Teaholic not quite anonymous

(Maddy playing outside yesterday. Gotta love spring!)

You know how it is when you go away for a while and come home there's always stuff to catch up on. Don't get me wrong... Everyone kept up the house remarkably well. I walked into a clean living room (dusted and everything) and fresh clean curtains all ironed and starched in my kitchen! Plus, the kid was alive and happy... so their job was definitely done and then some! But there are things I need to do when I get back like wash our bedroom sheets, our towels and dirty clothes. They kept up on Maddy's clothes since she leaked through her diaper a lot (she squats while peeing so it doesn't even have a chance to catch it). Plus the unpacking...etc.

So today is clean out the fridge day and make a list of what we need for the grocery store and what we're going to eat for the rest of the week. We need to go ASAP since Maddy is virtually out of milk! She goes through it really quick though and I know they were at the store twice over the five days I was gone so they did their fair share of trips, too.

It does sicken me to toss out produce. I mean, produce is so expensive and then to waste it because it isn't eaten!!! I'm definitely at fault in this aspect, too. But I feel like I just waste money throwing things out. And then I rebuy things we didn't eat the first time--why?!!? I mean, if I didn't eat the carrots last time, why would I think I'm going to be different this time around?

Speaking of food! I am up FIVE pounds this week at weigh in! It does not surprise me since I ate everything in sight that was appealing. I'll work it off fast enough, but man--ouch! I still am buying that new elliptical though. I'm very very excited for that!

Our grocery store trip cost $150 and that wasn't even with much meat! WOWSERS. But our produce was so bad and I'm trying to eat more raw produce as snacks (have to wear off that 5 lbs. somehow besides elliptical) that the majority of what I bought went into the fridge. That's good though, since I'm trying to buy less processed foods and that means less in the pantry. Which you'd never know was on freeze considering how much is in there. I guess I've figured out what my chore will be this afternoon or tomorrow! Time to get that cleaned out a bit.

Maddy was such an angel at the grocery store though. I knew she became bored about 2/3 of the way though. After all, it was a long trip! And then the cashier is a great lady but MAN can she talk and then she winds up going slower. Poor kiddo. So patient though!

When we got home her and I went out on the deck to watch the lawn people. She loves to watch them cut, trim and then blow the common area. Of course, that makes our grass look even longer even though we did just mow it. We need to seed soon, too. We played a lot before nap--lots of ball. She loves to pretend to read. We played with her beach ball that I wrote activities on for her birthday (sing ABC, give a high five, hug your mom, etc). So after a few times of me reading things, she 'read' them and made up activities to do. Most involved hugging and kissing mommy. I am not complaining, trust me. :)

The vet called about an hour ago. Matt took Joe in last night and they drew blood. I guess it was quite a commotion. But, for some reason when he got home, Ruthie did not at all freak out at him and he was fine the entire time, too! I call it pure luck. But yes, the vet called and confirmed that Joe does have diabetes. So the good news is that he doesn't have kidney failure and is still eating and drinking. But of course now we need to deal with this diagnosis. We definitely have to take him back in, either to learn how to give him shots and buy new food for to give on timed intervals. Plus, he'd have to make semi-regular trips to the vet to check his insulin levels. Or.. we'd have to have him put to sleep. Obviously, we won't let him suffer either way. But before we can make any kind of decisions we need to be more informed on exactly what would be expected of us (and cost too) if we go the route of treating his diabetes. Of course, even if we do go that route if it doesn't do well with Joe, we may need to change our course. And, just like people, there are times that cats don't react well to insulin. So... there ya have it. We need to get our ducks in a row and figure out the route we want to take ASAP. So there will be another vet visit for us in the near future (and probably Maddy's first real baby sitter experience too, as the vet will not be the place for her).

On a lighter note, I posted some pictures of my necklaces I bought while seeing Nate in Madison. I love them so far! What I love most is that there are two pictures, one on both sides so it's like having two different necklaces. Absolutely fun! I wore one today.

Ok, well, I should think about folding this boat load of laundry I have sitting here next to me. I'm sure we'll go out to play this afternoon so I want to get that done now. I do love spring and so does Maddy. She was shocked not to wear a coat or hat yesterday when it was 70+ out! Not so, today. It's only 53 right now!

Tea of the day: RoT Holiday spice tea

After sleeping poorly last night, not getting a nap today and Maddy not going to bed until 8:30, I decided to skip my workout this evening. I didn't think it was the best thing to do, but well, tomorrow is another day. So I asked Matt if he wanted to have our first chimnea fire of the season. Sure, he said. That's great since I won't be able to really have that many since by the time I finish working out/showering in the evening it's easily 9 which is pretty late to start a fire since we don't like to go to bed with it still burning.

So Matt sets up. I come out. He starts it. I notice there are at least five pieces of fat wood under the fake fire log (you know the ones that burn without much work--shaped like wood but have a lot of wax in them). Then he tells me he put one on the stack as well. Oh and there are four pieces of very old dry wood in there as well.

OK, that was enough for me to ask Matt to please go get the fire extinguisher. I mean, come on, that's a ton of burnable material. But, Matt always has to have the biggest fire he possibly can. Every time I ask him not to use too much wood, just a piece or two to make it smell like real wood. Don't ask me why he put in six fat wood sticks, too.

Well, it gets going.... and going.... AND GOING. We have flame shooting out the stack. So, Matt covers it up. Ok, now we have flame shooting out the FRONT. That's when we both look at each other and say, "Fire extinguisher." There wasn't a huge hurry. It was very contained, but it was obviously too much for the chimnea to hold. So he shot it once and man did that thing pour smoke! After a little bit I was worried someone would call the fire department so I made him shoot it again with the fire extinguisher. It's out now--just a teensy bit of smoke every now and again. But we are keeping an eye on it to make sure it doesn't flame back up. Really, I don't know how, since it's covered in whatever is in the fire extinguisher.

So there ya go, our first chimnea fire of the season. What a bust!

Well, the Dyson struck again. It vacuumed up the seam by my back door leading to the deck. Darn it. It happens so fast there is no way to stop it in time. It took up a good two feet, maybe as much as 3. *sigh*

I slept really well last night for the first time in three days. I had NINE hours of sleep! Yippee! Maybe that means I'll have the energy to be back on the workout bandwagon tonight. It's really been hard to get motivated when I've been so tired. It was chemically induced though. I took a sinus pain night time med since my ear had been hurting all day. It did the trick though and no pain today!

Maddy and I ran to Walmart today. I bought her four pair of shorts and four tshirts. Nothing special, just stuff she can play around with in summer. I bought a pair of capris for myself that are actually capri length. Thank goodness. I still feel like I paid through the nose for them at 16.98 since my jeans are only $19 and they do have a good two more feet of fabric. ;)

Bought two large boxes of diapers and overnight diapers. It's about time that I think about trying potty training with the girlie-girl again. Maybe next week after I'm able to really get back on track.

I did buy Maddy a few fun things, a Tball game, some foam stickers for crafts and the like.

Ok, that's it for now. Lots to do before she gets up and I've been sitting long enough!

Tea of the day: Peach black tea and now blueberry green tea.

Someone... not naming who... got a hold of some safety scissors today! Any guess about who that could be???

What a stinker!

It's been a busy morning here already. Matt and his friend worked on fixing our gate to our fence. Plus we had a person come over this morning so it was busy getting the house straightened up. Add in Matt didn't get home until 7 last night and the stuff I was going to get done, just didn't. Maddy and I played outside for a while this morning. She wanted to watch Daddy, but we flew her kite some and collected dandelions. She chased some large moths but never caught them. By the time we came in the house it was 1!!! She still hadn't had lunch. Somehow I was able to stuff her full of food and still get here down by 1:15 so I was pretty proud of myself.

I did some online shopping today at Payless and I was SOOOOO excited to see these shoes! Maddy wore pink ones like these for about a year (I bought them in four different sizes). The pink ones had eyelit lace on it where these have mesh, but these are WHITE! I'm so thrilled! I bought them in her next three sizes (8.5, 9 and 9.5). I did just buy her a brown/pink pair much like these in 8 so I held off on the 8's even though I was tempted. Since she just now turned 8 and those are still a teensy bit big, I know the white ones will be worn for a long time to come. So that's what I scored on and I am so excited. These wear well, are supportive, are super easy to get on and seem comfortable! Of course, I bought myself a pair of black heeled sandals, too. I had been looking for them for church.

Joe has his vet visit today. I still have yet to decide if Maddy and I are going. I don't know if I want her there, but really I'm using that as an excuse because I don't want to go. Although, I don't want it to scare Maddy and I didn't try to find a babysitter (I'd rather bury my head in the sand and pretend this whole thing isn't happening) so my two options are stay home with her or take her along.

Ok, off to sew up my purse that got ripped by the door. Oops. Of course I bought it at Target who changes their stock SOOOO much that they no longer carry it. I should have bought two (See? The multipurchasing does come in handy!). Hopefully I can still make it look good. It's patchwork anyway, so I'm sure another couple stitches won't be noticed. And since it ripped at a corner, it won't be seen much anyway!

Tea of the day: Green tea with blueberry

Well, everything is moving along quite grandly here. Joe has responded well to his shots and doesn't seem to mind getting wet food twice a day. He doesn't mind getting the shots at all. I have yet to give one, since I'm normally with Maddy at that point in time in the evenings or getting ready in the mornings. But he's happy at that point since he has a full tummy with wet food!

The wet food was quite a rigamarole though. We were totally out of food and the vet recommended a pet supermarket for some wet food. Well, Maddy and I run out and first have to search for it since it's in this office park. We find it and it's CLOSED! So we need to turn back around and go to Petsmart and look for whatever wet food has the highest protein and lowest carbs. But whatever, he's feeling better and it's just a little bit more work (and cost--holy cow, insulin is not cheap, but fortunately lasts a long time) on our part.

Maddy had class today, but somehow I thought it started 15 min. later than what it did. Oops! Maddy still had fun for the time we were there, though. I really like the teacher a lot and I hope we get her again for another class! Maddy really had such a blast! I think she was in heaven. I love how as she's gotten older she's become more and more outgoing and more independent. I also like that she's been taking classes since 18 months since it's such a good skill to have listening to directions from someone other than me.

That's a whole other topic though. She has NOT been listening lately! Fortunately after three solid days of 1-2-3 magic she's back to listening the first or second request. I am NOT going to be one of those parents who ask their kids 30 times to do something!

Ok, off to get dinner going.

Tea of the day: Coconut tea then honey chai, then rose hips, and now decaf burgundy.

She's a brave one, she is! See, as a child I was easily startled. I didn't like balloons popping, having someone jump out at me, etc... Maddy isn't like that at all. She loves to be chased. She likes to be startled and laughs! I would think she'd like a jack in the box, something I never did. She's not afraid of drains at all. I HATED the bathtub drain. She's definitely her own little kid and takes after Matthew much more so that way.

Although, that gets her into trouble, too. She's becoming more and more comfortable in surroundings that she recognizes and thinks nothing of wandering too far. When I call to her she barely glances over her shoulder. Needless to say, we are working on that one! There has been many a time out in the last few days due to her trying to wander to far and not stopping when I've asked her to--she's especially bad about it at the rec center where we take our classes. She's so comfortable there now she thinks nothing of trying to disappear around a corner. *Sigh* She's a brave one!

Today we ran a few errands--dropped stuff off at the thrift store for donations, ran to CVS, over to the park (since we were passing it) and then to the grocery store. This afternoon was spent snuggling until dinner.

Speaking of, she's been doing GREAT eating at the table with us! In fact, she's been eating what WE'VE been eating for the last three days straight! Now, she may not eat that much of it, but she tries it and tonight she had at least 10 bites of salmon! WHOO WHOO!!! I'm one happy mommy!

I'm finally back into the routine with my workouts. It took almost a full two weeks, but it's back on track. I've lost the weight I've gained in WI and I'm hoping tomorrow's weigh in will prove that.

Although, it will take me a while to get back into the habit of staying asleep at night again now that I'm working out again. I was up from 3-5:30 this morning. Fortunately, (THANK YOU MATT) Matt let me sleep in when Maddy got up at 6:30. I slept in until almost 8! Now, it didn't help that we went to bed at 11 last night, too. Oops. I just don't want to go to bed at night. I don't know what's wrong with me. I guess I am enjoying hanging out like an adult and just don't find myself tired enough to really force myself to go to bed.

I officially think that Dancing with the Stars jumped the shark last night. It had been getting that way for a while, but last night with the tears, the musicality, 'facial expression (Who?! Pracilla Presley??? Her face can't move!) and a perfect ten and forgiving an obvious stumble the show is just past it's prime. I haven't been too excited about this season as it is. Last season didn't thrill me either. So, last night was definitely an eye-roller for me. Thank goodness we watch a 2 hour show in an hour or so. Thank goodness for DVR. We purposely never start it on time just to give it some time to cue up. We don't listen to much of the talk, just watch the dancing and the scores. The rest is pointless anyway. We fast forward the results show even more so!

Ok, well, off to hang out with Matt and we're opening a bottle of shiraz as well! Whoo whooo!!

Tea of the day: Vanilla Honey White Chai, finished off the box!

Maddy and I sure did keep busy today! We met Nate and Tina at the park and they played for quite a while. Then Maddy and I ran out to the grocery store to get some diet pepsi that was running a decent sale. By then it was time for lunch and nap. When she woke up we ran back out to the pet shop to get some food for Joe. But I decided against what they had and wound up getting some at the grocery store instead. Of course, Maddy 'helped' me buy some so she was throwing cat food cans in the cart for Joe. Ones he can't have! So I sorted through those before checking out. Then we went over to Burger King for dinner and she played in the play tunnels.

She loved it until she went down the slide and got quite a shock. But she decided to go again anyway. It's quite high up there and she loved it until she made it to the slide again. I had to coax her into coming down. She didn't want to get shocked again (which she did, loudly, poor kiddo). I had visions of having to climb up through the tubes to go get her. Sheesh. Fortunately she came down.

Ok, I'm off to do a few things before bed. But it will be an early bedtime tonight!

Tea of the day: I've had decaf coffee all day today since I bought new creamers and wanted to try them out.

Maddy calls the garbage men, garbage cans. So when she sees them coming she says, "Mommy look! The Garbage cans!" Hehee..

Her favorite toys lately are large gold plastic coins she received in her Easter eggs and her chalk Easter eggs. She carts them around everywhere. Fortunately, the chalk is washable!

Matt got home about 11 last night from Pittsburgh after he and a coworker rented a car and drove home after their flight was canceled. Thank goodness he's home!

Tea of the day: Rooibos Matt bought for me at a coffee house up there.

Maddy is playing golf today and she's about to hit the ball. So I tell her to say 'FOUR!' before she hits it. Without missing a beat she says, "FIVE! SIX!"

:)

Another day, another day planning our menu for the week. *Sigh* But I checked out my mom's group weight loss recipe files and found a lot of really great ones! So I will be using those this week and it will be exciting. I'm sure it will be a bit more $$ since it's not all stuff I have on hand, but at least it's not the usual!

It's been a busy weekend here. Matt changed out our halogen lights outside with regular fixtures. He also replaced our doorbell. He mowed the lawn and stuff like that.

Yesterday I went through all of Maddy's clothes and filled a large sterlite container to take to storage. She's good on clothes! Really, I bought too large last year so she still have a lot of 2T shorts left plus the ones I just bought for her. Now, she could use some new PJs but other than that, really, she's good!

I had my dentist appointment yesterday morning to get my crown put on. Of course, it's never simple. Since I lost my temporary some of my gum grew down over my tooth so they had to shave that off. YUCK! But at least it's in. I came home and took a nap!

Matt has been making the best pina colada last night and the night before. YUMMY. I can't even fathom a guess on how many points it is. At least it's not made with actual coconut milk--only Pina Colada juice from Dole.

Ok, well, I should make my grocery list for these new recipes I'll be making. Then I have a few other odds and ends I want to get done before Maddy is up from her nap--like another load of laundry!

Tea of the day: Chai and then Vanilla Caramel Tea

You know what really bugs me? Forwards. Now, I'm not talking the standard issue 'Here's a cutsie story/send this to five people/recipe/protect yourself' forward stuff. They bug me but they are so ordinary now-a-days that I tend to delete them without even looking at them.

It's the relative 'personal' forwards. You know, the ones that you get from someone that they are actually typing it themselves and speaking TO you. Well, speaking to you in a 'group'--since they are sending it to more than one person. Here are a few of the reasons this bugs me.

I haven't heard from you in a while. But instead of saying, "Hi, what's up?" I get the soapbox email about random stuff. So I haven't heard personally from the person in years but when I do I get their ideals and if I do reply with "How are ya?" I don't get a response. Well, ya know what? Don't send me the darn email in the first place if you are just going to rail on a celebrity if you aren't going to speak to me personally. I don't want to hear about them. I want to hear about you.

The no response As I said above. If I take the time to write something back to your rather personal mass email, I expect that if you initiated the contact that you will take the time to respond back. If you can't find the time to respond back personally--then don't email me in the first place.

The 'not friend' email This one is one of the most bazaar to me. I had a falling out with a friend a while ago and we each said our peace and we've moved on. No big deal. However, I still get random 'check this page out' emails from this person. It's a small list she sends to and they are all personally written so they aren't really forwards, just mass mailings. But I don't get it. We don't talk anymore. So why am I still getting the emails?

Anyway, I just wish people treated email more like they treat the phone line. If you pick it up and dial you are expected to hold up your end of the conversation. Email should be the same way. Email me if you want to talk. But don't send me the email if you aren't going to be personal about it. I have no interest.

*Steps off her soapbox*

So Maddy had class this morning. She did a great job in class. In fact, she's really starting to look to the teacher for direction and less from me, so she went and did things on her own today across the room from me while following directions. It's a first step towards independence and I was very pleased. She's good about taking turns except I did hear her say, "Maddy's turn!" an awful lot today. Hey, I'm glad she's sticking up for herself. She surprised me today by walking the balance beam on her own with just a hand against the wall for support. I had my hands near her waist but not supporting her and she walked the whole way on her own. She also jumped on the trampoline for the first time today without holding my hands at all, too. (Don't worry, it's covered with mats that are the same height on all sides so she can't kill herself if she bounces off.)

But little miss independent found herself in time out TWICE during the short snack time we had at the rec center. She wandered too far once and when I told her to come back she didn't. So that was a time out. She knew it too, the stinker. She saw me coming and said, "Time out?" Nawww. really? Then the second time she wanted to go press the buttons on the ATM machine or the button for the elevator and I told her to come back and as I started counting she actually ran TO the ATM and pushed buttons as fast as she could. I couldn't help but giggle but I tried to keep a straight face. Then she got another one when we got home! I told her to come on in the house and she wanted to run and go play outside (which I would have been fine with but her diaper was REALLY full and she was hiccuping she was so hungry). I told her that once we go inside and have lunch we can come back out, but she needed to come here Now. Nope.. I asked twice and then started the count. Again, I had to carry her in for a time out! The stinker.

We did stop at Target before nap to pick up some stuff we needed. She was wonderful the entire time. I know I'm really lucky to have such a good kid. I just need her to start coming to me when I tell her to!

Anyway, after some lunch she's down for a nap. I got my workout in (and kicked some workout butt, too). It was my first one since last week Tuesday. I didn't get them in while Matt was gone and then Friday I was just too tired. This weekend was VERY busy so it didn't happen then either. I'm glad I fit it in today during her nap. I'm hoping to get out on my own a bit tonight. It's been a while!

Well, off to call the vet. I don't think Joe's getting enough insulin since he's begging more and drinking more water again. It makes sense. He's gained some weight back (thank goodness) so I'm sure that is affecting the dosage. He's still doing fine letting us give him the shots.

Tea of the day: Vanilla Caramel Truffle black tea and now Tension Tamer (my throat has a tickle and I hope I'm not getting a cold).

It was a frustrating errand morning around here. Maddy and I ran out to pick up something Matt needed at a plumbing supply store. This is not Lowes and not Home Depot. No, no... this is simply a plumbing place full of.... plumbers. Now, there's nothing wrong with plumbers and no, I didn't see any butt cracks. But you get a group of plumbers together in one building and I will tell ya honestly, I'm a bit out of my element! Especially when I'm sent for 'one thing' and get 'another'. Then I sit there having to discuss the subject with the guy behind the counter (plumber) with all the other guys behind the counter (plumbers) and the guys behind me (plumbers) looking on. Matt sent me for a grated cover to cover up our studor valve that's in our wall. It needs air to, well, work for a lack of a better word. So anyway, the cover he gives me doesn't have any grates. He assures me it will be fine, there will be plenty of air since it's not air tight to begin with. So I ask him, why then, the plumber who put in the thing had it sticking out of the wall to get air instead of in the wall where we moved it to. Why wasn't it put there in the first place? He didn't have an answer to that one. Ok, ok, I buy the darn thing. I was hoping I wouldn't have to take it back!! The drive there isn't all that pleasant and it's pretty long to and from. I would have to do the shopping since they close at 4:30 and are only open for a couple hours on the weekend. The less I have to go back there the better. Anyway, Maddy and I left with our cover in hand. Turns out Matt knew he was going to get that one after all. Would have been nice if I knew!

After that I decided to try our luck at Costco near our house. I get a parking space and we go in. I get Maddy in to a cart and get around the corner and see a huge number of people in line to check out. IT'S 11 AM ON A TUESDAY!!! What the heck?! I take her out of the cart and walk out. I was only there for unscented diaper wipes anyway since we are running out and BJ's only had the scented ones in stock.

Alrighty then, off to Ulta to take back a couple mascaras that were a sheer disappointment. I get Maddy out of the car again and get up to the register. No receipt!!! ARGH, I left it at home. Ok, now I'm getting irritable and Maddy is tired.

Off to Target. We only need light bulbs. I let Maddy walk. Fortunately, that trip went fine although she wants to eat at the food court of Target. I bribe her into going to BJs with me instead to get diaper wipes and we'll eat at that food court instead.

BJs still doesn't have the wipes I want in stock. Oh well, I buy the scented ones instead. Don't care anymore, just want it done. We get a cheese pizza and OJ for Maddy and a diet coke for me and sit down. She eats and drinks some and off to the house we go. We get home just in time to lay Maddy down for a nap but not in time for me to make lunch for myself. Oops. Somehow, I wasn't all that hungry so I worked out instead.

The afternoon was quite uneventful. Maddy slept great for nap and even after I went in to wake her up and talked to my mom on the phone while the sun shown in through the open door she continued to snore. Finally the promise of a Italian Lemon Ice woke her up. Sneaky-pete with the Super Sensitive Hearing (Upside Down Show Reference). She went to bed at 8 without issue.

Tomorrow we'll go back out to Ulta and take back that mascara and then maybe over to the pet store or some place fun for Maddy. She was quite a trooper today getting in and out of the seat over and over without fuss.

Alrighty, I'm tired. Goodnight folks!

Tea of the day: 2 cups off coffee today! No tea at all, I know. I can't believe it either.

Yesterday morning Maddy and I met Matt at work to have lunch with him. It was supposed to be a beautiful day and it turned out that way. Matt works in a town centre with lots of seating and it's a nice place to hang out. Of course Matt did the whole 'show off the kid' thing first in his office. Maddy was shy but did pretty well. We went out to have some lunch (I brought ours) and Maddy wanted to go shopping at Talbots. Seriously. She wanted to go in. She pointed to an outfit and said, "Go in??" I guess I've already created quite a little shopper. As it is, if she wants to go somewhere she says, "Chuck-e-cheese, please? Walmart? Target?" The kiddo knows how to get me out of the house.

Then she decided she wanted to go to Paulo's for lunch. Ok, sure! So we all go in and it was kind of hard keeping her inactive. She made it about 2/3 of the way through and then Matt took her out. It was really loud in there which is great since she can talk at whatever volume she wants without disturbing anyone, but being it was so close to nap, I think it overwhelmed her a bit, too.

We came home just in time for nap, but she didn't nap. Well, maybe 30 minutes. That's when I felt her head and realized she was warm and had a fever! Ok, now I did feel bad. I didn't mean to take her out sick. So we did a lot of afternoon snuggles.

Matt and I ordered Thai when Maddy went to bed early. But about an hour and a half later she was up with 101.6. Poor kiddo was pretty hot. She asked to sleep with me so that's what we did. Matt went downstairs to the guest bedroom and I slept with Maddy for about an hour and a half but when she still wasn't asleep I asked her if she wanted to go to her room instead. Yes, she did. I called Matt back up and we all went to bed as normal and she slept until almost 6. Now she's taking a good nap this afternoon, thank goodness.

Alrighty, something really big with thud in our bedroom so I'm going to go and find out what that was. I think the cat knocked over my vanity chair. I hope I'm not getting her cold although I do feel like I'm fighting it off. I took a nap as well when she did.

One week until my mom's weekend away at the beach! Can't wait!

Tea of the day: Caramel Vanilla Truffle and herbal sunset citrus spice

Little at a time, I've been weeding through my wardrobe. It really has four distinct time phases: First teaching, lost the weight, post baby and now again, lost the weight x2.

I've found that the majority of the clothes I had when I first started teaching and the few years after I simply don't care for anymore. My style has changed and it's just not really me. I didn't have a whole lot of these clothes left but I got rid of at least 1/2 of it simply because they didn't fit me appropriately or I just couldn't stand to look at them anymore. Once I lost some weight (that I gained while traveling with Matt one summer) I bought things that were a bit more current and fit better--however, they were also a bit trendy soooooo... they were pretty out of style. I think I got rid of about 1/3 of those things since, honestly, they really dated me. I kept 2/3 though since they fit well and were pretty timeless including my AT pants that I love so much! Yippie!

Post baby, well, what can we say, I gained most of my weight AFTER Maddy was born and that just about killed me. I bought new pants and new shirts, but I didn't buy THAT many because I didn't really want to be the size I was in. I had some really nice dress clothes for church (that I didn't pay an arm an a leg for though, trust me) and well, I'm swimming in ALL of it. I simply can't use it anymore. So it's all going.

I have bought a few shirts and pants since losing the weight and I'm glad for it. At least I have stuff that fits me. I'm thrilled because I can actually go to my closet and pull out ANYTHING and I'll most likely want to wear it and it fits. No more fumbling through clothes and seeing a full closet and saying I have nothing to wear, because what I have, I can! I'm thrilled that's done!

Maddy has been in quite a mood today. She's used to getting out of the house every day but she hasn't yesterday and today. Her cold is still around so I'm trying to keep her housebound. I need some groceries so we MAY run to the grocery store when she wakes up if she's seriously beside herself going stir crazy. It has been nice that I've been able to get more household chores than normal done.

We have a lot on the list for the weekend! Hopefully it will all get done in a timely manner so we can do some fun things, too.

Tea of the day: Caramel Vanilla Truffle (3 cups, the box is now gone), chamomile, too.

Today one of my mom friends stopped over to give me a bag of clothes that she no longer fits into (she's too small, go Jess, go Jess!) but I do. It's so nice to not have to buy a new summer wardrobe! I have a few things, but honestly I didn't have much in way of shorts. Now I'm SET!!! I'm so lucky to have friends who are willing to pass on clothes. There was a gorgeous dress in the bag and a really pretty red lacy blouse. Those will be fun to wear, too.

We've spent the weekend working on the house again. It's looking good and really getting there!

Maddy was thrilled to get out of the house today. She made two trips Lowes and also the grocery store. Plus we played outside a bit, too. We finally caught the carpenter bee that likes to hover in the middle of our deck. It scares the heck out of Maddy. So I caught it in her butterfly net and put it in her bug barn. She loved to look at it. She was pretty freaked out at first but I told her as long as she doesn't touch it she'd be fine. Then we... froze it... in the freezer. Well, it's the kindest way to go, honestly. But still, I felt bad. If we let it go it'd just go to the same place all over again. So what's the point of that (besides now making it mad, too)?

Ok, off to hang out with Matt. Have a good night!

So yesterday morning while just messing around with facebook I decided to check to see if any of my address book now has a facebook page. Well, in the process I was making Maddy breakfast and trying to get things done. So when the page popped up with a list of addresses with a check mark I assumed it said, "Do you want to see if these people have a facebook page?" Sure! That's what I'm doing this for, right?

Then... after I click the 'accept' button I realize I was just MASS SPAMMING my ENTIRE address book asking them to join Facebook!!!! I clicked stop as quickly as possible but it was entirely to late.

Now, it's not that I don't like the people I have on my address book, but not all of them are really facebook material. Ooops. Sorry my previous pastor, I sent you an invite! Hi there friends I haven't talk to in years... come on join facebook! Argh..... So embarrassed.

But other than that, it was a pretty decent weekend. I went through the rest of my clothes and I officially say I'm done. I gave away a ton to a friend of mine who I thought could use them and what she can't use she can pass along to others. We did a lot of house chores this weekend again, too. But it seemed to go faster this time around and progress is really there.

Ok, we have class this morning and we still need to eat breakfast and I need to put on a bit of makeup. Have a great day everyone. Sorry for the facebook spam!

Tea of the day: Earl Grey

So last night was pretty eventful. About 11:00, when Matt and I finally were going to go to bed, we noticed we hadn't seen Joe in a while. So we looked in all the usual spots. Nope. Then we looked in some of the closets he likes to hide in. No... then we looked in the spare room and downstairs closet. Again, nope. So we grabbed the catnip to see if we could coax him out with that. He never came.

Ok, so now we thought maybe he was in Maddy's room with her. So we went in. We NEVER do that. The cardinal rule of parenting is letting a sleeping kid sleep. But I needed to get him out of there if we wanted to make sure she slept through the night. Joe would be up about 5 pawing at her door, so we needed to get him out then.

He wasn't under her bed or in the closet or bathroom. I checked once. We went back in again later to check AGAIN. Nope, not there. Now we had NO idea where he was. We started to think he had gotten out since I took out garbage and Matt came in with Maddy last night. Great, I can see it now, "Lost--diabetic cat!" Anyway, Matt went out to look for him. I sent him with the catnip. I could hear him calling, "Joe! Joe!" with a flashlight and catnip at 11:30 at night.

I brought out the big guns. I opened a can of wet cat food in the middle of the living room hoping that maybe it would bring him. My other thought is that he went to go hide somewhere to die or is in diabetic shock passed out and didn't HEAR us with the food.

Then I decided to go check Maddy's room again. I told Matt I wouldn't, but it's the only place that was dark when we checked and MAYBE we both missed him. I go in and check under the bed again, the walk in closet and the bathroom. Nope. Then I remembered I got a towel out of the linen closet for Maddy's bath. So I open that and OUT he strolls!!! Of course, that door squeaks so it woke up Maddy. But ah well, I was just glad to find Joe and Maddy went back to sleep pretty quickly.

Whew, glad that's done. That was a bit scary.

Tea of the day: Today called for a coffee morning.

So today I started prepping for my trip to the beach with the girls! I leave Friday morning for Rehoboth Beach. I am super excited. It'll be so nice to get away with my girlfriends for a couple of days! Of course, I'm WAY over packing for just the few days I will be gone. But, oh well! That's the fun of it. I bought myself a beach bag and hat today along with a cover up for my suit. It looks nice and all goes well together.

I also ordered a lawn service for the rest of the summer for Matt as well. It takes him a good 1.5 hours to get the lawn done and honestly, we have so much stuff going on and work is so stressful for him right now he just doesn't need that mess! They were done in less than 15 minutes! Of course, it helps to have one of the huge riding lawnmowers.

Okey, dokey, lots to get done here for the weekend, so I better move along! Have a good one all and I'll talk to you again on Sunday or Monday.

Tea of the day: Coffee today, herbal this afternoon.

So Maddy and I were going to run to the grocery store today and then to the ATM. We get all ready, I have my purse, we walk out of the house and....oops. I left the keys in the house and the door is locked. *sigh*

Fortunately, it's a nice day. I call Matt on his cell three times--doesn't answer. I call his desk phone--no answer. So I let it go to the receptionist who tracks down Matt in a meeting. He says he probably can't leave for almost another hour to come let me in. Ok, it's a nice day, let's go to the park. Off we go. The I decide to just pick her up and carry her to Giant and go for a little walk. It's a little haul, but I can count it as my workout to and from. We make it almost to Giant when Matt calls and tells me he's almost here. He gets his haircut (same shopping center) while I do our last minute shopping and then we all ride home together. Of course, Giant doesn't have one thing i want so Maddy and I head straight back out to go to Bloom for it. I'm glad he came when he did though, since I have blisters on my little toes from the sandals I was wearing. Ah well, at least the errand was ran.

Ok, back to packing and cleaning. Have a great one all!

Tea of the day: Decaf green tea

Had a FABULOUS weekend with the gals. I mean, it was, WONDERFUL!!!

Came home to a sick kiddo who is rocking with Daddy right now. Bad cold. Poor kid.

Speaking of, going to bed since I don't see much sleep in my near future tonight. Goodnight all! More about the weekend tomorrow when I get the chance. I am unpacked though and still need to do laundry.

Congrats to Joy, Jerome and Chloe on their latest addition--Margot!!! She's a cutie-patootie!!! :)

So after doing two loads of laundry and putting it all away, paying bills, sorting through mail, etc... I have a bit of time to sit down and actually blog. Hopefully the kiddo will take a good long nap, but I don't have much faith in that. She was up quite a few times last night and utterly miserable each time. The humidifier and sucking out her nose (although she's getting pretty good at blowing it) hasn't seemed to be helping. I have given her a bit of cold medication and that does seem to clear her out the best. Mucinex Cough has helped clear out her chest, too.

Friday morning after a shower and packing up the food I wanted to take with me, I headed out to the car to leave. Maddy was just fine with me leaving. No tears at all. In fact, she would yell out, "By mommy! Have fun trip!" I only felt guilty once when she went through my beach bag and pulled out my swimsuit and put it on and asked to go to the beach, too. Sorry kiddo, no such luck this time around! I plugged in my iPhone into the speakers of my car and put it on shuffle. I had it on the whole trip to the beach. It only has my favorite songs on it so it was fun to listen to--quite a mix though. I'd go from Sound of Music to Big Band to Techno.

The drive there was fine. I was in the car for the drive to Rehoboth on our last trip there so I was kind of familiar with everything. I knew exactly where I was all the way up to Annapolis since Matt and I had been there at least twice. I had to cross the Bay Bridge, but that wasn't a big deal, really. It sure it a long and high bridge, but I actually dislike tunnels more, so it didn't bother me. Just don't look down. :) I had more of an issue on the way home, since the guard rails on the way home have slats in them and therefore you can see through them to the LOOOONG way down. Plus, I was in the left lane. I had I been smart, I would have stuck in the middle lane.

I thought I got lost once though. Turns out I really didn't. My google directions sent me one way (the turn I missed) but on the way back I found a more direct way than the way google told me to go. So it was all good anyway. I did miss that turn as well so I had to turn around about a mile down the road but that wasn't much of a detour.

I stopped on the strip in Rehoboth to pee. I happened to find a Friendly's so I had lunch there (Patty Melt, fries and chocolate malt) and then popped over to Walmart for things the girls needed at the house. Getting to the house wasn't a big deal but when I got there they were all in the back eating lunch. That sounded a bit too tame. Stick 14 women in a house in one room and you really can't hear a thing. So I was out on the front porch dialing a friend's cell to get let in since no one heard me knocking on the door.

I had my OWN room. I can't tell you how heavenly that was. Plus, I brought along ear plugs so that really helped, too. I had a bit of a cold so I was on tylanol cold night time and day time while I was there as well so I'm sure the PM really helped with sleep.

Friday afternoon I walked the beach with a couple friends. I wasn't expecting it to be so cold though and that kind of sucked. Then I did some shopping on the strip in the artsy shops and stores. On the way back we had ice cream but all of a sudden I just got so COLD! So when I got back I laid down for a bit to warm up. I figured then I'd need to buy a sweatshirt or something while I was there to stay warm.

I bought a lot jewelry on the trip. 5 necklaces, a bracelet and a pair of earrings. I find that Rehoboth sells things at a pretty decent price minus one necklace that I just loved and bought anyway although it was a bit more expensive than what I was going for during the trip.

That night was such a blast! I brought along Dole Pina Colada juice and Coconut Rum and made pina coladas. Those were a HUGE hit. So much so we needed to make a juice run for the next day! There were a lot of wild adventures that night, none of which I can really discuss here. But it was a blast and I had pictures and video to prove it! I actually went to bed at 11 since I wasn't feeling the best (my cold, no I really wasn't tipsy) and at 1 am I awoke to see a flashlight and two girls running from my room. I knew then they were there for my camera! So I waltzed out of the room and they were shocked that I heard them even through the earplugs and pillows/blankets. I'm a light sleeper, what can I say? I made them promise not to erase anything and went back to bed. I locked the door after that. :)

The next morning was fun and busy. After breakfast (my usual southwestern wrap--also a big hit with the girls) another friend and I went to the outlet mall. I bought Maddy a couple toys at the disney store and also a princess dress. I bought Matt a pair of pants. I bought a pull over sweater with hood for myself and also some hair bands. Of course, we stopped at the chocolate factory before we left and I picked up a peanut butter cup. That was enormous.

It was warm enough when we got back to throw in my swimsuit stuff/cover up and head to the beach with beach chairs! It was heavenly sitting by the water and just relaxing in the sun. The wind turned after a bit and the clouds came in so I went back down to the strip by myself and did some shopping. I headed home after that and just hung out for a while.

We made a grocery store run for munchies and then went back out to buy our group t-shirts at the strip. It says, "Did we have fun last night?" I have to say, I've been wearing it all this week because it's a nice reminder of the weekend being home with a sick kiddo! We even had our 'signature' ironed on the back of it.

We all hung out and had a couple of drinks but most people had actually partied so hard on Friday that the party broke up kind of early on Saturday. Some people went out to the bar but most of us stayed in. Of course, they arrived home to find the master key did not work in the deadbolt and they were calling to me through the window at 2:30. :) The lushes. ;)

Sunday was a lot of packing and another trip down to the beach. The drive home was very uneventful and pretty pleasant. I was glad to get home to the kiddo and found that Matt and his parents held down the fort really well and Matt even got stuff from our list done, too. I was very impressed.

Pictures (I've deemed acceptable for public viewing) from the beach weekend can be seen HERE.

Ok, well, time to get off the duff and plan dinners for the rest of this week! Other than tonight, I have no idea what we'll be eating. :)

Tea of the day: Earl Gray and basic black

I found a play house for free in our gazette yesterday! I assumed it would be taken since I'm pretty sure we received our gazette on Friday and outdoor play equipment goes soooo fast. Especially free stuff! So when I called I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was still available!!

Today Matt and his friend went to pick it up. It needs a washing but it is perfect for Maddy and in great condition. It even still has the phone that came with it! And free is the best price!

However, my groceries were not free tonight. Now, I did buy some stuff I wouldn't normally buy (cheese spread, medicine, pedialyte, crackers). So they were a bit more expensive but still! Man!

Maddy threw up tonight during her night time snack. It was her first real time. She handled it really well. She was most worried about Matt since she threw up on his hand. She kept saying, "Sorry Daddy, threw up hand!" Poor kid.

Tea of the day: herbal and lots of it!