Spilling...

Confession: I spill.

Like a lot. Like all the time. So much so that growing up i was "encouraged" to always sit at the table and not the floor in the family room or even on the couch. And to this day, if i come in and sit on the couch with a plate of food, i often get "the look" and "please don't spill" comment.

I am not sure what comes over me, but it just happens. I will go to put the food in my mouth from the plate and wham, on my shirt or oops on the carpet or chair or sofa or rug. It never fails.

When we moved into our new place, i was determined NOT to be the first person to spill something. But as my track record would have it that was not the case. I filled a nice TALL glass of orange juice, grabbed my dinner plate (yes i drink OJ with any meal, i especially love it with cookies. Alfie thinks i am pretty crazy, cause apparently it is only supposed to be a morning drink. But whatever...) i set my dinner plate on the coffee table and set my full glass of orange juice beside it. The next part is fuzzy. I don't know if i went to grab it and wasnt looking, if my plate hit it or what but WHAM BAM thank you ma'am! My glass of orange juice ended up on the carpet. Hot dang! The spiller strikes again.

In my defense sometimes I have "help" in my spilling accidents. Lets just say that SOMEONE in my house likes to put his their drinks on the floor beside the couch. He Said person did not mention that the glass of nice staining Coca Cola was on the floor, so when i walked over i pretty much ended up kicking the full glass of pop. Isn't.that.precious. And one would think I would have learned my lesson and kept MY glass on the end table where it belonged (last time i checked thats what they are for, right?!) but no, no i did not. I thought if Alfie someone else could do that then so can i. Mistake. After having set my glass on the ground, right beside the makeshift baby gate which we have to do a precise high step to get over it, i went into the kitchen to grab a snackie. I came shuffling around the couch with my snack and high stepped over the "baby gate" and GOALLLLLLLL, nice corner kick on my drink. The US team woulda been proud. Thankfully it was just club soda with lime, nothing stainable like the other times. But still. Now the other "i put my drink on the floor" person kindly calls out "DRINK" and points to his their drink on the floor anytime i get close to it, like i am blind or something. Whatever.

I think i have narrowed it down to food excitement (Maddicus listen up). I get so excited (or hungry) that in the swiftness of getting the food from the plate to my mouth things just go crazy. I get distracted, i may be talking and miss my mouth, I have twitched before and the food jumps off my utensil, i overestimate the amount a utensil can handle and pack it on only to find that boo-ya the food lands elsewhere. I underestimate how far the food must travel to get to my mouth. Those minor things seem to cause minor (so far) "things" on my carpet or clothes.

Just last night i again, put my drink on the floor, and moved away from it, then went to turn and hand the pacifier to alfie and stepped right beside my drink, knocking it over. Alfie gave me that look. Ya know, the one that says "really? again? REALLY?" I think it might have something to do with the fact that i use clear glasses, and if i put water in it it is essentially invisible, right?!

Oh well, maybe i will have to invent some sort of drink flag to help me end my beverage spilling ways. And as for my food spilling, well I guess i'll just have to borrow Coltys bib!

Get yo Sleep on....

Confession: We are attempting to get Colton to crib sleep.

and I don't like it. Ok, I quasi like it. Because as I look at his adorable slumbering face, I just want to scoop him up, kiss those super soft cheeks and snuggle with him. And that's not possible when he is in his baby jail crib. And while one part feels that way, the other part KNOWS he NEEDS to sleep in his bed, especially for safety reasons, pretty much because our bed is a bit high for him to fall out of and not get hurt. Especially since he has a habit of crawling to the edge and not realizing he will fall. Anyways, we hit night two last night, but let me not get ahead of myself....

Night 1: My sister and brother in law have been working with Maddie for a few days, trying to get her to crib sleep, (yeah, it’s a family thing to co-sleep...) and apparently she cries for a loooong time as told by her daddy, since her momma has always been a quick and deep sleeper and doesn't hear the cries (like home girl can sleep ANYWHERE... ask her about her first date with Ben... wouldn't it be funny if she fell asleep on it?? even funnier if it was at a movie theater!! true story.) Anyways, so Maddie's poor daddy has to listen to his baby girl wail and probably scream "DADDY COME SAVE ME" (cause yeah, Madds can talk....like real words talk...kitty cat, dog, Titi, Lita, and duck....she is a serious wonderkid) so I KNEW it was going to be rough listening to Colton cry. We got him prepped for bed, turned on the TV to the Christian radio (he has been listening to this since the womb) and said good night and lowered him into the crib. The second he feels the mattress, lil thing starts crying, and crying and crying! For me it felt like 45 minutes, to Alfie only 20. And luckily Susan was over helping me with my hair, so I was not even able to go grab C. We let him keep crying and after a while Alfie went back up to pop in the pacifier and lay on the floor to offer comfort. Sleep FINALLY won out. AND he only woke up a few times when his paci fell out, but went right back to sleep. Bummer ( ok, not really) though at 2am he started crying again, so momma got her bed snuggles in with Colty until morning.

Night 2: Now, Alfie put Colton to bed the first night, and since I am the usual putter- to-bedder I was pretty much expecting crazy clinging and hysterics and pretty much awfulness. I let Colton stay up and play later than usual since he was being a good Kitty (yeah, we have read "the good little kittens" one too many times) and by the time 8:30 rolled around, quickly followed by some baby eye rubs, I knew it was time. Mentally prepping myself for the worst, I grabbed his lovey blanket (best thing ALIVE) and his pacifier and prepped the room and kissed him goodnight. Into the crib he went. Cue crying. Cried as I walked downstairs, as I walked into the kitchen, as I poured a drink and then as I sat down on the couch there was...silence. HUH. Silence. NO WAY. Silence. It doesn’t really happen like this! Too good to be true! 5 minutes of crying. So of course my mommy imagination went "OMG something happened" which then forced me to go check on him. Silently I crawled up the stairs and poked my head into the room and heard him "double" breathing, you know the kind you do after a hard cry. Yeah he was doing that. So all good. He was alive. Home boy made one or two peeps the rest of the night. THE REST OF THE NIGHT! No joke. He even slept through me putting pants on him (poor lil legs were too cold with the a/c on) and only woke up at 6:30am when I put him in the car seat to take him to moms.

So Night 1: FAIL; Night 2: WIN; Wonder what Night 3 will bring us.... Hopefully another good Kitty who falls asleep with ease and doesn't freak the eff out!

I'll try...

Confession: I don't want to be "that mom".

Lets start out with a story shall we....

So the other weekend, fourth of july weekend to be exact, I was working on repainting our kitchen cabinets from the yucky shade of cream, to a refreshing shade of white....or should i say "Glass of Milk" as it was cleverly named (soy milk would fit better for us since we are lactites, but oh well)

Side note: when i paint i wear anything, usually shorts or pajamas but i have this habit of wiping off mistakes (like floor drips or a piece of hair or dirt in the painted piece) and wiping them onto my legs or arms. Which means that whatever i am wearing ends up nicely covered, especially my skin. No biggie I figure if i put in on bare skin its easier to remove because it comes off with a good scrub in the shower. Although it also means it remains on my body UNTIL i shower, which can sometimes be problematic...

Anyways, i was painting late thursday night and ended up running into Target early friday morning...sans shower (yeah mama be groady like that). I think i was even still in my jammies top with jean capris [cringe. i know, who does that?!?] Did i mention my hair was curly and nappily thrown up into a high gross bun with frizzes everywhere....oye. So here i am looking like trash when don't i see my supervisor from work. And instead of realizing how awful i look and avoiding him, I literally seek him out. WHAT?! yeah i know, not a shining moment. Its not until mid conversation that it dawns..."Sweet Lord, i am a hot mess". i quickly end the convo, grab my baby items i came in for and head home. One would think i learned my lesson that morning but no, no i did not. After painting yet again that afternoon in the hot garage and adding new paint marks to my legs and arms (and probably sweat marks too), i take Colty with me and AGAIN head into target. Dumb dumb dumb move. Because who ELSE do i run into?? Only the manager to the program manager at work. I can't be rude so I stop and say hello, realizing the whole time that i look 100xs worse than i did that morning.And that i am going to have to do some wayyyy cute outfit on monday to redeam myself!! Lesson Learned!

Anyways, that situation has solidified a goal i have made for myself. To be that momma who tries. Who doesn't live in sweats and a hoodie, who puts on make up and looks good even if she doesn't want to, and even if it is just a quick trip to target or wegmans. To take the extra few minutes to put on earrings or a necklace even though Colton may try everything to rip it off everytime, or even if he succeeds (he totally ripped off an earring and broke it, bummer, oh well perfect excuse to get a new one :)). I don't want to be that momma that people look at and think "poor thing has let herself go". Which believe me is way too easy to get stuck in because just finding time to get a shower in is a challenge, let alone time to give myself a good hair blow out AND flat iron my hair, tweeze my bushman prone eye browns OR even shave my legs. But I am making it a goal to put myself together daily, to shed all the baby weight (thankfully this is done! Holla! [do people still say holla?]), to do my hair AND my makeup. Why? Because nothing is worse than feeling like you look like crap compared to everyone else.I can hear some of you baby free gals thinking "you should be doing that anyways", and inside i chuckle for you, because just you wait...ohh just you wait (all you busy mamas are nodding your head and pursing your lips right along with me), LOL So here is my challenge to all you mommas (and ladies in general).... lets try. Lets try to do our hair instead of tossing it into a bun, ponytail (adios, i will miss you my daily go-to style), pig tails, braids whatever. Lets put on a cute outfit instead of sweats and a tshirt. Lets put ourselves anywhere but dead last. Not only for our husbands or our children or the general public that looks at our thrown together self, but lets do it for us, because with all our hard work, we deserve to look MORE than half decent, we deserve to look Fantasmo!!

FLASHBACK: Baby Week

My wonderfully pregnant friend Alyssa posted the other day about doing baby week in highschool and MAN did that bring back some memories....

At my christian school there was a class called "Marriage and Family". In it we discussed how to have a healthy and succesful marriage. This was taught by our wonderful bible teacher. I will never forget (as im sure many others won't) something he repeated often in that class. It was a triangle with the wife at the bottom right side the husband on the bottom left and God at the top middle point. His point was clear, as the husband grows close to God, and the wife grows close to God, naturally they will grow close to eachother. I have never forgotten that (words of wisdom from Mr. Iamaio). Anyways, this class was only offered to the junior class and pretty much everyone looked forward to this. Primarily for one reason: Baby Week. Now many schools offered this concept. You and your husband (of your choice) have a baby and have to keep it safe for a week. My school did it slightly different. Sure we had spouses, and O.M.G was it ever a big deal to be asked. and O.M.G did the rumor mills run about who asked who or who was considering asking who. But instead of those snazzy "fake" babies that cried and pooped and what not, we used dolls. Whatever doll you could get your hands on. I remember me and my "husband" one year used a black cabbage patch. Anyways, we had a few rules... 1. you had to get up once a night to "feed" the baby and stay awake for 15 mins. 2. you had to take it where ever you went. and 3. you had to keep it safe from the "baby snatchers" HUH?!? yeah thats right. There would be certain hand picked lower classmen who got to join in on baby week to pretty much be kidnappers. If our baby was taken, we would fail. So you learned it was NOT safe to say leave the baby unattended at the lunch table and go grab a cookiewich. Or leave baby sitting courtside to watch you shoot some hoops. Nope, baby snatchers were ALWAYS on their toes (i think they got some incentive but i don't remember). Now im sure the concept was meant to show us what a challenege raising children would be but im pretty sure all my hormonal mind took away from it was "why didn't so and so ask me to be their wife?" and "hope i get an A (even though there was no way i was getting up at 2am for 15mins)" Anyways, you always ended up loathing the baby snatchers because although they could not take the doll from your arms or from the table if you were right there, some did try. And those who did pretty much felt the wrath of the entire class. Thats right, all 24 of us. But it was fun to exchange baby between classes, and shove baby in your backpack (not really allowed but we still did it), leave baby in the car (or trunk as Alyssa mentioned :P) and try not to look lame-o as you carried it around in the mall with you.

In hindsight (now with 9 months under my belt), that was a lot closer to reality than i even realized. Just last night Colton decided 2:30 am was a good time to get up and cry and not want to be put down for a few hours. The threat of kidnappers is legit, even straight out of your arms in some cases, and where alf or I go 9 times out of 10 Colton is with us.

But anyways....good times, good times!

About me :)

Its been a while. I know. Im slacking. I do have a TON to write about although a lot of it is too deep to share on a blog, so poo to that. Buuut anyways, I have been busy... crafting and pinning and updating the homestead. But i will try to be the blogger i like to read (ie one who posts) and post far more often.

Confession: I am mildly addicted to Microsoft Excel.

Ok, more like crazily addicted, but really who's keeping track? I pretty much use it all day everyday at work, so therefore anytime i need anything, a list, an invitation, a program, a functional calculating spreadsheet I make it in Excel. A weightloss tracking sheet? Sure! What about a WW points calculator? No doubt! How about a baby registry input sheet? Ofcourse. Maybe even a fully functional bridal sheet calulating anything from budget to actual expenditures and even a cost comparison of favor ideas.You betcha (because you know i totally have one!)! My good friends make fun of me for my spreadsheet love, but they most certainly come in handy. Seeing as i use this bad mamba-jamba of awesomeness everyday ALL day, i am quite the fan of it and can manuever myself around it with ease. My current favorite is my Wedding File. I used it to maintain my wedding budget and all related ideas. It is fully functional with a tab for each area and ended up being a "Pinterest Board" before there was pinterest. Crazy i know BUT it helped me come in a few thousand under budget AND helped be get my greatly desired wedding seat covers . I am more than happy to share with ANY who need it :)

Anyone else have a crazy addiction?

On a side note (which maybe explains a bit of WHYY i have a wonderful relationship with Excel), i find NO ONE ever knows what i do. At times its nice to fly under the radar of random financial/business related questions, because believe it or not people think i became a teacher. But no i did not. teaching was most definitely NOT for me. I remember taking an entry level teaching class and thinkin "Oh heck no, i do not want to do this" so all you teachers out there, props for doing what you do, because i most certainly could not do your job. Having said that, what do i doooo? Well i am a cost analyst, which is similar to a financial analyst, but not to be confused with the financial analysts who deal with stock, bonds, nor those who do financial advising and not to be confused with accountants. Well gee what are there if not those? somewhere in between are these select few wonderkinds who maintain those GINORMOUS budgets for all those programs or projects to do what they gotta do, or build what they have to build. Enter me, little old me. That is what i do. In simple terms. I forecast headcounts and dollar amounts, build spreadsheets and report actuals, approve purchases and track spending. So for example, if the project were "Building a house" i would compile the estimates from all the subcontractors into a central project budget and then essentially approve purchases for materials and then track the actuals spent to build the house (for each subcontractor) so that we did not go over budget. Ofcourse that is just the general snipet of my job, its not anywhere NEAR a full description, but rather a very broad overview. So now you know why oh WHY i do just about everything in excel and know just another snipet about me :)

So there, happy monday.

Do- Re- Me....

Confession: I am Beyonce... in the car

I know who isn't, right? But i would say my car singing turns into a mild performance up there with the best, like Lady Gaga (minus the drag-queen costumes)....complete with shoulder bobbing, head swiveling, hand tossing and intense focus on the road....duh cause i carry precious cargo, momma can't be rockin to hard into distraction! But i would say that my car-eoke performance (haha yeah just swapped Kar for Car...clever) would provide a great scene for those driving by. I know i love to see someone enjoying a good song as they pass. And come on when I'm in the car for 30 mins each way every day, i might as well find music that entertains me and wakes me up! Who is with me?? My recent song list has been a mix CD (yeah remember those) make by one of my besties, Lauren. Its her 80's mix and it starts it off with 3 of my all time "get me on the dance floor, Momma's had one too many beers" favorites: Push It (by Salt n Peppa... you think they are good you should hear Lor, Me and Em's rendition...far superior...used to be my ring tone...lol ), Living on a Prayer (by Hotty with a body (Jon) Bon Jovi) and Don't Stop Believing( by Journey). Repeat, and Repeat and skip ahead to "Pour some Sugar on Me" (AC DC...i think) skip again to "Take on Me". Makes for one VERY entertaining ride. Although i am sure no one is surprised. I mean as we all know, i LOVE to dance and i LOVE old school and pop music (anything with a beat) plus the fact that i have a mini ho-bag/stripper living inside me (which accounts for the quality of my moves....so there it is not my fault). Anyways, i am sure i am not alone out there, does anyone else rock a move while driving? Or add their own harmony/runs/ad-libs to their driving? I know Colton likes when I sing (likes even more if i dance...he usually laughs though so i take it as him saying "Momma ooo you soooo goood" not "Please. Mom. stop. You're awful" I only usually do my sing/dance thing in the car when I'm alone. I try to contain myself for Alfie. I like to keep things mysterious for him...ya know keep the honeymoon period lasting...lol Ill break this confession out in a year or so... make him feel like he is "still learning new things about me everyday" Anyways, next time a hot tune (O.M.G by Usher works well, or Judas by Gaga, which i mildly feel weird about liking after watching the video) channel your inner Kimi (or Beyonce) and belt those words out..or if you are like Christy and Lauren (and never know the words) make up your own!!!

Happy Singing :)

My Go-to Summer Sammy

Thought you all might enjoy this summer sandwich I tweaked. It’s a spin-off of Panera’s Mediterranean Veggie sandwich! Half of theirs is a wopping 300 calories! My waistline friendly version is for a full sandwich PLUS my version of black bean soup which together come in at 300 calories!! For soup AND sandwich! Give it a try!

Ingredients:
1 Arnold 100 calorie bread roll/bun thingy
2 tablespoons of sweet roasted red pepper hummus (can prob use any flavor) – 40calories
A less than a 1/4c of feta cheese (a 1/4c is 60 calories)
Cucumbers
Red onions
Romaine lettuce
Jalapeños (sliced in a jar)

Spread hummus on bread, layer cucumbers, jalapeños, red onion, feta and lettuce. (200 calories) Sooo Simple!

Add soup (100 calories for 1/2cup) which if I make it is just black beans from a can (momma be lay-zzzzyy), with minced garlic and some salt/pepper, and maybe additional seasonings to taste. Mash a little and add some water for extra brothy goodness and YUMMY!