Spring........

So, Spring is here and with that comes my long list of things I want to clean or organize. I usually make long lists and make sure that I include, "everyday tasks" that way when I haven't exactly accomplished all the others at least I have managed to "sweep." I know I'm only cheating myself, but whatever! I've also noticed that over the years my spring list becomes a lot of chores for Morgan. LOL, he's lucky he has me to keep him on track ;)

My mom gets here tomorrow and I used that as a good excuse to get started on parts of my list. One of my items was to get a better hold on Madeleine's drawers and closet. She manages to get into her dresser everyday and pull everything out and drag it around the house. I will find shorts outside, in her toy box, and under my bed. By the end of the evening I've manged to throw everything all bundled up into a drawer. Not only is this a problem, but I actually haven't put away any of her old clothes away in storage boxes. So, she has tons of old sizes in her dresser and closet. I knew it was a problem when, I put her in a shirt that was a 12 month size and it became a belly shirt. She kept sticking out her belly and rubbing it, hahaha! She looked like a little Buddha ;)

So, today Morgan was nice enough to take Madeleine out for pretty much, all day while I cleaned out her room. It was almost therapeutic. I folded and color coordinated her dresser and closet. Put away old clothes and reminisced about those cute little outfits. I even managed to find some clothes I apparently bought a while ago that are her size now. Bonus! Lets just hope this little lady can stay out of mischief and keep her drawers organized!

Also, while they were gone I managed to clean my fridge and freezer, sweep, mop, vacuum, clean my make-up container, and all kinds of other things! It's been a while since I've cleaned the house by myself. When I'm cleaning the bathroom, I'm usually running back and forth from the living room to the bathroom to make sure she's not getting into anything. It's exhausting! The only thing missing from my kid-free cleaning session was a cocktail. But, I'm pretty sure if cocktails were involved I wouldn't have gotten most of this done. But, Beyonce' and I were singing a couple of duets together!

While Beyonce' and I were cleaning our little hearts out <insert pity> Morgan and Madeleine were apparently having a blast. They went to the park, went downtown and had lunch, washed my car and even went to a late, late lunch. Ugh! I know this is going to sound petty but, I kind of wanted Madeleine to give him a hard time. HAHA. I know, I know, that's mean. But, I'm being honest! She will give me the hardest time, all day and, she is with him all day, and she is a little angel! She even managed to eat!! He took her to get a burger and she actually ate a little. Granted, I don't want her to eat burgers but, the fact that she tried something new and didn't put up a fight, really pisses me off! Lol. I made that girl a sandwich and used a cute little flower cookie cutter to make it more appealing and she turned her nose at it. So, yes, yes I wanted him to struggle a little! I will admit that it looks like she is enjoying herself.....

 I'm going to call it a night because we have a big day tomorrow! Granny is coming to town!

Avocado Pudding......

Well, in case you guys were wondering, Madeleine's still on a milk strike. That little girl is a stubborn one. I wonder where she gets it from? I'm guessing her father ;) I did manage to get her to drink a few smoothies with milk, so that's something. On a more positive note, she is eating more. Not significantly more but more than usual, and that's progress!

Last post I mentioned that I came across this pin on Pinterest about picky eaters. She had some great recipes and I tried one out today. Avocado Pudding. I know what you're thinking....YUCK! I was extremely skeptical and in my mind I immediately was saying, "Oh hell no! This is going to be nasty!" The picture she posted made it look appetizing. So, I gave it a shot.

(Sorry, the light in my kitchen is horrendous! It kind of just looks like poop. HA!)

My verdict: Delicious!!!! And the best part, Madeleine LOVED IT!!! Her little lips were covered in pudding. It definitely had a peanut butter richness to it, so if you like peanut butter this recipe is for you.

Avocado Pudding: Recipe from thediva-dish.com/

1/4 cup Peanut Butter (I bet it would taste great with almond butter, yum)

1/3 cup Agave nectar

1/8 cup Cocoa powder

1 medium avocado

1 tbsp Coconut oil

1 tsp Vanilla extract

dash of salt

Mix all ingredients in food processor or blender.  

*I added a splash of water to make it a tad bit smoother

In other "news" I have started binge watching Orange is the New Black. It makes me want to never, ever, ever break a law again! I mean, not that I was smuggling drugs or anything, hahaha. But, I don't even want to get a speeding ticket for fear of getting thrown in jail. I know, I'm dramatic! 

Well, I'm starting to ramble. See you tomorrow.

Don't Drink Your Calories......

We've all heard the saying, "Don't drink your calories!" We've heard it from doctors, trainers, nutritionists, Dr. Oz and even those people that share their wisdom with us on Facebook. There are days were I would happily drink mine and Morgan's daily calorie intake in the form of alcohol. But, I'm not writing about my possible problem ;)

In our family, the worst offender is, Madeleine! If we'd let her she would gladly give up all solid foods for milk. She could be a on a "Got Milk" ad. This past weekend, we decided to cut down her milk intake to only at night and in the morning. It didn't go as well as we hoped. There were some skipped naps a few little meltdowns but nothing drastic.

Then on Sunday we decided to throw her another twist... take away her bottle! Now, some of you may judge me because she is still using a bottle at 18 months. You know what I say? Don't talk to me because I honestly don't care! HAHA, no seriously! I know that I had been putting this off for a while. She will use her sippy cups that have a straw, for water all day and has been using one of those since she was around 6 months. But, she would never take her milk in them. I tried lots of times, but she would take a sip, and then make a "bitch face" and start to cry. The girl loves her bottles!

Taking away bottles + decreasing milk intake= END OF THE WORLD FOR MADELEINE!!!
We didn't do this to be cruel (although in her mind, we are the worst parents alive!), but we wanted her to eat more solid foods. I'm not trying to make her eat like a 250 lbs man, but eat more than a baby bird. We'd also like to expand her palette a little more. She will consistently eat about 15 things, but the girl cannot eat spaghetti every night of the week! Lol

We are on day and night two. She has refused to have any milk from a sippy cup! Last night, she woke up crying every two hours because she wanted milk from a bottle. I almost caved on my 6th time of getting out of bed, but I stuck to my ground. I did offer her milk in a sippy cup but she flat out refused. She finally fell asleep at 3:30 and slept til 8:45am. And so did mommy!!! I think she tired herself out, because she napped for 3 hours today. I even took a 45 minute nap, and anyone that knows me, knows I am a horrible napper! It brought me back to those newborn days. YIKES!!!! This morning was a little rough, but I did notice that she ate more solid foods through out the day. But of course, she refused milk from a sippy cup all day! But, I think she is about to break soon. I just went in there (I've been trying to write this post for 2 hours now!), and she took a few sips from the cup! Progress!!!

During one of my browsing sessions on Pinterest, I came across this pin that had great ideas for helping a picky eater. I also loved how she helped her daughter eat broccoli. I am definitely going to try.

As anything in life, especially with a child, it is a work in progress. There will be good days and there will be bad days. And most importantly, my mom will be here next Monday to help!!! And I have no idea how often she is gong to wake up tonight. I better try to get some sleep!

Good night!

P.S. I made that homemade play dough and it was super easy! For some reason my colors didn't turn out as vibrant as her's, but it still came out great. I did use gel food coloring, but I probably didn't add enough. We are going to play with them tomorrow. We were too busy trying to survive without a bottle today!

Sunny Days......

This past week, we have had the most amazing weather EVER!!! Gorgeous, sunny with a little wind to keep it nice, with temperatures in the high 70's. You cannot get better than what we have! With all that bragging, we have been outside everyday. The beach 3 times this week, parks galore and lots of running. I'm pretty sure I will get spoiled with this weather. I am already spoiled by living 2 blocks from the beach. And, I'm pretty sure this little diva is already spoiled......

In other news, we have decided on a Dallas trip for the month of June! YAY!!!! Of course, it's in one of the hottest times in Texas but, I am excited about eating queso, salsa, Mexican food, and BBQ. AND MARGARITAS!!!!! Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'll come back to Cali a little heavier! 

Well, I've been putting off making this homemade play dough all week because of the beautiful weather.  So I'm going to attempt to make it tonight.

Hope you all had a great weekend! See you tomorrow.

Good Days......

These past few days, Madeleine  has been feeling a lot better! Less whiney and more back to her happy self. Believe it or not, I get a lot of compliments on how she is just a happy baby. (If they only saw the gremlin side). So, with her feeling better I have been able to do a little more. And by more, I mean trips to Target and park trips. Yesterday, I was so proud of myself because I went to Target and only spent $22!!!! And, I was in there for only 20 minutes. I was so impressed with myself. I told Morgan and he says, "Maybe you can do that more often?" HAHA! Fat chance, buddy! And don't make me back slap you, LOL.

The weather here has been absolutely gorgeous! We have spent most of our days outside either at the playground, beach or just in our backyard. Madeleine loves our new patio furniture. She likes to sit on the chairs and eat her lunch like a big girl. She pretty much demands it....she will go to a chair and pull it out and say "papa!" which means, food. She is just the cutest! Today, we are going to go down to the beach and take advantage of this 75 degree weather. I also don't have to make dinner tonight so that's even more of a score! But, the other day I did make these tasty tacos along with the recommended homemade peanut sauce and roasted brussel sprouts. Delish!

While browsing Pinterest, the other day, I came across this pin for some homemade play dough. I have not introduced Madeleine to play dough because I was pretty sure she'd attempt to eat it and I was waiting for the weather to be nice so we could play with it outside. I like this recipe because if because if she decides to put it in her mouth, I know exactly what's in it!I'm going to try to make it tonight or tomorrow.

Well, I hear the little angel waking up so I'm going to keep this one short. And yes, she slept in today!!! Yay for mommy!! Have a good day!

Weekend Wrap Up......

I'm going to make this a quick and short post. We had an awesome weekend. On Saturday, I went for a run on the beach by myself. It felt so weird to run without having to push the jogging stroller. I didn't know what to do with my hands, hahaha. After my run, I headed down to the beach for some much needed relaxation. Within 30 minutes of being alone, I felt so guilty for not having Madeleine with me. I ended up only spending 2 hours by myself and then summoned Morgan to bring Madeleine down to the beach. That girl loves the beach!

After the beach we headed home to put her down for a nap and while she napped we sipped on margaritas! Oh, it was sooooo perfect! It was like being on vacation! I am loving that the weather is warming up. I can't wait to be beach bums this summer!!

Well, that was our weekend. I pretty much needed that because Morgan's work schedule this week is bleh! There will be lots of mommy and Madeleine time. Hopefully, she'll be a good little angel!!! Wish us luck!

Breakdown.........

As I have mentioned in previous posts, we have been dealing with the terrible monster known as, TEETHING. She has her molars coming in and this is the worst it has ever been. When her first 8 teeth came in, it was relatively smooth. She was a tad bit fussier than normal but nothing that would make me want to throw myself out of a window (like with molars!).

Yesterday started off as a good day for us. I was able to fit a nice long run in, some playground time, and managed to clean parts of the house. She finally went down for her nap, and again I was able to squeeze some cardio-kickboxing in during that time and start prepping dinner. So far so good. She had only been fussy/whiney a few times, which was an improvement from the days before.

And then, SHE WOKE FROM HER NAP! And apparently, all hell broke loose in her world. From the moment I grabbed her from her crib she started crying. And not just a little whimper, it was a a cry from the depths of her belly. A cry that I'm sure some neighbors heard (I had to close the windows and doors). A cry that actually gave me shivers down my spine. OK, I think you get the point.

Nothing could console her! I tried to hold her and she'd stop for 30 seconds, I tried music, cartoons, milk, food, and I even tried just letting her cry on her little chair. There wasn't anything that was working! She had been crying for 30 minutes straight when Morgan walked through the door. I was so happy to see that man! He tried all his tricks, but those weren't working!

During this time I was trying to attempt to cook dinner. Of course, I realized I needed an ingredient that I didn't have. So, off Morgan went to the store. I was so sad to see him leave, he was my life vest. It was the longest 15 minutes of my life! I finally had to put her up on the counter so that I could continue to cook. She let up for about 20 minutes and I thought we were out of the woods. Mind you, this had started at 4:30 and it was now 6:30!

Dinner was ready and I thought for sure she'd be hungry from all that screaming she had done for 2 hours. NOPE! Homegirl was even louder at the table and refused her food. We tried to let her just cry it out at the table, but we couldn't even hear each other over her screaming. And then before I knew it I was crying. Tears were just flowing from my eyes like a pipe had burst. The look on Morgan's face was priceless. Here he was, looking at his daughter scream her head off and his wife about to throw herself out the window. He immediately got up from his chair and food and took Madeleine to another room to calm her down. Now, anybody that knows my husband knows that was huge because he loves his food!! HAHA. I'm so glad that he knew what to do and sprung into action.

This was a culmination of the past two weeks and being frustrated because I can't do anything to help soothe her. It kind of brought me back to her infant days when she had colic for 3.5 months. YIKES! Yesterday was just the day that mommy needed to cry it all out and let it go. I will admit that there are times when I hold a lot of feelings, emotions, frustration inside and I usually have a little breakdown aka crying moment. They've happened a little more than I'd like to admit, now that I am a mom. But, I'm human and know that most moms go through things like this. Motherhood is not easy but just like the colic days, we will get through it. I may have a few more grey hairs than I wanted but we will survive.

After we put Madeleine to bed, Morgan said, "I'm gonna take Madeleine Saturday to go run and to the park. You can have some alone time, if you'd like." God, I love this man. He knows exactly what I need and I didn't have to ask. I think I might just lay on the beach all day Saturday :)

On a much better note, she has been a little angel today! Maybe she just needed to cry it out, as well.

My Best Friend's Wedding....

Before I get to the topic of this post, I will quickly catch you up on my life.... Teething!! I have complained enough about this on the blog, but this is how I feel and look at the end of tonight:

Teething is the work of the devil!! And it has given me a lot more grey hairs!!!! The only thing that has made me feel a little better, is binge watching reality tv, haha. And what have I been watching??? The Real Housewives of Atlanta. My friend, Amber, emailed me a few weeks back and asked me if I had been keeping up, and to my dismay, I had not!!!! Well, I made up for it these past 2 days. Then, my fantastic and equally obsessed-with reality tv, sister-in-law, Janet, told me about a new series called, Bring It. O-M-G!!! I watched a sneak preview episode tonight and I am hooked. It is ghetto fabulous-ness to the max, and all the animal print that your life can handle!!! I will be watching the premiere tomorrow ;)

OK................

When my best friend, Lindsay, called me the night she got engaged, I was over the moon happy for her and her fiance', Jake. I even cried because of all the love and happiness! Of course, when she told me the good news I immediately went into "MOH-zilla" (Maid of Honor-zilla) mode and had already started putting together color schemes, flowers, dresses and all that jazz, in my head. I hadn't even been officially asked to be MOH, I just knew! I know all her secrets and she knows mine, we are stuck with each other, LOL. I really wanted to ask her, "Ok, what's the date? We've got stuff to do!" but I was trying not to overwhelm her the first night. You see, we all knew Jake was the one, we were just waiting for it to be official.

In my anticipation, I had started a board on Pinterest, maybe a year ago. I'm a planner, people! Several people asked me, "Are you planning Lindsay's future wedding?" Me (in my head), "Yes!! Now, leave me alone because once the ring is on the finger, we can start hitting the ground running!"

After a week or so, the only logical thing for us to do was to start a "secret" board on Pinterest. Lindsay, her mom, and I are predominantly the only ones that pin things to it and when I say pin, I mean pin!!! Pinterest is the best and worst thing to happen to brides and MOH-zillas! Pinterest will make you think that you need to spend $50,000 on a wedding. We talked about the wedding on the phone, email, text, and Facebook, day and night. We talked about dates, venues, colors, how many bridesmaids, what kind of flower dress for Madeleine (btw, she is going to be the most fabulous flower girl EVER!). Her mom even took her to try on some dresses so she could prepare herself for the time when we really started looking.

And then it happened.....we burned her out! LOL!! She was over it, she needed a wedding hiatus. I didn't mention anything about weddings, I didn't even pin, which is a lot harder than you think! Her mom was convinced that her and I started another "secret" board and didn't invite her, haha. I love her mom, she's crazy! We didn't talk about it for 2 weeks!

There are a thousand reasons why a wedding will stress you out. But, one of the main reasons, I think, that broke her spirit was, the anniversary of her father's death. Her father passed away unexpectedly, two years ago. It's the toughest thing that she has had to go through in her life, and she still continues to cope with daily. As most girls do, she has dreamed about her dad walking her down the aisle on her wedding day. And as she starts to plan out her big day it's just a reminder that her dad will not be able to walk her down the aisle. But, she will have constant support from the people who love her and no matter what, he will be by her side in spirit.

To lighten things up, here's a funny story about the last time I saw her dad: We were at Lindsay's 30th birthday dinner, and I hadn't seen him many, many years. I went to give him a hug and talk to him, and this was the first thing he said to me, "Wow, great to see you. The last time I saw you, you and Lindsay's shorts were too short! At least y'all's dresses are a little bit longer tonight!" HAHAHA!!

In case you are wondering, we are back in the swing of wedding mode. She even entered them in a few contests. So, if you could please go vote for them, the link is below. If they win, they will get a $2500 credit towards their venue. We all know that wedding costs can add up and any little bit helps! Right now they are in second place. So close!!!!

As for me, I'm not so much of a MOH-zilla, right now. I'm sure once she sets her date and venue, I'll be back in MOH-zilla mode. For now, I made a few of my own "secret" boards for the bridal shower and bachelorette party ;) I'm also making some plans for a Dallas trip in the near future!!


Go to "vote," their picture is the first one, and her entry name is lindsay1231
http://www.discoverdenton.com/weddings/engaged-denton/

Thanks!!!!

Rain & Teething.....

This was the most frustrating weekend, in a long time! It rained all weekend!!!! And not just a little drizzle but a complete downpour. Plus, it was windy, which made some small trees in our neighborhood fall down. It was cool for the first day but then it just sucked the rest of the weekend. We went out of the house a total of two times this weekend! On Saturday, it stopped raining for an hour so we quickly made a run to Mission Viejo to Sports Chalet so Morgan could buy some diving equipment he needed. While we were in the store for 20 minutes, the flood gates opened and we were stuck in the store for 50 minutes. How did we entertain that gremlin, you ask? We let her out of the cart and took her to the camping section and let her run around in the tents that they hang. Note, to any parents of any small toddlers...this was heaven for her! Kept her entertained for 20 minutes! After our shopping excursion, we went to dinner at Hapa J's. Luckily, we got there early enough that there wasn't a big crowd. Of course, Madeleine was a gremlin for half the time we were there. She wanted to get out of the high chair and climb across the table as we were eating! Seriously, learn some manners! The waitress asked if we wanted dessert and I looked at Morgan and he said, "Check, please!" HAHAHA. He learned from our anniversary date night!


We were stuck inside so long that we had to get creative with play time. I let her play with her clean clothes in a laundry basket. She loves to play with clothes. She even entertained herself with a laundry basket. We also watched way too much Yo Gabba Gabba and Lilo & Stitch!

Sunday, during the day, the rain finally stopped and we went on a family walk. By this time, the whole family was getting on each others' nerves! Chili was over being stuck inside, that she decided to dig a huge hole in the backyard. This set Morgan off! I guess she was looking for that California sunshine. Morgan was getting antsy because he wanted to go swimming and running. Sorry buddy! Madeleine was so fussy the entire weekend. She is still teething, and it will be the death of both of us! There was one point where she was crying and I was on the verge of crying! I just wanted to wash the dishes without Madeleine clinging to my leg, and crying and yelling "dada!" Ummmmm, excuse me, my name is "mama!" If you're going to say "dada," you better start clinging to his leg and not mine! I also couldn't go the bathroom without her crying at the door! There was one poin, that I looked at the bottle of tequila and contemplated shots! Needless, to say when the rain stopped we got dressed and went on a walk! The fresh air was soooo nice!

For dinner, I made this recipe for baked honey sesame chicken with brown basmati rice and roasted broccoli. It was tasty and better than any Chinese take out we've had here in SC.

I cooked while running back and forth to the living room to watch the Oscars. Did anybody else get a lady boner from just looking at Jared Leto?!?! Oh, he is sooooo dreamy and pretty. I'm convinced he is prettier than most women. And his speech was fantastic!!! I may have cried....Don't judge me. Jordan Catalano forever!!!!!! (On a side note: I hate that on the West coast, it airs at 5:30!!! I'm such a central time zone chick.)

Well, it's actually sunny today so we are getting out of this house! Hopefully the gremlin will act appropriate. And say a little prayer that those teeth break through!