Wise Words Wednesday: The Sniffles

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." - Rajneesh

Being a mom is tough. Being a mom with a sick baby/toddler is even tougher. But EVERY moment, both good and bad, is sooooo worth the crazy ride. My little Leila Jade is sick (for about the 100th time in her short little life... thanks daycare). The last few nights have been hellish for Andy and I. She cries out in pain, choking on phlem and gasping for air. She whimpers in her sleep and hogs my pillow even more than usual, wanting to be held and comforted all night long. And then she wakes up in the morning happy as a clam - you'd never even know she had such as aweful night! The only sign of her sickness is the steady flow of snot and saliva dripping down her face and her little sniffles.

My precious girl.



Yes, Leila has spent a lot of her short life sick. But ya know what? Because of that, my girl knows how to handle it. She is one tough cookie who can smile through the worst of it! Once grade school rolls around she ain't gonna catch anything! Her immune system is going to be up and armed and ready to fight. This is yet another pro of daycare (again, anything that can help me feel better about leaving my most precious gift all day long I'm gonna grab hold of and ride into the sunset).

Motherhood is one wild ride.

Manic Monday

It's just another manic Monday. I wish it were Sunday. 'Cause that's my fun day.

So I was a little bit of a Debbie Downer when I posted on Saturday, but my weekend turned around real quick! After being a log for a couple of hours while Leila napped (and it was much needed), Andy's parents came over for dinner and brought bubbles for Leila.









My girl LOVES to be outside. She would stay out there all the time if we let her. You know what else she loves? Her new table we got her this weekend! She literally has spent every waking hour at home sitting at this table coloring. She is too dang cute.



And you know what I love? My girl's hair in piggies!





As for my manic Monday? Well, I had an extremely crazy, busy day at work (which was awesome because it flew by) and this post is pretty dang manic itself. My head just isn't on straight lately. I have a bazillion things going on and I am just a mess. But not a bad mess, a good mess!

One last pic from our weekend of lounging. (and coupon clipping... see em?)

Blah.

Yes, it is Saturday. Yes, I should be feeling extra perky and excited to be home relaxing with my fam. But, it is just one of those blah days. Actually, it has been one of those blah weeks. I swear it has felt like the longest week ever. Work was super slow. There was nothing good on TV. I had (and still have) zero motivation to tackle any dreams (despite my last post), or tackle anything for that matter. Sure, I feel happy and content right now. Just blah. I don't know how else to describe it. You understand, right?

Ok, and maybe I'm a little bit bored right now too.






Logically I know that I should be working on my quilt right now or cleaning or doing something to take advantage of my child napping, but I'm not. And I won't. I'm giving myself this blah day to just feel blah and not do anything. And I think that it's ok once in a while. It's ok to not be everything to everyone, including yourself. It's ok to be lazy.

Tomorrow will be better. I'm making tomorrow a fresh start to a new week. I will say bye to the BLAHS. K? Until then, I hope everyone else is having a fab weekend!

Wise Words Wednesday: Elizabeth Taylor

"I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I'm not afraid to look behind them." - Elizabeth Taylor

Confused by this pic? That is my crotch with my daughter's crooked teeth between my legs. Ha!

I busted out the above quote in honor of the beautiful, fearless Elizabeth Taylor who passed today. And I must say, I do love this quote. I strive to be more like this quote. To be and feel more adventurous. I do know there are many, many doors for me to open, but I am sometimes afraid to look behind them. BUT, I will push past this fear and break through those doors baby!

My Hubby

Andy. Andrew. Rew. Rew Bear. Honey. Babe. My LOVE.







At least one day a week Little Miss Leila Jade gets to spend one full day alone with her daddy (or "GaGa" as she calls him). Hey, that's more than I get with him! Today was her weekly daddy day. They played outside and watched Mickey Mouse and went grocery shopping - Andy even used the coupons I clipped and saved us over $20!!! (Biggest Score: We got bags of Tillamook shredded cheese for $1 each... and we LOVE us some cheese!)

I must say that Leila has the best "GaGa" in the whole world and I have the best hubby. He is the best for US anyway. He slaved away through 7 years of school and now works long 10 hour days, 4 times/week, bringing home the bacon so that we can afford our home and go on nice trips and live comfortably. And, he cooks! My hubby is the BEST cook ever! Now you see why I don't like cooking? Why bother when what he makes is 100 times better! And most importantly, if it weren't for my Andy, I wouldn't be able to say I've accomplished most of my dreams. All that I have ever known for SURE that I've wanted out of life is Happiness, a Loving Husband, Children, and a Home. Thanks to him I have it all! Every other "dream to do" is just an added bonus in my big picture.





Ok, this post is by no means a brag fest about my amazing man (well, maybe a little). I just felt so blessed and content today knowing that my daughter was home safely with someone we both love dearly. And, I think it is friggin adorable that every day that Andy is home with Leila he texts me, "What should I feed her?" I love that he still needs me to tell him that! Ha! Figure it out buddy!

Whirlwind Weekend

For being such a lazy, no-big-plans kinda weekend, it sure did fly by. We lounged around in the mornings, played outside mid-day, did some grocery shopping, did some Sunday paper coupon clipping (aren't you proud of me?), got acquainted with my new BFF (my MacBook Pro), had a sleepover with my Momma, and lounged around some more.

See some of our weekend in pics...

A mossy street name...


Fun at the park...




My secret passion: swinging...


It's Spring!




Love me some piggies!


Leila with Nana (and Billy)...


And finally, some fun with my new Mac (sorry, last time to mention it I swear!)


On the agenda for this week (besides working and momming, of course)? Starting my weekly meal plan, getting caught up on laundry, working on the quilt, and dinner with friends. And whatever else comes my way! Aren't you jealous? ;-)

Meet the newest member of our family!

Bloggy friends, I would like to introduce you to MacDreamy.





Kinda sad that she's still in her box, huh? Between a super loooooonnnng day at work and dealing with a very sassy toddler after, I have yet to take her out and play with her. And, I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little bit intimidated by her! I don't even know how to use a Mac! BUT, I have no doubts that I will fall in love instantly. I'm sure you will hear me brag about her once I dig in!

Anyhoo, here's to a fabulous weekend ahead! And here's to cute little girls in stripes...



Happy weekending all! :-)

Wise Words Wednesday: Heaven in My Mouth

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." -Virginia Woolf

Let me just say that I am thinking well, loving well, and will be sleeping well tonight! This little concoction consists of the delicious Villa Dolce Vanilla Gelato (purchased at our local grocery store) topped with fresh strawberries. In the words of my great friend, Holly, it tastes like "heaven in my mouth."

I'm planning our meals!

In an attempt to control our food spending and get me off my lazy I-hate-to-cook ass in the evenings, I am going to try meal planning. I've tryed it before with no success. BUT, this time I am posting it on the world wide web for all of you to hold me accountable.



Looks pretty simple and do-able right? Well, I'm going to admit that this list took me a while to come up with. I am lame and don't have many easy recipes under my belt. This was seriously all I could think of! If you have any super easy, somewhat healthy go-to recipes...please share! I need all the help I can get.

The plan is to start next week. I'm giving myself a few days to mentally prepare. We will grocery shop this weekend for the items we still need to make all our planned meals. I'm hoping I can cut our grocery trips down to once/week and eventually once every two weeks (once I have more than 5-6 things I can make easily.) I will also attempt to use some coupons for the first time this weekend. I'm really excited because by making an actual meal every night (except for my breather on Wednesday) we will have leftovers for lunch! That will save us so much because right now Andy usually buys something for lunch and I usually do at least a couple times a week (however, I will still be lunching with my ladies every Friday).

Let's do it!

My picky eater. Spinach ravioli wasn't cutting it, so a go-gurt it was.

Spring forward with weekend perfection (well, almost)

Cheers to an extra hour of daylight! This sure has been a most relaxing, enjoyable weekend at home. The 'almost' stems from the fact that Leila randomly woke up at 10pm on Friday night and puked ALL over herself and her bed. She has NEVER thrown up before. It was rather scary for her and disgusting for us. But after a bath, a change of clothes, and a load of laundry, we all slept soundly for the rest of the night. Leila woke up Saturday morning with a big smile on her face and has been fantastic ever since. Oh the joys of parenthood!

Check out my happy little girl playing outside. Yes, it is Spring again!






Seriously, who wakes up this happy after throwing up everything they ate the day before?


My hard-working hubby cleaning up pine needles.


Proof that Spring is here! A tulip peaking out of the earth.


As you can see, we spent a lot of time outside this weekend. In a couple weeks we went from over a foot of fresh snow to none once again. And I'm not complaining! Other weekend festivities included a visit from Nana (my mommy), a St. Patrick's Day feast at Andy's bro's house, a visit and lunch with Auntie Christie & Cousin Destin, and mommy finishing cutting out the quilt! Yes, I actually did it! And I must say, I hate cutting fabric. Sorry, I don't think I'm cut out to be a quilter. Not a fan so far. BUT, I'm going to see this project through and cross it off my Dreams To Do (that is, until I start on my real family heirloom dream quilt someday).

Check out my piles-o-fabric squares. No fancy cut-outs for me. Straight up squares sewn together. No pattern required. Oh, I know I've barely just begun...


So you see, I had quite a busy and productive and relaxing weekend all at once. And I am soooo ready and happy for Spring to arrive! An extra hour of daylight baby! Now let's just see if we all wake up in time for work tomorrow morning. :-)

Here's to a FABULOUS week ahead!

A new Spring bouquet from my loving hubby.

*NEW* Dream To Do: Become a Coupon Queen!

Ok, maybe this is a stretch. Yes, eventually I would love to be dubbed a "coupon queen" but the fact of the matter is that I just want to learn how to save some money by clipping coupons. One of my mommy friends told me that she became a coupon cutter and started spending more time planning her shopping trips. She can now go into a store and spend like $20 and walk out with over $100 worth of stuff! Why can't I do that? Well, I think I can...I just have to try.

Now you see, the fam and I get along just fine without bargain shopping. But it is RIDICULOUS how much $ we spend on food each month! And Leila barely eats anything! So, the plan is for me to start investigating how these super coupon clipping mommas do it. I know there are TONS of blogs out there dedicated to this type of thing. Anyone know of any good ones? I don't even know where to start. Maybe I will start investigating this weekend.

As for our weekend plans... NOTHING! Ahhhhhh! It will be amazing. Ok, maybe not. Nothing actually consists of scrubbing the heck out of the bath tubs and toilets and doing about 40 loads of laundry. Oh, and St. Patty's Day dinner with the fam (corn beef and cabbage - yummo!).

Pics and updates on dream progress to come on Sunday. (I really am going to try to get the quilt all cut out and ready to sew - I swear!)

Wise Words Wednesday: Big Money!

"The trick is to stop thinking of it as 'your' money." - IRS auditor

Me likey the Hipstamatic photo app for iPhone! I just got it!

Oh it's MY money alrighty! Did the taxes last night and we're getting a big fatty check next week! Oh yeah! Now, I am by no means a money-centric person (if you knew how much I made in a year you might laugh), but I sure do get excited when extra cash comes my way. Our plans for our pretty return?

#1 - pay off debt. We don't have much, but there's a little bit left from our trip to Hawaii and Colorado that we need to take care of.

#2 - buy my mac book. Yes, I know I am boring you out of your mind with my talk of getting a new spiffy computer, but I've just been waiting for the right time! One of my fave bloggers EVER (Dig This Chick) scored her readers some killer deals through her local electronics store a couple weeks ago. I was going to get my dreamy mac then, but it was the same day that Apple rolled out their BRAND NEW version so I decided to wait. However, I worked it out with her people at Vann's (check them out!) and they are gonna hook me up with a deal on the newest of the new mac books once they get them in! Yippee! I'm sure this isn't the last you'll hear about this.

#3 - save, save, save! Gotta build up that savings so I don't have to work forever!

What are your plans for that little bit of extra money that may be coming your way?

Tough day at the office...

But isn't it always tough to go back to work after vacation? Well today was especially tough for me. It was one of those days that reinforced my key Dream To Do: figuring out a way to work from home so I can spend more time with my Leila.

And no, it wasn't because work was difficult today. It was because after spending 4 full days with her mommy, my little girl had an exceptionally hard time saying good bye to me when I dropped her off at daycare. Normally we go in, she waves and smiles at her teacher and friends, I put her at the little table for breakfast, she gets her food, I sit with her for a few minutes, she gives me a kiss, and I'm out the door as she starts eating. But today we went in, she looked around and realized her main favorite teacher wasn't there, I put her at the table and she started wailing. And it wasn't the obnoxious, whiny cry that I sometimes get. It was the eyes clenched shut, trying to block out the painful world kinda cry. Big tears streaming down her face. My heart throbbed with pain. I picked her back up, comforted her until she stopped and left as she sat there bewildered. I got in my car and headed to work with tears in my eyes.

Why do I do this? How can I leave my child when she is so sad? This start to my day just set it off on the wrong track. My head hurt. My heart hurt. I had no motivation to get caught up on the piles of work I left behind last Wednesday. BUT, I pulled through. Slowly I got over my traumatic morning. I told myself that this isn't FOREVER. Some day I will not have to take her to daycare as often. Some day I will not be the one leaving her everyday. The time just has to be right. Andy and I are working on building up our savings and I am trying to figure out what I can do once I'm not working full time. Or, will it be worth it for me to stay working part time? These are things I will figure out eventually. And this little ole blog is my first step to getting there.

Anyhow, by the time I picked Leila up from daycare at 5:10pm, she was all smiles and ended up having a good day. We came home and made up for lost time together.

Mommy loves her little girl...


My little mischief-maker...


Lounging in the tub after a long day...


Tomorrow will be a better day.

Home from... COLORADO!

My thoughtful hubby surprised me with a trip to visit my bro & his fam in Boulder, Colorado! I seriously had no idea where we were going until we got to the airport and checked in. It was great! I wish he'd plan stuff like this more often!



We ended up having the most relaxing 4 days off together. Something about the super high altitude combined with my sis-in-law's hospitality and their extra-comfy home makes for one seriously blissful vacay, full of couch lounging and eating mass quantities of rich food. Leila and her cousin, Cleo, totally bonded and were sooooooooooo cute together.







Leila had fun with mommy and daddy, too.









And I must brag and say that I have the MOST well-behaved almost 20 month old ever! Leila was an absolute ANGEL at the airport and on the 2 hour plane ride both ways. She is the best! This was a much easier trip than our flights to/from Hawaii. :-) And now that we are home, Leila is happier than ever. Seriously it is like someone gave her a happy pill - she is running around the place squealing and giving us goofy grins right and left. Vacation is great, but it is always so nice to be home again.

Leila napped the whole way home!


Now that we are once again back to reality, it is time for me to get back on track with my Dreams To Do. I'm not going to deny for a minute that I've been falling back into my old ways of getting home from work, playing with Leila until bedtime, putting her down, then plopping on the couch for some TV action until my head hits the pillow. I have cut out some of my quilt, but haven't touched it in a couple weeks. Tomorrow I will DO something. More to come.

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!