My Monday Mind Dump...

1. This past weekend was wonderfully perfect...aside from all the mucus and tissues. We sat outside and soaked up the sun as long as we possibly could! We cranked up the music, much to our neighbor's disdain (another post for another day), and enjoyed the much needed sunshine!

2. I was going to join a gym today, but because I'm indecisive, I decided to just order P90x and now I feel like the biggest moron on the planet for paying full price instead of checking Craigslist first. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid....have I said STUPID???!!!

3. I got back to scrapbooking last week, but I've never been able to afford all the stickers, papers, embellishments and stamps... as a matter of fact, it's all a bit overwhelming for me, so I just doodle. All I need are markers and an album and I just doodle away!4. I realized today that I need to TRY to be a little more "eco-friendly". My Costco list today was the following: Toilet paper, Paper towels, paper plates, diapers, wipes, plastic cups, and plastic cutlery. Somewhere out there is a forest crying...or at least a tree hugger. But in my defense, I have adopted the "green" grocery bags to eliminate plastic bag waste.

5. There are some changes that are happening in the Mr. Clean household in the next couple weeks...and no, I'm not pregnant mom;)
6.I've said it before and I'll say it again...I don't like winter! It's a good thing Februgly is the shortest month of the year!!

1/2 Way To 1!

6 months. Half of a year. 1/2 way to 1. My Kidd-O, my lump of love, my scooby doo, my little angel baby is six months old. In some ways it feels like he's been here my whole life, and in other ways, time is flying by so fast that I don't want to blink for fear of missing something. Gone are the days of swaddling him, he no longer fits in his swing, and our midnight rendezvous's have come to an end. I never thought I would miss those midnight feedings, but I do. I miss the quiet of the night, rocking my boy. I knew that stage wouldn't last forever, and each evening I wondered if it would be the last, so I held him tight just a few minutes longer. I pray that I will be blessed with more kids, so I can savor those sweet moments a couple more times!!
I could rattle off 6 months worth of milestones he has reached, tell you how he loves banana's, and that his favorite thing to do is jump in his johnny-jump-up (best 20 bucks I ever spent), but I think all that matters is that he's happy. He is the happiest, most smiley Kidd-O ever! We are so blessed to have a little boy that is so full of joy and laughter and he is filled to the rim with personality. He loves people and is extremely friendly...this is starting to sound like an ad for a puppy. Seriously though, the #1 question I'm asked about him is: Is he always this happy?? And the answer "yeah, pretty much!" But don't get me wrong, he can be foul! He has a mighty temper...
...But those moments, praise the Lord, are short lived and nothing that a little song (Fresh Prince of Bel Air, comes to mind) and dance can't fix...then it's back to the smiles. This kid smiles with all of his might!
Kidd-O may not know how to take a nap worth beans, and we have yet to have 2 consistent days in a row, but the joy he has brought to my life and to Mr. Clean's makes it worth it! He has taught us a lot about patience, selflessness, flexibility and unconditional love. I know that I'm a more compassionate person because of him and the love I have for my husband has grown tenfold since our babe joined our family...and that's all in just 6 months!

6months. Half a year. 1/2 way to 1.
"Baby, you are the best thing that ever happened to me!"
-Ray Lamontagne

Pookie's Big Debut!!!

I mentioned in My Monday Mind Dump this week that my husband is the s.l.o.w.e.s.t moving person on Earth, so it is only fitting that he has a turtle as his pet. Pookie the Turtle has been in Mr. Clean's life since the second grade. That's right, SECOND GRADE. Pookie (who came with that name) is approximately 18 years old and has a life expectancy of 75 years. I don't really associate with Pookie, that's Mr. Clean's department, but I do think it is pretty remarkable that he has had him for as long as he had. Pets never really did/do that well at my parents house. They inevitably go to live "in the country" (a la the ducks, or that cat), get buried out back (that guinea pig), get sent back to where they came from (that wiener dog that managed to get on the kitchen table and pee every 5 seconds), get shipped off to Korea (that chow dog), run away while we were on vacation (that other dog), had a bad run-in with the golden retriever up the street (poor rabbits), or suffered from schizophrenia (the psychotic toy poodle). So yeah, Pookie is doing great! He really is a good pet, and that's a good thing because I think he's going to be around for a while.

My Monday Mind Dump...

1. I'm reformed. I used to hate The Office, but I have seen the light, and now love it. Just in time for Steve Carell to leave. Go figure.

2. Mr. Clean looks like Nigel Barker. In case you don't know who Nigel is, he is a judge on America's Next Top Model and a fashion photographer.3. I've started feeding Kidd-O solid foods, and it is HUMANLY IMPOSSIBLE for me NOT to open my mouth when I put the spoon to his mouth, and then close it and swallow in unison with him. Kinda like keeping your mouth wide open when applying mascara. What is up with that??
4. Besides being the cleanest, most anal, and sarcastic person on the face of the Earth, my husband is also the s.l.o.w.e.s.t moving person EVER. He does not know the meaning of "hustle" or "hurry". I can get myself ready, our child ready, make breakfast, start lunch in a crockpot, start the car, paint a room, go to the grocery store, read the Federalist Papers, and write a summary about it, and we would STILL be waiting on him on Sunday mornings.

5. And don't even get me started about playing a game with him. You will be there for DAYS while he thinks through his next move or Scrabble word.

6. I hate my big fat mouth sometimes...ok, all the time. It's probably my biggest flaw...along with a million other things, but my mouth, ugh, it's really annoying. I say many things that make my hiney sweat after (I'm sure many of you are nodding along, totally agreeing...eek, that's embarrassing...sorry).

7. I fell up the stairs yesterday. I had a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of OJ in hand...oops. I didn't get hurt, but it did get all over the carpet. Haven't broken the news to Mr. Clean yet, but I'm sure he'll figure it out soon enough.

8. I never really liked when people would say they had an "unspoken prayer request," I never knew what to do with that information, but I sort of have one today. I'll let y'all in on it later this week. And no, I'm not pregnant mom!

9. I'm going to introduce you all to Pookie this week. You should be very excited.

10. If you type "Puck Wedgies" into Google, my blog is the 2nd page to pop up! Pretty cool huh? Ok, not really. But, my blog has been viewed 256 times because people want to find out more about what a "Puck Wedgie" is. I'm fairly positive that they left knowing less about them than when they came. This is what they found.


P.S FYI, golden oreo's are the bomb...they are waaay better than the chocolate ones. I realize that I talk a LOT about junk food, but hopefully that will be changing soon when I FINALLY get back in the gym...maybe. Ok, probably not, but it will make me feel less guilty about eating the garbage I do. After all, that is why gym's were invented, right??

You So Funny!!

Kidd-O learned a new trick last week. The following pictures seem to indicate that he is unhappy, but on the contrary, this is the face he makes in response to me saying: "You So FuuunnnY!" to which he scrunches his face and breathes in and out of his nose really fast. I tried to upload the video, but as you know, I stink-a-roo at computer tricks, so my pictures will have to do for now.

And then he was done.

Hats Off to Kidd-O!

Many know that when I found out I was pregnant, I was not a happy camper, and if I had to be pregnant, I REALLY wanted it to be a girl...well, boy, oh boy, I had a boy! Aaaannd, it wouldn't really be "kosher" for me to dress Kidd-O up in bows, headbands, and those ridiculously cute leg warmers. Nope can't do that. Sooo, I have no choice but to put hats on him. I love hats. We have lots and lots of hats. Can't get enough of the hats. I may need to get a job to pay for all of the hats. Let's see how many times I can say "hats". Kidd-O loves his hats...and if he doesn't, I will make him. Here are just some of the hats he has...can you believe that this isn't even all of them?? I still have about 4 more I need to break out! Ok, I may have a problem.

My mom bought this little hat and scarf set for 1$...so I went and bought all 5 patterns.

This is the newest, and probably my favorite, thanks to my sweet MeMa!

Oh, and the song playing right now is my "Kidd-O Song"...it makes me think of him, it's a happy song. I just thought I would let 'ya know...really not important. Just FYI. Ok, I'll stop now.
The End.

My Monday Mind Dump...

1. I realized this week that before Kidd-O my schedule was: Mon. night-Pilates, Tues. night-Yoga, Wed. night-Kickboxing, Thur. night-Cardio/weights...Now it's: Mon. night-The Bachelor, Tue. night- Teen Mom, Wed. night-Modern Family, Thur. night- Jersey Shore...PATHETIC.

2. Little Debbie is my new best friend. Nutty Buddy Bars...yum.

3. My husband has started calling me "mommy" and it's just weird.

4. And I've caught myself calling him "daddy" and that's just stupid.

5. My mom has always loved baby jar bananas and I've always thought she was nuts, but now I know why! They are delish! Kidd-O agrees.
6. Eat Pray Love was probably one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I couldn't even finish it. 1 hour that I will never get back. The best thing about it was the song by Florence+the Machine from the trailer...and it wasn't even in the movie!

7. I told Kidd-O "NO!" for the first time last week, and he laughed at me. I said it again, and he got the picture. That wasn't fun.

8. The show Strange Addictions is quite disturbing. Who is addicted to eating couch cushions? Or hair follicles? Not me.

9. I still haven't received 4 Christmas presents that I ordered FOREVER ago! I hope they get here for next Christmas.

10. I had a GREAT day with one of my little sisters!! She's quite the artist, so we went and painted pottery!

Life is Good!

I would really love to thank me sweet friend , Lisa, for giving me this bloggy award! I enjoy her and her blog so much and seeing what goes on in her day-to-day life!! I wish I got to visit with her more in person, but visiting her blog is the next best thing!

The rules for the Life is Good award:

1. First, thank and link back to the person that gave the award (obviously)
2. Answer the 10 survey questions
3. Pass the award along to other bloggers whom you think are fantastic
4. Contact the bloggers you have chosen to let them know about the award

On to the questions!

1. If you blog anonymously, are you happy doing this? If you aren't anonymous, do you wish you started out anonymously, so that you could be anonymous now?
I am not anonymous, and am not great at keeping secrets so, no I do not wish I was. Although, I do refer to my husband as Mr. Clean, and my baby as Kidd-O

2. Describe an incident that shows your inner stubborn side.
ummmm...this is one of my biggest flaws! How much time do you have?

3. What do you see when you really look at yourself in the mirror?
A teenager...with a few more stretch marks. Seriously though, sometimes I can't believe I'm 25 because I often feel like I'm 15 still!

4. What is your favorite summer cold drink?
Poor Man's Lemonade. Water, a slice of lemon and a splenda

5. When you take time for yourself, what do you do?
write or read. I love to read!

6. Is there something that you still want to accomplish in your life?
I have a TON of things I would love to do! I want to pursue photography, I would love to plan parties...or just throw parties left and right! I'd love to start a business with my mom's help on the creative side and my Sis-in-laws help organizationally. But the photography thing is what I have my eyes set on at this moment!

7. When you attended high school, were you the class clown, the class overachiever, the shy person, or always ditching?
I loved Middle School, but didn't care too much for High School...except my communication class, which I LOVED with a passion! I was a good kid, I wasn't shy, I ditched occasionally ( yes, my mom knew) and I basically just counted down the days until graduation. Although, I often wonder what my classmates thought of me...I hope I was nice!!

8. If you close your eyes and want to visualize a very poignant moment in your life, what would you see?
Giving birth to my baby...without a doubt...no question about it...pretty much the most awesome thing ever!

9. Is it easy for you to share your true self in your blog, or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people and events?
I find it necessary to be truthful and honest! My blog is mostly for me, I have enjoyed writing so much, and I want to look back and get an honest glimpse at how I've felt and I TRULY hope though that people can read my blog and relate to the things I've been going through and know it's OK to be real, to be raw, and I hope I can make people smile from time-to-time too!!

10. If you had the choice to sit down and read a book or talk on the phone, which would you do and why?
I have a bad habit of doing both things simultaneously...this is a toughie!!!! Depends on the book and depends on the person!


I would like to pass on the award to the following bloggers;

My Sister-in-law, Jaimie: Her blog is creative thought provoking

Deanna: She is probably the funniest person I know!

Audrey: She's is looking to grow her blog and she has some cutie little girls!!!

The Way We Were...

Soon after your first baby comes, many people ask themselves "What on Earth did we ever do before we had kids?!" I've seen a lot of pictures this week from all of my unencumbered, childless friends frolicking in the snow with their husbands ( I was slightly jealous, because I have an infant and am literally, completely home-bound), and I began to think...What did we do before Kidd-O came into our lives??I wish I could say that we went "out on the town" every Friday, enjoyed lazy Saturday's complete with brunch and later catching the newest box office smash. I'd love to tell you that we took exotic vacations every Summer, and amazing ski adventures every winter ( never mind that I'm an awful skier), with random weekends to the mountains in between. If it were up to me (the spender) we would have done all of those things...but then we'd be living under a bridge somewhere and I'd be wearing my denim jacket from middle school.

So, no, pretty much none of those things happened...at least, not like that. We didn't "go out on the town" obviously, because only 80 year old's say that anyway, and the closest thing to brunch would have been a fresh box of cheerios, and instead of going to the movies, we watched new releases on netflix. Our exotic vacation was a riveting trip to Washington DC (woot woot!), to which the entire time Mr. Clean asked when we were going back to the hotel so he could watch cable...ah, yes,that was life before Kidd-O! Exciting, I know!Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed our time, just the two of us sooo much! I loved not having the responsibility of an infant, and I was terribly worried that life would change dramatically!! However, since Kidd-O has dropped into our lives, life has been pretty much the same, except we are a little more tired, a little more strapped for cash...but we are having A LOT more fun!!! And I'm fairly certain it's only going to get more exciting from here on out! Maybe we can do all of those "fun" things when Mr. Clean and I are once again childless, a looong time from now! We'll see, but for now life can't get any better!!!!