Photo Story Friday

OK I know Earth Day was like for-e-ver ago in bloggy time, but I often forget to blog about stuff...

We went to an Earth Day festival and had a great time walking around soaking up the sun and learning about new ways we can be "Earth Friendly".

Check out this awesome cube of aluminum cans...to me it is like art...
There were lots of different vendors and free screenings, I am not sure why but J really wanted her spine checked. Come to find out she is carrying more weight on her right side than her left side. We are taking her to the chiro to get all straightened out.
J loved the reptile tent and got to hold a few different snakes and other critters. NO she will not be getting a snake. Even if she asks her daddy who never says no...he and I have an understanding.
J has a "thing" for EMTs...I don't know if it's the uniform or what, but she had no problem asking this cutie to take a picture. She floated though the ambulance, so cute!
I went for the funnel cake....mmmmm deep fat fried sweetness! Don't worry we all shared one, no more diabetic comas for this girl.
Earth Day ROCKS...gotta get the tattoo
and of course this was the day that J was reunited with her long lost frog prince, you remember that POST right? HILARIOUS!




Hosted by Cecily and Mamarazzi
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My Happy List

My Happy List runneth over with silly and awesome things this week.

First of all my Mima's 90th Birthday is coming up. My cousins are throwing her a party in Colorado. I wish I could be there, but it was kind of a last minute throw together, since Mima is "touring" her kid's homes right now and no one really knew where she would be for her 90th.

90 years old...man, that's freaking awesome right? I hope I make it to 90 and have a ton of grand kids who love me as much as I love my Mima.

Some of my fondest childhood memories are going to visit my Mima and Grandpa Sam in Gualala Ca., a darling little beach town off the coast of Santa Rosa. I remember days filled with gardening with Mima, going for walks in the redwoods and picking berries for jam. Combing the beach for shells and pretty rocks, floating in the river, waking up to dear just outside the bedroom window...sweet sweet memories. Mima always made our visits so special.

I remember I used my imagination on those visits more than I ever did at home...it's like Gualala was a magical place.

I will never forget this HUGE piece of driftwood that she had in her driveway, we use to take turns sitting on it, pretending it was a horse.

We also loved to roller skate in the laundry mat at the corner of her street. To this day the smell of clean laundry takes me back to Mima and our magical days together.

OH and mint...she had a spearmint plant by her kitchen door. I remember getting to pick a leaf to float in my lemonade or just to smell and carry around all day.

I love you Mima, Happy Birthday!

one of my fave pics of me and J and Mima 2007

(why yes, I am rocking the pigtails)

I am also VERY shiny, Idaho does that to me!

OK now on to some silly Happy List items...

Have you seen these tissue boxes at Target? LOVE! I have the watermelon wedge, but they have pineapple and kiwi too...just for Summer. Way. Too. Cute. Don't know why, but they make me happy!

OK I am all about Owls right now. I got this little guy at TJmaxx for $16.

Cute right?

He is filled with the yummiest smelling potpourri and he makes me smile every time I look over and see his big eyelashes.

And last but certainly not least.

We adopted 2 kitties last week. Petri and Bella.

My long time friend Hannah drove them to us from Seattle because her oldest boy is allergic to them and she wanted to see them to a good home. They are darling cats and so far pretty well mannered. Though they seem to be nocturnal, so I am wondering if Hannah's son was reeeeally allergic or if Hannah just needed some sleep. So, What's on YOUR Happy List this week?

Say What?

If this has NEVER happened to you I am pretty sure we can't be friends....

So are you still on my Christmas card list or should I save myself the postage?

I kid, I kid...kinda.

So this week shortmama asked us to get some of our favorite healthy recipes together.

Then she changed her mind and asked us:

How are you doing? What are your successes so far and what do you need to work on?

Well...since I just joined last week, I would say I am still getting into the swing of things but have been moderately successful.

So I am going back to the Muffin Top...archives on shortmama's blog and doing an assignment I missed.

I am so horrible at rule following...but I don't think Shortmama will mind.

One of the earlier assignments was to "find 3 small things that you could change that would start your weight loss".

Great idea...3 small things. Easy right? Listen it's most def about the baby steps.

Since my journey is about health and not pounds my 3 small things are...

1. No carbs after 6pm
Now I know this sounds a little more of a BIG thing than a small thing but really think of all the awesome foods out there that are totally carb free...it's not impossible. I WILL allow myself LOW carbs (no more than 20 total) on special occasions. I have really learned since my Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis that eating low/no carb is really easy.
2. More water, at least 10 8oz glasses a day
girls, I love my diet pepsi, I will not be giving it up...I will however not keep it in the house. I have one more case in my garage...after that is gone, I will not be buying more. I prefer my diet pepsi from a fountain, in a cup, over ice balls, with a lid and a straw, preferably delivered by Big Daddy, it always tastes better that way. So all other beverages will be water.
3. 30 min exercise 3 days a week
We have a family gym membership. I never use it. That's pathetic. So I will start this week...30 minutes on the circuit, or water aerobics, or a zumba class...something even if its just a 30 min jog on the treadmill.

OK there you have it...my 3 things. I am sure I will have a chance to update y'all soon.

For more Muffin Top...posts, go see Shortmama

PINK Room Tour

So here it is...the PINK room is finally almost done (I still need to do the closet/shelving/dresser).

This poor room has sat empty and unloved since J moved into her new room a few months ago.

We are currently accepting new children, as we would like to add to our family and make Jordan's lifelong dream of siblings come true.

Since we don't know if the new kids will come as an infant or as a sibling group we decided to create a space that would work for one or the other or both.

Plus in the meantime it works well for guests.

Anyway...on to the tour.

I found 2 twin white rod iron beds on Craig's List for $200 mattresses included, barely used.
I have this new affinity for owls right now so I was on the lookout for something owl-ish. I am not typically a "character" or "cartoony" person. But when I saw these comforter sets on clearance for $16 each, I decided they were cute enough and snatched them up. Only to be even more surprised that they were now $11
I wanted to do something simple to just kind of tie in all of the colors. So I found a tutorial online for a cute way to add color for little money, Thanks BlueCricketDesign. Those polka dots are made from scrap book paper...creating 2 paper "fans" and attaching them together to create a circle. Wall art for $10.
I had this huge gold frame and sprayed it white. I bought a bunch of frames from the dollar store and painted them white, then used scrapbook paper and chip board letters to do an Alphabet collage. I love the way it turned out and I super love not having the letters in alphabetical order. $28 for A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E wall art.
I wanted a simple but sweet window treatment so I bought tulle by the spool and cut 15 inch pieces and tied them on a $2 curtain rod. $22 for an adorable-looks-better-in-person valance.
3 blank canvases for $10 and paint I already had and a little imagination for these darling owl silhouettes. I love them, and I am actually rather impressed with myself.

OH and see those owl pillows in the crib? $3 each also on clearance. Cute right?!?

Today I am linking up with...

What Would You Do?

"As children get older, their skills increase and their ability to make more complicated decisions increases as well. Learning how to make good decisions and to problem solve is a way to build mastery skills. One way to practice this with your older children is to play What Would You Do?"

What Would You Do? is a Fishful Thinking activity that gives your family the foundation to problem solve.

This is an activity that I wish I knew about a few years ago when we had a confusing, sad, and kinda horrible incident happen in our home, with one of J's friends. I feel we would have been better prepared on how to react, feel and maybe even help.

I posted about it on my blog waaaay back in June of 2008. It started some great conversations and I was soooo blessed to have so many amazing bloggy friends who offered heartfelt advice and support.

Here is the post...I just copied and pasted to save you from clicking...you. are. welcome.

Advice Needed...a post from 6/1/08

I really do not know what to do, this might be a bit long but please read and let me know if you can help me.

Y'all know J had her Popsicle And Pool PARTAAY! yesterday. Well she ended up having one of the girls stay after the party and she ended up sleeping over. The girls had a great time, lots of giggles and late night antics. This particular friend use to go to school with Jordan but once we got Jordan in her new school, last year, they only ever see each other if Jordan has a gathering and sends her an invite.

ANYWAY...something kinda horrible happened, something unexpected and really uncomfortable and i have no idea how to deal with it....

i was helping "Friend" gather her stuff because her mom would be by shortly to pick her up and i wanted to make sure she was ready. i noticed that she had all of her things (wet swim suit, with dry pj's etc) shoved into a torn grocery sack.

So i grabbed a bag and said, "Friend, you go get your towel off the fence by the pool and i will get your wet stuff and dry stuff separated". Friend came running past me in Jordan's room and planted herself atop the bag. She said, "no that's OK i will do it".

And a baaaaad feeling filled the room.

So i said, "Oh i don't mind helping you, it's OK" and as i said that... one of Jordan's belongings fell from her sack. She looked up at me and i calmly said, "oh well, that's not suppose to be in there, is it?"

Friend stared me down, her face said it all, there was more in the bag.

So i asked, "are there more things in the sack that should not be in there?"

Friend said, "No, we were playing with those last night and it must have got in there by accident."

So i said, "OK then, just let me just separate the wet stuff from the dry stuff and you can go get your towel."

She tried really hard to continue pulling wet stuff from the bag without anything else falling out. She was unsuccessful. 2 more of Jordan's belongings fell out.

She was caught.

Jordan walked in then and saw her stuff on the floor and the look of confusion and sadness on my little girl's face broke my heart.

Big Daddy came around the corner as Friend walked out of the room to get her towel. I waited until the back door alert sounded, knowing she was out of earshot, before i said, "Friend was trying to steal this stuff."

Big Daddy was shocked, Jordan was shocked and i had no words.

Friend brought her towel in and we added it to her bag.

She sat in silence in our front room waiting for her mom. Jordan tried several times to just chatter on and make conversation as they waited. Friend sat stone cold, angry expression looking out the window, no words.

I finally went in and asked, "Friend are you embarrassed that i found Jordan's things in your bag? Are you mad now? Do you want to talk about it? Are you worried i am going to try and get you into trouble with your mom?"

Nothing, no answer, no change of expression...silence.

A few minutes later Friend's mom pulled up, Jordan rose to give Friend a hug goodbye, Friend pushed past J and ran to the car. I waved to her mom and they drove off.

After she left Big Daddy and J asked for more details.

i explained everything to them.

Big Daddy asked Jordan what she thought. She said, "I don't know how to be friends with a thief".

We had a long talk about what happened and how we felt sad about it, because they had such a fun time together.

J expressed concerns about trust if she ever had Friend over again and how she felt sad that Friend left without hugging her goodbye and that she was worried that Friend was mad at her.

Tonight when Jordan said her prayers she asked that Heavenly Father "help Friend not to steal things anymore, from anyone, ever."

I don't know what to do. Do i call her mom? Do i just let the friendship go? They only ever see each other if Jordan invites her to a party, they don't even live in the same town. So now what? i am torn because i know i would WANT to be told if my child ever pulled anything like that. But i am not so certain this mom would care, she is kind of a hot mess herself, it's actually kind of sad.

So now what? What would you do in this situation?

UPDATED to add: here is the follow up post to that post, a few people have asked.

The support and feedback I got was a post in and of itself....click HERE to read the words of love and advice.

Fishful Thinking is an amazing parenting resource. You can learn more about raising positive, resilient, emotionally aware, empowered kids by clicking on the fish on my sidebar.

We have been playing the What Would You Do? game as Summer approaches and we do what we can to prepare J for her first year of high school...and for the rest of her life, really.

On Being Sexy...

This weeks post on the dreaded muffin top got lots of emails and some interesting comments. So I thought I would take a minute and address one thing in particular.

On being sexy...like super sexy. I said I love my body and I do.

BUT

I gotta tell you it's my husband who helps me feel that way.

I mean, really, the man cannot keep his hands off me and I LOVE it!

Big Daddy tells me everyday how beautiful and sexy I am (and he even means it).

EVERYDAY!! And more than once or twice even...

Yep it is pretty easy to believe that maybe I really am and that kind of hotness comes from within but you gotta believe it too.

AND...if my man likes the view then I must be doing something right!

Yesterday he even broke out in song, Trace Adkins' "Hot Mama" when I walked into the room!

And trust me I was in the middle of a major project and I was not looking my hottest.

Doesn't matter...to him I am one hot mama...always.



It's awesome how men REALLY see a woman, when they really love that woman.

If you don't have someone telling you daily how hot you are, then BE that person.

I mean really...doesn't it start from the inside out?

Here's to all the Hot Mamas out there.

What are you doing to keep it sexy?

The Dreaded Muffin Top, Yep...I'm going there!

So I have been meaning to join in on Shortmama's bloggy weight loss group for weeks now.

Every Wednesday comes and goes and I say, "Ugh, I really need to join in" and I never do.

THIS is the week.

Honestly I have been doing really well with maintaining my blood sugar since I almost died and found out the hard way that I am Type 2 Diabetic. But I want to lose some weight, in a healthy way.

A bloggy group seems like a great way to stay on a routine and support and be supported by other foxy mamas who wanna lose the muffin top (don't you adore the button shortmama created? Hilarious!).

So each week shortmama asks us to share something we are doing to be healthier.

Shortmama asks:

This week tell me what are some of your favorite healthy snacks?

I am a snacker. I swear sometimes I feel like a toddler grazing through the day.

I like to keep the following in my fridge at all times:
1. sugar free Jell-o cups (sometimes I squirt a little low cal whipped cream on top)
2. sugar free pudding cups
3. string cheese
4. baby carrots
5. celery (I love the water packed already sliced...worth the extra few bucks)
(why YES, I did take a picture of my refrigerator, and yep, I like thinks organized...if it's a sickness mama don't want the cure!)

In the pantry I always have a stash of 100 Calorie packs. My Faves:
1. Lorna Doone
2. Mr'. Pretzel chocolate and yogurt covered pretzels
3. Goldfish...(my family is in love with these little guys Costco has them in 100 calorie packs)

On my counter top:
1. Apples (so yum with peanut butter, a great source of protein)
2. oranges, or little cuties (easy and yum)


When it comes to snacking I think the key is to have healthy choices around. If I have junk in the house, I will eat it. I have very little will power. I know this about myself so I don't tempt myself.
It's that simple.

Before I sign off I want to leave you with one of my all time favorite songs by Mika.

Wanna know a secret, I love my body...shocked?

I know, I know, chubby girls are not suppose to love themselves right?

WRONG!!!

I have some dangerous curves and even though I am far from perfect, parts of me are F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!

YES...I want to be healthier, but I am OK being curvy too...for real.

I am comfortable in my own skin.

I hope my daughter learns that from me.

Be healthy, but love yourself even if you aren't a size zero.

Enjoy...


If you want to see what everyone else is eating for healthy snacks go to Shortmama's blog and click around!

And I wanna know...what are your healthy snacks?

Open Letters

*Dear Skin,

It's time you and I have a heart to heart. Really? More breakouts? Tell me what you want from me, I promise to listen. Clearly I have done something to make you angry, I can change. Let's get back to the way we were.

Signed,
Thanks for making my teens years virtually zit free, let's not change things now.

*Dear Flo,

You are mean. Go away.

Signed,
I will kill you with Midol, don't mess with me!

*Dear Creative Side of my Brain,

Thank you for being so awesome this last few weeks, we have really made some beautiful things together. I was just wondering if you would mind letting me sleep for a few hours. I promise as soon as I am awake it will be all about you again, but I really need you to shut up come bedtime.

Signed,
It's not you, it's me...you are awesome.

*Dear lead lady in the following Video,

I love it. It makes me laugh and smile. Also I would have totally casted the video the same way...filling the background with women just a liiiiittle chubbier than me, to make me look thinner. Brilliant, it totally worked.

Signed,
A fellow chubby girl who notices these things



*Dear Mean Lady in the Blogsphere,

I did not know I was stealing your idea when I "created" my weekly meme "It Happened..." I took it down as soon as I got your nasty, slightly threatening (gotta find me first, and I wouldn't even mess with me) email accusing me of "copying you". But did you need to sick your readers on me? I wrote a reeeeeally nice email back to you telling you how sorry I was for the misunderstanding. That should of been the end of it.

Signed,
Grow up and feel free to "click on by" when it comes to my blog.

*Dear People who sign up for swaps and accept a package but never send one,

You Suck. You are on a naughty list. I am sharing your name and blog with anyone who hosts a swap so you can't screw another bloggy friend of mine.

Signed,
How do you like me now?

Ouch!

The other night Big Daddy and I were shopping in Target (oh, how I love that store). I grabbed something off of a shelf and broke my thumbnail.

I mean REALLY broke it,

I gasped in pain and showed Big Daddy, he could barely look at it was very sympathetic.

It hurt A LOT.

I never realized how much I NEED my thumbnail.

I mean I really use it. All. The. Time.

My texting has slowed WAY down.

Seriously, I now text with a limp, it's pathetic.

Doubling up on my Biotin, magic pill keeping me from going bald due to all the meds I am now on hair and nail supplement.

Mama needs to be able to text, since her sister Amy never answers her phone.

and umm...

Well I guess that's all for now.

The End.

Oh No...wait, I have a question.

What do you do when you break off one nail? Do you cut down the others to match? Do you just file it so it's not rough and leave the others the length they are?

I am super curious. I really need to know.

I cut all of mine so they match, unless the broken nail is suuuuuper short, then I cut the rest down but not totally off.

Am I obsessive compulsive?

Just wondering.

OK

The End (for real this time).

Mother's Day

For you on Mother's Day

May it be filled with all things wonderful!

Randoms 'round Here

Wow I have been on the mooove lately. May always feels like such a busy month and EVERY May I ask myself, "Self, why are you so surprised that you are so busy, it happens EVERY May?!"

I think it is finishing the school year and anticipating Summer's arrival. Plus there have been a few rather hot days, being hot makes me a wee bit cranky.

J graduates from 8th grade in less than a month. Then she takes off for Washington DC with a bunch of other 8th graders for 10 days...I can hardly stand the thought of letting her go but I know it is an adventure of a lifetime and I 100% trust and love the teachers going on the trip with the kids.

Don't even get me started on her going to High School...I may start crying again.

So today I have a pile of goodness going out in the mail Good Mail and prizes that were won last month and we never sent out, April went by too fast. Please forgive me for being tardy for the party, just know goodness is on it's way to you!!!

I saw the first draft for my bloggy design by April Showers and let me tell you it is freaking awesome! So excited! I am dying to see the final product but trying to be patient because perfection takes time!

I decided to send out the prizes for May today too...the winners chosen EXCLUSIVELY from my list of followers are...

Evelyn from The Perks of Life and Janna from Happiness is a Journey

(I already have your addresses from swaptasticness so just bask in the winning glory!)

Unexpected Company

This morning I opened my back slider to let in the beautiful Spring air and something caught my eye. At first I thought it was a gopher (we have one tearing up our backyard right now) YUCK! Then I realized it was a puppy...so I went out to say hello and as I rounded the corner I discovered there were TWO puppies.

Where did these little cuties come from?

So of course I grabbed my camera, since no one leaves my home without having their picture taken. They don't call me Mamarazzi for nothing!

These little guys were FAST so i only got 2 clear pictures...aren't they A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E?

I then attempted a little video...please ignore my lame smoochy woochy baby talk. I NEVER use baby talk with children. Ever. But I always use the baby talk with animals. Always. It's a bit embarrassing.

Then I of course updated my Facebook status and sent Big Daddy an email asking if we could keep them. Then I remembered that they might already have a human wondering where they were.

Just as I was wrapping up adding pictures and video to Facebook and creating a Craigs List post to find their family, I heard a whole lot of barking.

Frantic, whiny, LOUD puppy barking...I ran to the backyard and discovered the little black puppy had fallen in the pool. So I scooped the puppy out and dried her off as her little buddy desperately licked the both of us in gratitude...

OH puppy kisses! Is there anything sweeter?

Once I got everyone safely barricaded on the patio the doorbell rang.

I opened the door to find a woman asking me if I wanted to buy "burritos"...or at least that's what I thought she was asking. We have people asking us to buy tamales and the like all the time here in the ghetto.

AND it IS Cinco de Mayo afterall...

Then what little bit of Spanish I DO know kicked in (hey I married a man who is half Mexican and have a Mexican last name, sooo, I know a little Spanish) and I realized she was asking about her "perritos".

PUPPIES!!!

She was here for the puppies. She lives behind me somehow the perritos got into my yard and she saw them through the fence when she heard the brown one barking.

So I am assuming she also saw my heroic effort saving the black one from drowning.

I never heard a "gracias"

Oh well...the puppy kisses already made my day, no thank you needed.