Why, Oh Why, Oh Why...

I always thought it was cute when other people's children were so inquisitive. Around the age of 2 1/2, my nephew started asking "Why" about everything and I just wanted to kiss his little blonde head and pinch his adorable cheeks and cuddle his cute little self every time he said it. I loved it.

My sister cautioned me...(I forget the exact words but it was something along the lines of "Just you wait!")

Some of my friends have kids between the age of my nephew and Angelica's age, and they started doing it. And I said, "Aww, how adorable! How inquisitive!"

And swore up and down that I would be tickled pink when my own daughter started asking "Why?"

Earlier this week, Angelica and I were playing in the back yard, when she asked to go inside and watch Dora. She had taken her shoes off, so I said, "Take your shoes inside and we'll go watch Dora."

She says: "Why?"

I reply: "Because I asked you to."

She says: "Why?"

I reply: "Because it's not nice to leave your things laying around."

She says: "No, it's nice!"

Little stinker :)

Another example...today, we went to the mall (shoe shopping for Angelica, her feet were getting too big for her shoes) and when we arrived, she said, "Go Mickey Mouse store!"

I replied, "Oh, this mall doesn't have a Mickey Mouse store."
"Why?"
"Because they didn't build one here."
"Why?"
"That's a great question, honey. I don't know why."

Or, another example: Last night, we spent the evening shopping and got home late. We ate dinner while watching Dora, and when it ended, she asked to watch it again and I told her we couldn't because it was time for a bath.

"Why mommy?"
"Because it's late."
"Why?"
"Because the clock says 9:15."
"Why?"
"Because we went shopping and got home late."
"Why?"
"Because we needed to measure your feet at the shoe store because your shoes are getting too small."
"Why?"
"Because you're growing up."
"Why?"
"That's a good question. A very good question."

Yeah. It's still cute. But it's not as cute when it's your own kid.

Five Question Friday

1. Is there something you've always wanted to try but just can't muster up the courage to actually do yet?
Getting a tattoo. I would love to get one to represent my daughter. I don't really know why I haven't. Pregnancy cured me of my fear of needles. Maybe I'm afraid of the permanence of the tattoo.

2. If you had $100 handed to you in cash without your significant other knowing about it, what would you spend it on?
Clothes for Angelica. I love shopping for children's clothing way, way too much.

3. What was your favorite piece of playground equipment as a child?
My elementary school had this cement tunnel randomly laying on the playground. I used to just go in there and sit and sing to myself (since it echoed). I guess I've always been a loner.

4. Do you prefer a sweet or hearty breakfast?
Hearty! Sweet foods are great but they don't stick with you.

5. Are you a Neat Freak or a Messy Bessy?
Scott would argue me to death on this, but I lean more toward neat freak than messy bessy. I am not at all a "freak" about it, but I like to have all things that could potentially smell cleaned up as soon as possible (dishes and garbage, for example). I'm not too freakish about clutter though. I probably de-clutter twice a month, more often if necessary.

Weekend Review: Burt's Bees Naturally Nourishing Milk & Honey Body Lotion

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First up, the winner of the Yummy Earth Organic Fruit Lollipops is:

Courtney! I will email you shortly about getting the prize sent to you. Congratulations!

Now for this week's review:

At the risk of coming across as crunchy, I've got another all-natural product being reviewed this week: Burt's Bees Naturally Nourishing Milk & Honey Body Lotion. I will admit up front, ever since I tried their lip balm about seven years ago, I have been hooked on Burt's Bees products, and this one is no different.

I have sensitive skin, and very, very dry skin at that. This makes it hard for me to use a lot of products...the sulfates dry my skin out instead of moisturizing it, and the perfumes make me itchy. I got a trial size of this lotion once in a gift basket and have loved it ever since.

The lotion is really light. It leaves no greasy residue on your skin. It's absorbed really quickly and makes my skin feel super soft. It's also got a really light fragrance that I love (and Scott does too...every time I use it, he says, "Mmmm, you smell nice!")

The lotion is 98.3% natural, certified by the Natural Products Association, and is free of sulfates, parabens, phthalates and petrochemicals.

I believe I got a dual pack that had an 8 oz bottle of this lotion and their Milk & Honey body wash for around $10 at Target. Not a bad price for two products!

At this point, I think I'm going to just own my crunchyness. I love natural products!

Got a product you've reviewed? Want to share it? Add it to our McLinky above!

Disclaimer: This opinion is my own. I am writing this review without the request of the company. They have not contacted me in any way nor did they compensate me for my time.

Two years ago today...

...was my last day of work as a non-mom. I was 39 weeks and 5 days pregnant.

It's funny, I remember so very little about that day. I know we went in for our final NST that day. I know I had been having contractions off and on that entire week and had been hoping, hoping, hoping that I would just go into labor. I was tired of being ordered off my feet by the doctor, tired of being in pain, and just tired in general. (I was never one of those pregnant ladies who couldn't sleep...I could have slept all day, every day!) I know we went out for dinner that night. I ate spicy food and seafood. Ahh, old wives tales. We walked around Target. (Against doctor's wishes!) We bought Angelica's laundry basket that day. The cashier asked when I was due. Then asked if I was having triplets. (Yep, she bypassed the twins and went right to triplets. THANKS LADY!)

I didn't go into full blown labor. I woke up on the 28th, the day of my scheduled induction, having more regular contractions. I had been at 2 CM after the NST the day before so I was SURE things were about to get going.

Admitted that night at 6pm for the induction. Still at 2 CM. Rats.

Angelica was born on the 29th.

It's surreal to think that I'm now coming up on that two year mark. That little baby I lugged around in my belly for nine months...which feels like it was just yesterday...is no longer a little baby. She's a little girl. A smart little girl who makes me proud every day.

I am such a sucker for nostalgia. :)

Another Great Giveaway - Little Tikes Cozy Coupe on Baby Loving Mama

Make sure to check out Baby Loving Mama's Little Tikes Cozy Coupe Giveaway! It ends on 6/1 so the deadline is coming up soon. Like I mentioned in the post about the Step2 Climber Giveaway, I know directing others to enter hurts my chances, but I'd love if one of my readers won, even if I don't! (Plus, I get more entries for writing this, and I know Angelica would LOVE one of these!)

Angelica's Exciting News!

Angelica did not go to bed until almost 11pm last night.

After we did bathtime and got her diaper and pajamas on, we're sitting in her room reading stories and just kind of goofing around like we do every night, when she jumps up and says, "Mommy! Angelica go potty!" and bolts for the door. I open the bedroom door, she runs across the hall, into the bathroom, yanks off her pants and diaper, lifts the toilet lid and says, "Up!"

So I put her on the seat and she sits. And hops off. And jiggles the handle and eventually figures out how to flush. Down goes the water and she cheers and claps, so proud of herself, and then hops right back on the potty.

Let's just say we did the up on the potty-off the potty-flush-back on the potty routine for about an hour.

Finally, she jumps on and actually goes! She jumps off and we cheer, "Yay! Angelica did pee pee in the potty! Woo hoo! Yay!" and she flushes the potty, runs in her room, we put on a diaper and her pajamas and we resume storytime.

My big girl used the potty for the first time!

Angelica and the Tickle Monster

Once upon a time, I was a small child, and I seem to recall during that time my parents pretending to be a "tickle monster" and tickle me wildly. And I loved it. So naturally, I'd want to repeat this same thing with my kids, right?

Last night as I'm putting Angelica to bed, she decided to be playful and yank off her pajama shorts. She fought me tooth and nail to put them back on, so I started teasing her with, "We have to put them back on or the tickle monster is gonna getcha! Oh no, here he comes!" all the while getting her shorts over her wiggly feet.

All of a sudden she bursts into tears and yells, "MOMMY! I SCARED!"

Oops.

Big, fat tears roll down her cheeks as she wails about being scared so I stop and comfort her, apologize (about a thousand times) and then I whisper a secret in her ear.

"Guess what? Do you know who the tickle monster is? It's mommy!"

She wipes the tears from her eyes and whispers back, "Okay mommy."

Then I put her shorts back on and we continue reading stories.

Note to self: Add "tickle monster" to the list of things she's now scared of. (Other things include bugs and turning into a pumpkin.)

Wordless Wednesday: Whee!

Step2 Double Sided Climber Giveaway @ The Shopping Mama

The Shopping Mama has this really awesome giveaway on her blog! It's for the Step2 Play Up Double Sided Climber. Angelica's previous daycare had this and she absolutely loved it! I entered to win, and I know inviting others may decrease my chances of winning...but I'd love to see one of my readers win, even if I don't!

Check out her giveway post here:
Step2 Play Up Double Slide Climber Review + Giveaway

Hurricane Angelica, aka, the Story of Last Night

As we wrap up the last little bit of "to-dos" for the old place, and my wonderful husband also works (very) late to finish up his "to-dos" at work, many times I am left home alone to get Angelica's nighttime routine of dinner/bath/bed completed. Last night was one such night.

But oh, how much different last night was from the norm. I can usually get her settled with an episode of Dora or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while I cook dinner, but last night she did not want that. She wanted Youtube videos. Fortunately, our PS3 can play Youtube videos, so even though I can't see her from the kitchen, I could at least hear what was going on. And she knows how to operate the controller to replay the videos so I can leave her alone to do so.

Unfortunately, someone (not naming names) didn't keep up their end of the deal on Sunday night and finish doing the dishes. We have no dishwasher, so they all have to be done by hand, and just about every dish in the kitchen was either dirty, or sitting in the drying rack waiting to be put away (which someone...not naming names...said they'd do and then finish washing the remaining dishes on Sunday night). So, before I could cook, I had to wash dishes.

One thing that Angelica is REALLY into right now is hand washing. She hears water running and she yells, "MOMMY! Angelica washy hands!" Of course the sink is full of disgusting water so no, she can't "washy" hands. So I'm washing dishes, she has forgotten about youtube and is leaning against my leg whining "Mooooommmy!!! I want mommmmmyyy!!! Angelica wassshhyyy haaaands! I want mommmmmmmmmy! Up mommy! Up mommy! Washy hands!! I want mooooooommmy!" And so on, and so on. And so on.

I eventually give in and pick her up, take her back in the living room and put on another video. She's distracted for a minute. GREAT. By this point I at least have enough room in the sink to fit in a big stock pot to fill it with water to boil pasta. Pasta's easy! Thank goodness for that! I get the water in the pot, put it on the stove and get it going. I return to washing dishes.

All of a sudden, I hear the familiar sound of THIS video, which she accidentally stumbled upon clicking through the Parry Gripp channel. Not exactly age appropriate. I cringe a bit but decide, hey, SHE'S DISTRACTED. WOO!



Unfortunately, the stupid youtube ads pop up and she can't get the video to replay so she comes running into the kitchen...MOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMY.....MORE COCONUTS! So I fix it for her. Return to wash more dishes. She follows. "MOMMY! Washy hands! I want mommmmyyyyy!! Up mommy! Washy hands!"

The water's boiling.

I pick her up, take her back in the living room, put on Boogie Boogie Hedgehog and return to the kitchen. I pour some macaroni in the stock pot. There's not enough for both of us, so I grab a box of bowtie pasta (since we have no more macaroni) and add just enough to complete the two servings. I put the newly opened box of pasta back and return to washing dishes.

It gets quiet. A little.....too quiet.

All of a sudden I hear the tell tale sound of an entire box of pasta being dumped onto the floor. I roll my eyes, go into the living room, and see the (almost) entire box of bowties dumped on the floor, and Angelica walking stomping back and forth through it saying, "STOMP STOMP STOMP! Happy birthday to yoooouuuuuu!!! STOMP STOMP STOMP! Happy birthday to YOUUUUUU!"

I chuckle. What else can I do? I return to the kitchen and keep washing dishes.

I tip over a giant bowl of water with last night's cookie dough in it. It spills ALL OVER THE COUNTER and starts running onto the floor.

"Uh oh, spilly water mommy!" (Yes dear, I know.)

I grab towels, return to the kitchen, finish washing the last dish,and mop up the water. Just as I'm finishing, I see her out of the corner of my eye. Yanking on the curtains on the sliding glass door.

"DON'T PULL THE CURTA..." too late.
They come crashing down.

Oooh boy, she thought that was the greatest thing ever.

Thankfully at this point, the dishes are done, the water is cleaned up and the pasta is cooked. My nerves are shot. I put on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and we eat. Well, I eat. Angelica doesn't eat a bite of the food I struggled to cook. She sits there, falling asleep in her chair (I later ask her if she took a nap at school and she says no. That explains a lot). I finish eating and give her her medicine (for her urinary reflux, see posts from Dec. 2008 for more about that) and ask her if she wants a chocolate cookie. She eats that. And asks for a banana.

We go in her room to get ready for bath. We do bathtime. We brush teeth. I take her back in her room to put a diaper on her. She kicks and yells at me, "NO DIAPERS!". I say to her, "Ok, are you going to use the potty from now on then?" She says yes. Runs to the bathroom. Lifts up the toilet lid and then yells, "NO USE THE POTTY! HAHAHA!" and then runs back to her room.

We put pajamas on and snuggle and read stories. Daddy comes home.

And mommy collapses on the couch.

Top Two Tuesday - Dates

This week's Top Two Tuesday asks what our top two favorite dates are.

1. My first date with Scott was the best date ever. We went to the beach, walked along in the sand and shared our first kiss under the springtime sun. We skipped seashells in the ocean. We "built" sand castles. We chased each other up and down the shore. He almost stepped in a jellyfish. He threw me, butt-first in the ocean. With all my clothes on...they took forever to dry! (Oh, and if you ask him, I "fell"...never mind that he had scooped me up and ran directly toward the water and then THREW me. I was much skinnier then. Oh, and yes, and I still married the guy!) After the sun went down, we went to a movie. We got to the theater way early so we just sat in the car talking. And talking. And talking. About just about anything you can imagine. It was so cool because we were so immediately comfortable with each other, like we had known each other for years. I still remember it all in detail, even though it was almost a decade ago.

2. We went on a Fourth of July outing with family about a year after we were engaged. It was actually the day before the day we had originally planned to get married (we got married that same day two years later.) It was on the beach (I guess I like the beach a lot more than I thought?) and the fireworks were out on the ocean. We were at a rough patch in our relationship (hence the wedding being postponed) but this date was wonderful. As the fireworks were going off, we talked about the problems we were having, the things we loved about each other, and what we could do to make things better. At the end of the night, he said, "Nothing else matters as long as it comes back to the 'me and you' part of things." His saying that meant everything to me and whenever I'm having a bad day, I think of that...because really, no matter what happens, as long as we have each other (and Angelica!) that's all that really matters. I won't say things got immediately better after that, but we are VERY happily married now so it did all work out in the end!

And so there we have it, the two best dates I've ever been on. Also ranking up there: the day we got engaged, the day we got married, and our honey moon :)

McFatty Monday: Week 2 Results

Let's start out by saying that last week was a tough week. It was full of hubby working late, late nights, meaning for five days last week I was essentially a single working mom. I slept awful. We're still in the process of wrapping things up at the old place so I was over there tending to things, cleaning, getting the last of our stuff moved out (keys are due in eight days!) I went through the wonderful awfulness of PMS and the yuckyness that follows PMS. I ate chocolate chip cookies, I ate too much at each meal, and I only worked out three days last week.

Given all of that, I was sure that I was going to have gained weight this week. SURE of it. In fact, I was dreading getting on the scale this morning and seeing a number larger than the number I saw last Monday.

Lo and behold, I weighed in this morning at 252. The exact same I weighed last Monday. Thank goodness for small miracles. I will take a maintenance. Plus, if you divide last weeks weight loss over two weeks, that's 1.5 pounds a week which really isn't that bad. (I am so justifying!)

In looking forward, I'm hoping to see a number that's out of the 250s next week. It'll be a milestone...the first time since September 2007 that I've been less that 250! Oh, and I'd also like to survive my daughter's second birthday party, which is later this week! (Has it REALLY been two years?)

Finally, don't forget to enter my giveaway in the Weekend Review post! I don't have any entries yet and I don't want the prize to go to waste!

Angelica and her bandaids

About a month ago, after we moved into our new house, Angelica was reveling in the fact that we left the back door open for her to run in and out, in and out, in and out. (Scott and I were both outside so we could see her.) Well, as was sure to happen when a toddler is running around, she tripped and fell. Unfortunately, she tripped over the track to the sliding glass door and landed knee-first on the outdoor pavement and skinned her knee right up.

And she cried, and cried, and cried. And screamed. And then cried some more.

She has always been one to refuse being touched when she's hurt, but this was bad enough that I wanted to make sure it got cleaned and bandaged, so I broke out the Dora the Explorer bandaids and fought her tooth and nail to get that knee cleaned off and get the bandaid on it.

And then she screamed because she had a bandaid on and tried to rip it off. But we stopped her.

Oddly enough, ever since that day, she has been obsessed with bandaids...especially those of the Dora variety. Every single day, boo-boo or not, she asks for a Dora bandaid. And I put one on her. And the next day at some point, it falls off, and when she gets picked up after school she asks for one, and I put it on again. But it always has to go on the knee that I put it on that one day a month ago.

On Thursday, she actually wound up having a genuine boo-boo on her OTHER knee (another knee scrape...par for the course at this age it seems) so I opened the box of Dora bandaids and there was only one left. Oh, the horrors. She did NOT want me to put it on her boo-boo, but I did.

And Friday, we were all out. And she was bandaid-less. And FURIOUS about it.

Today we made a trip to Target (the point being to shop for her birthday, but also to retrieve the oh so necessary Dora bandaids) and before we could even get to the cash register, she had ripped open that box and demanded that I put one on her...even though her boo-boos are all healed.

The funny thing is, most kids will ask their mommies to kiss their boo-boos to make them better. Angelica always says, "No, Angelica kiss it better!" and then kisses her knee, and puts on her own bandaid. And then puts the wrapper in the trash. Without my asking.

Oh, my independent, clean-and-tidy, wonderful little girl.

As an aside, I had blood drawn this week and she insisted on kissing MY boo-boos all better over and over again. What a sweetheart.

Five Question Friday

1. Do you have an iPhone and, if so, how do you get apps and what are your favorites?
I wish I had an iPhone! I use Credo Mobile though (because of all of their social agendas...again with the being super duper liberal) and they don't provide iPhone service. The only Smartphone I could really choose was a Blackberry. I have a Curve.

2. What is your fondest memory of K-3rd grade?
Oh gosh, without a doubt, my first kiss. Third grade, during storytime. A little boy I liked just leaned over and pecked me on the cheek. I get that "Awwwwwwww" feeling thinking about my little girl having these sweet lovey-dovey moments one day.

3. What makes you cringe at the thought of touching?
After you have a kid, is there really anything that you can cringe at touching? I've cleaned up pee, poop, puke, boogers, blood, tears, cleared away surgical tape and stitches (after Angelica's eye surgery about a year ago)...I think I can pretty much handle anything. I have a terrible phobia of cockroaches but I can even squish them with my bare hands if they come near my daughter. (This happened when she was about 3 months old...saw one on her wall in the middle of the night and I was NOT going to scream and wake her up.) I guess it's safe to say I could touch just about anything if I had to.

4. If you could have any celebrity show up on your doorstep who would it be and why?
Lindsay Lohan, so I can slap some sense into the girl.

5. What would you say is your best physical feature?
I've always loved my eyes. They're kind of a unique dark brown. Angelica inherited these eyes...she was even born with dark, dark brown eyes, just like her mommy.

Don't forget to check out my Weekend Review and enter the giveaway here!

Weekend Review: Yummy Earth Organic Fruit Lollipops -- Plus, a Giveaway!

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(To learn more about the Weekend Review, check out the introduction by LeeAnn from The Life of Rylie and Bryce Too!)


Disclaimer: This opinion is my own. I am writing this review without the request of the company. They have not contacted me in any way nor did they supply me with the goods for the giveaway.

Angelica loves lollipops. And by that, I mean that she asks me for one every single time we get in the car. This started after her daycare started doing lollipop Friday.

I try to feed her the best foods possible, avoiding high fructose corn syrup and buying organic when I can. One day a few weeks ago, I was at the checkout counter at the grocery store when I realized that I forgot to pick up lollipops for the week! Uh oh!

Lucky for me, right there on the endcap, there were these Yummy Earth Organic Fruit Lollipops. Now, when it comes to candy I'm always wary because I've purchased organic candy that tasted awful before. But, the package was only $1.99 so I figured it wouldn't hurt to give them a try. (It sure beat getting out of line to go find another kind!)

Once we got to the car, I buckled Angelica in and gave her a lollipop. It smelled wonderful! Not at all like I expected. She kept saying, "YUM! Lollipop!" so I knew she liked it too.

So the next day, I did the evil mommy thing. I ate one of her lollipops. And it was good. It tasted just like a regular piece of candy, not at all like the watered down undersweet candy that I came to expect from an organic product. It was really, really good!

Funny how so much joy and excitement can come from something so small.

For $1.99 you get a bag of 15 lollipops in four assorted flavors: Mango Tango, Pomegranate Pucker, Tooberry Blueberry and Wet-Face Watermelon. I've tried all four and they're all really good! According to the package, they are certified organic, vegan, GMO free, nut-free, soy-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, casein-free, gluten-free, and made without corn syrup or artificial dyes.. There are only 22 calories per lollipop.

Want to give these a try? I have an extra bag that I purchased and it can be yours! You can enter to win up to seven times!

To enter:
1. Leave a comment with your email address (so I can contact you if you win) and blog link (if you have one).
2. Follow my blog via Google Friend Connect (look for the box in the sidebar).
3. Blog or Tweet about the giveaway and a comment with the link.
4. Click to vote for me at Top Mommy Blogs and Top Baby Blogs.
5. Add my button to your page (code is in the sidebar).
6. "Like" Angelica's Awesome Adventures on Facebook.
7. Follow me on Twitter - my username is angelicasmommy (Comment on this entry with your username).

Make sure you comment once for each action you take!

DEADLINE EXTENDED! I'll draw the winner on Friday, May 28.

Angelica doesn't want it ANYMORE!

The other day I wrote about Angelica's fierce independent streak. Let me expound upon that with some of her most recent antics.

Because she always does whatever she can to get what she wants, when she wants it, she is incredibly vocal about things that she doesn't want as well. This is especially true when I am trying to distract her from something that she does want, like ten cookies before dinner, or to avoid going to bed at night. She has one particular phrase that she says that makes me have to cover my mouth and look away so that she doesn't see my desire to collapse into hysterical laughter.

One example of this is last night, when she didn't want to go to bed (at 10pm, mind you), so I said, "Here Angelica, take your lovey!" (Lovey is her favorite teddy bear blankey that goes literally everywhere with her.) She looks up at me, scrunches up her face and yells:

"NO WANT LOVEY, ANYMORE!" (Extra strong emphasis on the "anymore").

We usually go about ten rounds of this between the time we get home and the time she goes to bed at night.

But the other night was the best. I was trying to get her to lay down ("NO lay down, anymore!") tucked in ("No tuck in, anymore!"), and turn on her bubble machine ("NO want bubbles, anymore!") After I finally get her laying down and tucked in, I say, "Can Mommy have a hug and kiss goodnight?" To which she responds:

"NO hug and kiss nite nite, EVER AGAIN!"

I hugged and kissed her anyway, told her I loved her, said goodnight, turned off the light, closed the door, and flopped down with my face in a pillow and laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

The next night she asked ME for a hug and kiss. I think I won that round.

Angelica's Favorite Videos

I know I've discussed at length Angelica's love for all things Dora, and maybe alluded to her recent love of all things Mickey Mouse. But what you may not know is that she absolutely loves watching videos on YouTube. A few weeks ago, my sister introduced us to some videos that my niece and nephew love, and we had a big danceathon in our playroom as a result. Since then, Angelica asks to watch these videos on a daily basis. I think yesterday we watched the Cat Flushing a Toilet video about 10 times, and the Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom video about 200. (Okay, maybe more like 20 but after awhile it felt like 200!)





Then there is this eerily creepy video of Elmo's daddy teaching him to use the potty that she loves. It must be working because the other night, we were playing and she jumped up, yelled "Angelica go potty!", ran to the bathroom, lifted the toilet lid, yanked off her pants and then proceeded to poop in her diaper. She didn't make it in time (obviously!) but I was so proud of her for knowing she needed to go. Maybe we'll be entering the world of toilet training in the near future...

Wordless Wednesday - Angelica gets bad news via iPod.

Wish List Wednesday - May 19

On my wish list this week...

1. A vacation The Eden House in Key West. We went there for our honeymoon and it was fantastic. I'd go back in a heartbeat, and coming up on our FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY (wow!) it'd be fun to go back.

2. A really sweet redesign for my family photography website. For free, of course.

3. An iPod touch for my husband. He lost his Zune a few months ago while on a business trip and I know he really wants an iPod touch. And since he works so hard, I want it for him!

Top Two Tuesday

What are the top two things I want to do before I die?

1. Become a successful photographer. I've come a LONG way in the past three years, but I still have a long way to go. I'd love to make it a career. You know what they say...if you do something you love you'll never work a day in your life (or something like that, anyway)! Most of the pictures you see posted on this blog are by yours truly. Here's a couple of samples though, just in case you need it.







2. Travel outside the country. I've never even been west of the Mississippi River, so this would definitely be exciting. I have seen Canada, but from the New York side of Niagara Falls. If possible, I'd like to bring Angelica along for the ride.

D-List Blog Party 2010 - An Introduction

If you've landed on my blog as part of the D-Listed Mom Blogs blog party 2010, welcome!

To tell you a bit about myself...I'm Andrea. I'm a 29 (well, almost 30) year old mom of 2 year old Angelica and wife of five years to Scott, who is my soulmate in every sense of the word. We met in March 2001 and it has been a fairy tale romance pretty much from day one. We live in central Florida, where I was born and raised, making me one of those rare Florida natives you always hear about but never actually see. (And my daughter is one, too!) I'm a full-time working mom, working for a private university. I have a bachelors degree in Liberal Studies and a Masters in Marketing.

I started blogging in 2001 (on a blog that thankfully no longer exists...I was rather angsty in my early twenties!) but I started this blog in September 2007, when I first found out I was pregnant with Angelica. We waited so long for her and I didn't want to forget any part of the pregnancy, no matter how easy or difficult it was. And it was mostly difficult...I landed on partial bedrest in early April of 2008, almost had to have her a month early in late April 2008, but she hung on right up to her due date in May 2008.

For now, she's our one and only. We may or may not have a second child, it's not something we're in a rush to do but open to revisiting the idea in a few years. For now, she has two cousins who live just a few miles away that might as well be her brother and sister (the older one is 18 months older than her, the younger one is 2 1/2 months younger than her).

A little about Angelica...she has been a superkid since day one. She held her head up at birth, rolled over at 2 months, sat up at 4 months, crawled at 5 and walked around 9 months. It was amazing and bittersweet, since she blew through being a "baby" so quickly. These days, she talks up a storm, saying some of the funniest things I've ever heard, and has a fierce independent streak that I hope never leaves her. She knows what she wants and does anything in her power to get it. In spite of that, she is a sweet, sweet girl. She rocks her babydoll and says, "No baby, no cry", and gives me random hugs and kisses and "I love you mommy!"s.

Other random stuff about me: I love photography, recently learned to love walking, I'm a vegetarian, I enjoy knitting and just recently started to get into gardening now that we have a house with a back yard. Politically, I'm about as liberal as they come, but I keep politics and religion out of the blog (and my friendships) as much as possible.

Lately, my blog will be focusing on Angelica transitioning into the twos, losing the rest of the baby weight (and more) and maybe even a little bit of coping with PPD while being a working mom of a crazy two year old and a husband who works long hours but always makes time for his family. I am truly blessed.

New button!

I have an awesome new button on my page now. Feel free to share it! I'd give credit to the designer but...I'd rather be humble. (Okay it was me, I confess!)

McFatty Monday: Week 1 Results

If you heard a deranged redhead cheering and singing the closing theme to Dora the Explorer at the top of her lungs this morning ("We did it! We did it! We did it, yay!"), you were hearing me after hopping on the scale this morning.

I started last week at 255. This morning I weighed in at 252. A grand three pound weight loss! That's exactly what I was hoping for this week, I am so excited!

That's a screen shot of my progress report from Sparkpeople. The red goal line is my pre-pregnancy weight of 244. That's my first mini-goal and it's only eight pounds away! According to Sparkpeople, if I continue losing at a healthy rate of 2.5lbs/week, I'll reach that goal by June 9. And I will. Oh, I will!

This week, I learned something about myself that I never knew before, too. I LOVE LOVE LOVE walking. I've always wanted to be a runner, but at 250+ my knees simply can't handle it. Believe me, I've tried. There was this one time I tried to do a 5k. It was before I was pregnant, but hovering around 230lbs and it took me an hour and 45 minutes to complete. SO disappointing. I came in last. A guy on crutches finished before me!

I never thought that walking would really be effective, but I seriously work up a sweat and it's wonderful!

I'm proud to say that I literally walked every single day last week, finishing at a total of 9.88 miles for the week. I plan to continue that this week! Walking is such a release. It's something I CAN do, something I LOVE to do, and it gives me some of that valuable "me" time to collect my thoughts and de-stress. Plus, maybe I'll graduate to running...someday.

By the end of the week, I had crafted a playlist to listen to while walking as well. Music is a motivator for me and I found songs that keep me focused and connected to my purpose:

Warm-Up:
1. Be Good Until Then: Butch Walker (a song that makes me think about some of the life lessons I want to pass on to my daughter)
2. Emergency - Paramore

Workout period:
3. I've Got a Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
4. Imma Be - Black Eyed Peas (these two are just high-energy songs that get my adrenaline going. Plus, I have a girl crush on Fergie.)
5. Touchdown Turnaround - Hellogoodbye (reminds me of that fateful 5K I mentioned earlier, because I "trained" to this album all the time)
6. In My Arms (Kaskade remix) - Plumb (also makes me think of my little girl)
7. Tidal Wave - Owl City (A song that gives me hope.)
8. Break Out, Break Out - All Time Low (Same as above.)

Cool-Down:
10. Lucky - Jason Mraz and Colbie Callait (makes me think of my wonderful hubby, who seriously is my best friend. I am lucky to have a fairy-tale relationship!)
11. All-American Girl - Carrie Underwood (A song I used to listen to all the time when Angelica was a teeny tiny baby.)

Tune in next week for more exciting results!

Angelica LIKES IT New House!

So a few weeks ago, we made the move that I alluded to in a previous entry. Our second move within a year. Still in the same city, but this time, to a house. And I have to tell you, the move went remarkably well. I thought for sure that it would be harder on Angelica to transition at (almost) 23 months than it was at 13 months, but she had no problems at all. In fact...Scott picked her up from my parents house (where she stayed while we moved all our stuff) and she walks down to her room, looks up at him, and says....

"I LIKE it new room!"
Meaning, "I like my new bedroom!"

Oh, and who wouldn't be excited about this:






Every day since then (about 3 weeks now), almost every single day she says, "I LIKE it new house!" When she goes to school in the morning, she says, "Bye bye new house!" And let me tell you, having a fenced in back yard is just about the best thing that ever happened to this girl. Just look at how happy she is...


(Daddy was spraying her with the hose, which she thought was the best thing ever!)

The transition to her new school went better than I expected as well. The first few days were rough...she cried, she clung to Daddy when he dropped her off and she constantly talked about her friends and teachers at her old school. But now, every day, she bolts out the door, yelling, "Go see (new friend's name here)! Bye bye new house!" and when Scott drops her off, she says "Go away Daddy, bye bye!". Oh, and when I pick her up, she says goodbye to all her new teachers and friends one by one. It took less than a week for her to adjust and make new friends. My girl is going to be the life of the party one day!

The move is still in progress though. We still have a few things at the old place, and some cleaning to do, but we have until the end of June to get it done. I don't miss it though. Normally I get nostalgic about these things, but not so much this time. I love where we live now. :)

McFatty Monday - Week 1

I am joining some of my wonderful friends (including you, LeeAnn!) on the McFatty Monday journey. Being the McFattiest of all my friends, it only seems appropriate. And what a way to make a return to blogging after almost a month-long hiatus.

So, we moved. And moving is of course a very grueling process, which thankfully we were able to quickly complete with the help of some very kind friends and family. (Well, aside from a few odds and ends left at the old place.) Unfortunately with the move came the return of some BAD HABITS.

The week before the move I was at 9 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight (which was a whopping 244 lbs.) Today, at 255, I'm at 11 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight.

My GOAL weight is 145. As you can see, I have 110lbs to go.

SIGH.

Now, about three months ago I became a vegetarian, which changed my eating habits drastically. Gone were the days of being able to hit the fast food joints and pick up a burger. That helped me lose 5 lbs.

Unfortunately there are a lot of non-healthy things that are vegetarian, and I was having trouble working vegetables and fruit into my diet. (A vegetarian who DOESN'T EAT VEGETABLES? Who would have ever thought that possible?) So the past two weeks I've been easing myself back into eating veggies and fruit.

My goal for this week though is to add some physical activity back into the routine, and to stop eating the crap that keeps me from reaping the health benefits of being vegetarian. Today, I have already hiked it up and down the sidewalk to the tune of TWO MILES. Let's see if we can keep it up.

Edited to add...To put a more positive spin on things, I have lost 30 pounds since I began my weight loss journey. I think that's pretty significant, even if it has been over the course of 18 months!