Tuesday, August 31, 2010

important life questions

do you think i'm too old to wear a romper?

i don't want to be one of those moms that's still shopping @ forever 21 in twenty years- so i need to know. Pin It!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

awesome mom check-in

i'm not one for tooting my own horn, but i kicked some serious ass today/tonight. 

i'm on day 7 of the shred- and it's going well.  i'll admit, i didn't shred yesterday, as i had pregnancy-like tiredness.  btw, anytime i have a pregnancy like "symptom" i get really paranoid.  being pregnant is awesome- but this is neither the time or place.

after shredding and getting ready, we headed to the grocery store- we had been making just small trips while our friend was staying with us, and it was time for a real trip.  so we got our groceries, some new pillows for the bed, and a 5-piece patio set (in late august, yes).  after she had finished ringing everything up, the total was over $285- then we gave her our coupons... our new total- $202!!  we basically got the patio set for FREE!  The receipts at target always print what you saved and we saved $91!!  couponing = total pain in the butt that is so worth it!!

after we got home, i made dinner- which was pretty much a 6-dish meal!  coleslaw, shrimp tacos (husband grilled those for me), guacamole, mexican rice, black beans and apple bars w\ homemade whipped cream for dessert!!  i managed to do all of that in about an hour & 15 minutes.  it was awesome...  photo evidence:


in between all that i made baby food for ian:  plums and yellow squash- plus, i froze some canned pumpkin for him.  i had to put nectarines, peaches, and more peas & apples on hold for another day.  i can only do so much...

i'm off to pat myself on the back, and rest until tomorrow... which after all, is another day.... Pin It!

Friday, August 27, 2010

good, good people

i don't see a lot of good at work.  most nights i want to "cut someone."  monday night was different.  someone brought me to tears- and not because they were mean to me...

a lady and her 2 children were in line buying some groceries & school supplies- when i gave her the total- she went into her purse and realized she had left her wallet in her car, but she did have her checkbook, and i told her she could write a check.  our computers are weird though- sometimes when you write a check we have to see id, and sometimes we don't.  of course, this time we did, and her id, of course, was in the car with her wallet.  so we unloaded her cart, and she left to go out to her car.  during that time, i checked a couple other people out, and then my next guest was a young woman, mid 30's with some groceries.  while bagging her stuff and putting it at the end of the lane- i told her that the bags to my left belonged to another guest who had to run out to her car.  the lady then asked me if i knew how much they were- and i told her i wasn't sure- maybe $60, and her response- "i'll pay for them."  i was totally shocked.  she asked me if i could hold her transaction, and she would go ahead & pay for the others.  so i did, and gave her the receipt.  around that time, the first lady returned with her wallet.  she second lady took the receipt and handed it to the first, and told her not to worry about it.  that lady was also shocked.  she thanked her many times and went on her way. 

i really wonder what the impact will be on the first woman- will she pay it forward?  it's definitely inspired me to try and find a way to commit a random act of kindness to a stranger. 

have you ever witnessed or been the recipient of a random act of kindness?  what was the act, and how did you pay it forward?

thank you lady.  you really made my day Pin It!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

call me the shredder


well, not quite, but that's the husband's new nickname for me. yesterday i started jillian michael's 30 day shred.  a girl from my new mom's group mentioned that she had bought the dvd, and was going to start it- so i figured i'd start it too (i had the dvd pre-baby) that way we could keep each other accountable.  we started on monday, so it's day 3.  i really hope i keep it up until day 30.  i need this.  

 

i need this because my self-esteem has taken quite a few hits lately...

#1 - i decide to use the wii fit for the first time since I was pregnant- over a year ago.  i was still in the early stages of my pregnancy then, so i had only gained a few pounds- but wasn't to point that i'm back at now.  so i step on the board and the wii tells me i gained 8.8 lbs, makes my mii fat and tells me that i failed at my weight loss goal (the one i set before i knew i was pregnant).  if only the wii knew i had gained 45 total lbs and lost all but 10...

#2 - i downloaded a new app on my phone that tracks your weight.  you put in a goal, and then you put in your current weight with your height.  i put in all this information, press enter, and the app replies, "you are   fat."  nice.  i guess it could be worse- just playing around, i put my weight down as 200 lbs and it said, "you will die."


so i need to lose 10 lbs to get back to pre-baby weight, but everything i read says that i was still 20 lbs overweight then (wtf?!)  regardless, i'm about to get serious!

so i figure, what better way to motivate than to humiliate...

so, here i am on day 2 of the 30 day shred

from the front.

and from the side - still looking preggers.  boo.

update in 27 days...
Pin It!

Monday, August 23, 2010

so smart

well, i've done it!  i've marked another item off the 30 before thirty list!

#23 join the rest of the modern world with a smart phone.  or as one of my husband's friends said to him, "welcome to 2003."  i think 2003 is a huuuuuge stretch...


our contracts were finally up on the garbage phones we had, and we started shopping around- we compared companies and narrowed it down to 2 that had the best deal- t-mobile or sprint. i am huge on customer loyalty, and i've been with t-mobile since 2003.  the other good deal was with sprint.  boo.  i finally talked husband into staying w\ tmo, so we headed to the store to get our new phones.  however we got there only to encounter a problem:  we had switched to the "everything plus" family plan last august, which is a "no contract" plan meaning we were no longer eligible for deals and upgrades.  uh oh.  our awesome sales guy put us on the line w\ customer care, but while we were holding, the mall was about to close, so we said we'd try again on saturday. 

so we get up saturday morning and husband puts a call into to customer care- he talks to kim (we don't know you, but you're awesome) tells her the situation (we were among the first customers to switch to this new plan, so we were never informed that we couldn't "switch back") and that was that.  kim gave us the hook up, and we were free to get new phones.

i feel so smart now.  not only can i text with ease, access my email and facebook, and upload photos of the helmet full of nachos we ate at wrigley, but my phone is no longer a danger to anyone around it.  i will no longer reach into my pocket for my phone and slice my finger open.  that happened.

behold:

*notice in the top picture, the buttons on my old phone are missing, and the metal is folded up.  oh, and the phone doesn't have a back cover. 

i <3 you smart phone! Pin It!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

change of a-dress

har.

husband and i have been invited to a fancy wedding in october.  it's an evening wedding with a cocktail hour and the reception is here ::swoon::  it's going to be all kinds of fancy, and i want to look really nice as it will be a night out without baby.  i've already started looking for dresses, and i'm searching high and low on the internet for the dress. 

so where are your favorite places online to shop for dresses? Pin It!

Monday, August 16, 2010

to move or not to move

i hate moving.  HATE it.  there is nothing worse than packing all your junk in boxes, loading them on a truck and driving them across town, or the country.  whatev.  i've moved many times.  we moved when i was a baby, we moved when i was in middle school, i moved in and out of a dorm 4 times, i moved into my own apartment in atlanta, i moved back home, i got married and moved out, i moved to illinois, and into my in-laws, i moved the rest of my stuff into a storage unit, i moved our stuff into a different storage unit, i moved out of the storage unit and out of the in-laws and here we are today.  grr. 

so moving stinks, and moving into somewhere else stinks b\c since we will be renting forever for a while, the fact is that we'll have to move yet again until we actually own another place. 

here's the current situation.  we like the neighborhood- it's quiet, and i haven't had to call 911 yet.  we like the area.  the house is decent.  it was built in the 90's and definitely needs some updates.  but that's where the problems come in...

1.  old a/c system.  the hvac system here stinks.  in atlanta, we kept the air on 78 in the summer and survived quite nicely.  here, we sometimes have it as low as 75 and the upstairs is still over 85 degrees.  not cool- literally...  in the winter we usually keep things on 68- but we have to keep it even lower b\c it gets really hot upstairs in the winter too- and the downstairs is freezing. 

2.  all hardwood/tile floors.  if you've ever lived in the midwest, you know that winter is not the pretty picture you see in paintings and photographs.  it's cold and it's ugly.  think of your car covered in rust, salt and sludge.  then imagine that sludge being dragged into your house every time you walk into the door.  then imagine your landlord thought white tile in the entry way was a good idea.   plus, ian is going to be crawling soon- not only is the floor hard, but we have 2 annoying dogs that shed tiny hairs everywhere, and my child feels the need to put everything in his mouth- especially after he throws it on the floor. 

3.  garage situation.  as i mentioned a few weeks ago, our garage went kaput, and we were locked out of our house for an evening without the dogs and only the clothes (and diapers) on our backs (and baby butts).  no fun.  the landlord came and let us in on sunday, and the garage repairman came on monday.  he fixed the problem, and discovered another- and that is that the top panel of the garage is pulling away from the arm that holds the garage door up.  awesome.  repairman's advice, "if i were you, i'd just try not to use the garage door at all."  awesomer.  the repairman contacted the landlord, and he decided against the repair.  so i've parked my car outside the last few weeks, and we rarely use the door except on garbage day and those days when we're taking lots of stuff in the house and it's not convenient to go through the front.  remember what i said about winter?  if i can't park my car in the garage over winter- that will be the ultimate deal breaker for this house.  1.  i hate cold.  2.  i don't want to have to worry about ian being outside- having to fumble with the keys to get in the house while holding a sleeping baby- that i had to get out of the car and carry up the walk, all while trying not to bust my ass on the ice. 

4.  there are only 2 bedrooms.  we have a 3 week house guest and ian is sleeping in our room.  all has gone really well so far, but for future guests, we'd like them to really have their own room- and we have the furniture for it too. 

so those are the issues, with the big one being dependent on whether or not the garage door gets fixed.  i don't know what would happen if the panel broke from the arm- but i'm guessing it would not be good, and i don't really want to find out.  i wish our landlord would understand how important fixing this stuff was.  i know he's had to put a lot into the house since we've moved in (heating panel went out, garbage disposal, and garage), but this is what happens when you're a landlord- and he's lucky he is.  we tried to rent our house in atlanta for months with no luck, and i would've killed to have had a tenant.  we didn't find a tenant, and now we're in the situation we're in.  which, btw, our house in atlanta allegedly has a closing date of on/before september 26th.  ::fingers crossed::

so what to do- pack it up and move again, or stay put and deal with it.  thoughts? Pin It!

son of a...

the shoes i am watching on ebay jumped from $1.25 to $10.50... with 4 days to go.  bah.  don't you people know to wait until the last minute to bid Pin It!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

water, baby!

want to make a woman depressed?  take her swimsuit shopping.

want to make a woman really depressed?  take her swimsuit shopping 6 months postpartum.

ugh.  what a week.  i spent 2 days and several hours shopping for a swimsuit this week for a company picnic on saturday.  it. sucked. 

first-  why don't places have more handicap-accessible dressing rooms?  old navy and land's end- shame on you.  i spent my time trying to wriggle my fat butt into a swimsuit while being pinned between the door and my son's ginormous stroller- no fun.

second-  i may or may not have started crying while looking at myself in the mirror after i'd tried on the 25th swimsuit (that is not an exaggeration, in fact, it may be lower than the actual number).

third-  it's only august, yet some stores i went into were already completely sold out of swimsuits... ::ahem:: old navy.  of course, this had its advantages because of clearance prices!!!

fourth-  if i was interested in a strapless swimsuit- i'd buy a two piece.  i can't tell you how many one pieces i got into the fitting room, only to pull them on and find they had no straps.  and while we're on one pieces- there's no need for them to have a v-neck down to my belly button.

after all this though, i found not one, but two swimsuits- bought them both.  i wanted to bring them home, try them on somewhere with mirrors and lighting that i could trust- but i wasn't crazy about either.  of course, i tried them on at home, loved them both, and then somehow managed to talk husband into letting me keep both.  love you, dear.


and here you have them...

suit #1

i feel like this woman looks ridiculous in these shorts- yet, i don't feel like i look ridiculous in them, i think i look cute in them.  i certainly hope that people didn't see me in them and think i look dumb.  i got my entire suit in the "south sea blue" color.  the suit fits really really well, and when i was wearing it, i didn't feel like i was falling out (this is the one that actually went to the party with me).  the only thing i may have a problem with- the sizing.  the size of my top is 6 sizes larger than the size of my bottoms (they are sized 2, 4, etc).  also, the bottoms in ssb are $19.99 online- i got hosed.  

suit #2

this is the suit i've had in mind all along- i love it!  it's got a very retro look to it, which, i love.  that also means it's modest, and sexy at the same time!  i unfortunately don't look like the model when i wear it, but it has tummy control and can be worn either as a maillot or a swim dress.  adore!

so my postpartum swimsuit tips:

1.  one pieces and tankinis are your friend.  tankinis are especially great if you're used to wearing a two piece.  it give you the feel without all the skin- or that postpartum belly jiggle showing.
2.  skirted or shorted bottoms are also your friend.  hello, they hide stretch marks.  
3.  make sure there's easy access for nursing- if it applies to you.  also, if you're like me and nursing, bear in mind that the v-neck may not be your friend.  
4.  wear what makes you feel comfortable and confident, and above all, sexy. 

maybe next summer i'll be back in my two pieces, but for now, i'm loving my new suits.  did you get a new suit for the summer?  one or two piece? what style?  any other tips for new moms or anyone who might be shopping for a suit?
Pin It!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

the one where i win wife of the year and possibly go mia for a while...

we have been busy.  this past weekend started a month-long stretch of weekends totally packed full of junk!  this past weekend dave's gma was in town, so we had the entire mcfamily get together.  there are 15 of us- and one on the way.  you think that's insane, you should be @ dave's gma's house @ christmas.  there are 40 of us total (and 2 on the way).  it's a bit much, especially considering my entire extended family totals 12 on one side and 14 on the other.  this weekend we have the summer picnic for my office- i'm pretty excited about swimming, i am not exciting about buying my first post-baby swimsuit, and then wearing it.  boo.  the next few weekends i will detail more below, and then we hope to wrap things up with a visit to the beach in michigan.  we decide to forgo a vacation this year because 1.  we are poor, and 2.  we are broke.  dave's parents however are going to stay @ family friend doc's lake house, and we are all invited to stay a few days!!  yippppeeeeee!

so, as i've said already our next few weeks are going to be jam-packed and it all started several months ago- and it's almost here!  background story:  my husband studied international business and german in college- he's made a few trips to deutschland over the years, his last trip in 2004 for his internship.  while there, he made some good friends, and he has kept in touch w\ those friends since said trip.  the aforementioned friends were a couple while dave was over there, but split up while i was pregnant, much to the heartbreak of one of the friends.  we have both tried really hard to cheer up friend, but it seems they've fallen into a bit of a funk.  friend was looking for a place to vacation, and husband told him that he should come visit us here in the good ol' u.s. of a. 

he thought about it, and said, yes, i think i will come visit your family.  how long can i stay?

husband says, as long as you'd like.

friend replies via email- here is my flight itinerary. 

husband forwards flight itinerary to me- am i reading this right, he asks.

i reply, yes, husband, friend is staying with us for 3 weeks.  3 WEEKS?!

first of all, i am jealous that americans don't get 3 weeks of vacation- we're too overworked as it is.  don't even get me started on european maternity leave vs. american.  second, stay as long as you'd like in american means different to an american... BUT..

we're pretty excited.  i don't think he reads my blog, but if you do- don't get us wrong, we are soooo thrilled for you to be here.  we are now over our initial shock.  we have been hard at work on an end all be all list of things to do while he is visiting- places to go, things to see, food to eat (i'm most excited about that, as you and my scale surely know).  i have great plans to become fluent in german, and to have ian, who can't even talk yet, to be fluent in german...  i'm excited to meet someone new, and dave is excited to see a friend that he hasn't seen in years. 

i win wife of the year because i think most women would laugh in their husband's faces if they said someone was taking up residence in their home for 3 weeks, so here is my issue- where do we put our friend?  here's our situation...

2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths (our atlanta house had 3 bedrooms, but that is neither here nor there, and going on about it, won't take me back there).  we obviously occupy 1 room, and ian occupies the other.  both bedrooms have the full bath IN the room.  we obviously want our friend to feel at home, and have some privacy, but we have no extra bed- so he would have to sleep on either the couch or a blow up mattress.  and there's the issue with ian.  do we move him back into our room for 3 weeks (sleeping in his pack n play)- disrupting his sleep space, and giving us no privacy (he naps throughout the day, and goes to bed early, so we would have no where to go).  this is a tricky situation, but i think it can be worked out to where everyone benefits... help...

polishing my award until sunday.... Pin It!