Teaholic not quite anonymous

"No outside food or drink allowed."

Well, screw you, too, then!!! *grrrr* Look, I was willing to drive all the way to and through Manassas to get to House of Bounce. I was willing to use the gas to get there. I was willing to pay the $5 admission fee for only an HOUR of being there (opens at 10:30 would need to leave around 11:30 to get home for lunch on time). I was willing to run crazy after Maddy who's still one of the most clumsy kids I know while she's trying to bounce and kill herself.

But I will NOT put up with not being able to bring her milk and veggie sticks to this place. My kid is addicted to milk and I'm not about to spend $2 for milk (if they even have it) and buy her a nasty snack for $1! It's not even the money, really. It's the fact Maddy is so fussy about what she'll eat and drink. No one is telling me that I can't bring her snack and milk with me. I bring it EVERYWHERE I go. Sure, I have her try new things there, but none the less she'll revert to her normal snack in the end.

So we're off to the park instead.

Tea of the day: 2 cups green tea
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical

So, today I officially bought more herbal/decaf tea. Actually, I was in the hunt for a glass teapot that matches my clear glass teacups. Well, I found what I wanted at Adagio and bought the teapot AND matching sugar/creamer!! I'm really excited for it. Now I have three matching tea sets. Almost four but I don't have the china coffee pot to my china set. And really, since I never use my china, I can't find a real need to spend the $95 for the coffee/tea pot! As it is, this teapot, creamer and sugar along with six sampler herbal teas was $50 (free shipping). Ok, ok, so I wasn't actually OUT of herbal tea anymore. I did buy two boxes in the last few weeks--mint and honey bush. But well, the mint was supposed to be for Maddy who wouldn't drink it and the honey bush was for the mom's at my playgroup. I didn't buy any caffeinated tea though and I won't until all my caffeinated tea is gone. And honestly, I think at the rate I'm using both caffeinated and decaffeinated they most likely will be used up at the same time.

So Matt and I made reservations for an extended weekend NEXT weekend! We're renting a cabin out in the Shenandoah valley. The good news is that I can't break the bank with jewelry spending the way I did in Annapolis (who was to know they'd have such cute stuff, really!). I'm looking forward to getting away for a little while. I am a bit worried about Maddy though. She's been rather clingy over the last little while but I think it's mainly because of the mom's helper. She doesn't like being relegated to her while I try to do other things. I think this mom's helper business will soon come to a close. I will give it tomorrow and see how it goes but right now it seems like I can get more done WITHOUT her here than WITH her here because Maddy clings to me when she shows up! And it's not that she doesn't like her either. She really does. Maddy is great with her and really enjoyed her the first second she met her. And she's VERY good with Maddy. It's just that Maddy doesn't like being told she can't have me when I'm still around. We'll see....

Maddy's been enjoying her tea set an awful lot! We've been going on the deck with the pool and she continues to refill her teapot and pour it into her teacup. She must have done that...oh 20 times today! I also brought up her doll high chair and doll swing that matches her doll pack and play today. So she's had fun feeding her dolls and swinging her dolls in that.

Maddy was also fortunate enough to get a play kitchen from a member of my mom's group that wasn't playing with it anymore! I had a ton of dishes and food already (and it came with a bit, too) so it's all outfitted and Maddy LOVES it. I realize how often I use my microwave and telephone though since those are the two pieces she's most interested in. When she pushes the button of the microwave she beeps for it. She likes to fill her teacup under the sink too and says 'shhhhhh' for the running water.

Man, I'm so excited for my tea stuff to get here! Whoo whoo!

Tea of the day: 2 cups green tea, 1 cup mint herbal tea
WO of the day: 30 min. elliptical

...with going out late. It takes me forever to unwind after I get home. I had coffee night (I had decaf) tonight and then made a Walmart run after that. I got home about 11:30 but I'm still not ready for bed. Hopefully soon!

So, today I gave my mother's helper her severance pay. Yep, Maddy did NOT want to have anything to do with her. It's not the fact she's a bad baby sitter. She's really great and honestly, is wonderful with Maddy. Maddy even LIKES her. It's just that she doesn't like me leaving her with the helper. So she stayed an hour and I paid her for the two. I told her I'd recommend her to other women and it's TRUE. If you want a good babysitter, give me a call. She's really good!

Maddy and I skipped ballet this AM to get to try out the Monday class as a makeup class. I heard it's a great class and Maddy was having such a nice time this morning playing and reading that I didn't want to drag her out of the house. So we'll go to Monday's instead.

My mom's group and I were discussing wills tonight at coffee night. Matt and I have discussed making a will numerous times but we always get stuck trying to figure out who'd we leave Maddy to if we'd die. Of course we trust both sets of grandparents explicitly but (no offense guys) we'd like to leave her to someone a bit.... er..... younger (You still love us, right?). But we don't have anyone who we'd overtly want Maddy going to around our age who's family. No one REALLY just CLICKS. So...that's kept us from making a will. I think that is the first time Matt or I really wished we had siblings. I know I never felt like I lacked.

So I installed potty seats on two toilets today! I'm not saying we're really going to try potty training yet. But it's good to have the means if I get the opportunity. They are really neat and just fit between the seat and the lid. So there are two toilet seats instead of one.

Well, I should at least try to get some sleep. It's12:30 afterall! No alarm for us tomorrow.

Tea of the day: Lots of green tea
WO of the day: 30 minutes of weights

Nothing is better than coffee night when I get a free coffee. Yep, I filled up my coffee card so it was my freebie of the night.

My tea stuff shipped yesterday and is supposed to arrive on Saturday. I am thinking it will be Monday since I didn't know that FedEx delivers Saturdays??

I did finish up my mint tea two nights ago and am quickly on my way with my honey bush tea. So it will be good when my new herbal stuff gets here! I will need it by then.

Just going to the park this morning. Going to be another hot one today.

Tea of the day: Ahmad Afternoon black tea
WO of the day: Will be elliptical during Maddy's nap

That's the story of our lives right now. Our huge mound of dirt, rocks, grass and pebbles in the backyard is slowly going away as we sift through it. We have realized we have MORE than enough dirt to level the grass near the patio and we will fill the garden and our pots with some as well. I helped Matt with sifting yesterday during Maddy's nap and after she went to bed. He claims it goes much faster with both of us which is nice to hear. Often times I wonder how much I'm really 'helping' and how much he humors me instead. But after we stopped after her nap Matt came in as well and said it was just demotivating to stay out there by himself after the pace we were working at so obviously he does think I'm helping some. He never asks me to help him work and I really don't think he was expecting my help, but it was a nice alternative workout to my usual so why not? Plus, if it helps the project get done faster....

We also went to the local farm/park yesterday. They were doing a 4H thing and although it LOOKED crowded from the parking it wasn't that bad. It could have been that it was NINETY FIVE degrees yesterday and a lot of people stayed home. We were only there for 45 minutes or so. Just enough to get out of the house. Afterward we stopped at Milwaukee Frozen Custard for a treat. Maddy chowed down on their vanilla custard and I had the oreo cake batter custard in a chocolate covered waffle cone. YUM.

As usual, we stopped at BJs and spent an arm and a leg. I only bought two things that weren't on the list (a book and a book light) so it's not like we went insanely crazy buying junk. The majority of what we bought was fresh produce and meat. I divide and freeze the meat in servings and I love their frozen salmon steaks.

We SHOULD be getting ready for church right now... but I am just not motivated to get moving this AM. I know I should be... but...

Tea of the day: Ahmad English Afternoon black tea in my new TEA POT!! :)
WO of the day: I'll be sifting more dirt during Maddy's nap and most likely this evening as well. We may even be finished with that today!

Guess what?! Well, the dirt is sifted, laid out, and the grass seed is spread. We didn't have enough, but we bought another bag. So that will get laid out tomorrow. Hopefully it will sprout up quickly so we can start using our backyard again! We do need to leave one sheet of ply board down so we can get in and out of the back door without stepping in the new grass. So that will be the last area to plant seed in once we can walk on the other grass.

It took us about 3 hours to sift the rest of the dirt. Matt spread it out the good dirt and put down grass seed in no time. I trimmed the weed guard around the air conditioner gravel today. It really looks nice. I'm sure Maddy's going to LOVE playing in it when she's allowed in the backyard again.

What did we do with the stones that we sifted out??? Well, it's in our neighbor's backyard. It was already full of stones anyway so.... :)

But anyway, here's the before dirt pile and when it's gone and spread out! You can click on the pictures to see more after pictures.

Dad, you can see the lighting pictures as well. They are up on the gallery!

Tea of the day: Ahmad Afternoon tea, Honeybush herbal tea (both in my NEW TEAPOT!)
WO of the day: 3 hours sifting dirt.

Well, I took Maddy to the makeup ballet class today and she did pretty well. I wasn't sure how well she'd do considering it would be a different teacher and all. But she participated the majority of the time and seemed to like it. They let them wear purple tutus today and man, were they cute!

I worked outside today shoveling gravel into the wheel barrow and carting it into my neighbor's garden (which has literally nothing in it but stones (not even weeds) so I guess the more the merrier. When I was finally able to roll the garbage can over I dumped that out. I spent some time cleaning up the backyard.

Matt got home early tonight and rewired the deck/patio lights. He finished putting up the last one. He still needs to tack up the wires, but they are up and they look GREAT!!! It's EXACTLY what I wanted. It's ambient lighting but also bright enough to be security lighting. LOVE IT. I've asked him to turn the timer so they are on all night and not just morning and evening. He figures it will take 1 kilowatt per evening so that's an extra .03 every day. Well worth it for the security aspect of it. So he'll do that tomorrow night, too.

Maddy is copying so many words now. I love it and it's so cute. She's been so much fun lately and very snuggly, huggy and kissy, too. Of course, I just eat it up. I love it! She's been enjoying her new kitchen and playing with her tea set. She loves it when I let her bring it to the baby pool and she will just pour teapot after teapot into her cups.

Speaking of, I've been loving my new teapot, too! It's just gorgeous and so much fun to use. It's simple glass, nothing decorative, really. But I find it to be a nice addition to my set.

Well, I think I'm going to bed early tonight. After working outside in 95 degree heat shoveling gravel and then showering I found myself wanting to fall asleep, but I knew Maddy would be up soon so I didn't get a nap. But I do think that's a good clue I should get to bed early.

Oh, one more thing.. A quick correction. I have a Southeastern Five-lined Skink family living within the siding, not a gecko family.

Tea of the day: 2 cups green tea, 1 cup rooibos cocomint herbal tea
WO of the day: shoveling gravel in 95 degree humid weather.

Well, this morning I signed up for the advanced pottery class. 12 classes for 3 hours each, including clay, firing and glaze for $228. I also signed up Maddy for her class for 10 classes, 45 min at $61 (which is half the cost of Baby Ballet and she doesn't 'need' an outfit for this one either).

Now let's just hope I don't totally suck at this and that it all comes back rather quickly. :)

Tea of the day: Green tea
WO of the day: Will be 30 min. elliptical, but I didn't fit it in this AM.

Maddy and I went to meet my mom's group at Chunk-e-Cheese today. She absolutely LOVED her time there. She insisted on holding the cup of coins and putting them in every ride she went on. I got a great deal on the coins, too. I bought 40 and received 60 free. So I paid $10 for the 40! Then, when I got up to the counter to use the coupon they asked how many times I would like to use the coupon, so I said TWICE! Yes, 200 tokens later.... Obviously, we brought a TON home. Maddy loves it though. I'm thinking about emailing my other group of moms to see if they'd be interested in going as well.

The house is, yet again, falling down around me. I don't know HOW this HAPPENS?! I swear I clean every day in some way, shape or form!!! Today I did two loads of laundry, took apart Maddy's highchair and gave it a thorough cleaning, ran and unloaded the dishwasher, swept and washed the kitchen floor, dusted our bedrooms, cleaned the toilets and quick vacc'd the living room. GEEZ! Yet, I still feel like it's falling down around me. I even did a bit of grocery shopping after CC and made dinner.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I'm looking forward to this weekend. When I'm not IN the house I can't see what a mess the house is and therefore feel like I should always be cleaning it. I have a very hard time relaxing in my own house. It didn't used to be this way when I worked outside the house. I was able to come home, kick up my feet and relax. Now, because I live and work in the same place I can't seem to unwind really well anymore because there's always something to DO!

But this weekend will be great. I get to sleep in, go to bed late, eat leisurely with Matt. Not to mention we're going to enjoy the drive down, maybe stop a winery or two... it will be GREAT.

Ok, off to hang out with Matt.

Oh! If you get the opportunity, here's a video of Maddy. Matt and I were talking about what Grandma and Grandpa could do with Maddy over the weekend to get out of the house but not in the heat. So we mentioned Chunk-e-cheese. Well, Matt and I both thought about how crowded it would be and thought about Matt's dad secret service style protecting Maddy and Matt made a quick arm movement which Maddy then promptly copied all the way through dinner. So, now, I'm worried about her punching someone at playgroup tomorrow!

Tea of the day: Green tea and Fox Trot herbal from Adagio
WO of the day: None... I skipped it today. No, no good reason.

it takes me a good week to get ready for one weekend out? There's all the packing we have to do for ourselves. Not to mention, because we are getting away to a cabin we will bring some meals to cook with us (since it's kinda in the middle of no where and we don't know what kind of restaurant options there are). So we still need to plan simple meals and do the grocery shopping for that, too.

And let me preference what I'm about to say with this: My inlaws are smart people. They raised Matt and look how great he turned out (No Matt jokes now. None of that!) But I still want to make sure they have everything they need for this weekend ready for them. I don't want them to have to worry about where things are (not that they've taken care of Maddy a thousand times now and knows where everything is), if they have the right foods she'll eat, what her schedule is...

Now, I'll say what all of you are thinking, "Becky, is this REALLY about them and her?! No, it's about YOU isn't it?!" OF COURSE IT IS! I feel better leaving her when I know I've prepped for Armageddon. There, I admitted it. It still doesn't mean I'm not going to prep for them. :)

Tonight I'm going out dinner/coffee/dessert with a friend. It'll be nice to have that one-on-one girl time!

Tea of the day: A few cups green tea
WO of the day: 1 hour elliptical

Well, we're almost all packed for our weekend trip. It's crazy how much stuff I pack. I am most definitely NOT a light packer. I have everything though: swimsuits, hiking goods (no not rock climbing, I've checked this out), etc. I've printed off my 'sub plans', prepped the house as much as possible, so, I guess we're set! Matt still needs to get his clothes together as well.

My friend Karen, brought up a item last night. What happens if we don't have cell service at this place?! Now, the main resort has a phone and I'm pretty sure the cabin will have a phone, too. But who's to know? Maybe I'll take a closer look at the pictures on the webpage and see if I see a phone!

Maddy had a blast at baby ballet today. Daddy came so she had so much fun seeing him watch her. Matt was a bit embarrassed, so he hung out pretty far away. Funny, since it takes a lot to make him shy! But Maddy hated to see him go and she couldn't figure out why he was getting into his car and not ours. She cried part of the way home since she saw him leave. He pulled up next to us at the light and he moved on pretty quick when he realized what was going on, but none the less, she saw his car and new it was him so she was pointing and crying. I felt really bad for her.

Well, I'm not going to stay. I still have stuff to do! I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Tea of the day: Lots of green tea
WO of the day: 30 min. elliptical

Our weekend was FABULOUS. Matt and I strategically planned our exit. I took Maddy into her room with grandma while Matt put the suitcases in the trunk. So we all came downstairs to the door and we gave Maddy a quick kissy and booked-foot out the door. She cried as soon as we hit the foyer. Poor baby. But she got better a couple minutes after after snuggling with grandma and grandpa and watching a bit of her TV.

On the way out Matt and I stopped to eat at Glory Days Café and we ordered a nacho and our own dishes. The nachos were so huge and so good it was enough for both of us for lunch. We managed to eat some of Matt’s burger but we brought my wrap with us for a snack/dinner later.

It was a beautiful drive to the cabin. Gorgeous weather decent traffic… couldn’t ask for better. We’re quite near Skyline Drive so the hills were amazingly beautiful. We checked in without issue and made it to our cabin with a decent view of the water. The cabin was supposed to be ‘fully outfitted’ and well, it really is! It has everything from a wine opener, to pots and pans, to a tea kettle and coffee maker. Don’t forget to add in the peeler and scrubber and we’re set! It’s a great cabin. It has a DVD player/VCR combo, double jaccuzzi bath tub, king bed… it’s really quite nice and very comfortable. Central air through the whole place.

What also makes the place great is the main lodge. It has two pools and two hot tubs one indoor and one outdoor. It has a mini golf course (I kicked Matt’s butt) and a marina where you can take out paddle boats, pontoon boats and jon boats. It also has a game room and the like. Definitely a nice main lodge!

Friday night we ate the rest of the lunch for dinner and just basically hung out a ton. We did venture into ‘the city’ to get groceries for our stay. We picked up breakfast items and snacks as well. Matt had a great recipe for pork loin but since it was already so late ate lunch for dinner. The pork loin had to bake for an hour and a half! Matt watched a movie while I listened to my ipod and read a magazine on Friday night.

On Saturday morning Matt made me a spinach garlic mozzarella omelet. Yum, it’s my favorite kind! I took a nice long hot shower only to put on bug spray when we went to play mini golf. We had the whole golf course to ourselves and it was really nice. The course was pretty basic, but hey, it was FREE so can’t go wrong with that! I hadn’t played mini golf since I played last with Matt and Nate when he came for a visit. Then we walked down to the marina and took out a paddle boat. It was Matt’s first experience with a paddle boat. I think I possibly remember my dad taking me in a paddle boat when I was about 10 in Jackson Park in Milwaukee. But anyway, we paddled it over to see our cabin and back. I wore a life vest as did Matt since well, I can’t swim. But it was a blast. I was going to work out in their workout room, but honestly, the paddleboat was enough of a workout. It was a ton of fun, too. After the paddleboat, we had Claire’s famous grilled cheese which Matt just loved. Then we headed out the Monticello wine trail! We hit The King Family winery, Oakencroft winery and also White Hall winery and bought 15 bottles of wine. Then after the wineries we stopped and picked up the best stuffed crust pizza at a local pizzaria near us. Again, we just got back too late to make the pork loin. We made it on Sunday night with Matt’s parents instead.

We did have a run in with some ducks at our cabin. We went down to hang out by the water and these ducks came up out of the water. We thought it was cool and if we held real still they’d just pass on their way because we didn’t want to scare them. Well, nope, they were after us and begging for food! So I ran back up to the cabin and grabbed some bread and we stuffed them FULL. I haven’t fed the ducks since I fed them with my grandmother at the park when I was REALLY little.

We did buy a fire log for the fireplace and we burned that on Saturday night while we snuggled with some drinks watching a good movie—one of my favorites—Airplane. Yes, I am a dork!

Sunday morning we got ready and headed out to Horton Vineyards which is one of our favorites and bought quite a bit of wine there. Our wine rack is FULL and we actually have more than can fit it! It will last us forever though. We took a round-a-bout way back home which had some different scenery.

I can definitely see doing this with extended family. There is a lot of things to do here and we would all still have our own personal space. Honestly, it’s a great getaway!

Maddy sure was happy to see us when she woke up from her four hour nap. It was great to see her, too. We missed her so much! Matt’s parents are so good with her. They taught her ‘Walk like an Egyptian’ which was ABSOLUTELY adorable. What a kiddo! She went to bed fine tonight, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s up once or twice just to make sure we’re still around

Ok, I’m off to bed. I’m TIRED. Then tomorrow I have the fun of unpacking and washing our clothes. Grandma and grandpa did all the sheets. I don’t know WHERE they found the time! They also made homemade potato salad as well and MAN I do love that stuff. It’s always nice to know Maddy is in great hands when we go away. They are great with her.

Oh and yes, we did NOT have cell service while there and calling out long distance from the cabin is crazy. So, Matt's parents had to keep calling us to give us updates. And our cabin voicemail wasn't working. I thought Matt was going to go nuts being out of contact with 'the outside world' not having cell or internet. I have to say, I did miss reading the news online. I refuse to listen to talking heads on the TV to find out my news!

There's something about getting away from it all for a few days that prompts a harsh reality check when the vacation is over. I don't know what kind of karma that is, but it never seems to fail that Maddy gets sick, or I pull out my back, or...whatever. This time around, Matt has had to be late both Monday and tonight as well. Last night I guess a server wasn't working properly or something like that all day and he was gone until 9. Tonight a business relation invited his team out to dinner at Morton's for some networking stuff. WHEW. I'm ready for daddy to get home on time tomorrow! I don't know how you ladies do it when your husbands travel or need to work past bedtime.

Maddy has been pretty good though, for the most part. She had a rough morning yesterday since it was the first day without grandma and grandpa and our first full day back. But she cheered up/stopped whining by lunch. So that's not too bad of a transition. She hasn't taken no for an answer very well lately. So that's something we will be working on for quite some time. She's a stubborn little thing and she knows what she wants!

We've had some mommy and Maddy fun over the last couple of days. Yesterday we laid on a blanket on the deck and watched the clouds. I'd point and tell her what I thought a cloud looked like and she'd point and babble about it. Then she'd roll over and give me a kiss and a hug. It was adorable. We've done a lot of snuggling lately with lots of hugs and kisses. Maddy enjoyed a chocolate icecream cone on the deck this evening. She probably licked away at that for about 40 minutes, I kid you not. I had to keep eating the cone since she'd lick down far enough to not be able to reach the icecream anymore. This morning, she and I went for a long walk and then stopped at the park. We were out the door by 7:45 since it was beautiful this morning. She loved that although I had to fight her screaming and kicking from the park. She's never met a cat-tail fuzzy she didn't like! Unfortunately, they don't like her and leave her stuffed up with runny eyes. This evening Maddy and I took a long walk through the common area of our place. She chased dragonflies, moths and grasshoppers. No, she didn't catch any, but she enjoyed chasing them. She found two sticks and then used a stump of a tree as a drum. That was really cute, too. After our long walk, she relaxed while being swung in our child swing. She LOVES to be swung before bed.

She had pity on me this evening and didn't fight me coming out of the bathtub. (She's been loving using her bathtub crayons on the walls so she doesn't want to get out.) It was actually a pretty pleasant bedtime routine. She sat up on my lap and smothered me with hugs and kisses interspersed with feeding me a few of her pretzel sticks and her drinking milk.

Well, Matt came home, he brought Chocolate mousse cake for me from Morton's. So I'm off to have part of that before bed. (Which I guess made the whole Mohammed joke raise it's ugly head again.) We have about 40 bottles of wine in the house now, and Man, if I don't want a glass!! But, as per my diet, I'm only having wine on the weekend... so it will have to wait until then. Are you sure it's only Tuesday??

Tea of the day: Stash Green Chai, Adagio Tropics Roobios
WO of the day: Long walk and then weights video

I have seven minutes to tell you about it. Because, in seven minutes, I am turning off the light and trying to get at least seven hours of straight sleep! I have been sleeping HORRIBLY all week. I don't know what's up with that, but I've been up for HOURS each night. So there's been no early morning workouts. Instead, I walk around the house like a slob until 1 pm and my workout is fit in while I have Maddy. My workouts of choice this week have been power walks to and from the park and then weight videos. But still, I hate sitting around in workout clothes. I want to be dressed and ready to go. I'm just lucky that I haven't had to go anywhere at a certain time the last few days. But tomorrow we have ballet at 9:30 so I will need to be ready to leave the house no later than 9.

And get this, I have a doctor's appointment on Friday at 7:10 in the morning! YES! Can you believe it? 7:10?! At this rate I will need to get up as early as my workout just to get there on time. But hey, it allows me to get there and not have Matt miss much, if any work. I'm also meeting a small group of mom's friends at CeC on Friday at 9:30, too. Don't know when I'll do my workout that day.... sheesh, this week has been a wash that way.

Tonight I ran out to BJs, Homegoods, Bloom and Kinkos prepping a care package for a friend of mine who is in Iraq. We went to grade school and high school together so I copied pictures of our class from grade school (4th grade to be exact) so I'm sure he'll find that interesting. The box is almost ready to go.

Ok, well, one minute left. Off to bed!

Tea of the day: Stash Green Chai (lots of it)
WO of the day: Quickly Walking to and from the park pushing Maddy, weight video

11:00 pm on the nose. Goodnight!

I haven't mentioned it lately, but Matt's been going through a lot of positive changes at work lately. Well, today, I offer my heartfelt congratulations for a job well done to him. He's officially hired a new team member for his InfoSec branch, had a job title increase, received an office and today received a raise! Congrats, hon! So here's to the fruit of your labor.

Funniest thing is, he was the third InfoSec guy in his position in less than a year. So his running joke (that he made up) is "Oh, just wait until #4 comes in....." I guess they'll be waiting for quite a while, huh?

Well, I finally had a good night sleep last night since the weekend. Sure, I was awake some telling Matt to roll over when he was snoring or could have sworn I heard Maddy... but for the most part I slept really well! So when I woke up at 5:58 this morning I got out of bed and worked out. I was thrilled to get a 45 minute work out in. Although, honestly, I wasn't all that into it today. I just wasn't really enjoying it today. But it got done and that's what matters most.

After my workout and shower I gathered my stuff up from the spare room. That's where we dropped it last night and I ran upstairs to see Maddy who started to fuss as soon as I walked in the door. I guess Matt had just been up moments before that, but I think she wanted to see her mommy. It was great getting out last night. My main mission was to finish buying a couple things for the care package for my friend. Most of the stuff I put in there I already had around the house, but there were a few odds and ends I wanted to put in as well. The pictures turned out great considering they were done on a color copier, but wow, .89 a piece is expensive for one copy! I did pick up a couple other things that weren't on the list.. a $10 iPod player, two foamy kitchen mats for $10 each and a magnetic chalk board/white board for $7 for Maddy. But yes, I didn't get the chance to look through any of it, so I was able to get it all up the stairs this morning and look through it all.

It was so nice to have worked out, showered and be dressed by 7:30! I was looking forward to getting out of the house with Maddy however, she was quite snuggly and a bit runny this morning. So I wasn't sure we were going to get to go to ballet or not. Well, she pepped up by 8:30 so out the door we went at 9. I decided to go around back and check to make sure the back door was locked (Matt was last one out it and well, as much as I love you, you aren't good at locking the doors all the time). I found my grade school pictures in the grass! They must have dropped out in our haste to get back into the house last night. Fortunately, they were not the worse for wear. Maddy had a nice time at ballet. There weren't many people there since it was rainy and overcast but she liked it. Other than that, the morning involved a lot of snuggling.

Oh! I've had some near run-ins (walk-ins, fly-ins) with our local wild life lately. A couple days ago, Maddy and I were on the deck and I was blowing bubbles while she played with her pool and pouring water. I saw a fleck of movement and when I looked to my right I saw a very large falcon/hawk swooping our deck! I yelled, "HEY, PSSSST!" and it flew up very quickly and was gone as fast as it swooped in. But it was about 20 feet from us and no more by the time it started to swoop back up. It was deadly silent. Other than just barely noticing it with my vision I would have never heard it. I'm pretty sure it was after the bubbles. Because, even before I yelled at it, I think it realized it was on a poor mission and off it went.

Then last night Matt and I were walking into the backyard and he told me not to step foot between our crape myrtle and our Cyprus tree. I know spiders like to make webs between them at night but when we made it down the hill and looking into the light we could see the shadows of two VERY LARGE spiders. I mean, they're bodies were at least an inch wide and with the legs they could have been three inches each, easily. However, because we were rushing in the house, we had no idea what kind they were and let's face it, we weren't about to try to get close enough to check last night. We may go out with a flashlight tonight to check them out.

Maddy has been loving looking for our lizards lately. They are pretty cute and she'll look for them in place we've found them before.

Well, other than that, not much new! Have a great rest of the week!

Tea of the day: 3 cups stash green chai (so far, I'll probably have one more)
WO of the day: 45 min. elliptical.

Matt here. Just dropping in long enough to impart this nugget on you...
This was a piece of a chat session that Bec & I had today:

[16:23] Bec: I cheer, you cheer, we all cheer, for cold beer!! :)
[16:23] Bec: going to put a couple in the fridge for you now.

'nuff said!

Well, first, on Thursday night I gave Maddy her first haircut. I only cut her bangs and they turned out ok. I cut them while she was in the bathtub and she didn't even notice I did it because I was so fast. Her hair is so fine that even though she has a lot of it, I can't get it to stay in clips. Even if I COULD get it to say in clips I know she'll pull them out anyway! So I have safely tucked away her hair into her baby book and wrote a little about it as well.

Speaking of baby books, I'm pretty proud that I've kept up with Maddy's. I guess the trick is to not be overly perfect worrying about how it will look. Let's face it, the kid would rather see a 'messy something' in the book over a 'perfect nothing'. So I'm happy that I've kept up with it pretty well.

Friday my small mom's group and I met up at CeC for some playtime. Maddy had a BLAST and really enjoyed herself. We were there for a couple hours. It's great because we go so early that there's never really a crowd. Maddy earned twenty-two tickets so we used them for two (really cheap) bracelets which she seems to enjoy. We also did a little picture thing there and honestly, two of the three turned out really CUTE. I'm going to send one to work with Matt to put on his desk. After CeC we went to pick up my prescription at CVS.

Yes, I'm on ANOTHER new prescription for acne. The proactiv just wasn't cutting it anymore and I made a derm appointment for Friday at 7:10 in the morning. I actually slept in the spare room so I was able to sneak out the back door without waking anyone up. I really liked the doctor. He was very thorough, but didn't waste time either. Plus he had me in right on time and I was on the way home no later than 7:25! I called Matt to let him know I was on my way. Honestly, he got into the shower the same time he normally would if I worked out. So I'm on an oral med, fortunately not an antibiotic or accutane so we'll see how this goes.

Friday afternoon, however, wasn't so hot. Maddy only took about an hour nap and woke up crying. She wanted to snuggle and absolutely did NOT want to lay down again to take more of a nap. I was NOT ready for her to get up and was in the process of doing three or four things when she woke. Her naps have been very unpredictable in the last week and I haven't felt like I've been able to relax since I'm constantly listening for her when I would normally assume she'd be asleep for a while. I was glad I didn't try working out or even napping (both I was contemplating). But man, I was not ready for that! Then she was fussy and clingy the rest of the afternoon until Matt got home, so I was really glad when he got home early.

We decided to order in Friday night for dinner. We ordered about 5:40ish for thai. Well, they said about 30 minutes. We called them again at 6:30 to find out where the heck our order was. We wound up canceling since we just didn't feel like they were going to get here in a timely manner and the delivery guy had been on the road for a while so I don't even know if it would have arrived hot. So, instead Matt and I snacked on a hot pocket (we were starving, but didn't want to eat before the thai got here so by 6:30 we were REALLY starving). Maddy needed to be in bed about 7-7:15 since her nap was so bad. (Another reason we canceled. Either she'd be awake too long and we'd be rushing through our delivery or it would be cold waiting for us after Maddy went to bed.) Matt went out to Arby's after she was in bed and brought home food. Needless to say, that Thai place is off our list. We did remember later that we had an issue with timeliness once before with them, but forgot. So they are not seeing our business anytime soon!

This morning was kind of lazy which was nice. I took a long hot shower and had a nice pot of tea. Then I took Maddy for a stroller walk to the far park. I don't know how this kid finds things to play with that she shouldn't. Today she was obsessed over the sticks in the park. It's a nice shady park, not too big, not that big equipment, never crowded. But because there are so many trees she's trying to run around with sticks. I'm not having that. So she fussed like crazy when I took them away. I picked her up and swung on the older kid swing (not the baby one) with her. She LOVED it. We must have swung for 15 minutes. I just held her in my lap and she laid back and snuggled me while we swung. I finally had to stop since I was afraid I'd drop her since she had become so relaxed in my lap I almost needed two hands to hold her. Then I got her back into the stroller and we walked to Giant for milk. Then we headed home.

It was nice to share ths swing ride with Maddy. I have always loved swinging. It's a very free feeling, going back and forth, the breeze in my face, the speed. If I had a really bad day at work now and again I'd actually take a long walk and stop by the park to do a fast swing. It's very revitalizing being outdoors, but very soothing with the back and forth movement. I can tell Maddy feels the same way and she loved sharing the swing with me today over the baby swing.

When I got home Matt had absolutely cleaned the family room and did so much putting things away it looked like a whole new room. I brought Maddy inside while he mowed and trimmed and fed her lunch. She had a 1/2 arby's roast beef and then a couple fries. Overall, she had a good lunch. I debated doing a few things I needed to get done during her nap but instead I took a nap, too! It was so nice. I even turned on our noise maker since I knew Matt would get her if she woke up. I slept like the dead. (Probably why I'm awake so much right now.)

After I got up I put some of the rail guard plastic over the top railings of our upstairs. We put up the gate before last weekend so now that's all blocked off. Then off right away to make dinner afterward. After that we all hung out on the deck some. Matt and I enjoyed a bottled of wine between dinner and bedtime.

Tomorrow we need to go to church. We haven't been in over a month, so we'll be going there. Then there's a few more things we want to get done around here, but should be a pretty uneventful day.

I did finally get my care package all wrapped up and it's ready to go. I meant to get it out today, but didn't get the chance. I don't know what the cost will be to send it, but let me just say, it's REALLY HEAVY. So I'm hoping that it's not TOO much. We'll see!

Tea of the day: A mix of Afternoon tea and gunpowder green tea in my teapot. However, I overestimated the amount I needed and it turned out a bit too strong (even for my tastes) so I needed to add a splenda.
WO of the day: I guess my walk to and from the park/Giant. But I wouldn't call it much of a workout.

So my birthday is coming up next month, I'll be thirty. I don't mind turning thirty, honestly. I've never been afraid of aging (grey hair, wrinkles, etc.). Although I don't like how hard it seems to be to lose weight now when before what I am doing now would have made me drop a TON of weight and then some. But, ah well. Now, I am looking forward to getting rid of my acne. If that means wrinkles, so be it!! I'll take them over what I have now, any day.

But the reason I bring this up is because Matt asked what I wanted for my birthday. Originally I told him I wanted a big birthday bash. But well, after thinking about it, I realized it would be quite a hassle. Not to mention we would really need to get on it ASAP since my birthday is in less than a month and invitations would need to get out, the planning, etc.. But it would be fun to get a whole lot of friends together. Then the question would be, what would we do with Maddy?! Ah, too much hassle. So then Matt said I need to come up with what I want or want to do.

I don't know. I don't need anything. There's really nothing that I want. I have more than my fair share of jewerly. I don't need clothes. I really don't want to go on a trip (I like our little weekends away spread out more than some big trip that takes up the cost of our weekends away). Nothing seemed right.

But while I was in the shower I figured it out! I want a new shower! I want a new bathtub! I want to renovate our bathroom!!! So Matt is all for that and now we're starting to think about just how much we want to have done, how much we want to do ourselves and to what extent we want to do it.

Hey, it takes 'recaulk the bathtub' off my list that's been on there for MONTHS. That in and of itself is quite a birthday present. I love to erase things from my list.

I'm laying here, wide awake, because we're having a thunder storm. Since Matt sleeps like the dead I thought I may as well blog for a second or two. I actually woke up at 1, was wide awake so I moved to the spare room. I fell back asleep at 1:30 to be woken up by a huge crash of thunder. Since I didn't have the monitor I assumed Maddy would have been up so I dashed (quietly) up the stairs but nope, she slept through. Talked to Matt for a bit and now here I am. What a way to start out a Monday! (Still better than being swept away in a flood like MN or OK so really, I should definitely not complain.)

We did make it to church yesterday! I was glad about that since it had been an awfully long time (about a month). Maddy fell asleep on the way home and I could not get her to eat lunch so she went down for a nap. We were late getting home since church let out a bit late so her nap was about 20 minutes late. I'm a schedule freak so I try hard to stick to it. Maddy thrives on a schedule as well when it comes to sleep, so it's important to stick to it.

Even though she was exhausted when we laid her down, she talked for about 35 minutes before she finally fell asleep. Matt and I took a nap, too, so it was really nice.

Speaking of sleep, I NEED SOME! So I'm turning off my computer and trying again. Not a great way to start out a Monday. Don't know if I'll get up at 6 to work out since I've been up now for an hour and a half. Need to decide whether to leave on the alarm before I turn off the light...hmm... I guess I could work out tomorrow night instead (her naps have been to unpredictable and I hate being sweaty and icky all day). Yeah, turning off the alarm. As there is more rain coming I wouldn't be surprised if I'll be up later anyway. I hate being a light sleeper.

Tea of the day: I had green chai, a mix of black/green tea, and roobios tropical tea.
WO of the day: Nothing yesterday!

...of muscle relaxant/anti-inflammatory. Let's just hope as the blog goes on you can continue to read my writing. :)

About noon today I started to notice that my right knee was tender. So, I babied it a bit, but at about 1 I finally decided to take a aleeve. Well, that did absolutely no good and as the afternoon went on it didn't get worse but it didn't get better either. But as I babied it I noticed that my sciatic nerve was also a bit tender (not pulled like when I was pregnant--thank God, that was miserable). So, as soon as Maddy went to bed I took a Naproxin and now I'm in bed waiting for it to kick in. I know I'll be asleep instantly!

The day went pretty well overall. I went through the fridge and freezer this morning and cleaned it out while making a grocery list. I planned meals for the week. Then I went through my gladware containers and matched lids to the containers. After that I finally cleaned up our pots/pans cabinet. It was a disaster and I was tired of being called my Mother. Now, don't get me wrong, my mom is great and all, but well, she's not the most organized when she puts things away in our cabinets. So Matt's been teasing me about that, so I finally organized it.

Then Maddy and I went to the post office to mail the box. It was SO HEAVY. It was 22 lbs. I was so afraid of how much that would cost. Well, turns out that it was only $15! Yeah! However, just getting it into the post office was an ordeal, let me tell ya. I had to get out Maddy's umbrella stroller and jam the package in it and then push it into the office while Maddy held my hand. Then of course, she wants to run all over the place which scares the living daylights out of me. I want to keep a HAND on my daughter and the second I let go for an instant she's wanting to go explore. SHEESH. But it went out and should take about 2 weeks to get there.

After the post office we went grocery shopping for the first time in a week. Even last weekend WE didn't go grocery shopping! Matt's parents went for us and what they bought lasted us all week. Again, it's one thing that they take care of Maddy for us that we can get away and it's HUGE that they do that. And we really appreciate it. It's just seriously over the top that they go shopping for us, do laundry and even make us dinner when we get home. WOW.. We don't expect that and they definitely don't have to do it.

But yes, Maddy had fun going grocery shopping except she's now to the stage when she sees food she likes she wants me to buy it, so I kind of need to run quickly down some aisles now. I can't believe how fast she's growing up! She'll almost be two soon!

Speaking of, I am in the process of getting my pictures together that I want printed of Maddy so expect some wallets in the mail in the next month or so, but that will need to wait for tomorrow. Because, my eyes are getting heavy and I think it's time to hit the sack.

Thank goodness I've been drinking herbal tea all day today with the rainy weather and not caffeinated.

Speaking of tea, I mixed together my Ahmad's afternoon tea and my Gloria Jean's Gunpowder green tea. I liked both but I liked the mix of caffeine. This way I also get the flavor of the black tea mixed with the Jasmine of the green tea. It's a great mix!

Tea of the day: Green/black tea mix, white peach tea, roobios tropical tea, foxtrot tea
WO of the day: Nada, I've got to get this knee back into shape first!

So lots of little stuff, nothing big. Here's my list.

Maddy had a chuck-e-cheese play date today. She had a good time as always! We did a lot of the ride and we tried doing the picture thing again, but well, none of them turned out wonderful. One of her is her YAAAAAWNING and it just looks so funny. We stayed for a couple hours. We did not cash in her tickets today, maybe the next time we go. I probably won't be going back for a while though. It's been three times in four weeks and I don't want her to get bored with it so it will be at least a few weeks before we go back.

After CeC we went to the grocery store fast to pick up creamer. I let Maddy walk today instead of putting her into the cart. She was so good. She held my hand the entire way through the store.

Last night after Maddy went to bed (8:30, she had almost a 4 hour nap yesterday so a late bedtime) I ran out to Target and Sally's beauty supply for a couple things. The biggest thing we needed was diapers. So those got stocked into the cart first. I also picked up a new hair color which I did today and LOVE. I just hope it fades nicely. Since, at this point I think it's definitely close enough to my root color to not need to be colored again. I also picked up a stuffed kitty for Maddy and she loved that this morning. A few other things, too. At Sally's I picked up a Feria After color conditioner. It's the same stuff you get in the box and it's FABULOUS conditioner. I bought this a while back, ran out, couldn't find it again so I bought something else. Well, it wasn't as good as this stuff. So when I found it again last night for $8 I was very happy!

I'm bothered right now at Maddy's dresser, my old dresser when I was little. Her sippy cup sometimes gets pressure inside it which causes the milk to bubble up. Well, it did this but onto a coaster. I didn't think much of it. So I picked up the milk, put it away and wiped the coaster in the dark. Last night, I tried to move the coaster and I couldn't. It was completely stuck to her dresser!!! I even tried to really force it and it wouldn't budge. I did get the coaster off today but 1/3 of the cork stuck behind onto the dresser. I'm going to need to take Murphy's oil soap to it and see what I can do. They do need to be refinished anyway. I was hard on them as a kid but I'd still like to wait until Maddy is a bit older to refinish them.

Tomorrow is Maddy's last Baby Ballet. From what I'm hearing they get to wear tutus tomorrow so I need to make sure I bring my camera along. I wonder what color they will get to wear?! I just hope Maddy doesn't leak through this one! That silly girl! I'm sure she'll have fun. Then the end of next month we start her next class.

Matt's parents are coming this weekend! It will be nice to see them and actually HANG OUT with them. The last couple of times they've come up have been to watch Maddy so we could either work on the patio or get away by ourselves.

Maddy takes after Grandma B. in more ways than one! But I'll only fill you in on one. The second she hears any kind of noise outside she points, runs to the couch, jumps up on it and pulls aside the sheers to look out. She does the same thing at the kitchen window as well. It's so cute. If it's a plane she'll often times yell, BUHYYE! as they fly over.

Maddy loves construction equipment and loves to watch big machines move thing. She is hilarious though, she'll wave to just about everyone and everyone always waves back. I did a double take this morning on the way to CeC because we were in a construction area and the next thing I knew I had three guys waving at my car. Of course I glanced in back and there she was waving as big as could be at them!

Maddy also is really starting to get the idea of sleeping. Matt went into the bedroom yesterday and left the door a little bit ajar but the drapes were still closed. Maddy ran to the door and just before she was going to run in she turned around and went, "Shhh!" She thought Matt had gone back to bed! Meanwhile, he was getting ready for work. I'm sure he would have loved to be going back to bed! She also gave Joe a blanket and her stuffed kitty today while he was sleeping in a box. Then she turned around and told me to 'shhh!' Joe obviously needed a nap.

Speaking of the box, we received a box in the mail today! Maddy loved helping me open it. It was from grandma and grandpa! She received a ton of clothes and a stuffed animal, a lollipop, a lunch box (technically for me--Wizard of Oz), lounge pants for Matt. She loved helping unload it! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Matt has something up his sleeve right now. I can't tell you how I found this out, but he's made me promise not to look at our credit card statement online until after my birthday. I don't think it's as simple as a little present either. We'll have to see! I have one big hint that I happened to stumble across, but I don't want to ruin the surprise so I will just have to wait to find out! Of course, his friends at work know ALL about it... So, guys, spill the beans!!! I'll tell you all of Matt's current passwords, I promise!

Well, I'm off to an early bedtime. Maddy was up at 5 and fell back to sleep about 5:30. Of course I was supposed to get up at 6 but I was just too tired. So I skipped my workout AGAIN today. However, I did use the airdyne bike yesterday for 45 minutes and really enjoyed it. It was a nice change of pace and I was able to just work my arms and not my legs, or just my legs or both!

Goodnight!

Tea of the day: Coffee with splenda and creamer, then three cups herbal tea
WO of the day: 45 min. bike yesterday, nothing today. (As a matter of fact, I even had a tortoise turtle sunday from Milwaukee Frozen Custard!) EAK!!!

So, yeah, Bec says I have something up my sleeve... And I do, but that will be another fun-filled voyage for another day after Bec actually GETS what I'm working on over here. I'll let her fill you in on the details later. I can't say too much, but stay tuned for her September 10th blog entry! You see, as of September 9th, she is officialy ooooold.

So, how did my little gumshoe crack the case? Was it an illegal phone tap? A "sneak and peek" search warrant? An undiscovered detail in the zapruder film, perhaps? Nope, I just happened to leave my business card in my pants pocket, with a... wait for it.... WAIT FOR IT....

A PHONE NUMBER!

Yes, a PHONE NUMBER I wrote on the back of my own business card. With the mysterious letters 'KH' written with them. DUM DA DUM!!!
J.J. Abrams, eat your heart out, baby!

In her usual subtle way, she mentions these lurid details to me in passing . "Honey, who's KH, and how painfully do I need to kill her for having her number written on YOUR business card?"

Now, like a caged animal, my eyes dart around the room looking for exit. Hold up the kid as a human shield in self-defense? Nah, too squishy. Make a run for it over the bed and out the door? Nah, ceiling fan's running and will surely decapitate me, and 9-1-1 calls are where the fun officially stops, FYI. Jump out the window? Its only a two story fall! Ground's soft from all the rain. I could make it! Oh yeah, we got those damn mullions in the new windows. I'm trapped.

So I rely on my cat-like reflexes and smooth tongue to get me out of the jam. "Uhhhhhmm... I..... uh.... its... its not what it looks like? Yeah! Its NOT what it looks like!" I say, confident this will resolve the situation. bzzzt, wrong.

So, in an effort to stave off a replay of the spanish inquisition, I tell her I'm getting something cool for her birthday. A few of you loyal readers out there are in on it. Don't say anything, you fools! She's a crafty one, my wife is, and she will sniff the truth out of you.

O-oooh, here she comes
Watch out boy, she'll chew you up!!
O-oooh, here she comes
Shes a maneater!

Will someone please tell me where the time goes??? My little girl turned 21 months old today. Pretty soon (the day after Thanksgiving) she'll be turning 2!!! What happened to the little infant who'd snuggle my shoulder and sleep, or the baby who was learning to roll over or the little girl who was crawling around or how about the one who was just starting to walk and understand directions. My goodness! Now she's talking, running, playing, following directions and saying no. Where did the time go!?

Speaking of following directions, Maddy did great in her last class of baby ballet. She did more today than she's ever done before and really followed about 90% of the directions. I was very impressed! You see, she was the youngest one in her class (or one of the youngest, the class started at 18 months and she had just turned 18 months) and I wasn't sure how much I could expect out of her, really. Well, she definitely rose to the challenge! She also was able to squeeze into her ballet shoes one more time before class ended.

There's really not a whole lot else to say! I've been trying to catch up on the house today. Matt took Maddy to Petsmart to pick up cat food (and look at all the animals) while I cleaned a bit. I did make a homemade Italian bread loaf today to go with our sausage spaghetti and salad. That was delicious. Matt will have the rest of it tomorrow night.

I have Mom's night out tomorrow. We're all going to a mom's house to hang out, have dinner and hang out some more. I don't know when I'll be home, but as long as the light is left on. I asked Matt a few times to make sure his parents wouldn't mind me not being here when they got here. Can't help but feel rude that they're going to spend 3+ hours driving to get here to visit to have me not be here. But Matt reminded me that they will be getting in after 9 anyway so I should go out and have a nice time. Don't need to twist my arm more than once!

I am looking forward to my workout and shower tomorrow. I did not wash my hair today because really, one should wait 24 hours before washing after dying. But I'm dying to wash it! So tomorrow AM right after my elliptical machine.

Well, I'm off to hang out with Matt. I have so far succeeded in not checking the phone number that I have memorized off Matt's business card or checking the credit card statement.... But man, I still have two weeks left to wait. I hope I can have the will power!

Tea of the day: green/black tea mixed (chugged, we all woke up later so I was in a rush to get out the door to ballet), roobios tropical tea
WO of the day: Body in Motion and total body shape DVR recordings

So you're thinking that Maddy's a bit young to lose her baby teeth, right? Well, you're right about that one! It's ME that's waiting on the tooth fairy!! I was flossing my teeth tonight and my (only) crown popped out of my mouth! This is the SECOND time I've had this crown pop out. I'm guessing this time around they're going to want to do a root canal to go with it. Well, I called the doctor to check on the after hours number and they don't have one! Fortunately, we are PPO so I called around to other dentist offices and found a few after hours phone numbers. However, I'm not in any pain, so I think I will try to wait it out until Monday.

Thank goodness Matt and I had a good dinner tonight! I don't know how much, if anything, I'll be eating over the next day. I'm also trying to keep my mouth shut lest air rush against the open space and it may be sensitive. (Matt's thinking, "Wow, I've never heard her this quiet before. She should lose crowns more often!"

But yes, Matt's parents sent us out for dinner tonight to celebrate his promotion. We had a very nice time. We went to an Italian type trendy restaurant and had an appetizer (crunchy eggplant), salad (calamari salad) and main dish (me: seafood pasta, Matt: steak). Then we took a walk through town center and stopped at a coffee shop and had lattes with a mousse cup and a pastry. Home we came in time to put Maddy to bed. It was nice to get dressed up a bit and go out.

Today was pretty lazy overall. Matt and his dad went out to a computer place to get a few things. Maddy, grandma and I stayed home. We played and watched tv. When Maddy took a nap so did I. I didn't get home until 12:30 the night before from Mom's night out and didn't go to bed until 1. I realize I'm no spring chicken anymore! Maddy was kind and slept in until 7:45.

Maddy did cry when dad and grandpa left for the computer place. I think she's starting to realize that when grandma and grandpa are here mommy and daddy go out by themselves! So I'm pretty sure she was being pretty watchful all day. She also cried when we left for dinner, but she settled down not long after.

Tomorrow Matt's mom and I are going to go to a fabric store and look at fabric to reupholster my glider. The wood itself is in really decent shape but the foam and fabric are worn out. So after we (meaning She... I can't do that kind of thing) fixes it up, it will be awesome!

Ok, well, just quick checking in! Going to go and hang out with the fam!

Tea of the day: Coffee, splenda and creamer, herbal vanilla roobios
WO of the day: none

I called the dentist this morning and I have an appointment for my tooth on the 6th of September. They could have gotten me in early for an emergency appointment, but well, I didn't want to spend the money and I'm not in pain. Then they said they'd get me in for a consultation to look at it and I thought what's the point of that? So I made sure she had an open slot large enough to fit in putting in my crown and also a root canal if need be. So I'm only going in once. Good enough!!

Maddy's been having fun with her bubble blower I bought her last week. It's pretty cool, honestly. However, she's interested in it for about 5 minutes and then goes on to play other things. So I turn it off. As soon as I turn it off she runs back over and wants to play with it again. Over and over...

I did all the laundry today. Sheesh, that's a pain in the rear. But it's done at least for a few days now. I was able to hang out two of the three loads and I'm sure the sheets are going to smell great tonight! Speaking of laundry, Maddy finally accepted a pillow into her crib tonight. She normally sleeps on her favorite blanket and doesn't want anything to do with a pillow! Her favorite blanket is homemade so heaven help me the day this falls apart! I'll need to find someone to make a new one just like it. It's full size, too. So it stays in her crib. It's funny watching her try to drag it around though if I let her have it.

I printed a ton of pictures today through shutterfly. I'm really excited to get them! I did a ton of wallets, too. So you'll be getting those in the mail. Funny though, I thought I had printed pictures a few months back when really I only SORTED (that was for you, Yvette) them. So I had from March until now to sort and print. Not to mention I print doubles/triples for the grandparents. I need another photo album. The one I have won't have enough spaces. I printed over 300 single pictures (not including doubles/triples/wallets).

No big plans at all this week for Maddy and I. We will need to get out of the house and do something this week, though. I'm thinking about going to the park one morning and maybe the farm another. I have a few shopping items I need to buy out, so I'll go out one night after she's in bed to do that--a little time out to myself!

Have a great week, all!

Tea of the day: 4 cups roobios vanilla tea, 1 cup green/black tea mix
WO of the day: 45 min. elliptical

So over the weekend, Matt's mom and I looked at Maddy's Old Dominion Cheerleader outfit. Matt's parents bought it for her a while ago and I couldn't remember what size it was. It's a 2 T! So it's perfect for Halloween this year. So of course, I want to have all the accessories to go with it, right?

So today we went out to Target, Party City and Payless. I bought the little white turtleneck to go under it at Target along with some other stuff. I bought more turtlenecks in other colors and two cream colored cable knit zip up cardigans in 2T and 3T for fall. They'll be great over her dresses for church. I bought new pillows for the guest bedroom and our bedroom, mary janes for Maddy for fall and some sterilite containers when I sort out her summer clothes into fall clothes. I also bought some photo albums (Holds 300 photos for $5).

Then at Payless I bought white tennis shoes with silver accents (the outfit is navy with white and silver accents). They were having a buy one get one 1/2 off sale so I also bought myself a pair of slip on weaved loafers and then got her shoes for $10.

Party City didn't have all of their Halloween costumes out yet and they were still setting up, so I think I may check back there another time for the pompoms. All they had right now were pink ones. I may try Card Factory outlet, too.

I need to go back out again either tonight or tomorrow night to take back a pair of mary janes that I bought at Target. I bought them in navy instead of black so I need to exchange them. That will also give me the opportunity to go to Card Factory outlet as well to check out their supply.

Matt's birthday is coming up next week! So I'm in the process of planning for that, as well. I told him I'd either bake or buy him whatever sweet treat he wants for his birthday. (I'm guessing he's going to want me to make an eclaire ring.) Dinner is up to him as well. I already have his birthday gift planned out.

Well, I am going to grab my memory card and redo the pictures for my digital photo frame. I've been needing to update it for a while.

Tea of the day: Green/black mix and now I made a pot of roobios vanilla during her nap.
WO of the day: Body in Motion/Total Body Sculpt DVR Recordings

Successfully found the pom poms (navy and white) and they are being delivered soon. :) $5 total. Not bad at all.

So if you were wondering what Matt's surprise is, I'm having a 30th bachelorette-themed birthday party with all my girlfriends at my house the Saturday night before my birthday! Matt is taking Maddy to a hotel for the night so I can have everyone over here. Should be a blast!

I have to say, even last year, I felt it. I knew it was coming. I was excited and wondering how it all would go. I was wondering how they all would be and what would happen. This year? Not so much. School (that was for you, Yvette), ladies and gentlemen... school is starting!

Last night I was reminded just how far removed I was from the whole school experience. I was in line at Target about 9 pm and I heard a girl who was excitedly chatting away to her father (I would think). "...need a place to store this so the kids won't see them ahead of time.... ....positive reinforcement... ....snacks...." Without even turning around, I KNEW exactly who that was--a first year teacher. I turned around and there was no longer a doubt in my mind. She was definitely a first year teacher. The girl didn't look much older than 17 and I wondered if I too looked that young to Joyce when I first started school. I must have. So I struck up a conversation and I found myself saying over and over, "I remember that!"

It made me a bit melancholy and a bit relieved. There's always such excitement getting ready for the first day of school. Never let a teacher tell you that they don't get excited from the sight of new pencils, crayons and erasers! I know I sure did. I loved having all my clean book baskets in neat rows, my caddy of writing goods ready to go with all new stuff, my lesson plans laid neatly out for the first week (it never stayed that clean though). It was pretty great!

But, I was relieved, too. The stress of knowing of all the paperwork ready to be thrown at me, the new workshops that seem to take up more time than they are worth, the standardized achievement tests, the new initiatives which are really just the old ones revamped and swung full pendulum. And of course, in my realm, I never knew who I'd have new for the school year and how the kids would come back. I taught in a non-categorical classroom. I taught kids who had either multiple disabilities, severe disabilities or severe emotional/behavioral disabilities. Don't get me wrong, I loved it and thrived on it. But those first few days were always treacherous. Envision yourself sticking your hand into a deep dark hole where you've been a hundred times before, but you haven't been for a while. Do snakes or spiders live down there now? You're pretty sure they don't since you've been there a hundred times before, but you never know. That's how it is with the kids I taught. Summer can be a really large growing time, but for others with family lives that aren't so hot (and that's a huge understatement) It can be really traumatizing for them. So they come in off the wall and there's a lot of triage that happens those first couple weeks. There's a lot of thinking on the fly and tossing out all the best laid plans to deal with the present here and now. After the first month things settle in. And of course there's trying to make a schedule working around 4 different grades in 7 different classrooms. I insisted on a 1/2 hour lunch. Other than that, I didn't have planning or really a break in my day. It just wasn't workable.

But last night, all I could do was smile and remember when I first started. How much I owed my first assistant, Joyce who gently guided me without telling me what to do. Honestly, how much I grew as at teacher from that first year up until the day I gave birth to Maddy. How much my kids taught me!

But last night I realized that I don't really miss teaching anymore. I did at first. It was so much a part of my identity to go from teacher to mother was kind of tough. But now, I don't miss teaching--the stress that comes along with it, the hours or commute. Now that Maddy is getting older I get to use some of my teaching skills on her so I don't feel all that rusty anymore!

But good luck, new fifth grade teacher! I hope the year goes great for you!

Yesterday Maddy and I made peanut butter cups and froze them. It was the jello no bake kind. I added in some reeses peanut butter chips and also some chocolate chips into the creamy fluff. I froze it and when Matt got home he had couple. I had one this morning (darn, they are good) and I sent the rest to work with Matt. I guess they were gone instantly.

Maddy played some dress up this morning. She's taken to wanting to wear my makeup. So I put a bit of blush (shimmery sheer highlighter) and lipgloss (clear for the most part) on her and she's just as proud as can be. In this picture she's wearing a bracelet, purse, boa, sunglasses, lipgloss and a bit of blush.

Tea of the day: 2 cups green/black tea mix, 1 cup vanilla roobios
WO of the day: 30 min. exercise bike

I am addicted to sugarless gum. I didn't realize how much so until because I lost my crown. I don't want to chew it lest I forget and chew on the wrong side and pull out the glue that is still attached to my tooth. So I've had a few mints instead. Let me tell ya, it's just not the same. It's not that I'm constantly chewing gum, but when I want a piece of gum THAT'S what I want! Not these silly mints. Grrr...

Ok, so I really want to talk about my party, but I can't! I don't want to give away all the information before the date... so... I won't. But it's killing me, here!

Maddy and I had playgroup today through my mom's group (not the small group of kids I normally have it with). She was so clingy. She would play some, but made very sure she knew where I was. She did swing on the big swing today (as compared to the baby swing) and did really well. It was just a small swing, but I was surprised at how well she kept her balance. She also played in a sandbox for the first time. She didn't want to get her feet in it! Ha! We left early though since she was tired and when I asked her if it was time to go home she yelled, "Yah!" and ran for the front door. I guess she was done! When we returned home the mailman was coming through the court so I wanted to wait for him. I thought possibly my pictures would be here through shutterfly but they won't be here until next week. But anyway, since I wanted to wait I thought I'd just let her run around a bit. She hasn't played outside in the front yard for quite a while--either it's been too hot, too buggy or too wet! So she walked around the court and made a BEELINE for our park! What I didn't remember is the reason we haven't been to that park is because the cat tails are losing their fluff and it's ALL OVER the park. Well, she loves fuzzies so she was all over that. I finally had to pick her up and bring her home. I tried to wipe off her hands as well as I could with a wipe before we left the park, but it didn't help much. She did have some benedryl before her nap.

She was tired tonight and she was tired for her nap. She didn't sleep well last night and was up three times. I actually moved to the spare room about 3:00 because I had been laying in bed for two hours wide awake. She woke up at 3:45, 5 and 6. Matt dealt with her every time without waking me up. He should have woken me up! He's the one who has to go to work, I could have taken a nap when she did. But he knew that I had slept poor enough to go downstairs to sleep, so he didn't want to wake me.

I know I keep saying this, but it's true. I'm almost out of tea. All the green and black tea I've mixed together in a ball jar. Well today I threw in the rest of my roobios chocolate mint tea since I didn't like it plain. When I bought it, I originally thought it was coconut mint since the name is coco mint. Well, I had the wrong coco and didn't read the description. This makes it more palatable. Other than this mixture (which probably has 10 cups left, tops), I have my Foxtrot herbal sampler and my peach white tea (minimal caffeine) sampler left for hot tea. I still have two large sun tea pitchers worth of cold brew bags left, too. Although, I don't count that as 'tea' really since I can't drink it hot. But at this rate, I will be done with all my hot tea no later than the end of September. ALL of it. I will most likely finish the sun tea by the end of September as well.

I am so tired tonight. It was a good day, but I'm beat. I think I'm going to bed early. I also overdid it on weights a bit tonight since my arms are still shaking so it feels really unusual to type!

Have a great night!

Tea of the day: Green/black/roobios mix, 2 cups roobios vanilla (gone)
WO of the day: Weights, ab work and squats

So I didn't go to bed early. Really, I don't know what I did with that hour and a half between the time I stopped blogging last night and went to bed. But after turning out the light at 10:45 I was still rather awake. But I guess I fell asleep ok. At 3:15 I woke up and stayed awake until about 5:15. Maddy woke up at 5:30 absolutely tired, but had leaked through her diaper. More about the diapers later. So we changed her and I rocked her for a bit. Well, by that point it's 5:45 and I decided it's just better to stay awake and work out instead of going back to sleep for an hour and a half and waking up more tired.

So the good news is that I'm already done with my workout. The bad news is that I know I'm going to be wiped by noon! Maybe I'll take a nap when Maddy does. She's been consistantly sleeping for 2 hours this week. But I see a lot of tea for me between now and then!

More on the diapers. I have always bought the generic diapers from Walmart or Target for Maddy. They've always worked great, never an issue. Well, I noticed a large change in the last pack of diapers I bought from Target. They are thinner and the tabs seem to come off easier or aren't applied correctly in the first place. I'd hate to go to name brand diapers now that she's getting close to the age where I may potty train, but it's better than leaking the way she has been with these at night! How annoying though!

Ok, I'm off to eat something. I'm starving!

Tea of the day: Lots and lots of my mix (ok, maybe just three cups this morning)
WO of the day: 45 min. elliptical

Maddy doesn't, but she should. Mommy is going to BED. I tried to take a nap today while Maddy did. Silly me. I assumed that because she slept for two hours this ENTIRE week that she would do the same today. Nope, she was up after an hour and a half which wouldn't have been an issue if I had fallen asleep at 1. But no, I was chatting with Matt until 1:30 and then it took me a bit to fall asleep. So I had an extra 1/2 hour. Then she woke up in a mood. The girlie girl was in full form tonight! But then again, so was I. Matt got home early (Thank God) and I went to take a nap. But I couldn't; I had a full cup of sun tea at 3 because I had such a headache from being tired. So I got up and made dinner. Maddy threw a fit all through dinner. I'm sure Matt was soooooo glad he came home early. :)

After dinner i suggested we go for a walk and I think it saved all of our sanity. We took a long walk and then wound up at the only park where Maddy doesn't have an obsession (cat tails, sticks) and Matt and her went on the play equipment. I know he felt silly but it's made for much older kids. So he went up with her. She did REALLY well and I was impressed. But that doesn't mean she wouldn't walk off a six foot ledge. Scary stuff. The walk was really nice though. Matt and I were able to carry on a very nice conversation the whole way which is unusual now-a-days because with a kid, things always get interrupted (no fault of hers, but still).

We have a lot of plans for around the house this weekend! It will be busy. Tomorrow we are going to dinner at friends' though so it should be fun. They are about our age but without kids so it could be rather interesting. I haven't been to their house so we'll see how fragile it is!

But I am off to BED. I may even take a tylanol pm.

Tea of the day: 2 cups 'tea mix' and one very large cup sun tea
WO of the day: as I said before, 45 min. elliptical

To Becky's house they go...

Backwards, but still. My parents are coming this month (close enough to September to call it that)! They will be here for five days in mid-September! Yeah! And the airfare was a steal, too.

Ok, NOW I'm going to bed.