Peace out, see ya in a week!

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I'll be doing these things until next Thursday.

Miss you.

See you next week!

Another thing to check off our summer bucket list and...random stuff.

On Tuesday, we checked more summer fun off of our list. We visited the historic Leo Carrillo Ranch in Carlsbad with some of our friends. It is such a peaceful place, little trails wind all over the grounds, a little pool, tons of peacocks wandering around and shade trees to sit under. Gabriel was the oldest child there and it was so sweet to see him sharing his goldfish with Ava and chasing after her and Raeley. It makes my heart melt to know that he will be (hopefully!) just as sweet with Jonas as he gets older. We had a great day and I'm looking forward to seeing them tomorrow for some water play at the park in Rancho San Diego!

I wish I could say that I'll be relaxing today, but since yesterday was completely unproductive since we had to go to San Diego for Gabriel's doctor's appointment, I have soooo much packing to do. We will be heading to the beach from Saturday through Thursday so it's likely that all will be quiet on the blogger front. I'm looking forward to signing off and out for a few days and relaxing with my family at Silverstrand. 

My parents go every year and last summer, Gabriel and I stayed with them while Adrian was partying it up in Vegas at a bachelor party. I was puking my guts out literally the entire weekend, in the throws of horrific morning sickness. This year will be the first time we're taking our own (loaner) RV, so we'll have plenty of space to be nice and comfortable. I am so excited! We'll be right on the beach for the Fourth of July fireworks and I know Gabriel is just going to have such a blast!

For those who sweetly emailed or commented about Gabriel yesterday, he is thankfully okay. They officially diagnosed him with asthma, so that and a combination of allergies and a lingering cold is what has been making it hard for him to breathe. I'm just it's not anything a little more serious (not that asthma isn't serious, but his case isn't), like I was previously thinking!

Okay...I can't prolong the packing anymore. I'm getting hate texts from my husband to get on with it...

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Sicky boy

I had intended to share pictures today from our playdate yesterday with two friends and their little babies but we're going to have to hightail it back (again) to San Diego. We had a total blast and I probably talked their ears off because I was just so excited to be around humans that were not related to me by blood or marriage [I swear I don't talk as much normally, I'm just starved of adult interaction].

Anyway, we're back off to the city because my poor baby's cough is starting to make me very nervous. I'm convinced it's walking pneumonia or RSV or whooping cough. It's hacking and phlem-y and painful sounding, and I just can't wait any longer to take him. He's supposed to have school today, but instead we're snuggling in our pajamas watching Lady and the Tramp until I can get a hold of Kaiser.

Telling me he wants to snuggle, eat cereal in my bed and NOT go to school.

Last night he snuck into our bed. Normally we take him back to his bed because otherwise, he'd do it every night. But this time, as soon as he got close to me I could hear him wheezing. Up to this point it had just been a nasty cough, so this freaked me out. When he climbed into my bed and snuggled in, I could tell he was short of breath. I gave him a couple puffs of his old inhaler and that helped a little but he was still uncomfortable and having a hard time sleeping. Of course after hearing how uncomfortable he was, I couldn't sleep because all I could hear were his short little breaths and tossing around.

So, we're off. Appointment at 11:15. Back to SD we go!

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

I'm off to San Diego today to go to Leo Carrillo Ranch with some mommy friends for a little play-date so I don't have time for a full on post. Gabriel and I thought it would be nice to make some cookies today and since we were given a huge box of lemons from my mother-in-law, lemon it was.

Obviously I found these Lemon Crinkle Cookies on Pinterest (because where else do people find recipes these days?) and they are hold-the-phone good. Seriously. I generally have the philosophy that fruit desserts are not desserts, but lemon is the exception.

Our batch made exactly 2 dozen. It probably would have made a few more but...well...we couldn't stop eating the dough. And I had to beat Adrian away with a stick so that we could have some for today. Seriously. Go make these right this second.

Waiting (im)patiently for our cookies to be done.

Please ignore my nasty chipped nails.

Dare I say this recipe has made it into my "must-always-make-because-they're-amazing" list?

What's your favorite dessert recipe?

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Water table play: check

On Friday, we checked off our water table play from the Summer To-Do List. This will obviously be ongoing because water play is the best kind of play! He hasn't played in it recently because with the random windy weather, tons of sand, dirt, grass, bugs, etc. had made it a real mess. It took quite a bit of work to get the thing clean!

We put Jonas to sleep, threw the pop-up tent up (well...sort of), slathered on some sunblock and got to business. 

Sticking your face in is apparently way more fun than playing with toys.

Have you checked anything off of your summer bucket list?

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An "appy" review: Time to Enjoy

I still consider myself to be new in town. I know, I know, technically I've been here for about nine months, but most days I still feel new. Gabriel, Jonas and I are always on the hunt for new things to do in the area (read: free or low cost), so of course I was intrigued when I was contacted to review a new iPhone/iPod application called Time to Enjoy.

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I looked up details for the app and it is something that I could seriously see myself using all of the time. Essentially, it pulls up a calendar and you click on a time. The app will then bring up all of the local events in your area INCLUDING HAPPY HOUR. Okay, you don't like happy hour. They thought of that. You can filter your results to bring up a combination of outdoor recreation and music/concerts. Want to see a movie? Of course they included the option to include showing times. They also included categories such as tours, museums, live theater and local attractions, among other things.

So they got me all excited about the happy hours and outdoor recreational activities and concerts and movies but a dark cloud moved into my happy-land. The Imperial Valley does not know how to use the internet (they live in the dark ages where you go in to businesses and talk to people). There is no way anything is going to show up because my city is no fun. Oh well, I'm thinking. I guess I'll give it a shot anyway, just to see. What do you think happened? Stuff showed up! These Time to Enjoy people know some sort of magic because I can't find that many things to do when scouring the internet. There's method to the madness and you can go here and click on "help" to read about it.

Things I Love About This App:

1. Actually finds things. Good things. Things all over my area.
2. Lets you select a mile radius to search within and you can change the city you want to search.
3. You can invite your friends to the events using text messaging, email, Facebook and Twitter.
4. It will sync to your calendars on your phone. 
5. Allows you to choose what type of events you want to see.
6. Gives all necessary info to attend the event: time, address, description, etc.
7. Oh, I forgot to mention. It's free. Hello best part for mamas on a budget. 

Things I Not So Love But Will Deal With Because I Love This App:

1. Release Android app!

Here is the best part. If you reader friends download the app (which you obviously should), you can enter the Time to Enjoy competition, hosted by uTemporis, Inc. All you have to do is like them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Take pictures at any event you attend that you found using Time to Enjoy. Upload them to Instagram using hashtag #timetoenjoy_app, tagging them in the photo from now until June 30th. You can win a $500 Amex gift card OR a $500 total voucher for hotel and airfare on Southwest Airlines and a complimentary day at the races at Del Mar Racetrack. Let the photo taking begin!

Tell me if you downloaded it and how awesome you think it is!

Money Saving Mom readers

Hi MSM readers,

I'm getting a lot of traffic from you so I thought I'd say hello! Thanks for hopping over from my post detailing the changes we made so we could go from two car payments to one.  It was the smartest decision we've made money-wise in a long time (correcting one of the  biggest financial mistakes we ever made).

I hope you'll choose to stay a while! You can find me blogging away here on Jess and the Boys, Twitter and Facebook.

Thanks again!

Steak lettuce wraps

One of my favorite meals out at a restaurant are lettuce wraps. No, not PF Changs'...that's everyone's response when I say that (except my B who KNOWS where the best ones comes from). You will find them at...the Cheesecake Factory. Very unsuspecting, right? Well, there's no way I could recreate them because they are amazingly fabulous, but I decided to shake my dinner menu up with the help of all of my Facebook friends by making my own version last night. They didn't disappoint and we all went back for seconds!

Ingredients

Marinade

4 garlic cloves
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 c. low sodium soy sauce

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Juice from half of a lemon or orange

Salt and pepper to taste

Other

3 sirloin steaks

1/2 large cucumber

2 carrots

Iceberg or bib lettuce

Peanut sauce (we used this)

Optional

Brown rice

Edamame

A few hours prior, put steaks in a ziploc with marinade and let sit. 

Once you are ready, grill the steaks on medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side. We used an indoor grill on the stove which is probably one of the best kitchen accessory investments we've ever made.

Julienne or shred your carrots and cucumbers. Or, if you're like me and have a handy-dandy brand-spanking-new food processor, use the shred level on it. I basically want to slice/chop/shred everything in sight right now just so I can use it.

When steaks are finished, let them rest for a few minutes and then slice them into chunks for easy lettuce-wrap-stuffing. Pile your lettuce wrap high with your carrots, cucumbers and peanut sauce. Take a biiiiig bite and enjoy the crunch of the lettuce, the sweet coolness of the cucumber and the juicy, tasty steak. Serve with brown rice and edamame (or broccoli and egg noodles?).

ENJOY!

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A woman asked me yesterday if parenting was hard

I lied to a woman in Macy's yesterday. I was cozied in the corner of the bathroom in one of those big comfy chairs nursing Jonas and I could see her peeking at me in the reflection of the mirror. At first I thought she might be one of those breastfeeding judgers since I was nursing uncovered due to the fact that it was hot as Hades in that bathroom.

I was sitting there trying to think of some witty comeback about her staring at my boobs when she asked me, "Does it hurt?" I responded with a, "Huh?" And she's like, "You know, nursing? Breastfeeding?" AKA that thing you're doing with your boob right this second. I said no because obviously I'm a seasoned breastfeeding vet and I could do it in my sleep...literally. She touched her stomach and said, "Oh, okay because this is my first and I'm really scared and I'm having a baby and alkjf;aejr;aekjr," or something like that.

I peeked around the stroller, expecting to see a big belly but it was flat as a board. I, of course, asked her how far along she was and when she was due - just 8 weeks along - so she's probably still really excited to bring it up to anyone who will listen that she's having a baby. For some reason, credit it to word vomit I guess, I told her, "Don't worry, it's easier than you think. I mean in general." She gave me this relieved smile like ohthankgodit'sgoingtobeokay.

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[Couldn't find the origins, so if someone sees it,
let me know and I'll give proper credit!]

After she left, I started asking myself why I told her that. It's not easier than you think and I basically just fed her the lie of the century. Parenting is by far the hardest thing you will ever, in your whole entire life, partake in. It is grueling and exhausting and rewarding and gut-wrenching and hard as hell, so why in the world did I tell her that it easy? When she's up five nights in a row, living on coffee and fumes, she's going to start cursing the day she ever ran into the girl nursing in the Macy's bathroom for telling her it was easy. Crap.

But really, I think there is something to be said for softening the heavy blow that comes with being a new parent. Instead of instilling fear around birth and newborns and toddlers and all of that, it's important to be supportive. To say, "Hey, you'll live. I did. You can do it." There should be camaraderie in motherhood. Everyone has their horror stories (uh, hello, I swore to my mom on February 17th of this year that I am not having any more children), but the important thing is that they will survive.

There will be tears, yes. Both by mom and baby. And late nights with no sleep and days you wish you could teleport back to 2004, when the only thing you had to worry about was what time you should head to the beach after class. But then there are the joys of your child learning his first word.  When they tell you how much they love you. Learning to walk and crawl and sing and dance.

I'm glad I lied to her. Maybe she won't remember me at all or maybe she'll think I'm crazy. I know she'll hear lots of bad stuff along the way, but I hope she remembers that even though it's really hard, it's easier than you think. Just look at your sweet baby's face.

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Summer fun to-do list

I've finally gotten around to making our fun to-do list! This certainly isn't all-inclusive, but is a good jumping off point. We've enlisted some friends, new and old, and some family to join along on our little summer adventure.

We'll be taking lots of pictures and sharing our fun! We're checking off the first new one (we've already been doing Tuesday movies, splash pad and story time) next week when we meet up with Bianca and her sweet little girl to roam around Leo Carrillo Ranch.

What are your summer plans??

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Birthday celebrations and Father's Day

I mentioned the other day that Adrian gave me tickets to see Donovan Frankenreiter for my birthday. The venue was so unsuspecting, nestled inside of a little strip mall in San Juan Capistrano, but when you walked inside, it was like you were in an old wharehouse. We ate some tri-tip (okay, and some nachos), drank some tasty adult beverages, enjoyed being baby-free for a few hours and swayed to the tunes. Soaked up the good vibes. Listened to Donovan's sultry-sweet voice. Got a new awesome mustache t-shirt and some free swag.

It's funny how, after being married for a while and especially after having kids, how our idea of a date night has changed. In our younger days, an evening out like this would have involved lots of spilled drinks, an alcohol haze, a rowdy bar after the show and sleeping in all morning, probably prepping for another long night. Those days have long been traded for rushing home, snuggling up with our babies, waking up early to nurse and cuddle and watch some Jake and the Neverland Pirates. I like this life. I will happily give up a lifetime of fun nights followed by brain-numbing hangovers to spend my mornings with Jonas, Gabriel and Jake.

On Sunday morning, my dad, Adrian and brother went golfing while us women prepped for their big day. I made some bomb.com crab cakes by the one and only Paula Deen. We swam (got stung by a bee, I forgot how damn bad that hurts!), we lounged, we let babies and boys swim all day. Showered the men with lots of love and beverages. It was a day full of lots of love and I'm so thankful that my boys have such a funny, laid back, smart role model to look up to for the rest of their lives, just like I'm grateful for my own role model - my dad. I realize more and more, just how alike we really are and I couldn't choose anyone better to follow.

How was your weekend/Father's day?

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Happy Friday and a kiddie boredom buster

Okay seriously, I don't know why but this week FLEW BY. I'm having a hard time understanding how today is Friday, but man I love me some Fridays. Today we're going to return some books to the library, get new ones and walk across the street to splash around in the splash pad. I'm really excited! This has become our Friday tradition and I love it because it tires Gabriel out enough to not fight me around nap time.

Tonight we're doing who knows what (I suggested backyard camping, but Adrian says it's too damn hot for that. I saw phooey!) and tomorrow we're off to San Juan Capistrano for the Donovan Frankenreiter concert, ahhhh!!! On Sunday, we'll be celebrating my two favorite fathers - my own awesome dad and my lovely husband.

Okay, onto the little boredom buster...

Potato Stamping and Golf Ball Painting

Gabriel likes to be crafty, kind of like his mama. He also cannot sit still and when dinner rolls around, if I don't have something distracting him, I will have him crawling up my legs while I'm trying to cook. Literally. This is especially disconcerting when I'm cooking something that crackles and pops! 

One of the activities he really enjoys at school is painting and lucky for him, we have a crap ton of it in the house. Two days ago, I was trying to start dinner but I had him entwined around me, all up in my personal space. Would not let me do anything. This is him, "Mommy. Mom. Mama. Maaaama. Mum mum mum. Mom. What are you doing? Can I help? Can I sit up here? Can I touch this? Can I do that?" And it goes ooooonnn and ooooon and oooonnn. 

And then I saw the sprouting potatoes in my pantry...hmm...I vaguely remember seeing something like this on Pinterest. I pulled out his paints. Grabbed a plastic drawer and a golf ball (could use marbles, but we don't keep them around. Too small for little baby mouths to get a hold of) from one of our sets of standing drawers. Pulled some scrap paper off of the top of the printer. Chopped off the sprouts and started carving. Voila!

Hello, kept him entertained for at least 10 minutes while I got dinner started!

Took all of five minutes to get it set up!

In a couple of days, I'm going to post our Summer Bucket List that I've created. We have some field trips, activities and crafts planned. I can't wait!

Have any good suggestions or crafts for keeping kiddies entertained? Please share!

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Zucchini lasagna

I have an unhealthy obsession with zucchini. I don't know why, but I love the stuff. It sits at the top of my list of favorite veggies along with asparagus and tomato, and pretty much every new dish I come up with has some good 'ol zuchs in it.

For my birthday two days ago, I had a major hankering for lasagna but wasn't really feeling like I wanted the weight of the pasta in my dish. Recently I made this poblano and corn casserole (okay, it's a lasagna. I'm not sure why I'm obsessed with lasagnas right now!) that had thinly sliced zucchini in it and I had a thought. A brilliant thought! Why not use zucchini thinly sliced in place of pasta? It just so happened that I had four bright, fresh zucchini sitting in my refrigerator, just waiting to be used.

If you like lasagna, you will love this. If you like zucchini, you will love this. I wouldn't necessarily consider it much healthier with the substitution of the veggies, but it made me feel just a little bit better knowing I wasn't eating 12 pounds of pasta.

I'm just going to say it...I didn't get any pictures. Plus, any pictures I would have gotten would not have done it justice. Gabriel ate this without complaint. Without crying. Without having to be fed. That's a lot considering we generally have to resort to the airplane in order for him to finish dinner.

Recipe
4 zucchini (I would guess you'd need about 15-20 slices, though my zucchini were small)
Sweet italian sausage
14 oz. ricotta cheese
1 egg + 2 egg yolk
1 c. parmesan
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt
1 pinch nutmeg
1 bag mozzarella cheese
Fresh basil (optional)
Marinara (or I used jarred pasta, came out delish!)
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Use 9x13 dish.

THE FIRST STEP IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP. DO NOT SKIP IT. Okay, sorry for yelling but this is muy importante. Slice your zucchini into thin strips. Give them some salt and let them rest for 30 minutes. They are like eggplant. They hold in a lot of water and after the salt has dried them up a little, you need to pat/squeeze them dry. If you do not, you will have soup-y, runny lasagna. I did and it was a dumb move. (Still amazingly delicious)

While you are letting your zucchini rest, brown your sausage. I took it out of the casing so that it was crumbly and spreadable. Combine your ricotta, egg+egg yolks, parmesan, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a bowl. Once your zucchini and sausage are ready, you can begin to assemble.

It goes a little something like this: thing layer of pasta sauce, zucchini, ricotta mixture, a little mozz, sausage. Repeat. A yummy layer of mozzarella and parmesan on top.

Bake for 50 minutes covered with foil. We sliced up some french bread, sprayed with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray and garlic powder, switched on the broiler to 525 and let them crisp up for a few minutes. Once they are done, you can pull them out, uncover the lasagna and let the cheese get bubbly and delicious and brown.

You are done. Now eat.

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I had a birthday yesterday

I turned 26 yesterday. Twenty-six. It feels old, even though I'm fully aware it's not (I mean, Adrian is 30! HAH!). Sometimes I still feel like I'm 16, trying to figure out life again. Soul-searching and wriggling around, trying to understand where I fit in this world. Is that weird?

Anyway, yesterday. It was fun. It was relaxing. It was perfect and exactly how I wanted to spend my day. I woke up (early, as usual, the show must go on, even if it's my birthday!) and got ready, took my boys to go see the dollar movie at the theater, Happy Feet 2. It was weird, but whatevs. Adrian worked from home and we relaxed together, watching Master Chef while the boys napped.

When Gabriel woke up, we baked a delicious cake with chocolate frosting and made some tasty zucchini lasagna, a recipe I'll be sharing maybe later today. Sister bought my flowers and an awesome hat that I'll be debuting on our beach vacation later this month and husband surprised me with great tickets for this weekend! I'm one lucky girl!

Donovan Frankenreiter's music is so peaceful and romantic; one of my favorite songs by him is a song that Adrian sweetly dedicated to Gabriel when he was first born...

You can call me papa  

And I'll call you baby

Don't forget your mama's my, baby too

Wherever you go, whatever you do

I will be there, I'll be there for you

We closed out the day with a slumber party downstairs since our upstairs air is out, watching movies and eating cake. It was such a snuggly, happy way to end my first day of 26.

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Blog Star: I'm Jess!

Hi Everybody! I'm Jess and this here is my little spot in the blogosphere to share, well, whatever comes to mind! I'm happy to link up with Mrs. Monologues - she picked the perfect day to share lots of blog love because it's my birthday! 

I blog about my exciting, thrilling, over the top life as a stay-at-home mom and wife. I'm a San Diego transplant who is trying to figure out how to live out in the desert of Southern California. Up there in that picture is my husband, my heart, my comic relief and rock of our family.

These are my two boys:

I enjoy ice cold brews (the occasional glass of wine!), good movies, outdoor concerts, spending time with all of my boys and dipping my toes in the ocean. I want everyone who stops by my little world  to feel like they're sitting across from me, enjoying a latte and some laughs. 

Some of my favorite posts:

About boobs (breastfeeding)

Giving up sweets (sucks)

How awkward I can be

Different adventures

Parenting two kids

I hope you'll poke about and if you want to keep up with me and my boys, follow along by GFC, Twitter, Facebook, or whatever!

Learning gratitude

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I have days when staying at home with my boys doesn't feel like enough. I know you're thinking, "How can she say that about those beautiful boys?" It honestly is hard to even share that I feel that way, since there is this expectation that moms are supposed to love and enjoy every second of being home. Especially because of the fact that I even have the opportunity to do so when so many don't! A few weekends ago, I went through all of my old posts from back when I was working and there were so many places that I read words that I had written about missing my boy and how I yearned to be home with him.

Looking back, all I remember is the pleasure I took in working, but I think I have forgotten all of the distress that comes with leaving your family every day. I've forgotten what it was like to rush around, ushering my child in and out of cars, quick goodbye kisses and tears, an unkempt house, scrambling to throw together meals, hurried conversations with Adrian in between work and laundry and the bustle of life.

Oftentimes, I find myself dwelling on minor frustrations and I've realized over the past few days that I'm missing the bigger picture. The one that is sitting right in front of my face but I'm too busy. I am so focused on the minute details, the bowls that are left around the house and socks that aren't picked up, that I've forgotten that I am blessed, probably far more than I deserve. It's easy to speak words, saying that you're ungrateful and that you're going to be better about showing your appreciation, but it's much harder to teach yourself to truly be grateful for all of the good around you.


I believe that there is a direct correlation between gratitude and happiness. My biggest fear is that I will spend these precious days too wrapped up in wishing for the other side of the fence that I will miss out on the greatness of my own side. I have decided to make an active effort to be thankful for what I have.

My approach to gratitude:

1. I have started keeping a 3-sentence journal: I am thankful for ____ about my husband. I am thankful for ____ about my children. I am thankful for _____ about life. 
2. Really, truly looking at my children's faces. Listening to them. Drinking in and soaking up the moments with them instead of being concerned with the little details.
3. Prayer. This is something new for me because I don't pray enough. Usually I'll throw up a quick thank you or please can  you help me with this, but I need more. 
4. Reminding myself every day that it is more important for my family to feel loved than it is for my house to be perfect. 
5. Saying thank you. To my husband, to my kids, to my sister, to the people around me. Practice thankfulness and you will be thankful.

They say that awareness is the first step in growth. 

I know this ish got serious but don't worry, it's over for now. Tomorrow's my birthday and who wants to be Debbie Downer on her birthday? Not this girl.

Five months old

Every day I live in awe of this sweet little boy and his ability to light up the room. He brings such joy to our lives and I'm so thankful for his gooey delicious cheeks and happy demeanor. He is perpetually learning new things; I love watching his eyes light up as he is beginning to understand this world. It is hard for me to fathom that it was just five short months ago that he came into this world because for me, it is like he's always been here. I suppose he has always been a part of me.

Stats

Height: 29.5 inches, 97th percentile

Weight: 22.8 pounds, 97th percentile

Diaper size: Size 4

Clothing size: 12-18 months

Likes: Having his shirts taken off (he giggles so sweetly, it must tickle), wriggling around, when mama makes silly faces at him, taking a bath so he can kick at the little toys, looking at himself in the mirror, to hold and chomp on anything in sight, eating (shocker!), blowing raspberries and sticking out his tongue

Dislikes: Being left alone for too long, when he can't see mama, when Gabriel makes loud noises and scares him, teething

Special notes: We are in yet another month of exciting, new, fun things. He has eaten an array of homemade foods this month: bananas, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, asparagus, broccoli and squash - with no favorite! He is such a great eater. He is almost at the point where he can sit on his own, although right now he gets squished in half and kind of rolls to the side. I imagine that any day now he will start rolling all over the house since he is getting very close to rolling from his back to his tummy. He has already mastered the tummy to back roll...I fear that our immobile baby will soon be very mobile. He has started doing this screechy little dinosaur scream when he's hungry or tired which is...cute. Sort  of. He's still sleeping pretty consistently through the night, though every now and then he'll wake up to eat, or more, to soothe, because I think his bottom gums are starting to bother him.

One month old.

Two months old.

Three months old.

Four months old.

The clique that I am not a part of...yet

We actually made it to story time at the library two weeks ago. Shocker, I know. Normally I flake out on everything but because Gabriel has had a hard time adjusting to preschool, we figured he needs to partake in more structured activities.

We got to the library (early, because I'm a freak like that), sat down and the other parents started trickling in, babies and toddlers in tow. They all kind of seemed to know each other even though this program just started at the library. After the craft and singing and story, one of the moms exclaimed, "Alright everyone, see you at the Treehouse!" I was kind of like the nerdy girl standing outside the circle of cool girls in high school, desperately waiting to be asked to join in the conversation.

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I mentioned a while back that I met this girl at the park who told me about the Family Treehouse. We never ended up going because I'm scared of interacting with people and it costs about $50 a month, not a huge deal, but we're already paying for preschool, plus getting ready to put Gabriel into swim and gymnastics this summer.

Turns out, this Treehouse place is like the hip hangout for moms. I mean, I can totally understand why, since it corrals your child into a padded room, distracting them with about a zillion toys and allows moms to have some social interaction.

I think we're going to try it out by going at least once this summer to see what it's all about and perhaps - I'm not making any promises here - make some friends and if it all works out, join the Treehouse. Maybe. My one hesitation about actually joining if is the off-chance that I decide to go back to work, I wouldn't be able to take him anyway. I guess a nanny could though, who knows.

Now I'm really going to work on my awkwardness because I don't bombard some unsuspecting victim this time so that I can be a part of the cool crowd.

Girlfriend needs to brush her hair

I'm not the first mom to admit that she might, possibly, perhaps, maybe let herself go a little tiny bit when she had kids. The first year staying at home with Gabriel I was a recluse, I barely left my house to get groceries, let alone be seen in restaurants, Target or the park. Didn't do much for my sanity or the extra 20 pounds of muffin top that had sidled it's way around my belly either.

A close friend from college who had just had a baby traumatized me right before I had Gabriel by saying that her husband told her he didn't find her attractive because she never put effort into herself. So, no matter if the house was a disaster or the laundry was piled up, one thing I always did was put on make-up.

When I was working most recently, I had to be presentable every day. You know, wear something other than yoga pants or loose dresses (luckily by this point I had lost the muffin topsssss). I had to wear make-up and heels and until I got pregnant with Jonas and could barely keep my eyelids up everyday, I really enjoyed doing so.

Now I've been home with the boys for a total of 8 months. I wake up every morning between 5 and 6 and then this whirlwind happens - there are lunches and coffee and breakfast to make, babies to feed (and feed again because Jonas is a little chubbo), dishwashers to load, Lucky Charms to scrape off of the couch (and child), babies to dress and then put down for naps, toys to clean up, boys to take to school, groceries to buy, laundry to do...you get the drift.

I looked in the mirror this morning after I took Gabriel to school and put Jonas down for a nap. It's a little embarrassing to admit I didn't actually take a look at myself until after 8:30am. My hair looked like this:

I don't know where this image is from originally, this is where I found it.

I swear small animals could have been hiding in it. I was mortified that I had actually walked out in public looking like this. Something must be done about this new "mom fashion sense" I've developed. So my goal, along with my no sugar deal (which by the way, I'm on day 4 and doing AWESOME), is to make myself presentable every day. Make-up. Jeans. Decent, normal shirt (read: no spit-up or stains). 


Lofty goals, right?

First Guest Post - Romance on a Dime

Good morning, friends!

Like I mentioned yesterday, I had the pleasure of guest posting for [the lovely] Betsy over at Romance on a Dime this morning. She let me ramble on about my "life binder," basically my lifeline at home where I keep everything from bills to calendars to coupons. I'm a nerd like that. Go check it out!

Guest post over at Romance on a Dime.

Joining in on the (not so) fun: giving up sweets

I'm a sweets monster and it's really bad. I'd rather forgo having lunch so I can have ice cream or pass up dinner for a cake mug. It's something that I've let get a little out of hand and I need to rein myself back in because if I keep eating this way, especially with Jonas nursing a little less now that he's starting on solids, I'm going to turn into the Pillsbury Dough girl. A 600 pound woman. A blimp.

Now it's summertime and I still haven't lost the last five pounds of my pre-baby weight [let alone the additional 15 that I need to...]. So without further ado, my plan, motivated by the lovely Mrs. M.'s challenge,  is...dun, dun, dun...

to give up sweets for 30 days!

[and working out at the very least, 3 times/week]

Okay, honestly, the idea of giving up sweets sends cold shivers up my spine but girl's got to do something! Mrs. M. is intense and awesome and is giving up a ton of stuff that I'm fully aware I might die if I did [aka, Diet Coke and eating out], but I figure this is a really good start to getting my diet in check. 

But Jessica needs to catch the skinnies too
original image via

I'm giving myself one cheat day, once a week - one sweet treat, not a full day of sweets - because a) we're in birthday month and mama wants her cake and b) if I don't have a sweet treat in sight, I might break down, go on a major binge and send myself into a sugar-induced comatose state.

And the awesome to my sucky is that my friend, Brittany [mom by day, fitness trainer extraordinaire/health nut/culinary student by night], promised that she is revamping her blog and will be featuring healthy recipes and fitness tips. So basically I'm just going to copy everything she does. 

Anyone else want to join in? 

It could be fun! NOT. 

P.S. - Unrelated to the skinny skinny, I'll be guest posting on Romance on a Dime tomorrow, make sure to check it out! I'll post the link tomorrow.