Confession

it is 3:20 and I am still in my pajamas. I missed my class at the gym this morning and it has gone down hill from there. The past few days I have been really tired and slightly nauseous, (I have been living on scrambled eggs, string cheese and fiber one bars-maybe that is my problem) I am definitely in a funk or mildly ill. So whine whine whine, there I got it out of my system.
Now on to other things. You may have noticed I finally figured out how to beautify my blog. I am "eats the glue special" when it comes to technology so yay me for figuring it out. Also, I have started a new job. Well by job I mean I babysit my friend's kids while she gives piano lessons once a week. And lets just say the first time I watched them their faces looked like this...

And Grace's face looked like this.....

apparently Grace is not into sharing her mommy. The first week all three kids had a melt down but since then it has gotten way better. There was a total of 0 meltdowns yesterday :) However there was an exploding sippy cup and consequently a drenched kid, opppps.
It has been a while since I have made any income so I tell Neil, about twenty times a day, what I am going to spend my new found fortune on. Clothes for Grace, clothes for me, highlights, a new fancy smancy moisturizer, furniture (I would need an accumulation of 3 years worth of paychecks), craft projects, sewing projects, presents for Neil, books, fun dates, ect. And maybe I already spent my first paycheck on those tickets to Les Mis- easy come easy go I guess.
Also I am trying to get Grace down from two naps to one long nap, any suggestions?

Please Raise Your Hand If....

you drive a red vehicle and ran into my car door while I was buying Baby Grace pjs at Old Navy. You might as well turn yourself in because I am pretty sure this is top priority for the police and perhaps even the FBI.

Aqua-phobia

When Baby Grace was first born she loved the water. She especially loved having her hair shampooed during her bath.When she became big enough for the tub I would put her in and she would kick her legs and move from one end of the tub to the other while happily splashing. Then a few weeks ago we had an incident, an incident which drained all the joy out of bath time. Neil was giving Grace her bath and usually he soaps her all up, then drains the tub, then rinses her off with fresh water from the faucet. Well, Neil soaped her up and thought he pulled the plug from the drain and turned on the water and THEN returned to the book he was reading. Well, he looked over a few minutes later and only Grace's mouth was above water! Since then she has refused to lay down in the bath tub and will rarely even stay seated. So today, instead of the bath tub we tried the kitchen sink and we were successful.

The Loud, Proud, Well Read Crowd

For some time now I have wanted to get involved with a book club and today was my first meeting. Well, it was the first meeting of a book and film club I started with some friends. We had an English tea party to kickoff for our first read, I Capture the Castle. I knew one of my friends was bringing raspberry scones, another lemonade, and I was supplying the requisite cucumber sandwiches but a bunch of gals just showed up with tea esq foods to share. We had a fruit and cream cheese pizza, warm from the oven cinnamon rolls, and some delicious cookie bars. I tend to get a little stressed before any event I plan and it was such a lovely surprise to see every one's enthusiasm and involvement. We made our reading and viewing list and I am just so excited! We are even going to go see Les Mis downtown for one meeting (we decided to let the hubbys join us for that one :)
On another note vegetarian week hit a snag. I came home from book club on cloud nine and before I realized what had happened I ate a chicken wing Neil had made! So close, mere hours away from completion. But looking back at my almost week of veggieness I must conclude that I am rather tired of beans. Other than that it didn't seem very different then any other week.
Fellow bloggers- let me know if there are any fabulous books or films you recommend for my newly minted group. thanks and happy weekend :)

Day Two and Mr. Darcy

Day two of my veggie experiment went fine. Not fabulous, just fine. Breakfast was a peanut butter banana, lunch was leftover lasagna, and dinner was unsloppy joes (allrecipes.com). The unsloppy joes were a little bland so I threw in some Worcestershire sauce to jazz it up. I was tempted by McDonalds at about four o'clock, (I have a love for their cheese burger happy meals), but resisted. I did, however, make fries with my joes as an ode to Ronald.
Today Grace and I went over to a friend's and watched the last half of Pride and Prejudice. The lovely six hour version which is happily Kera Knightly free. Sadly, the babies were not that into it. For some reason they wanted snacks, and diaper changes, anything to keep me from Mr. Darcy swimming in his pond. By the way the whole pond swimming thing kinda grosses me out. All the flora is just too much. It would feel like creepy little whiskers touching my feet, ugh shudder. I also attended the feared body pump class for the 5Th time today and, really, I think I'm getting the swing of things. So happy Tuesday to all and to all a goodnight.

Going Green: Day One

Breakfast: Yummy oatmeal with some brown sugar and sliced bananas (Grace's favorite)
Lunch: Grilled cheese and a spinach, apple, and almond salad :)

I had a snack of toast with some peanut butter- sorry no pic.
And then
Dinner: Artichoke Spinach Lasagna, salad, and croissants. The lasagna was from allrecipes and was fabulous (thanks chef david). I did throw in 2 grated carrots and about 1 cup chopped mushrooms when I sauteed the garlic and onions. Also, make sure to drain the veggies really well or else you will end up with a watery mess.

One day down six to go :)

Makeover Math Time

Grace got a new 'do. At first she loved it....

then she got a little agressive

Perhaps grace + hair tie = gladiator baby

Veggie World

So I have been going to the gym for about 7 months now post that whole baby birthing thing. While the benefits of exercise are great it is also a great break everyday. Two hours to just focus on me. Plus a bunch of my friends go to the same gym. I always see at least 3 people I know and I have taken to attending some of the classes with my buds. And let me tell you these fellow mommies are STRONG- They can run forever and then lift a million pounds over their heads... while lunging... repeatedly! So I have decided to focus more on becoming strong, powerful, and healthy. SO in the spirit of this resolution I am going vegetarian. Just for one week. Note: I said vegetarian NOT vegan, I'll still use eggs (sparingly), milk and cheese but good bye meaty meat! Wish me luck and let me know about any yummy meatless recipes you may have! Plus do you think it is cheating to eat fish? I haven't decided yet on that one.

Emancipation Proclamation

Dear Mom,
As you may know I am turning 10 months old in four days and there are some things we must discuss.
1. No matter how hard you try to trick me I will NOT be fed by any other hand but my own. I will persist in spitting out whatever food you or Dad may manage to get into my mouth. Obviously, if it tastes good I may then stick it back into my mouth but note, I am in control of all food consumption.
2. I have decided that I am too big for my car seat. That is why I flail and try to roll on my tummy when you strap me in. I will continue to do this until you admit defeat.
3. I have recently developed a softer side to my nature and if I see or hear another baby cry I will immediate join in with a death shriek. Solidarity people, solidarity.
4. I am through with baths and ready for big people showers. Until you contend this point I will continue to stand in the tub and cry if you try to sit me down.
5. Mom, there is no need for a high chair. I prefer to have yummy crunchies scattered about the living room floor. This way I can eat at my leisure and there is a satisfying crunching sound if I happen to crush a random cheerio on my travels about the room.
That's all for now.
Love,
Grace (formerly known as Baby Grace)

74 degrees and loving it!

It recently dawned on me that Grace will be a year old in three months. Consequently I can no longer give myself the "I've just had a baby" weight excuse. Which led me to the agony of last Friday. Naively I decided some weight lifting could be added to my normal gym routine. So with eager anticipation I headed to a body pump class, an hour long body pump class of death. I would have been sore just from normal squats and lunges but throw in a giant bar of weights and destruction is inevitable. I was waddling around for the next two days in an effort to stop the tiniest movement of my thighs. I was still so sore on Monday I only ran for 20 minutes and had to walk the other 20. But I will prevail and I will conquer that body pump class. I am forcing myself to go again. A perky older gal in the class promised me I would quickly become addicted to body pump. I think she saw the look of despairing defeat on my face and was throwing some hope my way. On the bright side my upper body was fine. I guess lugging around a 20 lb baby has some perks.

In other news Grace has developed a love for the grossest food on earth. But an entire blog will need to be dedicated to the nast I am currently dealing with. And perhaps pictures, brace yourself.

"Mom, why can't I grab this?" or The Corruption of Baby Grace Begins

2 Years

In Chicago Neil and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary. And Neil planned the best surprise- he had the bakery that made our delicious wedding cake make me a mini cake. It was so delicious! Yummy Yummy!

Chicago Christmas

Grace had her own seat on the flight to Grandma and Grandpa's house.. too bad she cried for an hour straight! Sorry fellow passengers!

Grace and some fam at the mall

Grandpa and Grace going for a whirl

Much of our trip the uncles could be found in this position

Grace wanted to get in on the fun

Grace and I on Christmas

Grace- just looking cute