Mom's On a Mission

There is a part of me that feels extreme guilt for my lack of writing. There are a few things that factor into my depriving you.

I kinda feel like a bore. Up until last weekend I hadn't even been out. In an effort to drop some lbs. in preparation for my 10 year high school reunion I went on a sugar free diet, enlisted the aid of appetite suppressants, made myself cozy with daily visits to LA Fitness and every Saturday morning forfeited the joy of sleeping in (yeah right! who am I kidding?) to go to the most intense exercise class I've experienced. The good news is the reunion is this weekend. I've got seven pounds to go and even though there is a part of me that's frustrated I wasn't able to do more when I see myself in pictures the change is noticeable. The compliments are definitely encouraging too. Today I even discovered that I dropped a dress size! I grabbed a dress in a size 12 and to my surprise it was a little baggy so I decided to try a 10 and wa-lah! it fit. Although I've hit the part of the journey where I'm burnt out and wanting to pig out that moment in the dressing room really helped me. I'm going to devise a sustainable plan and keep at it, the way I see it I've still got seven pounds to lose.

I learned my lesson the hard way last weekend. Naps when you rise with the sun are essential. Last Saturday I was up at 6:00, back home by 10:00 and around 12:30 back on my way out to watch the Georgia game (which by the way we lost!). After picking up my Elle and mom we were on our way to Wal-Mart and by this time Mom also had three beers in her. Needless to say crashing and burning was inevitable, right? Lucky for me I've got some great back-up in the form of my grams and she pitched in allowing me a much needed nap. I came very close to over-sleeping and missing my triumphant return to the nightlife but alas I didn't and in no time flat I was on my way to pick up my best friend and have a fun night out. This fun "night out" turned into "all night out" as I rolled back up to my house at 4:00am. What was I thinking? There are no words. All I know is four hours later my sweetpea was up and ready to get the day started I couldn't say the same for her mom though. Luckily I gave Jesus the wheel and after breakfast and a bath Elle was ready for a nap and I couldn't have been more happy. That nap was the best I've slept since Elle's been here. I even got in a shower and our bag packed to meet my bestie who I kept waiting longer than I care to admit.

The life of a single mother is a hard one! Believe me there's plenty more where that came from...

XOXO

Yo Gabba Gabba!

Me & Elle love Yo Gabba Gabba & in October DJ Lance and crew will be hitting our city with there live show. I've been excited about it since I learned about them coming from the TicketMaster website & would be absolutely estatic if we won the tickets (so keep your fingers, toes & eyes crossed for us!) And if you would like to enter go here.

Good Luck!

XOXO

270 Days of Mommyhood

This is my just three months away from being a one year old beauty!

But before I go get too far ahead of myself let's enjoy month #9! First let's gush over those two teeth...aren't they fabulous? I KNOW! Elle's breaking them in nicely too. As soon as food enters it doesn't stand a chance, she's chewing away. Speaking of food we've graduated to the third level of Gerber & enjoying all sorts of snacks now that she's officially a crawler. She's also enjoying "tastes" of table food, so far under her belt she's got chicken, eggs & ice cream. It's pretty much impossible to sit down to eat without Elle letting you know (i.e. grunting) that she'd like to have some too. It actually excites me because soon the days of formula and baby food will be behind us and I've got the makings of an adventurous eater on my hands.

Elle is crawling up a storm. Since she's not a huge fan of being confined and I'm not a huge fan of her cries & screams of frustration so I let her roam. She usually ends up in the same room I'm in and watches me while I do whatever it is I'm doing. When I leave a room in just a matter of seconds she's figuring out where I'm headed and she's on her way too. I love it! She's getting into everything and there are times when I just look at her amazed at what she's able to do. She's able to take all the contents of my purse out, she loves getting her hands on my headphones (and for that matter my phone), and when it appears she's out of options she's found a piece of fuzz or lint to occupy herself (and terrify me) with.

She has officially graduated to big girl baths! She absolutely loves the water, splashing it that is. And even though I inevitably end up drenched it's a lot of fun. She's all smiles until she grabs a hold of the washcloth that I'm using to bathe her and when I take it from her cue the water works. She doesn't like when you take something from her that she was having a good time with and clearly not done with. I give her something else and try to distract her but sometimes that's just not good enough.

She's even got a new hairstyle! Although the headband has been ixnayed she's rockin' a side ponytail. She's' got all that hair (and big head...lol) might as well start having some fun with it. And since my taste is more headbands and hair bows I'm going to start making them. I've been doing a ton of reading and am ready to hit the hardware store and ribbon aisle and let my creative juices flow. I'm even thinking about taking up knitting or crocheting so that when it gets cold she can have her head covered and still be fabulous.

Here's to fall, football and uggs! XOXO

240 Days of Mommyhood

As we round the corner of month number eight we're hitting new milestones. Elle's able to get herself up and sit nice and straight. In the mornings after a bit of stretching and head tossing she's up and looking for yours truly. She's silly & laughs at everything. Peek-a-boo is her favorite. Whether you cover your face or her's she is always up for a few rounds of fun. She's definitely got some stubbornness in her, which I certainly didn't pass on to her. It usually shows itself when she's got something in her hand, which basically means it's making it's way to her mouth & it could very likely hurt her. One of her favorites is my headphones I suppose because the little ear buds fit perfectly into her little hand. She's also a huge fan of car keys as well as my iPhone. Since I've done some reading on the matter I always hand her something less dangerous (i.e. a toy) but it's just not as much fun. After a few tears she's all better.

She's still got jello legs but really enjoys standing up. She's also just started crawling forward. And is reaching for any and everything. It's so fun to watch her play with her toys, she's spinning, hitting, squeezing and pulling.



She's got a new car seat! And friend, the purple pup is Violet & she's going to teach Elle how to spell her name!


High chair...


and riding in the shopping cart! (I know she's not wearing shoes, don't judge me! And I'll be purchasing a grocery cart cover-thingy once I find a print that reflects our style.)


XOXO

The Is"shoe"

After my last post I decided I really need to find Elle some new sandals. I went to Piperlime first, why, I couldn't tell you. They do have some cute sandals but if I don't have a pair of $47 sandals I can't imagine why Elle would need a pair, they are fabulous though, huh? Here are the ones I ordered and these I'm wrestling with ; I mean practicality totally gets thrown out the window, they're white! And as the cold weather sets in she'll just being how to walk. I can see this going real bad, real quick.

“The one thing children wear out faster than shoes is parents.”
~John C. Plomp

XOXO

My Little Wiggle-Worm

Yesterday was Elle's first time riding in her stroller! A very big moment for us. Hip, Hip, HOORAY! I don't really like having to run errands during the week. If it can't take place during my lunch hour then it just has to wait till' the weekend. But now that I'm exercising during my lunch hour that means every now and again I've just gotta suck it up and get things done. Formula was needed so we headed out to Babies "R" Us and since we were out and it was close we made a quick stop at Target too. FYI-There is no such thing has a "quick stop at Target" LOL!

She did a great job at Babies "R" Us! Cool, calm, collected, just loving life. I'm in a bit of dilemma, Elle needs a new pair of sandals. She's inching her way out of the very stylish ones she currently has. My problem is that I really don't like what I've got to choose from which is the whole reason I hadn't bought any prior to them. To me they are so old lady and orthopedic looking. And we are neither old lady or orthopedic! So after picking up the formula, which I got a free can of! Gotta love the rewards program, after every 9 cans you get a free one & a bathing suit, which was on clearance too! We were off to Target. I had bought some outfits that were the wrong size & since I didn't have the receipt and they're such sticklers about there exchange policy I had a hunt in front of me. So to avoid a return visit I decided I had to try the shorts on to make sure they fit. Sounds like a smart thing to do right? WRONG! So here we are in the back of the baby dept. I've unbuckled Elle from her stroller, slid her bloomers off, got the shorts ready to go up and my lil' wiggle worm wasn't having it! She is practically going nuts and I'm doing everything in my power to not let her wiggle out of the stroller and on to the ground. I wrestle the shorts up and back down, WHEW! I picked out a few more things and then I realize I don't hear her lil' maraca...why is it so quiet? I take a few steps back and there it is on the floor. As we head for the customer service desk I don't see her passy. I check all around her and it's no where to be found, so we head back to the baby dept. on a mission to find it! A dad had picked it up off the floor and set it aside in case we returned, thank goodness because that was one of her cuter ones...lol!

I left out our visit to the dressing room. Before we left the house Elle ate but eventually it was going to be time for a bottle. Insert our bottle break. She's a mess & falling apart, hunger pains have that effect & as I try to reason with her and explain that I'm moving as fast as I can, she's not really responding all that well. After a few additional minutes taking over the handicap changing room she was momentarily content and allowed us to finish up our shopping. One day she's really going to enjoy our shopping trips, yesterday wasn't that day!

Stroller=Struggle. XOXO

I'm Busy...doing nothing

Yesterday I had the esteem pleasure of having a quick chat with a dear friend. She recently relocated, luckily it's near the beach so even though she left our great city how can you not love that part?! Since I love both my local Hallmark and snail mail (minus the post-master, ofcourse) I write her once a week. It's my way of letting her know that I miss her and I tell her about whatever is going on that day. While we were talking yesterday she asked what was going on and it hit me that I can sum my life up in just a few sentences.

Elle's fabulous! She's starting to crawl, backwards but it's progress; she's reaching for stuff; she cries if you take something away from her that she's fond of, like my headphones; she loves em'! And as soon as I take them away cue the waterworks. Last night she had a wrapper in her hand and as soon as she put it in her mouth I took it away from her. I'll give her credit though she didn't immediately go that route she did some investigating first. I watched her cry, like push out these huge tears and her bottom lip curled under. I also took a minute to listen to her cry. Just see if I could hear a difference when she's hungry. I'll have to get back to you on that.

Work is good. I've been a little irritated with some co-workers recently but nothing too crazy.

I've become a gym rat. My 10-year high school reunion is in September and I'd like to lose 15 lbs. I'm not gonna lie, twenty would be better. So since there's enough time to change my eating habits (i.e. my beer consumption...lol) & sweat it off versus going on the cottage cheese and apple diet, because that sounds like fun! Not. It's only been four days today but I'm really proud of myself. I've resisted Panda Express, I found a coupon for a free entree (tempting), this morning there were the most yummy bagels & cream cheese in our office (enticing); but I resisted! Part of what helps is I found a dress & in order to fit it and look my best I've gotta stay strong! And to reward myself I'm planning a girls night out in a month. That way I can have a few cocktails and a yummy dinner and then get right back to it.

Normal's nice. XOXO