Candy Corn Update

They are all gone.
They were delicious.
Told you they wouldn't make it to October.

Potty Update

An update for any of you who are interested. (Hey, Elise asked, so I'm posting!) BG is doing pretty well at the potty. She will notify me about half the time when she needs to go. She has even been pretty good about going at church the last few weeks. We bought the Pull-ups and they help as an incentive, but only some of the time. BG is pretty particular and lets up know when she wants to wear a diaper or a Pull-up. And if you try to get her to wear the other, watch out! If she is really into playing or anything else, she has a hard time breaking away to go potty. I think that's when we have accidents.

Still no success at #2 at home. She asks me to change her after she is done. She loves the M&Ms, so using those as a bribe are working out well. Sometimes I think she'll ask to sit on the potty just to get one, but we stick to the rule that she has to actually GO to get one. We brought the little potty onto the main level so there is a potty close by at all times.

Although daycare will help in the potty training effort, I keep wondering if that is inhibiting her progress. They have up to 6 other kids to watch and they potty/change diapers on a timetable. I keep wondering if I should take a few days (or a week) off work to stay home to do potty train. If she sat on the potty every hour would that help? She loves her big girl panties but not enough to keep them dry. So that's the update. Still working, but going well.

Random Cuteness

I have a habit of taking cute pictures of BG with the intent of posting them on the blog, but never doing it. So I thought I'd take some time tonight to post a few of the random samplings I've taken over the last few weeks. BG has become attached to this pink bear. She has had it for almost a year but just recently has really started to like it. This was one of those rare days she let me do something with her hair and she insisted on braids.


BG loves the TV. In fact, I think a little too much. Tonight after I told her No to watching her TV shows, she started asking to watch Mommy's TV shows. I had to get it on video. She was giving me the saddest puppy dog eyes, you'd think I was denying her food. Her favorite shows are Max & Ruby, The Backyardigans, and The Wonder Pets.


She loves to help in the kitchen. She will open the pantry door and ask to get her stool out to help. She is good at helping dump things into a bowl and stirring *kind of*. It's fun to have a little helper in the kitchen.

And one last tid-bit. She has taken to calling me "Nonny". I'm not sure why. She can say "Mommy" just fine.

Vacuum Giveaway

One of my favorite blogs, Mama's Losing It is doing this great vacuum giveaway. You can check out her site to read about it and enter, which I already have. I decided that even though my current vacuum is of decent quality, it would be nice to get another one for the upstairs. Getting the bedrooms vacuumed upstairs happens pretty infrequently since it requires me to lug our vacuum up the stairs. Plus the little lever that keeps your vacuum upright is broken. So it's always falling over at the most inopportune times. That makes it even more of a hassle to drag it up and down the stairs. So stop by Mama Kat's place for a visit and tell her I should win!

Family Photo

I have been wanted to do a family photo shoot for some time now. Thanks to my mom who helped us. We are still sifting through the pictures and will print some for the family photo wall that is yet to be started. But here is an example of what we did. Our first real family photo! The Man ever agreed that we should be taking family photos at least annually. Hurray!

Fall Decor

I love fall. And I love fall decorations. I have been so excited to get out my stuff. Today I finally got most of it put up (I'm holding off on a few Halloween decorations). We have these great bookshelves in that family room. Until now, they had stuff on them, but it had mostly just all been thrown together. It had always irritated me that it wasn't in any real placement and it's been on my to-do list. Today I got it done! I was so excited I had to share. Sorry some of the pictures are blurry; my camera is acting strange.

This is the mantle over the fireplace. I bought these leaf plates and think they are great! I also just got the vinyl lettering for the blocks and I LOVE it! More on that later.

Here is one bookshelf. I saw on some home dec show that organizing books by color is an nice aesthetical way to do it, so I thought I'd give it a try. I think it turned out well.

Here is the other bookshelf. Same color theme for the books on top. The Man asked why I choose those books to display and noted the variety of themes. He laughed when I told him I choose them because they all had black spines.
I had such a fun time decorating it makes me want to go buy more. And, I even dusted my shelves! For me, that is a pretty big deal. I inherited the anti-dusting gene from my mom.

Emotional Hotbed

My house is an emotional hotbed right now. But not for the reasons you might be thinking. It has nothing to do with the much debated presidential election. It's not the failing financial market either. No, it is a two year old girl who rules supreme at home.

BG has been incredible emotional the last few weeks. She will burst into tears for the slightest offense, sob when she doesn't get her way and has a meltdown when we try to discipline her. Since this is my first time having a 2-yr-old girl, my question for all your mothers out there, Is this normal?

She appears to be regressing in some ways and has formed a strong attachment to her blankies which she never had before. (Thankfully it can be any one of her six 'little blankies', not a certain one.) She is asking for a bottle again. If I didn't know better, I would think we had a new baby in the house and she is jealous of not being the baby anymore. I can assure you, the new baby theory doesn't pan out. So the thoughts on my mind are:
a- Is this a phase?
b- Is there something going on that is triggering this?
c- Could this just be normal 'terrible twos' kind of behavior?
d- How concerned do I, as a parent, need to be?

This all started about the time we switched her to a new day care and I wonder if that has anything to do with it. But she appears happy at daycare and likes going. Any thoughts from more experienced moms of girls?

Corn Candy

I love, Love, LOVE corn candy. I'm not sure what it is, but man, is it delicious. I love that when you bite into it, the different colors break off so nicely. I love the way it coats the back of your throat. They are perfect little triangles of heaven. I just bought myself a big bag of them today. A bag just for me that will stay in my desk at work. A bag that should last for months, but will be gone before October. The little pumpkins aren't too bad either. But, I draw the line at the so-called chocolate ones. They are nasty. When I bought a mix that included the chocolate ones I bit off the top two colors and threw away the bottom "chocolate" piece. Because it doesn't taste anything like chocolate. More like chalk.

I saw on another blog this great decoration made out of CORN CANDY! I briefly considered making one for my house but quickly realized that 1- I would eat it. 2- My husband would laugh at it. So instead, I will cut out the effort of making something yummy into home decor and go straight to eating it. Yum!

What is your favorite Halloween (or otherwise) candy?

Potty Time

Since my motherhood world is currently revolving around the potty I thought it deserved it's own post. I realize that unless you are a parent, (and maybe not even then) this conversation is not really one you want to hear. So if you don't care to hear about it, move along. Since I'm kind of lazy our list of what we're doing.

1. Bought three kinds of big girl panties. 1- The thick padded kind made of cotton. 2- Dora panties which she LOVES 3- Pull-ups
2. Sitting on the potty at every diaper change.
3. Dropping everything the moment she mentions the potty and go running.
4. Stickers for sitting on the potty.
5. M&Ms for going potty in the potty.
6. Lots of praise, clapping , and hurrays for going in the potty.

So far we've done pretty well. She's getting the hang of it more, but we're not to the point of actually wearing big girl panties all the time. She has wet every kind of panties we've purchased. She has recently coming to me right after she gets wet so it's a step in the right direction. Today she went potty at church which was great! Last week she went #2 at school which is the first time ever! I keep hearing that when they are ready, they'll pick it up. I hoping for that because I'm not really sure what else I should be doing. Wish us luck!

Warm Fall Days

Yesterday while I was weeding, this is what BG did.



Can you really blame a girl? It was a beautiful fall day. The sun was out, a breeze was in the air. After I realized she didn't have any sunscreen on, I was a little concerned. But I decided I didn't want to interup such wonderful peacful sleeping in the sun.

How Embarrassing..

I have been studying hard for the GMAT. I need lots of help with the math section because I have forgotten all math skills beyond addition. I realized what is really slowing me down is basic multiplication. So I printed out a multiplication table. Yeah. Like the ones 3rd grade kids use to practice with. To make matters worse, I'm carrying it around with me so I can study with any few minutes I have.

I feel like such a moron. Carrying around a multiplication table like a 9-year old.

What I Love About 2

Last night I was thinking how I really ought to spend more time in the moment and appreciate where BG is. Although 2 can be tough with all the "NO"s and "Myself!"s and "Mine!"s, there are some really fun things too. Here is a recent list of things I love.

1. Asking "What's that?"
2. Asking "Where people going?"
3. Insisting on a hug and kiss before bed from the non-bedtime parent. (This might just be a way to delay bedtime, but it's cute.)
4. Getting excited to wear Big Girl Panties.
5. Getting a "we-e-wem" for going potty in the potty. (M&M)
6. Her intense fear of all flying insects and the fact that she'll run to me and hug my leg.
7. Her love of vacuuming.
8. Her emerging mothering. She tells me her baby wants to color, watch TV, or eat fruit snacks.
9. Pointing out the horsies and duckies on the way to New School. The duckies are always still in bed in the morning but she asks for them anyway.
10. Hugging random toddlers who are playing near her.

Walking in the Dark

I am so proud of myself. Beaming in fact. I got up at 6:00 AM this morning to exercise. This is quite the accomplishment for me seeing as how I am such a princess and require, nay, DEMAND my sleep.

I was smart and laid out my work-out clothes last night in the bathroom. I got up and dressed and headed out the door. There was something peaceful about being outside alone, in the wee hours of the morning. It was still dark. I walked/jogged again and it was a little easier than last time. Got home and stretched (which is my FAVORITE part of any workout) then showered and got ready for work. I know I'm pathetic but I really am so happy that I actually did it! Exercising is hard for me. I'm secretly thinking about running the Half Marathon with The Man in April but I can't actually commit to it yet because I know he'll hold me to it. I'm not sure I ready for that just yet. We'll see if I can do this exercise thing on a consistent basis first.

The Man is always telling me I can find time to exercise if it's a priority. It's moving up on the priority list. Why you ask, now of all times to become important? Well, I had a small panic attack a few weeks back when I thought I was gaining weight. It was one of those moments when I realized I'm not 16 anymore and I'm going to have to start working for my body. I hate getting old.

Refurbished Frames

We FINALLY framed our diplomas. It's only been four years since I graduated; six and two years since The Man graduated (depending on which degree you're counting). So it was great to finally get nice frames and hang them. After each of our undergrad degrees, I made shadow boxes for the occasion. They include a picture, the program, cords, etc. The only problem is that the shadow boxes(light wood) didn't match the diploma frames (dark wood). I decided it couldn't be too hard to sand and stain the frames, so that's what I did. It really wasn't that hard, it just took a little time. The Man asked me if we spent more on staining supplies than it would have cost to just buy new frames. That wasn't really the point and I had a good time doing it.

Since I forgot to take a before picture, here is the back of the frame showing the old color. Yes, I was too lazy to stain the back of the frame. What's the point? No one is going to see that once it's hung!


And here is the beautiful after picture. The final coat stuff recommended three coats with light sanding in between each. I laughed at that. One cost is plenty for me. I want these off my kitchen table!


And here is the final product! I'm so excited to finally get all this stuff up on the wall. Those three pieces of paper represent a lot of time, money, sacrifice, blood, sweat and tears. It's worth displaying them because we are proud to have them.

Sweaty Part 2

For anyone interested, I didn't walk at work on my lunch break on Thursday or Friday. Meetings and other things came up. I did have my shoes with me, does that count for something? I did walk on Saturday morning a bit. There is a movie theater about a mile away so I walked there and back. I even jogged for a bit of it. I am so sadly out of shape that I am sore today from it. My thighs hurt and I have light shin splints. Wow, I need to exercise more often.

The hubby came home and told me he has decided to run the Capitol City Half Marathon next spring. As if he wasn't showing me up enough. Apparently a bunch of guys from his work have agreed to do it with him and one of the wives are on board too. So now he's pressuring me to "join the team". Yeah, I can barely walk 2 miles without huffing and puffing and he wants me to run 13?! He has obviously lost his mind.

Working Up a Sweat

My loving husband has been working really hard to exercise and lose weight. He has done an incredible job and is back down to his wedding-day pant size. Great job honey!

But now, he's. still. going. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for his being healthier, more physically active, and in shape. But now it's starting to make me feel bad. Not because I think I have weight to lose. More because he's making me look bad with all the gym-attending and early morning sit-ups and push-ups. It's drawing attention to my own lazy attitude toward exercise. Wait. Lazy isn't the right word. I'm not lazy, I'm just busy! Who has time to fit in a work-out when I work full-time, have a child, house, and husband to keep up with, running a business on the side and studying for graduate school. Whew, that wears me out just typing it! Truth be told, I'm making excuses. I have been lucky enough to be blessed with good genes that have never forced me to exercise to stay trim. Although I know that train will be coming to an end soon.

I just don't like working out. Which would I rather do? Go to the gym or play with BG? Go to the gym or get some housework done? Go to the gym or relax with a bowl of ice cream while watching Project Runway? All no-brainers. I keep telling myself I need to find a sport that I like so it won't feel like a chore, but is actually fun. I keep telling myself that if I could exercise at home, I would be more inclined to do it. I keep thinking we need to buy a treadmill or get the Wii Fit. The later requires the purchase of a Wii and $350+ sounds like a lot of money in hopes I would use it. Plus, does out house really need another gaming console? I think not. So instead, I do nothing. I keep eating ice cream. I watch my diligent husband trek to the gym everyday, and try to avoid watching him do sit-ups in the morning, so the guilt won't set in.

I did bring my walking shoes to work today in hopes of walking over lunch. I'll let you know how that goes...