Friday, September 2, 2011

September To-Do's

 My August To-Do's are To-Done.

We took Carly to get her first snow cone. The snow cone stand didn't have umbrellas over their tables and it was over 100 degrees outside, so opened the back hatch to my car and sat in the back.

Carly took a few bites of our snow cones, but quickly moved on to the movie that was still playing on the dvd player in the back seat. Good thing we didn't buy Carly her own snow cone.





I also FINALLY ordered a blog book of the first year I blogged - 2008. I used http://www.blog2print.com/ and it couldn't have been easier! I just wish I had found a valid coupon code. I plan to do the same for 2009 and 2010 soon as well. I love that I will always have these books to look back on. I love me some pictures, but having my thoughts and commentary to go with them is just icing on the cake!

Now on to my September To-Do's.

The last skirt that I bought was right after I had Carly - over two years ago. The last skirt that I bought before that was probably in 07. Needless to say, I dont' have many skirts in my closet that fit my mommy body. It's time for a new skirt. But not just a skirt - an entire skirt outfit because that last thing I want is for the skirt to just sit in my closet because I don't have a top to go with it.

1. Buy a skirt outfit
2. Do something new and fun with Carly
3. Complete a craft project (I am now accepting ideas. Until I find a good one, you can find me on Pinterest.)

What is everyone else doing this month?

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Dear Bahamas, I miss you

Three months after the fact, I would like to tell you about our trip to the Bahamas. That's right. It's September now and we took the trip back in JUNE!

We went with our friends Andrew and Kacie who are quickly turning in to our traveling buddies. We've been to Mexico, Las Vegas, San Antonio and now the Bahamas with them. Not to mention several out-of-town weddings. We also have another Las Vegas trip booked for January, but more about that in January.


We stayed at a Sandals resort and LOVED it. This is the first time we have gone adults-only and it was a very good decision. Had I seen cute toddlers toddling around the resort with their parents I would have had some serious mommy guilt that likely would have ruined the trip.







This cat found Kacie and wouldn't leave her - or her flip-flop - alone. I advised Kacie to either sanitize or destroy that sandal. Stray, foreign cats surely can't be vaccinated.


This was me pretty much the entire trip - laying on a lounge, reading the Kindle. Sure, I could have done this at the Holiday Inn down the street, but it was so much nicer in the Bahamas. And hey - this was my vacation and I wanted to spend it reading, so I did.

Thank goodness Andrew and Kacie were there to keep Freddy occupied. Thanks, guys!




Maybe you can spot the restroom sign in this picture, but I couldn't. I wandered down the stairs (per the directions of the bartender) thinking that once down there I would be able to pick between the men's or women's restroom. Wrong. This staircase led ONLY to the men's restroom, as noted on the poorly placed sign. Lucky for me I quickly noticed my mistake and was able to make my way back up the stairs without being spotted.

The piano bar was TONS OF FUN, but the man in charge wouldn't let anyone sit and watch. Everyone had to sing with him - even me, one of the worst singers in the world.

A little piece of advice for anyone wanting to try piano bar singing - Kokomo is NOT a piano-bar-friendly song.


The resort served only Bahamian beers, which Freddy and Andrew were able to doctor with a little lime. But when the Mavs beat the Heat while we were there, they guys won a bet with the bartenders and were able to score a few bottles of their favs - Miller Lite and Coors Lite.

Dirty Bananas - Yum-Me!


The only downside to this gorgeous resort was the birds, for me anyway. I HATE birds. I think that they are gross, they carry diseases, they invade your personal space for the chance to scoop up even the tiniest of crumbs with their nasty, pecky, pointy little beaks. And don't get me started on their talons and beady eyes. Yuck!

Regardless of my feelings for birds, even I had to admit that this white peacock was pretty cool.

Fancy-Shmancy, no? This, blogger buddies, is the seating area in the before-mentioned downstairs bathroom. I thought it was fun.

The food at this resort was very good. In this particular picture, Freddy is being tossed a piece of fried egg - and he caught it in his mouth - unlike the 3 newlywed husbands!

Freddy and I ventured out one morning to the straw market. It gave as an opportunity to experience local public transportation, which was interesting.

This picture does not do it justice. It was isles and isles of straw products and knock-off bags. I learned quickly that you can negotiate the price of the bags, but not of cute straw hats.


This was the cute straw hat I bought for $25. It saved me! However, it is only for laying out. If you wear it while walking to the brick-oven pizza stand (which we ordered from every afternoon while we were there), it flops in your face and you can only see about two feet in front of you. I heart that hat. Fingers crossed that it will reshape after being stuffed in my bag for the trip home.



See that guy catching the football? That's my husband. Sorry, ladies - he's taken.



It was a wonderful trip with wonderful friends. It was nice to get away, but I sure did miss my baby and my puppy. We will definitely be trying more Sandals resorts in the future.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Twenty Dollars Well Spent

Good buys. We all make them. I probably make more than the average person - but only because I make more purchases all together!

Anyway...Around Christmas last year I found a Leap Frog Zippity for $20. Those suckers retail for $80, so I snatched up. I love Leap Frog.

Anyway...the suggested age on it is 3. Carly is almost 2 1/2. The plan was to save the Zippity for a Christmas gift.

I didn't make it. We busted it out last week and it was a HIT! You would have thought the real, live Mickey Mouse was in our house. Carly was acting more excited than I did when I saw 98 Degrees in concert on 1998 - front row!


Thursday, August 25, 2011

It ROCKS Our World

Newborn Carly had colic. For eight weeks. For eight weeks she screamed through the night for1.5 - 4 hour stretches. As hard as this mommy and daddy tried, she could not be comforted. Her nighttime sleep came in tiny little 1-2 hour windows. Hence, so did ours. I was lucky enough to get 12 weeks off from work, so I was on colic duty during the week.

"Sleep when the baby sleeps"  - I heard it a million times. And so I did. I slept  napped all the day long. I even sacrificed showers just to catch a few z's (unless, of course, we were expecting guests - you're welcome, guests). I barely left the house. I barely functioned. My hair straightener rusted and my makeup molded, but my pajamas - those beauties were worn thin.

Now when I see new moms showing off their newborn babies mere days or just a week or two (or three or ten) after giving birth, I want to throw something at them. And if their is fixed, their makeup perfectly applied and they're actually wearing an outfit that is coordinated - with accessories - I want to throw something at their head.

But I digress...

After eight weeks of colic, Carly suddenly, magically, miraculously slept through the night. Nine hours! Over the next three or four days she worked herself up to 12 hours. And there she stayed, solidly at 11-13 hours per night. God bless her. This was her sweet gift to us. Tie a red ribbon on it and re-gift it every holiday from now until the end of my life! It was glorious! It still is glorious. Until...

Until those crazy one-off nights where she actually wakes up. Freddy and I hear the cries come across the monitor and it ROCKS. OUR. WORLD. We don't know who we are, where we are, what to do, what that noise is...We are completely out of it. Lucky for us our flailing arms a legs smack the other one and we're up.

Getting her back to sleep is simple enough. Hold her, lay her with us for a few minutes until she falls back asleep and then plunk her back down in her crib. Done.

But the other night we experienced something different, something a tad more pleasant. We woke around 3 am to hear our sweet girl not crying, but talking and playing. She was saying hello to Mimi (Minnie Mouse) and PeePee (Mickey Mouse) and jibber-jabbering up a storm. She was having a play date in her crib at 3 am.

Freddy: Carly's awake
Me: She's not crying. Go back to sleep

Later that morning, we were getting ready and Freddy says to me: I think we need to take her "friends" out of her bed at night.

I'm okay with stuffed animal play date. I will take it ANY DAY over 1.5 - 4 hour screaming sprees.

Monday, August 15, 2011

August To-Do's

I guess the key to completing my monthly to-do's is "think small".
Last month I only had two to-do's:

1. Make bolognese sauce from scratch - Check
It was alright - but it was no Coalvine's Bolognese pizza!

2. See a movie by myself - Check
 
I saw Crazy Stupid Love and LOVED it.
Check out the release date of July 29 - nothing like waiting til the last minute.

As for this month -
1. Put my first year of blogging in to a blog book and actually order it!
2. Take Carly to get her first snow cone.

So, there you have it. My to-do's for this month. What is everyone else doing this month?

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Happy 3 month anniversary, Hagamans!

Anyone can post about a wedding right after it happens.
I am not just anybody.

I had to make the Hagaman wedding post special by:
1. accidentally deleting a bunch of great pics from my camera, including some really great shots from their wedding weekend.
2. posting this on their 3 month anniversary as a sort-of gift.

A good friend will always speak kindly about another friend's wedding.
My kind words? They are not an exaggeration.
This wedding was SPECTACULAR!

It had all the traditional elements with modern twists here and there.
Every detail was perfect - and there were a lot of details!

There was a surprise dance tribute that shocked and awed the bride and guests alike.

Lots of friends were present - mostly because we had to personally witness John Hagaman settling down.



Freddy was really nervous about his speech, but he did great! His friendship with Hag means the world to him, so I know that it was a challenge for him to put his emotions in to words.  We are just so grateful to have such great friends in Hag and Brittany.



Of course, there were more dance tributes as the evening went on.

At the end of the evening, everyone left well-fed, entertained, and full of happiness for the new couple -
John and Brittany Hagaman.

Thank you both for including us in your special day.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Carly's latest addictions

Yogurt. Yogurt in a cup. Yogurt smoothies. On-the-go Go-Gurt yogurt. Princess yogurt. Low-fat yogurt. Small yogurts. Big yogurts. Carly loves yogurt. I wouldn't be surprised if she turned  into a live culture.



Sunglasses. Mommy's sunglasses. Daddy's sunglasses. Any one of her 5 pair of sunglasses.
I knew if I just kept putting them on her she would eventually grow to love them - and she has!