Old Photos of the Green Monster

I was looking through some old photos tonight and came across this gem.  It just made me laugh so hard.  He hated that green monster costume, but damn he was cute. 

Jack was 5.5 months old during this time.  I'm so glad I captured all of these kind of moments....

Happy Royal Wedding Day!

image via http://www.people.com/

Yes, I am up watching the Royal Wedding on my television at 4:30am!  Why am I up so darn early?  I know that DVR exists.  There is something about watching it live people.  This is a historic experience and knowing I get to see it as it happens is so much fun.  It is also tradition!

30 years ago when I was a little baby, my mom got up to watch the Royal Wedding at 4am.  She was so excited to see Princess Diana's dress.  She always tells the story about getting up early to watch it, drinking her coffee and eating little donuts while us babies slept upstairs.  I love that story. 

So yes, although in different cities, my mom and I both have our coffee and little breakfasts ready to go as we watch the big event.  It's our thing.

With that little story, I hope you all enjoy your own little wedding tradition. Congrats to Willimam and Kate!  You make such a beautiful couple. 

Duck Butt

Easter is coming...

Little Luggage

With spring and summer comes travel....

I'm from St. Louis and love to go home to see my friends and family.  And then there is the lake.  Yea!  Jack and I are headed to St. Louis here pretty soon for a little visit.  Daddy needs to focus on the taxes.  Haha. Perfect time for our trip because I want nothing to do with the taxes.

So I thought I would do a little shopping for baby luggage.  How cute are these bags on wheels?

Jack may be a little too small to lug one of these babies around right now, but someday soon, I'll have to invest. 

Semi-Wordless Thursday

Our living room is turning into a toy jungle.

Time to invest in either a new house or a toy box.  Probably the latter seeming how I barely have time to clean my house, much less sell it!

Happy Thursday!

Diana, A Celebration

I wanted to post about the exhibit, Diana, A Celebration, after I went to see it, but I'm so excited about it I'm posting today instead.

Tomorrow my parents are coming in town and we are headed off to Union Station in downtown Kansas City to catch the once in a lifetime exhibit.  I think the best part for me will be seeing Diana's wedding dress and her tiaras in person.  My mom always tells me the story about how on Diana's wedding day to Prince Charles, she got up really early while us kids were still in bed, and she ate little donuts ad watched the wedding on television.  I love that story.  I can just picture her all cozy on the couch watching the big event.

This exhibit comes just in time to build up extra exctiment around William and Kate's wedding in April!  I think I'll have to get up early and watch it with some of my own little donuts.

Happy Friday!  What are your weekend plans?

A Flower A Day...

Sometimes it's the little things in life that make it sweet.  Kissing your baby's feet because they are so small and soft, drinking a cold glass of water after a long workout, finding a beautiful green hydrangea flower on sale for a $1 and having it last for over a week!

I had these types of flowers in my wedding and I love them.  Not only do they smell lovely, they look lovely.

I have a lot of these flowers in my home here and there too.  I think they look amazing when dried and even when they are (dare I say) plastic.  Eek.

So if you are lucky to find them for cheap like me, buy up, display, and perhaps even dry for a lovely statement in your home.  After all, it's the little things that really count.

Spring is Near! Stripes are the Ticket

I am one of those lucky people that got President's Day of work today.  Heck yes it was fabulous having a day off.  I'm also fortunate to have a daycare that was open...which could only mean one thing...mama went on a mini-spring shopping spree.  Seriously, this day off is just about the only time I have to go out for a couple of hours to grab a few must-haves for spring.  I decided to omit any mommy guilt my outing because I literally have no clothes since I was pregnant last spring!

I ran around town hitting up some of my fav stores.  One message was clear:  it's all about stripes this year.  They were everywhere.  I decided to go along with the latest trend by picking up some fun striped pieces.

For just under $100 I brought home...one striped sun dress, one skirt, one pair of flats, one striped cardigan, one round neck t-shirt, one long sleeve striped shirt, and one pair of cute jean shorts.  Can you say bargain shopper?


Here are a few affordable online finds I came across too...I really love the stripe on top of floral look.  I think this season it's even acceptable to do some stripe on stripe action.

image via Forever 21

Rolled Slub Knit Cardigan for $22.90

Here's a sweet striped sundress at Target for only $20.  Might as well pick it up when you are grabbing those Pampers, right?

So there you have it; I highly recommend all working moms take advantage of a day off once in a while to treat yourself to some well-deserved stripes!

Sun & Beer

It's finally warm-ish outside!

I don't know what it is about the sun coming out, but it makes me want beer.  There's something relaxing about cracking open a cold beer one it finally warms up outside.

Since I did not partake in any beer drinking last year, I think it's okay that I have a beer or two once in a while now.  One of my favorites is Boulevard, especially because they make this fab variety pack.  It has the perfect combination of beer flavors--wheat and ales for me, and the dark stuff for my husband.  However, we do fight over the seasonal...right now it's Irish Ale.  Obviously.

 

Yumo.  Enjoy the sun everyone...while it lasts! 

Happy Weekend!

image via Boulevard

Parenthood: Setting It Straight

Now as you may recall from one of my previous posts, I love the show Parenthood for some reason.  I'm like obsessed with it...every Tuesday night it's my guilty pleasure.  Dysfunctional families I guess are my thing.

Something on the show last night though bothered me a little.  And now is where I'm going to warn you:

TMI alert!

So Julia, the lawyer mommy, and Joel, the cute stay at home dad, are trying to have a baby.  When they couldn't "do it" because they had to wait until Julia ovulated, that was a complete joke, right?  You new moms probably know what I'm talking about.  When you want to have a baby, you don't just "do it" on your ovulation date.  You do it every day or so up until your ovulation date.  That will give you a greater chance of having a baby.

I just felt very compelled to tell everyone out there that this is the way to do it. 

Despite this inaccurate information, the scene in the bathroom was pretty funny.  Here is a snapshot to refresh your memory.  Ha!

image via NBC.com

Funny Realization

I was on Facebook the other night reading up on newsfeed, when I came across a status update posted by my OBGYN practice.  To back up a bit, yes, I "liked" their Facebook page b/c they are freaking awesome doctors.

Here was the post...

I thought to myself, "hey, how funny is that?  And to top it off, 11/11 is my birthday.  Wait a minute.  11/11 is my birthday.  Whoa, I'm probably a Valentine's Day baby!"

How cool is that?  I wonder if my mom will read this post...eeek.

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

This morning I got up and thought, hey, Jackson and I should wear matching outfits.

No, not really.  It was seriously a coincidence.  Sorry this pic is kind of crappy.

Happy hump day. 

Give Me Drama

I love drama, well, not drama in my life.  I actually hate it when there is drama in my life--in fact I avoid it like the plague.  But, I absolutely love watching drama on t.v..  It's about all the drama I can handle.  When the baby is in bed and you are all done with work or whatever for the day, there is nothing like a hot cup of tea and a good juicy drama filled evening.  Unfortunately my hubs doesn't always feel the same way.

I have discovered that since having my baby, I have transitioned from loving the saucy single doctor dramas to more of the dysfunctional family dramas.  Has this happened to anyone else?

Two of my favorite shows right now easily include Brothers & Sisters and Parenthood. 

Brothers & Sisters has the perfect mix of annoying women and gay men.  The mom is always in everyone's business like there is no tomorrow.  That Holly character is a treat.  Did she used to be a man in another life?  Her voice, my lord.  Justin seems like such a wimp to me.  Sarah has a horse face in my opinion (Luc is a sweet treat though).  Kitty needs to eat a sandwich.  I like Scotty even though he is a cheater.  No, I haven't forgotten that yet.  May I ask, what family has that many dinners together?  I would like to know so I can be invited sometime.   Mmmm, they are always making roasted chicken.

Now what about Parenthood?  I just started watching the show this year and am already hooked.  Each week I can't wait to find out if Hallie's parents are going to let her date that alcoholic.  I also want to know if that young CEO is going to ruin that shoe business since he is always eating "edibles."  I want to live in the grandparent's house too.  I bet the grandma has some good tea on hand.

There is nothing like a good dysfunctional family drama to make you feel good about your own life. 

 

Blizzards and Cabin Fever

It's official.  We had a blizzard in Kansas City yesterday.  The roads are packed with snow, winds were wild, and even my office was closed yesterday.

I should be excited, right?  Well this was like our third snow day this year (maybe fourth, I'm losing count), and I still need to get work done.  Honestly, no matter how much overtime I work at night, I still feel behind.  Don't get me wrong, I love spending time during the day with Jackson, but it's tough taking care of a baby everyday and working full time.  It can take a toll on you, especially when you can't leave the house.  Physically (baby likes to be tossed in the air now over and over) and mentally (multi-tasking meltdown). 

To help with the cabin fever, online shopping is always a treat.  Here are some fun finds that I can across...

What do they all have in common?  Snow day of course.  All the good things about a snow day that is...except my baby's smile is missing.

Oh, and if you didn't know, the first image is a snowball maker.  

A little reminder...don't forget to enter the giveaway this week!  Stay warm out there.

Sneak Peak! Katherine Heigl Interview

I have some very exciting news...in effort to promote the upcoming DVD release of Life As We Know It, Katherine Heigl sat down with about 15 mommy bloggers (via conference call) to talk about motherhood, work/life balance, and her movie.  I got to be one of the lucky 15!  Holy cow!  How unbelievable is that?

Each blogger was able to submit questions for the interviewer to ask Katherine.  It was so wild when they asked her my question.

Katherine had a lot of interesting things to say about motherhood.  I found her comments about work/life balance particularly interesting because she had the same thoughts and feelings as so many of us working moms.  Basically she said it's hard when your child just wants you, or needs you because she is sick, and you can't be with them.  You have to let someone else take care of your baby because you have to work.

I know a lot of us struggle with this situation everyday.  I'm struggling with it right now as Jackson has had a fever all week that just won't go away.  It's so hard.  I just want to be there for him and snuggle him tight. 

Katherine said unfortunately, she can't take off when her baby is sick.  She has to go in and people are counting on her.  However sometimes she will steal an extra 10 minutes to hold her baby tight...which I'm sure several of us have done even when we know we will be late. 

Okay so all of that had nothing to do with the question I asked Katherine.  I had a much more light hearted one.  And what was it you ask?  Well, I have to leave a little something to be desired for when I host a giveaway promoting Katherine's movie next week! 

 I'll also be posting the entire interview for everyone to hear.  I can't wait to share all the fun with my fabulous readers...

Happy Friday!

Girl Scout Cookies Galore!

Welcome to girl scout cookie time.  Oh how we long for this time of year.  I don't know what it is about these little cookies, but they are freaking delicious.   What are some favorites?

Hello Thin Mints.  You can't eat just one.  I like to freeze these up and put them on vanilla ice cream.  That's if there are any left to freeze. Once they get in the house, they go pretty darn fast.

Tagalongs.  This cookie has this name for a reason.  The fat content is so high it "tagalongs" your butt after you eat them.  Just like an annoying tagalong in real life, I try to keep my distance.


We tried the "thanks a lot" cookies this year.  I would like to say "thanks a lot" to the girl scouts for finally putting fudge on a shortbread cookie.  Plus, I learned some Chinese while eating them up.

And then there is shortbread.  I like these old-timey treats with tea. They make me feel kind of old myself.

Now, if you are trying to cut back on the calories but want to participate in all the cookie fun, check out this crazy girl scout cookie fabric on Amazon.com.  Sewing a big cookie pillow may be a great way to stay busy and stay away from these sweet treats! 

 

It's just about $9 per yard.  In girl scout terms, that equates to 2 boxes of cookies.

So while on the subject, what is your favorite girl scout cookie?

New Blog Design!

If you haven't noticed, I've changed things up a bit.  Ok, it's a work in progress, but it's getting there.  More subtle updates to come....

It's now time to go to bed.  It's way past my bedtime.

Goodnight nobody.  Goodnight mush.

Crazy Happy Baby

Last night we had a tickle fight with our little man. He absolutely loves to be tickled, especially before bed.

I was able to take a few shots of him in all of his silly glory...

His happiness melts my heart.

Redbox Etiquette

I absolutely love redbox.  The convenience, the price, the online reservations.  Yes, especially the online reservations.

Now, there are a few things I don't like about redbox.  There is always a line.  The reason is because there is only one touch screen interface for renting and returning movies.  People like to scroll through every movie until they figure out what to rent.  And, it takes forever.... 

Obviously redbox should create an interface for renting movies and one for returning movies, and perhaps even one for picking up online reservations. Until then, I think people should practice what I call "redbox etiquette."

Prime example on why we need some redbox etiquette rules:

Today I made my online reservation and went to pick up my movie.  I waited in line for at least 10 minutes while a mom let her 7-year old kid scroll through every single movie on the touch screen. It was very cold outside.  She stroked her daughter's hair and made compromise after compromise with her child until they both agreed on a movie. It was seriously obnoxious. 

What could have helped?  Introducing my guideline for redbox etiquette:

1) Rent onilne.  Plain and simple.
2) Okay, so sometimes you are out shopping, and didn't make an online reservation.  Have a plan. Review the movies on the board and decide what you want to watch before using the touch screen.  If your movie isn't available, just leave. 

3) If you know you are going to be a while, ask the people behind you if they have a quick return or pick-up.  Review the board while they do their transaction. 

If we all just practiced redbox etiquette, the world would be a happier place.  Ha!

Happy movie watching.

Weekend Theme Song: Chilly Willy

When I was a little girl, I LOVED Chilly Willy; especially the cartoon's theme song.  Since it has been so very cold outside lately, I kept attempting to sing the Chilly Willy song to my little Jackson, but I couldn't remember all the words.

Well thank goodness for YouTube.

Not only did I memorize all the words to the song, but we sang it all weekend and it is now Jackson's new favorite song. 

Hope everyone has a happy, chilly willy kind-of Monday.