Our little dancer

We went to Irish day at Emerald Downs on Sunday, which really means nothing we found out. M joined the Irish Heritage club, hoping he'd meet some fellow Irish but to this point, we still have met none. It wasn't even anything where you might easily meet anyone but really just a bunch of people watching the horse races. It was a nice day out though and E loved seeing the horses (although she calls them 'puppies'). She would even pump her arm in support as they would run by.

We were wandering around and a good Irish sounding song came on the tannoy and our girl started dancing, as she does. There were a couple ladies standing by watching, that's why she is kind of leaning over at the end to see if they are still watching her. ;) We took a couple of funny videos but by far, her dancing is the most entertaining. Oh and she had her first s'more camping this weekend, THAT was funny too.

I don't know if I mentioned that E is in swim 'lessons'. Well, I searched high and low for a swim class with warm water so that we could work on e getting over her dislike of water. Although she doesn't really dislike water, she will splash around in a wading pool or even Puget Sound (last week when we were camping) and we all know how damn cold that is! But she doesn't like getting her face wet. We'd gone 6 times and she was progressively hating it more and more, screaming crying when the instructor would take her across the pool.. basically take her FROM me or her dad and then swim across and hand her back to one of us at the side of the pool. I guess it makes sense but the instructor was not really telling us what to do until she told M not to wait by the edge of the pool. M doesn't like the water and just being in an enclosed swimming facility was likely making him sick each time we went. It's highly possible that she was feeling a vibe off of him but more likely it was us handing her off each time to the instructor. She was freaking. I eventually called the registration area and told them I wasn't feeling the love, the instructor wasn't giving us any idea of how to handle things and I was not signing her up for the next session. We had a good chat and she suggested a bunch of things to try, starting with getting in the water. We've gone 3 sessions with me in the water with her and her dad stayed home. Last night was by far the best, there was a bit of apprehension and crying before we got in but I took her in the water and had her practice holding onto the edge while we waited for the instructor.. I warned her when it was almost her turn so she knew what was coming and when the instructor came over, e went with her and i swam beside. She even high-fived the instructor each time (even when the instructor blew in her face and then dunked her face in the water - blowing on it makes them hold their breath), which was a big deal because the last two times she was like 'no way' to the instructor. She wasn't sure she wanted to but she went down the little slide into the water and she even 'jumped' into the water as well (the instructor hangs out and 'catches' her). All in all, it was a GREAT class. She was really relaxed and we had a fun time together.

Last but not least, I am 1 pound or so away from my first 10% loss. I haven't weighed this since I graduated from college and frankly, I don't know where to go from here. Lose more or stop here and see what happens... I still have flappy underarms and leftover baby belly (much less than before) and I know I need to keep toning... I just wonder if I need to keep losing too. As you might see from the video, I don't look all that 'thin' to me.

Wk 1 - 180
Wk 2 - 176.4
Wk 3 - 171.4
Wk 4 - 168.2
Wk 5 - 164.6
Wk 6 - 162.8

Recovery

We are still in recovery mode after our guests left last Sunday night. The nice thing is that M has gotten back to work finishing the little jobs that will make this house sale-able. He and his dad put up a fence out back, cleaned up some junk and mowed the grass. So we no longer look like The Clamp3tts out back... well, maybe a little. We still need a run to the dump but you've got to start somewhere!



I don't know why I like this photo - maybe because her eyes look blue (I don't know how clear it is but there is a brown speck in her left eye - left eye in the photo - and I like the fact that she truly has a bit of us both) and they are usually so dark that you can't see that. Anyhow, she had a great time with the grandparents... it was wonderful that she got to spend more than a few days with them and really got to enjoy them. M's dad would feed her breakfast every morning and they'd share a bit of his morning sandwich as well. We got a lot of lovely photos of the two of them sitting on the chairs facing each other and munching on a bit of bread.

As beautiful and fun as she can be, she seems to have become the devil's spawn during the in-between moments. Oh.My.God. Some days I have to laugh because really it's all I can do. The poor thing is mostly frustrated with the fact that she can't communicate what she wants all the time but it comes out in whining, screeching, shouting, laying on the floor in hysterics (that one makes me laugh, I don't know why) and it is truly a trial. I read that the "Terrible Two's" is very similar to having a teenager so in that case, I'm worried. ;) Mostly though, she a joy to be around, she laughs a lot (hysterically at times) and it's the best sound in the world. When did we stop laughing like that?? I wish I knew.

I got the coolest gift for M on Father's Day! I was reading kirida's website again and she had a little video on it and I followed the link to her review of the Fl1p Ultra camc0rder. M had been talking about getting on and this is about the size of a blackb3rry and super easy to use. He loved it. Hopefully I'll be able to post some boring videos in the near future! It's sooooo awesome!

I was truly sad to hear about T1m Russ3rt passing. I was a fan of M33t the Pre$$ (seemed like the only show that got real answers out of politicians) and we always watch the nightly news with br1an w1lliams and he was the political go-to guy. He seemed like a really nice guy - everyone has been telling the best stories about him... you wish that you'd known him!

Finally, last but not least.... WW is working! I bought a pair of jeans and shorts 2 sizes down!!! I guess since you know how much I weigh I can embarrass myself by saying I was in an 18 and now in a 14. With room to spare. Woo hoo! I actually saw some obliques showing up in the mirror this morning! I'm training with Couch to 5K so I've started running and I'm doing sculpte classes at the gym 3 mornings a week right now. Hopefully I'll find some Pilates Reformer classes soon, just to try something different. I better go and get to work!

Wk 1 - 180
Wk 2 - 176.4
Wk 3 - 171.4
Wk 4 - 168.2
Wk 5 - 164.6

Short, but sweet

Weigh-in post:

Wk 1 - 180
Wk 2 - 176.4
Wk 3 - 172.8
Wk 4 - 171.4
Wk 5 - 168.2

WOO HOO!

Just for fun

Stolen from my pal Mostly Risible. I didn't think I'd have time to do it but I did. :) It's kind of fun.

1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.


2. Using only the first page of results, and pick one image.


3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab’s Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

The questions:

1. What is your first name?

2. What is your favorite food? right now?

3. What high school did you go to?

4. What is your favorite color?

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

6. What is your favorite drink?

7. What is your dream vacation?

8. What is your favorite dessert?

9. What do you want to be when you grow up?

10. What do you love most in life?

11. What is one word that describes you?

12. What is your flickr name?

Happy days!

A couple weeks ago, I met up with kirida (who, by the way, if you have time to read another blog, cracks me up continuously) and her cutie patootie son N. She's a photographer starting her own business and she took this very cool shot of E. While she was taking it, I thought, 'oh this is going to be very cool, why didn't I think of that?' and I guess the answer is that I am usually following my child around making sure she doesn't fall off of things (we were at the park) so carrying my spiffy camera around can be cumbersome.

It's been awhile since I've written mostly because I've been busy working and on weekends, entertaining Irish folks. M's family is here since mid May and we are settling into a routine. The weather has been brutal which makes life difficult in this small house, also because keeping E in the house all day isn't something I relish. We've been sending to daycare most days, although picking her up early so the grandparents can have some fun. She and her grandad definitely have a bond - there is a LOT of hearty laughter from the upstairs that I can hear while I am still working. It's great to see. I'm sure it has a lot to do with this great age she is at - somehow I manage to block out the tantrums because there are so many smiles and words. She still calls M 'mama' (although when asked "where's mama?" she points at me and "where's dada?" she points at M) most of the time but we continue to correct her. I'm sure she's just playing with us anyway to see how frustrated we can get....

We started 'swimming lessons' on Monday. I did this because she does not like the bath. I figure a bit of time in the water can't hurt. I researched places and we drive about 30-40 minutes to go to a 92 degree pool for 30 minutes. I don't care, it's worth it to me. She has 2 classes a week, 4 other kids of varying abilities with her. She wears little styrofoam thingy's around her waist and the instructor managed to dip her face in the water with no crying! She blew on E's face just before she dunked her face. I think E was so shocked she didn't know what to do but she didn't cry. It was fantastic! There's also a small slide that goes directly in the pool, that's the last thing the class does and she LOVES the slide. I can't wait to see her jump in like the other kids. It may be a ways off but it'll be so worth it. She's amazing. Every day she amazes me.

I love my life.

Week 1 - 180
Week 2 - 176.4
Week 3 - 172.8
Week 4 - 171.4

another day in the month of may....

We've got this lovely expensive camera and yet we still can't manage to get a photo in focus! I don't know if that's because the girl is always moving or we are just really bad at taking photos with an auto-focus camera. (How can you be bad when the camera focuses for you?)

Anyhow, this was E heading to school last week. We put on the new coat but she put on the hat. Now that she can put them on herself, she likes to wear them. We had to laugh because she looks like an old British lady. ;)

The irish contingent are upstairs while I am working. E is with them and I can hear the irish music and E dancing away. She gets this look of concentration on her face when she's dancing (since it involves doing a circle) but she loves it. She is hilarious. Needless to say, the endless clapping for her isn't hurting her ego one bit! She should be fun to be around when her grandparents head home in a month! NOT!

I debated mentioning this or not because I've gone down the weight loss path before on the blog only to quit once I started to make some good headway. (Beware, posting poundage can be hazardous to your health). Anyway, last January I started watching what I was eating and cutting out alcohol. By the end of March (February), I had lost 15 pounds (from 195 to 180). Because that was my pre-baby weight, I guess I thought it was an okay benchmark, in which to adjust my eating and went back to a normal sort of eating pattern. For the last 2 months I have held steady at 180 with workouts and limited drinking, not snacking too much. Two weeks ago I decided to join We1ght Watcher$. I had been debating for a long time about what the best course of action would be for someone having a problem with how much food she eats, rather than WHAT she eats. I have been too comfortable for too long with this number on the scale... telling myself that I still look fine... that I hadn't weighed what the guidelines suggest I weigh for years.... but I also knew that if I kept going the way I have been going, I'd be 200 pounds before you know it. It used to be that 180 was my upper limit but 200 became the upper limit when I was pregnant. See how easy you can move the bar up?! Anyhow, my 10% goal, which WW uses as the first benchmark regardless of what you need to lose, will take me to 162. I haven't weighed 162 since I don't know when. My head can't even wrap around the number 162! I have to change that line of thinking because we all know the power of positive thinking. I WILL BE 162! And possibly less than that. Who knows? I know I have a lot of work ahead of me. And besides the work, I have to think of it as a change of lifestyle, which has always been the hard part... but should not be impossible! Wish me luck!

And by the way, I probably won't be mentioning the weight loss but will put a little calendar at the bottom of each post to record it for myself. :)

5/14 180.4
5/21 176.4

Can you say 'hair afire?'

Martin's parents and sister arrive today. If we thought our house was small before, imagine the next month or so. Pray for us! :)

Needless to say, I don't have time to write and I have some really cute photos of the girl. This one of all of us will have to suffice for now. Ciao!

Weekends are good times

This photo wasn't exactly from the weekend but Thursday night. We took a walk with a friend and her dog, down by the water. Emer loves her Bella, even when Bella is whapping her in the face with her tail. And Bella will wait so peacefully while Emer does her version of 'petting' her which usually involves a harder-than-petting slap. I know that because she's gotten into this phase of 'putting the baby to sleep' (usually me or her dad but sippy cups or her stuff animal Ted work too) and we have to lay down on the floor and she proceeds to cover us with a blanket and pat us (hard) on the head, arm, back. There's really no chance of falling asleep when she's 'putting you to sleep' - it's more like time to go to the hospital! Just kidding, she's not that strong yet. ;)

The other day M went downstairs while E was having dinner. I was sitting with her and she said something and my mind slowly realized that she said "mama go". Now, she hasn't been getting our roles right for a month or so and I realized she was saying that M went! A sentence. Of sorts. She says it all the time now when one of us 'goes'. God, it's cool. It's so cool. There are definitely more words happening now-some only I can understand. She's got bye-bye and HI down pat.

We went to the grocery store yesterday and they have these neat little carts for the kids. She loves that thing and was pushing it around and saying HI to everyone. It was hilarious.

Besides that, we have exactly 2 weeks until M's parents and sister arrives. We are hurriedly trying to finish our two upstairs bedrooms for them to stay in. Basically we move the piles of clothes, toys, diapers, etc from room to room. This morning was definitely a melting point for us - just makes us want to cry that we have no storage. I sooo wish that M would get some help, he doesn't need to waste his time painting when he could be finishing the closet inserts, etc. I guess I could be helping instead of blogging but I try to stay at my computer for when issues come in (it's been slow lately) so that I have a job in the future. It's a great job to have but it's hard to prove your worth when people aren't having computer problems!

I didn't actually say anything about the weekend, did I? The weather was crappy on Saturday which kept 3 outdoor people cooped up for far too long (we finally ventured out and went to the library). Sunday was beautiful and we went to the zoo (with 500 other people - we have the zoo pass so we go for a couple hours and hang out) and then we went looking at neighborhoods and to open houses. We saw a huge house that was brand new and all I can think is, can we move now?
(Don't worry, M feels the same way!)

BI-cicle, BI-cicle.. i like to ride my bi-ci-cle...

It's a Queen song, not sure if yer man was really referring to
actually riding a bicycle but there you go. M purchased a little gift for E last week, not really sure if she'd like it because a) she hates wearing hats and b) she cries in the bath. So how was she going to do on a bicycle wearing a helmet? Well, curiously, she loved it! From the look of the photos. In the other photos I got, she was looking at her feet or trying to take the helmet off and because I don't want anyone reporting me to CPS, I'll show the one where the helmet stayed on. She kept coming back for more. I bet if she didn't have to wear the helmet, she'd want to be on that thing every day. Now, you may notice that I was not as successful getting my hubby to wear the helmet (I thought if he did it, she wouldn't hate it so bad but he refused saying he was only 'going up the street'. well, guess what? cars can run you over on our boring little stretch of neighborhood road too. and frankly, since some people tend to use our street as a drag racing strip, it's probably more often than not). Anyhoo, we are very much looking forward to being able to bike this summer when we go camping, especially if E continues to enjoy it! Yay!

Finished finally..

I just finished the application for M's 10 year green card. I can understand why there's so many illegal aliens in this country.... no one wants to bother getting all the crap together and then on top of that mailing a check for $545. It's not bad enough that we had to pay the first two times we applied - first for the f1ance v1sa and then for the adju5tment of status - but everytime we have to do something. Then if we decide to go and live in Ireland for awhile, we'll have to pay again, no doubt, to "save our place" or something silly like that. At this point, I'd say we easily have spent $1000 on this process. It's no wonder some people choose to be illegal, they.don't.have.time.or.money.to.do.the.paperwork... they are too busy working! I don't blame them.

You'd think having a little peanut would be enough 'evidence' but it's not. We have to provide all this other proof, no doubt I have gone overboard but the thought of getting a request for more evidence doesn't appeal. Sigh.

Little daredevil

We went for a drive this weekend, looking at houses yet again, and we stopped in a cute little town while the rain had stopped and went to the park. We discovered something new about our little peanut, she's a daredevil. She went to the slide and slid down face first and, as you can see from the photo, LOVED it. Now if only she liked the bath this much!

Oh summer, come back to us!

We were blessed the other day with a 79 degree day (about 25 ish to those Down Under). It was probably the first time our poor child has seen a day of warm sun where she actually didn't have to wear a coat outside, or socks or even pants! Like her mom, she got quite giddy and happy and truly blossomed under the rays of the sun. Unlike her mom, she seems to have retained that feeling the last few days even though it's back to 45-50 degrees (9-10C) and crappy. I just cannot rally when the weather is crummy. I want summer NOW!

We had some lovely people over on the most beautiful day of the year thus far, a couple we met in our P3ps group. Their son, F, is a beautiful and seemingly peaceful child. I was in awe of how he and E seemed to be kindred spirits - actually playing together and acknowledging each other's presence. Usually E plays on her own, or when kids this age are together, they kind of wander around from parent to parent or more or less ignore each other. These two were copying each other and chasing each other and it was lovely to see. Apparently, blogger doesn't want you to see it though as it isn't allowing me to upload a photo.

Oh, there we go!

I have finally put together a make shift slide show of M's work in the house to date, everything he has done. It's pretty impressive. I'm going to put it together in our application for 'removal of conditions' that he needs to go through to get his 10 year green card. Since it's essentially been his job, I need to show that he's committed to this place! Again, we won't be posting any photos at this point but maybe later when blogger starts working again.

above: my already messy office and the finished main room/bedroom

above: the master bath (if only you could see exactly how bad this looked in process, I took a photo of the toilet because I have a photo of all the exposed drainage/sewage pipes that I decided not to share here).

Did I mention, my hubby rocks?!

April Fool

I have never been one for joking around on April Fool's Day so
this isn't a joking blog entry. It's just the same ole stuff!
Here's my 17 mo daughter strutting her stuff with the newest
outfit du jour. We got these leggings - called Baby Legs, go figure - at a Baby Loves D1sco event and I just started putting them
on her around the house since she prefers not to have clothes on but it's too cold in our state for that! She has the latest in diaper accessories and a t-shirt that her auntie got her that says "Little Irish Dude" (not sure why) and she felt an immediate need to put on her favorite coat. There's also one with her favorite purple hat but she doesn't look as trendy as she does in this one.

Besides my child turning 17 months old today, holy COW, we are unveiling the, hopefully working, heated tile floor in the bathroom today. M said if it doesn't work (after laying it down (can't test it) and putting the tile down) he will go to a bar for the rest of the afternoon. If it does work, he will take off all his clothes and lay on the heated floor drinking Guinness all day. So either way, it's a drinking day for him. ;) I promise in the next few days to take updated photos and show off all the space. I just wanted to bathroom to be more completed before I started showing off his work. We love it.

Last weekend I used the last bit of a gift certificate that I received for my birthday in July last year. I had a facial and a hand/foot treatment at an Aveda salon. Usually I don't do facials because my skin usually looks worse rather than better afterwards but I thought I'd try something different. It was almost as relaxing as the 1.5 hour massage I had the week before (also on the gc). But now I'm out of the gift cert and I won't be doing that again any time soon! I think for my next birthday (the big 4-0h) I'd rather have sessions with my personal trainer. Or maybe a long weekend here. Again, a little more than I'd spend on myself but if someone wants to give it to me...... I'll take it!

I'm getting old! WAH!

I must be getting old because if I wasn't, I would've known that this was going on last night and I would've been there before everyone else.

Sigh.

I better get out my walker.

Top o'the mornin' to ya

I'm almost sure that's what she is saying.

..'i think i've found something...'

This is the most recent thing that E does that M and I cringe over. Actually, she doesn't do too many but this one is hilarious. You can almost see her sticking a pea up there in the future. Since she can really get that finger up there, undoubtedly the pea will go back into her brain. lol

We had kind of an embarrassing, what-kind-of-parents-are-we? moment when M went to pick up E at the daycare and one of the head ladies at the daycare mentioned that E's shoes were too small. The teachers in her group didn't want to tell us - they were embarrassed I guess - but they can't possibly be as embarrassed as the mom who didn't notice they were getting too small. That could explain why one of them (the shoes, that is) constantly ended up on the floor of the car on the way home. Anyway, she seems to be much happier with the shoes that we found for her to wear, those ones do not come off! (Here I was thinking she was just bored with her shoes....)

Other than that, we managed to have our first tear-free bath the other night (hers, not ours). As you might also remember, we've been reduced to washing our child in the kitchen sink. M holds her up while I wash, then she is wrapped in a towel and M holds her over the sink while I wash her hair. It's quite a production and none of us enjoy it. So Sunday was bath day and I was doing a bit of cooking and E was asking to get 'up..up' and so I put her in the sink. Our sink is one of those double ones, so she was squatting in one side and I turned the water on to empty into the other one. E had all her clothes on and she proceeded to watch the water and put her hands in it. I plugged up the sink and filled it up a bit, then I added a little soap so she could see it bubble, then I unplugged the sink and we watched the water go down. I watched E get completely soak ed (I had to put my hands behind my back not to take her clothes off so they wouldn't get wet!)
and play in the water. When we had the bath about an hour later, there was no crying. When I washed her hair, she seemed to go 'in the zone' and actually enjoy it. Ok, well, maybe not enjoy, per se. But it was definitely much more relaxed for everyone.

Oh, and I made my first pizza today. From start to finish. Rolled the dough out, found a recipe for the sauce that turned out yummy and cut up some vegetables and threw some Hillsh1re Farm hot links on it (that's all we had in the house). It was a great pizza. M said it was the best pizza he's ever had (but I think he might be biased - not a problem there!). I may have to play around and actually buy ingredients for it.. I love it when we try something new and it works!!! Oh, and I did I mention I love my job ('cause sometimes I have time to do this!)

A light at the end of the tunnel

I couldn't type without getting the whole thing underlined but finally I figured it out! I put this photo up even though the girl isn't smiling because I can't believe my BABY looks like this. Almost a little girl. My dad keeps asking me if we own a comb in this house because her hair always looks like this. I try to tell him that we comb it but this is what it looks like 5 seconds later. Oh well! He never liked my hair much either. :))

The title of this post is 'a light at the end of the tunnel' because I literally see the end in sight. Well, the end that means that we can fully use the room, not necessarily the end that says everything is totally complete. M is notorious for leaving bits and pieces unfinished, which I understand, I am assuming due to the relief of the bulk of it being finished. I don't care though because if he wants to move onto one of the other projects left unfinished so that he gets a break, that's okay. Projects will get done. I will hire someone to finish them if I have to. ;) So the three of us can go out and enjoy our weekends again.

Anyhow, we purchased the carpet yesterday and we should have a measuring appt shortly. The carpet could be in by the end of March! Hallelujah! The new plan is for the three of us to move downstairs and have M and some soon-to-be-chosen handyman finish all projects upstairs. Painting both bedrooms, finish trimming the new windows (installed in October), replacing the crown molding (or removing completely). replacing the light fixtures (already purchased in December) and deciding what to do about the floors. Making E's room a true kids room for her - with a play area for her toys and a little desk and chair or something. I haven't decided what yet. Whatever it is, we will be moving my desk and computer equipment out of her room. I don't even like to sleep with electronics in my room but we really had no choice... I'll be glad to see it all moved.

We got an invitation to a first year birthday party for the little boy across the street. He was born last year (obviously!) and we saw him at the shower one of the neighbors held for the family. I can count on ONE hand the number of times I've seen this kid since then and now we are invited to his birthday party? It seems silly and I can't decide between wanting to go so we can see him and not wanting to go because the family is moving in a few months and we'll never see him after that. I would say that we are 'chatting' neighbors - if we ever saw them outside their house. Their place is about 4000 sq ft though and unlike us, their house is big enough to hold the 3 of them and they don't have to be seen outside. So can you see why I think it's kind of funny that we'd get invited to a birthday party? I'm sure there's something else I can do for that 2 hours.....

Anyhow, I better get moving. I'll write more later about our trip to Denver but for now, I actually have to take a shower and go to an office to replace a modem.

My two loves on Valentine's Day

It's Valentine's Day... that holiday that Hallmark seems to have made up to encourage people to spend massive amounts of money to remember their sweeties. I think I read somewhere that the average dollar amount spent at V Day is $128. Since I only spent about $5 then someone else out there spent a lot of cash!! :))

We don't have any plans tonight, just the same thing we do every night except we'll get a takeaway Chinese or something. But I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be than with M and E.
I was talking with my boss/friend last week when I was in CA and we were remembering the Valentine's dinners we used to have together when we were single but pining over someone or another. We used to drink a bottle of wine and I'd drunk dial my favorite f%^& buddy who I unfortunately wanted to be more than that. Somehow she didn't drunk dial hers but oh well. I never did have a lot of self control in the romance department back in those days. As much as I loved our dinners together (we're pretty sure we were the only female couple out in Mtn View in those days), I wouldn't trade that for what I have now. Even if it means staying home. Romance is where you make it, on the day you want to do it, not some contrived holiday that says you have to. M is in my thoughts when I'm out and about and I always try to bring him a treat or whatever. He always moves the car (or truck) ahead when we've been out so I can just pull in, instead of having to parallel park. I know it sounds silly but things like that are what are special to me. Full dinners cooked because it's Tuesday or whatever. I appreciate everything he does for me and I try to let him know as often as I can. Because it's not just for Valentine's Day anymore!

Hope you all get to enjoy it with someone special!

Bed head

Her dad caught this photo of the smiling girl this morning. Well, actually it may have been Saturday morning. Ah, all the days are running together. Anyhow, you can probably make out the shinyness under her nose that speaks volumes, yet another cold, yet another 100 attempts to wipe and 100 attempts to avoid the tissue! And I get the ones with lotion! Ah well, such is my daily life.

The weekend was a good one although I am ashamed to say that I missed my caucus because my child was sleeping and my husband was working. I wanted to go, I just didn't want it to be on Saturday! At 1pm! Fortunately, the outcome was good for me and my friend called to tell me about it. I figure the next time, I will be prepared by knowing exactly what it entails.

I did hit the gym twice this weekend, yay me, and I somehow managed to drop a pound even though it was a rough week involving travel. I just have to keep it up. The jeans are baggier but needless to say, I tend to lose it all on top first before the child bearing hips even THINK about making an exit (I don't think I've ever gotten to that part, actually). We spent Sunday looking at houses again - fun stuff after the kid wakes up from her nap and realizes that she is stuck in the carseat AGAIN and cries and shouts and generally drives mama bonkers until we finally go home. Actually we got out and looked at a couple houses and she enjoyed that. It was just getting back in the car that was no fun. Who knows, maybe she gets carsick or car nauseous?

Anyhoo, that's it for now. I have to go and pick up the little punkin in a few minutes. I didn't see her smiling face this morning since I got home from the gym late, so I'm dying to nibble on her cheek and get my hug. :)

Rain, rain GO AWAY!

Well we got the new battery charger and at this point, I have taken a really lovely photo of E's forehead. It seems like I actually get smiles from the girl if I hold the camera away from me while I'm taking the photo but at the same time, it's not one of those that displays the image you are shooting until after you've taken it (and cut off the lower half of your child's face and all of her body). Needless to say, it'll be a few days before I post with photos.


I can't remember what I posted about last time, chances are I will repeat myself. I apologize.


Last week we went looking at houses in an area east and south of us. The 'burbs really, whereas right now we almost live in the City. I've always had a thing about not living in a neighborhood where the houses are cookie cutter and the yards are a postage stamp size. I haven't really wanted either. BUT. There is something really dreamy to me about living in a brand spanking new house with all new stuff and loads of SPACE. God. We found a house with 2800 square feet out in a neighborhood where all the houses look the same and we.fell.in.love.
Maybe it's because we are tired of our little work-in-progress or the fact that it's tiny, I don't know. But we are hooked now and I don't know if we can go back. Sigh.


I've had a tougher than normal week after my weight loss last week. It's funny how once you lose 10 pounds, your mind seems to think it's okay to eat a bit more or splurge a bit more and pretty soon you've gained back the weight. I haven't weighed myself this week and the pants are getting baggier but I don't feel I've had a good week. I traveled to CA for 2 days, like I do, and I managed to get to the gym on one day and the evening that I usually spend out for dinner and too many glasses of wine/beer with a good friend was spent at her place eating less and talking about weight loss plans. So all in all it wasn't as bad as it could've been. Probably the traveling just throws me off anyway. No doubt things will be back to normal next week. And then we'll fly to Denver to visit friends and that will be tough!


Today I dropped E off at daycare and I had to run to the store to get her some diapers because she was out. When I came back, she was hanging out with 2 girls, they were sitting in these little chairs they have acting like they were reading. It was hilarious. She didn't even run over to me, just kept playing. It warms my heart to see her with her little friends and being independent of me. It rocks. I hope I think that later.. that I remind myself that that is our goal, even though we miss the little peanut that is our baby... even when she's 20! lol



Have a great weekend!