Teaholic not quite anonymous

So two nights ago we moved all the little things to the dining room from the kitchen and all the bathroom stuff to the bedroom. I didn't realize how much we had in either room until we started to move it all. You'd think I'd have known given I moved it all for the carpet cleaning. But that was a bit different. Anyway, the next morning we followed up with the last of everything, the drapes, playpen, etc.

The crew was here promptly at 8 with the boss. They said they'd be here at 8 and they were! As a matter of fact, all communication we've had with this guy has been right on schedule. He's never been late to anything. He gave very explict directions to his crew of four and left. He came back half way through the day to see how it was going. The guys were GREAT. They knew exactly what they were doing. I was so surprised at how easy they made it all look. They repaired drywall and I swear they could do it in their sleep. They were realy nice (always cooing at Maddy at the gate) and polite. Although, I'll be honest, I didn't understand their conversation about 1/2 the time. I caught most of it though. The walls and bathroom look FABULOUS. We do have a couple LITTLE things that we will likely need someone to come out and take care of. The drywall around our front lightswitch plate wasn't extended far enough so the cover doesn't cover the hole. But it's very VERY minor things like that (about three little things). Overall, I am EXTREMELY pleased with how it all went.

Maddy did a great job yesterday. She didn't wake up until everyone was here. But we stationed her in the kitchen and put up the pressure gate. Well, we tried to, but the gate broke. So I ran out to Kmart quick and picked up two more. Matt stayed home yesterday and that was very helpful. Once she was set up in the kitchen, she was really great and watched from the gate a lot. She rested during her morning nap (in her room, alone with people in the house) and slept REALLY WELL during her afternoon nap. I was so impressed. I thought for sure she wouldn't sleep. We didn't need to go out to the mall yesterday because she never really got fussy.

I was going to let Joe stay out and wander around during the painting, but they covered everything with plastic and given my plastic experience with him earlier this week I couldn't let him. So we put him in the bathroom with his food, water and litter box. When the guys went out for lunch, I called Ruthie and she finally came out from under the bed so I put her in the bathroom with Joe (with the litter box). They did really well during the day too.

Matt and I were able to get a lot accomplished in the spare room, family room and laundry room yesterday. We sorted, tossed, stored, gave away. We have two more big lawn bags of trash outside along with other big stuff. It's really getting there! I was frustrated last night when we had to quit. I really wanted to keep going and get it DONE. But that wasn't going to happen even if I stayed up all night anyway. So I admitted defeat and came upstairs. I was quite tired, sorting and organizing is really a lot of work. It may not be that physical, but it definitely is a lot of thinking!

Last night I had coffee night at Wegmans. I met a new mom from my mom's group. She is a really nice person and we talked a ton. I had a decaf caramel mocha and that was delicious. Before I met with her though I went through the bakery and found the peanut butter pie that I think is truly God's gift to man. I think it's a lot better than the Ultimate Chocolate Cake Wegmans carries. So, of course I bought one since they haven't stocked it for the last five times I've gone. (And yes, I do check every time.) After storing that in the car, I went back in and found my mom to have coffee with. I was back home by 10. Matt and I hung out, had pie, watched a Dirty Job and then off to bed!

OH! We did install the new bathroom light fixture, bulbs and glass lamp shades. It looks REALLY nice and completely updates the silver chrome in the rest of the room. I have BIG PLANS for the bathrooms now. But I will need to hold off on them for a while to let the budget cool off a bit. Maybe on the next budget cycle I'll get more of it done. But I also like to stick to one project at at time and right now it's the basement. We only changed out the fixture so the wall could be painted yesterday with the crew here.

I still can't believe the amazing job they did. Matt kept looking at the work they did on the drywall repair and kept saying, "It's like an ice skater. They make it look so easy." And it's the truth, they did.

Not a lot going on today. I'm excited to get the drape put up on the bay window now that the wall has been painted. That will be later tonight when Matt gets home from work. I want to work on the basement some more. I want to clean off our corner shower rack for the bathroom and see if I can scrub it up some but I don't want to make it worse than it is now. We'll see. If not, I can always buy some silver spray paint and paint it again. This weekend is more of the same.

Well, have a great day everyone! Maddy should be up pretty soon and then it's off to the races like a normal day!

Tea of the day: 2 cups Stash Green Chai Spice Tea
WO of the day: Elliptical for 30 minutes, stretching, situps, pushups, weights (I didn't get my workout in yesterday, oh well!)

So Maddy used to take three naps a day a long time ago. She'd take a morning nap and afternoon nap in her crib, she's nap on Daddy for the evening nap. Well, she eventually dropped to the evening nap (poor daddy). So now she's been taking two naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. But for the last couple of weeks they haven't been as good, or she's been awake through one, or whatever the case may be.

So, tomorrow, we start the afternoon only nap cyle. We're going to try it out and see how it goes. I don't think there will be much of an issue, really. We'll see! Wish us luck that we don't have a whiney toddler on our hands all morning!

Speaking of, I hear my cutie singing now! I guess I better run outside and get the mail before she's up!!!

Have a good weekend!

Hi there! I wanted to let everyone know that I put up wedding pictures from our wedding in 2001. While we were sorting the basement I found a CD that I never looked at from Matt's uncle. He took some really good pictures! So I put them all on the server and last night at 3 am I was having insomnia so I came downstairs and uploaded some to the gallery. I reorganized them today into three separate subalbums: rehearsal, wedding and reception. I added captions and put them in the right order. So, if you want to look at them, you can find them HERE. I had a great time uploading them! Enjoy!

First is our bay window. We finally put up the drapes last night and the tiebacks today. I like it a lot. I have some before and after pictures you can see. But here's the final project:

I'm really pleased with how it turned out. The drapes, rod, and tiebacks cost $60 total. That's not too bad. Add in some paint that we already had and the wood stain/varnish and it came to about $70. It only took us three years to finish it off! HA!

We also replaced the bathroom fixture, as I said before, because we wanted to have the guys paint underneath the old fixture. Here's the before and after of the fixture. Well, the before is actually our powder room but all the fixtures in the house were a like so you get the idea. In the long run, I'd like to replace all the fixtures as we paint the bathrooms and also add in a fixture in our new bathroom in the basement.

Well, I'm off to try to clean our shower rack, then scrub the bathroom and replace the cauk before the bathroom is said and done.

Well, yesterday afternoon my friend Karen called me to see if I wanted to go out with her to Clarendon Ballroom with her to meet up with a couple of her friends who were coming into town. She didn't want to go alone and what the heck! So I gave her a call back and said let's go!

We metro'd it down there and it was pretty chilly. Not Milwaukee Weather Chilly. It's funny though, how our upbringing still reflects what kind of weather we can handle. Karen comes from balmy weather and was FREEZING last night on the walk to the metro, meanwhile I was cool, but it didn't bother me. Now summer, on the other hand, just kills me while she doesn't mind it. My friend Rosanna is much the same way since she is from Peru.

Anyway, we get there just fine, the club is within eye sight of the metro. We see a Hard Time's Cafe and Karen mentions how she could go for some chili but we go to the club. We wait in line to get let in (the concept of waiting to pay cover to pay for drinks never fails to astound me--yet somehow, I'm in line to do just that). Once in we head downstairs to check our coats. We got the LAST hanger. I mean, really, everyone from that point on had to carry their coats. We shared the last hanger.

We went upstairs and squeezed our way around to check the place out. There's a nice mix of people there, not just young ones and the women, amazingly don't look all alike. Sure there were women with the tried and true black tight shirt, expensive tight jeans and pointy black shoes but that wasn't everyone. We finally decide to head to the bar and get something to drink. Karen was drinking Coke since she was driving home from the metro. Again, bar prices really astound me as well, but there I was, buying one (wound up with three by the end of the night)! We hung out for a while and had a good time. The music was really good, albeit loud, so you are yelling into the person's ear next to you.

Karen's friend texted her saying she was getting there but by 11:30 we were both ready to leave. So we went out and there her friend was outside. They chatted a bit and we parted ways. Karen mentioned chili at Hard Times and I was quite hungry since I literally prepped dinner, ate and got ready in 20 minutes before Karen arrived, so I was all for that. It was GOOD. A quick metro ride back to the car and the ride home. I got home about 1:30.

A few revelations about last night:
1. I am old. I've always BEEN old. I had a GREAT time last night and I thank Karen profusely for asking me to go. But I could NOT do that every weekend. Even in college I was not a party girl. I'd rather sit around at home with close friends than go out and party. I don't mind lounges, but clubs are a once in a while thing for me.
2. I'm really, really lucky for what I have. I was looking around last night and most of the people there were about my age, maybe a little younger a few who were older. I can see how someone would say, "Boy, it would be great to be carefree and foot loose without a care in the world, like they seem to have it." But, I looked at it and thanked God for my husband and baby at home. I'm not out there looking for love, trying to find a way to have a good time. I make my own good time.
3. I'm uncomfortable around the opposite sex. Well, not ALWAYS, but in a club situation, I am. I can carry on conversations as well as the next woman and get along with guys just fine when it's just being friendly. But I'm not as comfortable with guys coming up to me to talk in a club. Funny, I am left handed so I hold my drink in my left hand. So you'd think they'd see the ring?
4. That said, Wisconsin is the great unite-r. I was holding out my Wisconsin Alumni Credit Card with my Bucky on it (with my thumb over the numbers) at the bar to get someone to help me and the guy from behind me said, "Wisconsin represents!" Yep, from Wisconsin as he was willing to show me via his Driver's license (which I did NOT need to see). Then the guy about two away said, "Wisconsin?! Where from?!" Of course, that leads to a lengthy Wisconsin discussion. And of course Favre comes up that he's staying for another year (that I wouldn't have known if Dad didn't tell me). And of course I think, You can take the people out of Wisconsin, but you can't take the Wisconsin out of the people. Does make sense that I found them at the bar though! Ha!
5. Some women try too hard. I saw women wearing LEGGINGS with FLATS last night. Ok, let's just stick to the LEGGINGS. LEGGINGS PEOPLE!!!! Do you remember LEGGINGS??? That belongs in the 80's and it should stay there! (Funniest part about that picture. I found it at Macy's and they are SOLD OUT. Either they didn't make that many or there are a lot of women out there making a big fashion mistake.)

No, honestly though, I had a really nice time last night. Karen is fun to talk to and it was a good club. Chili was great too. It was so nice to get out. I asked Matt if he cared if I went and he virtually pushed me out the door. He's very supportive of me getting out and about. I'm very lucky for that!

Ok, well, I'm off to scrub the shower shelves some more. Matt tore out the old caulk from our both bathtubs last night and he caulked our bathtub and he will caulk Maddy's when she is up from her nap.

Tea of the day: Twinnings Black Currant Tea
WO of the day: none today!

Well since Maddy is officially down to one nap it throws my schedule off a bit. So here's my new goals.

1. Get up at 6, work out, shower, get ready. (Today wasn't so bad, we'll see about tomorrow!)

2. Continue to do chores during the day. This could be an issue. Maddy wants to be everywhere I am. I foresee issues with chores going from 4 hours of nap time to 1.5 every day. Normally, I did most of my chores while she is asleep. I'm hoping she lengthens out that afternoon nap some. She needs more than 1.5 hours anyway!

3. Use the playpen more. I need to get Maddy used to being put in the playpen so I can run in the basement or upstairs without her whining at the gate. While the living room is babyproof, I'm still not comfortable leaving her alone for too long without supervision on the main floor. The playpen is the ticket! I keep toys in there she only plays with while she's in there, but lately that hasn't done much good.

4. Use her afternoon nap to rest or do something fun for me.

5. Watch less TV. The tv has been on quite a bit this last week. Maddy now goes to the TV turns it on, tries to find the remote and hands it to me. I'll normally put on XM music instead, since I don't want her watching TV 24/7. I need to try to be more diligent at this.

Well, that's it for right now! Have a great week everyone. I think this week will be quite an adjustment for me!

Tea of the day: Twinnings Black Currant Black Tea
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical, stretching, crunches on the balance ball, pushups.

Well, today is our first day since summer that we've gone to playgroup! It was so nice to get out of the house and have Maddy interact with other kids. She LOVES older men. It's funny. She was following around a four year old boy today and it was so cute to see. She loves watching other kids play and just 'being' around them. It's nice that now that she's to one nap we can go out in the morning.

My workout didn't go so well this morning. Matt told me to turn my alarm to 7 am this morning at 4 am when I was up to go to the bathroom. So I did. At 7 it went off and Matt gave me a back massage. He gives me the BEST back massages so I just couldn't drag myself out of bed. I did get up a while later and got dressed fast for playgroup while Matt went in to start off Maddy's day. Matt wants to start working out at 7 and I'll work out at 6. But with all the changes going on this week, he's putting off his workout until next week. So I get the 7 am spot for right now. I did get my 30 minutes in during Maddy's afternoon nap which was better than the last three days. So I'm thankful for that!

Other than that, not a whole lot going on here. I painted the shower rack for our shower so tomorrow after I thoroughly scrub the shower down (although it's really not that dirty) I'll put back up the rack and get everything back in there. Our bathroom counter has been just horrible the last week since I don't have shelves up on the walls for my rubber duck collection (I'm looking for new ones I like better that will hold up better than what I have now) and I don't have the shower rack so all my shower stuff is on the counter as well. WHAT A MESS!

Have a good night everyone!

Tea of the day: 2 cups Twinnings Black Currant Tea, 1 cup BBW Relax tea (which Maddy also loves! Herbal, don't worry.)
WO of the day: Elliptical for 30 minutes, situps, pushups, balance ball moves while I was on the phone.

Yes, we have about four inches of snow today! It's so pretty outside! Our local schools are closed. Of course, for as little snow as we've received this year I insist on making hot chocolate every snowfall! So here I sit, sipping hot chocolate waiting for Maddy to get up!

It's been a very nice morning, really. I woke up naturally about 6:15 and felt really well rested. I slept virtually all night and went to bed about 30 minute early. So at 6:30 I got out of bed and set up a pilates video to work out with. Honestly, that wasn't all that great. It has three different sections, yoga, pilates and balance ball. Each activity is 30 minutes. Well, I only have time for about thirty minutes so I picked the pilates. It was ok, but nothing spectacular. Pretty easy actually. However, if the snow is still around during Maddy's nap, I will most likely go out and shovel. (I love to shovel.) So that will be a little bit more physical activity. Or, I have some weight videos I can do as well with my new weights. Of course, I hopped in the shower and now here I am.

Just a few things I want to get done today: clean bathrooms, make banana bread, sweep the family room, clean up down there--it's a mess again.

NEW MADDY THINGS: Cleaning with wipes, she goes everywhere and wipes everything. I swear she can spend 30 minutes just with a wipe cleaning things. She's really starting to experiment with a spoon now. She loves to stir real things like yogurt or soup. However, she's not trying to fed herself yet, so it makes me feeding her yogurt, soup, etc. quite impossible since she always whines for the spoon and dish! Walking. While she's not steady on her feet yet, she's walking about 40% of the time without me. About 30% she insists on holding my one finger and running around the house and the other 30% is still crawling. She can stand up in the middle of the floor on her own. She stands on her own for long periods of time without falling. Eating! She is willing to try everything in sight lately. It's been great! No fighting her for eating! Stacking, putting things 'in'--all are quite more advanced than they were a month ago. She loves to ride her little princess car and she pushes herself (backwards) around the house!

OK, well, have a great day everyone!

Tea of the day: Hot chocolate! :)
WO of the day: Gaiam Lower body Pilates Mat workout

I seriously may just kill Joe and Ruthie. Joe slept at my feet all last night which didn't really bother me. But at 5:30 I heard him jump down and I knew we were in for trouble. So I got up and went into the bathroom. Sure enough, he's wandering around looking for something to get into. So I picked up the trashcan which he likes to knock over looking for plastic, put away one plastic rubber duck item that he likes to chew on and came back to bed. While I heard him still bopping around in there and that's when we realized they probably were out of food. So Matt trecks down two flights of stairs to feed them. We go back to sleep and about 30 minutes later I hear the two of them fighting in the bedroom. I break that up. Then I hear Joe chewing on my pajama strings (not the ones I was wearing, but the ones that needed to be put away) so I put those up! I come back to bed and fall asleep and sometime in the process Joe comes to sleep on my feet again and then Ruthie keeps jumping on and off the bed looking for a place to snuggle. Finally I just kick her off, too. So when we got up at 7:20 this morning I got Joe off the bed and forced him awake! Grrr...

Well, the house was driving me insane today and I was sick of feeling 'helpless' about it because it's hard to clean with Maddy around. So today I carried her around with me/let her clean with me while I cleaned. I was able to clean all three bathrooms, dust both bedrooms, sweep the kitchen and clean off the glass. I was also able to put back all my shower supplies into the shower (not an easy undertaking, I have a LOT of bath products) and clean up most of the clutter laying around. Not too bad considering!

Yes, we did get the shower shelves installed again. I finished painting them two days ago. It went ok, but, not great. It's fine and it will definitely extend the life of our shelves. We let them dry until this morning and Matt reinstalled them this morning and I put all the products back on with Maddy.

I got semi-dressed this morning (work out clothes, running pants, fleece cardigan) while I waited for the guy to come give us another estimate on three other paint jobs. He was on time (AGAIN!) and the more Matt and I do business with him, the more we like him. We'll await the estimate for that work from him, but really, we're not ready for those three paint jobs yet. We still want to get the basement finished out first and have that paid for. Then we'll consider the other paint jobs. After Matt and the dude left, I was able to work out and shower while Maddy napped (in my bath product filled shower! whooo whooo!). I did not get more of a workout in yesterday because our neighbors up the block shoveled my walk for us! So when I baked banana chocolate chip walnut bread I went over there to give them some for shoveling our walk.

I have to say, I'm kind of tired of work guys coming over for estimates. They are coming THREE times this week! We had the plumber out yesterday, the drywall/paint guy today and a different plumber tomorrow. But it looks like this basement thing is finally taking shape! We like the drywall/paint guy and he can start framing everything out in another couple of weeks and the plumber is coming tomorrow for the final estimate. Once the plumbing is in the framed area including fixtures, the drywall guy will come back, drywall, tape and paint. Then we need to get doors for the closets and carpet installed. After that's said and done we're basically set to start filling that room as if it's a den/office/spare room. So I'm guessing in the next three months it will be finished. We do need to get a Pack Rat to store our stuff in while they are working on the room. After that, we'll see what we have to work with. And we may need to get a monthly storage unit although I'd really hate to have the extra added bill each month.

My parents sent us a Valentine's package yesterday. Maddy has such a great time helping me open boxes. She helps pull everything out. Maddy received a couple really cute little outfits, lots of little valentine's day stuff. She really enjoys playing with her Elmo lunch box. I put goldfish crackers in there and she's been loving it. Enjoyment is all about the little stuff for me. Besides eating an entire bag of valentine's skittles I used the new cute mugs my parents sent me for my tea this morning. I am also wearing the valentine's socks as well! So much fun!

I think I may start sorting the filing cabinet and taking out all the '06 paperwork to be filed away. Or I may read a magazine considering I was pretty productive this morning and I also prepped dinner. I find I'm pretty tired, not unexpectedly since the cats were being a pain this morning. But there's very little time for a nap since she'll be up before I know it!

Have a great day, everyone!

Tea of the day: 2 cups Stash Green Chai Tea
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical, stretches, situps, pushups

And so it begins! The plumber will be here next Tuesday to start doing his thing. We need to get that room cleared out ASAP. Can you imagine what we're going to be doing all weekend? Yipes!

Maddy had a good morning so far although she's awake in her crib right now making noises. She only fell asleep an hour and 15 minutes ago. She can't very well last the night for six more hours on only that amount of sleep.

My brain is just zipping with all the basement stuff we need to do so I don't have much to say. It would bore you to death if I laid it all out for you, so I won't!

Have a great weekend!

Tea of the day: Coffee, splenda and creamer (will have decaf BBW Relax tea a bit later though, at least two cups)
WO of the day: Elliptical for 30 minutes this morning, stretches, situps, pushups and some pilates poses.

It looks as though a 29 year old woman with a purpose has hit! And she has left a wake of destruction and mess in her path. Slowly, but surely, the husband is hoping to clean up behind her and put things back in order. But as Hurricane Becky bore down on the household she left in her wake these words:

A-hah! We do have room afterall to store everything from our spare room within our own house! Now let's do it!!! No POD for us! Whoo whoo!

But for those of you who'd like to see the closet before I barracaded it, here's the link! (there's two more on the next page too)! Both sides of the closet connect so the shelving goes all the way from the left to the right without a break. So there is stuff behind that drywall in the very middle.

So, I can officially say that Matt didn't think I had it in me. Today we cleared out the majority of the spare room. I mean, it's bare, you can see floor. It's about 80% of the way there. There are still some big items that need to be taken out, but that's not TOO bad at all. I think the weirdest part about it for Matt is that he honestly had no idea that we'd be able to put any of it away in our house, much less have a liveable house after it was all moved.

Now, our dining room is uninhabitable. But it is the same size as a POD would have been, if not bigger. Plus, you add in that it's heated and less likely to get broken into. It's also not an eyesore on our neighbors and won't take up a parking space. Not to mention, we save $200.

We do have items in our family room stacked up as well, but you'd be hardpressed to see the impact to our day-to-day lives in here. I can still use the elliptical machine, stretch, sit on the sofa and loveseat and also use the coffee table. Plus there's a lot of walking room. Honestly, there is very little impact.

Now, that can't be said for our laundry room. We have two six foot rolling racks back to back in there. I'm contemplating bringing one out into the family room since it rolls anyway. I have about a foot and a half in front of the washer and dryer for space. That's not much while doing laundry!

Matt and Maddy stopped at Lowes tonight and took a couple things back and picked up a couple things. Then they went to the grocery store which is good since our fridge was BARE.

The bad news is that I'm coming down with a cold. ARGH. This is the first time I've been sick in over a year. So I can't really complain but I really don't want Maddy to get it since the change in schedule and having work people come in. I really don't want a sick toddler on my hands! But, the bad news about that too is that she hasn't been getting as much sleep as she was before so her immune system is probably lower. Add in that she loves to share my cups with me to practice drinking... and well, it's probably inevitable. I've been washing my hands all day and I'm hoping that will help some.

Well, I think I'm going to read a magazine or two and then off to bed. I am impromtu teaching Sunday School tomorrow and don't even know what I'm teaching yet. It's at church and I just got the email tonight asking if I would sub. So I will need to go in early tomorrow to prep.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Tea of the day: Twinnings Black Currant, BBW Relax Tea
WO of the day: None really, but a lot of lifting, bending, squating, twisting while moving stuff.

What's this I hear? Nothing? The sound of NOTHING! I am ALONE in my OWN house on a SUNDAY morning with very little to do besides get ready for teaching Sunday School. Matt and Maddy decided to attend the early service at another church in our area (same denomination) and since Maddy was up early enough they had 1/2 hour to get ready. So Matt got ready and I got Maddy dressed and fed (along with her diaper bag and a take along breakfast for Matt). And now they are gone. I would have gone along but there was no way we could all be ready in a half hour.

I'm not expected at church 'til about 10:30 to prep for Sunday School. That's nice because I am looking forward to an extremely long hot shower to help clear my stuffy head from this cold. It's still a very minor cold, but it feels good to not have to run out the door really fast.

So what shall I do with the next hour before I need to start getting ready for church? I do know that I will make myself some breakfast and eat at a decent pace instead of a breakneck speed like I normally do. I think I'll even read a magazine while I have another cup of tea (maybe even IN BED!). Wow, it's like a spa day without the spa. :)

Tea of the day: Celestial Seasons Plum Spice Herbal tea, later twinnings lemon ginger herbal tea (no caffeine when I'm sick)
WO of the day: None today, besides carrying up the rest of the stuff from the spare room to the dining room.

Well, I think Maddy may be getting my cold. She's been extremely snuggly all day today. It's been quite enjoyable, though, I must say. I've been propped on the recliner with her in my lap under her favorite blanket. She's layed back, patted my cheek with her hand, sucked her thumb and gave a big sigh. She seems pretty content just snuggling. She's also not eating real hot either (more on that later).

She's still be having a great time with her purse (credit card, keys, and cell phone). She goes to get it, puts it on her shoulder, goes to find mine and hands it to me. We take a walk with our purses and she insists on checking to make sure I still have mine. It's REALLY cute.

I have been able to get a few things done today, which makes me pretty happy. I'm doing two loads of laundry, ran the dishwasher, paid two bills, took out the mail and swept the kitchen floor.

I took out my resignation notice to the mailbox today. You see, I've been on Long Term Leave of Absence since I gave birth to Maddy. I can do two years and they need to know by the end of March if I'm coming back or not. It's been nice to have that I have a guarenteed job waiting for me if I wanted one in the county. But my time is up and I needed to decide if I wanted to go back (to any school in the county, which is quite large) or resign. It's like cutting the apron strings, really. But well, I know I made the right choice. I'm glad I'm staying home with Maddy. I'm blessed with the opportunity to do so and I enjoy it (most days) so there ya go!

Now, about Maddy's eating (I can hear Matt in the background saying, "NO! DON'T DO IT, DON'T DO IT!)... last night Matt opened up the nerds rope from my parents for Valentine's day. He just loves those and really has MAYBE two a year. Well, he ate one a couple of days ago and had the other one last night. Well, he tried to have the other one last night. I wound up eating about 1/3 of it. So he was very snacky last night and was rummaging through the box of 'candy/gum' we have up in our pantry. Mind you, most of this stuff is so OLD you would never want to touch it. We don't have much candy or gum, really. He found a packet of Pop Rocks. For those of you who don't knwo what Pop Rocks are they are sugar laced, colored exploding candy that pop in your mouth. He opened it, had a bit, I had a bit and yes.... wait for it! Maddy had a bit. Yes, I allowed my daughter who is 14 months old to eat CANDY. She had such a good time with the popping though and it was really cute coming from her little mouth. She had MAYBE 1/4 teaspoon. She still fell asleep fine!

Well, I think I'm going to do a bit of yoga or pilates while Maddy is down for a nap. Normally I'd do elliptical but I'm still feeling a bit under the weather. Then a hot shower (with no towel, it's in the wash and the linen closet is in Maddy's room).

Have a good Monday, everyone!

Tea of the day: Twinnings Lemon Ginger Herbal Tea
WO of the day: Pilates or Yoga video

Today was a really nice day to be a mommy. It's not that I don't like being a mommy, but some days are more enjoyable than others. Today was great. Maddy spent a lot of the day snuggling me, giving me kisses and in general rolling around with me. She had a blast and so did I. She took a really good nap (three hours) and was happy and playful when she got up. We played ball, bubbles, chase, read books, played purse, rolled around on her car--in general, she had a blast as did I.

Daddy got home at a really decent time tonight (5:30 and that was AFTER going to the grocery store and picking up said cookies mentioned in the comments on the previous post). We all ate dinner and then we all played some more. It was wonderful. So I have to say, I'm feeling pretty content, blessed and loved tonight. I couldn't ask for more!

Well, today was the first day that Maddy used a spoon to feed herself. I was wondering when it would start happening. She's been stirring with a spoon for what seems like forever now. She's been playing with our forks too, trying to stab food on her tray but not trying to eat it after she stabs it. Today I was putting vegetables from soup and some macaroni and cheese on her tray with the spoon I used to stir it with and she reached for the spoon (like she always does now), I put a piece of carrot on it and she put the spoon in her mouth, sucked off the carrot and ate it! She still can't quite get the food on the spoon but it's nice to see her using it to eat. Tomorrow morning we may try oatmeal or yogurt since it's easy to dip and won't get TOO messy. (Ok, who am I kidding? The kid will be covered head to toe with food!) Not the best picture of Maddy, but there it is!

We are expecting a little bit of snow, sleet, ice and rain today. Most schools closed two hours early. Matt and I have everything we need for the next couple of days. The plumber didn't come today because Matt reminded me that he said Tuesday or Wednesday so last night on the phone he said most likely Wednesday given he can get to his job today (with the weather, I can't blame him if it's Thursday).

Matt was so sweet to me this morning. I was up at 4 am taking some Tylanol Sinus Nighttime which really helped my cold. But I woke up really groggy this morning so I asked Matt if he wouldn't mind if I got a shower before he did to clear myself out some. He didn't care and he even brought tea up for me into the bathroom so I could have it as I got dressed. When I came downstairs he had made fried eggs, toast and turkey bacon (and scrambled eggs for Maddy) for me. What a nice morning! I did have to make myself a cup of coffee at about 10 because snuggling with Maddy under the blanket was knocking me out. So now I don't feel like a nap even though it's probably in my best interest to get one. I think I'll lay around and read, anyway. I am going to put off my workout today and maybe just do yoga, but I doubt I'll do that either. I'm feeling lazy from this cold.

Matt's parents are coming up this weekend and Matt and I are going out on Saturday. No, it's not a Valentine's thing. Neither of us have much use for that. I never really DID like Valentine's day. I thought it was way overrated and just another excuse for Hallmark to get us to spend money. I don't even have a card for Maddy or Matt!!! (Matt is thinking, "Whew, I don't need to buy a card.")

Uh oh, our garbage cans are blowing away in the wind. I better go get them! Have a great day, everyone!

Tea of the day: Twinnings Black Currant, Lemon Ginger, BBW Relax
WO of the day: Maybe a yoga video.

Ok, so, we all know how much I adore my Maddy. She's my angel. And I can't imagine my life without her. But for those of you who are considering having kids, let me tell you a couple ways that your life will change. I could go on and on about the crying, changing diapers, sleepless nights--but let me hit on some things you may not have thought about since the above are pretty obvious.

1. Do not expect to use the bathroom in peace until they are at least three. So, for three years of your life, doing your business is not just YOUR business, it's your kid's business, too.

2. Do not expect to eat a meal that is still hot. Maddy can chow down on our dinner faster than I can cut it up. It's only when she's finally tired of eating that she gives me a break from cutting her food. But by that point I've had two bites of my meal and she's ready to be excused from the highchair. My dinner is ready for the microwave.

3. If it hurts them, it hurts you more. They fall down and you feel their pain and also wonder why you didn't catch them fast enough.

4. Do not expect to 'read' around your child unless you are reading to them. Maddy has this uncanny knack to know exactly when I'm reading an article, book, magazine, bill, letter, email... anything and come over to interrupt it.

5. You may want to start practicing using speaker phone now. Maddy wants to hear who's on the other line. Fortunately for my partner on the phone, she is still not talking much. Just wait until she does.

6. Multiply the time it takes you to get out of the house now by 2 or three. Diaper bags, blankets, coats, hats, carseats. Enough said.

7. Erase Lazy from your vocabulary. Remember those lazy Saturday mornings? Having a cup of coffee over the paper? Making a big breakfast? Hanging around in PJs doing nothing for a while? Well, erase it from your memory. It won't be the case until the kid is at least three. You will get up when the kid gets up, get her dressed, make breakfast for her and then try to get a bit in for yourself before letting her out of the highchair to run amok throughout the house.

8. If you're a perfectionist, just stop now. I am a perfectionist. Fortunately, i think working with kids for five years before Maddy tempered me to the way life would be with a kid. But if you haven't been around a whole lot of kids and are a perfectionist, be ready and able to give up on your ways. That kind-of wiped off face? Good enough. That carpet that now has goldfish running through it? Eh, it's alright. Because, if you don't, you will drive yourself insane.

9. They don't just inherit your button nose or big brown eyes, they inherit other things as well. Take a good hard look at yourself and your partner. Remember those 'cute' quirks that drive you crazy now and again? Well, be prepared to see them in your kid--but double the strength and intensity of it. The little one can pack a big punch!

10. Last, but certainly not least, rip up your schedule. So, you normally like to have your second cup of coffee at 10, huh? Oh, you play golf every Saturday at noon? You go to bed every night at 11 and get up at 7 every morning? Welcome to parenthood--you may adjust your clock to 'baby time' and can readjust it when the child turns five.

As I said, don't get me wrong. I love Maddy to death and I knew I was in for quite a change in lifestyle. I would not change where I am right now for the world. Honestly, when people as me what I want to be in life, I say, "You're looking at it." But for those who are considering kids, just consider these finer points in life, too.

'nuff said.

Last night was REALLY weird. Maddy went to bed as normal and at 10:30 pm she woke up crying. So I went in and she was all stuffy. So Matt and I gave her Dimeatap and laid her back down. I knew there wasn't going to be much time between her waking up again, so we went to bed.

At 2 am she started crying again and I rocked her, Matt rocked her, laid her down. Still with the crying. So I stayed in there until 6:30 rocking miss Maddy who slept PRETTY well in my arms. 6:30 I was nodding off and I just couldn't take it anymore so I laid her down and immediately with the crying. So we got her up. I went back to nap at 7:30 and Matt stayed up with her. I guess she was very snuggly and only wanted to lay around this morning. She obviously has my cold (her first or second illness, depending on who you ask.)

He laid her down for a nap at 9:30 and she's still asleep (on and off) at noon. I got up at 10:30 and finally now got out of bed at noon, too.

The plumber isn't coming today. Everything is ice. That's ok by me since it allowed both Maddy and I to sleep. Everything is closed or delayed (at best). We are expecting more ice on and off but I think it finally passed us. We did not lose electricity so I can't complain!

Ooh! Maddy is up. I am going to get a hot long shower, then Matt will and he's off to get some stuff for work since he will be working from home the rest of this week for the plumber and framer. I will have him stop at the store for cat food. WE ARE OUT!! EAK! I think I have a couple sample bags somewhere, but not much!

Oh, and happy Valentine's Day!

Tea of the day: Twinnings Black Currant Tea
WO of the day: NONE, too tired. Maybe yoga, I did Yoga Zone Stretching for flexibility yesterday.

Yes, Valentine's Day. You know, I don't care much about it. It's never been all that important to me. Birthdays are important, anniversaries are important--Valentine's? Eh. Matt and I do have a couple bottles of sparkling wine for tonight. A good excuse to drink champagne, really. Really, I think V-day should be celebrated once a month. I think couples really need to make the commitment to show their love at least once a month. Now, showing love is up to you. Maybe you and your spouse go out for a nice dinner, watch a movie you've been wanting to see, cook together at home, play games, go for a long walk or hike, take a nice drive. Whatever the case may be, I think it's important to make time for each other. Matt and I spend time every night after Maddy goes to bed watching our favorite shows together. We don't just veg out in front of the TV, we talk about them, laugh and have a good time. It keeps us connected. When Matt's parents come we'll often go out to eat together and enjoy coversation over a nice meal that doesn't include cutting pieces of food into tiny bits and eating while it's still hot. Matt's parents are also very generous to us and let us get out overnight as well. Sometimes we take them up on it and sometimes we don't. It depends on how Maddy is doing.

But yes, Valentine's Day is great and all, but it needs to be celebrated more often than just once a year and with things other than Hallmark cards, candy boxes, champagne and jewerly. So go find that person you love and give 'em a great big hug! And remember to 'feel the love' all year 'round!

Matt had to move our rack 'o computers so the plumber could get at the concrete to tear it up. So he had to disconnect the stuff.

Last night and today went amazingly well until this evening. Maddy slept through the night last night save waking up twice--9:30 and 11. But I didn't need to rock her all night. I had more of an issue sleeping because my nose was so runny/stuffed up. I finally did get up at 3 am and took some night time cold medicine. I was afraid to take it since I wasn't sure if Maddy would be up or not and I wanted my head about myself if she was going to be up. The night before I took medication and she woke up about 30 seconds later!

Maddy got up at 7 and the plumber came at 8:30. Maddy did great the entire time the plumber was here. He was jackhammering, drilling, sawing, dremmeling and banging all day and she never once got scared or upset. As a matter of fact, she took two THRE AND A HALF total naps even with the jackhammering! I was so impressed.

Speaking of, I have stopped with the one nap a day until Maddy is over her cold. Right now, whenever she's tired, I lay her down for a nap. It seems to be working out pretty well.

The plumber wasn't without mishap though. He cut through a cord to our security system which blew the fuse in the plug-in transformer. So it says there's an AC failure now. We can go buy any old transformer and replace it. The plumber will pay for it. I think he was pretty happy that we weren't going to have a guy come out and fix it ($$$). For us it's the principal of the thing, we KNOW what's wrong with it, can we just buy the part we need? And, to their credit, the security company was very good about giving us the information we needed.

After grocery shopping tonight, we found that two of the pipes connecting our wash basin in the laundry room were leaking. Not a lot, but a little. I'm sure they are just loose, so tomorrow when the plumber comes back to finish he can tighten them up then.

Matt was going to give Maddy her bedtime snack and she wacked Matt's hand with the food in it and it went FLYING everywhere. We had it six feet away on the carpet from where they were sitting. So we had to bring up the quick steam vac and do the carpet at 8:30 at night while Maddy waited for bed. SHEESH!

So anyway, tomorrow I won't be online again much since the server will be down again because the plumber is coming to finish up. I won't have email, either. So you probably won't see me until tomorrow night! Have a great night, everyone!

Tea of the day: Gloria Jean's Cinnamon Spice Black Tea, BBW Relax Tea
WO of the day: None today, never got the chance and honestly didn't feel good enough to do it.

Good news though!!! Maddy slept all night without issue! And after being rocked for a bit, she went to sleep fine tonight too. She was exhausted though, she skipped her second nap even though she ws very tired. Grandma and Grandpa came tonight and she just LOVES to see them. She was a bit shy at first, but after that she warmed right up.

The plumber finished up his first part of the basement job today. Matt is in the middle of putting down new linolium in our bathroom and the framers come on Monday. Matt and I need to head out and buy bathroom fixtures for the plumber after the framers come.

Matt wasn't feeling too well today. I think he's getting my cold. Maddy had a runny nose all day. I'm finally clearing up pretty ok.

Oops, I spoke too soon. Maddy's crying. Gotta go.

Well, I've been rocking Maddy on and off since 9. She's really stuffy. I've given her tylanol cold and also put Vicks baby rub on her chest. Her humidifier is going but she likes being propped up so she can sleep.

At Midnight when I got into bed I thought I heard water from our bathroom pipes and when I crawled into bed it got louder. So I woke up Matt and we both ran to the basement where a pipe fitting broke in our spare room that the plumber had just installed. Fortunately, he gave us two shut off valves for just that room outside the spare room. There wasn't that much water, but there is still some water, none the less. I'm glad glad we heard it from the pipes and that Maddy was asleep during that part (who knows for how long though and when I'll be up rocking her next).

I was ready to sleep when I crawled into bed after rocking her this last time, but now I'm wide awake again. Never a dull moment!

Ok, back off to bed!

Maddy slept a full seven hours straight last night and so was I. I am quite grateful for that! I thought for sure when I laid her down at midnight she'd be up again after that. Fortunately, she was able to sleep through.

She had sausage and hashbrown for breakfast this morning. It's not the best thing for her, but it's the most flavorful breakfast items we had in the house and with her stuffy nose I wanted her to eat. She had a very snuggly morning and went down for a nap at 10. She's been making noises on and off for about 40 minutes now, but I think she's probably up.

Matt's still in the process of laying down the bathroom floor. I threw a wrench in the works when I told him I wanted to reverse the door so it swings out instead of in. So now there's a bit more floor prep he needs to do. Plus, he's going to be working on the basement floor and dryer vent today today too. Both need to be done by Monday.

I am looking forward to going out to dinner tonight. It's been a while since I've been to a sit-down restaurant and it's been a rough week, so it will be nice to get out a bit and do something fun. I'm feeling MUCH better today which is nice. Matt is getting my cold, I think. He won't tell me. You know how men are!

Tea of the day: Stash Chai Spice Green Tea
WO of the day: Keeping my sanity. :)

I did, not Maddy. Matt and I were able to get out overnight last night and I slept all night!

So yesterday Matt mixed and filled in cement where the plumber needed to tear up the concrete to put in the pipes. He did a really amazing job and I have to say, I'm really impressed!! Then he worked some more on our bathroom floor and we will finally finish it up tonight and glue it down. Matt still needs to put up the new dryer vent in our spare room before the framers get here tomorrow.

One little project seemed to creep up that we weren't expecting. Maddy's bathroom outlet popped yesterday so Matt tried to fix it but we didn't have time to fix it before dinner so we needed to come back home to try to fix it. However, it wasn't as simple as Matt thought it would be so he'll need to keep working on it later. So Maddy's bathroom is unlit right now. But so are about half of her outlets including the outlets for Maddy's vaporizer, night light and noise machine needed to be moved. However, our bathroom is still out of order too, with the floor being up. So Maddy will get a bath in our room tonight and then Matt will glue down the floor and it will have all night to set.

We had a great time at the Melting Pot last night. I thought for sure we were going to be late since Matt worked on house stuff right up until he had to rush to get ready so we could leave. But we weren't, we made it on time. We decided to get a cheese fondue and then the chocolate dessert fondue with a salad in between. It was all delicious. The cheese fondue was GREAT but we wound up still being hungry after it and we were wondering if we made a mistake in not getting the main course. Last time we went we were already pretty full after the cheese. Then, after the salad, we made a 'make your own' chocolate fondue and we had milk chocolate, cookie pieces, caramel and marshmellow. We got the large plate for the dessert which means we each got quite a bit to dip. WOW, I was STUFFED by the time I was half way done. Not to mention, I had a chocolate martini and I was pretty chocolated out! I don't think I've ever become tired of chocolate before, but I actually did. It was sooo good though. The waitress brought us more marshmellows and brownie pieces for dipping. The brownies were my favorite. However, I couldn't even finish those! I brought them home for Maddy who promptly devoured them. (Sorry Grandma and Grandpa Jackson--I guess she had a bit of a sugar high after we left.)

After trying to fix the outlet we wound up nutting the one lead that was the issue and putting it on hold. So we moved all the things Maddy would need to sleep.

Then we headed out to the hotel where we were staying overnight. They had an reception until 7:30 so I had a couple drinks and appetizers. We went to our room but our champagne was not there (Matt bought the romance package which included champagne and truffles). So we called and waited....and waited... called again and asked them to bring another bottle as well...and waited, and waited... finally Matt called the front desk and wanted to talk to the manager but they assured us it WAS on the way. It showed up about 5 minutes later and the second bottle was on the house because of our REALLY LONG wait. Two boxes of truffles as well although I was still so chocolated out I could barely touch them.

And I slept ALL NIGHT, like the dead. I guess Maddy didn't though, she was up with grandma rocking from 2-4. Poor Grandma. But she took a really good nap today (Maddy, not grandma) and is now down for another. I think her cold is slowly getting better. I need to suck out her nose though and I hate that and so does Maddy.

After getting up this morning, Matt who is a sweetie, went downstairs with the tray the champagne came on and brought back breakfast for us. I ate way too much--omelete, bacon, sausage, yogurt, fruit..sheesh!

Then it was off to bring Matt home so I could run back out to church to teach Sunday School. I actually had three kids.

When I got home and Maddy got up from her nap, Matt, his parents and Maddy ran out to Wegmans to pick up dinner. I had sushi, part of a potato pancake and of course, peanut butter pie. Nothing beats Wegman's peanut butter pie. Matt's parents tried it for the first time and loved it, too. It was weird being home alone but kind of nice when I was just without Maddy for the last 18 hours, but I made good use of my time and unpacked our bag and cleaned up a bit.

Again, I am so spoiled. I have had such great food, drink and company in the last two days and had such a nice time. Matt's parents are sooooo good to us for driving up here to watch Maddy so we can get out. I slept all night and really do feel refreshed. Plus, getting some time alone in my own house today was really nice as well. I couldn't ask a better weekend!

Tea of the day: I'm having some cold green tea right now, but I didn't have caffeine this morning.

WO of the day: None, but I'm looking forward to getting back to my elliptical machine tomorrow now that I'm feeling better. I've missed it and with everything I've had to eat over the weekend, NEED IT!

I did a little photo gallery house cleaning today. I added two sub albums to our house gallery. One gallery is for random house projects we've been doing this year and the other is for our spare room pictures as progress continues. Here's the link to the parent directory and you'll see the sub albums under that. A few days ago I separated out Maddy's 'One Year and Growing' gallery into two subgroups, 12-15 months and 15-18 months. She will be 15 months old this Friday (mom's birthday too!). So things in the gallery are in a little more order now.

I don't normally mention it, but I do add pictures and videos of Maddy virtually every other day. So, don't forget to check her photo gallery often as there are always new pictures and videos to look at! The one in the upper right is one I loaded today.

Maddy slept until 4:45 this morning going to bed without issue. Then she slept from 5 to 8 after I changed her diaper, gave her some medication, sucked out her nose, gave her a warm sippy cup and held her for a bit. She's still stuffy, but I think she's feeling better.

Ok, I'm off to get a couple things done while she's napping! Have a lovely day!

Tea of the day: I had coffee since I made a pot for the framing crew that is here.
WO of the day: I'm hoping to do elliptical during her second nap. Right now they are in and out of the family room cutting through to the spare room so much I simply can't work out.

Matt here, in full-on rant mode.

Answer: Some nincom-dope named 'Wayne' thought it would be clever to wire them all to the same electrical circuit back in the day! I won't bore you with the details, but in the midst of our household tribulations, I've been forced to chase an electrical short through 3 floors, 4 rooms, and 14 electrical fixtures.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, a gem of a guy named 'Wayne' decided his contribution to the construction of our house would be a practical joke, 20 years in the unfolding. I know this because he decided to sign his work at some point. Thanks 'Wayne', hell of a guy you are...

There's two lists of peoples' names that I keep in my mind: Those I'd run into a burning building for just because they said they needed me to, and those I'd rather watch burn to a crisp than pee on just to put out the flames. Congratulations 'Wayne', you've nominated yourself to one of those lists! I'll let you figure out which one.

Now, maybe its not your fault... Maybe your mother never taught you that electricity + a lousy sense of humor + a dangerously low IQ = a not very happy Matthew. Maybe you were drunk on moonshine corn alcohol, and well on your way to your inevitable blinding from alcohol poisoning. Maybe you had lodged a staple in your skull from your glaring inability to use power tools. I don't know, and I probably will never know. In the end thought, it'd make little difference.

The only way it'd make a difference is if you were one of those children who slipped through the cracks of an education system that existed before Bec's specialty did. Maybe all your school provided you was a safety helmet, sad looks, and a bottle of glue to eat. And if that's the case, then DAMN thats just funny, because of the whole "coming around full-circle to bite you in the ass" part.

Let this serve as a general notice to all gentlemen with the name 'Wayne'. You have a traitor in your ranks. Thanks to this one individual, I'm slightly more likely to kick the next 'Wayne' I meet on the street right in the bean-bag. Also, if you are not the specific 'Wayne' in question, the 'Wayne' who wasted 2 of my nights and made me traipse up and down a combined total of 24 flights of stairs troubleshooting your shoddy work, the 'Wayne' I'd like to do unpleasant things to.... Well, if you're not him, then consider me mistaken, and consider my size 14 shoe lodged in your until-recently-happy-place as a new and novel way of saying "hi, how are ya?", except I'll already know. You're a 'Wayne', how could I not already know?

Disclaimer: No 'Waynes' were injured in the posting of this blog entry. This posting should not be construed in any way as a confession of guilt on how my shoe ended up in some guys groin. I in no way advocate feeding bottles of glue to kids enrolled in special education programs, but I am still a fan of the safety helmets. Keep reaching for the stars, lil' champs! All rights reserved, except "Wayne's". He's earned the pain I can only hope to one day provide to him.

Well, the plumber is here now to fix the broken pipe. So it looks like I'll be able to get my workout in during Maddy's second nap. I REALLY want to get my workout in! I didn't have much of a chance yesterday with the draywallers in here and then Matt having a church council meeting last night. I miss working out. Crazy, I know, but it feels nice.

Yes, Maddy is still on two naps right now. I still want her to sleep as much as she wants to get rest for her cold. When I feel she's back up to par, I'll switch her back to one nap, although it will probably take a while again. But she DID sleep ALL NIGHT last night! It is the first night in a little while!

I was supposed to have a dermatologist appointment today but I switched it to Thursday so Matt wouldn't have to come home for lunch today after being gone from work for quite a few days. It drives me crazy that I still am getting acne after fighting with it for years. I am most likely going to go back on Accutane again. It will dry me out horribly but it should work for at least a few years. This would be my THIRD course!

Our neighbor, Sophia, came over last night. She and her family are Chinese. They brought over food for us on Chinese New Year and yesterday they brought over the traditional red envelope for Maddy. I thought there would be gold foil wrapped chocolate coins in it, but they gave Maddy money! They were way too generous and I must write them a very nice thank you note. I felt bad that I didn't get them a card or ANYTHING for New Year but I did remember it but never got out to get it. I am going to make a few loaves of banana bread today so I will send that over with the thank you note.

I really enjoy living where I live though. Northern Virginia is such a mix of cultures and so diverse. But it's diverse in a NICE way--people respecting each other and the cultures they came from. They share their heritage with each other and their customs. It's a great environment for Maddy to grow up in. I've seen diversity backfire though. Where people are afraid of differences and ignorant about each other. I'm glad I don't see a lot of that here.

Ok, well, I should go figure out what's for dinner tonight. We've been eating left overs for the last two days but we're finally out!

Latest Maddy things: After she messes her diaper she goes and gets the plastic zip top bag I keep some diapers in for the living room. It's cool that she recognizes when she goes! Her latest favorite food is Sloppy Joe. She likes grapes cut into 1/8. She grabbed a piece of popcorn before I could get to it and ate it. I was so worried she'd choke! Well, she loved it so I gave her a couple more pieces broken up into 1/4. I had to give them to her one at a time or she'd shove them all in her mouth at once. When she is finished with something she's getting better at handing it to me instead of trying to throw it off her tray. She now uses the space for her cup on her tray to store it instead of throwing it over the side of her tray. When we leave, Maddy runs to the gate and points to her jacket (she did that this morning when Matt left for work--poor thing didn't want to see Daddy go!). She's really enjoyed reading books with me lately, snuggling on my lap. She's walking a lot more, getting onto her feet in the middle of the floor in a split second. She's still not real sturdy, but she'll get there when she wants to! She's still lazy though, she would rather crawl and if I try to put her on her feet she won't let go of my finger. HA!

I have a couch potato who loves the TV. I am so glad we have DirecTV with XM on it. Maddy goes over to the TV now and turns it on constantly. I have a plastic shield over the DirecTV buttons so all she can do is turn on and off the TV. So I put on music on XM and she gets mad, gets the remote and hands it to me again, wanting TV. I don't turn it on and she fusses at me. Or, if she's tired and it's close to nap time but not quite, I will ask her if she wants to watch Jack's Big Music Show and she'll crawl over to her couch, pull up her blanket and look for the remote so I can put it on. But she honestly puts TV on first thing when she gets into the living room now. I'm just glad there is music instead. She especially likes Big Band, Blues or Techno.

Have a great day.

UPDATED: Well, here I sit in my workout clothes. I changed as soon as the plumber left so that way I could work out during Maddy's second nap. But it looks like there won't be a second nap since she's still asleep from her first nap and it's been three hours! Tomorrow I AM getting up at 6 to work out!!! This is driving me insane.

Tea of the day: Twinnings Black Currant
WO of the day: 30 minutes of elliptical, which will most likely kill me since I haven't done it in over a week!!!

With all the house stuff going on, Matt needing to spend a lot of time working in the basement and our weekends taken up with house stuff we've decided that I need to get out of the house for coffee/tea night once a week whether I want to or not. (Sometimes I'm so tired after Maddy goes to bed that it's just easier to hang out and watch TV.) I have bunco night scheduled for this week and also a Mom's Night Out but honestly, I just need some time to myself to do my own thing. It's not that I don't like getting together with other women, but sometimes I need some time to myself out of the house to just do my own thing.

Well, I stopped at a Starbucks (that I have a gift certificate for) near me that also had a Radio Shack nearby since I needed to take something back there. I go to Starbucks and the door says they close at 8:00 M-TH!!! It was 7:51!!! So I turned around and got back in the car. In the process it started raining. So I went to the Starbcks closest to my house and this one closes at 8:30!! So, now I'm going to search the Starbucks website and see which ones near me are open the latest. I'm pretty sure I'll wind up at a Barnes and Noble or the mall that are both open til at least 9:30. But I'd rather go to a stand alone shop.

So anyway, I'm home! I think I'll pop on my Ipod and hang out on the couch and read. Ah well! At least I can have a glass of wine at home! :)

Well, it's 47 outside right now and it's a beautiful day! Maddy and I are going shopping when she gets up from her nap. She's received money in the last month and I would like to buy her a baby doll with some of the accessories (crib, stroller, dishes, bottle, clothes--no not all of that, just one or two). So we're going to Toys R Us today.

I worked out for the first time in about 10 days! It feels sooo nice to be back on track. I had 14 Design on a Dime's taped!! I can tell it's been a while. I was able to get right back on the elliptical machine where I left off. I don't know if that means I need to work harder regularly or that I'm in good enough shape that I didn't lose much over the last 10 days. I'm guessing the former.

Maddy and I ran over to our neighbors house with a loaf of banana pecan chocolate chip bread (I made four loaves in record time last night) and a thank you card for the Chinese New Year Gift. When I asked Maddy if she wanted to go, she ran to the gate (yes, ran, not crawled) and reached through it for her coat. So we need to get out of here today! She needs it.

I'm hoping to make Snickerdoodles in the next week. I don't know why but I've been craving them. I know Maddy would love them. I haven't made them since college!

No big plans for tonight. Matt needs to get that dryer vent put in so I can do some laundry. I may try coffee night again, we'll see. I still haven't had the chance to call the other Starbucks and see how late they are open. They don't list it on their webpage!

I did cancel my appointment for the dermatologist and I will try Proactiv again. It's been forever since I've tried it. And when I read about it from Joy, something about it hit me right. So we'll see. Another month won't kill me. I'd like to stay off Accutane given the chance, but I may very well need it. We'll see.

Have a great day!

Tea of the day: I'll have some BBW Relax Herbal Tea with lunch
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical, pushups, situps.

Walmart (we went to Walmart instead of Toys R Us since I wanted to pick up cold medication for Matt, who caught my cold) went well yesterday although I realize that Maddy's now at the age that I can't wander taking my time through the toy section anymore. I'm glad we were planning on buying her something!! She really enjoyed picking out a doll although I basically picked it out and let her hold the box. You know, the Walmart brand toys (and Kmart too) are really a good deal for pretty decent toys. I bought her a doll set that came with a stroller and a lot of accessories for $20. Of course, we had to buy the disappearing juice and milk bottles too. I also bought her a mini red-devil broom/dustpan set.

I was DONE last night though, by 7:00 pm. It seems like by about 5pm Maddy's done with me, I need to cook dinner, eat fast, clean up dinner, play with Maddy again while Matt works on basement stuff, then clean up toys, bath and bed. It's not like I make the most amazing and time consuming dinners, either. Last night it was a salad, fried eggplant, ready made ravioli and pasta sauce. The eggplant was frozen from BJs (really good, by the way). But it's not that consuming or takes that long. But yes, Maddy went to bed and Matt offered to let me get out of the house for coffee but I wasn't up for it. I just crawled into PJs, grabbed three magazines and my iPod and got into bed myself. I read for two hours. But the big push is dinner and the rest of the evening. Most nights, I can handle it fine, but last night, I was just done after she was in bed.

Working out really helps my attitude and emotions though. I see it keeps me on an even keel. And that helps.

OK, well, Maddy want to read! Gotta go!

Tea of the day: Gloria Jeans Cinnamon Spice
WO of the day: Will be 30 minutes elliptical during Maddy's nap. We'll try for two today. She could still use the rest.

I did come back downstairs to email a bit, but other than that, I was in bed.

Hello! HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA B! Today is her birthday! Whoo whoo! We bought her a Gift Certificate for a Spa Treatment for her birthday. It will be something new for her, but I hope she likes it!

So I started a new space page on MSN. All of my mom's group uses it and I like to comment on their spaces so I set one up, too. I'm not going to leave this page behind though, I like it too much! Heres' the link to my MSN space: http://beckytheteaholic.spaces.live.com/

Matt's parents are here this weekend! It will be nice to have them here to preoccupy Maddy while Matt and I work on the house. It will be nice to be away from Maddy a bit, too and focus on something else. It's hard to sit around and watch Matt work while I preoccupy Maddy. I feel useless. I feel like I should be doing something to help the house, too!

Ok, well, I'm going to go throw on some makeup!

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

So I'm staring out my living room window at 7 am. It's doing--nothing. It snowed a while ago, just a dusting. We are expecting freezing rain during the day today, but other than the light dusting of snow there's nothing out there. You see, I'm supposed to teach Sunday School today. I went in yesterday and prepped so it's all laid out ready to go. I normally only get three kids (at most) anyway and I doubt they will be there. The fact is, it takes 20-25 minutes in good weather to get to church. And while it may not be bad now, what will it be like at noon? Ah, the decisions! (The picture to the right is out our kitchen window over our deck.)

I slept on the family room couch Saturday night again for the second night leaving at my bed at 4:00. Matt has a cold right now (it's better though, I think) and he snores horribly with it. So I trekked down two flights of stairs to sleep! When Matt woke me up at 6:45 for my breakfast date with Rosanna I just about died. HA! Then I wondered how I normally got up at 5:30 for work every day. I also remembered I didn't normally go to bed at 11!

My time with Rosanna was fabulous as always. I ate way too much, but Ihop is nice! I was amazed that my commute was pretty crowded on a Saturday morning at 7:30. Rosanna lives over where I used to teach, so I met her in her neck of the woods this time. Quite a funny feeling driving to work that time in the morning! It's like I was going back to work but without my teacher's bag! Even though it wasn't dark, I was always at work by 6:45 in the dark!

We got done a bit earlier than I expected and I called Matt to let him know I'd meet him at the plumbing supply store if he wanted to get there earlier! (Matt's parents were kind enough to come back up this weekend so we didn't have any distractions while doing business for the basement renovation.) We wound up buying the tub, toilet, tub and sink fixtures. We needed to go look for a vanity for the sink before ordering it and wound up at Lowes (We live there now. I'm amazed the car doesn't drive itself there). We bought both the vanity and the sink together in one at Lowes. Now we can probably have that delivered by Tuesday and have the plumber back in next week to do the rest of the piping.

Matt's parents let us borrow their truck to pick up two prehung doors for the bathroom upstairs and the bathroom downstairs, our vanity, the medicine cabinet and I want to get a cabinet over the toilet, too.

Matt tore out the bathroom door in our bedroom (we decided it was just simpler to rip out the entire door than try to rehang the old one) and it went surprisingly well. Most of our deconstruction projects tend to really take a lot of time but this one went rather easily!

Maddy went for a nap and Matt's mom and I headed out to do some much needed shopping. We went to Church first to set up for Sunday School, over to Trader Joes where I bought a lot of our staples: dried fruit, nuts, granola, sauces for dinner, wine and chocolate. Ok, ok, wine and chocolate aren't quite staples but the prices and quality are amazing, so I couldn't pass it up. And did I buy the wine!!!

After Trader Joes we ran to BJs since I needed frozen chicken breasts, frozen salmon fillets, and other staples. I was able to get milk there (and not two one gallon jugs), too, so there was no need for a grocery store run! I bought three items not on the list: A hardcover cat book for Maddy for $6. So if she rips a page or two on accident it's not that bad. She loves it so far since she loves cats so much! A new wallet for Matt and a necklace for myself. Matt's mom talked me into it. I swear, she did. (No, she really didn't.)

About the necklace. When Matt and I were in Chicago while I was pregnant, he bought a silver double heart necklace for me. The smaller heart was strung through the larger heart. It reminded him a lot of Maddy and I at that moment. While looking at the BJs ad not long ago I saw a triple three tone heart necklace where the hearts are at the same angle as the silver necklace I have and the same basic style, but they are stacked instead of inside each other. Well, that reminded me of Matt, Maddy and I. So I bought it.

Matt was quite irritated when I got home last night since Matt's mom and I were gone from 3-7. (Yes, it took four hours at three places, but I had to drive all over God's green earth and everyone was out because of the weather today). But I know he wanted to get the door installed yesterday. My other thought was that I wouldn't be ABLE to go today if the weather is bad and we needed groceries. And we can put in the door today while he's home. (However he loses my pair of hands since I need to watch Maddy since Matt's parents headed out before our storm.) So anyway, I got quite the silent treatment when I got home with dinner (from Five Guys) and purchases.

He ran out with his parents to pick up my car from the plumbing place while I put Maddy to bed. His parents headed out back home straight from there. They wanted to avoid the weather and I can't blame them! I just thank them for coming up again and helping with Maddy so we can get things done. It's not an easy drive at all and long, but they willingly make it to give us a hand.

Once Matt got home he was feeling much better and realized that I did NEED to get the stuff done I did and it wasn't like I was at the mall for four hours. Plus, he hasn't seen a lot of Maddy lately and they had a great time together while we were gone. I do realize it's hard to stop a project, especially when the help is on hand to do it. But the house needs to keep running, too. We hung out for a bit and watched some TV, then off to bed. Well, he was, I slept on the couch again. Because as soon as he fell asleep he was snoring! So I left. But I did sleep pretty well on the couch. Weird dreams though!

Well, it's raining ice right now. I hear it on the windows and it's 32 degrees. So I think that seals the deal. I will call Pastor later to let him know I won't be there.

Update: The phone just rang and it turns out they have canceled church. Our Pastor has the flu and the weather just isn't good enough to go. So there, I don't need to make the decision after all!

Tea of the day: None yet, but will have Ahmad Afternoon Tea
WO of the day: It'd be nice to get an elliptical session in today, but I doubt it!

So today I had my first annual physical. I've never actually had a physical before for no particular reason. Matt had his last month. This is also my first cholesterol screening as well. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and get my pap done at the same time.

I had a few minor concerns regarding my health. Nothing to big. But the doctor totally blew both of them off. I was a bit miffed to say the least. I know she sees a ton of people every day but you'd think she'd listen long enough to actually say something productive. Weight was one of the major concerns. I've been working out regularly since October and eating pretty well and I don't think I've lost enough. So she recommends I work out longer. OK, can I just tell you that really irritated me??? I work out as much as I can NOW. There is no extra time for more. I do some situps, yoga, pilates, strength poses while I'm with Maddy, but other than that, there IS NO MORE TIME. Five days a week for thirty minutes is all I have to give.

Then she recommended I vary my workouts. While I think this is a good idea in theory I have issues with it in practice. I do not have a gym membership and nor do I plan to get one. So I am confined to what I can do in my own house. I love my elliptical machine and that is my workout of choice. I also have a bike from Matt's parents that I can use a few days a week but I'm wondering how loud it will be from the spare room. I do have yoga, pilates and weight videos as well, but I just don't feel like I get the best workouts from them. So I will see about that! She did say she'd check my thyroid levels though, although I don't believe they will be off.

Two things I do need to start doing more regularly is taking a multivitamin and also a calcium supplement. I am going to finish up my prenatal vitamins for my multivitamin before I buy more. I think I have calcium supplements somewhere around here but I'll need to check the expiration date.

I did receive my tetanus shot today and they drew two vials of blood. I HATE needles. It's not that I always used to hate needles. When I was 18 I had my wisdom teeth out and the oral surgeon who was fabulous, really lacked a bedside manner. So when he pulled out my teeth, he gave me eight local shots, 4 upper and 4 lower. Well, the last upper above my front tooth hit a nerve. He gave shots REALLY fast. And it was SOOO PAINFUL that I actually yelled out and my mom heard me in the waiting room. It's not that I MEANT to yell out, it just came out. So since then, I hate needles. The woman who drew the blood seemed to know what she was doing though, so that's good. Drawing blood is all in the knack of who does it.

I was early to the doctor so I ran a couple shops down to Giant and picked up a few little things before I needed to get into the doctor. Matt told me I should treat myself to a McDonald breakfast sandwich before coming home but I wanted to avoid the fat and I knew Matt would need to get to work ASAP so I grabbed a Bolthouse Perfectly Protein Vanilla Chai drink at Giant to have on the way home. (I have low blood sugar so after fasting and getting my blood drawn it's quite likely that I feel light headed unless I have something afterward.)

Overall, the doctor's visit went fine, although I feel like they could have been more receptive and a bit more inquisitive.

About business. A internet, home business that I once touted as very good and highly recommended is closing down. I'm quite glad. You see, I found out certain things about the person who ran it and realized that this person was extremely unprofessional and didn't do business the way it should be done. After hearing about it and realizing it myself I went back to all those I recommended it to and let them know. Well, the person is closing to move onto 'bigger and better things'. However, I am pretty sure the business just failed or floundered and the person realized they were in over their head and decided to close shop. This person can't seem to stick to one thing for more than a couple of years anyway, so, whatever!!! But it is reassuring to me that businesses who do things the wrong way DO actually CLOSE! Whoo whoo!

Oh and my Proactiv came today. I'll let you all know how it works for me.

Ok, off to get a few things done around here while she naps!

Tea of the day: Stash Green Chai Tea
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical this morning at 6. It just about killed me.

So, Wisconsinites, cover your eyes. You will not like what you are about to read. You will most likely write me off as a traitor. I. LOVE. TO. SHOVEL. Yes, you read that right. I love to shovel. I love to shovel so much I won't let Matt shovel (meanwhile I hear my neighbors thinking, "I don't understand it. Matt is normally such a nice guy, why is he always making his wife shovel everything?"). I will shovel EXTRA for the neighbors just because I love it so much. Now, of course, we don't have to shovel anywhere near as much as you guys do. But I do love it.

Maddy and I played WITH the snow today. No, not in it, just with it. She didn't really like to touch it even, she loved to use her spoon and bucket the most. Here's the link for the pictures and the video are on the next page.

Ok, I'm off to prep dinner and get Maddy up. She took a late nap today but is still down. Since I want her to sleep tonight I better get her up pronto!

Tuesday's are always weird days for me. They are not necessarily bad, but definitely weird.

Today has been weird enough. I dealt (as much as I could) with a banking access issue, had Maddy be fussy a lot today and I have a toilet, bathtub and four toilet seats in my foyer. Of course, if I have all that in my foyer, I have all my coats, shoes, hats and mittens in my living room. Yes, it's all over the floor.

You see, the delivery of our bathroom fixtures came today but what neither Matt nor I knew it was only door to door. So, at least I got it IN the door. It took some rigamaroling but it's in.

So I laid Maddy down for a nap, I was up for a bit and then laid down, too. 15 minutes later she was back up. So we went for a walk. She needed to get out of the house as did I. And it's 50 here today!!! As soon as I asked Maddy if she wanted to go for a walk, she ran and got her coat (which was in the middle of the living room floor which is easy enough for her to get). We took a nice long walk. Yes, we had to stumble through a couple of left over snow piles and wade through a few puddles, but for the most part it was quite pleasant.

Of course, we stopped at the park for the swings! Maddy saw them coming and wanted to crawl out of the stroller to get at them! Then we tried something new today and I held her while she went down the slide. She LOVED it and laughed hysterically. So we did that for as long as I could hold her.

So now we're home and only and hour and a half before Matt is home. And it can't come fast enough!!!!

Tea of the day: Twinnings Black Currant and Cinnamon Hazelnut Coffee (strong--in my french press) with splenda and creamer
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical (will do stretching, situps and pushups now)

Baby steps, baby steps! Little by little that spare room is coming along. Yesterday we had the fixtures delivered (and now I have my foyer back, thank goodness). Today the tub is getting installed. Next Friday the drywallers are coming. Between now and then there is a LOT to do, but as all things, it will get done.

It's been really nice the last few nights. Matt, Maddy and I have hung out after dinner instead of Matt rushing to work on projects in the basement. It's been nice to have that family time again.

Tonight I am going out after Maddy is in bed to Wegmans. I have a few things I need to pick up that I know I can find there. I may bring along a magazine and read a bit, too, but we'll see.

I didn't get up early to work out this morning. Matt and I were up late last night, about midnight by the time we finally went to bed. And I was planning on working out after dinner tonight but then changed my mind and hoped to work out during her nap. However, the plumber is here and she is still napping. I wouldn't feel comfortable working out with the plumber and his wife around so I guess tonight it is.

Maddy and I went outside to play again. I blew bubbles and pushed her on her little car. We played ball. She loves being outside and I know we're going to spend a lot of time there this Spring and Summer. I'm thrilled. I like getting out of the house, too.

*Yawn* I could really use a nap right now, but not with the plumber here. I think I better go get a diet soda or a cup of tea instead. I need to wake up!

Tea of the day: Twinnings Lemon Ginger
WO of the day: Hopefully Elliptical this evening!

Matt is one smart man. I always knew that though.

What I didn't know is how much stuff he can do around the house. He fixed our security system spending only $18 instead of the $150 for the maintenance call. He ripped out a bathroom door (frame and all) and installed a new one without hurting the walls around it either. He's laid down retaining wall for our garden. He's built a new deck. He's laid down new flooring in all our bathrooms. He's installed lighting and fixed wiring. He's laid down concrete. He's dealt with sheet metal and fixed vents. He's dug and installed drainage tubing. He built our fence from scratch. I am VERY impressed with the amount of household fixups he's done. Most of the stuff he's done I would never even attempt to do. I'm sure there's more, but I just can't think of them right now!

Ok, just had to mention that.