Monty's Average Life

3 girls isn't really that bad

2014-03-20T18:30:00.001-07:00

Did I mentioned how everyone made us feel bad after we had the 3rd girl? I don't think steve got any "congratulations" all he got was "poor guy" "another girl" "hope you have more than one bathroom" "buy stock in tampons" "I feel bad for you" "wait til the teenage years." Anyway the list goes on, you get the point- people act like 3 girls sucks!

I've only been in the 3 girl club for 8 months and love it. It's 2014, girls can do everything boys can except they look cuter doing it.

The only thing I can think of that somewhat sucks is that when the girls had to go to the bathroom when we're out, it always has to be me that takes them and it's always in the middle of dinner. Now they're older so they can go without me and better yet; when the baby is potty trained, the girls can take her. So it really doesn't suck after all.

It is probably gonna suck teaching them about tampons, pads, periods, sex, etc.. But it's 2014, they can watch a you tube video tutorial on all that, right?!

I don't mind dance, gymnastics, or any other girly stuff as much as I thought I would. Clothes are a problem and shoes are a problem and I'm sure it'll get worse. combing 3 heads of tangled hair is sometimes a problem but I'm sure having a boy and having to cut their could be a problem too.

The only thing that sucks about not having a boy is that I'll get no mother/son dance, ever. That makes me a little sad cause I always wanted to dance to tupac's dear mama. Instead, I get to watch the bond of my husband and his daughters and realize how lucky he is. And maybe one day I'll watch a father/daughter dance. And maybe one day I'll get a son in law. And maybe one day I'll get a grandkid. I'll know that the grandkid is really mine cause it'll come out of my daughter's vagina. But if your the mom of a boy, you may not know if it's really your grandkid cause if your son's girlfriend is a whore (which my kids won't be) your only chance of knowing for sure is to go on Maurry. Don't know where that came from but having 3 girls is great. And no I don't want a 4th.

How Veganizing is going

2014-02-09T15:54:00.001-08:00

So- vegan- about a month and I would say I'm doing great! I cannot say I'm vegan yet. First mess up, Dunkin donuts. I could've sworn they had non dairy cream/milk but no. I can't have coffee without cream so I got it anyway. Next, at a party I had dinner without any animal products but I had a cookie, it was oatmeal but I'm sure it was made with something non vegan. Next mess up, another party, I had a cookie and a brownie. Next, my friend left a cheesecake at my house. I didn't touch it the first day but the second night it was sitting in my fridge and I felt bad for it. I knew no one in my house would eat it and I hate that we waste so much food so I ate it. It was a taramisu cheesecake and it was delightful. I thought right then and there I would eat the whole damn cake. I might as well forget it, give me cheese, give me milk, give me steak, F it, give me the whole cow, actually give me the whole damn farm! Surprisingly, I threw the rest out and have only had one mistake since, trying a bite of the Alfredo I made for my family. My downfall has been sweets, but fortunately someone told me Oreos are vegan. Unfortunately, I shouldn't've eaten the whole bag. I have also been addicted to brownies in a cup. These have been a wondeful go to. I feel like I no longer want to eat meat. I still continue to cook it for my family but have no desire to try it. It's so dead and gross. I'm ok without cheese now too. Once I clean up my diet, it should be even easier. I have an app "is it vegan" that scans food barcodes and let's you if it's vegan or vegetarian. I find it helpful. I I'm trying the best I can and that's all that matters. In the past month I've probably saved a few animals and by doing so I have also felt better. Next up- lose 15 lbs.

Mom of 3

2014-01-22T11:07:00.001-08:00

My life as a mom of 3 girls has been great!

(This pic is at the dentist office but it's the most recent of all 3)

When Baby Cierra Rose was first born I was so sick of the "boy" comments but I love having 3 girls and I actually want more (sometimes) Really, I want to adopt a 3 year old Russian boy, I think he'd fit in perfect) I don't know how people have 5 or more kids. I'd die- or at least take a lot of drugs to make me just float through life. Just kidding. Actually, This was a nice age gap. I am truly enjoying the baby and the baby really enjoys life. She smiles at everyone and has really makes people very happy. The girls have been excellent with her. I thought I'd have a huge problem with Kayla hating the baby but she truly loves her. Both are such a help. Ava is an amazing child to begin with. She thinks she's the mom and sometimes we put to much pressure on her. I try not to make them take care of the baby or give them too much responsibility with her just so I can be lazy. Actually, I'm a different parent with this 3rd baby. The stuff we've done with her I wouldn't have dreamed of doing with my first born. Overall, I love being a mom to 3 daughters. I guess I have no choice since they're mine and they're not going anywhere. Sometimes I do get annoyed though and think "who are these kids and why are they calling me mom." Sometimes, They come all the way upstairs, downstairs, in the bathroom to find me and ask me questions and ask for help with the silliest stuff when their dad was sitting right next to them. Sometimes, the baby cries and I don't want to deal with her. Sometimes I try to hide in the bathroom to just for a minute of silence. Then I realize I don't mind anymore and I tell myself they are only little once and I enjoy life for the moment. Ps- everything I write has no point. I get sidetracked easily.

Ava's vision now

2014-01-22T08:39:00.001-08:00

The past year Ava's optical pressure was pretty high ranging from 21-35. 35 is very high and borderline glaucoma. Our lovely Dr. Yoon said that structurally everything looks great and optic nerve was perfect but since the pressure was high we were going to be seen every 3-4 months as a precautionary. Since the reading of 35, it gradually started to taper off and was a consistent 21-22 range and we decided that was her norm.

Here she is happily waiting to be seen. She was happy to have aunt Arlene, Kayla, baby Cierra and me all with her.

They test her vision by covering her eye with a patch. They normally use a spoon like eye cover but if you've been coming since you were a baby you know how to cheat. She looks at small tv screen and is asked to read the letters. She gets the first one right and we are all thrilled! After that she guesses and gets everyone wrong. I don't even think she can actually see the letters at all. Then they test her good eye and she amazed me by getting even the smallest line of letters right. Next they test her close up and we realize the sad truth we've know all along. She's at best 20/400 or maybe it was 20/800. She cannot even see the letters that are right in front of face.

I feel sad and want to cry but then I see her smiling and realize she doesn't care at all and probably doesn't know that there's anything wrong with her at all. I wonder if it's all my fault and if she would've had a better outcome if I tried harder when she wore contacts as a baby and if I didn't get the iol. I wonder if I didn't patch enough. I wonder if she would've wore glasses more. I wonder if I didn't drink the first month of her pregancy because I didn't know I was pregant. I wonder if I didn't worry about the hemangioma on her lip so much that I would've caught this sooner and got it taken care of immediately that her visual outcome would've been better. I very rarely wonder these things as I truly think my daughter is perfect in every way possible but when I do I become sad. Then I look at her smiling face, snap out of it and get on with my day. On this particular day we went to the Disney store, Rosebud for lunch and American girl doll store. We try to take advantage of cheap parking downtown. See you in June dr Yoon! We're back to going every 6 months. Where I pray things will be exactly the same as realize no change is really good and better vision via patching is a thing of the past!

Vegan day

2014-01-20T07:27:00.001-08:00

I will share with you what I've eaten on the vegan adventure of mine.

Tofu scramble- it was good! Note the empty bowl. I used tofu, mushrooms, peppers, onion, daiya cheddar and some seasoning.

Fake bacon (which is a bit strange at first) pita. Used, bacon, hummus, tomatoes, lettuce and daiya cheese. Really good.

Veggie wrap. Good.

Bean salad. Good.

Saw a recipe for carmalized onion and hummus grilled sandwich that looked good. Started carmalizing the onions and had to go to the bathroom really badly, forgot to lower the pan and came back to semi burnt onions. Added mushrooms and just ate it plain. Really can't go wrong with grilled mushrooms and onions.

As usual I've been eating my salads.

I have fruits and veggies to snack on during the day. This is where my problem begins. I do not find fruits to be a dessert or sweet enough for my cravings. I need chocolate. Try the chick pea cookie dough again that I mentioned earlier was a joke and decided vanilla almond milk was my best option.

New Year = Vegan

2014-01-19T20:31:00.001-08:00

New Year new me. I’m not trying to change me cause let face it, I’m awesome, and I don’t need to be changed. Just kidding. One of the things I’m changing is my diet. I’ve never been really over weight, I never look great either. Once, I looked pretty good when I went to the gym regularly. Now days, I’m a bit saggy so I will start my treadmilling and yoga again and maybe a 30 day shred once a month. A few times a year I clean up my diet because I read up or watch a show on food and let’s face it- it’s basically gross. The first changing movie was “Forks over Knives." My dad made me watch it after he had a major heart attack in 2010. but I fell off the bandwagon at a party. This time I’m trying vegan. Last time I tried the vegan lifestyle I was not too successful. I think I tried to make my husband and kids do it too and therefore it ruined me. My husband will never be vegetarian, vegan or anything that doesn’t involve meat and processed. My daughter will not either based on the fact that we were walking in the store and she said “I know what hotdogs are made of.” Me: What? Ava: “Dogs tails” Me: “who told you that?” Her: “no one. I just know, I can tell cause they look like tails and their called hot dogs.” Me: “well then I guess we should never eat them again.” Ava: “No, I don’t care if that’s what they really are, I’m still gonna eat them cause their good.” In her defense, she’s gotten bit by 2 dogs so she really doesn’t care for them. Back to me. This time I am 3 days of doing well. I realized if I slip up and have some animal product, it’s not the end of the world and I continue trying. This vegan diet is more of a lifestyle then an actual diet anyway. It’s also a bit of a process. What makes it harder for me is that I am not an animal lover. I will never own one. I had horses and dogs growing up and loved them but as for now, I am not an animal person. I’m not in it to save the animals but more or less to save myself from what’s in the animals and what’s it’s doing to humans and our health. Do I really want to eat a pig’s butt? No, that’s gross. I don’t want to eat anyones butt. Chickens = straight nasty and the thought of eggs and where they’re from disgust me. Eggs are actually my downfall though for baked goods and I love a good omelette. Cow’s milk makes me sad, I feel bad for them. So, I guess I do care for animals a bit but they really taste so damn good. I am a big veggie and salad eater to begin with and can do without meat for the most part. I find it hard to cook my husband food and not taste it to see if it’s good or done so this is a problem. I am doing ok without cheese but if someone makes lasagna I’ll probably have a piece. Desserts are another downfall. I made vegan banana bread and it was decent. Cookie dough balls made of chick peas were not a hit and it would never be a party favorite like all the reviewers said. I think I’ll try chocolate chip cookies next and lemon drop cookies. I got a book of 100 best vegan baked goods and they all seem delicious. I’ve stocked up my fridge and so far so good. I have a feeling it’s going to be hard at a party or restaurant but I’ll survive and if I have a screw up I can just start again the next meal. Any ideas, tips, suggestions about veganism would be great. Thanks!

My truth about breast feeding

2014-01-19T11:14:00.001-08:00

I always thought I’d be one of those moms that breastfed my kids til they were 18 and going off to college. I also dreamed of pumping and donating a million ounces to babies in need. I tried so hard with all 3 girls and each baby actually got easier but it was never what I imagined. Before my milk even came in my nipples hurt like hell and looked like raw chewed up ground beef. Nothing like the women in the breastfeeding pamphlets/videos with perfect Hershey kiss nipples. This continued for about 2-3 weeks except they were now even more raw and cracked and pretty much chewed all the way through from a baby that has no teeth. Yes, I tried lanolin, calendula, breast milk, cold packs, warm packs, vinegar, Neosporin, and any other thing I read was supposed to help. With Ava, it was the worst, my nipples bled and the poor baby was spitting up blood. She started as an aggressive eater and still is. Then she developed thrush. I quit very early with her. When my milk came in with all 3, I would wake up feeling like I was drowning in my own milk because they leaked so badly. I tried a pump but that made it worse to the point that I seriously felt like I was going to bust and it hurt like hell. With Kayla, it was the worst, I developed mastitis. Not only was this natural way of feeding extremely painful, it was time consuming. Really, you’re going to take 60 mins to eat, it doesn’t even take me that long for a 7 course meal (ok fine, I’ve never had a 7 course meal) then sleep for 45 then want to eat again. Then right when I’m finally getting the hang of it and actually nursing in public like I’ve always dreamed instead of having to take off my whole shirt like I did at first- I have nothing. I go from drowning to dried up. I had a few days of leaving the baby with the sitter for full days and barely getting a chance to pump and it ruined me. I tried the oatmeal, fenugreek, mother’s milk tea and any other thing all these breast is best people preach to me and still nothing. Never got engoreged, nothing. Plus, the baby wasn’t gaining and was only 11.11 lbs. at 5 month. I gave up. I feel ok about it for the most part but still sometimes feel a bit of guilt. I wonder what mothers did in the past, without pumps or even formula- probably jumped off a bridge!! A friend made that comment to me and it’s so true.

Easy Birth Story

2013-08-02T19:03:00.002-07:00

7/11/13. Today was a Thursday. It was one of the last days to be together with my soon to be big sisters before getting induced on Sunday. Here’s what we did Breakfast with a friend, pet store, pedicures, park, 7-11 for free slurpees, garage sales, another park, ice cream, and then home to swim. By dark I was exhausted but we still had to do our nightly catch lightening bug walk. That’s when I got one bad back cramp. I told my husband when we got home and he seemed panicked. He quickly got the hospital bag and the girls’ overnight bag down by the door and packed one for himself. I was nervous too because I knew it was the start to real contractions. It was way different than the Braxton hicks I’ve had for the last few months. I continued about my night experiencing a few minor back pains/contractions. I wanted to sleep but I knew real labor was near and I was scared. I didn’t want to go to the hospital. I wasn’t ready to have this baby, even though I wanted it out for so long. This really might be the day the world gets to meet the little one that caused me so much stress and anxiety the last few weeks. Was it going to be boy or girl? I remember feeling a sudden sadness in the mix of pain knowing that this will probably be my last time being pregnant. It was a bittersweet moment. I wondered if I enjoyed being pregnant as much as I should, maybe I should’ve embraced it a little more. By 11 pm I had major back cramping and pain but nothing regular. I walked around my house trying to time them, while watching TV, doing dishes, and quick cleaning. Nothing more than 30 seconds, so I figured it wasn’t real labor. I also looked up if I was in labor or not because even though it was the 3rd time I still felt clueless. I downloaded an app to time the contractions but I still wasn’t sure if it was real contractions. At around 2 or 3 am I called my mom because I didn't want to drag the girls out in a panic if it was real labor. My mom got here and I still wasn’t sure since I was able to talk and function. The only weird thing is that I felt like I had to go to the bathroom with every contraction. I tried to go to bed in hopes that my water would break and then I would know for sure to go to the hospital. Finally around 5 am I was still asking my mom and husband if I should go in and decided to call my Dr’s office. The answering service told me it was my call and that the L&D nurse would call the Dr if they needed him (my Dr was pissed about this and said she should’ve paged him right away.) I still contemplated going because I read about a 5-1-1 rule (contractions 5 mins apart lasting 1 minute for at least 1 hour) mine weren’t like that so I still waited. They never got like that. Finally I got my husband. Of course, he had a headache and was obviously in more pain than me so we had to stop at Walgreens, which was closed. I told him we still had time and I thought Kmart was open. He got out of the car and that’s when I felt the most pain. I told him we needed to hurry. Then of course contractions/cramping stopped again. We got to the hospital around 5:45am, waited for L&D to come, which seemed to take forever. I told the nurse on the way up that I wasn’t sure if it was real labor and they’ll probably send me home but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t too far along because I wanted the epidural (which I didn’t get with my last 2.) She put me in the small room and told me to get undressed so she could check me. She had a strange look on her face and to my surprise and hers she said “umm you’re at 8-9cm, looks like you’re not getting that epidural this time either. We need to move you to a different room and get everything ready right away.” Omg. My baby will be here soon, now if only my Dr would hurry up. We made jokes about Candy Crush, pig semen and Kim Kardashian all while in fullest and hardest part of labor. The nurses loved me and couldn’t belive I was smilig and laughing (especially without drugs). They commentred on how I was such an easy patient. 7 am comes and Dr arrives and the nurses that I’ve dealt with for the last hour were about to leave. Dr breaks my water, I tell him I really need to push. I scream and cry in pain and push. Everyone cheers me on and says “the baby’s right there, we see hair, one more push, you can do it.” I push. They say “stop, stop, stop. Don’t push. You need to stop pushing right now.” I cry that I can’t and it hurts but they seem concerned and I do my best to stop. The baby’s head is out and I have no idea what is going on. No one seems to say anything. My husband later tells me the look on the one tech’s face was pure panic to the point he didn’t even care if it was a boy or girl. One more push and at 7:18 am “it’s a girl!!!” Turns out the cord was wrapped so tightly around her neck they couldn’t even unravel it and the Dr had to cut it off. I think, wow 2 contractions to push her out. That was the easiest labor and delivery. The nurses from the last shift stayed after just to see what I had and to congratulate us. They hand me my screaming baby girl and she was beautiful. They finally clean her up and measure her about an hour or two later. She weighed 6 lbs. 15 oz. and was 21 in long. We couldn’t decide on a name for the longest time but eventually decided on Cierra Rose. That’s how I remember the birth story. I actually just realized I have no pictures of me in labor and none of me and the baby or none of our whole family.

Mental Breakdown 36 weeks

2013-07-26T19:38:00.001-07:00

The last few weeks of my pregnancy were an emotional nightmare for me. I completely lost my mind. The anticipation of this baby was killing me and I wanted to kill everyone around me for no apparent reason. I was having panic attacks and feared that something would be extremely wrong with my baby. I spent way too much time online looking up everything. I was sure my baby had everything from cerebral palsy to trisomy. I thought of and researched every possible negative outcome of the baby’s health. I prayed that if there was anything wrong it was cataracts because I was familiar with that. I had a growth scan around 36 weeks, where the tech made me nervous as hell by saying the baby looks a little small. When I asked “how small, like a few weeks?” She said yes with a look of concern on her face. She even made a comment that if the baby does not grow the doctor sometimes induces early because they have a better chance of growing outside the womb. She continues to tell me the baby’s legs looked especially short. Surely, I went home and googled the crap out of everything again. I went to my dr’s office crying but he showed me the report and said everything looked perfectly fine (as it did all along) and that the tech had no business saying anything at all to me because it was not her job and she was not trained to read the report. I still worried about my tiny baby and bought some whey protein and started making protein shakes to bulk up. As if I need the bulking, considering I had gained a good 30 pounds. Physically, I felt great and according to people, I looked great and not that far along. I was still doing everything I did before I was pregnant and possibly more. I never had swelling, complained about the heat or anything really (but I’m sure my husband will tell you differently.) Overall, it was good pregnancy, beside my early bleeding, varicose veins and temporary mental insanity but I was ready to meet my baby. In fact, my Dr said he would induce me on Sunday 7/15 at 9pm. My due date was 7/18. Of course I went home and researched induction, as I had 2 uncomplicated natural births and suddenly felt really nervous. I read that cervidol was made from pig semen and that made me not want to get induced. I did just about all the natural remedies to self-induce starting around 38 weeks. I bounced on an exercise ball several times a day while playing candy crush, took red raspberry leaf tea, took evening prim rose oil (orally and vaginally) walked every day, did squats in the pool and a few on land (but that made me feel like my vagina and organs were falling out) pressed on acupressure points and had a pedicure. I also tried castor oil but only tried one half a teaspoon full because I was a little leery of that for some reason. I did go into to labor the night I got my pedicure. I told her to hit all the acupressure points. I’m not sure if this was it was a coincidence or not. It was Thursday 7/11/13…

2nd trimester

2013-04-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe I'm in my 3rd trimester already. Who am I kidding, it seems like July won't be here for decades. I'm feeling fine and have felt fine the whole time (minus my small bleeding episode at the beginning). Baby is growing just fine and sex is still to be determined. Once again I did not want to find out. This baby is very active and my doctor has yet to get a heart rate because of the movement. The only issue I'm having is varicose veins. They are so gross. I look worse than an 87 year old woman's legs. I bought myself some super sexy thigh high compression socks but only got a chance to wear them once so I'm not sure if they help at all. My weight gain has been fine. I am finally getting out of that "is she pregnant or did she gain 10 pounds phase." I feel like nobody actually cares about this pregnancy and I hope that doesn't mean that no one will care about this baby. My dad and coworkers are the only ones who have asked how I'm feeling and how baby is doing. My sister talks about how much she hates babies (we actually used to talk about this together until about a month ago) and my mom hasn't asked me anything at all. My husband is a whole different story but I'll just say, he didn't even go to the ultrasound appointment with me. Anyway, I'm happy that I'm feeling good and that things seem to be going fine and pray they continue to go that way for the next 11-13 weeks.

I want to travel the world

2013-04-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

I'm going to take a moment to reflect on my career (or lack of one) and try to focus on finding my calling again. Some may think I am unmotivated and they are absolutely right. I am still having a hard time finding a passion in life but once I find it I think I will have the drive and motivation to accomplish it. I am trying to find my true north but my internal compass takes me every which direction. This makes me think my true calling is to travel every which way of the world. I have no problem packing up and moving on and wouldn't feel bad about having my kids drop out of school to travel the world. The problem is- my husband. He seems to be pretty grounded. He thinks, what's the point of working at the same job for 15 years if your just gonna pack up and start over somewhere else. I disagree. I think living should include change on every level. Maybe I am biased because I never had a job for 15 years. My longest is at Ingalls which is almost 5 years. Technically 2 because I quit and came back so they started me from scratch but total is 5 years. Another problem is that traveling the world is not actually employment unless I can find someone else's dime to travel on.

my 1st trimester

2013-01-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

I am finally admitting that yes I am pregnant! It was somewhat planned. We talked about it for a day. I took out my own IUD, which I would not recommend unless you desperately do not have the money to pay the copay. I regretted it because after thinking about another baby, I realized I didn't want another. See my post No Baby. My girls are so easy to manage now. I wanted the IUD put back in But it was too late I was already pregnant within 2 days. I took at least 8 pregnancy tests at home and work before I even missed a cycle. I still didn't believe and constantly checked to see if my period was starting. At 6 and 8 weeks I did start bleeding. The baby was fine but I had what they called a subchorioic hemotoma (fancy word for a blood clot) in my uterus. Which I believe is from the improper iud removal. I thought for sure I was going to miscarry so continued to be unexcited. I was on slight bed/pelvic rest for a month and the clot resolved on its own. I am now 14 weeks and starting to finally be happy! This is the 2nd trimester so I feel less "at risk". I am feeling great! Baby is Due in July and we will find out the sex then!! I'll keep you updated :)

I suck at being the easter bunny...

2012-09-30T19:54:00.003-07:00

suck at all the make believe that comes with parenting. I don't like the Easter bunny, Santa, tooth fairy or anything that requires me to wake up in the middle of the night or stay up later.
My daughter lost her first tooth and I had no cash. I had to borrow from her piggy bank to give to her. How sad. The tooth fairy also forgot to take the tooth because she's a light sleeper. There has to be a better system for this. I actually have no idea what the going rate for a tooth is these days but couldn't imagine giving more than $1.
The Easter bunny wasn't a big hit this year either. We were on vacation, isn't that the best Easter present ever?! I brought a few plastic eggs in my suitcase, filled them with pennies and hid them around the room when I woke to vomit from drinking too much at pool all day. The kids weren't thrilled; I guess they saw the eggs in my suitcase. Umm... change of subject. Hurry up kids, grab your eggs or we're going to miss our flight.
Christmas is a whole another thing. When they were babies to age 2, I would wrap up boxes of diapers and other necessities. Who cares at least it's something to open. Now they're older and wiser and notice Santa has the same wrapping paper as us. Last year Ava got an iPod. Don't judge me cause my 5 year old got an iPod. That was pretty much it. She got a few stocking stuffers and her other gifts were iPod accessories. Why did Kayla get more? Kayla got paper and markers that were "borrowed" from my office and wrapped individually. It only looked likes more. Learn the value of a dollar, kid.
With that being said, I don't think we will participate in "The Elf on the Shelf" again. My sister got us one and it seemed like a cute thing. Her kids loved and adored it. Mine did too but unless someone mentions it this year, they probably won't care. Either way, I don't think I'll be doing it because it's too much work. You have to move it every night and I'm just too tired for that.

my life lately

2012-09-30T19:08:00.004-07:00

I didn't get a chance to write much this summer, mainly because I was too busy doing nothing but I wanted to let you know everything is going smoothly.
Ava started Kindergarten (tear) I can't believe she's that big already. So far things are going great with school and I am happy with the public school system. I am thankful for the teachers and happy they are not on strike like some other schools. Her teacher seems really nice. I mainly communicate with her through notes stating which random stranger is picking up my child because I do not have a set work schedule or steady babysitter.
Another thing we've been busy with is cheer leading. Ava's enjoyed it from the beginning, however, I absolutely hated until recently. Maybe it's because I never made the team as a kid. (Truthfully, Ava probably wouldn't make the team either if there were tryouts at this age.) Or maybe I hated it because they were making my 5 year old do laps and wall sits for scratching her leg, being off a beat, not smiling enough and any other nonsense. Or, maybe it's because practice is 4 days a week for 2 hours and games are sometimes Saturday and Sunday, which equals 6 days of cheer. Are they out of their minds? I'd like to have life too. Then I realized my kids are my life and I'm over it and learned to enjoy cheer and all spirit that comes along with it. "L-I-O-N-S The best!!"
Then there's Kayla... She is in preschool 5 days a week, half days. Same school as last year, which I absolutely love. Since cheer is so damn time consuming that leaves no room for extra circulars for her. She's 4, so really it's not necessary anyway. Oh yes it is, because if you don't start her early she'll suck and have to do laps and wall sits. I found a gymnastics class 1 hour a week for her at the rec center. She loves it. I wish it was longer and more days.
Here's what's new with me... an extra 10 pounds, a gym membership that I never use, and a super clean house until 11:30 when Kayla gets off school. Kayla has definitely been great those few hours. She is so good at entertaining herself and such a joy to be around. Of course, that's not all the time. The other times she is a completely overtired psycho.
Overall, I love my life

that 10 pounds...is now 15.

2012-09-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

So as I sit here... actually I'm not sitting , I'm on the treadmill writing this! yay me! But unfortunately I am drinking my McDonald's coffee with vanilla, 2 creams and 2 sugars while doing so. I realized I have become a completely processed and unhealthy mess. I don't know where and when I lost all sense of motivation in my life and became a lazy fatass but here I am. The good part is, I realize I need a change and one I can stick with. I've been down this road so many times before, you know, the one where I throw out all junk and processed everything and buy ridiculously overpriced organics and health food only to realize I can't do this because someone at work brought cookies and I have to have one or I'll die or my husband has candy and it looks so good and one sip of his Coke isn't gonna hurt, right? Why can't I have self control? Oh, that's right, because it was summer and summer is fun, why would I have control when I can have beer, cake and BBQ everything? I manged to get by without showing the noticeable extra 10 pound gain by wearing sundresses and workout clothes but unfortunately the weather is changing and I might need pants with buttons soon...jeans! Truth is; my jeans do not fit and I would like to blame it on that one time my husband did the laundry, obviously he shrunk them, or maybe it's my age; maybe they were right, you get fat as you age unless you keep up with your diet and exorcises. Anyways, I don't know where I'm going with this besides to tell you my fatass need to lose 10-20 pounds.

A quick look before it becomes trash.

2012-07-08T19:50:00.000-07:00

My kids enjoy drawing, coloring and pretty much every other art and craft stuff. Kayla especially loves this; in fact she even got office paper and supplies wrapped up for her Christmas present. I usually limit them to drawing and coloring with crayons. They are banned from markers, glue and scissors unless under supervision and I don’t have time to supervise my kids. They sit at the table or anywhere and draw all day. I can’t even remember the last time they played with toys.

Here are a few samples:

Kayla couldn’t figure out how to draw a happy person for the longest, and then one day she just got it and completely changed the whole look of her people.

It’s weird how much they’ve changed in just one day. Both are of her and Ava. I like the sad people. They make me laugh. The others are nice too.

She's actually not bad for being 4.

Ava draws a lot of scenery and mostly just writes letters and menus.

This was an old picture but I kept it for some reason.

Ava’s people look like Edward Scissorhands on wheels. She doesn’t draw them anymore because I always say “I really like their roller skates.” And they are clearly not skates.

I wish I could find a better one.

I just wanted to document a few of their drawings because I usually throw them all away when they’re not looking. Sometimes they find their pictures in the recycle and cry. It makes me feel like the worst mom ever but I don’t like paper clutter.

Cute Jar Bank

2012-06-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

I thought I was getting good at spray painting things so I decided to make a bank out of a sauce jar. This is perfect because I also made a chore chart (once again) for my kids and they will be getting one nickel for every “X” on their chart. Here’s how their doing so far.

Looks like no one has picked up their toys...ever.

Back to the bank; I tried to spray paint the outside of the jar but it looked like shit so I scrubbed it all off with a brillo pad and poured acrylic paint on the inside instead. I tipped it, swirled, did whatever it took to cover the jar. It wasn’t complete without a tiny chalkboard on it, so I duct taped a box and sprayed it with the chalkboard paint. I also did the lid with chalkboard spray after I cut a coin slot in it. Then I tied a pretty bow. Looks cute.

Notice, I tried to draw Mickey Mouse ears as a reminder we are saving for Disney.

I wish I had an idea for my wine jug

2012-06-29T15:54:00.000-07:00

Today I was feeling crafty again. I’ve been drinking a lot of wine lately and was looking for recycled crafts. Unfortunately, there wasn’t too many for empty Carlo Rossi jugs or boxed wine and I wasn’t creative enough to think of any on my own. It will come to me one day though.

Anyway, I had some leftover (actually unopened) chalkboard spray paint from a project I wanted to try but didn’t. So I spray painted the bottom of a wine glass with it. It was so easy and so awesome. It was also unnecessary, considering I drink wine alone in the afternoon of most weekdays, and because I don’t have a matching set so nobody is usually confused anyway. Either way, cool project. Thanks again pinterest for another clever idea.

Garden Obsession

2012-06-29T15:23:00.002-07:00

I am obsessed with my garden. I used to be obsessed with pulling the weeds in my patio cracks. I have had a garden since we moved here six years ago. It used to be way smaller and I only had a few tomatoes and peppers. I don’t grow peppers at all anymore because we don’t eat them that much.

Here’s what I have this year.

Swiss Chard

Lettuce

Broccoli

Onions

Tomatoes

Sugar Snap Peas

Zucchini

Cucumber

Corn

Mint

Basil

Dill

So far all are growing nicely and we have eaten everything except the tomatoes, cucumbers and snap peas. They should be ready to harvest soon. I’ve grown all of these except broccoli and so far it’s been good. We ate one head already.

We eat Swiss chard and zuchinni once or twice a week. I mainly sauté it with garlic oil and parmesan or put in our scrambled eggs. If anyone has any good and easy recipes for chard, let me know!

Let them have dreams

2012-06-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

Once again, I am looking for a new job. I am still wondering ‘what I want to be when I grow up.’ I don’t have any dreams, goals or passions in life. Sad, isn’t it? I don’t ever remember having one either. I was never great at anything. I was always average at things but never put forth an effort. I do remember being nice and maybe niceness leads to happiness and happiness should be the ultimate goal for life anyway. So there, my passion and goal is happiness.

Since, my main job is “housewife” I should start putting forth a better effort in raising my kids. Maybe they have dreams, passions and goals. I don’t want to be the one to hold them back form that. That being said, maybe I should just let them do things that make them happy so they can lead a better life from a younger age. Plus, a happy kid will make my life easier. Instead of getting angry and forcing my kid to swim every day, I should let her do sidewalk chalk. Swimming is a much needed skill but there is no reason to rush or force it upon her or she will hate it. Cleaning does not make me happy so I rarely do paint and messy projects with them (we have been a lot more lately). Since they love arts and crafts I should let them do it daily. They love doing cooking projects but it is way more time consuming and messy with little helpers, so I shun them off and tell them to stay out of the kitchen and they can help another time. I think back to when I was a kid and realized that I liked cooking and baking too and my Nonie would always let us help and never got frustrated with an eggshell in bowl. Since my dreams are already shattered and nonexistent, I might as well focus on my kids’ dreams and passions. They are their own people and I have come to realize they don’t have to like the things I did, such as sports and drugs and alcohol. I was really looking forward to them playing softball but they have no interest. I might just have the next Picasso or Rachael Ray if only I would let them be who they are.

Dirty Hippie Hair

2012-06-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

I mentioned before that I’ve had a problem with dandruff. I tried a few store bought products and they didn’t work. I tried to cut sugar out of my diet but that didn’t work either, considering I am completely addicted to sugar and it is in everything. I read about this no shampoo method and decided to try it. Dirty hippie hair doesn’t bother me. I’ve probably only had 2 good hair days in life and they weren’t even full days. My hair does not stay good all day; it’s usually a frizzy mess and in a ponytail within an hour.
Anyway, this “no poo” method (that’s what they call it, Google it) has been going ok so far. It’s been over a month and I haven’t used shampoo or conditioner. I’m not going to lie, I only washed two or three times a week before because of my hair type. If you know my hair, I used to use at least ¼ a bottle of conditioner per wash and still had tangles and frizz. With this method, I have been using baking soda as shampoo about once a week or less and only water on the other days. I use a cider vinegar rinse occasionally, (I guess it acts as a conditioner) and sometimes use coconut oil on my ends to control the frizz, which by the way is way better now. It’s weird to think that I use the same products to clean my floor, counters, toilet and hair. Baking soda and vinegar can actually be used to clean just about anything. You’d think my hair would be greasy from not washing it but it is not. It is still dry, as baking soda will do that, but it could be from being in and out of a chemical filled pool and sun all day. My dandruff has gotten way better. My only complaint is that my hair smells sometimes. I thought it would smell like vinegar but it just smells like scalp/dead skin or dirty hippie hair. Other days it smells like nothing. I think it feels a lot smoother and looks healthier. I actually wear it down more often now. I would show you a picture but I don’t have one. I just put one of me on instgram. My user name is monamama. You can check out my hair there along with my other fabulous pictures. I’ll keep you updated on this natural dirty method.

This weeks pinning

2012-05-31T15:41:00.000-07:00

Here are a few things I’ve tried from Pinterest this week.

1. Calm Jar

This didn’t work. Kayla hated and threw it across the room. I ended up getting rid of it because the thought of glitter and water and broken glass all over my house nauseated me.
I used only glitter and water inside a washed out pasta sauce jar.

2. Teacher’s end of school gift.

http://www.skiptomylou.org/2012/04/21/fun-in-the-sun-summer-relaxtion-kit-teacher-appreciation/

Here’s how mine turned out.

I love them. I wish the picture was bigger. I didn’t add the sunglasses or aloe but I did put a box of crystal light packets and a few water bottles in.

3. Leg pyramid

Ok, I didn’t do all of them but I did print it out and hung it up at work. Wall sits suck.

4. Egg in a pepper

I don’t know how I screwed this up but I did. Mine didn't look as pretty. I like my eggs well done, maybe that's why.

5. Sugar scrub

This is one I always use and I'm not actually sure I saw it on Pinterest.
Here's how I make mine:
equal parts brown sugar and white sugar. Pour olive oil in until it's the right consistancy for you.

It might look gross but skin feels so soft and lickable. Plus, pretty jars with ribbon and paper are not practical for the shower.

That’s it for this week. I’m sure there’s probably more pins that I’ve tried this week since clearly Pinterest is taking over the lives of wanna be crafty, chef, fashionista women everywhere. P.S. I tried to properly link these pages but it did not work. I guess I should google that before people accuse my of plagiarism.

Painting plastic and glass patio furniture

2012-05-13T19:06:00.005-07:00

You cancheck outthe updated version of this post on averagemomlife.com my new website!!

Like my dining room set, my patio set is filthy, disgusting and gross but it gets the job done. It was also left here by the previous homeowners. We planned on throwing it in the alley and buying a new set the first year. Instead we kept it and I found another one that was equally awful in the alley, along with more plastic chairs. Great! We now have two junky sets. Summer comes and goes again and I decided; why spend all that money when (just like cute party decorations) no one really cares as long as we are all having fun eating, drinking and hanging out by the pool. At least, that’s what I like to tell myself, even though I dream owning really expensive and fancy patio furniture. Also, I think of money in terms of vacations and an extra $500 plus is almost enough for a weekend trip.

Here is what it looks like. The round one was worse but I don't have a before.

I planned on only painting the rusted metal trim around the table and stand to spruce it up but while I’m at Home Depot I notice there is spray for plastic and it comes in all different colors. Who knew? I buy multiple bright colors to give it a summery feel because I like tacky and lots of color. Rustoleum was the brand I used.
Before spraying make sure you wipe down the table and chairs. The alley chairs are really gross and the more I scrub the worse they get. They’re actually turning gray and feels like they’ve been sanded. I decided not to sand or prime them because that would require way too much effort.

Tip 1: Don’t use spray paint in the wind. Tip 2: Use a well-ventilated space. Tip 3: Use a drop cloth. Tip 4: Wear junky clothes. I did not follow tip 1 or 2. I was eager to get started and I like getting high off fumes.
The yellow looked a little dingy and could use an extra coat but I ran out of paint. The rest of the colors looked great. For the table, I sprayed the underside of the glass because I figured it would hold up better that way.
Here it is!

And the other set!

It does look a bit cartoonish but I it’s better than the boring beige and white. I'll let you know how it holds up in the sun and rain.

My fat

2012-05-11T12:44:00.000-07:00

So, let’s talk about my weight again. I gained some and I'm not happy about it. I read a quote that said something like "my life is a constant struggle between my love of food and not wanting to be fat." This is so true. It sucks. I don't want to not eat or pass up a big old piece of pie or not be able to dip my crab legs in butter because I'm dieting but I don't want to be overweight. I tried moderation but that is less than satisfying for me. I need motivation. I tried putting skinny quotes in my home, such as "Don't eat the cake you fat pig." That didn't help. What I need is a personal shopper, chef and trainer. That's not going to happen, so I made a food list instead. Be ready, it's long. I felt the need to add 2 bites of this and 1 spoonful of that because that's where I'm feeling I screw up. This is day one.
1. 3 bites of cereal
2. Coffee with cream
3. Banana
4. Rice cake
5. Chuck of cheddar cheese
6. 10 pita chips
7. Slice of Muenster cheese
8. Salad with lettuce and peppercorn dressing
9. 1 bite of turkey sandwich
10. 1/2 slice of turkey
11. 3 pieces salt water taffy
12. 4 chips
13. 1/2 cup yogurt
14. 1 crystal lite tea
15. 1/2 Bagel with cream cheese
16. Cutie (baby orange)
17. 2 bites of bagel
18. 3 marshmallows
19. 3 green beans
20. Bite of chicken
21. Green tea with honey
22. Tootsie roll pop
23. 1 cup taffy apple salad
24. 2 big potato wedges
25. 1/2 cup pasta salad
26. Brownie
27. Mini cupcake
28. 2 handfuls goldfish
29. Mini cupcake
30. 2 bite size Twix
31. 1 air head

I had at least a gallon of water and more low or zero calorie teas. I'm sure I had a few more bites here and there too. I think it only looks like a lot. I was going to enter it into calorie counter but I know the brownie was probably over half of my daily calories.
I noticed my problem is sugar and it's probably the reason my skin is disgusting right now and why I have dandruff.
Maybe I will try to do better tomorrow. On the plus side, I walked for 50 minutes today.

I really don't travel that much

2012-05-11T12:29:00.001-07:00

For the record, I am not rich. People think I am because we go on quite a few vacations. People also think I’m lucky. I didn’t win these trips, so no, I am not lucky. We work our asses off. Ok, he works his ass off but I work hard on finding great travel deals and budgeting. I don’t say you’re so lucky you went to the mall and bought some shoes. People do what they want with their money and time. We chose to travel. Sure, my house can use some work, my car is not paid off and I could use some new shoes too. You may like saving, I like going. If something major broke down, we’re pretty much screwed. We should have a ton more money saved but we don’t and I’m not even worried about as long we are doing what we want to do. So, yes, it is fair that I go on trips and you don’t. I’m sure you have a bigger savings than me and I truthfully don’t care. What good is your savings when you’re dead?
Also, these are weekend trips. That’s all I need or can really afford. I am not going on fabulous 7-14 days Caribbean, European or anywhere out of the country vacations. Weekends trips in my homeland are perfectly fine and fabulous for me right now. I still want to travel to New York and San Francisco and then I think I will venture outside of the country. I actually think I could use a staycation and check out the touristy sights in Chicago and Illinois. There’s no reason I need to justify my reasons or spending habits but I feel the need to because everyone always asks me.
Here is a brief view of my travels since last March:

March 2011- Florida

June 2011- Myrtle Beach

Oct 2011- Niagara falls

(Isn't this amazing?!)
January 2012- Kauai

April 2012-San Diego

May 2012-Boston

May 2012-

See, that’s really not that much. Most of them are Thurs to Sunday. The Hawaii vacation was a little longer. So who cares, stop being jealous and just go somewhere, people!