Midweek Confessions

It's that time again. I am linking up with E, Myself, and I for a few midweek confessions.

Ok, so here goes:

- I needed a few moments to myself this week to relieve some stress from one of my classes, I totally wrote a blog post. My confession: I wrote the post at work during my conference period, instead of actually getting work done.

- My husband has been entering in the HGTV dream home sweepstakes. While I tell him the odds of us winning are probably very slim, I secretly hope we win.

- I went back to work just 5 weeks after having my little guy. I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be docked any pay like I was last year. While everyone around me thought I was crazy, I felt like it was the right thing to do at the time. I probably should have waited a few more weeks.

- While I love reading about all the fun stuff moms are doing with their little ones, I envy the SAHM bloggers. As a working mom, I find it really hard to find time to blog. Not only that, but I have a hard time thinking of topic to write about. I would love to be able to do creative crafting projects and educational stuff with Madeline. I feel guilty that I don't have the ability to do these things "because I have to work."

- The parents who don't have their stuff together and are completely unorganized irritate me. Confession: Daryl and I have become those parents. Madeline and Nolan needed to have admission paperwork and shot records turned into the home daycare. I received Madeline's paperwork in August when she started. Long story short, her papers got lost and I had to get another copy of them when Nolan started. Their paperwork packets were mostly complete a few weeks ago and I just had to wait to get the immunization records and healthcare provider's statement signed by the doctor at their appointment last week. The babysitter called and reminded me on Sunday to bring these last two items this week. I could not find them ANYWHERE and did not get them turned in on Tuesday. She sent home yet another copy (the 3rd copy she has given us). I finally found them on Wednesday. They still have not been turned in. I think she hates us.

- Madeline broke one of her "Baby's 1st Christmas" ornaments. I have been waiting to superglue it back together before I put up the Christmas boxes. It has been superglued for about 2 and a half weeks now, and I just haven't found anything to wrap it up in to put it back in the box. Confession: The Christmas boxes are still in my dining room. It is February.

I didn't really think I had this much to confess this week. What do you have to confess?? Link up and get it all out there.

12 in 12: February check in

It is February 12, and that means it is time to check in with my progress on my "12 in 12" list for the new year.

Writing this list made me excited to get some things accomplished this year. I realize that some of these items will take some time and I am ok with  working on making progress.

A quick recap of how the past 30 days have gone:

1. I have completed phase one. Although I have not been compliant with the diet, I have completed 30 whole days of working out. There are a few exercises which are really tough, especially during yoga, but I am proud that I have been able to push myself and improve with every workout. Daryl and I have been working out together and are surprisingly really competitive with each other. We push. We work. We motivate. We get it done. 

2. I stumbled upon Kristen's chalkboard table and thought it was a really cool idea. I told Daryl about it and was really just making conversation about how neat I thought it was, and he was all about it. He said I should make that one of my projects to complete while I was still at home with the babies. So off we went to Home Depot to get the supplies to create a chalkboard table. I borrowed a sander from my dad and got to work. It was fun to make, and looks great in the kitchen (maybe even better than it did before). 

3. I have made a teeny tiny dent in the card I have in mind for this goal. I have been doing good with not adding new charges. Baby steps.

4. I have been doing well with keeping track of Nolan's milestones in his 1st year calendar, but that's really about it. I'm slacking on taking and organizing pictures, as well as crafting.

5. I have participated in a few linky parties, and have had more page views. I am having a difficult time with posting consistently.

6. Major accomplishment- organizing my gift bags and tissue paper. I couldn't believe how many bags this hanging organizer held! It has definitely made me feel good getting those bags off the floor, and being able to see the closet instead of that disaster.

7. In the process. I have only pulled my camera out once or twice. I'm proud mama, and this should not be happening.

8. Daryl and I went to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at a "new to us" theater. It was nice to just have some "us" time alone. We are both really excited about making this a priority each month. We have been talking about other things we'd like to do for this month.

9&12. Unfortunately not a lot of progress here this month.

10. I haven't signed up for anything yet, but have seen a lot of events I wouldn't mind participating in. Toobabalooza. MS150. Muddy Buddy. There are a lot of events that seem really fun, and are inexpensive!!

11. We went to my parents house the other day for a family get together. After eating burgers and dogs, everyone was hanging out. James wanted to get a game of phase 10 going, but we were all so tired and didn't end up playing. I am trying to plan a game night at my house. I came across some really fun ideas from The Dating Divas that I could easily turn "date night" into "family night."

18 Months

My little Madeline,

Time sure is flying by. Literally. It seems like only yesterday that I held you in my arms for the first time. Today you are 18 months old. A whole year and a half! Let me just tell you that you have really grown to a very fun little girl.

Everyone warned daddy and I how hard it was going to be being a parent and all. We are learning and have had some tough times, but for the most part Madeline, you have made it fairly easy on us. You still sleep through the night, with the occassional rough night due to teething pain or bad dreams, that has landed you in our bed snuggled up close next to daddy.

You greet us with open arms and a smile on your face every morning. We get your diaper changed and you call out for "dada" or "mama" and then bring your hand toward your mouth signaling to us that you want something to eat. Whenever asked what you want for breakfast, you always respond with a very enthusiastic "nana" (banana).

Daddy always cooks really yummy food for you to eat. We haven't really found anything that you don't like yet. You are a big fan of peanut butter and banana sandwiches! You are really good at feeding yourself. You still prefer to eat with your hand sometimes, but are quickly learning to use a spoon and fork. Meal time can get a bit messy, especially when you start to get tired and run your hand through your hair. Good thing bath time is quick to follow your dinner!

Your language has taken off within the past few months. Your vocabulary is increasing and pronunciation is getting much better. Some words are a little tough for you to say, but mommy and daddy understand what you are trying to say. You sign "more" "milk" and "eat. Some of your verbal vocabulary includes: "Mama" "Dada" "Mommyyyyyyyy" (you tilt your head back when you say this, and it is usually followed by a "Maddiiiiiieeee" from Mommy) "Puppy" "Shooooes" (Shoes) (you pucker your lips out when you say this, and it is extremely cute!) "B" (blanket) "keys" "Show-wuh" (shower) "hi" "bye" "baby" "piiieee" (potty) "Mimi" (Mimi/ grandma) "Poppa" (Papaw/ grandpa) "nana" (banana, also what you say when you Aunt Dana) "juuuu" (juice) and "teeth"

You are quite the little fashionista. You often imitate Mommy as you walk around the house with your cellphone between your ear and shoulder, and your purse in hand. You have even found one of Mommy's old debit card and love to put that in your purse. You look at mommy's necklaces and respond with "ohhhhhh." You enjoy all things sparkly and full of bling. You and Auntie Liz are going to get along great!! Your Great Aunt Carole has bought you some very cute pairs of shoes, which you LOVE. She bought you this outfit for Christmas that had a cream colored shirt with silver polkadots, a brown furry vest and black boots with faux fur at the top. Madeline, you wore this to a jewelry party, and girl you rocked it! You eat up every bit of attention you get from everyone by flashing them a huge smile when they say how cute or beautiful you are!

We have been working on potty training. You get excited when you go "pee pee" or "poo poo" in the potty because it means you get to flush the toilet. You think this is the most amusing thing. We are getting close to being fully trained I think hope. You are starting to tell us when you need to go, you say "piiiieee" and start to tug on your diaper.

You have quickly progressed from walking to running. You have busted your lip a few times because you get so excited, and trip over your own feet when you are running. You tripped over "B" at Nora's and chipped your front two teeth. Luckily, they are baby teeth, and will fall out eventually.

Madeline, you LOVE to help mommy and daddy. You help us clean your room by stacking your books up and putting your dirty clothes in the hamper. You love to help mommy put clean daddy's laundry away, and put the washed clothes into the dryer.

 You have entered the "terrible two's" a bit early. You sure can throw a temper tantrum. These mostly come on when you are extremely tired and are trying to fight going to sleep. You had a major melt down in the grocery store, and no matter how much daddy and I tried, there was just no calming you down. You screamed and screamed, and your face turned red. I felt so bad because there was nothing I could do to help. My heart literally ached. I finally took you to the car and you grabbed "B" and that did the trick. You have thrown a few tantrums when you weren't getting attention or when mommy was feeding Nolan. I know you are frustrated and that this is the only way you know how to express how you are feeling, but holy cannoli do you have a set of pipes on you. These tantrums are not fun for mommy and daddy, and they hurt mommy's heart.
You became a big sister in December, and boy do you love your little brother! You look into his room in the mornings and say "baby!" as you get excited to see him. Whenever Nolan cries, you run over to him and try and put his pacifer in his mouth. Most of the time you are very gentle with him, but you get frustrated when he spits it out of his mouth. You bring him his "B" because know it will comfort him. You help mommy with diaper changes as you throw the dirty ones in the trashcan. When you are getting ready for bed, you get your milk, grab "B" and choose a book to read. You sit next to mommy or daddy and snuggle up close so they can read you a story and you help hold Nolan's bottle so he can eat his dinner. We brush your teeth and then you make your rounds giving everyone a great big kiss on the cheek.

Madeline, you are such beautiful little girl. You are always smiling, and very quick to offer hugs and kisses to those who love you. You bring great joy to mommy and daddy. We are amazed at how quickly you are learning things, and are excited to see what you have in store for us in the future.

I love you Madeline.

Love,

Mommy

Midweek Confessions

I have been reading these midweek confessions for a few weeks now, but have finally decided to participate.

 

My midweek confessions round 1:

- I eat peanut butter straight out of the container, by the spoonful.

  

-I sometimes pretended to be sound asleep when Nolan cried in the middle of the night, hoping that my husband would get up and take care of things. It never worked.

-I am currently doing P90X, and while the workouts make me feel good, I think my favorite part is the cool down. Not because I know the workout is almost over, but because I know I can eat something within the next few minutes.

- My children both have extremely long eyelashes. I am jealous of both the length and volume of their eyelashes. 

- I am going back to work next week (I'm an athletic trainer/ teacher) and am really nervous to meet my students and start this semester.  

There are my confessions for the week. What about you? What do you have to confess?

A Moment of Weakness

Life has been hectic these past four weeks. Don't get me wrong, I love my little guy more than anything, but today I am feeling overwhelmed. I had a moment of weakness, and I broke down and cried.

Am I the only one who openly admits that having two babies under the age of two is tough?

I have been exploring the blog world, and have found some interesting reads. Most of the mom blogs I have come across are just amazing. These women seem to have everything together. They bake. They have creative crafts for their kids to do and fun things to educate them with. Their house seems spotless. And they have time to blog. How is this possible?? I can barely find 5 minutes to myself, much less find time to do something like blog.

I am slightly stressed and need to vent just a little. So here goes...

• I feel like I am confined to the couch for a majority of the day. This little guy is on a 3 hour feeding schedule, and by the time he is done eating and burped, it seems like I get one thing done and then it is time for him to eat again.
• Madeline, I think is going through some jealousy issues right now. Everytime Nolan is eating or getting attention from me, she cries screams at me. I try to give her attention and sometimes, it's just not good enough.
• Having both of my babies cry/ scream at me at the same time is too much for me at times...
• Especially on top of the dogs playing the "I have to go outside and come right back in every 5 minutes" game. Not fun.
• I feel like I get nothing accomplished throughout the day.
• Nolan is not sleeping through the night on a consistent basis yet. Needless to say, I am not getting much sleep. Or so it seems.

I have been working out with my husband on a daily basis, which seems to be a good stress reliever.

While this may not seem like a big deal to some, I am in need of some help, or advice really. I want to be that woman that has it all together. The woman who bakes, crafts, educates, cleans, blogs. I want to be, well, Super Mommy.

How do you ladies do it? How do you find time to do it all, and be great at it?

Thanks in advance :)

WFMW: Organizing Gift Bags

I love purchasing gift bags with matching tissue paper for birthdays, graduations, weddings, and Christmas. What I don't love is how expensive these few things can get.

After receiving gifts, I neatly fold up the tissue paper and place the bags in my growing stash of gift bags. I looked into the closet the other day and woah! What a mess. My stash of bags was all over the floor, and not in any kind of order. at all. Something had to be done.

I purchased this gift bag organizer from The Container Store and went to work.

Such a huge improvement! Gift bags are not only off the floor, but also organized by category (birthday, baby, all purpose, Christmas, kids). AND there is room for the entire collection of tissue paper!

What organizational tips work for you?

Check out some other great tips here at We are THAT family .

12 in 12

I have never really been big on New Year's resolutions. I can never seem to stick to them throughout the year. I do however like setting goals, and get a great sense of accomplishment by crossing things off of my "to do" list.

This year instead of making a resloution, I am going to challenge myself by completing 12 goals in 2012, thanks to inspiration found here. 12 goals to be completed within the 12 months of the year. In order to try and hold myself accountable, I will update on the 12th of the month with my progress. I hope I can stick with this, as I'm actually a bit excited about being able to complete this.

1. Complete P90X at least once- 90 days of intense working out to lose those post baby lbs. I want 6 pack abs!!

2. Make some of the cool things I find online- Food items like French Toast Cupcakes, as well as crafty stuff. I also want to throw in learn how to sew under this goal. I made curtains for Nolan's room, and was surprised how fun I thought it was.

3. Pay off a credit card- As a major stress in my life, I would really like to be able to tackle this one. What a sense of accomplishment this will be!!

4. Start and hopefully complete baby books- I have made a DVD for Madeline's 1st birthday with TONS of pictures on it, but I still want to start a scrapbook for both her and Nolan.

5. Grow my blog- Starting with getting more consistent in my postings!

6. Get my house clean and organized- I find myself doing the same cleaning over and over and over again (thanks to having children). I take one step foward, and two steps back. Although chores like laundry and dishes are going to be done ALL. THE. TIME, I need to come up with a daily/ weekly chore list to really get things accomplished here.

7. Improve photography skills- Really learn and understand photography settings. "Play" with my 35mm

8. Have a monthly date night with Daryl- We have not focused on just us in awhile. I think it will be relaxing to just get out and not worry about the stress in our lives. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, just a chance for us to have some QT together.

9. Create and hang a black and white photo gallery- Home decor project to be done in the living room. Time to go through my pictures and keep an eye out for frames.

10. Train for and complete a race- A fun run? Half marathon? Triatlon? I just want to do participate in something competitive. Maybe Daryl and I can enter and participate in something together...

11. Hosts family nights- How about some quality family time.... movie nights? Game nights? Family fun with a little bit of friendly competition :)

12. Take family portraits- My family has doubled in size and I would love to have professional pictures done. You know, the ones where everyone has coordinating outfits, and there are shots of the whole family, just the kids, dad and son, mom and daughter.... the works! And I want them nicely framed so there is a cohesive, photo gallery feel to them.


These seem pretty managable right??

What about you? What are your goals for this year?