I'm Just A Mess Mommy

being5 - project blog

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 20:36:00 +0000

I read an awesome blog called being five. katie is the mother to 3 gorgeous kids and her blog keeps me laughing on a daily basis, and i say on a daily basis because she updates everyday, sometimes twice a day! The dedication she has for her blog is something I admire. I wish I could keep up with daily posts, but some days I'm lucky if I even get a shower! And I only have 1 kid! How she does it, I don't know, but it's impressive! She's just started project blog, to help those of us who can't seem to keep up so I'm going to try my best to participate. Here goes!

project blog. where would you choose to live if you had to leave this country?

This question actually brings up a lot of feelings. I am extremely close to my mother and I can't imagine not living near her. She is a constant support for me with Emma, we're both in the direct sales business with the same company and well, she's pretty much just awesome. That being said, if I had to leave this country she'd be goin' with me! Eric, Emma, Molly (the dog), myself and MOM.

I've been out of the country a few times- France when I was in middle school (or high school? can't remember now...), Canada a few times (so close, why not!), Italy and Mexico. My favorite of all those places would have to be Italy. It's an incredible place, so beautiful, amazing food (and wine!), amazing people. I absolutely love the culture and I think it would be an a great place to raise a family. I wouldn't want to live in a big city though, like Rome or Milan. Something smaller would be nice. A little village in Tuscany maybe... hmm, one can dream I suppose.

anniversary

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 02:57:00 +0000

Yesterday was NYR Organic's first anniversary. Well, the company is 28 years old, but has only been in the US for a year. We were all encouraged to host parties to celebrate the anniversary so of course, I jumped on board! I was supposed to have had a party hosted by someone else but because of some little snafu the party was cancelled so I quickly scheduled my own. I put together some awesome specials to offer in honor of the anniversary and was soooo excited! Unfortunately the RSVP's didn't come flowing in as I had hoped and I got a little discouraged. On the day of the party, with one 'yes' I seriously considered canceling. But, that's not the NYR attitude! I went to the gym, walked on the treadmill for 40 minutes to lift my mood and then decided to forge ahead. So what if it was just me and one other person! We could still have fun, do facials, have snacks and drink wine! What a great evening! I turned my crappy attitude around, cleaned up my house, put together some appetizers and chilled the wine. About 30 minutes before the party was to start my phone rang, a number I didn't know. Normally I don't answer numbers I don't know but for some reason I picked up and I'm glad I did! It was another YES!! Woohoo, two people!! Alright, I set up another facial station and grabbed another wine glass.

I am SO glad I didn't cancel. We had a great time! Just as I thought, they loved the products and both went home glowing! It was so fabulous! I am so thankful to my two friends who came with an open mind, and who came to show their support for my new business. Thanks Liz and Lori!!

I'm on a boat...

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:39:00 +0000

A few weekends ago we were invited to a BBQ at a friend's house on Bainbridge Island. It was a gorgeous day, the house was right on the beach and the view was incredible! Emma had a blast on the ferry and had even more fun playing at the beach!

Magnolia Summerfest

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:32:00 +0000

Building A Business....part 2

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:07:00 +0000

Good thing I ended my last blog post, on AUGUST 13th, "more on that tomorrow". 'Cause now it's August 31st. Awesome. Keeping up with a blog is hard ok people, ok?

Anyways, onto my experience at the conference. The conference was held over a weekend in Denver. I'd never been to Denver, and actually, quite honestly I still have never been to Denver! I never left the hotel all weekend! Like I said before, I really had no idea what I was in for. I'd never been to a conference before and I was at first just happy to be away from home for a few days. But oh my goodness! Now, you may think I'm about to quack out here, but bare with me. This conference absolutely changed my life. All weekend I attended training classes, listened to women (just like me!) tell of how owning their own business changed their lives, met amazing and inspirational people and made lifelong friendships. Stay-at-home mom's just like me, speaking about all the things I've always thought. I'll only ever be just Emma's mom, Eric's wife, etc. All these other women felt the same as I did. Until they started their business. Started earning their own money, contributing to the household financially- not just putting the kids to bed and cleaning up the kitchen. My self confidence was renewed. It was so refreshing! I met people who've been in direct sales for years and have become very successful. It was absolutely inspiring! Very quickly my reasons for being there changed from a quick vacation to wanting to build a business, wanting to be successful and wanting to share organic with everyone I know! I learned so much and after that weekend, felt that I had made one of the best decisions of my life. I work for a company of phenomenal ethics and integrity as well as amazing, award winning products. I am in NYR organic heaven!

Building A Business....

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:54:00 +0000

This could be a long one people so get on board!!

A few months ago I was asked to host an NYR Organic skincare party. My friend Katy had just become an independent consultant and she asked me if I would be willing to host her first party. Of course I jumped at the chance! I thought it would be fun and as someone who has always had skin concerns/issues, maybe I'd get something out of it. Either way, I'd be supporting a friend in her new business venture. I didn't really know what a party entailed so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Let me just say...um, hello fabulous! Glass of wine, hand treatment (think mini hand massage, yum!), a little organic education, a little skincare education and then -the best part- a facial!!! We actually got to try the products, on our faces!! It was so relaxing and wonderful. And of course a great excuse to get together with your girlfriends! So, I ordered a skincare collection (the Palmarosa collection) and hoped for the best. A few days later my product arrived and I was in heaven!! My skin absolutely loved the products and I finally, after years of bad skin, it was finally turning around. Someone actually told me I had beautiful skin shortly after I started using the product. Beautiful skin?! Me?! Well, thank you!!! It's about damn time!! I was hooked!

A few weeks later I jumped in. I had NO CLUE what I was getting myself into, but I paid $199 plus shipping and signed up as a consultant. I knew nothing, nothing except that I loved the products and this was something I had to be a part of. Little did I know, it would completely change my life.

Alright, I know what you're thinking, I know. I thought the same thing. "Oh gawd! Direct sales? Really? Good luck, hope you fail gracefully!" And yes, in the back of my head, in the beginning I thought that too. But you know what? I was wrong! I got started right away with hosting parties, not a ton, but a few. The first few are completely nerve wracking, you think you know nothing and it's hard to get up in front of a group of people and speak. But it gradually got easier. As summer approached business slowed down and for most of June and July I didn't do much. Then came conference. NYR is brand new to the US so this would be our first national conference, ever!! My first thought was that I wanted to go, but more so for a few days away from home! Little did I know, conference would be the turning point.... But, more on that tomorrow!!

mv

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:56:00 +0000

Eric's rack of beer at the Newes From America Pub

At the Leeside in Oak Bluffs, waiting for the ferry

John Belushi's grave in Vineyard Haven

Matt and Eric after dinner at Atria

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 22:46:00 +0000

Martha's Vineyard

Beach.

Beer.

Cape Cod Potato Chips.

Perfect.

um....yeah...been slackin' a little

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:07:00 +0000

Well, I apologize for the lack of posting in the...oh, last 6 or so months. Oops!!

We've been very busy lately. Emma started pre-school in September. She absolutely loves it and is in a small class of some really great kids. She goes two days a week, Tuesday and Thursday, for 3 hours. I love having a few hours twice a week to run errands, go to the gym and get things done around the house. Emma is learning so much in school! She can now count to 30, and she no longer includes 'eleventeen' as a number! She has started writing letters, so far she can do an 'E', an 'M' and a 'W'. Emma has also perfected the temper tantrum. She can rock a good blood curdling scream anytime she doesn't get her way...typical. She's also becoming even more of a character, if you can believe that! She is so funny and has us laughing constantly!

Emma on her first day of pre-school!

Also in September, Jessica (my best friend) moved back into our spare room. We love having her live with us and of course, the rent money is a bonus! She is currently in culinary school and is always bringing home yummy treats...especially homemade bread, my weakness!

Fall/Winter brought lots of sniffles, along with the SWINE. Yes, Emma and I had the swine and were down and out for about a week. It was absolutely awful and I don't wish the swine on anyone! Luckily Eric never got it and was able to take care of us, as well as my mom who helped out too.

In December my mom and I took a trip down to San Francisco for a good friends birthday. Sydney used to babysit me when we lived in California. When she first started watching me she was 9 and I was 4. She turned 30 this year and her sister and a few friends threw her a fabulous birthday party. We had a great weekend catching up and celebrating the big 3-0. Shortly after returning from CA I got a phone call from her with BIG NEWS! She was accepted to UW's nursing school and is moving up here in April. I am so excited for her arrival and thrilled to have another awesome friend so close by.

So, that's pretty much the catch up on all that has been happening with us! One of my New Year's Resolutions is to update my blogs more often. Hopefully I can follow through with that, wish me luck!

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:41:00 +0000

Let's just get the laughter out now before you continue reading....

Better? Ok. Yes, I bought these and yes you're reading it correctly. It does in fact say TOENAIL. However, I won't be using the flower art that came with. I am going to be sandal wearing all weekend (glorified camping at Sun Lakes) and don't have time to get a pedicure, let alone slap a coat of pain on and wait for it to dry. So yesterday at Target I threw these bad boys in the cart and will most likely apply them in the car on the way to said camping trip. Check back next week for my review!

SBUX drive thru

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:05:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, two days in a row, as I was driving to the morning walk I stopped at Starbucks for a breakfast smoothie (and blueberry muffin for the little kid in the backseat). I chose the Lake City one as it was on my way, and the right side of the street. Both days I drove through the same girl was working the window. That first day she was super nice and chatty and I left feeling pleasantly uplifted. The second day she remembered me and was even more chatty, telling me that it was her birthday and how excited she was to celebrate with a night of karaoke. Something about that conversation and how genuinely happy of a person she was left me feeling like she had completely made my day. She put me in such a great mood with her upbeat attitude and the rest of my day was actually better because of my brief morning encounter with a friendly barista. Do you ever have those moments, when one short meeting or even a smile from a stranger just makes you feel happy?

Our Summer In Photos, part four

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:50:00 +0000

REI Photo Shoot

In July, Emma was chosen to be part of the winter REI catalog. We went down to the REI headquarters in South Seattle where they shoot all of their products and Emma got to be a diva for the day! And diva she was! She asked for water and wouldn't drink it until she had a straw! Uh-oh!! These photos can also be seen on the REI website.

Our Summer In Photos, part three

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:40:00 +0000

Emma's new 'Big Girl Bed'

In July we were lucky enough to get an awesome deal on a super cute twin bed for Emma. We hadn't originally planned on getting her a twin bed, she was doing great in her convertible crib, but we (ok, me) decided that laying with her at night to read stories was getting a little cramped and a bigger bed would be nice.

Our Summer In Photos, part two

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:35:00 +0000

Girl's Night Out

Jessica invited me along to help celebrate her friend Taylor's 21st Birthday. We met up at the Red Door in Fremont and had a blast! Although I didn't take many pictures, I did get a few of Jessica and the birthday girl taking shots...lovely!

Jessica and the birthday girl, Taylor

Washington Apple shots

Jessica and I

Our Summer In Photos, part one

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:21:00 +0000

Norm's Trivia Night

July 2009

Eric and I have been going to Norm's since December 2nd 2005, the night of our rehearsal dinner. That's right, we are so awesome that we hosted our rehearsal dinner at a bar, more importantly, a bar that allows dogs. A dog bar. For the first year of being married we would go to Norm's every month on the 3rd, our anniversary. Once Emma came along though our monthly outings became sporadic and then non-existent. But we still love Norm's and go there whenever we can (afford it!). Norm's does a trivia night every Thursday so we decided to meet up with some friends and bring Emma long. She had so much fun and didn't want to leave- as you can see by the last photo!

Jessica and Emma

Jessica and I

Two Teams

(Left, Jeff and Clint, Jessica, Me, my mom and Bill)

Emma was not a happy kid when she had to go home!

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:37:00 +0000

emma's birthday

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:48:00 +0000

On June 9th, Emma turned 3!!

We celebrated with a very busy day! First we headed off to the Animal Farm & water park in Everett. Emma absolutely loved petting the animals- the goats and pony in particular. And after that we hit the water park where she wore herself out! She had a blast playing in the water and thankfully it was a gorgeous day and about 80 degrees.

After a good nap we went for a visit to the zoo and hit up our favorite exhibits- the carousel (of course), the penguins and the bears. Then we headed home for dinner, presents and cake. Nana and Papa gave her a very cute little outfit and a t-ball set, which was of course, the best of all the gifts! She couldn't care less about the clothes that Eric and I got her...but at least she'll be well dressed this summer!

New T-Ball set!

She still managed to hit me with the ball on the first swing.

Checking out the new penguin exhibit at the zoo.

Waiting to ride the carousel.

Shaking with excitement on the carousel!

Eric and 30

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:20:00 +0000

For the past few months Eric and his "30th" have been at odds. He was NOT happy about turning the big 3-0. But, alas, June 3rd came and he survived!! Well....barely! With the exception of a rowdy night out to celebrate his 30th with co-workers, he did survive. We celebrated on the day of his birthday with dinner at Tutta Bella. Then that following weekend we celebrated with all his friends and family with a party at our house. It was originally supposed to be a surprise but he caught on when I needed things done around the house in preperation for the party! Oh well, it was a success nonetheless! We set up a taco bar, a bucket of beer and had Rock Band going into the wee hours of the night....ok, into the wee hours of 11pm!

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Fri, 08 May 2009 22:41:00 +0000

oh ellen

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Thu, 07 May 2009 22:24:00 +0000

I had a moment at the gym today. Watching Ellen, of course. At one point I didn't think I was going to be able to stop laughing. This is what I was watching:

name brand dropping

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Fri, 01 May 2009 01:30:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I made a visit to Target (prescriptions, diapers, etc). First of all, Target isn't a store that I can leave without spending at least $60. I always start out, after wrangling Emma into a cart, by perusing the clothing department for a fabulous (and cheap) find. Many of us know that Target's women's clothing department carries, for the most part, two brands: Mossimo and Merona, as well as the new Isaac Mizrahi and whatever up and coming designer they find to make awkward clothes at dirt cheap prices. But the majority is Mossimo and Merona. A few short years ago I was shopping on the Mossimo side of the department. Shorter shorts, lower cut tee's and tighter jeans. And now it's happened, or rather happened awhile ago and I just haven't noticed, but I have moved on over to the Merona side. And oh my is it bleak! Ok, that's totally an exaggeration, it's really not that bad. On this particular visit I saw some cute capri jeans and decided to try them on. I never try anything on. Ever. I truly believe there is nothing worse than the lighting in changing rooms. But I wasn't up for the hassle of having to go back and return said capris. So I waited for the big dressing room because I did not want to take Emma out of the cart and then break the news that she'd have to get back in. Holy lord!! Super cute on the hanger, super gross on my actual person. As soon as I zipped and buttoned my belly button disappeared and I'm pretty sure the bottom of my bra was touching the top of these horrid capris. I don't think I've ever exited a dressing quite so fast, even with having to maneuver the cart out of the tiny door. I did not spend $60 that day. I purchased what I came for and left, absolutely horrified at what I witnessed in that dressing room. Target, I still love you, but I'll be keeping my distance for awhile.

Now, on to this week's clothing...nightmare? Not sure exactly what to call it. A let down? I don't know, you decide when you're done reading.

I get email's every few days from Gap with coupon codes and sale info and because we have a Gap card we get an extra discount. There was a great code for 20% off and in addition to that Old Navy was still doing there Stuff N' Save program which is 20% off as well. I have quite a few bags of old clothes piled up just waiting to be sold so I thought I'd take advantage of this awesome deal. I picked out a few things, new pair of pants, a cute cardy from Gap and two pairs of sunglasses from Old Navy. The awesome deal here is the sunglasses, both pairs on sale for $4 and I had a 40% discount. Woohoo!! This is even better because I have been in search of cute sunglasses since my last two pairs have been broken (one pair by Eric, the other by Emma). Now I just hope these sunglasses are as cute on as they are on the website. We'll see. Anyways. I placed my order. I gathered up all the old clothes and made a trip over to Plato's Closet to sell. I've been selling clothes there since high school....high school is the key word here. Emma and I got there when they opened so we wouldn't have to wait and hung around for the 10 minutes it took to sort through what they wanted. Keep in mind here I had two full bags of clothes stuffed to the brim. They called me over and offered me $9.89 for two things. A pair of Abercrombie shorts (will explain those bad boys later) and a pair of AE jeans which I was very anxious to get rid of because I will never ever be a size 14 again. I picked my jaw up off the floor, collected my money and two bags and headed out. I was so totally bummed. Why didn't they want my clothes?! Am I that un-hip? That un-cool? And god forbid, that un-fashionable??

The answer: No! A few hours later I came back to reality and REALIZED that Plato's Closet is a store for teeny boppers to pawn off their Abercrombie & Fitch, Aeropostale, American Eagle, size 00 castoffs. Not a store that is going to take my Old Navy, MERONA, Layers and JCrew discards. Ok, so no more Plato's Closet, now where do I go? After a little bit of online searching I found two places- Buffalo Exchange and Crossroads Trading. Both stores pay on the spot (I'm not a fan of consignment). Emma and I headed over there today. After yesterdays disappointment I wasn't expecting much but 20 minutes later the teeny bopper salesperson (they're everywhere!) called me over and offered me $52 for half my stuff. DONE DEAL!! I was so thrilled, and a little bit shocked. Thank you, Crossroads Trading!! I'm so glad I found a new place to take all my old crap clothes!

Now, the explanation for the Abercrombie & Fitch shorts I was unfortunately hanging onto. I bought them about a month after Emma was born when I was all of 118lbs. Size 6. So cute. But you know what, inappropriately too short! Glad they are out of my closet and no longer taunting me. So thank you Plato's Closet, thank you for that, taking those off my hands.

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:03:00 +0000

Twitter. Facebook. MySpace. LinkedIn. Meetup.

All social networking sites. Also, incredible time wasters! Looking back on the last, I don't know, however long I've been on these sites I can think of about a million other things I could have been doing. I had a MySpace page in high school, I think, and have had one ever since. Facebook I've had for at least 3 or 4 years, LinkedIn for a few months, Meetup for about a year and Twitter is the newest; going on about two weeks with that one.

A few weeks ago I deleted my MySpace, as I was no longer using it and a few weeks before that I deleted my Meetup account. And now, I'm seriously contemplating deleting my Facebook account. Twitter is still the shiny new toy so that will probably stick around for awhile. But lately I've had nothing but stress over Facebook, of which I didn't think I was going to write about here but then realized 'it's my blog and I can write about whatever I want, the good, the bad and the ugly'. Facebook, for me at least, has recently become a way of communicating cryptic messages via status updates. Some of you reading this know what I'm talking about, others don't and I really don't feel like typing out the whole god awful story so just bare with me! Basically what I'm trying to say, and not doing a very good job at it, is that Facebook is really just bringing me back to a high school level of petty bullshit and I'm sooooo over it! Who really needs to know what the hell you're doing every five minutes? I've made my profile completely private, no one can search me or find me unless they are already my friend, and I don't think I'm going to participate much anymore. Life is just too short, and it's so not worth it to be frustrated over a WEBSITE!

Twitter I think is a different story. Through Twitter I have found a ton of mom written blogs, all incredibly funny, and without Twitter I don't think I would have found them. I'm really interested in exploring the 'mommy blogger' community because I love to blog; writing is such a good outlet and I'd like to think that I can write something worth reading! I'm actually considering taking a writing class to brush up and maybe learn something. But I digress....

I've made a few connections on Twitter, so far so good.

Now, on to something else that's been on my mind:

Someone told me, today actually, that my blog is nothing but negativity. Again, my blog, if you don't like it, don't read it. I try to write everything with a sense of humor and I write from experiences that at the time maybe made me crazy, but later made me laugh.

That being said, if you don't find my blog funny or worth reading, then don't read it! No one's holding a gun to your head!

Ok, re-reading this, this is definitely not my best work....sort of a long, drawn out ramble but I got out what I wanted to. Hopefully the next one will be a little better thought out!

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:11:00 +0000

Yay!!! As of today I have lost a total of 15 pounds! Which is pretty surprising considering the M & M's from Emma's Easter basket that I've been devouring lately. I am so thrilled! I might even celebrate with a glass of wine....nah, so not worth it!

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 04:48:00 +0000

In my attempt to lose the extra poundage I've been carrying around, I've cut out or cut back on a lot! Wine, for instance, one of my favorite things. I came to the conclusion that every time I had wine it was never just one glass, always several. In addition to the calories I was racking up, I was also waking up slightly hung over. And if you don't drink wine, the way I do at least (or any other alcoholic beverage), then you don't wake up with a bloody hang over. That makes functioning every day so much easier! Without the hangover I mean. It's amazing the things I come up with sometimes. That being said, I've lost 15lbs. since cutting back on the booze. I've also stopped eating 82 thousand calories which does help as well.

In other news, I saw myself in the mirror today and I looked somewhat thin. I think I should throw the mirror away, as it's clearly out for deception.

ah the american dream

noreply@blogger.com ("I'm just a mess,Mommy") — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 04:40:00 +0000

You know you're living the American Dream when you hear your husbands key in the door at 3pm and he walks in, excited about getting out of his work clothes and into his other work clothes to mow the lawn.

After he chows down on some grub he heads to the bedroom, and on his way shouts "wake me around 5, I'm really tired".

What about the lawn?