Practical Pablum

Nineteen Weeks

2012-01-27T07:02:00.000-08:00

I keep waiting and waiting for my belly to pop out, but so far no dice. Here's a picture from 13 weeks:

oh, and what a flattering photo it is. Yikes!

And here is today:

I feel like I was bigger a few weeks ago than i am now - apparently I was just really bloated before and now I'm not? Which is pretty weird considering all I eat lately is carbs and I'm putting weight on pretty steadily. I guess it's just all going to my rear view - awesome.

I also STILL haven't felt any movement*, although I've heard the heartbeat again nice and strong. On Monday the 6th I'm getting the big sonogram, so we'll have visual proof there is actually a baby in there - because I'm starting to have my doubts. Aside from the positive pregnancy tests and copious vomiting a few months ago, I totally understand the women on "I Didn't Know I was Pregnant" now, LOL.

Anyway, I'm at that super fun stage where I don't at all look pregnant (unless you know), but I definitely don't have a waist at all anymore, so I just look fat and lumpy. So attractive. Makes putting together cute outfits SO much less appealing because I just can't rock them the way I want. I'll be glad when I finally get that nice round belly going and I can flaunt it a little instead of just looking like I had a big lunch. Regardless, here are a few things I've worn recently:

jacket: Target
tshirt: Target (says "don't let go of your dreams' in case you were wondering)
jeans: American Eagle
moccasins: Steve Madden (and yes, they're leopard)
bag: Ellington Mia
sunglasses: Target

sweater: TJ Maxx
leggings: Isabella Oliver
shirt: no clue
boots: Dolce Vita

looking at my thighs in this picture, I think I see where those bagels are going

jeans: Asos
sweater: Target
tshirt: Urban Outfitters
booties: Aldo

Not great, but they do all involve real pants, so that's something. Well, two out of three anyway. I will say that on top of looking thicker than usual, the weather is also playing a big role in my not choosing outfits. Who wants to wear something cute only to cover it up with a giant coat? And the pictures in my room just don't turn out well at all. I might just need to suck it up and freeze to take a few quick pics outside each day. At least until spring arrives!

*UPDATE 3pm: Finally felt some nice big kicks! There's really something in there!

Slow And Steady

2012-01-24T16:04:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it is so hard to keep your focus on what you are doing right, as opposed to all of the areas you are failing at. I feel like I'm doing such a terrible job of implementing any sort of New Year's changes into my life - and then I remember that my plan was to move forward slowly and tackle one thing at a time. January's goal was to get into a more regular cleaning schedule, cleaning everything more regularly/ more often, and with the exception of the laundry (which looks GOOD sitting in the basket near the bathroom for weeks at a time, I swear) I do feel I have made progress in that area. I also wanted to organize the kids' toys and get rid of everything broken/ unloved/ outgrown, and while I have yet to tackle the basement, I did do each bedroom, so that is half done. But I can't focus on that because all I can see is how I haven't been blogging more, and I haven't been making my weekly meal schedule like I wanted, and despite printing out a list of 'inspirations' my daily photo has dropped off again, and I haven't gotten back into exercising regularly, and, and, and.

Blergh!

I hate this sort of vague anxiety that creeps up on me every so often. Where I feel like I'm forgetting things I need to do, and all the projects I want to tackle are stacked so high I am rendered immobile. Does that happen to you? I have so much I want to do, and change, and improve, but sometimes it starts to feel like it all has to be done now now now, ignoring the fact that these types of things are not instantaneous fixes and I'm not suddenly going to wake up one day an entirely different person without making tiny incremental changes each day first. Delayed gratification is just not my thing - ask my credit balance.

But I know I'm approaching things the right way, even if I have to suffer through a few more days of uncomfortable feelings until the anxiety fades and I get back into a positive mindset. I have to focus on what my goals for February will be (I'm thinking reestablishing my exercise routine), as well as maintaining the small success I have already achieved. It's all about the journey, not the destination, right?

I just wish this twitchiness would pass.

Beauty Queen

2012-01-19T17:39:00.000-08:00

10:45 am. I'm finishing up cleaning Jack's room and reorganizing his toys, Brett is working on our taxes. Isabelle and jack are both at school. Where"s Sophie? She came up to see me in Jack's room a few minutes ago, but I haven't heard a peep from her since.

Duh, she was BUSY:

Fortunately, the damage was fairly limited. She bypassed the pricey eyeshadow palettes in favor of anything remotely marker like, and while the eyeliner she used are not cheap, they could only be worn down at the tips, so not much was wasted. Finally tally - seven eyeliners that had to be resharpened, and one basically new lipstick worn completely down to the plastic nub:

Unfortunately, this was not all used on her face. She also indulged in a little artistic expression on the wall of my closet:

And no, none of that came off completely. If you have small, wall drawing inclined children, flat paint = the devil.

But she sure is pretty

Day 30: Self Portrait

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

Random Tuesday

2012-01-17T16:24:00.000-08:00

- so, tomorrow is the last day of the photo challenge, and I've really had a good time doing it, so I decided to find a bunch more on Pinterest and keep doing them all year. And I even found a bunch that were already labeled with months, which is completely irrelevant but appeals to my sense of order quite nicely. Except this project started at a weird time so now I have to figure out how I can round out January and maybe February so I can start with the challenge labeled March on the first.

- I have started an "allowance' chart where the kids get dashes for doing stuff they are supposed to do anyways for free (ie, cleaning up their messes), and at the end of the week we tally up the dashes and they get some money to put in their piggy banks. It takes 10 dashes to get a dollar, so I don't feel too terrible about paying for tasks that should be considered basic responsibilities, and it is really pretty funny how helpful they are being in the hopes of getting a dash. Bribery for the win!

- On the flip side of the helpfulness however, is the complete deterioration of anyone's ability to not just scream all the freaking time. Okay, Isabelle is still pretty much perfectly behaved, but Jack and Sophie are completely out of control. Jack seemed to be doing better there for awhile with the constant whining and crying but that seems to be over. And it is really hard to deal with in any manner that doesn't devolve into calling him out on being the crybaby he is. Seriously - man up a little, dude.
And Sophie - Sophie will just scream in rage over any perceived injustice, which is not really new, but seems to have ramped up in both volume and frequency. I know a lot of it is my fault because we have established a pattern of giving her what she wants to avoid the screaming since she was a baby, but sometimes it's just not possible. And sometimes her problem is her own damn fault - and you just can't explain logic to a 3 year old. The other day she DEMANDED I wash her blanket right as we were going up to naptime, despite it not seeming any dirtier than normal, and I explained several times that if I washed it she wouldn't have it during her nap - wouldn't she prefer I wash it afterwards? But no, it had to be washed right then, so I took it and threw it in the laundry. She screamed for FORTY FIVE MINUTES about that damn blankie, which at that point was wet and couldn't be given back. OMG, that was fun times.

-speaking of laundry, my hatred and avoidance of it has grown to completely irrational levels. There are two baskets of clean laundry that have been sitting by the washing machine waiting to be folded for two weeks. they are completely in the way of coming in the house from the garage or trying to get into the bathroom, but I don't even see them anymore. This is how people get on Hoarders. It's a good thing we all have way too many clothes - no one is even close to running out yet.

- I gained only 5 pounds during the first 3 months I was pregnant, but I think I've gained another 5 pounds in the last three weeks. All I want to eat is bagels. And salads covered in ranch dressing and cheese. I don't feel like I'm eating tons of anything, but it must be affecting how much water I'm retaining. Either that or it's just all boobs, because my belly really isn't that big at all yet but my boobs are huge. To be honest I'm kind of wondering where the baby is, because according to the websites it should be 5 inches from head to rump, and I would think that would poke my stomach out quite a bit but it hasn't - I can still get my stomach basically flat if I tighten up the muscles.

- I feel like I have been growing my hair out FOREVER and it isn't any longer. It's getting annoying. I'm also kind of over the blonde, but I don't want to completely toast my hair so I'll probably go darker gradually rather than all at once. Or not. My decision changes daily.

- Sophie's birthday is Friday and I have no idea what kind of cake I'm going to make or what present to get her. And I feel completely unmotivated to think about it. Poor little third child.

Day 29: Black and White

2012-01-17T09:59:00.000-08:00

Day 28: Flowers

2012-01-16T09:59:00.000-08:00

Day 27: From A Distance

2012-01-15T18:58:00.000-08:00

The lights of Omaha. subtitled: I forgot to take a picture until after 9pm

Day 26: Close Up

2012-01-14T13:36:00.000-08:00

Day 25: Something Pink

2012-01-13T17:37:00.000-08:00

Day 24: Animal

2012-01-12T09:56:00.000-08:00

Day 23: Sunflare

2012-01-11T15:56:00.000-08:00

confession - I took this photo last February. But after weeks and weeks of brilliant sunshine, today was so thickly overcast that you couldn't even see where the sun was. I'll try a redo the next time the sun pops out, but for now, this is my placeholder

Reality Kicker

2012-01-10T16:55:00.000-08:00

Despite the months of nausea, and the four pregnancy tests, and the exhaustion, and the tight, round belly, I still don't really believe I'm pregnant. It just seems so strange to be heading back into babyland right as we were approaching the other side. I feel so much more disbelieving and shell shocked than I did with Isabelle - and she was not only a total surprise, but also my first kid. I literally had no idea what was going to happen, and yet I feel more skeptical now.

Right now I am 16 weeks (and 4 days, but who's counting), and I am now completely obsessed with feeling the baby move. Because I've been down this road before, I'm familiar with exactly what it is I'm trying to feel, so I expect it to happen within the next week or so. I think finally starting to feel kicks and movement is going to do a lot to make this whole baby seem like more than just a figment of my imagination.

Huh. I thought I'd have more to say about this, but my brain is just not firing on all cylinders right now, and the kids have been SUPER noisy tonight, and I keep getting asked completely distracting questions. So I guess this is it for this post. I'll let you know if I ever feel anything resembling a baby or if this was somehow all some sort of strange dream.

Day 22: Hands

2012-01-10T15:55:00.000-08:00

Day 21: Faceless Self Portrait

2012-01-09T11:54:00.000-08:00

Day 20: Bokeh

2012-01-08T14:53:00.000-08:00

Day 19: Something Orange

2012-01-07T14:53:00.000-08:00

this is my new planner for chores, meal planning and general to do. It is ridiculous how much I love it

Best Intentions

2012-01-06T17:37:00.000-08:00

I've already talked about some of my "resolutions" for the coming year, as have many others all across the blogosphere, and I think we can all agree that regardless of the specific resolution, the overall goal we all share is to be happier. Sure, it may be though being more mindful, or healthier, or more organized, but in general we want these things because we think they will bring us happiness and contentment. I doubt anyone is really thinking "I resolve to go the the gym more because I hate working out and I'd really like to be more miserable this year."

To that end, all of my resolutions can be summed up in one way - I resolve to fill my life with a little more follow through. I always think of things I'd like to do, and sure, more often than not these things are impractical or not REALLY something I'd want to do (run a marathon, anyone?). But more important, I pretty much never even try to do them. I rarely get past the planning stage, if I even get beyond thinking "huh, it might be cool to do that."

Almost ten years ago I packed up my apartment in Chicago, loaded up my car, and moved to Steamboat. I knew one person (who maybe wasn't THRILLED I was coming, ahem, Brett), I had no job or place to live, and I had less than $2000 in my checking account to live on while I found those things. But I had dreams of living there and being some kind of rugged mountain woman; skiing, hiking, camping - taking full advantage of everything that area has to offer and living this amazing healthy lifestyle communing with nature. Now, in the end I clearly ended up living a much different, more... indoor, type lifestyle, but that was not for lack of trying. I DID do each of those things several times. It just turns out I hate stuff like that, and no amount of wishing I was into the outdoor life is going to change that. And I'm okay with that, because the fact is I tried it, and I learned something about myself in the process. We can all aspire to be whatever we want, and the choice can come to adapt or accept your true nature.

Which brings me back to my resolutions. On the surface they seems simple - clean more, exercise, eat healthy. All very achievable, all extremely easy to let slide. I am lazy. This is no secret. I don't like to work, it doesn't matter on what, and I will ignore almost any chore in favor of sitting on my couch reading. But the fact is that procrastination and task avoidance also causes me a lot of unnecessary anxiety. So much energy goes into feeling guilty, or justifying my laziness to myself, and I spend a lot of time feeling bad. And then I get the job done and I feel so good and proud of myself (probably a little TOO proud of myself given the basic everyday nature of most things I "accomplish"), and the weight of knowing there are things I need to do is lifted off my shoulders. So I'm going to try and treat myself to that feeling as much as I can. And at the end of it all, I won't just be left with a cleaner house or stronger arms; I'll be left with a real sense of contentment and self-sastisfaction.

In other words, I'll be happier.

How do you plan to be happier in 2012? Share your ideas in the comments, or go to BlogHer.com and leave a comment to be entered to win a Kindle Fire and $50 Amazon gift certificate

Day 18: Your Shoes

2012-01-06T14:52:00.000-08:00

Day 17: Technology

2012-01-05T13:31:00.000-08:00

Sugar Buster?

2012-01-04T19:09:00.000-08:00

For most of my life, I didn't have much of a sweet tooth. Don't get me wrong, I loved desserts plenty, it just wasn't an all encompassing element of my life. So I guess a more accurate statement would be that I've always had a sweet tooth, but over the past 6 years that sweet tooth has morphed in to a raging addiction and obsession. It started after Isabelle was born with white cake from the grocery store and junior mints, and it just got worse and worse until that was the primary source of food in my diet. And you can argue that I'm being dramatic, but unless you have ever had this kind of addiction yourself you truly don't understand. Pick any common symptom of addiction and I had it. I honestly don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that probably 60% of my waking thoughts involved thinking about when I could next eat sugar, best case scenario without anyone knowing. That is probably a low estimate.

Anyway, this has really been a huge monkey on my back. Anyone who has tried to break an addiction can tell you that the mental habits are the hardest to break. How can you really get away from the cake or candy when your brain will think of nothing else? Frustrating.

Enter baby #4. Somehow, miraculously, over the past month my cravings and desire for sweets has disappeared completely. If I eat a cookie or something, it is still delicious, but that's it. It doesn't awaken a psychological need to eat the whole box. And I can just as easily stare it in the face and turn it down. That would literally have been impossible for me 6 months ago. Over Christmas I made jars and jars of homemade candy and cookies, and by the time it was all eaten I had only consumed... wait for it... three pieces! Without the slightest feeling of deprivation or exertion of willpower. I just literally didn't want it. By contrast, after Thanksgiving I ate 12 pralines in one sitting - only stopping after they were all gone, even though I felt completely sick and my tongue hurt. I just couldn't stop.

In some ways there is a little bit of disappointment since after this baby I am bound and determined to get down to my goal weight and completely transform my eating habits and lifestyle. This would have been sort of a last hurrah, a few months when I could indulge in my every gustatory whim and not felt guilty or shameful. But I also knew that fighting this addiction was going to be incredibly difficult, and I was not looking forward to it. I was also pretty scared that I wouldn't be strong enough to beat it alone. After all, there aren't really rehab centers for sugar. So I am thrilled to be in the position of having my biggest weakness sort of resolve on its own.

I just hope it lasts. And I REALLY hope I didn't just jinx it.

Day 16: Long Exposure

2012-01-04T09:50:00.000-08:00

Day 15: Silhouette

2012-01-03T12:47:00.000-08:00

Day 14: Eyes

2012-01-02T12:46:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012

2012-01-02T12:14:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I still can't believe that it is 2012, but then again, I can hardly believe that Sophie is going to be 3 in a few weeks, or that Izzy will turn 6 in March, or that there is going to be ANOTHER baby in this house, or that I'm a mom in charge of actual people at all (and 34? Blerg), so really that's not all that surprising.

For most of December I was really hoping to come up with some sort of "challenge" to do this year - something I had to do every day, or a specific goal that I could try and achieve rather than the usual just be healthier/ thinner/ more organized brouhaha. I wanted it to be hard enough that it would count as an achievement (and impress all you people), but of course not so hard that I would fail at it. But all I failed at was thinking of what I could do, so that's that. As a result, I haven't really made any resolutions this year. Last year I made a whole list, and looking it over I see that some I achieved, and many I did not. I did briefly manage to master the full transition from chaturanga to up dog to down dog without ever touching anything to the floor (although I'm sure I've lost that strength by now since I haven't done yoga in months). I did not manage to read 80 books (although i made it to 71 - 5 of which I read between Christmas and NYE). And many some goals I didn't achieve because I just lost interest in them. So in general I don't feel like I failed or quit on any of my resolutions, but instead just like my interests changed or that my best efforts didn't quite measure up. I've left them on my list in as something I can continue to work towards.

Basically, this year I want to be better. A better person, a better mother, a better dresser, a better blogger. I'm going to try and return to the halcyon days when I blogged here almost every weekday, but I don't promise those posts will be interesting! I also need to be a better housekeeper, which I've been REALLY slacking on the past couple of months, and which I am totally using the excuse of being so sick and tired to justify. But the house is just gross right now, so I've got to whip it in to shape and then work out some sort of routine to keep it that way. Yesterday I totally cleaned the playroom and vacuumed the living room, so that is a start. I even sorted through the kids' books and picked out all the stupid/annoying/ripped books out for trash/ donations, and at some point I'll get down there and go through the rest of the toys - a purge is WAY overdue!

I think my approach is going to be one of monthly deadlines - for January I want to get the house really clean and have a weekly routing in place. For February my goal will be to finish purging the kids' toys (rooms and playroom) and if possible reorganize the playroom a little better. I say if possible because we have some large things down there now that are in the way of the shelves I'd like to put in, things that aren't ever played with anymore, but would no doubt lead to crying if they disappeared, so the shelves might not happen for a while longer. I haven't really set any specific goals for any further months yet - as projects come to mind I'll add them in. I certainly need to go through my own clothes and all the closets again, but this summer will be a good time for that when maternity clothes are done with and I can get rid of all one gender baby clothes. We aren't going to find out the sex of this baby, so for now we have to keep everything for boy and girl.

I can't decide if I want to get a planner for this year or not. I primarily use the calendar function on my phone for all appointments and birthdays, but I rarely use it for tasks or to do lists so it might be nice to have something separate for that because those kinds of things I like hand writing. It is just hard to tell if I want one because I will actually use it, or just because I have a complete love of planners in general and desperately want one. It probably isn't that crucial an argument since the one I would buy only costs a couple of dollars. We'll see.

As for fitness goals, I have found that nothing does as much to inspire my desire to adopt some sort of fanatical workout program quite like being pregnant and unable to. When I was pregnant with Sophie I became totally obsessed with the idea of doing a triathlon, and I researched all sorts of training programs and even spent hours preparing a training notebook to chart my progress. And then I did it for like three days, because I completely suck at swimming and pretty much hate riding a bike. Oh well. This time I would like to try kick-boxing or mixed martial arts, because I have always wanted to be a bad-ass who could take care of herself. I also want to rediscover some of the toughness I used to have when I did gymnastics on floors with no padding, or was willing to throw myself across a wooden dance floor over and over and over again regardless of bruising or injury. In high school I was actually asked if I needed to speak to a counselor by a concerned girl who saw the bruises that covered half my back and thought I was being abused. And now I'm such a weenie. So I'd like to ignite a bit of that fire in myself again, but we'll see if that actually happens, because while I'd really love to be all hardcore kick boxing chick, I don't really want to get kicked or hit by anyone.

I'd like to be about 90% paleo by the end of the year, although for right now I'm eating whatever I want in the dairy/grains/ carbs/ sugar categories because I can. I'd like to cook more for my children, both in frequency and in diversity, and in order to do that I'll need to get better at advance meal planning so I'm not continually left at 5:30pm with no idea what to cook and end up plopping the same pasta, hotdogs or chicken nuggets on their plates. I also hope to make my own baby food, although that is probably a resolution for 2013, since the baby will still only be 6 months old next New Year. I'm also going to attempt a vegetable garden, although I recently realized that will entail doing all the plowing/ tilling/ planting etc at nine months pregnant, not to mention I am notoriously terrible at gardening (or even remembering to garden). But it is something I'd like to try nonetheless.

I guess that's all I have planned for this year - basically a series of projects to be determined and then completed throughout the year. All of which will hopefully serve to make me a better person, with a healthier, more organized, life style. projects completed = laziness defeated. That shall be the theme of 2012.

I'm assuming all plans will go to hell right around June when a new little person makes their presence known.

Day 13: Yourself With 13 Things

2012-01-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

Day 12: Sunset

2011-12-31T17:10:00.000-08:00

Day 11: Something Blue

2011-12-30T13:44:00.000-08:00

Day 10: A Childhood Memory

2011-12-29T17:23:00.000-08:00

I used to jump off the couch holding my umbrella, and try to fly like Mary Poppins. Still waiting.

ps: thanks to Izzy for the recreation

Day 9: Someone You Love

2011-12-28T09:40:00.000-08:00

This does not mean I don't love Izzy and Sophie too. Just that I didn't take any good pictures of them today.

Day 8: A Bad Habit

2011-12-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

Day 7: Fruit

2011-12-26T15:39:00.000-08:00

Day 6: From A Low Angle

2011-12-25T16:38:00.000-08:00

Day 5: From A High Angle

2011-12-24T14:33:00.000-08:00

Day 4: Something Green

2011-12-23T17:36:00.000-08:00

Day 3: Clouds

2011-12-22T18:36:00.000-08:00

This is bit of a cheat, because I took it yesterday, but there were no clouds today so it will have to suffice.

Day 2: What You Wore Today

2011-12-21T15:35:00.000-08:00

Day 1: Self Portrait

2011-12-20T20:34:00.000-08:00

30 Day Photography Challenge

2011-12-20T06:26:00.000-08:00

So, I have been looking for a great project to tackle in the new year - I wanted something ambitious, maybe that I had to do every day, but that also wasn't really THAT hard so I might actually achieve it. Still haven't thought of anything (but I'm open to suggestions), but I found this 30 Day Photography Challenge thanks to Undomestic Diva, and even though it is supposed to start today, I figured 'why not?' So I'm going to do it.

Want to join me? It was started here (well, the linky was started there - she didn't think up the challenge), and you can click on that link to add your name to the list of participants. there is also a Flickr group you can join too to share your pics and see everyone else's. As for mine, I'll be posting them here, and also on my daily photo blog, which has become more of a monthly-ish photo blog lately.

Happy Holidays From Practical Pablum

2011-12-19T18:17:00.001-08:00

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Thirteen Weeks

2011-12-16T20:05:00.000-08:00

This picture was actually taken last week for a twelve week blog post, but apparently just taking the photo and thinking the words doesn't magically make them appear on the internet, so it will have to do. I still look basically the same, so for fear that taking a brand new, current picture might result in another week of procrastination, here we are.

It is the beginning of the second trimester, and barring the stomach flu of earlier this week, I'm feeling much less nauseous. Still tired and lazy, but at least a small part of that is probably related to not having expended even the slightest bit of physical energy over the past two months. I'll try to get back into the gym and an exercise routine next week, or more likely, after Christmas. That should perk me up.

I'm also going to try and get back in to doing fashion flashback, because I know you all have just been dying to see what fabulous clothes I'm going to drape myself in. Lately it has primarily been pale purple velour sweat pants (yes, the same pair every day) and over sized t-shirts from Target. Ooh-la-la! But my stomach no longer feels like having fabric touch it would be the worst torture in the world, so it is time to step up my choice of outfit. And in the hopes that taking photos (and showing them to the world) might inspire me to make an effort, here is what I wore this week (even the frumpy stuff):

sweatshirt: Target
tank top: Urban Outfitters
leggings: Motherhood maternity
shoes: Converse

sweater: Velvet
shirt: thrifted
leggings: Target
boots: Frye

sweater: Vera Wang for Kohls
tank top: Target
yoga pants: A Pea in the Pod
shoes: New Balance

blazer: Goodwill
shirt: Target maternity (thanks to my MIL)
jeans: Target
booties: Miz Mooz

So, there you have it. Several of these outfits are pretty lame, and the others I probably only wore for like ten minutes doing school pickup, but baby steps here people. Baby steps.

Buggin'

2011-12-12T15:34:00.000-08:00

Friday night I spent the hours between 1am and 5am cleaning sheets, pillowcase, comforter and mattress pad, and sitting on the couch with Izzy while she threw up into a bucket. It was surprisingly glamorous. And given Sophie's tendency to drink out of any unattended cup, and the general germ-sharing of all kids, it seemed inevitable that there would be more vomit in my future.

But we made it through Saturday night with nothing more than a coughing fit (that sent me racing for a spare bucket just in case) from Sophie, and yesterday everyone seemed fine; even Izzy was back to normal. Then this morning Brett told me he had been sick all night, and now I myself have spent a fair amount of my day in a hurry to get to the restroom. So clearly the incubation time on this bug is longer than your average stomach flu which seem to pass pretty fast.

Jack was also sick today (he is currently dead asleep for roughly the fifth hour), but he is more fevery/ coughing. Kind of how Sophie was Saturday night. Izzy never had a fever during her hours of hurling, and I certainly don't now, plus there was no coughing or general phlemmy-ness either. So I don't know if we have two different ailments going through the house or what. I do know that Brett got on a plane this morning and won't be home longer than 12 hours for the next week, so I'm really hoping that whatever it is resolves itself without me having to stay up all night long doing gnarly laundry.

I don't even mind being sick myself because I know I can always make it to the proper receptacle in time. Although, when I was pregnant with Izzy and with Sophie I caught stomach viruses and ended up hospitalized for dehydration, so that route isn't optimal given the whole no other adults around to take care of the kids thing. But, at least according to how it affected Izzy and Brett, this seems to be a pretty mild affliction, so hopefully by tomorrow everyone will be out of the woods.

I better go find the rubber sheets just in case.

Nopetime

2011-12-08T13:34:00.000-08:00

Most people are probably surprised that Jack and Sophie still have a naptime everyday - I mean, they are four and almost 3 years old. But I'll tell you, I'm not giving up on that alone time for ANYTHING. Which makes it so much more annoying that they keep refusing to properly cooperate with their daily scheduled quiet times.

I do not firmly enforce napping, but they do have to be in their rooms and be reasonably quiet. And in general they do pretty well. Sophie especially plays very nicely by herself and then falls asleep. However, she seems to think the proper time to fall asleep is about 3pm - which is basically the end of naptime. On days when Brett is home - no problem. She can sleep all the way until dinner, see if I care. But when he's not here? Well, we have to go get Izzy at school, and as much as I dream about it every afternoon, I just can't leave them home alone while I do school pickup. So Sophie has to be woken up (which makes her cranky), forced in to clothes (which makes her REALLY cranky) and coaxed out in to the car. This entire process involves the same exact screaming, crying, explanations and ultimatums Every. Single. Day. Real fun, let me tell you.

As for Jack, he basically doesn't nap anymore. Which would be fine if he stayed in his room, but he comes out all the time asking me if it's time to get up yet, and then cries (because he's TIRED) when I make him go back in his room. Or he'll sit at the very top of the stairs for as long as it takes for me to hear his little rustling sounds and tell him to go back to his room. And even these things would be acceptable, except then he is a whiny, moody mess the rest of the afternoon because he didn't get any rest. And nobody does whiny and moody quite like Jack, he is truly a master of irrational crying. It is infuriating. If you are going to be so tired you can no longer function, TAKE A FUCKING NAP!!!! You're already in your room. Where the bed is. Lay down on it for god sakes. Oh, and he's started lying too. He'll be up in his room screaming and shouting and playing at full volume for the entire three hours, and then he'll tell me that Sophie (who is unconscious) was being too loud for him to sleep. Yesterday he told me I was too loud. Wow, kid, if you're going to lie to my face, you might want to work on your stories a bit.

I know the days of having Jack nap are swiftly coming to an end, but in general his behavior tells me very clearly that he still really needs that rest to get through the day. And is there anything more frustrating than when your kids just won't listen to you and do what you say when you know what's best for them? Ugh. This is an ugly preview of teenage battles no doubt.

You Know You Are 11 Weeks Pregnant When...

2011-12-05T12:32:00.000-08:00

- you can look at a sonogram all day and still not believe there's a baby in there.

- attempting to explain how tired you are earns you small expressions of sympathy and knowing smiles from patronizing people who think you are milking it.

- you can't focus on more than one thing at a time. Sometimes not even one thing.

- you can't wait to look pregnant instead of just chubby

- you want to tell everyone you see that you are pregnant so they don't just think you are getting fat

- you can't tell if you are repeating yourself, and decide you don't care

- eating is all you think about (whether that means actually eating, or avoiding food at all costs)

- you can no longer sing along to even the cheesiest songs (Selena Gomez' Who Says, anyone?) because the "inspirational" message has you too choked up

- you forget half the bullet points on the list you thought up this morning.

- you keep running out of toilet paper

- sneezing/ coughing/ laughing have become a whole new level of challenge (especially if this is oh, say, a FOURTH baby)

- you look in the mirror and are surprised you aren't bigger

- there are no rules at mealtimes. Spaghetti for breakfast? Candy for dinner? All good.

- a trip to the baby aisle of Target is less 'yay, adorable baby things' and more 'dear god, where am I going to put all of this crap?'

- you can't think of a clever closing point.

Little Comforts For The Holidays

2011-11-28T06:14:00.000-08:00

This post is sponsored by Tempur-Pedic, the brand millions of owners trust to deliver their best night’s sleep every night. Enjoy our Buy 2, get 1 free pillow offer now and give the gift of custom comfort to someone you love.

When I was little we spent many Christmases on vacation, preferably somewhere warm, but the years we didn't hit the beach we went to my grandparents' house. My grandmother LOVED Christmas, and their house was just the absolute perfect place to celebrate. When I was a little older, they lived in Angel Fire, NM and the mountains and snow and smell of pine trees and wood fires couldn't have been a cozier setting for the holidays. There was always a huge tree that was decorated over every square inch, and all around the house would be jars and candelabra filled with the extra ornaments that just didn't fit on the tree.

I remember going to bed on Christmas eve in my incredibly soft feather bed, so chilly when you first climb in and then slowly warming up and becoming the perfect little nest to sleep and dream. And waking up well before the sun, so excited for it to finally be Christmas, only to come out into the living room and see that my aunt and uncle were already awake, even more excited than I was. We would all gather around the tree, exclaiming about the embarrassingly huge pile of presents, and drink coffee (not me), laugh and talk while everyone opened their gifts. Later would come an amazing meal, and then relaxing on the couch in front of the fireplace watching classic movies, or maybe we'd go sledding. It was always such a magical time for me, really some of my very best memories from growing up.

My grandmother was an amazing cook and candy maker, and she would fill cookie jar after cookie jar with homemade pralines, cookies, fudge, toffee and other treats. They would sit on a small side table, and all weekend people would be reaching into those jars and grabbing a treat to snack on no matter the time of day. I can't recreate the Christmases of my childhood for my kids (which is ok, because we are creating our own traditions and great memories), but I can bring back a little of those feelings by cooking my grandmother's favorite recipes at Christmastime. I have started collecting pretty glass jars and containers, and this year there will be a side table in my home filled with some of my favorite treats. And along with those treats will come all the memories of my wonderful grandparents, and all of the magical Christmases I spent at their house.

Comfort is the perfect gift for everyone on your holiday gift list, so be sure to take advantage of Tempur-Pedic's Buy 2, get 1 free pillow offer! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.

Well, It's Not Twins

2011-11-22T14:42:00.000-08:00

I had my first OB appointment last Friday, and with it my first ultrasound, and basically the confirmation that there is indeed only one baby in there was the only good news. Oh sure, baby looks healthy and strong and measured bigger than just 9 weeks (which is pretty normal for babies around here) and that is all good news of course. But I was really hoping for a vast improvement in how I feel, and that just doesn't seem to be in the cards.

I did get a prescription for Zofran for my nausea, so the constant vomiting has stopped, which of course is nice. But combine a medication known for causing constipation with my already barely functioning digestive system and you do not end up with a happy camper. I'm really not sure the nausea wasn't better- I mean, if the choice is going to be between not keeping any food down at all and keeping it with me forever... I don't love those cookies THAT much, you know?

Anyway, I seem to just have traded one stomach ailment for another, equally uncomfortable one. Not super thrilled by that. And I'm already so uncomfortable in the abdominal region I seriously have no idea how I'm going to even be mobile in 7 months. The desire to have literally nothing press into or even really touch my stomach might end up with me totally naked and lying prone by June. Won't that be a pretty sight.

I guess I'm due all of this - I did manage to get through three pregnancies without any sickness or major discomfort (barring the 9 month, duh) so it makes sense that I taunted fate by having another kid only to have it smack me down. Whatever. I just hope this opposite trend doesn't carry through the entire pregnancy because my deliveries were super easy too.

I'm scared.

5 Down, 75 To Go

2011-11-14T12:48:00.000-08:00

As a parent, I have many goals and aspirations. Nurture their dreams, foster loving trusting relationships, instill a sense of self confidence and pride in a job well done. But perhaps more important than all that: never let them know how much loose teeth freak me out.

I don't know when it started, but I have a total paranoid/ phobia/ squeamish issue with loose teeth, and teeth falling out or getting knocked out. You will never, EVER see me run down a flight of stairs for fear I might fall and knock out my teeth. I'm not worried about breaking an arm or a leg, or my neck, just knocking out my teeth. Gross. And random.

I remember losing my teeth as a kid - I'd twist those suckers around and wiggle them for all they were worth. It was fun, and not at all gross, although that squishy stump left behind after they fell out was a little iffy. But in general didn't bother me a bit - I even remember one I had that would twist around twice without falling out which at the time was very cool. So I really don't know exactly when I started being completely freaked out about it, but indeed I did. Which makes the fact that Izzy is tooth losing age oh so fun for me.

Saturday night she pulled out her own tooth. I had just put everyone down for bed and gotten in the shower, when she came into the bathroom and announced she had yanked out her own tooth. A tooth I had wiggled recently (shudder), and which didn't seem nearly loose enough to be ready to come out. I immediately got out of the shower to see her smiling full of pride, blood coating her lips and teeth.

Oh, and the tooth in her hand - still had some fleshy bits attached. Gah.

We got rinsed off and cleaned up and stopped the bleeding (I made her swish with salt water to stop the bleeding and she didn't even make the slightest comment about how horrible it is - she's amazing cause that stuff used to gag me), and she told me all about how she turned it all around and then just pulled until it came out. Wonderful. I sent her off to bed to await the arrival of the tooth fairy, then I went downstairs to try and block out the image of teeth being twisted and yanked and the bloody, mushy root stump.

La la la la, I can't hear you!!

Even now, a couple of days later, I'm finding it sort of difficult to look at the big gaping hole in her smile (and because she had such a big gap between her teeth to begin with, losing this tooth left a BIG gap - it's like she lost three teeth instead of one). This is actually the fifth tooth she's lost, but the others were a little more ready to come out and had adult teeth grow right in to replace them, and none of them were bleeding and completely nauseating.

So gross.

But she has 15 more teeth to lose, and there are/ will be three more kids after her, so I must continue this charade of thinking each lost tooth is as magical and wondrous as they believe so they don't figure out how easy it would be to torture me by wiggling loose teeth in my face.

Never let 'em see you sweat.

I Didn't Even Have To Rest While Writing This Post

2011-11-07T14:53:00.000-08:00

Today I actually put on makeup. And got dressed, albeit it still in leggings and a t-shirt, but still, a step up from the sweatpants and even sloppier t-shirt I have been wearing for the better part of two weeks. I didn't even take a nap today! And you may be scoffing at the pathetic nature of these achievements (and perhaps you should), but let me assure you, they ARE achievements.

Because so far? This pregnancy is kicking my ass.

I got so spoiled having three super easy pregnancies. No real nausea, no first trimester symptom more serious than a little extra sleepiness easily managed by a nap or early bedtime. So I was not prepared to be knocked flat by exhaustion. Yes, I'm queasy, yes I'm often "refunding" my dinners if I eat even a bite more than I should, and yes, these are super annoying things to deal with. That feeling of being too full to hold even the slightest sip of water or bite of food, accompanied by intense thirst and/or food cravings? Way fun. Can't recommend it enough. But I can deal with it. I'm drinking my Perrier, and eating whatever doesn't gross me out at any given moment, and if I don't let myself get too hungry or thirsty I can avoid most of the nausea. I can avoid vomiting by limiting how much I eat at one time, which is actually the hardest part since I kind of want to eat everything that crosses my mind.

But I can't do anything about being tired. Sleeping more doesn't help, although I have been sleeping more. At night and around 1pm I suddenly start shutting down like I've been drugged, and I go to bed. Problem solved. Except when I wake up I'm not all rested and refreshed. Instead, I feel like I'm recovering from a long illness, and I keep finding myself thinking I can just do everything tomorrow, or later, or when I feel better, forgetting that I probably won't feel any better for another month or more.

Super.

So you can see why actually putting on clothes and makeup and staying awake the entire day seems like an accomplishment.

This better be one great baby.

NaBlahPoNot So Much

2011-11-02T13:12:00.000-07:00

So, I've been toying with the idea of doing NaBloPoMo this year, mostly as an excuse to get back in the habit of blogging regularly even when I have nothing to say. Earlier in the year I thought I might try NaNoWriMo again, but, yeah. That's not gonna happen. So, blogging it is.

Except... I'm so freaking tired!

I got tired with my other pregnancies, but it was sleepy tired - all of a sudden I'd be hit with insane drowsiness, take a nap of the dead or go to bed at 8pm, but the rest of the time I was pretty much normal. This is totally different. This time I've been hit with the occasional (ok, pretty much everyday) 1pm sleepiness, but even when I'm awake I'm exhausted. Like, recovering from extreme illness exhausted. I remember having mono my senior year of high school, and when I finally returned to school I was given an elevator pass that was good for three months. Well, after about a month or so, I felt pretty good, and I was sick of being late to all my classes because I had to wait for the elevator so I decided to just take the stairs - I didn't even make half a flight before I had to sit down and rest.

This is kind of like that. The mere act of moving my body from one place to another is brutally tiring. I can totally get through stuff I have to do if I just keep moving, but I have to maintain the mentality I imagine marathoners have of "just keep putting one foot in front of the other" because if I actually think about what I'm doing I might have to just stop and sit on the floor. And even getting off the couch to get started takes a whole new level of willpower. Kind of pathetic when the actions we're talking about are going upstairs or refilling my water bottle.

Also new is the nausea. I've had a few issues with my stomach just being like "nope, you ate to much. Refund." which really only happened to me during my ninth months before when my stomach just had no room for food because my body was so full of baby. Not sure why it's happening now, because none of these episodes was preceded by anything approaching an overindulgence in food. And while my nausea isn't bad enough to render me incapable of functioning, it has been kind of a downer. And also really hard not to post on facebook how gross I feel every five minutes. The worst part is that the nausea seems to be in direct proportion to how hungry or thirsty I am at the time (and I am SOOOO thirsty!!), making it a vicious circle wherein I get even more hungry or thirsty because the thought of ingesting anything is impossible, which in turn just makes me more nauseous. Such a fun catch-22.

Anyway, being rendered even more boring and slothful than normal lately, I think the odds of me completing any sprt of NaBloPoMo is highly unlikely - especially given the fact that i already cheated by just posting pictures of Halloween on yesterday's post (which was put up today and backdated anyway). But it's probably for the best - who wants 30 days of "I feel like vomiting" anyway?

BlogHer Book Club: Theodora: Actress. Empress. Whore

2011-11-02T06:32:00.000-07:00

Based on the life of a real Roman Empress, Theodora Actress, Empress, Whore by Stella Duffy is an engaging piece of historical fiction. The characters and cities are so vividly realized, that is is easy to forget the story is based on real events and someone's actual life - the events unfold so perfectly that it could be any novel with an almost fairytale ending. Born to a performer mother and bear trainer father, Theodora is sold to the stage at a young age after the death of her father. In those days (early 500's) being an actress meant performing off stage as well as on stage, and she performed as a whore as well as a dancer, comedienne and actress as early as age 12. This story of how her intelligence, skill and no small amount of manipulation by others allowed her to move from this low, if publicly celebrated, position to become the Empress of the entire Byzantine Empire is fascinating and highly entertaining. I have no doubt the author took liberties in telling the story and imagining exact conversations and events, but historical accuracy or not, I highly enjoyed this book.

I was compensated for this review through the BlogHer Book Club, but all opinions expressed are my own.

Trick Or Treat

2011-11-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

The FOUR-1-1

2011-10-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

So. Yep.

Pregnant.

this shit's real, yo

Kind of insane, right?

As much as I've wanted another baby, and swoon over every little baby I see, and wonder when my kids got to be so huge and grown up, I was really not expecting to ever again be expecting. But we were operating under an "if it's meant to be it will happen" mentality, so here we are.

Pregnant.

I kind of don't remember how to be pregnant anymore. I definitely don't remember all the baby stuff anymore, which is weird because it really doesn't seem like that long ago I had babies, but time kind of shuffles away from you and here we are almost three years after the last time I was pregnant. According to Babycenter.com I'm due June 22nd*, which means Sophie will be 3 1/2 when this baby is born. For comparison, this is 7 months older than Izzy was when Sophie was born. Crazy.

So far, other than the emotional shock and excitement and doubt and excitement again, nothing has really changed. I'm not feeling sick or anything, but I was lucky enough to avoid any significant nausea with any of my other pregnancies, so hopefully that's a trend that will keep up. I am feeling completely exhausted all the time which is familiar, with the exception that this time I'm just sort of vaguely tired but hardly ever able to actually nap or go to bed early. It's just this state of constant exhaustion and when I do get sleepy it comes on like I've been drugged, leaving me all floaty and disconnected. And of course, more forgetful than I even was before, which I might have thought impossible.

I haven't had any constant cravings yet, but the cravings I have gotten come fast and furious and varied - what I want right now is the only thing I can possibly imagine eating and therefore must be fetched immediately, but what I wanted yesterday (or even an hour ago) I can assure you I will not want tomorrow or even 5 minutes from now, making planning ahead for the shopping somewhat of a challenge. I've been wholeheartedly intending to resume as much of the healthy eating as I can (at least early on - I fully plan on eating the shit out of some junk this pregnancy since this is my last hurrah and after I give birth all insane indulgence just means I'm a pig), but so far all I seem to want to eat is carbs and sugar and big glasses of milk. So basically everything not on the paleo diet. And of course I feel totally bloated and gross because I'm eating all this stuff, but the thought of doing those first four days of withdrawal right now is just too much to face. The good thing is that my appetite has been completely changed by my brief time eating really clean, and so I can't eat nearly as much of what I'm craving as I could have before, so even though I'm giving in to my cravings, I can only eat about half of what I think I can eat, which helps limit the effects of poor food choices (and to be fair, not all my cravings are bad. Last week I ate the same enormous salad every single night because it was all that was appealing. this week, the thought of that salad completely grosses me out). The bad side of this is that my cravings are all kind of falling flat - for about a week I was dying for spaghetti with meat sauce, but when I finally got around to making it I didn't really enjoy eating it all that much. Same goes for some of the sweets I've been dreaming about. And while I like this in terms of overall, it kind of kills the fun of "I'm pregnant I can eat everything nom nom nom."

So anyway, there we go. Just about 6 weeks pregnant, and my physical state runs between starving, ate too much, and need to sleep. It's kind of like being a baby myself.

*I am very excited about this due date because I have always hoped that if we had another baby it would be born on the 22nd of some month. Jack, Sophie and I are all the 20th of our months, and Brett's birthday and our anniversary both fall on the 29th, but Izzy, with her birthday on the 22nd, stands alone. Unfortunately, a due date of about the 8th would have been better, because it would mean I could deliver nicely a few weeks early and hit my goal of the 22nd. A due date of the 22nd means I have to go full term. Ugh.

ps: Hooray!! Something to blog about!!!

Counting

2011-10-25T13:53:00.000-07:00

And The Winner Is...

2011-10-24T06:01:00.000-07:00

Congratulations #13: Sarah!

And because of the great response, I decided to add in two second runner ups. So #2 Daisy and #18 Jel will each receive a bottle of Essie Carry On.

Send me your addresses ladies (practicalpablum at gmail dot com) and I'll get your polish in the mail!

Thanks everyone for participating! Stay tuned and I'll try to figure out a new giveaway to do in a few weeks!

Friday Fashion Flashback

2011-10-21T15:51:00.000-07:00

what I wore this week:

sweater: Beulah
shirt: Gap Body
leggings: Champion
booties: Nicole
hat (which I took off immediately after this photo): Target

sweater: Old Navy
jean leggings: Target
boots: Hunter

sweater: Goodwill
shirt: Land's End (via thrift store)
jeans: Joe's Jeans
booties: Aldo
sunglasses: Target

dress: Asos
faux leather jacket: Target
boots: Nine West

jacket: Goodwill
shirt: Target
jeans: Asos
wedge booties: Kelly & Katie
sunglasses: Target

How To Apply Flawless Makeup In Under 10 Minutes

2011-10-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

Ever since I dyed my hair blonde, I have been much more diligent about applying my makeup everyday. And I've found that even taking the time everyday to really ensure a flawless finish doesn't actually take that much time.

Which means there is no reason you can't do it too. The steps I take:

1)start with clean, moisturized (and sunscreen!) face.
2) Foundation Primer. This is a silicone product that will help your makeup glide on smoothly without tugging at your skin, as well as prevent foundation and powder from sinking into fine lines and accentuating them. Apply it with your bare hands.
3) Foundation. I prefer liquid foundation applied either with my bare hands or a makeup sponge. Apply to forehead, one cheek, other cheek, starting in the center of your face and moving outward, and blend blend blend!
optional: After you apply your regular foundation, take a foundation in a much darker tone, and apply to the temples, along the hairlines by the ears and under the cheekbones for a little extra definition in the face. Blend well!!
4) Concealer: Using a concealer brush, apply a creamy concealer all around the eye area to disguise and darkness. Make an inverted triangle under the eyes from the inner corner, down alongside the nose and connecting to the outer corner. Seems like a lot, but I promise it will make a huge difference once it is blended in. I also put the concealer on my eyelids to get a nice even base color. Blend with makeup sponge or lightly with fingertips. Dab concealer onto any spots or blemishes that need hiding - in general, the best concealer for blemishes will have a thicker consistency than what works under your eyes so you will need different products for each task.
optional: Apply liquid highlighter anywhere you want a little extra glow: under the arches of the brows, along the tops of cheekbones, at the bow of the mouth. Again, blending is your friend.
6) Brush translucent powder all over your face to set your makeup and give a satiny finish.
7) Apply blush to the apples of the cheeks (to find apples, smile into the mirror and put blush on the round parts). The most natural looking blush will match the color your cheeks get when you've been exercising vigorously or out on the cold.
optional: Swipe a small amount of bronzer in the hollows of the cheeks, and a powder highlighter above the cheekbones to add a little contour to your face.
8) Apply eyeshadow according to the look you are going for. For a natural, daytime look, use a nude/beige/champagne tone across entire lid, then apply a darker brown/gray/taupe shade on the outer 1/3rd and in the crease of the eyelid. A bright white shade under the arches of the brows and the inner corners of the eyes will make your eyes pop.
optional: Eyeliner and mascara.
optional: Fill in any thin spots in brows with an eyebrow pencil. Eyeliner pencils are too soft and greasy, and are more likely to smear or rub off so you want one specifically for brows. You can also apply clear mascara to keep brows from getting all crazy.
9) Finish with your favorite lipstick, chapstick or lipgloss!

Now, I know this sounds like a lot to do in the mornings, especially when you've got kids and other stuff to worry about. But I promise, it probably took you longer to read the description that it does to actually apply it all - which is why I made this video PROVING it can all be done in under 10 minutes.

(things to ignore in the video: Izzy playing in the background and calling out "are you done yet?", my myriad insane facial expressions, and my roots, which are getting fixed next week)

products used in the video:

primer: Smashbox Photo Finish foundation primer with SPF 15 and Dermaxyl

foundation: Chanel Teint Innocence in 20 Cameo
foundation (shading): Loreal True Match in n6 Honey Beige

concealer (blemish): Revlon Colorstay Blemish Concealer in Fair
concealer (under eye): Benefit Erase Paste in #1 Fair

powder: Bare Minerals Mineral Veil
highlighter: Benefit High Beam

blush: Sonia Kashuk Powder Blush in 297 Pink (I think - the label is rubbed off)
contour: Benefit Perfect 10 highlighter/bronzer

eyeshadow palette #1: Dior 5 Couleurs in 030 Incognito
eyeshadow palette #2: Dior 5 Couleurs in609 Earth Reflection

eyeliner: Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye pencil in Corrupt
mascara: Lancome Definicils Pro in Deep Black

lipstick: Loreal Infallible in 510 Mulberry

not pictured:
eyebrow pencil: Revlon Colorstay Brow Enhancer in Light Brown/Champagne
nailpolish (just in case you were wondering): Essie Mochacino

this post is not sponsored in anyway. All products mentioned are my own, and were purchased by me.

Holding Pattern

2011-10-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

So... ever since I posted about getting down to 149 I have been oh so gradually... staying at 149. It has fluctuated a bit, once I weighed in at 146 and I have never gone higher than 150, but in general I am hovering nicely right at the 148.5 mark.

Not exactly the plan.

Of course, I have also completely abandoned the eating changes I had made, so I guess the real victory is in not gaining any weight back. It is really amazing to see the instant response of my body if I don't eat as cleanly as I'd like - my midsection just puffs right up with extra water. But I wouldn't say I have gone back to my old eating habits - my palate has definitely changed to where I still love sweets but I eat normal amounts of them now rather than consuming enough to sink a tanker. And my appetite has lessened considerably - we went out for dinner on our anniversary and I ate probably half of what I would have eaten on previous occasions, and was still completely stuffed. So that's a really nice change, although clearly I still have some mental adjustments to make so I don't end up so uncomfortably full.

Whatever. It's all about making these changes gradually so that they become permanent. Thinking about never really eating cheese again, or a big bowl of pasta, seems really hard and terrible, but I've found that I don't miss it all that much. Well, in general I don't miss it that much - I'm sure there are still going to be times when I dig into a giant serving of carbs! Right now for instance the weather has finally gotten in to full on fall temps (high of 49 today!) and I have been craving a giant bowl of spaghetti with meat sauce for over a week. So I think I'll treat myself tonight - and wear something loose fitting tomorrow to hide the consequences!

Nail Polish Giveaway

2011-10-17T15:24:00.000-07:00

We all know how much I love nail polish and painting my finger nails. Something about having nice glossy nails just makes me feel put together - and the right color can definitely help an outfit feel complete. And fall is my favorite time of year (for lots of reasons) because it is the most natural fit for the deep burgundies and purples that are my favorite colors.

So, in light of the fact that I've given you the steps to give yourself the perfect at home manicure, I thought I should also give you the right tools. Hence... a GIVEAWAY!!!!

One lucky reader will win the products pictured below: full size bottles of OPI base coat (1), Seche Vite top coat (2), OPI Bubble Bath (the perfect pale pink)(4), Essie Carry On from the Fall 2011 collection (3). The first three are fabulous basics anyone should have on hand, and the fourth is one of my current favorites - a deep plummy color that really sums up fall and makes me think of dashing 40's skirt suits with fox fur collars while waiting on a train platform. Or something.

You'll also win a bottle of Duri Drop n Go fast drying drops (5) to set your polish in a flash and eliminate the need to sit around for hours waiting for it to dry!

To win: simply leave a comment on this blog post. Tell me what your personal favorite nail polish color is ( I have so many - but one all time favorite is OPI Lincoln Park At Midnight. Oh, or Essie Wicked. Or OPI Yoga-ta get This Blue. Ok, I can't pick just one). Or just tell me anything you want, any comment will enter you in the contest.

For additional entries:
- tweet this giveaway (don't forget to @lonek8 your tweet so I see it)
- mention the giveaway on Facebook 9again, just make sure I know about it)

tell your friends, and tweet or comment as many times as you want - no one ever reads this blog anymore so your odds of winning are bound to be good!

I will announce the winner next Monday (10-24-11)- so check back then!

ps: this is NOT a sponsored post. These are just products I really like (purchased with my own money), and I want to share them with my lovely readers. Sure you could go out and buy them yourselves, but isn't it more fun to win?

Entries are now closed for this giveaway. See results here

Saturday Say What

2011-10-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

mom, can you put on your slippers? you're getting foot goober all over the house

Izzy: there are hidden cameras to capture people sneaking around at night.
me: how do you know that?
Izzy: I watch it on tv at night.

Me: I think you guys are funny.
Izzy: thats because we are

my brain is better than yours. cause it's younger

after I asked her a question: excuse me? can I just have a minute?

when the line of cars for school drop off was really long and she wanted to get out further from the door than normal: I can take it from here mom

Izzy: can I have a banana?
me: no, it will be dinner time soon.
Izzy: well that wasn't very nice or fun.
me: sorry.
Izzy: fine, then I'm never eating one of the bananas again. (see? told, you)

After pressing her stuffed animal to a banged knee: can I have a pack of ice? kitty isn't working

seeing a neighbor painting his house: we should paint our house!
me: well, that's a lot of work
Izzy: we'll wait until geegee and papa visit and then geegee can do it.

Jack: you're annoying
me: me?
Jack: yeah
Izzy: you're not annoying mom.
Jack: she's not annoying you guys, but she's annoying me

and Sophie's debut on Saturday Say What:

in the car with the windows down: Too windy!!
after I roll the windows up: There you go.

ps: this is my one THOUSANDTH blog post. Wheeee

Lady Pants

2011-10-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

This morning I was getting dressed, accompanied by children naturally, and because I decided to wear leggings, I had to change my undergarments for those designed to avoid pantylines. Izzy immediately ran and hid so she wouldn't have to bear witness to the apparent horror of my naked business (and yet, still won't just let me get dressed ALONE), and only glanced up once I was properly covered. At which point she said "oh, you're wearing lady pants." I thought maybe she was referring to the floral pattern, but in general I was just thinking this was another random Izzyism that I'll never really know what she's talking about and I resumed getting dressed. Until she exclaimed "this is how I wear lady pants" and I turned to see her giving herself a major wedgie.

So yeah... lady pants = thong. Good to know.

here's what else I wore this week:

jeans: Asos
tank: Gap body
vest: TJ Maxx
sunglasses: Target
ballet flats: Madison Harding

jean leggings: Target
t shirt: MiH jeans
sweater: Missoni for Target
boots: Ebay

dress: Marshalls
sweater: Target
belt: ? (had it for years)
sunglasses: Target
shoes: Jeffrey Campbell

dress: Trinity via Ebay
sweater: Target
belt: Forever 21
shoes: Aldo

skirt: Goodwill
t shirt: Old Navy
sweater: Target
shoes: Toms

a disproportionate amount of my wardrobe comes from Target. Hmmm.

Empty Threats

2011-10-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

Izzy (pardon me, Isabelle as she now demands to be called) has developed quite the little attitude over the past few months or so, resulting in back talk and sass whenever she is told to do something she doesn't want to do. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to grasp the concept of proper threat making, and so she just makes things worse for herself (or she would if she actually carried out any of her threats). If I say no candy for snacks, then she'll say "Fine. Then I'm not eating any more candy. EVER."

Alrighty then.

If she can't color exactly when she wants to, then she'll threaten me with never coloring again. Basically no matter what the situation, she gets the retort completely wrong. Like she lives in opposite land. Which makes it a wee bit harder to admonish her for the back talk because I find myself so amused by her idea of an ultimatum. But I'm sure her misunderstanding of the correct consequences can't last forever, so I've got to find a way to nip this little rebellious streak in the bud.

Maybe I should just make her follow through on one of her "threats."

Movie Time

2011-10-11T15:42:00.000-07:00

Thinking about seeing a movie this weekend? Check out my latest reviews:

Reel Steel Drive Ides Of March

Jump Start

2011-10-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

This blog is dying. I get less than half of the hits I used to get, probably less than half of the comments (which were never very many to begin with), and I'm at a loss. I know what needs to be done, I just can't seem to bring myself to do it. It is not my intention to redesign this blog, but I have been mainly posting fashion related items or movie reviews, because that is all i can work up any energy to write about. Fact is, my life is pretty boring, and in some ways I'm starting to feel like simply talking about my kids is no longer my place - as they get older their stories are their own, and I would never want to embarrass them or mention anyone from school without permission, etc. So it starts to get tricky.

For myself, I'm working on things like trying to not be such a fat ass, and eat better and go to the gym and what not, but honestly, no one wants to read about that on a daily basis. Especially when there has been no improvement *cough cough*. And of course, constantly blogging about why I'm not blogging is beyond annoying; I just want everyone to know that I'm not unaware of the problem, and I do want to come back to full strength. I read through my archives and I really like the stuff I've written. I don't know where all those thoughts went. My head is just empty space lately - it's like I've narrowed down to intense laser focus on occasion followed by the swoosh of empty air at others. I can no longer remember anything, my ability to multitask is atrophied, and my inner monologue is all but silenced.

I don't know why.

Perhaps if I just start sitting down at the computer every day and typing out whatever I think of I will wake my brain back up. Perhaps my skill at blogging was exhausted long ago and I'll eventually have to admit defeat. But I hope not. I hope I can give myself a jump start and get back in the game, if for no other reason than because I can't afford to get any stupider than I have already become. And because I love this blog and all of the people I have met through it.

Friday Fashion Flashback

2011-10-07T17:43:00.001-07:00

So, in an effort to be both less hagtastic, and blog more frequently, I am going to start recapping what I wore during the week. The hope is that this will inspire me to put on a cute outfit more days than not. We'll see how long it lasts.

Maxidress: Tart

tank top: Old Navy
shorts: Asos
sunglasses: Target
wedges: Kelly & Katie

sweater: Goodwill
skirt: Goodwill
tank top: Target
boots: Nicole

sweater: Target (years ago)
shirt: Goodwill
leggings: Champion via Target
boots: Frye

How To Style Grown Out Bangs

2011-10-03T18:42:00.000-07:00

Over the past two years I have had bangs both willingly, and involuntarily thrust upon me by an awful haircut. Add that to thirty years of cutting my hair despite wanting it long, and I have a wee bit of experience dealing with in-between length, hard to manage hairstyles.

What I don't have is much skill styling hair.

So, by popular demand (heh), here are a few suggestions I have for ways to pull back your hair as you grow it out.

what you need:

Bobby pins, barrettes, clear elastics, a brush, and hair.
Center/Off center part:

Super easy, let your hair part wherever it likes to and just pin a small section on each side. best options for this style are bobby pins or small barrettes. unless you are twelve, you want to keep your hair accessories as low key as possible - or at least, I do.

Barrettes are the easiest and fastest to put in,

but bobby pins are a little less obvious because they are smaller

and easy to brush a section of hair over to hide them.

If you find that the bobby pins slip out too easily (I do because I have such luscious, silken hair), then simply cross one pin over another to form an X - this keeps them locked in tight.

Another option is to braid each section, and fasten with some clear elastics. A little flower child maybe, but I like it

Deep center part:

Basically, you can do all the things I already showed just with a deeper center part. Other options are to take a larger section of hair and pull it back and to the side - fastening with bobby pins or barrettes. Fast, easy, reasonably put together.

If you are feeling fancy (and nimble fingered) you can also french braid the front section of your hair along the hairline, tying the end with a clear elastic and pinning it behind your ear under the rest of your hair. I am a lousy french braider or I would wear this all the time.

No Part:

for pulling your hair straight back, there is always the head band option - which I have used my fair share of when growing out bangs. In general, I kind of find headbands to be uncomfortable, and they always get in the way of my sunglasses, but they are certainly useful especially with a ponytail for keeping my hair out of my face when working out.

If I'm going to pull my hair straight back

I take a small section from the front, pull it back and give it a half twist,

then secure with (as always) a barrette or the bobby pin X.

if you want to pull more hair back,

you can take all the hair above your ears and either braid it at the back of your head,

or just use a clear elastic.

Another helpful tip:

I like to have a selection of bobby pins, barrettes and hair elastics (for me and the kids) in my purse in case any hairstyle related changes must be made while out and about, but I hate having them randomly floating around in my purse. Enter the tiny altoids tin:

perfectly sized to fit all things hair related, it keeps them contained and convenient.

Okay, that's all I got. Happy Hairstyling!

Sunday Snaps

2011-10-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

Pretty amazing Sunday

BlogHer Book Club: Faithful Place

2011-09-23T11:22:00.000-07:00

Faithful Place by Tana French is a gripping story of a Dublin police detective and the love of his life who went missing 22 years earlier. Filled with family tensions, love lost and all the turbulent emotions of growing up in a broken family, this book is both a fascinating mystery and an intense exploration of human existence.

Read more...

For My Little Man

2011-09-20T05:07:00.000-07:00

Today the sweetest boy alive turns 4. I am so proud.

You are my favoritest boy in the whole wide world. I love you. Happy Birthday.

music: Little Wonders by Rob Thomas

Movie Madness

2011-09-12T10:14:00.000-07:00

My husband has been out of town for two weeks, and this weekend had a heavy slate of movies I've been anticipating, so I spent quite a bit of time indoors in the dark by myself. It was heavenly.

Click the links to read my reviews for, Contagion, Warrior, and The Debt.

How To Perfectly Polish Your Nails

2011-09-09T12:02:00.000-07:00

I feel like most women know the basic steps for doing an at home manicure, and are confident trimming, filing, and maintaining their nails and cuticles. But I see many that still feel apprehensive about tackling the polish application. And of course, not everyone has the time or budget to get professional manicures, so feeling confident about doing it yourself is essential (assuming you even wear nail polish, of course). I personally paint my nails at least once a week, more often twice, so I thought I would give you some easy tips to help you perfect your at home manicure.

- after you have filed your nails to the length and shape you like and pushed back your cuticles, take the time to buff your nails smooth. Everyone has some degree of ridges in their nails (I have big ones on my thumbs!), and getting the surface smooth and even will help the polish glide on easily.

- use a base coat. ( I use OPI) A basecoat dries super fast, and helps the polish adhere to your nails. It also keeps your nails from getting stained if you wear dark polish. Note: If you are doing a full on manicure rather than just changing polish, wipe your nails with rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball before applying the base coat. This ensures that the nails are clean of lotion or cuticle oil.Just make sure you don’t leave any cotton fuzzies behind!

- How to apply the polish:

1) dip your brush into the polish, don’t wipe too much off on the side of the bottle! You don’t want a huge drippy glob, but you need adequate polish to really glide on and cover your whole nail without redipping.

2) lightly touch your brush to your nail, right in the middle. This gets the first touch of polish out of the way without getting extra polish too near your cuticles where it might blob over off the edge of your nail.

3) touching your brush close to the edge of your nail, right in the center, edge it backwards until it is as close to your cuticle as you can get it. Then, using the flexibility in the bristles, sweep your brush over to the side, keeping close to the cuticle and painting a strip of polish along the side of the nail to the tip.

4) repeat on the other side of the nail.

5) run the brush back over the center strip of the nail, covering any spots you missed when doing the sides, and smoothing the two streaks of polish together. That’s it! Don’t go back over anything, because by this point either the brush will be out of polish or your nail just starting to dry enough that you will get brush marks instead of the smooth finish you want. If there are tiny spots you missed, or the polish is thin in some spots, you can fix those on the second coat.

6) redip polish in bottle and repeat steps on next finger until both hands have a first coat.

7) wait one minute, then repeat everything again, starting with the same finger, for the second coat.

8) after one minute, apply Top Coat. Seche Vite is the absolutely my favorite of the many options out there, and will leave your nails with a really glossy salon finish. You want a very thick coat when you apply it – it dries fast!

That’s it , you’re done!!!

In case my description was less than clear, here's a little video I did to demonstrate the first coat:

color used in the video: OPI Red Red Rhine

Tips to keep from wrecking it:

- apply a quick dry spray. Duri Drop n Go is amazing! It really dries your nails fast! If you don’t have quick dry spray, let your nails dry for about 3-4 minutes, then (gently!) apply cuticle oil to your nails. The oil will make your nails slippery, helping things that would normal ding your polish slide right off. Not fool proof, but better than nothing.

- paint your nails before bed. It can take up to 24 hours for polish to fully cure. If you are spending the first several hours of that asleep, you don’t have to worry about denting your polish when you try and unbutton your pants to visit the restroom or whatever. Just give your self 10 minutes or so before hand so you don’t end up with your sheets’ thread count imprinted in your nails!

- PRACTICE!!! I do my nails all the time, so I’m pretty good at painting them (even with my left hand). But I wasn’t always adept, and if I go a really long time without doing my nails my skills definitely suffer. If you are less than confident, start with a pale pink polish – the color allows for more mistakes because no one can really see the chip of the blotches you got on your skin. OPI Bubble Bath is the perfect pale pink polish because it doesn’t stay streaky like some of them do so it is really forgiving of less than perfect technique.

Ok, hope this helps! Happy manicuring!

ps; one last tip: if you are painting your nails a dark color, consider doing the first coat with pure black polish (OPI Black Onyx for example). The black will give you more depth and richness from your main color than if you just did two coats. This is especially helpful with dark polishes that are less than opaque even after multiple coats. Nothing worse than having deep plum nails with pale streaks where the polish is too thin, and doing more than two coats (plus base coat and top coat) just increases drying time and your risk of wrecking all your hard work!

pps: okay, last tip for real this time. You might be tempted to buy a base coat/ top coat in one - don't. They are really meant to do different things, and your manicure will last longer if you get separate bottles of each. base coat is meant to act like double stick tap, adhering both to your nails and to the polish you paint on top. Top coat is meant to leave a super shiny, extra hard finish that helps your polish resist chipping longer. No combination formula is going to do either of these things well, so you (and your nails) are better off using one of each.

Happy polishing!

BlogHer Book Club: Slow Love

2011-09-08T10:54:00.000-07:00

I did NOT like this book. The author writes well enough, lots of flowery, metaphoric phrasing, and it all sounds very philosophical and deep thoughtsy, but in general all the contemplative prose and meandering diversions do is disguise the fact that the author isn't really saying anything at all. According to the cover subtitle, Slow Love is "how I lost my job, put on my pajamas, and found happiness," but in truth she talks way more about a highly dysfunctional relationship that she a) keeps referring to in the past tense even though it clearly hadn't ended, and b) is so pathetic on her part that the fact I can't slap her became unbearably frustrating.

Each chapter starts off as if it will be a specific portion of the story, and then meanders off into random tangents and backstory. However, instead of then tying those little historical glimpses in to the larger theme of the chapter, the just continue to trail off and away and back to this idiotic relationship that literally has nothing whatsoever to do with her getting her life back together after being fired.

I'm going to give the author the benefit of the doubt and assume that she is not completely lacking in any personality or metal function in real life (after all, we are talking about a successful magazine editor and writer) and only comes across that way in this book. But oh, my god. She fails completely (in my opinion) to communicate any aspect of actual depression or sense of fighting against the feeling of becoming undefined and untethered after losing her job. Instead we get ambivalence, schmaltzy philosophical monologues that are unrelated to just about everything else, and disconnected irrelevant anecdotes. She is hungry all the time - but never explores why. She is tired all the time, or suffering from insomnia - but instead of giving us insight in to what her inner struggle was, why her mind was racing, we get a recitation of all the things she tried that failed to fix the problem. Is this a book about finding oneself after losing your job (and as a result a primary portion of your identity?) or is it simply a middle aged woman wailing about how she hasn't found true love while admitting that she accepted dates only because it meant someone would be buying her dinner, and offering little to no evidence that she ever did anything to find it? There is no apparent emotional connection to her own life or focus to this story, which makes it damn hard to care about her as a reader.

It did start to pick up around chapter 10, becoming a little less aimless and the digressions tying in to the relevant point. But by that point the damaged had been done and I had a really hard time getting invested. There are probably many people who loved it and think I'm just a crazy person. They may be right. For other perspectives, and to join in the discussions about this book, check out the BlogHer Book Club.

ps: I also think the title is absolutely terrible. It sounds like some kind of tantric sex manual. no thanks.

Random And A Rant

2011-09-07T14:16:00.000-07:00

We have a weather station thingy that has the temperature inside and out, and the humidity, and all other various lights and symbols, none of which i have the slightest idea what they mean or how they relate to me. Basically I'm checking the temp and the humidity and I'm good. And because we have it set to do inside and out, ie channels 1 and 2, there is a blank setting as it cycles between the three channels. So it will blink 73 degrees, inside, 79 degrees outside, ---, 73 degrees inside, etc.

Except when it doesn't.

Lately we have been getting a mysterious third channel on occasion. I don't know when a third sensor was installed, or who hooked it up to our monitor, but they apparently installed it in the bowels of hell because that channel is almost always 121 degrees. Fahrenheit. And 68% humidity, which I think we can all agree is excruciatingly high at those kind of temperatures.

I don't know where that is, but I DO NOT want to go.

In other, totally unrelated news, we have been sent home our first fund raising packet as parents of a school age child. And I have found myself irrationally enraged by it. I get that the PTA needs money to continue offering our school whatever great services they currently offer, and honestly I have no problem ponying up in support of my kids' education. if they had sent home some sort of letter explaining that it costs x amount of dollars per kid to provide for field trips or whatever, I'd have whipped out my checkbook and made room in the budget no questions asked. But instead, you ask me (cause let's not kid ourselves, a 5 year old ain't selling nothin') to hit up family, friends and neighbors (whom we barely know) for money? In exchange for junk trinkets and overpriced wrapping paper? Hell. Muthafucking. NO.

I do not sell things.

No offense to people out there who are salesmen - it is often a thankless job and there are many people who do it really well and really enjoy it. I do not. The surest way to get me to refuse to do something is to push me into it, and there is nothing I hate more than a pushy salesperson. In most instances, the best way to get me to buy something is to leave me the hell alone with it and some cash. Trust me, that money will find it's way out of my pocket in no time. I also have a complete issue with doing anything that might involve talking to strangers- just ask my husband what it's like to get me to order pizza or call the phone company. So you can imagine how thrilled I am to be expected to sell things to complete strangers. Things they do not need, or want, in support of a school they could most likely not care less about. Fun times.

Oh, and don't forget about the "show" they supposedly put on instead of letting my kid have outside playtime like usual, telling them all about the great prizes (ie, tiny rubber frog) they would get. And when I explained how the system actually works and that she has to sell a certain amount of items in order to get the frog (making that sucker cost about $40), it made my daughter cry because she really thought they were just getting a toy. Thanks for that, PTA!

What it boils down to is this: I hate to be forced into doing your job. My job is to support my child, and her school and teachers as best I can. And if that involves giving money, or baking treats for a bake sale, or chaperoning on a filed trip, I'm all game. But I draw the line at being coerced into shelling out iffy products to people who have no responsibility to this school whatsoever. My son's preschool is also doing a bake sale - and along with the order form and catalog was a very nice note from the director explaining the program and saying our participation was appreciated but not mandatory. They weren't trying to manhandle me into performing, and they didn't try and brainwash my kid into being a good little salesman.

You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. So I guess basically I object more to the methods than what they are actually asking me to do. Kind of how I don't like evangelical Christians*: I'm happy for you that you drank the Kool-aid, just stop trying to shove it down my throat.

And NEVER ask me to sell it.

*no doubt I will soon find out where channel 3 is after that comment

BlogHer Book Club: Rules Of Civility

2011-09-07T09:32:00.000-07:00

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles, is an intriguing story full of exquisitely crafted phrases and captivating description. however, what it more than makes up for in language, it lacks in emotion. Populated with more than its fair share of fascinating characters, this book never delves far enough beyond the facade of propriety; rather, the reader is stuck with only a surface view of events. We may be privy to the narration of the main character (a delightfully smart and self assured young woman making her way in 1938 New York), but we are spared the messiness of her true emotions, and as a result the books fails to grip you as well as it should.

Read the rest of my review

What It Is Like In My Brain Right Now

2011-08-31T11:33:00.000-07:00

morning: Uh. I don't want to get up. How much will I have to rush if I sleep ten more minutes? Was there something I needed to do today? Errands? I don't know.

early afternoon: eat your lunch faster, you need to take naps so I can do stuff.

naptime: Oooh, pretty things on my computer. I'll just look at them for a minute and then eat and do some stuff.

three hours later: shit! I didn't do anything the whole naptime. I'm hungry.

dinnertime: I have to cook for you again? Did you eat hotdogs last night? Hotdogs it is then.

after dinner: is it bedtime yet? ooh, pretty things on the computer!

bedtime (kids): finally! go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep!

evening: why is nothing on tv? maybe I'll read some of the 500 magazines I have been meaning to get to. Or that book I need to review oooh, pretty things on the computer.

bedtime: why is it midnight? Crap. okay, I'll go to bed. But tomorrow I need to do A, B and C, and go to X, Y, Z to get 1, 2, 3. Oooh, and I'll blog about blah blah blah, with this funny title and great opening paragraph I just thought of. Maybe I should write that down? Then I'd have to go back downstairs. Nah, I'll remember.

repeat.

Pinned. To My Laptop

2011-08-30T15:22:00.000-07:00

So I've been spending all of my time lately on my laptop (burning a hole in both my retinas and the sofa cushions), and yet I still haven't managed to blog a single thing. Pathetic.

I pick up my computer to do a couple quick things, check email, read some blogs, maybe write a bit, and then three hours later I realize I still haven't eaten, or cleaned anything, or done whatever it was I was planning on doing right after I got off the computer. I'm just completely swept up in a whole desire for style renaissance or something: I want to reconfigure my wardrobe and clean out my closet discover my personal style and actually decorate my house so there is some character and life in it and I can do crafty things to make it more personal and cheap, and... and... and... ad nauseum.

Mainly this means I spend a lot of time shopping online and finding stuff I would buy if I had any money to do all the things I want to do. heh

And of course, there is the glorious time suck of Pinterest, which I had held back on joining because I didn't really need another new obsession to keep me busy and then totally get sick of (Foursquare, anyone?), but oh my god it is just perfect for me! Now instead of constant lists of favorites and and wishlists at a hundred different online shops I can just pin the things I like to Pinterest and yay it's all there for me to find. Not that I've even had the chance to go back and actually look at the stuff I've pinned, because I'm too busy repinning new stuff that other people have found. It is super fun, and completely pointless, but it also totally satisfies my desire to shop online without ending up on my credit card balance, so that is win win I'd say.

The only people losing out are my kids (but they don't really NEED attention. or to be fed. right?) and of course my blog, which I am far to busy coveting things to update.

I'm also feeling intense desires to do another cull of our closets and drawers - it always takes several tries to really get rid of everything and I just feel like we have so much stuff that we have not and will not ever use. I have towels that I think would be great for drying a wet dog/muddy dog feet when it's raining. When we get a dog. Which may never happen. So maybe I don't need to keep all of those towels?

And of course, there is my closet. Oh I have so much stuff! I clear it out all the time, but I'm feeling especially ruthless right now. I found this website that has a whole explanation of 6 steps to getting a cohesive, manageable wardrobe and I really want to follow it. I think it will be really hard because I love my stuff, but there are definitely things that I have to admit don't go with anything else, or that even though I totally love them I don't love wearing them so they have to go. I also have to make sure I'm not completely depleting my wardrobe only to have to buy a bunch of stuff in order to make it functional - that would be the same as now! So I don't know how I'll go about it - making sure everything can be worn in at least three different outfits? I'll figure that out later. The thought of trying on everything I own isn't really that appealing (the time! the concentration! the interruptions by children!) so I don't plan to start this any time soon. Plus, I'm hoping to lose a bunch more weight, so maybe that will make things easier - I'll have to get rid of all my stuff when it is too big! Plus, that comes with a built in justification for buying new things, lol.

Okay, this was completely boring, stream of consciousness. I'll just stop there. I'm sure there is new stuff to look at on Pinterest anyway. And it's not going to pin itself!

ps: does anyone else look at their pin boards and think they are headed for Hoarders? I've been on for three days and I've pinned over 500 things. Clearly I am not discerning enough in what I like. Which also probably explains why my closet is such a hodge podge

pps: I totally wrote this whole post on the wrong blog. Duh. next time I'll have to tell you about how I am so stupid now.

149

2011-08-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

Given the fact that my friend Rita is blogging today about losing over 100 lbs, this will sound a little stupid, BUT, I yesterday I weighed in at 149lbs, and since 152 is the lowest I have been since Sophie was born, that is kind of a big deal. Even bigger? It only took a couple of weeks of new eating habits (after two years of shoveling cake in my face).

At the beginning of August my husband and I started the Whole30 program, which is basically eating nothing but meat, fruit and vegetables. No dairy, no soy, no grains (wheat, corn, quinoa, rice, etc), no beans (or peanuts or peanut butter), and NO SUGAR (not even natural stuff like honey or agave). Now, I only did like 3 days hard core before I went to BlogHer and abandoned all pretense, and since I've been home I've been a little lax about the rules, allowing myself a bite of yogurt or my kids' sandwich every now and then because it seemed like a better choice than killing everyone, but still, it appears to be working. Last week I was 156, so that's pretty fast weight loss (my husband has lost 15 lbs so far) for very little effort.

And what's more, I look SO much better! the bags under my eyes were truly reaching steamer trunk proportions, and while that did allow me to perfect my under eye concealer application, I wasn't too thrilled by the rapid aging that seemed to be happening. Three days on this plan and the puffiness was ALL GONE - even when I stayed up reading until 2 am one night. I have also lost all of the irritated redness in my cheeks, my skin tone is so even and nice now! And of course, all of the water retention and flubber around my waist has been the first thing to go - there is still a wee bit of spare tire, but now it seems more like for a bicycle rather than a semi.

And it wasn't THAT hard. The first three or four days were pretty awful. I was hungry all the time, and it is SO hard psychologically to not feed that hunger when you are used to immediately satiating every desire. But I can really eat as much of the allowed foods as I want, so it's not like you have to sit around starving all the time. I just really had to work through my cravings because when I'm dying for a cookie a slice of apple just isn't appetizing. But that really only lasted a few days, and then I adjusted and got used to the foods I can eat and now my afternoon cherries and my evening dates are such a delight. I've even noticed that when I do "cheat" and have something on the forbidden foods list, I don't really enjoy it as much.

At this point, I am still really struggling with the mental aspect of my eating habits - I have conditioned myself to crave sweets and sugar and candy mentally so much that it is hard adjusting to the mindset of being a person who doesn't eat those things. My new mantra is "I'm only cheating myself" so I remember that no one cares if I eat 40 mini almond joys in one day, and no one will be hurt by it except for me. And it is helping some. Helping even more? Knowing that I'll wake up with saddlebags on my face again if I slip. Knowing I wouldn't be able to sleep pretty much cured me of ever eating chocolate after 1pm, so I think if I give the whole "you'll look like a thousand year old woman" defense another week or so I'll be done dreaming about ice cream sundaes.

next up: 139

The First Day, Part The Second

2011-08-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

Jack started preschool today, and even though he is my second child, I was way more concerned for how he would react than I ever was with Izzy. Isabelle is super outgoing, talks to everyone, and possesses an unshakeable self confidence that made it easy to let her go into preschool or kindergarten without the slightest worry. Jack, on the other hand, is super sensitive, highly emotional, and VERY shy with strangers and new situations. So I have been wondering just how he would adjust to going to school for the first time.

But everything went smooth as silk. All morning he was super excited, chattering away the entire drive to school about how excited he was and how many new friends he was going to make. When we got to school he didn't show the slightest hesitation about walking in to his classroom (although he did at least hold my hand and hug me like a proper little kid rather than leaving me in the dust by the door without so much as a goodbye like Izzy did). After class the teachers all said he did great, and he still had a smile on his face and talk of excitement to share on the way home.

I'm sure there will be rough days, but I am so glad that this first step was a happy one.

ps: have you checked out my Daily Photo lately? probably not since I haven't posted one in practically a month, but I'm all caught up now, so you should head on over there and peruse my photographic offerings (ie, look at cute pics of my kids and some random other stuff)

The End Of An Era

2011-08-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

About two hours ago, I dropped Isabelle off for her very first day of kindergarten. She will be gone until 4pm today, but this is only the beginning. Starting today, the time she spends at home with us full time will only be weekends or vacation time. The entirety of her life, which until now has been at home with me, will now be made up of school mates and teachers and activities I am no part of. It is so surreal to think that this is not temporary - this is the new normal- leaving her somewhere everyday and not knowing what happens to her when she is there. I know she will have a great time, and I'm not even slightly worried about her making friends or having issues with the other kids because of her friendly, outgoing personality. It is just really strange leaving my kid somewhere when I've spent the past 5 and a half years trying to remember NOT to leave her anywhere. And knowing that we will only do this 12 more times before she completely moves out of the house? Crazy.

It hasn't entirely hit me yet that everything changed the moment we pulled into that circular drive. Up until now, my life and my experience as a mother has been center stage. I know pretty much everything Izzy does or has ever done, because I was there when she did it. But now her life is her own to share or not as she chooses; just like that I've been relegated to being a supporting player.

It is strange to think that during naptime this afternoon she won't be here bugging me for more snacks. I should have played with her more during those times when the other kids were in their rooms and we had opportunity to spend some one on one time, but I was always too tired, or too cranky or too busy doing something else, and now it's too late and I won't have those chances in the same way again. This summer has just gone by so quickly, it's still hard for me to believe I won't have my girl around all the time anymore.

Only five hours left until I get to go pick her up.

Izzyisms

2011-08-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

Wow - it's been a while since I've shared the choice statements my kids treat me to each day. Here's what's been said since my last post:

Izzy, in the manner of preflight safety speech: Ladies and gentlemen, please turn off your cell phones, your babies and your cows.

after coming over to stand right next to where I was sitting: By the way, I tooted, so you might not want to stand so close to me.

Jack: This is a bobo smoothie
Izzy: I don't taste bobo.

this morning in my room I did 77 pushups. Thats why I feel so good.

At bedtime, when I hugged and kissed her while she was still talking (she NEVER stops talking): well, that was a nice way to tell me to shut up.

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. no, I mean it. I woke up on the left.

getting in the pool at my aunt's house: I could get used to this!

later, in the pool: ok, let's play whichever of the adults can be quietest wins. I can be as loud as I want. few second pause: I hear laughing over there.

like my shoes? I put them on because they make everything perfect

yeah, I'm funny. Funnier than a kangaroo sitting on an apple.

Don't you touch my little weiner nose!

Showing me some poop on the carpet: me: how did it get squished?
Izzy: I squashed it with my yellow shoes.
me: why would you do that?
Izzy: because the pink ones are my favorite.

you can't be in a magazine because you're our mom.

we're in the middle of somewhere, but we used to be in the middle of nowhere.

are you up for some tai chi?

listen to this rhyme, let's go! that wasn't really a rhyme. I tricked you

can I wear this lipstick? The pink one? That really reflects my style

good thing the bleeding wasn't on my favorite leg

singing: I'll swim down deep where the salmon are cheap

Izzy: I do not like the summer yeti.
Jack: I do not like goblins

I really love watching television, and I want one in my room. But if I ask you you'll just say no.

I don't have a unicorn big enough to ride.

Izzy: in your face suckers!
Jack: in your face suckers!
Izzy: it's only cool when I say it.

Polyvore

2011-08-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

So, have you ever heard of Polyvore? It is a super cool website where you can make style sets for outfits or even home decor from their selection of photos/items. I've been playing around on it for awhile, but I never really made any actual sets until today, and let me tell you: it is F.U.N!

At least, it's fun if you are into clothes and interior design and whatnot. If you don't like those things then it would probably be about as fun as hot pokers in the ears. Fortunately, I DO like those things, so I have a blast putting together ensembles that I will never actually wear, made of items that in many cases I could never afford. But it's still fun, and it actually really helps hone your 'eye' so you can put together actual outfits in real life too (and it provides links to buy everything you select, in case you CAN actually afford to buy something - it's not all $1000 purses).

Usually, how I start is by picking one item and then making a whole outfit around it, kind of like you would if you were choosing from your own closet. today I picked a pair of pink jeans. I also like to do day and night looks, because in general 'day' is going to be something I can actually pretend I might wear, but 'night' usually involves WAY more fun footwear.

My pink jeans- day look:

pink jeans: day by lonek8 featuring water resistant watches

and pink jeans- evening:

pink jeans- evening by lonek8 featuring patent leather bags

what do you think? I absolutely LOVE playing around with this site, so you will probably be seeing a lot more of these sets from me. Especially since buying a whole new wardrobe or completely redecorating my house are out of the question in real life - but I can do it a thousand times online! Feel free to follow me on polyvore, or just stay tuned here!

I wasn't compensated in anyway for this post - I just think this website is super fun!

pink jeans: day

2011-08-12T16:20:00.001-07:00

pink jeans: day by lonek8 featuring old navy shoes

Miss Selfridge print cardigan
£45 - missselfridge.com

H M long tank
£7.99 - hm.com

Elsom stretch jeans
£112 - fashion-conscience.com

Old navy shoes
$35 - oldnavy.gap.com

Balenciaga leather bag
$1,795 - cultstatus.com.au

Lola Rose pink sterling silver ring
£125 - liberty.co.uk

American Apparel water resistant watch
$100 - americanapparel.net

Monsoon stackable bangle bracelet
£14 - monsoon.co.uk

Earrings
sheyna.com

Climbing Mt. Obligation

2011-08-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

The worst thing about going anywhere has got to be the game of catch up you play when you get home. For most people that means work and other responsibilities. For me, it means the twenty shows backed up on my DVR, the two book reviews I have to write (after reading the books!), the pictures I have yet to get off my camera, edit and post (I'm what, three weeks behind on Daily photo?), and the stack of entertainment, celebrity gossip and fashion magazines that are NOT going to read themselves. Thanks to my new phone, there are literally HOURS worth of fiddling that need to happen to figure it out and get it working how I want, and of course Izzy starts kindergarten on MONDAY (eeeps!) so I want to spend some time with her before she vanishes from my life for SEVEN hours everyday.

I am completely underwater. Can you imagine if I also had REAL stuff to do?

I don't know when I'm going to get caught up on all of this, seeing as there are only so many child free hours in the day and I have sworn a holy vow to head up for bed by 10 (10:30 max) each night and the kids are usually up until at least 8pm. But I'm really going to try and force myself to work extra hard to blog regularly despite the seemingly endless tasks begging for attention alongside of the children and cats constantly begging for food. Something less important will just have to be pushed aside until later.

Like cleaning the house.

Round Three

2011-08-10T11:54:00.000-07:00

It would seem as though Sophie is ready for potty training. Several times I have come to get her in the morning and found the seat of her little arm chair covered in what appears to be pee - and her diaper will still be on correctly, and not super saturated, leading me to believe that she is removing it to use the facilities. Of course, at over 2 1/2 she is beyond old enough to be potty training, but given the fact that she literally cannot be trusted out of your sight for one second, and Monday colored all over her walls using poop like a crayon, you can probably understand why I have been hesitant to even think about starting potty training.

With Jack I just waited and waited and waited until he was totally old enough to skip over the whole training part and I could just say "use the potty" and he did, so I was kind of planning to wait until that point with the Sopher too. Especially since leaving her bedroom door unlocked is not an option due to the climbing over the baby gate to my bedroom to color on EVERYTHING using eyeliner and lip pencils (that is HARD to remove, too) and leaving her with full, private access to a potty chair seems like a poo decision destined for highly undesirable consequences (see: above referenced poop art). But it would seem she is going to force my hand on this one. Much like she does with virtually everything given her "I laugh in the face of your 'No,' woman" attitude.

So right now she is up there at naptime with her very own potty chair, doing who knows what. When I brought it in, she promptly removed her pull up diaper, sat there for a moment saying "I not done yet," and then pulled it back up when finished. There was no actual pee (although i did discover someone had been squirting hand soap in there, nice), but clearly she is well versed on what to do in the case of actual need. So we'll see how this goes.

I can't even imagine a world where I'm not changing diapers.

Renewal

2011-08-09T12:21:00.000-07:00

Well, it's that time of year again, and I have just returned home from BlogHer, where I spread my particular brand of social awkwardness far and wide (when I wasn't in my room). I hid my face less this year, and did a better job of talking ~~the ears off of~~ to people I didn't know. No one flat out ran away from me, so I did ok. And a few people even remembered me from last year (and still wanted to hang out), so that was really great. I also got to meet (read geek out) Rebecca Woolf of Girls Gone Child, who is basically my IDOL - and she knew me (from my screen name)! It was the absolute highlight of my weekend, and I may or may not have cried a little bit. Yes, I am THAT person.

The other highlight was the yoga sessions I attended each morning. &am came pretty quickly, but doing yoga outside on the terrace overlooking the bay in San Diego (read PERFECT weather) cannot be beat. It was amazing - I wish I could start every day like that. I'd probably be a much nicer person.

The OTHER other highlight was that I attended a session with htc, where I was given a BRAND NEW htc Thunderbolt! I have been dying for an iphone, and suffering through having to wait another year before I was eligible for an upgrade, and now I don't have to worry about it because I have this awesome new touch screen phone! There are a few little hiccups that could stand improving, but I'm getting the hang of it and overall it is really sweet. My husband is totally jealous.

So that's where things stand right now. After three days away (no offense to my family, but NOT long enough), and constant talking about blogging, and thinking about blogging, and telling people what I blog about (answer: whatever I want/ nothing lately) my internal bloggy voice has started chiming in again with ideas. I actually wrote most of this on the notes application on my ipod on the plane ride home. Of course, lazybones Johnson is still rearing her ugly head, as you can tell by it having taken me two days to get this posted, but I'll take what I can get. There are going to be some changes around here (earlier bedtimes! better nutrition!something else because things sound better in threes!) and hopefully that will all manifest in a return to full time blogging.

ps: coming home to Omaha after being in San Diego, is such a letdown. Good thing there were three gorgeous kids racing down the airport hallway to give me hugs!

pps: if you are a new visitor because I gave you my card at BlogHer - HI! Thanks for checking out my blog. I loved meeting you! Sorry if I never let you get a word in edgewise!

I'd Love To Meet You!

2011-08-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

So, it may seem like the biggest joke in the world that I am attending BlogHer this year, seeing as my blogging has been pretty non existent of late. But I'm going, ridiculous or not.

How about you?

If there is anyone out there reading this who is also going to be in San Diego at the conference this weekend (or, hey, just in San Diego), give me a shout out and we can meet up. Email practical pablum at gmail dot com, and we'll exchange phone numbers and find a time to hang out. See ya!

and ps: hopefully this weekend will get the juices flowing and I'll be back here a little more often from now on!

BlogHer Book Club: What Happened To Goodbye

2011-07-21T17:44:00.000-07:00

It is hard to put my finger on What Happened To Goodbye by Sarah Dessen. The story of a girl whose parents have gone through a terrible divorce, and who now travels around with her father, it could have easily fallen into melodrama and typical teenage angst. But instead, the protagonist is so relatable that you can't help but identify with her regardless of your age.

Read the rest of my review...

Ooh, Pretty!

2011-07-20T13:58:00.000-07:00

So, maybe you're wondering what kind of fun and exciting things I've been up to in the past few days since I haven't been blogging. Well, let me tell you: I've discovered Kandee Johnson's Youtube channel! And even though her name is kind of porn starish, she is most certainly not! She is just adorable, a professional makeup artist who does these little tutorial videos teaching all kinds of makeup looks from classic pinup to modern styles and looks you see on the red carpet. And it is completely addictive watching! A lot of the tutorials have similar techniques, but it is just amazing watching her put makeup on because she is really talented. I'm pretty sure that no amount of video exposure is going to help me nail the perfect cat eye.

So that's what I've been doing. Well, that and piling makeup on my own face in ways that DO NOT at all resemble the ~~other~~ lovely Miss Johnson, and accumulating a massive wishlist of all the cool products she uses. If you are at all into makeup (and she does some hair too) check her out. but only if you have a few spare hours!

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2

2011-07-16T19:05:00.001-07:00

What can I say? Honestly, if you are AT ALL interested in this movie, you are already planning to go see it (or maybe already have). And unless you live under a rock or are so uninterested that you haven't read even one book (in which case why are you reading this review?) you know the story. So there is not much point in recaps or plot summaries. Which just leaves us with one question: Did they do it justice? And the answer is a resounding Y. E. S!

read the rest of my review here

Mental Spew

2011-07-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

yeah I know, I haven't been blogging. And no, I don't have a good reason, or even a good excuse. I just don't really feel like it. Which is kind of a shame, since I usually enjoy it so much.

Isn't that a sign of depression? No longer wanting to do things that you previously used to really enjoy? Maybe I'm depressed. I don't FEEL depressed, but I also totally don't want to do anything other than read, watch tv, shop online and eat copious amounts of sugar. I honestly think I've only had green vegetables twice in the past week.

Oh, and go to the gym. I go to the gym a lot. At least 5 mornings a week, and sometimes twice a day - although I only go twice when the kids beg me to take them back there. But seriously, that's kind of getting into crazy territory, right? I mean, I'm not killing myself in my workouts - it's more of a leisurely paddle on the elliptical while I watch whatever movie they're playing that day. Still. Reading, working out and consuming dessert is basically all I do now.

Not the most enlightened (or healthiest) existence.

How do you know if you're depressed? I mean, besides feeling totally awful all the time? I don't feel awful, but good god am I a boring mess. Maybe I just in a slump? I don't know. I randomly had a tarot card reading this past weekend, and amongst other things she told me I really needed a break. So maybe that's all that's going on.

Anyone want to take me to Tahiti?

Good Little Doggie

2011-07-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

Sophie likes to pretend she's a dog. Often. She will play fetch for, if not hours, then definitely tens of minutes. She yips and wants you to pat her head and tell her what a good doggie she is. My husband doesn't love that I indulge this behavior - apparently he frowns on treating children like pets.

BlogHer Book Club: Getting To Happy

2011-06-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

The phenomenon that was Waiting to Exhale sort of skipped over me (I was in high school when the book and movie came out), so I was completely unfamiliar with the story and characters when I got the sequel Getting To Happy by Terry McMillan in the mail. I didn't want to come into this story unprepared, however, so I made sure I got the first book and read it before starting this one so I would have the background necessary to enjoy the sequel.

Turns out I probably didn't need to worry about it. Getting To Happy is the continuing story of the women we met in Waiting To Exhale, but I think it would be just as enjoyable on it's own as a story of four women facing the challenges of job changes, divorce, grief and growing older. Life, basically.

Read my full review...

The Problem With Perfect

2011-06-27T12:36:00.000-07:00

So, when I tell people that my children are perfect, no doubt they are rolling their eyes and secretly wanting to stab me in the face. But it's true. They are perfect. Which is wonderful in life, but lousy for blogging.

This past weekend we went to Champaign, IL for my husband's family reunion, but did I get a single anecdote to share? Nope. Three little angels the entire trip. Five hour drive Thursday, three hour drive Friday, EIGHT hour drive home Sunday: not one single tantrum or fight, or accident or anything funny. Just happy, mellow kids in the backseat watching movies and playing quietly. Three nights in hotels where all three kids had to go to sleep in the same bed - after swimming and having no naps? Nothing. They all went to bed easily and quickly like champs.

We didn't even almost drown anyone in the hotel pool this time.

Seriously, no one freaked out about anything, or got trampled by cows (or started a stampede). It was completely pleasant and uneventful the entire time. Which is why, instead of some amusing anecdote or hilarious story, you get a photo blog.

Damn those perfect children!!

Aftermath

2011-06-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

Last night before we got sucked into the television, Brett and I stepped outside to watch a wicked storm roll in. We haven't had a storm with a big wall cloud that just steamrolls in so fast you can see it yet this summer, and even though they are a little scary, they are kind of fun to watch. On approach at least.

So we are standing on the front porch watching this black cloud churning towards us, and I'm thinking should go grab my camera so I can videotape it coming in to put on my blog so you can actually see how fast it moves, when the sirens start going off.

The TORNADO sirens.

Now, when I first moved here I was totally obsessed with tornadoes and the possibility of there being one here, but that has basically worn off and now I only really worry about tying down our garbage can lids so they'll stop getting blown over and knocking down our decorative trellis. This was the first time the sirens have gone off since we've moved here, and it was a little freaky. Naturally we had just put the kids to bed, so we had to go get them and usher them all down into the basement. It's kind of difficult to explain to little kids that they have to leave their rooms and go downstairs because of a storm, without totally freaking them out. I'm assuming Brett did a good job of it though, because there was no crying or hysterical screaming.

I didn't participate in rousing the troops because I was too busy geeking out about the storm coming and the sirens going off. And still standing out on the front porch looking around for any tornadoes that might be coming. Let me tell you, it may be super stupid and totally dangerous, but if there's going to be a tornado near my house, I want to see that sucker! And Brett came back outside too after he got the kids downstairs, and we were oohing and aahing over the black clouds and the strong winds, and thinking we should probably go back inside, when our two full size, on wheels (with tied down lids), garbage cans flew 25 feet completely across the driveway in one gust of wind.

Time to go inside.

So I gathered my phone with the almost dead battery, and my laptop (in case the house got swept away I wanted to save our pictures) and headed for the basement. Well, in theory, mostly I stood in front of the back door searching the sky for funnel clouds. Because, you know, the place you want to be standing in a severe storm that is trowing things around is right behind a giant plate glass window.

Then the power went out.

This was accompanied by much screaming and general panic from the kids downstairs because they were now in total darkness instead of watching Disney channel happily. And of course, Brett raced to get a lantern and head lamp while i stood at the top of the stairs saying "it's okay. Calm down." while staring out the windows. I'm seriously mother of the year in a storm. Although, I didn't really know we had any of that stuff much less where it was, so i probably wouldn't have been very helpful anyway.

By the time we got downstairs with flashlights and everything (and I cleaned up the gazillion toys all over in case we had to sleep on the floor down there), the storm had calmed down to just a regular windy thunderstorm. The sirens were quiet, and it wasn't even raining that hard anymore. So we let the kids get all riled up playing with the flashlights and racing around the basement, and then told them they had to go back to bed. Without fans or nightlights.

Much screaming and crying ensued.

And then once THAT was settled, Brett and I came back downstairs to.... oh right. There's no power. I lit some candles so we could save battery power,

oooh, pretty

I have the lamest candle collection ever. I seriously need to stock up before the next power outage

and then we sat around. Cause there's nothing to do when the power is out. I sat upstairs by the window for a little while trying to catch the absolutely unbelievable lightning show that was going on,

sha-ZAAM!!

ka-POW!!

and then basically we went to bed.

This morning, everything in our yard was basically the same. But as we left the neighborhood to go to the mall, we saw just how crazy a storm it really had been. Within two blocks of our house:

Pretty crazy. Brett saw a video clip of some news coverage of this storm, and I guess that amid the multiple (!) tornado sightings there was one big twister that derailed 13 train cars just outside Omaha. As much as I'd like to see a tornado someday, I'm glad I missed that one.

To The Tune Of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

2011-06-20T17:56:00.001-07:00

I always sing my own ad libbed words to songs at night to Sophie (and I did to Izzy when she was little too. But not Jack. Jack likes it RIGHT). This was tonight's.

Chubby little Sophie lamb,
Sweeter than a honeyed ham.

Put you in a big black pot,
Add the veggies that I've got.

Cook you up and eat you whole,
tasty Sophie casserole.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

BlogHer Book Club Giveaway!: A Jane Austen Education

2011-06-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

Did you like my review of A Jane Austen Education? Think it sounded like an interesting read? Well, leave a comment on this post at BlogHer, and you are entered to win your very own copy. Five lucky winners will be chosen on June 24th, so go leave your comments today!

And... Sophie Almost Gets Drowned. Again

2011-06-15T17:16:00.000-07:00

The kids have been in swimming lessons, and so far there has been nothing but excitement and improvement and full on enthusiasm for the whole endeavor; which, considering the horror stories I had been reading on all my friends' blogs about swimming comes as quite a relief. Even Jack has been doing great - although his teacher's comment to me on day 3 was "he always says he can't do it. but he can."

Yeah, that pretty much sums up Jack's personality.

So we've been having a great time (Sophie chills in the baby pool while the big kids have their lesson) and I'm kind of sorry that we don't have a pool to go swim at after these lessons end in two days. I may have to look into that.

Anyway, there have been vast improvements all around - and Izzy is actually SWIMMING! As in, full on, face in the water freestyle swimming, which pretty much blew her teacher's mind and mine as well. Only for short distances of course, but still - swimming on day 4 of lessons. Crazy. She also seems to feel she can share her wondrous knowledge with others, as today she took it upon herself to pull Sophie through the water in the baby pool. By her feet. So Sophie dragged with her face fully submerged for several feet until I could get Izzy's attention enough to stop them and get Sophie upright again. She was fine of course, but seriously, I'm thinking we need to keep that one away from water - this can't end well. The funniest part was that she wouldn't let Izzy so much as touch her for the whole rest of the time they were in the pool - which led to much pouting on Izzy's part I will tell you.

The other momentous event of today's lesson was everyone's (well, not Sophie obviously) first ever trip off the diving board. Izzy went first, and right off like a total pro. Jack inched up like a little old man, all hunched over with the tiniest steps you've ever seen - and then turned around. It was pretty funny. But once the assistant was up there with him he jumped off pretty well - I don't think she had to push him, haha.

So... this is written pretty terribly, but I'm tired and don't feel up to reworking the narrative. instead I'll distract you with pictures!

oh, to know what they are talking about

you want me to what?

nope

I swear she didn't push him

practicing her stink eye for later, when Izzy dunks her

Super 8

2011-06-14T16:25:00.001-07:00

I think all you probably need to know about this film is right up there above the title: Abrams and Spielberg. That's a pretty good movie pedigree, and Super 8 does not fail to live up to its creators names. This movie really has a little bit of everything: father son tension, forbidden (young) love/friendship, precocious kids, vast government conspiracy, monsters and retro nostalgia. And it all hangs together beautifully.

Read the rest of my review....

BlogHer Book Club: A Jane Austen Education

2011-06-13T23:02:00.000-07:00

Going into the experience of reading A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz, I knew absolutely nothing of Jane Austen. If pressed, I probably could have come up with one or two titles of her books, but I had certainly never read one, and had never even seen a movie adaptation of one. So other than the general impression that they are novels in which nothing much happens besides a lot of talking and perhaps a resulting romance, I was completely clueless.

I had worried somewhat that this book, ostensibly a memoir of the author's evolution as it pertains to Jane Austen's books but really discourse on the life lessons hidden in each of her novels, would require some background knowledge of each story. I was pleased to find that this was not the case, and that I could appreciate both the lessons imparted in Austen's books, as well as the author's (of THIS book) relationship with them.

Read more....

Making It Easy To Be Beautiful: Kroger and CoverGirl

2011-06-13T08:26:00.000-07:00

To anyone who knows me it is no secret that I love makeup - I have tons of it (which the girls LOVE getting into!), and I can always find a reason to buy more. Which is why I was thrilled when I was offered the opportunity through Clever Girl Collective to check out the fabulous selection of CoverGirl makeup offered at Kroger brand grocery stores.

when we lived in Steamboat, the City Market grocery store was basically the only place to shop, and we were there almost every day. And even though we live in Omaha, where there is a much larger selection of shopping available, the fact that I'm always at the store with 3 kids in tow, pretty much limits me to one stop shopping whenever possible. Which is why it is so great when stores like Bakers (the local grocery store) have such a wide selection of makeup! I can pick up the milk and whatnot I need, and then also swing by the cosmetics aisle and find a little treat for myself.

I wasn't foolish enough to bring all of the kids along when I got my Kroger gift card, however. I wanted plenty of time to peruse the full selection and decide exactly what I wanted. There was so much to choose from! I could update my selection of lipsticks (I'm always searching for that perfect red), or possibly try out one of the seemingly hundreds of mascaras (I'm not thrilled with my current brand anyway). They even have the mascara that is supposed to coordinate with your eye color, although I never know if I should choose brown or hazel. I thought about trying some of the new natural foundation, or maybe the products that mix CoverGirl makeup with Oil of Olay anti-aging:

The selection really seemed almost endless, and I spent my gift card many times over selecting and replacing the items in my basket. Finally, I decided to use this unique opportunity to get a few bright eyeshadows and colored eyeliner since I have been wishing I was bold enough to try since seeing how hot bright makeup is for summer. I even had money left over to buy a couple of new lipglosses (because you can never have too much lipgloss)!

What I got: Liquiliner Blast eyeliner in Blue Boom and Violet Voltage, Eye Enhancers eyeshadow in Turquoise Tempest, Purple Pop and Knock Out Pink, and CG Wetslicks Fruit Spritzers in Strawberry Splash and Grape Splash.

Then, of course, came the fun part - trying everything on! (see photos of my looks here)

The eyeshadows were really nice - sheer enough that even the bright colors could be adapted for daily use (maybe not the turquoise, that was a strong color), but also easily layered to make a dark, bold statement. I've actually worn the pink eyeshadow all this week; I really love it as an alternative to my other neutral taupes and beiges and it doesn't make your eyes look red or tired like some pinks can. The purple is really a gorgeous color - a true purple that doesn't get too plummy or muddy when you apply it in a heavy smokey eye. And the turquoise was really pretty too - definitely a 'statement' color, but perfect when you are really looking to experiment or have some fun (girls trip to Vegas, anyone?)! The liquiliner blast eyeliner is great - goes on so smooth and easily, with no tugging on my eyelids, and it is easy to smudge if you want to make it smoky while still staying put when you don't want it to smudge - which is why I already had one in gray and black. The purple makes a great alternative to everyday brown, and the blue was surprisingly modern looking - not 80s or retro at all, even with my brown eyes. The lipgloss is also really nice - I love a thick, shiny gloss - and while I preferred the grape splash color (shimmery pink), the strawberry tastes phenomenal.

This experience was so much fun - I got some great new CoverGirl products and some new looks to add to my admittedly boring makeup routine. And I already have a wish list of other CoverGirl products I want to pick up the next time I'm at Bakers!

Thank you to Kroger and CoverGirl for sponsoring this review. While CoverGirl provided me with a $30 gift card to purchase CoverGirl products at Kroger stores, the opinions I've expressed here are solely my own, represent my honest viewpoint, and not that of CoverGirl, Kroger, or Proctor & Gamble. I am making no claims about the products, just expressing my thoughtful opinion. Clever Girls Collective supports Blog With Integrity.

Road Trip!

2011-06-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

So, I didn't tell you how we almost drowned Sophie last weekend? How remiss of me.

Last weekend we decided to make the 2 hour drive down to Kansas City to see my aunt and uncle at an art fair (my Aunt Jennifer is the artist, and her stuff is AMAZING. You should really check out her website). We left in the afternoon hoping the kids would sleep on the way there (HA. hahahaha), which of course didn't happen, but the ride was uneventful and we got to the fair about 5:30pm. We talked to my aunt and uncle for a little while, with a short break for frozen yogurt, but eventually the heat (it was well into the 90s), the time (it was by now way after 7pm) and the hunger (hello? Feed your children people!) got to us and we had to go to the hotel.

Because we are stupid, we had been telling the kids that they could swim at the hotel that night. So bedtime be damned, we ordered a pizza and headed down for a quick swim while we waited for it to be delivered. When we got to the pool we were in for a real treat as there were about 500 older kids in the pool, splashing and screaming and generally being completely insane. The water looked like a feeding frenzy without the blood. But the whirlpool sat there empty and small and shallow, and looked perfect for our limited swimming needs since 4 out of 5 in our family could stand with their heads out of the water. And it was empty, which was most important.

So we made our way over, and Izzy got right in and went along the side to stand on the bench seat, while I looked for a single square foot of dry floor to set my clothes and towels on. Brett and I were both watching Jack to see how he would react to the water; he's super sensitive to heat, and routinely screams about the bathwater being too hot despite it being barely above room temperature and his sisters sitting in it comfortably. So we were both totally preoccupied with his testing the water, and mentally preparing for the possible impending meltdown. Which is why we didn't notice Sophie just get in. And walk down the steps. And off the bottom step.

And under water. Whoops.

So Sophie is floundering in the water and Izzy says "Sophie?" kind of questioning, like 'is anyone seeing this because I can't believe this is okay," and I go "Brett!" significantly more urgently, and Brett goes leaping into the water and grabs her up. And there is two seconds of catching her breath followed by several more seconds of crying and hugging and consoling, and then she goes right back over to the stairs and starts getting in again. So, not scarred for life or afraid of water, which is good. Also not a lick more cautious than before, so clearly no lesson learned. There is no fear in that one, I tell you. God help us when she gets her driver's license.

Anyway, crisis averted. And now enjoy these lovely pics of our trip 9which you have probably already seen if you are my friend on Facebook.)

Oh, and can I just say that with the swimming and dinner and baths afterwards, the kids were up until after 10pm that night (after no nap that day), withe ZERO meltdowns. And then they barely had any nap the next day either, and still, total angels. If that's not a miracle, I don't know what is.