A mommy necklace. 
I love this one by Lauren Nicole
http://www.laurennicolegifts.blogspot.com/
She is currently giving one away. Check it out. If hubby won't get me that one maybe I can have the one that is similar to the one Sharla got!
Hint hint hubby dearest!
Alright Nikki, inquiring minds want to know!
You think you know me...right? Hahaha!
10. I was a child Model...for Roses Department Store.
9. I am neurotic about feet....especially other people's feet. Gross
8. I originally was going to school for Architecture. Why did I change again?
7. I wear socks maybe four times a year. I hate them.
6. I gave up painting my toes and dying my hair after I got pregnant.
5. I eat Peanut butter out of the jar at my house...yeah I would stay away from that on the next visit.
4. I lost three cup sizes after I got done nursing. Dang the milk gods!
3. I lost three dress sizes after I got done nursing. I love you milk gods!
2. I secretly love Eadsfest even though I complain to Michael about having to plan it. It is the only party I throw out of three a year I don't stress about once it starts. Who cares about being a good hostess when beer is involved?
1. I bite Lily's nails for her when they tear. Yeah you just threw up in your mouth a little. You will do it too my friend, just wait.
I had lunch with friends this past week who are expecting and her husband could not get enough information from us. He took notes. No really he did. Right after her told us how excited he was to get an electric toothbrush for his birthday. God I love him!
But when talking about registering I got the idea for this post. These are items you must register for. No matter what. You will need them trust me. In addition, some of my favorite memories associated with that item. So today's rave review is....
Top Ten MUST Register for Items
If you looked to the left I follow a blog called Lauren Nicole Gifts. Denise's husband is an avid trash digger. He builds stuff out of all kinds of finds. Just this week he got a display table from a Coach store that was remodeling to give Denise a "packaging" center. Her husband's trash digging experiences always give me a chuckle. But more often than not I am jealous that we don't find cool stuff like that! Of course we don't excactly look....
But today is another story! I was driving through our neighborhood on the way to work and I spotted a bike with training wheels sitting next to a neighbors trashcan for pick up. I just got a glance at it, as I am that annoying neighbor driving way to fast through the neighborhood and never stopping at those pesky stop signs. But I immediatly dialed Michael and told him to check it out on the way to daycare. Notice I wasn't about to dig in the trash to get it. I mean that is just embarrassing.
When I called him to check on the status he said it was quite a find. Just needed to be cleaned up a bit but he was pleasantly suprised at how nice it was and couldn't believe they were just throwing it out. Of course our next door neighbor saw him trash digging on his morning walk. Oh well.
So Lily is the proud owner of her very own bike...including training wheels. Now all I need to do is buy her some pom poms for the handlebars. Of course there is always trash day next week to look for those!
My husband has had me training all week for Eadsfest 2009. Ugh. I am 10 pounds heavier from all the carb loaded beer and not any better at a game that involves a ping pong. Somebody shoot me or call AA. Seriously....save me.
But with that being said... I might be MIA this week. Don't look for any fun posts as I will be
a. chugging a beer
b. searching for the aspirin cabinet
c. cleaning so people don't have to sleep in dog tumble weeds
d. playing beerball in my garage
e. playing beer pong in my garage
f. practicing the art of flip cup
g. spinning around a bat
h. sitting in my garage after losing multiple rounds of d. e. and f. without the coordination to move.
The punishment of being on the defending champion team. My only encouragement? Knowing I helped win the competition last year without having drank hardly anything for over a year. See October of last year for a preview of what is to come!
I got a complaint from my husband this week. "The blog has not been talking about Lily enough...I really just like looking at pictures of Lily." Basically you are talking about yourself too much and who cares what you think! Well this is true...sorta. But this is about our FAMILY. Although our world seems to revolve around her these days we do have a life outside of her...somewhat. So this is for you my dear Hubby. But a little piece of advice...YOU could post something and quit complaining or I won't cook for a month.
We had a fun and busy weekend. On Friday our daycare had a swim party at a local pool from 7-9 after work. I forgot my camera so no pictures of Lily in her bikini but it was a lot of fun! I was disappointed that none of her teachers were there and not one child from her class but whatever the three of us were splashing with the older kids. Two of the three infant teachers were there so they doted on her since they miss there Lilybug! I only saw one of the infants there out of ten! I guess the time was too late for the younger kids but Lily is a Party Animal as I told the owner. Michael even took a few dives off the diving board. Lily floated around in her float and refused to be held in the pool. Miss Independent. I only float by myself you can't help me. Yes the monster I have created. She was waving at everyone and telling them "ByeBye" even when we weren't leaving. But by a little after 8PM she was barely holding her eyes open in the pool so we headed home not long after that. She never got fussy just droopy eyed.
On Saturday we went to Marbles, the local Kid's Museum. It was pretty cool and only five dollars a person to get in. First the bad...it was crazy busy. It was Saturday so it is expected. The good...Lily loved it! They had some cool, hands-on activities as well.
Some pics of our adventure. I remembered the Camera! Daddy and Lily in the parking garage.
Oh my a fish! The first thing she saw and she was pumped. We had to pull her away from the fish screaming to let her explore the rest of the museum. Fishy II is still blissfully swimming at home so we needed to see other special things.
This week I missed a hair appointment because I got stuck at work and then preceded to get lost going to a place I have been at least four times. This is my life. I got there and of course she couldn't work me in. I was irate! I have been going to this lady for almost five years and you can't give me a break and work me in? I couldn't even reschedule because I didn't know Michael's work schedule, and what we had going on. I couldn't even plan when I had my next thirty minutes free!
I went back to my car and I admit I cried. That is what I do when I am mad. But as I drove home still pretty angry at her, my sense of direction, the lady that kept me the ten extra minutes at work, the traffic and the lady driving slow in front of me I asked myself what I was really mad about?
I wasn't really mad. I was disappointed. I may have took it out on the lady driving slow in front of me. I may have road her tail a little too close because eventually she flipped me off. In my defense she wasn't going the speed limit on the country road. But I shouldn't defend my actions. It is not her fault I have no time to decompress and hop straight into "Mom" mode when I get home. It is the disadvantage of being the early off parent.
Thirty minutes...that is all I need. I had been looking forward to the thirty minutes of peace for weeks. Thirty minutes of pampering, of someone else fixing my hair. Instead of a night brushing off the one year with one hand and stirring veggies with the other, while the dog is barking at a deer and my husband isn't home at his normal 6:30 after being home for two hours alone already. Just thirty minutes of peace. Thirty minutes of not feeling guilty that I didn't read Lily the story she was handing me because I was sweeping so when she sat on the living room floor she didn't rise up looking like a miniature version of our black lab. Is that too much to ask? So really was it thirty minutes without guilt that I was looking forward too?
I get two hours of uninterrupted time with Lily every weekday afternoon. I regret to say not everyday do I take advantage of that. In fact, more days I don't than I do. Two hours to snuggle and read stories and play outside with her that Daddy misses out on. But most days I am too bogged down with the house stuff, the dinner stuff and distracted with the TV and the dogs, and the phone and the computer. Don't I know how lucky I am? No all I think about is all the stuff I am not getting done.
But I have promised myself I will not do this anymore...okay as much. I mean we still have to eat! Maybe the decompress time I need isn't away from the individual things. Lily. The House. Job. Husband. It is the combination of them all. I need to learn to focus on one and not get overwhelmed with them all. As a new parents we all struggle with how to juggle our many responsibilities. I don't know if we ever learn how to get rid of the guilt and to manage to get it all done.
But we have got to try! So when I get home from now on I am Mom for at least an hour. Just Mom. Not maid, not chef, not auditor. Just Mom. The Mom that chases her little girl around the yard with a water hose, and reads the same Elmo book ten times in a row. Because this is her hour. No this is our hour and we can do whatever she wants to with that hour. And that is okay. Maybe then those thirty minutes of peace won't be longed for quite as much!
Just some fun shots of Lily, Mommy, and Daddy playing this week.
Oh look a bucket! Mommy did you put this here for me?
Wait a minute there is something IN HERE! 
Legos! Only the coolest toy ever! And they are the bestest color...pink! Thanks Marlee
But wait a minute....I don't think making Lego castle with two sides the same color is good fashion sense. Mmmm decisions decisions.
Lily is now 14 months and counting! Wow that is hard for me to believe. Her birthday seemed liked last week.
Size: We have a doctors appointment at 15 months for a checkup and shots but our rough estimate is she is still hovering around 25 pounds give or take a few ounces. She doesn't seem to be gaining too much weight just getting taller. Everyday she is taller to me! I mean I use the word tall very loosely. She is still a head shorter than her cousin who is a month older. But there was never a doubt she would be short.
Mobility: Running. Yes running at every oppurtunity. When you are chasing her and when you are not. When she has a diaper off she is gone. Last night at bath time I made the mistake of not shutting the bedroom door and at full sprint I got her halfway down the hall! How are those little stubby legs so fast. And she thinks it is funny and just giggles. It's not going to be funny when Mommy dies of a heartattack!
Speech: Few new words but nothing dramatic has changed. Mama, Dada, Bye, Ball (Ba), Cesna (dedna), Dog, Moo (Mmmm), Boogetity Boo(bouoianfadfh), no, she said the word "mouth" once with no repeat, I swear she says "I don't wanna" and "I don't know" but no one else would understand it!
Developmental Play: We bought her a big, cheap, red ball from target that she carries around and throws to you while we are outside. She loves it everyday! She can ride in her little cars going backwards like a champ but forwards is still not as easy. She plays with her leggo and puts them together and apart. She brings you stuff just to hear you say "thank you", she still loves hiding and peeking around corners at you, and anytime she is in another room you can say "Where is Lily?" and she comes running to "surprise" you, she loves magnets on the fridge especially the alphabet and her leapfrog farm, books are still her favorite and she can now recognize a lot of things you ask her about like dog, kitty, bird, elmo, big bird, grover, balloon, bear, mouse, FISH!, and other objects, she waves at the cows we drive by on the way home and with encouragement moos at them, she does the cutest thing now where she backs up to you butt first to sit on your lab for a book or so you can hold her to play with Fishy II, and she loves for you to pretend you are a sleep so she can wake you up and "get you."
Playing with her is a lot of fun these days!
Eating: Still eating pretty much everything. I have noticed she will sometimes just pick at the food but usually after a big breakfast or lunch. She LOVES eggs and wants some off our plate every morning. We have started testing her with a plate occasionally and she is doing well with that. Sippy cups are a whole other issue. She has figured out how to get the liquid out of our soft silcone Nuby cups. She does this on walls, on the fridge, on the dog, on the floor, and on her highchair tray. Michael said he let the dogs out and she had emptied the entire cup of milk on her tray and was splashing in it. Soooooo.... we have started transitioning onto straw sippy cups. She is very good with them I just haven't had the time to go buy more than the two we own.
Sleeping: Still awesome at this! She sleeps anywhere from 10-13 hours a night and still at least one two hour nap and sometimes a second one hour nap on busy days. We have her in bed by nine but it is not unusually for her to go down at seven on busy days and she sleeps till eight in the morning. She slept til nine last Saturday! Yeah we have it good in this department. Like Father Like Daughter! She fell asleep at the lunch table at school yesterday.
She is so fun these days. Exhausting but fun! We have an ear check up at the end of the month and a chickenpox shot appointment the next day. But other than a bout with bronhtis at the end of the month (with no resulting ear infections) she has been doing good!
My first edition to Flawed Life. More specifically...Flawed Marriage. I always wonder if one day I am going to get a posting on my blog from Michael threatening divorce for devulging too much on my blog...Luckily he loves me! I hope you enjoy and let me know if you think the feature should continue to be a part of our postings...or if it really is TMI! Michael your vote doesn't count :)
I lay in bed wondering what just happened? After a five minute argument involving me saying “no” to love making for what my husband probably views as the millionth night in a row my “I love you” was returned with a raspberry. Yes a raspberry. The childish act we find ourselves doing with our toddlers. My toddler has been doing it since she was about five months old. She always thought it was funny…especially while eating her sweet potatoes. Her raspberries were often answered with chuckles from Daddy and Mommy and in return we would receive a toothless smile. But this particular raspberry deserved no chuckle. Is this what might my marriage has become? When I love yous start being reciprocated with raspberries we must ask ourselves. What came first…The childishness or the child?
I can testify that my husband has grown up quite a bit since the birth of our little girl. Maybe even since the pregnancy. Battling a rough pregnancy of exhaustion that never let up he picked up all the extra house duties that I normally handled. They may not have been done the way I wanted but for once I didn’t push it or maybe I just didn’t care enough at that point to complain. He took care of me and cooked more than I can ever remember. Only occasionally did he snap under the added responsibility, but don’t we all? My husband still fights for those responsibility free days. Whether it is drinking with his buddies, tailgating football games, staying out until two in the morning- he longs for the good ol’ days. The same days I give up willingly to going to bed at nine and reading a good book. Maybe it is something he will never grow out of. Maybe it is a guy thing. Maybe it is why I love him so much.
But I will not defend this action because in my heart it hurt. I know that he really wants the affection. I know I really want the sleep. But as he got out of bed to go downstairs and watch TV I was left mystified. When did it become okay to act like this? The answer? It isn’t. It is never okay! I forgave him by the end of the next day….I admit I hold grudges. The whole “don’t go to sleep mad” advice never stuck in our household. I am pretty sure he stayed mad as well. But we let it go. It is not the social definition of communicating but we both got the hint. Neither of us apologized, because neither of us feel we should apologize for the way you feel. It is your right as a person whether that person be a child or an adult.
The truth is we must grow up. We must learn to communicate, and all of this while we are adding more and more responsibility. I guess the answer to my question is the childishness. For we all once were children. I think we forget that at times. And in times of stress or emotional interactions maybe we resort back to our childish antics to communicate our hurt. But what kind of example is that to our daughter? I am not sure but when I tell her ‘no’ and she responds with a ‘raspberry’ I don’t know how effective ‘I’m telling your Daddy’ will be.
I got the idea to start a new feature on the blog about how in general we as parents do all the things the research (aka society) tells us not to do. By doing these things we show our flaws as a parent. Does that make us bad? Does it make us unfit? Everyday I demonstrate my lack of perfection by letting Lily watch TV while I prep dinner, cursing in front of her when I bang my pinky toe, or forgetting diapers on a trip to the store to be followed up by an explosive diarrhea episode. Everyday I justify it to make myself feel better. "It's only Sesame Street" and "She is too young to understand" and the best one "Everybody does it occassionally."Yes all these have happened to me, and yes Lily survived them all.
But then I started thinking. It is more than just being flawed as a parent but being flawed as a person. I am a full time mom, a full time wife, and a full time employee, a full time friend, a full time daughter, aunt, sister, cousin, etc. etc. With everything full time isn't everything really part time? How many times have I neglected Michael or a friend because these days I have to sacrifice day to day things to make my world go round? My new feature will focus on these issues. More importantly it will focus on the fact that it is okay that these things happen and we are not alone in forgetting to call our best friend on her birthday or realizing the only time we have to relax is the three minute shower we get each morning. Maybe if we all took a step back we would realize it doesn't make us unfit it makes us normal! So hopefully this will help me and you let go of some of the guilt we feel when we get irritated that we can't get through an episode of The Office without somebody needing something from us.
Hey it's Flawed, but it's life!
I have been slack with my reviews. Actually I have been slack with the blog in general over the past few weeks. I think the Europe posts drained me. And to be honest my Europe post were suppose to be so much cooler but life has been hectic over the last month....well two months.
Without further adieu my Rave Review this week will be in the form of a list to make up for missed weeks. Let's see I have missed ten weeks...wow it was worse than I thought...so this will be my top ten list for pregnant women.
1. Stretchy Pants: Yay! The best part about being pregnant. I remember it clearly. The miserable day, way to early in my pregnancy, that I had to go shopping for bigger pants. I went to Old Navy and Motherhood and slipped on my first pair of maternity jeans. Heaven. Pure Bliss. Enjoy these ladies. Especially around Thanksgiving. Assuming you are not already getting big and Junior won't let you eat more than a bite at a time. haha!
2. Body Pillow: Get the long ones that you can snuggle with. I also recommend a pillowcase. Because towards the end you get really, really sweaty all the time and pillow gets stinky quicker than you think. Now is a great time to buy them because college is about to start. Some other times of year they are harder to find. This is a lifesaver when you have start sleeping on your left side.
3. Cheap FlipFlops: If you are planning on being preggers (think third trimester) in the winter make sure to buy a pair of flipflops before they go out of season. Buy them a size bigger, maybe two sizes and make sure they are cloth and stretchy. Now some people go the crocs route. I think these are hideous and if I see you wearing them anywhere other than your garden I will publicly point and laugh at you! Now you may ask...why would I wear flipflops in the winter? Because your feet are sausages and your body temp always feels like it is hovering around a million degrees. Trust me the cold air will be welcoming. Just make sure you check them regularly for blueness. My feet got so big they were numb. haha!
4. MooMoos from Walmart: Yeah you heard me. Make sure they have small buttons near your breasts in case you are breastfeeding later they come in handy. You aren't going to be able to sleep in those tshirts and shorts for long! I think I paid 10 bucks for my cotton ones and they are comfy. Hideous, but comfy. And they tend to be longer so they grow with you and don't get to short. They covered enough to wear in front of family when they visited.
5. Cook Out Milkshakes: Nuf Said. I know what I am having for lunch now.
6. Compression socks: These can sometimes be hard to find and look ridiculous but trust me. If you are traveling in the car or by plane at all and you have any swelling issues these are a must. Look in the hosiery section or in the men's socks to find them. They keep you from swelling more and prevent clots while flying.
7. Foot stool: Get two. One for beside your bed if your bed is not low enough to just fall into and one for under your desk if you have desk job. This helps relieve pressure off your back by pulling your knees up. It also helps with swelling.
8. Baby Bargains Book: A friend let me borrow this and it was awesome for those people planning a baby on a budget. It tells you what is worthless and what is worth spending money on.
9. Consignment sales: Sign up for all of them! I mean all of them! You will get info on when they are and most times you get to shop early if you are preggers. Great for budget moms like me. I get tons of clothes (especially the smaller clothes they grow out of each week!) and some bigger ticket items (highchairs, excersaucer) Now I do recommend waiting until after your showers...it is always better to get new stuff! haha! But sometimes you can find almost new stuff and take other gifts back and get diapers. You can never have too much of that!
10. Baby Websites: Sign up now for every baby website you can. Think Similac, Enfamil, Gerber, Beech-nut, Pampers, Huggies. Coupons!!!! I got so much baby formula samples in the mail that when I was done breastfeeding I only bought three cans of formula. Talk about a money saver.
Now remember this when you decide to join in the journey of parenthood. You never know what a margarita night will lead too.....compression socks, moomoos, and cook out milkshakes.
