So our drive home was a bit less eventful than our drive there. That's good to say. We still did hit two bad patches of traffic. The first woke Maddy up from her nap, but at least she did get a good hour in the car. The second wasn't that bad, but Maddy wound up being very wet, too because she leaked so we went to a local park to let her run around a bit and to change out her clothes and diaper.
She didn't enjoy TV that much this time around, which I guess is ok. But I would have loved it she had received more entertainment from it in the car, but... ah well! Once we got home, Maddy and I ran around and played while Matt unpacked the car and put away a lot of the stuff he unpacked from the car!
The visit itself went wonderfully. Maddy loved grandma and grandpa's house with lots of space to run around. They did a great job getting ready to have her there. She enjoyed playing with grandma and grandpa and being in the pool. She LOVED the pool. Now, this is a big, full size pool with a shallow end and a deep end with a diving board at the other end. Matt and I went in with her and she thoroughly enjoyed t. As a matter of fact, we were able to fit in three different swims. Maddy slept pretty well Friday night, just waking up once around 2. I only had to go in and rock her for just a bit, she didn't want milk. I laid her back down about 10 minutes later and she was out until 8. She took a FOUR HOUR NAP on Saturday afternoon. I finally woke her up when the rest of the family got here for dinner and I knew if she slept any longer she wouldn't want to sleep in the evening. She was shy with the family at first, but warmed up pretty well after a bit. She even ate a good dinner on Saturday! It was nice to see family and hang out with them Saturday night. Maddy woke up once on Saturday night as well, but quickly fell back asleep again.
Sunday though, we pack and ran about 12 because she was totally fussy and I knew the second we'd make it into the car she'd be ready to collapse into sleep. And yep, that's just how it happened.
She was fussy tonight, too. Nothing really made her that happy. I think she just continues to be tired from only her 1 hour nap today. Tomorrow AM we have playgroup and tomorrow afternoon I have a dentist appointment for cleaning. Thursday AM we have baby ballet and Thursday PM we have playgroup. So it proves to be a busy week!
Even though I was quite comfortable in Matt's parents house, I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight.
I've uploaded a ton of pictures and video, go take a peak!
Ok, off to repaint my fingers/toes since pool water creates havoc on them! Have a good one!
Can I tell you how GLAD I am today is over?! Maddy has been a whiny, fussy mess all day. I was SO GLAD to have playgroup this morning. She fussed a bit on the car ride over there, but did well at the group. We only stayed about an hour since she started to get clingy, looking tired. We came home early, had an early lunch and early nap. When she woke up, she got up on the wrong side of the crib! She's been hell on wheels the rest of the day. Nothing could make her happy, she was demanding, but then didn't want what she was asking for. Whiny and if I took something away she'd throw a fit. She was throwing things and food. SHEESH.
Out came the stroller and we walked up to Giant since we needed more milk and a couple other items for dinner anyway. Plus, I hadn't gotten my workout in this AM since I was up for an hour and a half last night after Maddy woke up about 2:45. I didn't fall back asleep until 4:15. So there was no 6:15 wake up call for me! So I turned the walk into a power walk and called it a workout. Maddy enjoyed herself and only fussed once on the way home. I gave her my keys and she seemed pretty happy.
Dinner and clean-up were mas chaos tonight. I decided to make breakfast for dinner so we had sausages, Matt had french toast and I had homemade waffles. Maddy fussed the entire time I made dinner. She didn't want ANY of what we were having (she did eat a little of the peach cinnamon butter, but that was it) and only ate a spoonful of Mac and Cheese. She threw some major fits during clean-up.
Matt and I were both DONE by 7, so we skipped bath and put her right to bed. I just finished a lovely cup of decaf coffee and now I'm off to take a very LONG HOT shower from my power walk. Then I'm sitting down and watching a bit of TV with Matt and going to bed no later than 10!!!
I'm so lucky though. Matt was so helpful tonight with Maddy and he brought in all the laundry for me from on the line (if I have one more mosquito bite, so help me, I'll be anemic. Matt is full of them too, though) and helped me remake our bed.
Tea of the day: 2 large cups sun tea
WO of the day: Power walk to Giant and back pushing Maddy in the stroller and the groceries, too!
Today was a busy day around the house. I got a lot of stuff done that I've been wanting to get done. I paid the bills, washed the kitchen top to bottom, put away all the clean clothes, etc. I was able to fit in my workout during Maddy's nap but just BARELY. She only slept an hour so by the time I was done working out and showering she was up! Well, her nap was so short because she took a quick cat nap on the couch at about 11 this morning for about 1/2 hour. She was so cute laying there asleep that I had to get some pictures. (I have a video of her snoring on my gallery as well.)
I did get my teeth cleaned today. I was in and out of there in 15 minutes! I was their last client and I'm sure they wanted to get out of there before traffic started!
Other than that, not a whole lot new here today. I slept pretty well last night and Maddy slept through the night. I did take a Benedryl to help with my mosquito bite itching and also to just help me sleep. However, I was kind of hung over from it this morning so when my alarm went off I just turned it off!
Tomorrow is independence day! Don't forget to fly your flags!
Tea of the day: Sun tea this AM, then decaf chai latte this evening
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical
Happy Independence Day! I hope you and your family are enjoying your time today.
Today has been pretty uneventful here. Maddy woke up at 5:30 from a bad dream, I think. So I gave her some milk and rocked her for a bit. Then she slept in until 8! I was so happy she wasn't up at 5:30. I was so tired when I woke up then. It was nice getting up at 8!
Matt took Maddy grocery shopping while I worked out and showered. I had to shave my legs today. I HATE shaving my legs. It takes so much time! There used to be a time where I could easily take 20 minute showers and stand there forever. Well, I've quickly grown unaccustomed that that, now. But I embraced it today and gave myself a facial and deep conditioning treatment as well. But I had to shave my legs since we're supposed to have a pool playgroup tomorrow afternoon. It is also supposed to rain, so we'll see if that happens. I hope so though, Maddy would LOVE it.
Speaking of playgroups and the like, I got asked not long ago if I like being a SAHM. I thought about it for a second and said, "Yes, I really like being able to stay home with Maddy. But I don't know if I'd like it any where near as much if I didn't have the mom outlets I do." All I can say is that I'm really glad I live where I do. I have two different mom's groups, another smaller group of moms I get together with, Maddy's ballet class, and bunco night. I don't know how I'd feel about staying home if I had to really be isolated from everything with no personal outlets. I think I'd most likely still like it, but I don't think I'd like it anywhere near as much!
Today we're doing the tried and true American cook out: Brats, corn on the cob, watermelon, baked beans, mac 'n' cheese with homemade Apple crisp with vanilla ice cream for dessert. I know I'll be stuffed!
So, I'm starting the process of finding a babysitter for Maddy who isn't family. I've called a couple local girls in the neighborhood and I'm going to see if they want to do a 'mother's helper' thing a couple of afternoons a week. That way I can see how they interact with Maddy and I can get a few things done. Once I feel comfortable with them, I can leave them alone for a bit (grocery store and what not). Once I'm REALLY comfortable Matt and I can go out at night.
Tea of the day: 2 large glasses suntea, 2 cups chai latte
WO of the day: Kickboxing DVD, jump rope and resistance bands
And no, I don't have another one on the way! Just so happens that Maddy loves decaf chai lattes. I'm not talking about the liquid chai latte in a container or the powdered version that you just mix with water, I'm talking about REAL chai tea bags with a touch of milk and sugar. She had some yesterday from both Matt and I and loved it. So today when I opened my tea bags she came begging for it even before I had heated it up! I blew it off a little bit, but heck, it was *MY* tea first so I wasn't going to completely cool it down for her and she drank it as is. She must have had at least half of my cup.
Mind you, this is the same girl who won't drink juice.
Speaking of tea, GUESS WHAT!? I've completely finished ALL of my decaf/herbal tea! Yes, all of it! I'm honestly in shock. I think I may try some green tea in the evening tomorrow night and see how that goes with the caffeine. There is so little caffeine that I don't think it would really affect my sleep much. I'd love to keep up my trend of using up all my tea, so I'd like to see if that works before I buy any herbal tea to replace what I've used up. I still can't believe I'm out of herbal tea!
Maddy had another ballet class today. She was a bit more clingy today than she was last week, but she did really well again. If you click on the picture above you'll see pictures from today. She also had a playgroup this afternoon and really enjoyed herself. She was a bit wired tonight from all the activity but she's gone to bed ok.
She's in an eating spurt lately. I can't tell you how thrilled I am about that. She's been eating more readily even though still just her favorite foods. But heck, I'm not complaining. At least she's eating!
Ok, I'm off to work out. I took another Benedryl last night and then did other things during her nap. No big plans for tomorrow, probably just the park or maybe our local wading pool if the weather is decent enough.
Tea of the day: 2 large glasses of suntea and also decaf chai latte
WO of the day: About to be 30 minutes of elliptical or a work out video, I can't decide.
I have to say, I do like Fridays. There's something about the anticipation of the weekend and Matt being around. It's really nice!
Today is a very uneventful day which I'm happy about. I did a load of laundry and filled up Maddy's wading pool for after she's up from her nap. She was such a cutie this morning when I did two workouts through my DVR in the living room. She did them with me and it's so cute to see her 'workout'. She'll jump and swing her arms in time with mine. Or she'll come to 'help' me by lifting my legs up and down using her hands. Or she'll sit on my stomach while I do ab work. It's funny and really cute. Of course, not very productive, but that's ok.
I have started to do a time-out thing with her when she throws food. She's gotten in the habit of throwing food when she's decided she's no longer going to eat what's on her plate. So I take everything off her highchair and roll her into the living room for two minutes while Matt and I continue to eat. I tell her 'no throwing food' while I take her there and 'no throwing food' before I bring her back. None the less, she doesn't get the food back. I try again later. If she's having a snack and not in the high chair I just take away whatever she's having, pick her up and put her on the couch and walk away. She may not stay there, but at least I've taken her out of the situation. Gotta love it when I have to do ABA, huh? What I really need to do is replace her behavior (throwing food) with a positive behavior ('All done!') and praise her for it. However, right now she doesn't even seem to understand that throwing food is bad. I do try to jump the gun on her and ask if she's finished when she's starting to not eat anymore. But sometimes it's quite a sudden change. Behavior modification was my specialty in school; we'll see if I can do it at home as well.
My week is insanely busy next week. I have something going on every day and often two or three things a day! (The days with three things though are mommy things so you know darn well I'm not going to miss the 'third' thing of the day--bunco night and coffee night).
I'm excited to say that I'm getting my hair cut on Sunday. I have an appointment all set up. My current style is driving me nuts since it didn't grow out very well. I can't decide what I want to do yet, but I'll need to figure it out soon!
Have a great weekend!
Tea of the day: Last of the suntea, made green chai suntea so we'll see how that is.
WO of the day: 30 minute cardio DVR, 30 minute weight DVR--so about 40 minutes without commercials.
I forgot to mention something and I KEEP forgetting to mention it... So I'm doing a short post just to make sure I don't forget again!!!
On Father's Day the Good Year Blimp flew right over our house! Dulles airport was having a Father's Day Airshow so the blimp went there. It was really neat to see and Maddy has now seen her first blimp. The last time I saw it I was 5 when the Brewers were in.... some series in 1982--they lost (back when they were good.. you know, the Robin Yount days).
We found a box turtle in our yard today while Matt was mowing lawn. So he put it in the garden for safe keeping until we could walk back to our walking paths near the stream behind our house. When we went out to look for it, we couldn't find it. So I started to do a bit of gardening where I thought he wouldn't be and that's when I found him under the plant. Maddy enjoyed looking at him this morning and wanted to touch him. But they do snap and have pretty decent claws, so I didn't let her.
Ok, off to clean a bathroom and do some yoga.
Tea of the day: Green Chai suntea--excellent!!! I think I've drank half the pitcher.
WO of the day: Cleaning bathrooms, but now some yoga, too.
Well this weekend was quite a busy one! Saturday and Sunday Matt spent a lot of time doing chores around the house. He did a lot of computer stuff, mowed the lawn, balanced the checkbook (more on that later), helped me out with stuff.. etc.. I cleaned the bathrooms, vacuumed, did a load of laundry, etc... Just a busy weekend. It's nice to catch up though.
I wanted to get the majority of it done this weekend so next weekend wouldn't be filled with chores. I'm hoping that next weekend can be very relaxing. Our 6th anniversary is on Saturday and besides a party that morning for a friend's little girl, we don't have much going on. I'm thinking a trip to the farm or park is in store on Saturday and church on Sunday since we just didn't make it there today. I was hoping we would.. but... Matt and I both slept poorly and Maddy was up at 12:30 last night for a little bit. By the time she got up and I got up, then Matt got up... we were all just dragging and there was no way the three of us would be ready in an hour to leave for church at 9.
That doesn't mean that we didn't have fun this weekend either. I went and got my haircut today at Ulta. I love it so far. She really cut off a TON of hair and thinned/layered it out quite a bit. She really took a lot of time and pride in her work. I'm excited to wash it myself tomorrow morning after my workout. Matt went to Transformers tonight and I hope it's really good for his sake! I mean, come on, you can't crush a little boy's memory of transformers of all things. That would be like crushing my memory of Rainbow Brite or My Little Ponies or Care Bears!
Matt was so helpful this weekend in so many ways. Yesterday he balanced the checkbook for me because we were off a LOT compared to what the bank had us at (we were lower, so we weren't in any danger). Well, so happens I forgot to add in two of Matt's paychecks and also forgot to take off some payments. So in the long run they had 10 fold what I thought we had in the checkbook. Hhahaha...oops! Well, the last time we balanced the checkbook was in September! But I was quite pleased with Matt. He never once got crabby at the fact I missed stuff or even really teased me about it. See, it's my job to pay the bills and keep everything in check, but it's his job to balance the checkbook. If you ask me, he got the raw end of the deal. Then again, if he only balances it twice a year, maybe not?
Also, he took Maddy grocery shopping for me yesterday. I was going to go along, but he said he'd go for some stuff and we'd go for the rest today. We needed milk; we were completely out! We can't be out of milk with a 19 month old in the house! Well, he bought EVERYTHING on the list. I was so impressed. It was a full weeks worth of groceries.
Then today, my hair appointment ran later than I thought it would so I was later getting home. I called Matt to tell him I was on my way and he asked what I wanted cut up for the crab salad we were having for dinner. By the time I got home, he had preprepped ALL the vegetables and was boiling the macaroni! All I had to do was put together the salad. I was so impressed.
As I said, he's off to see Transformers and it's a well deserved and quite well earned rest on his part!
Busy, busy this week. Tomorrow I have VBS and the tree getting transplanted. Tuesday I have VBS. Wednedsay I have VBS, playgroup that I'm hosting and Bunco night. Thursday we have baby ballet and Coffee night. Friday I have Maddy's 18 month shots (yep, 2 months late). Saturday AM we have a birthday party and our anniversary.
Ok, well, I'm off to do some yoga. Have a good week everyone!
Tea of the day: The rest of the Green Chai sun tea, but I made more today.
WO of the day: Nothing much, I will need to get up EARLY this week to do my workouts. There won't be much time during the week. I think I may pop in a candlelight yoga now while Matt is gone though.
So I got my butt out of bed at 6:15 this morning and worked out. While I was getting ready I grabbed my ipod but the apple just kept sitting there and it was very warm. I could tell the hard drive had been spinning all night. Matt's rebooted it, wiped it clean, and did some diagnostic work... and yet, nothing. The conclusion is the hard drive is dead. I would agree with that and a lot of the internet community does, too. So, I'm going to look into getting it fixed, but I doubt it will be worth it in the long run. If it's less than $100 I'd consider it.
Then after my workout this morning I unplugged my laptop from the wall and took the entire multi-plug outlet converter with it. It so happens that Matt's server he is working on was also plugged in. Ooops. So Matt had to come down and restart that.
THEN as I was walking up the stairs with my laptop, I grabbed Matt's phone, keys and wallet so he'd have them to go out the front door to work. I get to the top step and I drop the phone and it bounces, bounces, bounces all the way down the carpeted stairs and HITS the floor!! Well, the back battery cover falls off, the battery falls out! SHEESH!!!!
VBS went well. There aren't many kids so I won't need to be there very long the next couple of days. Maddy had fun wandering around though. So much fun she took a 3.25 hour nap today!
However, our tree did not go well. The guys who came did not transplant it and don't think it's transplantable. I tend to agree although it makes me sad having to cut it down. Fortunately, they did get here late so Matt didn't take off work at all for them be here so that's good.
Ok, off to finish off my little bit of my water for the day. Then to bed I think. I'm tired tonight!
Tea of the day: 3 glasses green chai sun tea
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical with Matt's ipod.
Well, I'm proud to say I've been getting up at 6:15 every morning this week to work out. I didn't think I still had it in me, honestly. The last few weeks I've been working my workouts into my days (somehow, don't ask me how). But that's a pain to plan around so 6:15 really is the best time to do it. However, they aren't the best workouts since my muscles are tight and well, I'm TIRED! But, they are workouts none-the-less.
The last three days I've helped with Vacation Bible School at my old church. They've not needed me since they've had so few kids, but Maddy's loved running around and playing. Since I've said I'd be there, I thought I may as well continue whether they needed me or not. Funniest part? I don't remember VBS at all last year? I'm pretty sure we helped by snacks and that maybe I helped prep crafts? But I know I wasn't involved in teaching it. So when I walked in and saw Charlie on Tuesday I was quite surprised at myself that I remembered him clear as day from spending 3 hours with him a day for five days TWO YEARS AGO. But yep, I guess that's the teacher in me. I still remember the majority of the kids I taught back in 1998 in college. That's almost 10 years. Now, I'm not saying I'd recognize them now, but I remember their names and what they were like clear as day.
Last night I went to Walmart to get a few things we needed (diapers, contact solution, socks, etc). Of course I wind up buying things we DON'T need. I bought a few books for Maddy and a tea set since she's been enjoying drinking my tea. It's amazing to me how a couple little home purchases can make me so happy. I bought a potpouri mix for our powder room and also a glade plugin with a night light for our dining room to scent the main floor. Funny how those 'little' purchases make a difference to me!
Another failure on the vitamin front for Maddy though. I've now gone through four different types--flintstones, powdered, two liquid. None were a go. But I bought pediasure while I was there and Maddy loves it. So, at least there's a little way to get some extra vitamins in.
This afternoon Maddy had playgroup with Hailey and they played on the deck some in their suits with the water. I think they had a good time!
I was supposed to have Bunco tonight, but Matt had to get home a bit late and honestly, I'm so tired I wasn't even sure I was up for it. I would have gone had I had the chance but it's really nice to be sitting and doing nothing right now. I cleaned through all of Maddy's nap today. (I need to have people over more often--the house was a mess.)
Ok, off to hang out with Matt!
Tea of the day: Ginger Black sun tea. I used Lipton Cold Brew bags in the sun for a while this AM (found the lipton in the cabinet). After I got it in I added Ginger Spice syrup for coffee to it. I'm not sure if I like it or not yet. It seems sweet and I'm not into sweet tea. I also had the last of the Chai Green Sun Tea and two glasses of green brown rice tea from Hailey's mom and it's REALLY good.
So after a lot of rigmarole, searching the internet and combining fix-it documents, Matt FIXED MY IPOD! Now, he had to bipass something-or-other to get to the thing-a-ma-jig to wipe it clean and set it back to factory standard clean, but, I'm able to use it again and have uploaded at least enough music to work out to. YEAH!!!
Now, he has to fix my itunes (it's all kinds of screwed up) and update the library so I can update my ipod to the library... but all in due time. It was just so nice to have my ipod this morning for my workout!!
(Matt officially wants to rename my iPod Lazarus. No, he's not cocky or anything.... ;) Hence the picture above. Credit to: http://imagesource.allposters.com)
I'm sitting on the deck, under the umbrella enjoying the breeze. So nice! I should be trying to get a few chores done, but honestly, I'm pooped and can't wait for the weekend to really begin.
This morning (well, 11:50) Maddy had her 18 month appointment for her well-visit. She had fun playing in both the waiting room and the examining room. The didn't mind the doctor checking her ears and what not... but when I had to hold her down on the table...that's when she freaked out. Of course, I opted for the optional fluoride treatment which I'm sure didn't help much. She only started to really calm down when I started to get her dressed (just a dress) but as soon as the nurse came in to give her the shots she started crying again. She clung to me like a little monkey with really long arms. It was all I could do to pry her off me for the shots. Well, at leasts it's done with for a few more months.
We got home well after her nap time so I was able to get some soup into her and then off for a nap she went after a bit of snugglin' with me in the rocking chair.
All I can say is, Thank goodness for coffee night! I have to say, I love coffee night. I almost like it better than MNO sometimes because it's less formal and easier to hear each other. When MNO is at a restaurant it can be hard to really have conversations. If it's at someone's house that's different. However, I can't host MNO because of our foor plan. There's no way Maddy could sleep through all our laughing and joking. Best part about coffee night last night? I bought my last cup of tea before I get a free drink next time around. I also have my GC that I received for mother's day for coffee night (either by myself or with the gals). So I don't have to 'pay' for it right now, either!
However, that's not to say I didn't have to pay for the groceries I bought last night. Man, i can do some shopping at Wegmans! I did buy some frivolous stuff. I wanted to treat Matt to an eclaire since he was sweet to let me get out whenever I want. I also bought him a few treats in the candy department to take to work with him. I bought myself a new tea mug and it's so pretty. Plus, it's made just for tea. Do you know how many mugs say coffee, java, joe? Well, this one says TEA. I used it this morning.
Speaking of tea. I did buy some tea last night! I bought herbal Bigelow mint medley. Now, I bought it for Maddy. I'm hoping this will satisfy her craving for mint toothpaste and my tea!!! But this morning she only had a couple sips and was done with it. So I used five of the teabags to flavor my sun tea I made this AM with my cold brew Lipton tea bags that I found in the cabinet. Wegmans has increased their selection of tea as well. So it's really nice to go look at tea there. But I was good, I only bought the one kind for Maddy.
Great news! I can listen to my music again! I didn't realize how much I missed it until I was able to have it again. Matt has been working really hard to get our public drive up and running and then fixing my itunes and reloading our library. So now I can officially stream music back into the living room again. I'm not sure how much Maddy likes it right now because that means the TV is on less! I love that, but I don't think she does! But this afternoon she gets whatever she wants due to her poor little shots. But again, kudos to Matt for really getting everything running again! I'm impressed!
Well, our anniversary is tomorrow--six years! We have a Chunky Cheese birthday party for Maddy to attend in the morning. But we've been trying to figure out how we want to celebrate it and I think we're going to stock up on some of our favorite wines for us to share together. It seems like a nice idea--something we do together and allows us to sit and enjoy it.
On that note, I'm popping off and I'm going to enjoy the great breeze on the deck while I listen to my itunes! Have a good rest of the afternoon!
Tea of the day: 2 cups green tea in my new mug
WO: Going to do elliptical tonight after Maddy's in bed.
Comments: I've turned back on the comments section. However, they will not appear automatically and need to be authorized by me before they will be published. I was getting spam for other webpages that sell things. Nothing was negative or nasty, just plain spam. They were popping up on older blogs so you most likely didn't see them.
Our weekend was really nice! Saturday morning Matt made ham and cheese omelettes for breakfast. Then I started the beef stroganoff in the crock pot for dinner. Then we got ready and Matt, Maddy and I went to a birthday party at Chunk-e-cheese and Maddy really enjoyed herself. CeC isn't what I remember it being when I was little. It's actually much better! It was airy, not overly loud and rather pleasant! Maddy especially liked the Carousel and loved putting coins in the slots. After CeC we stopped at Trader Joes and picked up wine as a gift to each other for our anniversary (6 years!). We have 18 bottles now! I'm excited to share some with Matt since we haven't had it in the house for so long. But that will be next weekend. I also picked up some cereal and a few snacks as well. I love Trader Joes cereal. The price is right, it's natural and it's delicious. Matt also found crumpets at Trader Joes and asked if I wanted to have crumpets and tea in my good tea set on the deck while Maddy was napping.
Maddy took a good long nap on Saturday and that was great. She was worn out from her CeC experience! Matt and I did have tea on the deck and it was quite pleasant. I promised myself that we weren't going to do anything overly productive on Saturday and to give ourselves a break on our anniversary. We went out to Lowes to look at stones for our next house project--a patio under our deck. It's been a long time in coming, but it will be great when it's finished. It will finish off the backyard! And honestly, there wouldn't be much left that we need to do to the house.
After Lowes, we came home and ate the stroganoff. It turned out great as usual and we had a ton of left overs so that fed us tonight and will again for lunch tomorrow. I love not having to cook if I don't have to! :)
I slept very poorly last night though. Matt and I had champagne, strawberries and chocolates after Maddy went to bed. I believe the chocolates kept me up! So I was awake from 3-5 this AM. Matt let me sleep in, but let's face it... there's no sleeping in with a toddler in the house no matter how hard he let me try. I got up and we decided to try our church's contemporary service at 11 am and we made it there with time to spare. It's nice that it's not the 9:30 service since we'd need to be out of the house no later than 8:45 to get to church on time and also get a seat. I have such a hard time getting going in the morning and getting the three of us ready, plus stocking the diaper bag with snacks/quiet toys is a feat in it's own. So getting out no later than 8:45 when Maddy gets up at 7:15.... So 11:00 was a nice change. It was also a nice service as well! It was a nice mix of contemporary music (yes, 80's Amy Grant songs live on) and a really decent sermon. So it wasn't all light and fluffy, but the music gave Maddy something interesting to focus on.
Maddy fell asleep in the car on the way home so when we got home she was ready to play again for a while. I did lay her down about 1:10 but she was still awake at 2. I rocked her some and then laid her back down. Matt and I also took a nap today and we didn't wake up until 4:30! Maddy didn't wake up until after 5 when I went to go get her.
After dinner, Matt and Maddy went to Trader Joes (to exchange a bag that was open) and to Giant to get some groceries. It allowed me to really get the house organized and cleaned up while they were gone. I guess Maddy insisted on being held at the grocery store so it was frustrating to Matt to try to shop while holding her and pushing the cart. It was late though, so I guess it was to be expected.
Matt and I are antsy though. Because we took a nice break from the household chores this weekend, we have a long list in our head for what we want to accomplish next weekend. Matt's folks are coming for a visit next weekend so it will be nice for us to have extra hands to watch Maddy while we get a few things accomplished.
Well, that's it for tonight! I have a couple other things I want to talk about, but it will wait for tomorrow. There is laundry that needs to be hung up in the laundry room! Have a great week!
Tea of the day: 3-4 cups green tea throughout the day.
WO of the day: Nothing today!
I'm on two Benadryl. It has literally thrown me for a loop! I got a mosquito bit yesterday while playing with Maddy outside. Now, mosquito bites are a mixed bag... sometimes I'm fine. I got at least 12 mosquito bites while in Virginia Beach and none of them really swelled up except they were very itchy. Yesterday I got one, which I did not scratch and did put on topical benadryl to help and it did. But today it is swollen about 3 inches in diameter. I waited for Matt to get home before I took it.
But yes, I'm laying in bed trying to keep my eyes open. I'll see what it does to the bite!
Today I had my mother's helper come to sit with Maddy. Maddy LOVED it. She immediately started to play with her. There was no warm up period at all! She ran around, showed her toys, laughed a ton, played ball.... she had a blast! The girl is 17 and very nice. I got a lot done... dusting, sweeping, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, doing laundry. It was nice to get it all done. She comes again Thursday afternoon, too! Two hours two days a week. It's fun and I feel the need to be productive since I'm paying for her to be here.
Let's talk money! I have mentioned that Maddy has been invited to different birthday parties. (Three now, total.) I can't believe how expensive they are now!!! I'm not saying it's not fun, but man, the money for parties now!!!!
Well, my brain is getting pretty fuzzy so I think I'm going to close my eyes for a while.
Tea of the day: Large glass black mint suntea
WO of the day: 30 min. elliptical
I don't know if you saw THIS story on CNN. But Whole Foods was running a limited edition cloth grocery bag for $15. it's cute, it says "I'm not a plastic bag" and has cute handles. But... for $15??? I guess people waited for the store to open to be able to buy one.
Eh. Not worth $15, personally. Can you imagine the markup on that bag? However, I'm all for sturdy shopping bags. I have five of the Trader Joe bags and love them. They are $.99 each. I take them to BJs (wholesale club) with me and I load them as the checker checks me out. Most wholesale clubs have empty boxes you can use to load your stuff. However, supply is meager if anything. So I bring my own bags and they work great. They are especially great if it's just me and Maddy. I also use them if Maddy and I walk up to Giant since I know those won't break. Makes life pretty simple. They are just wonderful for grab and go purposes.
But I also PURPOSELY get plastic grocery bags and paper bags now and again. Matt uses the plastic bags for his lunch. I learned the hard way to never send an insulated lunch bag with him. He NEVER brings it home... much like gladware. They never come home either. Well, they do about once every couple weeks. Fortunately he washes them out at work before he brings them home and I also run them through the dishwasher as well. But man, that's a full dishwasher on it's own!
But I digress... Yes, I use them for Matt's lunch and I also use them for Maddy's soiled diapers. I don't always trek up the stairs to her room to throw out the diapers in the diaper genie, so that works pretty well, too. I do line my garbage can in our laundry room with a bag as well.
As for paper bags, I use them to put warm cookies on to soak up the extra grease. Now, I can't tell you the last time I made cookies... but... I also use them to wrap boxes that are going in the mail. The cats love to play in them, too.
So this morning we had playgroup! Maddy had a nice time although she decided to snack her way through playgroup. She had a ton of veggie sticks. You'd think I don't feed the kid! But she had a nice time. I am hosting the next playgroup next Wednesday for about 3 other kids who are all a month of Maddy's age. The week after we're all going to meet up to do something fun other than just play with toys.
My mosquito bite is better than it was yesterday. See, I had three spots: the initial small red spot, a swollen spot around that (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter) hot and hard to the touch and then a slightly less swollen spot about 3-4 inches in diameter surrounding that spot. Hence the benedryl. Well the outside spot is pretty much gone. The other two inside spots are there, but aren't as red or hot. So... it's going away.
Tomorrow is another baby ballet class and we also have our mother's helper over in the afternoon. Tomorrow night Matt's folks come to visit for the weekend. So if I'm not around much, you know why!!
Have a great night. Off to watch some TV with Matt.
Tea of the day: Finished the last of the black mint sun tea
WO of the day: Balance ball workout and also weight workout (since the balance ball workout was just 'eh')
I guess it is officially time to tackle another home project. We are now building a patio under our deck. This weekend will be a lot of that, I think. Today we got the pavers delivered. I have to say though, the shipping cost was $75. That was the best $75 we've ever spent! I can't even imagine getting these home on our own. Best part is we had a 10% of coupon for this and with the cost of the project, that 10% really makes a difference.
I'll keep documenting progress as it goes on. But I need to go and take a before shot.
We had baby ballet this morning and Maddy seemed a bit hesitant to get into it. Actually, she was really excited to get her leotard on this morning and was really excited to go. But as soon as class started she started to cry and wanted to be picked up. So I held her for a bit and after that she was fine. As a matter of fact, she did more today than ever before so I was pretty impressed. Now, her 'more' today is still minimal, but she is picking it up at least a little bit.
Annabelle's daddy was there today for class. That was really cool cause now I have ammunition to have Matt go to class with me. After all, it's not that far from his work so maybe he could bop over for a bit one Thursday morning and then go back to work.
Maddy is still down for a nap right now and our mother's helper will be here in about an hour. I'm trying to decide how I want to spend those two hours that would be most productive. But I still want to stay out of sight of Maddy as much as I can so that way she doesn't want me. We'll see how to day goes though, she's been pretty clingy so I'm hoping she'll do well with Sarah.
Ok, well, a couple of things to do before she gets here! Have a good one!
Tea of the day: Green Tea
WO of the day: 30 min. elliptical
Ah... nothing like a martini and the deck with the sounds of the cicadas and crickets to relax a person. (Of course I also I have my citronella candles, too.)
I have to say, we are REALLY getting there! I mean, REALLY getting there! Normally, house hold projects take twice as long and cost twice as much. But, this project??? We're kind of on track! Here's the timeline: Friday morning Matt and I start excavating our current back yard under the deck and along the fence line. Well, after just one swipe we realize we're in way over our heads. Matt says, "Let's go hire some guys to dig it out from the day labor site." Grandma's say, "That's a good idea." I'm the only one who's hesitant on it remembering back to time LONG ago in Matt's history.
*Flashback* Matt and I just started dating. I was 18 (God, am I old, that was 11 years ago). We went out to eat at a really nice restaurant down town Milwaukee. We're all dressed up. It was a ton of fun. Afterward, we were waiting for his parents to pick us up (Don't ask... car trouble...yadda, yadda) and Matt gets hit on by a street guy asking for money. (Here' comes the kicker) He PULLS OUT HIS WALLET and hands the guy money. HELLO!?! I realize he's not quite from Milwaukee, but STILL. He should have known better. I about freak out but don't show it. You NEVER pull your wallet. Never.
*End flashback* So I see Matt getting abducted by day laborers and driven to the nearest ATM to take out all our money to then be killed or left on the side of the road. So I lay some very STRICT ground rules.. any cash must be locked in the glove compartment, no one in our car, the house stays locked at all times.... etc... etc..
And let me just say, I have nothing but respect for people who want to make an honest living doing honest work. I worked in a very low-income/inner city neighborhood for years and I'd go back in a heartbeat. I would love to work there again. But one needs to still be careful (remembering back to the news story of the mom who got raped/killed by a renovation guy who was high on drugs and working in her house).
But anyway, after all was said and done we had four guys in our backyard who dug up the area in 45 min. that would have took Matt and I all day and then some. So they helped us lay down the base stones as well. They were excellent workers, polite, hard working, attentive to detail. I'd gladly hire them again.
That was Friday. On Saturday Matt and I started to lay out the sand. After a while we needed a break and he and his dad went to see Transformers (which he enjoyed the first time around) and I thought I'd surprise him and get all the sand leveled during Maddy's nap before he got home. Which I did (with Donna's help! Thanks, Grandma!). I was surprised that I wasn't achy at all today. That means my workouts are actually doing something! Anyway, he was pretty shocked I did it all and never went back to check my work at all!! I was pleasantly surprised by that and wouldn't have been offended if he did. But he took it at faith that I did a good job.
Saturday night was kind of a blur. Matt's mom and I went to Trader Joe's and then picked up dinner. Maddy had a hard bedtime and then Matt worked outside some. We hung out with his folks, but only for a little while before I was absolutely tired and ready for bed.
Today Matt and I spent the entire day working on the patio until dinner. Matt's parents were SO HELPFUL this weekend watching Maddy. Not to mention they did all my grocery shopping for the week AND made bbq chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob and salad for dinner tonight. All while watching Maddy!!! After dinner we cleaned up tools, gave Maddy a bath and put her to bed, and then saw his parents out the door. It's been a FULL day today. I already took an aleve since my arms are a bit sore (already). We owe Matt's parents a TON for letting us both work ALL weekend long on the patio. It was a huge help and we wouldn't be anywhere near as far as we are now without them.
But, alas, I think I feel mosquitos and as allergic as I am to them, I better get in the house. Citronella candles or not. Not to mention, I still want to get up at normal time tomorrow to work out and Maddy's been in the habit of getting up at 2:30 since I think she has a bit of a cold and that's when the tylanol wears off. Of course, she falls back asleep in 15 min. but my allergies kick in and I'm awake for 3 hours!!! I was awake from 2-5 last night. So I think I'm going to drag Matt off to bed. He has work tomorrow and it's just Maddy and I tomorrow during the day (she often has a hard first day without Grandma and Grandpa). So I better get my sleep now!
Here's the link to our latest patio pictures if you're interested.
Tea of the day: Coffee, I was too tired for anything else.
WO of the day: 7 hours patio work.
Do I REALLY need to have a title EVERY time, come on?!
A few random things tonight...
First, I slept ALL NIGHT last night. I can't even tell you how amazing that is. I've never slept straight through the night. I've always woken up at least once at night-even to just roll over and fall back asleep.
Second, I wasn't achy at all this morning even after working for seven hours outside yesterday. That tells me my workouts are actually paying off. Pretty cool!
Maddy has been so cute lately. She's started making the kissy sound now but she does it between her top teeth and tongue. But she got into a kiss contest with me today and wouldn't stop kissing me. She's also been copying a ton of words which is great to hear as well. She pretends to talk on the telephone and gives me her toy telephone to talk on, too. Well today I was telling 'grandma' that Maddy is so good at dancing, singing and jumping and as I told grandma all about it, she did each thing. It was really sweet.
Matt and I went outside tonight after Maddy was in bed and measured some more stones. Tomorrow when he gets home he's going to come in the back door and change clothes and go back outside to cut right away before dinner. If he comes home and Maddy sees him she won't let him out of her sight!
Speaking of, she's been VERY clingy today. Ok, not clingy but watchful. She doesn't want to be in a different room than me. Let me tell ya, it made doing laundry today kind of difficult! But I did get the loads done I needed.
Tomorrow I need to do some cleaning and maybe some baking. We'll see. I have playgroup on Wednesday and it will be my biggest one yet. I am expecting 4 other little 18-20 months olds in my house! The moms have upped the ante now and are serving actual snacks. Darn it! I hate prepping. Cleaning is bad enough! But with four people here that's a good thing to do anyway.
Alrighty, I have a funny story but it will need to wait until tomorrow. Going to hang out with Matt and watch Mythbusters!
Tea of the day: 2 large glasses black mint sun tea
WO of the day: 20 minutes elliptical until the foot bar broke! It is a defect in this certain machine and we actually had an extra bar on purpose. So Matt fixed it tonight and now I can work out tomorrow. I have a nice bruise on my leg though from losing my balance (I did catch myself though).
Well, Maddy had a nice time with playgroup today. She shared very nicely with friends and really seemed to have fun. Her little friends seemed to have a good time as well. There was one little boy and two little girls who came over today. Joe, of course, was right in the middle the majority of the time, but he is SO GOOD with kids. I could tell the moms were a bit nervous with Joe since they didn't want their kids hurting him or him hurting them. But, they were very good to him and he was good with them. I feel bad though, since he really DOES tease the kids since he lays in the middle of the floor.
Of course I spend HOURS prepping for playgroup to have playgroup last an hour and forty minutes. Ok, well, maybe not hours, but I still spend a lot of time cleaning for it. I think I cleaned even more this time since it was my first 'large' playgroup. Plus, two of the mom's hadn't been to my house yet, so it was new to them. I did make my mincemeat bars and I had snacks. Man, did I have the snacks. I also made a pot of tea since these moms seem to be into tea. That's always nice to find other tea lovers. I made Organic red bush tea. A hint of sweetness and very earthy. Nice and mellow. It's herbal so that helps, too.
I took a TWO HOUR nap today when Maddy did. I was just really tired and I rocked Maddy before her nap a bit since she wanted snuggles. Rocking her makes me really tired. She may like the snuggles, but I like them just as much. It relaxes me to rock her and she's so cozy and warm. It's a very special time. She's getting so big, but I just don't want the snuggle times to end. It's so sweet. But, yes, it really relaxed me enough that I went and took a nap!
Yesterday my mom's helper came for the afternoon and I was able to get my workout and shower in. I told her that I was going downstairs and to come get me if she needed me but I wasn't going to come up at all if I heard Maddy fussing. That I would assume she could handle it unless she came down to see me. She never came down and did help Maddy get a snack, more milk and the like. So I think this is going to work out fine!
Matt's been working on the patio a little every night. It's really coming along! He comes home early from work and then sneaks in the back door, changes and works for an hour and a half. Dinner is at six so that's when he's finished. I think he likes feeling like he's making progress during the week. This patio is going to look professional by the time we're done. Honestly, Matt has done such a nice job on it and is so good at what he does. I'm impressed! It looks fabulous.
I am putting my foot down and insisting that we go somewhere fun this weekend--whether to the park or the farm (which Maddy doesn't find fun) but something family oriented. I feel guilty about last weekend although I know she was in very capable and loving hands. I know she enjoys her time with grandma and grandpa a lot, but it's hard for me to allow them to care for her all day when I'm outside. Now, I have no issues going to Annapolis for the entire weekend, but being in the near vicinity to her makes me feel guilty that I'm not around. Now, note, I don't NEED to put my foot down. Matt is such a good daddy and so helpful around the house and with her. He's truly an equal opportunity parent. He does just as much as I do with her and then some. He loves being with her and misses her when he's not. And she loves being with him. I'm a very lucky woman!
So here's my funny story. It's about GUYS. So Matt showed me a video not long ago of a coworker of his. He has a double black belt. Well, he did an interview and it was on You-tube so Matt showed it to me. I said, "You didn't tell me Mohammed was cute!" I don't know, I envisioned Mohamed to be a 45 year old guy. I didn't realize he was 20-something. Well, of course, news got back to Mohamed from Matt. Mohammed is painfully shy from what I understand and he was TOTALLY embarrassed by it. That's why Matt told him to begin with, from what I understand, to jokingly tease him. Well, then Matt sends me this message transcript over Adium:
2:31:08 PM Matt: https://www.teaholic.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=29427
[14:30] Matt's coworker/friend: If i wasn't busy, or had skills, I'd photoshop Mo in busting up those pavers.
[14:30] Matt: hah....
[14:30] Matt: thats a CRAZY ammount of pavers
[14:30] Friend/coworker: ...without a shirt...for your wife's benefit.
[14:30] Matt: HA!
Of course I ask who the heck is that and what is he talking about. That's when I found out not only did he tell Mohammed I thought he was cute, but he told him in an audience.
But wait, the story doesn't stop there. Matt had his group of day laborers here to help dig out the patio. Well, one gentleman was wearing a heavy sweater type shirt. Mind you, it was 80+ degrees outside so I asked the foreman who spoke English if he wanted a tshirt. He could have one of Matt's. Well, he asks him and the dude basically says it's "muy frio" or very cold. BULL! He was sweating! So I said, "No, No! Muy Caliente!" What I didn't realize that really, is should be saying, "Hace Calor" because Muy Caliente also means YOU ARE HOT. Well, I guess they had a good joke on that at my expense. But the dude still did leave with a tshirt. :)
Finally remembered my other story. On Sunday Matt and I were outside working on the patio. Matt's grinding away and I look across our common area to see our neighbor to our backside outside reading. Now, I was a bit nervous when he moved in. Young guy, right out of college most likely. I was envisioning parties and the like. But no. He's been very quiet, keeps up the house, really is a great neighbor. Well, I stood there and wondered how on earth he LIKES reading on his deck while Matt is grinding away at concrete blocks!! Matt and I both wear earplugs when he grinds since it's REALLY loud. Even though there is a common area between us it's not exactly the most pleasant of sounds.
That's when I notice he's not wearing a shirt. I roll my eyes. I have this thing about guys not wearing shirts. Either they SHOULD be wearing a shirt because they aren't fit enough to walk around without one on the street or they are buff enough that they come off as cocky if they walk around without a shirt. Or they are just too skinny, and again, should be wearing a shirt. In my opinion, there is absolutely no good time for a man to walk around without a shirt in public (besides at the pool). Well, then I remember he's not really walking around without a shirt, he's sitting on his back deck and while yes, in public, is still on his own private property. So I guess he gets a reprieve.
That's when Matt notices I'm looking at him. Of course, he gives me grief (teasingly) for checking him out when really... I wasn't. I was really trying to just figure him out (who wants to listen to concrete being cut and who can read through that?). Then he teases me that I'm checking out his muscles. Well, no, that's not it either. Sure, I noticed the muscles the same way I'd notice a guy with a mohawk. They are defining characteristics... (especially when not wearing a shirt outside). But yes, after some razzing, I told Matt I'd need to blog about these three instances. And I better keep my 'wandering eye' at bay. ;)
Tea of the day: Trader Joe's Red Organic Tea
WO of the day: 30 minutes core training recording
Well, we officially have negative mother nature karma now. Well, we have for a while, actually. When we first moved in we cut down two trees on the side of our house that were overgrown and growing way too close to the house. We also cut down three bushes in the front of our house that were overgrown and just didn't look good. So there starts the negative karma. Well, we tried to repair it by planting two lilac bushes--which quickly died. Now this week we've torn up a small pine bush/tree under our deck to make way for the patio and also cut down our neighbor's tree that we tried to transplant and failed. Now, that bush under the patio has long been suffering--receiving no light, had no roots. The poor thing was better off being put out of it's misery. But cutting down the tree in front.... *sigh* We so wanted that to work out.
We have vowed that come spring we are going to buy a new tree for our front yard and bushes for the side of our house where the lilacs were. We're also having them professionally put in so they most likely won't die or at least have some kind of guarantee.
Onto our Maddy. She did such a great job in baby ballet today. I was so proud of her. She did a lot of the moves on her own with very little prompting. Plus she had so much FUN. It was so cute to watch. I brought down her clothes early and put it on the chair. She kept bringing it to me and kept saying, "Bah!, Bah!!" --meaning ballet. It was great. She was ready to go and wanted to be there.
Now, the same cannot be said for my mother's helper today. I actually sent her home a half an hour early since Maddy would have NOTHING to do with her and just kept clinging to me. I'm hoping next time it goes better... we'll see.
Bedtime was hard tonight, too. Maddy just did NOT want to go to bed!! I had to rock he for a little while but she seems to be down now. That's GREAT.
Matt did some more work on the patio. I am so impressed with his skill level. It is going to look so professional by the time he's done. I'm in awe. Honestly, it's turning out even better than I thought it would and I KNEW he'd make it look great.
Tea of the day: Green Tea/Honey bush tea
WO of the day: 45 min. core workout dvr recording
So yesterday Maddy brought her Mr. Potato head earrings to me. They are pretty flexible and just hook on the ears of Mr. Potato head. Well, I put them on my ears and she loved it. So I took them off me and put them on her. She was so excited and proud that SHE got to wear earrings!! She kept touching them and shaking her head. I asked if she wanted to see them in the mirror and she said she did, so she ran to the bathroom to look. She screeched with delight when she saw them on and took no move to take them off. Later that night she found my headband and tried to put it on her head so I put it on for her and again, she made no attempt to take it off and definitely seemed to like having it on. You could tell by the glint in her eye that she thought she was a 'big girl and very pretty wearing her headband".
I think it's pretty close to dress up time! I'm sure she'll enjoy that.
But then there's today.....
And I am reminded that as much as she likes to play dress up and loves being dolled up, she also likes to get messy.
The majority of it is, at least. All the stones are cut, laid down and sand has been filled in between. It looks AMAZING if I do say so myself. Matt did such a fabulous job designing it, measuring it and cutting it. I'm VERY impressed. It looks extremely professional. Seeing it today and not knowing who did it, I would swear we had someone in to do it. It looks GREAT.
What's left:
* Filling in any sand holes that settled because of watering it and then watering again.
* Finishing the ambient lighting (3 more lights) and rewiring a bit.
* Hammering down the stakes that keep the stones in place (they are 1/2 way in as it is now)
* Cleaning up the dirt around the air conditioner/raking any leaves. Laying down gravel around it.
Extras:
* Make two screens, one for the wires/meters on the house wall and one for the air conditioner.
* Patio furniture, of course.
*Storage cabinet or shed like thing for the patio that extends down the fence line
Of course, this still leaves us with another project. Dealing with the dirt pile we had to dig up to level the area. It's full of rocks and junk. So we'll need to sift it, tear up any grass where we plan on leveling the yard, lay down the sifted dirt and then plant grass seed. This will be a HUGE and messy project on it's own. I'm pretty sure I want to hire someone to come in and do it. That's heavy stuff and I don't want Matt pulling his back out on it. Once it's all laid out and grass has grown in (easier said than done on both counts) our backyard will look GREAT and much more level, too.
Of course, by then we'll probably need a new roof, new heating/cooling unit, etc... But for right now? I'm going to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
I'd fill you in on what we did today, but that's pretty obvious. Matt worked on the patio all morning. I came out during Maddy's nap and we worked together for a bit laying down sand. Then Matt went in to take a shower and hung out with Maddy while I finished the sand this afternoon. We ate dinner together (ordered in) and then Matt went outside and cleaned up while I cleaned up toys and unloaded the dishwasher. Put Maddy to bed and now here we are. Busy day, but we got a lot done!
Tomorrow I'm sure Matt will want to work on getting the lighting in place. We do need to mow what lawn we have left in the back and also in the front. I also need Matt to sort through the rest of his clothes because we have a pick up on the 1st. That will be like pulling teeth and I'm sure he still won't go through all of it, but it's has to happen! I'm also hoping to hit church as well.
First, some awesome news. Maddy is officially eating Flintstone Vitamins! I'm SO excited about that. I tried them on her again a couple of days ago and she was very interested. She's had one each day for the last two days!
It's been another productive day here overall. Matt mowed the lawn, put up two more ambient lights, started sifting dirt, dropped my car off for inspection, took back extra stones we didn't need, Matt sorted the rest of this clothes, did laundry and picked up gravel for around the air conditioner. We still need another couple more bags. WHEW! It's nice to get it done, but I miss us hanging out as a family so we did that some tonight. It's nice since it's been a while!
I'm looking into classes for the fall for Maddy and also myself. I THINK I'm actually going to go through with signing up for a ceramics class. We'll see how much comes back to me and how long I need to practice and how rusty I am. It's been 10 years since I've been on the wheel, after all. Matt and my mom both say it'll take one class total for me to be back on my game, but well.. we'll see! I'm SUPER excited about the idea of it though. The wheel was always wonderful therapy for me. I threw out over 1/2 the pots I'd make without firing them simply because I wanted to feel the clay in my hands. Just thinking about it I can smell the clay now.
I'm pretty sure I have Maddy's class picked out, too.
Other than that, I really don't have much to say! It's been a busy but pretty good day overall. I hope the week goes just as well.
Tea of the day: 2 cups green tea, 2 cups mint herbal tea, 1 cup honey bush herbal tea
WO of the day: Nothing today.
Well, Matt and I went to bed a little late last night. We put up two new ambient lights under the deck. That was AFTER Maddy went to bed about 8:30 which is late for her. But we were about to give her a bath when I remembered I needed to take my car in for inspection. So we scooped her up and dropped off my car, came home, had a quick bath and then bed. So when all was said and done we were in bed by 11.
Then Maddy got up at 12:30 and needed a bit of snuggles. She went back to sleep. Mind you, I DON'T rock her all the way to sleep--just some snuggle time and then back into bed.
Then again at 3 she woke up but this time, she did NOT want to go back to sleep at all! She was tired but if I tried to lay her down she'd start crying. Well, after a couple failed attempts Matt took her to watch a bit of TV and then she still started crying after he laid her down. So I rocked her again. Still with the crying. Well, this time we just let her cry for a while. After about 4 min. of crying I went back in and rocked her until she was asleep. The crying wore her out!
So this morning she slept in until about 7:45. I'm still not dressed, but first a cup of coffee. I made one in my french press so I'm looking forward to that!
I still don't know what caused this early morning wake up, but I hope whatever it is has finished now!!!
Have a great day.
Tea of the day: Will have some green tea after my coffee. Matt already made it for me.
WO of the day: Will be elliptical during her nap. I have some new tunes on my iPod I'm excited to try out!
I had coffee this morning. STRONG COFFEE. Now, normally I have green tea or maybe black tea so you can imagine how I'm bouncing off the walls now. Here are some thoughts.
Gecko (This is not a commercial for Gieco..it actually is about Geckos.) We have a really cute Gecko family that lives in our garden wall. They are really colorful and not so huge they gross you out. However, today I saw one scurry UNDER THE SIDING. Ok, now, I don't mind them in my garden wall. But NOT in my house. Sooo.. we'll need to fix that.
iPod+Louder music+new techno CD+coffee=Good workout! My elliptical workout kicked butt this afternoon!! I haven't had as great of a workout as that in a long time. Now, normally I'm dragging myself out of bed at 6:15 to do it, so that's why. But it was the best 45 min. workout I've had in quite some time.
Slugs Geckos don't give me the creeps, but slugs sure do. We had a lot of rain yesterday for the first time in quite a while. We really needed it. But there were so many slugs out last night. For fear of sounding like a girl, 'EEWWWW!!!' And these aren't teensy tiny ones either, they are good 4-5 inches long. I think they love the water but all of a sudden their dirt home is being invaded by sand and other chemicals from our patio... so they were out in full force last night. Let me say again, EWWWWWW!
Pretend Play Maddy's been loving pretend playing lately. She feeds her dolls, puts them to bed and then says 'shhh!' and puts her finger to her lips. She wipes their nose when she sneezes. It's been REALLY CUTE. It's a fun stage, I tell ya!
Pottery 2 I called today to figure out which class I should sign up for, Pottery 1 or pottery 2. I mentioned that I have experience on the wheel but that was 10 years ago. So they asked me what I've made on the wheel and if I remember the steps for wheel throwing... I gave them my list of what I made and the steps of throwing a pot and they said I should most assuredly take Pottery 2.
My car passed inspection. It is 9 years old so I'm never really sure if it will or not. I'm glad it did since Maddy and I have playgroup tomorrow, a play outing on Wednesday and ballet class on Thursday. Given the fact she sleeps better!!
Ok, well, I have a few things to do before she's up from her nap. More tonight, I'm sure.
Tea of the day: Green tea, but only after a good strong cup of coffee
WO of the day: 45 min. elliptical
So after a lot of rigmarole, searching the internet and combining fix-it documents, Matt FIXED MY IPOD! Now, he had to bipass something-or-other to get to the thing-a-ma-jig to wipe it clean and set it back to factory standard clean, but, I'm able to use it again and have uploaded at least enough music to work out to. YEAH!!! 