Target Nothings

I went to Target last night to get a pair of black maternity pants. We have a wedding in Chicago and the Windy City doesn't need to see my teletubby legs in a dress. 10 more weeks... 10 more weeks. I also needed laundry soap. Just two things.

Anyway, like any of human in the world, I cannot go into Target and just buy the two things I need. I have a blog swap gift bag to shop for... Have you guys seen this? It's like a pen-pal box for adult bloggers who just love shopping and receiving fun mail. I got Michelle. :) We mail our goodies by Saturday and then write up a post for next Friday about what we received. I had already picked up some other things, but I needed "fillers."

Then the candy aisle. How in the world can a pregnant woman walk pass the Reese pumpkins... KING SIZED?! I don't even think I chewed them... just inhaled.

We painted a pumpkin with Haven the other night... and I saw a Buzz Lightyear pumpkin kit. Ok, that's in the shopping cart too.

Heading up to the checkout, I pass the grocery store part... A few more necessities (like El Fudge cookies) get thrown in the cart.

At the checkout, my total was $90. I just needed TWO things.

I got home... and realized I forgot the laundry soap!

Binky Detox

I mentioned last month that Haven started "school." Each week the kids have a show and tell. However, each week, my child stands in front of the class and refuses to talk. He is bashfully shy in the cutest way imaginable. Also, he doesn't speak in story form yet and it's all my fault. Up until he started school, I have let him have his "B" 24/7. I would take it out if I wanted a good picture or to wipe of his face, but for the most part, he had it whenever he wanted... which was all the time.

We never really noticed a delay or articulation problem in his speech because he was always so far ahead in other areas: full on walking at 9 months, amazing memory and imitation, and the only kid in his class potty trained. The doctor tested him for a learning disability and Autisim, but both {thankfully} came back as not the case.



He is just a little bubba who does whatever he wants. And unless I threaten to take away his "B" or Buzz Lightyear, he has no desire to converse with me.

I'm taking it personally.

So anyway, we enrolled him in a speech class. The first thing the lady asked me was, "Did your son ever take a pacifier and for how long?"-- Uh, no pacifier, not anymore. BIG FAT LIE.

I told Chris that TONIGHT is the last night with the binky. I'm only doing this because I love him. Made me feel like a real mom just thinking like that.

In the meantime, as I was planning the quickest way I could take my life when this goes bad, I looked up some message boards about how to go through a binky detox. Most people suggested things like having a binky fairy... or trading in the binky for a toy.... However, I know my stubborn little boy and there is NO compromising. Finally, I got to the bottom of the post, and one genius mother suggested cutting the nipple off of it.

This intrigued me. Not only because he wouldn't be mad at me for telling him no more binky, it also meant he could carry it around for as long as he wanted, which helps the attachment issue.

So that's what we did.

He was devestated as he let out a big, "UH OH... OH NO!" And he tried to suck on it a few times, then got frustrated and tossed it in his toy box.

And that was it.

He has talked more in the last 72 hours than he has in the last three months.

Pinterest Cupcake Trial and Failures

While Chris and I caught up on the 187 new shows that we DVR'd last week (so many choices!), I baked some cupcakes for a sweet little one year old. His mom and I were roomates in college, so he is extra special. She had a woods/forest themed party.

Here are what the invites looked like:



I was originally going to make owl cupcakes that I found on Pinterest... But very rarely do my cake decorating ideas turn out like the inspiration, which is why this picture made me laugh.



via Pinterest

Anyway, instead of the owls, I went with acorns {and I'm so glad I did because they matched his cake perfectly}. I found the idea HERE.

I just popped the caramel squares in the microwave for 10 seconds (5 at a time), rolled them into balls, dipped the ends in frosting, and then dipped the frosted tip into chocolate sprinkles.

I used a Wilton #199 frosting tip for the frosting and then threw a caramel acorn on the top of each one. These are so easy and would be perfect for any Fall themed party.



Happy Pinteresting! :)

Olive Stanfield - 28 Weeks

Hello, 3rd trimester! :)

Over the last two weeks, I've lost that energy boost. All I cared about was cleaning, ordering furniture, decorating, and preparing.

Now... I don't care. Olive and I will both live, even if her crib bumper isn't the perfect shade of green. She has a bed and a boppy. And until she comes, I am squeezing in naps like it's the only way into Heaven.

I passed my glucose and vitamin D tests... and little Olive is measuring right on track.



How Far Along: 7 months!

Total Weight Gain: 16lbs. I'm pacing for 25lbs total. And if we can schedule Chris a vasectomy and some liposuction for me after delivery, we'll be good to go! HA.

Maternity Clothes: Before I found out I was pregnant again, I had lost 40lbs {then I had a little whiskey and here I am again!}. So instead of buying maternity pants, I've just been wearing my old clothes. I did buy a cute nursing nightgown for the hospital- it came with a matching onesie. :)

Best Moment: Any nap that I could squeeze in!

Gender: Olive-Noel

Food Cravings: Honestly, I don't know if cravings are real {for me}. All I know for certain, is that when I get hungry, I (or Chris) have about 2 minutes to come up with a meal, otherwise, I'm a grouch. Nothing out of my normal behavior.

What I'm Looking Forward to: Finding a swing- We sold Haven's because his chubby butt bent the rods where it wouldn't even swing in full force. I've been looking up customer reviews on BRU.

Other than that... same ol', same ol'... 12 weeks to go!! :-D

Why I Don't Leave My House Very Often

Chris went to Chicago this weekend for a Bachelor party. I've been holding all of the fun he had against him, since our 36 hours apart were very different.

Glave and I took him to the train station at 5:30am on Saturday morning. Dropped him off and headed back to my hometown in central Illinois. I haven't been home since June. There are many reasons for this... all that were re-affirmed in the 24 hours I spent there.

I just hate leaving my own house. I always think a trip anywhere will be fun... and then I just live the day(s) in regret... every... single... time. In reality, I just like when people come to visit me. But please don't stay very long. Ha.

Anyway, the hometown visit kicked off with a trip to my mom's salon. Of course my mother has one of her leeches there (aka friend), who finds it humorous to act like she is cutting the tail off of my childs beloved Agent P until she sends him into a hysterical fit. I was trying to play it off cool, saying to Haven, "It's okay.... " {She clearly didn't take her meds}... "She is just kidding..." {I'm going to break her nose if she does it again}...

Then my brother, who doesn't need a cue to put himself or small children in harms way, starts playing with a bug zapper... in the middle of the salon! It looks like a small tennis racket and if you swing at a fly while pressing a button down, the fly gets zapped {aka electrocuted}. I see this piece of equipment... and knowing the intelligence of my child, put it up on a wall divider that is out of reach. Then, my brother takes it down and starts showing Haven how he zaps his own hand. He then hands the device to my TWO YEAR OLD... Um, no!! No, no, no. So, big bad mommy has to take it away. Haven then flings himself onto the ground, that of course has a small amount of hair debris on it (we are at a salon). He is wearing windbreaker pants, so the static electricity is sticking the hair up and down his legs. Being 7 months pregnant and 20lbs overweight, I bend down to pick up my 35lb screaming child off the ground. As I am walking him into the other room, his head hits the door knob.

Ok... We are leaving now.

My sister and I take Haven to the park. I'm planning on letting Haven just run wild. He has been in the car for four hours at this point and he needs to burn off some energy. Upon entering the park, I see someone that I did not want to see. You know the kind of person who has a house party and you and your girlfriends show up intoxicated and make fools of yourselves when you're 21 years old? I told my sister who I saw and the story... In the middle of her laughter, she suggested we go to another park. But Haven already saw this park... and was throwing a fit when we were trying to get him back in the car after teasing him with a park preview.

I circled the park once more... debating whether or not to suck it up and pray that I am not recognized in sunglasses and a pregnant body. After doing a lap around to park the car, I notice my ex-boyfriends family having a family reunion next to the play area. God was not letting me off the hook.

But we played... unrecognized by anyone... And I sent a humbling thank you to Heaven.

Good news is that we got to eat some of my mom's cooking, which almost made the eight hours total in the car and two potential uncomfrotable run-ins worth it. :) Love you, Diana. And I got to eat Mexican with my sister. Double win.

What's for Lunch?

Link up and show us what you're having for lunch. I am always curious about what people pack{if they eat out, if they just snack, or just eat what they feed the kids while home}.

Every night after dinner, I pack my lunch and Chris' lunch for the next day. He always gets the same thing... and so do I. Usually once a week at work, we'll have a "fat day" and pick up something greasy-- and then come back and wish we could just take a nap.

But since I'm pregnant... and extra hungry... and work 9 hour days, I pack a few snacks too.

My little lunch tote that I got when I was a Discussion Leader on Mom's Like Me.

So this is a typical lunch {although 3 out of 4 times, I have a pb&j in here}.



About 8:30am, I'll chow down this Luna bar. Have you ever heard of these? Oh my goodness... they are tasty! I've only tried this flavor, Nuts Over Chocolate, and the Blueberry one. I haven't branched out more because they are still my favorites. The Nuts Over Chocolate tastes like a healthy Rice Krispie Treat dipped in chocolate. They are nutrition bars for women and have tons of vitamins plus fiber and protein. Not to keep hyping them up like they are the greatest thing since Diet Coke, but they are also low glycemic, which since I am a fancy doctor (wink!), means that it will digest slowly and give you lots of energy. Let's just say, I can make it to lunch.

Now if only they would pay me for that awesome advertisement... Ha.

Around 11:30am, I'll warm up the leftover veggie chili I made on Sunday. I wiped out the fridge last night and thought I would leave it to myself to polish it off.

This afternoon, I'll dive into my strawberries and bananas. When I was younger, my mom's friend, Drew Nash, would make me a big bowl of strawberries and bananas {my favorite} and then summon me to watch Star Trek marathons with her until my mom got home.

And then finally... a fat-free pudding cup before I go get my work-out on...

What are you eating today? Take out your phone and snap a pic! :)

Link up here!

By the way... I've never done a link up before, so if I'm doing it wrong, let me know and I'll hide underneath my desk for the rest of the day.

First World Problems

Sorry I haven't posted lately... My camera is full of fun pictures, but it's so inconvenient to "dump" them on a computer right now. Our mac is on it's last week of life. And it's a fire hazard. I won't even tell you about the process that Chris goes through just to turn it on. In the meantime, we have to get all of our pictures off of it before we give it a proper burial. And 9,873 are just pictures of food.

The title of the post is "First World Problems." I saw someone say this on twitter and it made me laugh... The things that we complain about... And I complain A LOT. Really, most of us don't have problems. I am not going to get all hippie-preaching on you, but I just thought I'd share that today. :)

I have my 27 week appointment today.... The big glucose test. The doctor is also going to check my vitamin D levels... so pretty much just getting my blood drawn kind of day.



Doesn't everyone want Taylor Swift's style of eyeliner? Only me? I actually youtubed some videos, but I look like a Halloween character today. My face is that bloated too. :)



We bought more stuff for the nursery on Sunday. My pinterest vision isn't really coming to life. Pinterest kind of does that to you. I'll post some pictures when I can use photos that come from somewhere other than my phone.

Happy Tuesday!!

Fall Decorating... Too Early?!

I had Christopher pull out my Fall tub from the basement. Last year when I bought a bulk of my decor, I had a formal dining room, a living room, and a family room to fill up, which included a long fireplace mantle.

This year, now that we're in a small house, I didn't have a lot of space for what I have. So I kept things simple... and donated a few things to Haven's toy collection , in hopes that he keeps his little paws off my knick-knacks. Is that how you spell those things?

Nope... My plan didn't work. :)


We have a bunch of stuff to make the front porch look spooky... but we're not going to decorate it until Halloween night. I don't want to look like the neighborhood crazies. My child runs outside naked enough with a decapitated Buzz Lightyear already.

What Dad "Cooks" for Dinner

Last Thursday I was overdue for a high-lite/lo-lite on this mane of mine. I thought I was too blonde this summer, but I guess I was finally getting used to it. After I added in some brown tones, I feel a little "dull." Ain't ever happy.

Anyway, Chris and Haven were on their own for dinner... and based on what I found on the camera, it looks like they ate sliced cheese and ice cream sandwiches for dinner.





Busted! :)

Moms Can't Take a Sick Day

Right before I came down with the slamhog of a cold I have right now {not to be confused with my slamhog of a face!}, we ventured out for Chris' birthday. :)

Notice what I looked like before sickness inflamed the inside my body:


And at the zoo, after the sickness took over:


In my defense, I only went to the zoo because we were getting McDonald's breakfast on the way. Haven needed to get out of the house... He didn't want to listen to me sneeze and blow my nose any longer. Chris started to feel better last night and I'm just two days behind him... Here is to a more healthy weekend! :)

Pity Party for One

{Read this post while holding your nose shut, just to get the sound effect}

I didn't wear makeup to work. I haven't put makeup on in three days. My nose is raw. My throat is on fire. I can't breathe. I feel achy. I want my mom. Chris is sick, too. We're in the most pathetic state of nose blowing and sneezing you've ever seen.

It was 105 degrees on Saturday and only 70 on Sunday. I think a lot of people are going to be sick.

But I came to work anyway. Because my little bambino isn't sick {yet}...

*ACHOOOOOOOOOOO*

Return of the Living Potato Heads

Our nightly dance with Haven’s favorite toys. Every night we get out Haven’s tub of Mr. Potato heads and watch him create new people. He lines then up for us to see. (Yes, that is REAL dirt on the cowboy hat…we only play authentic. Ha.)

Usually he has the potato heads fight, kiss, and fly around the room to have a crash landing.



Sometimes Chauncey likes to get in the mix.



He is then attacked by the Mr. Potato Head family. (I warn him every night not to get too close.)

If Chauncey survives the rumble he gets to choose one of the Potato Head’s accessories. Tonight he picked up this snappy cowboy hat….he wanted the one without dirt…he’s real snotty.