The "Mommy Sweats"..............

I may or may not be the only one that experiences this thing, but I feel I have to share my pain, struggle, and SWEAT!

Back in the early stages of my breastfeeding days, I would hear a baby cry while I was out and immediately start to leak. Especially, when it was Madeleine. "Oh hello there, Milk," all over my shirt <insert eye roll>. I still remember the first time it happened. It was my first outing by myself without Madeleine. I was in Target (BIG surprise), when I heard this baby crying two aisles over. I immediately tensed up, and then felt a tingling sensation (the let down). Poof! My dress was wet. Seriously! Mothers are so disgusting. HAHA

After that phase was over you would think that would be the end of liquids pouring and oozing out of mothers' bodies. NOPE! I have now come to know what I call, the "Mommy Sweats." I have found that these "sweats" usually start to occur around the time your child is a toddler. They happen in public, and always when you do not want to them to start. The "sweats" have a mind of their own and can really ruin a whole day or night. And forget about regulating your body heat after one has taken over your body. I will try to run through a couple scenarios with you, and you let me know if I'm the only one that this happens to.

Scenario #1:
You and your toddler are in car, on your way back home from San Diego (an hour away from home, on a good day!). You suddenly hit some traffic on I-5N, your toddler is in the back screaming because she has been in the car for close to two hours. You quickly check the bag for snacks and realize you ran out. Suddenly, you feel a bead of sweat on your upper lip. Why am I sweating?!?! The A/C is on. You start to sing songs and she screams louder. You then realize you have sweat on your forehead. You quickly stick your face in front of the air vent to try to cool down, but that only lasts for a few seconds because your toddler is crying her eyes out and you are a good 30 minutes away from home. When you finally arrive home and get out of the car it looks like you have run a marathon. You then immediately hand your child a snack, and stand in front of the freezer and fridge with the doors wide open!

Scenario #2:
You take your child to a music class, because you have to keep her mind stimulated, right?!?! The class is going great! She is banging on her drum and symbols, and she is loving it. Then, the teacher announces that it's dance time and we are all going to dance around the room in a circle. You stand up and your gremlin FREAKS OUT!!! You can feel the heat under your arm pits, and you are already sweating on the forehead. LORD JESUS FIX IT!!! The teacher tries to help which only makes your gremlin freak out more, and then you suddenly have sweat at your lower back. You are counting the minutes until you can stand in front of your freezer

Scenario #3:
You and your husband have decided to go out to eat, with the child (stupid parents!). You think that you are being smart parents by going to an early dinner for fear of a toddler meltdown. You arrive at the restaurant and quickly realize that all the booths are taken. You start to slightly get a little warm, because you know your gremlin hates to stay seated in restaurant highchairs and the chairs are too big for her. FUCK!!! She willingly sits in the highchair because the hostess gives her crayons. This may actually be enjoyable (stupid parents!). Everything is going great until it takes FOREVER to get your food, and your toddler doesn't understand the word patience. She then begins to start banging her spoon on the table, so you take it away. She screams and you begin to sweat. You try to control your sweating by trying not to think about the fact that you're sweating. Still no food! Your toddler's patience is running thin, and she starts to wiggle in her chair. Nooooooo!!! She then wants to be held by mommy, and only mommy. The food arrives. You try to put her back in the chair, and it is like you have murdered all of her favorite toys. You start to sweat all over your body! You can feel the sweat on the back of your thighs, and start to feel your legs stick to the chair. You down a glass of water thinking that will help. NOPE! You finally give in and eat with her on your lap. What does that mean? Extra body heat!! As you try to cool yourself, and your toddler down you glare across the table at your husband, as he downs his meal in peace. After you have attempted to eat, you quickly wave down the server, and ask for the check. Once you have gathered your dignity a little (because all the other guests have glared at your child, you, and your horrible parenting skills), you get up from your seat and quickly realize your chair is wet, from SWEAT! I'm coming for your freezer!!!!


I have no idea if this happens to any other mommies or if I'm just a big ole sweaty mess! :)

The BIG 2...........

Someone over here had a big birthday this past weekend! (It wasn't me, because I have decided that I'm no longer getting older, and my new age is "early 30-ish").

Madeleine officially turned two yesterday. Holy crap, when did she grow up?!?! I know every parent says this, but I feel like we just brought her home from the hospital, and at the same time I feel like that is such a distant memory. I'll save all the mushy stuff for her birthday letter. Do you guys do that? I got the great idea from heatherbakes. I remember reading her birthday posts to her son, Jack, and balling my eyes out! And, I had no thoughts of kids at that time, so now when I write my own birthday letters to the gremlin, I literally just cry for 30 minutes before actually writing one word! Thanks, Heather! :)

Well, enough about feelings ;) Madeleine had a pretty good weekend celebration. We took her to the San Diego Zoo, and I always have mixed feelings about zoos. On one hand you have the sadness aspect because some of these animals look depressed. But, then you could look at it as a way to expose yourself and your kids to animals that they might never see before. I'm choosing to lean towards the latter (keep your judgements to yourself. Thanks!).

I was a little worried that she was only going to last two hours or so and we wouldn't be able to see much. NOPE! We stayed close to 6 hours at that zoo, and I'm pretty sure we left because we were more exhausted than her. I think our saving grace was packing lunch for everyone and tons of snacks for everyone. That also helped keep our trip a little less expensive. We only had to buy a small pizza and drink for Madeleine, which cost $26! Holy Crap the zoo is expensive! Thank you military discounts! Hahaha

The next day was filled with, presents, and tons of cake and ice cream! As soon as Madeleine saw her cake she said, "HAPPY CAKE!! MEEEEEE!!!" Well, that's about the cutest thing ever! Give her all the cake!  Also, because we live out of state family and friends have been mailing gifts, and she now thinks every package is for her. She was pretty disappointed when a package of make-up came and it wasn't for her. Sorry, chick!

Since Morgan was in the field for her actual birthday, my aunt came down from San Francisco to spend the day with us gals. I had this idea of going shopping and lunching (aka cocktails), but we ended up just staying around San Clemente and relaxed. It was a nice, chill birthday. I'm pretty sure once she learns a little more about these birthdays she will expect something more, but for now it was nice to just take it easy.

Here are a few pictures; I'll post more to my Facebook albums:

 

 

No Napping Madeliene..........

Welp! No napping Madeleine is back, and I really hope she goes away! It seems that our regular, daily naps are becoming more and more sporadic. KILL ME NOW!!! I still try daily to put her down in her crib for a nap, but she usually just spends an hour running or jumping in her crib. Plus, she likes to talk or sing to herself. At least, mommy gets a little quiet time!
 
The only good thing that comes from no naps, are early bedtimes. Hallelujah <raises arms in the air>. I've been trying desperately everyday to make sure that little gremlin is tried out by the end of the day... parks, beach, play group, and running around the house and backyard. This chick does not tire!

Yesterday we went to the Aquarium of the Pacific, in Long Beach (and yes, yes, I was singing and rapping to Snoop Dogg in my car as I was rolling through the hood. And yes, I might have sped through the hood to get out of their faster!). Ok, there are two ways that a toddler, mainly Madeleine, can act in public, 1.) she is calm, cool, listens to me, and overall doesn't embarrass me while I'm out mingling with other civilized human beings. 2.) She completely loses her shit and acts like she has no sense! Complete melt down city! FYI, there is a third scenario, and this usually happens just about every day; 1 & 2 happen! She surprised me most of the time and was on her best behavior! She did lose her shit when she wanted to just ride up and down the elevator. Look chick, I didn't drive 50 minutes and pay $22, so you could ride an elevator! You better look at the sea creatures!! 

I thought for sure she would nap in the car on the ride home. NOPE. She sang her little heart out to Kings of Leon and fell asleep 5 minutes before we got home. I tried to do a successful transfer from the car to the crib. HA! NO NAP FOR YOU! (said in the soup nazi's voice).

Well today is one of those rare days where she is napping so I'm going to take advantage of some free time and get some stuff done. And by stuff, I mean Netflix and Pinterest. 

Orlando Pita..........

I mentioned earlier that my friend, Marie, sent some beauty products that her company makes and distributes. One of the products was the Orlando Pita; Full Volume Boosting shampoo and conditioner.

Here is the low down; IT WORKS!!! It definitely gives you the volume factor, and it gives you volume all over your hair, not just at the roots. This is great for people that don't have thick hair and want a little Va Voom action. I also think it works better when it's properly "styled." I rarely blow dry my hair and usually throw it up in a top knot or pony tail (I like to call this the "mommy hair"). I did blow dry and use a round brush (the extent of my hair styling abilities) once, and it looked great! Of course I didn't manage to get a picture :(

The only reason I probably won't be using this product regularly is because, I don't do anything with my hair (lazy mommy), and it already has some thickness to it. I really don't need anymore volume, nut if you have thin hair this might be something worth a try. I am going to give his Argan Gloss shampoo and conditioner a try. I feel this will be better suited to my hair, because it's a little more dry out here in Cali, than TX, and the sun dries out my hair. I figure if the volume products work, than the gloss products should work great!

If you want to try out any of the Orlando Pita hair products you can buy at your local Costco, Costco online (you do not have to be a member) or Beauty's Most Wanted website.

 
The next products I'll be writing about are the Pati Dubroff Star Palettes. Lets just say...... LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

*I was not paid by HATCH BEUATY, Beauty's Most Wanted, or anyone else for this review. These are my own opinions :)

Netflix............

Ok people, I was going to get back to you guys last week about some more products that my friend, Marie, sent me, buuuuuuttttt I have been in the middle of a Netflix binge. I started watching Sons of Anarchy a few weeks ago, and I thought for sure I would not be a fan (motorcycles aren't my thaaaang!). Well, I was wrong!!!! I turned into a complete junky for this show.

I caught myself staying up until 3am watching and then watching in the morning before Madeleine woke up. I was putting Madeleine down for naps early when I knew she wasn't ready for one. I even turned down the volume on the baby monitor when I would hear her wake up. I would be in almost tears on the days she didn't nap, because I knew I wouldn't be able to watch (side note: I think it's just down right RUDE for children not to nap!). I would ignore phone calls from friends. DON'T JUDGE ME!

I was on the verge of trading in Morgan's truck for a motorcycle just so he could join a motorcycle club <insert the drama here>. I was yearning for Morgan to call me his "Old Lady," in the endearing way, not "Hey, old lady, you're old!" I almost went on an all black and leather shopping spree. You guys get the idea.......

I binge watched 5 seasons and then got super pissed, because season 6 isn't on Netflix yet. Say what?!?! Netflix, you mean to tell me that I couldn't even catch up on the latest season yet?!?! How is this an acceptable way to live? Who do we have to call to get this rectified? Councilmen, Senators, the Marines, the President? The injustice! I was this close to biting the bullet and paying for them on Amazon, buuuuuuut I was being cheap. But, if season 6 is not out by mid-September, I RIOT!!! Just kidding, I'll pay for them on Amazon ;)

The kicker.... Morgan hasn't seen season 5, so I get to re-watch them with him on the weekends. I win! I will be singing this on the weekends..............

I actually had a point to make on this post. I will be writing part one of my review for the Orlando Pita Volume Boosting Shampoo & Conditioner (I''ll explain why it's a two-part review). I'm hoping to have it up by tomorrow night. I better stay off Netflix! 

23 Months...........

This little beauty is 23 months, which means she will be two next month (getting teary eyed as I type this). Oh my how time has flown by. It feels like yesterday that I was in my last few weeks of pregnancy, and we were getting ready for her arrival. Now, she's almost two, talking up a storm, giving me sass, and entertaining us all day. STOP GROWING!!!!

Last year for her first birthday, we (and by we, I mean, ME) did the whole big birthday party. Family and friends came from out of town, we had tons of cupcakes, food and COCKTAILS! Lets be honest, that was really more my party than her's. Since we are in California this year, we have decided to take her to the San Diego Zoo for her second birthday. I'm sure she will have a blast (at least I'm hoping). We have these great Melissa & Doug blocks that she loves to stack, and she knows all the animals on the blocks, so I think she'll get a kick out of seeing some in person. I think it will be nice to have a low key birthday, because I know as she gets older and realizes what a birthday is, she will expect an actual party ;)

That's all I got for you today peeps. I'm waiting for sleeping beauty to wake up, so I can go running. See ya'll later this week!

Jenna Hipp Nail Polish...........

It has been a little while since I've last updated. I'll fill you guys in real quick...... Music and art class, play group, and tons of time at the beach. That has been our whole summer, so far. Since it's been pretty warm here lately, we have either been at the beach or soaking up free air conditioning at Target or Costco.

Which brings me to my topic today........

Now, I will admit that I am notorious for buying "impulse buys" when I'm at Costco (ie. tupperware, luggage, 12 lbs of greek yogurt dip). Last week we were doing one of our Costco runs and they had the Jenna Hipp Brights mini nail polish 8-piece set on sale for $7.99. Well, who would pass up a deal like that?!?! Not me.... NOPE! I'm the one that just stuck 12 lbs of greek yogurt dip in her basket. Plus, I had been wanting to try out her nail polish for a while.

Let me just say, I LURVE (love) these nail polishes! First, the bright colors are perfect for summer!! Second, they are "quick dry" formulated, and I'm not lying... they dry quick. They dry so quick that I actually painted Madeleine's nails with them, and I wasn't afraid she'd smudge them all over my sofa! The quick dry formula is great for applying that second coat, which was all I needed. Two coats... Hallelujah! I like that the nail polish is so smooth. I'm like Goldie Locks, I like my nail polish not too thick and not too thin. These were just right!

I was a little skeptical after I painted my nails that they were going to chip by the end of the day. I am one of those girls that is super hard on her hands and I always chip or smear my mani. It took me a whole five days to get my first chip and that was only because one of my nails broke. I also didn't use a top coat to finish, so maybe next time I'll try one. My next purchase will be her New Moderns collection, they look like some great neutral colors and would transition well for the fall season. And lets be honest..... I love a good Costco purchase!

Here are a few pictures of my nails, toes and the nail polishes I used:

Left: Ain't Life Grape; Right: I Surf With Boys

Jenna Hipp: Ain't Life Grape

Jenna Hipp: I Surf With Boys

So, it's a small and cool world....... My high school friend, Marie, works for HATCH BEAUTY, which is the company that makes and distributes Jenna Hipp's nail polishes, and they are the company behind the Beauty's Most Wanted products at Costco. How cool is that?!?! When she saw that I posted my new nail polishes she sent me a few more products to play around with and get my opinions about. I'll let you guys know later this week.

*You can purchase at your local Costco, Costco website (you do not have to be a member to purchase online) or Beauty's Most Wanted site.

**Disclaimer: I was not paid by HATCH BEUATY, Beauty's Most Wanted, or anyone else for this review. These are my own opinions :)

Fun Times with a Toddler......

This week has been pretty standard with our usual play group meet-ups, music class, and beach time, but this week we started an art class. Let me tell you, homegirl had a blast! The instructor set up 6 different art stations and they could do whatever they would like, for as along as they would like. We only had one little cry session, because she didn't want to share the basket of colored rings. (This whole sharing thing is going to be the death of me! I thought teething would kill me, NOPE!). I don't mean so sound braggy or anything, but clearly she was the most gifted child in the class, hahaha. Just kidding...kind of :) I didn't bring my phone into class but here are a few of her masterpieces.....

I'm already running out of fridge space. Any suggestions for a cute way to display kids' artwork? 

Well, that was the extent of our exciting week, so I thought that I'd share a few 'funny' Madeleine stories. I may over share with some of these stories, but I'm being honest and sharing all these new things I'm learning while trying to raise a gremlin toddler. Enjoy!

*This week Madeleine has been taking off her diaper during naps and at night. One night, she took her diaper off and when I went in her room in the morning, she looks at the dirty diaper in the corner of her crib, and says, "Oops!" I immediately say, "Bye!" and walk out of her room (Uh, who wants to deal with that mess before your morning coffee or Spark?!? Not me!). She responds, "Have fun!"
Ummmm..... Did she just sass me?!?! I had no choice, but to laugh :)

*She is really into hiding right now. Her new favorite hiding spot is under Chili's bed. She will physically pull up Chili's bed and get under it.

*Painted my nails blue while she was napping, and when she woke up and noticed my nails she said, "Ewww." <insert side eye glare>

*While I was putting clothes away, she managed to get her hands on some old lip liner and eye liner and make "art" all over the wall. Her reply when I catch her, "Uh oh," points to her handy work, and says, "Momma, Fishy!" I guess she was drawing a fish

*I've been trying to ask her on a daily basis about our friends and family, and show her pictures, just so she won't forget them. When I ask her where people are, she tries to say, "home," but it comes out "Hoooeee!" HAHAHA. If you follow me on Instagram you'll know what I'm talking about (nicolejordan14).

*While trying to tell her not to pull Chili's ears, I let out a fart, (yes, I'm human....I pass gas!). She goes behind me and lifts the back of my dress and says, "Poop?" and then runs laughing. I can no longer fart in front of her! I know have to run to another room if gas is a brewing, she has shamed me!!!!

Enjoy your weekend folks!

Beach Weekend.......

Hope you all had a great 4th of July, we sure did. On Friday, we were at our beach ALL DAY!!! Morgan woke up early and went down to set our stuff up, so we would have a spot. He said he heard people say they were down there around 6:30 setting up. NOPE, too early! Either way he set up in a great spot. After he set up he came back and made us his big breakfast (I LOVE THIS MAN!). After we stuffed ourselves on star pancakes, eggs and fruit we packed all the snacks and went down to our spot. We were down there 5 hours!!! Thank goodness for sunscreen and the umbrellas! Look at this little beach babe.....

After we came back, showered, and napped we went over to a friend's house to visit. There were puppies there that were actually her size and she went crazy!!! She kept saying, "puppa!!!" and kept trying to pick them up. She was even able to walk them on a leash. This kept her busy for a little over an hour... WIN!! I'm surprised she didn't try to take one home. (Chili sniffed her up and down when we got home later). Look at little Miss Liberty and her crown......

From there we headed back down to our spot on the beach for fireworks. By this time it was close to 9pm and Madeleine was getting a little cranky, so we had to bust out the big guns.... Ice cream! It's a holiday, right?!?! That satisfied her for the rest of the night and we were able to watch the fireworks. It was nice to lounge on the beach and watch fireworks all along the coast. It was a pretty sight! We thought Madeleine might get scared by the loud noises but she watched for about 10 minutes, and then started burying her feet in the sand. Hey, whatever kept her entertained!

Saturday we headed to Coronado Island, Breakers beach, to hang out with some marine friends. I had hoped that Madeleine would have napped during the car ride because it was a little over an hour trip. NOPE! So, I was expecting a toddler melt down at any moment, but she surprised us and did pretty well. I think the fact that there were a lot of kids helped us. Again, another long day at the beach, but a fun one! I even managed to play a few rounds of flip cup with Madeleine on my hip (classy!). I got no pictures because my phone died :(

Sunday was spent sleeping in and relaxing. Madeleine was so exhausted from the weekend that she fell asleep in her trike/scooter. Excuse her hot mess-ness, she had watermelon and a Plum Go bar on her ride.

Well, that was our weekend. I've gotta go get in a run and burn some of these calories off! UGH! See ya'll soon.

Happenings.......

OK, I may be one of those peeps that tries to blog maybe, twice a week. I am so bad about updating this bad boy. I actually get reminders from my best friends that I haven't updated. Oops!

Nothing too amazing is happening over this way. Morgan is about waist deep into his training. He is gone during the week and comes home on the weekends. When he came home last Friday, he looked like he had been in the sun for 24 hours and had aged a few years. According to him, they stayed in the water most days and it was brutal. My idea of being in the pool all day includes a swim up bar, but I guess this where we differ :)

The gremlin and I have been keeping busy by going to music classes and going to our play group meet-ups, our normal stuff. Thank goodness for music class!!! It's one of the classes that she enjoys and she doesn't want to leave as soon as we get, like gymnastics. Not only is she keeping me busy as a chauffeur, she has decided that she isn't going to nap. WTF?!?!?!? In fact, today is the only day that she has napped this week, which is why I am able to update this thing. I'm hoping it's just a growth spurt or something along those lines. I am not ready for her to drop her naps! NOPE!! I thought I was going to die when she went from two naps to one. She better rethink her life decisions!!

During one of our play group meet-ups, the kids did a little glitter art. Mainly just some Elmer's glue and glitter. By the end of the day I had glitter in random areas of my body. You would have thought that I was 17 and just left a rave. But, the end project was cute. I can't wait for her to start art class next week!

I got all "creative" (meaning, I saw this on Pinterest) and made a cute snack!

Guess what?!?! I didn't kill my tomato plant and we are actually getting some Roma tomatoes!!! Maybe I'll plant some squash in the fall, but I don't want to jinx myself (After I picked them I forgot to water them for two days....Oops!). Baby steps!

Well, I'm going to wrap this one up, because I am rambling and I need to start prepping our stuff for the beach this weekend! Hope everyone has a Happy and safe 4th of July!!! See you next week.

P.S. I'll leave you with this cute little gem of Madeleine trying her hand at a contemporary dance :)

Hug Them Tight.............

I meant to write my post earlier today, and share with you all our new journey of teaching Madeleine "Sharing means Caring," but I received some sad news right after my run this morning. One of our Marine/Texas friends, Rich, lost his seven month old daughter last night. I don't know any of the details, except that it was sudden. With that being said, I found it a little inappropriate to talk about how we are "struggling" with the sharing game.

I cannot imagine what him and his family must be feeling today, tomorrow, the next few months, and the rest of their lives. My heart breaks for them and I hope that at some point they will be able to heal as much as they can. There aren't any words that I could express that would make them feel better, but they will be in my thoughts and prayers tonight.

To be honest, I have felt a sadness all day from learning this news. Now that I am parent and I hear gut-wrenching stories, like this one, it makes me feel all the emotions! It makes me look at life and cherish all the things that I might take for granted some days. It made me stop in the middle of doing the dishes, and have a jam session with Madeleine on the bongos. It made me let her stay up a little later than normal so we could play longer. It made me give her more kisses than usual. It made me rock her until she fell asleep in my arms.

So, for all you lucky parents out there, hug your kids extra tight tonight because there are some parents that won't get to do that tonight.


For any of you that knew Rich or are feeling generous here is the link to help them during this difficult time. Thanks!

http://www.youcaring.com/memorial-fundraiser/in-loving-memory-of-e-lynn-marie/195387

Soaking Up Daddy.........

This was our last weekend before Morgan starts some intense training. He will pretty much be busy during the week and some weekends. Boooooo!!! But, no complaining, he's doing something he's been wanting to do for a while and he's happy.

We tried to soak up as much time with daddy as we could. Meaning, mommy got a little break ;) HAHA. On Friday, we had mom's night out with the ladies from our play group. We went to the Cinepolis in Laguna Niguel to watch 22 Jump Street. This place is awesome but a little pricey! First, we had cocktails in the bar before the movie. Those cocktails weren't cheap, $15 for a small margarita, that was filled with tons of ice! Don't try to fool me!! The theater was nice and the seats were comfortable, and they reclined! We proceeded to have more cocktails during the movie. Why not! This also highlighted the fact that mommy can only handle about three cocktails before I want to go to sleep :) The movie was OK, but nothing that I would recommend people paying to go see, but at least we had Channing Tatum to stare at for two hours.

I may never go to a normal movie theater EVER! I have a kid so I don't get to the movies much, so I'm sure this is not a problem for me.

Saturday morning I watched Morgan make his weekend "blockbuster breakfast." I'm not a huge breakfast person, I like breakfast foods, but I'm more prone to make a big bowl of fruit and call it a day. I'm glad he enjoys cooking it on the weekends. After breakfast we packed it up and headed down to the beach. We packed up the cooler with lunch and snacks and hoped that Madeleine would cooperate and let us stay down there for a while. She did!! She's becoming quite the ocean lover. She runs to ocean and get about waist deep and then runs back to the sand. It's pretty darn adorable.

After naps were taken we grabbed dinner, because I wasn't about to cook! After dinner daddy wanted to grab froyo. He just learned this term and has used as often as he can <eye roll>. This chick was happy about her froyo.......

Sunday was spent relaxing, listening to music and grilling out. Oh, and watching the USA vs Portugal game.... WOW! It was the perfect weekend before the madness starts. See y'all tomorrow!

We're back............

We're finally back into a groove of our normal routine, since being back from Dallas. Madeleine had no problem getting back to a routine. I on the other hand felt like I needed to sleep for at least two weeks. But, Morgan and Madeleine insist on me being awake....bleh.

Our trip was great and successful! We saw tons of family and friends and I still fell like we didn't get to see everyone (I told Morgan I needed a whole month in Dallas, and he just looked at me like I was crazy). I was a little nervous that Madeleine was going to be super shy around everyone, and basically attached to my leg or hip, but she surprised me. She let people carry her, hold her (for as long as they could, she's a wiggle worm), and even let people take her out of sight range from mommy. Hallelujah!!!

One of our main highlights was going to Klyde Warren Park, in downtown Dallas. If you haven't gone, GO! It's a great park for kids of all ages and they have food trucks! Delicious ones! They had the fountains/splash pad open and I completely forgot, so we went a little hillbilly side and let Madeleine play in her clothes. Thank goodness I brought an extra set! Homegirl had a blast! I used to take her to the splash pads in Austin every week since she was about 9 months and I think she misses them! Oh well, she has the beach here :)

Besides seeing family, two of the main reasons for going to Dallas were for my best friend's baby shower and wedding dress shopping with my bestie. Both were great! I'll start with the dress shopping. We started off our day with getting our hair and make-up done for the day. We didn't want to spend an arm and leg to get it done, so we went to the Ogle beauty school. The hair part was great, some curls and we were good! Then, we got to the make-up..........It took FOREVER!!! Now, I understand that they are in the process of learning and aren't professionals, but good lord, 1.5 hours for make-up! I really wanted to ask the girl if I could do it myself because she was so slow and wasn't exactly the best. At the end I found out that I was her second person EVER <side eye>. Anyhow, after we were finished, Lindsay's mom, Cyndi, picked us up in the "bride-mobile." She decorated her SUV  with cute paper wedding decorations and played "Here Comes the Bride." HAHA. Cute! She also had champagne! HALLELUJAH!! From there we went to see the top contender for her wedding venue. I won't give it away because not sure if she wants me to share that, just yet. Lets just say it was beautiful and I hope she picks it!!!

Now, for the most important thing..... dress shopping. We went to this cute little boutique called, Patsy's Bridal Boutique. It was just the right place to slowly let the bride dip her feet in. She tried on about 10 dresses, and I fell in love with two, or at least the style. And there were a few times that I definitely teared up as I saw her standing there. I'm going to be a hot mess on the wedding day! She did not find THE dress, but I think she got a sense of what she liked and didn't like. Success!!!! It was the best bestie day!!!

The next day, we were on our way Austin to celebrate baby girl Rojas and April. I will admit I was a little concerned about how this was going to turn out. There were 5 of us that were hosting the shower and we were all planning this via text and email. I'll admit that there were two of us that were a little more controlling and the other three were more laid back. I won't mention names ;) However, it all balanced out! It was fantastic and most importantly, mommy-to-be was happy! We had it at Z-Tejas and they served us appetizers and cocktails. The food was great and did I mention they had queso...... lots and lots of queso!!! So much queso that I took a to-go container, hahaha. Here are a few pics....

I do have to do a shout out to Reel Popcorn for providing the strawberry and vanilla flavored popcorn for the favor bags. People were breaking into them before the shower ended! I even saved me some while I was filling the bags, haha. Also, Batters Up Cupcakery for the awesome cupcakes. She made some that were banana pudding flavored and they had real bananas in the middle!!! OMG.DELICIOUS.

Before the shower we had all been trying to get out of April what the baby's name was going to be. The only thing she told us was the middle name, Grace, after her mother. So a few weeks before the shower I asked her, "If Madeleine wanted to get her future best friend a monogrammed gift, what would be the initials?" I am not above using my daughter! She replied "K." I immediately replied back, "Kennedy is singing to me." Her reply, "Keep singing." So, I started calling the baby Kim Kardashian, hahaha. Fast forward to April opening her gifts at her shower. She pulls out a blanket that she had made with the baby's name, and it's, Kenadee Grace Rojas....... I WAS RIGHT!!!!! I got the spelling wrong, but I was right!


I wish I would have taken more pictures but my phone was running out of space and I kept having to delete pictures. UGH! Next time I'll back up my pictures before I leave.

I'm going to wrap this one up because I need to shower because we have mommies night out with the girls from play group! See ya'll soon!

We're going to Texas............

So, yeah, I've been slipping on the blogging for the past month! I always say I'm going to be more diligent about writing a post, but then life happens and you catch yourself curled up on the sofa with the husband watching Mad Men (He finally caught up and I feel a little lost without it, hahaha.), not wanting to power on the laptop.

Life has been chugging along as usual. Morgan has started with his new unit, and of course, he gets all secretive, and won't let me tell you guys! BLEH! I think he believes he is Jason Bourne and he is saving America from the terrorists. I like to think he spends his day jumping out of airplanes, climbing mountains, and has a direct number to the Commandant of the Marine Corps. But, who knows what that crazy guy does. He could be sitting at his desk playing solitaire. Ok, enough with the ranting.

Besides the normal day routine, we have all been sick. It started with Madeleine, then me, and eventually Morgan. I'm convinced that Madeleine has super powers, because she was only down for two days and Morgan and I have been down for a week and still counting!I have been scrubbing everything down and spraying it with lysol. I've also been extra careful to wash Madeleine's hands. Although, the girl loves to play with dirt. Give her a bag of dirt and she's in heaven! Such a lady....

Tomorrow is a big day..... We are coming back to Texas for a visit! I'm so excited for salsa, queso, bbq, food trucks, etc. Oh, and my family an friends ;) I'm super excited to see everyone. I feel like we need a month to make sure we see everyone. Besides being excited, I'm super nervous for our airplane ride <doom, doom, doom>. Madeleine has been on an airplane before and she did fantastic! But, these days homegirl is constantly moving, feisty, and kind of a toddler mess! I have bought all the snacks, coloring books, new sippy cup, and the hard stuff..... M&M's. We will be cracking those bad boys open if she starts to become a disaster. I ask that you pray for my soul and my nerves tomorrow!! And if you could say a prayer for us to be seated next to some nice passengers because I don't want to have to cut someone if they talk about my kid!! <Deep breath!!!!>

Well, I'm off to finish some last minute details. Maybe I'll update on our trip, but no promises!!

See ya'll later!

Taxi Driver...................

Lately, I have felt like Madeleine's taxi driver, except I don't get any tips. The only tips she will leave me are, food crumbs all over the seats and her car seat and a few toddler fits. (OMG! My backseat is a mess!!!) Yesterday, we went to music class (which by the way, SHE LOVES!), and then we met our playgroup at Big Air Trampoline Park. This place is a huge warehouse that has trampolines all over the floors and walls. They have two days a week were they do "toddler time," for three hours, which is nice because you don't have to worry about big kids. As I was driving there I was really hoping she wouldn't freak the f*** out. She absolutely hates the trampoline at gymnastics and cries every time I try to put her on it. So, I thought for sure this was going to be a disaster. NOPE! Homegirl was jumping, bouncing, and rolling all over the place. I wish I had taken some pictures but, I forgot we were living in the moment. I really wanted to jump off the wall, but I was pretty sure I would probably bust my ass! I just hope she remembers how fun trampolines can be when we go back to gymnastics class on Friday!

We got the catalog for the summer II session classes and we deiced that we are going to add an art and swim class to the mix. Which means, Madeleine needs to learn how to tip her taxi cab driver! This summer is giving me a small glimpse of what it will be like when she's older an in school with all kinds of school activities and sports. EEEEEEEEKKKKKK!

In other news, we have been working on our manners. She now says, "Please, mama!" when asking for something, and says "Tank you" when given something. We're working on the whole, "May I please have....." We're working on her hillbilly manners at the table, that's a work in progress! It's pretty crazy how much she's picking up. She started singing twinkle twinkle little star, last night. Her version, "tinkle, tinkle, lille sta... (hand movement in the air)." I thought it was so cute, until she stayed up until 9:30 singing it! She's repeating a lot of what we say and I'm trying soooooo hard to clean up my sailor's mouth! SOOOOOOO HARD!!!! That's a work in progress!

Here's a little video of the hillbilly trying out her new manners. I could just eat her up!

MIA.................

Well, I haven't been on here in a hot second. I will be honest with you guys, there are many reasons I didn't update in the past two weeks. Let me break them down for you:

1.) When I got back from San Francisco I was still in denial that I was back home. No more vacation?!?! No more cocktails?!?!? You want me to change a diaper and cook a meal?!?! It took me about five days to adjust back into my routine.

2.) By the time I adjusted back into our routine, Morgan left for field training for 11 days! What?!?! No Mother's Day brunch? I have to pick up the dog's poop? WTF?!?! That meant I was alone and doing things all by myself. I was going solo. It was me against the dog and Madeleine. Most days I won, but they tried their hardest to break me!!

3.) Santa Ana and all her bitchiness came back to SoCal!!! At one point it got up to 96 degrees IN my house. My dog was looking at me like, "When the hell are you going to turn the A/C on?!?!" This whole, not having air conditioning, is horrible! Not only did Santa Ana bring her hot, nasty breath this way, but her breath spread some nasty fires down in California. With it being hot as hell, the last thing I wanted to do was sit in front of a hot laptop. When Madeleine would take naps I would sit in front of the fan and try to cool off. Needless to say, me and that heifer are not homegirls and if I see her again, I might drop kick her in her mouth!!

4.) Mad Men: I MAY have binged watched season 3-7 (current season) in my spare time. I was like a crackhead looking for her next fix. As soon as Madeleine went to bed I would sit in front of the fan and turn on Netflix. This meant there was no time to blog!

Well, with all that complaining we did manage to go out and enjoy ourselves. Here are a few pictures:

Baby Beach in Dana Point, CA

Madeleine ha a blast! She did not want to leave and cried when we left.

Family Night Dinner with play group

 

Hillbilly Life

Trying to catch that ocean breeze

I'm going to have try to post more and thrill you guys with our adventures. If I fall off the planet again just let me know. I might have started binge watching something else! I am open to suggestions :) See ya'll tomorrow!

Mom-Cation.........

My mom-cation to San Francisco was FANTASTIC! It was a weekend of lots of shopping, great food, and a few cocktails. I dubbed it, "Cocktailing around the City." I won't give you a play-by-play of everything we did, because I don't want to sound like a travel brochure, but I'll tell you some places we went. I have seen most of the tourist attractions like, the wharf, Lombard St, Coit tower, Alcatraz, etc. So, this trip my aunt took me to places that more of the locals go. One of my favorite places was, Noe Valley. It's near the Castro and it had such a laid back atmosphere as opposed to being in Union Square. There were cute boutiques, little cafes and wine bars. Not only did I have a great time exploring the city. It was a great time to catch up with my aunt. We laughed, drank, and explored the city. It was a great weekend. I actually managed to take only 3 pictures. HAHA, I was living in the moment.

Morgan and Madeleine seemed to have a great time while mommy was away. This was the first time I had left Madeleine for more than a night. Thank goodness Morgan sent me constant updates and pictures or I might have freaked out a little more. As far as I know, he did a great job ;) She only had a minor bruise on her head and leg, from her gymnastics class and the house was cleaned! I couldn't of asked for anything better.

Well, going to make this a short one because Madeleine is refusing a nap... Go figure! See you all tomorrow!

Queen Bey..........

I didn't get to mention it yesterday because I was whining so much about the heat, but my sister-in-law, Janet, scored us Beyonce' and Jay-Z concert tickets, in Dallas!!!! lkahfklhsdklfhsdhgfkjdslklkhfklsdhklfhkjsdhf (that's how excited we are!!!)

I MEAN!!!!! When she sent me a text of the confirmation, I called her back yelling, screaming and jumping all around my house. Madeleine and Chili were looking at me like I lost my mind. I was so excited that I ended up burning pancakes and we had to go pick up breakfast. Of course we listened to Beyonce' on our way there.

Now, let me tell you how much we both love us some Beyonce'...... 75% of our text messages are about Bey. We can tie a Beyonce' song into any conversation. We believe that Beyonce should have her own emoji. I just happen to be on twitter when Bey released her surprise album, and the only one I knew who would care would be, Janet! We listened to every song and watched every video, that night! Not only do we get to see her but she got floor tickets and we are about 15 rows back!!! .kjgfkjosdhkl;fgedjogsdhafklsdhdgo;ajergjo;awitu0 lkhgrhgisdthklghioserghdfkjhgiousehrtyiouwe5
You guys, if Beyonce makes any eye contact with me I just might cry or pass out! (Yes, I realize I am a 32 year old woman, but I don't care!) 

Well, there's my Yonce' rant! This will be us on July 22nd!!

She better not cover my eyes!

In other news, I leave for San Francisco tomorrow!!! Kid and husband free all weekend!!! Cocktails, here I come!!!

What The Frick............

When we moved to SoCal I was promised lots of sunshine, 70 degree weather and tons of beach time. What is going on right now..... TONS of sunshine, 95 degree weather and this thing called Santa Ana winds. If you're not familiar with the Santa Ana winds let me tell you. They are these horrendous, very strong winds that are actually knocking down some tree limbs in our neighborhood, and are extremely hot and dry!!!! Not only do you have hot air blowing on you, but add some yucky pollen and you have yourself a nice little allergy attack. It feels like someone is holding 235 blow dryers right in your direction and throwing dust at your face, all at the same time. Now, I don't know who the hell pissed off Santa Ana, but will someone please buy her a milkshake and tell her she is pretty, so she can knock off her bulls***!!!

Have I also mentioned that we do not have air conditioning!!!! What the frick?!?!?! Apparently,  when you live close enough to the beach, and you're supposed to be getting 70 degree weather all the time, you don't need air conditioning. SHOOT ME!!!! It was 85 degrees in my house yesterday. I had the oven on for 25 minutes and I was pretty sure I was going to pass out. (I know, I'm being pretty dramatic, but I don't care). Here we are being all hot!!!

 I had a few friends tell me, go to the beach. Let me explain a few things... First, the wind. It kicks up the sand and blows it all in your eyes, not so fun. Second, I tan very easily and when I'm tan I'm even more hot natured. That doesn't go well with the whole no air conditioner thing. Third, going to beach with a toddler is a lot of work! Haha

It finally cooled down in our house around 9pm. <Insert the BIGGEST EYE ROLL> These winds are only supposed to last this week but we'll see if this heifer goes away. I went grocery shopping today and was planning to cook but I see a nice rotisserie chicken from Ralph's being bought this afternoon.

Ok, that's all for right now. I'm going to go lay under the ceiling fan and try to keep cool!