My Thoughts - Uninterrupted

Embracing Motherhood

2012-01-25T21:21:00.000-06:00

I'm pretty sure a bomb went off in my living room...err...whole downstairs (if I'm being honest).

That was the only reasonable excuse I could come up with anyways when my husband came through the door tonight. I'd show you a picture, but I'm too damn tired to go through that whole process.

I think I've come to terms with the fact that things will never run perfectly smoothly around here, at least not anytime soon. It's a constant whirlwind of toys scattered on the ground, dinner needing to be made, dirty counter tops and the never ending piles of laundry. Not to mention that I have a toddler who has no problem telling me he needs something (all the time) and usually if I do get a chance to sit down, the dog will pick that time to scratch at the door.

Being a mom isn't easy. It's definitely not what's always pictured on TV shows and movies with the squeaky clean houses and mom's with perfectly coiffed hair and hobbies of their own. It's the biggest challenge I've ever taken on and honestly it's the most eye opening, rewarding experience I've ever had.

Motherhood is about picking your battles. You can't do it all, or at least not at all the same time. I know that seems obvious, but it wasn't to me. I constantly felt guilty for not doing such and such during the day. I would clean the house, but wouldn't have time to make dinner, so I had failed. I would do all the laundry and make dinner, but wouldn't have had time to get dressed that day, so I had failed. At almost 16 months of motherhood I've learned that I simply cannot do it all...at least not at all the same time...and that's ok.

Some days are better than others. I've always got something to learn. There are tears and kisses, unbelievable messes along with great accomplishments, and times where there aren't enough hours in the day as well as lusciously long naps.

I want to embrace this time because I know one day it will all of passed. My house will be quiet, my days won't be quite as hectic and I'll have more time than I know what to do with. I'm sure I won't remember the dirty house or the fact that I stayed in yoga pants most of the time, but hopefully I'll remember the hugs and kisses, the tears and the joys, the scattered toys and the silliness that makes being a mom the best thing in the world.

New Ventures

2012-01-24T09:02:00.000-06:00

I've got a couple of new ventures going on right now that I'm pretty excited about. It all centers around bettering myself and I feel like it fits in perfectly with January and kicking off the new year.

For the Soul

Our pastor challenged us the other night to read the Bible from cover to cover. It's always been something I've wanted to do and believe me, I've tried a few times, but I've always given up around Exodus. Sad, huh? Well I'm hoping this time goes a little differently. I feel like I'll have a little better shot this time since there will be a higher level of accountability. If you want to follow along from week to week, you can get the breakdown of the schedule here.

For the Body

As part of my quest for fertility (It sounds fun when worded that way doesn't it? It's not.) I've decided to make a change in my diet. As of yesterday, my husband, Ethan and I are only eating whole foods. No preservatives, no fast food, and making the slow change to all organic. I'll expand on this more later on as I'm sure I will want to make it into a full post.

For the Mind

I recently changed my "about me" section because it said things that were no longer true, like when I described myself as "an avid book reader". Um, yeah, I can't remember the last time I picked up a book until here recently. It's funny how we change so much and so quickly that our own "about me" sections, written by us, can be so untrue by the following year. Well, I've decided to get back on the reading train although I'm not back to describing myself as an avid book reader just yet. Along with the Bible, my husband and I are also reading the Love and Respect book to strengthen our marriage even more. I will also pick back up my "just for fun" books that I put down months ago.

I know January is almost over, but the year has just begun. I can't help but be excited about what all this year might hold. I'm excited about all of the changes I'm hoping to make this year and can't wait to see what type of person I will be by the time 2013 rolls around.

Laundry Room Makeover

2012-01-19T08:24:00.001-06:00

I've been moving slowly on my reorganization this January. With a little one, I just can't do things as fast as I use to and I've just come to terms with the fact that I'll have to do everything little by little. I decided to make over the laundry room on a whim. I walked in one day and just realized how depressing the room was and immediately started ripping down the wire shelving....after taking before pictures of course!

Before

Our laundry room is the room we come home to since it is located right off the garage. The previous homeowner had it painted a very dark color making the room appear even smaller than it already is.

I'll admit that these pictures reflect a much more cluttered laundry room than normal, but there was no way I was cleaning it just for a before photo! The wire shelving had to go. It drives me batty. I like to be able to slid hangers across a rod!

We use to have to squeeze through when we came home. Our dryer sat about 6 inches away from the wall thanks to major lack of common sense on the contractors part when this home was built.

I loved having easy access to my "everyday" (and I use that term loosely) cleaning supplies, but I hated that they were so visible! Ok, let's move on to the afterwards...enough of this mess!

After

You can see that I replaced the wire shelving with wooden shelving. I also raised the shelf so I could hang more clothes (we hang dry a lot of clothes around here!). I painted the room a very light blue (Olympia, Elusive Blue if you are wondering). I also googled ways to get the dryer closer to the wall and found this little contraption at Lowes that was a life saver! So easy to install I did it myself!

Once the dryer was moved, I was able to squeeze in this cabinet that the previous homeowner had left I us. I painted it white and put all of my "everyday" cleaners in it along with trash bags and cleaning rags. I put the laundry basket on top so I could easily toss clothes into it from the dryer!

I hung a wooden curtain rod (really it's just a painted dowel rod) for extra hang drying space. I got rid of all the mismatched hangers (a pet peeve of mine) and left only the white and wooden ones.

I also hung this towel rack on the back of the door to help hang dry pants...told you, we do a lot of hang drying around here!

I used the plastic containers I already owned, but relabeled them to make them match the space. I found the chevron pattern on Pinterest and made my own labels in Pages. Now all of my cleaners are officially out of sight!

I put a small shelf above the washer so I could have easy access to laundry supplies. I'm not thrilled with the basket I currently have (I repurposed it from our closet) but hopefully I'll find something a little better soon. I put a piggy bank to catch change when I go through pockets.

We already had the ironing board hanging behind the door, but I thought I'd show you the cute cover I got from Bed, Bath and Beyond.

The laundry room is also our mudroom. My dad and Michael built this unit for me last year so we would have an organized dumping ground for coats, purses and shoes. I love it! In fact, I had them build it as a separate piece so we could take it with us when we move!

So much brighter and cleaner. Now that's a room I don't mind coming home to!

Ethan's 15 Months Old!

2012-01-18T07:46:00.000-06:00

Better late than never right? I feel like this past month was so wrapped up in Christmas it's almost hard to separate everything. I'll let the picture do the most of the talking since I seem to be out of words today.

I can tell this month is going to be a big one. The amount of changes that have already taken place over the past 11 days has been mind blowing! You never cease to amaze me Ethan!

My Little Table Dancer

2012-01-17T08:12:00.002-06:00

When I found out I was having a little boy I knew I was in for an awakening. I grew up with a sister in a house full of antiques and breakables and hardly anything ever got broken. I knew having a boy would mean there would be rough housing, things would get broken, and dirt would probably be abundant. What I didn't expect was for all of this to happen so early.

Notice anything missing?

As I was talking to my sister on the phone yesterday I felt the table slip out from under my elbow. When I turned to see what happened, I found Ethan holding my dining room table leg. My little incredible hulk had yanked it right off. I'm fairly certain it must have been loose already for him to have been able to get it off without me even noticing. But alas, my table is now 3-legged. I decided to disassemble it and Ethan, well...he's my little table dancer.

Boys...can't live with them and most definitely, can't live without them!

Now someone please tell me what I'm going to do about the lunch I'm hosting on Saturday? Guess we will be eating in our laps!

What Season Are We In?

2012-01-16T08:10:00.001-06:00

I'm not exactly sure how you do things in your neck of the woods, but when it comes to sledding this year, we are doing things...well...a little differently.

What? You don't rake sled?

Yesterday we headed over to my dad's to hang out for a little while. To be honest, we just wanted to escape the house. It had been dark and dreary around here all last week and even though it was still frigid outside we were determined to get out in the sunshine. It's amazing what a little vitamin D will do for your mood.

I can't wait for spring weather to start creeping in! There's nothing that makes my little boy happier than to be outside and I can't say I blame him. If these buttercups are any indication, then maybe, just maybe, we won't have to wait too much longer!

Back into Routine

2012-01-11T13:46:00.000-06:00

This blog has been getting a little "whomp, whomp" lately and the loss of a couple of subscribers has solidified that fact. It's time to spice it up a little bit before I lose the rest of you! It's not always easy to pop back into rainbows and butterflies so we are going to do this simple and well, random.

See the cute kid you guys are really all here to see is still around and I actually got out my camera today! Hello!

I cut caffeine cold turkey this month (hence some of the "whomp, whomp" around here). Does anyone remember the SNL Debbie Downer skit around here or are my "whomp, whomps" falling on deaf ears? Did you know caffeine was my life source? Yep, I probably racked up more calories and energy from caffeinated products than food since Ethan has been mobile. Main reason is who has freakin time to sit down and eat? And if I do find the time I usually have a dog and a baby both trying to eat off my plate and I just give up. So I've been trying to find other ways to get up and go, like washing my face in the mornings.

Because you were dying to know what I used on my face....admit it.

Sometimes it's the little things that help you get on track. Getting back to basics. That's what I'm going to concentrate on for now. I'm starting with making the bed. Isn't it funny how that just makes the whole room feel better?

We won't talk about the fact that every single sheet I own is piled in the corner of my bedroom right now. Somehow me organizing always makes everything else a bigger wreck in the meantime. Anyone else notice this? It will be okay though I'm one basket, an ironing board cover, and a few labels away from being done with the laundry room and then it looks like I might be moving on to our bedroom. January is my husband's least favorite time of the year, thankfully Ethan doesn't seem to mind.

Jumping into a pile of bedsheets is where it's at...who need leaves?

Speaking of routines (we were talking about routines somewhere right?) I've decided it's time for Ethan to get a new one too. Routine used to mean eat, play, change a diaper and sleep. I've discovered he's getting bored though so I've thrown caution to the wind and switched him to one nap a day as of yesterday which opens up a whole hell of a lot more time for us to "do things". I haven't quite figured out what those things are just yet, but I do know that they mean I've got to get up earlier in the morning. Long gone are afternoon romps around Target. It's time to get a morning routine going and my options are limited around here, but we both need to start getting out of the house.

Alright, that's about all the sass and cuteness I can muster today. Hope you have a great one! I've got a toddler to chase.

What I Really Needed to Say

2012-01-10T22:58:00.000-06:00

It's 10:37PM. My face is squeaky clean and smells like Olay. I'm comfy in bed wearing the same clothes I wore all day and had slept in the night before. I'm mostly content, but then again I'm not really. I've tried my best to hold myself together, to not let things get to me but they do. No amount of projects or goals that I throw in front of myself will truly distract me from what's actually going on. It's so funny because I know something is wrong, but yet I just can't actually deal with it yet.

I broke down yesterday and just cried. Enough was enough. Things had gotten the best of me. I'd been stressful and impatient and truth be told I didn't feel like a great mother or wife. I could not get myself together. I cancelled plans, got in my pajamas and cried. Big fat tears.

My husband made dinner and I just took it easy. It was what I needed in the end. I may not have gotten out of my pajamas today, but I was better. The house got picked up, I enjoyed time with my son and I had dinner ready to go by the time my husband arrived at the house. I had a good day.

Sometimes I feel disconnected from myself. I know there's a problem, but until I can actually carve out time to face it...it will just eat away at me. I don't want to become that person again. I have worked really hard to deal with things as they come and not let them eat away at me.

I don't have time to be that person again. I have people that depend on me. I can't wallow in my pajamas with a bag of sour patch kids and a blanket over my head all day just hoping it goes away. Not dealing with things does funny stuff to you. It makes you miss out on all the good in life. Why haven't I posted my son's 15 month post? Well frankly because I"ve been too damn caught up in myself to take some decent pictures of him. I'm too caught up in what don't have to concentrate on what I do have and that's just plain sad.

This blog is my outlet and it's felt like torture to sit at my computer lately to write. I knew what I needed to write all along, I just didn't want to do it. I wanted to put on a brave face and say..yep, I'm dealing with it just fine, but I'm not. It's getting to me.

***This is my attempt at stream of consciousness. I just needed to sit down and write. This is not a "please cry me a river" request. It is what it is. Not all of life is happy, sometimes you get lemons and now I just have to figure out how to deal with them.***

Trying for #2: An Update

2012-01-09T07:40:00.001-06:00

I posted about a month ago regarding trying for number two and I thought it was time for an update. If you need to catch up read this post. After a lot of helpful comments and emails from you all I jumped on some fertility forums to search out options. I started taking B-50 complex vitamins to help lengthen my luteal phase, ordered a large pack of ovulation/pregnancy test strips (by the way I found a really cheap set here) and scheduled a consultation with my doctor.

I can't tell you how much better I felt just being able to do something. Taking the vitamins made me feel like I wasn't just throwing another month to chance and talking with my doctor honestly gave me peace. In fact, I was so glad to see my doctor that when he went for a handshake, I hugged him. Who am I? I'm totally not a big hugger, but I guess I figured after he had gone through Ethan's birth with me that this was acceptable. The very first thing he told me was that this wasn't my fault. I didn't even know that I needed to hear that. I bursted into tears on the spot. I know I didn't do anything wrong, but it was nice to hear it all the same. After a short chat about my need of a plan of action and what I thought was going on, he prescribed Prometrium (aka progesterone) for me to take for 14 days after I ovulated.

This month did not turn up the results I wanted. I took several pregnancy tests all resulting in a single line (I'm an impatient person apparently with very little self control). It wasn't completely a wash though. The B-vitamins most certainly did their job as I ovulated a couple days earlier and of course the progesterone gave me a 14 day luteal phase although I did end up spotting starting on day 11. (Is this TMI? I'm hoping it's helpful for those of you that are currently going through this as well.) My doctor recommended that we try this out for 4 cycles total before switching things up. So 3 more cycles before I head into the doctor again if needed although I do think I might call him about the spotting if it happens again this month. Maybe I need a stronger dosage?

I don't know why my body is betraying me, but I'm trying my hardest to trust that God knows what he's doing. For now I am just trying to keep myself preoccupied with other things like ripping the shelving out of the laundry room for an impromptu room makeover. Upon many recommendations I have ordered a book called Making Babies. I thought I had that all under control but apparently there is more to know than the obvious. I believe this book calls for some dietary changes and acupuncture among other things. I'm up for the dietary changes, but acupuncture I think not. I guess we will find out just how desperate I am right?

I Get Knocked Down, I Get Up Again

2012-01-04T07:46:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I was defeated.

I lost my patience.

I screamed and didn't bother to get a pillow.

I got hit in the face with a plastic wrench.

I got poked in the eye multiple times by a curious toddler.

I fought a battle with hangers and they won.

My inner worries got the best of me and tears were shed.

Yesterday was not my shining moment as a mother. Not even close.

Today...is a new day. And now, both you and I have that dumb song stuck in our heads.

You are welcome.

January is My Christmas

2012-01-03T10:25:00.000-06:00

January first fills me with a level of energy and excitement that just isn't present the rest of the year. I wait in anticipation for it to arrive probably as soon as the fall weather hits the south each year.

To me January means new hope. I get excited about planning the next year and getting my house back in order after a hectic holiday season. My mind goes into overload with all the things I've been putting off since the holiday season began. It's a time to implement new systems, goals and ideas that will get our family's year started off on the right foot.

It's time to hunker down, say no to "extra" activities and just focus on us, our family of three. And maybe, that's why I like January the most. I try to schedule as little as possible during this month as far as extended family and friends go. I like to be a home body the month of January. Hunker down and tear my house apart so that we can start anew.

I'm hoping to share some of my organizational tips and tricks throughout this first part of the year. Yep, I'm going to go ahead and say this process will take through March. Things I used to get done in a week now take me months thanks to my precious little guy and I know you all understand that one! In order to make this process more effective I'm going to ask you all a simple question.....What is your biggest organizational challenge? Do you need help meal planning, with your finances, filing paperwork, cleaning out your closet, storing toys? I can't do it for you but I can share my tips if I have any!

2011 Video Montage

2011-12-31T18:01:00.001-06:00

I'm starting a new tradition this year. I always make a year end photo book, but this year I've decided to make a year in review video montage as well. I did it on a whim yesterday and was pleasantly surprised with the results. Hopefully next year I'll be better at catching even more moments on video.

I'd forgotten just how many changes occurred this year. To think we started 2011 off with a 3 month old who was drinking formula from bottles and couldn't even sit up to ending 2011 with an almost 15 month old who runs circles around me and grabs food off my plate. It's truly mind blowing to see it all play out.

2011 in Review

Hit the square looking thing beside "vimeo" to enlarge!

Music

Looking Forward to 2012!

2011-12-30T14:48:00.000-06:00

I'm in the midst of making a really cool year end wrap up (or well, I'm hoping it turns out cool anyways). In the mean time I might as well skip ahead and talk about what I'm hoping to accomplish in 2012.

First let's glimpse back at the last couple of years...2009 I focused on learning to let go, 2010 was about becoming a happier person, and 2011 was about learning to become a mom and housewife.

I feel like this year I'm simply going to aim to build on what I learned in 2011. Motherhood is about rolling with the punches and constantly tackling new challenges. I'll never have all the answers when it comes to raising my child or the perfect system for running our house. I simply want to always aim to do better while being happy with where I'm at. If 2012 brings what I think it is going to bring, then I know there will be lots of new challenges and changes in our lives but I also know there will be some amazing rewards.

In 2012 I hope to perfect my role as a SAHM, live a little greener, and get our family financially set. I want to concentrate more on my hobbies and hopefully add on a side business of my own so I can contribute to our income. I want to grow in my faith and be more of the person that I would like my son to remember me as being. Most importantly I want to slow down and live in the moment. These years are flying by too fast and I have a feeling that these next few years will be the ones that I miss the most when I look back on life.

Even years are normally big years for us around here but only time will tell what 2012 will bring!

Christmas Wrap-Up...err...Unwrapped!

2011-12-27T11:34:00.000-06:00

Santa Came

Yep, I made that bean bag :)

Presents were ripped open....slowly.

Favorite Gifts were Determined

Boxes were Played in

Packaging was Cursed

Christmas was fabulous, but this mama is happy to be on the other side of it. The decorations will start coming down today although I don't know if I can bear to take the tree down just yet for Ethan's sake. He still lights up every time he sees it. Christmas magic was truly present this year and I did my best to capture it in every single way possible as I know each age will bring a new look at Christmas.

We are so truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family! Their generosity and love never ceases to amaze me. I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and are ready to gear up for the new year!

This Story is One for the Baby Book!

2011-12-23T09:56:00.000-06:00

If you missed it on Twitter last night, my child managed to stump me once again. I knew when I became a parent that there was going to be a learning curve and believe me I've had my fair share of moments where I didn't really know the answer for certain baby related situations. As we all know children do not come with instruction manuals. Sure, most of the times you can try different things and methodically work your way through the situation, but I've found that it's the emergency situations that have completely stopped me in my tracks and the thought of "Oh shit. What exactly am I suppose to do here?" flows through my mind as I stand paralyzed taking in the situation.

I'm not an over reactor. Well, I take that back. I do a lot of overreacting, but when it comes to emergencies...the real ones, not the "I have nothing to wear ones"....I'm strangely calm. I don't spring from the car if there is a wreck, I don't run over to someone if they have fallen. I access the situation, hit up google, call my parents or in this case...ask twitter.

Yes, this would be my son with a rainbow sprinkle stuck in his ear.

I just happened to notice the little green sprinkle probably a few hours after it had gotten wedged in the wax laden ear (I do clean them from time to time, I promise) and I have to say my first response was laughter. The next response was to grab a camera (I know...probably not the best response but situations like these must be documented because one day I will need to tell these stories to his girlfriend). I'd like to add here that he was never even aware of the sprinkle so no harm was done in my response or lack there of.

Anyways, I knew I had two options....

1. Try to get it out and risk jamming it further in.

2. Leave it be to let it work itself out and risk infection.

I knew there was no way I was attempting option one without my husband present (let's face it...I needed an extra set of hands) so in the mean time I consulted twitter and my mom who provided some very funny stories along with a variety of options to try.

In the end, I decided to go with the tweezer method. Ethan was surprisingly still for me. To be honest he had more issues with me getting the wax out of his ear than retrieving the sprinkle.

The Extraction.

I'm sure this is just the beginning of a long string of "emergency" situations in the life of an adventurous boy. I'm starting to think I might need to take a first aid course so I don't stand frozen trying to remember if it's hot or cold water to use if he burns his hand at some point. I'm pretty sure I won't have time to run ask twitter in those types of situations.

Oh wild man, I think you are going to keep mama on her toes!

***Disclaimer: No child was harmed during this experience. He never shed a tear and I assure you that in a truly urgent situation I would not run to twitter or to my camera. I am a responsible parent despite the fact that a sprinkle got stuck in my child's ear. End of disclaimer...continue on.***

Catching up on the Daily Happenings

2011-12-21T08:20:00.000-06:00

I feel like it's been such a long time since I've just provided a few daily updates since last week was such a whirlwind with Christmas posts. So here are a few random tidbits that have been happening around these parts.

1. Momma is fed up with having a messy kitchen. Say adios to cabinet access baby boy because as soon as your daddy has a minute to pick up a drill those doors will be baby proofed. It was fun while it lasted but now he is just way too mobile for access like that. A bigger boy means bigger destruction I guess and momma is done finding pasta all over the house and slipping on plastic lids.

2. We have already gotten a couple of Christmases under our belt this past weekend. The first Christmas Ethan was a little timid with the gifts but by the second one he got it and enjoyed every minute. I can't wait to see what he thinks Christmas morning although I'm afraid to say that it will probably be less than thrilling compared to what he has already gotten from his grandparents. Sorry kid.

3. Yesterday was the first time ever that I had to leave a grocery store without completing my list. I'll go ahead and preface this with the fact that is was most certainly my fault. It was badly timed and my list was uber long since I was picking up all of our Christmas dinner/brunch foods. Let's just say a container of mushrooms might have gotten bit into, all of our bread might be smashed and some raspberries smooshed. Apparently a full cart enables little hands to access everything. I thought I finally had all the damageable foods pushed out of the way, but the final straw came when my son tried to rip open a pack of bacon with his teeth. I unfortunately had to make scene by yanking it out of his mouth in fear that he might eat raw bacon. It wasn't pretty. I'm pretty sure the onlookers were suspecting abuse. I hung my head in shame and dashed to the checkout line with a screaming toddler in tow. Who needs dairy products anyways right?

4. Now that we have had almost 3 weeks of Christmas festivities going on I can really see things registering with Ethan. He was in awe at first and just taking it all in, but now I can tell that he really wants to be part of it. I'm afraid some real tears might be shed when we take the tree down.

5. Finally, today is the day of my consultation. I'm sure it won't be a big deal, but I always dread things like this. I'm sure I'll find peace once it's over, but if you wanted to send some good vibes in the meantime....they would be much appreciated.

You've Got Mail!

2011-12-20T09:12:00.000-06:00

Well it's finally time to show off this year's Christmas card. It was a challenge this year for sure and honestly, I really put it off until last minute. I originally started out wanting to do THE pinterest shot...you know...the ones with the pretty lights in the background. Yeah...that didn't quite work out.

So we went to plan B which was to head outside...you know...with all the dead grass, barren trees, and a hellacious amount of wind. Did I mention that our toddler was on the run that day? Totally uncooperative. But cute...very cute.

I was in a lousy mood. My camera wasn't focusing properly and yes I am blaming the camera not the user. I'm pretty sure my 50mm has some focus issues but I need to do some more testing before I'm sure. I know I'm no photographer but when everyone is still and I have the little red focus dot right on my child's face and I still get a soft picture...something isn't quite right.

Anyways...

We did start to get some decent shots. I ended up with 5 possible Christmas card worthy pictures out of the 150 plus I took that day.

It took a lot of chasing, some bitching and a whole lot of patience from my very dear husband, but we finally got our shot...

We used Shutterfly for the second year in a row and I couldn't have been happier. It took me forever to decide on a card because they were all so great! The following picture for the back and it's actually my favorite.

Good thing Christmas card pictures only come once a year right? Shew!

How to Make a Peppermint Wreath

2011-12-16T08:00:00.002-06:00

I wish I could say that I came up with this sweet little wreath on my own, but no, it is another Pinterest inspired creation! It is super simple to make, doesn't take a whole lot of time and I think it turned out fabulous.

Here are the supplies you will need to get started:

1 - 18in Styrofoam or straw wreath form (make sure they have rounded edges so the peppermints can wrap around...not the flat square type)

Red Florist ribbon - I had a 4yd roll of this but ended up needing just a tad extra and I do mean a tad...you will see in the pics below. So buy more or get that and use some extra you have laying around.

5 bags of peppermints

Hot glue gun

Clear High Gloss Acrylic Spray (or some other protective spray)

Decorative ribbon

Alright now that you have all of your supplies let's get started! If you bought a straw wreath like me be sure to leave the plastic wrap on...it just makes things easier I think. Take you florist ribbon and start wrapping! I used a couple of straight pins to secure the edge of the florist ribbon.

This is what it looks like when it is finished and as you can see I did need a tad extra. Don't worry it will be covered with a bow in the end so if this happens to you, no big deal!

This is the fun part....start hot gluing your peppermints! By the way I found it was waaaaay cheaper to get peppermints at Dollar General than Target. Target was $2.50 a bag and DG was $1.50. Maybe you can find a better deal than me? I found that it is best to lay them in a diagonal brick pattern. You will have spaces in-between them so don't freak out. Also you can pull them off and start over if your pattern gets messed up (this happened to me a couple of times). As far as how many to do on the edges...I just put them where you would see them so use your best judgement.

Once you are done with that, take peppermint wreath outside to spray with the acrylic. FYI, this stuff is super smelly and I attempted this in my garage. Not smart. I'm pretty sure my husband and I could have died from fumes that night as the smell had crept into our bedroom (it's a hop skip and a jump away from the garage). Anyways....this will need 24 hours to dry so plan accordingly. Also this step is super important because it will protect the candy from getting wet and sticky. No one wants to repaint a door right? Right.

Now for the bow. Once it's dry take your decorative ribbon and make a loop to hang on your wreath hanger. Then take some more and make a pretty bow (mine's a little droopy, but what can you do?). I hot glued the edges to make it prettier and voila...peppermint wreath!

Looking Back on Christmas

2011-12-15T07:26:00.000-06:00

Christmas is a magical time when you are little. Although Ethan is not old enough yet to grasp the whole Christmas concept, he does grasp that something exciting is happening. This year I set out with high hopes that we would make some family memories together. Start traditions. Basically I wanted to cram anything and everything that embodies Christmas into this whirlwind of a month.

At this point you can probably already tell where we are headed with this. Plans....high hopes....those usually spell disaster right?

Anyways...

This past weekend I had a full day of Christmas fun planned. As much as I love our extended family, sometimes I want to make memories with just the three of us and it just so happened that Sunday was our only day that it would just be us so I wanted to make it special. So we all got bundled up and headed out to the town parade. I just knew Ethan would looove all the people and the hoopla.

We got to the square just as the policemen arrived on their horses. I made sure to point them out to Ethan at which point Michael proceeds to tell Ethan something funny..."Hey Ethan, you know why they put the horses at the end of the parade don't you?"

Wait.

What? Are you for serious Michael?

"Oh yeah, you didn't know that Laura? They always put the horses at the end because of the poop."

***insert exasperated sigh here and if we are being honest probably an eye roll***

We missed it. We missed the parade. Major mom fail.

It was okay though.

Plan number two would be great.

We were headed to Nashville to see the lights at Opryland.

30 minutes later we arrive and I'm trying to not be grumpy about the whole situation. We drive around and around...the parking lots seem to be a huge maze and we can't find a way in. Finally we ask someone where to go and turns out parking is $20. Obviously I'm not paying $20 for parking just to walk around a hotel. So we park off the beaten path. I get Ethan out of the car seat only to find that he is soaked. Like soaked up to his chest. I thought it was pee, later we found out it was juice that had spilled out of his cup, anyways his outfit was done for.

Did I mention I had dressed him up all cute in hopes we would get the classic Santa photo? Yeah.

We changed him into the spare outfit I miraculously had in the car and were on our way.

This place was a maze. A maze of stairs! We of course had a stroller and were less than thrilled with all the hassle of everything.

You know what though?

Ethan had a fabulous time. As soon as we walked in the door his face lit up and all we heard was "Woah!" and "Wow!" and "Ho,ho,ho." It was worth all the frustration of the day. The long waits for the elevator, the $10 burgers, the washing of the car seat when we got home. Every single bit. It was worth it.

I promise he had fun even if this picture doesn't show it...I gave up trying to take pictures eventually haha!

On our way home I reflected on my memories of Christmas and found that most of them involved some kind of mishap.....

Like last year when I had Ethan dressed up in his special Christmas outfit and he had the biggest, nastiest poop explosion I think he's ever had to date. I didn't think that Janie and Jack white gingerbread onesie would ever be white again!

2010

Or almost having a tree fly off our car roof a couple years ago while we were driving down the interstate due to a bad rope purchase.

2008

Or our very first tree as a couple that ended up in our bedroom due to strange apartment rules. We had radiator heating and ended up sleeping in sweatshirts, hats and gloves that whole month because we were too scared the tree might catch on fire if we turned our radiators on.

2006

I realized that night that Christmas memories aren't always made of the perfect days. Sometimes the best Christmas memories are the ones you look back on and laugh about later.

When we look back on this year, we will most certainly remember that it was the year that Ethan almost got to see his first parade.

The Perfect Homemade Holiday Gift

2011-12-14T09:14:00.002-06:00

When I started thinking about what to get my grandmothers for Christmas I tried to think of something simple and enjoyable. They don't necessarily want anything in particular of course, but I want to give them something just to let them know I'm thinking of them. I decided to go homemade and do a gift bags of homemade hot cocoa mix, marshmallows and peppermint bark. All of these recipes are super easy to do and fairly cheap. The peppermint bark is a splurge because of the cost of chocolate so if you are cutting costs maybe skip the peppermint bark and get peppermint sticks instead for them to stir their cocoa!

I packaged everything pretty simply. The cocoa went in a mason jar, I got clear plastic favor bags to contain the peppermint bark and marshmallows and spruced everything up with some homemade printables.

I got the beautiful backdrop patterns from HWTM and made my own labels by simply adding text and shapes in pages (you could also do this in word). I'll finish off the packaging by placing them all in lovely gift bags I got in the Target dollar aisle!

Hot Cocoa Mix

I really wanted to find a recipe that didn't involve powdered milk for some reason that just doesn't sound very good to me. I prefer the real thing! So after scouring the Internet for recipes, I finally decided to make a combination of my own. I was aiming for William-Sonoma and although this does fall a little short of that (you can't beat shaved chocolate), I do think it's a close second. It's rich, thick, and chocolatey....everything I love!

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
Dash of salt
2oz instant chocolate pudding
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Mix sugar, cocoa, salt and pudding together in a bowl. Add vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon at a time in different spot and mix until combined.

Place chocolate chips in a food processor and chop to a fine powder.

Add the mix to the food processor and chop one more time until everything is combined.

Peppermint Bark

Ok, ok this is another substitute for a William Sonoma favorite of mine. (Hey, we are on a budget people!) I love their peppermint bark and after testing multiple samples I felt confident I could make my own. Get the best chocolate you can afford and go from there. I think you will be pleased!

Ingredients

36 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (the better the ingredient the better the result!)

36 ounces white chocolate chips

3 teaspoons peppermint extract (add 1t at a time and taste as you go)

1/2 bag of peppermints, crushed

Directions

Line a pan with aluminum foil.

In a double boiler melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips until completely smooth. Add peppermint extract 1 teaspoon at a time. Taste as you go until you achieve the flavor level you prefer. Once the extract is completely mixed in pour the chocolate into the lined pan and smooth with the back of spatula. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes. You want it to still be sticky to the touch.

Next melt the white chocolate chips in the double boiler until smooth. Pour onto of chocolate and peppermint mixture. Smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle crushed peppermints on top and place in the fridge until completely hardened.

Homemade Marshmallows

I found this recipe a few months ago when I was doing the sweet bar for Ethan's 1st birthday. They were a hit and what better to go with a hot cup of cocoa than homemade marshmallows? The key here is to not get distracted, they will start setting up on you if you lolly gag and believe me...they turn into a stringy mess. If this happens though just coat yourself in powdered sugar and you will make it out ok. I promise. But seriously, they are easy. Give it a shot.

Ingredients

Confectioners sugar

3 1/2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1 cup cold water, divided

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large egg whites

1 tablespoon vanilla

Directions

Grease a 13x9 pyrex and cover with confectioners sugar.

In the bowl of an electric mixer sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup of cold water and let stand to soften.

In a 3qt heavy sauce pan cook sugar, corn syrup, 1/2 cup of cold water and salt over low heat, stirring with a spatula until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to medium and boil without stirring, until a candy thermometer reaches 240 degrees. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.

Turn the mixer on high speed until white, thick and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes.

In a separate medium bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks.

Beat whites and vanilla into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into baking pan. Sift 1/4 cup confectioners sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow uncovered until firm...at least three hours and up to one day.

Run a thin knife around the edges of pan and invert onto a cutting board. With a large knife trim edges and cut marshmallows into cubes.

Keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature 1 week.

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Tiramisu Trifle

2011-12-13T08:20:00.000-06:00

Normally I don't really enjoy making the same recipe over and over again. I'm always on the search for something new, something different, something better, but when it comes to Christmas I always make a Tiramisu Trifle because it's just that good.

I think this recipe is perfect to serve after a big holiday meal because it is so light and not overly sweet. I also like it because you can serve it in a variety of ways. You can make a single recipe of this and put it in a pie plate or individual mini trifle dishes or even stemless martini glasses. What I do most often though is double the recipe and put it in a trifle dish. It looks beautiful and serves a lot of people.

I served these mini trifle dishes at a holiday dessert party back in 2008.

Tiramisu Toffee Trifle Pie

1 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
3/4 cup warm water
1 (10.75-ounce) frozen pound cake, thawed
1 (8-ounce) package mascarpone, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided
2 (1.4-ounce) English toffee candy bars, coarsely chopped (I use Heath bits)

Stir together coffee and 3/4 cup warm water until coffee is dissolved. Cool.

Cut cake into 14 slices. Cut each slice in half diagonally. Place triangles in bottom and up sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Drizzle coffee mixture over cake.

Beat mascarpone cheese, sugar, and chocolate syrup at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add 2 1/2 cups whipped topping, and beat until light and fluffy.

For a pie plate: Spread cheese mixture evenly over cake. Dollop remaining whipped topping around edges of pie. Sprinkle with candy.

For a trifle dish: Make layers of cake, cheese mixture, whipped topping and candy. Repeat!

Chill 8 hours.

Can someone pass me a spoon???

For more recipes, check out my "Recipes" tab up top and come back tomorrow for homemade hot cocoa, marshmallows and peppermint bark!

Christmas Decor Reveal!

2011-12-13T07:06:00.001-06:00

I'm slowly working my way to becoming Clark Griswold. Last year we got the tree porch topiaries and had the two outer bushes lit, this year I added the net lights to all of the shrubs so our house truly shines. Next year....roof lights and an increased life insurance policy for Michael.

I have to ~~blame~~ thank Ethan for this new wreath. I made an ornament wreath last year, but when I got it out this year Ethan proceeded to pull all the shiny bulbs off of it. So alas, here is a new, Pinterest inspired, peppermint wreath! Tutorial for this baby can be found here.

The first thing you see when you walk into our front door is our dining room. That room is a work in progress but here is our holiday tablescape. I fully informed you all on how to properly host a dinner party yesterday so today I'll go more into detail on the tablescape itself. I bought the silver chargers last year for a dollar a piece, I found everything else (minus the center candle, salt and pepper shakers, and napkin rings all of which were wedding gifts) at Target. The votives were a $1 a piece and the napkins were $2.50 for a 2 pack.

I have to admit that this year's tree is not my favorite. I'm not sure exactly what we were thinking when we picked this as "The One". I'm normally super picky, but when we got it home and I kept telling my husband..."keep turning, more, more, maybe try the other way?"....I realized we'd gotten a dud. I'm 98% positive this thing might keel over on us by next weekend. That's okay though. Our Christmas trees are always an adventure and to be honest we always smile and laugh about it afterwards. It's all about the memories in the end.

The mantle is currently lacking stockings. I made stockings for me and Michael the year we got married and Ethan's is currently in the works. He will have a stocking for Christmas, I promise. What the mantle does hold though is our Advent calendar and Kurt Adler Christmas tree and a TV showing Mr. Noodle (Sesame Street anyone?).

I added some flair to the banister this year although I do think I'll upgrade it a little bit next year. I kinda just threw together some leftover stuff I had laying around, but it works for now. I also used my ribbon and clothespin idea from last year to hang our Christmas cards in the foyer.

Finally I've got a couple of special things just for Ethan. I hung glittery snowflakes and crystal ornaments from the kitchen chandelier last year in hopes that it would catch his 2 month old attention and it most certainly did. I couldn't help but do it again this year and while he doesn't get as much enjoyment out of it now, I still think of it fondly. I also put a small metal tree in his room and his Grandma gifted him a snow globe night light.

Snow globe nightlight + Light socket + 14 month old = tons of fun....annnnnd lots of supervision.

That wraps up all of my holiday decor! It's always a work in progress and I can't wait to add a little more and upgrade a little next year. Hope you enjoyed your tour!

How to Host a Flawless Dinner Party

2011-12-12T07:22:00.000-06:00

Hosting a flawless and successful dinner party is much harder than it looks. I'm a firm believer that it is something that takes a lot of practice and most importantly a lot of thought and preparation. I most certainly don't have all the answers as I constantly find more and more things to perfect as I go, but I will share some of the things that I have learned so far.

Set The Table

I know it's easy to overlook, but your table sets the tone for the evening.

Keep flowers and center pieces low so your guests can talk to each other with ease. No one wants to have to peak around a candle stick or massive table arrangement to see who is sitting opposite of them.

Christmas Tablescape 2011

People love a good presentation. Let them know you cared enough to do something special whether it's with a beautiful tablescape or an impressive food presentation. If you are throwing a dinner party more than likely you will be investing a lot of time and a good sum of money so be sure to put some thought in it.

Keep Awkwardness at Bay

Will your guests seat themselves or will you have place settings? If you are in mixed company (as often families can be) you might want to go ahead and do place settings so everyone can skip that little awkward dance of who might get stuck sitting by who. Here's a tip: Remember you and your husband sit at the head of the table since you are hosting (place yourself closest to the kitchen) and the rest goes boy, girl, boy, girl to keep the whole table talking (this is not the place to divide off into half the table talking about sports and the other half talking about bras). If you have just a few people don't worry about place settings and let things happen naturally.

First big girl dinner party as husband and wife - 2008

Play music to help avoid awkward silences. Make sure it isn't too loud to be distracting and also make sure it is something appropriate for everyone who will be attending. If we are grilling I don't mind some classic rock, but for a fancy holiday meal I'd probably just stick with the obvious Christmas tunes. Also be sure to turn turn your AC down a couple of hours prior to guests arriving...a hot kitchen and lots of people equals an uncomfortably hot house.

What Will you Serve?

My go to menu consists of a meat (or main course item), an intriguing salad (make your own dressing, add a unique ingredient like hearts of palm or a special cheese), two or three sides (preferably one or two you can make ahead), and a fantastic dessert.

I used craisins, toasted pecans, feta cheese and a homemade dressing here for a weeknight dinner party.

I know this is a faux pas but I serve what I like to serve regardless of what I think other people will or won't like. I've found if you love to cook it, people will love to eat it (and if they don't...well...they don't have to come back do they?). Okay maybe ignore that last bit. My point is, don't let the picky eater limit what you cook. That's their problem not yours (or your other guests) just make sure you make at least one thing they will eat.

How Will You Pull it Off?

Plan ahead. An unorganized dinner party will impress no one and will make you a frazzled mess. This is usually my game plan...

A week in advance make sure you know how many people will be coming and decide on your dinner menu.

Set your table as far ahead as possible so you aren't worrying with it the day of. Obviously be mindful of fresh flowers and wait until the day of to do those so they are at their freshest.

Mother's day 2010 - I gave the centerpiece to the guest of honor!

Make a timeline. What dishes can you prepare ahead of time? If you are smart you will have a few of these so your dinner guests don't have to watch you run around like a mad woman all night. How long will each dish take to bake? What will the oven temperature be? You need to be sure you will have enough oven space.

I try to do all my chopping, peeling, and prepping ahead of time. The prep work is usually what makes a messy kitchen so I get that out of the way at least the day before the dinner party. It makes cooking so much faster and cleaner when it comes to the day of.

Be sure to know exactly when you need to put each item into the oven and when to take it out. I write a list out minute by minute if needed so I can keep up with what's going on. I get very easily distracted once guests arrive so this is a must for me.

Ding, Dong. Your Guests are Here!

Have your music playing before guests arrive. When they walk in the door make sure you greet them and put the hubby on drink duty. Everyone feels better with a drink in their hand even if it isn't alcoholic. Appetizers are great to offer to a hungry crowd and will keep people from badgering you on when they will get to eat. Have someone get the dinner drink orders so you can have those ready at the table.

Halloween night Antipasto - 2011

Once it is time to eat get everyone into the kitchen (if they aren't already in there) and tell them what the game plan is. Will you be serving them at the table? Let them know they have place cards so they don't get confused on where to sit. Will you be doing a buffet? Tell them what you are serving and instruct someone to start the line (preferably someone who won't do the awkward "no you go first" thing).

Once dinner is underway, make sure to pay attention to the flow of things and take up plates once everyone is done (don't rush!). Tell everyone to stay where they are at while you get the plates so the conversation flow isn't interrupted. Don't ask if anyone wants dessert, just bring it to them and they will take it. For some reason, I've found if you offer, people tend to feel the need to turn it down which is just outright annoying when you have slaved away at something fabulous.

Banana Split served for Ethan's Baby Dedication party - 2011

After dessert it done and conversation has ebbed, get everyone to move into the living room and continue on! Your part is done, sit back relax and do the dishes tomorrow! Yay!

Things That Make Me Smile

2011-12-09T08:31:00.000-06:00

After the last post I feel like we are in need of a mood lifter, but first I wanted to say THANK YOU all for everything. One of the major reasons I love the blog world is that you can find plenty of people who have had similar experiences and are willing to share both information and support. So, THANK YOU!

Okay so I had this written up yesterday and was going to try to insert some cute pics but it's just not happening. Christmastime is crazy time right? Yep, that's my excuse.

1. Ethan has recently found his belly button. He thinks it is so very funny and I think it is super cute. He can even lift his little shirt to show you and that makes it extra cute.

2. My husband surprised me with some glitter nail polish. We are trying to refrain from extra expenditures right now, but after he saw me coveting this particular shade in a magazine he took action. He actually took the advertisement to the store and asked for it. I was impressed.

3. No lie, the other day I went to put Ethan's shoes on and all the sudden they didn't fit. His feet must have grown overnight. Is that possible? Anyways I obviously had to get him new shoes and they came in the other day! They are the just the cutest baby vans you have ever seen, promise (this is where a picture would come in handy, oh well, take my word for it). And no, the price tag did not make me smile, but we won't talk about that.

4. Tonight is our first holiday get-together and all I have to do is bring an artichoke dip and show up to eat. Fantastic! That's my kind of get-together.

5. I successfully made returns to 4 places yesterday. It was almost 5 places but I decided $3 was not worth waiting in a long line at Joannes. Our Joannes consistently has long lines and my baby...consistently cries there. What is up with that? Ahem...back to smiling...4 returns is a big feat for this mom and baby. Now I just lack Hobby Lobby and the post office (2 very excruciating places to make returns at...just me?).

6. My Christmas cards came in a day early and are all addressed and mostly stuffed. Waiting on stamps (yep, I hate the post office so much that I ordered stamps...totally worth the extra $1). I was satisfied with how they turned out considering how unsuccessful our mini photo shoot was the other day. Can't wait to show them off!

7. Ethan just woke up (currently 8:29AM) and is beginning his day (and mine) with a hearty "ho, ho, ho!". Who knew 14 month olds could be so excited about Christmas. I love it!

Happy Friday!

The Ugly Truth

2011-12-07T11:25:00.001-06:00

About a month prior to Ethan's birthday my husband and I decided to start trying for baby number two. If you know me, you probably know that I want house full of kids (four to be exact). Also if you know me, you probably know that I already have a timeline set for when these children will be making their appearance in our lives. I'm type A. I can't help it. I'd prefer not to have multiple birthdays in the same month or during the holidays and really January or February wouldn't be ideal either because they are cold and dreary. Silly me thought I could control this. Hi, I'm Laura, and I'm a control freak. So when September went by with unsuccessful results I was sort of bummed. No biggie though...we didn't give it our all. There would be next month and everything would still fit in my timeline.

I decided to start charting again which within one month brought us Ethan. I had charted sporadically since the summer just to see if everything was back to normal. It wasn't. I had always had a predictable 28 day cycle, but I noticed that things were going longer than normal around 30+ days. I figured this wasn't too big of a deal. Lots of people have longer cycles with no issues.

So we tried again in October with the charting method and I just knew I would be pregnant. In the back of my mind I had a twinge of doubt. Something felt off. I took a pregnancy test right before heading to Knoxville for my friends birthday on day 28 and saw a very faint plus sign. I was pregnant. It didn't seem right though, I was having a bad feeling about the whole ordeal. Five days passed and then I started my period.

I immediately started doing some research and figured out I had a short luteal phase. In fact I had been having a short luteal phase since that summer. A luteal phase is the time between when ovulation occurs and when you start your period. You are suppose to have at least 10-12 days of a luteal phase in order to keep a pregnancy. Mine had been about 8 days long the past few months. According to my book this indicated I had low progesterone. I figured this was easily solvable and decided to call my doctor. The next month would not be a wasted month. Time was ticking.

The receptionist proved to be less than helpful. I asked for a nurse but was the receptionist asked I explain the situation to her. I get it they don't want to waste the nurses time. I explained that I had a positive pregnancy test, then I started my period and I wanted to speak to someone about options on how to prevent this from happening next time. The answer I got was "Nothing. We can't stop your period." Awesome. Thanks for your help there. I proceeded to tell her I knew this but wanted to know more information about what was going on and she told me I could come in for a blood test. Great. A solution.

I called back a couple of days later to ask for the blood test results and the nurse simply said "You aren't pregnant but you can try again this month." I had already gathered this from the fact that I had started my period obviously so I refused to let this be the end of the conversation. I told her I had been charting and about my short luteal phases and my concern of low progesterone after which she suggested I come back in again around day 21 of this last cycle for another blood draw to test the progesterone levels. I was happy. This was it. My solution. (At this point I feel like I should also tell you that I love my doctor and am hoping that a lot of my issues stated above were simple miscommunications...everyone has their days.)

I hopped on amazon immediately after that phone call and bought an ovulation predictor kit so I could doubly make sure that we would hit the correct days.

Everything went as planned this month. I got the smiley face on the OPK stick which also corresponded to my chart information. We definitely hit our peak days. I went back in for my progesterone test and everything came back normal, but when my temperatures spiked for the luteal phase I noticed they weren't very high, barely above the cover line. I remember clearly with Ethan that they spiked way up and continued to go way up. Damn. Something wasn't right again.

I took two pregnancy tests one on day 28 and one on day 30. One line was all I got. I kept hoping that maybe, possibly, things would be okay. But it wasn't meant to be. Officially this morning my body let me know that this has been another wasted month and that I am in fact not pregnant. I researched again this morning about my luteal phase and it looks like my low temps also indicate low progesterone.

I'm determined to make this month work. If we got pregnant this month we would have a September baby born one month before E would turn 2. Obviously my timeline and Gods timeline are not meshing. This does not sit well with me, but I am trying to come to terms with it. I am becoming a jealous woman as I see announcement after announcement of "Pregnant with number two!" and that's just not the sort of person I am.

I think I'm having a Veruca Salt moment.

(Image)

I WANT A BABY AND I WANT IT NOW!

I'd love to hear from anyone with previous similar experiences!

Ethan's Christmas List & Book Exchange

2011-12-06T07:47:00.000-06:00

One of the things I've been most excited about since becoming a mom is picking out presents for my little one. I always thought it would be a fun way to reminisce on my time as a child and watch my little one enjoy all the things I use to enjoy along with other things I never had.

Alas, picking presents for Ethan has proven to be more challenging than I thought! So many options....so, so many options. And the age restrictions...seem a little strict to me. I tend to buy things that are a little out of his age range, but he seems to do just fine with them! Without further ado...here is what Ethan will be getting this year:

Melissa and Doug Shopping Cart

This is Ethan's big Santa present and I am beyond excited! I think he will love pushing this little cart around and filling it up with all of his toys. I was very tempted to get him a little grocery stand to go with it, but I think the cart will be the suffice for now regarding his age.

Melissa and Doug Food Groups

Of course he will need some food to go with his shopping cart! I think these will prove to be great learning tools as well.

MegaBloks

Every little boy needs to be able to build and destroy! I got a set of 100 bloke for $10 at Wal-Mart a couple of months ago and can't wait to build him a big tower on Christmas morning.

ABC Ring Flashcards

Ethan and I have slowly been working on his letters and I think these flashcards will be amazing. I love that this set is on a ring (so no mess) and that they are made of thick cardboard (so he can play with them by himself too).

I've collected a few little cars, bathtub toys, and books to fill his stocking. One of the other things I'm planning on using for Christmas is the book exchange that has been floating around. You send one book to one child then mail out 6 letters to your mommy friends in hopes of getting 36 books for your kid if it all works out. If you would also like to participate leave a comment with your email and I will get you the information! I need 5 participants.

Ethan's 14 Months Old!

2011-12-05T10:54:00.000-06:00

After much procrastination, we finally did a mini photo session with Ethan yesterday so I could get a picture worthy of our yearly Christmas cards. The one in the monthly picture below is not it, but it pretty much sums up our day. Well and this picture...

Sigh...it was a long day.

And, if you could have seen my face. It would have looked a lot like his. The pictures got done though and with 2 day shipping (whomp, whomp) they should get here in a relatively decent time. Isn't today just December 5th? Christmas time is crazy time.

Speaking of December 5th...

Ethan has certainly gained a certain sense of independence just in the last week. He wants to stay up later, refuses to hold our hand, and wants to eat off a plate with real utensils. I have a feeling that these next couple of months might be hard on this momma. Terrible twos...I'm just betting it will be the terrible 1.5. We shall see though.

After I tortured him with the camera and took over 150 shots to only have 5 turn out decent...this being one of them (and even it is a tad blurry)...we let him run shoeless back to the car. Yep, those socks are filthy and have a hole or two in them now. I'm just betting that it won't be long before he doesn't want to sit in a shopping cart for me. Whew... independence here we come!

My Heart is Warm

2011-12-02T08:53:00.000-06:00

I think the excitement of Christmas is getting to my little one. He's been staying up late, refusing to go to bed. It might be because we have been watching Christmas movies right before bedtime or possibly because we let him watch Rudolph the other night and seriously...the abdominal snowman is scary. Ethan backed away from the TV as he came roaring on screen baring his sharp teeth. Why do little kids movies have to be scary at times??? Anyways, we haven't been sticking to our routine. I just don't want him to miss a thing. I love that he's feeling the excitement of this time of year. He will run around the bonus room like a kid that's had too much sugar saying "Ho, ho" to the tune of "Uh, oh" and it's the cutest thing I've ever heard in my life.

My husband always does the bedtime routine, but the past couple of nights after an hour or so of trying to get him to go into his crib without screaming his head off (which is very unusual at this house) I'll go in there as a last resort. In fact, last night he actually called for me repeatedly or so my hubby told me (I was blissfully alone in the bonus room without the monitor on) but as soon as I heard I went in his room did our nap time routine of hugs and kisses, waved goodbye to him and he was silent. Out like a light. Sometimes I guess he just needs his mommy and that my friends, is the best feeling ever!

Stovetop Potpourri

2011-12-01T08:36:00.001-06:00

It's that time of year where we envision our homes being filled with the wonderful smells of holiday cooking and fresh Christmas trees. In reality though sometimes our homes smell like the bacon we cooked the morning before or like nothing at all because we are in our homes so long that we just simply get use to whatever it is that our home actually smells like. I've got a little trick that I learned from my mom however to spice that smell up a bit!

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Stovetop potpourri is super simple to make and I'm willing to bet you have most of the ingredients on hand anyways. The main ingredient is orange peel. I actually used tangerine peel in this case. A large bag was on sell a couple of weeks ago for $2.50 so as we ate them, I saved the peels (just put them in a zip lock bag and freeze them). You can also use lemon peels, apple peels, really any sort of citrus...

Fill a small sauce pot with water and toss a little bit of peel in (probably about half an orange's worth of peel, but no need to be exact). Then you need to raid your spice cabinet. Grab out all those Christmas spices from last year that are probably expired anyways and toss them into a pot. I use whole cloves, allspice, whole nutmeg which I don't even know why I had in the first place (feel free to use ground...if you use whole make sure to smash it in half), and cinnamon sticks (again you can use ground and I break the whole ones in half).

As you can see I didn't use too much of each. If you use the ground spices you might want to use a little more, but you can adjust as you go. Bring the pot of water and spices to a boil then turn down to low and simmer for as long as you want. You do need to check the pot every once and awhile to add more water.

As you can see it's super simple and cheap to make so go ahead get that house smelling warm and inviting! Let me know what you think!

In progress...

2011-11-29T09:03:00.000-06:00

Glitter and pine needles cover the floor.

Bright lights adorn the front of the house.

Christmas gifts are on their way.

Crafty ideas are creeping their way into my thoughts.

Christmas music and the smell of a fir tree is in the air.

Christmas is definitely underway around here and you can tell because boxes are crowding the living room. Pumpkins are still on the table. I've still got electrical issues out front (oh, the joys of the yearly cord challenge). Returns are needing to be made as well as more purchases for decorating details...

Hopefully sometime this week I'll post pictures of our house all decked out, but for now, we are simply...in progress.

Thanksgiving Fun on the Farm

2011-11-27T11:41:00.000-06:00

We are officially stuffed and tired which means Thanksgiving has come and gone. We had a wonderful time celebrating with friends and family, but I am more than looking forward to having a pajama day today as we start decorating for Christmas.

We had an unusually farmy Thanksgiving this year! We started out at Michael parents house where Ethan learned to moo, pet a bull, pet a horse and saw his first deer. Surprisingly he is more a fan of cows than horses, but that suits his Grandpa just fine. I'm sure Ethan has many cow auctions, vet visits, and fence building in his future.

We also made a pit stop at my Uncles farm so he could introduce us to his new hobby....goats. He had 20 plus babies born this week alone (all from one very busy and probably very happy billy goat). We met some of the babies which are the cutest things I've ever seen and even witnessed a birth. Maybe we won't need to give Ethan the dreaded birds and bees talk now?

Ethan jumped at the chance to sweep the barn out. He's going to make a great farmhand one day. I know I'll be more than excited to send him to work on his Grandpa's farm once he's a little older. Hard work is important and it certainly did a lot of good for his daddy, he is one of the hardest workers and most handy men I know.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and have safe travels! Ethan and I will be snuggled up today with apple cider and Christmas movies as we recover from our Turkey comatose and deck the house for the next holiday.

I'm Fairly Certain He Won't Miss Me

2011-11-21T08:59:00.000-06:00

I've found that there are usually two types of couples. The ones that do everything together and the ones that keep their friends and hobbies separate for a bit of space. There's nothing wrong with either of these types, but Michael and I tend to fall in the first category of doing everything together. Michael cooks with me, talks me through baking and crafting disasters, gives me advice when it comes to different projects I decide to tackle and even listens to my thoughts on the books I read. This weekend I got a chance to experience one of his hobbies, hunting. Don't worry, I won't show any dead animal pictures. Feel free to keep reading.

Michael does two types of hunting, deer and duck. My dad has duck hunted for longer than I've been around and when Michael came into my life, he started going with him. I really think they would both like me to experience their hobby, but getting up at 3AM and heading out on a boat in the freezing cold to sit for hours does not sound like my type of fun. I decided deer hunting was more my speed at 2 in the afternoon, decent weather, and a short jaunt from my in-laws house. I could handle it.

I was told hunting involves peace and quiet. A lot of peace and quiet. So much quiet that I was told my camera was too loud. Hmph. It also involves stillness. So much stillness that the nervous leg bounce that I hardly even realize I do became an issue. As I sat there, listening to every creak of the tree being blow in the wind, the flap of a birds wing, and the bustle of leaves under foot of a squirrel I realized something.

My life has been so void of peace and quiet that I can't handle it anymore. I sat there thinking about all the things I could be doing and how nice it would be to have a bottle of wine. I wanted to start a million conversations that we have been putting off having because we just haven't had the time. I wanted to make lists. I thought of how nice it would be to knit so I could keep my hands busy.

I dusted off my kindle, literally, and tried to jump back into a book I hadn't picked up in months. I could not shut down. I could not just enjoy the peace and quiet that I had thought that I so needed. I missed my baby, I longed for wi-fi, and I'm pretty sure my fingers were showing the first signs of frost-bite.

So husband dearest, you can keep your hobby all to yourself. There's no need for us to share every little thing. Plus, I'm pretty sure you just use hunting as an excuse to nap. You can't even make it through a 30 minute sitcom without dozing off. Apparently, I'm just not as chill as I once was.

Shabby Apple Winner!

2011-11-18T08:16:00.001-06:00

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Shabby Apple Giveaway! The lucky winner is...

Perfectly Imperfect

I will be in touch with you shortly! Be thinking about which color skirt you will choose :)

PS: Winner was chosen using Random.org

Parenting Is Not Always Black and White

2011-11-17T07:47:00.000-06:00

Judging.

We are all guilty of this from time to time. We might glare at the parent with the screaming baby in the restaurant. We might have to really fight to hold our tongue when our mommy friend shares a certain parenting theory that just doesn't jive with our own view. We might talk about how a parent handled a certain situation that is clearly not how we would do it.

Parenting is so black and white when you are on the outside.

Then it happens. Your child throws themselves onto the floor in the middle of Target. Your child is the one that was fussy in a public place. Your child is the one that will not stop grabbing every single item off of the coffee table at your friends house.

You become the one that is feeling judged. Even though no one said anything you feel the need to fight your case, explain your reasons, maybe even address what they may have been thinking. We all want to be right. No one wants to screw up. Parenting is a huge responsibility. We are shaping, molding, and forming someone's precious life. We will be the reason they are in therapy one day if we don't play our cards just right.

One of the hardest things about parenting is all of the uncertainty and grey area that comes with it. There is no one answer. Every single child is different. Every situation is different. With that comes misunderstanding and unfair judgement and unfortunately there are times when we as parents find ourselves on both the giving and receiving ends of this.

And it sucks.

As hard as I try there are times when I can't resist thinking judgmental thoughts. There are also times when I can't resist comparing myself to other moms because I feel uncertainty about my own parenting skills. It's a tricky situation for sure.

I need to do better. We all need to do better. Nothing is black and white in this parenting game. There is a lot of grey area and until we fully understand the situation we probably should keep our parenting advice and judgmental thoughts to ourselves. We are only experts when it comes to our own children. And that's all that matters right?

**This post was written as part of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Also the Shabby Apple Giveaway ends tonight! Winner will be announced tomorrow.**

My Christmas List - The Hobby Edition

2011-11-16T07:37:00.001-06:00

One of the great things about being a SAHM for me is that I get to have hobbies. Not that I didn't enjoy doing some of these particular things when I was working out in the real world (aka the nerve wrecking public), but I just didn't have the time to fully delve into them. Now that I'm home I've gotten to really focus on my interests and actually do something with them and it's been great.

I figured out though that hobbies have a catch. That catch is that you need to buy stuff to do them and grown up hobbies can be costly. Now, I can't remember the last time I actually made out a Christmas list. Sure there have always been things we have needed. Notice the words I used there..."we"...."needed". Yeah, those lists were the grown up Christmas lists. This year when I sat down to think about what to ask for, I actually found I had a lot of things I wanted.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

I have such a love for taking pictures now and I can already tell how far I've come this past year when it comes to using my camera in manual mode. I feel like it's time to take my pictures a step up and actually start editing them beyond what Picknik and iPhoto have to offer. I'm a bit scared to jump into this editing thing blindly (which is why a how-to book is also on my list wish), but after talking with several different people Lightroom seems to be an easy way to go. This is certainly at the top of my list!

I thought about some other lenses too of course (apparently lenses are addictive!) but I can't decide what I need next. I love my 50mm but I have a hard time using it in tight spaces, so I think I might need either a 24mm, 28mm or 35mm next. Decisions, decisions right? In the meantime I'll be wishing for some lens accessories like UV filters and lens hoods to eliminate those pesky sun spots that show up from time to time.

Brother Sew Advanced Sew Affordable Sewing Machine

Now this is a hobby I haven't fully explored yet. I can come up with fabric projects galore, but I always need the help of my mom and her sewing machine to actually see them through. For my mom's sake, I think it's time for me to ask for a sewing machine. See, even though this is my wish list, I'm still thinking of others...

I have no idea what to look for in a sewing machine. I need something basic and something my mom can actually help me use so I think I'll be leaving the final choice up to her! I'm hoping to do crafty home decor and possibly some appliqués, but we shall see how it goes.

Kitchenaid 5qt Glass Mixing Bowl

This particular item, I should have asked for long ago. It makes soooo much sense to have 2 mixing bowls. Hello, you need one for cake batter and one for icing right??? Right. Well and I love that this one is glass which means you can even microwave it to melt chocolate. Oh, and it comes with a lid which means I can keep that extra frosting in the fridge to snack on um, I mean use on a cake, later!

I have to admit that I've had a ton of fun making a wish list on Amazon this year. It's kind of reminded me of registering. Remember that? When you got to ask for everything you dreamed of? Yeah...it's been like that. A little out of hand, a little over the top. I'm still in touch with the real world though and am fully aware that some of these things will completely remain wishes only for now and that's totally ok, because wishing is fun right? Besides there are always birthdays, bonus checks, and anniversaries... ;)

Bits and Pieces

2011-11-15T08:29:00.000-06:00

My house is a wreck, the sink is full of dirty dishes, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to give Ethan watered down milk for lunch if I don't get my bootie to the grocery store. All signs that I hosted a dinner party this weekend. Ugh, love it but where are the cleaning fairies when you need them?

Things are picking up around here and for our family, the holidays are already upon us. We have officially had our first Thanksgiving and I already feel like I've gained 5 pounds. So delicious!

My sister and I

With the help of my mom I have gotten started on sewing Ethan's Christmas stocking and a special present I wanted to do for him. Why do craft projects always take 3 times longer than you originally planned? I was hoping to get at least one thing finished, but alas we are nowhere close. Oh well, it just means more fun crafting days are ahead of us!

I had the most delicious cake I have ever put in my mouth this weekend! My dad's birthday was on Saturday and I made him the Campfire Cake from Sweetpolita. Seriously, it's soooo good. Toasted marshmallow and marshmallow creme filling. Need I say more? It's a bit of work to get together, but sooooo worth it!

I have got to start ordering Christmas gifts. I honestly don't want to step foot in a store this year. Problem is one Christmas is always a week or so early for my family and yours truly forgets this and wham...ordering time is gone and I'm running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Pretty sure I'm going to have to make some major changes when it comes to Christmas 2012 planning wise.

Hopefully I'll have a more coherent post tomorrow. I've got to get my butt in gear and head out to the grocery store. In the rain. And probably without a list. I'm pretty sure this spells....disaster. Wish me luck.

Don't forget about the Shabby Apple giveaway. There aren't many entries yet so you have an awesome chance to win!

Oh, How this Blog has Grown!

2011-11-11T08:43:00.001-06:00

Four years ago I started this little blog because I needed a place to release my thoughts. When I look back on those posts, I laugh because, wow did I have a lot to learn. Now this blog has become more to me than just a place to release my random thoughts. It's been a place to document all the little moments I never want to forget, a place to network with other mommies who amazingly come to my rescue when I need help or suggestions, a place to share my ideas, tips, and tricks on my new job as a stay at home mommy.

My readership has changed drastically over the years. I'd be surprised if there is anyone reading these days that was reading when I first started this blog. Life moves and changes so quickly and with every change I've made in life, my readers have changed right along with it.

I wanted to thank those of you who are reading now. I've loved sharing these precious moments of mommy hood. I view you as my co-workers because let's face it...this stay at home gig can get lonely. If I didn't have you I'm pretty sure I'd be jabbering away to Lola all day and I'm not sure how good that is for my sanity! For those of you that I also follow, I've loved getting to know you and seeing your precious babies grow this year. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us all.

I'll leave you with a list of some of my favorite posts...

The Moment I Knew

You Better be Glad I'm a Nice Person

The Christmas Tree Adventure

Final Nursery Reveal

Ethan's Birth Story

For a few more favorites...look to the right where you will find a list of my readers current favorite posts.

Also, I posted a giveaway today as a way to thank you all (click here to enter).

Shabby Apple - GIVEAWAY

2011-11-11T08:17:00.000-06:00

In honor of today officially being the 4th anniversary of My Thoughts - Uninterrupted the great folks of Shabby Apple and I have gotten together to do a little giveaway to celebrate! In case you are unfamiliar, Shabby Apple offers beautiful vintage inspired dresses designed for women, girls, and babies. They even have maternity dresses and beautiful jewelry!

Today Shabby Apple and I are giving away a beautiful canvas bow skirt that comes in 3 different colors which the winner will get to choose from!

The Francine in Black

The Adelaide in Navy

The Tess in Olive

In order to win you must be a US resident. You have until 11:59PM CST on Thursday November 17th to enter. The winner will be announced on Friday November 18th. Good luck!

Mandatory Entry:

Be a follower of My Thoughts-Uninterrupted through GFC and Like Shabby Apple on Facebook (Leave 1 comment)

Additonal Entries - (Leave 1 comment for each):

Follow me on Twitter (leave your handle in the comment)

Follow Shabby Apple on Twitter (leave your handle in the comment)

Like My Thoughts - Uninterrupted on Facebook

Tweet/Blog about this giveaway (leave link in comment or tag @meuninterrupted)

And because I want you all to feel like winners... Shabby Apple is offering a 10% discount when you use "mythoughtsuninterrupted10off" during the next 30 days!

So go ahead, pick yourself out a little something!

Good as Gold Headband - $23

Cider Dress - $84

Gold Long Chain Circle Necklace - $40

Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon When You Take the North "Poll"

2011-11-10T07:45:00.001-06:00

Tomorrow will mark 4 years of this little blog of mine. I love all of my readers and have a pretty stylish giveaway planned to celebrate tomorrow but unfortunately only one of you gets to win that. No worries though! I found something I can giveaway to all of you! The Melissa & Doug toy company is saving the day (and my wallet) by offering a 25% off coupon to each of you and all you have to do is take a quick vote on your favorite Melissa & Doug educational toy.

As we all know Christmas is right around the corner. Just ask my neighbors, they already have their tree up. Seriously. I've already started ordering a couple of gifts for Ethan and let's just say ANY money I can save is awesome. Ethan loves his Melissa & Doug puzzles and his Noah's Ark shape sorter that he received for his birthday and I plan on getting him a few more Melissa and Doug items for Christmas!

Melissa & Doug want you to tell them which of their educational toys you think is best! Just click on the image below to place your vote in the North "Poll!" You'll get a Melissa & Doug 25% OFf Coupon to use at MelissaAndDoug.com just for voting!

So go ahead, take your quick vote! Tweet it, share it, pass it on...everyone wants to save! Melissa & Doug will send out the 25% off coupons during the week of November 20th. That's plenty of time for you to place and order and get it here for your little ones before Christmas!

Thanks for reading and be sure to comeback tomorrow for a chance to win a little something for yourself!

**I was compensated for this post but all thoughts and opinions are my own.**

A New Monthly Ethan Update and Tutorial

2011-11-09T07:34:00.001-06:00

Now that Ethan is over a year, I thought I'd change from monthly letters to a quick photo and word collage update. I still want to keep track of all his loves but I don't feel like being as detailed as I was when he was a baby.

Pin It

I've seen these on Pinterest and other blogs (thanks AP and Katie!), but most of the ones I'd seen had been created with Photoshop which yours truly does not have...yet. Like always, when I want something bad enough I find out a way to get it done, so I thought I'd share my tricks! I personally did this on a mac, but as a former PC user, I know you can do it there too!

1. Open pages (or word). Go into page set-up and change the document size to 5x7 landscape.

2. Drag your picture into the document (add image on word). On the other side use the shape tool and insert a rectangle (adjust size to take up the rest of the space).

3. Fill the shape with whatever color suits you!

4. Insert text boxes using awesome fonts downloaded from www.dafont.com (thanks twitter folks for the recommendation).

5. Arrange text boxes to your liking.

6. Save as a PDF file.

7. (This part is for mac users only) Open PDF file in Finder. Choose Export and select jpg. (For PC users I believe you can just change the extension or open it in paint.)

8. That's it! You've got a picture you can upload anywhere and use in photo books!

Look Who's A Walker!

2011-11-08T08:39:00.000-06:00

Ethan started walking earlier this month in little spurts, but has since picked up regularity with it. I have to say this video is probably the longest I've seen him walk by himself. I've been trying to catch him on video for some time now and after dragging a camera around with me all day (and a little bit of persistent asking) I finally caught him!

Disclaimers:

1. I'm sorry I felt the need to talk through the ENTIRE video. Apparently silence makes me nervous.

2. There is a part where I say "bench" and it may or may not sound like a dirty word...I promise I said "bench".

3. Random items laying around were drug out by the cute little guy above. Well everything except the rubbermaid container...that's waiting for the hubs to put away :)

Letters to Whom it May Concern...

2011-11-07T08:59:00.000-06:00

Dear Time Change,

You are truly not needed anymore. Why must we live in darkness in the winter? Do the pharmaceutical companies support you? They should. I'm sure you are responsible for increased levels of depression during this time of year. Oh and maybe medication for insanity because my dear son, doesn't grasp this idiotic time change concept and is now completely off schedule. To sum this letter up...you suck.

Signed,
Cranky Mommy

Dear Cable/Internet Provider,

Why do you throw curve balls every 3 months or so? It's like you think I won't notice that you change your charges and increase my bill for a variety of stupid reasons. This results in multiple calls and wasted time on my part. It also results in me having to add a phone line or drop a phone line to keep my costs the same. I'm tired of your games and if I didn't depend on your DVR services I would tell you goodbye for good. But alas, you have me...and let's not pretend that you don't know it.

Signed,
Angry Cable Customer

Dear Hormones,

Seriously, what's up? I've been on a ranting streak lately and it's showing up in more than my blog posts. When my husband jokingly told me he wanted to throw me out of the car this weekend...I kinda got the sense that he was a tad serious and I can't say I blame him. Please get yourself together.

Signed,
I'd Like to Live

Dear Christmas,

I've been giving you a hard time lately. I really need to change my attitude about you and have fun. Time to put my big girl panties on and play the Christmas games of beat the clock and all the other crazy Christmas shoppers. I can do this. I will do this. I will love Christmas this year.

Signed,
Determined

Dear Self,

Get your shit together. Take deep breaths. It's all going to be okay.

Signed,
The Crazy Lady

Seriously Christmas? Seriously.

2011-11-04T09:38:00.000-05:00

Have I told you that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday? Well, it is and it always rubs me the wrong way to see Christmas stuff up in stores November 1st or for some even before Halloween.

Yesterday though, I got hit in the face with what Christmas is going to be like with children.

Oh yes, it will be a magical, fun and wonderful time.

But it is also going to be......CUT-THROAT!

Let me explain. My parents are divorced hence we have multiple Christmas's to go to. So many in fact that my mom's Christmas is actually done two weeks in advance. So yesterday I figured that I should probably go ahead and order Ethan's Christmas outfit just to make sure it would get here on time.

I'd decided on a reversible long all that he could wear to multiple Christmas's after much searching to find an economical solution (the price of kids clothes is another rant all in itself). I called to place my order because for some reason the online site wasn't working.

I was told that all the holiday clothing was sold out. Not just my size, not just that outfit...all of it. They ran out last weekend.

Excuse me?

BEFORE HALLOWEEN!?!?!

I don't get it. Am I just really off my game or what? Is this how it works? Do I have to start ordering Christmas stuff in August???

Oh and the particular gift I had decided on for E out of a catalog I got last weekend....sold out.

Christmas is officially on my crap list.

BAH HUM BUG!

Hurricane Laura Coming Through!

2011-11-03T08:45:00.000-05:00

Last night I turned into a mad woman. Why you ask? Well, I should probably give you a few facts about myself to consider for a moment.

1. I am a perfectionist through and through.

2. Which leads me to pressuring myself constantly.

3. Which usually means I get very overwhelmed.

4. I make myself so busy with projects that I get behind on other things like um, housework.

5. Then I feel a huge amount of guilt and that I will never get caught up.

(This is not pity me, I actually like the perfectionist part and am working on all the other things...we all have our issues, no? Okay...moving on.)

Apparently last night I hit my breaking point. You see, there are some things around here I haven't had time to deal with: B-day stuff is stashed in the guest room, Halloween stuff is well, all over the place, Ethan's room is piled with things that really need to be packed up from his baby days, coupons are stacked up and unorganized...yada,yada,yada. You get it right? Life's been crazy. Fly Lady days have gotten put out on the curb. Mama's behind.

And then it happened....

Ethan started screaming an hour before regular dinner time.

I opened the fridge hoping and praying I might find some actual food for him (let's face it meal planning ok, ok and going to the grocery store has also gotten off track).

The apple cider jug decided to crash to the floor sending sticky residue all over the fridge, it's contents, the floor, the cabinets, me.

At that exact moment my husband calls wanting to know what's for dinner.

I see red.

Honestly, I don't know what to call it but holy hormone rage. I flew into action...fury was driving me for sure. The baby got successfully fed, the husband came home in time to take over from there. I went to work on the house. Toys were corralled, the fridge was emptied and wiped down, dishes were washed, my sink was shined, I literally threw things in the garage to be tossed because I never wanted to deal with them again.

You get it.....I was on a rampage. Hurricane Laura was coming through.

Michael and Lola hunkered down in the bedroom while this was going on...good choice, good choice.

Sometimes it takes me getting to my breaking point, to get myself back in gear.

You know what though? I feel like a new woman and I didn't have to wake up to my dirty house this morning.

The storm has passed.

RARRRRRR!!!!

2011-11-01T09:21:00.000-05:00

Mama guilt hit me hard this Halloween. I had big plans of making a costume for E but it just didn't happen. The birthday extravaganza took all creativity and motivation from me so I bought a costume on Amazon. You know what though, it all worked out in the end, E loved his costume and I was pretty happy I didn't have to make one. Maybe next year? I should probably start in August.

We had a fab Halloween. I called my sister bright and early yesterday because I was determined to get the pumpkins carved and Lord knows I wasn't going to attempt it by myself with E. I thought he would be more than thrilled to get all gross and dig into the pumpkin guts...turns out, he's not so sure about it.

You do it. No, you do it!

In fact he'd much rather just use a spoon. Me too E, me too.

The pumpkins got carved mere minutes before trick or treaters came ringing our doorbell. I sat out a variety of pick up appetizers and made a baked salami to die for. It went so fast I didn't even get a picture.

We got our traditional Halloween photos before heading out to trick-or-treat. We only went to two houses. You kinda feel a little guilty asking for candy when you know that they know that the kid can't eat it. He had a ton of fun watching all the little kids come up to our house though.

Now he sticks his hand in it...figures!

We ended the night with Chicken Chili and hot Caramel Apple cider! It was perfect and I can't wait for next year!

More Fall Fun!

2011-10-31T08:11:00.000-05:00

This weekend was one of those perfect family weekends. It was a semi break from our long string of things to do that have been scheduled for the past month and that will continue on for the next two months. Fall is always like that isn't it? Busy as can be.

Our only task this weekend was to head over to my MIL's fall festival. She was so excited to show off E to all her church friends and I have to say that he was more than adorable in his Halloween costume! He was the hit of the festival for sure.

Costume Sneak Peak! Can you tell what he is?

Ethan's Grandpa kept him busy walking him (hand in hand) around the place. Seriously it was the most he had ever "walked", I was so surprised his legs didn't give out. He had taken 10 steps by himself on Friday, but after all that "walking" at the Festival he decided it would be fun to walk by himself a little more frequently here at home. I'm still not pegging him as a walker yet since it's not habitual, but it's coming. As soon as I can get it on video, I'll be sure to share.

We ended our weekend with making pancakes, picking out pumpkins (which at this point will probably remain uncarved, boo!), Halloween decor and helping daddy clean out his car. Ethan had so much fun playing at the steering wheel of daddy's car. We jammed out to classic rock and when I say jam I really mean it. Apparently 42 is the appropriate volume level for a one year old. Mama preferred 21 but was corrected every time...the volume level battle has already begun. We played with all the switches in the car until daddy got squirted in the face with the washer fluid and we were kicked out. Lame daddy, lame!

Today I'm getting the house ready for Halloween (yes, the day of) and getting food ready for tonight. I hope you all have a fabulous Halloween. I can't wait to see everyone's costumes!

Sometimes having a Baby is just like having a Dog

2011-10-28T09:52:00.000-05:00

When my friends started having children, I found it hard to relate to things they were going through just as any childless person does. The only thing I could call myself a parent of was a dog. I was thinking about having children of course and was very curious to what it might be like. I'd find myself saying "Oh, well that's kind of how it is with Lola". In fact, I compared children to dogs quite frequently. I meant this with no disrespect of course. I love Lola. She is like a child to me. My fur baby.

Baby Lola

However, Michael informed me one night that I might be offending people with these comments. Who wants their baby compared to someone else's dog? Hmm...yeah those comments probably weren't well received, but again, I meant no disrespect.

Fast forward to the present.

I still think babies are a lot like dogs.

Yep. I'm comparing my child to an animal. A dog no less.

Here's why...

Eating off the floor is no biggie.
They have begging down to an art.
They both have eaten their poop. (Yes, you read that correctly. I'll explain another day.)
They both love to get in the dishwasher.
Staring out the window all day and barking at passerby's is great entertainment.
If I get dressed for a walk they both jump all over me in excitement.
Both puppy and baby kisses are the best and usually come with some drool.
They both enjoy chewing on things.

See, there isn't too much of a difference, no? Ok well there are some differences, but you get my drift. It's not such a bad idea to be a dog owner pre-kids. It is a good form of training!

The Electronic Battle

2011-10-27T10:02:00.000-05:00

If you had asked me about my views on kids and televisions (or electronic devices of any kind for that matter) before I had Ethan I would have told you that I was going to try my hardest to avoid them for the most part. Yeah obviously I knew he was going to watch TV at some point, but I didn't want him to ever be that kid that always had to have it on to be happy. I didn't want him to have to have it in the car every time we went somewhere. In fact, I didn't think he would even be into it the first year or so of his life if I simply didn't expose him to it.

....enter life with child....

I tend to have the TV on for most of the day around here purely for noise. A quiet house drives me batty. I can't help it. So TV for E started out slowly. I noticed he responded to certain commercials and that bright colors really caught his attention. Then a few short months into his life, I found Mickey Mouse Clubhouse really caught his attention. In fact it gave me at least 15 minutes to get ready in the morning or drink my coffee. 15 minutes of anything isn't bad right? He's happy, I'm happy. Score!

As he got older and I had him in a play pen, I'd switch on the Disney channel because it would maybe buy me 5 more minutes to complete whatever task I was trying to do. He still wasn't totally into it. He wasn't really watching it. It's okay, right?

My saving grace was that I didn't know many other kid channels. Um, hello have you noticed how inappropriate some "cartoons" are? So, really we were just regulated to morning TV with Disney.

Then I found Sprout.

Very appropriate, very learning oriented, cute TV all.day.long.

I still refrained from having it on too much, but then I got caught up in birthday madness and needed a week to bake. I had crap everywhere that he didn't need to get into so the play pen was used a little more frequently. I felt bad. I turned on the TV.

Guess what? He really, really likes Sesame Street and that lasts an hour! Do you know how much you can get done in an hour?

Yeah. I was hooked.

After the b-day madness, the cycle continued. He's out of the play pen a lot more, but I still had on Sprout because it did catch his attention and kept him happy for just a bit longer. I could do just a few more things. It's a learning channel. He's learning. Who am I to stop that?

Hell, even I was learning.

The morning show told me the general weather forecast, the date and what day of the week it was, and that's helpful to me because, let's face it, a lot of the time I don't know what day it is around here. I also learned Spanish and even some German. Ok, I don't really remember the German words, but I did for like a day. I learned some catchy tunes to sing.

Then I realized...

If I know the daily schedule of all the shows, the catchy little jingles, the words to the Sprout birthday song, and can even repeat lines of some of the shows.....there's a problem. My guilty conscience hit big time. It was time to turn the TV off.

I'm sure this is just the beginning of the electronic battle. Balance is needed and to be honest I'm not quite sure what balance is these days for electronics and kids. Even as adults we have a hard time finding balance for ourselves. All I know is that I want to introduce electronics as slowly as possible. That means I as a parent have to show constraint and that my friends is the real problem.

It's so easy to turn on the TV or throw something bright and shiny in front of their face so we can get something done. I'm not condemning anyone who does this. I do it and will continue to do it....but hopefully with balance. Electronics are great, there are a lot of things to be learned from them, but they don't replace conversation, family time, or you teaching your kids things yourself.

Sometimes All I Can Muster is Randomness

2011-10-26T08:38:00.000-05:00

Seriously you guys, I am overwhelmed with all the compliments from Ethan's party post yesterday. I can't thank you all enough for making me feel like one very proud woman! Also, I got some exciting news that it will be featured on a popular event site sometime in November, I'll be sure to share that when it happens!

Do you ever feel pressure to top your last post?

I do.

I certainly don't have anymore party posts up my sleeve at the moment, and when I sat down to write this morning my head just went blank.

Although that could have to do with the fact that I'm pretty sure I'm sick.

Awesomeness, right?

And maybe it has to do with the fact that my sweet husband gave me Allegra to take right before bed. I'd never taken it before and probably won't again, because basically all it did was make me wide eyed.

The hubs and the dog both loudly suggested I get out of bed last night via huffing and growling (I'll leave you to guess who was making what sound there). I might have been a tad sniffly and a tad too lazy to get out of the bed to blow my nose. Yep, I was that person.

I stayed up way, way late last night trying to design E's thank you cards because my eyes just simply wouldn't shut. Of course, I didn't end up liking anything I came up with because that's just how late night projects go with me.

I finally fell asleep at some un-Godly hour only to be awoken bright and extra early this morning by my alarm clock, aka the baby monitor. On second thought, maybe I need that Allegra this morning.

Ok, I don't think I'll have any problem topping this post tomorrow.

Writer's block...over! Please come back :)

My Thoughts - Uninterrupted

Embracing Motherhood

New Ventures

Laundry Room Makeover

Ethan's 15 Months Old!

My Little Table Dancer

What Season Are We In?

Back into Routine

What I Really Needed to Say

Trying for #2: An Update

I Get Knocked Down, I Get Up Again

January is My Christmas

2011 Video Montage

Looking Forward to 2012!

Top 10 Posts of 2011

Christmas Wrap-Up...err...Unwrapped!

This Story is One for the Baby Book!

Catching up on the Daily Happenings

You've Got Mail!

How to Make a Peppermint Wreath

Looking Back on Christmas

The Perfect Homemade Holiday Gift

Tiramisu Trifle

Christmas Decor Reveal!

How to Host a Flawless Dinner Party

Things That Make Me Smile

The Ugly Truth

Ethan's Christmas List & Book Exchange

Ethan's 14 Months Old!

My Heart is Warm

Stovetop Potpourri

In progress...

Thanksgiving Fun on the Farm

I'm Fairly Certain He Won't Miss Me

Shabby Apple Winner!

I will be in touch with you shortly! Be thinking about which color skirt you will choose :)

Parenting Is Not Always Black and White

My Christmas List - The Hobby Edition

Bits and Pieces

Oh, How this Blog has Grown!

Shabby Apple - GIVEAWAY

Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon When You Take the North "Poll"

A New Monthly Ethan Update and Tutorial

Look Who's A Walker!

Letters to Whom it May Concern...

Seriously Christmas? Seriously.

Hurricane Laura Coming Through!

RARRRRRR!!!!

More Fall Fun!

Sometimes having a Baby is just like having a Dog

The Electronic Battle

Sometimes All I Can Muster is Randomness