It's been a short week and I do very much love a short week. The weekend promises to be busy. My hope is the nasty storm clouds move out and the temp warms up a tad - mama is ready for some pool time!!! But first things first, nail polish on the tootsies and new sunscreen. Is it sad that it's June and I have not purchased sunscreen? My child has sunscreen, but I don't and if you know how pale I am, no sunscreen is a huge no-no!!!

Happy weekend all!

This is the kind of day I'm having today. I am definitely looking to forward to a much needed 3 day weekend. 

These Are My Confessions

Sing it like Boys 2 Men...

My 10 month old has 9 teeth and his one year molars are coming in. It's insane I tell ya.
I decided to make my little one a DIY baby book because I couldn't find anything in the store that I liked that didn't look too babyish. I still need to insert photos, but it's going well.
My house is a total disaster. Clean laundry on a pile on the living room loveseat. Floors that need vaccuming. Dishes that need washing. Toys that need putting away. But, all that can wait. My little man played and crawled everywhere and played some more and then passed out at 8:15p. Now, I'm tired.

Since I have to get up every morning and leave my house to go work, I shower and was my hair. But sometimes, I leave with my hair still damp. And, more often than I'd like to admit, I leave with no makeup on either.
I have been watching The Big Bang Theory on DVD for the last 2 nights. I love that show! I love it so much I did a google search to find out what brands of clothes Penny wears on the show. Seriously. That happened.

We are in the middle of first birthday party planning. I am having to much fun. His invitation is ordered. I designed it myself and got it ordered this weekend. I got such a phenominal deal and I am so excited about it!

I need a pedicure. My poor feet. They've been neglected for about a year. The last pedicure I got was right before I had little man last June. That was also the last time my nails were painted. I am way overdue.

Right now, I am craving a bear claw from Panera Bread. What's funny is Penny on The Big Bang Theory just said "I run till I'm hungry, then I stop for a bear claw."

I need to go shopping. Badly. Seriously. Since having a baby, my body has changed shape. Everything....shifted. And. My feet grew. I need a camel colored handbag, some red Tom's, denium shorts, a few shirts and pants to wear to work, flat camel colored sandals, black flats and jeans. Those are my needs. Let's not get started on wants.

I have a couple monogram necklaces I've been mulling over for a couple months. I really need to make a decision on which one to purchase. Wanna take a looksee?

This one is from baublebar.

This one is also from baublebar.

Which one would you pick?

Snotty McSnoterson

Do you remember that episode of Friends where Ross talked about the names he made up for his students? Haha so funny :)That's what my title is an ode to...

I am having a rough allergy year. Seriously rough. It's been bad. Even the Mr. has some issues every once and a while and doesn't have any known allergies. And the little man in our house? He's having a rough time like his mama. He's pitiful. Watery eyes and more snot than I would ever want to see. Grossed out yet?

I take a Claritin (and maybe tylenol for the headaches). I know what the problem is, been dealing with it my whole life. Though I must say, living in Nashville is worse on my allergies than back home in Alabama. But my little guy, he doesn't understand. He's not quite 10 months old so pretty much all I can do for him is suck his nose with an aspirator and wipe it down. Seriously pitiful. I use my grape scented Boogie Wipes or Puffs Plus facial tissues to wipe his nose when he needs it. I have been using the blue aspirator that we got from the hospital to suck his nose. I was told it was the best. The sweet nurses gave us two of them. I don't know about all kids, but my child HATES that thing. He starts crying as soon as he sees it. He fights us so hard to keep us from using it. He doesn't understand we are trying to help him.

I had seen an episode of Rachael Ray awhile back when they did a Human Lab. One of the products tested was this tube and you use it to suck the snot out of your baby's nose. Gross right? Well desperate times call for desperate measures.

I happen to see one of these things while shopping and on a crazy whim, I bought it. We have now used it several times. I LOVE this thing! It works so well! My child isn't afraid of it and we can get that yucky, nasty stuff cleared from his nose in no time. Seriously, I don't know why I didn't buy it sooner. No worries, there's a filter in it to trap the grossness, but in my experience, I really don't see how anything could reach your mouth. You would have to be one bad mambajamba sucker. Seriously award winning.

When I Grow Up

I remember saying the phrase "when I grow up" all the time when I was younger. I wanted to be a lawyer, a teacher, a mommy, a doctor. So many different things. When I graduated high school I had dreams of one day being a high powered executive. I would wear expensive suits and heels every day. People would listen to me and value my opinions.

Because of that dream, I went to college and majored in business management. I completed by degree and started an office job. I was on my way to achieving my dream of being this big corporate executive.

Well, over the years, that dream changed. I wanted to be a teacher. A photographer. A wedding and party planner. A graphic designer. An interior designer. A fashion designer. A personal stylist. A hairdresser. A stay at home mommy. I can't seem to make up my mind. I keep growing and changing and along the way, I find new passions, new things I love. I also find new ways to fill my ever-changing dreams of what I want to be. I have found that I am all ready many of the things I dream of being.

Although my career aspirations change constantly, one thing remains the same. I want to be the best granddaughter, daughter, friend, wife and mom that I can be. A person who loves unconditionally.

When I was thinking about all the things I want to be, I realized I am those things. I don't get paid for them with money, but I am paid in different ways. Ways that mean the most.

Does anyone else find their career aspirations change over time? I know I'm not alone.

Baby Products I Love: 0-3 Months

I think every mom, every parent, has things they rely on all the time. I know I read all sorts of magazines, blogs, parenting websites, books, you name it. I looked everywhere I could think of for recommendations of things to buy. A lot of the things other people love, I don't. These are just my favorite things I really, truly loved for my little man's first three months of life. These are things I used/use all the time.

1. Angelcare Baby Monitor. Oh. my. goodness. I can't say enough good things about this monitor. It serves as a traditional baby monitor but it also monitors the baby's movement so it will alert you if the baby stops breathing. I (like a lot of first time moms) was terrified my baby would stop breathing in his sleep. I was a nervous wreck. This monitor gave me a peace of mind. I bought my Angelcare Baby Monitor at Babies R Us.

2. Aden and Anais Swaddle Blankets. We registered for these and we LOVE them. We used them all the time to swaddle our little man. We still use them now. He plays with them, rolls on them, we use them as a light blanket when it's cool. We do so much things with them. We have 8 of them. Our Aden and Anais swaddle blankets came from Target.

3. The Total Baby app. I downloaded this app to my iphone and I used it constantly for my little man's first 3 months of life. It was so great for keeping track of feedings, diaper changes, etc. I loved the breat feeding timer especially. I could keep track of how long he nursed on each side, pause the app if he stopped and then restart it when he started nursing again. It also kept me on track of which side he nursed on last so I didn't have to remember. I am so thankful I didn't have to keep track because I certainly couldn't have remembered anything at that point. Who am I kidding, I can't remember anything now. Ugh, mommy brain. Which is why I still use this app. I log all of his milestones from sitting up, his first words, first foods, doctor visits, all of it. It's so nice because I can also export everything from the app to excel (or other programs in Microsoft Office, but I chose excel). This way, if something happens, I still have all of my important data.

4. Huggies Pure & Natural Diapers and Huggies Natural Care Wipes. I can't say enough good things about these two products. My sweet little man came home from the hospital with diaper rash. They used good diapers, great diapers even. Diapers I had received raved reviews about from friends and family. I was also given probably 1000 of these diapers from baby showers I had. BUT, they gave my sweet little baby diaper rash. Bad diaper rash. All over the booty diaper rash. I couldn't have that. We happened to have a couple coupons for Huggies Pure and Natural so we picked up a pack, just to try it. We never looked back. We love them. They are super soft, absorbant and never caused diaper rash on my little one. We used the Huggies Natural Care Wipes from he beginning so I have never really used any other brands. The natual care wipes are a great size and are nice and thick, which is handy for those messy diaper changes.

5. Stretchies. These are simply stretchy, zip-up sleepers. We get them from The Children's Place. My little man loves them, we love them. All is happy. I love the zippers because they make the middle-of-the-night diaper changes a little easier. I think we have these in every boy design they have.

So, there you have it. Those are my absolute favorite things I used for my little one for his first three months of life. Again, these are things that I love. Just one first time mommies opinion. What are your favorite baby products?

Fun

I need some. Desperately. My life has been  way too serious lately. I had planned to take the day off work today and hang out with a friend. We had a full day of shopping planned, no husband, no baby, just two girls shopping. Well, she's had a death in the family so that's not happening this week. I still took the day off work so despite my lack of time with the  little one, he went to daycare as planned and I am plan on working on some things around the house. Or maybe I will work on things I want to do but don't have time like scrapbooking. Hmmmmm

Since my life has been crazy serious lately and just crazy in general, I thought I'd go for light-hearted fun today. I am borrowing this from Katie at Loves of Life. Thanks for the inspiration girl!

Guilty pleasure?

Kendra. You know the former Girl Next Door? Yeah, I watch her show. She makes me laugh and who can't use a good laugh right?

Recent Splurge?

Oh gosh. Seriously, my last splurge was over a year ago when we were on vacation (which was the last one we had). I bought Uggs. The tall beige ones and I love them. I just hope they still fit since my feet decided to grow during my pregnancy. I got pregnant right after we got back from vacation. After. Funny huh? Well they say relax.

In bulk, I buy?

Wipes. Boxes of them. The big ones at that. I also stock up on diapers when there's a sale. If my child outgrows them, then I exchange them for the next size up. No problem.

My go-to flower?

It depends on the season. And my allergies. I love flowers but am allergic to quite a few. My favorite flower of all time is the calla lily but I am bad allergic unless the stems are cut out of the middle for me. Usually I go for hydrangeas which are nice and poofy and come in great colors. I  love roses (of course). I also love carnations, which I think get a bad rap sometimes. They are inexpensive, come in tons of colors, are available almost all year long in the South and best of all, they are my birth flower.

Comfort food?

I love chili and soups! My favorite soup is chicken tortilla. I love a nice meat and bean chili but unfortunately I can't have tomatoes right now. I am still breastfeeding (well, pumping since I'm working) and tomatoes make the little one sick.

For breakfast?

Whole grain cinnamon waffles. Bacon. Pancakes. Raisin Nut Bran. Scrambled eggs. Biscuits and sawmill gravy or biscuits and chocolate gravy. Oatmeal with brown sugar and cinnamon. Maybe some orange juice.

I am not a coffee person so in the mornings I drink caffeinated unsweetened tea. Yes I said unsweetened. And don't say I'm not southern because I will haul some small town Alabama out on ya! I wasn't allowed to have sugar when I was younger because I was so hyper so I got used to drinking unsweetened tea. It's like diet coke. It's an acquired taste.

For dinner?

Hamburgers or steaks grilled on a charcoal grill. There's nothing like the taste of charcoal.
Something with chicken. We eat a ton of chicken.
We love pasta. Oh, and I love veggies. All of them and pretty much anyway you cook'em.

Love/hate relationship with?

My hair. It's straight and I accept that it doesn't hold curl well, but I keep hoping it will one day decide to cooperate.

Can't stop watching?

Glee.
How I Met Your Mother.
2 Broke Girls (laugh out loud funny).
That Girl.
Mike & Molly.
Whitney.
Parenthood - the only non-comedy in the bunch. But it's a really good show.

Dreaming about?

What my dream house looks like. Winning the lottery (but I need to play first. Which I don't). And other stuff.

Every girl should have?

One go-to make-up item: For me it's Dior lipgloss. Best lipgloss I have ever owned. Seriously. I never pay that kind of money for lipgloss but this stuff is worth it.

But seriously, a classic, works in any season handbag and pair of shoes is a must, must, must have for every girl.

My style in five words?

That's impossible! Absolutely impossible. I love shoes. Seriously, I have a shoe problem. I love handbags. I also have a handbag problem. I love jeans, tops, jewelry, oh the jewelry. I love scarves and I love to tie them on my handbags. I love braided hair. I just love clothes and fashion in general.

I love wearing?

Jeans, fun sandals/flats/heels/boots, a cute top, awesome handbag, great jewelry

Dream job?

I've wanted to be a teacher forever. Now though, I want to be a work at home mom or a stay at home mom. I never thought of myself as being that girl, but...I so am.


I love that today is 11.11.11. How fun is that?

Happy Veteran's Day! Go hug a vet or at least a member of their family and thank them for their sacrifices. God Bless them all!