Tuesday, March 29, 2011

it's comical tuesdays

my life is comical. 
and sometimes words aren't enough. 
and i never seem to have a camera when things get really hairy. 
but i do have a pretty wiggitywack awesome memory.

{it's comical tuesday's presents}


bella's reasoning skills


because a hug makes it all better.......

Sunday, March 27, 2011

i may have jinxed myself

....when i said i hoped this camping trip would be drier than the last one.

we planned this trip back in february. 10 days out we looked at the weather. 80's and 70's during the day, 50's and 60's at night. the week leading up to it elicited pool days in the backyard. 3 days out, the forecast still looked promising, with high's still projected to be in the 70's, though there was a slight chance, 30%, of rain.

thursday night, a friend informed me that it was supposed to rain all weekend. i checked the report. 60% chance of rain saturday. 40% on sunday. those odds did not bother us. rain is no big deal. we have equipment for rain. rain can be fun!

we got a late start friday. i'm talking 4 hours later than i wanted to leave. but did i take this as a bad sign? of course not! because we were in no rush for our fun, relaxing, albeit potentially wet, weekend.

friday night was great. hot dogs by the campfire, a little talking and goofing off, then off to bed, where we all slept....well, like you do when you camp. not at all.

thursday, we got up and had a great day. we took the canoe out, played several games of badminton (in which my dad and i won every round), and took bella to the park. it was a little cloudy, but it was nice.

and then it started raining. we put up the pop up, secured tarps around the outside and even set up a space heater to keep warm. we passed some time playing games and laughing and again, it was fun. when the rain let up a little, we took a trip out to walmart to get some things that we needed-a jacket for the baby, a wind fly for the pop up, some mat's to keep mud out of the tents, you know, essentials.

when we got back, the ranger came by to let us know there were severe thunderstorm watches and a possible tornado warning just north of us. we figured we would secure the tents a little better and ride it out. we made dinner and got back in the pop up right before the rain started again. more time passed. and it started getting a little dark and the rain was letting up so joel and i decided it was a perfect time to take the baby to get a shower, then come back and put her to bed.

as we drove up to the site, i saw our tent bending a little under the pressure of the wind, some things being tossed around in our tent. we parked the trucks, put the dogs in the back, and joel took off with the baby towards the campsite. he went into our tent to hold it down as the wind picked up a little. i came up shortly after with our bags. in the pop-up, my dad, step mom and friend's son were holding onto the rails and holding the wind fly shut. i jokingly mentioned that they should hold it a little tighter, because the legs were starting to come off the ground.

and then the wind began to howl. the legs began to lift higher, the tent shaking violently. things started to blow off of the table, and i could hear bella faintly crying behind me. the tent lifted higher. we were all clinging to it, white knuckled. i looked at my dad, and the expression he wore spoke volumes. it wasn't a look of fear, but one that said, "i do not know what is happening". my calm, collected, in control dad looked as though he knew things had reached far out of his control.

and i started to freak out. i couldn't hear anything as i clutched my chest and kept saying, "my baby. my baby. my baby." i couldn't get to her. i was frozen with fear as the tent lifted higher, until the legs were practically parallel with the ground. i wanted to run to my husband and my daughter, but i was afraid that if i left, something would happen. i don't know what i feared. maybe that i would get picked up like dorothy, or get hit by some chair flying through the air. my friends teenage son kept trying to assure me that things were going to be ok. my step mom held me with one free arm, while she gripped the tent with the other. i heard bella crying, faintly behind me. and i started to sob. joel yelled, "justine, get in here!". as the wind died down a little, i ran into our tent. bella was sitting on the ground, in only her diaper, screaming. joel was trying his hardest to secure the tent, as it wrapped around them like a venus fly trap.

i grabbed her up and joel told me to take her to the car. wrapping her in a blanket and a towel, i ran through the dark, willing my sight to adjust quickly. as i came up to the car, lighting flashed, illuminating the road. and the giant tree that was suspended a mere foot over the bed of our truck. where out four dogs were being kept. i stopped dead in my tracks, and cried out, through weeping sobs, "some....one.......PLEASE.....HEELLLPPP..........MEEEEEE!"

in that instant, i imagined my dogs, trapped in the bed of the truck (which has a cab over it) crushed beneath a tree. i went into our friends tent and sat there sobbing, while the wind whipped around us, bending and flexing the metal poles to its will. joel went and moved the car, and assured me that the dogs were ok.

slowly the wind started to wane. still, i sat in the tent, clutching my baby, rocking her, and crying.

the "neighbors", who were rv camping, came over to offer help as the men started to clean stuff up and assess the damage. i imagined that everything was destroyed, hundreds of dollars of camping equipment, bent and mangled. we broke down the tents, packed what we could in the rain, and left the campgrounds for something a little more.....stable.

that night, bella slept between joel and me, as we held hands and thanked God for our safety.

i have never felt that kind of fear before. i didn't know how the night would end up. it went by in a matter of 10 minutes, but it felt like much longer. it could have gone so much worse. everyone was safe, most of our stuff looked untouched, if not a little wet. our tent had a couple of bent bars, and rips in many of the seams, but nothing irreparable.

and we were safe.

Friday, March 25, 2011

gone......



just in case you were wondering where we went.

hopefully it will be drier than this time. 

Thursday, March 24, 2011

15 months and well baby check

bella has been 15 months for a little over a week now. this "landmark" just doesn't strike me as something that requires a special post. for the first 6 months, each week is special, after that, each month is pretty important. they change so much each day. but once they hit one, it's like....time kind of hovers. people ask me how old she is and i say, "she's uh....wait. what month is it? oh. right."

since there is a well check, i figured i would post her stats, if only for posterity.

height: 30 inches
weight: 23 pounds 8.5 ounces

last weekend, she had a pretty mean ear infection, so we also made this a follow up appointment for that. 

her ears were clear.

as of today bella can say a pretty good amount of words, including: mama, dada, lola, duke, turtle, shoes, food, up, down, open, apple, bath, banana, slide, swing, brooke (her aunt), yaya (her grandma), diaper, dirty, 

she can point to her eyes, ears, nose, toes, hair, mouth and tongue. she will go get a diaper out of her drawer if you ask her to. she throw things in the garbage when asked to (and sometimes even if you don't ask her to). 

she can sign milk, water, food, more, open, and all done.

she loves going down slides, and will go down them all on her own. including big curly slides, which scares mommy sometimes. if you ask her to swim, she lays downs on her tummy with her arms out in front and kicks her feet. she loves being outside and would probably stay out there all day if i let her. we recently blew up the pool and she spent over an hour playing in it.  

she is still rear facing in her carseat, and since it's recently become a new policy by the AAP that children remain rear facing until they are 2, i'm glad we chose that path. we have chosen to keep her rear facing until she hits the height and weight requirements for her car seat, even if she is 2. we got her a graco myride 65 for her 1st birthday, so she can safely stay rear facing up to 40 pounds. we made this decision after reading about the benefits and seeing this video

aaaaaaand, i think that's all of the pride i can vomit into one post.  this is as bad as those "my kid is on the honor roll" bumper stickers. well, maybe worse....

i did get a voicemail when i got out of the pediatricians office from joel. it said " just calling to make sure my most adorable little girl passes her inspection." i kid you not. i can not make this up, people. this man's man, military, car fixing, furniture building, rough and gruff man, loves his daughter. and i love him even more for that. 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

wordless wednesday: soaking up the sun

{the picture quality is crappy, because i only had my phone. i don't know where my camera has escaped to.}


Tuesday, March 22, 2011

it's comical tuesdays

my life is comical. 
and sometimes words aren't enough. 
and i never seem to have a camera when things get really hairy. 
but i do have a pretty wiggitywack awesome memory.

{it's comical tuesday's presents}


monday morning

Monday, March 21, 2011

new trends in parenting? i missed the memo.

i saw this on twitter a while ago. i kind of chocked it up to crazy famous people and their crazy ideas on parenting and other crazy stuff.

because we all know famous people are crazy. especially tom cruise.

but today, while we were out walking, i saw a kid, who appeared to be about 4 or 5 walking around with a paci in his mouth. 

and 2 days ago, shopping at old navy, i saw a little girl who may have even been older (or just really tall for her age) with one. 

i don't like to judge parents for their parenting decisions most of the time (unless you are smacking your kid in the head). i know every kid is different, and every parent is different and i do believe in finding the rythym that works for your family. bella never really cared for a pacifier. i tried to get her to take a soothie, and that failed huge time. i even bought a wubbanub. it got most of its use about a week ago when she found it in the garage and started chewing on the paci part. 

i tried to get her to take a mam. that didn't last long either. i gave up after that because kids don't need pacifiers. and i'm not going to force something on her that isn't necessary. (note: i'm not saying they're bad, and i know they serve a wonderful purpose in reducing the risk of sids in children under 1 year. but children will be just fine without them. )

so maybe i don't have a platform to stand on. i have never had to break my child of a comforting habit like sucking on a pacifier or a thumb. 

but in my mind, i can not rationalize how letting a 5 year old suck on a pacifier all day is a good idea. nevermind the teeth issues you will have later on. every kid i know has or has had braces, so clearly that is not a good argument. i just don't see the benefit. it isn't like they only have it at bedtime, or only when they are upset. these kids are in stores in the middle of the day, walking around sucking on a pacifier. i can only assume that they have it all day long, every day. 

i so get not wanting to fight with your kid to break a habit. but won't it only get worse the older they get? won't they just be able to fight better? fight harder? 

i also get wanting to let them stay a kid for as long as possible. but how about we just not let them watch racy shows or hang out with kids like these?

hanging on to this habit is going to create bigger problems than a little fit at bedtime. how about when your kid goes to kindergarten? when other kids see him sucking away on that thing, the jokes are going to start flying. that may be the quickest way to get him to give it up, but it most definitely won't be the healthiest. 

take it away already.

there is no medical reason to keep it. there is no developmental reason to keep it. in fact, there are reasons, both medically and developmentally, to NOT keep it after a certain age. 

is this a new trend among modern parents? or am i just surrounded by weak willed parents? sorry to call you that. if you are a prolonged paci parent, PLEASE, enlighten me. because i clearly do not understand. 

Friday, March 18, 2011

bella has spidey powers


ya. ok. well. here's my proof. 



happy friday and have a wonderful weekend!!! 

try not to be jealous of our 80 degree forecast this weekend. 

Thursday, March 17, 2011

i've got the itch for stitch. and being cheesy.

i have been struggling to come up with interesting stuff to say lately. creatively, i feel on fire right now. just not writing creatively. 

i got my sewing machine in the mail about a week ago. i used to sew a little in high school, mostly in my "not-PC-to-call-it-home-ec" fashion design class. but it was home ec. 

i took it, because a friend was taking it, and i thought it would be a slacker class. plus, the teacher was the mom of a girl i knew, and i was pretty sure i was her favorite student ever a shoe in for an easy a going to like her.

but i loved the class. LOVED it. we started out making pillows and pajama pants. i thought it would be really hard and all complicated. but it came to me so easily. granted, those are pretty simple projects. but then, we started making tops and toys and all kinds of fun patterns. 

then the class ended, and i had no interest in pursuing sewing anymore. i was an athlete, so sports was my hobby. i played softball, basketball, swimming and diving. so after the semester ended and i graduated, i never gave it a second thought. 

fast forward to a few months ago. apparently, a lot of the hand made stuff i want to make for bella, requires a sewing machine. it's been 10 years since i took that sewing class. so i took a refresher at a local sewing shop on how to make a jumper. and then i had the itch.

so joel bought me a sewing machine and that's where i've been. sewing. sewing. and more sewing.

i've been scouring the interwebs trying to find cute and easy sewing projects, and learning about how to use all the functions of my machine. it's been fun. and time consuming. bella's naps are filled with searching and sewing. each week, i have something else i need to get at hobby lobby (which isn't much different from usual, but now it's more). 

here is a little taste of what i've been making. 

recovering a pillow

dresses for b

more to come soon, but it's time to run to hobby lobby!! 


Tuesday, March 15, 2011

it's comical tuesdays

my life is comical. 
and sometimes words aren't enough. 
and i never seem to have a camera when things get really hairy. 
but i do have a pretty wiggitywack awesome memory.

{it's comical tuesday's presents}

vacuuming the house

Friday, March 11, 2011

room update: bella's play nook becomes a reading nook

i don't like using rooms for their intended purpose. most of the time. so our eat in kitchen became a play area for bella when we moved in. in my mind, she would quietly and peacefully play on the 10x4 foam mat while i cooked, cleaned and enjoyed drinking bottles of wine all activities domestic goddesses enjoyed.

only, i'm learning that i'm not all that domesticated. aka i don't really like spending all my time cooking and cleaning.

and bella does not sit quietly and play. she runs like a mad woman all around the house, throwing toys from the play area into the bathroom, and books from her room under the dining room table.

so that plan back fired.

my new idea of awesomeness was a reading nook which i always said we should have was my husbands idea.

whole room view, pre art

wall art. the chalkboard is temporary, the "READ" sign i made. we're hanging that sign. eventually.
letters waiting to be glued, and bella's play area and bird mobile

it still has a little bit to go before it's complete. my next project is getting a little table and a small bookcase to add in somewhere.


Thursday, March 10, 2011

mama kat's writers workshop: friends

i've talked before about how the military life has caused us to move a lot. it's no secret. we move every 3-4 years. i realized in college that this situation could, put simply, suck. i had made some of the closest friends i could imagine, and then i realized that i would be moving half a globe away from them. and then? in 4 more years? i would do it again. i decided then, in my absolution of youth and knowledge, that i would simply never open my heart to anyone and wouldn't make any friends.

only, that never works. because i am a big open-upper. BIG TIME. and also? i really like having friends. so i made a few. some of the best friends ever. we laughed, we cried, we did really awesome stuff. there was one in particular that helped me through some of the hardest stuff i had faced. and then we said goodbye. 

now when we moved, i had new resolve. now, i want to make as many friends as possible. only, we are going to a base that deploys a lot, with not a lot of spouses my age, and i had a new baby. 

enter my friend, t.

she has 3 boys, 2 in high school. her husband works with my husband. they did the baby thing. they are now on to the high school thing. but we keep running into them, and we keep having awesome conversations. so we start to hang out. and they are just like us. FUN! (i'm not delusional one bit. we are pretty awesomely fun people.) 

we go camping, we go geocaching, we go swimming, we do all sorts of fun, awesome stuff with this family. her husband deploys, and we hang out constantly. then joel deploys, and leaves me here with a brand new baby, and t is by my side the whole time. then our husbands come back and we do more fun stuff. then joel deploys and i have to move. the baby, 2 dogs, and a 3 bedroom apartment +a storage shed full of stuff. by myself. in 3 days. i ask t. because she is my closest friend. the one i trust the most. i hate asking for help. and she understands that. and she brings her boys and she comes over.

t, her 2 teenagers, and me. 3 days. it was amazing. and hard. but we did it. and then i had to go to florida to help my mom. and i left my house-boxes everywhere, lots of cleaning needing to be done, rooms to be painted. i worried for most of the time i was in florida, because there was SO much to do before joel got home. 

i decided to come back a day early. i knew i would need lots of time. and with a baby? i would need even more (plus maybe a small army.....) i got home late that night, maybe around midnight. i walked in my house and........

::speechless::

there were no boxes. there were no paint cans. there were things hanging on walls. the ugly wallpaper that plagued the dining room? gone. the room,  now painted perfectly, as i had imagined. my kitchen? painted, even down to the chalkboard for bella. pots and pans put away, towels folded and put away. bella's nursery? set up. everything

for a minute i just stood in my kitchen. crying big crocodile tears. i was tired, i was overwhelmed, and i had nothing to do but go to bed. my friend, t, had done. it. all. 

then there was this weird feeling that came over me. embarrassment? a little. i had never had a friend who did something so huge, so selfless, for me. i have had some amazing friends and they have done a lot for me, but this was on a whole different level. an extreme makeover, home edition level. i'm unworthy of that kind of friendship. i have done nothing to deserve that thoughtfulness. i was a good friend, sure. a good friend. not a great one. my attention was focused on my baby and my husband and my mom and my sister and my dad and.......not on my friend. in that moment, i was scared. i was afraid i would lose that wonderful friend. i could never repay her for the thing she had done. and now we were uneven. i felt like i would always owe her this huge favor that i could never repay.

a few weeks went by. we hung out a few times, and i started to realize that she didn't want me to repay her. she just wanted to be my friend. she. wanted. to. be. MY. friend. she didn't care if i never repaid the favor. 

{i don't usually get "religious" on here. but people?
 is that not the most amazing parallel to the gospel? 
God loves us, forgives us, and sacrifices His Son for us. 
and all he wants is us. nothing we can do. nothing we can give.} 

my friend has this uncanny ability to serve. that is her gift. what a weighty but precious gift it is, too. the ability to give of ones self without receiving anything in return. she is strong, willing and able. and she gives happily. it often leaves me speechless. 

and again, i am blessed to have made such an awesome friend. that i will move away from in one year. but it will not be goodbye. just as i have moved from other friends and not said goodbye. 

this post has been brought to you by mama kat's writers workshop where the prompt was, 
Write about a time a friend left you speechless.

Mama's Losin' It

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

{cloth diaper}confession

i have a confession. 

we have been on hiatus from cloth diapering. 

holywha!?omg?!?! 

yeah, right. i'm sure that's what most of you are thinking. more likely, you're probably thinking, "who cares?". but i have had a hard time admitting this. we have been on our break for about 4 weeks. though, it seems like a lot longer.

we encountered some bacterial buildup in some of the diapers we use the most, and i tried EVERYTHING to strip them, but bella's rash was so wicked that she would wake up screaming at night, and it didn't make sense to see my daughter in so much pain that was unnecessary (she only did this 2 nights....i didn't let it go on long).  so we switched until i could get it fixed. we have been going about half and half-i bought some new diapers, and threw those in the mix of the ones that didn't seem to bother her, and would cloth diaper one day, then use sposies the next, while i did laundry. we are transitioning back to total cloth now, but i have learned quite a bit about my role as a mother and some of my insecurities through this experience.

1. taking a break is not failure. this was hard for me. when i decided to cloth diaper, i researched a lot and made an informed decision. i met a LOT of resistance. mostly, passive aggressive resistance in the form of, "that will never last" or "i don't see you doing that for long". when we switched, i was afraid to admit to many of these people that we were in disposables, because i didn't want to admit failure. because i knew that "we didn't give up. we are just doing it temporarily." would warrant responses along the lines of, "yeah right. you'll never go back". i didn't want to admit my failure and watch as the world laughed at me. but i realized that it's not about success or failure as a parent. so something you felt passionate about didn't work out, or isn't working in the moment. the important thing is that the child's best interest is put first.

2. just because you want something to work, doesn't mean it will. it also doesn't mean that it has to. it's a matter of balance. with every decision we make i ask 3 questions: 

1-is it good for bella? 
2-is it good for me/the family? 
3-is it good for our environment (mother nature/our budget, etc.)? 

if the answer to all 3 questions is yes, then we will do it. it might still be challenging. these questions aren't disqualified by obstacles. but if they benefit all of us, then we try our best to proceed. in this case, the cloth were not benefiting bella-she had a painful rash that couldn't be treated or made to go away that kept her up all night and it didn't benefit us-bella was up all night. so we stopped until things got better and were figured out.. 

3. most of the time, the only people who care about my decisions are those impacted directly. bella, joel, me. and consequently, these are the only opinions that should weigh heavily in my decisions. i have tried so hard to do things (my whole life) the right way. being a mother and choosing an alternative way to raise my child is teaching me that sometimes the right way, is not always the best way. just because it's the "right" way to do something, it doesn't mean it's best for our family and our situations. i need to let go of that pride that makes me want to be right. 

i needed to air this laundry, so to speak. i have been way to caught up with not wanting to fail, that i literally had a back-and-forth in my mind at each diaper change.

we are getting back into the full swing, but it's not entirely easy-squishy poopy diapers are definitely easier to deal with when you don't have to deal with them.....

which brings me to my final point, having a great wet bag can make all the difference. going back to cloth means going back to poop being flushed. bella doesn't have solid poop. (i am so sorry future bella. hopefully there will be an internet revolution and everything printed before you are 16 will disappear. that will never happen assuming that doesn't happen, i apologize. and this won't be the last thing i do that embarrasses you. i promise.) so we need sprayers. but when you are changing a very squishy, very poopy diaper in public, sprayers are not always handy. that's where my new snuggy baby wet bag comes into play. i took that stinky diaper along with me for almost 8 hour in the wet bag, and it sat in there for another few once we were home until i could take care of it. i did a sniff test right before i opened it and I. SMELLED. NOTHING. i kid you not. plus also? it's super cute. 


if you are in the market for a new wet bag, head over there now and use the discount code: justanotherdayinparadise for 10% off now through march 15th. 

Sunday, March 6, 2011

silver and gold, my friends. silver and gold

i've been looking at pictures on facebook from friends i had in high school and college. i see them hanging out with other people i was friends with. doing fun stuff i used to do with those same people.

sometimes, i let my mind drift to thoughts toeing the line of, "what if...."

what if joel wasn't in the military.......

what if, after we got married, we had stayed in charlotte......

we would be going to the lake on weekends, going to places we loved, with people we had known for forever. or would we?

i snap myself back to reality.

we aren't in charlotte. we joined the military and moved away right after college. we aren't around familiar people. we meet new people everyday, because everyone around us is new to us. we have a lot of things still in boxes, because we move too often to really unpack and settle in.

but i don't hate that lifestyle. and who's to say i would like living in the same place for the rest of my life?

i have friends all around the globe. i have been exposed to a plethora of different lifestyles and social classes. i've seen some off the poorest of the poor, and some of the richest of the rich. it's still relatively early in our miltary career, so while we have been to a lot of interesting places, there are lots more coming our way.

and the friends. 
the friends, i couldn't buy. i couldn't imagine. i couldn't believe.

some people have the same friends their whole lives. they live and die in the same places. i used to long for that type of life. part of me still does. but the longer i live in this life, the more i am certain that i was made for it. moving around can be isolating. just as you begin to feel comfortable somewhere, your world is turned upside down and you have to start all over. if you look at it that way.

the other side of the coin? you get to make great friends, and then go on a new adventure, staying in contact with some and making  more. it's a unique opportunity to see what the world has to offer. to take in different cultures and different lifestyles. to be exposed to different ways of life and different ideas. i'm not sure you can pay for this experience.



Thursday, March 3, 2011

must haves: spring edition

this warm weather has me itching for spring! yesterday, the high here was in the 80's, and today it's supposed to be in the 70's. so in honor of warmer weather, and because online window shopping is way less work than real window shopping, here are my spring must haves:

how super cute is this!? from mcauleys unique boutique

i might wear this every single day. from athleta

new sperry's, because mine are way too old. and these are way too adorable.

some of these lovelies, from twenty five design

new keens, since lola ate mine. and since the weather is so nice,
we have 3 camping trips planned over the next 3 months.
definitely a must!

bella's must haves, for the cutest baby in yous life! 

bella loves her rompers and ruffles monogrammed shirt.

some super durable keens for camping all summer,
 and looking cute while playing at the park!

a new bathing suit for catching boys rays, from kelly's kids
bella can't wait to wear this too cute outfit, from gymboree
And just what every fab toddler prepping for
deployment needs, her very own daddy doll



this post is brought to you by mama kat's writers workshop where she asked for my top 10 "must haves" for this spring!


Mama's Losin' It

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

top ten with sluiter nation

it's top 10 tuesday over at sluiter nation. each week, katie posts a top ten topic, inspired by david letterman, himself.


this week, it's top 10 guilty pleasures. usually, people make no apologies for their guilty pleasures. i will probably find myself wringing my hands after this, in hopes that joel doesn't find it and then bans me from being home during the day. but here goes anyway:

10. spell check. i hate misspellings and grammatical errors. but my addiction to spell check has gotten ridiculous. while i was writing in my journal a few days ago, i found myself looking for the squiggly red line.....

9. dressing up bella. i do find a little too much joy in accessorising  that child. i think she has a better wardrobe than i do, and she definitely has more shoes than joel and i have put together!

8. coffee in the morning. 

7. slice it app for android. crack, that game. i can't put it down.

6. sabre hummus. it wouldn't be guilty if i ate it like a normal human being. meaning, a serving, 2 at most. no. i eat the whole. darn. thing.

5. eating junk food when joel is deployed/tdy. i swear, it's a good thing he doesn't go for longer than 6 months at a time, or i would be a WHALE when he came back. it's like i have no self control when he's gone. eesh. that's embarrassing. 

4. target. it's disturbing, actually. i go for one or two things and end up buying way more. and then i feel all red faced and flushed when i leave, and sometimes i even go return stuff, i feel so bad. that is bad, isn't it. oh man...

3. online shopping. etsy. gymboree. pottery barn. pottery barn kids. pretty much, joel should put a lock on the computer. but i would find a way. i always find a way. 

2. coffee shops. namely? starbucks. and while it is good, i only pick it because it is one of only 2 coffee shops in our little town. and the other one is too far. and this starbucks has a drive through. 

1. facebook. the ultimate time waster of all time. ever. but it's oh so glorious in it's ability to allow me to have actual adult conversations that don't involve cleaning up poop and screaming, "don't put that in your mouth!". and only when bella is in bed. of course. 

now that i wrote that out, i am a little mortified concerned. it seems like all i do is spend money and eat. and that sounds lazy. but really, i do other things! like blog! and cook! wait....

no apologies. no apologies....no....ap...olo...gi....essss......