Bring on the nesting!

At least I think that's what I'm doing. Does nesting usually start around a certain time? Regardless, I feel like doing eight million things at once. Today I did the following (check for links with recipes)

1) Took my screaming toddler to the crazy Dekalb Farmers Market. DFM is not the type of place you go to and then suddenly decide to leave because your kid can't get control of herself. You stick it out and take the good, bad, and the ugly. Fortunately, DFM is crowded and crazy as it is so I just walked around like nothing was wrong. My list was long, she knows the drill, and I had no intention of giving up. Her meltdown probably lasted 10 minutes but felt like an eternity. I may or may not have passed the free bread sample lady many times just to get some muffin goodness to hold her over...

2) Made homemade Slow Cooker Applesauce. I have made homemade applesauce before when Lila was first entering the world of solids. This way is about a million times easier and faster than the way I was doing it. Being that applesauce is Lila's recent absolute favorite, I'm hoping she approves. I was buying applesauce in a big jar at the grocery store as of late which makes this a fraction of the cost as well.

2) Made homemade granola. Unfortunately, this is not a website recipe. This is one I pulled out of a magazine a while ago, made once, and forgot about. It's SO GOOD. If you want the recipe comment and I will send it to you. This nesting thing has worn me out and typing it up at this very moment isn't happening.

3) Made homemade Honey Caramel Sauce. Are we noticing a theme? Plus, what do I need honey caramel sauce for? Absolutely nothing. I love the Pioneer Woman. I saw the picture of the sauce on the Tasty Kitchen part of her blog and had to make it. It says to dip fruit in it or put it on ice cream. OKAY....twist my arm.

4) Made homemade berry frozen yogurt. Probably the silliest item we registered for when getting married was a fancy Cuisinart ice cream maker. We assumed no one would buy it. We have used it as much as any other appliance we got. We are ice cream lovers...match made in heaven.

5) I half completed a sewing project!!! Yay for this one not being food related...boo for it not being a sewing project that will help to decorate my house. Regardless, I yet again waited to the last minute on this one so thank God for my crazy nesting day!

I think that about covers it. No, I did not ignore my kid all day. Once we got home from the DFM she was a complete joy AND she took a gigantic nap. Instead of napping with her I made fantastic use of my time. I have missed this person that actually gets things done...I hope she sticks around :-)

The Decision 2011

Oh Me, oh My,

Oh Mia out..... 

Allie

Amelia

Charlotte/Charlie

Claire

Evelyn

Kate

Lucy

Mia

Patty Lou

Peyton

Piper

Quinn

Riley

SETH

I love my net

I don't know how many of you read and keep up with Kelle Hampton's blog Enjoying the Small Things on my blog list. If you don't, I must say you are missing out. I read a lot of blogs. Blogs about decorating, motherhood, and even about people's secrets. Kelle is a photographer which is evident from the blog. But, she is many, many other things as well. I don't know her, but she might be one of the most inspiring writers I have ever come across. I aspire to be that candid, brave, and open to all possibilities.

That being said, yesterday's post on her blog seriously made me cry. It wasn't the first time either (if you go to the site click "Start Here If You're New"). The title of the post she wrote yesterday was "The Net". I have always struggled with how to put into words the importance of friends. And not just any friends, but MY friends (which includes family too!). Maybe someday I can describe how I feel about them as adequately as Kelle does. At any rate, if you are one of my friends I want you to know that this post comes close to summing it up.

Everyone needs a net. Not just big groups of women, but everyone. If you don't have one let me know...you can join mine. They are the most brilliant, funny, compassionate people I know.

Holla Hump Day

This week's shout outs are a little different. The people I want to holla at will have no idea I did it. They were just simply really nice strangers. I am not your typical "she can talk to anyone" type person. I know enough about myself to know that while I can be friendly, I get nervous and unsure way to easily. For some reason recently I have been in situations where it was just me and a stranger. Each one made me want to make more of an effort to make other strangers feel welcome and comfortable no matter what the situation. Here goes...

Shout outs go to...

...Angie. I only know her name because we were wearing name tags. She was the only other mom at the open house today that has a child going into the two year old class. Her daughter (also Lila) is already in the one year old class there. I think she could tell I was overwhelmed. Her Lila is her third child to go through this preschool and she was very candid and open with me. Very cool.

...I should know this person's name, but I accidentally deleted the emails. I believe the person is a woman though :-) She heads up the neighborhood watch emails I have been getting about the recent arsonist roaming around Tucker lighting things on fire. I have mentioned before that I already don't feel super safe around here. Things like this fuel those feelings. I'm sure random, crazy arsonists roam around in other places. Maybe I don't hear about it. For some reason I just feel like things like this happen more around here! At any rate, this neighborhood watch person (through my neighbor Sydney) has given up to date information that at least makes me feel a little bit better.

...The woman who runs the Toco Hills Gymboree (at least I think she runs it). I realize that a lot of people bought the Groupon. I know she's probably trying really hard to get said people to come back after the month class is over. But she has been super accommodating to my craziness. I had to leave the first class early (diaper leakage problem). She caught me before I ran out to give me information I forgot to pick up. Seth took Lila to the open play time on Sunday and she remembered Lila's name and made Seth feel really welcome (along with A LOT of other Groupon purchasers). I also called and asked if I could come to the Friday class this week instead of the Wednesday class due to the preschool open house. She called me back promptly and was just so friendly while telling me the options. She alone may have sold me on another month!

Happy hump day ya'll!

PS - A few people (okay just Sara and Meg) have asked me to link up to my other blog. While I haven't posted in a week or so, good things are coming. I have gotten fabric and plan to get Lila's new room rolling. It's probably really tacky to link to my own blog. I'm just following the requests of others! If you haven't yet, go check out Desperately Seeking Decor (also now linked in the blog list) :-)

Super Freeze!

It seems that when I decided to have a child there were a million peripheral things about raising one that my brain didn't compute. When I say peripheral I mean things that I knew were coming...steps to take and milestones to achieve and such. But somehow within the realm of giving birth, falling in love with her, and now raising her I forgot that she would, in fact, get older. I guess it could be denial. It's possible my subconsious chose to "forget". Whatever the reason, some of these things are upon me all of sudden.

Tomorrow I will attend a preschool open house. Toward the end of last week my next door neighbor said something in her Facebook status about the preschool her son goes to having their open house. She commented on how early it seemed for that to already be happening. I read her short and sweet status and panicked. Lila will be TWO in May. I'm not saying preschool necessarily has to happen for everyone. However, Lila has been around four to five other kids once a week for a few months. That (and Carson of course) would be the only consistent situation that involves other children in her life....and it's one hour a week. So, in my head preschool after she turned two was a no brainer. However, this obvious no brainer somehow slipped my brain. When I realized I had no choice but to contemplate the situation I was overcome with wanting to deny it was happening. I frantically got info from the two moms on my street who have children in preschool. Before I knew it I had a plan, Seth and I discussed it, and I was all set to go to an open house tomorrow for MY BABY TO GO TO SCHOOL. I mean seriously...high school graduation might as well be next week.

There's also this nagging, lingering comment in the back of my head about baby Burrow number two. At my last appointment I scheduled my next one for February 16th. The nurse so kindly stated that after that one I will start doing the every two week appointments instead of every four. She then asked if I was ok. I must have looked at her like she had three heads. Really, I was thinking that while my body feels like that's right, my head is saying "WHOA!!!!!".

All of this is to say that if I could choose a super power it would be to freeze time...I guess most moms would choose that one though. Right after they choose to be in fifteen places at one time.

Only 6 months?

*Disclaimer - there will be an immense amount of whining in this post.

I am fairly sure that my doctor and everyone that works with her lied to me. I am now under the belief that this baby is coming in a month instead of three. Someone screwed up miserably when calculating my due date.

My hot mess of a toddler can point at my belly and say baby, but her patience with me stops there. She doesn't seem at all concerned that I pretty much feel like someone swiped my lower back with a two by four. She also doesn't care that I am sleepy all day but can't seem to go to sleep at night. I am almost certain she is a hot mess these days because I just can't keep up!

All of that aside, I feel right this minute like I remember feeling a few weeks out during pregnancy round one. How on earth am I going to feel when I am actually a few weeks out? I even apologized to Seth for my appearance (or lack of an attempt at a decent appearance) and my whining. He's a good sport, but I am starting to get sick of myself.

Add on the fact that I am finding loose Tums in my purse along with the stray Cheerios and you could say I am a hotter mess than my kid.

Once a day I tell myself that I will miss this when the baby is here. I really missed being pregnant not long after Lila was born. I do take moments to stop and marvel at the fantastic job my body is doing making this baby. My mind just needed me to vent to even the score. I do not want the baby to come in a month. That's just crazy talk. Of course I want it to be plump and completely ready to enter the world! I just can't stop thinking that come month 8 or so I may topple over and not be able to get up.

The Decision 2011

Let the games begin!

I looked over at Seth and said, "ok, I'm striking Lucy". He got this stricken look on his face to which I then said "this isn't going to be easy!". It's not that I don't like Lucy. I just don't want my kids to have names that start with the same letter. Sorry Lucy...you do not get a rose.  All you other names, here's your rose and your glass of champagne! :-)

Allie

Amelia

Charlotte/Charlie

Claire

Evelyn

Kate

Lucy

Mia

Patty Lou

Peyton

Piper

Quinn

Riley

Of the day

My obsessive nature is getting the best of me these days. Therefore, I wanted to quickly share the things I have become obsessed with or rekindled a love for...

1) CraigsPro...this would be the Craigslist app for the Ipad. It is a zillion times better than the actual website itself. So much so that I check it every day (sometimes twice) for the items I am seeking. Brilliant.

2) Homemade lemonade...I went to my uncle Brant's house for lunch on Sunday and had homemade lemonade. Yes, I have had it before. It's been a really long time though. With a gigantic purchase of lemons at the farmers market and my very own (and first) purchase of a citrus squeezer from Ikea I was on a roll. Lastly, I found a recipe for "perfect lemonade"....I mean, it's not rocket science...but it's oh so yummy.

3) Meal planning extravaganza! Pretty much since the day I got married I have been trying to devise a way to plan really well for meals. When I say meals I really mean dinners. I eat leftovers for lunch and cereal for breakfast :-) Anyway, I think I have finally found the answer! I already had the notebook she is talking about but not organized the way she did it. So, I switched things up in the notebook, added some new recipes, and voila! We are trying so very hard not to eat out so hopefully this will get us there. Click here to see where I found the secret!

4) Keurig one cup coffee maker...this was my birthday present :-) I am very picky about coffee but I do love the ones I love! Hot tea and hot chocolate are great too. This fantastic gadget does them all while providing piping hot water pretty instantly as well.

Alright, that's all I've got right now. I thought there were more but they left my brain (shocking, I know). Do you have any random obsessions these days that you would like to share. I just realized mine are all food and drink related except one. Apparently that's where my brain is.

Holla Hump Day

This week's shout outs go to...

...Kim, Christine, Meg, and Katie for spending my birthday with me! Originally Seth was going to be out of town and I was completely fine with just hanging out around here for my birthday. Last minute Seth did not have to go. I then told him not to get me anything but that there was something I had been craving...a day to myself to do whatever I wanted! I LOVE being a mom and I LOVE hanging out with Seth. However, I miss the days of randomly calling a friend to do lunch and not having to plan around naps and or babysitters. I miss going shopping at the drop of a hat (Lila isn't much of a shopper these days). Plus, Seth, Lila, and I had just spent almost a week straight together in our house. So very last minute these ladies randomly hung out with me for the entire day! We did lunch and shopping and dinner and it was glorious. Just the recharging I needed :-)

...Seth for giving me the day off :-) 

...my mom. I had also told my mom that I wanted to go to Ikea for my birthday. There are some things I have been looking at online and I couldn't really think of actual gifts that I wanted or needed otherwise. Mom had Monday off for MLK so she hopped over here and played with Lila while I did my Ikea trip. Everyone else that had work off had the same idea because it was crazy busy. And, my back has been killing me. Needless to say I didn't last too long. But, I got what I needed and figured out what was not going to work as well. 

Happy hump day!

My day

You know how I wrote that post a few weeks ago about the glorious day I had? Apparently, the universe decided I needed a little humbling. I mean, I realize we had a snow WEEK and all, but Lila completely forgot how to be around Carson.

Let's back up. Yesterday was the start of what I'm assuming is pregnancy symptom number 843...heat rash. Yes, I have a heat rash after a week of being iced in my house. I had my glucose test today and the midwife said it's very normal and yadda yadda. It looks very similar to the heat rash I tend to get in the summer after being in the sun too long. Only this time I am gigantic, not in a bathing suit (THANK GOD), and not enjoying the actual benefits of summer. No, this time I am in my house with a toddler that hates everyone today and another one that is probably thinking her parents are abusing her by making her hang out with the crazy one.

I should say I feel very lucky and fortunate to have a pretty mild tempered and easy going kid. I think that's why days like today hit me so hard. When she starts acting her age by throwing fits and going crazy over nothing I feel like a deer in headlights. Seth came home while I went to my appointment and I felt it only fair to tell him that our child was not our child today. If you can imagine, he looked really excited to be staying for the lunch portion of the day.

So I go to the doctor all whiny and itchy, get my blood drawn, and come home. Seth said the girls wanted nothing to do with him. They just played and he said he was just quietly hanging out. Hmmm...maybe Lila is just out to get me. But, now they are napping and I am still itching (hydrocortisone only works for so long).

Since I am halfway through two books right now anyway I'm thinking I will throw in another one on how to teach an almost two year old how to share...any suggestions?

A rose by any other name...

Naming a child has been shockingly hard for me/us. I mean, I'm as indecisive as they come. BUT, I have known mommyhood was meant for me since I was very young. You would think my favorite baby names would be engrained in my brain. I did collect a few favorites along the way, but somehow none of them stuck.  Time brings roses.

Being that we do not find out the sex of each baby Burrow we have to come up with a boy and a girl name. The boy name has been fairly easy (which leads us to believe we are having a girl). When I was pregnant with Lila it was either Owen or Holden. Since baby Burrow #1 turned out to be a girl we have officially chosen Holden as the boy name for baby Burrow #2. The girl name has completely eluded us. Lila had no name until we were in the hospital. This time we would like to take time to smell the roses.

During the last few weeks, we have kept a running list of "possibilities", but this list seems to be growing longer with each passing day.  It seems that every rose (name) has its thorns.  During a recent car ride/negotiation on baby name, Seth formulated a method to determine the elusive female name for baby Burrow #2.

During the remaining weeks/months til the birth of our next child, we will be broadcasting a weekly rose ceremony to narrow the list of names on Sunday evenings.  A few weeks prior to #2's grand entrance, we will have a final rose ceremony, that will determine the name of our possible, yet probable, littlest lady.

Here is the list that you will see once a week with a name crossed off. Seth and I will take turns removing a name...don't get too attached (but if you do, feel free to comment :-). Just be careful when you comment because some are family names!

Allie
Amelia
Charlotte/Charlie
Claire
Evelyn
Kate
Lucy
Mia
Patty Lou
Peyton
Piper
Quinn
Riley

PS - We are aware that if we have a boy this was all silly and dramatic...ok, so it might be a little silly and dramatic regardless. Don't judge. Happy Monday ya'll!

Latest and greatest

The speed in which a child changes may be the most eye opening thing for me in regards to parenting. I know everyone says "they grow up so fast", but I'm not just talking about the growing up. I'm talking about the day to day new things that happen. When someone asks me "what's new?" I tend to say nothing. I mean, unless you just found out you got into college, are getting married, expecting a baby, etc. truly NEW things are pretty scarce sometimes. However, as a parent I think that something new is a daily occurrence. How lucky are we?

Toddlers are like a ball of newness. Every day I get up and wonder what Lila will show me she can do next. Recently, Seth has been working on kisses and hugs. Lila doesn't typically freak out when we leave, and if she does it is very short lived. Coming and going in general has become so sweet and fun. She does her usual "bye! see you later" when she feels like it, and now there is a kiss thrown in for good measure. She has also always been very easy to put down for a nap or put to bed. I 100% credit consistency (rather, Baby Wise) for this. That being said, there are times where she isn't happy about going to bed. Now, she gets all giggly and happy when you put her in her bed every single time because she knows you are going to try and get her to give you a kiss.

One thing we have struggled with lately is getting her to give us something we would rather she not have. She can be pretty grabby with Carson, but typically she does well with older kids. I don't want to just take something from her when she shouldn't have it because then I am telling her it's ok to take. Plus, she is very aware of what she should and should not have. Sometimes she will even say "no ma'am" to herself as she goes to pick up an item she knows is off limits. This week I have tried REALLY hard to be patient, ask nicely, and wait for her to willingly give me the item. It takes her a few minutes, but I would say four out of five times she will give it to me. Of course, I praise her to death and she compliments herself by saying "good job" or "good girl". This has been especially fun for me. The look on her face right before she gives me the item is priceless. She knows she is about to do something good and she is already so proud.

We have also added teeth brushing to our nightly going to bed routine. Before we would just give her the tooth brush and let her "brush" (aka chew) while we were changing her or while one of us would be brushing our teeth. She has always been fascinated by teeth brushing. A couple of weeks ago I decided that teeth brushing needed to be more concentrated and routine. The first step of the going to bed routine now is going to the bathroom to "brush teep" as Lila emphatically calls it. We go in, she puts her stool in front of the sink, and we brush. Her hands just barely reach under the water so we are working on washing hands too without help. She gets a few minutes of just free range brushing and then we help a little. She puts the stool away and we head to get ready for bed. Again, she gets visibly excited and so proud of herself it just melts my heart. I want her to be proud and learn new things, but it's just all happening so fast!

I know I have said this so many times before, but I just wish I could bottle up the moments that happen so quickly. I'm thinking something similar to the dreams in Roald Dahl's The BFG. The BFG bottles up dreams and has shelves and shelves of them to browse. That's what I want. I want shelves with mason jars full of moments captured with cute little tags that say things like "learning to kiss daddy goodnight" and "brushing her own teeth for the first time". That way, when I'm feeling down I can just go open a jar and feel those amazing feelings with her all over again. Some of the best moments happen and you just can't pause them to get a video camera (and you more than likely wouldn't capture them fully anyway).  For now I will have to settle for writing about those moments and reading back over them until bottling them becomes an option ;-)

Have a great weekend!

Holla Hump Day

This week's shout outs go to...

...my mom for driving to and from Americus last weekend. I wasn't feeling so hot so it was nice to just relax in the car.

...Sonja for single handedly clothing my child for the snow. The snow boots we had didn't fit. Her heaviest coat didn't fit. By day two Lila was wearing Teddy's rain boots and his heavy coat from last year and it was much easier to go out!

...Seth for staying home with us even though he could have gone to work today (and maybe yesterday). Seth really likes to work so I can only imagine he stayed because no one else would be there and because he knew we couldn't leave. He tried to take my car out and couldn't get it out of the driveway (his has been parked on the street since before the snow). Cabin fever is one thing, but cabin fever without another adult to help entertain the toddler has to be much, much worse.

...the Scotts and the Szubskis for coming to our house for playdate yesterday and hanging out for a while. It was nice to have the dads there, AND it was just nice to do something!

Is anyone else ready for the ice to melt? Can you tell I am?

I told Seth today that this was the longest amount of time we have spent together just him and I (well, and Lila) since our honeymoon. That I have more than enjoyed. The being bored part is getting old though!

New Header

I'm a little early on the new header, but I am trapped inside and excited about my snow pictures! I hope all of you in the ATL have enjoyed the snow day as much as we have! Happy, happy, snowy Monday ya'll ;-)

Pleasantly Surprised

This was one of those days that I think stay at home moms dream about. Everyone loves each other and everything is easy and dreamy and happy. There's lots of learning, lunches are eaten with glee, naps are long, and dogs don't lick children to death. At least in my world that is how one of those days would go...and go it did.

I don't even know how to put it into words. Let me start by saying that I did not get to shower before Carson came this morning. In fact, I did not go to sleep until almost 3 am. Coughing combined with the disastrous decision to have caffeine late in the evening kept me wide eyed and Baby Burrow restless. Therefore, I chose to skip the shower and sleep as late as I could (sorry Katie and Brandon). Due to my lack of sleep I expected it to be a frustrating day. Not because of the girls, but just because of me. I love how you may expect the worst only to be pleasantly surprised.

Lila and Carson's relationship up to this point has been typical. Carson stays away from Lila usually because Lila takes toys from her and is generally much louder and crazier than her. Lila "talks" to Carson and talks about Carson like she can't live without her. However, as mentioned, when Carson is here Lila is less than friendly. We have practiced and discussed this to death. All day long I am saying "Lila, please be nice" or "Lila do not take" or some variation along those lines. If Lila takes something I move her completely because distracting her no longer works.

Carson was not here for two weeks due to Christmas break. She came on Tuesday and things were a little rocky for Carson getting back into the swing of things whereas Lila was sluggish and sick. There was minimal interaction really. Imagine my surprise today when it seemed like I was with two completely different children.

Let's start with Carson. She was a lot more interactive with Lila than she ever has been. She was constantly touching Lila's hair, trying to tickle her, and following her around. She would stare at her and watch her every move. Sometimes she would even copy what Lila was doing. At one point she full on hugged Lila and twice she put her on Lila's back and just rested there. I felt like I could have taken a video of the whole day.

Lila only took a toy once or twice the entire day. And, when she did she gave it back. She let Carson "help" with whatever she was doing instead of trying to shove her away (see videos). She tickled Carson  and just laughed like they had always been ok with getting in each other's personal space. When we would go from one room to another she would walk slowly and put her hand behind Carson's back if she fell behind.

I'm not making this stuff up. ALL DAY I watched and took in what happens when two little girls suddenly realize they are friends.

My videos will not do this day justice. In fact, the first one is so poorly taken that I hesitated to even use it. I apparently thought it was centered when it totally was not. But if you listen closely Lila says some cute things and Carson is just oozing adorable. Really, none of these videos show you what I'm talking about. Cross your fingers that today was not a fluke and that Tuesday will be another day for me to take more videos :-)  The last one is a WAY overdue video of Lila's obsession with the "puppy" phone app mentioned a while ago.  Have a great weekend everyone!

This one is pretty long, but I love it.


A little more of the same...better angle...


Some singing...



...and a little dancing too!


Lastly, the overdue puppy app video.

Holla Hump Day

This week's shout outs go to....

...Julie from Etsy Stalkers for commenting on my blog! I don't think people realize how exciting getting a comment really is for me. It was super exciting to hear from someone new. Not to take away from my regulars (love you guys) but I know how commenting goes. I want to hear what you think, but I don't usually comment on the blogs I read. So thank you Julie for reading and for commenting!

...Sarah from Party of Five and Katie from Bean Blog for basically the same thing! They were the first two to comment on my new blog, Desperately Seeking Decor, which I am SUPER excited about. Thanks for the support ladies!

...the Bateman family (as in Elizabeth, Brant, Audrey, and Olivia) for giving us the most fantastic swing set. They have given us a zillion other things that I have mentioned now and then as well. My uncle Brant actually built this wooden swing set from scratch and I know Olivia and Audrey have loved every minute of having it. They have paid it forward to us and I simply can't wait for the weather to get better so we can enjoy this fantastic gift!

...Seth and Levi for moving anything and everything for me last week. This stage of pregnancy is hard for me. I'm a "get it done" kind of person. When I say that I mean that it grates on my last nerve if something isn't done that, in my head, should be. I wanted furniture moved around in my house and the above mentioned swing set to be picked up from across town. Seth and Levi did all of this for me and now I can really get to work on getting the things done that I can do around here.

Happy hump day!

Wait, where did last year go?

I have decided 2010 was the fastest year of my life. Was I not just blogging about my insanely amazing thirtieth birthday party and Meg barfing in the nicest neighborhood in Atlanta? I swear I was.

Yet here I sit contemplating what I want for my thirty first birthday. My mom asked me the other day and I told her I wanted to go to Ikea and buy items for the playroom. My mom then informed me that what I want should be for me. Unfortunately, that category is occupied by things like a week in the Caribbean, an entire day at the spa, and all of our home improvements to be completed before baby comes. I'm not sure my mom would be prepared for those choices...nor should she be. But after those things, what I really want is a shopping trip to Ikea. It sounds so lame. It can't be any more lame than the fact that my sister got me a laundry sorter for Christmas. But hey, that's what I asked for!

Anyway, back to 2010. I am an avid blog reader. I love how one blog can take you to another and then another and another until you are overwhelmed, inspired, or exhausted...or all of the above. Maybe that's why I haven't finished the books on my nightstand. Regardless, a lot of blogs of late have inevitably been discussing the new year. And, while I expected to see a TON of resolutions I have actually seen quite a few reflections over how the past year went instead. I love this idea! Especially since I feel like this past year was a blur.

So I took the time to reflect and came up with a list of the best and brightest of 2010...for me that is...

I turned 30 (and had a raging good time doing so).


I saw my adorable husband turn thirty behind the wheel of a very fast car.


I went to Vegas for the first time and now desperately want to go back when I am not sick or pregnant.


I grew a vegetable garden with my sister that can only be better in 2011.


I watched my little girl go from a baby to a toddler in a zillion different ways.


I ended my first teaching job and truly haven't looked back.


I became greener one cloth diaper and vinegar cleaner at a time.


I discovered my long lost ability to sew.


I started the journey to becoming mother of two.


I lost my John T.


I realized that acknowledging how someone has improved your life/day/mood can really make their day...Holla!

Overnight conversationalist

Ok, last week my daughter knew a whole lot of words and a handful of phrases. This week she is having entire conversations. Is that normal? It's like she woke up and thought "I think I'm going to put these words together all the time and see how that goes". Of course there are many times where she makes zero sense. Does that stop her? Uh, no. While this little person she is becoming is breaking my heart, I have to admit that I am rather looking forward to her talking to me more. The teeny tiny baby days are long gone and yet she is still my baby.

In the midst of all this talking baby Burrow #2 is trying really hard to introduce him or her self to the world. In fact I think this baby is trying to break free. I sometimes pull my shirt up and show Lila my belly when the baby is moving and tell her that mommy is going to have a baby. She promptly grabs my shirt and pulls it back down and giggles. Not sure what that means! That being said, Lila has also become much more aware of her baby dolls and the effort it takes to take care of them. She had one baby doll in a high chair in her play kitchen and I overheard her say repeatedly "it's coming, it's coming" as she was getting the baby's "food" ready. I am taking this to mean she will be a huge help when the day comes!

Just to show that my little girl is still very much a little girl (even though it seems she is growing up TOO FAST) here's a reminder...