everyday rhinestones

Happy Release Day!

2013-02-01T18:00:00.000-06:00

I was a little tired this morning from the baby keeping me up last night but the one positive thing to her 4am wakeup was the chance to be one of the first to view the new Spring Collection "Good Hart" from Matilda Jane! Today is release #1 for spring and with all the sneak peaks floating around it was almost like Christmas morning! I didn't know when they were going to upload all the "pretties" onto their website but was hoping it would be sometime in the middle of the night. I checked at 12:30am when the baby woke me up for the 2nd time :( and there was still no Good Hart to be found. Then at 4:30am I was in luck... well not lucky that the baby woke me up but lucky to see the collection in all of it's pastel purple, pink with a hint of navy glory! LOVE!

It's too bad that I LOVE it all as my bank account can only handle so much. For each release I give myself a budget and for this release... I went a little over :) Shh, don't tell.

For those of you not familiar with Matilda Jane I can't even begin to explain the entire culture behind this unique clothing company. This blog post helps a little Whimsy & Style Photography. Matilda Jane Addicts have a whole language all their own. I was first introduced into this world by a friend who hosted a trunk show. It was Spring of 2011 and Max was almost 1. My friend invited me knowing I had a boy and that it's mostly girl clothes but when she mentioned that their are also adult women pieces I thought it would be fun to check it out. I ended up buying a pair of black skinny pants and an amazing tank dress. The dress is one of my favorites and I've been told many times that it's one of the cutest things I own.

Flash forward a year or so and I was pregnant for the second time. My other friend invited me again to a Matilda Jane Trunk show the day after I was going in to have my ultrasound done for baby #2. I told her if it was a girl, I would come. Lucky me, it was! I remember browsing through all the beautiful and unique clothes on the rack excited to be able to buy some but also overwhelmed with where to start so I asked the trunk keeper (the person who does the shows). "What size do you think I should get in this?" I said as I held up the most adorable red peasant top. She replied "what size is your daughter?" I pointed to my stomach and said "she's in here!" We both got a good laugh out of that but I left that trunk show hooked and never looked back. Here is the silly thing... the smallest size they had available was a 12 month! so yes, Maci has yet to wear ANY of her Matilda Jane and it's piling up in my closet. (don't judge me) :)

I like to consider myself a collector. Some people collect dolls, nutcrackers, plates...etc. I collect beautiful unique girl clothes. See when you think of it that way it's not as bad... right? :)

So now that Maci is ALMOST old enough to actually WEAR some of my "collection" I'm hosting my own trunk show in March! Yippie! For those of you that have little girls you MUST come and at least see these beautiful pieces in person. They are completely different IRL (In Real Life- Matilda Jane speak). For real, they are so adorbs!!! For those of you that can't make it but want to check out what they have visit matildajaneclothing.com and view the Good Hart collection. Please keep in mind you can only order through a trunk keeper and sometimes items sell-out immediately. Finally, for those of you that don't live nearby or can't make it but would like to place an order for my show I'm collecting phone/email orders up until the start of my show so feel free to email me with your "wish list" and call with your credit card info and I will ship it to you!

My show is Saturday, March 2nd at 10am. Additional information to follow. The day before that (March 1st) is release #2 so there will be BRAND NEW items being added to the collection!! Whoo hoo! Another Christmas morning for me :)

Here are SOME of the items I have been "hoarding"... I won't show them all as it's a little embarrassing. (Yes those are 12m Royals which I hear are becoming unicorns! more MJ talk)

Thank you Matilda Jane for fueling my fun and love for clothing! Also, shout out to MJC Lookbooks, thank you Bridgette for all that you do. If it wasn't for you I would still be trying to figure this whole crazy world out on my own. I check your "MJ Bible" multiple times a day and was so excited when I finally got accepted as a friend! Thank you to my Trunk Keeper, Jessica, you totally rock and I appreciate the hard work you put into getting us our pretties... especially the holiday items! Finally, thank you to my friend Jen for all that you do as well and for getting me hooked on this adorable company!

Don't even get me started on Platinum...that's a whole different post. ;)

I'm giving away this Platinum Joey Bag at my show. Details to come!

Dear future Margaret,

2013-01-27T21:41:00.002-06:00

I cannot believe how long it's been since I last blogged... oh wait, yes I can! The last 6 months of being a mom to 2 kids has been just what everyone told me it would be... challenging. Day by day I do believe I'm getting better at this though and in another 2-3 years maybe I'll be crazy enough to have another one. That brings me to the blog post that was never completed (probably due to someone crying) but was partially written a few months back when I was about 2 months into this ordeal. I feel that the future Margaret needs to see it so here it is...

Dear Margaret,
DO NOT HAVE ANYMORE KIDS! This is hard. You are exhausted! The baby cries... a lot. Here is your typical night... You come home from work at 5:45pm after picking up the kids from daycare only to pray that the baby will go to sleep so you can make dinner. That prayer is seldom answered so you end up sticking her in her bouncer in the kitchen so she can scream bloody murder while you attempt to throw something together to eat. Wait where is Max in all this? Oh right, he's with the babysitter, a.k.a the television. All at the same time the baby needs to eat, Max needs a new TV show and dinner is ready so you feed the baby while changing the channel and run over to take the whatever out of the oven/off the stove.

Luke comes home from work/hockey practice and grabs dinner while you carry the baby around and put together Max's plate (which typically consists of almost nothing you made for you and Luke so you are making another dinner while juggling the baby). You try to put the baby to sleep in your room so you can sit down to eat. She seems content so you walk out to the dinning room as quiet as possible. You grab a plate and sit down to eat. Luke shouts across the table "MAX! HOW WAS YOUR DAY!" Baby's now crying and your still hungry. Sh*#t! You shush everyone (as usual) and roll your eyes as you go back into the bedroom to quiet the baby. She seems content so you sneak back out to the dinning room to try and eat again. You take a few quick bites only to be interrupted again by a crying baby. You again roll your eyes get up and go into the room to try and quiet her. She finally seems to be content again so you sneak out into the dinning room and find Max has thrown all of his food on the floor/rubbed it through his hair. He's mid toss when you run over and intercept the food while whispering NO!. You softly scold him for throwing his food and ask if he's done. He is so you clean him up and set him free from the table. Wait, where is Luke in all this? Oh right, he's with the babysitter, the television. Luke is done eating so he's laying on the couch watching TV and you attempt to sit down and finally finish your dinner.

Sharing the TV for once :)

Max tells Luke he wants to watch his show and Luke says no he's watching a show so they begin arguing and... the baby starts crying! You roll your eyes, get up from the table SHUSH EVERYONE AGAIN and sneak into the bedroom to quiet the baby. By the time you get back out into the living room, it's trashed, Luke is still laying on the couch and your dinner is cold. You decide to not finish your food but instead get a head start on dishes, making your lunch and packing the diaper bag for the next day. You would think that after not being able to eat your food you would have lost the baby weight like last time but this time it's fighting to stick with you. You still can't fit into any normal clothes and are starting to wonder if you will need to buy a whole new wardrobe.

After the dishes are done you get Max into the tub for a bath and while you are attempting to relax for a few minutes with a magazine you hear the baby begin crying in the bedroom. This time you let her scream like crazy because you can't leave Max in the tub. You look back to your magazine but are brought back to reality again by an entire large cup of water being pored over the side of the tub and onto the bathroom floor, soaking your feet, pants and bath rug in the process. The mix of screaming baby, wet feet and husband laying on the couch sends you over the edge... you take a deep breath. Take away the cup, causing your 2 year old to begin a screaming contest with the baby. You want to join in but you are the adult here... right?!

Max and Luke both finally go to bed but you and the baby are up feeding, changing, burping... 1-2 hours later you finally get her back to sleep and you are out cold. 1 hour later, Max is up crying. Luke doesn't hear a thing so you climb out of bed (very quietly so you don't wake the baby) go check on Max come back to bed and you are off to sleep again. 1-2 hours later you are up again with the baby feeding, changing burping... 1 hour later she's back asleep and so are you. 1-2 hours later Max is up again... do you see a pattern here? You alarm goes off at 6am and you are so delirious you aren't sure where the noise is coming from. You snooze it without realizing... but the noise woke up the baby so you are up.

Thank God for Coffee.
_________________________
To follow-up 4 months later. This has gotten better. Now Luke gives Max his bath while you do the dishes. They still argue over the TV. The baby doesn't cry as much thanks to Dr. Ben at Blue River Chiropractic. You are beginning to fit into your clothes again. Some nights the kids sleep better than others. You still thank God for Coffee every morning :)

Sincerely,
Margaret January 2013

All mommy wants is a Silent Night :)

The Arrival of My Little Drama Queen {Baby Girl}

2012-08-09T13:58:00.000-05:00

Sunday, August 5th at 2:58pm we welcomed our little girl Maci into the world. I thought my water breaking at the hair salon with our son was an interesting birth story... little did I know this girl was about to one up her brother in a big way.

My due date was Friday, August 3rd so by Saturday morning, one day overdue, I was starting to feel anxious for her to get here. That morning I began to have more painful contractions but they weren't very regular so Luke, Max and I went and had lunch and did some shopping. When we got home I needed to rest as the contractions were getting pretty uncomfortable but after laying down and timing them at about 10-12 minutes apart they simply stopped. So much for hoping that she came Saturday. To try and keep things moving I got up and made Max and Luke run some errands with me but even though the contractions were still painful they weren't getting any closer together.

The next morning (Sunday) I awoke feeling pretty discouraged. I was hoping that the day before would actually lead to something but without a contraction in sight we all got ready to head to the park. I wanted to get out of the house and get my mind off of things. While at the park around 10:30am I had to sit down a few times due to considerable pain but wasn't about to start timing anything as I didn't want to get my hopes up. After the park we went over to the grocery store to grab some items for lunch and the contractions were starting to take my breath away. I thought it was wise to begin timing them and realized that they were coming about 4-5 minutes apart. Panic started to set-in as I hurried Luke along and out of the store. On our way home they moved to about 6 minutes apart so I figured all the walking around at the park and grocery store was probably what was making them shorter. I called Luke's mom to come and get Max and once home at about 12:20pm called into the Hospital Triage to see if I should come in.

The Triage nurse talked to me for a bit and after explaining that the contractions were coming about 4-6 minutes apart she advised me to stay at home for a bit longer until they were more like 3-5 minutes apart. She also said that considering I talked to her for a few minutes and didn't need to stop for a contraction that more than likely I was in the beginning stages of labor and should wait it out a bit. I took her advice and tried to eat a small lunch. That's when things started to get even more intense.

I laid down to try and relax and time my contractions and was so discouraged to see that they were moving to about 8 minutes apart, however, they were so intense that I was screaming in pain. After an hour of this I didn't know how I was going to make it any longer so I called my mom crying. She said to call the Triage nurse back and "fib" saying that they were coming 3-5 minutes apart so I could go in. I was in so much pain that I took her advice. At 1:50pm I called the nurse back and she said that I was more than welcome to come in, it didn't mean I was going to be able to stay but they could at least check me out.

Luke and I slowly grabbed our bags and I stumbled down the hall to the car. I could barely make it 4 steps without peeling over in excruciating pain. Once in the car I tried to relax but found myself somewhat blacking out. All I know is I yelled at Luke a few times to quit looking at his phone and DRIVE! The hospital is about 20 minutes from our house and with about 10 minutes to go I started to feel as though I needed to push. Luke kept telling me that I needed to relax so when I told him what I was feeling he replied "um, I don't think you are supposed to do that yet!"

When we arrived at the hospital around 2:15pm I told Luke to park out front and go get me a wheelchair as there was no way I was going to be able to walk. I felt a little foolish about this at first as though I may be overreacting but I seriously could not walk. Once we got to Triage they kindly asked me for my name and unable to speak due to the pain I waived at Luke to fill them in. With that they rushed me into a room where I informed them of my feeling the need to push. The head Triage nurse came in at that point to check me quick before getting my information and realized that I was dilated to 9cm! Well I guess that epidural is out of the question now.

They quickly called a doctor that was there at the hospital with another one of her patients and ordered all hands on deck. They wheeled me into a delivery room not even taking the time to get my name or any other information. Soon the room was filled with people grabbing supplies and rushing around. I didn't even have a chance to realize what was going on. 5 pushes and 10 minutes later there she was! All 8lbs 11oz of her! When they told me what she weighed I was amazed and thought, no wonder that hurt so bad!

Luke started texting everyone of her arrival and I later found out that some of the texts were things like "Margaret's a pro at birthing babies" "birthing babies is easy" "10 minutes and done". To which I could only laugh at because to me, that was NOT easy, but I guess birthing a baby within 45 minutes of arriving at the hospital could make it look easy to others! :)

When my mom later heard the full story of what happened she felt guilty about her previous comment from this post where she assured me that "the baby will not fall out." She almost did in the car!

The happy ending to all of this is our beautiful little girl is super healthy, very happy and as of today a very content and easy baby. I recovered quickly and even went home from the hospital the very next day.

Max is adjusting well to having his little sister around and likes to give her "knucks" before he leaves for daycare in the morning or goes to bed at night. He also says "I heard that!" every time she makes a sound.

Luke says after how quick her birth was that I was made to have kids and we should have a couple more... I think I need a few years to warm up to that idea just yet!

Maci Anne

Max meets Maci. He was a little apprehensive so he clung to me and his monkey.

Kisses for the baby.

The Countdown?

2012-08-01T15:21:00.000-05:00

As I sit here 2 days before my due date I start to wonder, unless you have a scheduled C-section or induction can you really have any form of countdown to when the baby will arrive? For people like me who schedule times to make a daily schedule it's torture wondering when will this all go down? With Max it wasn't this bad as he came a whole week early and in a really unexpected way so I never made it to the "wondering when" phase. With him I was checking out after a pedicure when my water broke and by the next morning I was a mom. I say he came into this world with a bang and he's been an attention seeking crazy little boy ever since! I pray that this little girl is more calm and content and maybe her not wanting to come out is a good sign of that?

Now that I'm so close I'm also starting to get the multiple daily text messages from friends and family asking THE question of the hour "how are your feeling?" It doesn't bother me that they care so much that they are thinking of me multiple times a day, it actually makes me feel very loved. :) The only question I have is how to respond each time? "Good for now but 20 minutes ago I had a strange pain in my lower abdomen" "Freaked out to go through labor again" "Having a contraction but not sure if it's really doing anything" "Tired" "Hungry" "Sick to my stomach" ... you get the point. I find myself simply saying "No news to share" because let's be honest, they don't want to know how I'm feeling they simply want to know "are you on your way to the hospital yet or what?!

So for now I'm on God's schedule and have switched from praying for the baby to come NOW to praying for patience as I know that He has an exact time and way that this little one is going to come into our lives and trusting in that is what's getting me through these next few days of the waiting game.

As I write this I've been experiencing some contractions but again am not sure if they really mean anything. Considering my water breaking last time was the sign to go in I'm not sure I will know when to head to the hospital this time if my water doesn't break. This has been an actual concern of mine but my mom reassures me not to worry, "the baby will not just fall out!" This small statement has kept me from worrying about keeping track of these silly contractions until they actually start to hurt a lot. Hopefully she's right :)

Wish me luck!

Photo taken by my amazingly talented friend Laura with Laurels and Stars Photography

Max's first skate

2012-06-26T16:58:00.000-05:00

Luke took Max out skating for the first time last week. He was a little wobbly at first and had difficulty keeping upright on his skates. After doing the splits a few times and falling on his butt he began to get the hang of it a little better. Once he had his hockey stick in his hand and a puck to shoot he was able to focus on that and the skating was much more natural... if you could even call it skating. It was more like walking on the ice but it's a start!

After being out on the ice for awhile it was time for the high school team to practice so the "boni" as Max calls it came out to refresh the ice. Max just loves the "boni" and it was hard to make him get off the ice. We stayed for a little bit to watch the high school kids skate and he was in heaven. He pounded on the glass shouting "Hockey! Skate! Stick! Daddy! Puck! Fast! Whoa!" every hockey related word he knows over and over again. I think Luke was pretty happy at his reaction to his first time out on the ice.

Getting his skates on in the locker room.

"Skates!" he says

Walking out to the ice

First fall. "cold daddy" he said as he touched the ice

"help!" he's saying as he tries to get back up.

Shooting

Another fall

{Craft Project} Headbands

2012-05-18T08:30:00.001-05:00

If you read this post you know that my crafting has gone into overdrive since finding out I was having a girl. First I made these and next it was onto hair pretties! From what my mom says I was born with little to no hair and it stayed that way for a few years. That and it was white blonde so what hair I did have didn't show. My mom called me "Baby Gandhi" and has since found pleasure in telling friends, boyfriends and acquaintances this little nick name. Her constant reminder of my baldness as a baby used to irritate me but now I realize a lot of baby girls are as you would say "hair challenged."

With this in mind I came up with my second baby girl craft project... headbands!!! What better way to keep her from getting called a boy while her hair grows in than cute little hair pretties... or head pretties I guess you could say as the hair may not be there right away :)

For a few weeks I scoured my favorite website (other than Pinterest) ETSY and collected lots of different materials to make my headbands. Here are two shops I purchased from Fleuriste Craft Supply and Pretty Things Supplies. Both were great to work with! I had a tough time deciding what all I wanted to get and in what colors so I bought a few different things to start and will be back to buy more. I also love wearing headbands and so figured that while I was ordering some for the baby I would order some adult size to make some for me!

The creating day came and my sister-in-law, Alicia, had planned to join me. I found out before we started that Alicia was a little nervous to come over as she's not much of a crafter. However, after she made her first one she realized how easy and fun it actually was! This was my idea of a perfect Saturday morning crafting with a friend. If anyone wants to join me next Saturday let me know. You get to take home what you make :)

Alicia ended up taking home 2 headbands for herself, I made one for myself and baby girl has 4... so far. Even our little model enjoyed the day (see below).

Here are some pictures from the day:

Some of the finished products. Three for baby girl and the one on the left for me.

Alicia made this one for the baby, I love the soft colors with the punch of navy.

Supply table!

Our model showing off my creation.

The "mom really?" look

Ok, enough, get this off me I'm trying to slide here! PS. Isn't that the cutest goalie T-Shirt? Thanks to my aunt Joanie and cousin Betsy for that one :)

There is a new cleaning lady in town {Bi-Weekly Cleaning Checklist}

2012-05-16T08:30:00.002-05:00

In an effort to keep up with my money saving tactics I have reluctantly let go of my cleaning service and turned to myself to complete these daily tasks. If you've read this post you know that I originally hired someone else to clean my two bedroom apartment 6 months after having my first child. At that time I was simply trying to keep up with working full-time and being a full-time mom and my husband was still figuring out how to care for anyone else but himself. Things have since changed a little and I am receiving more support around the house and so thought I might as well save the couple hundred dollars I spent a month and do the work myself. Only problem is, I have somewhat forgot how to clean...

Growing up I was always cleaning. Not for enjoyment but for MONEY! This was my first paying job. I can't recall exactly when I began cleaning my parents house but I know it was probably around middle school age if not earlier. I always had a goal in mind as to what I was going to save up for and so doing odd jobs was the only way to make that cash. {This is a total side story but when I was a lot younger I wanted to buy a horse so I went around the neighborhood asking anyone that would let me to pull the weeds out of their garden for a price. Obviously this was a few dollars here and there but I was determined to save up for that horse! Needless to say, after a summer of pulling weeds I ended up going out and spending my money on something smaller and more immediate but I think it taught me a good lesson on working}

Flash forward a few years and I still had my eyes set on having the money to buy things when I wanted them and not having to wait until my birthday or Christmas. This is where cleaning my parents house and others comes into play. Every time I needed some extra cash my mom would put together a list of individual cleaning duties and then would price each one out as to how much she would pay me to do them. I would then spend the day crossing off the ones that #1 were the easiest and #2 paid the most. This then turned into a weekly job for me. My mom would put together each weeks duties and I would cross them off as I went. (Fellow mom's, keep this in mind for your kids). My mom must have talked me up at work as one summer I even scored a weekly cleaning job for one of her coworkers! Again, she would leave me a list on the kitchen table of what all she wanted completed that day. I would spend 4 hours each week completing the list and checking them off.

You would think after all of these years of practice that I would be pretty talented at cleaning. Well, I'm sorry to say I'm not. I'm one of those people that enjoy having a clean home, it makes things feel more peaceful, however, I also can live with a small amount of clutter and dirt. This is where the problem lies. I'm ok with leaving the dishes dirty in the sink overnight if it means that I can spend more time with my son. I don't make the bed every morning because I find it pointless and annoying. I do make the bed at night though because I can't stand to sleep in a messy bed. (backwards I know) When I made the decision to take over the cleaning I said to my husband, Luke, "I'm not even sure where to start when it comes to cleaning this place, and I'm not very good a cleaning." He agreed that I wasn't very good at cleaning, which made me upset a little but I asked for it I guess.

It's been a few months of Margaret the cleaning lady and I still can't seem to figure out what to do next. I'm good at dishes, laundry and picking up because those are things that you can see need to be done and I do them as needed but when it comes to scrubbing showers, mopping floors and dusting I feel like I need a better system in place. Sometimes I stand in the middle of my apartment thinking... "I know I should be cleaning something but I'm not really sure where to start???" Then I give up and drop the cleaning idea all together.

This is where my newest organizational tool comes in. The cleaning checklist! I'm really good at making lists and when I can visualize what needs to be done I don't waist time standing around trying to figure out what to do next. My only problem with this is again, with my lack of cleaning knowledge, I didn't know what all to have on my list. In comes Martha Stewart. A little googling and up pops a weekly cleaning checklist provided by Martha to helps out others who may need to be told to do such things like... wipe mirrors, flush the kitchen drain with boiling water and vacuum vents. Considering my 2 bedroom apartment doesn't feature a Home Office, Library or Stairway I will be modifying this list to better fit my needs. Also to better work with my schedule I'm going to break it up into daily tasks that I can fit into a 10-20 minute time period. That way, after work I can spend 10-20 minutes cleaning SOMETHING and at the end of the week feel as though I accomplished a lot more!

Below is my first attempt at a bi-weekly cleaning schedule. This may need to be modified as I go along but will work as a start. Now every 2 weeks I will know that everything will get cleaned at least once... just like it did when my cleaning service did it... :(

{Craft Project} Crocheted Crocodile Stitch Baby Booties

2012-05-14T08:22:00.000-05:00

When I found out I was having a baby girl my crafting mind went a little out of control. Literally the day I found out my head was swimming with ideas of what I could knit, crochet, sew, paint and create for this little unborn peanut. Pinterest found my first answer. These! I really really wanted to make them, however, I'm a beginner crocheter. I taught myself about 2 years ago by using the Crocheting for Dummies book. I had really only made a few scarves and some hats that didn't turn out that great so when I saw the complexity of these I figured there was no way my crafting patience would hold up to this pattern.

My first crochet project was a baby hat for Max before he was born. It turned out to be the hat/hats from The Three Bears story. Let's just say I hate checking my gauge and measuring/counting stitches which is why I prefer to make scarves as they are straight rows. I was so happy to finish my first little baby hat for the little one in my tummy. Upon completion I held it up to show Luke my finished product and he looked at it and said "that's never going to fit a baby that thing could only fit a doll!" In closer examination I guess he was right. It was a little small. So try again I did. This time I upped my hook in hopes to produce the perfect little newborn hat. Again, once completed I held it up for Luke and again he gave me an amused look and said "that hat could fit me!" He was right again. I popped it on my head and realized that it was a pretty good fit. I did finally end up making the third "just right" hat but it still wasn't my best work.

This time I made sure to check my gauge as I didn't want to spend all this time trying to figure out a pattern and end up with booties that either would fit a Barbie or that she would have to wait until she's 10 to wear! In the end I was pretty proud of myself for figuring this one out! The first booty took literally all day on a Sunday for me to make. Once finished I thought to myself, "Seriously, I have to do this again?" I didn't want baby girl to only have one booty but it took me so long to make the first one and get it right that I took a week off before working on the second one. The second booty was MUCH easier than the first which tells me that I should make some more and give them out as gifts! Then once the buttons were put on I loved them even more. The original photos of these from the pattern on Etsy shows them in the neatest rainbow yarn but I couldn't find exactly that at the store so I opted for something more girly that would match some of her cute outfits I have collected. I think I'm going to make another pair and try to find the rainbow yarn because the crocodile scales look so much better with the yarn color variance.

Here is my finished product!

Mother's Day #2

2012-05-13T16:05:00.000-05:00

Today was my second Mother's Day and so far the best! Last year I have to admit that I felt a little disappointed in Mother's Day. I didn't get to sleep in, no one made me breakfast in bed and I didn't even receive one card. Instead, my husband informed me that he would have bought me a card but the Hallmark he drove by was closed... but "it's the thought that counts, right?" To this I said "NO IT'S NOT THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS! That's only applicable if you actually GET something and the person doesn't like it. It does not mean you can go around telling people that you thought about doing something nice for them but didn't!" This argument still comes up as he has done the same thing since. After this year I think he's learning. :)

Flash forward to this year's Mother's Day. Max slept in until 8:00am! Thank you buddy :) Luke booked a Mother's Day brunch for just our family at the Country Club and we also got a chance to spend some time with Luke's Grandparents, Mom, Brother and Uncle's at his Grandparents house. Now as I write this Luke is still there and Max is taking a much needed nap leaving me some wonderful and always needed alone time! I'm not sure this day could get any better :)

One thing I loved was as we went out and about today everyone was wishing me a Happy Mother's Day. It made me feel like I am a part of a secret club or something. The first time it happened Luke actually responded with a "thanks" and then realized it obviously wasn't directed towards him so he then replied "uh, I mean, never mind why would I be saying thanks." I guess we both just aren't used to this whole parenting thing yet.

As always, thank you to MY wonderful mother for always being there for me and for showing me what a loving and attentive mother should be. I hope I can be the same for my kids whom I am so very blessed to have.

Max's Brunch... French Toast, Pineapple and Strawberries. Yum!

Caught with a mouth full.

Taking the cart for a spin.

Mine!

2012-05-05T14:40:00.000-05:00

Max is going through the stage of not sharing. He currently thinks that EVERYTHING is his! Even when it's not his he reaches for it and says "MINE!"

Clearly this has escalated to a whole new level as the other night Luke and I were awoken by Max shouting from his crib "Mine, Mine!!!" Groggy Luke turned to me and said "Is that Max yelling? what is he saying?" I being half asleep myself reply "Yes, I think he's saying, Mine." Where as Luke replies "Why would he be yelling that in the middle of the night?" My only conclusion was he was either having a nightmare about someone stealing his blankie or something had fallen out of his crib and he was yelling for someone to come and give it back to him. Either way, he stopped but the next morning he was very clingy when it came to his blankies. He actually carried two around all morning, I'm thinking to make sure that no one tried to take them away from him.

I think we may have an issue come August when the new baby comes and wants to sit in "his" bouncer and later play with "his" toys. At least she will have her own blankies.

He is also cuddling with my left over protein shake as he though THAT was his too.

Double blankies on their way to day care.

Date Night

2012-04-28T10:04:00.000-05:00

Once you have kids things change. I realized this again after spending a wonderful dinner with my husband a week ago. Before kids, going out to dinner was just something we did on a regular basis. Now with a little one at home it becomes an special event! One that gets written on the calendar and circled with a heart (ok so maybe there wasn't a heart around it but it was put on the calendar!)

As we sat in our cozy two person booth at the Melting Pot (which I had a coupon for because if you read this post you would know that dropping $100+ on one dinner isn't part of my new plan) I looked at my husband and started to think about the 8 1/2 years we have spent together and how our 4 year wedding anniversary is just two months away. WOW! 8 1/2 years, that's the life of a 4th grader!

Mmmm Fondue

What a journey it has been. When "they" say you never know where life will take you "they" aren't kidding. When I first met Luke we were both heading into our senior year of college. I had dreams of going to Graduate School (Now I realize that was probably only due to the fact that I was majoring in Communication and what in the world do you do with that degree!) and Luke was heading into his final hockey season of his college career with a team ranked #1 in the country. If someone would have told us that in 9 years we would be married, living in Wisconsin and have a two year old and a new born I'm not sure I would have believed them (mostly due to the "living in Wisconsin" part!)

Our dinner that night was delicious and we had the fondue routine down considering we like to unofficially consider the Melting Pot one of "our" restaurants as whenever I would go visit Luke in a new city that he was playing in we would always look for a Melting Pot to go to for our special date night out. The only disappointing part for me was the fact that I couldn't enjoy one of their yummy cocktails and instead had to settle for a non-alcoholic raspberry lemonade thingy. It was good but Luke's wine looked WAY superior!

My drink

The best part of the night was the uninterrupted conversations that we were able to have. No kid screaming or poking at us, no TV or other people rerouting the conversation. Just the two of us, like it was in the beginning (plus Luke's phone, I think he suffers from being under stimulated. hehe He's one to have the TV on all day and night just for the background noise)

Luke texting/googling/emailing.

My goal is to do this at least once a month. For some that may sound easy but when you both work full time, have to find a babysitter in order to leave the house and have other commitments throughout the week you forget to plan for just the two of you. I know it's important and I can see why. I'm thinking next month maybe we should do something other than just dinner. Any suggestions?

I would like to thank my mother-in-law and her husband for watching Max while we were out. It sounds like he only cried for 5 minutes when we left which is pretty good these days considering he's been an overly clingy Mommy's boy the past few months.

{Pregnancy Workout} Hello old friends, I've missed you

2012-04-16T08:00:00.001-05:00

It's day 2 of getting back into the gym and I feel better today than I even did yesterday! Probably because today I got to spend time with my favorite friends again... weights! I'm not much of a cardio fan I have to be honest. I know it has it's place so I do it but only because I have to. Don't expect me to go any longer than 20 minutes though. So let's focus on what I do like... lifting!!!

Typically when I workout I like to put together a plan first as to what muscle groups I'm going to hit and exactly which moves I will use to achieve my goal. I'm such a geek as I usually write down my workout on a small slip of paper and stick it in the pocket of my sweatshirt so I don't forget. When you have limited time to workout you don't want to waste it standing around trying to think of what you should do next. I also like to focus on my upper body one day and lower the next, however, for today I wanted to do a full body workout. Since I've been finding it difficult to fit in my workouts I didn't want to leave half of my body out with the possibility of not getting to it later.

For those of you that are unaware I am currently 6 months pregnant so that adds another element to work around. Here is where my caution statement comes in... please consult your doctor before embarking on a new workout routine, especially when you are pregnant. That being said, a lot of women are afraid to do anything more than a light stroll or easy yoga when pregnant because they think it's too much. I've been told that you can continue your current workout routine once pregnant as long as you listen to your body, drink TONS of water and steer clear of a few things such as; after 12 weeks don't lie flat on your back and it's advised not to do any strenuous twisting movements with your abdomen. Other than that, go for it!

Here is my workout from this morning: 2 sets of 15 reps each, resting only in between sets not individual moves (therefore, do 15 reps each of #1-#1 0, rest, rehydrate and then repeat)

1. Bicep Curls with free weights

2. Rows with free weights (one arm at a time)

3. Tricep Kickbacks with free weights (one arm at a time)

4. Cable Chest Press

5. Lateral raises

6. Shoulder Press

7. Sqauts using the ball against the wall for back support

8. Plie squats again using the ball against the wall

9. Donkey kicks on the mat

10. Calf raises

This workout goes really quick and you will work up a sweat because there is no resting in between moves just at the end of the set. I like to super set my moves like this so I can squeeze in a lot in a short amount of time. This workout is great for pregnancy because there is no lying on your back and the ball works great as a support and added balance for your squats. At the end of my workout I like to do a full stretch. Another word of caution here for pregnant women, your ligaments and joints loosen when pregnant so be careful and don't overextend yourself when stretching.

As far as the weight you choose to lift I typically would recommend choosing something where the last two reps you can barely squeeze out, however, when pregnant I like to tone it down a little so I pick something that I can finish 15 with but probably couldn't do another 2-3 after that. If you can't make it through 10 reps at the weight you chose then drop it and pick-up a lighter one to finish out the 15. On the other hand, if by the end of 15 you feel you could do another 15 you need to bump your weights up a couple lbs.

Now for those of you wondering what in the world a Tricep Kickback is I would highly recommend reading a copy of Oxygen Magazine. This is my workout bible! :) It isn't a sissy women's fitness magazine but also isn't only for body builders so it's great for anyone that's interested in health and fitness.

As far as equipment goes I'm very lucky to have a full gym in my apartment complex. If you do not have access to a gym then this workout may not be right for you. Check out Oxygen as they typically have routines you can do at home with just one set of weights or bands.

These are the lighter free weights we have in our gym. They go from 3lbs up to 15lbs.

These are the heavier weights... I'll save these for after the baby comes.

This is the cable machine that I use for my "Cable Chest Press" you can see the handles are set-up currently for that.

This bench is perfect to use as support for your Rows and Tricep Kickbacks.

Ball used for squat support. This goes up against the wall and then you lean on it with your lower back.

The "other" room I frequent less. :)

For those of you in the area I'm always open to have you over for a little training session as I love to workout with a partner! Just be ready to go by 5:30am as that's when I like to hit the gym ;)

Crockpot Fail

2012-04-13T08:30:00.001-05:00

The other day I was super excited to try out one of my Pinterest creations. A crock pot freezer meal! How awesome does that sound. A few weeks ago I put together my sauce and divided it out into 2 separate freezer bags then added pork chops to each bag. Wrote the date, what it was and the cooking instructions right on the bag and popped it into the freezer. So Easy!

Then the night before my dinner I stuck it in the fridge to defrost and that morning thew it into the crock pot. I was a little hesitant as I typically like to put my crock pot together over my lunch break to make sure I don't cook it too long as most recipes call for Low 6-8 hours and I typically am gone for 9+ every day. This day though I already had lunch plans so that morning in went the pork chops.

All day I dreamt about the tasty sauce on top of some rice and couldn't wait to have a home cooked meal waiting for me with little to no effort at all. Then I received the phone call from my husband. It was 10 minutes before the end of my day and he phoned to tell me that I may need to think of an alternative to dinner unless dinner was supposed to be hockey pucks with brown sludge!

Whoops! I guess the 8 hours was just a little too long. Instead I treated my family to burritos at a local Mexican restaurant and called it a night. I thought the crock pot was supposed to be fool proof... could have fooled me!

Margaret and Max's Easter Adventure

2012-04-11T21:32:00.001-05:00

Last weekend for Easter Max and I drove 4 hours to visit my family in Minnesota. I was extremely nervous about driving all that way by myself with him as he's typically not the easiest in the car but the thought of staying here with Luke gone at hockey and my family in Minnesota forced me to go for it!

For weeks after I made the decision to go I prayed, planned and prayed some more :) In the end my prayers were answered! and due to my obsessive planning all went well... except for a few minor hiccups.

My plan was to leave soon after Max woke up in the morning as he doesn't nap well in the car so I didn't want to risk him being over tired once we got moving. The morning of our departure Max woke up an hour and 15 minutes earlier than normal and would not go back to sleep! Ugh! I started to wonder if this was a sign of what was to come and second thoughts filled my head. I pushed through my doubts and we were on the road almost right on time. Max's early rising turned out to be a blessing in disguise as no further than 30 minutes into the drive...

After an hour nap and some snacks things were still pleasant in the car. My parents had offered to meet me at the half way mark so that my mom could jump in my backseat to entertain Max. This ended up working out perfectly as 5 minutes prior to our connection items began to be thrown and a melt down was imminent... In comes "GaGa" and all is well in the world again! Max and "GaGa" had a great time playing and singing along to his Kindermusic CD the rest of the way there and I breathed a small sigh of relief. The first leg of the trip was a success!

In comes the first miss hap of the weekend. That afternoon my brother and his fiancee were loading up a moving truck as they were spending the weekend moving into their new home. My dad was off assisting them and so left myself, my mom and Max to entertain ourselves. What better place to do this than the park near my brother's new home. Max had a blast and the park was great! It wasn't until he started limping a little that I began to become concerned. Then after a few more steps he started to crumble to the ground and physically could not walk any longer. He didn't cry at all so I wasn't sure what the problem was but I knew that park time was now over. We spent the evening carrying him around and trying to decide if we should take him in to see the doctor but in the end there was no swelling and he wasn't crying so we decided to see how things were in the morning. True to his tough little boy form, he was perfectly fine the next day. Must have simply twisted an ankle. Of course he didn't want to sleep in his pack n' play that night and being that I wanted to be able to monitor him I allowed him to sleep in my bed. Ok, the real reason was I'm a sucker for his sad face, however, we both slept great!

Max sleeping in the King Size bed next to the pillow barrier I set up!

The next day we headed off to the Mall of America with my cousin Katy. Max was mesmerized by all the people and once he saw the Nickelodeon Universe it was all over! He couldn't keep his eyes off of all the rides and action going on. Every time he would hear a kid scream he would say "yeah!" and point. I promised him that next time we come to visit his dad would take him on a little kid ride... I don't do rides.

In comes problem #2. That night after playing all day at the mall and at my brother's new home Max was a little over tired. It was more challenging to get him to sleep but he finally passed out again. Only difference was this time at Midnight he woke up and started to have a full blown temper tantrum for at least 10-15 minutes (it felt like an hour!). He didn't want his blankie, passie, sippy cup... NOTHING! He simply screamed and covered his face with his hands. My parents room was directly next door and my mom said she heard me threaten to move him to his pack n' play if he didn't quit. Of course I never followed through with that. In the end I'm not sure what got him to lay back down and go to sleep. An hour later he tried to pull that crap again and I simply faked that I was sleeping and he calmed himself down and went right back to bed. :)

The next day we joined my brother and his fiancee at their church for an AMAZING Easter service. Max played in the childcare... (until other parents started to pick-up their kids and then he cried until his face was dripping with tears and snot.) I loved the contemporary music they sang and I knew every song! I was so thankful for all of my prayers being answered so far regarding the weekend and also thankful for the ability to spend it with my family.

Max helping my dad load up the cars on Sunday morning.

All ready for church

The drive home ended up being ok as my parents drove with me to the half way point. I was nervous to leave them as Max had already taken a nap during the first leg of the trip. Again my prayers were answered. First he played with his new favorite toy (below) then he fell asleep again! SCORE! He woke up an hour before we got home but a few snacks (sugar cookies and Pringles- I would have shoved anything his way to keep him happy... don't judge!) and some traffic to watch he was a very content little boy until we got home.

Between the new VTech Learning Turtle electronic toy and this new toy he loved this one the most... go figures!

Did someone say SALE?! My road to frugality.

2012-04-03T08:00:00.001-05:00

I have NEVER been a money conscience person. I even joke about not EVER looking at prices (sorry for making some people cringe). When asked how that could possibly be I simply reply, "Well I only shop at stores where I know I can afford what they have to sell." Leaving out the part about being able to afford maybe 1-2 items that they sell, not 10!

I'm not exactly sure where this lack of money sense stems from but sometimes I think back to the days of junior high... it's the night before a band concert (don't judge) and my mom and I are in search of the perfect white top and black skirt for me to wear. I always being self conscious, and never wanting to stand out, run around to every store looking for the perfect outfit that will blend in with everyone else. Of course, this is nowhere to be found. As the night ends we settle on "the best we could find" and the next night I can barely focus on anything other than the horrible outfit I have on. This traumatizing moment has led me to the motto of "If you like it buy it as some day you may need it!"... and that motto has led me to credit card debt. Not the best motto I guess. :)

Recently after finding out I was pregnant with child #2 I realized I had to get my finances under control. I started this journey with a New Years Resolution "Get Finances Under Control." There, I was set... not so much. I had a lot to learn. Over the past few months I have read books (thanks to my friend Shannon who is very wise with her money!) and have researched couponing (along with my new frugal partner in crime, my sister-in-law) and have even resorted to shopping at garage sales!

Here are some things I have learned over the past few months...

Grocery Shopping
1. Check your grocery store's weekly ad for discounts and make your meal plan around those discounts. I had the most fun I've ever had at the grocery store when I went for the first time and actually LOOKED AT THE PRICES! Who knew a bag of chips cost $4.00+! I try not to buy them now unless they are on sale.
2. Buy store brand for items that you can't tell the difference. My husband Luke had a really hard time with this one. When I started telling him about my new found grocery shopping attack plan his sarcastic comment was "Next thing I know we will be eating store brand ice cream!" After this I have made sure to only buy store brand items that I will be using in a recipe so he can't see the box and therefore won't know the difference ;) don't tell him that. Things like tomato sauce, canned vegetables or butter are good ones.
3. Cut coupons and organize them in something that you can take with you to the store. Plan ahead and incorporate them into your meals when you can but also have them on hand in case you see something that you missed putting on your list and that way you have your coupon with you. Make sure when using coupons that you only buy things you are going to actually use AND don't just buy that brand because you have a coupon. Sometimes the store brand or another name brand is cheaper even with the coupon. Buy that brand instead and skip the coupon. I like to only use a coupon when the item is already on sale so then I feel like it's a double bonus! Some stores like my local grocery store offer double coupon days... I now shop on those days in case I have a coupon to use. My store doubles the first 5 coupons up to $1.00 each so that's an additional $5.00 in savings just for shopping on that day. Ok, so some of you are probably thinking... who cares about $5.00. Well, it all adds up is what I have to say.

This is my coupon organizer. It fits in my purse so I can whip it out when needed. I organized mine according to how my local grocery store is organized.

Baby Items
Getting ready for baby #2 is easier than the first as most of the big things I already own, however, I'm now having a girl and my first one is a boy so clothing is something I will need to purchase. I know from dressing my little guy that not only do they go through an entire wardrobe every 3 months but they still need multiples of everything as outfit changes happen frequently. I know I've spent hundreds of dollars every time my son grew out of his clothes. This time I'm preparing ahead of time and doing it smarter. I have to say that shopping for girls clothes is much easier than boys... and WAY more fun! :) I have been to a few garage sales already and a local consignment sale called Just Between Friends. If you have one of these sales near you I would highly recommend going. I picked up 68 items for my baby girl all for a little over $100.00! Some of them look hardly worn too. They give you these huge IKEA shopping bags to put your clothes in while browsing and at one point I had to start kicking my bag along on the floor because it got too heavy to carry! There is another one of these sales coming up in May and I have already made an assessment of what all I already have so that I can make sure to buy only what sizes I still need. (disclaimer, this sale is better for girl stuff. I have tried to find boy clothes and typically the selection is limited. They do have other baby items though so don't be discouraged if you have a boy)

Here is some of my loot from the JBF Sale and garage sales! Nothing here is brand new.

Shorts, skirts and pants are in the drawer, along with a few onesies that I didn't have enough hangers for!

Websites
Groupon and Living Social can help you to still have fun and enjoy restaurants and services you like at a discounted price. Most of the time I'm not interested in their offer of the day but when I find one I like it's super exciting! For example, I just purchased a pedicure and manicure for only $25.00! Now typically I would do my own to save money but with my growing belly getting in the way of touching my toes a monthly summer pedicure is a must. I typically pay $50.00 for just my pedicure so to get both services for $25.00 is awesome! Again, make sure to only buy deals that you a.) will actually use and b.) would have bought anyways. Otherwise your just spending more money because it's on sale.

Stock Up/ Buying On Sale
Walk into my laundry room/storage area (in a small apartment you have mix use rooms, for example I store my dutch oven, bread maker and food processor in the closet of my guest bathroom) and you may find a mass of kleenex, toilet paper, paper towels, etc. This is because I have changed my ways from buying something when I need it to buying it only when it's on sale. This way I am guaranteed to get the best price. For these household items that I use all the time I browse the local Target, Walmart and grocery store ads to see who is offering the best deal and then purchase what they have. I have also been keeping track of what I've been paying for these so to make sure that I only buy when it's the best discount available. Sometimes I walk away with 12+ rolls of paper towel, 24+ rolls of toilet paper... and it starts to add up at the check-out. I then remind myself that I'm set for the next few months so to spend a little more now will be better in the future.

Mountain Dew anyone? Obviously it was on sale for 4 12 packs for $

Eating Out vs. Eating In
Most people know that cooking your meals at home saves you money. This is one I already knew! :) The one thing I wasn't so good at was saving left overs and so in return wasted a lot of food. In an essence this is a planning problem. I make dinner every night except Fridays (that's Luke's night, which typically means ordering a pizza). Luke doesn't eat left overs so I make an entirely new meal every single night. Sometimes these recipes would feed an entire family of 4 and instead of thinking ahead I would simply throw the remainder in the garbage (another cringe moment, I know). Now, when planning my weekly menu I PLAN for left overs! I love left overs and since I eat lunch at work every day I now either save it in the fridge to eat within a few days or if there are tons of left overs I package them up in individual serving sizes, mark the date and what it is on the container and throw it in the freezer. Not only does this save me money by not wasting but then I don't have to run out and buy a $7.00+ lunch every day!

The Library
I love reading and books in general and always just purchased my books from a store but then my friend reminded me of the library! I don't think I've had a library card since middle school so I felt like a complete novice when I went in to get one. Now when one of my book holds comes in I get super excited! Not only do I get to read this amazing book but it's free! Plus, I never let myself read because I feel as though I should be doing something else but if I can only keep the book for 14 days I am more apt to allow myself to read so that I can finish the book!

Here is my current library read, thanks to my friend Lindsay for recommending.

I hope by candidly sharing some of my new found enlightenments that you may be inspired to go out a save a dollar. I'm still learning so any ideas that you have for me send them my way!

**Side note. The morning after writing this post I attended a Matilda Jane trunk show at a friends house and relapsed. A few cute dresses and pants for baby girl later and I'm forced to admit that my frugality is obviously a work in progress!**

Casserole Exchange

2012-04-02T08:00:00.002-05:00

My sister-in-law came up with a great idea to have a casserole exchange between her, myself and my mother-in-law. On Friday at work we all came to the table (well actually the car as we were driving to lunch) with a few recipes each to vote on. My mother-in-law had two recipes that included sauerkraut (I voted those out immediately!) so for her we settled on Taco Pie. My sister-in-law really wanted to make Barbecue Chicken Mac N' Cheese but my mother-in-law told her she had to offer up more than just one recipe so she listed off a few others and in the end we all settled on... Barbecue Chicken Mac N' Cheese (sounds delicious doesn't it!) I had originally wanted to make Chicken Pot Pie but just in case printed off a few last minute recipes from Pinterest... my new favorite thing! In the end they voted on Cheesy Chicken Lasagna. Found originally on Pinterest. I have made it before and really liked it and so felt confident making it for others.

Now that the dishes were chosen we had to decide how much we were going to make. My sister-in-law and myself wanted to use disposable pans so as not to worry about getting them back later. We settled on using the 9x11disposable pans. We would each make 1 per person so 3 total in order to keep one for ourselves. The exchange was set for Monday at work giving us the weekend to purchase groceries and make our meals.

I made my Cheesy Chicken Lasagna Sunday afternoon while Max was napping. Then I wrapped them up, wrote what they are, the cooking temp and time and when they were made. I believe my mother-in-law was going to eat all of hers the week of the exchange but since Luke is out of town and it's only me and Max at home I knew I was going to have to freeze some for later when he's around.

This was great because I only had to make 1 recipe but will end up with 3 different meals! Tonight I'm going to have my mother-in-laws Taco Pie. I'm thinking this will be good to do again before baby #2 comes. If anyone else is interested in an exchange let me know... I'm in!

Max's New Tricks

2011-10-22T21:34:00.000-05:00

Luke and I discussed today about how Max is way cooler than a dog because you can only teach a dog a few tricks whereas Max learns something new every day! (Yes, we truly have these very intellectual conversations.) It's so exciting to watch him learn. For example some of his newest words are:

1. "Uh Oh" (This one is said when things fall to the floor, when he falls down, when mom falls down, when he can't find his pacifier, when mom can't find his pacifier... it's pretty much all day long)
2. " Nooooooooooo" (He says it elongated I think because I'm typically yelling it while running in his direction to try and stop him from things like putting his finger in the outlet we haven't baby proofed yet. The funny thing is that he sticks his tongue out when saying the "n" so Luke kept asking why Max was saying "mo?")
3. "Hello" (This is his newest word that he now says while putting the TV remote, calculator or cell phone up to his ear. It's almost creepy the way the tone of his voice changes when he says it. It sounds a little like "ellow" I'm thinking he's been hanging out with a British women lately)
4. "Oh Sh**t" (Yes I heard him mumble this one a few times lately and thought to my self "OH SH**T!" I'm blaming this one on his dad. The good thing is Max says it pretty quiet because I don't think he's really confident with this one yet so I'm hoping that without reinforcement he will forget he ever heard it!)

So being that Max is now 14 months you would think the next new trick I'm going to tell you about is him walking... sadly no. He can cruise around anywhere while holding onto things but has yet to venture out on his own. He's so close though so maybe soon we will have a video out of that one.

No, the next new trick is one that him and his father showed me today while out shopping. It's the first of the "Oh man look what my husband taught my son" tricks. Soon he will be peeing on cars and spitting out windows! This one isn't that bad, it's actually pretty cute. It's hard to explain in writing exactly what they do so at the risk of being non-politically correct, Luke pretty much taught Max how to do the "Indian." You know where you take the palm of your hand and put it over your mouth repeatedly while saying "o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o". That's the only thing I could think of to describe it! Max loves it and thinks it's really cool. He's not really great at the hand coordination though and sometimes ends up saying "oooooo" while banging himself in the eye.

Lastly I had to share that, according to my husband, Max had his first "make out session" at day care on Friday. You can imagine the imagery that this statement put into my head so of course I asked him to clarify. Beaming (as most dads would) he said that when he went to pick-up Max the little girl who is almost two ran over to say good bye and gave him a huge smooch "RIGHT ON THE LIPS". My reaction was "Oh, that's all"? Knowing that French people kiss on the lips all the time I did not consider this a so called "make out session." However, Luke was so proud that Max was such a stud at day care that I let him gloat a little about it.

Total Stud! Notice how he styled his own hair using a new product I like to call "Spaghetti Sauce"

A Special Request

2011-10-16T14:54:00.000-05:00

So this weekend I was asked by Max's daycare lady's son, Leif, (did you catch that?) if I could write a blog post about his girlfriend to surprise her as he said she reads my blog. I of course obliged because I'm nice like that :) and I like people that read my blog. hehe :) When I got back into my car after accepting this request I thought to myself... hmmm what can I write about Chelsea?

Should I write about the fact that she was the only babysitter that I liked/trusted to watch Max and now that she's off to college trying to pursue the rest of her life I'm stuck watching DVDs on my couch instead of going to movies in the theater? This is serious as I have a bad case of narcolepsy when it comes to watching movies in my living room. I purposely leave every single light on, sit up straight and sometimes drink caffeine just so I can sit through an entire movie. It's horrible. Due to this habit of falling asleep Luke has banned me from selecting movies as he hates it when it's my turn and I pick out a chick flick only to fall asleep halfway through leaving him to finish watching "my dread full movie" by himself. Why doesn't he just turn it off you may ask... he can't. Much like my falling asleep he has a problem with finishing movies. It could be the dumbest movie out there and he WILL NOT turn it off.

On the other hand, I could write about the fact that Chelsea and Leif blow-up each others facebook walls with "I love you" "I love you more" I love you too" I miss you" Can't wait to see you this weekend" "loved seeing you this weekend"... etc all day long. She went off to college 2.5 hours away and now the rest of us have to suffer. I'm totally/ somewhat kidding :) I understand what it's like to be separated from your sig other (I think that's what cool people are calling it these days) but at least keep it to texting or skype or something. :)

So in the end I decided the best thing to write about Chelsea is the fact that she's a super sweetheart and Max loves hanging out with her and Leif so I guess I'll keep them around a little longer.

P.S. Chelsea, if you ever come back to Madison for the weekend and want to watch Max let me know! We will pay you in cash plus Arbonne products as a bonus :)

Pumpkin Train

2011-10-08T15:45:00.000-05:00

Even before I was pregnant my mother-in-law talked about taking our future kids on the little Pumpkin Train to pick out a pumpkin. That day has finally come.

Today my mother-in-law, Max and I drove to Marshall, Wisconsin to ride the train and get Max a pumpkin. Max was soaking in all the kids running around and I think he was really enjoying the sites.

Then the train started to come around the corner and he almost started to cry. In his defense it was a little louder than I expected and there were kids yelling everywhere.

Once on the train he still wasn't so sure but he started to enjoy himself a little. Then came time to pick out the pumpkin...

Let's just say he was not as excited to sit in prickly grass next to a pumpkin in the middle of a field with kids running around screaming... as I thought he would be

Not happy!

What's that pumpkin doing?

The ride back was much better and I think Max relaxed a little and started having fun.

The tunnel spooked him a little bit as it was pretty dark in there but it didn't make him cry again.

My favorite picture of the day

I really enjoyed taking Max to a new experience and hope that in the future we can spend more time together. He's such a fun little boy! Thanks Grandma for a fun afternoon trip!

Yeah Solid!

2011-09-13T08:23:00.000-05:00

All I'm going to say is this is the text message that I received from my daycare provider this morning. Max has been a little under the weather these past few weeks and without being too graphic I'll just tell you that there was a lot of clothing changes going on due to "leakage." I'm sure he wasn't feeling too well but I'm more excited for selfish reasons, if you know what I mean.

What a pleasant text to receive at 7:30am :) I'm thinking his tummy and his booty must be feeling much better!

Go Pack Go?

2011-09-08T20:47:00.003-05:00

It is the opening night of the NFL (National Football League) and I have mixed feelings. I know most people (my husband) are SUPER excited about tonight but I'm feeling a little "eh" I'm excited that Maroon 5 (mostly Adam Levine) sang "Moves Like Jagger" to open the night and it's pretty cool that the Packers are the reigning Super Bowl Champs but what tonight really means is now every Sunday I'm "husband less." With 8+ fantasy football leagues I can't even get him to look up from his i-Pad/Computer on Sundays to even acknowledge me. (seriously) I have plans a few Sundays from now and even though my husband will be home, I'm considering hiring a babysitter just to make sure Max is well taken care of.

I will admit that I did watch the super bowl... I think? But like most women it was the commercials I was most interested in. I guess I just don't exactly get the obsession with sports but then again I'm a girl - disclaimer- some girls like sports, I'm not judging :)

Some of my family will be disappointed that I'm cheering for the Packers, as they are Vikings fans, but as a true Minnesotan and "Fair Weather Fan" I'm sticking with the winning team. No I'm just kidding... about the fair weather fan, not about cheering for the Packers (sorry to my brother).

Wish me luck the next 16+ Sundays :)

My new office!... well sort of.

2011-08-27T20:55:00.001-05:00

If you haven't noticed I've been a little scarce with posts lately. I blame it on the fact that even though I have a one year old and currently work full time I decided to start my own business! I am a new Independent Consultant with Arbonne International!!!!!

It's taken me over a year to finally jump in and see where this amazing company can take me and I'm so excited. I feel like I'm back to my college days when I sold cosmetics at a cosmetic counter... only better. I tried the RE9 skincare for the first time about a month ago and after using 10+ different brands of products in my lifetime I have to say that it's the best thing I have ever tried. My goal is to reach Regional Vice President within the next year thus earning my white Mercedes Benz. Wish me luck!

Since my launch party over a week ago I have been accumulating samples, products to use in my presentations, products for clients, catalogues and other materials. They are beginning to take over my small two bedroom apartment. Therefore, I knew in order to stay organized I needed an office. Unfortunately, as I just stated we live in a two bedroom apartment. Thus I decided to take over a corner of our Master Bedroom and make that my so called "office."

Here is the small corner that I had to work with.

Here is what the corner looks like now! Complete with organizing cubes from Target {favorite store}. I have a box for office supplies, one for samples, another for paperwork, one for gift bags and tissue and the last for catalogues. {which by the way the new Holiday catalogues are out and I"M OBSESSED}

I love my new office. Hopefully once I become extremely successful I can have a real office but until then this will work just great.

Max's 1st Birthday {Whale Birthday Party}

2011-08-14T21:25:00.000-05:00

Saturday was Max's first birthday! I cannot believe how fast this year has gone. When he was first born the only song I sang that would calm him was "Baby Beluga" by Raffi. Therefore, when I tried to think of a theme for his first birthday party I came up with a whale theme... baby beluga whale. The colors I chose were blue and orange. I had so much fun collecting blue and orange things and thinking up food that would go with the whale theme and also be blue and orange.

The party turned out great. We had about 25+ people there of mostly family. For food I came up with the idea to do a Mac n' Cheese bar because Max loves Mac n' Cheese. Also, it's a kiddie food but as there were mostly adults at the party I had more adult toppings like chicken, broccoli, hamburger, tomatoes, scallions, Parmesan and bread crumbs.

The sailboat centerpiece is from my mom's personal collection. She loves all things nautical.

I made this banner on my computer and then tied it together with orange and blue ribbons.

For the dessert bar I had blue cupcakes, angel fish cookies and chocolate covered pretzels. I made the pretzels myself, the rest of it I bought from Market Street Diner. They did an amazing job!

I made the cupcake toppers on my computer as well.

The chocolate covered pretzels were a hit. I added food coloring to make the white chocolate orange to match the theme.

Jello with gummy fish.

For table centerpieces I had little pales filled with gold fish crackers topped with a pinwheel.

Even though Max was the only kid I found this whale pinata and just HAD to buy it.

I figured Max would get bored with opening gifts but he LOVED it. He was so excited about his gifts.

Grandpa John got him his own loader to help with the construction.

He loved that everyone sang him happy birthday!

Market Street Diner made him his own smash cake with a whale on it.

I expected him to dig into it but all he wanted to do was throw it on the floor so I scooped some frosting up with my finger to try and entice him to eat it. He didn't like the frosting that much and wasn't really interested.

Instead he just chewed on the spoon. The smash cake is almost completely untouched and sitting in my fridge. I guess that plan backfired!

My best friend Morgana got him his "Beep Beep" It's a super cool car that is used instead of a stroller. He had a blast riding around in it!

It even has cup holders. No drinking and driving allowed! :)

Popping a wheelie.

At the end of the party we realized that we never hit the pinata so we gave Max his mini stick (of course) and he tapped at it a few times.

Then all the adults took turns. Isn't this a sad picture of the little whale?

Morgana and my mom tried to help Max finish it off but as soon as they began beating the whale he started bawling. I guess he didn't want to hurt it.

I have to thank my mom, dad and Morgana for all the hard work they put in helping me pull off such a great birthday party for Max. I know he will never remember it but hopefully he will look back at the pictures and know how much time and love I put into making his first birthday special.

Pink Bridal Shower

2011-08-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I hosted a bridal shower for my sister-in-law. She loves pink and everything girly so I ran with it! I came up with the idea to do and dip party and was trying to think of a way to combine the dip idea along with it being a bridal shower but I couldn't make it click so I stuck with the dips and left it at that.

There was a great turnout of people and thanks to the Maid of Honor, my sister-in-law's best friend, for putting the games together. So much fun.

Maid of Honor, Bride, Me (we did not plan the coordinating colors)

It's worth it to ME!

2011-08-06T09:29:00.000-05:00

Somehow the conversation at our class reunion last weekend turned towards cleaning the house and with pride I announced that YES I have a cleaning service. I know I only live in a two bedroom apartment and that to some people having a "Cleaning Lady" is an extravagance but to me it's a necessity.

The first time the idea was put into my head was when we were living in Muskegon, Michigan for hockey. My friend and neighbor in the building had a women come clean her condo every week or every other week and so whenever I went over there for wine it was always so nice and spotless. While downstairs in my apartment there was a dust bunny farm in every room. The hardwood floors were "hard" to clean especially without a vacuum and I just didn't see the need for anything other than a swiffer. Which by the way does not really get the job done. I'm not a dirty person per say I just don't enjoy cleaning so I typically only did it once a month... if that. That meant walking around on sandy floors, rings around the toilet {yes I'm admitting it} and pink shower grout. Not so cool. The kitchen is the only place I clean daily and that's because it's not appetizing to have a gross kitchen and I enjoy eating.

So this friend of mine suggested I hire her cleaning lady and I thought it was a genius idea! I brought it up to Luke and he laughed in my face. I guess he figured that with me working from home and not having too many friends in town that I should have plenty of time to Swiffer the bunnys away. So much for that!

It wasn't until we had Max that the cleaning started to be non-existent. Luke would make snide comments about things being dirty and in the middle of feeding, changing, burping, doing laundry and trying to get Max to sleep I would shoot him dirty looks and sometimes even felt the urge to growl {although I never did}. Instead I would just get angry and overwhelmed... that mixed with lack of sleep made me a SUPER FUN person to be around let me tell you!

I tried asking Luke to help but his idea of cleaning is spraying Fabreeze on it and letting it air dry. I'm not even sure he would know where to find the Fabreeze if he needed to use it. Therefore, in January I called up a cleaning service and had them come look at my place.

They talked about cleaning cob webs every time and getting on their KNEES to clean the floors and how they clean dirt out of the bathroom vent {I didn't even know you could do that}. I was so giddy that I hired them on the spot. They come every two weeks and I love it. Some people hear this and possibly look down on me for spending money on something that I can damn well do myself but how I see it is this: I work full time, have a one year old son and and thirty year old husband and I would rather spend my time with my family, reading, crafting or just doing ANYTHING other than cleaning. Therefore, this is worth the money to me.

What is something that you do or have that is worth the money to you that sometimes others just don't agree with?

My apartment on cleaning day {friend Hartman on the couch in his usual spot}