Moments like this

Dirty Mouth

2012-03-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

I am such a negative person. And let me tell you, it’s exhausting.

I really don’t know how I got this way. Truly. I had a good childhood and never really experienced hardships the way some of my peers have. I’m married to a wonderful man and I have two beautiful kids. I have two degrees, an awesome job with good pay, a warm home, food, transportation, a great family, friends, and other things that I can’t think of right now that make my life more than worth living.

So what is my problem?

Why do I always find something to complain/gossip/eye roll about? It’s ridiculous really.

I’m too impatient. I think people should already know what I’m thinking and what I want before I know it or even say it. I have little tolerance for others mistakes but I want them to tolerate mine to no end. I have a high standard for other people but a low one for myself. And as sad as it sounds, its fun to complain and to gossip.

There are other people in my life that do the same and its easier to join in than to take a stand and not complain and gossip. Somehow saying, “Hey, I don’t want to complain” or “Think about it this way...” is harder than joining in on it.

But maybe that’s what I need to do?

I just need to say,

“I’m not complaining about anything today. So I hear you, I hear your frustrations, but I just can’t today.”

Does that sound mean? Do any of you complain too much?

Hello Brooklyn

2012-03-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

We’re back from Brooklyn now.

We spent most of Saturday driving down, crashing in our hotel room, walking the streets, eating food and enjoying family, and snuggling. On Sunday we ate at a diner around the corner and drove back home.

It was a nice weekend.

Meal Time | Dear Summer

2012-03-02T08:29:00.001-05:00

I’m really missing the fresh fruits and vegetables of summer.

The winters here in Central New York are longer than some. Late October is when we typically get snow and it stays cold until April. One year there was a blizzard on Mother’s Day.

Usually we try to stay with seasonal produce but around this time I get an itch. I want something fresh and something that reminds me of wamer weather.

I decided this week to put on our weekly menu "Taste of Summer". We love hotdogs made locally, pasta salad, and baked beans. We have this meal at least every other week in the warmer months so I decided to give us all a little break from hearty soups and freshin things up a bit.

I also decided to make homemade strawberry shortcakes. I used this recipe for the scones and I am pretty pleased with it.

Granted the broccoli and cucumbers didn't taste as fresh and the strawberries weren't as sweet like they are in season, this meal struck the right chord.

A Month In Photos| February 2012

2012-03-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

I found this awesome calander page template at Simple as That and decided to make my own. At the end of this year I will make a calendar using the monthly image template.

It’s also a great way to see what I capture each month.

11 Things | I tagged myself

2012-02-29T08:42:00.003-05:00

I decided that I wanted to tag myself in on the 11 Things post.

There are five rules:

1. Post these rules

2. Post a photo of yourself and 11 random things

3. Answer the questions set for you in the original post

4. Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them

5. Go to their blog/twitter and tell them that you’ve tagged them.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

11 Random Things ’bout me

-I love Taco Bell. I don't care if the meat is fake and how bad it is for me. It's been my favorite place to eat since I was in middle school. Even my husband knows I love it so and got it for me last year for Valentine's Day. Such a sweetie.

- I cannot cook rice without a rice cooker. Which sucks because my husband loves rice and beans. But sometimes even in a rice cooker I mess it up. It's either too hard or too soft. Oh well.

- I obsessively think about the future. I plan things months, sometimes years in advance. I'm trying to get better at being in the now.

- The third toe in on my right foot has a funky nail. When I was younger I cut my toe on glass and my toe nail grew back weird. Maybe one day I will post a picture.

- I don't like when people say "Let me tell you a funny joke/story" because if it isn't funny, I have a hard time hiding that I'm not amused. Which makes me feel bad and makes things awkward.

- At 19 I had my first kiwi. I was so afraid to eat them because of the fuzzy brown skin. But man, I love kiwi now.

- I took professional art classes in high school. I'm pretty good at drawing.

- I don't like taking medication for anything. I don't take it for simple things like colds or head aches and I didn't take any pain killers after both my c-sections.

- I have a very high tolerance for pain.

- I love sugar cookies. But I love them "heated up" as my husband calls it. I put them in the oven for a few minutes and then take them out so that the dough is warm and barely crispy. I have to put them in a bowl because they don't hold any shape and basically eat them with a spoon. Mmm!

- I want to own an RV so that TP and I can travel across country months at a time when our kids are out of the house.

My questions from compiled from a few posts I found:

1. If money, schooling or time was no obstacle, what career would you choose?

I would have went to school for photography and I would be a big time paid blogger.

2. Biggest online pet peeve?

This is more of a Facebook pet peeve but I do not like when people post sad song lyrics on their wall that allude to their crappy day/life/experience. I de-friend people like that..oops!

3. What would your ideal Sunday morning consist of?

Waking up later and putting the kids in the bed with me and my husband. Then we would snuggle for a little and go out for brunch.

4. Why do you blog?

I blogged before because I wanted to be a big time blogging guru. Now I blog to tell my story. My blog is my version of a diary and photo album.

5. If you had to choose one color to wear forever, what would you pick?

Black. It's so versatile.

6. Who’s your #1 celebrity crush?

I've been in love with Brad Pitt since Legends of the Fall.

7. What’s your zodiac sign?

I am a Capricorn.

8. Do you feel your age?

I feel way older than I am.

9. If you could trade places with any blogger for a week, who would it be?

I would trade places with The Pioneer Woman.

10. Are you a morning or night person?

I am a morning person. I usually wake up at 5:00am if I've gotten to bed at a decent hour (meaning 9:30pm). I start to get really cranky around 10:00pm. I'm an old lady.

11. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

With more children. Happy. Enjoying my life and blogging.

My questions for the tagged people to answer:

1. What is your biggest fear?

2. Share something that your readers may not know about you…. and, you’d like to share.

3. What's the worst thing you've ever eaten?

4. Chunky or smooth peanut butter?

5. What's the first thing you do in the morning?

6. You have 100 bucks, how would you spend it?

7. Cake or pie?

8. Name one thing you said you'd never do but did?

9. How old were you when you learned to roller blade?

10. What song are you ashamed to say you know the words to?

11. Do you laugh out loud when you type, "lol" ?

I've tagged: Jess, Kate, and Mandy

AND, of course anyone is welcome to do this! Enjoy!

Advocating for my son

2012-02-28T09:59:00.002-05:00

Reid has trouble breathing sometimes.

This post is kind of long so to

We didn't notice his breathing problems until after the New Year. It was kind of sudden. Like, one day we noticed that he had a nasty cough and a wheeze. Then it progressed. Sometimes he would cough so hard and so often, he threw up bottles.

We thought it would pass but it didn't and so we scheduled an appointment with our doctor. Only she was on vacation so we saw the nurse practicitioner.

She observed his cough and determined that he is sometimes struggling to breathe and his cough was worrisome. So in the office we did a nebulizer and then I was written a prescription for a home nebulizer and Xopenex. We were instructed to put the Xopenex in the nebulizer and give Reid 2 to 3 treatments a day and come back in a few days.

We started his treatments with no questions asked and when I came back we saw our doctor. She gave us results from a few tests he took days before and we were told that Reid didn't have whooping cough or any other viral infections. Our doctor determined that he had asthma and instructed us to keep using Xopenex.

We were worried that maybe he had an allergy to milk because of his constant spit up/throw up (something he's had since birth that I haven't blogged about) and congestion and maybe the cough was from a cold and the spit up more intense because of that so we were sent to a GI specialist.

The specialist determined that Reid wasn't allergic to milk protein and diagnosed him with reflux. Not acid reflux that causes irritation and burning in the throat, just reflux. He predicted that Reid would grow out of it, as most babies do around the 9 month mark.

The doctor also listened to Reid's cough thought that he exhibited symptoms of asthma and suggested we continue the use of Xopenex but also Omeprazole which is medication for reflux that is taken in small pebble pill form with apple sauce every morning.

We started Reid on both of these treatments, no questions asked besides the usual- when to take it, how much, before or after he eats. I realize now that was a huge mistake.

It wasn't until maybe two or three weeks into the treatments that I finally began to worry.

Reid has always been a laid back baby. Never really crying unless he was hungry, naturally quiet. But after a while I noticed that he was just too quiet.

He stopped babbling, stopped smiling, stopped holding eye contact, and was easily scared.

At first I didn't think it was that big of a deal but I became more worried. I couldn't put my finger on it just yet but I was worried, panicked even.

I remember asking TP if he thought Reid was developmentally delayed or if he was exhibiting behaviors of cognitive delay. TP assured me that nothing was wrong with our son, that he was just quiet and he was normal.

But in my head I was screaming, "He is NOT NORMAL" this isn't normal. Something is wrong.

About a week later we forgot, two days in a row, to give our child care provider his nebulizer and Xopenex. Things were hectic and it slipped our mind. When Reid came home on day two he was a different baby. I thought someone had brought me a new kid.

He was laughing and grabbing at things. He stared at me for hours, babbled non stop, giggled at his sister, and smiled when I made funny faces. He grabbed items and threw them around and when TP played peek-a-boo he didn't look like he was on the verge of tears from confusion or completely zoned out, he laughed!

He was laughing again and we got back the son we lost for a short time.

That's when we put two and two together. I asked TP to look up the side effects of Xopenex.

Here's what he found:

Anxiety
Increased heart rate
Tremors
Nervousness
Dizziness
Headache
Cough or runny nose
Upset stomach
Leg cramps

I was horrified. Reid can't tell us how Xoponex made him feel. But I suspect from his general void of emotions and reactions, he was experiencing a lot of these side effects.

TP was convinced as well and noted that Reid seemed to be completely different. And just to make sure we weren't being paranoid parents we asked our child care provider what she thought about Reid's behavior. She noted that he seemed "happier" off the medication and that she could tell he was "feeling better".

I was convinced.

His reflux has gotten better to Omeprazole. I'm happy we decided to take him off the Xopenex because it allowed us to properly evaluate the effects of the Omeprazole. As if right now, we haven't seen any change in his behavior due to the reflux medication. Thank God.

It's been about two and a half weeks since we took him off Xopenex. I called his doctors office and left a message. I told them I took him off the medication because it stripped him of his personality and the side effects worried me. I did not ask their permission, I did it because we felt it was right.

I'm now scheduling him a new appointment so that we can discuss other options, maybe even home remedies.

There is a lot more I can say about this topic.
Like how infants shouldn't be diagnosed with asthma because it's tricky to determine the severity of breathing issues. But maybe I'll save that for another time.

Advocating for my children is one of my top priorities but when it comes to doctors I lose that. I can't imagine what Reid was going through on this medication and I feel like I failed him some how.

I gave up my motherly instinct for people in a white lab coat. I should have asked more questions, I should have done more research but I let someone else tell me what was best for my child without looking into their suggestions.

I forgot that what I'm told by doctors is called "medical advice" for a reason. It is advice. Not law.

Bean’s Room | A work in progress

2012-02-27T08:00:00.001-05:00

We finally did it. We sent Bean to her Nana’s for the weekend so that we could work on her room.

This is the before. Isn’t it horrible? We decided to rent this second floor apartment because we love the neighborhood, the landlords, the space (2,000 square feet!), and the charm. What we hate about the apartment are the dark room colors. Isn’t it horrible?

I chose her color as soon as we moved in. I didn’t want a pink or purple room for her. It doesn’t fit our style as a family and I don’t think an all pink or purple room with butterflies or something fits Bean’s personality. I really wanted to play off of her name which means “Bird” in German. So I chose soft colors with touches of wood.

This easel was given to Bean for Christmas from her Grandpa (my dad) and she loves it.

This radiator has so much detail and they are original with the house. It’s painted the same color as her walls with a white shelf sitting on top. My mom bought this vintage toy for Bean at our Salvation Army for $5. A total steal. I did take the price tag off after I took the picture, ha! “Of Thee I Sing” is one of Bean’s favorite books gifted to her by her Tante Sendy.

I bought Bean’s red bed from our local Goodwill for $7 dollars. The blanket on the bead is actually a throw and I bought that and the yellow stripped sheets from Target. They all sit on this amazing black and white rug I found via Pinterest on Overstock.com.

I love this little apple pillow from Target. On the other side of it is a green apple. Above Bean’s bed are two shelves purchased at a discount store and more items I bought from Target. That big ‘A’ is purchased at JoAnns and I painted it. I really love the way it came out.

In one corner of Bean’s room is a chair we sit in to read books. I bought it several summers ago at a yard sale for $20, I’m still looking for the perfect cushions for it.

Here is a better look at what’s on her shelves. I plan on printing off pictures for the white frame. After I took this photo I found her foot prints from the day she was born and cut one of them out and put it in the pink round frame. It looks so cute.

Bean’s name in German means ‘Bird’ so I thought it was only fitting that she have her own bird house.

I purchased that yellow flower wreath at JoAnns too and it’s probably one of favorite things in the room.

I’m loving her room so far. We have a lot of other things to add before we feel like it’s complete. But when she walked in to her new room she said, “Ooooh!” and took a running leap on her bed. So I think it’s safe to say we’re heading in the right direction.

Brain Dump

2012-02-26T14:46:00.001-05:00

1. Potty training was a bust. Not because I don’t think Bean was ready to do it....But because I wasn’t ready. Doesn’t that sound weird? A mom saying they aren’t ready for their baby to be out of diapers. Even if it is weird, it’s how I feel. When she was walking around in her little Hello Kittie undies I teared up. Maybe I will try again in the spring. Or maybe not.

2. We decorated Bean’s room this weekend. It was a lot of hard work but most of it is done. I’m still adding decor here and there but for the most part it’s done. Doing this has made me realize that I absolutely hate painting. For all the other rooms that need to be painted in our apartment (Reid’s room, our room, the bathroom, and the kitchen) we are going to hire someone. I want to buy the paint and supplies and watch Lie To Me while someone else paints and then decorate when they are done. Decorating is the fun part, not painting.

3. We are putting Bean in a big girl bed tonight. Should be interesting.

4. I updated our family organization system and I’m excited to use it this week. More on that later.

5. I reached 10k steps yesterday on my FitBit! I’m so excited and proud of myself.

6. I’ve fallen back in love with honey mustard dressing and I make it myself now.

7. I’m ready for another blog link up. Is anyone planning one and looking for participants?

8. I finally finished putting up curtains in our living room. So now no one has to see me walk around with no pants on or no shirt on- something I did almost daily. Oh well.

9. I can’t believe it’s almost March! This is going to be one of the busiest months for us this year. Trips planned, two birthdays (!!), and maybe a couple play dates thrown in.

10. I am so proud of myself and my husband for completing Bean’s room. We are so bad at finishing projects in a timely manner. Normally we would have painted this week and then slowly added decorations over probably a two month period. But we bought everything and pretty much put everything up in one weekend. Go us!

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

Fatty Girl Shrinks | My New Weight Loss Blog

2012-02-23T10:01:00.000-05:00

I've started a new blog.

Everything I read says that actively writing about losing weight and logging things like exercise and food consumption helps in weight loss. So that's what I'm doing.

I thought for a moment that I would update about my weight loss on Moments Like This but decided against it. I was also considering not sharing that blog but that didn't feel right. Then I thought maybe I would share the blog when I've lost a significant amount of weight but realized doing so wasn't true to my blogging philosophy.

So if you're interested in reading about my weight loss you wont find it on Moments Like This. Instead you can head over to Fatty Girl Shrinks.

My Little Girl | Says Fuck

2012-02-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

My husband and I don’t have bad mouths, I don’t think. I mean, I know how to express myself without using a curse word in every sentence and I would say that I have a decent vocabulary. But there are times when we both lose ourselves and say words we shouldn’t.

Bean is a little parrot and sometimes it’s really cute and other times its not.

Sunday she was getting frustrated with opening something and she yelled from the other room, “Mommy! I can’t do it! I can’t! It’s stuck!” and I don’t know what I said back but then I heard her rustle the package and yell, “Oh fuck!”
... And then I died.

Well actually, I think I said, “That is a bad word, we do not say that word” and she just kind of stared at me.

A few minutes later she moved on to something else that frustrated her and before I could help her she yelled “Oh fuck!” again!

This time I put her in time out and she cried. She looked at me with confusion, she didn’t know what she had done wrong. When her time out was over I said, “We do not say that word.”

Bean looked at me as if I was crazy and I know she probably wanted to say, “Yes we do” but she couldn’t form that sentence.

I instantly felt guilty for putting her in time out for an offense that we commit.

The last time she got frustrated on Sunday she yelled, “Oh fuck!” again.

3 times in less than an hour!

This time I just shook my head and looked disappointed. I didn’t know what to do.

TP says to just ignore it because bringing attention to it will make it a bigger deal. He says we have to stop saying it and eventually she will forget she even knows that word.

I hope he’s right.

I don’t want to be the mom in the store with the girl that screams out “Oh fuck!”

It’s bad enough when we are in a store and she’s pooped in her diaper she yells, “Mommy! I poopied! I poopied! Mommy I poopied!” over and over and over again in every isle.

Suggestions please? Not about the poop thing, about the curse words- it would be much appreciated.

This Weekend

2012-02-20T08:20:00.001-05:00

We spent a lot of time doing a bunch of nothing this weekend.

Like rolling around on the floor.

And eating homemade fried rice. Check out the recipe I found on my Pinterest board.

And eating homemade waffles and whipped cream

But mostly we spent a lot of time playing with blocks.

Hope you had a great weekend.

My Family- Photo Challenge

2012-02-20T08:15:00.000-05:00

This picture was entered in the Paper Mama ‘Family’ Photo Challenge

Potty Training

2012-02-16T08:01:00.000-05:00

| source |

Oh man. Next week I am potty training Bean.

At 23 months I feel like she’s been ready for a while.
According to this list, she’s ready. But I don’t really pay attention to those things, my mommy instincts have been telling me.

I believe her body’s been telling me as well.
Since last June, Bean has been suffering from chronic diaper rashes. I’ve tried everything. New diapers, numerous creams, airing out, different wipes, cloth wipes, frequent changes, soaking her butt, dietary changes, but nothing has worked. The next logical place our minds went was going diaper free.

I haven’t read much about how to potty train toddlers because I’m not a fan of reading parenting advice online or through books. Instead, I decided to take advice from my mom and what feels right for our family.

We’re not doing pull ups or even diapers at night. We’re going full throttle here and using undies. I’m going to take her to Target this weekend to pick out some big girl undies and hope that makes her excited. We know that being completely diaper free will result in a lot of accidents, but we’re okay with that. We don’t want to take a lot of steps in potty training. We’re not fans of going from diapers to pull ups and then from pull ups to undies. We want to cut out the middle man. We’re also doing this because if Bean can feel how uncomfortable it is to use the bathroom on herself, maybe she will be willing to use the toilet. Diapers and pull ups pull the urine away from the skin, causing little irritation. But we actually want the irritation. We want her to think, “Oh I don’t like the feeling."

We aren’t using a potty. We don’t want to transition from diapers to a potty and then a potty to the toilet. I don’t want to clean out potties or carry them around and we want her to know that a toilet is a toilet is a toilet. So no matter where we go she’ll know what a toilet is and that she can use it.

I’ll be getting up with Bean in the middle of the night at intervals. This is something we got from my mom who said she did this with us until finally we didn’t have to go. Even if Bean chooses not to wake up enough to use the toilet or refuses to use it at night and pees in her bed, we are hoping that the uncomfortable feeling of a wet bed will trigger something in her. She may wake up crying from the wet bed that now needs a linen change and that’s okay.

To help with keeping her dry at night we wont be giving her water after 6 pm and we will limit her water intake at dinner. She will be free to drink water as much as she wants during the day (encouraged actually so she can have more opportunities to pee) so we don’t believe limited and no water in the evening will do irreversible damage to her. Hopefully this will help with no accidents at night, hopefully resulting in more dry nights.

I know that she may not be ready despite what I think. So if the first few days are hell for her then we’ll wait. I don’t want to scar her or anything but I think we Moms know a thing or two about our kids and I hope I’m correct in thinking this is a transition she’s ready for too.

I foresee this being a huge adventure and I have a lot I want to share (no pictures of my kid on the toilet though) so prepare yourselves for detail accounts of potty training.

Do you have any suggestions for me? Things you’ve done or maybe your mom did to help potty train?

Hit by a train

2012-02-15T11:39:00.001-05:00

Sorry I have been out of rotation the past couple days. I have been so sick. Saturday morning is when it all started and by Monday I still wasn't better, so I took the day off work and watched Netflix and waited for my life to be over. Then on Tuesday I felt a little better and by today I feel myself again.

So back to my regularly scheduled program.

All You Need Is Love | Love Yourself

2012-02-11T10:21:00.001-05:00

Check out Jess’ blog today to find out how you can love yourself this Valentine’s Day season!

Washing Dishes With Nana

2012-02-09T08:00:00.001-05:00

Bean knows how to wash dishes now. Which is cute but a little frustrating at the same time. Now we have to wait until she sleeping to wash any dishes because she begins to cry.

She’s not old enough to know this is something special she does with her Nana.

One day I will be begging her to do dishes and wishing for these days. But right now it’s like a covert op. around our house as we sneak to clean just one dish without her noticing.

__________________________

Also check out Kate’s post today about making bread!

101 Goals: I've partially completed goal #10

2012-02-08T08:55:00.001-05:00

I’ve Partially Completed A Goal!

Goal # 10

I finished reading The Hunger Games almost a week and a half ago. I chose this book because I saw the movie trailer and for once in my life I wanted to say, "Oh, I read the book first." with the smuggy smug look on my face like so many before me.

I didn't plan on finishing it until the end of February but I couldn't help myself and I read the entire book in the last 4 days of January.

I absolutely love the book. I love the characters and I love how Katniss is a complete person. She is loving to her family and friends, loyal, adventurous, rebellious, compulsive, selfish, selfless, and conflicted. She has a complete history, as if she had a life before the book began as well as the other characters in the book. I also love how strong she is and how instead of being saved by the men in her life, she dedicates herself to saving them.

The concepts in the book are deeper than what most teen readers could grasp. So even though this is young literature, I think it works for adults. There is detailed violence in the book, something I enjoyed because I felt like I was there. Or at least sitting in front of someone as they told me the story of their life.

I could not put the book down. I finished it and moved on to Catching Fire which is the second in The Hunger Game Series. I'm loving that book too and I've been reading it for 4 days and I have about 30 pages left. Then I'll move on to the third and last book, Mockingjay (I already have it being held for me at my local library, ha!).

These books brought back my love of reading. I read all the time in high school but I lost that in college and graduate school. I convinced myself I didn't have the time and so I stopped.

But through this experience I have learned that amazing things happen when I step away from the TV and/or the Internet. It's almost as if my days get longer.

I think Goal #10 will be complete by the beginning of March. I will finish Catching Fire today and wait for Mockingjay to come in, finish that and then move on to my 4th and final book of my goal.

I can't wait.

What are some of your favorite books?

All You Need Is Love | Love Photography Project

2012-02-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

Head over to Mandy’s blog and learn how she captured love through her photography project!

A Month In Photos| January 2012

2012-02-06T08:00:00.005-05:00

I meant to post this on the last day of January but I forgot.

I found this awesome calander page template at Simple as That and decided to make my own. At the end of this year I will make a calendar using the monthly image template.

It’s also a great way to see what I capture each month.

All You Need Is Love | Heart Shape Brown Sugar Cookies

2012-02-05T08:48:00.001-05:00

So if you’re looking for a sweet treat to share with those you love, look no further.

Push away the traditional sugar cookie cut out recipe and try something a little new, brown sugar cookies.

These cookies are sweet just like a sugar cookie but have a deep nutty flavor and unique look.

I found this brown sugar cookie recipe from Busy Nothings.

Once I made the dough I put it in the fridge to let it cool for a couple hours. In the mean time I went to my local craft store and purchased a few cookie boxes.

But I wanted to decorate it a little bit so I bought a Valentine’s Day themed craft paper and cut it to size.

Then I glued it over the window in the box.

Once my dough was workable I rolled it out in small batches and used my heart cookie cutters.

I rolled my dough thick so that the cookies would be chewey when they came out.

I baked them on 350 for only a few minutes. You want the edges just beginning to brown. I took my cookies out and placed them on a cooling rack.

Once your cookies are cooled all the way you can use your favorite icing and decorating supplies to make them pretty.

I placed mine in a box and wrapped it in red string.

As you can see even the smallest of fingers can’t wait to try them.

These cookies were so easy to make and they are great gifts for co-workers, friends, family members, or even that someone special.

Happy baking!

Raspberry Cake Bars and Old Love

2012-02-03T10:07:00.001-05:00

My husband is going away for a while.

His grandfather passed and he is traveling with his family to Haiti for the funeral.

This means I am a single mom for an entire week.

But that is peanuts because the logistics of two children under two is nothing when I feel as lonely as I do.

He is my best friend and I find myself wanting to call him or text him or just turn next to me and share a funny story, an idea, or ask a question.

But I can't.

It's hard to entertain yourself when you've been with someone for 7 years.

But that reminds me of these pictures:

They're photographs from Lauren Fleishman who is doing a photo project called Love Ever After that features love stories of couples who have been married for over 50 years.

I am excited to grow old with him and hope one day someone will capture our love like this.

On another note:

Ried is growing growing like a weed and he is such a happy baby. So free with his love it's inspiring.

Bean's Nana (featured here in her jammies) bought her a Hello Kitty book bag that makes me laugh and cry. Why do kids always look older with book bags on!?

I'm obsessed with these raspberry cake bars from Mimi's, a local bakery here.

I usually wear my hair in a bun every day for work. But I'm trying to find different styles I like but it's difficult when you have yourself, two kids, and a husband packed and ready to go in the morning. I have been looking at youtube videos and found a few styles I'm going to try.

Anyways, enjoy your weekend!

All You Need Is Love- Blog Link Up!

2012-02-02T08:06:00.001-05:00

The All You Need Is Love blog link up is finally here!

Click on over HERE to see the full schedule with details!

14 Days of Love: Love Yourself

2012-02-01T08:01:00.001-05:00

My Vision Board

2012-01-30T08:55:00.001-05:00

I'm reading a new book. In the first chapter the author asks readers to create a collage of the life they want to lead.

So I did.

I am moving towards a more simple life, taking action when I am passionate about something. We want another baby but in order to do that I need to be healthy, me and the baby need a healthy start.

I also had a revelation and that is: Every day is a new day. Who cares if I messed up on a goal or my eating the day before? Me, but in a different way. I realize now that every day I can wake up and write a new sentence, a new paragraph, a new chapter to my life. I don't have to live in the past and let that control me, yesterday's mistakes are not today's.

I am striving to speak authentically and with love. I am celebrating drinking more water and I want to continue celebrating my healthy choices.

I also want to be a patient person because if I am my relationships will grow leaps and bounds.

I am finding my own pretty and what that means to me.

I also want to continue keeping the heart of my marriage happy and healthy.

This board took me about 45 minutes to make, 2 magazines, a black marker, a piece of paper, and tape.

It makes me incredibly happy every time I look at it.

My future is bright and it is mine.

101 Goals | Month Assignments

2012-01-25T09:08:00.003-05:00

I think right around this time, everyone has given up their New Year Resolutions. Which is sad because we should never give up on becoming our best selves. Ever. But New Year Resolutions just don't work. But you know what has worked for me and other people I know? The 101 Goals in 1,001 days.

I check mine regularly and I'm actually surprised at how it's kept me motivated. But I am not only motivated, I'm determined to finish all of these goals. So to help me do that, I've assigned months to most of them:

February '12

10. Read 4 novels in 6 months - Novel: The Hunger Games
90. Purchase a bible study for women and complete it

March '12

3. Make a 'Family Established' sign
51. Complete Dave Ramsey Baby Step 2- Pay off all consumer debt, not including student loans

April '12

10. Read 4 novels in 6 months- Novel: Open House75. Go through my mom’s attic and help her clean it out

May '12

10. Read 4 novels in 6 months - Novel: We Were the Mulvaneys
69. Go horse back riding

June '12

6. Switch from Blogger to Wordpress - June
10. Read 4 novels in 6 months- Novel: The Inheritance of Loss
July '12

54. Construct my own family recipe book
98. Visit a friend in Wyoming

August '12

11. One week without television
53. Attend three cooking or pastry classes (0/3) - Class #1

September '12

12. One week without the internet

October '12

43. Wear family themed Halloween Costumes

November '12

76. Organize any old photos found at my mom’s house
78. Organize my Nana’s photos

December '12

16. Only give home made Christmas gifts (0/3)
17. Sponsor a family for Christmas

I'm really excited to break my 101 list down. It seems more manageable now, like I have a road map.

Thank you for | This Son of Mine

2012-01-23T12:36:00.000-05:00

I didn’t want a son the second time we found out we were pregnant.

I wanted another daughter. I wanted Bean to have a sister. I wanted to re-use all the baby clothes we had bought.

But I got a boy. Oh, a boy.

After having a baby girl I no longer thought of myself as anything other than a mom of girls. So when we saw Reid on the ultrasound, my husband puffing out his chest and beating it with his giant man fists, I was dissapointed.

What did I know about boys? About penis’?
No, I knew nothing about boys, I knew a lot about sassy girls.

Oh, but this son of mine.

He is something special. Something God made just for me. When I look at him I think, “Girl? Who wanted a stinkin’ girl? No, this boy is more than I could ever ask for.”

There is something special about my son. A strength in his brown eyes, strength that I don’t have.

My son has a sensitive soul. He has the capacity to love people in a way that is non judemental. He is free with his love, never withholding it because maybe he believes everyone deserves it. Which is incredibly brave.

I can’t get enough of this little guy.

I hold him tight and breathe him in every chance I get. He has smell all his own. Different from mine, his father, and his sister.

He smells like warmth and when I hold him I feel steady.

No Touch

2012-01-21T08:19:00.000-05:00

Some times, “No touch” doesn’t work and so I just pull out the camera and sit back.

Blogging for myself

2012-01-20T10:14:00.004-05:00

I started blogging when Live Journal was the thing.

I blogged about heart ache and school, how my mom bothered me (oh the teen angst), how I was so misunderstood, and about my perceived loneliness. I had a lot of followers too, people commenting with suggestions and support. It was the first time that I felt like I could "speak" and someone "listened."

Then I moved all around the blogosphere and finally settled with Blogger. I wanted to find other people out there like me. I wanted more ideas, more inspiration, more funny stories, and more comments. I found what I was looking for. I stumbled on blogs that I love(d), hate(d), and admire(d). And every day I would spend time reading those blogs and the comments.

I began to wonder how could I do the same.

So I studied those blogs. I tried to figure out just how they achieved large groups of readers and received 10 to 100 comments, sometimes on posts that were only a paragraph long. So I tried to duplicate those. And until recently if someone where to read through my old blog posts until about two months ago, they would think that I suffered from multiple personality disorder.

My blog had no direction and I couldn't figure out why my readers, page hits, and comments hadn't sky rocketed. Didn't I just post a quirky story about my kids with an ultra cool photo? Didn't I talk about design and DIY crafts? Then why wasn't anyone listening?

I remember reading a lot of tips on how to become a successful blogger. The number one thing to become a successful blogger, as I read it, was to be yourself.

Be myself? What the heck did that mean and why would anyone want to read something like that?

I didn't know how to "be myself" in the blog world. What if myself is boring? What if I wrote about things people thought were stupid or unimportant?

Oh I was so stressed about this. But I decided to try it out.

I stopped reading a lot of blogs every day. Now I read maybe 3 or 4 a day and check on some every once and a while for new content. I had to stop reading so many blogs because I lost myself in them. I wanted to be them. I thought if I blogged about what they did then I too would have readers and comments. But that wasn't working out for me so I had to change gears.

Of the blogs I am currently reading I decided to go way back in their archives. I wanted to see how they began and if there was a significant difference between the then and now. I would say out of the blogs I looked at the majority still blogged about what they did years ago. So how was that possible? I didn't really understand how after years of blogging about the same 'ol thing they continued to grow in popularity. Now I'm beginning to.

I read on Kelly Hampton that she posts pictures that interests her and the things she loves in life. It doesn't matter to her if they are in focus or considered great photos by others. All that matters to her is that she captures the life she is living. Well, me too. I threw out the idea that all my photos had to be the best (I read that on a blog actually) and I threw out the notion that I have to be the next up and coming fashionista with the best apartment to obtain the readership I'm looking for. I thought long and hard about why I liked the blogs I did and came to a conclusion: they are authentic people.

You see, if we can be authentic people we will always have people around us interested in our story. If we are authentic and true to ourselves it doesn't matter what we blog about. Authenticity is key. I didn't know that then but I do now.

So now I'm blog about things that I find interesting and that allows me to be authentic. I am not trying to bate and switch, blogging about things that actually make me miserable and uninspired just so I can obtain a few more comments or hits.

Because if I am authentic and change my views about blogging and why I do it, then the readers and comments will follow.

And things are happening for me in the blog world now. I've obtained a friend (hey Jess!), started a blog link up (still need one more blogger!), I've been receiving more emails and Facebook comments about how people like my blog and find it inspiring, and my traffic has gone up. I also jumped from 5 followers to 9 in the last two months (hey guys!) and believe it or not- I'm happy with my blog.

So now I blog with the intention to capture moments in my life, not to obtain admirers.

All you need is Love | A Blog Link Up sign up

2012-01-18T09:32:00.002-05:00

Now that we've all celebrated the beginning of 2012, it's time for the next big holiday: Valentine's Day!

To spread some love around the blogosphere I am creating a blog link up: All you need is Love. The majority of people view the days leading up to Valentine's Day and/or the day itself strictly for couples.

But I would like to put a spin on that.

The link up will require 5 bloggers (including myself and Jess from One Shiny Star) to write a post about how they show love to someone or something (ourselves, partners, children, homes, family members, pets, co-workers, and friends) via crafts, decorating, traditions, gifts, acts of service, or fashion.

There are 5 days for the link up: January 31st, February 2rd, February 7th, February 9th, and February 11th.

On the days of the link up each blogger would post a link back to the All you need is Love page (found here) via a button. From there readers will be able to see the All you need is Love schedule and click on a link to the featured blog for that day.

I'm looking for three more bloggers to participate in the blog link up. I think this will be an awesome opportunity for myself to build more friendships in the blogger community and great for everyone involved because we can grow/share our readership.

If you are interested, email me (megguerrier at gmail.com) with your desired date (they are first come, first serve. January 31st and February 11th are taken), a topic that you would like to cover, and either an image or link to an image that I can use to add to the blog link up graphic.

I hope that you will join me!

Capturing

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

I am doing my best to capture all the moments in our home.

I keep my camera out, a serious risk due to the sticky fingers belonging to our almost two year old. I swear it has been the best thing I’ve started to do. Now I'm capturing moments that mean the most to me.

Sure birthdays, Christmas, and Thanksgiving are important. But I want to remember how my littles like playing with sunglasses or warming themselves by the fire. Or catching them with their fingers up their noses or how excited they are when they see someone outside the window.

I really like capturing Bean in silly hats that are her brothers, so that means they are always too small for her.

Or Reid eating and flailing his arms about in protest when the spoon isn’t full of squash, pumpkin, peas, or carrots.

Bean loves her doggie towel gifted to us by her Aunt Heather and Uncle J for Christmas. She runs around the house barking like a little dog. When I ask her where the doggie is, she says “I doggie! WOOF!”- So cute.

I hope that I can continue to capture these moments because I think when I’m older they will be especially more meaningful.

My Little Girl | Has Some Sass

2012-01-13T08:23:00.002-05:00

I believe that if Bean's name was Lucy, a name we were considering, she would be a sweet dollip of kisses and hugs.

But her name isn't Lucy. The name her Daddy gave her, I believe, made her a little spit fire.

My little girl has such a passion for life that it makes me catch my breath. I watch her sometimes as she explores, pointing and demanding, "What's THAT?!" So I explain. "Baby that's a truck..That's a spoon...That's a magazine...That's Daddy's Pants."

This is something we spend most of our time doing, her pointing and me answering. And I want to answer. I want to give her all the answers I possibly can because there will be a time in our relationship when she wont trust me to explain the world. She'll want to experience it.

When Bean was a little babe, I would look deep into her eyes, trying to figure out what kind of personality she'd have.

Would she be as calm and deep as water or rock hard?

My girl is rock hard.

She is a rumbling, tumbling, ball of fire.

Sometimes when she's been in time out more than I can count, I look at my husband and say, "WHERE did she get this!?" He looks at me as if I am crazy. "She gets it from YOU!"

But I can't believe this, even though I know it's true. I look at her, head against the wall, silently waiting until I call for her, and I smile.

I can't help but smile.

When time out is over, I call her over and kneal down. I tell her "We do not hit...When Mommy/Daddy tell you to do something please do it...ect"
She looks at me with her huge brown eyes and whimpers, "Okay.."
But as soon as I lift myself off the ground, she darts in another direction, giggly insanely.

My little girl loves hard.

She does not believe in soft kisses. She believes in squeezing your face with her little hands, making your lips pucker, and laying a giant one on you. There are no nice hugs, only giant breath sucking bear ones.

And we love this kind of love. We do not tell her to be gentle, nice, or soft.

My little Bean has some sass and it is all her own.

Birthday 2012

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here are some random pictures from my birthday

I had a wonderful birthday. I did everything I wanted to do. I slept in, snuggled with my kids in bed, ate breakfast, played video games, ate cake, watched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (amazing), ate popcorn, and spent a lot of time with my husband. It was amazing.

My 25th Birthday

2012-01-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to me.

Today I am 25.

Cleaning up in 2012

2012-01-03T08:00:00.011-05:00

I’ve decided to have a theme for my life this year. Sounds big and unmanageable but I don’t it is.

For the last three years, our life has had a lot of change (graduation and marriage in ’09, baby, graduation, moving, two new jobs in ’10, baby in ’11) and unfortunately/fortunately? we are going to have more change. But we are looking forward to that opportunity. However, the theme for this year isn’t ‘change.’

It’s cleanliness.

Not in the soap and water sense but cleanliness in my thoughts, my words, my actions, my diet, and my mind.

In 2011 I spent a lot of time thinking negatively. As a result, I said negative words and sometimes those words turned into actions. It was so easy to get bogged down by what’s wrong in my life that I created blinders and couldn't see what was going right.

I let little things at work bother me and got wrapped in the drama of school bureaucracy. Before I knew it, I had spun a net of negativity. Instead of looking through the net at the great things about my job, I was too busy living within the net, living in the negative words and actions of my day.

The actions and thoughts of other people also influenced me and I felt depleted. Some days I went to bed and my thoughts and words were not so nice. I allowed myself, again, to get wrapped up in what was wrong. Sometimes forgetting that I was going to sleep next to an amazing man after putting two beautiful kids in bed.

My diet hasn’t been the best. Eating any and everything I see. I didn’t gain weight but I felt tired and slow, kind of removed from things. Allowing myself free range on food and eating as much of it as I wanted wasn’t freedom. I wasn’t “loving myself for who I am, cause not everyone is supposed to look like a model.” I was living in a body that didn’t feel good.

All of that for a good portion of my year left me feeling bogged down and sluggish. Just plain tired.

So when the clock struck midnight and 2011 was finally behind me, I celebrated a new cleaner outlook on life.

Not that every day will be the bees knees but I will strive to live in a way that is positive.

I will strive to not jump on the negative Nancy bandwagon, or allow myself to use my thoughts and words in negative ways (ie. gossiping, judgment, complaining, sarcasm), and I most definitely have changed my eating habits (more on that later).

A new cleaner me.

2011 in Review

2012-01-01T08:00:00.005-05:00

Oh gosh. A whole year has flown by again. Here is 2011 in review:

January 2011

In January, I started a new job. I left my old job, we left our old apartment, and I moved forward in a different career path. I moved the blog to this new address. I also turned 24 and spent my birthday with a homemade cake, my daughter, and my husband. We sat in hard chairs because we hadn't gotten any furniture yet and dreamed about the new year. I also started to plan Bean's first birthday party.

February 2011

I wrote about my second pregnancy and the anticipation of having two children under two. But even with all the anxiety that caused, I was clear that the baby growing inside me was wanted and loved already. It was also my first year to send out Valentine's Day cards. Speaking of that holiday, it was the first time TP and I actually celebrated Valentine's Day. He took me out to a really nice restaurant and I felt very pretty and loved.

March 2011

This was a big month for us. I received possibly the worst medical care in my history. One that left me feeling two inches tall and screaming at the nursing staff. But I moved on to a new practice and found out we were having a baby boy! TP turned 24 and we celebrated his day at home with great food. But the biggest news of the month was Bean's 1st birthday. I thought long and hard about how I wanted to give birth to our son, it was a big struggle for me. Probably the biggest thing that happened to Bean, besides her birthday, was the day we took her pacifier away.

April 2011

We began transitioning into the spring with open arms. I wrote about indulging myself, maple syrup and making large amounts of food for the freezer. This was the month we also created our food budget. But more importantly I wrote a post about how hard work, wise choices, and God's will, gave me my wonderful husband and marriage. Luck had nothing to do with it.

May 2011

We discussed the birth of our son this month and it was a really hard time for me. We decided that another c-section would be the best for us at that time. I also celebrated my second Mother's Day and got a very nice necklace as my gift. But the most important thing this month was my second year wedding anniversary.

June 2011

This month was my mom's birth month! She turned 53, isn't she beautiful? This month I got a little serious with a couple posts. I discussed the things our kids are not allowed to have and how we let our children cry it out. I wrote about the annoying things people have asked me during my last few months of pregnancy and overall enjoyed myself. I thought I would be miserable being pregnant in the summer but I actually liked it. We spent this month preparing for the birth of our son.

July 2011

| Please remember that our son goes by 'Reid' on this blog. All comments that feature his first name or a variation will be deleted. I actually like not having my kids' faces on Google. Thank you for understanding |

Forget everything else that happened or that I blogged about. The most important thing that happened this month was Reid's birth! You can read part 1, part 2, and part 3 of his birth story.

August 2011

This month I spent a lot of time snuggling with Reid. A lot. I ate at a pretty amazing sandwich place, revamped my 101 Goals list and wrote about my credit card woes. I also write Reid a letter and made him sing one of my favorite Price songs.

September 2011

I love September in Central New York. We went apple picking and Bean loved it. As a result of that I made homemade apple sauce. I wrote about weight loss and how it requires confidence, weekends in our home, and how TP put Bean in a bathing suit for bedtime.

October 2011

I attempted a photo challenge this month but failed at it. 30 days was a large committment. But I did manage to get a great self portrait from it. I experienced some major pain with my 5k training and as a result found out that I have some serious knee problems. Bean was a witch for Halloween. I wrote about my belief that our daughter should primarily play dolls that look like her and read stories about positive people of color and how I don't feel bad about leaving my kids. We also took our Christmas card photos.

November 2011

This month Reid sprouted up. I didn't blog about it but he began eating solid food and grew so much he began wearing 6-12 month clothing and 12-24 month socks at only 4 months old! I feautured our morning routine in horrible yet funny pictures, wrote about Bean becoming a model, morning walks, and how I think raising a girl is super important and hard.

December 2011

I began reading Women, Food and God which is an amazing read. I also became inspired by a few bloggers and implemented family dinners and began working on our family's purpose. I realized just how fearless my child is and yearned for that. Bean learned to say "Ho!Ho!Hooo!" after someone says "Merry Christmas" and we enjoyed the Holiday with family and friends.

2011 was a great year for our family and I anticipate that 2012, by the grace of God, will be just as great.

Happy New Year.

Scenes of Our Apartment | Living Room

2011-12-31T09:02:00.001-05:00

Women, Food, and God: Chapters 7&8

2011-12-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

After three decades of studying, teaching and writing about our compulsions with food, bestselling author Geneen Roth adds a powerful new dimension to her work in Women Food and God. She begins with her most basic concept: The way you eat is inseparable from your core beliefs about being alive. Your relationship with food is an exact mirror of your feelings about love, fear, anger, meaning, transformation and, yes, even God.

Chapters 1&2 review. Chapters 3&4 review. Chapters 5&6 review.

Chapter 7

In this chapter Roth’s theme is about women understanding what they believe to be true about themselves, other people, and the world. Because core beliefs affect the way we deal with life, it is important to understand them. Understand them. Not fix or improve them. Understanding your own belief system and how you cope with those beliefs will lead you to freedom from food.

She urges readers to sit with feelings. Saying “I’m sad” isn’t enough. What does that sadness look like? Is it a “lump of blue burned ashes?” Where is it, in your chest, stomach, or head? When you notice this feeling and it has an image associated with it and a location, does it change?

I actually tried this. I heard some really upsetting news about a family member a few weeks back and I closed my office door. I said.. "I feel angry..and sad..and hurt..” so I thought to myself, what are you feeling? and I said out loud, “I feel so sad.” I thought for a moment what that sadness looked like and without second guessing myself I said, “It looks like a big black ball..” Where is it? “It’s in my throat and I want it out..I want it out”

I kept repeating those words and sitting with my sadness. Other times I would have just grabbed a candy bar or surfed the internet. But I sat with myself. What I found was the more I recognized that feeling, what it looked like and where it was, I was able to move it out of me. I could feel that heavy ball getting lighter and lighter until I opened my eyes and it wasn’t there anymore. I felt better. The sadness did not destroy me.

Roth explains in this chapter that often times we do not sit with our feelings because we believe they will destroy us. She says this is because we spend so much time making up stories about how we will feel or how we will react once we allow ourselves to feel.

If I feel sadness then I will break down in this office, cry my eyes out, people will hear, I will be embarassed. What if someone knocks on the door and I have to open it and I’m visibly upset and they can tell-- Thoughts I made up before I let myself feel.

When I took time to realize my feelings in my office I did not cry. I did not break. It was calming and satisfying. But I almost numbed myself from feeling just because of the fear of destruction.

Roth says that even if we chose not to feel and analyze, the feelings don’t go away. They are numbed by addictions such as food, work, the internet, or whatever and they loop. They never change because they are knots of our past that got frozen.

Roth says something really powerful in the next paragraph:

Can you imagine how your life would have been different if each time you were feeling sad or angry as a kid and adult said to you, “Come here, sweetheart, tell me all about it.” If when you were overcome with grief at your best friends’ rejection, someone said to you, “Oh darling, tell me more. Tell me where you feel those feelings. Tell me how your belly feels, your chest. I want to know every little thing. I’m here to listen to you, hold you, be with you"

So many times when I was a child I was told by various adults to just “Get over it” and to move on. That tomorrow would be a better day. So I held my feelings in and pushed forward. I now see that doing so has caused me problems in my adult life. Reading this makes me want to take a different approach with my children. I want them to tell me where they feel the pain and I want to give them the space to express that. No one should have to hold those things in and just..move on.

Without feeling Roth writes that we “...spend most of our lives wearing blinders and earplugs-and call that life. We live despairing, repetitive, stale, half-dead lives of our own making , as if that’s all we can expect...”

Chapter 8

According to Roth, meditating is vital to understanding ourselves and food addition. Again, being alone with ourselves and accepting who we are will help in the battle to end over eating. Meditating helps calm our minds and allows us to question our thoughts about food, ourselves, life, people, and situations.

According to Catherine Ingram, the mind “is mad.” Roth explains this by giving readers an expert about what goes through her mind on a good night. The expert shows Roth as an angry and disappointed woman paranoid about little things in life and angry at people and situations. She says that this is the mind of most women suffering from any addiction, like food.

Roth writes that our minds play songs that we don’t need to listen to, “They Did Me Wrong”, “I Did Them Wrong” or “Major Catastrophe Is Imminent”- the songs that our minds play are long drawn out lists about how our lives aren’t going right.

“Minds are useful when we need to conceptualize, plan theorize. But when we depend on them to guide our inner lives, we’re lost. Minds are excellent at presenting a thousand different variations of the past and conjuring them into the future. And then scaring us with most of them.” Roth warns that we should not believe in the lunacy of our minds and we should question them.

She explains that the mind has thoughts that bring up feelings and we are suddenly doing actions that make no sense.

For example: “...we pass by a bakery window and see a bear claw and we are suddenly convinced we have to have it now. Convinced that we are born to be standing here, at this very window, about to walk into the bakery and get it, eat it. Be transported to a bliss realm.”

But with meditation we are able to question our minds. When we meditate we are able to ignore the “They Did Me Wrong” songs and actually have a good day. When we sit with our minds and analyze the thoughts we are having we will soon realize that they are a complete exaggeration.

“That teacher didn’t say 'Hi' to me when I walked by..they probably hate me or think I’m unimportant. So now I’m going to ignore them and pretend to not see them anymore”- If we sit with those thoughts and analyze our minds we will find that the teacher doesn’t hate us or view us as unimportant, perhaps they were wrapped up in their own life, dealing with something larger than us.

Roth encourages a meditation that focuses on the stomach. “The belly is located in the center of our bodies and is in fact the center of our grounding” Sensing the stomach will help us become aware of being alive. If we ignore the stomach we become “homeless.”

“You spend your life trying to erase your own existence. Apologizing for yourself. Feeling like a ghost. Eating to take up space, eating to give yourself the feeling that you have weight here, you belong here, you are allowed to be yourself-but never quiet believing it because you don’t sense yourself directly.”

“Owning your own presence-the direct, sensate, immediate experience of being in your body-by grounding yourself in your belly has everything to do with compulsive eating. By definition, eating compulsively is eating without regard to the body’s cues; it therefore follows that when you develop the capacity to steer your attention back to your body, are aware of what it says and are willing to listen to it, compulsion falls away.”

I’ve never meditated but my husband does. Perhaps I should do this so that I can be aware of myself. I definitely think it would help in dealing with the lunacy of my mind.

Food for thought

What kind of crazy thoughts have you made up in your “They Did Me Wrong” mind song?

Christmas Recap | 2011

2011-12-26T22:35:00.001-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Better than any Christmas I can remember.

This year my mom and dad joined us again. This is super special because my dad travels 8 hours to be with us for two whole days. We don’t see him often so it’s a real treat.

I just want to say that the best thing this Christmas wasn’t the gifts or the food. It was Bean looking up at my dad and saying, “Grandpa! Grandpa!” and reaching her arms out for him to pick her up.

She loves her Grandpa and Nana (my mom) so much and she is happy when they come because they are more than happy to pick her up and give her snuggles.

I spent Christmas Eve enjoying my family and making the dough for our Christmas morning cinnamon rolls. We watched movies, my dad made the best gumbo, and at the end of the day Bean wore her Christmas jammies.

When she went to bed we decided to play the Monopoly game my mom brought. This is going to be a new tradition for us.

It think playing Monopoly on Christmas Eve while eating gumbo and my grandma’s peanut butter fudge is the only way to welcome in the next day.

My dad won the game. He wins every game. Literally.

I’ve only won one game against him in my entire life and that goes for my oldest brother too. We didn’t even win against him when we were kids. But you know what? It only made me try harder and for some reason the game was more fun. When I finally won at 19 years old it was one of the best days of my life.

After the game my dad went to his hotel room and everyone else warmed themselves by the fire until it went out. I was exhausted and fufilled.

The next morning I got up before everyone else and was joined by TP shortly after. We snuggled on the couch and looked at our Christmas tree for a while. After that I put in the cinnamon rolls in the oven.

Bean got up right when I was taking the cinnamon rolls out. I think she planned that.

This is the first year she could have one. She really enjoyed them and didn’t want to eat anything else all day. Bean kept running back to the pan and screaming “More!More!” but I didn’t give her anymore. But at the end of the night there was only one left. She more than likely went to TP, my mom, or my dad several times and they gave her more. Sneaky girl.

We opened up stockings next. There was some great stuff in the stockings this year. Some people got magazine subscriptions, candy, magic cards, head bands, stuffed animals, scarves, movie tickets, gift cards, and other things I can’t remember. But my favorite stocking gift was this mask my dad got.

Next came the gifts. My mom went first, then my dad, then Bean.

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Bean received puzzles, clothes, pajamas, a stuffed pig pillow, a dog towel (she loves doggies), a chalkboard easel, a hand made doll, a plastic grocery cart, plastic food, and other things I can’t even remember. She loved all her gifts though.

TP opened Reid’s gifts and piled them on top of him so he could chew on every single one. He received this mechanical dog named Scout, a sock monkey, pajamas, clothes, balls, and other toys.

I want to highlight these special gifts my grandma and grandpa made Bean and Reid:

My grandma, also known as the craftiest woman on the planet, gave each of them their very first ornimants.

She packaged them in small wooden hat boxes that had their pictures on top. This was such a special gift and it actually spawned a new tradition for our family. TP and I are going to start collecting ornaments from all the places we visit and buy each other and the kids ornaments every year. This way our tree is decorated with ornaments that mean a lot to us, not just the store bought kind.

After all the gifts were opened we ate. My meal came out perfect, everyone loved the dishes I served. The best part was the brisket. It came out so tender and my dad really liked it. Shortly after dinner my mom and dad left.

TP and the kids took a nap and I spent my time playing my new Zelda game for Wii.

When the kids woke up I put them in their new jammies and they played for a while longer before bed time.

We all had a very busy day full of love, laughter, great food, and warmth.

I hope you all experienced the same.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

We are gearing up for the next couple days. My mom and dad will be in town, it will be Reid’s first Christmas and our home is going to be filled with warmth, great food, family, and laughter- we can’t wait.

What’s really fun is that every time someone says “Merry Christmas!”, Bean shouts “Ho! Ho! Hooo!” It’s the best.

I will be absent from this space until Monday, attempting to soak in all the festivities.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

-Meg

Family Planning | Choosing to lead

2011-12-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

We have been thinking about family planning in a different way.

Our family planning has less to do with prenancies and more to do with family direction; creating a plan for our family that creates goals and purpose.

I belive that a family is like an organization and like any well ran successful organization, there are common goals, guidelines, and a clear vision.

There is a great blog named Simple Mom that features a great library of knowledge. Information on family activities, finances, recipes, home organization, self care and much more can be found. So when we wanted to create a family mission statement that was the first place I looked.

They have a great template that I used. It can be found here. We thought the questions were thought provoking so one night we put the kids to bed and began answering.

Here are a few of my favorite questions and answers:

1. What are a few strengths of each member of our family?

TP- Outgoing, creative, knowledgeable about outside resources, networks well, health conscious

Meg- Time manager, integrity, tradition keeper, able to see possibilities/not possibilities, sense of color and design

Bean- Keeps us laughing, smart, empathetic, curious, observant

Reid- Relaxed, quick to smile, patient, gives us a sense of peace, keeps a schedule

9. What would we like people to say about our family as a whole in 30 years?

That despite society being over dependent on technology we were able to push past that and get back to family basics, that no matter what good we did in the community we started doing good at home first, we put our family first, we have a great family that stemmed from a strong marriage

13. What are the top four priorities we want our family to value?

Our marriage comes first
Organizing and planning
Saying no to things that impede on our family time
Being on one accord

This was an excellent exercise for our family, something we will look back on each year to modify because our lives and our family is always evolving.

The exercise has a part two that we plan on completing before the New Year, a new direction just in time for a new beginning.

Women, Food, and God: Chapters 5&6

2011-12-21T10:59:00.001-05:00

Chapters 1&2 review. Chapters 3&4 review.

Chapter 5

Roth focuses a lot on trusting our bodies and ourselves and encourages readers to find goodness in who we are. She states that this is hard for most people because they believe there is no good in them, nothing to trust, that they are broken.

But she urges people to look beyond what they see from the outside. To look inside themselves and see what their true essence is. She asks women to think of a time when they were pure, when they enjoyed their life, when things were easy and simple. Who were you then?

More than likely most of us were children. She urges readers to think about a time in their childhood when they believed anything was possible, when knobby knees, sticky hands, and a thirst for adventure was enough. When we remember being beautiful because we didn't know anything else. When we are able to look back on those times we can find ourselves again, realize that we are not broken because we can return to that place again. That we can trust ourselves.

Because many of us feel broken with an empty hole, many women try to fix it and fill the holes with food. "Compulsive eating is reaching for, a yearning for, an attempt to contact the place that is already whole."

However, Roth says that we do not need fixing. Fixing implies that we are wrong for feeling certain things when instead we should be welcoming those feelings. Roth encourages readers to sit with feelings, to actually feel them and to realize that the only way we can get back to our true perfection is realizing that we are already whole. True peace and the end of over eating comes only when we feel like we can't fix ourselves, that we are who we are.

"We see there is no goal, no end place, no test to take. No one is keeping score. No one is watching us and deciding whether we are worth enough to ascend...the constant effort to fix ourselves, that was the very thing that kept the wholeness at bay. If you think that your job is to fix what is broken, you keep finding more broken places to mend."

Chapter 6

The beginning of this chapter really struck a chord with me. Roth writes that diets are not the way to a thin, healthy body. Diets will not make us happy or feel full. They do not lead to a new life. " Diets are based on the unspoken fear that you are a madwoman, a food terrorist, a lunatic. eventually you will destroy all that you love and so you need to be stopped. The promise of a diet is not only that you will have a different body; it is that in having a different body, you will have a different life. If you hate yourself enough, you will love yourself. If you torture yourself enough, you will become a peaceful, relaxed human being."

I have thought so many times that if I got rid of this food and if only I could just ____ (whatever it is) I would be happy. If I could just push through one more hungry hour, one more nasty broccoli head, then I could be thin. Then I would be perfect. Being thin, to me, always equaled perfection. This is a sad reality.

Roth moves through the chapter to talk about true understanding. That if we could understand ourselves then we could achieve the life we want, thin or not. She writes that until we understand ourselves love will never be enough, our careers will never be enough, our thighs will never be quiet as thin as we would like, and nothing about our lives will seem real.

"Until you understand that you are oriented toward damage and doom, toward being wedded to compulsive eating and all its problems, until you realize that you insist upon it, albeit unconsciously, no change will last because you will be working against your natural tendencies. You will be overriding your deepest convictions about being alive."

I think this quote speaks to the tendency to self sabotage. So many times I have thought, "Well, I'm never going to lose weight anyway..so I might as well.." This is because I was not taking time to understand myself and to think about what I needed and the feelings I was having. Was I fearful? Angry? Worried? Maybe all three and perhaps if I had taken time to understand myself, I would be in a different place.

I'm still mulling over the next theme of Roth's chapter: "The shape of your body obeys the shape of your beliefs about love, value, and possibility. To change your body you must first understand that which is shaping it. Not fight it. Not force it. Not deprive it. Not shape it. Not do anything but accept-and, yes, Virgina- understand it."

Understanding ourselves is the true key to happiness and being thin, to ending the war on compulsive eating? Yes, I believe that. I believe that in order for my thighs to shrink something, perhaps self love and knowledge, must get bigger. Now I just have to find a way for that to happen.

"You doubt your own impulses so you become masterful at looking outside yourself for comfort. You become an expert at finding experts and programs, at striving and trying hard and then harder to change yourself, but this process only reaffirms what you already believe about yourself- that your needs and choices cannot be trusted, and left to your own devices you are out of control."

Food for thought

Do you believe if you threw out all of your rules about food, what you can and cant eat, that you would self destruct?

Mr. Lobster

2011-12-18T08:00:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I bought lobsters for my Christmas soup from the grocery store. They were live and wiggly and pretty much grossed me out, even dead, but you know what was amazing?

Bean wasn’t bothered by them at all. I opened a large plastic bag full of live lobsters and she stuck her hand in, no hesitation. I took one out for her and she laughed and clapped and drug it across the floor.

So it made me wonder. When do we become fearful of silly things?

Christmas Dinner | Something a little different

2011-12-17T08:00:00.004-05:00

Since Christmas is at our house, I get to set the menu. Something that really excites me because after years of tradtional meals, I get to change things up a bit. I am so excited to be hosting this year.

Hosting this dinner makes my to-do list a little longer and more odd (perhaps we should buy dinning room chairs) but I am excited none the less.

This year TP won't be carving a turkey (actually, we've never had turkey and he only eats fish so I'm sure he wont mind) and we're putting away the ribs and cornbread for something a little different. Here's our holiday menu:

Christmas Morning

It's a tradition for our family to always start Christmas morning with cinnamon rolls. You can find the recipe I use here. I'm usually too busy making other things for the day so we only have a side of sausage or bacon with these.

Christmas Dinner

I'm kicking the dinner off with Corn and Lobster Chowder and Canberry Spinach Salad. I've never made this before, never tasted it before, but there's no better time than now. Recipe can be found here for the chowder and here for the salad.

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I decided that I wanted to try a different meat. No turkey, no chicken, no ham. Just brisket. I found the recipe here. I've never made brisket before but I know that if I make it right my Dad will be a happy man.

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TP doesn't eat meat, only fish. So he will dine on Rosemary-Rubbed Salmon. The recipe can be found here.

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Cornbread stuffing is the only thing I'm carrying over from past holiday menus. I just can't leave it out. It's sweet, buttery, and creamy. Amazing. I don't have a recipe link for this, except for the cornbread portion. Maybe I'll write the one my family uses after the holidays.

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Red skillet potatoes should go great with the brisket and everything else. I found the recipe here.

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Green bean casserole. I've never made this and I haven't tasted green bean casserole (can you believe it!?) but I know my Mom loves it. Recipe can be found here.

Christmas Dinner Desserts

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We are fortunate to be around a lot of apple orchards and instead of apple pie, I chose apple cake. You can find the recipe for this here.

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For my husband's sanity we are having pumpkin pie. But this is the only thing I'm not making myself. With a menu full of dishes I've never made and the other holiday things I'm planning, I'm not allowing myself to feel guilty. Instead I am embracing the warm welcoming hands of Sara Lee.

So what's on your menu for Christmas Day?

Dinner Time

2011-12-16T08:10:00.000-05:00

One of the things we wanted to implement (after doing a series of questions about our family goals and mission, more on that later) was eating dinner together. All of us. We felt that it was important family bonding time and an opportunity to sit still, if only for a moment.

We decided that unless it was work related (and sometimes not even then) nothing could be planned during our dinner time. We wanted it to be sacred, untouched, non negotiable.

So we’ve been doing this for a week now and I have to say, I really love it.

I love sitting down and asking, “So, how was your day dear?” and a little voice to my left yelling, “Good!” in between smacks of food. I enjoy Reid sitting on the table in his Bumbo as TP feeds him, his other hand shoveling the content of his plate in his own mouth.

Asking Bean what she did all day at daycare and listening to her ramble about her day fills me with so much joy. I like watching my family eat a meal I’ve prepared, that we’ve worked hard for. But most of all, I enjoy knowing that Bean and Reid will look back on these times fondly and hopefully carry it on to their own families.

Women, Food, and God: Chapters 3&4

2011-12-14T08:02:00.006-05:00

If you want to read my review on chapters 1 & click here.

Chapter 3

This chapter is about the feeling to bolt. When things get too hard and we can no longer stand being with ourselves, being in the pain, being in the frustration, being alone, what have you- we eat. We use food as an escape.

"Staying where you are with what you are feeling or seeing or sensing is the first step in ending the obsession with food." Roth describes food obsessions as distractions. It gives us something else to do besides focusing on heart-shattering events, "plane tickets" out of heatbreak.

This is so true. There have been countless times when I’ve been upset about something. Stressed over this or that, on the verge of crying. Instead of feeling that, I chose to go eat something. When I was done stuffing my face I focused on how disgusted I felt with myself. My thoughts shifted almost immediately from the heart ache I was feeling to what I had just eaten. Sometimes I couldn't remember what made me eat because I was upset about something new- the food I had just consumed.

Roth states that women are scared to face what's really going on. "...that obession is a way of organizing our lives so that we never have to deal with the hard part- the part that happens between being two years old and dying.” Roth states that we get through moments like this is by allowing ourselves to feel, to cry, to sit in the pain and frustration we are feeling. If we can do this the obession with food would be over.

"And you notice that when you don't use food to shut yourself down, to leave our body, you actually feel more alive. That feeling anything, even grief, is different from what you thought it would be. That when you don't leave yourself, a different life is lived. One that includes vulnerability and tenderness and fragility and changes the landscape- makes it verdant, wider, breathtaking-"

Roth makes a really interesting comparison in this chapter between infants and women obsessed with food. She states that infants cannot tell the difference between physical and emotional pain and if the pain is too intense and defenses are weak the baby will either become psychotic and/or die. It is natural and lifesaving, according to Roth, for children to shut down feelings and turn to something that soothes (sucking thumbs, curling into a ball, rocking back and forth, a blanket, etc).

However, some women do not grow out of this stage and believe that any form of pain will kill them. So instead of pushing through the pain, women use food as a coping mechanism, like a child who is scared of the dark and uses a blanket to protect themself.

Staying in the pain and experiencing requires an awareness. Women obessed with food need to hone in on the desire to bolt. "When you don't infer your existence from replaying what happend to you, when you don't take yourself to be the girl your mother/father/brother/teacher/lover didn't see or adore.. When you sense yourself directly, immediately, right now, without preconception, who are you?...The you who is not your past, not your habits, not your compulsions. Anything becomes possible. Even living through extraordinary pain."

Chapter 4

In this Chapter Roth focuses on weight and what it really means. Roth recieved a letter from someone who included a Weight Watchers ribbon that symbolized they had lost 10 pounds. But when Roth read the letter, the person included one line: "And I Still Feel Like Crap" Why is this? If weight were really the reason why so many are unhappy then losing it would end all of their problems, right?

"We think we're miserable because of what we weigh...When a pill is discovered that allows people to eat whatever they want and not gain weight, the feelings and situations they turned to food to avoid will still be there and they will find other more inventive ways to numb themselves."

But Roth does mention that it isn't not not about the weight either. Some of us are physically hurting because of the weight and if pounds are lost, we would feel better. At least physically.

"The bottom line, whether you weight 340 pounds or 150 pounds, is that when you eat when you are not hungry, you are using food as a drug, grappling with boredome or illness or loss of grief or emptiness or loneliness or rejection. Food is only the middleman, the means to an end. Of altering our emotions. Of making yourself numb."

Roth writes that using food is creating a secondary problem that distracts us from the real problem, making us forget. She also combats the age old excuse "But I like the taste of food. In fact, I love the taste! Why can't it be that simple? I overeat because I like food.” However, Roth argues that when we like something, even love it, we take time with it. We want to be present in it for every second. Overeating results in being sick (emotionally and physically), guilt, and ill feelings. "That's not love; that's suffering."

So why do we over eat? It’s not because we necessarily love food. Roth thinks that over eating is often caused by feelings of emptiness, loneliness, and deficiency. But if we stay in those feelings, discover what they really mean, welcome them so that we may use it to understand ourselves, we would free ourselves. "Imagine not being frightened by any feeling. Imagine knowing that nothing will destroy you."

We try and run from our feelings and we think "If only/When I (I lose weight, I get a better job, I find someone to love me, I move, I make more money) then I'll be happy.” But that isn’t dealing with the emptiness, loneliness, and deficiency. Wishing to be rid of a situation is keeping us from living our lives, the here and now "What if this is exactly what you are supposed to be doing because it is what you are doing? What if each nitty-gritty task is perfectoin istelf and you keep missing it because you're looking for something else?"

Oh, I have such a problem living in the here and now, trying to escape the unhappiness of life. I am the biggest "If only/When I" thinker. I fail to notice the pain and the beauty that is my life.

Food for thought

Are you an If only/When I thinker? Have you become happier when you achieved what you were wishing for? Or did you get it and still found it wasn't enough? What is enough?

Changing Up My Inspiration

2011-12-13T08:00:00.018-05:00

We’ve been seriously busy here due to the fact that we’ve moved into our new apartment and we’re trying some new things in our home that we hope will leave us feeling full.

Some of those things include:

Bi-nightly baths for the kids
Changing over to natural home made cleaners (cleaning supplies and laundry soap)
Eating together as a family
Picking up after ourselves
A new laundry schedule
Spending time together as a couple, without children

I’ve started to edit my Google Reader from blogs that mostly talked about food, shopping, super hipster lives. Because when I was done reading them I felt like someone would after watching several episodes of The Jersey Shore- empty and wondering where the heck my time went.

So I’ve started reading blogs that are adding something to my life and they are a direct cause for some of the changes we’ve been making in our home. Most of the blogs are written by Christian stay at home moms and I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration from them that I hope to be sharing on here soon enough.

I would be interested in knowing what kind of blogs you read.

Women, Food, and God: Chapters 1&2

2011-12-07T14:34:00.005-05:00

I learned about this book from another blogger, Can You Stay For Dinner? And after seeing how this blogger lost 100+ pounds by eating sensibly and exercising, I figured it would be worth the read. I mean, I don't have a lot of time so if I was going to chose to spend my limited time reading something, it had to be good.

Oh and is it good. Even if someone doesn't have a weight problem but finds themselves obsessed with something else (work, their children, their marriage, food, exercise, whatever) this book is for them.

Chapter 1

Roth writes about how she grew up in a not so peaceful home and as a result, she turned to God at a young age. But, according to Roth, God wasn't answering her prayers (she wanted beautiful hair, thin long legs, and parents who didn't fight) so she abandond God and went to food.

She describes Hostess Sno Balls and the way they made her feel both during consumption and after. That really resignated with me. If I close my eyes right now I can imagine the layers of my favorite dessert and how each layer makes me feel and excites me and, like Ross, it soothes me.

Roth also explains in the first chapter how she struggled with binge eating and extreme diets. She makes a comparision between diets and prayers. Like a prayer, diets were a way of making a cry for help, a proclimation of how hard she was trying to change through deprivation and punishment.

Binge eating and dieting was a way for her to express her despair. But Roth decided to stop dieting and to her that was like someone who decided that they no longer wanted to pray, as if they were breaking "a vow that was never supposed to be broken."

Chapter 2

Roth starts this chapter out by explaining her retreat and how her clients react to the program. According to Roth, when her clients find out that they aren't attending another retreat about calorie counting or exercise techniques they experience some doubt.

I think many people, like myself, believe that if we just stop eating so many, lets say, chocolate chip cookies then we would lose weight. But Roth says that the chocolate cookie isn't the inherant problem. There is nothing wrong with the butter, flour, sugar, chocolate chips, and shortening. What's wrong is its consumer.

Roth writes that we must stop blaming other people or issues for our weight, stop dieting, and start looking inward. Only then can we lose weight and stop using those chocolate chip cookies as weapons against our emotional and physical health.

The relationship with weight loss and perfecting our bodies is also a major theme in this chapter. Roth writes that relationships are formed around dieting, weight loss, and food. According to Roth, many women bond and find that they fit by joining in the activy of self hate.

She describes people who are trying to lose weight as Sisyphus. You know, the guy who is trying to push the huge boulder up the hill. Often times, women try to lose weight (pushing the boulder up the hill) and just when the weight is almost lost or we are losing weight we stop, something detrails us, and we start all over again.

She writes that this is because self idenity is tied up in the way we look and in our attempts to lose weight, " As long as you are striving and pushing and trying hard to do something that can never be done, you know who you are: someone with a weight problems who is working hard to be thin. You don't have to feel lost of helpless because you always have a goal and that goal can never be reached."-

This is so true, the other day I looked at TP and said "I don't know who I would be if I lost 100 pounds..Or what I would look like..This has always been me." I have always been big, striving to be thin, and when I become thin who will I be? What goal will I work towards then?

Roth writes that women believe if they fix their bodies, everything else will fall into place. "If I fix myself so that I am no longer myself, then everything will be fine. My feelings will be manageable."

This next excerpt is earth shattering:

"Women turn to food when they are not hungry because they are hungry for something they can't name: a connection to what is beyond the concerns of daily life. Something deathless, something sacred." She goes on to explain that feeding that hunger with food is like "giving a glass of sand to a person dying of thirst. It creates more thirst, more panic."

"The relentless attemps to be thin take you further and further away from what could actually end your suffering: getting back in touch with who you really are. Your true nature. Your essence."

If you haven't already clicked over to Amazon to buy this book or reserved it at your local library, you should. It is an amazing read and I find myself nodding my head, self reflecting, and on the verge of trears as I read. I can relate to everything so far and I've only read two chapters. I plan on reviewing each chapter (two at a time), each week until I'm finished with it. So make sure you come back next Wednesday.

Food for thought:

Have there been times in your life when you have eaten to fill some kind of void?

Life ‘round here | Crappy Cell Phone Pictures

2011-12-05T09:57:00.002-05:00

New giraffe pjs.

Paint colors for the new apartment.

Green smothies from Daddy.

Life by our new fireplace.

We've officially moved into our new apartment. Four days, countless trips back and forth, disgusting amounts of take out food, and one beautifully painted apartment later (thanks Ma')!

We are enjoying our new home and I will have pictures up as soon as our internet turns on, sometime between 12pm and 5pm tomorrow (because people don't have jobs so they can obviously make it home in time for the internet man and happily hand over $42.95 for the new insitilation, which is the flipping of some magical switch according to the customer service rep. -can you tell I'm bitter?)

-Meg

Good Weather

2011-11-26T08:00:00.013-05:00

Our family is trying to enjoy the remainder of good weather left in Central New York.

Yesterday morning we went on a small walk around our neighborhood and saw black squirrels (my personal favorite), frosted leaves, dogs big and small, cars, neighbors, and many rocks.

We then walked to a local cafe but it was closed. Bean wanted a paper but I forgot my money at the house. That didn’t stop the demands or the yanking on the machine though. I think she wanted to cut coupons, since that’s the only reason we ever get paper.

She also got to attempt to do her favorite thing in the whole wide world, opening the car.

Only, this isn’t our car. I don’t know who the car belongs to. But I can’t imagine that if they were looking they’d be upset by a cute little babe in a lion’s hat jiggling their handle.

What are you doing to enjoy the last bit of good weather in your area? Or has the weather already turned?

Thirfty Shopper | A New Chair

2011-11-23T12:03:00.001-05:00

I'm supposed to be moving and packing up all the stuff in our apartment. But I went to the Salvation Army to donate items and decided to look around. No harm in that, right?

Wrong.

I snapped this picture with my cell phone and sent it to my husband asking, "What do you think?" but he was taking too long so I sent it to my mom and she replied instantly. Moms are great.

She thought the chair was "Cute" and for $25.00, I couldn't pass that up.

I asked a clerk if the chair had been sprayed and inspected for bugs (bedbugs, fleas, you know the kind) and she said it had and the chair passed the test.

Sold!

I bought the chair and hours later my husband responded, "I like it." Great because I had already bought it. We took it home the next day and it sits on our landing, ready for move in day.

This chair is a great find because it has the color pallet I want for our new living/dinning room. All I have to do is clean it again (to make myself feel more comfortable) and paint the chair legs.

Do you shop at thrift stores? If so what do you buy? What are some things you'd NEVER buy at a thrift store?

Super Steal | Card Store 70% Sale

2011-11-23T11:45:00.003-05:00

Card store is having a great sale for Black Friday!

I haven't received my cards yet (they are on their way) and can't vouch for the quality of this company, I figured I would share this anyway. Some people, like me, may be willing to go out on a limb and order. They have great prices and with this discount combined with free shipping, this is defintely a steal.

Happy shopping.

*UPDATE*
I just recieved my card order. I LOVE them. The paper is nice and heavy and the clarity on the pictures is great. I also think the colors are pretty much on point. I will be ordering from them again.

Moving

2011-11-22T09:04:00.000-05:00

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We are in the middle of moving and so all my time has been devoted to that.

I'm excited to move but I wish I could hire someone to come in and pack everything I point at, donate everything we don't want, and throw away all the useless crap we have accumulated. But since that isn't an option for us, we have to do it.

Packing with two small children is not fun. Well, Reid really isn't a problem since he doesn't do anything other than sleep, eat, and coo. Bean is the problem. Everything I put in the trash or donate pile she finds new uses for and doesn't want to part with the item. Which means I have to trick her into playing with something else and quickly take the item she dug up and stuff it deeper in the pile. It's a horrible cycle.

So now I have to wait until both kids are sleeping at 7:30 to do any real packing or sometimes on the weekend I pack while the husband watches the kids. Either option doesn't leave much time. But we are making progress.

There are some upsides to packing though and moving in general. It's like an instant New Year. A new place always makes us feel like we are starting fresh. New house rules, new goals, new decorating ideas. It really is exciting.

I can't wait to actually get in there and take 'before' pictures. To say that the paint colors right now are hideous would be an understatement. I have a lot of decorating ideas that I can't wait to do.

Featured Sponsor | One Shiny Star

2011-11-21T08:00:00.001-05:00

I’m very excited about this sponsor. Jess is the author of One Shiny Star, a blog that I check out daily.

Here’s why I read her blog:

She is the proud mom of a little girl, Ginny. Well, her name is actually Virginia, but Ginny for short. Move over, over sized stuffed animals or sticker onies that mark the milestones of a growing baby. This girl takes it to the streets every month for a photo op. next to her very own street sign!

Jess has made some of the best cake pops on my side of the internet. She made these for her husbands video game themed surprise party, talk about dedication. I like reading how busy moms find time to do things like that.

Jess and her husband taught their (then) three month old how to use the potty. Blows my mind and it will blow yours too.

She isn’t just a mommy blogger. She talks about the hard stuff.

Most importantly, Jess isn’t afraid to keep it real.

So head over to her blog and show her some love!

I’ve decided to start taking sponsors. If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor of Moments Like This email me (meggsmoments@gmail.com) and we can definitely talk about it.

Christmas Card Photo | Card Store

2011-11-18T08:00:00.002-05:00

Here’s a low resolution sample of our Christmas card photo that I created using Card Store. This year to save a bit of money I decided to go with flat photo cards at .49 cents each. I ordered 45 of them (doesn’t it seem like the lists get longer each year?) so that was a total of $22.00! The great thing about the Card Store (though it is my first time using them) is that they have free shipping no matter what and include white envelopes. A total steal.

If you haven’t ordered your Holiday cards yet make sure you do it soon, Thanksgiving is next week (waaah!?)

Photo Contest | Fall

2011-11-12T18:27:00.001-05:00

Fall means snuggly clothes and cute hats.

This photo was entered into the Paper Mama Monthly Photo Challenge

College Throw Back

2011-11-11T06:58:00.000-05:00

I would run back to college, more specifically my Freshman year, if I could.

I was finally allowed to chose who I wanted to be and where I would go. I met this amazing man, my husband, within the first month and never looked back.

I staid up all night, drank too much at parties, ate dinner with people who made me laugh until my stomach hurt, explored literature, and slept in on Saturday mornings. I listened to music and danced through the halls, played Halo until my thumbs hurt, and laughed and laughed and laughed.

I loved it.

TPs best friend, Donald, is coming up from Philly today. He knew this guy long before I did so he can’t really be considered an old college friend...Just an old friend. This weekend we will rehash our Freshman year and share embarrassing stories, talking about what once was.

I thought I would share some pictures of our college experience:

Freshman Year

I did really bad my first semester in college. Like, 1.9 GPA bad (but graduated Cum Lade with a lot of work). After that semester my mom threatened that she would make me come home if I didn’t get a 3.0 the next semester, I changed my major from education to social work and scored a 3.8GPA. These women were amazing and part of a study group I joined. Both of them graduated, one is married, and the other is engaged.

This is a group of friends I ate almost every meal with. I’m there, the second person in on the left in the all black pea coat and scarf. TP is the guy all the way on the right with his head to the side.

This is my husband. His room and the college friend that is coming today had the busiest room. Everyone wanted to be in their room because that’s where all the fun happened. So many great memories.

This is my husband and his friend, Donald. These two are hilarious together. I mean, hold your side, you have to stop laughing because it hurts, hilarious. They are also a packaged deal. I knew that as soon as I started dating my husband. If Donald didn’t like me, I probably wouldn’t be married right now.

This is a group of friends TP had Freshman year. Donald is hidden behind the guy holding his face and TP is in the far right corner.

TP is straight out of Philly in this picture. Meaning the style (aka clothes that are too big) is something that wasn’t uncommon where he lived. But boy did I hate it. I slowly worked him into wearing clothes that actually fit but it was a challenge.

Sophomore Year

I chopped all of my hair off. I rocked a fro the entire year. Here I am walking down towards my dorm and a friend snapped this of me. She actually has her own blog here. She’s amazing and would always yell, “Meg! I LOVE your hair. YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL!” And I put that in all caps because she would yell this, no matter what, ha!

These are some images we took going to a state park. Stuffed animals on display, we couldn’t help ourselves.

Oh, I’m so in love with this man. Here we are at the state park taking pictures. It’s funny because right around this time TP and I were talking about marriage at the ripe age of 19. We knew we wanted to be together and raise a family.

Junior Year

The summer before our Junior year we were camp counselors together in the Adirondaks. Which was amazing and hard. But I lost 30lbs! Anyway, here I am manning a snack table for my women’s group at one of TPs poetry events. He started a mens empowerment group (that is still running) and they hosted these open mics once a month. This was the time I really discovered how amazing he is at poetry.

He is hosting. You see those purple sneakers? Those were one of the first things I ever bought him and he loved them so much.

Our campus had a Spring Fling every year that we helped out with. We were very involved in school politics and sat on a lot of important committees.

This was also the year that TP asked me to marry him. He took me on a walk and got me ice cream (something he normally doesn’t do) and we walked to a trail and talked and laughed and then he sat me on a bench and kneeled in front of me. He told me that he loved me and that he couldn’t see himself without me and then asked if I would marry him. I of course said yes, after snatching the ring first. He told me he wasn’t sure if I would say yes, despite at this point being with him for three years, silly man. We hugged and it was amazingly simple and perfect.

Senior Year

TP is an amazing basketball player. Truly. He always played basketball in college for fun and on small teams but this year was the only year I snapped a picture of him playing.

We turned 21 this year and spent a lot of our free time (when we weren’t planning events, doing committee work, writing papers, and being RAs) at this great bar in town called Changos. We would meet up with close friends there and laugh and drink. It was so much fun, I felt so grown up going to the bar.

These are some friends of mine in my social work major. The woman closes to me is amazing. She has this little black pug named Vinnie who she makes do hilarious things and sends me pictures (like pose on top of books with a message, “Keep studying”). We still talk and she’s getting married soon.

This is TP playing around in the town’s laundry mat.

Here he is at a residence hall function sipping coke and wearing a cowboy hat. At the end of the year all the residence halls had a party.

Here we are on graduation day decked out in all our garb. This was one of the best days. It signified the end of a long fun journey and the beginning of a new one. Two weeks after we graduated we got married, a week after that we moved to Denver for graduate school, three weeks after that we got pregnant. And so the story continues.

This weekend we will talk about all those memories and more. We will laugh, eat great food, and Donald will get to meet Reid. We’ll talk about the funny times we tried to forget because they were so dang embarrassing but mostly we will enjoy great company.

Tell me a crazy college story or a memory you have with an old friend.

Strike A Pose | Child Models

2011-11-09T09:01:00.001-05:00

I sent this picture to a child modeling agency. One that I researched because a lot of them are scams.

But I kind of did it for fun. Just to see what they'd say, to say I've done it, and basically because I believe Bean is beautiful. I never expected to hear back from them. I mean seriously. They must get thousands of insane parents like myself sending pictures in each month. I fully expected Bean to be lost in the pile, a needle in a haystack.

But I got a call from a very interested woman at the agency who thought Bean was beautiful.

It didn't work out though. The agency headquarters is in New Jersey and it sends clients on appointments in New York City. Once I told her we lived in Central New York she told me that it would be too hard for us to travel so much and on short notice. But if we ever moved into the New Jersey/New York City area to give them another call.

I hung up the phone and didn't really know what to think. I kind of felt elated that someone else thought she was beautiful enough to be a GAP baby or on a commercial or something.

But then I thought, if we actually lived near New Jersey/New York City would we follow through with an appointment? Would we pursue a modeling career for our now 20 month old daughter?

I didn't know and I still don't know.

What do you think? Would you allow your child to be a model?

Life ‘round Here | Morning Routine

2011-11-08T08:00:00.003-05:00

| These photos were all taken in automatic mode, on the fly. Which means that some of them may be out of focus and have weird coloring. Very little processing has been done to any of these photos |

My alarm sounds at 5:00am in the morning. I wake up, quickly shut my alarm off so that it doesn’t wake up the kids and then I fumble around for my gym clothes and sneakers. I’m at the gym by 5:30 and I head home around 6:30.

When I get home I can usually hear Reid grunting and rustling around. He’s hungry. I wake up TP. Multiple. Multiple. Multiple times.

He’s up and makes Reid a bottle while I shuffle around, quietly as to not wake Bean, gathering things I need for my shower and putting my work clothes out.

He feeds Reid and I hop in the shower.

But then I hop out because I forgot to put Bean’s bread in the toaster. I put that in, take a quick shower and then I make her a honey bear. My grandpa made them for me when I was younger. Toast, peanut butter, and honey. Heaven. I make this for Bean and set it aside.

This morning Bean staid sleeping until I was ready for her to wake up. Sometimes she gets up on her own, sometimes I wake her. This morning she was not happy. Which is a hit or miss because some mornings she wakes up laughing and says “HI MOMMY!” but this morning she woke up and screamed, “NOOO!”

We found that she had unzipped her jammies. Sometimes she is completely naked, with or without diaper. But unfortunately for her, she got her blanket stuck in the zipper of her jammies. She was not happy that TP and I had a really good laugh at this.

Now I change her diaper and she stretches and wiggles and wines and says, “Eat”, “Brush” , “Hungry” , “Bruuuuussssh”

What she wants is to brush her teeth. So we go in the bathroom and I sit her on the counter top and hand Bean her own tooth brush. She doesn’t like kiddie size brushes and will only use adult size. I squeeze tooth paste on her toothbrush, she grabs it, puts it under running water, and begins to suck off all the tooth paste. She then mocks my motions as I brush my teeth.

Then she cries because she doesn’t have any more tooth paste. But I’m busy brushing my teeth so I can’t help her right at that moment. She continues to cry and whine until I’m done with brushing my teeth and I give her more. After the second dose of tooth paste she puts her toothbrush back in it’s individual container and plays in the running water.

This gives me the opportunity to do her hair. But she’s always moving and wiggling so I’m lucky if it looks decent.

I give her the honey bear and put on music videos. She dances around and eats her sandwich.

This morning it’s Beyonce’. She dances and laughs and eats.

Reid is also on the bed watching the music videos. This is great because then I busy myself with packing lunches for TP and I and making sure my work bag is packed. I grab coats for everyone, put shoes on, spray on perfume, re-direct Bean a few times, put in Reid’s pacifier a couple of times, take a few deep breaths, and make sure I am always asking what time it is.

Right around this time Bean had a fit because I told her to stop wiping her little peanut butter hands all over the place.

The rest of the morning is a blur. We put on coats, load Reid into the car seat, put on Bean’s shoes and hat. We give her sips of water because now she’s asking for it non stop. I make sure I have my work keys and TP makes sure he’s all set for work.

We get everyone out of the house by 7:35 so that I make it back to my work by 7:45.

Tell me about your mornings. I’d love to hear about how you start your day.

Life ‘round here | Crappy Cell Phone Pictures

2011-11-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

Enjoying play yard given by his Uncle J and Aunt H. Catching first smiles.

Spooky strawberry flavored Halloween Cupcakes for daycare. First pig tails.

Roar! Lion hat. Lumber Jack.

Photo Favorite | October

2011-11-05T14:33:00.000-04:00

Here’s my favorite photo from October:

This photo was entered into the Paper Mama Monthly Photo Challenge

Why fly on a broom when you have a swing?

Who Runs This Motha | Girls!

2011-11-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

Oh, Bean. Sometimes, my daughter is the most amazing human being on this planet.

I’m sure of it. When she says things like, “Love you”, “I do it!”, “Excuse me”, “Meet you” (which means, “Nice to meet you” and then she sticks her hand out for a shake) my heart swells. I think, I must have the smartest baby, the cutest baby.

But then there are times when I want to give her shaken baby syndrome. Like when she screams and cries and nothing is good enough for her. The times when she holds on to my leg, begging to be picked up but I can’t because my hands are full with something else.

Those are times I think in my head, “What do you want!? I can’t be everything for you!?”- and then I realize that for a short while, I am everything to her. When I realize that, I scoop her up and she gives me big hugs and lots of kisses and then says “Up!” which really means down and she goes off to play.

I knew that when I became a mother things were going to be hard. I knew that it would require a lot from me both physically and emotionally. I knew that. But I wasn’t prepared for the aging of my baby. She is almost two and I swear to you, now that I put her hair in pig tails she looks almost 40.

I don’t know what I’m going to do now. She’s growing so fast, watching how I interact with the world, watching how I carry myself. Watching all the time.

She’s even began to say curse words so now we have to be careful about what we say around her. But then I think, curse words shouldn’t be the only thing I eliminate from my vocabulary. I should be elemenating judgement, sarcasm, and hate. I should be speaking with more love and understanding because I do not want my daughter to grow up bitter.

So I am trying to do better.

I have realized that for a short while I am the person she is looking at to teach her how to be a girl, a young lady, and eventually a woman.

For right now there are no obnoxious girls who squeal and are boy crazy. Right now there are no ill-advised girlfriends who hate themselves and their bodies. And until she finds herself as a woman and needs me again, this is my window of opportunity.

Soon she will think I am annoying, that I don’t understand the life of a teenager, that I hate her life choices for reasons that make no sense, and there will be a time when she has seen my mistakes as a woman and as a mother and doesn’t want to be anything like me.

It’s a life cycle and I know that.

So right now, I am the beginning and I want to do my responsibilities to create a foundation. Once the tweens enter her life, I will be devalued until she has children of her own.

Bean's tweeny friends, high school friends, and college friends will have influence for a large portion of her life. But I’m not upset because if I take the time now to teach, she will make good choices. She will remember me.

When I am older and she needs cold remedies that work or her entire core has been rocked, I am determined to be the one she calls.

If you have kids, what is your opinion about raising them as decent humans?

What is important for you to instill in your children?

If you don’t have children, what do you think is the most important thing you’d like to teach your future children?

Being Broke Sucks | Budgeting our money

2011-11-03T08:00:00.005-04:00

I'm no financial planner but I do know that being broke sucks.

I'm so bad with math that I struggle to add/subtract/multiply/divide compound numbers. For a while that was okay. As a high school student or even a college student, I didn't have much money to spend because I wasn't earning a lot. The problem was that things changed, our family financial situation got better but unfortunately our money management did not. As a result, we acquired some credit card debt but honestly, we weren't doing bad. I mean we had money to pay our bills (we always made sure of that) but we didn't have money to do other things like buy clothes or enjoy ourselves on a date.

It wasn't until Reid's pending birth that we got serious about our financial situation. Ever since then, we've been steam rolling ahead. Now that isn't to say we didn't experience road bumps, like using our savings to pay for my missed pay during maternity leave. Or buying TP a new lap top for his job. But we haven't looked back and we keep moving forward.

Honestly, budgeting has saved our lives, saved us many fights, forced us to purchase things we need instead of want, and helped us exercise our self control muscle.

(actual picture of our family budget book, but now we're going digital)

Budgeting isn't fun though. It takes a lot of work and time. But you know what is fun? Dreaming.

Budgeting allows us to dream about the life we will have. Vacations, finally having a honeymoon, better clothes, a beautiful home, etc. But budgeting doesn't just help with material things. Budgeting is helping us set up retirement funds, college funds, and giving us the comfort of knowing if something happens our family will survive. Peace of mind is priceless and that's what budgeting gives us.

Oh but it is hard. It is hard to tell someone you cant afford to go to lunch or shop at the mall. It's hard to wait two extra weeks (despite the cold weather pending) to get a winter coat because other things like formula, kids, food, security deposits and the like come before that coat. It's so hard to put money into savings for Winter of 2012 when Fall of 2011 has just begun. But we do it because it has to be done. No more surprises. No more emergencies.

We took classes to learn how we can make money work for us, instead of the other way around. It was the best $90.00 we have ever spent. The class gave us much more than we could have ever imagined.

But if you don't want to go to the class begin with this budget on GoogleDocs that I made. You can customize it to fit your needs.

Happy budgeting everyone!

Oh Boy!

2011-11-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

I’ve been trying to hang out with Reid a little more now that he’s up longer during the day. He laughs and laughs about the silly things I say or do (he especially likes it when I dance). But mostly, he’s a relaxed little dude and observes everything around him.

I love spendin’ time with him though. I never understood what people meant when they said there was a special bond between a mother and her son. But I get it now.

He’s the second guy in my life that I have gladly given my heart to.

Cutting Room Floor | Christmas Card Outakes

2011-10-30T20:48:00.000-04:00

Randomly this morning at my mom’s house we took our Christmas Card photos.

The season is getting away from me, I knew I wouldn’t have time to take them otherwise. I have it set on my calendar to order them pretty soon and so I decided to get this ball rolling.

Here are some pictures that wont be on the card this year:

Don’t you just love Reid’s fleece dino hat?! I purchased it at a children’s clothing consignment shop for $2.00! Complete steal if you ask me.

Have you taken your Holiday photos yet?

-M

Mom vs. Mom | What kind of mother are you?

2011-10-27T08:44:00.000-04:00

I may be many things but here is what I am not:

I am not the kind of mom that gets upset/sad/depressed/obsessed when I leave my children or my children leave me (sidebar: if I know the person I'm leaving them with follows the rules I have set i.e. bedtime, food regime, behavior rules). Should I feel bad about that?

The notion that I should feel bad about leaving my kids in the care of someone else happened with my daughter and her first long term stay away from me. She was three months and we lived in Denver but we flew home (leaving husband back in Denver) so that I could go to a job interview in New York. The entire reason I brought her along was because my mom had never met her and I thought it would be a great treat for my mom. I went to the job interview, leaving my daughter in another city while I staid the night at a provided hotel. I had the best nights sleep.

I didn't wonder what she was doing, I didn't wonder if she was being cared for. I was completely at peace with my choice. When the intervew was over I went back to my mom's and with my husband's input, we decided it would be best for our daughter to say with my mom until I finished my last week and a half of graduate school. So at three months, I left my baby with my mom and flew back to Denver.

When I told people this they said things like, "Oh, I could never do that.", "Aren't you worried sick?" "How could you do that? I wouldn't be able to, I would be so sad/depressed/worried." , "Don't you miss her?"

All those things made me wonder if I should be missing her like crazy instead of enjoying the increased cuddling time with my husband, uninterrupted sleep, meals out, and focusing on my last 100 page research paper. But I didn't feel bad. After all, those people didn't have kids and they didn't know what it was like. The bliss of having a break from a baby.

The second distinct leave period was when I took my daughter to daycare for the first time. I dropped her off, sat in the car in the drive way and analyzed my feelings. I wasn't going to cry, I wasn't sad, I wasn't worried, I was at peace with my choice.

But then I thought, "Shouldn't I feel bad? Shouldn't I be crying right now, worried sick about her well being?" But no matter how hard I tried to convince tears to come over my pretend sadness (a sadness I pretended to have around co-workers), they didn't come.

"I would be so worried." "Don't you miss her?" "How many times have you called?"- All questions I got and continue to get whenever I tell some people that my daughter is in daycare or that she's leaving to visit family. These questions have only increased after the birth of Reid.

After Reid's birth, I had to sit through endless encounters of other mothers going on and on about how they cried rivers when their children left for daycare or how they haven't spent a single night away from their children. Some of the women have kids that are 5+ years!

I don't say anything, I sit back and listen about how I should be feeling when my children go away. Or how I shouldn't send my kids to anyone. Though these comments are directed at me, I am still affected by them.

I do admit when I first leave my kids with family members and it's their first time, I go overboard with instructions (I left my father-in-law a four page hand written pamphlet his first time with detailed instructions including a timed schedule, ha!).

Once I leave I don't look back. I don't even call.

I can't count how many times my daughter has left to stay with my family (Reid hasn't gone yet). But this has never bothered me.

Just like moms who get crap about being sick over their kids leaving, I get crap about not being upset.

Either way I figure we can't win.

-M

Design Inspiration | Bean's Room

2011-10-24T10:20:00.001-04:00

My mom will often call and say, "I found the cutest thing for Bean's room!" and then I roll my eyes, sigh and ask her to describe it. Though it changes from time to time, it usually goes like this:

"It has three monkeys and they are standing on their heads in hot air balloons, holing bananas and there is a clown!"

"No thanks."

Now I am usually grateful for the things my mom purchases for my kids, just not when it comes to room decor. But she always calls me and asks if I want the hideous thing she found and I always say no. For a minute I didn't think she understood, until Saturday when she said:

"I found something for Bean...But I'm not getting it because apparently everything I buy looks too kiddish." Yes! She got it.

I realize that I have children, but does that mean I have to decorate their rooms in clowns, monkeys, and an array of other things that make me feel like I stumbled into the Clearance isle of Babies R Us?

Instead, our little Ms. B is going to get a room like so:

Source: sugaranddots.com via Meg on Pinterest

Source: decorpad.com via Meg on Pinterest

This is the color scheme I've decided on for her room. I love the wall color. But most of all I love the way it all comes together. My favorite part? The rug. The rug is to die for. The best part? It's still in stock.

Source: jaimelyn11.blogspot.com via Meg on Pinterest

Small touches like these will make her room so special.

Source: americancrafts.typepad.com via Meg on Pinterest

Source: shauna-thereedlife.blogspot.com via Meg on Pinterest

What girl's room could be complete without bunting? Soon Bean will be in a bed and this will be perfect.

Source: kommunicated.com via Meg on Pinterest

I don't like the mirror behind Bean's dresser so I've decided to replace it with an oversized canvas. I'm going to paint it and actually use this Dr. Suess slogan using the technique below

Source: viewalongtheway.com via Meg on Pinterest

I can't wait to put her room together. Every little girl deserves a dream room.

-M

You Little Witch | Halloween 2011

2011-10-22T21:02:00.000-04:00

I had huge plans for Halloween costumes this year. Huge!

But other things got in the way of them and those huge costume plans turned into a late night shopping trip to Target. I found this cute little witch costume that was perfect for Bean.

Target didn’t have any tights that I liked so I found a white and black stripped pair in the adult section. I took them home, used a pair of her’s as a pattern, and created toddler tights. I took the left over material and sewed a strap onto her hat so it would stay on.

I know it isn’t Halloween yet but with the weather here, Bean isn’t ready to brave the cold for hours upon hours for trick or treating. Instead, we decided to take her to a mini bash at a park up the street from us. They had carnival games, candy, prizes, haunted houses, and food. But mostly she ran around with a set of twins who were dressed up as the Mario Brothers. Too cute.

She had so much fun playing with the Mario Brothers, balloon animals, her Daddy, and looking at all the other kids in their costumes.

I can’t wait for Reid to get older (he was a polar bear this year, no pictures because he was snuggled tight in my ring sling) so that they can both enjoy this holiday, the one day out the year when it’s okay to be called the cutest witch there ever was.

-M

Hump Day | What's Cookin'

2011-10-19T10:23:00.002-04:00

I don't know about you, but I am in love with the new fall season.

Maybe it's because Bean likes going on walks, her tiny sneakers stomping on crunchy leaves. Or maybe it's the cuddling I do with Reid as he's nessled in warm blankets. Or the look on my husband's face when I wake up and it's still dark and quiet in the mornings.

Maybe it's all those things but I'm kind of thinking it's what I've been baking lately.

Fall flavors are my favorite. Warm, gooey, and representative of the seasons bounty.

My favorites goods to bake so far have included pumpkin. Not that nasty pumpkin you buy in the can (shame). I'm talking about the pumpkin that is grown locally, sold at markets, brought home and placed in the oven, baked, scooped, and pureed. That kind of pumpkin.

Pumpkin Woopie Pies.

| image by beurrista |

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.

| image by kirbiecravings |

Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

| image by once upon a chef |

Chocolate Chip and Walnut Pumpkin Bread

| image by living lou |

I've even managed to sneak in some non pumpkin items.

Zucchini Bread

| image by creations by kara |

Apple Sauce

| image by homestead anywhere |

Apple Dumplings

| image by foods of our lives |

What are some of your favorite fall desserts?

-M

| i have used all of these recipes. all produce is locally grown and sold |

Design Inspiration | Boy Nursery

2011-10-17T09:32:00.002-04:00

Creating a nursery unique to Reid is so important to us now that we will have a space to do so. But there are so many possibilities and it all seems endless. Leaving me sometimes frazzled. My biggest problem is changing direction too much. It's hard for me to stick to a vision and for smaller things that may be fine but when it comes to design, something that can be time consuming and expensive, having a clear vision is key.

The most important thing I did when creating my vision for Reid's room was to think about how I want to feel when I'm in there. Granted, it is his room, he is a baby and won't notice any time soon. But that doesn't mean he isn't developing his own personality.

Our little baby is very calm and cool. He can sit and stare, not making a noise, and when he finds something he likes he will smile really wide and let out a deep laugh. That's what I want his room to be like: calming, cool, with interesting touches.

I've decided on a color scheme:

Source: thenateshow.com via Meg on Pinterest

For the wall color I decided to go gray with a blue undertone. Gray is a neutral color that many people don't think about but it's perfect. Cool and crisp but for some reason it still makes me feel cozy.

Source: inspiremyhousepretty.blogspot.com via Meg on Pinterest

In Reid's room I want to use white, misty blues, yellows, and deep browns as accent colors. To me that screams boy.

The animal I decided to use for his room is a whale:

Source: 3.bp.blogspot.com via Charlotte on Pinterest

Source: 2modern.com via Melissa on Pinterest

Unique touches will make his room extra special.

Source: pennycarnival.typepad.com via Meg on Pinterest

Something to keep his books in. These are DIY fabric book holders.

Source: ohdeedoh.com via Meg on Pinterest

I figure he'll need something to keep all his treasures in.

It seems like a lot to undertake but I know that if I take my time and stay the path and stay selective about what will complete my vision, it will all be worth it.

-M

We're moving!

2011-10-17T08:10:00.001-04:00

We're moving!

Well, in two months. But we are still moving and I can't help but dream about our new apartment as we wait in anticipation. The new apartment is all one floor but get this: it is 2,000 square feet.

Some homes aren't even that big!

On top of it being a huge apartment, we are allowed to paint and decorate it. Goodbye white walls. Hello paint color anxiety.

The biggest challenge we have as we face this move is furnishing such a large space. We don't really have enough furniture now in our average sized apartment, so I can only imagine that when we get everything moved it will look extremely bare.

But that's the challenge we took on. How to decorate a huge apartment on a shoe string budget.

I will most definitely be channeling Pinterest and a few other design blogs to get inspiration and using every last penny I can scrape up to invest it into the kind of home that we're dreaming of. Who says just because it's an apartment you can't put love, money, and effort into it. After all, we are spending a whole year (maybe more) in this one space and we want it to reflect us.

Did I tell you the best part?

It has a working fire place.

Look Like Me

2011-10-13T16:17:00.003-04:00

When we found out we were pregnant with our first kid, TP and I were certain about one thing: Our child will play with, read about, and see positive examples of people who look like them.

As poor graduate students, our friends, families, and co-workers were great about giving us things and well wishes . They would ask what we needed for our daughter and I would always tell them more functional things. But functionality isn’t fun, so they asked what fun stuff they could give. I would immediately say books. I admit that it was hard to tell white friends and co-workers we only wanted books with black children or children of color featured. So I told them books about animals or objects.

Now I am not so shy, but then as a new mom I was.

However, with friends of color we were open about our desires and they were met with understanding and admiration. The conversation always led back to the fact that with so little positive media featuring people of color in the world outside of the home, we needed to be more conscious of this and step it up at home.

We began receiving cards and gifts for Bean shortly before her birth. People were so kind and we were very grateful. But I recieved a card from a co-worker that was incredibly offensive. On the card there was a white baby. Millions of cards and she picked one with a child that didn't represent anything about the one I was growing.

It wasn’t really the color of the baby’s skin that offended me, more like the thoughtlessness. The notion that she had, that white is always acceptable, was gut wrenching. I threw the card away.

To our family we told them to give us only books that had a multi cultural aspect or featured black children. We received two wonderful books from my sisters in-law. One written by President Obama and another that featured children of all skin tones and hair textures. We read those books quiet often to our daughter. Making sure that she knows children who look like her are loved, beautiful, funny, smart, and capable of anything.

Right around Bean’s 1st birthday a co-worker of mine asked me if she had a doll. I’m not really fans of dolls but I agreed that the doll was a good idea. But with one exception: the doll should be of color. A doll that looks like her.

When she ripped open the wrapping paper on her birthday, revealing a petite little baby with smooth black skin, she didn’t really care. She tossed it to the side like everything else. But now at 19 months she carries her baby around with her everywhere.

I actually never prompted her to play with the baby. She wraps the baby in blankets puts clothes on it and tries to change her diaper. She drags the baby everywhere and you know what? There is a sense of pride when I see my daughter loving something so much. Loving a doll that represents her in a way.

I don’t discourage my daughter from playing with children of all different races. I don’t discourage her from playing with white dolls or reading books that feature mainly white characters. But in our house you will not find those things.

I’m aware that at such a young age these things may not matter to her. She hasn't had the opportunity to experience how disgusting this world is when it comes to people of color. (please watch this youtube video and see how some children of color view themselves in a negative way)

I just want to make sure that when that day comes, and it will come, that she is prepared and confident enough to know that she comes from a beautiful people rich in culture.

-M

Building Something

2011-10-11T08:00:00.001-04:00

You wouldn’t know this...but when I was in elementary school, I wanted to be a hot dog vender.

A legit hot dog vender with a street cart that sold hot dogs, your various condiments, chips, and soda. At the time I was surrounded by other kids who wanted to be lawyers and doctors. Even fire fighters. But not me. I can only imagine what the teachers said about me, that poor little kid who in their wildest imagine nation could only dream up a hot dog vendor career.

But my mom supported me. There was a school career fair and we built a stand out of cardboard. I wore her apron and I had toy hot dogs there.

When people came by to ask what I wanted to be I said, “A hotdog vender!” in a way that basically said, “DUH, what else!?”

I don’t want to be a hotdog vender anymore. Now that I look back on it what I probably meant to say was, “I want to be my own boss. Own my own business.” which is very true today.

I’ve been fiddling around with the idea of becoming a professional photographer for a while now. Actually, a year this month. But the thought of that made me so nervous.

What did that mean exactly? To be a professional. Did that mean I need more equiptment, a better website, more skill? How would I get clients? Would I ever make any money? What if I’m not good enough.

So many questions that caused me to put everything on the way back burner. I went from wanting to be a photographer to telling people, “Oh, I take pictures.”- What does that even mean?!

Anyway..

I was still unsure of what I was going to do about moving myself in the direction I wanted to go. Not until I was invited to recent wedding. I wasn’t the official photographer, more like the friend behind the scenes. But after I got home and uploaded all the pictures, I finally realized that I can do this.

At the reception, Tracy and Jim replaced a guest book with this wonderful hand painted canvas for guests to write well wishes.

I don’t know if I want to be a wedding photographer or a family photographer. I’m still exploring, still learning, still absorbing so much information.

But when people ask me what I “do” I give them the usual answer about my day time job but then I add, “I also have my own photography business.”

But this world of professional photography is scary. There are so many people who have more talent than I do, more experience and at times its enough to make me want to quit. But then I remember that they didn’t become that over night and neither will I. It takes practice but more importantly- Ownership of dreams.

Hi. I’m Meg and I’m a family life photographer.

-M

October Photo Challenge: Day 10- Childhood Memory

2011-10-10T17:30:00.000-04:00

I didn’t decide to go way back into childhood memories. I decided to think back to the time when I got my first cell phone and how everything changed. I stopped paying so much attention to my mom, whatever she had to say, and basically my whole world was my phone and who was calling and eventually texting me. When I had my phone, the world was dead.

Well, I’m pretty much anticipating this happening with Bean when she’s older. She already spends her time talking to random telephone operators, 800 numbers she’s dialed and lord knows who else. Babbling away, you can not get her attention while that phone is in her had. Taking it away leads to tears so usually, if she’s being nice to it (not slamming it or pressing tons of buttons) we let her have imaginary conversations... But I’m pretty sure I annoy her when I’m asking her about her day. Especially when she is tweeting..

-M

October Photo Challenge: Day 9- Someone You Love

2011-10-09T13:19:00.000-04:00

You may think this picture is about the person in the little blanket with his cute little head poking out. But it’s not. It’s not that I don’t love him (oh how could I not!?) but this picture is really about the guy behind the scenes here in our lives. My husband. Don’t mind the look on his face, he was tired, or tired of me telling him to smile...Either way, the point is the same.

Because of him I have two beautiful children. Because of him I smile. Because of him I have hope.

-M

October Photo Challenge: Day 8- Bad Habit

2011-10-08T13:05:00.000-04:00

Oh, Lord...Help me.

If there is one thing that I can’t turn down (but need to and I’m learning to) is dessert. I like dessert more than I do actual food. Who can turn down anything made mostly of sugar? Not me.

These little lovelies are Pumpkin Creme Pies. You can find the recipe on the Good Eats section of the blog.

I made about 20 of these and despite the huge urge to sit in the corner and eat every single one, I didn’t. I wanted to, but didn’t. Instead I decided to wrap them up and take them to a staff meeting I have on Tuesday.

But I have to admit..I did have anywhere between 1 and 3 of them....And I don’t regret one bite.

-M

October Photo Challenge: Day 7- Fruit

2011-10-07T13:05:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite fruits is in season now...

Pumpkin! I buy pumpkins from the market, cut them up, bake them for about an hour, peel the rind off, and throw it in a food processor. Two small pie pumpkins make about three to four cans of the stuff you can buy in the store. But why do that when supporting local farmers, exceptional taste, and high quality are top priorities. Nothing in a can comes close to fresh pumpkin puree for treats like pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, cookies, waffles, and so much more.

-M

October Photo Challenge: Day 6- From a Low Angle

2011-10-06T20:50:00.012-04:00

This is Bean watching her favorite movie in her favorite hat sitting in her favorite chair and eating her favorite snack.

But you know what I love most about this shot? That darn hat! Isn’t it the cutest!? Would you believe that I bought it at a second hand shop for $2.50...A total steal and she loves it to death.

-M

October Photo Challenge: Day 5- From a High Angle

2011-10-05T20:19:00.000-04:00

This is our family change jar. Actually, it’s Bean’s change jar. Sometimes when I have coins I hand her one and take her to the jar so she can put the coin in.

But she doesn’t just want to toss a few coins in, she wants to feel them. So I let her. She sloshes her hand around, the metal clanking against the glass, and she laughs and laughs. It’s the best.

-M

My Body Is Sick

2011-10-04T19:49:00.003-04:00

My knees are sick.

They’ve always been pretty sick but I recently found out why and how to make them better.

When I was younger my knees would always creak and grind, shift, and hurt. I got older and normalized the pain. "My knees always hurt", "Bad knees run in the family"- I would say when asked and usually followed that up with a shrug.

But now that nonchalant attitude has caught up with me. Two weeks ago during my 5k training, I had pain in my knees for weeks. But I didn't tell anyone for a while until it ate away at me and I had to tell TP. He's such a good husband in the way husbands can be good at guilt trips and demands when passionate about something. So eventually I made an appointment.

"But I feel better now!" I whined a few days before the appointment. That was met with a death stare. Needless to say, I went to the appointment.

After four X-rays and a very long wait, the doctor came in and gave me the worse news I could have imagined.

I have Patellofemoral Syndrome and early onset arthritis- in both knees.

Patellofemoral Syndrome is the abnormal softening of the cartilage under the knee cap. There are many causes for this but mostly it’s from poor alignment. According to the doctor, the arthritis I have is hereditary. I told the doctor that my dad has one knee replacement and has to have another.

The doctor drew his breath in and nodded his head. As if to say, “Honey, you were dealt a bad card in your deck."

He continued to dance around the issue and finally I said, “I know I have to lose weight.” and that opened up the flood gate. The doctor told me I need to see a nutritionist as soon as possible because I had a lot of weight to lose.- He repeated this to me several times in case I missed the message. But I wasn't upset, I was grateful for the honesty.

He told me that someone my age shouldn’t have these problems and I especially need to work on my weight and getting my knees healthy because of my family history.

The doctor predicted that if I didn’t lose the weight and strengthen my leg muscles that I would need knee replacement surgery in my 40s.- Like my father.

I felt like someone had smacked me in the face. Seriously. I’m 24 years old with two bum knees and 100lbs of excess weight. Can I just hang myself now?

I felt so stupid sitting there in his office as he explained that for every 1 pound of fat that is like 3 pounds to the knee when walking. And for every 1 pound of fat that is like 6-8 pounds to the knee when going up and down the stairs.

My knees are supporting an extra 300 pounds of pressure when I walk! Oh and I just don’t have the heart to do the math on the stair example...though it’s simple enough math, I just don’t want to know...

I left his office with my little booklet about knee strengthening exercises, sat in my car and called TP. I was heart broken. How could I let myself get this way? Did I really think that being this heavy was healthy? Oh, damn you years of excess food and laziness.

Of course at this point it is easy to wallow in defeat. I figured I could take one of two paths:

1. Give up and continue eating excessively and make up reasons why I am sexy/happy/okay/confident/content at the body weight I am at and let Western Medicine rule over my life.

...or...

2. Do something about it.

Well, I'm choosing to do something about it.

-M

October 30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 4- Something Green

2011-10-04T17:55:00.000-04:00

I really want to focus this 30 day challenge around my family and our daily life. So many of my pictures are going to be of myself, husband, or kids because honestly- I don’t take enough pictures of them.

But when I thought about today’s challenge I struggled to find something green. That was until I heard my sweet little boy sucking away on his paci. Perfect! I thought

But really, is there anything more perfect than those cute little lips of his? I think not!

30 Married Dates: Scrabble

2011-10-04T10:26:00.002-04:00

As anyone who is married with children knows that getting time alone is hard. Not only is finding the time hard but the cost of child care and the cost of living makes going on dates can be extremely expensive. 30 Married Dates is an ongoing account of a married couple with two kids who still enjoy dating each other. Follow along as my husband and I take time for ourselves, once a month with only $30 bucks to spend.

Who says dating after marriage has to end?

I sent TP this image in an email, inviting him to our September date.

You see, my husband is a poet. I mean, a really great poet. A nationally recognized poet. The kind of poet that gets stopped at local banks by fans, kind of poet. The kind of poet that even writes about the beauties of his wife.

But do you know what my husband is not? He is not a very good Scrabble player.

But me? Well, lets just say I can hold my own. In fact, he wrote a poem about me and described me as "the baddest Scrabble player around"- How is that for recgonition?

Despite his inability to really do much damage in Scrabble, he likes to play and mainly make up words that have no possibility of existence. But we play anyway and have a great time doing it.

This time we enjoyed the company of each other, the quiet of our home, and a pretty impressive board-with made up words provided by my poet.

Total cost of date: $ 0.00 (Game was gifted to us and we didn't have any drinks)

-M

October Photo Challenge: Day 3- Clouds

2011-10-03T19:43:00.000-04:00

This is pretty much how Central New York will look from now until late April. No joke. It’s cloudy, rainy, gloomy, and cold. But you know what? I love it. Soon the rain will give way to snow. Mounds and mounds of snow and it will no longer be cold, it will be freezing. And before we all know it we will be in a long hard winter until the month of May and even then sometimes that doesn’t happen (there was a blizzard on Mother’s day a year ago). So I’m taking time to look up at the sky and down at the leaves more so that I can appreciate all the colors before it is all blankets of white.

Organized Christmas | Where to start

2011-10-03T08:18:00.001-04:00

The air has changed and we’ve replaced tank tops for sweaters and sunglasses for toboggans. The holiday season is upon us but lets face it, we are all gearing up for the Grand Daddy of them all: Christmas. You don’t think so? I was in Macy and JcPenny this weekend and they had Christmas displays up already. So it is coming.

And even though Christmas is on the same day every year for the rest of our lives, in reality it seems like it comes out of no where. So where to start?

I thought about this for a while and decided that in order for us to prepare ourselves, we had to figure out just what kind of Christmas we want. If we could figure that out then we could plan in a way that wouldn't leave me frazzled and my family stressed out.

It may seem silly to sit down and talk about an ideal Christmas. But in order for the holiday to be magical, it has to be thought about in a way that will let magic happen.

Holidays that are hectic, thrown together, over budget, and unorganized aren’t magical. Dealing with family feuds because of mis communication and lack of commitment, stressing to live up to others expectations, or depression over blown budgets is a nightmare of epic proportions.

Think about how you want to spend your Christmas Holiday, from December 1st to December 26th.

This may be a backwards approach but its essential in planning.

What do you want to think and feel about your Christmas Holiday when it's over?
If you have children, what do you want them to think and feel about the season when it’s over?
If you are hosting family and friends, what do you want them to think and feel about the season when it’s over?
What are the smaller details that align with creating those feelings?

Here are the goals for our Christmas Holiday:

We want to create lasting traditions for our family that will pass on to our children’s families
Christmas Day will not be over the top. It’s going to be a relaxing day and if we wake up at 7am or 10am we will go with the flow
Fight over consumption and spend only $400 on everything (food, gifts, decorations)
We want to attend at least 5 local celebrations and only 2 parties
All of our gifts will be hand made
We want to be relaxed and present

A Simple Christmas

Frugal, smart, holistic, and well worth the effort. All those things encompass the Christmas we see ourselves having. We want a holiday season that makes tradition, family, and good food the main focus.

When you think about Christmas what is your favorite memory? Or your least, and how do you plan on changing it? What are your goals this holiday season?

October Photo Challenge: Day 2- What I wore

2011-10-02T10:44:00.002-04:00

This is what I wore today. We’re going to the mall to buy TP some new work clothes and I just can’t go to the mall in the crappy outfit I usually wear on Sundays, so I threw this on.

I absolutely love fall because the cool weather means I can bring out my collection of sweaters, jackets, and most importantly: scarves.

-M

October 30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 1- Self Portrait

2011-10-01T13:05:00.000-04:00

I don’t like taking pictures of myself.

And if you look through this blog you can actually see that I don’t have many pictures of me on here which is sad and just not right on so many levels.

So I’m happy the 30 Day Challenge has self portraits involved. I really do need to take more pictures of myself.

-M

30 Day Photo Challenge

2011-10-01T11:03:00.002-04:00

Today kicks off the 30 day photo challenge I joined with a few bloggers. Check it out and participate too:

Move Over Motts | Home Made Apple Sauce

2011-09-27T08:54:00.000-04:00

Getting apple sauce from the store is just plain silly. Because making your own is so simple.

Remember those apples we picked last weekend? Well they didn’t all get nibbled on by Bean or eaten by TP (though they tried). I am happy to report that the majority of the apples were used for this years apple sauce reserve.

The first time I made apple sauce I was so nervous. I thought it would be a complicated process or at least take hours of active stirring and meassuring. But when I read the directions and found it to literally be 1 step, I felt a sense of relief.

Apple sauce starts out as amazing red apples. We chose to pick Gala at the farm but I don’t think the apple really matters. However, I wouldn’t use a sour apple. Peel your apples and cut them in to chunks. The size of the chunks don’t matter, just make sure there aren't any seeds.

Apples, a little water, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves is what I use. But you can put in allspice or nutmeg or really any kind of flavor you want. The beautiful part is you can put in as much as you want. There are no real measurements because the sweetness and flavoring of applesauce is so individual.

In our home we like it sweet with a lot of cinnamon.

Cook the apples on low heat for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. But you can literally leave them alone. I happened to go out with a friend an hour into my cook time and left TP with the responsibility of stirring them. When I came home they were cooked down to mush, the perfect texture for us. But if you like your applesauce chunky then cut down the cook time and don’t smash the apples.

Once it was done I put them in mason jars and a recycled Motts apple sauce jar. I put my jars in the freezer. When we need them I take a jar from the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge, this takes no time really just some juggling of when I think the old jar may run out.

If you don’t like applesauce make it anyway. It makes your house smell so good and they are great gifts during the Holiday time.

Running Is for Those Skinny People

2011-09-22T11:57:00.001-04:00

Running isn't for people like me. You know, 265 pounds of woman.

Running is for those with blond hair, flat stomachs, and nice asses. But people like me? Well, we stick to walking, very slowly.

I don't know if you've noticed like I have, but the only people I see running are extremely fit people. Their feet are pounding the pavement, sweaty arms glissening even when there is no sun, and a look of determination on their face. They look like they came out of the womb running. Me? Well, not so much.

But yesterday on my run (because 265 pounds of me runs even when I don't feel like it) I saw this woman running ahead of me. So the negative thoughts start coming. I thought she was going to laugh me right off the sidewalk because obviously someone like me isn't suppose to breathe the air she does.

But you know what she did?

She stopped running and hunched over and gasped! Yes! This beautiful blond doubled over and gasped for air in the middle of her run. I know, I shouldn't find joy in this but come on. I thought runners like her never stopped. I thought they pushed through and finished their run only to jog up 10 flights of stairs because they never got tired.

Source: wellsphere.com via Paula on Pinterest

But here I was, struggling to move my legs that felt like boulders, and to my surprise I was witnessing something that gave me a huge boost in confidence. That very moment I felt super human.

I look back on it now and realize how silly my thinking was. People who run get tired and struggle with their demons, just like I do but I forget that sometimes.

Have you ever had moments like this? When you know you shouldn't find joy in someone's struggles but can't help but feel like something was won for the little guys?

-M

Sprucin’ up the place with Fall Decor

2011-09-20T10:51:00.001-04:00

I love love love love Fall. It is my favorite time of the year. So much so that I wanted to get married in Fall (fail, hello spring wedding ’09) and I wanted to have all my children in the fall (fail, they both disappointed me with early spring and summer birthdays). But even though I couldn’t get everyone else on my Fall lovin’ page for those things, they have no choice but to get with the program this season.

This weather is particularly beautiful because we live in Central New York where the trees turn brilliant colors and the weather is crisp and perfect beginning mid September. Around that time I get to pull out sweaters and tights. The kids get to put on the cutest hats I could find at the local consignment shop and TP wraps his neck in scarves and my heart jumps a bit.

The best part though? Bringing the outside in and using elements that make you feel warm.

Source: azcentral.com via Meg on Pinterest

I think instead of these colors I will stick tot he traditinoal fall colors (yellows, reds, oranges, browns, creams). But I love that I can put these around the apartment like on book shelves and our entertainment center and coffee table. The best thing? I can buy them at Micheals and they never rot because they're made out of a synthetic material.

Source: blogs.babble.com via Meg on Pinterest

I adore these. I can even keep them up duing the winter or even change it up a bit and use cinnamon sticks during the cold winter months.

Source: choosetothrive.blogspot.com via Meg on Pinterest

These are perfect. I just wonder where I can buy wheat like this. Maybe keep my eyes open at the public farmers market. I wont print my letters out and paste them, I'll just paint them on.

Source: choosetothrive.blogspot.com via Meg on Pinterest

Who would ever think to use lentils to decorate? But these are perfect and more importanly, look expensive. With lentils at $1.69 a bag at my local grocery store and the use of cheap frames I can make several of these.

Source: etsy.com via Meg on Pinterest

Great for Thanksgiving and also a constant reminder to always give thanks for the blessings we have.

Source: houzz.com via Meg on Pinterest

I have a wreath I like to use for the winter but I don't have one for the fall. I think this would be perfect. Easy assembly with a big wow factor. Also, I just can't get enough of anything that uses family name initials.

I'm going to attempt to do all of these crafts but doesn't it seem like after Oct. 1st the year flys by? Before I know it's the New Year and nothing I wanted to do was accomplished. But I have a feeling this Fall we'll be spending a lot of time in doors with the weather dropping to cool levels.

What are some Fall crafts you want to do? Or what's on your Fall to do list?

Apple Picking

2011-09-18T21:02:00.003-04:00

The family and I went to a local farm today so that we could do our Fall apple picking. I’ve written about the farm on my old blog, but basically it’s a locally owned and operated farm just minutes away from where we live. They have a country store that sells things like fudge, pies, locally harvested popcorn kernels right from their own crop, apple cider that they make with their own crop, and even their own cuts of beef. They have wonderful selections of homemade ice cream and the best apple cider donuts you have ever tasted. Abbott Farms is really a gem in our community.

We were expecting there to be just a few families but when we arrived we saw at least 100 cars, maybe more. The place was packed with families enjoying the local crops (apples, prunes, corn, pumpkins, and raspberries), the bounce house, face painting, pumpkin picking, and hay rides. We kept our visit pretty simple. We got ourselves something to eat first. TP ordered a hamburger made with their own cows, I got a locally produced hotdog, and we all got apple cider donuts.

After we ate we decided, though there were many options, that we wanted to pick Gala apples. So we picked our own row of trees and set out to fill our large bag.

Bean loved it. We showed her once how to pick an apple off the branch and place it in our bag and then she was off. Bean ran branch to branch, grunting as she attempted to pull the apples off. When she got frustrated with that she’d just pick up apples off the ground and carry them around. She would then put the apples in our bag and we yelled, “Great job!” But while she wasn’t looking, threw them to the side. Most of the ones she picked off the ground were rotting or bruised but we wanted her to feel useful and excited so we never turned an apple away. She ran around our feet, giggling and holding up apples, so proud of herself. We were proud too.

I had no idea there would be so many bees! They were everywhere, enjoying the harvest like the rest of us but they made me nervous. They were all around our feet as we stepped on overly ripe apples in our search for the perfect ones, but we made it out safely.

I have to admit though, a few of the apples we took home have a few bites taken out of them or teeth marks. We tried to catch Bean before she bit into an apple she picked (off a branch, not the rotten ones on the ground) but she was just too fast.

We eventually let her eat an apple right off the branch..Yup, dirt, germs, and all.

-M