Le cœur a ses raisons...

....I'm back?!

2013-02-27T15:05:00.000-08:00

I've not written in forever.... life has been crazy and being a working mom is HARD work, friends!!! Then I think of the SINGLE full time working moms out there, and my heart just bleeds for you. I just can't fathom how you do it. I have extreme mommy guilt sometimes and finding an appropriate family/work/housework balance is tough. I still have high hopes for this blog, I love writing and I think if I can ever reliably blog, it would be an awesome way to record memories for our family to look back on and enjoy one day.

Besides work and family, one thing new and exciting is we have been planning a Europe trip this May!! Super excited for this, Chris and I have had this in the works since pre-preggly with Greyson! Finally we are (God willing) going to make this trip finally happen in a few short months! We are going to Paris for a week, Santorini Greece for a week, and then London for a few days before we fly home. Best part?! We twisted my sister Emilee's arm into coming with us to help babysit (you know i'm too big of a weenie to leave G for this long!). Then my mom and dad decided they couldn't be left out of the fun, and then my sis Amanda and her hubby Jordon decided to carpe diem and come with as well! :) We are staying in apartments in all 3 places with kitchens and washer/dryer. Should be one fantastic trip. I have spent umpteen hours researching everything, where to stay, where to eat, what to do... trip advisor is my best freaking friend. Chris however, I know, is tired of seeing a laptop in front of my face. We finally have everything at least all booked so finalizing an itinerary of sorts is pretty much all I have left. I have been listening to Greek language CDs from the library every morning on my 40 min drive to work, so I'm excited to test out my skill :) (or lack there of, HA!) I've learned in my french speaking background that even after almost completing my major in French, once you get there and attempt to speak with native speakers it's a whole new world :)
Here is a view from where we are staying in Santorini:

So the famous question, Are we completely loco taking a toddler to Santorini Greece?? An island famous for cliffs, stairs, it's volcano caldera, and water? Well..... maybe. LOL, I anticipate that there will be some challenges, but everything in life worth anything comes with it's own set of challenges, right?! I swore up and down before we had G that I wouldn't let kids dictate my every life choice. Santorini is on my bucket list, and I figure pretty much every experience in life is what you make of it. If it's too rough, we can always take a boat and explore a new island for a day, or three;)

So besides our trip, another exciting happening is my sis Katie is pregnant with baby Mercer #3!!!! Due at the end of March, I can hardly wait, I will have another snuggly nephew SO SOON! I am throwing her a baby shower on the 10th and am pumped to celebrate the bebe with everyone!

I LOVE throwing showers and parties because it always makes the best incentive to clean and work on the house! We hit the one year mark of being in our house 1/16. I can't believe a year has gone by since we moved in! We are slowly but surely still making our way through the house repainting, redecorating and making the home "ours". This fall we had our deck power washed and restained. It looks much better. We also repainted the banister, the entry, kitchen, dining and living, hallways of first floor, and finally furnished whole first floor! Next on the list I believe will be our bedroom. I would LOVE to redo our master bath too but that expensive project will have to wait until we hit the lottery or finish paying off our student loans! I will post pictures of all our updates soon!

Greyson update in my next post, I am getting carpal tunnel as I type and my computer is about to set a small brush fire on my bed! Peace out blog world!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2012-05-13T11:40:00.001-07:00

To all you mamas out there, Happy Mother's Day! In honor of one of the best moms I know, my own, I wanted to commemorate the day with a list of the top 10 most awesome (in no particular order) things my mom did for me & my siblings. This blog post is dedicated to Mrs. Sacha Sue!!!

As some of you might know, I am one of 8 children. No twins or triplets, and yes all from the same two parents! And no not catholic! (inevitably, these questions always follow! lol!) I can not imagine what raising 8 kids is like. In my (almost) year spent raising my son, I can vouch that being a parent is NOT always easy! You are constantly questioning yourself: am I doing the right thing? Is this healthy? Will this benefit my child? Should I let them eat/try/watch/listen to/do this? And my own most commonly self-asked question, "what would my mom do?!" Luckily, I still have my mom around and I can call her up and ask her as much ;) I feel truly blessed that this is the case, my heart goes out to those of you who don't get to celebrate Mother's day with your mom. Growing up my mom did some special things for us/traditions that I can't wait to carry on with my kids. I thought some of you might enjoy trying some of these things too. These are the ones that comprise some of my most special childhood memories and in my humble opinion, make my mom the world's best ;)

Beach Bags- One of my most favorite childhood memories was the two weeks my family spent in Sanibel, Florida every summer growing up. We would all pile into our ginormous van and make the 24+ hours long haul drive down to Sanibel. My mom deserves sainthood for driving that far in any type of enclosed space with 8 crazy kids!!! Luckily, we always had a video player in our van and that, I'm sure, helped saved everyone's sanity. Our favorite movie was "tiny toons how I spent my summer vacation" and we ALL knew every word to that movie by heart, even my dad who drove the whole way! When we would get to Florida and all unpile into the condo, my mom at some point would call us out to the porch and give us our "beach bags". The bags were in some kind of fun tote and would contain all our beach necessities! Maybe a new pair of sunglasses, flip flops, water wings for the babies, water guns for the boys, rafts for the ocean, dive sticks for the pool, or shovels and backets for beach days! It was such a special treat that we all looked forward to and seeing what my mom picked out for each of us. It was stuff that you might just buy and pack (the necessities) but she did it in such a fun way that gave us something to look forward to the entire drive down!
Chore log- I was just remembering this the other day. My mom would keep a "chore log" a notebook laying out on her desk in the kitchen, and as you did something to help out around the house, unload the dishwasher, give the younger kids a bath, help set the table- you could record it in the chore log. At the end of the month she would tally it up and pay us in points, you could redeem for cash or for "treats" such as ice cream, a coke, or something along those lines. This was a fun way to get us to enjoy helping out around the house and help teach about working to earn what you want.
After school snacks- It didn't happen every day, but sometimes when we would get home from school there would be a special afternoon snack waiting when we got off the school bus! Ants on a log (celery with peanut butter and raisins on top) and the apple smile (two slices of apple, peanut butter on each side holding marshmallows between the apple) were two of my favorites! It was such a fun surprise to come home to food waiting on us!
Lunch bag surprises- My mom usually packed our lunches for school. She would write us a note on our napkin every day, and usually put a sticker on the note :) Once in a while, she would also wrap up a little present in our napkin, a special piece of jewelry we wanted, some nail polish, a fun pencil. Her notes always made me feel loved and thought of during the school day and even into highschool I saved them all in a pile in my locker ;)
Bike rides into town- I think most parents with more than one child have to make an effort to make sure to give individual attention to each of their children, my parents had EIGHT to divide their time and attention between. I remember during the summer my mom would come to my room and whisper "want to go for a bike ride?" she would take each of us one at a time on a bike ride, early in the morning into town for breakfast. There aren't words to describe how much I loved this! Special time, alone with my mom. I still remember her doing this when I was too small to ride my own bike, and I would ride in a little seat attached to her bike. (I guess before the days of bike trailers!) Carving time out for one-on-one time with your kids is so important no matter how many you have!
Gardening- This is not something she so much did specifically for us, but growing up I was always SO impressed with how beautiful all the flowers my mom planted were! I think my mom is amazing because she was able to take care of 8 kids, keep a house running, and somehow found time to grow beautiful plants and flowers. And when we picked the flowers she labored over to plant to bring them as a gift to her, she only scolded us when we happened to pick the neighbors accidentally ;)
Playing hooky- I can remember a very few times (and I hope she doesn't get mad at me for publicizing this! HA!) when I really just didn't want to go to school..... she would ask "well do you feel bad?" and an after a half hearted "uh-huh" she let me stay home and did something special with me. Such as going to the park, or I remember one time her taking me to a book store and pick out a few new books. Now, I am not trying to condone delinquency, however, my mom (I'm assuming here) understood that in the grand scheme of things, a day out of school wasn't (obviously) going to keep us from achieving college degrees. Incidentally, she was building special moments of bonding that will last a lifetime.
Encouragment- My mom always encouraged ALL of us to pursue the things that we were interested in. Whether that was driving us all over the state for gymnastic meets, driving to art classes, sitting in the stands at basketball or softball games, she was always there cheering us on. I don't recall her ever once discouraging any of us from trying something new. She believed in us, which leads to kids to likewise, believing in themselves.
Summer reading log- She encouraged my reading by letting me do a "book log" similar to the chore log, except that I would read an assigned book, and then write a summary of the book and she would pay me a dollar or two per book I read. Let's just say I was quite the book worm during the summer! Moral of that story, a little bribery goes a long way at times, and if it causes a positive outcome ( I still love reading ) - all the better!
Church- My parents always took us to church and read us Bible stories before bed at night. They taught us to memorize Bible verses and made fun competitions out of memorizing the verses. They taught us to hide God's word in our hearts. Though I haven't always been the "best" Christian, my parents gave me a firm foundation on which to build my faith and I am so thankful to them for this. "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it" -Proverbs 22:6

Mom, I love you!!! I thank you for everything you taught me about how to be a mother.

I hope you have a wonderful mother's day!!!

Delicious Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos with Cilantro White Lime Sauce

2012-04-10T19:40:00.001-07:00

I have been a huge fan of fish tacos ever since my mom talked me into trying a bite of hers at the Cheesecake Factory one afternoon many many years ago- back when my palate was much less sophisticated ;) and fish tacos just sounded... gross. Now they are top on my list of faves. However they can be very very good, or very very bad. I've had both with not much in between. I began googling and pinning some enticing recipes but couldn't find one that encapsulated all I was looking for in a fish taco and so I have combined some elements of different recipes I found, to come up with something that fits my personal taste and caters to my attention deficit disorder requirements for not spending all day on one dinner. The result, I must say, was nothing less than magical. I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as my husband and I did! And so with no further adieu.....

!Mahi Mahi Tacos with Cilantro White Lime Sauce!

First I started this recipe by preparing some cilantro white lime rice in the crockpot.

Rub the bottom of the crockpot with some oil. I like to use coconut oil because it's healthier- and let's face it, I'm obsessed with coconut. I love a coconut flavor to my rice. You could use vegetable or olive oil as well.
One cup rice, two cups water go in the pot. I added a dash of Trader Joes limeade (delicious by the way) for extra lime flavor
However much fresh squeezed lime juice you'd like, I used a couple teaspoons probably
However much cilantro you'd like. I tore up about a handful of cilantro and threw it in at the end, or when you're about to remove rice from pot. My husband and I are both currently completely enanomered so we like quite a bit in there.
Dash or two of sea salt for flavor.
Turn the crock pot on low and let simmer for about 4ish hours.

Next you can make the cilantro white lime sauce, I highly suggest playing with ingredients, sampling often during the process- and adjusting to taste. The sauce is what makes the taco so play with it until you love it!

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream (I don't use low fat anything when I cook, but you def could sub for this)
1 clove minced garlic
dash of zatarans creole seasoning (just what I happened to have, could also use paprika or anything you like with a kick) I also used a dash of some fajita seasoning I had that has a nice kick to it
crushed red pepper- I add this to literally EVERYTHING- yes everything, that I cook.
juice from one lime squeezed, hint- roll it around on the counter first, makes it easier to peel and squeeze-
lime zest- grate some lime rind into the sauce for an extra burst of lime flavor
dill, I used about 1 teaspoon probably- I quite like dill
dash of both oregano and cumin
dash of sea salt
dash of fresh cracked pepper
finally, throw in some fresh cilantro as desired- set sauce aside

Now for the tacos! Gather up your ingredients- I shop almost exclusively at Trader Joes, because their food is delicious, fresh, healthy, non-GMO foods. No, they're not paying me to to say this, I have just been thrilled with both their quality and customer service and I think everyone should shop there! Anyway, with that said, all my stuff pretty much comes from there.

What you need:

White corn tortillas- I really like the corn flavor with the fish and the fact that the corn tortillas are gluten free but you could certainly sub for flour or spinach or whatever you like!
Lime- also used in the rice and white sauce, plus add a little fresh squeezed when you're done pan frying your fish!
Mahi mahi- I prefer mahi, but you could also use tilapia or whatever mild white fish you like or find on sale! I made about a pound worth of fish and it was plenty for the two of us plus we had some left overs.
Olive or coconut oil- to cook fish in- fill bottom of pan
Trader jose beer, I added a dash to pan I fried fish in for extra flavor
Queso fresco- grate a bowl full and set aside
Healthy 8 chopped veggie mix from Trader Joes- most fish tacos call for some version of chopped red cabbage and onions, when I found this pre-made I thought it would be perfect for the tacos. It was!! It added a nice crunch and was a delicious topping! I highly recommend! You could also saute this in your oil mix if desired but we ate it raw and it was great. You could also dice your own red cabbage, carrot, onion, whatever you like for an additional topping if so desired.
Whatever else you want on your tacos- we added black beans. Could also do salsa, other veggies you like!

Making your fish-

I pan fried my fish, you could also bake or grill! Just cover the bottom of your pan with oil, like I said I added a little beer to my oil. I also added some sea salt and fresh cilantro. Cut your mahi into one inch strips or as desired to fit in your taco. Cook fish on medium high in oil until flaky. Place fish on paper towel covered plate to cool
In another pan if desired- you can fry your tortillas as well. This is certainly not necessary, but just how I like them. Add a dash of oil, place tortilla in there med-low heat, add queso fresco to top of tortilla. Place tortilla on paper towel.
You can do an assembly line of tortillas, fish, veggie toppings, black beans, queso fresco, rice, fresh cilantro, lime wedges and white sauce and let people go through and make their own- what a FUN party food!!! I just loaded up our tacos since it was just my husband and I eating, however I think I will be making this for our next get together. Such a yummy and fun summer food!

Final Product!

This was seriously probably the best thing I have ever made. It was delicious- and definitely restaurant quality. Don't let the length of this recipe intimidate you- it was really quite easy! I hope you and your family/friends enjoy it as much as we did!! Please make sure to comment and let me know any fun changes/substitutions/improvements you come up with :) Enjoy!

Kitchen- CHECK!

2012-04-06T15:45:00.000-07:00

One room down-- many more to go!

I always pick one room and hammer away at it until it's just right. Adjusting paint, lighting fixtures, hardware, flooring, finally decor. When we moved into our new home, I was anxious to get the kitchen squared away. I love cooking, and love spending time around food- and our new kitchen has a fabulous view that I wanted to be able to enjoy without my OCD decorator inner self freaking out when I looked around. We've tweaked this and that, and I'm excited to share the progress! We are done for now... we may change the flooring up here in the years to come, but not anytime soon! It feels so good to have a room in the house that feels like "us" now!! Up next: dining room! We are actually almost done, hanging white wainscoting then I will update with pictures of it.

Kitchen Before:

To be honest, the yellow just wasn't doing anything for me. We picked out a gray paint because of the grayish tile accent above the cabinets, plus, I just love the color gray.

And Kitchen After:

The gray really makes the white trim pop! I'm very happy with how it turned out. The chandelier is a Pottery Barn knock off from Overstock.com ... Hanging up, I don't think you can tell much of a difference between the two. In person, quality is certainly less than the PB version, but I couldn't stomach paying $400 for it! Overstock's price? $175... minus the $20 groupon deal I bought!

And a different angle...

Our Pier 1 table and chairs! So happy with them! We got them during triple points and wound up getting: 4 white chairs, the table, two decorative chairs, the place settings, several other decorative items not pictured, a large 9x12 rug for the living room, two barstools for <$1700! Then we got $220 of Pier1 bucks in the mail! I think that's a pretty stellar deal myself...!

Curtains are from Pottery Barn, I am so happy with them! I think they add that "light airy" feel and make the kitchen seem a little more homey or something. Also, the length draws attention to the awesome window height! I love how much light our kitchen gets in the morning, very cheery even with the gray paint color.

Decorative accent plates are from Anthropologie- they are French, and they incorporate our color scheme nicely!

Still searching for piece de resistance.... a rug to go beneath the table. Not found anything that has jumped out at me yet! The search continues! Anyway, that's about it for now. I will update with cabinet pictures when I can get my countertops cleaned off! I had just cooked some dinner when I took these pictures ;)

White wood floors?!

2012-02-16T16:07:00.000-08:00

So I have been contemplating how to redo our floors. Our new-to-us home was built in 99' and the carpet in the dining and living room (and bedrooms, really) are looking a little rough around the edges (literally) and really need to be replaced. I've never been a huge carpet fan in general due to my asthma/allergies-- plus I just like the way hard wood or tile looks better.
Here's my dilemma, there is ivory tile throughout our entry, kitchen, and hallways- so whatever flooring I pick really needs to flow with the color of the tile or it will "chop" up our open concept layout. If you're following. Maybe a picture will help illustrate:

Above you can see the dining room carpeting and the tile in the entry as well as hallway. I plan on painting this dining room navy blue paired with white wainscoting. Our dining room set is a very dark wood and looking for the perfect sparkly yet "not your grandmas" chandelier to hang in here. I think a white wood floor would help the navy to not get too dark and shrink the room.

Think something like:

I love it!

This picture gives a good view into the living room. I plan on painting this room a light gray/silver color. I love all the light from the large windows and I think light floors will help keep the room light and airy. Also on the agenda, figuring out what I want to do with the banister... paint white? Stain? TBD...

Furniture wise (it's completely empty now!) I want a pop of color, think sofa that looks like:

Paired with a fun print on an oversized chair, & some type of armoire for our TV.

Does that help? Anyway, I just can't see a darker wood looking fantastic transitioning from the ivory tile since our rooms are so open and you will be able to see the transition from several rooms. So I had been looking for an alternative to my preferred very dark wood and have come to the opposite extreme and fallen in love with... white wood. After looking through some pictures, I think I'm in love.

I think I'm also a bit masochistic when it comes to the cleaning. Our dark wood floors in our condo were such a pain in the butt to keep clean and I'm sure white wood won't be easy either, but I have a hard time imagining they could be much worse than the very dark we had, which showed every speck of everything.

Anyway, here's the fun part. Some of my inspiration!

LOVE the fun print on the area rug in this one. I will be looking for something similar for our living room... I already have a rug for the dining room area.

This one above is way too sterile for me, though it's definitely airy!

Love, love, love this. The rich looking curtains puddling on the floors makes me re-think my plan for sheer window coverings...

A little mod for my taste, but I love the fun use of color here!

Ending on this picture- though this floor doesn't appear to be in the greatest shape, it actually shows color on the wall! Most of the pics above you'll note show white walls. While I can appreciate the monochromatic theme and clean crisp and airy look of the white walls/white floor; it's a bit sterile for my taste. I need a color on the wall. Though I will likely do a long sheer white panel tied to the side in the living room area.

I just love how colors/furniture really POP against the white floor. It makes them so much richer.
White floors.... you dig em'? Next question... painted white... or white pre-fab. Oh decisions, decisions!!! ;) Tell me your thoughts!

Eeeesh.

2012-01-08T17:50:00.000-08:00

I have been awful. horrible. terrible. at keeping up this blog. oops. No December posts at all and here we are approaching the mid-way mark of January :-/ I have started and not finished about 3 different posts though all regarding medical topics but I'm so OCD about being all-inclusive they all turn into a never-ending book so I'm going to try my best to get them sorted out and posted here in the near future for anyone out there in blog land who might care ;-)

Lots of people have been asking about our house so for an update, as of right now, we are set (again- fingers crossed!) to close on this coming Thursday. We are packing maniacs around here and fingers and toes crossed the unpacking will be taking place in our new home and not here in the condo ;-) Our whole home buying ordeal is a long post for another day but suffice to say Chris and I have both had a crash course in real estate and lending and we now know more than we ever cared to! So if you are the praying type, please say a few extra for us that God's will for us will be done as we approach the finish line of this home buying process and that we'll end up exactly where we're meant to be- be it there, here, or elsewhere!

It's CYBER MONDAY Y'ALL!

2011-11-28T08:53:00.001-08:00

Cyber Monday.... Now this, is my kind of shopping. No fighting crowds or getting up at the buttcrack of dawn. No pushy annoying fellow shoppers to deal with, no stress of things "selling out". Black Friday is just overall too stressful for me to even deal with. I will stick to shopping in my pj's from the comfort of my own home, thanks :). So are the cyber monday deals really that great? Yeah... a lot of them are! Especially when you put Ebates to work. Since posting on FB quite a bit (probably annoyingly so, sorry, can't help it I'm OBSESSED!) I've had tons of people ask me what it is, does it work, etc. So I am going to set the record straight today. Ebates TOTALLY works even though it definitely goes against the old "if it's too good to be true" saying. The principle is very simple. Join the website and you can get a $10 Target giftcard right off the bat! (it took like 3 weeks to get it in the mail) After that, every time you want to online shop, Ebates pays you a percentage back of what you spend- all you have to do is go through Ebates first and use their link to the store you want to shop at.

Ok, time for a few examples. So today, on Ebates Old Navy is 7% cash back, they are also having a 30% off cyber Monday deal, plus they always have free shipping. So say I want to spend $100 at Old Navy on Christmas presents for my family, this is how it breaks down.

$100 with the 30% off Cyber Monday deal means I really spend $70.

Free shipping if you spend $50 or more.

Ebates cuts me a check in a few weeks for $4.90 based upon my $70 purchase.

So, in all, I saved a total of $34.90!! Not bad!

The same deal holds true for all of ON's "sister companies"- Gap, Banana Republic, Piperlime, and Athleta. Hurry on over though because stuff is selling out in almost all sizes!

Another great deal, one of my personal favorite stores, Crate & Barrel has an amazing (and rare!) deal right now of 15% off PLUS free shipping. Then on top of that you can get 6% cash back from Ebates! If you have been eyeballing any C&B furniture, now is the time! ;)

For all the mama's out there, hit up Babies R Us Cyber Monday deal of 30% off everything, plus Ebates gives you 2% cash back. A good deal for BRU!

Ebates is doing double cash back on many sites so run over and check out if your favorite store is having any amazing cyber Monday deals. Ebates is great because it also lists all coupon (promotional) codes that a store has going on so it saves you from running to retailmenot every five minutes to find them.

Finally, people always want to know how long before Ebates shows me the money, below is their scheduled payments.

Purchases Posted Between	Big Fat Check Sent
Jan 1-Mar 31	May 15
Apr 1-June 30	Aug 15
July 1-Sept 30	Nov 15
Oct 1-Dec 31	Feb 15

Any other questions? Check out Ebates frequent questions page to get them all answered! Ebates definitely works! I hope this helps those of you who have been skeptical yet curious. ;) Enjoy Cyber Monday and let me know what great deals you find!

Proof it works! My last check for $50.23!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving :)

2011-11-27T13:00:00.001-08:00

As I lay in bed Friday 11/25/11, 1:33 am, Thanksgiving Day has come to an end. And as the holidays inspire me to do every year, I am laying here reflecting on the year which has passed and the range of emotions I feel is amazing to me. Sheer elation- the birth of the most precious gift I have ever been given, to extreme sadness in a bizarre way which I never could have understood until I gave birth to my child. I think about last year, how we announced to our families that we were expecting, about how we talked that maybe he would be crawling by Christmas this year, and how unbelievable that all seemed at the time. And this year, how I marvel that by this time next year he will be walking, and talking- reaching out his chubby little arms for hugs, maybe blowing kisses and smiling when he tastes a dessert that he likes. It's the truest definition of "bittersweet".

While I eagerly anticipate seeing my son grow, change, thrive, and develop personality- it breaks my heart utterly and completely at the same time. I see him changing before my very eyes, and I feel like time is slipping through my fingers the same as a handful of sand which you can not hold onto. One day, many years from now, maybe I'll look back on this writing and wonder how so much time has elapsed between now- and then. Maybe Greyson will be driving his first car, or harder yet (for me ;), anticipating moving away to college in the summer.

Parents always say, "your kids teach YOU things you never understood"… I have only been a parent for five months, my son can't even talk, and he is already teaching me about life. How precious life is. How short life is. Before he came into my life, I can say that I always tried to live in the moment, yet failed hopelessly. Constantly wishing time away for the next vacation, for a test to be over, for a wedding to happen ;), for a son to be born. Thanks to my son, I am finally able to live in the moment for the first time in my life. He has taught me to enjoy the little things all over again, seeing the world through the eyes of babe- with no agenda, no schedule, no stressors- just love and hope. I am cherishing to the best of my ability every second spent with him and it feels amazing. Happy Holidays!

Then

....And now.

*For the record, the morning after I wrote this Grey decided it was time to sit up all by himself, as pictured above ;) Love that little baldy!

These are a Few of my Favorite Things!! Baby Gear... {0-6 months}

2011-11-20T16:38:00.001-08:00

Baby gear. It can be a daunting world. The first time I stepped into Buy Buy Baby I came thisclose to ralphing (pregnancy hormones I'm sure not helping my cause). Aisles upon aisles dedicated to wee ones. How can such small being require so.much.STUFF?! It's certainly overwhelming at first. In a bewildered state I looked around for about five minutes and left with a headache and a weak stomach. I didn't return until I had done more research, and had the aid of some vets (my mom & sister). I really appreciated listmania on Amazon, where moms list and recommend their favorite products, but being these are totally random people with different geography, living situations, and preferences some were obviously more helpful than others. For the most part I've been happy with my choices but figured maybe a blog post would be helpful to somebody out there. (I do have a new friend on FB with a pregnancy announcement daily it seems, which I always LOVE reading :) Anyway, so here we go. My top 15 list, counting down my way to my #1 most favorite, most used, most worthy product!

#15. LaMaze critters-

From the time G was born he has loved these!! We have both Mortimer the Moose and Jacques the Peacock, I think he prefers Mortimer. I hung the peacock from his stroller bassinet and it was the first real toy that ever caught his interest. Early on when he started smiling one day in the mall I looked down at him and realized he was cheesing out smiling at the Peacock! It was so cute, and so fun to see him begin to notice his environment. Now that he's older he loves to chew on the antlers or the feathers in Jacque's case. They make good crinkly noises and squeak too. The hooves on the moose are the perfect size to fit in his mouth. My two year old nephew still likes to look at this toy too, so they are definitely toys that will grow with your child!

#14. Baby Einstein bendy ball or Oball-

I have one of these balls on hands at all times. They are a must! It's nice to have a backup too when they get into the throwing stage ;) This ball will literally stop G mid-cry. He adores it. Shaking it, throwing it, eating it, when he was a newborn would stop crying when I rattled it around in front of his face. Love this thing.

#13. Fisher Price Seahorse-

This cute little seahorse has been great, it plays relaxing classical music with ocean sounds in between songs and lights up like a glow worm. It soothes G back to sleep in the middle of the night when he wakes up and best part is it plays for about 5 minutes, which is long compared to others. We use it quite a bit and have only had to replace the batteries once so far.

#12- Natural baby orajel-

Avoid the original orajel which contains benzocaine as it has been linked with serious adverse effects. The natural kind contains clove oil and works great. I tried it on myself and was surprised by how long it kept me numb for! Don't overdose the natural kind thinking it might be less effective ;) I use just a small amount and it has taken Grey from a full fledged scream to sleeping peacefully within about 2 minutes, I kid you not. The stuff works. *Side note, if your 4 month old (or around there) begins waking up multiple times a night for no apparent reason, crying very hard, try some orajel. Even if you can't see any evidence of teeth, and they've been slobbery chewing on everything for months- they may be working on some teeth that are waking them!*

#11- Medela Breast Pump-

I have the Freestyle, I love it. You can get good discounts often so hold out for one. I got mine for $100 when Target discontinued carrying this model. I've also heard good things about the Pump in Style. If you are serious about breastfeeding, and plan on having a life, a great breast pump is clutch. Trust me on this. You don't want to spend all day pumping. If you are a working mama this is an indispensable purchase. Buy a brand who focuses on selling pumps. Buy a reputable model. I've had no problems with mine and am so thankful to have had hassle free pumping from the get-go. *Also, another side note- those first few days when your milk comes in, really work on pumping a great stash to freeze. You will probably never be able to get that much milk to freeze again. I know at this point you are exhausted and busy, but make time for it. You will be so thankful that you did later on when you have a stash to rely on!*

#10- Baby Swing-

This is the swing (Fisher Price space saver) I got, I have no particular adoration for this swing in particular but it's gotten the job done. I wanted one that was portable and didn't take up much space since we live in a small 2 BR condo right now. I also wanted one that was cheap having no idea if my baby would even like a swing (not all do, for others it's pure sleep magic). I've definitely gotten my money's worth out of this one, and Grey has liked it more and more the bigger he's gotten. When he was tiny he really just wanted to be in my arms and had limited tolerance even for the cozier swings he tried out at friend's houses. Maybe I'll get a fancy schmancy one for baby #2 (sorry Greyson! ha). Regardless, every mom needs to give the swing a try even if you just borrow one at first incase your baby does love it.

#9- Changing Table-

I almost didn't get one, because like I said we're limited on space and it was one of those things that you read is unnecessary to buy. However, I have loved having ours. I use it with almost every change and have definitely gotten my $$$ worth out of it. Especially right after you have the baby and it is uncomfortable to bend over. I was so thankful to have a changing table. I would definitely buy this again.

#8- Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes-

Love.This.Toy. Seriously. It's a Godsend, dramatic-yes. True-YES! I can't say enough about this thing. In the early days I would hold this thing an inch in front of G's face and it would mesmerize him into sleep. It keeps him occupied on car trips. He went through a "I'm going to scream whenever you put me in my carseat" phase, and this single handedly saved my sanity. Get it. You can thank me later.

#7- Summer Organic Swaddle-

In our house we believe in buying organic, if there's an organic option- that's what we'll spend our money on. But that's a long post for another day in and of itself. Granted this is the only swaddle we've tried, but it's worked great so I've had no need to try other brands/types, I know there's a million out there. It keeps them from waking themselves up. I also highly recommend this book, while we're on the swaddle subject. Anyway, I'm not ashamed to admit Greyson is 5 months, and still swaddled nightly. It works for us. And helps us ALL sleep. I've found you have to do what works for your baby and don't by into the hype of what you "should" be doing, and when. Every baby is their own individual!

#6- Jumperoo-

Based upon reviews, I originally wanted the FP Rainforest jumperoo, however I found this one on sale at BRU for $50 so Baby Einstein it was ;) G loves it, no complaints. Jumperoo is a must-have! We started putting him in it at about 18 weeks and he enjoyed the toys then. He's just now at 22 weeks beginning to really get the hang of jumping in it and is close to touching the floor without a pillow underneath :)

#5- Bouncy-

I don't know that brand or type matters much-- just get one with a vibration mode and toys hanging and you're golden. The vibrations puts G to sleep and he likes the toys. I put him in it while I take a shower so I can keep an eye on him while I'm in there, works like a charm.

#4- California Baby Products-

This calendula cream is AMAZING. Forget the Desitin, forget the Boudreaux, buy some of this stuff. It's a magical cure-all elixir (again with the drama!). It will make teething rashes, diaper rashes, and from what I read- eczema- disappear overnight- it will also make your adorable baby even MORE ridiculously good looking ;) Case in point- when G was a couple months old I ate something spicy (lesson learned there) and it lit poor little G's heiny up!! After one poop the next day his poor little butt was fire engine red and chapped and he cried when I wiped him :'( needless to say I felt awful. I remembered reading glowing reviews on this stuff and even though it's not marketed as a diaper cream specifically decided to try it. (I already loved CA baby line, used their other lotion and body wash). As quickly as it appeared, overnight with this stuff on- and his rash was GONE! Chris and I could barely believe our eyes the next morning. It is definitely pricey but it works SO MUCH BETTER than any of the other ointments I tried. Plus it lasts forever. I also put it in his chubby neck fold that likes to collect milk and get chapped (ew, haha). It works great. Whatever you do, do not support Johnson & Johnson. Although they are "committed to fixing the problem", word on the street is they've known for a long time the dangers of this and weren't concerned enough to fix it until there was a public outcry recently. I don't know about you, but this is not a company I'm interested in supporting with my money. Buy whatever CA baby products you can, the whole line, if you will. It's worth it. Prioritize what you put on your baby's skin and invest in their health. This is a quality brand and you get what you pay for. It's pricey but it lasts a long time.

#3- Ergo Baby Carrier-

Julia Roberts using Ergo :) I have it in blue. I love it. I got a great deal on mine on Zulily, an amazing website for all mamas! After doing much research, I chose the Ergo based upon comfort reviews and my bad back and haven't looked back. It's super comfy for both baby and mama! Grey sleeps like a rock in it and it is not too hard on my back even carrying super-chunk around! I can't recommend this carrier enough.

#2- Uppababy Vista-

My one big baby splurge? My Uppababy Vista stroller. I.LOVE.this.stroller. I wanted a quality stroller that was going to grow with our family and after reading reviews ad nauseum, including this must-read book, I settled on this stroller. You can find it on sale, I got a great discount on ours on Albeebaby.com. Also Zulily just ran a great deal on them. Anyway, I just figured that because this is a product that I am going to be using for years to come, with multiple children, I wanted a quality product. Chris calls it the "dyson of strollers" if that tells you anything ;) It's not a product that you will ever regret forking over the cash for. It is easy to fold and get in and out of my car. It steers great. The bassinet is a wonderful addition when your baby is small. The toddler seat faces forward or backward and holds up to 50 lbs. You can fit THREE kids on this baby with the rumble seat (pictured) and the piggy back board for older children. The basket is HUGE! Awesome for shopping. Drawbacks? the back wheel width is a little wide and there's no cup holder. You have to buy the snack tray separately as well as the carseat adapter. Otherwise, everything you need is included. Can't recommend this stroller highly enough. Every time I (frequently) get stopped and questioned on it, I tell parents as much!

#1- Drumroll Please...... Aden and Anais Blankets.

Blankets? Seriously? As my number 1?! Yep. Words cannot express my undying affection for these simple looking blankies. I have an illness, it's called blankie addiction. I absolutely cannot have too many of these. I have a collection going on. The ones Target carries, the more large expensive variety, the organic ones, and even the bamboo ones. They all have their unique purposes. Target ones for diaper changes and burp cloths, bamboo and organic ones for tummy time swaddling, and keeping warm in the carseat. These are my number one because this is the one product that I seriously could not count how many times a day I use. They are breathable, yet keep baby warm when overlapped. They are stretchy and make a great swaddle when traveling or if baby is in a sleep sack but you want to restrain their arms. They are absorbent and make a great burp cloth or wipe for spit up, or even a shield when changing the diaper if you have a boy, lol. I carry two in my diaper bag and have one in my glove box at all times, seriously. I'm obsessed. I admit it. I could go on and on, but I'll spare you. Put several sets of these on your registry and you won't regret it, I promise.

*OH and last thing- skip the nursing cover and just throw this over your shoulder while baby nurses. So much easier and more breathable/less hot for baby. Plus babes loooove staring at the cute animals on them, G smiles at them all the time :) so cute.*

Finally- this is a very personal choice, but my favorite diapers are these.

This is what has worked best for us, they don't leak and less blowouts that we had with the 7th gen diapers. I also think they work better than both Pampers and Huggies, personally. They do run a bit smaller than most other brands. I'm not patient or dedicated enough for cloth diapering but these are a more natural, healthy option. A little more pricey, but healthier. The posted link isn't highly scientific and to be honest I didn't explore it's references, but I can tell you that I do not care for my baby to wear chlorine bleached diapers on his heiny all day long. Only the best for my baby's bum.

Wipes= Seventh Generation

Durable, and chlorine free. I buy them in bulk from Amazon. Super happy with them.

Phew. If you made it through all that, you deserve a-

I hope this is helpful to someone out there. :)

But there you have it, in my immense (5 mos ;) amounts of experience, these are my favorite things!

Pinterest Recipe- Grilled Cheese Rolls!

2011-11-15T22:36:00.001-08:00

Tonights Pinterest endeavor were the grilled cheese rolls and tomato soup, and I must say, was quite delicious! Of course I had to put my own spin on things as you will see below ;)

So last night I talked about the delicious Sun-dried tomato garlic I used? Well I used it again tonight, I slathered it on the bread before putting the cheese on. I definitely think the flavor combination was awesome! Also, instead of the saran wrapped yellow american cheese the recipe uses, I used white american sliced thinly from the deli. I prefer the flavor of the white american and it was delicious with the garlic! The sun dried tomato flavor in the garlic was also great with the tomato soup.

I also used multigrain honey wheat bread, (wasn't GF, sorry Chris!) and it was yummy. I left on the crusts, because guess what?! It's not just a scam when parents tell kids it's healthy in order to not waste food, it's true! The American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry actually published a study detailing the health benefits of bread crust! Our parents really did know what they were talking about!

The end product when dipped in our organic tomato soup was absolutely delicious! Paired with a dark green spinach salad with pear and olive oil dressing and an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie for dessert and Chris and I were both fat and happy when it was all said and done!

Improvements?:

None jump out at me... pretty darn pleased with this one, perfect cold weather meal!

Favorite part of the meal:

The delicious white american cheese, ohhh how I love cheese ;)

The garlic was also amazing, will definitely add that in next time again.

This, I have a feeling, will be a HUGE hit with kiddos! Too bad G's a little too young yet to experience this deliciousness ;)

Overall impression: Loved it.

Score: 8.5/10 on C's flavor meter

On a rather unrelated note, tonight (on the eve of his 5 month birthday!) baby Grey was babbling away! It's so precious to hear :) Lots of babababababbaaaabababab and Chris and I both heard a "mama" clear as day in there!! So exciting! While I'm sure it was not purposeful, it's still exciting to think maybe all my mamamamama repetition is paying off! I'm sure this will inspire Chris to do some dadadadadada practicing with the boy, heheh. Other exciting new developments: he is passing toys from one hand to another, turns when we call his name, can sit unassisted for about 3 seconds before toppling, scoots a little during tummy time, rolls over both directions, rolls over to grab a toy out of reach, and smiles big- purposeful- soul stirring- heart melting gummy grins. He is such a complete joy. Chris remarked the other night that he might want to have "a lot more kids" because Grey is so much fun, I told him we'd cross that bridge when we came to it ;) hehe.

Blessed to have such a spectacular baby and such a sweet husband.

Halloween 2011! We went trick or treating in Zionsville with cousins!

Pinterest Parmesan Chicken Recipe

2011-11-14T16:42:00.000-08:00

So tonight I tried a new Pinterest Recipe I found, original blogspot: http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2005/11/parmesan-chicken.html

It got rave reviews from C! I made just a few adjustments, detailed belowed ;) So I had some things from my last green bean delivery that I needed to use up: mushrooms, potatoes, and carrots that I wanted to work into the meal and it ended up being a great combo! For the record, I have always HATED mushrooms, but lately I have been trying to evolve my palate. I must say, I have actually developed quite an appreciation for them. I still don't love them all, let's just say my tolerance is growing ;) Anyway, so I decided I was going to use the same glaze of garlic, butter, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, on the veggies. I sliced the potato into very thin strips, without cutting through the base, to completely saturate the potato in the dressing.

For the record, the garlic I used is California Sun Dry Garlic with sun-dried tomatoes... deeelish. Can't wait to use this on a million other things. So in the pic above you can see the dressing and I just used a marinade brush to brush it on the potatoes. I chopped up the mushrooms and added them to the bag that the chicken was marinating in.

I then put the chicken, mushrooms, and marinade dressing back in the fridge to

do it's work for the next 5 hours or so. After that was done, I pulled out the chicken and mushrooms to batter them in the parmesan and the organic Trader Joe's bread crumbs that I used. After I coated the chicken I still had some left over so I dumped the mushrooms in the extra mixture.

So then I added the veggies and coated mushrooms to a separate pan, although you could cook with chicken if using a big enough container. I left the skin on Chris' potato because they are nutrient dense, I just don't like it on mine ;)

I put the chicken and veggies in the oven on 425 for 25 minutes, then flipped up to broil for about 3 more minutes to give it a little extra crunch. It was the perfect time, the chicken was moist (sorry, I hate the word too, but it was) and cooked to perfection.

The finished product!!

Overall a few improvements could be made:

I would marinade the chicken overnight, it would make it even more flavorful.

Wasn't cracked on the potatoes, I would just cut them into thin slices to make them more crispy. That's just my personal taste.

C says more green veggies were needed, also I had no gluten free bread on hand, but if you are not GF an extra carb would be a nice addition.

Favorite part of the meal:

Believe it or not.... the mushrooms!!! They (crimini mushrooms) were delicious and they are loaded in Zinc which you can't complain about during cold and flu season! http://www.livestrong.com/article/422280-crimini-mushrooms-information/?utm_source=popslideshow&utm_medium=a1

This Livestrong article goes over some great health benefits.

Overall impression: good meal, could be even better.

Score: 8/10 on C's flavor meter ;)

Comment and let me know what you think if you make this for your family!

Life has changed a bit...

2011-11-14T13:53:00.000-08:00

So I find it rather hilarious, looking back at post blogs, I talked about how I ditched after blog 3, and this one only made it to post 5. However, an attempt to resurrect as inspired by Pinterest, and the (second) love of my life, a little gent by the name of Grey, I'm baaaack. ;) I've lately gotten very into Pinterest and all the cool things you can find there come mainly from blogs, so I keep getting drawn back into this crazy blogosphere. So I'm going to attempt to post at least *weekly* about things I make/craft/do inspired by Pinterest, my little man Greyson (pictured above, couldn't resist), and the McMullen family travels. Wish me luck!

Stressful Situations...

2010-05-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

So- the Grey's finale tonight... I think my heart skipped a beat at least 20 different times. Such a stressful yet awesome episode. For those of you who don't watch, long story short, mourning husband whose wife was "murdered" by the hospital was out for revenge against the Docs responsible, and he systematically gunned down anyone who got in his way. Of course there were many twists and turns and many questions drudged up during the season were answered, some were not. Many ppl died in the shootings- all of whom were hospital employees... rather morbid and graphic and somewhat disturbing. And yet, I was spellbound. People around the country were glued. (i know because their facebook statuses said so, ha) And so I ask, why do we love violent TV? Yes it had drama and romance all intertwined, but still, very violent. If I were a psychoanalyzer I would probably say something along the lines of "it allows us to confront our worst nightmares and role play from a safe vantage point". Probably true considering the whole time I was wondering who I'd be. Who would you be? What guy are you in the emergency? Are you Bailey- shocked into silence, paralyzed by fear, ready to say whatever to get out of the line of fire? (which incidentally I thought the whole "are you a surgeon" "no I'm a nurse" thing envoked a little bit of Columbine "are you a Christian" thing which to me, seemed a little bit like a cheap shot...) Or are you Meredith- the self offering sacrificial lamb, the martyr. Maybe you're the Derek Shephard- the peacemaker, smooth talking, quick thinking on your feet, ever prepared guy. There are so many different reactions which people have to situations in which they feel powerless, fearful, terrorized. I think we (as a society) enjoy watching stuff like this because it does allow us to sort through emotions about events which we hear about, but can't imagine experiencing for ourselves. I think particularly for those of us who are in the medical field and confronted with life and death, emergencies, and morbid events daily- it is a particularly gratifying way to confront our emotions. Because it's not real. When it is real, you have to develop an emotional shield, if you will, because without it- you couldn't do your job. You couldn't make rational decisions about what's best for your patient. This is also why many people don't want to treat their own family members. Especially in a "high stakes" type situation and maybe even non-emergent. Can you make the best decision for someone you love?? Probably not in many cases. In order to be the best provider to our patients we have to emotionally distance to some extent, yet not too much, and that is a very fine line. Anyway- I'm rambling, and probably taking this way too deep but it just makes me question myself when I find myself enjoying such a dark tv show. At least I know I'm not the only "dark and twisty" person out there, thanks facebook! ; ) At the end of the show I decided who I'd want to be though, I'd want to be Owen I think. The guy that distracts, tries to mediate, and is willing to "die with his boots on". You know, the guy that won't go down without a fight, and will fight to the death for the person you love. I'd want to be the guy that says "let's roll" on the plane, and the girl that says "yes, I'm a Christian". Even not in emergent situations we can be "that guy" everyday though. Being reminded of our mortality encourages us to be better EVERY day because you never know if tomorrow will come, none of us are promised a tomorrow. So you gotta (sing along with me...)liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiveeee like your dyinnnn.... And on that note, g'night all! ;o)

Goodbye PA school, hello real world!

2010-05-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

Today was the closing of one chapter, and the beginning of a new one. I can't believe all that has changed in my life the past four years: I moved to Indy, went to Butler, took a leave of absence, met my future husband, went BACK to Butler, suffered excessively (haha), studied excessively, whined excessively, powered through the didactic years- meanwhile planning my wedding, began my clinical rotations, MARRIED my husband, adopted a sister for Prissy- a sassy little persian named Foxy Amore, went on rotations, re-enforced my unwavering love for complementary medicine and all things "outside the box" on my elective rotation with Dr. G, took and passed 7 EOR exams, which leads me to my graduation today. It has been a long and winding road for sure, and only with the love and support of my friends and family and awesome husband did I make it. So many times I wanted to drop out and give up, so many tears cried, so much stress and angst, but I made it- and it feels amazing. It is still all very surreal. I am so thankful and feel so blessed by the opportunities I've had thus far in life.

Third Date Jitters!!

2010-05-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

So, today is the third date. The point where one must make a decision on whether a relationship is going anywhere... or not. Our first date went pretty well, conversation was good, he gave me a nice scalp massage, and everything turned out great. Second date I was left a bit disillusioned when he... sigh... made me brassy. That's right. My hair was an undeniable shade of orange brass. You see, finding the right hairdresser is kind of like finding a significant other. It's a very important, sometimes lifelong relationship and commitment! There needs to be trust, mutual respect, and camraderie in this relationship. I have had a hairdresser down in Brown County who I love (Cindy) but it is just a pain in the toosh to drive all that way, and let's be honest, my hair really suffers for it. So I randomly picked a salon off the internet that is in Broadripple (nice and close) and has the cheapest prices I can find (still not cheap). This is the first time I have ever gone to a male hairdresser, no big differences from what I can tell thus far. Maybe a bit less chatty/gossipy, which is AOk with me, hey I just wanna enjoy my mint infused scalp rub not hear about your mom's bunion surgery.... aight?? Like I said, my first visit was great. He did well with the color, no brass and didn't look like a dye job. Trim was that, just a trim, he didn't go hog wild and take off 10 inches as hairdressers sometimes interpret "just a trim". The second visit was not so good. Way too much hair going into the foils... (I could tell while he was doing it, WHY didn't I speak up?!) and like I said, orange enough to inspire a 12 piece brass band into a rousing version of Handel's Messiah. My favorite part is when hairdresser's tell you, "let's go outside and look at it" #(*%&)(&)(#&)#&%?!?!?!?!?! Go OUTSIDE and look at it?! It's friggin February and there has been snow on the ground for a month straight? I don't DO outside right now, so if I have to go outside for it to look OK- that's STILL not good enough! lol. They must teach them that line in beauty school. It never makes a difference anyway, although maybe to get out of the chemical laden air you are currently hyperventilating and into some fresh O2. ugh. If homeboy turns me orange today I am cutting all ties. Will head back to my previous relationship, so what if I'm stuck in a rut, sometimes you gotta stick with what works, and is just that familiar "comfortableness" that goes along with the "ex" territory. ;-) This pic was taken in Feb. after visit #2, thankfully at this point the sun bleached out some of the "orangeyness" (we were in the Bahamas which is why I actually got my hair done in the first place)

In the beginning...

2010-05-05T09:53:00.000-07:00

A blog began. I have been resistant (and by resistant, what I mean to say is I've started one 3 times and abandoned them somewhere between posts 1 and 3) to this "blog business" d/t my busy schedule and tendency to NOT stick with projects. Growing up in a family of 8-- things like journals and the such were very risky business and potential fodder for blackmail. However, now that I have completed PA school and will have considerably more time on my hands, I thought this would be a fun way to document this time in our lives. If you wondering who "our" refers to, that would be my amazing hubby, Chris. Not sure what I will write about here, likely whatever happens to be on my mind. Maybe a little bit of a travel journal as Chris and I aspire to see much of the world as possible before we think about ushering some mini-me's into the world. Dunno, just gonna go with it and see how this blogosphere unfolds before me :) We'll end blog post #1 with a pic of me and the hubs.

Isn't he just the most adorable creature you've ever laid eyes on? ;o)