New look!

What do you think?? It was definitely time for a change, and I needed to add Isabella into my header, of course.  I wanted something simple, but pretty.   I think it's perfect!  :) A big thank you to Katie @ Loves of Life for my new look!  She was very pleasant and easy to work with, so if you're looking for a new design, head on over there!  

The Nail Files

I'm a little late on this, but, I wanted to link up with Tara and her 'Nail Files' post! 

I'm a little obsessed with nail polishes, but not actually painting my nails.  Makes sense...no?  So, anyways, I finally was able to put on my Sally Hansen nail stickers that I bought a week or so ago, and I had to show them off!  ;) 

So, I LOVED the way it looked and how easy it was to apply.  I mean, no drying time??  Perfect!

And then, about an hour or so later, when the stickers started peeling up and wouldn't stick anymore?  Yeah.  That.  Not a fan.

I'm hoping it was just a bad batch or something, because I really do love how easy this 'polish' is.  But, for $10...I don't know if it's worth it.  I'll be sticking with my regular old 'wait-three-hours-for-it-to-dry' polish from now on.  :-/

*Our Love Story*

I'm posting today on behalf of Becky @ From Mrs. to Mama for her latest link-up!  Such a cute idea!

Our Love Story

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

Our 7 year dating anniversary (holy crap!  7 years already!) is on February 19th.  And, our 3 year wedding anniversary will be on September 6th of this year. 

2. How did you meet? {What's your  "love" story?}

Ha, not very exciting at all, but...he was my manager when I was working at Chili's as a server/bartender.  We were the 'forbidden couple', I guess you can call it, since managers aren't supposed to date their employees.  Something about favortism or whatever.  Which, actually, is crap, seeing that Hubs was harder on me than anyone else we worked with.  Ha!  The nerve.  ;) 

One of my favorite engagement pics

3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell}

We've been married almost 2 1/2 years now.  September 6th is our wedding anniversary. 

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?  If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?

We got married at one of my favorite venues in our state, outside, over-looking a lake, and had about 130 guests at our reception.  So, a pretty decent size wedding, if you ask me.  Now, if it were up to me?  I would've had a destination wedding, somewhere tropical, with just our closest friends and family.  But, unfortunately, we had to make everyone happy.  And, all in all, it was the most perfect day.  :) 

 

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!

Our one and only nickname (that we actually call each other more than our actual names)...Babe.  

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

He's the best daddy to Isabella that I could've ever asked for.  He loves me for ME, and still gives me compliments, even after 7 years!  (Hey, it's nice to know he's still attracted to me, even when I'm feeling like a frumpy, old mama these days.  ;) )  He's pretty damn funny, and knows how to make me laugh...a lot.
 

7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?

He actually proposed to me at one of my favorite places on Earth (2nd to Disney World, of course)...Fenway Park...home of the Boston Red Sox!  It wasn't cheesy or anything, like on the jumbo screen...but, it after the game was over, while we were taking pictures, with just us and his brother/SIL there--to document the whole thing, of course.  :)

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

Hm, I'd probably say neither.  He's brought me home flowers on random occasions, that's for sure...but, more often than not, we're usually just relaxing together at home, with a movie and a few beers/glasses of wine.  :) 

Our 1st anniversary

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?
Haha, see answer above.  If we were on a romantic vacation (aka - our honeymoon), I'm definitely a sunset dinner on the beach gal.  But, not for everyday romantics.  

Us before dinner on the last night of our honeymoon

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

Travel.  Most definitely.  I've been dying to go to many places together, and hopefully we will one day once our babies are a little bit older.  Hawaii, Mediterranean Cruise, Aruba...and the list goes on and on.  

Disney World 2008

Universal - City Walk 2009

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day. 

Nothing too fancy, I'm sure.  I think we're actually going to get a babysitter and go to a nice dinner, and maybe a movie.  Exciting stuff, I know. 

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

I wasn't going to, actually, but, this mama just informed me of a great sale on Lightroom 3 on Amazon!  I may or may not have to beg ask nicely for this.  ;)

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love. 

Open communication, laughter, and affection.  Ok, that's three things, but I couldn't choose just one.  Now, when I say affection, I don't mean sexy time...holding hands, a good hug at the end of a long day, a nice kiss.  It's the little things that keep that spark.  :)

14.  Show us a picture of what love means to you.

One of the first family photos we have together  :)

Random-ish

It's been forever since I've babbled on about random crap stuff.  Wait, don't I do that every day??

Anyways...who doesn't love a little mid-week randomness??   I know I do.  ;)

~  The Hubs bought a new car!!  And?  I loooove it!  He had a Jeep Wrangler 4-door before, which was fine, but not super safe with a baby.  His new ride?  Total family mobile!  Big, roomy, 3rd row seating....all the amenities!  Here she is:

It's a Hyundai Veracruz, and he got it in white.  It's so pretty!  :)  I can't wait to take family roadtrips in this bad boy!

~ So, remember when I quit Diet Coke a few weeks ago??  It's been over three weeks since I've had any soda!  I think that's honestly the longest I've ever gone in my life without it.  Go me.  :)

~  How am I doing with my blogging lately?  I think I've been doing pretty good, compared to last year, at least!  My new thing to help me blog more/better...as soon as I think of something I want to blog about, I log on to my Blogger app and start the post right away.  Even if it's just one sentence, I put it in there so I don't forget about it, and then I add the rest of the post later.  It's been working, so far!

 ~  During my long blogging hiatus back in December, I totally missed my two year blog-a-versary!  December 5, 2009 was my first blog post ever.  I honestly can't believe it's been over two years now since I started this fun little chapter...but, at the same time, I feel like I just started yesterday!  Thank you to all my awesome readers, and for all of you who stuck around through all my ups and downs of blogging.  I appreciate each and every one of you so much.  :)

~  Totally random, but, does anyone else hate showering as much as I do??  No?  Just me?  Let me clarify, I love the feeling of being clean and fresh after I'm all showered, but, I just hate the process of actually getting in the shower and all that jazz.  It's just so annoying to me.  I don't know.  Ha.  I swear I'm not a dirty, smelly girl. 

~  For the first time in almost all the seasons of The Bachelor/Bachelorette (I didn't watch Season 1), I'm not watching.  I'm sorry, Ben just does NOT do it for me.  He just seems so...boring?  Blah?  Just not into it.   And, for the first time ever, I read the spoilers on Reality Steve and know who he picks.  It's kind of fun, too....listening to everyone rant/rave about episodes each week, all while knowing exactly what's going to happen.  I kind of like it. 

~  I'm watching the finale of Tori & Dean right now, and watching the birth of baby Hattie is totally making me bawl my eyes out like a baby.  It reminds me so much of Isabella's birth, and I still cannot believe my baby girl is going to be one already.  And, it makes me want another baby just a little bit more.  ;)

And, with that, Little Miss is waking up from her nap now.  Time to play! 

Only one more day and then it's Friday!

Oh, AND, it's the Superbowl this weekend!  I hope you're all rooting for my Patriots!!  ;)

Noreply-comment@blogger.com

I'm re-posting this post I wrote a while back, since I've recently gotten a few comments and wasn't able to reply back to those people.  :(
 
Have I told you guys how much I LOVE getting comments from you all??  Like, love.  I really do.  I get so excited when my phone vibrates, and I check my email to see it's a comment from my blog.  I get all giddy.  (I'm a dork like that, I know.)

But, the worst part about getting comments, is when I go to reply to that comment, and I see 'Noreply-comment@blogger.com' as the email address.  :(   Boooo.  
 
Sooo, here are the easy! step by step instructions on how to change that!  (Ahem, *Kate*)  ;)

And, while you're at it...leave me a comment!  Please!  I want to hear from you!  Even if it's just to say hi...I don't care.  :) 

You never know, maybe we're meant to be BFF's and you just don't know it yet.  :P

 

1. Click on the Customize link in the upper right hand corner of your screen.

2. Click on the Dashboard link in the upper right hand corner of your screen.

3. Click Edit Profile, which in on the left hand side of the screen next to your profile picture.

4. This will take you to the Edit User Profile screen.

5. Look in the Privacy section.

6. Click on the box that says, "Show my email address."

7. In the Identity section, enter in an email address.

8. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on Save Profile.

And, that's it!  I hope to hear from you all soon!!  :)

Swing Into Spring!

Errrr...Winter?

We had another unseasonably warm day in the good 'ol Northeast the other day.  And, since I've been dying to take B on the swings for the first time, we finally did!! 

Honestly, you can't really tell from these pictures or video what her thought is on this whole swing thing, but I'm pretty sure she liked it!  Even if she does look like she's bored to tears.  ;-)

See for yourself.  What do you think?

Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics

 

 

 And, a little video to go along with the pictures!

Please ignore my annoying 'trying-get-Isabella-to-smile' voice.  Thanks.  ;-)

(And again, I'm sorry for the sideways video.  I've tried to flip it on YouTube many times, and the changes just won't show up.  :-/)

And, that's that...don't mess with Mama Bear

In case you didn't know, Isabella has been going to daycare since she was about 3 months old. It kills me to send her every day, and I would do anything to be a SAHM, but, it's just not financially possible right now. Hopefully someday.

Anyways, so with that said...

We've been really happy with our daycare choice, and every day I hear nothing but great things from her teachers about how well she's doing, and how much everyone loves her. That makes me one happy mama.

The one issue I've since since day one, though...the school nurse. For some reason, she feels the need to get way too involved in Isabella's daily routine/diet/life. And, she seems to think that talking to me like I'm an ignorant child, rather than Bella's mother, is a good approach to things.

Yeah, notsomuch.

Things started getting stressful for me less than a month after she started going there. This nurse seemed to think she knew my child better than me, and with that, she started telling me that I needed to give B more breastmilk in her bottles that I sent every day.

Excuse me? Am I her mother, or you? Let's get this straight...

And for the next few months, she would bring it up again, and again, and AGAIN.

"I think you should start giving her 4 1/2oz. I think she's still hungry, she needs 5oz. You should probably start giving her 5 1/2 oz."

I drew the line when she told me that she needed 6oz bottles. Apparently she didn't hear me when I told her that B loves to suck. It doesn't matter what it is...bottle, binky, finger...she just has that innate need to suck. Just like many infants do.

So, from the first day of daycare, I made sure to tell her teachers...as soon as she's done with her bottle, you need to give her the binky. She used to drinking at her own pace (from mama), and by sucking down her bottle so quickly, she doesn't realize she's full yet. Hence the binky. After about 5 minutes or so, she's usually completely content, and good to go for another 3 hours or so. End of story.

Well, after I started yes-ing her to death (but really completely ignoring what she was saying and bringing in bottles filled to the amount that I knew was good enough), she finally stopped bringing it up. It only took 4 months or so.

Now? Her latest thing she's been hounding me about since the day B turned 6 months old...giving her rice cereal. Which, coincidentally, the day she turned 6 months old, I said I didn't want her having. I was fine with them giving her the oatmeal/barley cereals they have, but, I just didn't want her having the rice. (It doesn't matter what my reasons are. I shouldn't have to explain myself and defend every decision I make for my daughter. Just sayin.)

Anyways, just like the breastmilk issue, she feels the need to bring it up 392 times, asking me over and over if it's ok if they give her rice cereal.

Apparently I wasn't clear the first 391 times I told her no.

Fast forward to this past Friday...

I walk into her classroom to find two of her teachers changing her diaper/outfit, since she had a blowout and poop was literally up her back. I didn't bat an eyelash, since that's a somewhat usual occurrence around our house (even though it's much less frequent than it used to be.)  But, it comes with the territory of having a breastfed baby.

So, I don't think I'm in the room for more than ten seconds before the nurse (who was already in the room) says, (in her flustered/annoyed voice):

"Can we start giving her rice cereal, please?!"

I mean, really lady? You do not. give. up. EVER!

She seems to think that by her having a little rice cereal a few times a week, that that will bind her up, and she won't have blowouts anymore.

Seriously? You don't think the bananas/apples/oatmeal and all the other 'binding' foods she eats are good enough? Rice cereal is going to be the magic trick? Please.

At this point, I'm so fuming and frustrated that she's still asking me about this, just staring at me, waiting for an answer. So, I spit out my usual "I'll have to talk to my husband and let you know" line, and run out of there as fast as possible.

Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of confrontation. My stomach was literally in knots all weekend thinking about what I was going to say to this woman today, and how I could go about getting my point across, without telling her off and making things even more awkward.

But, seriously? Who does this woman think she is? I highly doubt I'm the first mom that she's talked to this way, either. I don't know how she's gotten away with it for so long. And? She talks down to the other teachers, as well. It drives me IN-sane. It's like she has to have control, and if everyone doesn't bow down to her and agree with everything she says, then we're all wrong.

So anyways... I swear I have a point, and there's an end to this post soon. 

I ended up talking to her teachers today...who, by the way, I totally love, and are on my side...and they assured me that it's not just me that she talks like this to, and they're not worried about B or anything.  And, of course, just as we're about to leave, The Bitch walks in the room.

So, her main teacher enthusiastically chimes in that B ate great today, and that she tried little bites of pears, apples, and bananas this weekend.  (Instead of purees.)  And, of course, what does she say?  

"Oh, so did you decide on the rice?"   


I looked her right in the eye, and I say...

"Yes.  And, we're going to stick with our original decision of no rice cereal.  Thanks." 

And, with that, she gives me her typical smirk/smile, trying to hide the fact that she's annoyed with my answer.

And, I?  Turned around, and completely ignored her after that.  

I mean, do you think I finally got through to her?!  I mean, this is getting absolutely ridiculous.  Oh yeah, and, my husband and I definitely plan on talking to the director about all of this.  I don't appreciate being talked to the way she does, and, as Isabella's mother, I deserve a little respect.  

The end.  

Phew!   I'm pretty sure that was my longest post of text yet.  THANK YOU, if you got this far!  ;)