$4 Grab Bag Reveal

It's not the first time I've done one of these posts on Michael's Grab Bags. I placed a teaser on my Instagram account and obviously now I have to deliver.

I knew the grab bags were out, as this happens about 3-4 times each year and some of the bloggers I follow had been posting about them. Around June, they stuff all the "Class of 20xx" junk into a bag and label it with a grab bag amount (though usually it's $2! Hello inflated prices!). I've definitely been stuck with jumbo graduation ballpoint pens and other junk, but this time I set out to avoid that. There were 4 bags to choose from and two double sets of graduation frames.

Two bags were loaded with the "Class of 2017" junk, so those were out. The other two were similar. I knew they had comparable items. I narrowed it down to this one, now wondering if I should've gone with the other!

The whole enchilada.

I'm attempting to do most of my lesson planning through Google Calendar this year, but I still need a paper planner for the quick list info and to have something to grab quickly for meetings, if technology goes down, etc. I bought a cheapie planner at Target for $11 but was hoping this grab bag would give me a planner I could use for the simple notes. And I thought the 18-month (that I could see through the bag) would've done the job. I was hoping it was from January 2017-June 2018. I could've only been so lucky.

I wasn't. #wuhwuh

 

These, in fact, are the 2016-2017 versions, ending in December. Total bummer. With that said, I'm still thinking about using the large one and just changing the dates as we head into January. It might not be pretty, but I already own the darn thing and I will be saving paper and recycling! {Seriously though, where do all the leftover, already printed calendars go? Straight back to paper pulp?}

I mean, look at the cute heart and gold binding! It really is adorable. And the smaller one is also cute but has the same problem. I think I'll put that in my student VIP supplies as a "log" to sign in when you are VIP for the day. And again, we'll go to January (wrong year, but whatevs) to end the school year. Of course I had to check out all the other Happy Planners on Amazon and was jelly.

The rest of the loot was:

• One Heidi Swapp "Cinch Insta Album Kit" and I'm not entirely sure what that is, but it's going for $10 at Walmart (and more at a ton of other retailers, says my Google search).
• Two packs of 30 mini clothespins that I'll definitely use to hang student projects
• One Heidi Swapp Foil Rub Kit that I'm sure I can use to decorate something...

Anyone else pick up a grab bag? I love these things. It's my kind of gamble. :)

Three Products I USED to Hate...

But now I love!

Seriously, I tried these three products semi-recently and they all sat there in closets quickly after, not catching my attention until I tried them all again. You can say they were an acquired taste, I guess, like beer or coffee. I truly don't know what my deal is, but now I can't get enough.

Somehow I found myself using all three items in the last few days and connected my hate-then-love relationship I had with each and figured my writer's block can be cured (hah) by posting these to my blog. Also, I love reading what people like, so here's my short list.

Yankee Candle Sage & Citrus Scent: If you like a musky smell, this is definitely in that category. I wouldn't go as far to say the candle smells like sage or citrus (though I love both and both scents), but it's definitely something I'm loving right now. It's a bit masculine (if a scent can have a gender anyway... eye roll).

Little Secrets Peppermint Dark Chocolate Candies: These are better quality m&ms for sure. At first, I was hoping for... m&m flavor. But then, as I savored each one (after shelving them for a couple months in between my first impression and second-- now obsessed), I loved the flavors and texture. No artificial anything and fair trade cocoa. And they're available at regular grocery stores and Whole Foods. Kinda thinking teacher gifts possibly. To go along with the Whole Foods soaps I already bought and a box of yummy tea.

Kiehl's Facial Fuel Energizing Scrub Skin Buffer for Men: The name is stupid, because what makes it gender specific? But anyway, if you can get past that part and get past the first wash or two, then it will grow on you. The first two scrubs with the light exfoliation were rather unpleasant, in fact. I hated the smell. I'm not really sure how to describe it, but it ends with a light menthol scent and cooling feel and is more of a neutral scent without the additional musky smell most "male" personal products tend to possess. But now? I literally find myself looking forward to my mini spa facial in the shower each night. It's not cheap, so maybe that's why I love it a little more (you know, because it's so expensive that you (I) automatically assume something has more value). The little things.

Anyone else have any products that took a little adjusting but they ended up loving after awhile? Link me up to them!

And... what about teacher gifts? What are you guys doing? School ends next month for most of the country, so the time is coming!

Just Monday Stuff

It's funny how weather really can affect your mood. The last three days have been nothing short of incredible here in the Midwest. The bugs are (mildy) suddenly back, but the kids are playing on the deck, in the dirt, at the parks. They are eating lunch outside (can I get a HECK YEAH for not having to sweep?) and exploring and painting rocks with cornstarch + water + food coloring paint.

Tomorrow will be cooler and rainy, but the last few days have been praiseworthy.

I'm kinda pulling a Tiger Mom approach to this whole handwriting situation. I typically spend about 20 minutes each day working with Benjamin solo on handwriting just after Claire goes down for her nap. He's required to write his name alone a couple times anywhere he chooses and we usually do another fine motor workbook page or something. He usually picks and in order to keep him cooperating, I let my Type-A slide when he wants to do 5% of each page and move on to other pages. But he's practicing writing and I have to let that go. He was eager to use sidewalk chalk yesterday and so I had him write his name. He is a whiz at the short name but the whole name is trickier. He can spell it, but the A and M have him a little perplexed. With a little help, he managed both his name and Claire's name.

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And how about a little talk of the littlest? She's fighting naptime. She dropped her morning nap at 9 months and never looked back. Now the afternoon nap? And really, she's totally unphased if she misses it and rallies to bedtime like a champ. It terrifies me! She's 27 months and I highly doubt she will be napping at 3. And yet, I know friends whose 4.5 or 5yo kids are napping. How come I am getting slighted here? She sat chatting in her crib the entire naptime today and I threw up the white flag.

Meanwhile, Benjamin is back on his obsessive kick with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory that he watches during naps and tells me regularly that he wants to go to the chocolate park with Aunt Mansa. You know, Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. Just a hop, skip and jump. He thinks it's equivalent to like a neighborhood park or something and it's just not getting through. I told him today it would be a lot of money for airfare and then admission, to which he told me he had a Disney card to pay for it all (of which he discovered in our mail pile as a fake paper credit card he quickly confiscated which was sent by the kind people at Disney to incentivize me to apply for a real one).

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I bought a running watch. I think I mentioned that before, but Amazon took their sweet time sending it to me since I don't have Prime. Am I the only one in America? Maybe. For awhile, I never justified it because I was always spending $35+ anyway with the free shipping. And now they raised it to $50 which has me a little annoyed. It shipped from the warehouse 1 hour and 15 minutes away in Kenosha, Wisconsin and yet it took 7 whole days to arrive at my doorstep. I'm certain they delay shipping for non-prime simply to get more people on the subscription model. And oddly, it arrived on a Sunday. So naturally, while the husband was heating the kids up some chicken nuggets for dinner, I took the new watch out for a quick loop in our neighborhood to test it out. And then the husband took it for another few miles that evening for more fun. I'm totally geeking out over the numbers. It's fun, fun, fun. Kinda like how I can barely remember how we survived without smart phones, I doubt I'll ever be able to run outside again without a running watch.

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Our local grocery store is having this Monopoly promotion. When you buy certain products, you earn tickets, given to you at checkout. You open the tickets and put the stupid little pieces on a game board and cross your fingers hoping you win something. Four years back, we won $2. We play because we wouldn't be able to bear having the winning piece for something greater and not knowing, but it's annoying. They also have INSTANT WINNER tickets for random grocery products you can redeem and often, I get INSTANT WINNER tickets for... wait for it ... more tickets. I received my very first (maybe ever?) instant win today.

We don't have a dog. You know what would've been cooler to win? Anything else. #irony

Monday Musings

Our gym is remodeling the men and women's locker rooms. They gave the project a 3-day deadline. It's been 10. People are asked to use the family locker room instead, which is located in the dungeon basement and is carpeted (gag), has two changing areas, about 30 small lockers, one toilet and a communal shower.

I use this locker room a lot with the kids after swimming, but cramming about 20 senior women into this thing who are all complaining about their large carry-on luggage (seriously) not fitting into the lockers is totally entertaining. I honestly wanted to pull up a chair and listen to them ranting about the locker room travesty.

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Saturday morning, we took the kids swimming (see above for description of the super fancy dinosaur-aged locker rooms) followed by a Costco run. The kids ate things like ham sandwiches (they were giving out generous samples) and other things they never ever eat willingly at home while commenting how delicious they were. Those Costco sample people are magicians.

Then we came home and I went for a 3-mile run. I ran three loops around our neighborhood and as I started each loop, the skies were blue, the sun was shining and it was a perfect spring day. A half mile later, it began to snow and wind picked up to blowing it straight in my eyes. It was a horizontal blizzard. But then, I started another lap and it was bright and cheery again with no snow in sight. Rinse, repeat. It was the weirdest day and also, did you know snowflakes that shoot straight at your eyes with strong winds feel like small daggers? Well now you know.

We had friends over for dinner Saturday night and I made BBQ chicken pizza and a cheese pizza, salad and oversized cookies with dark chocolate gelato, whipped cream and sprinkles to top. Everyone loves sprinkles.

Sunday, we woke to 28 degrees, grabbed a pizza after church (because who doesn't want pizza for every meal?) at a local joint, and were at the park with barefoot kids in the afternoon. We flew kites in perfect 70-degree weather that the kids got in Easter baskets. Benjamin's Cinderella kite was a point of serious discussion as he expressed great concern for Cinderella flying so high in the air that she might be injured and then again when she took a dive into a neighbor's yard that housed three dogs. Shoot, I was even concerned for poor Cinderella's wellbeing at that point. Benjamin also actually rode his bike for probably a distance of close to a mile for the first time ever. Each other time he simply entertained the idea with marginal effort. I give him a B effort which is saying a lot, because #lazylion. By bedtime, it was in the 40's again. Spring is crazy.

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Benjamin's school just sent home the emergency card and packet for next year. We have another set of friends moving out of state. People are dropping like flies around here, and I was actually questioning who to put on the emergency contact card!

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I'm running a 10k later this month (which reminds me, I should actually sign up!). It's my first "official" 10k race, but I run that distance often. I ran 5.5 miles at the gym this morning and average about 10-15 a week, running about 3x. It's not something I think I'll ever aspire to compete hard at, but I've always been able to run a decent distance without much effort. I'm trying to pick up the speed and maintain endurance and hope for a race in under an hour. I'm fairly certain I'll be able to manage that well with minutes to spare, but the terrain is rather challenging. Regardless, I love the feeling of a runner's high and have been really enjoying my runs lately.

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Benjamin's behavior last week was rough. It reminded me of those dark days between 2.5-4 when he would have out-of-body tantrums and be impossible to please. I took them to a bounce house place Friday because I was feeling guilty for not indulging more during spring break (but really, he's FOUR so what does spring break even mean when the only change is not going to fun preschool for 2.5 hours a day like usual?). After, he pushed Claire out of the way of the hand sanitizer and insisted he be first (the battle of the firsts is raging lately). I wouldn't help him reach, so he lost his mind because I wouldn't entertain his crap behavior. Instead of dinner out, we had to have dinner in. I hate when punishing them means punishing myself!

Coming Up for Air

Phew.

In the last two weeks, we have been busy. Like bees.

Both sets of grandparents visited. I party planned and prepped and went grocery shopping for 6 adults + 2 kids and a house full of people to have lunch. We cleaned (a little), did preschool dropoffs, worked, made three round trips to the airport, packed, did no fewer than a dozen loads of laundry, baptized our last baby, celebrated her first birthday, had two long flights to & from Canada (first country for Claire!), drove a long time in a rental car, played with friends, drank a lot of beer, ate a lot of food, skied for the first time in 6 years... and... and...

Now we're back. We planted our feet back home on Tuesday night and Wednesday carried on like any normal weekday. Dad works and Mom takes kids to storytime and preschool and runs errands so we can eat things that don't come from cardboard boxes.

I've been sorting mail and writing thank-you cards and finally stuffing clean clothes back into our drawers.

We've invited friends over for dinner tomorrow night, so I hurriedly picked out a recipe for that occasion. I'm contemplating another 30-day Shred or quitting sugar... or something. I'm just so hungry still, and there's really no excuse anymore since I'm not pregnant and breastfeeding has slowed to about 5x each day. I don't really need the extra calories, but I'm finding myself rummaging through the pantry and fridge while the kids are napping or before I hit snooze for the night.

Claire's 1-year appointment was today and she is just perfect, except for the fact that she ripped off three bandages from her hemoglobin finger prick and proceeded to bleed all over about 100 things. Aside from being terrified of her brother (which I hate writing in the single form), she's thriving and loving and has a few words down. Benjamin is still using the toilet and usually wakes with that Buzz Lightyear Pull-up (only ones he'll use. GRUMBLE) dry. Except, he did (intentionally?) pee on the floor next to two potties while on vacation and went in the laundry room and did the other business on Wednesday. Not during travel or on airplanes or long car rides when there is no toilet around. Instead, when a toilet is literally feet away and there is no imminent rush. Sounds about right.

Benjamin continues to be two, almost three. His tantrums are frustrating and totally get the best of me. I hate that. And also, GODSPEED to four, please. Not that I want to speed up his childhood, but if he could be more human and less satan, I would totally appreciate it. He is really awesome when he's not attempting to destroy everything in his (socio)path. But when the switch has been flipped, it's like someone switched kids with me.

We put lots of dates on the calendar to use up some recent Groupon restaurant purchases to get us through the rest of winter, in addition to a trip to Arizona and California closer to spring. Our children's museum had a pipe burst, resulting in massive water damage and will be closed the rest of the winter for renovations. Looks like #museummondays will return to #storytimemondays once again.

I sported my life is good hat over vacation and while I know life could be greater, life is still pretty good.

Friday Mayhem

• I woke up (without an alarm clock) at 5:15 a.m. to get to my local Safeway chain store (Dominick's) because they just marked all grocery items to 50% off. Diapers were 50% off last week and I missed it, so I was definitely not missing this one. I may have loaded up the equivalent of 3 full carts and spent over $400. Liquor goes on sale next Friday. Watch out, people. I'm only pregnant until the end of January and then game-on. I have a list of favorite wines and craft beers we'll be adding to our somewhat embarrassing collection we already have going thanks to a certain wine club my mom signed us up for. Totally awesome, but the UPS guy is starting to question if I have a drinking problem. And to be 8-months pregnant with these deliveries? Yeah. Nobody call child services. Thanks.
• I have been happily adding to our Christmas card pile which I stick in Andrew's stocking in our formal living room. I make sure to put some of my favorite faces toward the front so I can stare at them. Cards that mention Andrew in this season also get front status.
• Speaking of my loved boy, we went to that remembrance ceremony on Tuesday. We both left saying how much we love that tradition to honor our boy every year with a room full of people who are honoring their children/grandchildren as well. There's just something to be said for attending a ceremony where every person in there knows the heartbreak of losing a child. But Andrew's brother... oh my. Benjamin, on the other hand, was the cutest and most silly boy on the planet that evening. He was playing "peek(-a-bo)" with people behind us, laughing, jumping, saying clap and then doing so over and over and over again. Not the time or place, but he is just reminding us how much of a light he is in our lives. What is nice about this ceremony is that there are families with other kids but also missing kids. When I was pregnant with Benjamin and we attended out first one, I just remember not being jealous but longingly hoping we'd be bringing back our own baby to remember our firstborn in the coming years. The woman behind us had a boy around 6 months and told me that her son's name that she was there to remember is also Andrew. And the people in front of us were remembering their son Hayes, just like my friend Molly. The only tough spot is seeing the visibly, newly broken individuals and families that attended. I know those shoes.
• It's my amazing husband's birthday today and although I was planning to make him brownies for his birthday, I scored a $1.50 pumpkin pie (also a favorite of his) that we're having instead.
• We met him at work and headed to lunch, but we're staying in to eat some of the food I bought this morning in the mayhem. I'm so sad that store is closing. I remember moving into our house quite excited that my favorite grocery store chain was not only in the Chicago 'burbs, but just over a mile from my house. And now they are no more. Sad day.
• I'm really excited about the Christmas gifts we purchased for people this year. I even bought something for my husband! We're not much for gifting one another because we prefer experiences and to choose our own things... but this year I think I hit the jackpot. Somehow, Benjamin made out like a bandit, too. I wasn't intending on spending much on the little guy, but it's so hard to let things go when I find things I know he'll love.

A list of 31 for a 31st Birthday

1. Not sure why, but 31 feels so odd. Well, it is odd from a math standpoint, but in other ways. Like 30 was fancy because it was a new decade and 31 is just... boring.
2. Cannot believe I turned 21 TEN years ago.
3. My favorite part of my birthday month is not presents or actually turning another year older, but the emailed freebies from all my favorite places.
4. So far, I've redeemed freebies for $10 at World Mar.ket, $20 at Planet.Shoes where I scored $.20 socks shipped, a Jersey Mi.ke's sub with drink, a Whic.h Wich sandwich, scoop of Baski.n Robbins chocolate peanut butter swirl ice cream, and bowl at Noodl.es & Co.
5. Today we hit up storytime at the library where Benjamin lost his mind when he had to leave the felt birdie on the felt board after his turn during Brown Bear, Brown Bear which led to us walking out of storytime. Then he spotted the elevator button and caused lots of ruckus before we finally left without his shoes on and me only half checking out our books by accident.
6. After storytime, we got Jerse.y Mike's to-go, had a car picnic in the Post Office parking lot (B's FAVORITE), mailed a package and went next door for a freebie ice cream.

7. We returned home for B's nap and FedEx delivered a package.
8. The package? Our iPad I left at the J.W Marrio.tt in Palm Desert, CA over the weekend.
9. Talk about customer service when they shipped it to us for free!
10. We flew back from CA to IL on Sunday. It was definitely one of those days where there were lots of little things that continued to go wrong. Luckily, nothing big went wrong. Except maybe missing In-N-Out and having to settle on El Poll.o Loco instead. Acceptable tradeoff, but still missing my chocolate shake.
11. I successfully ate my way through California once again.
12. I've never dieted in my life, but I might have to start if I continue to eat like that while on visits back to the motherland.
13. We spent lots of good time with my parents and got to feed a giraffe while we were there. A real one! With real food! And tongues like a foot long!
14. I'll be posting about that trip and my mom's visit in September whenever I stop being such a lazy blogger.
15. Really it's Benjamin's fault. He needs to take 5-hour naps and maybe I'll get something done.
16. Okay, he can't take 5-hour naps, otherwise he wouldn't sleep at night.
17. When he wakes, we're going to a new park they just built about 2 miles down the road. I love visiting new parks because I get bored of the same ones we visit daily.
18. The leaves on trees here are going... going... it might be a raking weekend in the 'burbs.
19. I really need brown waste in my composter. Like yesterday. Hello fall leaves.
20. We're thinking about hitting up one of the many fall fests this weekend, too. B is going to flip over the bounce house. The kid loves him some bounce house time.
21. Speaking of fall and traditions, I really need to get on the ball about B's Halloween costume.
22. I literally Googled "costumes that don't have anything on the head" because B will not subscribe to any of that nonsense. I came up with a few, but have settled on a sort of boring but probably adorable (if I can get my act together), scarecrow. Sans hat. I'm thinking of making his hair all scraggly. What's new, right? Hah.
23. I've been getting a little flack for not cutting B's hair. Not gonna lie... he did have a mini rat tail when he was in the swimming pool on Sunday.
24. Back on the Halloween costume, the main reason I've been dragging my feet is because I have to actually get Benjamin to try on the two pairs of overalls he owns to see which one still fits. He acts like I am asking him to walk over hot coals when it comes to changing time.
25. And I might be a little sad to cut up one of his old flannel shirts to sew onto the overalls for scarecrow flair.
26. And also, I'm not really crafty and really don't look forward to such things.
27. Reason #436, I wish my parents were more local. My mom sews and actually enjoys it.
28. Benjamin will be a scarecrow and we'll be... whatever. As long as I get my $3 "boorito" at Chipot.le that day for dressing up as something, I don't care what I'm wearing.
29. This will be B's first year actually going door-to-door (to like 3 neighbors, probably). I bought him a pumpkin Halloween pail to drag around. Place your bets now... will he have a meltdown or think it's fun?
30. We usually pass out candy (of which I already bought at Target for a great price!) and then head out around dark for dinner at Chipot.le. Our neighborhood starts trick-or-treating at 3:00, and after dark, it's only the older kids who I don't enjoy giving candy to anyway.
31. For my 31st b-day, my husband surprised me with a cute hoodie sweatshirt and left me a glass of fresh-squeezed OJ he made me with my new Kitche.nAid juicer attachment. Like many of my friend's on IG said this morning, it's totally a Brandy gift. Yep. And just as I type this 31st item, I hear the little person awaking from his slumber...someone tell him he's supposed to nap until 4:00 on mom's birthday.

Drank half before taking the photo...couldn't help it!

Crazy Midwest Weekends: Cardboard Boat Regatta

I recently received an email from my husband filled with random Midwest festivals that were taking place over a few weekends. We didn't have plans for the last two weekends, so it made sense to find something to explore in our local area.

That, and with this whole nap transition thing, we've found that it's much easier to occupy Benjamin for the entire morning so he's not falling over for a nap by 10 a.m.

Of course the thing we found to do was both absolutely bizarre and interesting. So much that we needed to see it in person.

You see, people get creative when there are only 6 good months of outside exploring to do in a calendar year. They make large cardboard boats, cover them with duct tape, and set a team of people on them to paddle across a lake in the middle of a suburb. The commentator was the best. They obviously don't take this whole thing too seriously, but there were dozens of boats lined up for their race opportunity.

We'd hear various entertaining phrases like...

"Oh, that's not good."
"Well folks, we've just seen our first collision of the day!"
"And, they're down!" {about 1/3 of the boats did sink and were rescued by the boats you see in the background}

Only in the Midwest, I swear.

No more than 5 minutes into this adventure, Ray declares that he and Benjamin will be making one of these in the future for them to race. And probably his boy scout troop or something.

So who's jealous? Anyone want to come visit? In case you want to plan your trip, this is likely to be an annual day for the Wilsons. Plan accordingly. Weekend before July 4th. Book your travel plans now. This opportunity will fill up.

::snickers::

The End of Google Reader...

...and the beginning of Bloglovin'?

Here's to new beginnings. Maybe now I can finally delete old blogs that Google Reader wouldn't let me delete.



Since blogging has sort of gone to the wayside lately due to summer of outside adventure, I thought I'd throw out a list of 10 things happening lately with the Wilsons...

1. Lots of waterpark action. At least 4-5 times a week. We've even sat in the car and waited for a thunderstorm to pass so we could go in.

2. Fresh fruit and grilling. We've only grilled once (last night), but this will hopefully be the beginning of my husband making dinner the deliciousness. In case you're curious, I buy Sunshine burgers which are both vegan, and dairy-free. I think even gluten free! Their main component is sunflower seeds.

3. Short road trips to the beach. We were up at South Haven, MI last week for a day at the beach and it was lovely. Benjamin went from hating the sand in October to absolutely loving it this time. He was eating it and throwing it like it were sprinkles! Not quite as tasty, little lad.

4. Growing boy. My goodness is he growing! He's not the best communicator yet, but I am pretty sure he has at least 5 solid words down. Either that, or he has me totally fooled.

5. The end of good napping. He was showing signs of needing to drop that morning nap (signs being not sleeping during the afternoon one at all), so we've been attempting the transition. What a rough one. No one tells you about how long it takes to get things in order. We're still working on it and no nap has been as good as the ol' 2x 2-hour naps we used to revel in... he must know it's summer.

6. The last couple days have felt like Southern California weather here. It even feels like an ocean breeze... and MAN does that make me happy. Humidity low. No thunderstorms. Cool breeze and temps cool enough to open the windows for fresh air. You Southern Californians cannot take for granted that weather!

7. Outside working. We've been in a constant state of trimming/weeding/making sure our house doesn't get overgrown with plant life and weeds. It's helpful that all B wants is to be outside... so when outside, we take the opportunity to get rid of the excess.

8. No trips! We have no plane tickets booked and only have a short road trip to NY in August on our radar at all this summer. Abnormal behavior for the Wilsons, for sure.

9. Boredom in the kitchen. I still blame things on my toddler. I just cannot get my act together. I'm still cooking, but nothing really new and just the same menu I lean on for easy/regular/solid meals. Nothing to share. Apologies to my fellow foodie friends.

10. Looking forward to the upcoming 4-day weekend! Our town has the coolest festival on the 4th and it rivals any other local festival...we're certain. We took B last year as a very wee little nugget and we're excited to share fireworks with him again this year.

Just Some Little Things

I'm getting a lot done today. Already went to Benjamin's pediatrician checkup this morning, Super Target, the grocery store, did a load of laundry, mowed the lawn, cleaned, read 478 Dr. Seuss books, and organized recent pictures and uploaded them to our external hard drive. B's down for his afternoon nap and I'm even getting a blog post in. Man, I'm winning today!

That swingset in the back? Gone thanks to Freecycle. It needed to be stained and cleaned and was old. We just didn't have the energy or desire to fix it up. And the benefit of Freecycle is that someone else will use it, keep it out of the garbage, care for it, and we didn't have to do a thing except offer the guy a beer while he was doing all the hard work!

The mulch is still there and that will be our job. We'll be moving it to flowerbeds and turning that area to grass.

That tree poking out? Chopped. While beautiful, it was too close to the foundation. We also had the tree in the middle of our deck (another issue) trimmed and a crabapple tree from the front yard removed. We still have at least 10 mature trees in our yard, so we're still plenty shaded.

The deck is next. We're figuring out what needs to be done. Unfortunately, the state of our backyard is mayhem right now with that mulch area and the deck boards being pulled up to figure out if we'll:

- Use the current layout/foundation and just replace the old boards and re-stain (cheapest option)
- Overlay the current layout/foundation with synthetic wood boards that have less maintenance (expensive)
- Rip it out and start from scratch (also very expensive)

We're just not sure at this point, but we do know it needs some attention. It might take all summer, but we'll get things in order.

The little boy doesn't appear to be too little anymore! He is 31.5 inches tall, has a big noggin at the 80th percentile, and his weight has improved greatly. {I would like to take a moment to thank butter for its contribution...} The ped also talked us down from the smoothie platform and insisted we go about normal mealtimes and expect him to come around. Bootcamp is on. Baby is getting no more smoothies and must eat.

Our new-old white hook was hung last night (BY MY HUSBAND) in the laundry room and is already getting some use {you know, because I staged that sweatshirt there}. I think this will come in handy for many years. One can never have too many hooks in the laundry room.

I started packing up the car for our road trip to Sandusky, Ohio! We're meeting Ray's parents, sister and her boyfriend at a house we rented near Cedar Point Amusement Park. Ray's mom will be 60 at the end of May and as a celebration, we're all going to the amusement park she and Ray's dad worked at for a summer in college. They have some great memories there and we {kids + B} have never been. We're quite excited! We'll be going to a steakhouse they used to go for date nights after saving up their money they earned at the amusement park and just enjoying the park and our rental house for the weekend. I started buying up some snacks and things and have already filled this laundry basket.

I'm not sure if there are any couponers out there, but even if you're not, this one is fun and easy. I use an iPhone app called ibotta to save money. I've been using it a couple months and while I may only buy 4-5 things each month, I always just check it before I head to the grocery store and see if anything is in there I plan to buy. I bought one of those Evol burritos and other things. You shop like normal, scan your receipt and the barcode and they give you that money back via Paypal.

If you sign up and use it by buying/redeeming 5 products in the next two weeks, they'll give you $10. When I started using it, I got $5. I'm up to $17 in savings at this point. Kind of fun in case you're interested. I'm not sure if I get anything for referring, but I just learned about the $10 deal and thought I'd share. No coupons at the register, most importantly! I know a couple friends who also use the app and like it.

There's a little random post for you Thursday. Hope it's a good one. I'm really looking forward to this long weekend!

On the C-List

I have a love-hate relationship with Craigslist. And Freecyle. And Bookoo.

For one, I love perusing for gems like my dresser and getting a deal. I just love a deal, you guys. It's like a drug. I get genuinely giddy when I know I scored something for less than it normally sells for. Like I just pulled one over on someone and came out the winner.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

I love it. It's fuel for my fire. So when I received a text from a friend about Mrs. Meyers soaps going on clearance at Target, I got totally jealous (despite having no less than 5 under my sink) and also replied immediately encouraging her to buy up a crapload. One can never hoard too much soap.

Back to Craigslist. I love the deals. I also love bartering people down. Like this week I bought a carpet steam cleaner (that I've since ammonia cleaned the crap out of) and she was asking $40. I had $40, but totally only offered her $35. She accepted.

I just emailed someone about a bike trailer they have for sale, and while I have the $60 they're charging, my limit for a used one was $50. So I offered $50. Let's hope I don't lose out on it because I'm being stingy. But it's a gamble and I love it.

But the hate part. Over the last week, I've posted two free items on these websites, only to have no-show after no-show of people who swore they were interested! Promised money even though they were free items! Said they'd come by that day!

But never showed. It's like I'm inconveniencing them. Finally, someone came and picked up the mirror (later than she promised, of course) that was matching to my recently refinished dresser. And they have the best stories. One lady had an intruder at her house and that's why she didn't show. Not that I don't believe her, but at the very least, just let me know within reasonable time.

I really feel like giving things away for free makes people crazy. They see the word free and all of a sudden? They have to stake their claim. It's like the freaking Gold Rush over here.

One guy I called back about giving away the mirror (mind you, I list our city name... use Google and find out if that is local to you!) told me that he "could find a use for it" and then proceeded to tell me he lives 50 miles away, round trip. I talked him out of it because that sounded silly for something you obviously don't need or really want!

And the swingset we have in our backyard that came with the house? Also free. Come and get it! Seven people were so excited (before I deleted the listing) and ONE showed up to check it out. She promised to return next week (ugh, the urgency of people!) to come get it. We'll see if that happens.

It's Wednesday.

Oh man, I'm tired. If you've been following me on Instagram {brandywilson}, you'll know I've been downtown having a blast with 25 other Chicago mom bloggers. I have so much to update on that and I'm seriously still on a high from it all.

I'm currently propped up on the couch with the fire going and exhausted. The B-man is asleep in a snowsuit in his crib. Yeah, #1 mom award, I'm sure. We're just glad Kristi let us borrow it, because I couldn't think how we'd get him to sleep in his room for his nap without bundling him up big time. I'm one of those cheapskates (and also earth-conscious!) that refuses to heat my house much while we're out. That of course results in some frigid temperatures when we get back home.

I'm still tired from booking it to the train station to catch the direct train to the 'burbs that was 1.5 miles away from our hotel. My body is sore from a fitness session yesterday and B decided it was party time, excellent last night around midnight. You know, just an hour after falling to sleep myself. But what's more fun than walking up and down the long hotel hallway with a squirming baby blowing raspberries on your shoulder?

Answer? Not much. Except I do wish he'd reserve the big parties for daylight hours.

Fun tidbit of the day: Benjamin has recently started farting like a full grown adult. It's really something special.

You're welcome.

I have 5 Minutes

Well, probably 20. Hopefully an hour. We'll see how long he sleeps. Random updates coming at you and maybe a few Instagram pictures because I totally failed to get that up and moving on Friday. I guess I don't like the routine as much as I thought. Maybe those will be sporadic from now on with just pictures I feel like re-posting.

• As I type this, a sweet little nugget is crib sleeping with the air filter (our white noise) on medium because our floors are being sanded and ground down to apply our first coat of epoxy. By Wednesday, we will have gone from concrete (carpet before our reno) to this:

• I'm working on a new naptime schedule. I used to nurse B right before naptime and then lay him down all groggy. But, I'd really like him to sleep without the expectation to nurse first. Instead, I now nurse him between naptimes and before bath instead of after. Eventually he'll need to be weaned, but more importantly, I want other people to be able to put him down to sleep without the milk requirement. Still no bottle, and don't even leave pumped milk for others at this point. My pump was shelved long ago as I hate the thing.
• He has been winking at us lately. It's adorable.
• We left B with friends for a few hours this Saturday to check out the Chicago Food & Wine Festival. I got freebie tickets from being a Yelp Elite! It was so nice to be on a date with just the two of us, even though it turns out we could've brought the monster. Here's a photo my friend sent me of B eating at his friend's house. Said friend's head is taking up 2/3 of this photo. Love it, Liz. :)

• Yes, he's a monster. He growls and everything. I'm re-thinking next year's Halloween costume from a dinosaur to a monster. One or the other. He will rock it, especially if he still growls like he has been lately when he's excited. I even had a friend ask if he was okay. Hah. 
• The army-crawler decided it was PARTY TIME (excellent) at 5 a.m. yesterday, so we all went downstairs and he played well after sunrise and then conked out again. But only for 45 minutes.
• Speaking of party time, his birthday is already being sort of planned. I have a few ideas (no themes, as I don't usually go for that method). He's being baptized at our house on his actual birthday. There's a lot of symbolism to that and I'll explain in more detail later. The grandparents have already booked their tickets!
• We're headed to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving and get to meet my sister-in-law's boyfriend! She's also meeting Benjamin for the first time. And, important food will be eaten at Primanti Brothers sometime on Friday. Yes, I would please like you to put french fries on my triple-grilled cheese sandwich. Obviously.
• Before Pittsburgh, we're staying in Cleveland, as it's about a 6.5 hour drive from Chi-town. New city for us! Anyone have recommendations for dinner?
• We booked another flight. Obviously. Because we can't sit still. And we're probably going to be booking a few more in the next month or so because we have tentative plans to get out of Dodge. Chicago in the winter? Brutal.
• I was chosen as a mom-blogger (omg) to go to an event downtown next month. I'll blog twice about it with more details. I'm pretty excited and maybe I'll meet some friends? It happens to take place on the identical day of the remembrance ceremony we attended for Andrew last year and planned to attend all years to come. I'm a bit sad, but we can still go hang his ornament on the tree another day. I might try to find another ceremony we can attend.
• Speaking of ornament... here it is. I also used this photo to represent Andrew on our Christmas card this year. First Christmas card ever, I think? Not the most uplifting card, but whatareyougonnado? It's reality. We wish he were here terrorizing our house like only 2-year old boys do. 

• "Visit funeral home" is officially on the whiteboard in our laundry room. Not exactly what you'd expect to see next to the grocery list, but we really need to make things right. I hope I can erase that soon. It's just mustering up the emotional energy to do it that will make the 2-mile drive a tough one.
• My culinary creativity has been sparse lately. Mostly because we've been working on basement stuff (by we, I mean mostly Ray, but that means I spent many days on 100% Benjamin duty.) That leaves little room, or energy to whip up fancy foods. I did manage to make this avocado bean dip. It was... okay. Turns out I prefer my beans and avocado separate. They can be in the same burrito or dip, but preferably not blended. Ingredients were minimal (white beans, avo, EVOO, cayenne, lime, salt). I used it as a high-protein spread for inside quesadillas last night. If eating like that, it was awesome. If as a dip, I'll stick to separate dips. I did use my Blendtec, and the texture was right on.

• I need to do a deep clean soon. One reason is because the basement floor guys just made a huge mess of dust in our house (I've barricaded us upstairs for the day), and two because Benjamin is managing to find all the other dust and dust bunnies and specs of dirt and everything I have failed to clean since he was born. Exhibit A:

• Champion eater is still on his game. We're thrilled. My friend Molly has scared me with her Instagram pictures of her daughter not wanting to eat a single vegetable on the planet. I fear toddlerhood. But also crave what I'm missing.

tomatoes, avocado, hummus, lentils.

clean plate club member

• I feed B an entire scrambled egg (with ketchup, gag) every morning. I know it's on the list of things you shouldn't feed your kid, but we let him try a bite a week ago and he dug it. Off to Trader Joe's I went to buy up a dozen and the kid has been taking them down. It appears no food allergy in sight. I was not too worried as he hasn't had a single poor reaction to anything thus far, or my breastmilk.
• We bought a bed and mattress for the basement. We also bought this art print to go on the wall covering the breaker box that used to have a random wood door covering it. When we realized the door would no longer fit the breaker because the drywall opening was cut too large, we decided to go for a piece of art to cover the space. $70 later to Art.com and $12.50 for a HUGE frame steal at Michael's and we'll have that bad boy covered in no time. Made me think of my design-savvy friend, Alli, who would've totally done something similar to cover up a gaping (but necessary) hole. I'm channeling the inner designer in me, my friend.
• We love Many Glacier at Glacier National Park. It is our dream to go back and stay at that lodge. Favorite national park, hands down. And from a family of travelers who have seen a whole lotta them, we sort of have good credential on the matter.
• We Skyped with my parents last night on the iPad and I walked around our entire kitchen island with B crawling to grab the iPad screen. Army crawling still, but he definitely gets around when motivated!
• We are going to be on the fast track to babyproofing very soon. Any recommendations on easy-to-use gates? I want one I can go in and out of via door (not stepping over) and pressure mounted. Any other recommendations on proofing items to buy or avoid?
• More pictures to end the post, because I hear the wee one stirring in his baby cage. Off to rescue him for more chewing on every cord he can find exploration!

Hi Mom. Totally proud of my skills.

I spy a little guy...

Hey Ma, pretend like you don't see this, mmmkay?

Baby, turned little boy.

Checking out the flooring guy's truck.

General Updates and Such

• I'm making cabbage rolls tonight. Never made them before, and I'm following about 3 recipes that I'll morph together, plus a little creativity on my part. It's also a clean-out-the-produce-in-my-fridge meal, so it will be unique.
• I bought a bunch of cabbage at the store last week and have been making a cabbage salad every few days. 1/4 head of cabbage sliced thin, 1/4 red onion sliced thin, handful of cilantro roughly chopped, handful of baby carrots sliced thin (or julienned), 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar, 1 tsp sesame oil, dash of soy sauce, 1 tsp grated ginger, salt & pepper (make dressing separately). It gets even better after a day or two. Mmmm.

• Also made dragon noodles recently and loved them so much, I made them again the next day! I made with different noodles each time and omitted the egg because I think they're gross. And also, I don't buy them.
• B has his fourth tooth officially. I've felt it since the weekend, but I can now officially see it well enough to confirm that it's broken through.
• Thank God. 
• The cold is still here and in full-force. My Nose-Frida is taking her sweet time getting here and I'm getting impatient. 
• B is also getting up on all-fours and rocking a bit, but he still does the airplane and gets pretty pissed that doing the airplane doesn't actually make him fly. He manages to scoot all over the map though with his roll and 360 degree turn technique.

New hat! Thanks Ceil & Helen!

• We took B to vote with us last night. Why I had to use a half-dried up pen to bubble in my choices like a scantron as opposed to the punch stamps like past elections? I felt like I was voting in a fake election. And they were out of stickers? I mean... really.

• We're like this close to finishing our basement. We took a pilgrimage to Home Depot last night after voting to buy paint. The light is finally seen at the end of the tunnel. Good heavens. Hooray. Renovation post to come.
• Every night for the past few months (+ randomly over 1.5 years), Ray has been going down into the basement after B goes down to bed for the night and working until midnight and later. I've been joining him once the primer/painting started up. 
• And bonus, B decided to start waking up randomly (dang cold!), making for a sleep-deprived family.
• We scheduled to have our floor epoxy done the week of the 18th! We've never been more excited to spend thousands of dollars on flooring. Hah. It will look similar to this. We chose the brown.
• We bought a mattress for the basement and plan to buy a mattress encasement so it stays moisture free. Our basement is the cleanest basement around, so I'm not too worried, but I like peace of mind. We're also thinking about a metal bed to hold said mattress and we like this one for an affordable, yet classy option. 
• We also really want a treadmill for the basement, but we don't want to spend the cash right now. Anyone have one and love it? We're runners (albeit slow), so it would have to be durable.
• Ray just finished the Steve Jobs Biography and I'm excited to read it. 
• I'm gonna need a Halloween candy eating intervention. We have gone through like 50 various chocolate items in the last week. I'm averaging 3+ a day, people. 
• It's Wednesday and nap #1 of 2 is fleeting. Off to accomplish!

Twelve Years

That's how long I've had my nose pierced.

A lot has changed since then, and it's left me debating how long I should keep this fashion trend going.
{Kind of like the toe ring I'm still sporting, despite my sister-in-law insisting that fashion trend ended a decade ago. Sigh.}

At the ripe age of like 18+3 days in October of 2000, I went with friends on a dark Friday night to the streets of San Pedro, California to create a statement. We jumped in my friend Josh's burgundy Acura Legend in Redondo Beach and hit the 405 to the 110 freeway and found ourselves at So Cal Tattoo and Body Piercing. Part of this whole decision was out of rebellion, being 18 and wanting to exert my rights as an official adult {My parents came around & I actually took my mom to get her nose pierced in 2006}. Part of my decision was based on my friend group being punk rockers and all having piercings of their own. But most of the decision was because I thought they were cute and California is flooded with regular beach girls (also me) with tan skin and nose piercings. {I regret the tan skin far more than the nose piercing--and frankly, I still don't regret it. That's reserved for ex-boyfriends, mostly.} Or tattoos. But I wasn't about to ink my skin because I still maintained my levelheadedness in knowing that I just might regret said decision later and taking out a nose ring would be a whole lot easier to manage than regretting a tattoo. That, and tattoos are just not my thing. They never appealed to me personally. So a nose piercing it was.

At one time, I loved it. While I don't dislike it still, I don't know if I care either way. When I first hopped on the bandwagon of having a cork shoved up my nose and a needle pushed through at lightning speed, I was a much different person. Having recently been back to So Cal, it's still definitely popular among the early 20-somethings.

That was twelve years ago, and part of me thinks it's time to move on.

I'm 30. I've had two children and been dealt a world of grief. The girl who went into that piercing shop 12 years ago was young, carefree, and didn't have much concern for anything. I was attending the local university and staying out late and being a regular ol' teenager/young adult.

Nothing could break me. I was invincible.

Six years ago. October 2006. Five months of dating my future husband and he took me skydiving in San Diego for my birthday. My parents asked him on the drive down what would happen if I didn't survive. I believe his response was, "Well then the drive home would be pretty awkward." Note: it was a blast, but there is no way I'd ever skydive again.

I guess it's me growing up, but somewhat wanting to let go of who I used to be, because what she was is no longer what is living within my body.

I've been taking it out for years-- when I interviewed for my first teaching job and every single day I taught. There were a few days I forgot, but I managed to pull the plug quickly enough before any of my fifth graders saw. I took it out for our wedding day and still take it out for every business dinner or gathering we attend. Except in Germany-- their culture is quite accepting of piercings and tattoos. While I don't find it personally offensive, we do live in the Midwest and this sort of thing isn't as accepted. California's culture is much different.

I remember first meeting my future in-laws and wondering if they would be accepting of me because I had a nose piercing-- like it was something I couldn't change. It was a bit silly, but they also live in a culture much different than the hippie, California lifestyle I'm used to. I was aware of the stereotypes and judgement placed on those who acted with such rebellion to mutilate their bodies. Surely I didn't think it was such a big deal, and it honestly wasn't, but I knew that others may view my decision with less-than-stellar appeal.

Recently, I took it out because I was blowing my nose about 3,004 times/day and didn't want to deal with having to adjust it each time. Since I've been asked this the last 12 years of my life, I might as well explain that blowing your nose is not a big deal... but the current one I have been using needs to be pushed back in each time and it's just. plain. annoying. So out it went. The cold is subsiding now and I haven't put it back in... yet. And might never.

It's kind of like throwing away that dress you bought and wore a thousand times and love so much... but that you know should be sent packing. It saw some great days of your life and some amazing memories were made while wearing it. And some sad ones, too. And yes, I was wearing my nose ring on the day each of my sons were born.

Just take it out and be done with it, already? Is that what you're thinking? It's a lot easier said than done! Anyone else experience a similar silly, yet monumental decision/change?

Sick & Stuff

I am so happy to be home.

I never thought those words would come out of my mouth. But here we are.

My body decided it would hold off getting sick until the very end of our journey. Literally, 20 minutes before we touched down in Chicago from our California visit, my ear plugged up entirely. I thought it was just the cabin pressure that caused it to stay that way, but now we're going on 4 days and the other ear is now plugged as well. Along with flu symptoms and a nonstop running nose and the whole nine. It could just be a massive head cold, but it's bad. Thankfully, no fever.

Knock on wood, but the resilient 8-month old-- yes, EIGHT-- is still free of sickness as his obsessive mom is washing her hands 3.2 million times a day and sanitizing up to high heaven. B also had his flu shots (2!), but so did I. So much for that investment.

Wanna see a picture of the 8-month-old I speak of? Thought so.

This is what happens when I sit him down. Crankypants x10.

Took a little break, had some milk and now he's just copping an attitude.

You thought I'd keep this thing on? Riiiiight.

This will be in my mouth in approximately .5 seconds. Just so you know.

Notice the shoes. They're new. I'm probably more excited about him wearing shoes than anything I've ever bought him. Who would've thought they'd look so cute? I certainly didn't.

I am anxious to get back into cooking. I have a few recipes in the queue that I cannot wait to tackle when I don't feel like 10 sumo wrestlers are slamming bricks into my head. Until then, we're crock potting over here with yellow split pea soup (who knew there was a yellow variety?), bread, and frozen delicacies.

I missed a picnic with friends yesterday in unseasonably warm fall weather because of this stupid cold and watch... next week's going to hit freezing temps I'm sure, casting me inside for months to come. I'm determined to get B outside for a walk today.

Ever since we've been home, he's been a champion sleeper. Maybe he's making up for the sleep he lost while we traveled? 12+ hours at night with no wakeups and 2-3 hours naps. I'm not bragging... just beside myself at the change. Perhaps it's the non-drowsy Sudafed I've been taking that somehow makes it into my breastmilk and makes him drowsy? Taking care of a kiddo while you're sick is no simple task, but one I'm so freaking fortunate to have.

On our flight home from California on Sunday, he was Senior Crankypants and we thought it was just because he'd been off a normal schedule for so long. That could be a contributing factor, but then I discovered on Tuesday that he had broken through his first top tooth! Ah, so that explains things. I am the skeptic who is never quick to blame teething on his behavior changes, but this time, it really was the case. Those poor souls on the flight home with us. At least he's a cute little crankster.

I've been thinking of Andrew even more than usual lately. It's the seasons changing and being just over a month from his 2nd birthday that is still baffling to me. We're in talks of replacing his unfitting urn with one that fits. I think we'll make it happen around his birthday. I've even thought it would be nice to donate our former urn (is that gross?) to the funeral home for another family who may have lost their child and it be a good fit for them. We will be discussing our concern about them not notifying the family if the remains do not fully fit before they come to pick up their deceased child. Kind of a heavy topic for this post... not intended. Apologies for the abruptness of it all. It's just how my brain works nowadays living as a mom to one living and one passed. Not a whole lot of option in that reality.

Today is a whole lot of R&R around these parts. I'll post about Nashville and California soon. Off to make some dragon noodles for lunch.

Friday Mish Mosh

 I'm not sure I've ever even used that term before... or if I'm using it right. *Also, update: It's Thursday. Obviously I don't know what I'm talking about.

I spent the day celebrating the life of the man who I mentioned in my last post. I only shed a few tears at his funeral. Partly because it was so well done and more of a celebration than anything. It was incredibly special to honor such a wonderful person and the celebration of his life was perfectly done. It was uplifting and beautiful. I brought B with me and he was good for the majority of it, but like any 6-week old, we had our limits.

Yesterday morning I got up early and headed 10 miles away to drop off some breakfast treats for the staff at the school I was working at through my entire pregnancies with Andrew and B. These people have been remarkably sweet and supportive. They've lavished me with support in words and gifts and I'll always be so grateful how they embraced me in my broken state and allowed me to feel so valuable. When I walked back into the house around 7:30 a.m., I saw this:

 B was perfectly still and getting a manicure from his dad. It was freaking precious. Doesn't he look like such a balding old man? My son, not my incredibly handsome husband.

Ray's parents were in town for a few days and spent lots of good quality time with their grandson. B has now been held more by grandmas than he has slept in total number of hours. Hah.

Here's a Yoda outfit picked out by my FIL.

Ray's grandparents, Gramie and Papa bought B a plate just like Andrew's and the one we have from our wedding. Each of the three plates has the same bridge painted on it. The bridge is a symbol from the Japanese Garden where our wedding reception was held. Don't mind how ridiculously tired we look. We're totally exhausted, obviously.

 Going for a riverwalk...

As for B updates, he's sleeping just fine. Just one caveat-- he'll only sleep, night or day on someone. It's a bit challenging to say the least. But I am reminded that he won't be like this for long and at some point, I'll wish he wanted to be near me so often. Otherwise, he's doing great. We're headed on our first airplane ride this Sunday. Lord. Help. Us. and the people next to us on the plane. My current plan of action is to Ergo babywear him and attempt to breastfeed as long as possible on the plane if I can. And keep him covered from all the germies.

I made a delicious dessert from Pinterest the other day. I was definitely taking advantage of having a few extra hands around. This recipe turned out excellent:

No bake, Strawberry Icebox Cake

I even added my own personal touch-- almonds. I love the extra crunch. I made a mini version for us to keep and Ray told me that he would love for me to make it again. The graham crackers really did soften, but even about 36 hours later, they were not mushy and still had some texture to them. Next time I'll attempt to make it a bit healthier (not that much heavy whipping cream), but otherwise, it was fantastic and insanely easy. I allowed 5 hours in the refrigerator before eating to allow the crackers to soften enough to be cake-like.

Now that I've written about dessert, I'll mention that I'm so over maternity clothes. I've had my 6-week postpartum checkup and I'm either wearing maternity clothes (like to the funeral since I have no suitable bottoms for the occasion that I fit into), yoga pants, or jeans that are skin tight and uncomfortable. I've also been wearing maternity for the better half of two years. They're comfortable, but I'm ready to feel like myself in my own skin again. It seems I've even gained weight since a couple weeks ago. Sigh. I've been for about 5 jogs since B was born, but nothing longer than about 2 miles at a time. I was in incredible shape after Andrew was born and before B was conceived. I wanted to control something and was an exercising machine! I also went on a 3-month stint with no sugar or alcohol. I was in better shape than before I got married. I'm not expecting to be slimming down that much since I'm breastfeeding and simply don't have as much time (thankfully!), but I'd like to fit into my regular jeans comfortably enough. Once we get back from our little vacation to Savannah, I'm thinking about giving up all sweets again for a month.

We left B with my in-laws to go see the Hunger Games! We rarely see movies in the theater because I think it's expensive and germs are everywhere. But this movie... we saw! Since we both read the series (okay, I'm still 1/3 through Mockingjay since B was born earlier than expected.), we wanted to see how it measured up. We both agreed that it was excellently done. A couple tidbits:

• For the amount of violence in the book, they did an excellent job being tasteful about the whole thing.
• Haymitch? He totally didn't look like I pictured. I thought he'd be less Fabio-like. 

Sort of weird to end on that note, but anyway. That's all I've got right now.