afternoon siesta
I.am.so.tired… Our middle cat has begun this horribly annoying habit of waking us up between 4:00-6:00 a.m. for no good reason… He scratches at closed doors, tears apart our toilet paper, meows, jumps on the bed, and scratches at my pillow… He desperately wants to be out an ‘outside’ cat, but it’s just not going to happen right now (if at all) and we’re suffering for it… It also didn’t help that we went to bed closer to 11:00 than 10:00 so I’m feeling it today for sure…
Weekend recap: on Saturday, we did our weekly trip to Home Depot and bought a new storm door, new fixtures and a gallon of paint for the downstairs bedroom… Eric spent the morning working on the yard and then tackled the new door which took quite a while… It looks great and it’s so nice having a breeze between the front and back of the house – the built-in screen is the best invention ever (though not very claw-friendly)… Since it was Cnco de Mayo – we headed to our local Mexican place for dinner where I proceeded to use up more than half 0f my weekly WW points (well-worth it!)… Yesterday, it was my turn to do work around the house – grocery store, clean, laundry, sort Deck’s winter/summer clothes, and prep meals for this week… Deck took a 3-hour nap in the a.m. ,which led to a very short nap in the afternoon, and then Mr. Crankipants showed-up around dinner… I was happy when he finally went to bed, though in hindsight – should’ve went to bed too…
This week may be crazy with the annual meeting and all, but I promise to be here Wednesday at least for my weigh-in…
Happy Monday…
I’m gonna help daddy mow…
Check-out our new storm door…
Eric bought these for Deck (though I’m not buying it)…
calgon take me away
Hello Monday! It’s sad to say that I used to feel refreshed after the weekend, but with Deck getting more and more active – I look forward to having a break instead… Is that bad? He is just into E V E R Y T H I N G right now – climbing, chewing, not listening… It’s all part of the age, I know, plus he has more teeth coming-in so he’s constantly walking around with a finger in his mouth and drooling… He is still a joy and the love of my life, don’t get me wrong, but it just makes me wonder what it will be like if/when we have another one… He has his 18-mos checkup tomorrow where he’ll get measured, weighed, and vaccinated… I hate that part and if Eric can’t make it, I will have to deal with it myself and it won’t be pretty…
We went to another huge yard sale on Saturday – found more summer tshirts and shorts, and a pair of Stride Rite sneakers for only $3 (they’re $40 brand-new)… I wasn’t really looking for anything else since it was rather cold and cloudy, but Eric found a collapsible tool bench for $2 and I scored a kid’s canvas papasan chair for $3… The rest of our Saturday was spent swapping out light switches, outlets, and I’ve actually started to hang items since the painting is done… We also moved the oak hutch from the kitchen to the dining room, which has given us a lot more room to move around… This required taking everything out, which was a pain, but we couldn’t move it full – I took advantage of the empty cabinet and gave it a good polish before putting all the dishes back in… Deck enjoyed playing in it, when he wasn’t trying to help me move dishes (photo below)…
Yesterday, Deck was up bright & early so when he went down for nap – I scooted off to the store… It took me a bit longer this time since I was trying to find the WW points for a few items, as well as buy a lot of ingredients so I could make some dishes for this week… I made quiche cupcakes, black bean soup, and a turkey penne casserole… I’m all for making things ahead of time, but when doing more than 1 dish – it requires a lot of time in the kitchen which I don’t like esp. when Deck is antsy or if it’s nice out and I don’t want to be stuck inside… BUT I did it and hope to make it a routine, at least for 1-2 dishes a week… We took an afternoon stroll so Deck could play on the playground for a while – he tried to make a friend with a little boy, but the poor kid would have nothing to do with it… I think Deck is going to be a social butterfly, like his dad…
New product—if you’re a fan of greek yogurt, you must this new frozen, greek yogurt by Ben & Jerry’s… Though for WW it’s a pretty hefty 5-points (per half-cup), it’s well worth it if you have some extra to spare… The blueberry vanilla graham was awesome – very creamy and tart – and I can’t wait to try the other flavors… Yummy!
Time to get back to work, hope you’re having a great Monday!
2012
love’em and leave’em
We had quite the productive weekend, starting with a huge kids sale on Saturday that consisted of at least 100 vendors… Since Deck needed some clothes/shoes for the summer, this was the way to go considering most of the items I bought were $1… I may need to consider being a seller someday, but only after we have another kid… The rest of the day was spent doing yard work – mulching, planting flowers, and planting the rest of our veggies… Everything is in, so now we wait…
Yesterday was Deck’s baptism and he did great! Not that I expected him to cry or anything – he loves water and barely flinched… My mom did pronounce his name wrong, when saying a prayer, which was funny since she was incredibly nervous… For the rest of the service, however, Deck did not want to be contained so we took turns keeping him occupied elsewhere… Eric’s brother and sister-in-law are his godparents so it was nice sharing this event with them… All of us headed to breakfast afterwards and then Deck crashed for about 2 hours… Since it was raining for most of the day – I was able to finish packing-up my winter clothes and reorganized some closets… We still have much to do before our French guests arrive in June, so next month is going to super busy…
I cancelled Nustrisystem this morning and since I signed-up for their automated ordering, I had to pay the difference between that rate and the one-month plan (still cheaper than the regular fee)… I was waiting for the speech and guilt trip, but the guy was nice and didn’t ask too many questions (I know they probably have too)… I still feel like this was the right decision for me so it’s onward and upwards to something else…
Happy Monday…
2012
i made it
SO glad it’s Friday – this has been one, crazy, busy, long week… I went for a nice walk this afternoon since it’s supposed to rain Sat/Sun, and have finished all my important stuff for the day… Go me! Eric is having some of the guys over tonight and I’ll probably escape for a while and head to TJMaxx and Homegoods to window shop (though I do have a $100 giftcard that’s burning a whole in my pocket)… Tomorrow, Deck and I are heading to a kids nearly new sale (to stock-up on summer stuff) and then Sunday, Deck is getting baptized… I haven’t made a big deal about it because it’s at my old church and we should’ve done this after he was born, BUT we’re doing it now and that’s what matters… Eric’s brother and SIL are going to be his godparents, so I’m pretty excited… I bought him an outfit a while back so we had to make sure it fit last night – he is going to look so handsome, I can’t stand it! Pictures to come…
Here’s a funny pic that I took today on my walk – notice the White House in the background… Have a great weekend!
defeated
Weekends go by WAY to fast, in my opinion – especially when your “to-do” list is longer than it should be… I’m not going to complain though, we did a lot around the yard this weekend – Eric worked his butt-off getting the half-barrels ready for our tomato and pepper plants, and I also planted herbs, and we did more mulching… Yesterday, Eric worked on getting the vehicles washed and detailed, and I spent time unpacking my summer bins, washing my winter stuff, and creating a giveaway pile… I’m still not done, so that will be my project this week (plus I haven’t even gotten to my shoes yet)…
Swapping my summer/winter clothes used to be more enjoyable because I always forgot that I had something cute, or decided that I wore something for long-enough and decided to give it away… This year, however, because I’ve gained weight – I spent a good 10-minutes crying my eyes out all because a cute dress, that I wore when I was 4-months pregnant, was too small… And out of 10+ pairs of pants & capris – I can almost fit into 2 pair… I was/am SO disgusted with myself and there’s no one to blame but myself… One-year ago, I weighed 15-pounds less than I do now… 15 POUNDS! Granted – I had foot surgery in February, broke my toe in May, and we moved in June, but still – how did I let this happen? Because I stopped caring, plain and simple…
It would be easy for me to think that I’m the only working-mother out there, but I’m not… I know there are thousands of women that work full-time, have a husband/partner, raise children, take care of a home, and have hobbies, etc., AND who make time for themselves… They do it before work, during work, or after the kids go to bed… There’s a gym in my building and it’s FREE – meaning, no membership, no crowds, and no creepy trainers… Deck goes to bed around 7:30 so that gives me around 3-hours until bedtime, which is plenty of time to workout if I can’t do it during the day… So what’s my problem? Choosing to put myself first is probably on top of my list right now… I’ve always had a guilt complex (i.e. calling in sick, asking for time-off, spending time away from Eric or Deck, etc.) so it’s hard for me to (1) step away from things and (2) feel that the world isn’t going to fall apart when I do… I realize this is all in my head and complete nonsense, but it’s my reality and I really need to face it or I’ll never reach my goals…
Tomorrow I will have second weigh-in on Nutrisystem and I’m not expecting a loss since I haven’t been following it 100%… As much as I wanted to do this program and thought about it for months, I’m really not enjoying it and am over it… I can’t see myself doing it for months and months because it’s hard having to think about and make 2 meals for everyone (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)… Yes, it’s convenient and yes, most of the food has been pretty good, but it’s expensive and I really think going back to my standby, Weight Watchers, will work better for me… I will still learn portion control and what foods will give me more bang for the buck, but at least I’ll be able to eat the same thing as everyone else… Truth be told – I’m a bit disappointed that it’s not as great as I thought it would be and feel that if my heart isn’t in the program, why keep paying for it… I’ll finish out the month, since I still have food, but will be canceling shortly…./sigh/
Hate being a debbie downer, so I’ll end the post with some recent pics of Deck… Such a ham, this kid… Today is his 18-mos bday and I love him more every, single day… Enjoy…
2012
would rather gain an hour than lose one
i really need to be better about updating this blog, though i do keep things current on facebook and twitter… i can’t believe february came and went, and i really can’t believe sunday is my 41st bday! the only plans (that i made) are dinner w/the hubby and kid, and that’s fine by me… i struggled with bday ideas, since i really don’t need anything, but did find some cute, plush alien dolls online while looking at robot dolls for deck… maybe i’ll think of something else between now and then, who knows…
our trip to florida last month was great and the auto train was a lot of fun! deck did really well and it was nice having our own roomette with bathroom (though small)… it was a bit rough on the trip down – we had to eat in our room since we got a late seating and the a/c wasn’t working so it was a tad warm… we didn’t sleep much though deck slept like a champ and was raring to go the next day… we stayed with eric’s parents at their condo in ft. myers and were able to see an aunt & uncle, the beach, the pool a few times, and a nearby park that had a small train ride… it was warm, but not humid and overall – a nice break from work… on the way back, we visited with eric’s sister’s family in st. pete – they moved to FL about a year ago so it was nice to see them… the train ride back was much better – we checked-in early so dinner worked out much better, the a/c worked, and everyone slept like a baby… we’ve already talked about our next trip down there – might try the family room this time which is bigger (though no bathroom)… photos from our trip can be viewed here…
work has been picking-up since our annual meeting is in less than 2-months… i’m not one to brag, but the chairman of our committee is dating THE george lucas who will be speaking on the friday afternoon panel… and an invitation has also gone out to THE president to speak at our opening session – won’t know for sure until a few weeks out (if we even get that much notice!)… if he does say yes, things will be crazy for sure since it will be high-security for a few hours before/after… exciting!
we finally hired a new designer, who is doing great so far, but we’ll be losing another one at the end of the month… i’m not surprised that she’s leaving – she’s getting married in september and her fiance graduates from grad school in may and will be looking for a job in NYC… ah, to be young again… i’m hopeful that the search for another designer won’t be as bad as before, so fingers-crossed… april and may are really busy months for us, so i’m just praying things stay on track..
i can’t think of anything else – oh, we found out that eric’s host-family in france (that we stayed with on our belated babymoon) will be coming to DC in june and staying with us for a few days… no time like the present to finish painting and getting the outside in order… deck will be thoroughly confused since he’s learning spanish at daycare and will have no idea what they’re saying… c’est la vie!
i’ll leave you with some recent pics of deck… hope you have a wonderful weekend! 
2012
it’s good to have a backup, for the backup
so much for staying a healthy household… i’m not naming names, but someone that i know got a 24-hour bug starting sunday night… amazingly, this was the FIRST time in almost 16-months that we’ve had to deal with vomiting and diarrhea at the same time… he never once cried or got upset, and even though he was still under the weather yesterday – he pretty much played all day and napped really well… he skipped dinner and was ravenous this morning and so far, no calls from daycare so i think he’s doing okay… i’m crossing my fingers that eric and i don’t get it before/on vacation, but if we do – at least it will be gone quickly…
the rest of the weekend came/went… on saturday – we had breakfast at our favorite diner and then the boys got their haircut… in the afternoon, eric and i worked on getting our bikes ready and installed the seat for deck, we can’t wait to try it out… on sunday – i did the usual cleaning, laundry, and grocery store, and then we ventured out to get deck a bike helmet and some new shoes… the kid has huge feet for such a little guy – 6W… geesh…
happy tuesday…
4-day weeks are the worst
it’s been a long, frustrating, and stressful week at work, but my boss just found out a person she interviewed for the open designer job is really interested! that’s the best news ever, esp. before the weekend… i went home early yesterday (since things here utterly sucked and i had to leave), and didn’t get a chance to meet her in person, but will on tuesday… i have no doubt that i will like her, since my boss and i have the same taste in a lot of things, but i’m glad she values my opinion with stuff like this… fingers crossed that it works out!
since this week was a blur, last weekend was a busy one since i took it upon myself to paint the LR (seems to be a habit on 3-day weekends)… it’s a nice shade of blue, which goes well with the chocolate brown furniture, and the next project is finding curtains and figuring out what gets framed and where should it go… i love me a challenge! we did hang the mirror above the fireplace (that i bought in june ’11) and love it…
i haven’t tried the elliptical yet since it was missing a piece, and then when we were almost finished putting it together – another piece was missing! stupid company… so i called them on monday and we got the pieces yesterday, though it was 2 of one part and the other parts that go with it, weren’t included… eric was able to make-do with what they sent, so now it’s together and ready for use… ironic that today, HR sent an email re: the building gym was finished and will be open for business on monday… that’s the 2nd best piece of news i’ve gotten today…
weekend plans: possibly ride-along with eric so he can get quotes for a truck-cap and then visit with mom on sunday…
happy friday…
first post of 2012
happy new year! i’ve been enjoying my last day of vacation so i apologize for the lack of posts during the holidays… we had a flurry of activity here between christmas and new years, and like i said – today is my last day of peace and quiet before going back to work… i celebrated by going to IKEA this morning and then i FINALLY ordered all of deck’s photos for his 1st year album (kinda late, huh)… i really need to come up with a better system, like maybe assemble them every quarter because it’s quite time-consuming… ugh…
anyhoo, we had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed having deck all to ourselves for the week… he is getting busier and busier by the day, and just tears around the house like a maniac… we have to keep all the bathroom doors closed or he will either (1) play in the toilet, (2) get into the trashcan, or (3) all the above… he’s also been enjoying throwing things down the stairs and vegging out on his bean bag… we didn’t go overboard for presents and even though he got some really great toys – his favorite thing is a wrapping paper tube! oy vey! his best present was a wooden motorcycle rocker from my sister (which also came with a baby harley davidson helmet, vest, jacket, etc.)… so damn cute!
i finally got word from the elliptical company and it will be delivered on saturday! we totally have room in the basement, but i really want to get rid of the bowflex first and what a beast that is! ugh…
well, i hope everyone had a wonderful christmas and new years… here’s to a happy and healthy 2012!
twas the night before christmas…
deck sporting his christmas jammies…
santa brought me an alien doll (my favorite movie)…
santa brought eric a steeler’s jersey…
deck all dressed up for church…
check out my ride, baby…
my boys hanging out in front of the fire…
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