if he is seriously peeing for that whole period of time. There was blood. Surprisingly, I was kind of calm when I told Josh.

Josh took him to the Emergency Vet. They were convinced there was some sort of blockage or kidney stone, but after the x-rays they could see that this was not true. They were unable to get a urine sample, so they sent them to another animal hospital for an ultrasound, thinking it would be able to pick up on something that the x-ray could not? I'm not sure. I just know that it took us $800 bucks to discover that it was a urinary tract infection. Saturday night he did not sleep much, and neither did I. He was very anxious and just wanted to roam around the house.

So, the weekend was not relaxing. It was pretty stressful. For awhile there I thought that maybe this was it for Kirby. I am so glad he is home with me right now and sleeping on the couch next to me. I don't know what I'd do without him.

Wishing

2010-04-28T08:22:00.000-07:00

Today is Wednesday. Wish-List Wednesday. A day I can wish for whatever I want, even though I know that what I wish for probably doesn't exist. Mostly because, in my head the things that I want are really inexpensive. Then I go shopping. See the actual prices of my desired items and I am totally blown away by how expensive they are.

I really want to start being more realistic about these things.

So, today I want to go to the thrift store. We need a new dining room table. I would love love love a hutch to go along with it. There's always craigslist too, so I won't forget about that.

I still want a new plum rug for our kitchen, but the search is still on. I found one at the World Market, but it was too big.

Oh, and I want the dogs next door on both sides to stop barking in the middle of the night...that would be wonderful.

To Be Green

2010-04-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

At MOPS today we learned about going green. I thought I was doing my part by recycling and buying "non-toxic" cleaners. I had no idea about the kinds chemicals found in the cleaning products and personal care products that I use everyday. I guess maybe because it isn't required to list all or any ingredients in cleaning products.

I'm all about getting rid of germs, especially with antibacterial soap. Well, guess what. Anything that wants to market itself as antibacterial must contain Triclosan. What's Triclosan? Oh, well it's just a chemical that has been linked to cancer in lab animals and is not recommended for use in the home by the American Medical Association. This link talks more about the harmful effects of triclosan.

Tackle it Tuesday: I am going to make some home-made cleaners and start getting rid of a lot of the toxic chemicals I have accumulated. I found some good recipes here.

I probably sound like a crazy, conspiracy theorist person that believes everything she reads...that's what my dad would say at least.

To Be Cuter

2010-04-19T07:05:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how it happens, but I think other moms can probably relate. How is it possible for your baby to keep getting cuter? I don't know the science behind it, but Lily gets cuter everyday. I look at her in her playing/sleeping/eating and am just astounded that she has once again gotten more adorable than the day before. It's a mystery.

And, this guy's not too shabby either, even though he's a bit shaggy.

To Be Friday

2010-04-16T06:34:00.000-07:00

Time for another Friday Fill-in.

1. I'd like to magically have a clean house.
2. One of my most favorite romantic memories is when I got married in Las Vegas.
3. Last night, I had vegetarian "meat" loaf, potatoes, and mixed veggies for dinner.
4. Sorry for the pissy mood I was in last night.
5. Can we make up now?
6. One of my worst temptations is dessert; Tiramisu is so hard to resist!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to just hanging out, tomorrow my plans include cleaning the house because I probably won't do it today and Sunday, I want to go to the kid's carnival at church!

To Love Wishing

2010-04-14T07:22:00.000-07:00

I have a problem with wanting things. I really do wish I didn't want so many things...but...I do. So, here is another Wish-List Wednesday.

I would love to actually use my time more wisely and teach myself to knit. I can cast on pretty good, but that's about all so far. If I actually picked up the needles and yarn during Lily's nap I might be a little further along.

I would also really love to have my hair colored. It would be nice to be a little blonder.

And Finally, I would really like to go shopping. I really like this dress, so I wish for the ability to actually look good in it:

To Be Tackling

2010-04-13T10:52:00.000-07:00

Laundry is my most dreaded chore. I don't really have a problem separating the clothes and throwing them in the washer. I can even handle folding the clothes and placing them in the basket. When it comes to actually carrying those baskets upstairs and putting the clothes away, I usually fail. Right now, I have two baskets full of clean, folded clothes. One has been upstairs for about 4 days, the other one hasn't made it that far.

I was inspired by Five Minutes for Mom, and decided to do a Tackle it Tuesday post. So, today I am determined to actually put these clothes in their respective homes instead of picking through the laundry basket every time I need something!

To Not Love Lemons

2010-04-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

Monday already?! The weekend went by super fast, as usual. On Saturday, Lily and I enjoyed a coffee/play-date in the morning. Later, we went to Tyler's Taproom. Lily enjoyed eating some fish, and later we gave her a little taste of lemon...she loved it:

So, maybe LOVE isn't the right word and maybe giving her a lemon wasn't the smartest or nicest thing, but it was pretty cute.

To Love Friday's

2010-04-09T05:43:00.000-07:00

I love Friday's. I guess a lot of people probably feel the same way. Friday Fill-ins is one of the many reasons I love Friday's. That's because it saves me the trouble of finding something interesting to talk about. Anyways, here it is:

1. In 1992, I was 8 years old and living in Virginia Beach.
2. Babies bring lots of emotions: joy, anxiety, love, laughter and smiles.
3. Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
4. Getting a pedicure in a spa is where I'd like to be.
5. The trees and flowers are telling me that they're glad Winter is over.
6. I've been dealing with a crawling baby that doesn't want to sleep and that just keeps going on.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to my brother visiting, tomorrow my plans include hanging out with Josh and Lily and Sunday, I want to do something creative!

To Love Shopping

2010-04-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

Had a rough night last night. Someone has been too busy crawling to bother with sleep. Naps haven't been much better.

We went to our 9 month check-up today. Lily weighs 19 pounds. Her head is in the 97th percentile, and her height is in the 30th percentile. Big head, short legs. Utterly adorable.

Tonight we went to the mall for some shopping therapy.

She went to sleep at 7. Hopefully we shopped enough to make her sleep through the night again.

To be Wishing on Wednesday

2010-04-07T06:47:00.000-07:00

This is where I usually write about how much weight I haven't lost. I didn't even weigh myself this morning, but I'm pretty sure it's the same number as last week (if not worse). Of course, I am having one of those weeks where I pretend like I don't care. Hmm, chocolate cake for dessert, oh yea, I don't care, give me a piece and add some ice cream too. I don't care, I don't care, I don't care. That will probably lead to a huge guilt trip by this time next week, but I don't care.

So, I decided today I am going to do a Wish-List Wednesday. Maybe I will wish for the motivation to care again, but I don't really care.

What I really want is this:

Also, I've been wanting a new stroller:

and I do believe I might get one this evening off of craigslist!

I want a new rug for the kitchen:

To be Crawling

2010-04-05T08:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to church. The service was outside and it was hot. Came home and ate some yummy food and hung out for the rest of the day.

The Easter bunny brought Lily four new teeth and the ability to crawl. What a generous rabbit. So, this morning I have been pretty busy. Following Lily around. Making sure she isn't harassing the dog too much. Plus, she is kind of refusing to sleep. It's going to be a long day!

To Love Friday Fill-Ins

2010-04-02T07:08:00.000-07:00

Here's another Friday Fill-In

1. All you need is Jesus (and love).
2. Hearing a baby giggle fills me with laughter.
3. Each generation, as it grows up, will rebel against previous generations.
4. Close-mindedness is something I have a hard time dealing with.
5. A trip to the beach is what I need.
6. Give and you get back.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching Sherlock Holmes, tomorrow my plans include coffee in the morning and Sunday, I want to enjoy the Easter celebration at church!

April Menu

2010-04-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

Today is April 1st and I just realized that I hadn't planned a dinner menu for this month. I was just online searching and searching for something yummy to make for dinners during the weeks the month of April.

It's hard to find semi-easy vegetarian recipes, and I'd ideally like to have meals that require fewer than 20 ingredients that I never have on hand. I came across this site after I searched for "minimalist vegetarian."

I was pretty ecstatic because there are tons of recipes that sound delicious and the stuff required to make the meals seem easy enough to acquire. Here are a couple of options I might choose for this month:

Greek Pizza
Pesto-Polenta SpoonBread
Confetti Spaghetti

I think I'll keep the garlic ginger tofu on the menu this month. We can't get enough.

...and I need a few lazy days...so I'll make:

Pierogies with peppers and onions
Spaghetti with Boca Crumbles OR (most likely) a frozen dinner...or two.

To be Weighed-In...Again

2010-03-31T07:12:00.000-07:00

Seven weeks until our beach trip. I keep passing all these cute little bathing suits in Target. I am not quite brave enough to try any on.

The scale this morning said 148. Okay, two pounds down from my five pound weight gain failure last week. That is a little bit encouraging. I have stopped eating past seven in the evening. I'm not sure if that really works, but I do feel a lot less bloated in general.

I guess my big struggle is with carbs. Who doesn't love carbs? We eat pancakes for breakfast every single morning. Yes, I get up every morning at 7:30 and make pancakes. BUT, they are Fiber One pancakes, so that makes it okay, right? Right.

I am still on a mission to lose weight, but it's more like a mission to be more healthy. Eating more fiber, more protein, more fruit, and less desserts and high calorie snacks. I will continue to weigh myself each week, but I really need to learn not to expect to see huge numbers each week because that is not how it works, for me at least.

To Love Making Old Things New (Sort of)

2010-03-30T07:04:00.000-07:00

I have had these kitchen canisters in my kitchen for over a year:

Flour, Whole Wheat Flour, and Sugar. As you can kind of see, the only one I ever used was the sugar canister. I kind of love sugar.

So, they've been taking up precious counter space for months and months and I just decided I'm going to throw these things away. But wait! How wasteful! There must be something I can use them for. I pondered on it for a second, and looking atop my cabinets to my collection of boring old vases I had an idea.

I found some old faux flowers I had purchased from the dollar store and voila:

I like the idea of hanging my grandmother's old dining ware on the dining room wall, or framing some of her silverware she gave me a few months back. There is a lot of junk in our upstairs closet that needs to be sorted through, but some part of me looks forward to going through it.

So, for this edition of Tuesday's Tip Jar: create new and interesting ways to use the things you might otherwise throw away. Or, you could just give them to Goodwill! Either way, we won't be supporting the ever growing landfills.

Linked with Tuesday's Tip Jar and Tuesday's Tips.

To be Looking Forward to Easter

2010-03-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

Easter is coming up. In case you didn't know...now you do.

I don't even know what Josh and I have done for Easter in our previous years. I guess it wasn't that important to us. We were baptized in December so I feel like Easter this year is going to be something more meaningful.

Our church is having Easter service at Koka Booth Amphitheater, in Cary. I'm hoping my good friend Cathy and her husband will join us at church and then some yummy food afterwards. I've been trying to come up with something delicious to make, it was hard since we don't eat ham or any meat except fish. Here is my tentative menu:

Pecan Encrusted Salmon
Roasted New Potatoes
Fruit Bowl
Blueberry Corn Muffins

The forecast for Sunday looks awesome. Can't wait!

To Love the Weekend

2010-03-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to Kohls, but Josh and I didn't find anything too special there. Lily, on the other hand, always finds something good....

She has become engrossed in practicing her crawling. Not sure if it will ever happen, but it's pretty cute watching her try.

We finally got some baby proofing supplies for the house. Some gates, electric outlet plugs, table corner covers etc etc. It was a pretty good weekend.

Friday Fill-Ins

2010-03-26T11:42:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a cute idea. So I thought I'd try too!

1. The right word is sometimes on the tip of my brain but I can't seem to spit it out.

2 Turn off the lights and shut the door quietly, please.

3. Up until today I had never posted a Fill-in Friday.

4. On the couch, watching Roseanne is where you'll find me.

5. Ooh! What is that? A rumbly tummy?

6. Eating a snack is a good idea.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching Dexter with Josh, tomorrow my plans include shopping and Sunday, I want to get some coffee after church!

Weigh-In

2010-03-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

I've been putting off writing this post all day.

This morning the scale said 150. 150!? That's four more pounds than last week. I didn't really think that I had gone too overboard this past week. I gave half of my birthday cake to the neighbors and only ate dessert on Friday night.

I could probably come up with a million excuses, but I'll spare myself. I'll just pretend that it will be better next week.

Tuesday's Tip Jar

2010-03-23T16:23:00.000-07:00

"Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is pure love." -- Mildred B. Vermont

This morning I heard a devotional about the importance of spending time with your children. Duh, spending time with your children is important. Initially, I couldn't help but think I didn't need to hear this devotional, I spend time with Lily everyday. Then, I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. The point of the devotion was not only spending time with your children, but taking joy in your children. Enjoying the little moments.

I wasn't relishing the little things that happen during the day. Instead, I was rushing around the house. Doing Laundry. Folding clothes. Vacuuming the floor. Scrubbing Dishes. And, I'm ashamed to admit, sometimes surfing the internet as she played by herself.

As Lily and I proceeded with our day I tried to remember how precious time is. Work around the house can wait. The satisfaction I get from finishing the dishes is no where near the satisfaction that a bashful smile from my daughter brings. Pure love. What an awesome experience.

So, my first Tuesday Tip ever is this: Take joy in our children, if only for just a little bit everyday.

Rag Quilting

2010-03-22T13:02:00.000-07:00

I have a problem finding the perfect bedding for our bedroom. I buy a bedding set that I love, and then realize it doesn't match the way I thought it would. Instead of returning it I just pretend in my mind that it matches good enough, but after a few months of this I begin to search for the perfect bedding again. I never find it, or I find it and it is way too expensive.

I am going to make my own duvet cover and it's going to look exactly how I want. Well, hopefully.

I bought some fabric at Joanne's last week. I love fabric, and this fabric was on sale so that makes it even better.

I've decided this duvet cover is going to be a rag quilt. I am kind of just winging it with this project. I've never made a quilt, and I'm kind of cheating. I'm using a queen sheet as the bottom layer. The top layer will be the squares of fabric sewn to the middle layer of flannel. After I sew all the squares I will sew the top and bottom layers together on the bottom and sides. I might use Velcro or buttons on the top of the duvet cover. We will see how it turns out! This is how much I have done so far:

Spring is here and...

2010-03-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

Someone finally has enough hair for a bow!!!

Date Night

2010-03-20T08:39:00.000-07:00

Josh's parents came into town last night. His mom was really anxious to watch Lily for the night while Josh and I went to celebrate my birthday.

We went to The Melting Pot in Durham. So delicious. Yummy cheese, salad, salmon, shrimp, tofu, and a vegetable tray.

I couldn't wait for the dessert. Chocolaty peanut buttery silkiness.

We were so full after we left. We were going to go to get some drinks at the bar in the Hilton, but decided to just go up to our room and watch TV. I was exhausted from eating all that food. The sangria I had with dinner probably didn't help either. So, on a night when we had the opportunity to go out and do whatever we wanted without worrying about Lily we decided to just sleep. It was good.

Kirby

2010-03-19T05:51:00.000-07:00

I just realized I have never introduced my other babby. Yes, I said babby. He is mentioned in my about me, but I haven't formerly introduced him. His name is Kirby, but he answers to many other names, including but not limited to Kirbles, Nirbles, or Tirbles.

He has been with us almost two years. We got him from a woman that rescued him from a shelter. She took in animals that didn't have a home. Many of the animals, including Kirby, were not in very good health. The day we went to meet him he was so tired and had extremely matted fur. I was so scared to bring him home because he seemed so frail. He slept on me the whole way home and continued to sleep once we got home. Honestly, we didn't know if he would make it through the night.

The next day we took him to the vet. They couldn't believe the mess this dog was in. He was covered in fleas and could hardly see a thing. They estimated his age to be about 10-12. He was put on a ton of medicine and some antibiotics. By that night he was a totally different dog. Lively and excited. He became quite the handful the next couple of days. We didn't know if we could do it anymore, but we made it through his transition period and he has become the best dog in the world to us.

Weigh-In

2010-03-17T06:18:00.000-07:00

I'm only down one pound since last week. So, 146. Kind of disappointing, but I guess one pound is better than no pounds. It's my birthday today, so that means cake...but not until my mother-in-law brings it to me on Friday.

Lily celebrated her first St. Patrick's Day today. She loved it. We went to the park and hung out with some cool kids and swung in the swing.

This evening she gave me a birthday present. A lovely poo-splosion diaper in her car seat. She didn't even seem bothered by it. We didn't notice until we started walking into the store and there was poop all over Josh's shirt. I looked up at her face and she was grinning a mischievous grin. What a lovely way to end a lovely day.

To Love Clean Floors

2010-03-16T07:01:00.000-07:00

Josh got me a Shark Steam Mop as an early birthday present. It's totally what I wanted, but I wasn't expecting it at all.

During church on Sunday I couldn't stop getting distracted by thoughts of steaming the kitchen floors. Cleanliness is next to Godliness after all. I really don't even like to clean, but I couldn't wait to clean the floors. I can't even remember the last time that I personally cleaned the floors. Josh will occasionally take it upon himself to do this chore, but I somehow always find more "important" things to do.

The steam mop is pretty awesome. I feel like I am actually killing germs off the floor, and I don't even have to work too hard to do it. There aren't any nasty chemicals, so that's also a plus. Now, if I could only feel this good about our carpets I'd be set.

To be Dressed by Dad

2010-03-13T08:47:00.001-08:00

This is what happens when I go out for a morning coffee and leave Daddy at home with Lily:

That's the shirt she wore yesterday. And blue socks?!?! I will have to admit she looks pretty cute in just about everything she wears, but needless to say we had a wardrobe change before venturing out into public.

To Love the Park

2010-03-11T06:33:00.000-08:00

The weather was so nice at the beginning of this week. On Tuesday it was in the 70's. I was super excited because I wanted to take Lily to the park. She even wore shorts. Oh, how I love those chubby legs of hers.
She really does enjoy being outside. So, we went to the park on Tuesday afternoon. She cracks up every time the wind blows in her face. Adorable. But what she really loves is watching other kids play, especially babies. It's almost like she is thinking "whoa, there are others out there just like me!"

There just isn't anything better than watching your baby discover the world and the amazement in their eyes at the "little things."

To be Weighed-In

2010-03-10T05:35:00.000-08:00

Today I weigh 147 pounds (according to the scale in the bathroom). That's about 27 pounds too many. Realistically, it's about 17 pounds too many because the last time I weighed below 130 pounds was during my middle school years.

So, I'm on a mission to lose this weight. We have a beach trip in May and while I will probably never wear a bikini again in my lifetime I would at least like to look decent in a tank-ini or a cute one piece.

This post was inspired by Weigh-in Wednesday posts on this blog. I'm not really sure if losing 17 pounds in two months is a realistic goal. I've heard so many times before that the key to weight loss is lifestyle change, so I'd like to make that my main goal and hopefully the weight loss will follow soon after.

So, here goes nothing.

To be Extreme

2010-03-09T10:10:00.001-08:00

I read an article earlier today about "extreme" couponing. I was interested because I have a friend who is awesome at "saving" money at the grocery store. She has a great eye for sale items and is coupon crazy. She and I grew up together and our moms would clip coupons every Sunday. I guess that's where she gets her skills, but sadly I did not inherit these abilities.

I started thinking that couponing couldn't possibly be a genetic gift, right? I could totally coupon and probably save tons of money.

My friend gave me some tips, hints, and some websites with lots of lovely coupons. I printed some out and it felt pretty good to know that soon I would conquer the grocery store with these newfound couponing skills. My ego got the best of me and my first coupon excursion was a failure. I might have saved two bucks. I just didn't end up buying most of the stuff that I had printed out coupons for.

As I was reading that article today I felt much better about my whole coupon experience. I do have to give credit to many of the people who search and save loads of money, but who needs 1,142 packages of Jell-O? What about 30 canisters of meat seasoning?

I understand that everyone wants to save a buck and find a deal, but I guess this kind of extreme coupon clipping just isn't for me. Maybe if I was a hoarder it would be more appealing.

To be Home-Made

2010-03-08T10:41:00.001-08:00

I've always wanted to make Lily home-made baby food. I just never knew where to start. Plus, I had always envisioned it as this time-consuming process that would be a huge mess in the end, but after realizing how much money we're spending on jars of store bought baby food I thought we might as well give it a try.

We went down to the farmer's market in Raleigh yesterday. We got some apples and some sweet potatoes. Lily loves her sweet potatoes. I baked them for an hour at 400 degrees. Peeled the skin off, pureed the chunks in the food processor, and poured them into the ice cube trays. The clean-up was pretty easy. Most of the time I am tempted to just leave all messes for later.

This morning Josh and I were so excited to see Lily's expression when she tasted the delicious home-made yumminess. They were so colorful, so they were probably going to be the best thing she had ever eaten in her whole entire life. Much to my dismay she was not pleased, well not as pleased as she usually is when she eats her Earth's Best. She still ate them because, well, she loves to eat.

I think I'll try some peas next...I'm sure she'll go crazy over those!

8 Months

2010-03-07T06:34:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, Lily turned eight months old! I can't believe it. It seems like time has gone by so fast, but I remember soon after she was born and it felt like time was going so slow. I thought the colic would never end. Now she has four teeth and sits up on her own. She has started to balance on her hands and knees and then promptly flopping back onto her belly. Looks like I really need to get on top of that baby-proofing.

To be Rad

2010-03-06T09:20:00.000-08:00

A couple of nights ago I watched a show on TV about "radical parenting." It sounded way too interesting to pass up. The most interesting family were the "unschoolers." Their children didn't attend regular school. They stayed home with their parents everyday and made most decisions for themselves.

If I had seen this show nine months ago I would have thought some of these parents were a little whacked out. I was trying to be open-minded, but I couldn't help but think about how these "unschooled" children would function in the "real" world. What if they wanted to go to college? How would they get a job and support themselves? Where is the structure? Then I realized how harshly I was judging this family for what they believe is best for their family. Who am I to criticize a parenting style?

The parents on this show were obviously hardcore devoted to their kids. They were teaching them everyday through real life experiences. I can say that this lifestyle would not be for me. I love routine and I think children thrive on structure, but then again I haven't met all the children in the world. But these parents were all about their kids and I thought that was pretty rad.

To Love Pretending

2010-03-05T06:21:00.000-08:00

Last night the couch was a choo-choo train.

This morning it was a flying dragon.

I'm not sure how Josh comes up with this stuff, he must still possess the imagination of a five year old child. I do know that Lily loves it. She loves playing pretend and she's only eight months old?! It's adorable.

I'm starting to think that Josh should be the one staying home because I don't know how to turn the bed into a floating life raft or the play-yard into a submarine surrounded by sharks.

Guess I'll just have to stick with reading/singing and Lily and I will anxiously await for the imagination station to get home from work.

To Love Makeup

2010-03-03T06:49:00.000-08:00

No one ever taught me how to apply make-up.

I walked into high school with an obvious foundation line between my jawline and neck, horribly crooked eyeliner, and a full head of slept on hair. Yikes. Through the years I somehow managed to improve my skills in applying makeup. I found bare minerals, but my makeup regime remained fairly simple.

After having a baby, making myself up had been put on the back-burner. I was looking through all the pictures of Lily and me and realized how washed out I looked. So very pale. I would apply a mineral foundation, but didn't bother putting any color on my cheeks. I've always been scared of color. This past weekend I decided to change all that. I went to Ulta and picked up a starter pack of pur-minerals.

I had no idea what to do with this stuff after I brought it home with me. So I turned to some trusty you-tube tutorial videos. I didn't have all the supplies that the girl in the video used, but I had enough. It definitely inspired me and as I finished applying my makeup I was pleasantly surprised. Now I see why so many people are addicted to makeup. By the way...makeup is a weird word.

March Menu

2010-02-28T10:40:00.000-08:00

Meal planning has never come easy to me. I used to wish I had those Martha Stewart skills and could actually plan out nutritious meals. I became easily discouraged when shopping for all the ingredients the recipes called for. It was upsetting to see all the wasted food at the end of the week because I had bought on impulse and not out of necessity. I needed more self-control and more motivation to actually cook the meals I had planned, but at the same time I needed less complicated recipes with fewer ingredients.

Last month I decided to try something new. I planned seven dinner meals for the whole month. They were fairly easy and the list of ingredients was short. The month of February went pretty well. It was much less stressful at the store because I knew exactly what I wanted so I didn't have to spend much time browsing and walking all over the place. Here is the dinner menu for the month of March.

Sunday: Fish w/ Brown Rice and Steamed Veggies
Monday: Spaghetti w/ Boca Crumbles
Tuesday: Vegetarian Chili
Wednesday: Vegetarian Chili...it's always better the 2nd day
Thursday: Pizza...Frozen...lazy night :)
Friday: Garlic Ginger Tofu (Repeat from last month...can't get enough)
Saturday: Dinner out...another lazy night :)

Okay, so I probably still need to work on the nutritious part. Hopefully in the next 9 months I can get that part down too. For now I'm just happy that our trips to the grocery store have been cut down to about two a week in comparison to the four or five trips...yes...it was that bad.

To be Challenged

2010-02-26T09:51:00.000-08:00

"When does this get easier?"

I read that question on a new-baby forum a few weeks after Lily was born. I had the same question in my head, and as I read the answers I wasn't very encouraged. "By five or six months things are better" or "what are you talking about, having a baby is naturally easy..." or "it DOESN'T get better." At the time I longed for a simple answer, a quick fix to the problems I was facing as a new mom. I obviously wasn't ready for the changes that having a baby brings.

I thought about it awhile and decided that maybe things wouldn't necessarily get "better.". As the months passed I could see a little truth to this thought. Lily began to have more control of her body. Holding her head up, grasping onto things, learning how to fall asleep on her own. I can look back now and see that some things have definitely gotten easier little by little. With each new day she gains a little more control over herself, but a little more control over me, consequently.

She is more vocal these days and can show us and tell us (by yelling and throwing a tantrum) when she doesn't like something (mainly pajama time). She is easily distracted by things (mostly Kirby) and refuses to finish eating. I don't really know what I expected from a baby, or if I had even thought that far ahead. I was very naive in those early days.

Her new skill is increased mobility. Not really crawling yet, more like scooching backwards to any destination that I will allow. She will inevitably find the one tiny crumb/lint/string that I missed in my vacuuming of the family room floor. She can get from one side of the room to the other in the few minutes it takes me to run upstairs to grab some laundry. Once again I found myself not ready or prepared for this movement milestone. I knew it was coming but denial had gotten the best of me.

When it comes down to it I guess I wouldn't call having a baby "hard." It is very hard at times, but I think "challenging" is a better word to describe what having a child means (for me at least). It seems that each time Josh and I have figured something out about our daughter, she will change it up and we have to figure her out all over again. So, she challenges us in many ways and it's not always easy, but we're learning a lot. We learn a lot about her and a lot about ourselves, and in the end I guess that's what it means to be a parent.

To be Tofu

2010-02-24T14:49:00.000-08:00

About a month ago Josh and I watched a video about the factory farming of animals. I won't post it here. I'll just say it was horrible and we haven't eaten pork, chicken, or beef since that day. We occasionally eat fish, so I guess we'd be considered pescatarians.

I have never been too skilled in meal planning, and I thought that with this new diet it would be even harder. I decided to meal plan by the month, and every week would be the same as the last for that entire month. Sundays and Mondays would be vegetable ravioli soup nights, Tuesdays would be spaghetti...etc. etc. As I was planning I realized how little protein I was incorporating into our diet. The first thought that came to my mind was TOFU. Oh no...not tofu. That stuff is totally disgusting, right? I found a recipe and thought, okay...we'll try it. No promises.

I will admit, I was pretty intimidated when I opened the package and saw the floating white cube blobness. I drained it, cubed it, and threw it in the pan with some olive oil. Hmmm...not too bad. It started to brown and I added some garlic, ginger, and some stir-fry veggies somewhere in there. After about 20 minutes I added some Tamari sauce and let that cook for about five minutes. I steamed some brown rice and put the tofu concoction on top.

Deliciousness. I'm not bragging here. I would definitely not consider myself a good cook by any means, but this meal was pretty tasty. It doesn't add up to all the protein we need in a day, but it's a small step in going meatless.

To be at Disney

2010-02-23T10:30:00.001-08:00

Lily and I went to our third MOPS (mother's of pre-schoolers) meeting today. I dropped her off in the nursery before grabbing some coffee and breakfast at food bar. I walked around aimlessly looking for my table. Having only been twice before I still don't know too many people, even the ladies that are in my group. We usually chat for a few minutes, have a prayer/devotional, and then an activity or a speaker.

Today we had the opportunity to listen to two brothers speak on their obsession with Disney World. It was quite interesting to hear about how these two men became so enthralled with Disney culture. So obsessed that they made a website and a hobby
out of planning trips and going down to Florida multiple times a year. I have only been to Disney twice when I was younger. It was fun, but nothing too special for me. My parents seemed stressed, it was way hot and humid, and I got sick from
one of the buffets. Listening to the speakers today intrigued me. Could it really be all that fun?!

They talked about the importance of planning the trip. Making reservations at restaurants in advance. Calculating the amount of time you want to spend in each park. Knowing how you want to get from hotel/campground to park and vice versa. It did sound pretty overwhelming, but I could see where they were coming from. I was getting excited thinking about brunch with princesses, watching fireworks, and just generally having a vacation/adventure.

But I realize that Lily is only seven months old and that I shouldn't just wish time away. At first I couldn't wait for her to be able to hold her head up on her own. I tried to convince her for weeks to roll over. I can't wait for her to walk (...note to self--need to baby proof...). Now I can't wait until she is old enough to go to Disney and have an awesome time. For now I'll try to be patient and cherish each day because I know how fast time goes.

To be "Normal"

2010-02-20T06:11:00.001-08:00

It has only been recently that Lily and I have trekked out of the house for errands and socialization. There were so many things I didn't know about bringing baby into the outside world. Can I put the car seat in the shopping cart? What do I do if she cries? Where do I change her diaper? What about germs? I had so many questions. I was definitely being the paranoid mom and caring too much about ridiculous things.

The fact is that when Lily made her arrival in July of 2009 my world was turned upside down. Nothing I had ever learned about babies helped me to take care of my own little one. It seemed like she was from a different planet. An alien baby! I was blessed with a colicky alien baby. She cried. I cried. She cried some more. I was too scared to go out into public. What would people think of me and this constantly crying baby?! So, we stayed in. Thinking back on it now that was probably not the best idea. Isolation + new baby = depressed mom!

Finally, around five months the colic started to subside. I felt a huge burden lifted off my shoulders as the colic days seemed to be disappearing here and there. Lily was finally a happy baby (most of the time). Slowly we started making little appearances in the outside world. I became part of a local online group for moms, got more involved with other moms in our church, and made some time for myself. We've come a long way.

In the thick of those colic days I never imagined that life would be "normal" again. It seemed that holding a crying baby for 18 hours of the day was going to be my "normal" for the rest of my life. If you are ever holding a colicky baby I'm sure that many people have told you that it will get better. I had heard it so many times. It got old...fast. The last thing you want is advice from people who just haven't been there. It does get better though. It's hard. Definitely the hardest thing I have ever been through. It's all been worth it.

Lily thrives on getting out of the house. I guess most babies do. She loves her hat, her jacket, and even her car seat (for now at least). She loves to watch people, but she is actually quite bashful. Today we went out to lunch with some ladies and their little ones. It was nice to finally feel "normal."

To be Motivated

2010-02-18T09:10:00.000-08:00

I have some jeans hanging in the closet. They are a size 10. Unfortunately, I can't fit into a size 10 jeans.

This past week I got dessert from Fresh Market five times! Yesterday I ate way too many pancakes for breakfast, and then proceeded to eat a pastry from Panera after lunch. I could have worked out on any day this past week, but somehow I always came up with something better to do. Mostly surfing the internet...how productive. Then I look back on the day and think about all that I could have accomplished. Today I decided to take steps to work on myself.

I got Lily dressed. We headed over to the YMCA and did the whole tour. I was ready to become a member as soon as I saw the childcare room. You mean I can be a mom and still workout?! You're telling me that these nice ladies will watch my baby while I workout and relax with some "me" time in the sauna?! Yes, sign me up! I think Lily agreed.

So maybe those size 10 jeans aren't going to be hanging up in the closet for too much longer. Maybe I'll put them where I can see them everyday. A reminder that the pecan pastries or the tiramisu just might not taste as good as fitting into those jeans feels.

Welcome

2010-02-15T06:09:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my blog! I'm Stephanie. I'm a stay at home mom to a cutie-pie daughter, Lily, and a shaggy-dog, Kirby. My husband, Josh, and I have been married for a little over three years. We are pretty much home-bodies learning how to break out of our shells.

Recently I have taken up journaling my daily thoughts to keep track of important milestones, events, and just random day to day things. It has been a nice release to take some time to myself every day and remember who I am as a person. It has also served as a nice reminder of the things my family and I have been doing these past couple of "crazy" months.

To be honest, most of the time I don't really feel like a mom. Every morning I look in at my daughter sleeping so snug in her crib and I think to myself "you can't be real, you are a real person? you are MY baby? No Way!" I just can't believe that I could be so lucky. Then she awakens...and I realize whoa...I am a mom and it's time to get to work.

People tell you how much work a baby is, but you truly can't believe it deep down (at least I didn't). It's like you know it, but you don't REALLY know the work required to care for a new human being, much less a house, a husband, and a fur-baby. I'm learning though. Learning how to cook, clean, organize and make time for my family and myself. Each day learning the realities of what it means to be a mom and a wife and my own person. It's definitely a work in progress and that's why I thought I would share it with you.