Indigo Star Fairy

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2011-11-09T09:23:00.008-06:00

It was Pound Cake's birthday yesterday and AJ wanted him to have a pirate party hat. I told him I was going to make the hat while he was at school and he said, "Pound Cake will like that very much.". Apparently he is 5 today. Or 35 in dog years. We sang to him and AJ helped him blow out the candle in his ice cream. And then the ice cream tasted like wax... I love being a parent! :)

Dolce Vita's Ornament Swap!

2011-11-03T21:11:00.003-05:00

Join Micaela for this wonderful swap!! You only have until November 11th to join. I met the sassy Ryan from AmericanBridget (Jones) last year during this swap. Love it. Love her. Micaela rocks too. Can't wait to see who I am paired with! :)

Ho Ho Ho!! Happy Halloween!!

2011-11-02T10:39:00.003-05:00

So AJ told me in July that he wanted to go as Santa for Halloween. My mom made his costume. If I would have made it it would have been in stripper fashion with tear away pants and coat and not nearly as cute. It would only be appropriate for me to go as Rudolph since I was pulling his "sleigh" (which is 3 pieces of cardboard and 4 rolls of red Duck tape that was way easier to make than anticipated). After AJ and I were dressed and getting ready to go trick or treating, I said to Steve (who was not dressed up) that we should dress him up as a drunk Grandma and put hoof prints across his chest. That would have made it an absolute classic! AJ had fun hamming it up and saying, 'Ho, Ho, Ho! Merry Christmas!' in the deepest voice he could muster while waving as if he were in a parade and handing out candy canes. It was a fun night!! :) Even though we all complain that Christmas stuff goes out way too early in the stores, the things I was looking for (reindeer antlers, white beard, etc.) were really hard to find! Small candy canes were found at Sam's Club so, needless to say, we have A LOT leftover. Hey, they'll keep until Christmas!

If you didn't 'get' my costume idea for Steve- 'Grandma got run over by a reindeer. Walking home from our house Christmas Eve...' Maybe we'll surprise a few and show up like that around Christmas.

Hope your Halloween was as fun as ours!

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2011-07-05T14:18:00.003-05:00

I had said that I would post AJ's three birthday mixes so here is March 2011. I hate cloying music that is meant for kids... And I think kids hate it too. So this mix is rockin'! If you have kids and want to save your sanity this is for you. And you'll find yourself singing these songs often as well!

A Whale of a Good Mix

Willy Was a Whale * Justin Roberts
Constellation Conga * Recess Monkey
Rockin' At the Zoo * Laura Doherty
I Like Fruit * Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
Eight Hundred and Thirteen Mile Car Trip * They Might Be Giants
Beat-Box-a-Robot * Recess Monkey
Blue Canoe * Frances England
Gotta Be Me * Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
Chocolate Milk * Scribble Monster & His Pals (with ScribbleJim)
Can You Picture That? * Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem
Obsessed By Trucks * Justin Roberts
18 Wheels On a Big Rig * Trout Fishing in America
Pots & Pans * The Bacon Brothers
The Hokey Pokey * Dan Zanes, Dandelion Chorus & Father Goose
Tickle My Toes * Justin Roberts
How Do You Build a Robot? * Recess Monkey
The Book I Like To Read * Frances England
Pirates * Milkshake
A Word For That * Barenaked Ladies
Meet the Elements * They Might Be Giants
Mumbles * Oscar Peterson Featuring Clark Terry
People Watching * Jack Johnson
Hey Hippopotamus * Justin Roberts
A Whale Of A Tale * Kirk Douglas
Choo Choo Boogaloo * Buckwheat Zydeco
Booster Seat * Recess Monkey
Blow Your Spout * Geof Johnson
Wheels In the City * Laura Doherty
Jungle Gym * Jack Johnson & G. Love
Robot Parade * They Might Be Giants

So there you have it! I will post 2009 and 2010 as well because they deserve a listen to as well! Enjoy!

A Wee Bit of Me Wednesday...

2011-06-08T06:52:00.005-05:00

{one} do you believe in ghosts?
Yes. But I've never seen, felt or noticed anything close to a presence before.

{two} are you more of a talker or more of a listener?
Talker. Definitely. I am working on being a better listener.

{three} would you rather get up early or sleep late?
Get up early. If I have slept in I feel like I have wasted a good chunk of the day. I am a morning person!

{four} if you could instantly become an expert at one type of dance, what type would you choose?
That's a tough one! I LOVE to watch dance even though I am not good at it at all. I think B-boys are rad so maybe I'd choose that. Swing would be cool too.

{five} what's your favorite drink?
Alcoholic: Pomegranate Martinis or red wine; Non-alcoholic: Fresh squeezed lemonade

{six} if your house caught fire and you could only grab three things, what would they be?
Wow. And I am a sentimental person (and a pack rat) but I don't think there is any specific things that aren't able to be replaced. Probably Pound Cake & Bearister (AJ's dog & my bear), my computer with all my pictures and work on it and my purse with all the IDs and credit cards and phone to save me some time to not have to get new ones.

{seven} if you could only visit one restaurant for the next five years, which would it be?
Cafe Pasquel in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I think it would have to be somewhere that has an inspired chef that likes to change the menu and is ubercreative. And someone who can cook a variety of things. But it would be pretty hard to get to when I want to go out since I am in WI!!

{eight} who inspires you the most?
God

{nine} if you had your own talk show, who would your first three guests be?
Eye candy- Taylor Kitsch, Ryan Reynolds, Gavin Rossdale. Maybe that's what I would call it- Eye Candy!!

{ten} sneakers or sandals?
I don't get to wear sandals but 4 months a year so I will say sandals now that my old sneaks are gone... sniff, sniff. Ooooooweeee! Stinky! ;)

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2011-06-07T07:34:00.001-05:00

I can't believe I haven't posted this yet!! AJ turned 4 on March 11th!! Here is the recap of his birthday goodies... He had a pool party at the YMCA and we invited his class plus a few other friends. The Y was pretty easy peasy. So I chose a whale theme since it was a swimming party. It is hard to find whale themed party items so I just went with a water/blue theme.

The invitation...

The cupcakes with toppers and whale basket for chips. I found the whale basket at Target in the bathroom section. It is a shower caddy corral thing. But it was perfect for the party! And now it is being used as a toy container in the tub.

Close up of the cupcake toppers...

The goody bag... Included in the sand pail was a boat, Goldfish crackers, fish stickers, M&M's, play-doh, a mini frisbee, bubbles, Nemo fruit snacks, fruit strip and a CD that I mixed. I do a CD for each of his birthdays. That should be a post! I'll post the songs in his 2nd, 3rd and 4th birthday mixes. There were 3 or 4 whale songs on it!

And the thank you card- which was re-purposed! Those are the cupcake toppers that were left- I just pulled out the stick!

I love doing the 'whole party'. It really is so much fun for me. I dig themes.

A Wee Bit of Me Wednesday...

2011-06-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

Play along here

{one} what’s the worst date you’ve ever been on?

I 'dated' this guy in college who was really hot, a great athlete and would sing to me but he had absolutely nothing upstairs. I have some good funny stories about him but there was zero conversation. I guess that's the worst date... Well, except of course, for the guy that bit my lip and drew blood during a kiss. Thank goodness for my buddy, Brett, who scared that guy off for good.

{two} if you could be any other person for one day, who would it be?AJ- so I'd know what he really is thinking! Or a baby to know what they are comprehending...

{three} what is your favorite kind of cheese?Sharp cheddar cheese. Love it!

{four} do you remember your 1st grade teacher?Miss Carlson was one of my favorite teachers ever. She was so sweet.

{five} who is the first person you call when you have a bad day?Steve. He hears a lot of crap sometimes.

{six} were you ever in a school talent show?I sang 'Almost Paradise' from Footloose in seventh grade. It was a duet that I sang with Adam Thompson. I was never a good singer and have no idea how I got the part that every girl wanted. Adam actually is in a band now and tours around! I guess I didn't hold him back.

{seven} who is your favorite fictional character?Elizabeth Bennett. Hands down.

{eight} can you open your eyes underwater?Yes. But I also wear contacts and I don't like getting water on them so I'll wear goggles.

{nine} do you look at the keyboard when you type?Yes. Always. I know I am not supposed to. I don't put my fingers on the 8 keys that you are supposed to either.

{ten} when was the last time you took a nap?While in San Fran or Napa two weeks ago. You get tired when you drink wine all day! ;)

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2011-05-31T09:35:00.004-05:00

I have been really absent for a couple of months. I turned my computer on maybe 3 days last week. It has been off for 4 days in a row which means I have catch up to do... I am going to do more blogging now hopefully. It's hard with a nugget of energy that wants to play outside all the time- rain or shine. That's my guy at the Wisconsin Spring Game over Easter weekend, 'Jumping Around'! I love this photo because it really captures pure joy on his face. Anyway, onto our post...

Before Mother's Day AJ was interviewed by his teachers with questions that revolved around me. He gave it to me for Mother's Day as well as a bracelet that says I <3 MOM. I couldn't stop cracking up as I read it!

What is your mom's name?
Mommy Lipowski
(Awwww!)

Where does she work?
Her preschool in Madison
(I have NO clue where this came from...)

What color hair does she have?
Blue
(I am NOT a blue hair! ;))

How old is she?
5
(Lately he has been obsessed with the #5...)

What is her favorite color?
Blue
(Correct!! But how funny would it have been if he would of answered indigo?)

What does she like to do for fun?
Play tennis
(The day before I bought him a tennis racket set...)

What is her favorite food?
Wendy's
(And after buying the tennis racket set we went to Wendy's...)

Where does she take you for fun?
The park
(Correct!!)

When she goes shopping, what does she like to buy?
Cookies for me!
(Apparently said with some enthusiasm since there is an exclamation point after it!)

What message do you want to send her for Mother's Day?
Thank you!
(How sweet! :) He is always so polite!)

A Wee Bit of Me Wednesday... A Double Dose on a Tuesday

2011-05-24T09:35:00.004-05:00

Play along here!

{one} what profession have you always admired?Special Education Teachers and Staff. Their patience and love is amazing. I know I'd have a hard time doing it.

{two} what would the title of your memoir/biography be if it was written today?No idea... Now I feel on the spot to come up with something. I once created a self awareness program called "Let Your Creative Juices Squirt" and the "Inner Goddess in You". Maybe one of those?

{three} how far do you commute to work?About 20 paces to the basement. ;)

{four} are your earlobes attached or detached?In between... Detached? What a weird question!

{five} do you eat the unpopped kernels of popcorn at the bottom of the bag?Only if they’re half unpopped… Also, I use a Whirly Pop- no microwave popcorn for me!

{six} what is the strangest gift you’ve ever received?Not sure. Creative wrapping would go to my brother for a 45 record of 'Eye of the Tiger' that he put in an open box that was wrapped and it said something like 'Free Punch'. Very appropriate from my brother who totally wailed on me.

{seven} what is one tv show that you wish hadn’t been cancelled?Arrested Development. It was smart comedy. I wish Friday Night Lights wasn't going to be cancelled but I can still savor that for a few more weeks. Shoot. Flight of the Concords too!! Funny as can be!

{eight} what is something that you are saving money for right now?A trip to England next year!

{nine} what hobby would you like to take up?Sewing. My mom gave me lessons for awhile a few years ago but I haven't kept it up. I am just completely sapped of time!

{ten} how many times a year do you get really dressed up?Two. We go to two black tie events a year. They are fun!

{eleven} do you watch the history channel? if so, what’s your favorite program?Not really. Sometimes we'll watch Ice Road Truckers which is strangely addicting. I have to be really bored though. AJ calls it Ice Cream Road Truckers and is compelled by it. Although I am not crazy about the language they use in it, especially for him!

{twelve} what is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?Read a book or watch a movie and snuggle!

{thirteen} what does your dream house look like?An old renovated barn would be cool. I don't think about this too much...

{fourteen} what state were you born in?Illinois
{fifteen} do you have a change jar? if so, what do you use it for when it gets full?Not really. I use all silver change in my car for parking meters and gumballs.

{sixteen} what’s the first website you look at when you get on the computer?First five: Hotmail email, gmail, yahoo news stories then email, facebook and blog dashboard- in that order!

{seventeen} what is your favorite breakfast?French toast and bacon.

{eighteen} what’s the most memorable trip you’ve ever taken?My honeymoon in San Francisco, Napa Valley and Monterey/Carmel. We just did San Fran and Napa again last week and while awesome (wine was better) just not the same!! It is definitely romanticized in my mind but those are the memories I have!

{nineteen} do you prefer your coffee black or with cream/milk/sugar?No coffee for me. Just tea- herbal or chai.

{twenty} have you ever done a professional photo shoot?Not really. Had photos taken by a professional but not like model ones...

A Wee Bit of Me Wednesday...

2011-05-04T09:07:00.000-05:00

Play along here!

{one} when was the last time you used a pay phone (if ever)?My soon was playing with one the last time we were at the airport but I can't remember the last time I actually made a phone call on one. 1997?

{two} did you ever fail a subject in school?No. I got a D+ in Human Physiology in college but I took it before they made the change that for my major you had to get a C or better. I knew the material but would get very confused during tests. Lab was fun though. I wonder if I would do any better if I had to take it again...

{three} where do you go to get your favorite hamburger/cheeseburger?My grill. I like the burgers at Chatterbox, a local bar. Especially on Tuesday when they are $2! Fast food burgers is definitely Wendy's. I can't eat McDonald's burgers not since 2007...

{four} have you ever served jury duty?I have been called three times. I had to go in but I didn't serve.

{five} how old were you when you moved out of your parents’ house?That's hard to say. I moved out when I was 18 but then moved back in with them when I was 23-26 but that was a special circumstance. Not because I wanted to or had to.

{six} what is your favorite color to wear?I like to wear blue and I wear it a lot especially navy.

{seven} do you have a pair of shoes that you wear all the time?My Asics Running shoes that are so old and totally falling apart but I haven't found another running shoe that I am crazy about. In the summer, my Born flip flops that are again falling apart but I just replaced so hopefully the new ones will be my go to sandals.
{eight} do you enjoy talk radio?I listen to some sports talk radio when my husband does but overall, no thanks.

{nine} if you could turn one unhealthy food into a healthy one, what food would it be?French Fries. Mmmmmm... french fries.

{ten} who is the best speaker you’ve ever heard in person?I couldn't tell you since it has been a long time since I have attended a conference or class (I take other kinds of classes) or speaker.

A Wee Bit of Me Wednesday...

2011-04-27T21:51:00.004-05:00

Play along here!

{one} have you ever been stuck in an elevator?Nope. Can't say it would be a pleasant experience either if I would ever happen to.

{two} have you ever ridden on an elephant?Yes. Cool!

{three} have you ever met a well known celebrity?I went to high school with Emily Bergl, who starred on Men in Trees and recently was on Desperate Housewives... I met Tony Dow once. Some athletes as well. My mom and dad sat next to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver at a benefit that my mom was the chairwoman of.

{four} do you have any food allergies?Negative.
{five} do you know how to sew?Sorta, not really. My mom is a sewer and she was teaching me at one point but life got in the way.

{six} did you get an allowance when you were young?Yep. Cleaned the bathroom and picked up dog poop in the yard!

{seven} how often do you fill up your gas tank?About every week and a half unless we go out of town.

{eight} have you ever been stung by a jelly fish?No. Again, don't think it would be pleasant...

{nine} have you ever been robbed?I think my bike was stolen. I kinda remember something like that and some neighborhood wannabe thug kids who took it.

{ten} what is the worst haircut you’ve ever had?Mullet-esque 'do in 6th grade. My hairdresser just didn't have the same vision that I did. I cried for days.

Blogger ABC's

2011-04-26T09:05:00.003-05:00

Found this at Mel's blog... And since I haven't been blogging much I thought I'd just do something quick to get back into it. I haven't even been turning my computer on much lately! I am not sure why. I can check my email from my phone so I haven't had a real desire to turn it on. And yesterday was so beautiful that I spent the whole day outside with the little one. Today it is raining and cold so back to blogging...

A. Age: 35

B. Bed size: King

C. Chore you hate: Ironing. I avoid it as long as possible.

D. Dogs: Had. Died. Miss my Cosmo. Want another- but not yet.

E. Essential start to your day: Stretch and work out most days.

F. Favorite color: All shades of blue and turquoise

G. Gold or silver: Silver. Gold does not look good on my skin tone

H. Height: 5'4 1/2"

I. Instruments: I can't read music but I faked my way through a couple of years of violin and french horn in grade school.

J. Job title: Create at home mom

K. Kids: 1 4 year old son, AJ

L. Live: Wausau, Wisconsin

M. Mom’s name: Janet

N. Nicknames: Nic, Nickel, and a couple others that I can't tell you... ;)

O. Overnight hospital stays: Other than going into the ER at 10 pm and not coming out until 3 am for food poisoning in San Diego, no.

P. Pet peeve: Several. Too many to name... A couple- smoking in general, calling me Nikki, misspelled words, poor grammar...

Q. Quote from a movie: Really from a book but it is in the movie! "You have bewitched me body and soul and I love, love, love you" and "Yes. A thousand times yes" from Pride and Prejudice. "I've got a good idea. Let's pretend that we are real human beings." and "A pool and a pond. A pond would be good for you. Natural spring water." Ty Webb (Chevy Chase) in Caddyshack

R. Right or left handed: Right.

S. Siblings: Two older brothers

T. Time you wake up: Depends on the day... 5:15 Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 6:25 Mondays and Thursdays and up in the air on the weekends.

U. Underwear: Indeed.

V. Vegetables you dislike: Brussel Sprouts. There are probably many others.

W. What makes you run late: AJ dilly dallying. Me putzing around. Thinking I have way more time than I do.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: My teeth and skull. Probably my foot when I stuck it in the spokes of a bike when I was little.

Y. Yummy food you make: I am a baker. Everything is yummy! I do have a few standouts though. I generally get rave reviews! I also make a couple different lasagnas that are delish.

Z. Zoo- favorite animal: The elephants. But I liked the kangaroos at the last zoo I was at. I just say no to the goats. ;)

A Wee Bit of Me Wednesday...

2011-04-20T20:13:00.003-05:00

Play along here...

{one} how often do you do laundry?Every Friday. Towels get done on Monday as well. When the system works...

{two} what is your favorite type of cookie?Oatmeal chocolate chip or snickerdoodles.

{three} what would you do with an extra $2000 per month?Hire my housekeeper to come more than once a month and do some major landscaping and not feel bad about it, spa more and travel a little bit more as well.

{four} what was/is your favorite subject in school?Art and science. I liked biological sciences and chemistry and horticulture but hated physics because I never knew what the hell was going on!

{five} have you ever ridden in a hot air balloon?No. It would be fun.

{six} what was your high school mascot?We were the Titans. The mighty, mighty Titans. It was fun having a Greek mascot. So many fun themes!

{seven} if you had the chance to go into space, would you?I don't think so. I did just watch something on the Discovery Channel about Mars and while it was fascinating, I just don't think I'd want to go there.

{eight} how often do you go dancing?Next to never.

{nine} would you rather drive or fly?Fly, fo sho! I prefer to get there faster and I hate driving (I am generally the passenger).

{ten} have you ever been caught re-gifting?I don't think I have been caught (I have a really good memory for that kind of stuff) but I have re-gifted! I am not ashamed to say it! I have caught others but would never tell them...

A Wee Bit of Me Wednesday...

2011-04-13T12:52:00.003-05:00

Play along here...

{one} have you ever fainted?Yes! At a Badger football game! I don't know if I was hot or exhausted or what. I got up because I was feeling kinda weird and I was going to go to the bathroom when I just kinda leaned forward and put my hands on the two people in front of me (like for balance) and was out. Good thing Steve and our friends, Matt and Sara, were right there because they caught me and carried me down to the bathroom. It was embarrassing though!! I almost fainted two other times because of elevation- in Breckenridge, CO and while snowshoeing in Lake Tahoe, CA.

{two} what is your favorite casino game?Either Texas Hold ‘em or Blackjack
{three} do you have a good sense of direction?Yes and no. Steve says I give awful directions but that's not really true. I am lost though if I don't have Mapquest. I don't know what I did before Mapquest. I used to be really good at figuring out navigation on the sailboat which is weird because there aren't any "landmarks" in the middle of the ocean!

{four} laptop or desktop?How about laptop on a desk? I don't move it around all that much!

{five} what is your go-to hair style when having a bad hair day?Since my hair is shorter I can't just put it in a pony tail. Headband or Cubs hat or I use Paul Mitchell Spray Wax to try and fix it!!

{six} do you read the newspaper on a daily basis?No. We stopped getting it when my hubby's company stopped paying for it. Sometimes I'll read it online. I don't know what's going on most of the time.

{seven} do you have a favorite celebrity chef?No. Not really into "celebrity chefs". Although I like Mark Miller and met him at a food and restaurant show about 10 years ago and have been to his restaurant in Santa Fe, NM. He's good! Yummy.

{eight} what tv show would you like to make a guest appearance on?Friday Night Lights so I could be Riggins' cougar!! ;)

{nine} do you have satellite radio in your car?Nope. I listen to CDs. I really don't listen to the radio ever except for Pandora!

{ten} what was the last movie that made you cry?I can't even think of the last movie I watched! I know I cried at the beginning and end of Up which I watched not that long ago. Well, it was at the end of January. I know I have watched movies since then but just can't think of what they were. Must not have been that good!

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2011-04-12T13:22:00.003-05:00

My goofy kid last summer... He'd put his head on that pipe and just laugh. Not quite sure what that is about.

So yesterday while we were in the car I asked AJ, "Do you want some bubble gum?" To which he replied, "Does it taste like bubbles?"

A funky new music mix from my Jaynie!

2011-04-07T06:59:00.002-05:00

My BF, Jaynie, sent me a new CD that was supposed to be a Christmas present but I just got it last week! She is a constant mover and just moved in to her boyfriend's place just outside San Francisco so I understand how busy she is to not send it until now. I am so excited that I will see her twice within 2 weeks in May! Once in WI and once in SF. So here is her Happy New Year 2011 Mix...

Got That Vibe * Afrika Bambaataa
Uummannaq Song * KT Tunstall
Collarbone * Fujiya & Miyagi
(Nothing But) Flowers * David Byrne
Constellations * Jack Johnson & Eddie Vedder
Groove Me * Maximum Balloon
Tambourine * Eve
928 Horn Jam * Trombone Shorty
On the Sly * The Bamboos
Eyes * Rogue Wave
Slow Baby * Black Dub
'81 * Joanna Newsom
You, My Love * Marcus Foster
Lost In My Mind * The Head and The Heart
Bring Me Your Cup * The Beautiful Girls
Oye Como Va * Santana
From the Morning * Nick Drake
Smoke Detector * Rilo Kiley
Landslide * Stevie Nicks
Home * Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Hope you dig it as much as I do!

A Wee Bit of Me Wednesday...

2011-04-06T16:10:00.004-05:00

Play along here with a new header!

{one} what is one food that, as an adult you love, but as a child you said you’d never touch?Blue Cheese!! LOVE it! My dad would eat it when I was young and I always thought it smelled like gym socks. We teased him about eating it. Now I order it whenever I can!

{two} did you go to college? if yes, what was your major?Yep. My major was Health Promotion/Wellness and my minor was Psychology. It made me into a more well-rounded person but as far as careers went it was a waste of time. But it was the most fun 4 years of my life!!

{three} what’s the most wild animal you’ve seen in real life (not counting the zoo)?A bear, moose, alligator, barracuda, shark... I have seen those all.

{four} have you ever been to a fortune teller?Yes. I have been to a few but just for fun. I saw a palm reader in New Orleans and she told me I was going to have twins the year we were there. THAT didn't happen. I pretended I could read palms to have something to talk to Steve about when I first met him. That wasn't really true... I used to kinda know how to do Tarot cards if I had the book with me. Finally gave those away a couple of months ago.

{five} can you juggle?No. I am not coordinated enough although my brother-in-law claims he can teach anyone to juggle in 5 minutes. I never took him up on that. Maybe I should...

{six} hardwood floors or carpet?Hardwood. Fo Sho!

{seven} is it called “soda” or “pop”?I use both. In Chicago it was pop, in Wisconsin soda. I usually say soda. I have adapted. I don't drink the stuff anyway!

{eight} what was your first car?1987 Toyota Celica. It was a red sporty little thing. It only lasted about 6 months before it was totaled.

{nine} what is the most decadent dessert you’ve ever eaten?I have no idea. I am trying to think of a dessert that I just wanted to keep eating and eating but I don't know. It was probably something from a restaurant somewhere while traveling.

{ten} how often do you rearrange your furniture?Next to never. When it fits, it fits.

Gulf Shores, Alabama

2011-04-06T06:53:00.001-05:00

After getting into Alabama six hours later than we were supposed to because of snow in Minneapolis we finally made it to the beach the next day. Andrew was a super trooper on the plane and we got several compliments about how well behaved he was. He didn't complain once! AJ was so excited that it was 'summertime' in AL! It was beautiful everyday we were there- high 70s and sunny. What more could you ask for? We played on the beach and in the pool everyday.

This is what a kid who loves the sand and driving his trucks looks like! The sand was so soft and I just wanted to scoop it up and bring it home with me!

He didn't want the waves to 'get' him!

At Lulu's Restaurant owned by Lucy Buffett, Jimmy's sister. This restaurant was so cool- it had the beach volleyball, a plank walk, a big mound of sand with a ton of buckets and shovels to play with, bean bag toss... The perfect beach bar & restaurant (even though it was on the marina/lagoon).

We played miniature golf. AJ was continually 4 holes ahead of me, grandma and poppa. Funny little story about that hat. I forgot to bring his and the first day he was getting a little too much sun (I missed some spots with the sunscreen) so my parents took him to get a hat (I was stuck in bed with the stomach flu that day). They couldn't find a fishing hat except for that one that says 'Culf Shores'. Don't you think they would have sent that shipment back?

Riding the 3 rides he could at the amusement park. How cute is he in that car?

Being the train conductor and ringing the bell on the train ride.

At the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo we got to hold a baby kangaroo! How cool is that? Her name was Olivia and she was 4 months old. Her pouch was the size of a quarter. She was so soft and snuggly!

See Olivia's boyfriend under the bench? He is going after AJ because he's moving in on his woman! :) He just sniffed his shoe!!

There's a nice picture of the three of us!

AJ is laughing at the pouch.

AJ loves feeding the goats. Goats freak mom out with their freaky goat eyes.

I love the look on his face in this shot!

After the zoo, we went to Lambert's Cafe. It was a really fun place that throws hot rolls at you and serves entirely too much food! The fried potatoes and onions were so yummy but I could still taste them at 9 that night!

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2011-04-05T14:47:00.004-05:00

The day before AJ's 4th birthday, as we were driving to school, I said, "Oh AJ! We forgot your show and tell! Well, you can bring mommy as your show and tell." (I was going in later to read a story and bring cookies to his class.) He says, "But mommy you won't fit in the show and tell basket!" He's right, I wouldn't fit in the show and tell basket!

A Wee Bit of Me Wednesday... Double Dose

2011-03-30T15:25:00.005-05:00

Play along here.

{one} what was your first job?I was 14 and a hostess at a Friday Night Fish Fry at the public golf club.

{two} have you ever seen a stand up comedian?Been to a few shows here and there. Usually drinking some fruity blended drink because they put a minimum on it. A friend had a Sweet 16 party at Second City in Chicago once upon a time ago as well.

{three} when was the last time you played mini golf?Saturday! Seriously. The little one and I were vacationing in Gulf Shores, Alabama and since it was so nice out, we went. He wanted to go again but I put the kibosh on that. There is only so much I can take. I beat my parents too.

{four} what was the last picture you took?AJ at the zoo on Sunday I think. We even got to hold a baby kangaroo.

{five} burnt food: yes or no?Ewwww.
{six} if you have a pocket full of change, what do you do with it?It usually goes in AJ's helicopter bank unless it is a quarter than it goes in a gumball machine or parking meter.

{seven} can you touch your tongue to your nose?No. My tongue isn't that flexible! ;)

{eight} do you scrapbook?Yes and no. That is a hard one for me to answer. My studio looks like a scrapbooking store but...

{nine} do you buy lottery tickets?Waste of money.

{ten} do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it?
A mix of both. BUT I am more often behind it than in front of it.

{eleven} if you won a trip to Disneyland/world, who would you take with you?Steve and AJ. We may head there sometime in the near future. It is being discussed. Steve and I have been there several times together and love it!

{twelve} when was the last time you listened to a CD?I listen to mix CDs in my car. So... this afternoon. And I got a CD from my Jaynie this afternoon so I am about to put it on my computer.

{thirteen} what spice/seasoning is your favorite?That's hard to narrow down! I am a fan of garlic and I use it the most probably.

{fourteen} if you were in a band, what kind of music would you play?Classic Rock, hands down.

{fifteen} if you could have personally witnessed one historical event, which one would it be?I have NO idea. The signing of the Declaration of Independence would be a major patriotic rush. A WWII vet standing at the memorial in DC and hearing his story (still barely obtainable, I suppose).

{sixteen} if you could go back to school, what would you study?Art and graphic design. I never thought that you could really be graded in art but the skill base is essential.

{seventeen} if you could go to one sporting event, all expenses paid, which one would you see?I saw the Badgers in the Rose Bowl this year which would be it and I would rather go there than the Super Bowl but I think I will pick the Cubs in a really good seven game World Series.

{eighteen} do you drive an automatic or a manual?Automatic. I am not that good with a manual.

{nineteen} are you comfortable speaking in front of people?I can do it but I am not crazy about it.

{twenty} have you ever experienced an earthquake?Nope. Hope I never have to!

Spring Swap: Spreading Joy

2011-03-17T11:07:00.004-05:00

Everyone needs a little joy, right? So head on over to Jamie's blog, Lyrical Journey, and check out her Spring Swap: Spreading Joy. Deadline to sign up is Monday, March 21st. We need some snow to melt here in central Wisconsin so I can definitely use some spring joy!!

Cabin Fever 11 Mix

2011-03-17T07:43:00.002-05:00

I started making this mix late last year and needed a couple more songs for it for 3 months. Now it finally has them and it is complete! I present to you the Cabin Fever 11 Mix for your listening enjoyment (that is if you download the music...).

A little Sufjan Stevens- love his music. And obviously this guy is kinda quirky! On one album he plays over 20 different instruments. That's talent.
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Have you seen this movie? I have not which is surprising given that I am such a huge Dylan fan. A few songs were taken from it.
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She is adorable and her music is beautiful. Download her now. Do it. Do it. (Sorry a little lame Starsky & Hutch humor.)
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The Skies Over Your Head * Nico Stai
Never Say Never * The Fray
Too Much * Sufjan Stevens
Mama You've Been On My Mind/A Fraction Of Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie * Jack Johnson
Hey, Soul Sister * Glee Cast
Creep * Radiohead
Good People * Jack Johnson
The Wicked Messenger * The Black Keys
Come On Get Higher * Matt Nathanson
Perfect Day * The Constellations
One Love (People Get Ready) * Glee Cast
Brighter Than Sunshine * Aqualung
Roll If Ya Fall * Barefoot Truth
Sleeping To Dream * Jason Mraz
Hello * Schuyler Fisk
For Emma * Bon Iver
Lucky * Glee Cast
All Along the Watchtower * Eddie Vedder and The Million Dollar Bashers
Miss Friday * Nico Stai
Honeybee * Zee Avi

Enjoy!

A Wee Bit of Me Wednesday...

2011-03-16T12:00:00.006-05:00

Play along here.

{one} scruffy or clean shaven?Scruffy is definitely sexier but it is nicer to kiss clean shaven

{two} what’s your favorite sundae topping?Hot caramel and Oreos

{three} do you own slippers?My slippers got a hole in them so I think they are on the floor at the back of my closet but I wear slip on house shoes all the time not really slippers.

{four} did you ever have a tree house?A fort- yes (built of junk wood and it was actually my brother's creation), tree house- no. :( Tree houses are super cool. We always found some little area to have secret meetings though.

{five} how you do relieve stress?Art.
{six} what’s your favorite dr. seuss book?There's a Wocket in My Pocket probably.

{seven} have you ever taken dance classes?No. I'm kinda a clod. It would be fun though!

{eight} which do you use more: the thesaurus or the dictionary?I probably use both equally since I like to play word games.

{nine} what’s your favorite form of exercise?Elliptical or a video. I really like Cardio X from the P90X series. I like to do sit-ups too although you can't really tell!

{ten} what’s the longest you’ve ever waited in line?No idea but it is always a bore. It probably won't be so bad now with an iphone!

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2011-03-15T15:09:00.006-05:00

I have a Senor Pukey Pukey AGAIN! I was up from 2:30 until 4:45 a.m. with him this morning. He's not doing a whole lot today. Missed another day of school. :( He just celebrated his 4th birthday on Friday.

That's his dog, Pound Cake, with him in this picture. I overheard him a couple of weeks ago while playing tell him, "Oh Pound Cake, you don't have to call me sir. You can call me AJ." It made me giggle!

A Wee Bit of Me Wednesday...

2011-03-09T13:37:00.003-06:00

Play along here.

{one} what color is your kitchen?Taupe. And I have maroon red Corian counters which is a really nice combo!

{two} do you have a good luck charm?No.
{three} do you prefer to write with a pen or pencil?Pen. I prefer black.

{four} can you use chopsticks?Only the 'made for dummies' kind with the rubber band on the end. Otherwise I can do it but I don't feel really comfortable with them. I never understood how people picked up rice with them...

{five} do you prefer baths or showers?Showers. I used to take baths when I had my own apartment. Now? Not so much.

{six} what is your favorite salad dressing?I order/buy balsamic vinaigrette and bleu cheese most of the time. I like a good honey mustard too.

{seven} can you sing the alphabet backwards?No. But They Might Be Giants can! It os on their 'Here Come the ABCs' album

{eight} do you have any allergies?Only to drugs like penicillin and the cyclines which eliminates almost all antibiotics for me. Also birth control pills.

{nine} crunchy or creamy peanut butter?Creamy. Definitely.

{ten} have you ever hitch hiked?
Not intentionally. After I got in an accident someone stopped and drove me back to camp and I got in their car not knowing who they were. Does that really count though? I would never do it intentionally. Creepy people hitchhike and creepy people pick up hitchhikers!

A Wee Bit of Me Wednesday...

2011-03-02T08:35:00.004-06:00

Play along here.

{one} do you wear holey jeans? if so, do you buy them that way?I try not to. I think they look sloppy. Why would I buy them that way?

{two} do you get a full 8 hours of sleep per night?Nope. 6 hours usually is my max. Weekends it is closer to 8.

{three} what’s your favorite way to eat an oreo?I scrape out the frosting and eat the cookie part. I don't like the frosting so much. I don't eat Oreos as much as I used to.

{four} do you wear shoes in your house?Yes. But they are generally house shoes so they don't go outside unless it's dry out. My feet would get way too cold if I didn't.

{five} who would you call first if you won the lottery?Steve and then my parents. But it is hard to win if you don't play! ;)

{six} have you ever been in a food fight?I don't think so. Maybe in college but I would have been drunk and then that is why I don't remember.

{seven} do you snore?No. And neither does my husband! Thank goodness!

{eight} do you know how fast you type?No idea.

{nine} can you do a headstand (without using a wall)?Nope. I can do a shoulder stand. But I don't have great balance.

{ten} how do you like your popcorn?My favorite is in the Whirly-pop using olive oil and then add some salt. Yum. Now I want popcorn...

I'm a winner!

2011-02-24T07:05:00.001-06:00

I won this book- Cake Pops by Bakerella from Chris' blog Ruby in the Garden during OWOH! I am so excited to receive it!

source

The funny thing is that I was looking at this book for 10 minutes on a solo trip to B&N the day before I commented. I was so close to buying it but actually ended up walking out empty handed (unheard of for me). I am wondering if there are any whale pops in there for my little one's birthday party next Saturday?! I love the creativity of all of them though. I just hope I have the patience!

A Wee Bit of Me Wednesday...

2011-02-23T20:20:00.008-06:00

Play along here!

{one} do you always wear your seatbelt in the car?Absolutely. Even from parking lots that are connected. People drive like idiots.

{two} do you crack your knuckles?Yes.

{three} what is your favorite flavor of gum?Orbit Bubble Gum Mint flavor

{four} what is your favorite piece of jewelry that you own?Fancy- My engagement ring- it has a cool triangle shaped diamond; Sentimental- the bracelet AJ made for me last Mother's Day- all random beads; Funky- my Peruvian Opal organic pendant. Big, chunky and funky.

{five} who is your best friend?

I have several. All for different reasons and times in my life.

{six} what is your favorite smell?Bounce fabric softener sheets, campfire, lavender and hyacinth

{seven} what is your favorite lunch meat?Rotisserie chicken breast.
{eight} do you still have your tonsils?Yep. They have never been an issue for me.

{nine} do you untie your shoes before you take them off?No. And the backs of my shoes show it!

{ten} what color is your car?Blue

Stay Handmade Swap!

2011-02-23T07:54:00.001-06:00

Jessica over at Life. is hosting her very first swap and it is a good one. Stay Handmade- basically you get your partner's favorites list from etsy and buy all handmade! LOVE it!! Sign up is until March 7th so get over there and do it! Yay for handmade!

AJ's sweet Valentine

2011-02-22T14:37:00.003-06:00

We decided to do robot valentines for all the lovies in AJ's life. We started them and then I saw one in BH&G's Scrapbooks, etc. that I fell in love with. So we did something kind of similar.

Too cute for words, right? Inside it said, "You melt my circuits, Valentine!" Find the inspiration for it here.

Weekend Recap!

2011-02-22T13:42:00.004-06:00

I had a pretty decent weekend overall.

If you don't know, our state has gone beserk. There is bedlam and mayhem and all sorts of other tomfoolery going on in Madison. I'd be REALLY surprised if you hadn't heard about this. I am NOT political at all. I am pretty much in the middle when I do know what is going on. Which is pretty much never. I am not going to pretend I know what is going on down there because I really don't. All I know is that it is nutty. I have added something to my bucket list (which doesn't have anything on it, except this, because I haven't written one)... For the next election, I will know everything that is going on on the national, state and local level so that I can make the most informed decision I can. If I don't know what is going on, how can I vote fairly?

I stole this picture from my ex-boyfriend's facebook page. He took it. I don't remember him being too politically charged back when we were in college but he's a teacher and this effects him. So he protested and then posted a million and six things to clog my facebook home page.

Saturday night was spent celebrating with my friend, Nicole, and her friends for her 40th birthday. Girls only. She was supposed to be in Costa Rica or someplace equally warm sipping on margs (National Margarita Day today! Drink up!) but she went and got herself pregnant and that put the kibosh on that trip. She ended up with us in cold Wisconsin drinking 7-up and cranberry juice while we drank wine and margs (she makes a really good one!). She's due in May. :) Anyway, we went to one of my favorite little spots in our town, Basil. Yum-o!

My friends, Jim and Tee, who own the joint on their anniversary last month. Cutie patooties! Picture from Basil's facebook page.

Sunday/Monday... On Saturday, AJ said to me, 'I see grass! Summer's coming!' Not quite kid. Yes, we had ridiculously nice temps last week and the snow was melting. In fact, I had just commented to Mel from Chicago Girl Gone Mild about how yucky the snow looked here- black and crunchy and so, so dirty. She said it was the same there. We go to church Saturday evening and hear we are in for a doozy of a storm. Neither S or I had any idea. Check the weather channel as soon as we hit the street outside the place of worship and see we are gonna get 5-8" Sunday afternoon and another 4-6" that night and into Monday morning. OK. We got a nice foot of the powder with 25 mph winds so the drifts were waist deep.

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Hello snow plows, buh-bye grass.

OWOH Winners!

2011-02-17T14:13:00.003-06:00

Congratulations to Connie from Cetta Cheese Chatter who won the custom note card set and the turquoise and coral bracelet and Martha from Ms. Brown's Classroom and Destination Unknown who won the beaded plant stake and custom note cards! Connie lives in Hawaii (can we say jealous?!?) and Martha is from Toronto. OWOH was a fun journey and I hope these lovely ladies enjoy their prizes!

Leave it to Bieber...

2011-02-16T14:15:00.005-06:00

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Up until last night's episode of Glee, I couldn't tell you the name of one song that Justin Bieber sang. Actually, I still can't tell you the names of them. Let me rephrase. Up until last night I had never heard (or realized I had heard) one song by Justin Bieber. If asked, I would just pretty much say, 'I don't know.' There is a freaking movie about the kid and his life. Huh? Boggles my mind. What boggles my mind even more? That people my age (35) want to see it or have and thought it was awesome. WHAT?!? From the songs by him on Glee last night, I am not impressed. Now I am not a big fan of pop music but what is the fascination with this kid? The hair? Blech! Puckerman with the hair? Not a good look for him. I much prefer him with the Mohawk and a guitar (can we say hot?!?). If anyone can explain this weird fascination with this kid, please do!

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2011-02-15T13:25:00.003-06:00

Jesus, the old English Version

The above video is my darling son's Christmas concert. He goes to a Catholic preschool so they can sing a song called J-E-S-U-S (and Jesus was his name-o...). Yes, the tune was to BINGO. The video is pretty funny just to listen to. I took it with my phone so the quality pretty much sucks. Anyway, he still sings the song. The other day I am listening to him sing it while he is going potty and he is singing G-E-O-S-U-S. Kinda like an old English version of spelling Jeff, Geoff? Yeah. I thought it was kinda funny but I am a dork and think a lot of what my kid says is funny. Like this morning when he called me Make-up Face.

And then she was down... Week in review!

2011-02-11T14:44:00.004-06:00

*I got sick after the little one. I ended up at the walk-in clinic on Sunday with all sorts of junk in my face- my ears were blocked and I was hacking up a storm. So I am on antibiotics. And Mucinex, the wonder drug. While in the doctor's office (15 minutes max) I was called 'dude', I am not exaggerating, 45 times. That is 3 times per minute but actually it was probably more like 3 times per sentence. And he was definitely not a surfer! Dude, way unprofessional!

*The little one is much better and was able to attend all of his activities this week with gusto. Yay!

*Cleaning lady came on Wednesday. She only comes once a month but I love it when she comes. She is super and cleans all the things I wouldn't even think to clean. She double disinfected too, so germies be gone!

*I actually got something done this week (well not really on Tuesday because I was dealing with sending a package to Canada and you have to declare everything and it was a total pain in the keester). AJ is making robot valentines for his family and class and I worked on prepping that and I am designing his birthday party invitation and those should go out Tuesday. I will post a picture of both when they are complete! :) I will also post a picture of all the Valentine swap loot I sent (this was the package to Canada...) once I know Sara has received it.

*We are going to one of my favorite restaurants (in town) tomorrow night. Yummies. We aren't really going out for Valentine's Day but I guess we are. We were supposed to go out last weekend but our new sitter couldn't babysit so I told her when she wants to sit for us to call and we will go out. Thus tomorrow night. I am so glad it didn't end up being last weekend because I would have had to cancel due to the sickies!

*We have been socked with some REALLY frigid temperatures this week. Not fun. It is very deceptive outside- very bright and sunny, looks gorgeous and then you walk out there and bam! Frozen boogies.

*And if you aren't living in a cave you know that my boys won the Super Bowl! Woo hoo! Commercials weren't too good this year. I loved the VW Darth Vader one though- so sweet! It was a great game though and had us on the edge of our seats. Steve and I both would have much rather had a Badger Rose Bowl win but we'll take the green and gold winning...

Tuesday...

2011-02-02T13:27:00.003-06:00

I am going to vent... Yesterday pretty much sucked.

*I am trapped at home but not by The Blizzaster (my favorite word for it yet although I am also digging Snotorious B.I.G.) that is wreaking havoc on the lower half of the great state of Wisconsin (we have sunny skies here!). No, I am going on day 3 1/2 of a sick almost 4 year old. Late afternoon Sunday that joy set in and it is still here on Wednesday. Boo! I cleaned up puke yesterday. Yay.

*I got summoned for jury duty. Again. A whole two months later. I served in December. I have a call into the court office to try to get out of it. I am hoping it was just a mistake and they will say no problem. I thought (as several law types told me) that I was off the hook for two years. A call into a friend in litigation said that the policy is always changing... We'll see. What a pain.

*I was able to get out last night to go to Walmart. I hate that store. It is only 2 miles from my house though so I uploaded a bunch of pictures (since I was trapped here) to the one hour photo for our adoption book. I had 10 things on my list. I found 5 of them. The pictures weren't done 6 hours later because their printers broke. Gatorade wasn't in the "beverages" aisle. Apparently, it is back by the liquor because you know that's a good mix. They didn't have the floss and sour cream I use. The yogurt that I like had 6 (I buy 15-20 usually) and they were on the top shelf at the back so I couldn't reach them. A taller girl walking by could reach 2. Thank you, kind passer byer. The girl checking me out asked me if I found everything ok. I told her no and listed off all the stuff I couldn't find and that is when she told me that the Gatorade is by the liquor. I think I'll go run 3 miles and and drink a whiskey orange Gatorade. I left frustrated and annoyed. Now I have to go back today but at least I can get some Gatorade now!

*My boy was all squirrelly and wired from the siesta he took at 6 pm. Aaaaahhhh. He was up from 8-9:30. That's my time kid.

Thanks for letting me vent.

I should have posted this a LONG time ago...

2011-02-02T06:00:00.001-06:00

AJ LOVES this video! I wish I could make a video of him watching this video! :)

One World One Heart

2011-01-31T11:03:00.003-06:00

Hello and welcome to Indigo Star Fairy! My name is Nicole and my blog title says 3 things about me right off the bat! I love the color indigo, stars and fairies. I live in Wisconsin where it is cold and snowy right now. It is God's country. I am a create at home mom to an almost 4 year old sweetheart and a little business, My Pepita's Magic. I make handmade art cards and custom invitations, jewelry and a whole lot of this and that. I like to eat great food, drink red wine and travel. I look forward to visiting your blogs and meeting you! This is my first year (and I guess the last since this is its final year) that my blog is participating in OWOH but I bounced around the last 2 years and found some cool blogs to visit. OWOH is open to all bloggers as a way to network and meet new people.

On to my door prizes! There may be a few more goodies but I will be choosing (at least) 2 winners as a thank you for visiting my little blog.

Winner one will receive an indoor plant star stake and a set of custom note cards (once I know your name...).

Winner two will receive this coral, turquoise and sterling silver bracelet and a set of custom note cards.

Like I said before, you have to have an established blog and a way for me to contact you! All you need to do is leave a comment on this post. The winners will be chosen February 17, 2011 and I will email the winners.

Thanks again for stopping by and good luck! :)

The it's Friday, I'm in love series...

2011-01-28T06:21:00.004-06:00

Brought to you by Summer at B is for...

Our new bedroom set! Except the nightstands aren't in yet so our old ones are still in there. I found a different bed that I loved but I hated the dresser and nightstands and of course they didn't have any other options in that stain. And Steve liked this one as well which was good. And it was on sale. And I got free delivery with a competitor coupon. Score!

My bear friend sitting on the bed is named Bearister and Steve gave him to me when we were dating. I sleep with him every night curled up in my arms when I am at home. I miss sleeping with him when we are traveling. I thought the name was pretty clever, since Steve is a barrister! ;)

And the beautiful quilt was made by my mom. We have had it since October but finally it is not drowning out the bed! It is called Coffee or Teal. Yeah, my mom is clever too. Although, it took me a month to get it... One day it just dawned on me.

My new specs! Aren't they super cute? I never wore my glasses before- now I don't want to wear my contacts! They are Kate Spade. Sorry the picture is so crappy (taken with my iphone) and my hair is a mess... That little one next to me is cute too.
I don't know what I'd do all winter without Aveda Hand Relief and Foot Relief. I bought the gift set for myself. I deserve it. ;)
And Paul Mitchell Spray Wax! LOVE! This stuff instantly picks up limp locks and adds a little pow! Only drawback it makes your hands so sticky. I use this whenever we go out at night and my hair looks lame all day and after this stuff is in it looks like I just walked out of the salon and had a pro (K-dog!) do it. I could have used it before I took the above picture! Ha ha!

Do you feel fly?

2011-01-27T17:57:00.001-06:00

One World One Heart

2011-01-27T06:34:00.007-06:00

I am participating this year! It starts on Sunday and I can't really post about it until then but click here or the picture to find out all details! A ton of bloggers in one (sorta) spot! It is a fun blog event and the network of blogs is unbelievable!!

All You Need Is Love Swap

2011-01-26T14:28:00.004-06:00

I entered this swap courtesy of Neely of ...some days just are... A Complete Waste of Makeup, Courtney of Chaos Theory & Sam of A Careless Man's Careful Daughter. Thought it would be fun. Found it from Summer of b is for... A little Valentine's Day Heart-y treat. Sign up by Friday though to be part of the action!

What can I say but I love swaps! :)

1154 Lill Studio

2011-01-25T12:48:00.005-06:00

Remember how I told you I custom ordered the below purse for my birthday in July? Well, I didn't love it (it was way too big for me) so I sent it back for a refund. I couldn't figure out what I wanted to get in its place though so I just hung onto the gift card.
In December, they were running a special for $20 off an order of $100 so I found Molly and dressed her up in Ophelia and I love it! I wish I could have found one that slung but this one is so cute!! And I only had to pay $2.83 after my gift card! Yay!
1154 Lill Studio can be found here.

The Packers are going to the Super Bowl!

2011-01-24T07:18:00.002-06:00

The Packers were victorious! Yay! It was a nail biter too! So Wisconsin has had a good year- Badgers at the Rose Bowl and Packers at the Super Bowl! Hopefully the Packers will have better luck than the Badgers did...

images from here

This is what I love and hate about the Bears-Packers rivalry- the players are friends and the fans are enemies. Why is that? Why can the guys playing the game go out and congratulate each other and be genuinely excited for the winning team despite losing yet the fans have to continue to go on and on about how much they despise the other fans? The Packers won and I am happy but if the Bears had won I would be happy for all my friends that are Bears fans. When TCU won the Rose Bowl, I emailed Ryan (the only person I knew who went to TCU) early the next morning to tell her congrats and that it was a good game because it was. TCU played well. Better than the Badgers. She emailed me back with a very nice note about how she was thinking of me and how it was nice to know someone on the 'other side'. There is such a hatred that comes from some fans. I don't care about the ribbing that goes on between friends (or strangers) that is harmless and fun. It's the fans that take the games and players and ribbing so personally that they get downright mean. I am not singling out Bear fans because Packer fans can be just as bad if not worse. During the game I kept checking my facebook wall to see what was being said and it was mostly 'Go Bears' or 'Go Pack' but after the game it was much more fierce. I don't even want to comment at all when people are like that.

In the end though, isn't it really just a game?

Packers vs Bears: The Midwest Super Bowl!

2011-01-21T06:53:00.001-06:00

images found here...

It's the duel of the century this Sunday afternoon! Who will go home victorious? I am sure hoping it is the Packers! Being that I am from Chicago but went to school and live in Wisconsin this rivalry is huge. Dad is a Bears fan but his dear daughter is a Packer backer. But he also cheers on the White Sox and I am a Cubs fan. My facebook home page is littered with the trash talk between my many friends from both Wisconsin and Illinois. It will be interesting to say the least.

Mid-Season Lineup

2011-01-20T06:55:00.005-06:00

I finally finished watching all the episodes of Boardwalk Empire on my DVR this past weekend. This series is fantastic! Everything about it.

I especially liked Kelly Macdonald's character, Margaret Schroeder. She was crafty and subtly conniving. Michael Shannon's Agent Nelson Van Alden was wonderfully played as well.

This dude just freaked me out. Jack Huston is a tremendous actor though! And actually pretty hot (minus the mask...)! He has a Johnny Depp/Jared Leto look.

I added Shameless on Showtime to my list of must watch shows this winter. Fantastic thus far! Emmy Rossum should get an Emmy.

I am going to try Fairly Legal out on USA tonight. I like USA shows- Psych, White Collar & Covert Affairs. They are fun and a little bit lighter. We'll see...

Greek is back! Woohoo! Love this show!! Casey, Evan and Katherine are in law school at CRU while Cappie, Calvin & Ashleigh find their way. Dale is rushing Omega Chi! Rusty is bitter about it.

Big Love is in their final season and I hope it is as intriguing as the first 5. It is time to end this one though. It is great but I am ready to move on.

White Collar and Mr. Easy on the Eyes (Matt Bomer) are back. Love me some eye candy.

Pretty Little Liars has to go and screw up my DVR. I became slightly addicted to this over the summer when little else was on. Who the hell is A? I am sucked in too far now not to find out!

And Life Unexpected is over. It was a nice ride. They keep saying 'Season Finale' but apparently Shiri Appleby confirmed that it was over on Facebook. The season finale was definitely a series finale on Tuesday night. They jumped ahead 2 years at the end and wrapped it up which was nice not to have a 'I wonder who they ended up with...' feeling. The only one I couldn't figure out was who Math's pregger wife was- Abby? Alex? Can't tell those two actresses apart anyway. I find it odd though how their lives after being so messed up were nice and tidy and together 2 years later. I won't say what happened in case you haven't watched it yet though.

The Granddaddy of them All!

2011-01-19T07:11:00.003-06:00

We went to LA and the Rose Bowl and we had a fabulous time! Of course it would have been better if we had won the game but hey...

We drove up this curvy, basically 1.5 lane road up to the Hollywood sign and the houses hanging off the side of the cliff were pretty cool. I don't know how they live up there- parking for parties would be impossible, driving that road at night would be scary and the mudslides? Can't imagine! My high school friend, Emily Bergl, gave me the directions. Emily plays Beth right now on Desperate Housewives.

This picture is one of my favorites! We rarely get pictures together but there was a woman from Tennessee with her 2 daughters up there who was happy to oblige and took many pictures for us.

The view to smog city.

We were hiking down this road to go behind the Hollywood sign but I think we went down the wrong road. Oh well. We had plenty of other things that we wanted to do on Friday anyway!

Santa Monica Pier. There was lots of red there. But Santa Monica Pier is lame. Had it been warmer and the beach piled with people, maybe not as lame. I wanted to see 'da pretty muscle boys lifting da bikini clad girls' (spoken like Hans and Franz...) at Muscle Beach but no such luck. Bummer. (Body building to the extreme gives me the willies!)

I have to get rid of that stupid balloon string!

New Year's Eve dinner at Ago in West Hollywood. We met up with 2 other couples there. This place I have to complain about. Now my 3 readers won't go there. Robert DeNiro co-owns this place, it's supposed to be trendy, a celebrity magnet and the regular menu looked pretty good. The NYE menu? LAME! I didn't expect to see any celebs (although our friends saw Sheryl Crow at Bubba Gump's the night before on Santa Monica Pier). They are known for their peach martinis. They were really good. They use fresh peaches and I could have put back a few of those easily. Not at the price they were though. I don't know how much they were because someone bought it for me. We get the menu and it is limited like most places do but the prices are also jacked up $6-13 more. I had heard that the Caprese salad here was awesome and it was. But regular menu- $14, NYE menu- $20. All the salads were at least $16. I ordered a pasta with artichokes that was basically noodles, artichokes and a little garlic and olive oil. Pretty boring. $25 though. I could have made that at home but it would have been better. Everyone had dessert and we had 2 bottles of wine. I have definitely had better meals in Wausau which is not known for its haute cuisine. The thing that absolutely drove me crazy about this place was the smarmy waiter that added on our tip to our bill. Jerk added 33.3%!!! I would have said something but I tend to be a little (ok, a lot) bitchy and irrational about things like that so I let it slide until another day when we could call them. But it still bugs me! One of the guys in our group tried emailing them the Monday after we got home and I don't know if he got a response.

Go Bucky!

Keith, Chris and Steve are pumped for the game!

Karen, Keith, Chris, Kristi, me and Steve before the game.

Jumpy, Jumpy!Bucky is pointing at ME at the Alumni Pregame Tailgate Party!

The game. Full of RED!

Steve still has a smile during 5th quarter after the Badgers lost. It was a good game. We were exhausted! I gotta hand it to the TCU Horned Frogs- they played well and hard. It was kinda nice to 'know' someone on the other side as well, my blog sista, Ryan from AmericanBridget Jones! I know she was excited!

On Sunday (after a good night's rest!!), we went to The Getty Museum of Art which was super cool. Wish it would have been warmer so we could have seen the gardens in bloom. We ate at the best little Italian place- Bravo Cucina in Santa Monica (3rd Street Promenade) for lunch. I could not get enough of the pomodoro sauce! The food at this place was WAY better than Ago!!I would recommend this place to anyone. Kinda a hole in the wall but sometimes those are the best places! We stayed in Burbank at Hotel Amarano which was nice because it was in a residential neighborhood and very nice. The staff was very friendly and helpful. LA is really spread out and you have to drive everywhere which I am not a fan of. I like to be able to take a cab or subway while in the city. Overall, it was a great trip to LA but I don't know when (or if) I will go back!

Great News!

2011-01-18T10:12:00.003-06:00

We have been moved to the active pool for our second adoption! We are so excited but scared at the same time. I just received the call that our home study and book for birth parents needs to be done soon. We have been on the waiting list to get into the active pool for 2.5 years!! So this call was very welcome! :)

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2011-01-18T06:58:00.005-06:00

Picture taken December 2009 but he has the same jacket in a bigger size and wears this same hat. He hasn't changed that much since this picture!

Yesterday we were playing in the snow and we live in a wooded area with a hill in our front yard. The hill is big enough to sled down and not have to seek out someplace else, especially for my almost 4 year old. So we sled down the side and go into the woods a little ways. He says in wonderment, 'Where are we? The jungle?' And then he proceeds to bark like a dog because you know that dogs live in the jungle... What a goof!

I'm back with a funny tidbit.

2011-01-17T14:26:00.005-06:00

See all this snow? See that sled in my hubby's hand? Well, well, well. On this day (by the way, this was our Christmas photo- cute, huh?) we got 12-15 inches of snow. It was beautiful and fun to play in which AJ and Steve did all morning. Shortly after this pic was taken they came inside but left the sleds in the yard. Well by that time we had only gotten about a quarter to a third of the snow we were supposed to. So the sleds were buried. A couple weeks later AJ and I are playing outside and I am looking in the garage for the sleds... Not there. I go tromping around the yard and find the toboggan but not the saucer. I think on this particular day I had to shovel the driveway because the snow blower wasn't working. So I call my hubs at work and complain to him that I can't find the sleds and thanks for leaving them outside because that is what good wives do, right? Nag their husbands? I admit, I do it well. Sometimes too well that Steve needs to leave and go to the Y. We got some more snow this past weekend so Steve decides he is going to try the snow blower again to see if it works. No. It is not the engine though. And he can see what is wrong with it. This shield from the snow blower is blocking the blades. Five minutes later he comes back in the house to tell me he found the saucer sled... mangled in the blades of the snow blower! How do you NOT notice that you just hit a big chunk of plastic and that it got eaten by the snow blower? He got it out, using the pruners to cut enough of the plastic so that he was able to tear it out. Men. At least it made for a funny story. Can you imagine if we had brought the snow blower in to be serviced? Those repair guys would have been laughing their asses off!

I will start blogging again. I promise.

2011-01-10T20:42:00.002-06:00

But I just did 26 posts in 4 days on my family blog. I need a day or two. :)

Ornament Swap

2010-12-13T06:33:00.002-06:00

More than a month ago I told you about an Ornament Swap I participated in through Micaela at Dolce Vita...

I was paired with the most lovely lady, Ryan at AmericanBridget (Jones) and this is what she sent!

A pomegranate martini ornament because we both love them! :) AJ was putting this on our naked tree as soon as we got it! And then he'd take it off and put it back on and so on...

And these two little twins because they are indigo! I am going to think of these as Ryan and Nicole. While we were paired up in this super awesome swap we also were paired up to play in the Rose Bowl! Not Ryan and I obviously but our two teams! Wisconsin plays TCU, Ryan's alma mater, on January 1, 2011 at the Rose Bowl. Which Steve and I are going to. Definitely check out both Ryan and Micaela's blogs. Very cool chicas. ;) Ryan also sent AJ some sour gummy bears and a Santa Pez. I wish I would have recorded AJ eating the gummies since his face was absolutely priceless! :) Ryan has a white and silver theme going on in her house so I made a beaded snowflake ornament (a little WI in TX!) and a set of martini notecards. Thanks Ryan (and Micaela!) for a truly fun (not bizarro! ;)) swap!

A totally random list of going ons in my life right now...

2010-12-12T13:52:00.004-06:00

* I have been a very bad blogger, etsy shop owner, email returner, etc. It's not because I want to be! I have been so busy with everything that I haven't been able to do anything!

* I have been summoned for jury duty next week (13-17). The week before Christmas! Hopefully, I won't have to serve. Do you know what a pain in the rear it is to figure out potential child care for a week when you are a stay at home mom? My mom may have to come down (an hour her and back) 3 days and one of my sitters took 2 days. Figuring out how to get AJ to and from school and skipping his last gymnastics and swimming classes for awhile... Grrrrr.

* We have tickets to the Rose Bowl! We fly out of Minneapolis a couple of days before and come back a couple of days later. I hope it doesn't snow buckets when we have to drive 3 hours to the airport and back. December/January in Wisconsin/Minnesota can be fierce like that. I was once in Florida over the New Year and couldn't get back to Minneapolis for 3 days after my flight was supposed to come back!

* Speaking of winter weather... we got SOCKED yesterday. At least a foot is on the ground and then add some high winds and you get 2-3 foot drifts. We were supposed to go to a holiday cocktail party a block and a half away. We would have gone last night (probably would have snowshoed there considering there were 300 people invited to a house that has very little parking and snowplows probably would have schmucked the cars that were in the street...) except for the fact that we had to pick up and drop off our babysitter in near whiteout conditions. Oh well. We took our family Christmas picture yesterday in the blizzard and it turned out really cute! (I will post it after the holidays) After, I baked 3 more cookies to add to the 4 kinds I made last weekend! I will definitely post the 'winner' recipes! Yummy!!

* And about the Rose Bowl... why does the travel industry find it ok to hike up rates so drastically? Flights out of Madison or Central Wisconsin to LA? Close to $1500!?!?! That's ludicrous. Before the Badgers were for sure going flights were one price, after it was announced they almost doubled. We have friends flying into San Diego, San Francisco and Las Vegas and out of Chicago and Minneapolis just to get a somewhat more reasonable rate. Insane. Hotel rooms on NYE are astronomical! Thank goodness it averages out to a better rate because of the other nights. Tickets to the game are a whole other beast. Whoever pays that much for a ticket to a football game is nuts. Ours are face value. :)

* And since i am on the subject of New Year's Eve... I hate it. I feel like it is forced fun. I don't like going out on that night. Period. I'd rather be in bed. Maybe it is because I have never had a truly awesome NYE. I don't know. But LA's midnight is our 2 a.m. Can you tell I am a morning person?

* I just figured out what I am going to do for my Christmas card design. Ordered the extra supplies I will need which probably won't get here until later this week. As well as the pictures. Again my cards won't go out until December 23rd... Why do I do this to myself?

* I am a P90X grad!! :) Steve and I officially finished P90X on Friday. I am toned and 6 or 8 pounds lighter. I can't remember my start weight. I really didn't have a lot to lose in the first place though. I wanted to get toned. Probably gained a little weight in muscle. I feel great and I am really proud of myself that I stuck with such an intense program for 3 months. We don't know what to do now so we'll probably just keep going! We are planning on running Crazy Legs (5K up and down hills) in April in Madison and I will do the Susan G. Komen run here in October. So yesterday instead of taking the day off I decided to see if I could run the 3.1 miles on the elliptical machine. I did it although I thought it was 3.2 miles but my heart was going. P90X is so different that I'd have to train by running to get ready for it. After I finished 3.5 miles (cool down) and doing 350 sit-ups (Yes 350! That's how many you do in Ab Ripper X...) I put a jacket over my sweaty t-shirt and a hat on my wet head and went outside and took our Christmas card picture! Oh, I put some powder and lipstick on but it was the best post work out picture I have ever taken! ;)

A BIG Win!

2010-11-30T16:10:00.005-06:00

If you haven't heard, the Wisconsin Badgers are most likely heading to Pasadena on January 1, 2011 to play in the Rose Bowl...

And we might be going with them! Go Bucky!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2010-11-25T22:23:00.004-06:00

Front: Dad, Adreanna, Geoff, Parker, Lisa & AJ
Back: Me, Steve, Craig & Mom

I was lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving with my whole side of our family. I wish everyone could be as lucky as me. Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuned Out!

2010-11-11T07:09:00.001-06:00

I axed some more shows that I used to watch: Brothers & Sisters, Cougar Town and Running Wilde. I got sick of listening to people bitch constantly. There is probably a couple more that I cut and just forgot. I wonder sometimes how I keep up with them. I am watching the 2nd season of The Buried Life and Psych returned which has me, well, psyched. Desperate Housewives has a newbie on the show- Beth, who will keep me watching. I actually went to high school in the burbs of Chicago with Emily Bergl. I am enjoying watching her acting career take off. Dexter has been fascinating this season. Glee's Rocky Horror episode has been my favorite ever. I feel bad that I have 6 Boardwalk Empires on the DVR and have yet to watch a 30 Rock OnDemand. One day...

Oranament Swap

2010-11-10T06:51:00.002-06:00

Micaela over at Dolce Vita is hosting an Ornament Swap (sorry, sign up ended Nov. 7) which I immediately signed up for. I am looking forward to seeing what everyone gets! I think I may have to make one for my partner, the awesome American Bridget (Jones). I look forward to getting to know her better! She can't turn down a pomegranate martini. Sounds familiar... Definitely check out Micaela's blog. She is a girl obsessed with mail. And her mail is creative both inbound and outbound. I like that about her. :)

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2010-11-09T07:04:00.000-06:00

It's a good thing that kid above is darn cute...

About a month ago I went to the dentist and from the dentist you get your $120 travel sized toothpaste, toothbrush and floss. Yes, I did type $120. Because the dentist is really expensive. But that's a rant for another day. I left typed goodies on the kitchen counter. AJ comes into our bathroom the next morning with white stuff all over his hands and says 'Mmmmm. That smells good.' I look over and realize it is not soap or lotion. Half the travel sized tube!! I went to get my camera to snap a photo but Daddy was washing it all off when I got back in there. I could of snapped a photo of them cleaning it up except my hubs was in a towel and I don't need everyone that reads this blog emailing me to get his digits and what not. No need for a frenzy! ;) After being cleaned up AJ declares, 'I did it all by myself!' Yes, indeed child, you did put toothpaste all over your hands by yourself!!

Fast forward to last week. I am putting AJ down for a nap and am reading him books before he goes down. I am so tired that I start making up words since my eyes are crossing during the fourth Scooby Doo book. I put him down and decide to take a little napper myself... I am kinda napping in my hubbby's man cave next to AJ's room (he's got one of those super comfy recliners in there that I got him last year for his birthday/Christmas). AJ is NOT napping but I am so tired I can't drag my butt out of the chair. So a half hour later I get up and go in his room where I find him doing a no pants dance, his face, butt, legs, shirt and ears slathered in diaper cream. It is all over the carpet and slipcover on his sofa. It reeks like wintergreen (is that an accurate description of smell for diaper cream) and he is one slippery little sucker. The bath that I threw him in made him even more slippery. The diaper cream went in the garbage (we don't need it anymore anyway) and I had oh so much fun trying to clean it out of the carpet for the next half hour! The mind of a three year old is so bizarre...

New Music Mix Monday

2010-11-08T08:09:00.006-06:00

For some reason now all my pictures are going into html format in my composition page which makes it kind of difficult to see what picture is where. Anyone else having this problem? I made a new mix recently. I have WAY, WAY too many songs to fit on my ipod now. I have two itunes libraries. My computer is starting to run out of memory due to all the music and the bajillion photos I have on here. After Christmas I will have to start weeding stuff out and get my computer cleaned up and organized. Anyway, back to the music!

1. October * Broken Bells
2. Angel in the Snow * Elliott Smith
3. This Land is Your Land * Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
4. 15 Steps * Radiohead
5. Dream * Priscilla Ahn
6. Maybe, Maybe * Nico Stai
7. Under My Bed * Meiko
8. We're Here to Save the Day * The Constellations featuring Asher Roth
9. Awake My Soul * Mumford & Sons
10. Devil's In the Jukebox * Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs
11. Crazy * Gnarls Barkley
12. The Ghost Inside * Broken Bells
13. Flightless Bird, American Mouth * Iron & Wine
14. Lucky * Jason Mraz featuring Colbie Caillat
15. Marchin On * OneRepublic
16. Lisztomania * Phoenix
17. Sea Breeze * Tyrone Wells
18. Your Woman * White Town
19. Stop and Stare * OneRepublic
20. I Will Remember You * Ryan Cabrera
21. One October Song * Nico Stai

Notice how it starts and ends with songs with October in them? Fitting since I made the mix in October! Awake My Soul is my fave M&S song. Nico Stai just plain rocks. Love, love, love him. Totally dig The Constellations and Asher Roth's little ditty in it- 'The earth is moving and we're consumers and what we do is we consumer.' Awesome. Dream is beautiful. Lucky is fun, I also loved when Quinn and Sam sung it on Glee. Etc., etc., etc. The mix is great. Period.

Happy Halloween!!

2010-11-01T08:50:00.006-05:00

Since I took off the entire month of October I should have tons of stuff to blog about... Some but not much! I was so busy in October it was crazy. I still have a couple weeks of chaos and then it slows a little. This past weekend was PACKED with things. The hubs and I went to a costume party on Saturday night that was a ton of fun.

Steve as a knife thrower. He wasn't so thrilled with the 'puffy' shirt. It is one of my mom's blouses. While getting ready he says, 'This shirt buttons backwards!' 'Hon, most woman's shirts do.' 'How do you get dressed in the morning?' Do you know why? It is because back in the day, someone used to dress the woman so for them the buttons would be correct.

And I am the knife thrower's assistant. I was supposed to have a knife stuck right in the middle of my forehead meeting my early demise but it was too heavy and wouldn't stick. Oh well. I think it would have been really annoying while talking to people and dancing to have a knife handle protruding a 1/2 foot out of my head...

My friend, Kendra, did my hair into a 20s style wave. It looked cool! It even looked neat when I came home and kinda fluffed it out before I took a shower.

On Sunday, AJ & I dressed up as Bob the Builder and his assistant (lover???), Wendy. We had a beautiful day for trick or treating! I asked AJ what we were going to do with all of our candy and he replied, 'Eat it! I like candy!' We have a little too much though... He just finished a candy cane the other day from Christmas! This new load might last until next Halloween!

And yes, I do make our costumes. I love to scavenger through stuff to come up with a creative costume!

A Blog Day of Silence for Daddy Butch

2010-10-26T12:58:00.005-05:00

Summer's daddy lost his fight with cancer on Sunday, October 24th, 2010. It is absolutely heartbreaking to have to lose a father so soon, so young. My heart aches for her. She is a wonderful and beautiful person. Summer, I love you girl! xoxo <3

Thursday TV...

2010-09-30T07:27:00.001-05:00

Thursday has a tricky 7 pm time slot but that's what OnDemand is for. Shows being watched are Vampire Diaries, Bones, Community, 30 Rock, and The Office. I watched the first episode of Outsourced and it got axed because it is stupid.

You can't do any better than the eye candy on Vampire Diaries...

Bones has great chemistry. I don't think I really have to watch this show in first run but I still do.
Community just cracks me up. I haven't watched it yet this season since I have a bunch on the DVR and I watch that OnDemand. Joel McHale is funny.

Not warm and fuzzy, 30 Rock is smart comedy. The subtle humor is the best.

The Office. Steve Carell's last season. I don't think the show can go on without him. One of the shows that I will actually watch in reruns.

Outsourced was just stupid. How many people want to watch a show where the company sells deer heads that sing Sweet Home Alabama?

Book Review: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

2010-09-29T07:33:00.002-05:00

This book is beautifully written. She has a certain way with the words. That being said, I didn't like it! She never uses quotation marks for dialogue. WHY NOT?? I have no idea! It's hard to follow conversations. I thought it was going to be more Sarah Addison Allen but it was weird and led nowhere. The ending was very abrupt, you never find out what the hell is wrong with one of the characters (He turns into furniture?? I think?? Yeah, it is as weird as that sounds.), and just drags. It took me forever to read because I'd fall asleep after a couple of pages. Boo. Not reading Aimee Bender again.

Wednesday TV...

2010-09-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

The Wednesday night shows I watch... The Middle, newbie Better With You, Modern Family and Cougar Town. Basically the ABC Wednesday night comedy block.

The Middle is funny. Just like your family funny. All three of the kids are well done- Brick is quirky, Sue is clueless and Axl is always walking around in his underwear...

I watched Better With You last week and while it might get canceled I thought it was funny. There were parts where I actually laughed aloud. Like the clueless guy saying 'You'll be Uncle Ben. 'That was funny. There is a lot of canned laughter that I am not a fan of but I will give this show another shot.

Modern Family won Outstanding Comedy for a reason. It's a great show!! Did you know that the kid who plays Luke is actually a genius? Or a Mensa member or whatever. Hey I didn't say I was really smart, that kid is...

Cougar Town is a little too much. I thought it was going to be really dumb but there is some good stuff in there. You can tell it is by Bill Lawrence because there is a lot of 'Scrubs' humor in there. I am partial to the men on the show. They have great chemistry with each other and I wouldn't mind hanging out with their characters. Although they do seem to always be drinking and I don't think I could keep up!

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2010-09-28T07:16:00.001-05:00

The set up: I am picking up AJ from preschool, his teacher, another mom and her son, E, are in the hallway.

E to AJ: You didn't say thank you for my birthday cookie. (Yes, I did think this was rude because AJ probably did say thank you.)
E's mom: E! That wasn't very nice!
AJ to E: You're welcome!
Mom, teacher, me: Giggle
E is standing there with his hands out and palms up. AJ takes E's hand and shakes it.
AJ to E: Nice to meet you!
Mom, teacher and me: Crying we are all laughing so hard!
:)
I just hope stuff continues to roll off him like this and he is always so laid back (and funny)!

Tuesday TV...

2010-09-28T07:01:00.002-05:00

Finally! I think I am going about it in a totally roundabout way but LOOK!! Text above the picture!!!

Tuesdays lineup is as follows: Glee, trying out No Ordinary Family, Raising Hope and Running Wilde, Life Unexpected and Parenthood...

Glee, I love it! I am a total Gleek!! What are they going to do when these kids 'graduate' though?

No Ordinary Family- Gonna try it tonight. We'll see...

Raising Hope was good but they showed too much in the trailers for it so it wasn't as funny as it could have been if I hadn't seen the commercials about a bajillion times. Martha Plimpton is great in this! This role was designed for her.

Running Wilde was pretty awful considering it has 2 decent actors in it. I will give it another shot since I have a total girl crush on Keri Russell. For a long time. Felicity- one of my favorite shows ever! And Arrested Development is another one of my favorite shows of all time and it is by the same creators and 2 of the same actors are in this (Will Arnett and David Cross). Get your act together and make this one a winner! I wanted this to be funny but it just wasn't. The funniest thing on this show from last week was that they had a photo of a building and it said 'Vandalay Industries' and that is a total shout out to Seinfeld and George Costanza. I think that was this one anyway. I chuckled.

Life Unexpected is darling and all the actors are people I'd hang out with. If I knew them. Oh, and if they were real...

Parenthood was a show that I gave a shot last year mid-season and I loved it! It seems very real to me. I know this is just TV but the issues are relevant. And the looks Adam (Peter Krause) is shooting William Baldwin's Gordon (Adam's boss) when he flirts with Adam's sister, Sarah (Lauren Graham) are priceless. He's got the 'Are you kidding me?' look down!

Monday TV...

2010-09-27T07:06:00.001-05:00

Monday night's lineup includes Chuck, How I Met Your Mother, newbie Lone Star and Castle. Gossip Girl was 86'd.

Chuck is fun and Zachary Levi (Chuck) is adorable. I like spy shows. And nerds. :)

How I Met Your Mother's Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) is hilarious. Can't get enough of the womanizer. But who the heck is the mother? I am in it for the long haul until we figure it out. Frankly, I don't really care. It's that good.

Lone Star- I tried this newbie out. I liked it. I look forward to see where it is going. The star (James Wolk) has charisma. And he's easy on the eyes. That doesn't hurt. Critics are liking it but are they gonna pull the plug before fans get a chance to? Maybe... Boo Fox if you do!

Castle is another of my favorites on TV right now. I love the chemistry. I love the mystery. It's like a fun mystery novel on TV. It's got page turner appeal.

Oh, Gossip Girl... you're outta here! Boring. But I will miss all the hot toddies on the show. All of them! They sure know where to get the good looking actors. Except for Jenny. Can't stand her. Whining will not get you any points in my book.

P90X Week 2 Done!

2010-09-27T06:59:00.001-05:00

So now that I have done all the routines at least twice, this is really getting addicting! We really don't like the Yoga X so I think we are going to switch things up a bit a try Beth Shaw's Yoga Core. 90 minutes is just too long, one, and two, it's kind of boring because it is very repetitive. As far as Yoga goes I don't think we are interrupting the program by doing something else. I also talked to my friend Kerri (the yoga teacher) again and she thought the routine was very advanced and SHE got bored and thought it was too long. Kenpo X (mixed martial arts) is still my favorite. What can I say... I like pretending to kick someone's ass! On Sundays our son joins in on the fun for Chest & Back and Abs for at least the warm-ups and giggles the whole time. Last night in the bathtub he was doing chin-ups on the bar on the side. That kid cracks me up. Also, if I can figure out how to post a video on here, I have a cute one of him and P90X.

I have so much more energy and I am excited to get up and workout. Even though it is intense, it really is fun. Today was Plyometrics. Lots of sports oriented things- tires, basketball shots, etc. I really can feel myself getting stronger, especially my abs. And it is fun having my hubby as my workout buddy!

Sunday TV...

2010-09-26T20:36:00.005-05:00

Sorry, but I still can't get any words to go above the first picture. It is very frustrating! I am surprised that I haven't done a post yet about TV since as you know I am obsessed and it is fall and premiere week was last week... Boo! Bad TV blogger!

So Sunday shows I watch are Dexter, Desperate Housewives, the new Boardwalk Empire and the (supposedly) last season of Brothers & Sisters.

Dexter is by far and away, one of my favorite shows on TV right now. The books were terrible in comparison. They had no depth. Michael C. Hall is fantabulous. Can't wait to see what they do with him this season with 3 kids and no wifey. Last season was spectacular with John Lithgow. Wondering how they will top it!

Desperate Housewives is getting a little boring and predictable but I like it because its an over-the-top soap. We'll see if it stays on the DVR this season... Entertain me DH!

Boardwalk Empire is splashy and trashy. The set & costumes are phenomenal. Steve Buschemi gives me the willies. He is not attractive but he plays the role so well. Smarmy. This one is gonna be good.

Brothers & Sisters is going into its last season which is good. I don't know if I can take much more of the Walkers' misery. But it is acted superbly. How Matthew Rhys (Kevin) can make his Welsh accent sound American amazes me. Why, oh why, did you have to get rid of the forever hottie, Rob Lowe though?

You are sooooo good looking!

I needed a blogging break!

2010-09-22T04:23:00.001-05:00

Last week was busy. We (my husband and I) started a new workout, new diet and a new get up time (4:50 am) which is really early. So far so good though. P90X is intense and I was aching. Sunday- Chest & Back and Abs (LOTS of push-ups and pull-ups), Monday- Plyometrics ('jump' training), Tuesday- Arms & Shoulders and Abs (Arms were a little too easy to be called 'intense'), Wednesday- Yoga. 90 minutes of intense Yoga. I gave it to my friend, Kerri, who is a yoga teacher and she said there was 'A LOT of Vinyasa' which after looking it up, I'm still not quite sure what she means or if that is good or bad or hard or what. I'll be lucky (and happy), really lucky, to be able to do the crane (above photo) after 90 days. But after P90X, I do plan to take a class from Kerri! Thursday- Legs & Back and Abs. Lots of lunges. Friday- Kenpo, which is cardio boxing/mixed martial arts. Kenpo is my favorite. Very fun but I feel like such a clod.

The diet. I have never eaten so much meat in my life! So much protein... I want my carbs back!! Three days last week I ate 6 egg white scrambles with 3 oz of chicken in them and a little parmesan and fresh basil. It took up 1/2 a dinner plate! It is good and I am not that crazy about eggs but the whites are better. My husband just laughs as he looks at my plate.

The new wake up time is fine with me. I am a morning person but I like to stay up a little later because of the little one. I still want some 'me time' and new shows are starting... Where am I going to find the time for all my shows? I may have to 86 some. Oh well.

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2010-09-21T04:51:00.001-05:00

Lately, the last couple of months or so, AJ is afraid of thunderstorms. So the other day after a rainy night (there wasn't any thunder but the rain was driving against the outside of the house by his bedroom and it was loud), he came into our room and told us how the thunder woke him up late last night (which, of course, we knew because he woke us up in the middle of the night and wanted to sleep in the living room (?) another thing lately...). He then asked, "How come we can't turn the thunder off, daddy? It's so loud and it goes boom.' :)

TV Time: Vampire Diaries

2010-09-20T04:16:00.000-05:00

I am so happy Vampire Diaries is back because now I get to see this guy's mug every Thursday (or Friday depending on when I watch it) night! Mmmmm, I love Ian Somerhalder. Especially as Damon. As Boone on Lost... just didn't do it for me. He's sooooo good looking.

The it's Friday, I'm in love series

2010-09-10T09:33:00.004-05:00

Well, it's Friday so it's time to tell you what I am in love (and not so much in love with at the end...) with this week...

1. Bloggers uniting for a blogger friend and her family...

Remember Summer? She is this awesome, awesome gal over at b is for.... brown, breathe & believe. Her daddy is down in Louisiana while she is in NYC. He has stage 3 lung cancer and was in remission but did some cautionary brain radiation which has effected him worse than all the chemo and chest radiation combined. What's worse is that the oil spill left him without a job and he lives quite a ways from the hospital where he has his treatments. So Summer started 'A Dollar and a Card for Daddy' to help cheer him up and ease the stress of paying for gas to go to treatments. She is a good soul and I pray for a speedy recovery for her daddy and her heart. I sent my card of to Butch yesterday with a fiver because it's the least I could do. Head over to her site to get his address to send him a card and a dollar! Make his (and her) day!

2. Jeans & sweatshirt weather!! I love the 60s- degrees that is!

3. Best of... in our local free paper, City Pages...

This annual survey cracks me up and makes me wonder. My favorite local restaurant, Basil, took the #1 spot for both 'Best New Restaurant' and 'Most Creative Cuisine'. Yum, yum, I love me some Basil! It doesn't hurt that we are friends with the owners and their daughter is one of our #1 babysitters. There is continuously one restaurant (uhmmm... 2510... uhmmm) on there that places in different categories that I just don't understand Wausau's fascination with. I think they are offering their customers a percentage off if they vote for them. Anyway, they have some funny categories on there like 'Grossest Bathrooms' where Wal-Mart tied for 2nd with porta potties. Hey, I won't go to the bathroom at Wal-Mart...

4. Filling my etsy shop with more to come. Go visit, NOW!! :)

5. An organized office!!

I cleaned and organized all my paper and whatnots this past weekend! Yay!! It was out of control in here.

6. Polito's Pizzeria's Garlic Knots...

Hell yeah. And after Wednesday night's gorge fest I will not eat another one for 3 months. Not because I don't want to but because of P90x. Which starts on Sunday. Which scares the bijimminies out of me. But I keep thinking of my super svelte bod in 3 months time and I will persevere!

7. It's Artrageous in Wausau this weekend.

This is my favorite weekend in this town! Tonight we will be hosting a table at the Woodson Art Museum's dinner after the preview of the 35th Annual Birds In Art Exhibit. We have two very talented artists at our table that I will tell you all about next week! Saturday I am going to the Festival of Arts with my mom after the Farmer's Market (gotta stock up the veggies for next week!). Sunday we are going to the Rib Mountain Fire Station Open House which AJ is pumped for. Nice little weekend, huh? Not sure if we'll get to Bed Bath & Beyond or Home Depot though. Don't know if we'll have any time. Hahaha...

Oh and one thing I don't love so much... Blogger's annoying spacing thing has got me frustrated!

Finley's Birth Announcement

2010-09-09T07:35:00.005-05:00

One of my best friends had a baby girl in March and asked me to do her birth announcements. She wanted pink & orange and paisleys. This is what I came up with. It came out pretty cute, don't you think?

Cinnamon Apple Cake

2010-09-08T07:28:00.000-05:00

You may find this surprising but I do not love cake. Well, that's not exactly true. I don't like frosting. Or whipped cream. Or most cakes... I like pound cake, coffee cake and butter cake. This Cinnamon Apple Cake... LOVE. It's from Cooking Light so it's not ALL bad for you. You can eat it for dessert or breakfast and not just cause you want to eat cake for breakfast. Technically, it falls under a coffee cake. It is moist, delicious and feels like fall. I served it as a dessert with the Salted Caramel Ice Cream that I wrote about last week. I didn't use Rome apples, I had some small Paula Reds, the first apples of the season at the Farmer's Market. While they took me forever to peel because they were so small and I had to use a dozen to make three cups, I was glad that I used the first pickings. This is one cake I will make again and again and again...

Summer Glitter Mix

2010-09-06T09:51:00.000-05:00

The Black Keys

Michael Franti- he's pretty hot, ain't he?

The Constellations

A new mix has made it onto my itunes. Aaaahhhh, how I love music! :)

Dog Days Are Over * Florence + The Machine
Never Tear Us Apart * INXS
Style Monkeys * Lambchop
You're Not My Girl * Ryan Leslie
Everlasting Light * The Black Keys
Tightrope * Janelle Monae featuring Big Boi
When the Night Comes * Dan Auerbach
I and Love and You * The Avett Brothers
Beauty in the World * Macy Gray
Little Lion Man * Mumford & Sons
Kiss With a Fist * Florence + The Machine
Felicia * The Constellations
No Trust * The Black Keys
Devil Inside * INXS
The Sound of Sunshine * Michael Franti & Spearhead
2 Atoms in a Molecule * Noah and the Whale
Blood Bank * Bon Iver
Beg Steal or Borrow * Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs
Manteca * Dizzy Gillespie

So I got a couple songs from Mel at Chicago Girl Gone Mild. Thank you, Mel, especially for the introduction to The Constellations. Love Felicia! My friend Jayne has a mad crush on Michael Franti and usually has his music on the mixes she makes for me so in turn her birthday mix will have the fun and upbeat, The Sound of Sunshine. It just makes you want to dance, like a lot of his music does. Ryan Leslie has a JT vibe. The Black Keys have a great classic rock feel (which you know is my fave style). Tightrope makes me want to dance as well while Dan Auerbach makes me want to kick back and relax with When the Night Comes. I couldn't resist putting a little Diz on here as well. Hope you found something you like!! Enjoy!

The it's Friday, I'm in love series

2010-09-03T07:54:00.001-05:00

Summer

1. PRESCHOOL: Well, I am always in love with this little guy- not just on Fridays!! But I am glad that he has started school, is loving it and I am getting back awesome reports about my little man.

2. Taylor Kitsch/Tim Riggins: Best thing to hit TV in a long time. I love Friday Night Lights, his character and mmmmm, just him! I am going through FNL withdrawal right now... How could you not think this guy is F-I-N-E, fine?!?!

3. Booking an Art Studio Tour trip with my mom in October. We're going to areas of Wisconsin I have never explored before. First up is the Fall Fresh Art Tour in towns along the Mississippi River like Stockholm and Lake Pepin and then we are heading a little farther east (but not too far) for the Falling Leaves Art Studio Tour in towns like Fairchild, Augusta and Fall Creek. Never heard of them? Not surprised, they are tiny! Well, you may have heard of Pepin because if you were a Little House On the Prairie nut (I was NOT.) it is where Laura Ingalls Wilder was born. Little factoid for you. I am really looking forward to hitting Abode in the town of Stockholm. My mom bought me a cool wall plaque from there last year for my birthday last month.

Art by Gail Pommerening

4. My paper order! Pretty papers came this evening and I can't wait to use them! I am in love with plaids, paisleys, and surfboards. Never been surfing but I am kind of obsessed with surfboards. For a long time, like 10 years... I know, I am weird. Love these that came- Oh the colors! :)

Paisley Parade by ki memories

Rusted Sun collection from Fancy Pants Design

Brooke Line from Crate Paper

There you have it. My first Friday Love Series post. Happy weekend to you all! We have plans to do... NOTHING! Don't you love those weekends too?

Jimmy Fallon performs live on America's Got Talent - He's SO darn cute!

2010-09-02T07:24:00.002-05:00

Totally ANNOYED!

2010-09-01T21:23:00.002-05:00

I am so annoyed at Blogger right now... When I posted yesterday, I couldn't get any space between the top picture to type anything. My post tomorrow morning I can't get any text before or after the video, so it is JUST the video. What the heck am I doing wrong? Do I need to now post my pictures after I type text in (because before it would reformat it for you which was also annoying)? Help PLEASE!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

2010-09-01T07:10:00.002-05:00

On Saturday I made this Salted Caramel Ice Cream from Cooking Light to bring to a friend's house for dessert after a dinner party. OMG! It is SO good! I had to adapt it a little since I have a Cusinart Electric Ice Cream Maker versus the old-fashioned kind that the recipe called for. So basically after you put the pan over ice to cool it, I put it in the freezer can of the ice cream maker, let it spin for a half hour and then popped it in the freezer. I didn't scoop it out of the freezer can before I stuck it in the freezer but I would recommend putting it into a plastic container after it finishes spinning. The taste... YUM! I put a little fleur de sel on top before serving it instead of the flake salt because I didn't want to buy flake salt just for this. Make this ice cream pronto!

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2010-08-31T15:22:00.004-05:00

With his best bud, Tyler

With his teacher, Mrs. Roz

How I know I live with a preschooler? Because today was his first day of preschool!! He waved and said 'Bye Mommy!' No tears were shed. By either of us!

Music Monday

2010-08-30T21:06:00.002-05:00

Obsessing over Florence + The Machine right now. Love this album! When I can't decide which song I like best, that's a good thing!! She just plain rocks and the music is great to cook/bake (I crank it for that!), hang out or work out to. And I know I mentioned this before but she really does look like a fairy in this picture! Just add some wings and she is good to go...

P90X

2010-08-26T07:07:00.000-05:00

Oh bananas, I just ordered P90X... It is gonna kick my (getting bigger) butt and I need this desperately since I am at the heaviest I have ever been. Apparently, I must wear flattering clothes because people keep saying I'm 'in shape'. Um... yeah. Except for that spare tire around my gut (it may be a mountain bike tire but it is still a tire!) and my expanding thighs and butt. This past weekend even the flabby arm thing came up as 2 friends and I were waving to our hubbies and kids on a boat 500 yards away. You know, 'Man, I hate waving because my fat is waving as well.' All 3 of us agreed. I wish I could blame this on birthing a kid but I don't even have that as an excuse since we adopted ours! So I am making the commitment to change this and am going to P90X it in shape with the exercise and food. Ouch. I can hear my butt already screaming for an Almond Joy instead of another leg raise...

And, no, I am not posting 'before' photos!!

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2010-08-24T07:02:00.001-05:00

So a couple weeks ago, I took AJ to daddy's office so I could pick up his phone. He fell asleep in the car on the ten minute trip to his office and did not want to get up and out of the car until I told him that he'd get to ride the elevator up to his office. He turned to me and sleepily said, 'The alligator?'

Music Monday

2010-08-23T07:12:00.002-05:00

My sweet friend, Jayne, sent me a CD of new music for my birthday last month. I love when Jayne sends me a CD because she has awesome taste in music! So here is what was on her latest mix:

1. Mas Que Nada * Sergio Mendes featuring The Black Eyed Peas
2. You & Me * Dave Matthews Band
3. Everyday * Rogue Wave
4. So Fresh, So Clean * Outkast
5. Quiet Dog * Mos Def
6. Groovin' * The Rascals
7. The Weary Kind * Ryan Bingham
8. The Heart of the Matter * India Arie
9. Sweet Disposition * The Temper Trap
10. All This Beauty * The Weepies
11. Fallin' & Flyin' * Jeff Bridges
12. Southern Cross * Crosby, Stills & Nash
13. Tighten Up * The Black Keys
14. La Gloria * Gotan Project
15. Alive * Goldfrapp
16. Beauty Beats * Beats Antique
17. Unless Its Kicks * Okkervil River

Quiet Dog is my favorite. Love Tighten Up. Unless Its Kicks is one of my faves, especially to workout to. Beauty Beats is pretty fly as well.

A new design

2010-07-22T11:59:00.004-05:00

I made this card for thank yous for birthday gifts the other day. Banners are super trendy right now. I made a happy birthday banner for AJ last year for his 2nd birthday and can hang it every year. So this is where I am running into a slight problem... I picked these papers from Cosmo Cricket's Mr. Campy line because of the vintagey feel. Yesterday, I got the CHA Release Sneakpeak (CHA is a scrapbook convention for retailers) from Scrapbook.com and Cosmo Cricket hasa banner paper using most of the papers that I used! How weird is that?!? I am wondering if I should change it to a different pattern paper set completely. What do you think?

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2010-07-20T05:12:00.000-05:00

We went to a baseball game last weekend. There is a team in town that is made up of college players called the Wisconsin Woodchucks. So we are at this game and the music for charge comes on and at the end AJ yells 'George!' instead of charge because that's what he thinks he hears and since he is such a huge fan of Curious George. We thought it was cute. There was another thing he said at the game that made us just laugh. We told him he had to cheer for the team so he went through his teams, "Go Badgers! Go Brewers! (much to my chagrin, a Cubs fan) Go Game! Go Woodchips!" Hee hee.

Summer Sparkle Playlist

2010-07-19T06:54:00.004-05:00

Florence + The Machine (she looks kinda like a fairy in this picture!)

Christina Perri

INXS

Canned Heat

So it's the time again to add some new music to my ipod and this is the list for mid-summer...

Dancing Scarlet * Jason Myles Goss
Blessed * Brett Dennen
Addicted to Love * Florence + The Machine
Forever Young * Bob Dylan (from The Essential Bob Dylan album)
Going up the Country * Canned Heat
Rock & Roll * Eric Hutchinson
Amy Amy Amy * Amy Winehouse
Jar of Hearts * Christina Perri
Butterfly (from the Casa Nova Sessions) * Jason Mraz
Hot-n-Fun * N.E.R.D. featuring Nelly Furtado
Touch * Natasha Bedingfield
Squander * Skunk Anansie
Irish Eyes * Jason Myles Goss
The Dress Looks Nice On You * Sufjan Stevens
Cosmic Love * Florence + The Machine
What If You * Joshua Radin
Normandie * Shout Out Louds
Province * TV On the Radio
OK, It's Alright With Me * Eric Hutchinson
Need You Tonight * INXS

I heard a number of these songs on SYTYCD but they resonated. Especially Jar of Hearts. Christina Perri became an overnight sensation because of her song being on that show. I didn't even like the dance (the WAY it was danced I should say) that went with it but the song... Natasha Bedingfield came on to perform Touch and now AJ and I just dance around the kitchen to it. Of course there is some Bob Dylan. And TV On the Radio has made an appearance after some time off. I have always been a big fan of INXS. HUGE! And Michael Hutchence was always hot. Rest his soul. And Canned Heat reminds me of summer especially Going up the Country.

Book Review: The Sisters Grimm Book 1: The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley

2010-07-12T07:20:00.000-05:00

This book was so cute! If you liked Harry Potter you would get a kick out of the wonderfully imaginative The Sisters Grimm series. The two sisters are catapulted into a town where the 'Everafters' (all the fairy tale characters you've ever known) are residents stuck in Ferryport Landing. The girls, descendants of Wilhem Grimm, then start in the family business as detectives in their free time. Michael Buckley has a quick wit and creative writing that is just amazing! I have already downloaded the next 3 to my Kindle and look forward to reading them!

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2010-07-06T10:48:00.004-05:00

I just love this picture too much not to post it.

In the last three weeks I have morphed from Momma to Mommy. I am not sure how I feel about it. When becoming a mom started to become a reality, I didn't want anything to do 'momma' because I felt like it wasn't really me and then when AJ said it I was hooked. 'Momma' is so endearing and precious. Then it became 'mommy' and while it is still sweet it just isn't the same. When the third m and y get dropped it'll be even more of a jolt in reality. But for now I will embrace Mommy for the time that I get to have it...

Happy Birthday to ME!!

2010-07-02T02:23:00.004-05:00

Today is my birthday! The big 35!
You know what I am getting? I'll give you a hint. It looks something like this...

Although I haven't gotten around to ordering it yet. No rush but maybe I'll go over there today.

And since my hubby said, 'What else do you want for your birthday?' I ordered up a custom purse from 1154 LILL Studio. Because now I don't have to carry a diaper bag! At least for awhile...

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday but on Wednesday...

2010-06-30T21:04:00.003-05:00

It's Camp Potty at our house.

He is doing awesome on the potty training! At first he was really resistant but on Monday I stayed home all day with a pantless little boy and had movie day. We watched A LOT of movies. We talk about poop a lot within our little parent circles so this post is not weird to me! When he took off for the potty on his own Monday night with 'that face' and pooped on the potty for the first time, I almost cried I was so proud. He even turned on the fan. And did a courtesy flush. And then we headed to Barnes & Noble, all 3 of us so proud, and bought him the fire truck book we promised.

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T19:55:00.004-05:00

Happy Father's Day to my Dad! Love you dearly!

And Happy Father's Day to my husband, love you to the moon and back... You make being a momma so much easier! You are a fantabulous daddy-o!

I Heart Kent Boyd!

2010-06-16T22:03:00.004-05:00

You know I am a So you Think You Can Dance nut... Kent is my favorite contestant this summer. He is so adorable that I just can't stand it. He makes me giggle and he is just a great dancer. I have been rooting for him since his tryout in Chicago. He cracked me up when asked where he was from and he replied, 'Wapokoneta, OH'. The judges then asked him if he'd ever really been to a big city before and he replied, 'We get out once in awhile to Columbus.' He is darling and I love him!! You can go all the way, Kent! You are definitely going to get the votes!

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2010-06-08T08:32:00.003-05:00

I have a pothole in the middle of my yard. I need to set this story up a bit. Last September, we had 2 very large trees cut down in our yard. In March, we decided that the area where the trees were would be a good place for the new playset. In April, the guys came to remove the 2 very large stumps and used the woodchips for under the playset. There had been a small stump in the area where there is now a pothole. The tree guys removed it and filled the hole up with dirt and grass seed. It didn't last very long. It is now a construction site for AJ's Tonka trucks. I guess I will fill it in in the fall. Somebody needs to get that boy a sandbox stat before my flower beds become the next unplanned construction site...

Now I also have a pile of dirt.

Summer Sun 2010 Playlist

2010-06-02T07:32:00.001-05:00

Lady Gaga Veneer by Jose Gonzalez

Planet Waves by Bob Dylan

If it isn't obvious I must be doing something wrong...

A new playlist is a must to start the summer off right! It has felt like July this May. Hot, hot, hot. Well, we did have 3 inches of snow on May 7th but we had 92 degrees on May 24th! We conveniently missed the snow while we were in Florida in 88 degree sunshine... What is up with that? That's Wisconsin for you! So here's the playlist:

Girl From the North Country * Good old Bob (Dylan that is...)
That Was a Crazy Game of Poker (Live Acoustic Version) * O.A.R.
How You Like Me Now * The Heavy
Darlin' Do Not Fear * Brett Dennen
Just Dance * Lady Gaga & Colby O'Donis
Forever Young * Bob Dylan (from the Planet Waves album)
Naive * The Kooks
Tambourine * The Happy Hollows
The Devil Never Sleeps * Iron & Wine
Heartbeats * Jose Gonzalez
The Swimming Song * Loudon Wainwright III
Song to Woody * Bobby D, once again (he really is my favorite!!)
Breathe In Breathe Out * Mat Kearney
Back Against the Wall * Cage the Elephant
In My Dreams * Eels
Young Folks * Peter Bjorn and John
By Your Side * My Robot Friend featuring Dean Wareham
Kite Song * Rosie Thomas (Thank you Summer for this sweet tune!!)
Bad Romance * Glee Cast (Glee girls and Kurt- LOVED this episode!)
I Buried a Bone * Blind Pilot
Stay In the Shade * Jose Gonzalez

There you have it. This is what I am listening to right now. I am a total Gleek. I admit it. And I am not ashamed. The Lady Gaga/Kiss episode was totally fun. My little guy loves Lady Gaga, especially Poker Face. I liked that 6th grader, Greyson Chance's version of Paparazzi better than Lady Gaga's. Check that out for sure. I can honestly say that I like the beginning of Tambourine but hate the end. Blind Pilot is becoming one of my favorite bands. Jose Gonzalez is totally rad. The Devil Never Sleeps is just an AWESOME song! And, of course, my musical heart belongs to Bob.

Happy Anniversary Steve!

2010-06-01T07:29:00.001-05:00

At our first house with our dog, Cosmo. Sadly Cosmo is no longer with us... :(

In my Uncle Ron's sweet 1930's Ford Phaeton

8 years ago today!

I love you with all my heart!

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2010-06-01T06:28:00.000-05:00

AJ digs robots so whenever the Droid phone commercial comes on he always wants to watch it. Like the one below:

And then he runs around saying "Droid" in a creepy voice to anyone who'll listen BUT nobody knows what the heck he is saying!

How I know I live with a preschooler Tuesday...

2010-05-25T11:04:00.003-05:00

I was pushing and pushing him (while reading my Kindle...) and he stopped squealing with delight and my arm was getting tired so I stopped... I went to sit down at the table and saw a very sleepy monkey.

How do they not fall forward instantly?

He was not happy when I woke him and he saw me taking pictures of him!

Giveaway over at B is for...!!

2010-05-19T21:03:00.004-05:00

My friend, Summer, is hosting a giveaway from Love Erica over on her blog b is for... brownie, breathe and believe. Erica makes some very sweet jewelry at her etsy shop. Check it out here. You can win 3 different items. Head on over there now!

Aventurine Earrings

Rhodonite Earrings

Sweet elephant necklace

(that's mine- don't get any ideas!!)

I love her starfish necklace. I might just have to get that. I am kicking myself that I didn't buy a starfish necklace while I was in Florida. I was even thinking about it when I was in the airport.