Well Hello There-- and Happy Birthday to Me!!

I know, I know-- it's only been like a month and a half, right? Sorry about that. It seems that once a couple of weeks pass between posts, I just can't think of a segue-way back in. Then, I procrastinate posting because I hate the whole "I haven't posted in so long intros." Annnnd, that's exactly how I opened this post. Love it!

Anyway, once I post again, I find that I have sooo much to tell you guys and I get overloaded with post ideas. That seems to be the case now, too. Here are a few things on my mind-- all of which I will post soon:

* We just transitioned Hadley to her "BIG GIRL" bed after Christmas and I just have to show you guys how cute it is. And tell you about how awesome she did with the transition.

* And then there's the potty training. That's a whole other post.

* My Brynn is growing up so fast! I have to update you on how big she's getting and all the fun, new things she is doing. Right now, she is hitting Hadley on the head with a rubber sword. I'm not stopping her because I consider it payback for all the times Hadley has bopped Brynn on the head. I'm just keeping things even.

* And, of course, I must update you guys on a few fun things we're doing around the house.

All of this assumes that one of my three readers is still actually checking my blog for posts-- it might just be me on here:-). And on that note, It's My Birthday!! I'm 21, by the way. Send booze!

This is kinda how I feel about the long weekend ending, too

Somebody found her piggy face (and just in time for Thanksgiving, too)! Brynn makes this face ALL THE TIME, and it is usually precipitated by much snorting and giggling. I'm in love.

And, just a little more cuteness...

More Thanksgiving info coming up soon! Oh, and sorry for the radio silence these last few weeks. Who knew that working, parenting, and preparing for an out-of-town holiday could consume every waking minute of the day? Hopefully, things will slow down just a smidge so I can catch back up on posting. We'll see about that one:-).

And another one bites the dust

Let's do bullet points today... that's all my brain can handle after Brynn's attempts last night to break the record on least sleep in one night. That'll teach me to praise her sleeping habits. Point taken, Universe.

* When Brynn finally did fall asleep last night, she was snuggled against me in our bed. Not the best sleep practice, but 1) we all finally got to sleep, and 2) she was snuggled against me. Sigh.

* Right now, I'm feeding Brynn 2 oz of white grape juice (the watered-down baby stuff) to help move some stuff through her little digestive system-- if you know what I mean. Apparently, carrots don't please her tummy.

* Not only is Brynn's tummy bothering her, but she also just cut her second bottom tooth. Yea and boo at the same time! By the way, if it is possible, that second, little tooth is even cuter than the first.

* Just recently, Brynn has started giving kisses when we ask for them. Big, open-mouthed, slobbery jobs that melt my heart every time. I've caught her trying to kiss the dog a few times in passing.

* When we put Hadley to bed at night, we hold Brynn up to Hadley, and Brynn gives Hadley the biggest, slobberiest kisses ever. Hadley then says, "She touches you!" and wipes her face off with her shirt.

* I bought Hadley "ruby slippers" to go with her Dorothy costume for Halloween. Since I tried them on her two days ago, she has only taken them off to sleep.

* Brynn is going to be a lion for Halloween. She's psyched about this choice.

* Hadley may refuse to wear any part of her Halloween costume except for the shoes. So, we may be trick-or-treating as "The Girl in the Red Shoes."

* Hadley just pointed to her banana and said she wanted more bacon. You and me both, kid.

* Last night, Hadley sang "Lullaby and Good Night" to my mom. We sing this song to Hadley at naptime and bedtime but had no idea she could sing it.

* In the car on the way to Target yesterday, Hadley sang, "I want playground" over and over and over again. Intermittently, she would stop and clap for herself and say, "Yea!!" We're headed to the playground now.

Picture Perfect

The five o'clock hour comes much too early in this house. That time of day usually finds me rushing around trying to get dinner ready and straighten up the chaos from the day, all while trying to tame the little monkeys who are doing their best to break the sound barrier with their screeching. It's hectic, mad, and loud. It means that Daddy will soon be home, which is fun. But it also means a chaotic bout of trying to chop, measure, and stir while simultaneously entertaining the kiddos, which is so not fun.

Yesterday afternoon, just as Sean's car slid into the driveway at the end of the day, I looked down and realized that I was still wearing the hole-y yoga pants and old t-shirt I threw on when I jumped out of bed at 7 o'clock that morning. My hair was hastily tied up a in a messy bun, I had at some point amassed a giant spit-up stain on my shirt, and I was wearing no make-up and even less deodarant.

It was at that moment, when Sean was about to walk in the door, that I remembered an old newspaper clipping my grandmother used to keep on her refrigerator. My grandmother was raised in the Midwest and went to college in Iowa, where she graduated with a degree in home economics. She was a sorority rose queen and after graduation, she married my grandfather and became the consummate homemaker. My grandmother cooked homemade, delicious meals, including the best beef brisket and chocolate sheet cake I have ever tasted. She was a member of a sewing club and an ardent member of her church. She hand-made individualized Christmas stockings for everyone in the family and she catalogued and labeled the history of everything in her house. She was like Martha Stewart on steroids.

This newspaper article, which I remember my mom talking about, apparently provided tips for busy homemakers. One of those was that no matter how hard the day was, a good homemaker should always put a bow in her hair, apply lipstick, dress the kids in neat clothes, and greet her husband with a smile upon his arrival at the end of the day. Because his day was hard and he would wants to be greeted with a picture-perfect family when he came home. Umm, yeah.

Let's just say that I am about as far from that homemaker as I can possibly be. I'm even farther from the type of homemaker my grandmother was. I am lucky most days to get a shower, I don't do laundry until it threatens to bury me alive, and I can't remember the last time I tried to bake an actual cake from scratch. And you know what, I'm mostly okay with that.

I'd love to be Martha with the perfect house and coiffed hair, but I'm not. Even still, my kids are well-loved, happy children. We live in a happy house that is mostly neat and sometimes clean. And even though my husband doesn't come home to a picture-perfect house or family, he comes home to us, just as we are. Honestly, that's better than any fantasy you can create with lipstick and a bow.

Home Sick

Remember staying home sick from school, holed up on the couch with your favorite pillow and blanket, watching the Price is Right? Okay, maybe that was just me, but seeing my sick baby lounging on a little nest Sean made her on the couch reminded me of those days. I was a little heartsick for Sprite and chicken-noodle soup. Hadley got an episode of Dora and a few chocolate chips.

I'm pretty sure she approved.

Thoughts from the kitchen floor

I cannot tell you how much time I spend on any given day cleaning up food and assorted gunk that has managed to fall under Hadley's chair while she was eating. All of that cleaning gives me plenty of time to think. I thought I'd let you guys in on some of the thoughts running through my head during tonight's cleaning adventure:

* This won't take that long. Crap, this is going to take forever. How did Hadley manage to get black beans in the tiniest grooves of her high chair????
* Man, those tacos were good.
* What is that?
* Clearly, Hadley is the messiest human alive. Would it be wrong to make her eat in the bathtub from now on?
* If this post-partum hair loss keeps up, I'm going to be rocking a serious comb-over soon.
* I should update my blog. Did Hadley do anything crazy/ funny/ weird today??? Duh.
* I should really find out if my subscription to Better Homes and Gardens expired this month. I deserve at least one magazine that isn't devoted to baby gas, child discipline, or toddler finger foods.
* Ick, what did I just step on?
* I can no longer eat leftover tacos for lunch tomorrow.
* Oooooh, I wonder if we have the ingredients for brownies. Ugh. I'll just eat chocolate chips and veg on the couch after Hadley goes to bed.
* I still need to download pictures and put laundry in the dryer and iron clothes and organize those pictures. And look for freelance work. Mmmm, chocolate chips.

Everyday Lovelies

Last week, Jules of Pancakes and Frenchfries marveled at the everyday beauty in her life, from flip flops on the floor to a pool bag in the kitchen. Her post and pictures made me want to slow down and document some of the lovelies in my own everyday life. Here are a few un-styled pictures of my house in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon. I was amazed at how pretty some of the toys and clutter actually looked. Maybe instead of picking up toys, from now on I'll just leave them as nouveau art.

Our kitchen table, arranged and "styled" by Hadley.

Hadley enjoying her new "craft table."

Hadley's toy car, abandoned after chasing our dog, Bella, around the house. In the background, one of Brynn's brightly-colored blankets was left on the foyer bench.

Our garage door, adorned with its new window shade and a pair of my discarded flip flops.

One of Brynn's bibs, drying on the counter after her meal.

And most lovely of all, my little sweeties, sharing some love.

Ahhhh, that's much better!

I finally re-designed my blog! I never liked that generic blogger template I've had up for, oh, forever, but I just never got around to finding another template that I actually liked. Until today, that is. And, I managed to download it, unzip it, and install it all by myself. If you knew me and my lack of technological ability, you would understand just how enormous that is!!

Do you guys like???? I hope so because as picky as I am, it is unlikely that I'll find anything to replace this template anytime soon. Unless I somehow figure out how to design my own templates and write html. Sean's laughing out loud somewhere RIGHT NOW.

Anyway, I have some fun kiddo stories to share with you-- one of which I'm working on now in a separate post. Things have been a little crazy lately. Sean and I decided we didn't have enough to do, so last weekend, we painted the trim work in the dining room and our brick fireplace in the living room (it looks so much better!).

As if that wasn't enough, I am also working on a freelance project and pet sitting for one of our neighbors this week. Can I just say that the addition of a second dog in our household (even if only for a few hours a day) is like adding three more children and a twister to the mix??? I'm not kidding. This dog is a sweetie, but keeping track of one more living thing is just beyond my mental and physical capabilities right now. I'm constantly counting dogs and people to make sure I have everyone accounted for. This weekend can't come soon enough.

Crazy kiddo stories to come! Stay tuned for shenanigans.

Tips for a Hassle-Free Car Purchase

1) Be sure to take your two children under the age of two with you to the dealership.

2) Ignore concerned looks of employees and salesmen when you walk in the front doors.

3) Be sure to give your two year old toys that she can throw at the glossy, shiny new cars located inside the dealership. Ignore the fact that most of these toys have plastic edges that don't coexist well with shiny, new auto paint jobs.

4) Be sure (dads, I'm looking at you) to give your two year old a guided tour of the same shiny, new cars while completely ignoring the fact that said two year old's fingers are perpetually sticky. Not to mention the fact that she likes to touch EVERYTHING.

5) To keep said toddler busy during the inevitably long negotiations and needless wait times, be sure to show her the columns upon columns of balloons the dealership has so sweetly provided for her entertainment.

6) Try not to wince every time said toddler yells "Alllooons" at the top of her lungs.

7) Try not to wince every time said toddler pops a balloon-- and then cries because the noise scared her.

8) During negotiations-- and especially while reviewing long, convoluted lists of financing and amortization terms-- make sure your toddler and baby are both crying. This makes concentrating so much easier.

9) To further distract said toddler during negotiations, let toddler play "soccer" with balloons she finds on the floor-- even if her game tends to run through the middle of other people trying to look at or purchase vehicles.

10) Finally, be sure to show your toddler the water cooler that is conveniently just her height. She'll gladly pretend she's playing in the bath tub for 20 minutes while splashing water all over the marble-tiled showroom floor.

Follow these easy tips and I guarantee that car salesmen will rush to ensure that your negotiations run smoothly and you are out of there in no time flat. I think the car salesmen we met last night would have given us a new car to make us leave.

On a happy note, we are the proud, owners of a new Camry. Whoo hoo!!

Check me out

My Baked Southwestern Corn Dip recipe was featured on Tipnut as one of "24 Delicious Dip Recipes." So cool! Seriously, I've never even heard of Tipnut before, and I have no idea how they even found my little, bitty blog. But, hey, I'll take the link any day!

I'm off to get ready for another telephonic job interview. I guess my screaming banshees didn't completely ruin my first interview. Keep your fingers crossed that everyone manages to nap through this interview.

The lunatic is in my head**

I am just having one of those weeks. You know-- the kind where nothing goes right. And I mean absolutely nothing. I have woken up feeling like I have cotton in my temples every morning. Worst of all, I had a headache that was so bad yesterday that I ended up sleeping for two hours after Sean got home from work. I almost missed dinner and that, I tell you, never happens.

I set up a phone interview for a potential job on Tuesday and didn't realize that the interviewer was in a different time zone than me. So, the painstaking planning I did to ensure that the kids would be napping during the interview came to a grinding halt when the interviewer called me an hour before I thought we were scheduled to talk. Surprise! Time for an interview and both kids are not only awake but also screeching like little chimpanzees. I'm sure I got that job.

I've forgotten things left and right, like extra diapers for the trip we took to have lunch with Daddy, and Hadley's swim diapers for the trip to the sprinkler park. Today, we went to the botanic gardens to play in the little wading creek and "rain storm" area, and I completely forgot towels and extra clothes. Poor Hadley had to ride home in her diapie because she was way too wet to ride home in her clothes. I'm sure she loved that. Actually, I take that back. She did love it. She sang the whole way home while she gobbled up Craisins. She's easy to please.

That reminds me-- I was going to give you guys the oh-so-difficult (ha!) popsicle recipe I use for making Hadley little sweet afternoon treats. I knew that we would want to give Hadley cold treats this summer, and when I saw a little popsicle-making kit in the dollar section at Target, I jumped on it. Now, I can make her 8 little popsicles at a time, and she loves them. To make, I just fill each little cup 3/4 full with water and 1/4 of orange juice. Easy, healthy, and free of tons of added sugar and dyes. Since Hadley has never had a real popsicle, she thinks these are the best treats ever. And, while she is eating one, I can buy myself a few minutes to get laundry started or to chop veggies for dinner. Win-win, my friends.

** Extra credit if you can name the song I stole this title from.

Favorites

It's been a tough, looong week around these parts, so to lift my spirits a little, I thought I would show you some of my favorite spots around our house. And, stay tuned: I'm planning to post pics of Brynn's nursery a little later this week. It's beautacious (yep, that's a word), if I do say so myself.

This is our foyer, complete with our new front door (!!!). I love how light and airy this room is.

We found this piece at an antique store. It's an original 1950's TV cabinet and had the original (non-functioning) tv and record player in it when we bought it. Sean has since removed both and added a new record player and stereo system. This piece is housed in our "library," or what most people would call their "formal living room." Since we aren't formal, we didn't need one of those. This is the room where we keep all of our books, records, cd's, and games. We spend many hours in here listening to music, dancing, and reading books.

This rug in our library is my favorite rug in the house. It's also one of Hadley's favorite reading spots.

This is the other side of the library, which is wall-to-wall bookshelves. Sean built and installed these with his bare hands. And I love them. They make the room and also provide us a ton of storage space for our collection of books and records.

This is the dining room, which you can see from the library. I love this room in the afternoon light.

And this is one of my favorite pieces in the house. It's a mid-century-modern console that we picked up for a steal at an antique store. I use it to house most of my china. It also has the perfect drawer for organizing photographs and photography supplies.

Five Things

Five things I never want to forget:

1) How hard Sean works for our family. He spent most of his Father's Day weekend in a tiny hole in our hot attic prepping it for insulation. We currently have very little insulation on our second floor and that area gets as hot as Hades in the afternoons. Sean had to contort himself into a pretzel and squeeze into a teeny, tiny little space to get the prep work done. He is willing to go to great lengths to accomplish things that make our lives better.

2) How Brynn sucks on two fingers on her left hand right now. It's immensely adorable, but we are nevertheless trying to curb this before she resorts to thumb sucking. I spend most of the day replacing her fingers with her paci. So far, she's not falling for it.

3) How Hadley now calls for "Momma" and "Da-tty" when she wants us. She ran down the hall yesterday afternoon calling "Da-tty," "Da-tty" for Sean. It was heartmelting.

4) How lucky we are to have my family so close. My parents and brother live right around the corner from us and my sister and her family live about 15 minutes away. We also have loads of cousins, aunts, and uncles nearby. Our family spends so much time together on holidays, birthdays, and just for dinners, picnics, and parties. I love that my kids will grow up with lots of family nearby.

5) How sweet my girls are to each other. It is so much fun to watch Hadley with Brynn. She gives her Minnie all of her kisses right now and loves to pat Brynn's back or hand and give her big hugs. And Brynn is fascinated by Hadley, too. Brynn watches Hadley constantly and smiles in her direction. I just love these kids.

Granola Lust

This post is off subject and really rather dull, but I can't get this little gem out of my head.

Chobani Strawberry greek yogurt topped with this:

Oh yeah!

I usually eat this little treat as a snack when the kiddos are napping in the afternoons. I like to close my eyes, sip my iced coffee, and enjoy the few minutes of quiet with something that feels like a decadent treat. This totally fits the bill!

So, what does it say about me if I'm this excited about yogurt??

I'm Here-- I Promise!!!

I so owe you guys a post! I know I've been MIA for the last couple of weeks, but I have a good excuse, I promise. I've been meticulously planning and prepping for Haddy's big birthday bash during just about every waking moment for the past couple of weeks and unfortuanately, everything not party related, including this blog, kinda fell by the wayside. Oops. But, I'm back now. And, all of my hard work on the party really paid off! The party was fabulous and so fun-- more details and pics to come.

My baby is one!!! I still can't believe it and am still a bit in shock. We have spent this week recovering (i.e., relaxing) from her big birthday bash, attending Hadley's one-year checkup, and organizing Hadley's toys since she really racked up at her party. I hope to post Hadley's 12-month letter tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed.

Oh, and my amazing sister-in-law, Jennifer, will be posting guest blogs on her favorite topic, interior design. We share a love of modern design and I'm so excited to read her posts. The first two she posted in late August are great. You can find the posts here and here.

A difference in perception

At Hadley's Little Gym class last week, a little boy toddled over to Hadley and gave her a big, open-mouthed kiss on the top of her head. After much oohing and ahhing by the mommies, he leaned in and gave her another one. That time, Hadley tilted her head up and kissed him back.

My response: That was so sweet. Look at my baby returning kisses!!

Sean's response when I told him: She's way too young to be kissing boys.

And therein lies the difference in men and women. The end.

Two Days and Counting...

I think we've kicked the habit! I'm probably jinxing myself by writing this, but Hadley has now gone two whole days, since Tuesday morning, without touching, looking at, or crying for her pacifier (her paci). She had only been using it when she was sleeping at naptime and at night, but still, she loved that thing. She would wake up in the middle of the night and search for it in her crib. And, she would play with it and sing to it when she woke up in the morning. I figured that taking her paci away would be akin to the world ending, but for some reason, she doesn't even seem to notice that it's gone. I think I'm a little more sad and sentimental than she is to see it go. But, at the same time, I am so happy that we don't have to worry about taking it away when she is old enough to really understand.

Did anyone else's little one use a pacifier?? If so, how did you phase it out/ wean your child from it? I'm half expecting our world to drop out from under us in a few days when Hadley remembers that thing. Keep your fingers crossed that that doesn't happen!

This is what I have to put up with

Sean sent me this in an email today:

Q: How do you stop a lawyer from drowning?

A: Shoot him before he hits the water.

Lawyers get no respect.