Teaholic not quite anonymous

Happy 2007 everyone! I hope your 2006 brings back many fond memories.

It was a good day here today! Sorry if you tried to check the page but couldn't get in. We had a power outage today and then our server screwed up a bit so Matt had to fix it. It was a busy night so he didn't really get around to it until a little while ago.

Last night Matt and I made Matt's mom's shrimp and grits recipe! It was GREAT. I love that dish and I can quickly see it becoming a New Years Eve tradition. Maddy liked it too even though it was pretty spicy! We did not stay up until midnight. We were in bed by about 11:15ish. But promptly at 12:02 one of our neighbors started setting of fireworks so we were woken by that. Fortunately, Maddy didn't wake up. It was a nice relaxing evening here. We watched a couple programs on TV while we had a bottle of Asti and salsa with chips. Nothing extraordinary. But that's the way I like it!

I was up at 5 am this morning with the onset of allergies. It was probably from our walk yesterday. Speaking of our walk, I can't find Maddy's shoe!!! She's missing one shoe. I think we lost it on the walk, but neither Matt nor I noticed it. I would have thought we would? Plus, Matt said she was wearing her other pair of shoes and we have both of those. So... I will keep looking. But I have looked virtually everywhere for it and cannot find it. It's the cupcake shoes I like so much. But yes, I woke up with allergies at 5 am. So I got up for a bit and hung out before going back to bed about 6.

This morning Matt made an omlete for me and I LOVE his omeletes. He's so good at them. Maddy liked it as well, but only ate a little bit since she filled up on cereal.

During Maddy's first nap the power went out. So I read a magazine while Matt kept bugging me about how he was 'bored'. But I did get through one. The power came on and off randomly for about an hour while they fixed it. I was afraid to work out since Maddy's noise maker wasn't on and I really insist on a hot shower after I work out. The dishwasher had been running when the power went out so I wasn't sure how much there would be.

We had cold shrimp and cocktail sauce from the fridge for lunch (quick open and close). It was really good. The power came back on after that and Maddy went down for her second nap. I spent that time finishing a load of laundry, putting away all the Christmas items where they belonged (this has been on my list forever and a big accomplishment) and showered.

After Maddy got up and we all had dinner Matt and Maddy ran out to the mall to take some stuff back while I sorted and cleaned the pantry, spice cabinet, liquor cabinet and baking goods cabinet. It had been quite a while! I found baking powder dating to 2001!! EAK! So, suffices to say I threw out a lot of stuff. I threw out items mainly in the baking cabinet and some food in the back of the liquor cabinet; the pantry and spice cabinet get used a lot so there wasn't much to throw out there. I was able to find ALL of the cabinets by the time Matt and Maddy came home.

But you wouldn't believe what I found. Actually, yes, you would believe what I found. I found FOUR more containers of unopened loose tea!!! I'm swimming in it, people! Ha!

Maddy became overtired tonight before bed. I knew she was tired but I didn't know she was THAT tired. Next thing I knew, she was crawling back and forth, laughing hysterically. We held her for a bit to calm her down and put her off to bed with the normal routine. Before Matt could even get the door closed she was crying. We let her cry a bit and I went up to hold her. She slept for about a 1/2 hour on her own and then she started to cry again. I just got back out now. I'm hoping she sleeps the rest of the night.

Ok, well, I'm off to hang out with Matt before we go to bed.

Tea of the day: I had hazelnut cinnamon coffee with a packet of Land O' Lakes Hazelnut hot chocolate. That makes one heck of a mocha! It's horrible for me though.

WO of the day: None, wound up not fitting one in once the power was on. But did get a lot of that clutter that was driving me bonkers put away!

Still no sign of the shoe. Now I'm pretty sure we lost it on the walk. Maybe I'll go take a walk with her later and look for it. But it rained all night last night so I highly doubt it can be saved even if I do find it.

Ok, today I snacked on a couple M&M's that I bought for my Christmas cookies. I was looking at the bag (ok, the fat content) and noticed that they call them 'The holiday bag'. Let me just get on my soap box for a minute here. I have absolutely no issue with people wishing others Happy Holidays. I really don't. But when the entire bag of M&Ms are RED, LIGHT GREEN AND DARK GREEN you may as well call it 'the Christmas bag'. If they were white, blue, red, and green then I can see it called the holidays bag. But, it's not. It's red and green. Call a spade a spade! And if they are calling it the holiday bag to not offend people then add in some white and blue, too. Ok, off my soap box now.

I got a good work out in this morning. It felt good to get back on the elliptical machine after 3 days. I had a good night's sleep last night, too. It was the first night in four days that I've slept well. It was great to get 7 1/2 hours of straight sleep! I have a loaf of 7 grain bread in the breadmaker for dinner with some frozen (now defrosting) homemade soup.

Maddy found her mini magnadoodle today. I was looking for a timer in my teacher stuff and ran across my break time goodies I used to use for my kids. This was one of them so I brought it upstairs so she could play with it if she wanted it. Well, she LOVES it. She can't get enough of drawing with it. Here's a picture.

She also ate out of a bowl with her fingers for the first time today. (Normally I just put her food on her high chair tray.) She loves asparagus so I put them into a plastic bowl and she chowed right down. She hasn't tried to throw it over the side yet, but I give it another day or two before the entire bowl goes over.

Well, I have a couple other things I want to get done while she naps. So I better get a move on! Have a good day everyone!

Tea of the day: Ahmad English Breakfast with splenda and gingerbread creamer
WO of the day: 30 min. elliptical, situps, pushups, stretching

So Maddy was up AGAIN last night. Did not want to go to sleep for Daddy and started bawling right away after he closed the door again. So I went up a few minutes later (after I let her wear herself out crying a bit first) and rocked her for about 20 minutes. I layed her down and she still wasn't asleep, but must have fell asleep on her own because I didn't hear anything else for another 30 minutes. Then she gave a couple of cries and must have fell back asleep again.

Well, I went downstairs to hang out with Matt and finish a magazine I was reading but didn't want to listen to TV (just wasn't in the mood for that last night) so I went upstairs to bed. Then Matt's cell phone rang. Then Joe started to mew. Finally, the house was quiet and everyone was in bed.

I woke up at 3:30. I was supposed to wake up at 6 this morning to work out since today is very busy. But... after finally falling back asleep at 5:30 I decided to skip the 6 o'clock wakeup call. We woke up at 7:45. I promptly threw on some clothes, washed my face and tied up my hair. I went to work! I had to get all the moveable stuff off the carpet because the carpet guys were coming at noon.

Then they called at 9:30 to see if they could show up early. They showed up at 10:20. Fortunately by that point I moved all the dining room furniture to the family room, moved the bedroom stuff on top of the bed, moved Maddy's moveable stuff to her closet and dressers, moved the living room toys to the kitchen. I threw the cats in the bathroom with water, food and litterbox. Matt got home to hang out with the guys while Maddy and I took a walk. I looked for the missing shoe, could not find it. Maddy was so cute though, all bundled up. She was definitely warm enough but not too warm.

We walked for about 45 minutes and then came home. The carpet is wet for 3 hours so the poor cats are locked up from 10 am to 3 pm. They will definitely pee on me later (just kidding, they've never done that, but if they would, now would be the time). Maddy and I will have to hang out in the kitchen until 3pm. I may just go insane in there all day. Fortunately, right now she is still sleeping during her nap. But I wonder how long she will be down because I didn't feed her before her nap. She was just too tired.

Of course, I locked the cats in Maddy's bathroom so I needed to transfer them to our bathroom before Maddy could nap. Fortunately, neither of them escaped my grasp and I didn't need to chase them through the house.

Tonight our Pastor and another member come over for Advent Preparation. However, Advent is over but I guess we're doing it anyway. They will get here at 6:30. I think we can probably eat at 6 and get cleaned up in time. I still want to dust and clean the Maddy prints off the TV and front door before they get here. I wouldn't mind slapping on a bit of makeup as well. But before all that, I will need to put everything back where it belongs. I am hoping their visit won't last TOO long since Maddy's been through a lot of changes today and will probably need to be in bed a bit earlier or at least will be a bit fussier tonight. I am also hoping she will go to bed without a fight, but I won't count on that.

I haven't worked out today and most likely won't get the opportunity. I may try during ther second nap if I get everything else done before that. I COULD work out right now, but the cats are locked up in my bathroom where I would need to shower. They won't like that very much! Speaking of, I think I've run out of time since I think I hear Maddy over the monitor.

Tonight I plan on taking a LONG, HOT shower. When I know Maddy is asleep (no matter how many trips that may be) I am taking a simply sleep and hitting the sack early, or at least at a decent hour.

Tea of the day: STRONG Ahmad English breakfast tea--straight (and slightly bitter)
WO: Does my 45 minute walk with Maddy count?

So, Pastor and our Council president came over for Advent Preperation tonight. Well, since it's after Advent (Pre-Christmas up to Christmas for all you heathens out there--don't worry, I'm joking, I'm getting to that) it turned into Epiphany Preperation (1/6 Story of the Wise Men) since it's now after Christmas. Well, all of that was a good guise for our 'Come to Jesus Meeting'--both figuratively and literally.

So yes, we got nailed tonight with not coming to church often enough. I was expecting this a while ago. It is true that we barely go anymore. It's not that we disagree with what they say. For me, honestly, it's that Maddy still naps in the morning and I hate seeing her miss her morning nap. At least I'm not a hypocrite--I don't have her miss her nap for ANYTHING (playgroup, shopping, while visiting family, anything). So at least I have consistancy on my side. So it looks like we need to go more often.

It was funny though. After they left Matt and I watched a bit of Darhma and Greg. Did you know that the actress who plays Darhma is a scientologist? I thought it was interesting that she could play a flighty, yoga, nature instructor. But then Matt mentioned that really, they are kind of alike minus the alien thing. He's got a point. Then he started to go off on what would happen if we were a scientologist and the 'pastor' (or whatever it's called in scientology) came to our house and told us we weren't going to church enough. He said, "Except if it were a scientologist they're come to 'Lisord' (Jesus) meeting would include ray guns and an alien as backup." I died laughing. After the day I had and very little sleep, it was great!

Matt said he was half tempted to yell as we closed the door, "OK, BRING BACK IN THE STRIPPERS! JUST KIDDING!" I think I would have laughed. I think Pastor would have too, honestly. But no, not to make light of the situation. We do need to go to church more often.

Alrighty, from one Heathen to another, goodnight!

What DON'T I hear?! Oh yeah! It's crying! Yep, Maddy put herself to sleep last night for the first time in about 5 days. She was wide awake when Matt laid her down too, but she did it! On her own!

Her schedule was a bit screwy yesterday with the carpet people and then Pastor over last night. But she did great.

She was so cute last night with Pastor here. She has the cutest shy look when she is meeting new people. She turns her head all the way and down to the right and smiles up through her big blue eyes. Pastor and the Council leader sat on the couch and Maddy played between on the floor between Matt's legs while he sat in the chair opposite them. You could see her thought process, "Ok, I have Daddy behind me, daddy on the left and daddy on the right. I can play and have fun because if they try to do a single thing, Daddy will take care of me!" She did get more comfortable as time went on and she toddled over to me (as long as we held one hand) and played with me for a bit. It was fun to see her take it all in.

After my work out this morning I think Maddy and I will run to the grocery store and bank. I only need a few things at the store so maybe we'll take a detour to the mall as well. I never did get there yesterday. Or maybe I'll go do those things tonight after she's in bed. Don't know, but I do know I want to get out and about today!

Ok, so I don't know quite how this played out in our favor. Matt laid Maddy down and she immediately started crying. He went back in, still... with the crying. I went in and laid her down (No holding, just "Go to sleep"). She still cried. We both came downstairs and did our normal thing as loud as normal and-------- she fell asleep?!

I don't know, don't ask me. But she hasn't woken up crying since. Weird.

I did get through four magazines today. I'm pretty darn proud of myself considering that included dusting, cleaning bathrooms and polishing glass and mirrors. Maddy and I went for a walk as well and swung on the swing. She loves that. I went grocery shopping tonight, too.

Ok, off to bed! Goodnight!

It's a rainy and grey day here this morning. Maddy is still asleep! I can't believe it. She's been getting up later and later every morning. She is still taking her two naps a day though, so I don't complain. It's weird to have time to be on the computer first thing in the morning and have a cup of tea before she's even awake.

Yesterday I was quite productive. I was able to work out, shower, dust the bedrooms and family room, sweep the family room and wash a few glass surfaces down before Matt even got home. Plus I made dinner and put it all away before Matt got home, too. I got out and went grocery shopping last night. Matt forgot the list at work and it was a bit long, so he just came home instead. I went out as soon as he walked in the door.

Maddy and I took a long walk yesterday. It was beautiful weather. She only needed a hat and that was questionable. We stopped at the park to swing on the swing. She loves the baby swing. After we got home I let her out of the stroller to crawl around on the ground. She loves being outside and crawling around. When it was finally time to go in, I had to fight her to come in since she was thrashing around in my arms. Once we were in, she was fine, and played a bit before she went down for a nap. I love taking walks with Maddy, too. The fresh air and sunshine really is great for me as well. Plus, I'll often call a friend on my cell while we walk so I get some decent talk-time in, too. Normally, Maddy won't let me talk on the phone that much if she's playing. She wants the phone, too. I'm better off waiting for her nap. But then, I've been using her nap time to do everything under the sun lately so the phone hasn't been one of them.

Giant was having a sale on toys! All of them were 50% off from Christmas. I only bought a couple little things but the prices were definitely right. I bought a little pop up toaster that she puts shapes in and then it pops up with the press of a button. I also bought another magnadoodle knockoff. I don't know how long that will last since it's pretty cheaply made, but it was only .75.

You know, I don't get people who use their blog space to yell at other people. Fine, fine, get on a soap box now and again. Go off about how 'things aren't right'. But--why would I want to read a blog that someone is actually YELLING at the READER? I don't get it. My internet time is for relaxation, keeping people updated on our family, and for information gathering. I don't have the time nor the willingness to listen to someone yell at me on their blog.

I do have a myspace account. It basically directs you to this blog and that's about it. I did put up a few pictures and a basic 'this is what I've been doing for the last 10 years' paragraph. But other than that, I check messages and that's it. Myspace is a very..... interesting environment. On one hand, it's 13 year olds who like to talk crushes but that's easy enough to avoid. Then there are people who use it for business or advertising their product/group. Others use it as a magazine like format. It can be done well. On the other hand, you can let your 'friends' view your page if you want to. It really seems like High School all over again. I like you and you're my friend. Wait, we're fighting, you're not my friend anymore. It seems silly. Basically, if I know the person, fine you're my friend. Period. End of story. I have an open space anyway and anyone can read it much like this blog so it doesn't really matter in the end. It's not like I'm going to pour my heart, soul, fears and desires into my blog anyway. That's what a journal or talking to Matt is for. I like the MSN spaces better which seems much more mature although they don't work well with Firefox at all. Anyway, I'm happy with my own little blog, gallery and email here.

I do apologize yesterday for my blog being on the fritz again. Turns out that the server restarted itself and then didn't boot right. We don't know why it decided to restart itself.

Well, I heard Maddy playing with her toy in her crib! She hasn't actually asked to get up yet. But I think I will start heading up that direction since she'll be up soon. Time to close up the gates and doors.

I most likely won't be around much this weekend. Matt's parents are coming up tonight and will be here through Sunday. They've offered to let us get out tomorrow and overnight, but with Maddy's weird sleeping thing, we most likely won't go overnight. We may bop out midday tomorrow to go shopping, lunch, coffee--something fun like that. It's supposed to be a beautiful day so maybe we'll do a picnic in the park and take a walk. We have a church meeting tonight which I may or may not go to. It depends how Maddy's doing. I'd like to go, but her sleep thing is really wacking out her bedtime and I don't want Matt's parents to get stuck with putting her to bed and then have her cry the whole time. And we will go to church Sunday moning.

Have a great day all!

Tea of the day: Yesterday and today I had Ahmad English Breakfast Tea plain
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical both yesterday and today, stretching, situps and regular pushups. Oh my gosh, I think I did... oh, 5??? They are nothing like girlie pushups!

Don't think I don't know it. Don't think I don't appreciate it. Don't think I'll ever get tired of it. :) I think I'm more spoiled than Maddy is!

I had a great weekend! Matt's parents came up this weekend on Friday afternoon. Maddy just LOVES Matt's parents and they just love her to death, too. It is so much fun to watch them play together and to see her face light up when they walk through the door.

Friday night left a lot to be desired. Matt had a church meeting he had to go to and Maddy wanted nothing doing with going to bed while Matt wasn't home. She finally DID fall asleep but that was after 45 minutes of constant fussing/crying. But--when all was said and done, she did fall asleep. Matt and his dad got home carrying chocolate cream pie from Wegmans which I enjoyed all weekend. I went to bed early though. I was exhausted.

Saturday Matt and I went out mid-morning through the afternoon. We went out to lunch. I did a bunch of shopping on my Gift Cards--JC Penny, MAC, Fire & Ice. I bought four beautiful necklaces at Fire & Ice. I love them. I spent over an hour in that store alone! After the malls we also did a bit of errand running. Then went home! Maddy went down for a nap and his mom and I shopped Target. I wanted to get Maddy a new pair of shoes to replace the one she lost (Yes, I've given up hope) and they were on BIG sale $9! I'm pretty sure they are on clearance and Target will no longer be stocking them. They are the knock-off of Robeez brand moccasins for kids. Robeez are $26 each. I got a few other things while there, too. We picked up Five Guys on the way home.

Sunday Matt and I went to church. (Look we're no longer heathens! I'm 2 for 2 in the New Year!) After church I ran back to the mall quick to return a lipgloss that didn't quite work for me to MAC and then to the grocery store to pick up a couple things we needed.

So I was out and about a lot this weekend. I'm not ashamed to say, I NEEDED THAT. It helps get me through the rest of the week.

But I do have some fun stuff coming up these next couple of weeks: Bunco night, Coffee with a friend and Mom's night out. So, that all helps keep me sane as well.

(OH! And I put up quite a few new pictures today as well. So go take a look!)

Tea of the day: Since everyone else was having coffee, I did too.
WO of the day: None since it's the weekend, and eating was BAD, BAD, BAD this weekend. Let's not even talk about it.

Not a bad day here. Not a whole lot new to say, really. Maddy woke up late again today, 9:45! I need to get her back on her earlier schedule. It's better for her and I in the long run. Although it is pretty nice to have two cups of tea while I read the news.

I upload a short video of Maddy today and also a few more pictures. You can find them starting here. I also uploaded a picture of our new bedding that a friend of mine wanted to see. So if you are interested, you can see that here.

Maddy has been snuggly again today. But yesterday she bit her lip pretty bad. Matt didn't even see her do it. I took the trash out and she started to bawl. So he brought her after me thinking that she missed me. Well, no, she bit her lip. It looks really sore. Poor kid, it's all fat and scabbed. It's not like she even bumped it. OUCH! So I wouldn't be surprised if she was snuggly because of the lip.

I made Maddy a smoothie this morning and she FREAKED over the blender. But she did enjoy her smoothie. I don't know the next time I'm going to make her one though, since it scared the heck out of her.

I did ask my mom's groups about shoe recommendations for Maddy once she's up and walking outside. Really, most doctors recommend having kids walk barefoot as much as possible. But because Maddy's feet get so cold, I put her in the Target Robeez. But come spring, she's going to need more weather-proof shoes. I'll see what everyone has to say.

I've had a really peaceful day. I took a few pictures, uploaded pictures/video to the gallery, worked out/showered, watched a couple of shows while Maddy snuggled in my lap. I did get a few things done too though, so I don't feel completely guilty for just sitting around doing nothing.

Tea of the day: Ahmad English Breakfast Tea, 2 cups
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical, situps, pushups, stretching

Why on earth do I have insomnia? Why is it that I fall asleep just fine, but then wake up once in the middle of the night with the inability to fall back asleep. I'm up two, two and a half hours every time I have insomnia lately. It's not even as simple as an hour here or there. Last night my allergies kicked in again part of the way though. So I came down here to the livingroom to get on my laptop and let it clear itself up.

As I tiptoed back up the stairs Maddy woke up. So I was with Maddy from 4:10 to almost 5 am this morning. Finally, I couldn't rock her to sleep (she was fighting it so bad) that I gave her a bottle and laid her down. She cried on and off for about 10 minutes. So I was up last night from 2:30-5 am.

I don't see a pattern to my insomnia. It doesn't happen at the same time every month or with moon cycles. It doesn't happen when I eat only certain things. I don't have caffeine after 2 PM, I'm tired when I go to bed. I do know that my glass of wine at night does not help, so I may stop drinking that. I am active during the day, so that's not it. I can't predict when I'll have insomnia. Worrying about it doesn't seem to help but also doesn't seem to hurt. Mid-nights (the herbal middle of the night sleep aid) doesn't seem to do a darn thing for me as Simply Sleeps don't either. I'll take a Simply Sleep before bed and still wake up at 2 if that's what my body deems fit.

Then the recycle guys came this morning. I swear they try to see how far they can throw those bins. Boy, are they loud.

Maddy had a hard time with bed again last night. She was tired, we put her to bed at a decent hour but not too early and she fussed and moaned and groaned for what seemed like ages. Matt went up once, but it didn't help. I think she doesn't like us leaving her side when she's going to bed. I'm pretty sure now it's seperation issues. Well, dear, you know I love you to death. But that's just too bad. You need to go to bed!!! Sleep is good and you need it, we need you to sleep, too.

Maddy just throws off my whole night when she doesn't go to sleep without fussing. I know I had a good day yesterday. It was really good, actually. I didn't have any little 'argh I'm stuck in this house' moments. Maddy and I had a lot of fun. But it's really hard to go to bed in a good mood when Maddy has been fussing for 20 minutes before bed. It really puts me off. I listen to hear a pin drop. Any little sigh sends me into hawk mode. My nerves are on edge when she fusses to sleep and it takes me a long time to get back out of it. So, even when she is asleep, I'm waiting for her to make more noise. By the time she's down, it's 45 minutes before I want to go to bed and then I feel like I haven't had a night (casually forgetting about the two cups of tea and reading the news that morning). Then I go to bed frustrated.

I'm frustrated because I can't quite seem to figure out and fix this bedtime issue. I know we need to stick to something and just do it until she learns that this 'is the way it is'. I think we're going to need to let her fuss it out because going in has NOT been helping. So, I guess from the second we close her door the first time at night until she falls asleep she's on her own. Geez, this will be great. Really looking forward to this. (Note the sarcasm.) It drives me crazy that I know Maddy inside out but can't seem to get her past this sleeping herdle lately. Then I have Matt asking me, "Why won't she sleep? I know she's tired. What should I do?" And of course I have to answer, "I don't know; why are you asking me?"

Now let's talk diet. I'm not saying, "Dieting" but "diet". My diet has been lacking, to say the best lately. Now that I've got the workout part down, I want to start focusing better on what I eat. I want to get back to 5-7 fruits/veggies a day, little processed foods, lots of water (although I'm doing pretty well on that. If I drink, Maddy drinks), and better calcium. I also want to regularly start taking my multivitamin again. I think I need to start laying out my snacks on a paper plate again. I used to lay out serving size portions of fruits/veggies every morning and those are what I snacked off of during the day. Really, I don't snack much. I don't eat a whole bunch of bad stuff during the day or really too much in the evening anymore. But, it's the foods I eat during the day. And it's the 'oh just this once or twice' foods that kill me.

Because, I'm not losing weight. I've been working out regularly since October and the scale is not moving. I know, I know, don't trust the scale look at how everything fits. Well, my shirts fit much better, I must say. I've always gained weight last in my torso and lost weight first in my torso. It's my lower part (thighs, hips, butt) that have been my issue. So, the good? My arms are stronger, my torso is more fit, I have definite muscles in my legs and butt. But I still have a lot of fat covering it. I know I'm more fit now than I was when we got back from San Francisco by looking at the pictures. But I weight more now than I did then. And, while I'm not working now and did have a baby I do know I can drop more of this weight than I have (or haven't). I weighed less and looked better three months after the baby than I do now. It's just starting to get annoying so I will do something more about it.

Thanks to Jess for giving me the ambition to start watching my diet again--Jess's blog is contagious!

My elliptical machine is starting to make a lot of noise. It's in the actual machanics and not the arm. I'm worried it's going to break soon. I don't want to mess with the mechanics before it breaks because I don't want to have to put it back together, but I don't want to go without my elliptical, either. However, I do have a back up exercise bike in the spare bedroom from Matt's mom that I can use if it does break. Just need to clear some room for me to get on it and take the monitor with me. So, at least I do have back up!! I would definitely buy another elliptical machine, though!

Oh, on a positive note, I did have Matt reset up the DVD player in family room so I can sit in pilates, weight and my yoga DVDs. I am hoping on days where I'm not doing much during her second nap I can throw in a DVD and do 20 minutes or so. Yoga and Pilates are great stress relievers in addition to being good workouts.

Ok, well, my little stinker is up! (Or she will be soon!) So I need to run.

Tea of the day: Javana Hazelnut Cinnamon Coffee with splenda and Hazelnut Cinnamon Creamer in my french press. Needed a bigger jolt today!
WO of the day: Will be Elliptical for 30 minutes, situps, pushups (I am really feeling yesterdays) and stretching. Maybe yoga later, or a nap, or a magazine.

Maddy still fussed a bit after we put her in bed, but not too much. We never went back up partly because we knew we shouldn't but also because she didn't seem to need it either. I slept all night, too!!! So that was fabulous.

Yesterday I made fruit and nut bars. I must say, they are fabulous and REALLY easy to make!!! Matt's mom gave me a jar of None Such Classic Original Pie Filling with apples and raisins a while ago and I found it while cleaning out the pantry. So I decided to use it. Well, I bought two frozen pie crusts but then realized I would need one to put on top. So I looked at the side of the jar and it gave a recipe for these bars. I had everything I needed so I made them. They are delicious!!! I even made them while Maddy was around, so they are really easy too. These will definitely be part of my Christmas cookies for next year.

I spiked our dinner last night, too. I had Whole Food's pasta sauce and threw in some spinach, okra, mushrooms, zucchini and chicken breasts. That also turned out great. We're having the left overs for dinner tonight.

I also have Bunco night tonight. That should be fun. It will be nice to get out. Maddy has been very low maintenance today, but very clingy. She's been sucking her thumb a lot so it's either the teeth or the lip. Poor thing, I hate it when she doesn't feel good.

Well, I'm going to go quick finish the other half of my pilates video. I didn't feel like doing the elliptical during her first nap, so I started pilates but wasn't able to finish. I'm going to download a quick picture to Maddy's gallery then I'm off to finish it. Hopefully, I won't get too sweaty since I already showered!

Tea of the day: Ahmad English Breakfast
WO of the day: Crunch burn and firm Pilates video

It must be a slow news day today because, somehow, this is the headline for CNN.com right now. Is this news? Really?

Well, I went to Bunco night last night. It was really fun! I really enjoyed myself. Maddy was really clingy and whiney last night, so as much as I hated dropping Maddy on Matt I was glad to get out of the house some and be with friends. I was able to meet my husband's friend's kids. They are such cuties! Although, it really made me miss teaching kindergarten. I loved that age. As much as I don't want Maddy to grow up I can't wait until she's that age, too. I tied for the win last night so we split the pot.

My legs were so sore this morning from my Pilates DVD yesterday. I still did my 30 minutes of elliptical, but I took some Advil before hand. I was surprised that my arms didn't hurt, but I guess they are in better shape than I thought they were! Actually, they're looking pretty decent right now.

It's finally cold here! Yes, it's the middle of January and it's finally cold! I'm so glad. Hopefully we'll have snow soon! I can't wait.

Today I just plan on getting a few chores done around the house. Tomorrow I am going to playgroup at a friends and then coffee tomorrow night, too. I've missed getting together with all the other ladies that I normally hang out with. The holidays put that all on hold. I'm glad it's all falling back in line now.

OOh! Maddy's up! Gotta run!

Tea of the day: Adagio Roobios Earl Grey
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical, situps, pushups, stretching

I was reading about a friend of mine who works out with young twins and a preschooler at home. I wondered what her day looked like. When she described part of it, I was so impressed with how well she does everything she does. Mine is no where near that impressive, but here goes.

7:30-8am-ish Get up, throw on workout clothes, brush teeth, put in contacts, make the bed, check email, make a cup of tea.

Get Maddy up! Change and get her dressed. Bring her downstairs to the kitchen. Give her a big dose of cherrios. I clean up the kitchen, unload the dishwasher if needed, get Matt's lunch together. Eat a hard boiled egg. Mix up Maddy's breakfast and feed it to her.

9:00 am Finish the kitchen clean up and think about dinner. Defrost whatever is needed. Start the crockpot if I have to, or preplan a bread loaf in the breadmaker. Run a load of laundry. Maddy plays, but lately, whines at my legs for me to hold her. Her teeth hurt. After I do a chore or two, hang out with Maddy in the living room playing or reading.

10 am Maddy will go down for a nap. I switch laundry, get a couple of chores done. I check email. Then I jump on the elliptical machine while I watch two to three Design on a Dime's (I fast tivo it one speed faster. I don't listen to the dialog anyway.) I stretch, do my situps and pushups. Jump in the shower fast.

11:30 am Get Maddy up from her nap, we have lunch together. Whatever that is.

12:00 pm I try to get a couple of chores done while Maddy is refreshed after lunch. Or, we'll go out grocery shopping, for a walk if it's nice or to the mall. Or we just hang out again and she plays. I will often put on Jacks Big Music Show since she loves it so much. I push water and milk in her sippy cup and let her have a couple snacks.

2:00 pm Next nap for Maddy, this is my free time nap. Well, kind of. I still try to get some chores done then too, but it doesn't always work. Go out to get the mail. Make a cup of tea. Do some yoga. I blog sometimes now. I also try to get through one magazine during her afternoon nap because they are piling up on me!!

3:30 pm Maddy gets up and I feed her some dinner. Start making dinner if I need to. Preprep salads if possible.

4:30 pm Maddy is done with me. BORED. So I put on Oobi. She is waiting for Daddy to come home. I try to keep her occupied while I make dinner. Often, I reach for another cup of tea at this time (or chocolate).

6:00 pm Daddy is home! Maddy is in heaven. I get the dinner on the table, we all eat. I clean up dinner while Matt and Maddy play (so much fun to hear them playing and a nice break for me too).

6:30 pm We all hang out in the living room or run out somewhere if we want to.

7:30 pm Bath time for Maddy. Prep for bed, clean up toys, take down gates, close drapes.

8:00 pm Bed time for Maddy. We hope she falls asleep! Then we hang out in the family room and watch TV or I read a magazine while Matt plays XBox. In the end we wind up watching TV together.

11:00 pm Sneak off to bed past Maddy's room trying to be quiet. Crawl into bed and hope not to wake her.

Yeah! It's a four day weekend here. Matt has off today because he had a comp day he had to use. It's nice having him home. Although, Maddy sure has been keeping an eye on both of us today. If one of us tries to sneak away, she's right there at the gate whining for the one who is missing. Funny how that works.

Last night Maddy went to bed on her own just fine but she was up at 3 am crying. I'm pretty sure it was the teeth. We changed her diaper, gave her more tylanol and gave her a bottle. She went back to sleep after a bit of fussing on her own.

We all got up about 8:30 today so that was nice. Haven't done a whole lot today, really. I still need to put away some laundry, but other than that, I've worked out, paid some bills and balanced the checkbook. I am going out for coffee tonight with a friend. That will be a nice time. I was supposed to go to playgroup with Maddy today but because Matt is home I wanted us all to hang out or go out together. We haven't gone anywhere because the weather is just plain icky.

I want to get my haircut. Those who know me, know I go in spurts with my hair. I won't do anything to it for six months and then do something REALLY different. Well, I'm at that point right now. But I can't figure out what to do to it. I don't want to get it cut with layers too short because I don't take the time to blowdry and I've never found a layered cut that looks good on me that doesn't need to be blowdried (or it's just too flat and gross). And if I layer in some at this length, I won't be able to pull it back in a ponytail. That's how I live in the morning before my workout and shower. Plus, I like pulling it back when I'm working out. So I'm contemplating getting it highlighted/lowlighted instead. Something different but not changing they style. We'll see.

So I'm kind of excited about this. I put on a shirt today that's been hanging in the closet since I got pregnant. I've been avoiding it since I bought it when I was pretty fit and I didn't want to be disappointed by it. Well, it looked pretty darn good, if I say so myself! I'm really psyched about that (I know, I know, people don't use the word psyched anymore). Now, if only my pants would follow suit! I CAN fit into my prepregnancy size, but not wonderfully. They are tight. So while I haven't lost weight, I've obviously become more fit and that's the key, right?

Ok, well, I'm off to do some yoga poses or finish a magazine. Have a great weekend everyone!

Tea of the day: Ahmad English Breakfast and Adagio Roobios Earl Grey
WO of the day: 30 min. elliptical, stretching, situps and pushups.

Last night my friend Heather and I went out for 'coffee'. Well, I had peppermint herbal tea and she hadn't eaten so she had a sub. Not quite coffee, but hey, it works. Man can we TALK. She is super sweet and once a friend, always a friend. She doesn't take any crud and shoots straight from the hip. It's nice to have someone you can talk about anything with without beating around the bush and knowing she will respond honestly.

Well, we went grocery shopping afterwards. (We went for coffee at Wegmans Grocery store so it has a great seating area. Plus, I'm able to get shopping done afterward, too.) I picked up some stuff we needed. I was gone from 6:30 pm until 11 pm last night. And time just flew. I love that. Matt and I didn't go to bed until 1am cause we were both chit-chatty and neither one were ready for bed!!

I guess Maddy had a hard time last night. Matt called about 9:30 asking me for advice on Maddy. She had gone to bed 2 hours before and started to cry again. So should he make a bottle and 'restart' her bedtime or just let her try to get it out of her system. I told him it's probably better to restart her since it had been two hours. He didn't hear a peep out of her after that. She's getting her canine teeth in so I'm sure she hurts regardless of the baby tylanol we give her.

Matt had a church council meeting this morning and he isn't home yet. I've asked him to stop to pick up a couple things from the grocery store on the way home. I know, crazy, but I forgot eggs and milk. Well, I thought we had enough and we don't.

We don't have any really big plans for the weekend. I'm pretty glad about that. It's nice to just 'be' home. Of course, I have a hard time relaxing on the weekend because I'm so used to trying to get things done during the week. It's hard for me to see things that need to get done and tell myself to do it later. I tend to be a 'get it done now' kind of person. That's why it's so important for me to get out of the house and relax. Now that the home is my 'work' environment even when I'm relaxing I'm thinking about things I should be doing. Right now I have four or five things going through my brain that I want to get done before Maddy is up for a nap. When I was working, I didn't have this problem. I would come home and just collapse and relax. Now to relax I almost need to get out of the house. After Maddy is in bed is the only time I really find myself being able to decompress/forget things that need to get done.

Ok, well, off to get a couple of those things done and then do some yoga!

Tea of the day: Had hazelnut cinnamon coffee with splenda and hazelnut cinnamon creamer from the french press. Going to bed at one requires and early dose of caffeine.

WO of the day: I plan on doing a Yoga Zone video today or a Gaim Pilates video.

So I decided to change my hair today. Here's the before and here's the after. I like the way it turned out overall. I know I will have SUCH roots though, ick!!! So I need to start planning for that already. But I like it a ton! I wanted a change and now I have it. $18 well spent!

ARGH. I have Jack's Big Music Show songs stuck in my head today.

It's grey and rainy here. It's not really cold, so that's good though. I went to church this morning. That went fine overall. I got home and Maddy and I played for a bit while Matt worked on the dowstairs stairs some. Maddy has had a bit of an upset stomach today. She'll burp and then spit up now and again. She hasn't done that in a long time. So, I'm trying to give her bland food, but she HATES bland food.

I tried to take a nap today during Maddy's nap time, but I had such a headache after church that I had coffee when I got home (the caffeine normally kicks my headaches to the curb). So, after I laid down I couldn't sleep. So I got up instead and now I'm here. I think I'm going to take some advil though because it seems to be coming back again--probably just because I'm tired or dehydrated. I haven't had enough water to drink today.

So I'm feeling a little bit down today. And I'm not even sure if I should talk about it here or not. I feel like I'm airing dirty laundry or something. But it's not a secret, while it is bad news. Our church is in the process of selling its building. It may (most likely) even be disbanding completely. It's just depressing to see a church go under. We can't pay our bills since we are so small and the income isn't there. So we definitely HAVE to sell the building before it gets foreclosed. Because it's such a small congregation it's easy to feel close to the people who are there. While I feel close to a few of the people, I'm not very close to all of them. So it doesn't GREATLY impact me (even though I'm losing a home congregation). But I can imagine the ones who've been there forever and how it must feel to them--losing a home, really. I feel bad for our Pastor and Staff Minister, too.

Now, of course, they can and most likely will get other callings to different congregations. We have two other churches in our area where we can transfer too (I haven't decided which I like better) so we all will find a 'home' again somewhere. Of course, God has a plan for all of us as individuals, as a group and as a church body and it will all work out in His time. All we can do as a congregation is make the best decisions we can in according to our faith and logic. God will do what He feels is best for us no matter what kind of decisions we make.

But anyway, off that note... I'm off to get some advil and a big glass of water. This headache is getting worse, not better!!

Tea of the day: 2 cups of coffee today
WO of the day: None, I may do yoga later, but I doubt it.

Well, since Matt does information security for a banking firm, that means he had off today! We slept in until 9 am this morning and that was just lovely. Maddy didn't have too much of an issue going to bed last night (some fussing and going up once) but by the time she was asleep it was 8:45ish. So she slept 'til 9!

It's been a VERY productive day here. Matt made his famous egg sandwich breakfast. (I don't feel too guilty for eating it since we only used egg whites mixed with egg beaters, Miracle Whip light and 100% whole wheat bread.) We unloaded the dishwasher from last night, played a bit with Maddy. I've done two loads of laundry. Matt ran out to Microcenter to pick up some computer stuff (time to hack the downstairs Tivo unit). Then he went over to Belfort and bought the headboard to our bedroom set. It also came with a footboard and side rails, but I really don't like footboards AT ALL. So we just got the headboard.

He came home, all three of us ran out to BJs for basic stuff. We bought a ton of meat, cleaning supplies, paper products, a few dry goods--things like that. I like buying meat in bulk and then freezing them in meal serving sizes. I strongly recommend buying their frozen salmon fillets. They are airlock sealed so they don't get freezer burn and are individually wrapped as well. You get a great deal on Oscar Mayer Turkey Bacon as well. I also buy my diaper genie refills and BJs brand diaper wipes there since I go through them so fast. I also bought a lot of books for Maddy. I am a SUCKER for kids books. It probably comes with being a teacher, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE books for her. When she's a bit older and realizes ripping paper isn't a favorite past time we'll start going to the library more. I bought bath books, two fun "Look at me, I can be" books where you stick the paper doll into a sleeve that has the profession in front of it. I bought both the girl and boy books since I felt they were a bit sexist (a boy can be a soldier, a girl can be a nurse). I also bought a set of four board books that teach color, shapes, letters, and numbers. I bought the large hardcover "If You Give A..." four story collection as well for $20. And of course, the ever popular Dr. Suess/Berenstain Bears board books. I picked up four nice tshirts for myself and a couple other food items. We did buy the Sam Adam's Winter Pack of 24 beer bottles for $20. Can't go wrong with that price.

I also ordered my contacts from BJs and they are being delivered to my door in about a week for free. Plus I received a rebate for them as well! So I bought a full year's supply.

On the way home, we dropped off a prescription at CVS so that will be in tomorrow.

Not a whole lot going on the rest of the night. I need to fold a load of laundry (which Joe is now laying in) and then dinner when Maddy gets up from her nap. I did not work out this morning so I will work out after dinner. Matt is hacking the Tivo right now. It's back to work for him tomorrow after four days off. Then it's back to the routine for me. But I have Mom's Night Out tomorrow night with one of my mom's groups so that will be a lot of fun! It's at our local Cheesecake Factory so that will be delicious.

I did upload two cute videos of Miss Maddy this morning. Here's the link!

Tea of the day: Ahmad English Breakfast Tea
WO of the day: Will be 30 min. elliptical with situps, stretching and pushups.

Matt fixed the comments section of our gallery yesterday. It was a permissions error. So, if you've been itching to make comments on video or photos, now you can!!

Lately, I've really been into organizing and getting things finished off. I like to finish tea I already have, finish a magazine, finish the last of a bottle of shampoo. I just love using things up lately. I'm enjoying working out and not just tolerating it anymore. That's a nice step in the right direction.

Not a whole lot going on here today, really. I may go to Mom's Night Out tonight but I'm really not in the mood. If anything I will show up late for dessert. But I do want to go out with Matt and Maddy and get the carseats inspected. There is a free inspection at our local police station so we'll do that tonight after dinner. We always send in a donation because the service they provide is amazing and unmeasurable.

Maddy has had a good day so far. She's been snuggly again and playing a lot so that's nice. She's been eating new things too, so that's also good. She loves Garlic Bread today! WOW. She's copying a ton lately and it's so cute. I wipe off her tray and she wipes it off. I pull on her pants and she pulls at them. She sees her shoes and she brings them to me and sticks out her feet. How fun!

Maddy slept all night last night, NOT ONE FUSS! whoo whoo! So far tonight she's down without a sound again!

Well, off to hang out with Matt.

Tea of the day: Ahmad English Breakfast
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical, stretching situps, weights and pushups

No really, they are two different topics.

Let's start with TV. I am embarrassed to say how much TV I watched today. I watched two Dharma and Greg Episodes, two Taste of America's and two Made in Americas. Plus, Maddy and I watched an Oobi before that. I NEVER watch this much TV. Not on my own and never this much around Maddy. Now, I did have Tivo so it turned the 30 minutes episodes into 23 minutes each, but STILL. That's still a lot of TV!!! Well, Matt worked late tonight and Maddy's afternoon nap was really short (and I worked through the majority of it on cleaning). So I guess I was just ready for some distraction from the norm. The house was too quiet, even with music on. Maddy was a bit fussy, crying if she didn't get her way. So... I guess once in a while that doesn't hurt. But we definitely won't be watching that much tomorrow!

Maddy took four steps on her own today and then promptly crashed directly on her face and started bawling. But she's definitely practicing. SOON!

I am a loss. I don't know what to give Maddy for snacks and dinner anymore. My creativity is GONE. Plus, I don't want to succomb to packaged, canned or junkie crap that has nothing good in it but salt and flavor. Flavor's great, but there's a better way! Maddy is addicted to Goldfish Crackers. I'm trying to find a healthier alternative that still packs a lot of flavor but is better for her. She used to like mozzarella cheese with hummus, but lately that hasn't been doing it. She won't tolerate yogurt anymore. She doesn't like graham crackers either, or very seldomly. The other issue is that she doesn't like fresh fruit unless it's baby food. She won't eat mushed or diced banana, peaches, pears, mango--nope! I think it deals with the texture. I keep trying them but she keeps refusing them. She does like canned veggies though, so at least that's good (minus the salt). But better than nothing. For lunch and dinner, if she gets a bit too much of the food item she'll spit it out and not go back for more. If we frustrate her while she's eating she'll refused to eat ANYTHING at all during dinner. Food has just been frustrating lately. Today I made her grilled cheese with whole wheat bread and light butter spray and she liked the first two bites and then didn't want anymore. Wouldn't eat yogurt, wouldn't eat pears and blueberries, wouldn't eat cereal mixed with fruit. All she had was a handful of cherrios, two bites of grilled cheese and some milk! Well, tomorrow is another day! I just wish I had more imagination for her snacks and meals. Any ideas from you other moms out there?!?!

I'm in a losing battle with my magazines. Just when I started to catch up four more came in the mail today. Fortunately, only two were for me, one was for Matt and one was the wrong address (which I'll give back to the mailman tomorrow). I am hoping to get through two tonight!

Have a good night everyone

MEANT TO MENTION!!! Three nights in a row now Maddy has gone to bed without a peep and (if she stays asleep tonight) will have stayed asleep!!! WHOO WHOO! A little snack before bed seems to be doing the trick!

Tea of the day: Ahmad English Breakfast (2 cups)
WO of the day: Gaiam Balance Ball Workout Video. I've decided to do Elliptical M, T, TH, F and then strength/weight/piilates/yoga on W and Sa. It's good to split it up, I think. Sundays are always off. Saturdays are always a maybe.

Well, I'm off! Have a lot of stuff to do today during Maddy's afternoon nap. I just wanted to check in quick and wish everyone a good weekend. Matt's parents are coming up this weekend to help us bring home the headboard we bought with their truck. Matt and I are hoping to clean out the basement at least a little bit this weekend, too. So I probably won't be around much. Honestly, I'm REALLY not looking forward to going through the basement. Matt thinks it will take 'Saturday'--ah, always an optimist and underestimater (probably not a real word, huh?). I love him for that though, he balances me out. Well, at least most of the time! He's been on a single family house kick lately though. And when Matt gets revved up about something--boy does he! It's not that I wouldn't like a single family house, but we have enough to do to this house before we can sell it. (Hence the reason we are sorting the basement. The less we have down there, the less we need to store, the less we need to POD when we finish that spare room. Plus, we need to use our storage space wisely, which we aren't right now.) Plus, I don't think we can really afford it right now. Matt thinks we can. I'm not saying he thinks money grows on trees, but we each have a different idea of what kind of 'cushion' we should have in liquid cash. Mine is higher than his, obviously. I also think he underestimates the amount some of these projects are going to cost in the long haul.

Well, it's good though. He's the optimist, looking at the big picture, the end goal. I'm more of the pessimist, looking at the little steps that need to happen before the end goal. It can be frustrating, I'll admit, trying to reign him in sometimes. I hate to be a damper on his parade, too. But I'm also not going to let us get out there on a limb with no way back in! So... ying, yang... it works!

Have a great weekend! I will be spending mine cleaning. *ICK, PPHHHHFT!*

Tea of the day: 2 cups Ahmad English Breakfast
WO of the day: 20 minutes elliptical because Maddy woke up 15 minutes in and started to make a lot of noise. But now I think she's back down! I will probably try to fit in some strength training next nap!

Matt Here.

Ooooh yeah… now its ON! (sidebar: I still can’t say that phrase without thinking of the original Macho Man, Randy Savage screaming “Snap into a Slim Jim!” at me over the television)

Since we’re taking the “Wheel Of ‘Where will we Live’” game public, I have only one thing to say to my esteemed colleague from the other side of our bed: Bring it on, girl! I can already hear all those stay-at-home moms who frequent this blog roaring “Girl, its already been BROUGHT!” under their breath in numbers too big to ignore.

So I’m an optimist apparently, the yin to Bec’s yang, the sugar to her lemons, the Corona to her lime slices. It’s been one of those “one day we’ll afford one of those for ourselves” kind of dreams of mine to get out of the two bedroom townhouse and into a single family house.

Due to a general lack of interest and self-initiative (combined with my MASSIVE intellect) I learned very few things in high school. One thing that stuck, though, was overheard as I walked past the doorway to a Home Ec class: “A general rule of thumb: when the number of family members doubles the number of available bedrooms, you’re asking for trouble.” Now, here I stand, staring at Bec’s biological clock as it ticks down past 0:02, like a bomb counting down while the hero tries to figure out whether to cut the blue or red wire. These things need to be considered!

Its commonly accepted that here in Northern Virginia, real estate agents are the kings of the world and home buyers have been out of their freaking minds for the better part of the last decade. The home-buying pace of the last 8 years has approached the frenzy of the final night of mardis-gras, minus the bead-throwing and bra dropping.

Thanks to everyone else’s drunken orgy of buying on credit & mortgaging their grandkid’s lunch money away, it’s been easy to feel a lock-out affect in the housing market. The hangover of the last several months though has brought prices out of the stratosphere, and its now tantalizingly close to nearly being feasible to afford one.

Don’t get me wrong, I love our townhouse and I’m incredibly proud of what Bec and I have done with it (we even have a whole freaking gallery dedicated, for crying out loud). And Maddy’s helped, with her frequent cheerio and goldfish deposits. So, we have a lot of investment here, both emotional and financial. This is our first house, and to see it become what it has from what it was, it’s not unlike watching Maddy grow each day with pride.

Unfortunately, until they get past that whole “can’t fit more than one thing into the same given space”, we’re not growing any new bedrooms soon for any future expansions. Seems the kid-making part is easier than the room-making part. More fun too, or so I’ve been told.

These are the thoughts, twisted as they may be, that go through my head when I think of our housing situation. Bec’s not ready to be done growing our family, and I’m not personally opposed to it. Simply put, there exist a few obstacles to that happening, and our housing arrangement happens to be one of them. And, besides, this new high definition, 37 inch television with 1080 progressive resolution that Bec got me for christmas just makes this place seem… small. Can’t we just consider this another upgrade for the TV?

Matt and his dad are right now at Home depot buying shelving for our downstairs closet. They are also buying containers. We have a great closet in the family room, but haven't actually used it appropriately. I will take before and after pictures although they won't be anywhere near as impressive as Claire's!!! That looks awesome, by the way, Claire! It will be nice to get some more stuff out of the way. We need to start sorting and we need to be brutal. I don't need about 1/4 the stuff in the basement. So either we throw it out, give it away or sell it on Craigslist. It depends on what kind of shape it's in and how much use someone else can get with it.

But I'm not going to do what my dad hates either, throw out stuff that we will need one day. My mom is notorious for throwing out perfectly good blenders and then needing them six months later. (No really, she's pretty good at keeping what she needs and only getting rid of what she doesn't need.)

I better enjoy the peace now while I have it! Soon Matt will be home, Maddy will be up from her nap and it will be time to get going!

I was pretty excited to get the chili started this morning. It's nice to have someone here to preoccupy Maddy so I can crockpot prep in the morning. I'm making 16 servings so we'll have it for dinner with a 9 grain bread loaf in the breadmaker and then I'll freeze the rest for later use. It smells GREAT.

Have a great day, all!

So, the closet isn't finished. I didn't think it would be, but well, I was hoping! Actually, we don't even have one side finished yet. We have everything we need, but it hasn't quite gone according to......errrr...... plan.

I'd let Matt explain the stud situation in the wall, but I don't think even he knows what's going on. Let's let it suffice to say, they aren't very obvious. So tomorrow we will tackle some more of it.

Matt has a church meeting tomorrow though, so it won't happen until at least one. Matt's parents are staying through Sunday into Monday because we are expecting some weather tomorrow.

Can I just say how wonderfully helpful Matt's parents have been?!?! They took care of Maddy virtually all day today while Matt and I worked in the basement. They helped prep and clean up dinner. Not to mention, we've been using their truck to drive all over God's green earth bringing things home. Totally helpful.

Well, I'm off to go hang out. Just wanted to say hi. Hopefully I'll have better news tomorrow night!

Tea of the day: Coffee, since the rest of the crew was having it, too.
WO of the day: Carrying a ton of stuff to and from the truck. Not really a workout, but at least I wasn't sitting on my duff!

First, let me say, it is gorgeous here tonight! It's snowed!!! It's beautiful. The roads are bad, but as long as you don't have to go out in it, it's ok! Matt's parents are staying through tomorrow.

Our closet shelving is almost up. It's as done as we can get it until we go back to Lowes to return a couple things and pick up a couple more things. The rest of the project should take 10 minutes (really). It looks great. I can't believe how much storage space we've gained in that closet. It's amazing. As soon as it is completely finished, I will take pictures. But I forgot to take before shots. ARGH.

Great thanks as well go out to Matt's parents who basically took care of Maddy all weekend so we could do the closet. Plus, she's been fussy with teeth so they've had their work cut out for them!

Now I'm revving up to get some more projects done! Whoo whoo!

Tea of the day: More coffee!
WO of the day: Not much of one, tomorrow starts a normal Monday though.

Well, we're on a roll with the basement and other various projects are zooming right along, too. We've started to sort and organize the basement and am starting to use the closet! The closet looks great. I can't believe how well it turned out. Now I just hope the shelves hold! :) We were going to buy a shallow 8 inch shelf for the very top but the shallowest they make is 12 inches. So we're going to skip putting in the top shelf for right now and see how it goes. We may not want it to begin with. Matt did take back some shelving supplies we didn't need and received $90 back. I also stained the bay window tonight. I will do another coat tomorrow night. I can only hope the cats won't try to jump up there. I think it I try to put up tape Joe will want to go up to eat the tape. So, we're better off not trying to do that! Matt also insulated the dishwasher mechanics with hard insulation. It's much quieter now and I can definitely tell the difference.

Again, I can't stress enough how much help Matt's parents were this weekend. They watched Maddy so Matt and I could get things accomplished. Matt made at LEAST four runs with their truck to pick up stuff. Matt's mom baked a chicken, stuffing and green beans for dinner (I can't tell you the last time I had baked chicken). They went way above and beyond. I know Matt and I really appreciated it.

I'm hoping to work on the basement a little bit every day during Maddy's afternoon nap. My issue is that once I get started I hate stopping. So I think I may set a timer for myself and only work for 45 minutes every afternoon nap cycle. That way, I won't feel interrupted if I stop myself. Matt and I may try to work for an hour every night after she goes to bed, too. But it depends how quiet we can be. We can't go around banging and dropping things. We had too many issues recently with her not sleeping, we can't mess with that.

I'm itching to take down the retractable screen to Maddy's room, buy drapes and a rod for the bay window. I think I'll let our budget cool off a bit though before we go out spending more money on house projects though. I can't WAIT to get that up. It will help a ton with lights at night shining in our room.

We also received the call from Mattress Warehouse today that they had our converter in for our frame for the new headboard (which is propped up in our bedroom right now). I'm hoping to get that installed tomorrow night along with the second coat of stain on the bay window.

Wednesday and Thursday are busy around here. I have Mom's Night Out on Wednesday and I'm REALLY looking foward to that. We're just hanging out at one mom's house and having pizza, chocolate cake and drinks. It's always a good time! Thursday I have a Sunday School meeting to prep for next month. I am up for next month since the woman who also teaches Sunday School is due then! So I'm taking over for her for a while.

A couple new Maddy things: We got rid of all the bottles today. I felt like she is getting enough liquid now through sippy cups to stop the bedtime bottle of milk. So, now she gets a bedtime snack, sippy cup of milk, we brush her teeth and then she's off to bed. It went fine tonight! Also, Maddy is walking between Matt and I all the time now. She loves to play that game. She stands up, walks to Daddy and gives him a hug. Then she stands up, walks to me and gives me a hug. Back and forth! Her balance is getting better and better every day. Stopping is still and issue. She'll fall over she stops on her own. Turning isn't in her skill set either yet. Well, it is, but not without falling over!!

Well, off to make a list of projects I still want to get accomplished in the next couple weeks! Matt may just kill me.

Tea of the day: Coffee but I had a cup of Ahmad English Breakfast and also Twinnings Lemon Ginger
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical, stretching, situps and pushups.

Just wanted to pass on this link that I received from a friend of mine. You can search for violent criminals in your area via street. I found it interesting. I fortunately don't have anyone living too close to us according to this page. Of course, one needs to be careful no matter what the page says.

http://www.familywatchdog.us/

Don't have much to say today. I actually feel pretty crummy. I have most of the day. I was a bit queasy this morning and it's continued to get worse. Now it is accompanied by a headache and stomach pains as well. ICK. I'm hoping this clears up soon and doesn't get worse since I'm supposed to have MNO tomorrow night! I don't have a fever or anything.

I'm off to take a shower so hopefully that will clear my headache up some. Skipped my workout today as well.

Tea of the day: Lots of Twinnings Lemon Ginger Herbal Tea
WO of the day: Skipped it today!

Sorry, I was going to say, "Well, I'm feeling better." and Monty Python and the Holy Grail came to mind. The guy who gets hit by the arrow is just hilarious. Anyway, I AM feeling better! WHOO WHOO! As soon as Matt got home, we ate some dinner and I went to lay down. My stomach thing turned into a headache (which I'd rather have over a stomach thing) so I took two advil with milk and layed down. I guess I actually fell asleep, too. I'm still going to bed early since it will help some.

Maddy turned 14 months old today! I didn't realize it until after she went to bed. She saw her infant seat next to her crib today and wanted to play with the toys on it. I keep it handy in the upstairs incase I want her in our room with me while I do a fast chore. It keeps her stationary since our room isn't kidproof. Well, I brought it to the living room today since she wanted it. She LOVED it. She could climb in and out of it. Plus she was able to reach the white tabs she never could reach before and always wanted to play with. You could she how happy she was knowing she could play with it. She won't care about it again for a long time now, but she had a fun time with it today! I took a picture so for her 14 month birthday I just have to do a little before and after. Here she is when she was just a month old and here she is today!

Or as Matt calls it, "Hen's Club" meeting tonight. He loves my bunco night. He says, "Check it out, Becky's one step away from being in a BRIDGE CLUB!" Ahhh...men.

I am really REALLY excited for girls night tonight. I'm getting together with the mom's from my mom's group/playgroup and it is always a blast. I know I won't be home until late--ok, 'Becky Late', probably midnight or so. We're just hanging out, having pizza, people are all bringing items to eat, dessert and girlie beer (Smirnoff Ice, Mike's Hard, Zima). It will be a great time. I'm very lucky to be a part of this group of women. I really feel that they are all genuinely nice, caring and friendly. They give great parenting advice but aren't pushy about it. They accept differences in parenting styles and support each other. I can't wait to get to more playgroups so Maddy has the chance to play with other kids and I get to socialize more! HA!

I am feeling MUCH BETTER today. I'm so glad. I don't know what quite happened, but I'm glad it's passed now!

We had a guy come out today to give us an estimate on some painting we need done, some drywall repair and the basement drywall, too. We'll see what he comes back with but Matt and I both REALLY liked him. He seems quite professional, showed up on time, said the right things. I'm hoping his estimates come back as reasonable. If they do, then we'll have him do the paint thing (see how that goes) and then consider him for the basement.

I barely made it through my workout today because Maddy got up crying about 10 minutes after I laid her down. I guess her drapes scared her (!?!?). Fortunately, I wasn't working out yet. I let her fall asleep with the door open after some snuggles and then closed it. 15 minutes into my routine she started talking but fortunately fell back asleep enough to let me finish and shower. She's been clingy again today. And as long as I can force myself to not be productive, it's ok. As soon as I have to get something done she's whining at me and crying. Ah well, that's how it goes some days.

Speaking of, the little stinker is up! Gotta run!

Tea of the day: Gloria Jean's Cinnamon Spice Tea (2 cups)
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical, stretching, situps and pushups.

Goodmorning! What a great time last night. It always is. I actually made it home a bit early, 11ish. It gave Matt and I some time to hang out before bed. We had a 'surprise' baby shower for one of the moms. It's the same mom who introduced me to the group and also goes to my church. I hadn't been to a playgroup or a mom's group for a very long time so it was fun.

She also used to work at Bath and Body Works and since she's in the nesting stage she brought a lot of it with her to give away. I was very good and did not participate considering how much stuff I had in my closet!!! But, at the end she yelled to me, "Becky, I have TEA!!!!" Well, how can I pass up Stress Relief Tea??? So yes, I have another tea container in my house!

Maddy woke up at 3:30. I think she had a nightmare. After a bit of snuggling she seemed good enough to lay back down. She fell asleep on her own without a fuss. This morning was hard to get up though!

Today I'm going to fill out some paperwork, put away some laundry, do a bit of cleaning, maybe try to organize the closet as well. We'll see how much I get done around my workout and shower. Tonight I have a Sunday School meeting. I'm hoping it doesn't take too long! Have a great day!

Tea of the day: Twinnings Black Currant Tea
WO of the day 30 minutes elliptical, situps, pushups, stretching. I think I will try to do some yoga later, too.

...and warm milk, too.

I am OUT of it this morning. I woke up from a very deep dream state sleep. I could barely get out of bed. I heard Maddy making a couple of noises here and there, but nothing huge. So I ran the trash outside and made a cup of black tea. Normally, my tea sits and sits for an hour or two before I finish it. It's always cold by the time it's done. But today, i went straight for the microwave and it is completely finished. I'm contemplating going back for another cup. Although I'm sure this cup will not finish as fast.

Maddy was quite grateful for a warm sippy cup of milk last night at 4 am. I don't know what's going on--teeth, growth spurt, nightmare.. but she was up again last night at 4. I warmed up the milk in a mug and then poured it in her sippy cup. Matt changed her diaper and I rocked her while she drank her milk. She went back to sleep fine after that. Matt said I was DEAD asleep when she woke up. I jumped out of bed before I even knew my feet hit the ground. Matt was dead asleep when she woke up yesterday. (Funny story about that--I asked him to get warm milk for us last night and he brough up the mug of warm milk. So, realizing he was not quite awake, I asked him to take the milk back downstairs, pour it into a sippy cup and bring back the sippy cup. Well, he did that but put it into a sippy cup that we NEVER use. We have seven of one kind of cup because she loves them so much and he chose the one that we never use. Poor guy, he was really tired.) But of course, I am wide awake after I put her to bed but I did fall asleep again without too much issue.

Our church meeting went fine last night. Matt came along with Maddy to work on church tax documents for the New Year. Well, he made it through one before he had to take Maddy. Maddy LOVED walking around the big wide open spaces at church. When the other Sunday School teacher got there, she was able to play with her four year old son and ADORED it. I guess she chased him everywhere and he loved being chased by her. Matt loves her son to death, so he had a good time, too. The car ride home was less than pleasant because she was tired. We even skipped bath even though she REALLY needed one (didn't want pears and pineapple and promptly got them ALL over). So she went straight to bed last night.

Matt did get a house thing done last night, he put more insulation under the kitchen sink. I can tell it's better, but I still feel some air coming through. Not too bad though. I think he may put in more later. Tonight we are installing the new headboard and I'm sure there's a lot of other projects we will get done this weekend. I need to go through everything Matt has organized and stored to get rid of what we don't need. I just did it a year ago, so hopefully it won't be too much!!

Lately I've been trying to use up what I have. But using the same tea to get rid of it has become boring. So now I'm back onto different teas every day. While I may not get rid of a particular tea any faster tea is still disappearing at the same rate. OH! Huge rave for Bath and Body Works Relax Tea. I think it may be discontinued now. But that was the free one I got at MNO. It's delicious! It starts out very minty, but mellows into a creamy vanilla with a few other spices I believe. I guess I'm a tea snob, but I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of a bath product place in way of tea.

I'm back onto trying to get through my magazines as well. I did get through a Home and Garden Yesterday. Today I will try to get through at least two.

Let's talk Yoga! I bought a really awesome Yoga deck off ebay (mine was only $7 with shipping). The back side tells me how to do the steps, the results and the reasons why we do these. The front shows the picture. It's really neat to set up my own little routine during her nap. They also do give suggestions on which order to go in. It's really neat! Great for a 10 minute yoga exercise because all the videos are at least 20.

Well, Maddylicious is up! Gotta run!

Tea of the day: Twinnings Black Currant
WO of the day: Elliptical for 30 minutes, stretches, situps and pushups

Well, today I painted the trim around the front door, french doors in the dining room and bay window. It's just crazy how long that took me considering how little seemed to get done. But, it needed to get done and it looks REALLY nice now. Now I'm really itching to get the drape rod and drapes for the bay window. Then we'll be all set and that will be finished.

Matt worked in the basement some today organizing and sorting. He threw out another lawn bag of trash. He also sorted his game CDs and threw out the plastic cases. Even more room now!

Matt changed out the headboard and frame last night. It makes a lot less noise than the old one did! That's great! We may change it around a bit though. I need to take the bed apart one more time to get the bedskirt back on it since I washed and dried it this morning.

Maddy did pretty good today for only having one of us around at a time. She did not take a morning nap (made noises on and off for about an hour) but slept really great during her afternoon nap. I'm wondering if she's trying to drop a nap?

We still haven't had dinner and it's almost 9:00. Matt ran out to pick something up. I was quite naughty and asked him to pick up some icecream and cones too. I saw a Upside Down show today that had that in it and well, it got me craving icecream which is something I NEVER crave. Maybe I can at least put off my craving for tomorrow!

Tomorrow is church, then a few trips out to Target, JC Penny and Lowes with a list. I'm hoping to get everything done by 3 so we can all just 'be together' that evening. Poor Maddy hasn't had both of us sitting down with her for quite a while.

Tea of the day: I had coffee in my french press
WO of the day: None, but I definitely wasn't sitting on my duff, either!

So, today has officially been crazy. Let's start off first thing this morning. Maddy is clingy and whiny. She wanted to be held constantly. Fast forward to about 10 am.

Joe comes running up from the basement. I think Ruthie is chasing him. Here's my thought process from here on in:

Joe, I guess Ruthie is chasing you, huh? Where's Ruthie? No, Joe, No! Don't rub your butt on the ground! You must have poop sticking to it. Poor Joe. Oh my gosh, look at that carpet--three feet of smeared poop. Maddy, sweetie, it's ok, please stop fussing. I gotta grab Joe before he keeps rubbing. OH MY GOD IS THAT GROSS. Run to the bathroom with Joe and close the door. No, Maddy, please stop crying. It's ok, I'm with Joe. Joe what did you DO!?!? ICK! Is that PLASTIC COMING OUT OF YOUR BUTT?!?! IT IS!!! Oh YUCK. (Put Joe down and gag.) Ok, well, I gotta pull the plastic out of your butt Joe so get ready. Well, I have toilet paper, that will do. Pull. YUCK! GROSS. Gag. Throw it in the toilet. Maddy, sweetie, it's ok! I'll be there in a second! No, Joe don't go anywhere. Thank God for the person who made Clorox disinfecting wipes. Pull the poop of Joe's tail, thigh, butt, throw it in the toilet. I really hope that goes down. Maddy? Maddy??? Why are you so quiet? Are you playing in that poop streak?!? Run out to see Maddy still by the door, whew! Put Joe down, get the carpet cleaner and more wipes. Maddy, please stop hanging on me. I'm sorry kiddo, into the playpen you go. Scrub, scrub, scrub. Still not completely coming out. Will need to use the carpet cleaner later. Sweetie, it's OK, I'M right here!!! WHY are you still crying!?! Ok, well, wash up. Take off my sweatshirt that has poop on it from holding Joe. Throw it down the stairs. Now I'm standing in a sports bra and shorts!!! Come here Maddy, it's ok... it's ok.. it's ok....

SHEESH. Then Maddy refused to take a morning nap. She and I snuggled a lot until one. At one I laid her back down and she slept til 2 and I got my workout in. As I walked up the stairs she bursted out crying but the stopped so I showered anyway. Now I'm here. And she's making noises so I think she's up again or never actually wnet back to sleep after her HOUR afternoon nap. It could be a long night!

Oh, and when I went to work out in the family room downstairs I found MORE STREAKS on that area carpet. I'm not dealing with it though right now. I will scrub that stain along with the upstairs tonight after Matt gets home. Oh, and I need to scrub the stain from the A + D ointment as well from last night. You see, Matt was working in the basement and I heard a huge crash and then nothing. So I thought he may have fell. So I grabbed Maddy and ran to the basement stairs when, "POP PSSSSHHHHH!!" Maddy must have taken it out of the diaper bag I have down here and left it on the floor. Well, I didn't see it so I stepped right on it. It was virtually full. Well, not after I stepped on it. So now I have a huge grease stain in the middle of my living room (freshly cleaned) carpet. And a three foot poop streak stain nearby too.

It has been a DAY!!! Monday, Monday!

Tea of the day: Stash Green Chai Tea
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical, stretching, situps and pushups

Well, Matt came home early from work last night with a horrible headache and stomach thing. It sounds much like what I had that one day. So I gave him some meds and sent him off to bed. I was somehow able to prepare dinner with Maddy clinging to me (not that it was that crazy, homemade chili defrosted, rotini and cheese). I woke up Matt to come eat since I didn't want him to sleep TOO long and then not sleep that night.

I wasn't able to get all the cat mess out of the carpet and we were out of Resolve Carpet cleaner. I did try Oxyclean last night but it didn't do much.

Maddy went to bed just fine, thank goodness. She did wake up about 11 crying for a bit so we changed her diaper and I tried to give her milk that she didn't want. So, she fell asleep fine on her own again.

After Maddy was down for bed, I went out to Target to take back a few things and picked up a couple of things, too. I bought the resolve, two different kinds. I tried it again today and well, it worked some but really I need to drag out the steam vac to get the job done. I will need to wait until Matt gets home since I don't want Maddy all over me when I try to do this. I was able to pick up some drapes for the bay window, basic taupe tab top. I also bought tiebacks that match really well and are perfect for what we need. I need to take back the rod, since it's not the right kind. My issue is trying to find a rod that isn't crazy ornate. Most of the things I've found have HUGE ends, none of what I want. So I will try again tonight at Lowes.

Today I was able to get a few things accomplished around the house and that felt good after yesterday. Maddy was SO MUCH less clingy today. She was in a better mood too. Thank goodness! She even helped me clean. I did brush the dust off my iron today. I NEVER iron. As a matter of fact, I received this iron as a hand me down from a good friend of mine. I've never felt the need to replace it. Also, I only have one of those mini ironing boards too and the legs keep falling off. Again, I don't use it enough to replace it. Well, today the iron was jumping up and down with joy because it was able to iron out my drapes! They look pretty good now, good enough to hang up. Now it's time to pack away the iron until the next time I need it--oohhh.. two years from now.

Tonight after Matt stops at the grocery store on the way home from work and after dinner, we're going to Lowes to pick up some things for the living room after the guys come to paint on Thursday. We want all new switch plates, outlet plates, etc. Just basic ones, but new ones none-the-less. So yes, they are coming Thursday to replace some drywall in the bathroom, paint the whole bathroom, paint the stairwell (minus the red wall) and the livingroom/foyer. We're picking out a color for the living room tonight. I'm excited for that! Maddy and I will need to get out of the house so she doesn't breath those fumes forever. However, it's going to be cold that day, so I don't really want the windows open, maybe a crack, but that's it! Matt may take the day off to be here. It will allow him more time in the downstairs as well.

Tea of the day: Gloria Jeans Cinnamon Spice Tea
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical, stretching, sit ups, 8 lb weights on my arms. I picked them up at Target yesterday so I decided to try them out. I'm sure I'll be hurting in the morning!

Well, I just don't know. I bought some spray paint last night that is a dark brown metallic color. I was going to spray the new black rod and tie back for the drapes over the bay window. But I sprayed it on a painted cardboard box to see if I liked it, and I'm not sure I do! I'll wait for the box to dry so I can see the color. Well, I could just look down at my finger and see the color. Yes, It's all over my one hand. I don't think I sprayed hard enough!

Note to all you mom's out there who still use baby food. Do NOT cover a glass jar with the plastic lid to the square Gerber tubs. Because this is what happens! Yep, Maddy's poor dinner, all over the microwave!!! Well, she ate other things, but still.

The only downfall of my husband organizing everything for us is that now I have no idea where to find any of it. I bought wood glue not long ago and I now I can't find it to save my life!

Well, that's it for today! I hope everyone has a good day. I'll try to check in more later, if I can!

Tea of the day: Stash Chai Green Tea
WO of the day: Elliptical for 30 minutes, stretching, situps and pushups, weights too. I will need to skip my work out tomorrow since the crew will be here by 8 am and I will be busy most of the day.