Bits and pieces and stream of conciousness

Things have been so busy!

Had my Dr's appt yesterday and my BP is back to normal after 2 weeks of no BCP, so no more estrogen pills for me, I guess. Going back on the mini pill and hoping it works. (80% effective) Also had them run a pregnancy test since my periods have been so wonky, but it's negative, so big sigh of relief. (I want another baby, but not NOW)

However, I got the word today that my oldest friend, Cherry, is pregnant with her first and I am so excited for her! Happy times! She's due just before Fuss's 4th birthday! I'll be passing her some maternity clothes, etc. I also want to throw her a shower, so I'll have to get with her mom on that. Exciting times!

Things are coming together for the Little Man's 1st Birthday party! I have ideas for favors (still need something for the baby set, though) and I've ordered stuff from Etsy that I'm totally excited about. I got confirmation today from my pastor that he will be able to come and do the baby dedication at the same time. Things are really working out nicely. (Though I found out awhile ago that my BFF and her family will be out of town that weekend, so I'm bummed that they won't be there, but you do what you can.) I still need to design the cake and buy some plates and such and finalize the menu. (I was just reminded of "puppy chow" which I love, but is it a bad idea to have something so yummy that my older child can't eat because of her peanut allergy?) I also need to find a pinata because I want to do that, too.

In review

Wow. So I've been ignoring my blog lately. I don't know what it is exactly - a combination of things, really, I'd guess. I'm busy with stuff - we had VBS and now we're leaving for a working vacation of sorts, my cake class, just all sorts of stuff really.

The kids are doing great, though the Little Man seems to be starting either a cold (runny nose, cough, cranky) or another tooth because he's been cranky and not sleeping well again. Fuss has been a handful, but she's also been a joy. When she is being good, she is SO much fun. She sings and dances and is just a major entertainment. I love it. She's curious about everything, she's learning her letters, she's been playing with her friends and she is just a ball full of energy.

It is dreadfully hot, so I pretty much hate doing anything outside. We're planning a couple of play dates indoors soon - bowling, the bounce house place, etc. Should be a good time.

We leave tonight after my final cake class. I wish I could say that the teacher had improved, but I can't. She's scatter-brained and rude to the students, though I have learned a lot about beginning cake decorating. I look forward to tonight's class and putting together what we've learned on a big cake.

I'll be gone all week on a trip to North Carolina. Looking forward to seeing my SIL and nieces. Also hoping to get some reading done, though I won't hold my breath.

All that and more

Dang, is it hot. I've been suffering more than I remember the past summers, and I looked it up and my Zoloft has "exessive sweating" as a common side effect. Good times. I am just ALWAYS hot. Except when I wake up in the morning when we've been running the air in our room all night. Then, I'm just about right.

Anyhow, Fuss has been enjoying her time at VBS, and Little Man has been enjoying the one-on-one mommy time. (Though we've been running around a lot and I'm afraid he's not been getting his regular morning nap all week and my right bicep is killing me from carrying him all over all the time and holding him for long periods of time. I'm also going to need an adjustment after all the hip-jutting with the baby on my hip.

I'm having so much fun in my cake decorating class. The teacher is horrible, but having adult time and having a creative outlet one night a week has been a blast. And my first cake turned out pretty good, but I don't have any pictures because I had a horrible carrier this week and it got smashed en route so no pretty pictures. You can see my cupcakes after next week.

And that's all I've got for now. I'm trying to get back in the habit of posting daily and I'm struggling because I don't have optimal computer situations. I've been neglecting my reading, too. I'm hoping to get back to that soon as well. I miss my blog friends.

Things that make me go Hmmmm (updated)

1. My daughter is a perfect angel when she is in public with a bunch of people. We were with an old friend of mine and her family and friends most of the day yesterday, and despite not getting her nap until late when we left, she was sweet and fun and well-behaved and polite. Why can't she be like that with me?

2. I had a bit of a meltdown Sunday night - the kids were climbing, crying, fussing, kicking, shoving, slapping me all day - and my husband went off for a few hours of fun in the middle of the day. We had been watching something on TV and I couldn't hear for all the noise and chaos and my husband was happily piddling on the computer, ignoring it all. I tried to hide in the bedroom and he came after me to see what was wrong. I ended up telling him I was done, taking a long hot soak in the bathtub and then we had a long talk about how I needed more of a break and how despite the fact that I told him to go (I know he needs down time, too) I was kinda pissed when he left to go out with his friend.

3. I recently ran into a group of girls I went to high school with. Between the 4 of us, we are the ones who married within my graduating class and the class below us. They have all also had 2 kids a piece ranging from the oldest being in Kindergarten to the youngest being about 5 or 6 months old. Standing near them made me feel so inadequate. They were all skinny and looked fabulous. In one case, I think one of the girls looked better than she did in high school. I felt like a frumpy blob. I've put on more than 40 or 50 lbs since high school.

4. However, yesterday we spent the day with a friend of mine - probably my oldest friend that I still keep in touch with (we met the first day of Kindergarten and became fast friends) and she is pretty much exactly my age, has never been athletic (like the girls I mentioned above who were very athletic in high school) but she hasn't had any kids yet. She has always been on the thinner side, not overly curvy like me (who has always had a lot more hips than most of the people I grew up with. My midwife and my mom tell me I have childbirthing hips) and she was swimming in a tiny bikini yesterday with my kids... I noticed that her body wasn't so perfect anymore, either. She's not fat - not anywhere near as heavy as I am, but she's not tight and toned and perfectly shaped anymore, either. We're in our early 30s, so I know it starts to get harder to keep in shape, but it made me feel a little better about myself that I'm not the only one struggling with my body, and failing to keep up my high school physique. (Not that I was hard-bodied in high school, let me assure you. But I was significantly skinnier.)

5. And here is a pic of the new curly thing I'm trying to do with my hair. It's not a great picture, but it was a great hair day.


There are lots more things that make me go Hmmmm. But I have a wailing baby, so I must continue that later.

Too Many Things

Both of our computers got a virus this weekend so we were really up a creek. It was a pain. More so for my husband who had to fix it on Monday night after his softball game.

We bought a car over the weekend. A 2004 Chrysler Sebring. It's very nice and it seems to fit my husband well. I feel like I've spent the last 2 days working on the paperwork to get rid of the Jetta. I'm going to miss that car. My Jetta - that I named Jenica - has been a great car for 10 years. It has gotten me where I needed to go and kept me safe. The only problem I've had with it is the need to replace the water pump in the AC twice. Really, she's been a wonderful car.

I still haven't gotten my period and I'm a week late. I took another test this morning, first thing, and it came up negative. I've never been this late without showing up pregnant and the prevailing thought is that the nursing is messing up my cycle. But I find it wild to think that I'm having an anovulatory cycle after only one cycle postpartum, but that's all I've got as far as my own self-diagnosis. (I'm hoping to get my Taking Charge of Your Fertility book back from my friend this weekend. Maybe I'll get some more information from that.) It's driving me crazy to not know what is going on.

It's weird. Because I don't really want another baby this quickly, but on the other hand, it would be so nice to just have the decision out of my hands.

I'm feeling so fat lately. And I'm eating terribly and I've gotten away from exercising again. (No big shocker. I hate exercise.) I've lost a few pounds, but not really enough to make a huge difference in my shape. And sometimes, I think I'd like to be pregnant just to have an excuse to be fat. Which is a terrible reason to want to be pregnant. My biggest problem with my weight/eating right now seems to be weird fluctuations with my desire to eat/what to eat. I go back and forth between being ravenous or not wanting to eat at all and when I'm hungry, mostly I just want food that isn't all that great for me. With all the chaos that was our week last week, we only cooked once or twice - the rest of the week was full of fast-food, pizza, snacks, etc. It was horrible. (And yummy)

America's Next Top Mommy?

There's a cable station - Oxygen, I think - that shows America's Next Top Model marathons every Tuesday. I love that show. I love seeing the make overs and learning the posing, etc. I have loved Tyra for a long time. I don't watch it on Prime Time because my husband isn't a fan. Neither of us like "reality TV" as a general rule.

Sometimes, watching it makes me feel old, frumpy, ugly. I mean, these girls are so young and beautiful. Even the ones who have had a baby have these FABULOUS bodies. I'm 30 years old and I have NEVER had a body like that. It's intimidating.

But sometimes, it's inspiring. I learn new make-up tips. I learn about fashion and little tricks to make myself look better. It makes me want to put my make-up on even when my only audience is my 3 year old and my 8 month old.

And I can be fierce. Even when I'm covered in baby drool.

So freakin' tired

I'm wiped out and it's only 12:50pm.

I got little sleep last night. I don't know if it's germ-related sniffles or teething, but Little Man was up half the night in relation to a stuffed up nose. I tried to sleep in a little, but my noisy children had me up before 7. Shortly after that, my husband threw his back out worse than I've ever seen it, had to call in to work and I had to drive him to the chiropractor this morning, which took forever and the kids were antsy...

I'm just so freaking tired.

My husband and I got into it a little yesterday. My dad sort of tricked him into doing manual labor for him all morning and wasted our entire morning. So I was stuck in the house alone with the kids all morning like I am more weekdays and I was antsy and wanted to get out of the house. My husband was tired and wanted to relax, so when my friend M called and asked if I could go out with her, I wanted to jump at the chance. My husband thought I should stay in and be with the family and all I wanted to do was get out of the house... it was frustrating. We ended up compromising and M came over to hang out with us at our house instead, so it was all fine in the end, but I still wish we hadn't lost our entire morning and I'd been able to get out of the house.

Common Courtesy of Blogging

I read a handful of blogs (okay, a good-sized handful) daily. I love blogs. I love getting a peek into the lives of other moms (because it's mostly mommy blogs that I read) who are dealing with similar stuff as me. It makes me feel better/connected to them.

The first few blogs I ever read were Julie and Julia who both had 100s, if not thousands, of readers by the time I came across them. I knew there was no way they could possibly read every single comment or reciprocate the reading of every reader's blog and I didn't expect them to (it would have been nice, but unrealistic). But then I started coming across quite a few smaller blogs - people who had few-to-no registered readers and/or few-to-no regular commenters. And you know, I know how that feels. So I always tried to comment on those blogs. And I tried to check in more regularly if I liked the first few posts I read. This has changed my reading habits a lot, and I no longer check Julie's blog 3 times a week to see if maybe she posted!

I don't really know how to grow my blog a lot. Partially because I'm not willing to open myself up to some talented Googling and let everyone in the world know that I have a blog. (This has more to do with the fact that I talk very frankly about my friends and family in my blog and I don't want to change that.) But I appreciate the courtesy of people reciprocating reading/comments when I am a regular commenter on their blogs. I think it's common blog courtesy, especially if you aren't a person who has 100+ readers or something. (I know that you don't have time to read 50 blogs per day, I get that).

But I have to tell you, I get a little miffed when I read and comment on a smaller blog EVERY DAY and then they comment (on their own blog) that they only read one or two blogs regularly and mine isn't one of them. That's darn frustrating. Because, seriously, how long does it take to read one of my posts? 2 minutes? And how long does it take to drop a 2 sentence comment? 30 seconds?

But then, I know that it can be hard to keep up with all the reading. There are days when I don't get to my blogs and then the next day, I feel so behind. And sometimes I feel guilty about it. Which is ridiculous, but still.

I don't know what my point is here - I guess that people should practice a little courtesy when reading/writing blogs. If you're a regular reader, say something in the comments. If you have regular readers, share the love and check their blogs out, too. It's just polite.

Random stuff and Adult Friends

I'm taking the kids to my MOPs group Annual Easter Egg Hunt today. We're supposed to bring a dozen (per kid) filled eggs and I found some that were filled w/ Playdough instead of candy and I'm psyched! We're also supposed to bring a "dish to share" and my husband encouraged me to bring these delicious cookies he found the recipe for - Cranberry Oatmeal White Chocolate cookies. Amazing.

I've really been trying to spend less time online when my husband is home at night. And also less time parked in front of the laptop during the day. I'm trying to be more active with my children and... it's exhausting. But anyway, that accounts for at least some of my lack of, or late posting lately. It's hard to get a daily post out with kids clamoring for your attention.

I've been thinking lately about adult friendships again. Sometimes it is SO hard to make friends as an adult. It's hard to meet new people because you're so stuck in your little routine you're surrounded by the same people all the time. And when you do meet new people, sometimes it is SO hard to get the ball rolling and spend enough time with that person to actually forge a friendship.

There's this woman at MOPs that I would LOVE to be friends with. We talk at our monthly meetings, but we really know very little about each other other than the names of our children. But we hit it off and she is SO sweet and so nice and I just think we get along so well. I would LOVE to get to know her better, but she's got 3 kids and another on the way and I've got my 2 kids, so getting together just to talk woman-to-woman is practically impossible. Where or when would we have the time to do that? And adults don't seem to be able to just call each other up when they barely know each other and invite another person out for coffee or whatever. And unfortunately, her kids and mine aren't the same ages, so it's not even like it would be an obvious play date for the kids where the moms got to chat while they amused themselves.

Wouldn't it be easier if friendships were made like they used to be on the elementary school playground? "Do you want to be my friend?" "Yes." "Great!" and off you go skipping off to the swings. Or when our moms would set up play dates?

Tired

I got 4 hours of sleep last night - non-consecutive. So I'm not up to finishing the blog post I started yesterday.

In the meantime, you can check out this fun new site I found - an online magazine by women, about women, for women. It focuses on the artsy, creative side of REAL women. And I can vouch for at least the legitimacy of 2 of the women involved, as I went to college with them (and even lived with one of them for a year).

http://www.docica.com/

What a weekend.

Well.

I am so tired. It was a rough weekend - both busy and lack of sleep and very little down time. Saturday I attended a baby shower for my friend Kathy and her soon-to-be 2nd little girl. It was fun, but because of the volleyball tournament that Daddy Fuss and Fuss attended (to shoot pictures) we pretty much spent the whole day apart. I also ended up with a horrible headache and some tummy trouble.

Daddy Fuss and I had some stresses and such to deal with this weekend too, but I think things ended up being all worked out.

This morning I watched part of last night's episode of Army Wives. I had watched Army Wives when it first started, when we had a DVR, but when we gave that up to cut costs, I wasn't able to keep following the show. The episode last night dealt with one of the main characters losing her son who was deployed overseas. I sat down to nurse Little Man and I flipped on the TV, not knowing what to expect and cried my way through the episode. I can only imagine the pain of losing a child that you watched grow up, etc. But holding my baby boy in my arms... well, it was a lot of emotion to deal with.

Fuss was supposed to join her aunt J for strawberry picking today, but the weather is yucky so so such luck.

Review

We seem to have made it through the plague and I am grateful to be done with it. We're all still coughing occasionally and still on antibiotics, but we are living, breathing and mostly better all around.

My mom offered to take Fuss for a few hours (which ended up being most of the day) yesterday, and while she didn't put her down for her nap until 4, and didn't get her up until I suggested she do so at nearly 7, they had a lot of fun and Daddy Fuss and I got some downtime. Well, at least down time from Fuss, as we still had Little Man with us. But he's more portable, quieter, and he sleeps a lot. We went to a small gun show, which was interesting, but sort of fruitless. And we took my iPod which pretty much hasn't worked properly since the day after I got it to the Apple Store. I got a call a couple of hours after we left it there that they were going to replace it at no charge and I needed to pick it up within 2 weeks. (I don't know what will happen if I DON'T pick it up within 2 weeks, but that's what they said.) Since it's on the other side of the bridge, I'll have to make a special trip over... but that's okay. I can handle it. I think.

A bullet list because my brain is addled

• I have all these little things to do today. I need to get started on my writing assignment for Writing Group (thanks for emailing, Maggie!) I need to make some phone calls and make some appointments for myself and other members of the family (including the dog), I need to do laundry and dishes. I might be getting a new cell phone today..., I need to call my sister.
  
  
• But I am unmotivated and I have a mildly congested, clingy baby boy, so who knows what is going to happen today?
  
  
• I watched a marathon of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 10 yesterday for lack of something better on TV while I nursed and did a handful of chores. I am pathetic.
  
  
• Planning for the multiple celebrations that will be Fuss's birthday is starting to get out of hand. All I know for sure is that she wants a store-bought pretty cake. Fine by me! Will have to select it this weekend.
  
  
• Have received about 1/2 of her birthday presents thus far (a handful of small things, mostly) but I'm trying to decide WHEN to give them to her - with the family dinner on Wednesday? Or wait until Friday for her ACTUAL birthday? Do I want her to be able to wear her tutu for the dinner or just for the day on Friday?
  
  
• I really need to get more sleep. How horrible do you think CIO is going to be?
  

Black and White or Reality

I've been thinking a lot lately about my younger self - specifically my days in Jr High and High School and who I was then, my belief systems, etc. I am amused to realize how much I thought in black and white, right and wrong, true and false even though I felt I was progressive.

When you're 13 and in a Christian school, with Christian parent(s) and you regularly go to church and all your friends have the same basic belief system, you assume that that way of thinking is the only RIGHT way of thinking. You assume that the way you were brought up is the RIGHT way and anyone who does it differently is WRONG. I am thinking especially of my thoughts on morals and such, but that can be branched out in other ways, too, now that I think about it.

I remember being so judgmental of people who has sex outside of marriage. I remember assuming that couples who weren't married and got pregnant and therefore got married because of that pregnancy would automatically fail/have bad marriages/regret their choices, etc. Of course, I had never been in love, been kissed, felt anything even remotely like true love and I still thought the idea of sex (from a distant, mechanics-only knowledge of the topic) was kind of disgusting and I remember saying "yeah, I'd HAVE to be in love to do that with another person."

Fast forward a few years to my parents divorce, which rocked my world inside out, even at the age of 20, and shook up half the things my mom and my school had taught me. Suddenly, my mom was leaving my dad, both my parents had alcohol in the refrigerators, my mom was dating and HAVING SEX. In my house. (Loudly) Anyway...

And now I think about the friends and classmates I had in high school. Two of my best friends in high school - 2 of the "good girls" who came from good, stable, loving families who attended church regularly, etc.... they've both abandoned church attendance for the most part. And of my oldest "friends" (we met before Kindergarten and were good friends in elementary school, but then drifted apart) who never seemed to be interested in church except for social things... she married a Youth Pastor and now practically lives at her church, is very involved, etc.

I wonder sometimes - is the way we're raised really the way we end up? Are these friends just the exceptions to the rules? I know now that there is a lot more gray to the "absolutes"of the world than I realized when I was a kid...

It does show me, though, that sending a kid to a Christian school can't be the ONLY thing that teaches them their moral compass. It HAS to be taught at home. It has to be LIVED in the life they see.

Some bits of randomness

• Today is the anniversary of my favorite uncle's birthday. Yesterday was the anniversary of his death. Ironic, huh? All day yesterday I kept thinking "there is something significant about this date" but I couldn't come up with anything other than an obscure former co-worker's birthday. (We haven't kept in touch for over 3 years, hence the "obscure" title) Last night during one of my many wake-ups I realized that it was the anniversary of his death. I'll call my Gramma today to let her know I am thinking of her today.

• Wouldn't it be nice to start the year off with a potty-trained toddler? Yeah. It would. But unless today and tomorrow get a miracle, I'll still be prodding her to pee on the potty instead of in her diaper/pull up/on my couch. (okay, so I stopped putting her in panties because of the one couch incident. Maybe I should say "on my floor" since that's usually what happened when I put her in panties.) She asked me for panties today and I told her that if she could keep her pull-up dry for a few hours, she could have panties. About 15 minutes later, she announced that she had to potty and we went, and she went, but we already had a very wet pull-up. Grrrr. So frustrating.

• I got a great deal on a J Crew cardigan today online. My first J Crew anything, actually. I usually find their stuff too pricey for my budget, but this was a final sale price, plus 30% off, so... a $90 sweater for $20, including shipping and I'm psyched. I'm looking at a lot of cardigans lately because of the Emma Pillsbury inspiration. Her skirts, while adorable, aren't practical for my life, but I can do the cardigans without issue.

• I am heading to Target today to buy some new bins. Fuss got a bunch of toys for Christmas that need to be contained, and they have these huge bins on wheels on sale that I think might fit ALL of our Christmas decorations. Wouldn't it be nice to just have ONE big bin and not have to spread 5 boxes all over my living room at Christmas time? Yeah, I thought so too. Step one to getting organized.
  
  

• My husband got his wisdom teeth removed yesterday (2 of them) and he was going to try and do it with just novacaine. He passed out on them during the numbing process, so they had to put him under. Poor guy was so groggy afterwards. But he was really a great patient and was helping out with the kids by mid-afternoon. He felt well enough to go to work this morning (it was a half day, and there's no reason to eat up his vacation days for a half day if he's feeling okay, I guess.) I wouldn't still be in my nightclothes at 10:45am if he was home, but...

7 Quick Takes: Christmas Eve Edition

1. At 2 am I was lying in my bed attempting to get comfortable from the ache in my neck that was making my head pound (again) when I heard the baby start to stir. He was quite congested, poor little guy! He was having trouble breathing while lying down, so I fed him to calm him down and then tried putting him in the bouncy seat (sitting up) next to the vapor-plug to help him breathe more easily. That didn't last long, so by 3, my husband got up and took him into the living room where they both slept in the recliner. Wednesday, Fuss started in with the sniffles (I guess it was Tuesday night, really) and my husband came home from work on Wednesday with the same. I guess it was inevitable.

2. Thursday night some local workers busted through a 4-foot water main that caused little to no water for half the county for the evening/night. I was thankful that almost all of my laundry was done (and none of the stuff that wasn't was needed for the holiday!) but Little Man was supposed to get a bath and he couldn't.

3. I am even more grateful that we have water today. We're under a boil order (boil any water from the tap that you are going to consume) for the next few days, which is inconvenient, but manageable. But we were able to get showers this morning and the baby is now clean and I can do my dishes (which was the highest thing on the priorities for Christmas prep)! I am grateful to the workers and plumbers who worked through the night to get service back as quickly as possible. I am praying for the people in the immediate area of the break that still don't have water.

4. We were able to put two sizable checks in the bank yesterday thanks to the generosity of my Gramma and a payment coming through from one of my husband's freelance clients. I have no idea what to do with the money from Gramma - part of me wants to spend it on clothes and have some fun, but part of me wants to use it towards something more significant.

5. My shopping is done (and then some. Sometimes I think I have a shopping addiction at Christmas. I keep finding little things that I want to get, but that weren't on my original list or radar) and my own wrapping is done. We are hoping to put together Fuss's play kitchen while she naps today so that it is ready to put under the tree once we get her to bed tonight after we come home from my dad's house.

6. We are going to my dad's house for Christmas Eve dinner, as is our tradition. The year my parents split up, I began the tradition of hanging out with my dad on Christmas Eve (and when he was single, I spent the night at his apartment and we went to breakfast Christmas morning, then I'd go home to my mom and have our bigger family celebration that afternoon.) When he moved in with his girlfriend years ago, I would spend the evening with them and go home at the end of the night (at the time, often coinciding with C's exit to midnight mass) and then they began including Daddy Fuss and now it's such a thing that Fuss (and now Little Man) get to open their presents from Grandpa on Christmas Eve, even though both my dad and C come to Christmas dinner at my house on Christmas Day. I think my mom is jealous, but this year, we made the concession that she and my step-dad are coming late Christmas morning and enjoying brunch with us and a private gift-opening session with the kids. This is, in part, due to the fact that my mom went a little nuts with presents for Fuss this year and I don't want my MIL to be intimidated.

7. If I can get the house cleaned up, I am really going to enjoy this Christmas. I love the way Fuss's eyes light up when she gets excited and I know that some of her gifts are going to be big hits this year!

There are no Quick Takes at Conversion Diary this week, but I thought I'd do them anyhow.

Merry Christmas to all! I hope that we can all remember the Reason for the Season and spend time with our loved ones!

Random thoughts 2 days before Christmas

• I survived my awful headache, and feel a bit better today. I NEED to go see the chiropractor, but I have no idea WHEN that might happen...

• Anyhow, so lots of cleaning to do, but I think I'm done w/ the wrapping. Fuss is contentedly watching Mickey's Christmas Carol and my husband is "working from home" today and the baby slept through the night until 8:30 this morning! (Unfortunately, I was up for 2 hours on my own with a headache/neck ache. But I got to sleep in a tiny bit, so that was helpful.)

• I plan to back one more batch of Snickerdoodle cookies today and then hand out some cookies to our neighbors. I made these great (and simple!) chocolate pretzel things last night, plus my Oatmeal Toffee Lace Cookies. I think I'm over the baking, but I have commitments to keep...

• Last night my MIL called me, standing in front of some "play food" sets at a store. She said, "I gathered from our conversation last night that Fuss is getting a play kitchen for Christmas. Does she need food for it?" Apparently she didn't bother to read the email I sent her WEEKS ago after she asked what the kids would want for Christmas. I spelled out all the big gifts she would be getting for Christmas and listed some ideas for gifts. I practically did her shopping for her. And SHE NEVER READ IT. How hard is it to open an email that is labeled "Gift ideas for Fuss and Little Man" from your DIL? Why do I bother?
  

• I have become interested in the style of Emma Pillsbury from Glee. (I am slow to the bandwagon, but I'm really getting into Glee. I am getting season 1 on DVD for Christmas and I'm psyched. We have been getting it from Netflix and I'm addicted. Anyhow, I got a new haircut with layers like Jayma Mays's hair (I'm not doing the flip, though) and I'm suddenly obsessed with cardigans and pencil skirts. I'm psyched to have $25 worth of coupons/Kohl's cash to spend at Kohl's the week after Christmas. I don't think I want to dress like that all the time, but it's cute and fun and girlie and preppy - all things I like!
  

10 on Tuesday

1. Do you do any volunteer work?
No, but I wish I did. I just feel like things are too busy right now - with the kids, with life, etc. I hope to once the kids are older, especially when they reach school age (if I am still blessed to be able to remain a SAHM)

2. Do you have night and/or morning ritual?
My morning ritual is to check my FB, my email, and a couple of blogs as soon as possible, ideally over my morning Coke. :)

3. Would you rather exercise or diet? Why?
Diet. I detest exercise.

4. If you would rather exercise, do you prefer going to a gym or working out at home?
I hate going to the gym.

5. What do you think is a huge waste of time?
Video games.

6. What is one way you save time?
I can't think of one right now. All I have is that I meal plan my weekly menu before we go to the store by looking at the circulars.

7. What is your current obsession?
Clothes. Too bad I need to lose more weight to fit into the nice ones.

8. What is a current obsession you can’t wait to pass?
Cookie baking. I think I'm over it, but I still have more to make.

9. Are you currently reading a book? If so, what book? Would you recommend it?
I've got Against All Odds on my Kindle right now, and I'm enjoying it, but the first chapter was slow, so it took me awhile to get into.

10. Since we had the 90s question last week, what’s your favorite songs from 00′s?
I am drawing a complete blank. All I can think of are 2 songs from Evanescence - My Immortal and Bring Me to Life. I love the instrumental music and the power in the singer's voice, plus the passion of the overall sound.

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Day 4 -

I thought I was going to like this outfit more than I did. It was very cool in the morning, but predicted to get to a high of 80, so I thought layers would be ideal. This didn't end up being as functional as I had hoped.

I'm wearing my usual jeans, a black criss-cross tank top from Target (which dates back to when I was nursing Fuss, so it's a couple years old!) under a blue and black and gray print button down that I got for my birthday this year. (I believe it was from Macy's.) My black ankle boots covered my feet, which I'm not sure are ever functional (I really should have gotten lower heels on those - but my original plan was to wear them with a dress, so I thought the heels were ideal. Que sera sera.) I dug through my old collection of jewelry (interesting fact: in high school, I had a huge collection of interesting and funky earrings - they were my signature. I would go to art fairs and buy 2-3 pairs every year and I loved my artsy earrings. Now, I'm more of a classic jewelry sort of girl.) and found a celtic cross necklace w/ a blue stone (bought at Disney years ago) and some blue and black floral earrings (origin unknown - probably gifted).

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Today we began Operation: De-pacify Maddie the Monkey. As I explained the situation to Fuss, she seemed amenable to the idea (not that I gave her much of a choice - I told her she could either leave Maddie in bed and only have her to sleep with or I could remove the paci during the day and she could play with Maddie outside of bed, but without the paci in her head. She chose the latter.) However, the minute I turned my back, she went and got the pacis off her dresser and stuck one on Maddie's head. I didn't catch this right away, though she was acting sneaky before she went back to her room and collected ALL the pacis on her dresser. That's when I caught her. I have since had to hide the pacis. I plan to be very strict on this - she's nearly 3 and shows no signs of giving up her pacifier, so I think a little push is in order.

I am again having daily - if not constant - headaches. I am hoping this is a sign that I am simply out of alignment and I need to visit my friendly chiropractor, Burke. Every once in awhile, these headaches come on with such frequency and strength that I wonder if I should find someone to have my head examined (literally - like a scan or something) but before I bother, they usually begin to fade away and all is well again for awhile, so I don't bother having my head looked at.

7 Quick Takes: Very Random Edition

1. This week Fuss has been driving me bonkers. In no particular order she has dumped an entire salt shaker all over my living room, screamed through half a trip to Target, destroyed one of my eye liners, flooded the hallway and dining room (in separate ways and occasions) and torn apart my living room repeatedly. I could actually do a Quick Takes on the many ways she has tried to drive me to drink this week, but no one wants to read that.

2. I discovered the beauty of the smell of classic Whisk laundry detergent this week, thanks to a tip on the Style Lush Blog. I still can't use it on all of our clothes (specifically the baby's) but I'm using it on our sheets and towels and such and I LOVE it. Everything smells so fresh. I still have half a bottle of generic brand scented fabric softener, so I can't vouch for the idea that classic Snuggle softener makes it even better, but I'm loving the Whisk!

3. I just ran out of Limoncello liquor. I love that stuff and I'm going to have to talk my husband into getting more. It's my favorite liquor - it tastes like sweetened liquid Lemonheads and is delicious in a drink I copied and altered from some restaurant called a Cosmocello. Awesome.

4. We're supposed to get chilly weather here this weekend and I'm psyched. I'm actually going to get to dress the baby in a sleeper for the first time (he gets very warm in just his onesies and a light blanket, so I don't dare cover him even more most days/nights). I can't wait to see how cute he is in this little football sleeper.

5. We're going back to our cash-only budget this month. We've been so bad the last 3 months with the arrival of the baby and my husband's raise at work, etc. But we're getting back on track, so wish me luck!

6. I'm less than 3 weeks away from our Disney trip and I am so excited. Fuss can't wait for the combination of visiting Mickey and hanging out with her cousins. I can't wait to sit back and watch her enjoy it all!

7. I didn't sign up for NaBloPoMo this year, but I'm planning to do the challenge anyhow. I may miss a day or so while we're in Orlando, though, so I didn't want to make the official committment and then blow it. Other than that, I hope to have a daily post - even on the weekends. See you tomorrow!