The Edwards Edition

Skin care and makeup

2012-01-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

I love reading about and learning about all of the fun skincare and makeup items you all use, so while I was getting ready this morning (gasp! a shower, and makeup!) I thought I would do a post of what I used. Maybe some of you will do one too!

For skincare, I am super plain and never change it up ever. I'm old enough {33!} to be using more, and I know Shasta Anne would kill me if she saw this facial routine, but I'm lazy and don't spend a lot of money or time on my face. It's lucky to get washed every night, honestly.

I always wash with this. I have a mild form of rosacea on my face and this seems to help.

I use the cream version in the shower. It has little exfoliating beads in it too.

Been using the Clinique skin care line since I was about 14, and I can't deviate from the

clarifying toner or moisturizer. They feel too good!

For makeup, I'm a pretty simple girl. I've added a primer and a finishing mist to my routine in the last few years, and I've changed up my foundation until I found the greatest, smoothest, natural foundation ever! Also, I JUST started wearing eyeliner, and I don't do eyeshadow like EVER. I know how to do a few things , but I want to look super natural and I just don't like doing eyeshadow. So, what's in my makeup drawer?

Love some primer to make that face stay put!
Just switched to this from the Sephora primer brand.

The best foundation everrrrrrrrrrr. I put a dime size amount on my finger,

then dab it all around, then rub it in gently with my fingers.

Been on the Bare Minerals train since my friend Nicole got married and LG did my makeup. It is now my powder that goes on top of my foundation to smooth out and cover up.

Gotta get my bronze on with some warmth from Bare Minerals.

Just a light dusting makes me look human.

Probably the most used color by Nars, Orgasm.

It looks good on pretty much everyone.

My newest obsession is this awesome Tarte Amazon clay cream eyeliner. It's super easy to use (see that cool double sided brush below? It comes with the eyeliner!) It is waterproof and it looks really good on. Not hard to make a nice straight line, especially for someone like me who just started wearing eyeliner.

One of my three mascaras. Yes, I know I have a problem.
I have good eyelashes, so this is what I play up the most.
I use Maybelline Falsies. I've been using it since it came out,
and I probably will keep using it unless they make something better.
Maybelline knows their mascara!

Recently I got this Urban Decay curling mascara at Sephora.

I love it too! It goes on top of the Falsies.

And the red headed stepchild is the Cover Girl professional mascara. I use it for a "base" sometimes
and use it for lower lashes other times. She doesn't get used a lot.

Not a great picture at all, but this is what gives me the brows. Since I waxed my brows into oblivion in college, they won't grow back in on the ends, so I have to spruce them up with this Maybelline brow stick. It's awesome.

And finally, I am addicted to finishing spray. I love the way
it makes your face feel, it's like it complete the look. This is a
new product for me. I used the Caudalie spray forever, then
switched to Makeup Forever spray, now I'm on 'Dew Me' by
Urban Decay. It gives you a nice, dewy look.

For lips, I really only ever use this. I'm not a lipstick person at all.

My brush collection!

My makeup drawer-for some reason I can't rotate it....annoying.

So, what's in your makeup drawer or bag? I'd love to see. Let me know if you do a post like this!

OCD....or, maybe not?

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Oh look, me as a child, organizing things. Not really, but I so did do this.

So, yesterday as I was showering/putting on make up, and getting ready, I started thinking of all of the random OCD like things I do. Do I really think I have OCD? Probably not. Do I think I have a very mild form of OCD? Maybe.

From PubMed Health:

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder in which people have unwanted and repeated thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations (obsessions), or behaviors that make them feel driven to do something (compulsions).

Often the person carries out the behaviors to get rid of the obsessive thoughts, but this only provides temporary relief. Not performing the obsessive rituals can cause great anxiety.

Moving on, allow me to share with you some things I do that I think are weird.

*I always have to do the same exact order of things in the shower. Every time. Wash body, wash face, shampoo, conditioner, shave, exfoliate. I also dry off in the same way.

*Lotion has to be an even number of pumps-I use 6 pumps for my body. Can't handle seven. I like even numbers too. Odd numbers skeeve me out.

*Deodorant is the same way. 12 swipes if I'm not doing anything, if I have plans to be out and active, we'll up it to 16.

*I have to load the dishwasher the same way every time. All the plates go first, then silverware, then cups and baby food paraphernalia. Conversely, when I unload the dishwasher, I have a system. I get out alllll the plates, cutting boards, bowls from bottom, and place them on the counter. Then I put them away, then do all the silverware and cooking utensils, then move to the top. But I like to make stacks of similar items to I can put htem away all at once.

*Vacuuming has to be done the same way each time. I have a "path" that I make around each room. And it never changes. WTF.

I know there are other weird things, but right now I'm thinking I need to check myself in to Betty Ford for OCD. :) What do you do that is weird or OCD like?

Naturally

2012-01-19T14:26:00.002-05:00

Since I went GF, I have been thinking more and more about the things I put into my body, and the things I surround myself and my family with. I have a long way to go to get to where I need and want to be. My goal is to have a safe and naturally clean home.

I am, by nature, a very clean and organized person. It's not something I really have to work at. I like things to be clean and organized, and it's easy for me to do it and just get it done. Do I let things go with two kids? Absolutely. But when they are down for naps or bed, I'll get the tidying and other stuff done, because it's important to me. It makes me feel calm and relaxed. I know some of you can relate.

Lately, I have been making a lot of my own products. Laundry detergent, fabric softener, dishwasher detergent, baby food, yogurt mixtures, etc. Some have been to save money, and others are just because I want to do the best I can for my kids. And as a SAHM, I have a lot more time to get those things done. Trust me, I understand the working mom and not having time {mine was not wanting to make time} to do things like make baby food or create cleaning products. You have a JOB and then come home to your second job.

Anyway, I love reading Megan's tips about natural products. I would love to hear some natural things from you regarding cleaning and home care.

Right now, the main things I want to work on switching over are:

*Dish soap {like Dawn}. I hand wash all pots, pans, and cookie sheets, so I use this frequently. I know there are natural brands, but do you recommend one over the other or do you have a homemade recipe?
*Clorox wipes. God, do I love these things. I buy them in BULK {8 pack at a time} and use at LEAST 15 wipes per day. Minimum. I know there are the Greenworks brand, but the containers are so SMALL and they're so expensive. I don't use paper towels a lot, only to dry my hands occasionally. So, what do you clean/disinfect your counter tops/highchairs with? I will still have to use something like this for the toilet seats though! Ewww.
*Bathroom cleaner-I use some form of Clorox foaming bathroom cleaner for sinks, tubs, and showers. What is better?
*Windex-what else can I use?
*Floors-hopefully I'll be the owner of a new Shark Steam Mop after my birthday tomorrow!!! Only water, no chemicals!
*When vacuuming my floors, I use baking soda instead of scented Glade or other products that you pour into the carpet to help it smell better.

The main thing is, I don't want to/can't spend a lot of money on cleaning products. I've seen the Shaklee bit, and while all natural and quite interesting, it's too expensive for me. I use a lot of cleaning products. Any Shaklee users out there? Wanna give me a testimonial ~~and free products to review?~~ :)

With the kids, we have quit using Johnson and Johnson soaps, lotions, and pretty much anything they make. We use Aveeno bath soap and lotion. I should probably look them up on some website to make sure they're all good, but I'm pretty sure they don't have formaldehyde or other heinous chemicals in them. Ok, just came back from looking and it seems that J&J may own Aveeno too? I need to go read the ingredients stat and decide what else we can use if it contains the nasty chemicals like dioxane and formaldehyde. What do you all use for soap/shampoo/lotion on your kids? Also, Emma now needs conditioner. Any natural ones you can recommend?

SO. That's where I am right now. I have many things to change to make me feel like my kids and family aren't getting exposed to multiple chemicals, but I'm on the road. I would LOVE to hear your suggestions and feedback.

Thank you!

Why I went gluten free {also known as how a bunch of people think I'm insane}

2012-01-18T08:04:00.001-05:00

OK, so I've been hinting around a time or two ~~billion~~ about going gluten free. So, I'm going to tell you why I'm doing it.

I have lupus. Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE), which is the type of lupus that causes photosensitivy and itchy rashes all over when exposed to UVA or UVB light. I was diagnosed when I was 20 years old after repeated itchy rashes on my face and chest after sun exposure.

Anyway, I've been managing it for years, and once pregnant with Emma, it seemed to go into remission, if you will. It was dormant. I could lay out! I could be outside without protective jackets! It was glorious. Then, I got really bad rheumatoid arthritis. My joints hurt. All.the.time. I got on some meds to help. Then I got pregnant with Harrison. I quit the meds. Again, the lupus symptoms of arthritis disappeared. Once having him, my joints started hurting again. I went to see my rheumatologist to get re-evaluated and start meds again. Except? He said the pains I was having were not from arthritis. He said my joints were not swollen. He wasn't sure what was going on.

So, I thought and thought. I did some research. I read a lot of gluten free blogs. I stalked some gluten free girls and trainers and got their professional opinions. I decided to try going gluten free for at least six weeks. If I felt better, great. I would become gluten free. If not, then I would find another doctor to find out WHY I was feeling like this. Like I'm 60 in an {almost} 33 year old body.

I started gluten free full force last week. It's too soon to tell if it's working yet, but I do have more energy. Likely because I'm eating more protein. This is a really good way to find out what's truly going into your body. I've been amazed at what is really in food from reading labels.

I mean, grocery shopping yesterday? Blew my mind. Looking at my fat free half and half for coffee-why is there corn syrup and carrageenan {what is that?} in there. Hormel natural turkey. Same thing. Why is there starch, turbinado sugar and carrageenan in there? On and on. It was gross. I have to email my GF Girls to ask them if stuff is okay all the time. Shredded cheese? Has gluten {starch} in it to keep it from sticking together. So, I have to buy a block and shred it. Sauces, dressings, etc. Gluten. {Just googled carrageenan-it's a seaweed extract used in processed foods-still not real sure what it does, but whatever.}

The things I've read about wheat production bother me. I have never paid attention to stuff like this before. But when I read that ROUNDUP is being used on wheat, that bothers me. Because when that wheat is harvested, the ROUNDUP is still there. The things I've read about wheat affecting joints is the primary reason I decided to go gluten free. I know there are other chemicals/sprays used in food production, even fruits and vegetables. Not just processed foods. But, it just bothers me that I'm putting all this into my body and then having some health problems. I do think some health problems and aches/pains are directly related to what we eat.

Now, I'm on organic fruits, vegetables, and some organic dairy. I'm working on grass fed, organic meats. My children? Harrison is entirely organic. He eats to "grain" things right now. Organic puffs and mum mums. He was on Earth's Best rice cereal, but is done with rice cereal. However, rice cereal is not wheat. He will be gluten free when he starts eating real food. Emma? Mostly organic, not gluten free. I'd like to gradually move her to gluten free though after reading my friend Laura's post about how gluten was affecting her 2 year old daughter.

Let me say, I've heard A LOT of crap from people about doing this. I'm not sure why it bothers them, but apparently it does. I do not think I am better than anyone for eating gluten free. I do not think I'm better than anyone because I'm feeding my kids organic food and getting them to be gluten free. I just did some research, I'm willing to try it, and worst case? I'll get healthier by not eating grains. Will I stay GF forever? I don't know. It depends on how I feel after my trial period. I'll definitely keep reading labels and limiting my grains if I do go back. Also, I'm moving towards majorly limiting my sugars. I know sugar is a beast, and I need to keep track of my intake and start lowering it.

I will tell you this. When I first started, one night I wasn't thinking about it and we got Chinese takeout. I got General Tsao's chicken and fried rice. And crab rangoon. And holy lord, the next day I felt like death on a stick. Jason kept laughing at me saying I'd been 'glutened' but seriously, I felt yucky. And had some other issues, if you get my drift.

So, what do I eat? Well, here's my typical day, with our menu for dinner this week thrown in.

Breakfast: {one of the following} Udi's GF bread with PB or cheese, toasted. Van's GF waffle plain, with fruit, Stonyfield vanilla yogurt with fresh fruit, Think Thin bar, Kind bar. I cannot handle eggs at all. They upset my stomach. I know there are tons of other options out there, but this is all I've done so far.

Snack: fruit or Crunchmaster GF crackers/Nut Thins {these are amazing!}

Lunch: protein/fruit/veggie/small fat. Thin chicken breast or turkey rollup, fresh fruit {we are eating a LOT of apples, bananas, strawberries, and blueberries}, some bell pepper, some nuts. Today I had leftover GF pizza and a banana. I have some extra salad laying around this week, so that will make an appearance, most likely with a chicken breast. They also have some really good GF chicken nuggets {Applegate Farms} and GF macaroni and cheese {DeBoles}. Emma and I have been known to eat that together for lunch too. I haven't been "out to lunch" yet, but when I do, it'll be a salad, and I'll have to investigate where I'm going before hand. So, no more drive thru.

Snack: protein like some peanut butter on apple or GF crackers, or a protein bar like Think Thin.

Dinner: Well, here's our menu for the week. Everything is gluten free.

Monday-gluten free veggie pizza made with Bob's Red Mill dough

Tuesday-asparagus lemon pasta {blogged this last week}

Wednesday-cabbage casserole {blogged this last week}

Thursday-beef and broccoli via Pioneer Woman

Friday-taco bowls via Laura

Saturday-turkey meatloaf and mashed cauliflower via Laura, probably served with the other 1/2 head of cabbage leftover from Wednesday.
Sunday-chicken with mushroom cream sauce via Laura, steamed broccoli with goat cheese

OK, so that's my explanation. Questions, comments? Share below please.

xoxo

Messy Mom Monday on a Tuesday

2012-01-17T11:59:00.001-05:00

I saw Brittany and Jess's new feature yesterday and absolutely loved the idea and the REALITY of all of our busy, messy lives being broadcast. Cause I'm gonna be honest-I am OFTEN in this category.

I try to have it all together, but like one person said, there is always a trade off. I rarely shower (I think I've covered this a time or two ~~billion~~.) I rarely put on makeup. My house always has at least 3040 messes going on, and this stresses me to no end. My kids don't get dressed unless we have to leave the house. Which is not every day. It never ends.

But. BUT. We play a lot during the day. We make messes from the constant feeding of two kids and one high maintenance GF mama. I clean up during nap time. If I feel like it. I clean up after they are in bed and we've had dinner. If I feel like it.

Some of these pictures I'm about to post (this KILLS my OCD type A personality, by the way) are from all day yesterday and last night.

Yesterday was awful. The kids woke up foul, the day went south right quick. I needed to menu plan and shop, J was taking the kids to do an errand with him so I could do that, and when I got home at 3:30 from shopping, all hell was breaking loose. No one was asleep, everyone was crying, groceries were sitting in the car, Harrison ate almost 16 OUNCES of milk, etc. I finally got my groceries put away at 4:30, got Harrison asleep, then he woke up at 5:00 (yeah, a 30 minute nap) and poor J was passed out from trying to wrangle them at Lowe's and then get them down for naps. Emma had two EPIC tantrums-to the point of almost throwing up she was crying and screaming so bad. All over ridiculous stuff. So, yeah. This post? Not happening on that crazy ass day.

So, let's commence, shall we?

These were all taken around 10 am this morning. I'm still in PJ's and going on day 2 of no shower. I still haven't brushed my teeth. I was working on a diet coke, looked around, laughed, and decided to take pictures to blog this disaster.

Sink with dishes in it from LAST NIGHT. Ga-ross. This pains me. But, I couldn't deal last night. I went to bed at 9:30. And when I got up, I was cursing this nastiness. PS, gluten free, homemade pizza dough left in a mixing bowl overnight? Not easy to get off.

My kitchen table. Hmm, I see a highchair tray, Emma's breakfast dishes, a diaper bag,

and more junk in the background.

The island. Not bad, but I see Lysol wipes (my ever present BFF), another high chair tray,

Emma's booster seat (all in need of wiping down), iPad, bills, notebook, more junk.

Oh, and let's not forget a pee diaper with a cloth insert sitting there waiting to be rinsed out.

To the right of the sink we have dirty bibs, snacks, and an empty coffee cup that won't fit in the full ass sink.

The desk area in the kitchen-mom agenda, blood pressure machine, bills, singing books (death!)

The family room-my lair is on the end with the ottoman and computer. I see a

diaper caddy, blankets, pillows, and an exersaucer in the middle of the room.

Yikes-toy explosion to say the least. And Emma's beloved "Lion Movie" aka

The Lion King playing. She likes to copy what they do in the beginning and it's hilarious.

We have a cube box full of baby toys (rattles, soft toys, teethers, etc) for Harrison that normally lives in the playroom, but Emma likes to bring it in here, dump it out, and let him have every toy in the box.

Harrison is trying to get to that green ball to practice his golf.

Emma is checking her carebear's heart beat. And now the stethoscope is stuck and won't stop beating.

Holy crap the playroom. Awful pic, sorry. But I have to use my phone to get it done quickly! Notice the old sheet on the floor because Flash has a UTI and is having some.......leakage issues. So, he's been relegated to this room. Disgusting. Table moved so he couldn't jump up on the bed, chairs were in front of the bed too, then Emma decided she needed to get up there and frolic around in the sheets. Toy explosion in here too.

And the little convict with a Beatles rat nest hair do, still in jammies.

Still playing with the busted stethoscope.

She keeps asking me what that noise is, and when I tell her it's the

stethoscope and it's broken, she goes to hide it somewhere. Ha!

So, that's my messy life right now. I loved looking at your link ups!

Who else has this messy disaster going on?

Miscellany Monday

2012-01-16T17:16:00.001-05:00

I can't remember who made up Miscellany Monday, but for some reason I think it was Laura at Between the Lines. Anyway, I need to make a miscellaneous list of what we've been up to lately.

Yesterday we moved the big girl into her big girl bed. Her crib converted into a double.bed. We went to Target to price out the safety rails and the Shabby Chic bedding that I was coveting. I've been resisting this for too long, and J finally said, "Let's just do it!" OK, sob. My baby is out of a crib. She does LOVE the big girl bed and slept all night, save for the one time she woke up and couldn't find her binky in the bigness. :) She also slept until 8:00!

Look at my sweet monkey taking up 1/4 of the bed!

Harrison is obsessed with the vacuum cleaner. As in, his eyes light up and he tries to book it over to the vacuum to play with it. He is definitely my son!

We've had a lot of beauty shop going on thanks to my cousin Mel. She got Emma an FAO wooden beauty parlor kit. Complete with hairdryer, comb, powder, lipsticks, nailpolishes, perfume and a mirror. So far, Harrison and Flash have been her willing subjects. She made him up for at least 20 minutes. Love this face! He looks tortured. But he really likes it. :)

Here is Harrison modeling one of his Christmas gift outfits. A flannel plaid onesie. My little lumberjack!

And since mommy sucks, and didn't do a 6 or 7 month post or pictures for buddy, here is the abbreviated version. He's been super sick since we returned from Birmingham (ear infection, HORRIBLE cough and cold), and I know he weighs almost 20 pounds. He weighed 19.8 last week. Dude is huge. He is in 9 month clothes and a size 3, sometimes 4 diaper. He is sleeping unswaddled and without a positioner. He wakes up more often (:like 1-2 times per night) and a little bit earlier, but I guess he's just getting used to his sleeping freedom.

He is sitting up all the time, rolling over everywhere, and also moving himself all over. Trying to crawl, but not doing it. Just flailing about like he can't swim. And boyfriend's hair is OOC. It's duck like at the top, long on the sides. Might have to cut it soon. :( I think some teeth are trying to come through because he is a drool factory and still jamming everything in his mouth non stop!

Food wise, boy still loves to eat! He's eating 7 ounces every three hours, plus three meals a day! And some puffs in between, still working on picking them up and them actually making it to his mouth. He can put a mum mum cracker down in about 3.5 seconds though. We started a sippy cup a few weeks ago and he LOVES it. Playing with it, trying to get water out, and chewing on it.

Here's a shot of the big girl modeling her new hoodie from FeFe. Thanks, FeFe!

And modeling an outfit from Nonnie. While crawling through the tunnel Aunt Sister gave her. Thanks, y'all!

Brownie making fiesta! First time really helping me cook.

She got to pour the ingredients in and stir. Ha!

And, her favorite part is licking the spoon after we're done!

Playing dress up in all of Scarlet's tutus! Everyone loved her dress up station, even Harrison.

Biggun sitting in his highchair and grubbing on some whole milk vanilla yogurt. I had a baby food makin fiesta the other day and made pears, peaches, and butternut squash/apple. I broke out the peaches thinking he would love them and he gagged on all three bites. Nice. I made 8 baby food cubes full. So, I've been mixing them in with his morning yogurt, and he likes it. He tried the butternut squash/apple combo last night and TORE IT UP. So, I guess he just wasn't ready for the peaches yet. We'll try them again later.

Other than that, I've just been trying to keep sane with all of the sickness, crying, mess and general malaise going on in our house.

The house goes through periods of cleanliness and extreme disaster zoneage. I'll clean something thoroughly and the next hour it is disastrous. Whatever.

However, a clean, organized home keeps me sane, so I make an effort to keep it that way.

J and I have also been playing LOTS of old school Nintendo on our Wii. Best invention ever. We are cracking up at how we can't beat worlds that we tore up when we were 12.

Finally, I'm making my gluten free menu for the week and going to Whole Foods later today (hopefully alone!) so I can shop it up. I swear, I'm still working on my GF post, it's coming. (I know you're all enthralled.) ha!

If you have any GF blogs or peeps on twitter for me to follow, please share. I have a few people who have been hooking me up on the GF train. Thanks, girls! {Laura, Amy, Gina, Molly, and some twitter peeps.)

Thank you!

Holy balls, y'all!

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

We have had three AMAZING gluten free (I promise to explain my GF jump soon!) dinners lately, and I just had to share them! All are from other people, and I'll give them credit! You will want to try these if you like ANY of the ingredients!

Up first, a chicken salad. But not just any chicken salad, oh no! My sissy had to dress it up a lot. Not sure where she got it, or if she made it up, but here it is.

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or a package of boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins (the "fingers")
1 bag mixed baby greens
Cherry or grape tomatoes
Walnuts (or any nuts-pine, pecans, sunflower seeds)
Red onion diced
Crumbled Gorgonzola or goat cheese
Vinaigrette of choice (I make my own)

My vinaigrette is just EVOO, red wine vinegar, coarse ground mustard, salt, pepper. Just like making any other oil/vinegar dressing. It's not original, it's just how I make mine.

Cook your chicken (spice it up!) and slice into bite size strips or piecesLayer your mixed greens, tomatoes, red onion, chicken, walnuts, and cheese. Add your vinaigrette. Stuff your face and feel healthy!

Next, a delicious stuffed cabbage casserole, from my sister, via Skinnytaste

(Picture from Skinnytaste)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 heads cabbage
1 lb lean ground beef
1 bag cooked brown rice
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 T Garlic minced
1/2 tsp thyme, 1 tsp paprika
1/4 C water
1 large onion, diced
2 C shredded mozzarella
Salt, pepper, cayenne

Preheat oven to 350*. Brown your ground beef. Set aside. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic, salt, pepper, cayenne. Add both cans of tomatoes, with juices. Add thyme, paprika, and water. Cook over low heat until thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Add cooked brown rice. Stir gently to combine. Coarsely chop your cabbage and cook with about 1/2 C water in large pot until it wilts down. Spray 9x13 dish with cooking spray. Layer 1/2 cabbage, 1/2 meat sauce, repeat with remaining cabbage and meat sauce. cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Take off foil, top with cheese, and bake uncovered for 20 minutes.

*For a more detailed, step by step (with pictures) recipe, visit the Skinnytaste link.

Finally, from Kate, via Smitten Kitchen and Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Healthful Cooking, a pasta with asparagus, lemon, and goat cheese.

(Picture by Kate, from Elephantitas Alegres)

I changed my recipe up a tad from Kate and Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients:
8 oz brown rice/quinoa gluten free pasta (DeBoles)-I used penne, but Kate used corkscrew. I couldn't find GF corkscrew. You need a bite size noodle though.
1 bunch thin asparagus
1/2 pint grape tomatoes
4 oz log goat cheese (not crumbled)
1/2 Lb thinly sliced Angus sirloin steak
olive oil
1/2 tsp dried tarragon, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
2 lemons, zested and juiced

Roast asparagus and tomatoes (with EVOO and kosher salt) on 450* for about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, bring pasta water to a boil. Cook thinly sliced sirloin steak in a grill pan with some cooking spray/EVOO. Cook to medium. (This doesn't take long at all, maybe 4 minutes.) Set aside on plate. Boil noodles. After noodles are finished, drain and leave in colander. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, cut up goat cheese, tarragon, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to empty pot. Add warm pasta, asparagus, tomatoes, and steak. Stir gently until combined and deliciously melty. Make out with your dinner.

Seriously, these are all so amazing, and this is yet ANOTHER reason why I love blogging. New recipes!!!

Lusting

2012-01-09T23:00:00.000-05:00

So, my birthday is coming up in 11 days.

Here is what I am lusting after!

Scentsy warmers and scents (in clean "flavors")

Hopefully my sis will hook me up!

Cute warmers!

This is my "big ticket" item! I want one of these SO FREAKING BAD! A Shark steam mop, omg, come to momma! I feel bad asking for this since I just got an iPad, but maybe my MOMS will hook it up?? Doesn't have to be fancy! My favorite part of it is that it only takes water to clean. No chemicals! And, since 80% of my house is hardwood/tile, this would be awesome! Sissy has one and I played with it several times while at her house after Christmas.

Duh. Who with a Keurig doesn't want or need coffee? I NEED some more

Wild Mountain Blueberry in my life.

Anything gluten free related. I'm going GF as soon as soon as my husband doesn't have to work 24/7. I have to make a menu and get to the store. We've had some nasty sickness invade our house, and this does not lend itself to making a menu that requires thought. More on gluten free living soon, but many thanks to Amy, Gina, and Molly for answering my obsessive questions! If you are GF, please leave a comment so I can visit your blog and ~~stalk~~ ask you questions.

So family and friends, now you know what I really ~~need~~ want. Get to shoppin'! :)

Brewing

2012-01-06T14:37:00.001-05:00

I promise, I'm alive and have some posts brewing!

Right now, the sickies have invaded our house, I still haven't unpacked or put away the Christmas decor and toys, and I'm just a hot mess of stress and anxiety!

I'll get back to regular soon! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Let's play catch up!

2011-12-22T15:26:00.002-05:00

Happy Holidays, friends! I cannot believe Christmas in in three days! That's just crazy to me. I feel like I've been preparing for a long time! I guess that's how it is when your tree is up before Thanksgiving and you can stay at home and get things all good and ready before the big day! I'm going to try and post pictures of all our holiday decor today or tomorrow.

Until then, here is what we have been up to.

Making lots of treats for incoming family! All from pinterest.

Cream Cheese Sausage Balls

Addicting saltine toffee-delicious and so easy!

Brownie Macaroons from Duncan Hines website

A friggin' boatload of hot and spicy chex mix.

Our Christmas card from Shutterfly! I love it!

(Sorry, it's a photo of a photo.)

In other news, Emma has been testing my ever loving patience even more so lately. She's gone off the sugar quite a bit, and now I'm really paying attention to labels. Even her 2% organic milk has lots of sugar! 11 grams in 8 ounces. That's ridiculous. She also gets 1 hour of TV in the morning, and 1 hour after her afternoon nap. That's it. No more TV in the car unless we are going on a long trip. She's been getting into more stuff, but whatever.

Yesterday, we had quite the eventful day. I was trying to make all four of the treats above, and trying to get the house clean. I was in the kitchen making the brownies, and Harrison was in his exersaucer. Emma was running around. I can see the living room from the kitchen-it's a big open floor plan. Anyway, all of a sudden, I hear a huge crash and screaming, look up, and see Harrison's exersaucer tipped over! Emma knocked it over, and he was just flailing all around and freaked out! I dropped the brownies (duh) and ran in there, grabbed him up, and checked him out. He was fine, just scared. Emma ran off to hide and was crying. Oh Lord. I won't fill you in on what happened to her, but her new rule is NO TOUCHING THE FRIGGIN EXERSAUCER when Buddy is in it.

Our weather has been absurd lately. Mid 60's, raining, foggy, humid, just generally disgusting for THREE DAYS before Christmas. Come on weather! Get cold!

I'm super pumped about Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with the kids. This is the first time EVER we will be in our own house for the holidays. We plan on going to 5:00 church, coming home and having our Christmas feast, then opening one gift each and sending the kids off to bed (commence Santa fest!)

On Christmas day, we will get up as normal (thank God my kids aren't old enough yet to wake up at 5:00 am for presents), open presents, and have a delicious, leisurely breakfast.

On the menu:

Our First (Non-Traditional) Christmas Eve Feast:
Brisket (cooked by J on his Primo)
Collard Greens
Black Eyed Peas
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
Rolls

Dessert provided by my MIL

Christmas Morning Breakfast:
Grits Casserole via Andrea
Fruit Salad
Whole Wheat Biscuits

Yummy!

OK, I'm off to pick up the precious Pottery Barn easel from Santa, then get ready for my company to arrive! I'll try to get the pictures of the decor up tonight!

Have a very Merry Christmas and happy holidays, y'all!

Sugar and TV

2011-12-16T22:32:00.000-05:00

This is going to open a WHOLE can of worms, but here it is.

My child eats entirely too much sugar. And, it's my fault.

My child watches entirely too much television. And, it's my fault.

Commence the mommy guilt trip. There's pretty much nothing else you can say that I haven't thought myself.

Most negative toddler behavior is directly related to sugar consumption and television viewing.

Don't hate. It's true. I have some research. I am very dispirited.

I have been just trying to survive life with two kids, but giving/bribing with sugary treats and watching bullshit movies/Nick Jr has bitten me in the ass BIG TIME. And, if your kids don't eat sugar or watch TV, don't comment and tell me how you knew it sucked. Cause that's not helpful.

Emma is two and a half. A "nice" age to begin with. Add in a new baby and a mommy at home all day, and she gets more than she needs. In the treats and TV department.

I was talking to a girlfriend today about how guilty I felt. I know I'm just doing it right now to get through certain times. And, we do have TV off times. But, when we pull into Kroger or Publix and she says, "I get a cookie," some shit has to change.No, you do not need a cookie to get through grocery shopping. When she says, "I watch a movie," every time we get in the car, it needs to go. No, you do not need a friggin movie to drive somewhere. How about talking or looking out the window?

But, she's gotten used to it. All. Because I've let her.

I guess it all "got to me" the other day. I was trying to change her diaper, she was WIGGING OUT trying to see the TV and Curious George and was not having it. I had enough. I turned the TV off and for the rest of the day, no more. It overstimulates her. She becomes hyper and zones out. Emma was watching TV from about 8-10, then we would go somewhere, and come home, and she would nap from about 2-5, then watch it some more that afternoon. I'm just over it. I'm over the behavior that comes from it. The attention seeking, screeching, etc. The tantrums. I know this is not all due to TV, but a lot of it is.

Another part is her sugar consumption. I have a picky eater, to put it nicely. Here is her "typical" diet.

Wake up-eat some dry cereal (like Fruit Loops), have some organic 2% milk
Breakfast-carb (waffle, toast, bagel, etc) and some organic yogurt
Snack-carb (pretzels) and fruit, or carb and gummies (her latest obsession). At least I've been buying Mott's fruit and veggie gummies, but still-loaded with sugar.
Lunch-meat, fruit, carb (i.e. nitrate/nitrite free hot dog, oranges, fruit pouch)
Snack-light since it's early evening. Mostly things like pretzels/pb, apples/cheese
Dinner-meat, fruit, milk (i.e. chicken, fruit/veggie pouch, apples)

Sometimes she earns a dessert or treat. Sometimes I bribe her with a sweet.

I just read that toddlers should not have more than 17 grams of sugar per day. A fruit pouch has 9. Holy shizballs. How do I cut this out, or make it better? I could obviously change her morning cereal (about 1/4 C) to something else. I need to look at the sugar content in her yogurt (girl loves dairy). No more gummies. The pouches, though? Only way I can get fruit/veggie combos in her minus the typical apples, bananas, oranges combo.

I just need to consciously watch the sugar. And the TV can go to hell. I mean, it's a great babysitter when I'm trying to wash dishes, load the dishwasher, feed Harrison, fold clothes, or get ready. But, I guess she'll just have to freaking PLAY in her playroom instead of zoning out to Dora or Curious George. Because, it's not good at all. Not good for her to be seeing all that nonstop. So many studies show how too much TV leads to later issues like a sedentary lifestyle, attention problems, and weight problems.

I don't want that for my kids. I want them to play independently and be healthy.

So, I'm going to be making some changes. Please tell me I'm not alone. And tell me what you do.

No judgies, girls. Only helpful comments, please.

My heart thanks you.

Making Crayons & Visiting Santa

2011-12-12T19:39:00.000-05:00

Emma has a gallon sized Ziploc bag FULL of crayons. Every time she asks to color, she dumps the whole bag out. And when it's time to clean up, there are eleventy billion broken crayons laying around. I collected all of those broken crayons today, and we did a little project.

I found a youtube video explaining how to make your own crayons. It was super simple!

Step 1: Peel all of your crayons. Break them into small pieces (if they are bigger than half).

I decided to make all one color crayons, but you can make "tie dye" ones too.

Step 2: Put cupcake liners in a muffin pan. Arrange your broken, peeled crayons in each cup.

Step 3: Bake at 350 for 5-9 minutes. The video said 5, but mine took 9 minutes to melt completely.
Let cook for at least one hour, then peel out of the cupcake liners. We are still waiting on ours to cool.

This was super fun and easy (besides peeling the bajillion crayons). I can't wait to see how they work!

Also, we went to see Santa at the mall on Friday. The minute we pulled into the parking lot, Emma said, "I don't like Santa." I said, "Shoot me now." Not really, but they were both decked out in their Christmas finery, and I was damned if we weren't going to get our picture made. I bribed her with a lollipop and she obliged.

Cuteness overload!

Christmas Card Outtakes

2011-12-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

Y'all. I don't know how profesh photogs do it. Photography with kids? Is a nightmare. Especially when one of them can't sit up yet. For more than 3 seconds.

They both looked cute as could be, but Emma was NOT a fan of holding Harrison. We had to do major bribery involving an orange sucker.

Below are the outtakes from the 75!! pictures we took. We had three possible candidates for the card, but I'm not showing you those! Yet.

Umm, Harrison, look up here buddy!

You can see what he thinks of picture sessions.

Again, please look up and stop covering sissy's head.

Eyes open, dude.

Emma is rocking a fake smile.

He looks like he's in pain.

This is just a hot mess all around.

Choker hold.

Strangler

They are both over it.

And he's falling backwards.

Aaaand, we're done.

I ordered our Christmas cards and coordinating address labels on Monday morning. They were on my front porch by Wednesday. That's what I call service, Shutterfly!

How did your cards turn out?? Was it as maddening for you to get pictures of your kids too?

Thoughts on showers and bed making

2011-12-08T14:13:00.001-05:00

This going to be a riveting post today, folks. Especially for those of you without kids. (Insert sarcasm font here).

Today I want to know some things about how you run your life as a mom. Particularly, how do you coordinate showering and getting ready, as well as making your bed? I mean, I get the general point. But how do YOU, as a mother of young children, who are not self sufficient enough to entertain themselves while you bathe/fix hair/makeup, how do you do it? What are they doing? When are you doing this?

Ahh, the bed making. It bothers me when it's all scromply covers tossed about. Deeply. But, what to do? Make it at 2:00 while they nap? I feel like nap time (for me) is the time I'm folding laundry (another thing I want to know-when do you do it?), washing up dishes from the day, making the bed, taking a shower, or insert one of the other 309404 things moms need to get done. I'd like to sit and read blogs, blog, read a book, or do something enjoyable. Not feel like a maid. But, maybe this is life right now? Do you do all of this during naps?

So please, moms of all ages with kids of all ages. Tell me: when do you do the following things?

*Shower/get ready (Ugh, please don't tell me you rise at 5:00 to get ready.)
*Laundry-not the washing/drying, but the folding and putting away
*Bed making

Those things listed above? That doesn't even count the other things like cleaning, wrapping presents, addressing Christmas cards, spending time with husband, or general relaxation. There's only so much time you have at night after they're asleep. And I'm beat by then!

Please share!

And, because I feel like we need a picture.....

Not me. I promise. Good Lord.

Also, google 'bedraggled moms images' and see what comes up. NOT EVEN CLOSE.

This, That, and The Other

2011-12-07T14:54:00.001-05:00

Rest assured this is not a random post. Even if it looks like it. Think of it as an update of sorts. :)

So, I made homemade fabric softener the other day. It literally took 3 minutes. The cost for me was FREE because all it calls for is hot water, vinegar, and baking soda, all of which I already had. It works wonderfully and smells good too! I got the "recipe" from this website. For the storage, they suggest a large Mason jar because you need to shake it up before each use. I put mine in two little Tupperware containers with lids. It takes 1/2 C per load of laundry. I put mine in a Downy ball. Check out this site for more directions.

I'm also planning on making homemade laundry detergent next week. Just have to finish up this econo size Arm and Hammer first!

I almost committed a murder on the dogs yesterday. We went to the store to get some formula, and were gone for like 20 minutes. We came home and SOMEONE had eaten and destroyed a present under the tree. A pack of Keurig coffee!! That stuff ain't cheap! After I lost my mind om them, I decided the dogs are now banished to the outside whenever we leave the house. Today of course, it was pouring freezing rain. So I had to blockade the tree. And still came home to some tissue paper out of my wrapping paper stash scrompled on the floor. Death to Smoochy dude.

Emma and I have been hard at work on holiday projects lately! So far we have made handprint Christmas trees, Santa's portrait, a spice cake (it is so ugly, I will spare you a pic), painted a magnet (kit from Michael's), and read Christmas books. Every day, Emma asks to do a 'project.' Ha!

No, she didn't really write her name. She's two. I held her hand and helped her. She did, however, glue those black, pink and red balls on with a glue stick. Startin' her early. She'll be ready for Kindergarten.

Tonight for dinner I made an Italian Roast-recipe from my mom. I've seen it floating around on other blogs, so I'm sure it's not original. Anyway, here it is.

Sirloin tip or chuck roast (I used chuck roast b/c that's all Kroger had)

1 can French onion soup

1 jar pepperoncini peppers (whole banana peppers), drained

2 T Italian seasoning

salt and pepper

Put the roast in the crock pot. Cover with soup and drained peppers. Sprinkle seasoning over it. Salt and pepper. Cook on low for 8-9 hours. I put it on at 9:15 and at 6:00 finally turned it to warm. We don't eat dinner till about 8:00 because we have to get the kids down. It has smelled up the whole house with a delicious aroma! Can't wait to try it! You serve it on a hoagie with melted provolone on top. We are having sweet potato chips with it.

Finally, I have to tell y'all about this ridiculous experience I had today in the grocery store parking lot. Let me set the scene. It was raining sideways and was about 45 degrees. We had to get buns for tonight because apparently I can't follow the list I make for myself for Sunday grocery shopping. Anyway, I had Emma out, right beside me and the car. She was holding the small umbrella over herself. I was getting Harrison out. I got him out, turned to close the door, and a car (in the middle of an almost empty section of the lot) decided it needed to come within 5 feet of my toddler and me holding a carseat to park next to us. ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS? At this point, the umbrella Emma was holding flipped inside out, they are all getting wet, and I LOST MY MIND ON THIS DUDE. I started wildly gesturing and may have had some JC come out of my mouth. Then I continued "talking" with him. I won't go into detail on what I said. I'm sure those of you who know me can imagine. And if not, let me tell you, it was an "earmuffs" moment. (Name that movie for 1 million points!) He then rolled down his window and informed me he wasn't parking next to me, but pulling ahead to the space in front of me. DOES THAT MATTER INTERNET? No. Are you high, swerving in to park in the sideways rain when you see a mom with two kids and a flipped out umbrella standing 5 feet away? He acted like it was comical, which made me irate. I mean, folks, just say no to douche. This dude totally deserves this award.

And on that note, how can I get any better? You're here for quality folks. I deliver. Y'all tell me what's up with you and get ready for some Christmas card outtakes.

Cause all I've got is random.....

2011-12-02T20:08:00.001-05:00

Y'all. I am a SLACKER to the nth degree. I'm sorry. I feel like that is my theme song lately. I feel like I'm LIVING Groundhog's Day, the movie. For the love. I have been majorly in absentia from the blog and twitter, and blog comments.

I have to make a random list. Cause right now, that's all I've got.

*I've been on a major historical fiction kick (WWII, Nazi related) right now. I've devoured Pam Jenoff's two books, The Kommandant's Girl and The Diplomat's Wife in days. Cannot get enough. Then, I pored through my extensive "real book" collection and found the book The True Story of Hansel and Gretel. Same theme as the others. I am just so INTO the German occupation of Poland right now. I need to STOP with the book buying. Damn Kindle.

*I've also been eating up Lisa Gardner's "D.D. Warren" series. Cop drama. Again, cannot get enough. I'm at least reading these through my library. Who I mentioned earlier had an "e-library." Love it. Awesome books to check out via my Kindle.

*I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping! Thank you God for Amazon.

*We STILL haven't taken the Christmas card picture of the kids and/or ordered the cards. This is causing me major anxiety. That's on the agenda for this weekend.

*Great Thanksgiving festivities were had at the Trickey Family Thanksgiving Fest 2011! All of the babies had a great time socializing with randomly seen family members. We came home and had an equally fab feast with hubby's side!

*Christmas decorating is DONE. Although, I am still seen frequenting Hob Lob for last minute touches. I think I will do a pic fest soon to show what we've done. Last year was SAD as I was preg and not caring. This is the first year ever that we are having our Christmas at home instead of traveling, and I am SO excited to do the Santa thing this year!

*Mom cross stitched Harrison his own stocking and it's darling! Now we all have one! Although my Grannie Annie made mine for me when I was born, and J's doesn't have his name on it. We are a traditional cross stitched stocking family!

*Harrison is a piggy! He's now had sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, sweet potato/apple mix, and avocado. He did not care for the avocado. He gagged and dribbled them out immediately. I may try again though. I remember Emma doing that with peas.

*I'm debating on what type of milk to give HME once he is off formula at one year. I do not want to do cow's milk. I am looking into rice and almond milk. Advice, suggestions, etc? My friend Gina hooked me up on some advice today though, so I have some beginner info!

*I'm already getting ready for spring consignment! I'm now throwing our full size Chicco high chair into the mix to get a "hang on" highchair for HME. The full size takes up too much room and is slightly annoying. The tray is hard to get on and it's large. And we need all the space we can get.

*Why did Kim on RHOA hire a nurse to come tell her about how to clean a boy's weenie after circumcision? Seriously? What a friggin waste!

*My lack of showering is getting ridiculous. That's all I'll say about that.

*Trying to nail down a date for a blogger reunion at my house! Shooting for February, right girls? I'm open. Y'all bring it. No kids. Word.

*I'm trying to do one holiday related activity per day with Emma. I have a good Word document going so far with things like: gingerbread men, make a cake, certain arts and crafts, making Jesus a birthday card, etc. Any new ideas to contribute?

*Ellie the elf came on December 1, and I already wish she was a full time thing. Emma is like, "She will call Santa mommy." Toddler bribery at its finest.

*I want to menu plan for the rest of the month so I don't have to think about it. I just need the time. That way, I will only have to go to the grocery store once a week instead of devising meals alllll the time. Goal!

*If my kids wet through their diapers much more, I may be checked into the nearest insane asylum. Harrison is on the train too. In a size three. They wear cloth inserts. WHAT THE EFF Internet? #notarealproblem

*I am going to try and wrap presents to go with my red/lime green theme. This should be interesting. Who am I, Martha Stewart?

*This has gone on too long. Holla y'all. And I'm still reading my Google Reader, currently at 149 items, so I may comment on something you wrote 2 weeks ago!

xoxo

Midweek Randoms

2011-11-16T15:06:00.001-05:00

Stealing the title from Megan. And, I have no idea what type of candy this is-I just searched for 'randoms' images. Ha!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for the free digital scrapbooking software! It ends on Monday, November 21.

I'm having a hoochie reunion this weekend with my five best girls and I CANNOT WAIT. No children. Relaxation, gossiping, and wine. What could be better? Nothing.

I am anxiously awaiting my second canvas print. I love these things! If you're on my Christmas list, you're probably getting one. Just so you know. Easy Canvas Prints is having some great deals right now. Check out the button on my sidebar or visit them for more info!

I am an library book reading, e book checking out hooker lately! I have to make myself get up and do something during naptime instead of just sitting around reading! I just finished Delirium by Lauren Oliver and it was wonderful!

Harrison has been pounding the baby food lately. He's kind of over the rice cereal (nice, since I just bought a new box of Earth's Best.) He loves bananas and sweet potatoes! We are about to move on to apple/sweet potatoes with cinnamon mixture next!

I cry every time I watch any baby show on TLC, no matter what. Only when the baby comes out. Even if the person is annoying or ridiculous. I just LOVE IT when their baby is finally born and they see it for the first time!

I made an amazing baked ravioli recipe last week. It was so freakin' good-and easy. Recipe if you want, just let me know. Also, last night I made a recipe from Pioneer Woman-but it wasn't her recipe. It was from one of her friends. It was for beef and broccoli. It was so simple and delicious. That recipe can be found here.

I need some new breakfast ideas, stat. Please share what you eat. I'm over toast. And yogurt.

I am having a love affair with Disney movies from my childhood-this week: Sword and the Stone & The Jungle Book.

I am super behind on Star magazine reading, blog reading, and commenting. I'm sorry and I promise to catch up soon! I just have to put the library books down!

Emma and I have been painting some super cute turkey handprints for gifts to give out at Thanksgiving. She has such a blast with painting! I can't wait to give her the easel we are buying and give her a little smock to paint with! So fun. However, I could never teach art to youngsters. She has no concept of water, paint, rub brush. She just jams it in all the colors and digs it into the paper. It takes mucho patience to help her.

Harrison turned 5 months old a few days ago. Post coming soon. He's laughing so much now! He's also trying really hard to roll from back to front, but I think he's just so big, it's hard! He also CRACKS UP every time I sing a song to him. Belly laughs!

I finally updated to the new iOS 5 and I LOVE IT! iCloud, etc. Fabulous!

This turkey has to dress herself now. Awesome. Yes, that's a Thanksgiving t shirt, green seersucker shorts, and fake Uggs. And 8 barrettes plus a binky.

I think that sums up all of my randomosity. Never can be sure what you're gonna get here, that's for sure. What's new with y'all?

Two on Tuesday

2011-11-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today's topic is 'What are your two pet peeves?' I'm linking up with Andrea to share (only 2!) of my pet peeves.

My first pet peeve is LAZINESS. I cannot abide lazy people.

Maybe it's because I'm a 90 to nothing tornado, but there is always something to be done. Don't get me wrong, I love to sit and read books or blogs at night, but that's after I have cleaned house, washed dishes, bathed babies, and had a full day of play!

To me, laziness is one of the most annoying things ever!

My second pet peeve is people who don't pick up after themselves. Maybe it's because I'm borderline OCD, but for the love. If you get it out, put it back. Preferably, right away.

OK, I just thought of another one. People who don't return their grocery carts. For the love people, it's like 20 feet away. Walk your fat a** over to the stand and return it. Don't leave it in the parking lot so people can't park their car in a spot. That is all.
So, please tell me I'm not crazy. Share your two pet peeves and link up today!

My Memories

2011-11-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

I used to have time to really collect my memories. On paper, no less. And, I was relatively good at it. Granted, this was in 1999, so I know how much the scrapbooking 'industry' has changed since then.

Having two kids and a life with my husband, I keep telling myself I don't have time to collect my memories, other than the requisite million photos in Picasa. That rarely get printed. But, the thing that bothers me is that OTHER people have time to do it. People with more children, jobs, and generally just more on their plate. If they can do it, so can I. If I want to, if I make time to.

Many friends of mine used to tell me about digital scrapbooking. I thought, "Oh please, I still won't have time for that!" I thought it would be a waste of money and that it would just sit on my computer and rarely be used.

Luckily, My Memories had another thing in mind. They offered me their new software to try and review. And, giveaway a copy to one of you. All I can say is, I've been on it since I installed on Monday, and the possibilities are literally, limitless. I am officially addicted.

I have been working on a few pages in an album to show y'all some of the many things the program can do. And y'all, I'm not even creative! I can't even imagine what you could make if you actually have creative bones in your body! Next stop is making yearly books for the kids. I know, I know, I'm behind on this train! You can make scrapbook layouts, photo books, cards, videos, you name it!

Here are the first three pages of my album. You can add TONS of embellishments, your choice of background, more or less pictures, bigger or smaller! I LOVE the word art! I've got to work more on embellishments, but the "theme" I was going for with these pages was a fall feel.

I am working through my overwhelming sense of knowing everything now, learn it, do it, make something awesome! And, just focusing on all the many wonderful aspects the program has to offer.

So, here is some great news if you aren't the lucky winner of the giveaway! My Memories has graciously given me a code to share with you giving you a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value!) This unique code is ONLY good for My Memories Suite v2. The software is only $40 to begin with, so this is wonderful! The code is

STMMMS4964

Now, let's talk about the giveaway! Here's how you can earn some entries!

*Be a follower of Edwards Edition (ONE ENTRY)

*Visit the site www.MyMemories.com. Choose your favorite digital paper pack or layout, then comment on my blog telling me which ones you like. (ONE ENTRY)

*Blog about this giveaway-leave a link to your blog (ANOTHER ENTRY)

*"Like" My Memories on Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/pages/MyMemories/140359372717593
(ANOTHER ENTRY)

*Tweet about this giveaway and mention @edwardsedition (ANOTHER ENTRY)

That's a total of FIVE entries, if you do them all. You must leave me a comment telling me which things you did. And don't be ghetto-I'll be checking! The giveaway will end on Monday, November 21st, and I'll draw a winner with random.org and announce that day!

My Memories also has a blog and a twitter account.
Blog- http://blog.mymemories.com/ (This blog is great for questions, tutorials, and freebies!)
Twitter- http://twitter.com/#!/mymemoriessuite

*Disclaimer-I was given a copy of the software for free, and given another copy to give away. All opinions are my own. Holla.

Cousins

2011-11-13T11:49:00.001-05:00

There is nothing better than spending time with family and friends. We went and spent some time with all the family recently.

Top left: Scarlet's obsession with the booster seat

Top right:Emma and Scarlet will figure it out together!

Bottom left: Emma on a sugar high.

Bottom right: Ring around the rosies!

Top left: Emma posing on the fireplace.

Middle: Emma!

Right: Letta!

Bottom left: Scarlet talking to the remote and holding hands with Emma.

Top left: Harrison dressed in Scarlet's clothes-Emma was asleep in the room with his clothes!

Middle left: Emma

Bottom left: Harrison trying to roll over from back to front.

Middle: Sissy and Emma

Top right: FeFe and Emma

Bottom right: Poppy and Emma

We had so much fun visiting with you all and can't wait until Thanksgiving to play again!

xoxo

Two on Tuesday

2011-11-08T15:31:00.002-05:00

This week's '2 on Tuesday' topic is Christmas Wish List.I'm linking up with Andrea to share my list. My oh my, how can I narrow it down to only TWO things?

Well, I reallllllly want this. {Please and thank you Santa!}

Fingers crossed that he reads my blog!

Also, I am DYING for some new sheets! We have a pillow top, so it's a deep fit. You have to buy nice sheets too! Nothing rough and yucky. So, these jokers are like 70$ a pair. Currently, all three pairs we have were nibbled upon by Flash the bloodhound. I'm not down with holes in all of my pillowcases. Plus they are getting faded and worn out!

I have a nice long list ready for my MIL, mom, and sister. But, these are my top 2 wishes this season!

What's on YOUR list?

Update on Easy Canvas Prints

2011-11-08T08:28:00.001-05:00

Check out the button for Easy Canvas Prints on my sidebar. If you "like" them on Facebook, you get 50% off your order and free shipping! I love their services and plan on ordering a few canvases for Christmas gifts! Sorry for the late notice, but I hope you can use this!

Three Kids...

2011-11-02T10:58:00.001-04:00

Well, you knew about this one.

And this one.

But what about this one? She's new.

But she's not mine. :( This is my precious niece Scarlet, she belongs to Macon Babies.

We are in Birmingham this week, playing with my family. Lots of fun being had-and I'm running an in home daycare for three kids. Good practice for the next one! (No, I'm not pregnant or crazy!)

I'll be back in a few days with updates on what we've been doing! Hope you are all having a great Wednesday!

Easy Canvas Prints Review

2011-11-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

Recently, I was contacted by Easy Canvas Prints to do a review of their awesome photo canvases.

It was super easy to follow the directions online to choose my photo, size, canvas wrapping, and other extras. I had a picture of Emma from the pumpkin patch that I edited to sepia tone, then got started online.

This picture was taken with my iPhone, so the quality isn't great, and it seems that I took it a little off kilter on the wall. But, it looks really awesome! I plan to hang it going up the stairs with our other family pics. I really want to order one for Harrison too. I have to find a really good picture of him and edit it accordingly so it looks nice next to the other sepia/black & white pictures.

Easy Canvas Prints is a great place to turn your pictures into canvas! Check it out!

*This was a review. Easy Canvas Prints provided me with a free canvas/shipping in exchange for my honest opinion on their product.

Oh.my.YUM

2011-10-31T16:03:00.000-04:00

Y'all. It's been domestic craziness over here in the Casa de Edwards. I've been baking, cooking new recipes, working out my crockpot, and making babyfood/cleaning products. What the?

I HAVE to share these two recipes with you. I found them from some bloggy girlfriends, and they are both AMAZING. Do yourself a favor and try them sometime!

First up, pumpkin oreo cheesecake minis. Nicole from The Wallace Word gifted me with this delicious recipe. I took them to my baker BFF's Halloween party, and they were a hit! They are SUPER easy too-I swear, I'm not a baker, and this was not difficult to make!

Pic from Nicole

Visit her blog for the complete recipe and helpful pictures!

Next, we have a nice dinner from Laura at Between the Lines. This is a baked spaghetti alfredo. Laura made some tweaks to the recipe, but I followed the original (posted on her blog) and it was outstanding. It also made a ton, so we have lots of leftovers.

Pic from Laura

Visit her blog for the complete recipe!

Hopefully you can try one (or both) of these recipes soon. Let me know your thoughts!

My first baby food making experience

2011-10-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

Well, the time has come. My boy is finally starting to eat baby food. I always wanted to make Emma's baby food, I even bought the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. However, I never really made the time and just fed her commercial food. I'm trying to do different things with Harrison, now that I'm at home and have the TIME to do it. This book is really cool because it's not just about making baby food. It also includes feeding your toddler, and making yogurt! I still want to get into cloth diapering Harrison! One thing at a time...........

The first homemade food: sweet potatoes!

This was so easy, and this batch will last at least a week. They are frozen, so they will actually last longer, but if he eats one cube a day, it will last a week. I'm pretty sure even my GIANT boy won't be able to eat one cube per day right now. It's about 3-4 T each.

I simply baked a sweet potato, peeled the skin off, cut into cubes, and put it in the food processor. I added about 1/2 C water while blending until it was very thin-the book recommends that it fall off the spoon. At this age, they should be eating VERY thin food. Later, I leave it more textured.

Emma tried it and declared it, "Yum." Buddy had a spoonful and was ALL about it. Can't wait to feed it to him for real today.

I would love to hear from those of you who make your own baby food on what you started with and any ideas/tips. Right now, I'm looking for storage options so I can make other foods in bulk to freeze. The above picture is of a Beaba container that my MIL gave me when I had Emma. I'm sure they are expensive, and they are also hard to get the frozen cube out of. I popped the frozen cube out and put it into a tupperware to defrost in the fridge.

This is what I'm thinking of using in the future. Thoughts? Ideas? Advice? Please share.

THE Soup of the Season

2011-10-27T10:46:00.002-04:00

I got this recipe last winter from a blogger that's no longer blogging (DAR for y'all who read her). This soup is amazing and EASY!

The cast of characters:

4 C potatoes (peeled and cut up)

1 diced onion

1 block cream cheese ( I used low fat)

4 C chicken broth

1/4 tsp salt and black pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne ( I used 1/4 tsp)

Peel and cut your potatoes into chunks. Dice your onion. Put it in a pot with the chicken broth. Add spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are fork tender. Mash with a potato masher to thicken up. Add the cream cheese (cut into chunks). Stir consistently until thickened and cream cheese is melted. Top with turkey bacon and shredded cheddar. It's so stinkin good! I serve with a side of broccoli (gotta get those veggies in!) so I don't eat 4 C of soup!

Just thought I'd do the favor of sharing THE soup of the season! Try it and let me know your thoughts. You know, IF you like potato soup............

Pumpkin Patch and Fall Festival

2011-10-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

Our second annual trip to the pumpkin patch was awesome! But, not without its comedic moments! The patch is about 45-50 minutes north of us. We got a late start on Saturday, so by about 12:30 we were stuck in outlet mall traffic, and still had at least 30 minutes to go! The kids were starting to melt down, we were all hungry, and it just seemed like a bad idea to continue. So, we stopped at Ruby Tuesday's for lunch. Glad we did. After eating, we discovered Emma had pooped OUT of her overalls and it was alllll over. After an interesting diaper change in the back of my car, we made our escape, went home, and napped! In the process, Flash ate the poop crotch out of her new, worn once Osk Kosh overalls. Murder crossed my mind. We had friends over for dinner, and at 8:30 I had to go to Kohls for a new pair of overalls. Luckily, they had ONE pair left in her size. But, for $22, Flash almost lost his life. Dummy.

Sunday, we decided to try again. We got up and got going! On the road by 10:00, we had a few snafus with getting some early lunch around 10:45 (really, Burger King, your "meat cooker" isn't working??? Nice, after a 10 minute wait in line.) and got to the patch. Parking was a nightmare but we finally found a spot close to the entrance. You have to haul your pumpkins out in a wheelbarrow, so you don't want to be the unlucky soul who has to park 3 miles away.

Emma went WILD when she saw the pumpkins! (PS, I know this is picture OVERLOAD! The grandparentals will love it!) :0

Emma sitting pretty!

Giant pumpkins!

I get this one mommy......

It's heavy!

Cheese!

I hug it mommy.

Freedom! She literally ran around the whole patch like this.

Mommy and Emma

Ha! Emma liked to pretend she was eating this nasty, germy Indian corn.

Montage of Harrison being pumpkined by Emma

Aaaaand he's over it!

Harrison hitching a ride in the Bjorn.

Wheelbarrow full of pumpkins and a crazy toddler!

Later that day, we had a neighborhood fall festival. The playground is right across the street from our house, and this is what I saw from our front door while they were setting up! I love horses and was so jealous there was a 90 pound weight limit!

Emma got to ride a pony, eat cotton candy and popcorn, get a balloon animal,

and have her face painted. She was JACKED up when we got home!

(Yes, that is our video monitor on my pocket. We left Harrison at home taking a nap,

and since we were so close, we could see him without worrying!)

First time eating cotton candy.

Loo and Daddy.

Gotta get every bite!

Posing with her Winnie the Pooh balloon animal.

Getting a unicorn painted on her face! She was so good and still for the artist.

She cried when we had to wash it off at bath time.

Overall, it was a fabulous Sunday! We had a great time and made a lot of memories with our kids!

(Emma's shirt was on sale at Kohl's for $5.99! I also got a turkey one. So cute!)

Four Months-a.k.a. where did the time go?

2011-10-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

Harrison,
I apologize in advance for being such a slacker on your monthly posts! If it were up to the blog, you would still be ONE MONTH old! Sorry little man! You are already 4 months old! I can't believe it!

You are a big boy.

Month Four Stats:
Weight: 16.8 (75-90th %)
Height: 25" (50th %)

You are eating every three hours during the day (6-7 ounces). You just tried rice cereal (Earth's Best organic). Most of it dribbled down your chin, but we will practice this week on the spoon use. I'm starting to make your baby food. We will start with sweet potatoes first! I'm so glad I have time to do this for you. We will try the sweet potatoes once you have the hang of rice cereal. I think you will like them!

You are in size 3 diapers and size 6-9 month clothes!!! Chunky boy!

You have discovered your voice and hands this month. You coo and laugh a lot. I can get you to laugh on demand with the classic, "Boo!" However, when I try to take your picture or film you, you stare at my phone/camera and just...look. Forget the smiles and laughter. You want to know what that is. You jam your hands in your mouth pretty much non stop. And the drool? Non stop. I thought it was beginner teething, but the doc says it's just your body making more saliva, getting ready for real food.

You are a great sleeper. We've broken the 3:00 am social call. You sleep from about 8:00 pm-7:30 or 8:00 am. Yesterday you decided that 5:50 am was an acceptable wake up time. No bueno boyfriend. You're taking about 2-3 cat naps in the am and 1 long nap in the afternoon. You typically pass out in your car seat.

You are just the happiest boy ever! And super laid back. I tote you and Emma around EVERYWHERE and you just roll with it!

You are getting over your blocked tear duct, thanks to some eye drops. You do still have a raging case of cradle cap though. I did round one of Head-N-Shoulders last night and am seeing some improvement. After another round in a few days, it should be gone.

You still love your bouncy chair, but are becoming too big for it. I tried you in an exersaucer, but you're not quite big enough. I'll probably buy a consigned one soon and just prop you in it with a towel. You are good at sitting in your Bumbo too! You aren't a big fan, but you'll put up with it for about 20 minutes. Basically, you are over just laying around. You want to see what's going on around you.

You ADORE your big sister and smile, laugh, or coo when she talks to you. She absolutely loves you and loves talking to you, so this is a big benefit!

You are just the sweetest angel Harrison! I'm so thankful to be your mommy!

Randomosity

2011-10-19T07:44:00.000-04:00

I've been a very inconsistent blogger lately. Sorry guys, I really have no excuse. I've been reading A LOT during naptime and giving my normal chores of cleaning, blogging, and commenting the shaft. I have to make a plan and schedule and get with it!

Here's what we've been up to:

*Hanging out with Emma's (and my) friends from my old school. So hilarious! The kids are both like 1-3 months apart, so Mindy and I have lots to talk about. Our friend Ali came with her PRESH little 4 week old too. So little and sleepy! I miss it already.........

*Playing outside LOTS. Enjoying this weather while we can. However, it has been raining the past two days!

*Making chocolate almond pie. The easiest thing I've ever made! And, delicious! Melt 6 Hershey's with almonds bars. Mix with an 8 ounce container of cool whip (I used light. I'm sure it's because I'm watching my weight. ~~Not~~. Old habits and all). Pour into an oreo crust. Freeze. Keep in freezer when you're not stuffing it in your face.

*Reading. As mentioned above, we've been library whores like woah. Emma is getting about 5-6 books a week, and I'm putting down about 2. I've made my way through most of Tess Gerritsen, working on James Patterson, and finishing up most of Kristen Hannah. By the way, I LOVE her books! Firefly Lane, Winter Garden, The Things We Do For Love, and True Colors. Very interesting!

*Having friends over for dinner. So much fun! I plan to do this more often! I miss my work friends!

*Making plans to go to school and visit old friends. And, thinking of them as they go through the heinous-ness that is the end of quarter one. (Conferences, grades due, etc.)

*Looking forward to an afternoon of drinks and gossip with friends this Friday! Yay!

*Having a blast as a family last weekend at the pumpkin patch and our neighborhood fall festival. Pics coming soon. Beware, cuteness overload!

*Neverending laundry for the love. I get all caught up, then bam! I still have to put it away and then there are more dirty clothes! Cray-cray!

*Starting to research and make Harrison's baby food. I really wanted to do this with Emma, but I didn't make the time. I have the book Super Baby Food and am excited to do this for Harrison! Plus, I have lots of friends who do this that I can turn to for advice!

*I've been working on swaying husband on the iPad2 for Christmas. I need some more selling points please! Hook it up @grizas :) Me want one bad!!!!!!!!!! (On the way to a Mac household!!)

*Not much else around here. Like I said, it's random. I know what y'all have been up to because I have been reading. Please leave me some advice on scheduling, baby food making, and the iPad2!!!

Two on Tuesday

2011-10-18T16:33:00.000-04:00

I'm linking up with Andrea for '2 on Tuesday' again this week.

The topic is: What are your two favorite restaurants?

Anything Mexican! We have a few around here that we frequent! We always get tons of chips and salsa, sometimes get queso, and I typically get 2 or 3 hard tacos. Not much deviation from the norm. I may branch out to nachos or a taco salad.

Also, I LOVE Chili's. Generic, I know. I love their chips and salsa, plus if I'm craving a salad, they have TONS of good choices. I pretty much like their whole menu.

So, link up for '2 on Tuesday' with Andrea and tell us, what are your favorite restaurants!!

Two on Tuesday

2011-10-11T15:05:00.000-04:00

It's Tuesday and I'm linking up with Andrea for.........

Today's topic is fashion disasters/mistakes you made. Y'all. My whole life from 6-12th grade was a fashion disaster. I can't even remember most of my heinous crimes, but I do vividly remember these few things from middle/high school. Yes, it dates me.

First up, allll the cool girls had these Liz Claiborne purses. The one WITH the raised triangles. This was a middle school requirement. I believe I had two-a red one I scored for Christmas, and a white one I stole from my mom. That joker was packed OUT with junk. (Kissing potion, word!)

Ahhh, the Duckhead shorts. I'm sure I had some cracked out colors like this.

I know I had the beige ones, but these, rolled up. Stop the world.

Duh. Slouch socks. It was the early 90's after all.

Another duh. Slap bracelets. These were eventually outlawed at our school

because people were getting cut while slapping. Ridic.

Guess jeans yo. You HAD TO HAVE the little triangle and the zipper down the ankle to be cool. I had only a few pairs, cause my momma was not about to spend $50-60 on jeans! I vividly remember a white pair and a GREEN pair. Yeah.

Bass shoes. Not just for boys. You wore them with the Duckheads.

Get a good mental image there. That's hottt.

So basically, my whole life has been a fashion disaster. And, I'm still having one. What? Yoga pants and a Grateful Dead tee aren't hip?

Maybe my mom will send me some old school pics from middle/high school and I'll do a pic reveal of my coolness. I'll try to score a few yearbooks too. Yikes, 1991 called..............

Emma Lately

2011-10-11T14:48:00.000-04:00

I've gone way too long without an update on my little girl!

Emma is into everything! Shocker, right? Girlfriend is a test in patience, for sure! I guess I'm getting my payback now!

Favorite Foods:
*Chicken
*Cheese
*Yogurt
*Fruit/veggie pouches
*Gummies-her vitamins are gummies and she begs for anything gummy!
*Anything remotely unhealthy (chips, sweets)\

I am still having to do a lot of bribing to get her to eat things (ie eat the apple slice and you can have a chip). It's ridic. But, she eats it and gets a chip. Or an Earth's Best oatmeal letter cookie. Or an ice pop. You get the idea. The things I said I would never do..................right. Get back to me on that if you said you would never do that.

Favorite Things to Do:
*PLAY OUTSIDE
*Do chalk, color, paint, anything arty
*Ride in your "car" (cozy coupe scored for $7 at a consignment sale)
*Watch movies. Duh. Another thing I wasn't going to do. However, when you have a 4 month old who eats and poops every 3 hours, you will let the other go buck wild on some DVD's. Whatever. She's smart.

Favorite Books:
*Anything with baby sign language in it
*Books about animals
We are some library going fools lately! We go twice a week. Emma gets books and movies and we go for storytime too. That is a whole nother post!

Favorite Things to Say:
*My do it
*No m'am mommy (which lands her in time out)
*I looooove you mommy
*Hey chunky boy (to Harrison)
*Stop it __________ (fill in with Bart, Flash, me, or whatever is annoying her. Another straight to time out)

Favorite Toys:
*Car
*Play cupcakes/tea party
*Play with my muffin tins/cake pans
*PUZZLES!
*Balloons

Posing-in an 18 month onesie (even though she is now 26 months old), Elmo socks,

and Puma sneakers. She looks extremely bow legged here-not sure why??

Picking flowers

Eating broccoli and pear pouch (that I told her was green apples!)

Again with the Elmo!

Sit and spin! $5 at a consignment sale! Lurrvvves it!

Farmer Emma

Ha! LG will love me posting this pic, but I just noticed she was in the background! Emma was cheesin and LG was working on her iLatch stuff. Ever since we went to stay with them, Emma keeps saying, "Bye mommy. Goin to Peeb's house!"

Emma is obsessssssssed with balloons!

At Aunt Sarah's house-about to go play with FeFe. She is such a ham!

NOW she finally says cheese and smiles! And, tells me to take her picture.

We are experiencing the lovely "Terrible 2's" and have been for about 9 months! I know it will last until she's about 3!! I do have to say I'm very consistent with discipline, no matter where we are. Emma has had a time out in Target, Publix, and the library. That's just how I roll (9 years of teaching kids made me very strict!) But, I've gotten compliments on how well behaved and well mannered she is, so I'm doing something right!

It's very entertaining and challenging being a mom to two kids under 3! But, I wouldn't trade it for anything! Even when I tweet I'm going crazy! Ha!

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

2011-10-03T20:05:00.000-04:00

Y'all. I am addicted! To making (or trying to make) my own cleaning products! Laura got me hooked when I went to her house a few weeks ago. Girlfriend makes her own dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent, cloth diaper detergent, baby food and many other things!

I ran out of my standard variety Publix lemon gel detergent last week, and decided to go for it! It's easy and super cheap!

Here's how I did it:

Gather your ingredients: Borax, baking soda, salt, and 2 packets of lemon koolaid (unsweetened!)

Measure out the following:

1 C Borax

1 C baking soda

1/4 C salt

2 packets lemon koolaid

Dump into a mixing bowl and mix!

Once fully mixed, transfer to your "storage bowl." Leave the top off for 24 hours! Stir it every now and then. If you close it up before the 24 hours, it will turn into a solid brick-as evidenced by Laura!

After the 24 hours, put your lid on it, label it and find a spare tablespoon. This detergent will clean with only 1 T of powder. I have used it several times and it's great!

I think I have told you all of my ~~obsession~~ need to prewash dishes before loading the dishwasher. I need to scrape/rinse/sponge off the dishes first. It's just a habit. Besides, who wants all of that old, crusty food gunk flying around the dishwasher? Not me! The dishwasher doesn't have a disposal for all that crud! So, you need to do this before using this detergent.

I got the recipe here.

Next up on my homemade list: laundry detergent, baby food, and homemade yogurt. I am tired of spending $3.59 on a 4 pack of Yo Baby! I'll keep you posted-until then, do me a favor and try this.

The total cost of all ingredients pictured above was $5.88. This will make TONS of detergent, especially since you only use 1 T. When you run out of your container, you already have all of the ingredients needed (except the kool aid). You can use citric acid, but I didn't want to hunt for it. Plus, kool aid is cheaper.

This works out to about 8 cents per load, as compared to 22 cents per load with Cascade or something comparable.

Let me know if you've done this or what you think!

Nashville Play Time

2011-09-25T17:45:00.001-04:00

Last weekend I took the children to Nashville to play with friends and family, as well as shop a few ~~hundred~~ consignment sales. Bestie is a master shopper, and she had lined up our weekend with loads of sales! I got all of the children's clothing for fall and winter for $237! And that was including a few toys! Special thanks to my MIL for giving me money to buy the kids' clothing! Very generous!

On Friday, we shopped it up! No pics of this extravaganza. Sufficed to say, Laura and I were ready to get heavily wasted by the time we got home. The kids' chorus of crying was enough to drive anyone over the edge.

On Saturday, we watched the Auburn game and got the kiddos all dressed up in their Auburn gear. Here are a few pictures of them being precious.

Emma and Fenner Bear. Who Emma called Peebs all weekend.

Peebs love!

Cheese!

Riding in Peeb's car

Buddy!

Swinging with Uncle Erik!

Cornhole-Emma was obsessed!

Hanging with her great grannie Annie!

On Sunday we went to the Titans tailgate and to play with Grannie Annie. We all had a blast!

Thanks, Laura, Erik and Peebs for hosting us and our craziness. Atl and the guest room are waiting on you to come over and play!!

We had a blast!

Open Letters

2011-09-24T17:45:00.000-04:00

Dear AT&T,
For the love of your internet connectivity, I'm about to lose my mind. Get your act together. As we "speak," I am pricing out packages from Charter, Plus, you are extremely overpriced.

Holla,
Your customer for the last 10 years

Dear Dish Network,
Ditto. I hate your stupid dish losing reception when the wind blows. You're about to be out with the wind too. See above.

Peace Out,
Your customer for the last 7 years

Dear Charter,
Expect a call from me next week to set up TV/phone/internet. Maybe you can teach those peeps above a thing or two!

Thanks,
A new customer

Dear Dogs,
If you don't stop barking while the children are asleep, I'm going to give you away to a zoo in Africa. Your antics are not amusing to me. Watch it, you're on thin ice.

Love,
Your mom

Dear Harrison,
Did you miss the memo on not waking up at 3:00 am? I know you got it because you were sleeping allll the way through the night. Please try to find that note and read up on it. Momma's tired.

Love,
Mommy

Dear Emeline,
I am worried about your eating habits. Please stop being so picky. I fear you will turn into a hot dog, chicken nugget, or macaroni. I just want you to be healthy. I promise that oranges, whole grains, and real meats won't hurt you.

Love,
Mommy

Dear dog hair,
Get the hell out of my house. I don't have enough money to pay the maids to come weekly. Be gone.

Seriously,
Susannah

Two on Tuesday!

2011-09-20T16:24:00.000-04:00

Andrea is hosting '2 on Tuesday' and I'm linking up!

The topic is "Fall Shows" and "Cleaning Products."

I don't watch much regularly scheduled TV (we don't have a DVR, gasp!!), so I'm going to stick with the cleaning products.

Cleaning happens to be one of my favorite things to do. It's a bit harder with two kids, but I do enjoy that fresh, clean, accomplished feeling once the house or a few rooms are done!

For products, the two I use most are:

I LOVE (and have a slight obsession with) Clorox wipes! They can clean so many surfaces in my house! I wipe down my kitchen and bathroom counters several times a day, and use them to wipe the toilet seats every few days. Basically, they're rad. I'm sure you all use them too. I buy them in bulk at the wholesale club!

This is another great kitchen cleaning product! I use it on the sink, microwave, stove, and oven. It gets up the nasty stuff that is stubborn. I also buy this in bulk.

Other things I use regularly are Carpet Fresh, and Greenworks bathroom spray. I'm not all "organic" on my cleaners or anything (obvi), but I like how it doesn't smell like chemicals. The carpet fresh is for the DOG HAIR FESTIVAL on our carpets. Our dogs STINK! Constantly. I also vacuum every other day. Having a good vacuum will make you obsessive, right b.e.g.??? :) I like the lines!

What do you all use? I can always use some good, new products!

Timeline of my night

2011-09-19T06:32:00.001-04:00

3:30 Harrison wakes up rarin to go. I put him in bed with me and pray he falls back to sleep.

4:04 Not happening. Get the bottle I made before bed.

4:30 Finish bottle. Look around and coo.

5:00 I "mummify" him in the swaddle and start rocking.

5:23 He falls asleep. I lay him back in his bed and his eyes fly open. I cry and walk away.

5:26 Emma starts coughing and moving around. Awesome. Gonna be a long day driving back to Atl.

Never leaving town again.

Dear buddy,
WTF? You've been sleeping through the night for almost 5 weeks. Go back to that, stat. Momma can't take it!

Dear Emma,
What's up with your sleep? You're two. Sleep past 5:30 when we are out of town (or at all times.)

Thank you and I love you both.

The end.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Love ya all!

Life Round These Parts....

2011-09-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

Since I last updated, we have been super busy and very "travelly," if that is a word. If not, it should be.

It's Monday, and it's random. Let's do bullets.

At the end of August, J went out of town for work, so I packed the kiddos up and we came to visit Birmingham. Fun times were had by all! Friends were seen and played with. We left on Saturday and came home. In the process of leaving, I managed to HIT A CAR parked at the end of my sister's driveway. So, that was a nice parting gift. Can't wait to see our new insurance bill.
We've been busy playing and catching up on housework and being back at home. On Thursday, my dad called to tell me that my mom fell at work and broke her leg. So, I called in reinforcements (my AWESOME in laws) and they came to stay and take care of the babies with J so I could come home to care for mom.
Packing for yourself only after ALWAYS packing for two kids is a glorious, light feeling. I also made record time home because I didn't have to stop and feed anyone or change diapers.
My mom is pitiful. That is all.
I also am not even CLOSE to being ready to dealing with sick parentals. Please GOD don't let anything happen to either of our parents. I cannot deal with caregiving while having two small children. It's just freaking sad.
Sarah and I are consigning a crapload of stuff for this MASSIVE sale at the end of September. When I say crapload, I mean SIX lawn size trashbags full of stuff. It was due on Saturday morning. Since sissy got her job, she hasn't been able to do all the work like we originally intended. So, needless to say after she got home on Friday, we started wine consumption and were up until 1:00 AM labeling, pricing, pinning, and hanging those SIX bags of clothes, toys and other miscellaneous sale items.
We did get to sleep in since both kiddos were in absentia, but were up by 8:30. We jetted to the drop off point with some friends and spent a good 2 hours in a HERD of other crazy consigners hanging and organizing all of our business.
Mom got out of the hospital from surgery on Saturday. Again, it is sad. She broke her tibia and shattered her ankle bone, and now has a plate and some screws in there. So, no weight on the foot obvi. We spent all of Friday finding her a bedside commode, a shower stool, and a rolling walker. She is in a lot of pain and is trying not to be a "burden" and wants to do things herself.
Today brought a reaction to the Percocet and me calling her doctor for another pain med that wouldn't contain codeine. That's harder than you would think.
I've been a library book reading fool lately.
I think my milk is drying up. But I'm not really sad because I have enough frozen to last for 4-5 months.
I miss my children and husband like WHOA.
I'm leaving Thursday to go to Nashville to see my grannie and bestie and to hit up a HUGE church consignment sale. What is a reasonable amount to spend on Emma and Harrison's fall/winter wardrobe? It will all be from consignment sales. I'm going to this church one and the massive one we sold our stuff to. I need to set a limit so I know what I can spend at each. I'm thinking 200$ per kid, so 400$ in all. (Not at each sale.) Harrison may need less since he's a baby, but I'm not sure because last season my MIL got Emma her fall clothes and then I bought some consigned stuff. Thoughts and advice please!
Sorry I have been a slack ass commenter. I have been reading from my phone since I've been on the road so much. I will work on it!

What have you all been up to?

I'm still here...

2011-09-10T22:44:00.000-04:00

Tons of traveling has been going on, lots of happenings! I promise to update you all soon. Thanks for sticking around. We've had a CRAZY busy past two weeks and I will get to the updates asap. I'm out of town caring for my mom-she broke her leg on Thursday, so not much time for blogging right now.

Love ya and miss you all!

Decade of thankfulness

2011-09-10T22:43:00.000-04:00

It's been a decade since one of our nation's worst terrorist attacks. It's been a decade that I am thankful for our nation's security. It's been a decade that I am still scared of something equally as horrifying happening again.

Where were you? What were you doing?

I was a graduate student at Auburn University. My mom called me that morning-early-for me-and had me convinced that the world was ending. "Are you okay? Turn on the TV, now!!"

I stumbled out of bed, turned on the news, and started bawling/freaking out. I called my then college boyfriend (HUGE doucher) to come over so we could wig together. I wanted to drive home to Birmingham so bad, but I was terrified of leaving and having something else happen while I was in route.

Obviously, all classes were cancelled indefinitely, and everything was closed. We wandered around campus just talking and later picked up a university newspaper with the horrific images of the towers on front.

I still have that newspaper, tucked away in my keepsake box. It still makes me cry to see it. This is our generation's Pearl Harbor. I hope this is our last truly devastating event, but I know better.

I hope you remember to be thankful for everything, especially today. I know I should work on being thankful, and I'm grateful that I have that chance.

Weekly Update

2011-08-27T08:00:00.001-04:00

We have been so busy this week!

On Monday, we went to the library for the first time ever! Emma doesn't really understand the concept yet-she kept going by each bookshelf and pushing the books back. We found about 5 books she was interested in, and of course we got a few DVD's to watch int he car (chica is obsessed with Care Bears! I like it too...........) We plan to go once a week for story time (free!) and to get new books.

On Tuesday, Harrison had his 2 month doctor visit. At 9:30 am. Me-with two kids-alone. Yeah, we were late. They most likely want to stab me for always being late, but I think with kids, you have to build in "late time" per kid. So, I should automatically get 15 extra minutes. :)

Wednesday Emma had her first dental checkup. It was really just a meet the dentist/get to know the dentist's office thing. She sat in the chair and they counted her teeth. I was highly impressed-she didn't cry or fuss and let them do all their stuff. The dentist said she had to get rid of the paci-she's getting an overbite on top. I didn't know that it affected the jaw-I thought it was just the teeth. I didn't see the big deal since she will lose these baby teeth, but it's not just the teeth that are "bucking" out. Sooo, we are now on binkies only at night night time. After next week, we will start weaning that too. So far, she seems to understand. We have talked about only getting the binky at bed time, but when she gets upset (like at today's shot visit) she was calling for her binky. It was SO HARD to not just give her one for my own sanity!

On Thursday, we had to go to the library story time. It was so cute and fun! However, Emma needs some serious work on sitting still/listening. The reader had 3 or 4 stories to "read" (it was projected onto a huge screen so they could all see the pictures). In between each short story, she played the guitar and let the kids get up and sing/dance. It was a time specifically for 2-5 year olds, so when they were melting down/over it, it was okay. After the second story, Harrison had a doo doo murder and I had to take my whole entourage out in the hall for a change. That was fun. We ran errands the rest of the day and ate lunch out. Both jokers came home and slept for several hours, so that was nice.

Friday was our last appointment of the week-Emma's two year old visit. All was well, but the doctor found a tiny heart murmur. He wants us to get it checked out by a pediatric cardiologist. He thinks it is an innocent murmur. I hope so, because you know J and I both about lost our shiz. Emma had to get her toe pricked and she didn't flip out-she was too worried about getting her band aid! But, when the two shots came out (delayed MMR and Hep A), she LOST IT. All day she has been walking around with a limp saying, "Ouchie!" It's quite pitiful. We ran by Emma's eye glasses store to get a new pair of glasses ordered. After six months, she has about destroyed the lenses in this pair, and we bought the replacement insurance just for this reason! So, in about one week, we will have a fresh pair of glasses. After that, we went to get lunch for some teacher friends, and we went to eat at school with my old team. It was bittersweet. I LOVE my school and colleagues. I really miss it. A lot. But, I don't want to have to deal with about 50% of the bull shiz that comes with it. I so wish I could work part time and that some family lived here so I could substitute or something. Right now, it would be dumb for me to pay someone to watch them just so I could go sub for 100$ a day.

Anyway, I think I need to get into a routine. I've been thinking a lot about why I seem to be struggling with being at home, and it seems like I just need a daily routine. Like get up, shower/dress, have a freaking plan for the day. Right now, it's by the seat of our pants. I may shower, I may go somewhere. I love getting out each day though. But I can't plan something every day. This was a fun, busy week having something to go to/do every day. Once Harrison is older, I will look forward to being able to go to the park or playground almost daily. I do still really miss the adult interaction-not gonna lie. Need to find a mom's group or playgroup to hang out with/gossip with.

I'm going to check out a website called macaronikids.com-a parent at the library told me about it. It's a listing of free/cheap kid things in your area. How do you all find things to do that aren't pricey? What are some other things I can do with the kids? I really want to find a church MDO for Emma to go to 2 days a week for about 3 hours just so she can do activities and socialize with other kids. Plus, Harrison and I could grocery shop, or just PLAY. I don't really get to do a lot with him because I have a TWO YEAR OLD who wants to be nonstop.

Share your ideas on things to do please!

Here's a little iPhone Photo Dump from the week.

At the car wash-she has stickers on her legs-she looks like SUCH a little girl now.

Sitting in the dentist's chair. PS they have flat screen TV's mounted on the ceiling. SHUT UP!

Hello-I weigh almost 14 pounds and I'm wearing a 6 month onesie. Stop the world.

Playing with stickers!

Poor HME-Emma loves to "play" with him

"My hold him mommy," someone says.

Convicted-of cuteness!

Emma on her monitor taking her afternoon nap. Look at this position-looks highly uncomfortable.

Have a great weekend! And please share some ideas on free/cheap things to do or other resources!

Harrison's Baptism

2011-08-26T08:55:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, August 7th, Harrison was baptized!!

We had the baptism at our church, St. Columba's Episcopal. He wore the fifth generation baptismal gown that was made for my great grandfather and it was just precious. Even if he did look like a little girl. :)

Luckily it fit him!

I'm going to refrain from commenting on the heinous side profile picture that my mother felt was necessary to take, and instead, focus on my preshy monkey bunny baby!

Harrison's godmother (and one of my best friends), Jill

Husband and Harry

Father Tripp and me

The whole gang-ridiculously blurry-not sure why.

Again with the blurry-our camera card was full and wouldn't let us do anything the

MINUTE we got in the church. Nice.

God, I look pregnant.

Afterwards, we came home and ate boston butt (made by J), Jo's pasta salad, John's cole slaw, peach muffins, and Jill's DE-freaking-LICIOUS baptism cake. Holy Lord.

Maybe that's why I look pregnant.

It was awesome and I'm so glad both of our babies belong to the Lord.

Birth Announcements

2011-08-25T20:54:00.000-04:00

I sent these out a few days ago, so by now, whoever reads my blog has received theirs. However, I can't figure out how to turn it now. And, I'm lazy.

My kid is cute. That is all.

xoxo

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Love ya all!

Randomosity

2011-08-24T00:03:00.001-04:00

It's Wednesday, and it's random.

We are trying to get back to normal after SEVEN glorious days at the beach with my sissy.

Both kids are sick with a cold/coughs, so that's fun. Emma sounds like a smoker and Harrison has to have me peel crap off his nose in the morning.

Even though I'm home all day, I feel like I'm never caught up on things! I still have Emma's birthday thank you notes to write, books/mags to read, blogs to do (giveaways!!), and other random shiz.

This week alone we have: 2 doctor appointments, a dentist visit, maids, pest control, library story time, & friend visits! Whew!

I wish we had a splash park here.

I need to start potty training Emma. Shoot me now.

Harrison has been foul this week. I guess that's what happens when you can't breathe through your nose.

I HATE unpacking!!

I read 4 books at the beach-reviews coming soon!

I am still working on Emma's birthday blog and Harrison's baptism blog. For the love.

Here are some pics from Friday to today:

Emma's new chair from Nonnie

Just chillin'

New sneaks!

Hello, I am GIANT!

Hello, my hair is a disaster and I clearly just woke up!

Baptism thank you notes-from this seller-very prompt!

Bday thank you notes-from this seller-soooo cute!

What's been going on with y'all??

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Love ya all!

Emma's Second Birthday

2011-08-23T14:32:00.000-04:00

Beware: picture overload. The grandparents will love this one.

When I started thinking about Emma's second birthday party, I was about 6 months pregnant. Couple that with the fact that I was going to have an 8 week old baby, and I knew I didn't want to attempt to do anything at my house like birthday party number one.

So, I did what any normal person would do-I hired it out to Gymboree. If you 've never been to Gymboree Play and Music, it's like Little Gym. Kids basically go to play on equipment, but are led by an instructor and work on listening, directions, socialization, etc. The birthday parties are the same way. And, you don't have to do anything. Except show up with your food items. However, they do have a package for that too! Luckily, I have an awesome cake maker friend who did Emma's cupcakes.

Once I booked the party, I had to choose a theme. Obvi, we chose Elmo, because duh. It's Emma and she's two. (FYI-it was $180 for 12 kids 5 and under to go play. The only other things I did were to bring the cupcakes, ice cream, and juice, plus whatever paper items I wanted.) The party was 90 minutes long. 60 of the minutes were PLAYTIME and that was a lifesaver with 8 kids 5 and under! They were worn out afterwards. After the fun play time, we went to the back studio to sing, eat cupcakes, and open gifts.

I would HIGHLY recommend having your child's party at something like this. I endorse Gymboree-they are incredible. No, they didn't pay me to say anything, but if they want to offer me free classes, I'm on it! :)

So, let's see a few shots of the big girl-who, by the way, was balls to the wall the entire time. I've never seen my child so HYPER. Yikes.

The studio set up. I brought the balloons, tablecloth, plates/napkins, and party hats. Because I like it. :)

Emma and Harper playing on a puzzle before "being admitted" into the gym section.

Poppy and HME

Precious Scarlet!

Emma shooting hoops-they got some free play time.

Jumping on the trampoline. She and Scarlet were doing it together too!

Climbing across a bridge

And going through a tube

Our instructor (in blue) and I were bouncing Emma on a ball.

Bubbles, bubbles, everywhere!

Spinning around in an innertube!

Back in the studio-cupcake time!

Sidenote: I cannot BELIEVE she wore this hat. Remember last year?

Yeah, I know this is a hotttt picture, but I got her this book because her favorite thing to say is, "My do it."

I love this-it's just real. Sissy in the background, Dad standing there, Emma opening gifts with her belly hanging out. That's what is really looks like at home.

Mommy and Meems

Emma's new real, working vacuum cleaner from Gigi. This is awesome,

because she will follow me around working while I work! Ha!

And, because seriously? Look how freaking beautiful Scarlet is.

We had such a great time spending the weekend with lots of family and friends! Emma is such a blessed little girl! Thank you all for everything. And yes, I'm going to write thank you notes mom. :)

Pre-Party!

2011-08-22T14:49:00.000-04:00

The day before Emma's birthday, I asked Jason to stop and get a small grocery store cake for us to have on her actual birthday.

He went to the store after work and got this cookie cake monstrosity. :)

Emma was blown away.

I absolutely love this picture! Look at her sweet face!

Starting out with a fork.

And all manners are out the window-go for it with your hands, girl!

Haha! Looks like she is saying, "Now hold on just a minute!"

We had such a fun little family birthday cake eating time!

PS-we did have some PINK poop the next few days. I guess it's the HOT PINK lard icing. All I know is, I fuh-reaked out and thought Emma was bleeding internally, then mentally recalled what she had eaten the day before. Oh yeah, pink cake icing.................. :)

Updates!

2011-08-09T15:27:00.000-04:00

We've had a whirlwind of a weekend, full of lots of fun, family, and friends! A quick update, list style, cause I'm getting ready for the beach! I promise to catch you all up with pictures of the events.

*Emma's second birthday party at Gymboree Play and Music was PHENOMENAL! I seriously can't recommend them enough! The children had a blast, as did the adults! Pictures coming soon. My child is seriously spoiled.

*Harrison was baptized on Sunday. He looked just precious in a 5th generation baptismal gown-pictures also coming soon!

*I'm not ready for a third kid-that was confirmed when my sissy and her kid came to stay for 5 days. Nothing wrong, but I couldn't handle the chaos! :) And, when I turned around in my car to see THREE car seats in the back, I about died laughing!

*Going to the beach for a week with sissy and her family! Nuff said!

*I have an upper respiratory/bronchitis thing going on, so that's fun. My throat feels like it has razors in it, and I lost my voice. Lucky for J.

*Interesting giveaway coming up soon.

*I'm about to consign my pretty little heart out with @maconbabies and @grizas! Cannot wait.

*Sissy totally cleaned/organized my garage this weekend! Reveal pics coming soon! (Send them to me sister.)

*Our beach menu is amazing and I cannot wait to shop/cook/eat! With things like peel-n-eat shrimp, BBQ shrimp, crablegs, and steak/scallops, how could it not be rad?

*I have SO many books I'm dying to get into, but not enough time!

*Harrison is sleeping through the night!!!!!!!!!!!!! Saturday he went 11-9:30, Sunday he went about the same, and Monday he had to be woken up! Today though, he was up at 6:30, BUT he went from 10:30-6:30, so whatever! I'm so happy!!!

*My baby boy will be two months old on Thursday! Where did the time go? He is now in size 2 diapers and drinking 5-6 ounces of boob milk at a time! He rolled over 4 times on Sunday, and is smiling and cooing TONS! So freaking cute!

*On the other hand, Emma's been sleeping AWFUL lately! Up a few times at night, and getting up early. No thank you!

*I'm obsessed with my Mom Agenda.

*My sweet pops planted TONS of flowers for my front and back porch while he was here. Thanks, dad!

*My garage mini freezer is totally full of boob milk-we're going to have to look on Craigs*list for another one! Yikes!

*Annnnnd I hate friggin AT&T with the internet-this shiz goes out all the time! Over it, goodbye, we are switching!

What's new with y'all lately?

Two grumpies taking a rest together

Getting IN the baby pack-n-play....

Admiring the Pooh Bear puzzle her daddy made for her

Playing in the new swing!

Happy Birthday, Baby

2011-08-04T08:00:00.028-04:00

Dear Emma,
It's hard to believe that two years ago, at 5:07 pm, you were born. Weighing 8 pounds, 1 ounce, with lots of dark hair! I can't believe it. Now you're TWO! You probably weigh 25-27 pounds. You're on the tall side too. You still have LOTS of curly brown hair! Now, you have glasses. You are such a beautiful little one.

We have had a fabulous two years, little girl. You are such a spirited child, full of opinions and a wee bit stubborn. I wonder where you get that............

I have had so much fun watching you grow this year. you are fiercely independent, your vocabulary has exploded beyond belief, and your personality is adorable.

September 2010

In the sandbox

You look like you may have tasted some sand.......

October 2010

At the pumpkin patch

October 2010

Halloween

November 2010

Thanksgiving Day

We were posing for our Christmas card picture.

December 2010

Pictures with Santa in Montgomery.

You were thrilled. :)

He does kind of look like a creeper.

December 2010

Christmas at Poppy and FeFe's in Montgomery

Opening gifts

December 2010

Christmas Eve

December 2010

Sitting with Parpa and Scarlet

At Parpa and Nonnie's house in Birmingham

January 2011

Southern snowstorm!

School was closed for a full week!

February 2011

Valentine's Day

The only picture I have of your face that month!

(I may have some more on my phone, but this was all I could find on the computer.)

March 2011

Playing on the playground with Aunt GiGi

April 2011

Spring Break

At Nonnie's house

May 2011

Back in the sandbox, one of your favorite places!

June 2011

Shopping at Goodwill with mommy

We got lots of books!

June 2011

Loving on your new little brother

Posing for daddy's Father's Day gift

July 2011

Playing with Daddy

July 2011

Lookin like a little frat boy with that mop

We aren't getting it cut either!

July 2011

Eating popsicles on the porch

July 2011

Going to the pool

It's been a wonderful year Emma. I look forward to spending all of my time with you. I'm very lucky that I can stay home and teach you and watch you grow. You make my heart so happy.

You are my bunny baby. We love you so, so much! Happy SECOND birthday!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Things you like:

Toys: Your play kitchen, anything that makes noise (your remote control school bus), puzzles

Food: 'bok bok' (chicken), 'boobies' (strawberries), cheese, yogurt, cereal, 'roni' (mac), grapes, peeled peaches and apples, dot dogs (turkey dogs), oranges, goldfish, pretzels, baby food bananas, real bananas, squeeze food pouches (only time I can sneak a veggie in). You have just recntly gotten over your most picky phase when I was in the hospital having Harrison.

Drink: milk, water, fruit/veggie juice box (another way to sneak a veg in)

Sayings: My do it, outside, mommy's such and such, daddy's such and such, Bless you ________, I'm scared, love Flash, love Barty, these are the things you say at least 12 times per day.

Books: Curious George, Dino book, all of the Disney books I got you at Goodwill (MIckey obsession), 5 Little Monkeys, counting books

Shows: Carebears DVD, Sesame Street, Curious George (Dora comes on too late in the summer, so you have been off 'Dodo' lately).

Grateful

2011-08-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

I'm so grateful to be able to spend all day with you two.

Playing on the church playground,

Sleeping on the porch,

Eating lots of Popsicles,

Napping all day,

Dinner on the deck,

Doing watercolors,

Playing in the pool, hose, or water table, y'all are teaching me life lessons and I'm teaching you.

You just want to have FUN and I'm learning to let things go.

I'm grateful I can spend all day with you two!!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Love ya all!

Incredible Sides!

2011-08-01T08:00:00.002-04:00

Here at Casa de Edwards, we eat a lot of chicken! Mostly grilled-health factor and all. Just ask my mom and sis-they made so much fun of me for making a 5 day menu that consisted solely of chicken plus sides.

I have to get creative with sides so we aren't eating the same things every week (is that an oxymoron?? Bueller?). Besides your standard salad and rice/potatoes combo, I have found a few new sides that I think taste incredible!

Side 1: Steamfresh green beans
After cooking the beans in the microwave, add some lemon juice, sea salt, and goat cheese. TO DIE FOR. No lie.

Side 2: Steamed broccoli
Same deal as above-steam the broccoli and add some lemon juice, sea salt, Mrs. Dash, and goat cheese. Soo good.

These two sides can dress up any boring dinner (like grilled chicken with mac-n-cheese or rice). I swear it's the addition of the goat cheese. That stuff rocks my face off!

Side 3: Mashed Cauliflower (from my sis)
This side is my new fave! It's incredibly similar to homemade mashed potatoes-and who doesn't like those? Now, I promise you you absolutely cannot tell it's cauliflower! Take 1 head cauli, floret it, add 2 small new/red potatoes (not sure what it would be like without the potatoes). After about 10 minutes of boiling, test for fork tenderness. Mash with potato masher, add some milk, salt, pepper, and butter. The end. Tastes JUST like freakin all mashed potatoes.

Side 4: Creamed spinach (from my ma)
Duh. Who doesn't like creamed spinach? This is so easy and a great way to get a HUGE helping of folic acid! Cook a chopped frozen spinach package, drain WELL, add some butter and about 1/2 a thing of low fat cream cheese. Stir well. Eat the crap out of it.

Side 5: Roasted broccoli (from b.e.g.)
Floret some fresh broccoli. Lay it on a cookie sheet. Drizzle EVOO, sea/kosher salt, pepper, other spices on it, shake it around. Cook on 400 for about 20 minutes. So good and nutty! You can do this with fresh green beans too-I haven't tried it, but b.e.g. swears by it!

While we're back in this newborn/infant stage of life, dinner needs to be super easy. People have stopped bringing meals, and I've used all 7 of my frozen meals up. So, for now, we are on the meat/starch/veg train every night.

For starches, we always have something easy like box mac, rice, couscous, quinoa, or a potato dish. Although with the new cauliflower recipe listed above, we will be having that as a starch. My next goal is to have more veggie dinners, less meat. We both LOVE veggies, so maybe some things like squash, beans, tomatoes, etc. for dinner. Also, I will eventually get out of this branch and get back into more "home cooking," "experimental cooking" fun stuff.

What are some sides you like grubbing on? Please share, we're always looking for new things to try!

A Day at the Park

2011-07-29T15:40:00.000-04:00

Yesterday afternoon, we went to the park across the street from our house.

So what if she was a little bit redneck looking-she was still super cute!

We took brother in the wagon and we took a few popsicles.

Here is Harrison is his "nest."

Yuuum, I love otter pops!

I think I need to take my popsicle up here.......

"My do it," is your favorite thing to say.

Excuse your diaper hanging out.

Crawling through the tunnel while eating my pop.

Let me get all the juice out of here.

Long legs McGee!

Here is Harrison's wagon setup in the shade.

Just a swingin'

I love being outside!

Loo was having a blast, but I was sweating my who ha's off! Harrison started crying about 20 minutes in, so I blamed him for our quick escape! :) I'm glad it's just across the street from our house, otherwise my poor girl wouldn't be getting any playground time! It's 122 degrees and with a newborn, we aren't going out much!

What do you do when it's super hot (too hot!) to do things outside with the kids?

Visitors!

2011-07-28T21:02:00.000-04:00

This weekend, my mom and sis came to visit. We always have a blast, and this weekend was no exception. With two little girls under two, good times were had! Even if my kid was saying, "Mine" all weekend!

Here are some shots from our fun day in the water on Saturday!

Is this child not beautiful? Miss Scarlet is 14 months old now!

Looby showing her how to play in the water table.

I'm gonna spray you!!

Gimme!

We had a great time, even though Scarlet developed an ear infection!

In addition to playing outside with the water, we went to consignment stores, garage sales, and grocery stores. We ate and drank entirely too much! But, what else is new? We got a lot of good gifts/toys for the girls' Christmas at the consignment/garage sales!

We will see y'all in two weeks for Emma's birthday party!

One Month-at Six Weeks!

2011-07-27T09:53:00.000-04:00

Well, my little baby is now six weeks old, and I'm just now getting his one month pictures and stats up.

That's life with two kids, I guess.

I'm still deciding/working on the best position for his monthly shots. It's clear that I need to back up big time so you can see him in relation to the chair. I got these little stickers from Etsy for his onesies. It's much easier than typing and printing a page like I did for Emma.

ONE MONTH OLD!

I love all of these pictures, but I like this last one best because you can see how

big he is compared to his chair.

So, Harrison, what are you up to this month?

Weight 11 pounds, 15 ounces!
Height 23 inches
Head Circumference 39 cm

You are eating almost every 3 hours. I guess it's the breastmilk? We have had a few 4 or 5 hour stretches at night, and that's glorious! I am not monitoring my food intake anymore. You seem to handle all types of foods now. I am putting some rice in your bottle at night, and you like it. The doctor said I could try it to help you sleep better.

We also take a warm bath every night to chill you out and get you sleepy before your last feeding. Then, you go into your crib. You moved into your own room at 3 weeks old. I sleep much better now, and you do too! You are a noisy, scromply little fellow. :)

You are a VERY easy, laid back, good natured baby. You don't cry unless you are hungry or have a huge blowout diaper. Speaking of diapers, you have peed on me and yourself about 45 times. Yesterday you peed on your own head!

You love your rain forest bouncy chair. You aren't a fan of your swing so much anymore, probably because I only put you in it when you're super tired and you want to be held then. You still like swaddling, and you really don't mind your car seat. I guess you like being confined.

Your sister is in love with you. She constantly kisses you, pats you, gets in your face, and talks to you. Emma's favorite thing to say to you is, "Bless you baby." You do seem to calm down when she talks to you (if you're crying). It's precious to see my babies interact!

You are a BIG boy and I love you to death. You are so sweet and happy my baby boy.
Love you.

Upcoming Reads

2011-07-26T12:55:00.000-04:00

Here are the next four books in my lineup. I bought the first three on sale at B&N/Kroger, and the last one via Kindle. Sarah is a bloggy friend who is so awesome, I am thrilled that she wrote a book! You should at the very least check out her blog, and I'm sure the book will be incredible!

Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer McMahon

From B&N:

Forty-one-year-old school nurse Kate Cypher has returned home to rural Vermont to care for her mother who's afflicted with Alzheimer's. On the night she arrives, a young girl is murdered—a horrific crime that eerily mirrors another from Kate's childhood. Three decades earlier, her dirt-poor friend Del—shunned and derided by classmates as "Potato Girl"—was brutally slain. Del's killer was never found, while the victim has since achieved immortality in local legends and ghost stories. Now, as this new murder investigation draws Kate irresistibly in, her past and present collide in terrifying, unexpected ways. Because nothing is quite what it seems . . . and the grim specters of her youth are far from forgotten.

The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom

From Little, Brown Book Group

Conrad Harrison impulse-buys a big old house in Wisconsin, his wife Jo doesn’t share his enthusiasm, reluctant at the idea of leaving their LA life - so Conrad is left to set up their new home as she ties up loose ends at work. But Conrad’s new purchase is not all that it seems. Soon Conrad is hearing the ghostly wailing of a baby in the night, seeing blood on the floor and being haunted by a woman who looks exactly like Jo. With his wife away, Conrad becomes obsessed by the pregnant girl next door, Nadia, who claims to be a victim of the evil in the house. The crying leads him to a bricked-up body, and the mystery of the Birthing House unravels, pulling in Jo, Nadia and leading Conrad to a nightmarish conclusion…

Think Twice by Lisa Scottoline

From Borders:

Bennie Rosato looks exactly like her identical twin, Alice Connolly, but the darkness in Alice’s soul makes them two very different women. Or at least that’s what Bennie believes, until she finds herself buried alive at the hands of her twin.Meanwhile, Alice takes over Bennie’s life, impersonating her at work and even seducing her boyfriend in order to escape the deadly mess she has made of her own life. But Alice underestimates Bennie and the evil she has unleashed in her twin’s psyche, as well as Bennie’s determination to stay alive long enough to exact revenge.Bennie must face the twisted truth that she is more like her sister Alice than she could have ever imagined, and by the novel’s shocking conclusion, Bennie finds herself engaged in a war she cannot win—with herself.

Going to the Motherland by Sarah Blight

From Sarah's web company Your Baby Booty:

You'll learn:

- How to take charge and get pregnant.
- What to do after you get pregnant.
- Why finding your soul mate of an OB/midwife is majorly important.
- Why firing your doctor (who isn't doing their job of educating you) is best.
- Dads have a pregnancy too (and why it's important).
- The inside scoop on mental toughness and why it helps you give birth like a birthing warrior.
- and TONS more!

What are you all reading? Leave me some recommendations for other books to read please. It looks like I have a mostly morbid theme going on................

Book Reviews

2011-07-25T21:08:00.000-04:00

Dystopia, or anti-utopia, is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Dystopian societies feature different kinds of repressive social control systems, various forms of active and passive coercion. Ideas and works about dystopian societies often explore the concept of humans abusing technology and humans individually and collectively coping, or not being able to properly cope with technology that has progressed far more rapidly than humanity's spiritual evolution. Dystopian societies are often imagined as police states, with unlimited power over the citizens.

(From Wikipedia)

I've been real into dystopian novels lately. Like, addicted. And, thanks to Mojito Maven, I've gotten on board with a great new series. I cannot WAIT for the other books to come out! Thanks, MM!

Divergent by Veronica Roth blew me away.

The author's summary:

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris, and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together, they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes-fascinating, sometimes-exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret: one she’s kept hidden from everyone, because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly-perfect society, she also learns that her secret might be what helps her save those she loves . . . or it might be what destroys her.

Y'all. I can't even really explain. But, if you liked the Hunger Games, you will dig this series. She's got some more books that go with it coming out soon. Check out her blog for more info. I can't wait!!

Enclave by Ann Aguirre

From Goodreads site

In Deuce’s world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed ‘brat’ has trained into one of three groups–Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember.

As a Huntress, her purpose is clear—to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She’s worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing’s going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade. When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce’s troubles are just beginning.

Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn’t like following orders. At first she thinks he’s crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don’t always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth. Her partner confuses her; she’s never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as using his knives with feral grace.

As Deuce’s perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival. The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their sheer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy… but the elders refuse to heed any warnings. Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead. No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she’s ever known.

This book is kind of like 'I Am Legend' meets Hunger Games. Not so much dystopia here, more apocalyptic. But, I am hooked on it too, and I see more books coming in the series.

Also, if you missed my last review, check out Matched by Ally Condie. It is a trilogy book and also goes with the dystopian theme. I can't wait for the next book out in November!

Who can recommend some other books like the ones above? I'm dying to read more! And since I'm up 22/7 feeding HME, I have lots of time to get my read on!

Midweek Randoms

2011-07-20T15:12:00.000-04:00

Totally copying Megan on the title, but it sounds better than Wednesday Randomosity. Any way you look at it, it's Wednesday, and it's random.

*I still haven't finished unpacking Harrison's nursery. What the what? I'm a slacker. When they nap, I blog, read blogs, watch TV, wash eleventy billion bottles, etc. Also, he has no baby book. Already starting out where he doesn't get the same things as his sister. You will notice that he is also five weeks old and I have YET to take his one month pic and do a post. I am really going to try to do that tonight. I have to not beat myself up over stuff like this, but I really want to do the same things for Harrison that I did for Emma.

*My mom and sis are coming in town this weekend. Word. I'm super excited.

*Emma's second birthday is at Gymboree. We are having a play party! It's coming up soon. Look at her cute invitations! (Not the real ones, just an example of what they look like). Amy is awesome and rushed them to me since I didn't order them early enough. I guess I was kind of busy with HME..... :) If you need some awesome invitations for CHEAP, check out Distinct Designs by Amy.

*We are having Harrison's baptism the day after her birthday since everyone will already be in town. I'm excited, but feel rushed. And don't even get me started on what I will fit into/wear to this event. Guess I'll have to go buy a fat dress because I STILL can't fit into my old clothes. I miss you size 6/8. I hope to see you again soon. Like, real soon.

*My awesome friend Jill is making Emma's Sesame Street cupcakes (Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, etc) and Harrison's monogram baptism cake. CANNOT wait to see and taste those jokers!

*I need some good recommendations on where to get cheap photo birth announcements. Like 1.00 or less. Cause we're ordering at least 50. So, please share some good sites OR links to cute boy ones. Please. I will love you forever if you can recommend a site or a specific announcement. I like classic styles.

*We have a lot of birthdays in July. We've been shopping for FeFe and Fenn, plus getting baby shower gifts for my friend Ali. It's fun, but super hard to tote these kids around in 90+ degree heat and have them hold it together so I can peruse gifts.

*Does anyone else feel like character stuff (Elmo, Dora, etc) is taking over your house? God, I'm going to scream if I see any more Sesame Street or "Dodo" stuff-Emma begs for it, it just seems to be creeping in everywhere. She just realized all of the characters were on her diapers too. For the love.

*Showering does not occur on ANY kind of regular basis around here. It's been three days. I just threw up in my mouth a little. I have to "cage" Emma in her crib and Harrison has to be either asleep or seriously calm. I don't want to get in and rush, I want to enjoy myself, so why even attempt if they are being ill pills? On another note, I do have a lady parts appt tomorrow, so I will be sure to shower. :)

*Scheduling appts with two kids is a holy nightmare. I've had Harrison's one month checkup, my OB checkup, and an upcoming dental appt, and Jason either has to meet me on his lunch to get one of them, or I have to find a babysitter. All my school friends are going back to work in their classrooms, so they are unavailable. I'm not even going to attempt taking Emma into my dentist. Harrison is another story. He sleeps. In a carseat. The end. Thankfully, Emma's former babysitter is taking her on the dentist day. I told Emma today, and she starting babbling about Miss Kiss and Reecey! She remembers-it's so cute!

*Since I have the diaper bag from hell (toting junk for two kids), I recently ordered this awesome contraption. It's called the callet. I cannot wait for it to get here. My bestie has one and I've seen it in action-it's a great thing since I'm always toting my phone-now I just slip my debit/credit cards in, and I'm done! This will probably become my new wallet. Until I get a purse back.

The cards go on the back-there's a little pocket there.

*I bought some black tea + lemonade K cups today and I can't wait to try them! Also, I may have purchased some cinnamon bun coffee cups. Pretty sure I'm looking forward to sticking my face in that tomorrow morning.

*Be on the lookout for Mr. Harrison's picture to grace the header soon. My rad designer is working on it.

*I'm on a 'Baby Story' marathon right now, and one of the girls is Skyping with her aunt through delivery. I'm sorry, but WTF? That is effing weird. And gross. She just watched her push.

*Harrison is addicted to this cute consignment bouncy chair ($20!) We love it too-because he sleeps in it. A lot.

*TLC is pretty much the shiznit. Hoarders? Yes, please. My Strange Addiction? Hellz yeah. Baby shows? Right on. Now you know what I do when the kids sleep. However, the Strange Addiction show just showed an ad for someone who likes to "be a baby" and wear diapers and use a paci. Umm, WTH lady? I think some of these jokers make this up to get on the show.

*I need to wrap this rambler up and do something with myself. Holla y'all. What have you been up to?

xoxo

Harrison's Art

2011-07-15T21:20:00.000-04:00

I got the last piece of art for Harrison's room on Monday, so now I want to show you what he has "featured" from three VERY talented artists!

First up, a custom monogram painted by my sister! She can take anything you see on Etsy for $75 or some other high price, and I bet she can make it for you cheaper! Email her at sejmacon@gmail.com for pricing and other inquiries!

Harrison McCary Edwards monogram painting size about 2x2 canvas

Next up, a friend recreated this painting from a screen print I saw in a store. the store wanted almost $100 for it. Not happening. Email me if you want to know how to get in touch with this artist. She is very talented!

Waiting to be hung, sage green painting on canvas, size about 18x24

Finally, a poster from the Keep Calm Etsy shop-I looove this shop! Reasonable prices, customized to your exact specifications, these ladies do it up right! Hook up with them to get your own specific 'Keep Calm' print!

16x20 poster hanging above the glider in the nursery

Full nursery reveal coming soon (as in, once I get up, take pictures of it, edit them, and upload them....)

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Love ya all!

Seven!

2011-07-10T05:42:00.000-04:00

Happy seventh anniversary babe! Even though we may not look the same as we did seven years ago, I still love you just the same!

You are a great friend and wonderful dad to our babies!

I am so thankful for all of your hard work so we can have and do so much. I'm excited about staying home to raise our babies-and thanks to you I can do that.

I love you so much and look forward to many more "annis!"

Love,
Nooka

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Love ya all!

Update in Pictures

2011-07-06T16:29:00.001-04:00

Emma and mommy were doing watercolors.

(The benefit of having a "retired" teacher mommy.)

HME chilling in my robe since he tee teed all

over my side of the bed this morning.

Jason gave Emma a frosted sugar cookie yesterday.

Look at her face. She was MACH 10 for an HOUR.

HME in his fourth of July overalls.

HME in his preshy little smocked Feltman

Brothers outfit for church.

Look at my mohawk! Harrison is 3 weeks old already!

Emma has to ride in the big part of the buggy when we are

all out now. I was bribing her with a box of chocolate chip cookies

to hold it together because it just so happened to be during nap

time that we were at the Tar-jay for dinner items.

Emma is putting a monocle on Harrison's eye.

It's some magnifying glass that came on her nail clippers.

She is obsessed with it, and I have to admit, I was

DYING laughing at this. Hence, the picture.

Look at my cutey Baby Gap outfit!

Oh my goodness, Emma in another buggy eating another cookie.

Theme song of my life.

Poser.

I have no words for this picture. Except she's cute.

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Love ya all!

Randmosity

2011-07-05T17:03:00.000-04:00

Let's stream, shall we?

*I need a schedule for the days that we stay home all day. When we have no playdates or activities, I need some structure besides nap, feed kids, change diapers. I don't want to let her watch TV more than one hour per day, but it's sooo HOT outside, and HME cannot go out yet. And who am I kidding-I don't want to go outside either. We can play in the sandbox and water table on the screened in porch, but I need some things for us to do. Like art time, reading, "school" stuff, etc. Ideas???

*OMG I need to figure out how I'm going to lose this baby weight because I cannot go back to Weight Watchers right now, espesh with two kids. All I do is eat being at home all day. WTF.

*I feel like I need to "play" or interact with HME more, but he doesn't really DO anything right now.

*I want to stab children's TV shows. Now we are watching GPB/PBS Sesame Street central-it's better than Dora, Fresh Beats, etc.

*I cannot believe I just wrote a sentence about BS kids' shows.

*I wash clothes everyday. And run the dishwasher. And take out the trash. Who knew that adding one kid to the home would produce so much more laundry, dishes, and trash?

*I can't wait for some of my twitter friends to have their babies!

*It's my 7th wedding anniversary this weekend-we're going to eat and see a movie!

*Right now, I'm kind of scared that I'm going to miss not starting back to school in August. What is wrong with me? I've wanted to stay home with Emma since she was born, and now I am. But I think I want to work? Seriously, what is that? Who does that?

*HME is still waking up every 2-3 hours each night to eat. Enough said.

*Teen Mom original season makes me cry. Amber is really portrayed as a bad mom. She has major issues. This makes me so effing sad. This is what is wrong with a lot of kids. Their parents do stupid shit like ignore them, scream at them, etc and the kids have issues in school and life. All because some people needed to have sex at age 16. For the love. Then they complain about their kids and how hard their life is. THEN CLOSE YOUR LEGS. Jesus. Do they not think they will get pregnant? (PS, not all of the girls are "bad moms." Some are really working hard to make a better life for themselves.

*That is all. I needed an even number to end the list. Pictures coming soon. :)

A Comedy of Errors

2011-06-29T21:17:00.000-04:00

Y'all. Last night, we had our very own Comedy of Errors up in here.

I have to laugh about it or I'll cry. It's been a rough two weeks at night with Mr. Harrison. Boyfriend wants to eat every two hours at night, then it takes him a good 20-30 minutes to settle back down and go to sleep, especially after a diaper change. Add in the booby pumping every 4 hours and I'm a hot mess. I'm getting maybe 4 hours of sleep a night. I forgot how HARD it is with a newborn. It's okay though, this is a great season of life to be in. I am having so much fun learning about my little night owl boy.

Anyways, last night was awwwwfullll on so many levels.

We have been trying (for the past two nights) giving Harrison a formula bottle at 10:00 and 1:00 to get him to sleep longer stretches. All of this breastmilk is going though him like nobody's business. So, he got his bottle at 10, woke at 1:15, and Jason fed him while I pumped.

Cause you know I went to bed at 10:30 too. Then, Harrison snuffled and scrompled around in his bassinet (2 inches from my head) for about 45 more minutes. Basically, I was still trying to rock him back to sleep at 2:20. I was practically in tears.

I finally got him to sleep, only to be woken up at 3:30 by the FOULEST smell of my entire life. As in, something smelled SO BAD that I woke up from a dead ass newborn baby sleep.

That smell? Was poop. I woke Jason up and told him something smelled. He asked if it was the baby. Ummm, no. If the baby produces some poop that smells THAT bad, we are in trouble. I knew what was coming.

Then Jason turned on the light.

Oh.em.gee. It was a DDM. For those of you not familiar with me in real life, that stands for Doo Doo Murder, but in this case it was a Diarrhea Murder. There was diarrhea ALL OVER our bedroom. All freaking over. Tracked everywhere. Puddles in the corner.

Holy Lord. We both started retching. I started crying. I mean, I had JUST fallen asleep a little over an hour ago, and now this?

Jason thew both dogs outside and came back up to survey the damage, I mean diarrhea.

First, he had to pick it up with plastic bags. Then he decided we needed to steam clean the carpet. It was that bad y'all. Cue Jason dragging our 100 pound Bissell steam cleaner upstairs and starting it up. It sounds like a jet plane too. And of course Harrison slept through that.

I continued crying. Harrison was due to get up at 4:00 or 4:15 to eat, and I KNEW he wouldn't be sleeping longer or missing a meal. So, J started carpet cleaning the eleventy billion puddles of shit all over our room, and I put a pillow over my head and tweeted the whole thing.

Finally he was done, and as predicted, HME woke up right on time. Fortunately for me, Jason was WIDE awake and agreed to feed him and get him back to sleep since I was running on 12 minutes of sleep.

Add to that little Miss Emma waking up at 6:40 and me "nicely" telling her to LAY DOWN AND GO BACK TO SLEEP, and you have the beginning to our day.

I blacked out after her brief wake up, and when I woke up again, she was crawling in bed next to me with a bowl of Fruit Loops and a 34 pound tee tee diaper, courtesy of daddy. I begged her to go back to sleep with me and HME, but she wasn't down with that, so we started our day.

It's been an interesting, LONG day. Sprinkle in the fact that Emma ran away from me in the front yard, rolled down a hill, and got a spanking at the bottom of the hill, then add in an incident with her glasses being pulled at a 180 degree angle in the back seat while I was driving and she was kicking her brother's carseat, and you have my day in a nutshell.

And now you all know why I drink wine from a box.

It's our own Shakespearean comedy these days, folks. Tomorrow has to get better, right?

Just keep swimming

2011-06-21T19:16:00.000-04:00

As my friend Sam says, "Just keep swimming,"to get her through the busy/crazy/rough times! I am loving this time of my life right now, even if it includes major lack of sleep!

Here are some pics of my bunnies!

I'll be back with something resembling regular posting soon. I am reading your blogs at night while feeding Harrison, but comments are sparse since I have 1 hand busy!

See you soon.

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Love ya all!

Good Things

2011-06-13T06:11:00.001-04:00

Things that are good right now:

This sweet face (makes you want another baby, right?)

Graham crackers and saltines

Apple juice and ice water

Contraband diet coke

Hospital grade breast pumps

Hands free pumping bras

iPhones and Kindles for LATE night entertainment (ditto on trashy mags!)

Body butter from my MIL

Sweet, helpful nurses

Loads of pillows

Beds that move up and down

Contractions during breastfeeding and pumping (lose that weight momma!)

My sweet Emma coming to meet Harrison (and stealing his binky...)

Quiet times alone with this precious face

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Love ya all!

Perfection

2011-06-11T14:48:00.001-04:00

Harrison McCary Edwards

June 11, 2011

8:10 am

8 lb 10 oz 21.5 in

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Love ya all!

On the way!

2011-06-11T05:23:00.001-04:00

It's time. If you are reading this, I'm on the way to the hospital to have HME.

It's 5:30 am and I will be in the OR at 7:30.

Say a prayer for a healthy baby and easy surgery please!

And, at 39 weeks, here's the last belly shot for this big boy!

PS, I've had lots of comments on my awesome blog redesign-that's cause of my rad designer Leslie from Sweetie Baby Blog Designs. Her button is in my sidebar if you're in the market for a new look!

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Love ya all!

For the Love

2011-06-09T16:21:00.000-04:00

Vent Post Ahead!

I have to get some shiz out or I'm gonna lose my mind.

*We have flying ants that were invading our upstairs bathroom. So, we had to call an expensive exterminator to come out and do stuff to make that stop. So that was fun. And expensive.

*The air vent upstairs in Emma's new room has nevercooled/heated correctly. We finally called a few people out for different ideas, and now that we know what's up and how much it will cost? They can't come until next week. Nice. The air is on 70 allll day and it's registering at 78 up there right now. As Emma naps. Under her comforter. At least we have ceiling fans. File this under expensive.

*My doctor kept me waiting for an hour at today's 3.5 minute appointment-with an almost 2 year old and my mom.

*Then, he told me I had to be at the hospital (30 minutes away, near downtown Atl) at 5:30 on Saturday morning to prep for my C section at 7:30. So basically, I'll have to eat dinner at 4:00 pm, take a Tylenol PM at 6:00 and try to go to sleep for my last night of solid sleep.

*My 'check battery charge' light came on after lunch today. I thought it was b/c Emma turned on an overhead light that I just found this morning, but when I finally called husband/the tire center, they told me to come in for it to be checked. Yeah, it's a 400$ alternator that needs replacing. After I spent 300 on new brake things this weekend. Plus all that other stuff up there. So, Jason had to come rescue us from the tire center and they will have to replace it tomorrow morning b/c duh-I'm having a baby Saturday. Again, let's file this under expensive and seriously?

*My 100 lb. bloodhound is stranded at the groomer being shaved. Now he is going to be crammed into Jason's Volvo. Nice. Sorry about your leather seats and his 6" talon toenails, J.

*I have about 4563985 things to do before HME arrives, like get the eleventy billion pieces of clothing out of his criblet so he can sleep. And no, I don't want someone else to do that b/c I want to organize his drawers.

*I still haven't packed my bag or installed the car seat. And my blood pressure was 'elevated' today.

*My feet haven't had a pedicure in a month, and won't get one for another 3 months if I don't go tomorrow.

*These are stupid #whitegirlproblems but it feels better to write it all out. I told my mom today that this was God's way of saying, "Quit trying to plan everything." But, somebody needs to make some kinda plan, right?

I also want to try to get up a post before HME to highlight all of Emma's "big girl things" b/c I KNOW it will be close to impossible once I'm home with two kids to not only get it done, but to remember all I wanted to say about her.

Here's to hoping!

And, thanks for letting me bitch without judging. Now, maybe I should go unpack HME's crib while everyone is out...................

Gross things no one tells you about being pregnant

2011-06-08T15:51:00.000-04:00

Here are some gross things no one tells you about being pregnant:

*Moles popping up. All over.

*Skin tags. All over. Sickening.

*Constant heatstroke. Espesh now, in the summer. This goes with gross sweating. All over.

*The lovely "brown line" linea negra down your stomach. Just when you think you're safe, it hits you at almost 39 weeks.

*Skin darkening, especially in areas like your pits. They look dirty all the time. Sickening.

*Loss of feeling in fingers due to carpal tunnel/swelling. NOT COOL.

*Feet that swell up and only fit in size 10 Nike slides from Target. Hideous. For the love.

*Again with the sweating.

*Itching. Everywhere. Especially your back. When you can't reach around because you've lost your flexibility.

*Apparent snoring. (I'm not sure I believe this one, Jason.)

*Stuffy nose-at night, when you're trying to sleep.

*Ability to not sleep, even though you feel like you were run over by a Mack.

I'm sure there are more, but right now, this is what's plaguing me.

Share your untold symptoms below.

Now, who wants to get knocked up???

Sleep Woes-Advice Needed!

2011-06-03T19:37:00.000-04:00

Y'all. I am about to lose it. For the love. I'm gonna need some advice, and some of these 134 followers need to come out of the lurking woodwork and leave me a dang comment on what to do. Puh-lease.

Ever since Emma's sickness two weeks ago, her sleeping has been no bueno. She used to sleep until 8:309 or later, now it's like 7:00. (I know, don't stab me, but when you're 38 weeks pregnant and you're used to that, it's HARD to change it up.) This week, she has started waking at 12:00 or 3:30 each night SCREAMING, "Mommmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" I guess it's bad dreams?

I googled it, and it seems like it could be nightmares. She has also started saying, "I scared," during the day randomly. When I ask her what she's scared of, sometimes she says the dog's name, other times she can't tell me. In the night, when I go in to her, she just wants to be held and says, "Rock" and I have to go in her old nursery and rock her.

Now, this child has never liked to be rocked, even as an infant. But, I guess when she was sick and waking up eleventy billion times per night from fever, that comforted her?

Today, she decided after waking up at 3:30 and 4:30, we would get up at 6:30. My sister doesn't get her child up before a certain time, and I normally don't have this problem, because duh. 8:00 is a perfectly acceptable time to wake up. But, she was wigging out this morning. Now just rolling around waking up, but like freaking.

So, what do you think is up and for the love, what can I do? I need you help, advice, suggestions. Please, share it all. And, if you've gone through this with your child, details please. I'm wondering if it's carried over from sickness, or if she can sense that in SEVEN DAYS we will have another baby, or if it's genuinely nightmares. And if so, WHAT DO I DO?

All ideas welcome.

Peace, I'm going to sleep at 8:00 since my wake up call is in about 4 hours..............

Mother's Day Recap

2011-06-03T19:16:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, it's been ALMOST A MONTH. But, this was sitting in my drafts, and I was about to delete it and then saw the gift that Jason/Emma made me. I really wanted to share that. Cause one day? I'm gonna print this blog out and make a book-and I want to remember this.

I had a fabulous day! It would have been a smidgen better if Emma hadn't gotten up at 6:00 am and if we didn't have to drive back to Atlanta after the festivities.However, we are now done with travel for the next 394940 months since I'm about to birth this baby.

Isn't this a precious collage? Jason made it in Picasa, printed it and framed it. It is precious and I treasure my 2nd Mother's Day with just my sweet girl. Next year, I'll have two monkeys to celebrate!

Hope you all had great days! From what I read, you did.

Play Room Reveal

2011-05-30T22:20:00.000-04:00

OK, I promised you a tour of the playroom redo, but as with Emma's room, the photos are NO BUENO. Sorry, but it's an awkward shaped room and I'm not a photog (in the least).

Looking into the playroom from the foyer.

A daybed for naps/a guest. It's super comfy. Trust me on that.

The one thing we still need to do is add a ceiling fan.

I am trying to figure out what to put on those shelves above

the bed. Any ideas?

The corner with our old re purposed bookshelf-I got the organizational baskets at Target and have them filled with toys-the toy box wasn't holding all of girlfriend's toys. I did bust out the label maker and label the bins with things like, "Stuffed Animals," "Puzzles," "Stacking Toys," etc.

Bad dark picture. But, here are the blackout curtains (same as in Emma's room). They provide that nice darkness for napping. :) No valances here because of the crown moulding. Unfortunately, I didn't think that the length would be different from upstairs, but I didn't realize the ceilings are higher down here.

(Now that I look at this, I want some sort of coverage up there.

I don't like the white blankness between the curtains. Ideas?)

The one "grown up corner" of the room with a bookshelf (full of grown up books!) and an iHome. This is another re purposed bookshelf that we are using as night table area.

Barty is modeling the use of the playmat. Isn 't he presh?

This alphabet poster artwork is from Sea Urchin Studio on Etsy.

It is a 16x20 print. LOVE IT!

Another custom made print from the Keep Calm Shop. It originally said, "Keep Calm and Rock Baby" or something, but the shop will change any saying and color to what you want. Plus, they are VERY reasonable. My only "issue" is that the posters are not normal sized for framing (I think they are 13x19), so you have to buy a bigger or smaller frame and pare down. I'm not custom framing a 20$ poster. I got a 14x18 at Hob Lob for like 9$ and cut some white off the top of the poster.

I chose this saying because it's right by Emma's rocking horse-hidden on the side of the daybed.

She breaks it out about twice a day.

I found these cute prints at Hobby Lobby for $4 each. I wish I could've found one more in green, but alas, I could not. Emma LOVES these-she walks up to them and says, "I liiiiiiiiikkke."

The pics of the pictures are from my iPhone, so they are a bit grainy.

So, that is the redo of the former office. What do you think?