Overwhelmed.

I am just overwhelmed today. Very emotional and hormonal.. I guess that's what being a breastfeeding "new" mommy does to you.. especially one going through the things I'm going through.

Anyway, I'm too blah to write today.. I'll mnoderate comments tomorrow and reply.. I'll comment on your blogs tomorrow too. I made it to some, but not all. I just don't feel up to it right now. I finally got Leala to sleep, and now she's up again. Duty calls.. as always.

Short Update

This will be short, as Leala just woke up from being put to bed.. She is still sick, but seems better. Her cough is a lot better, so that's real good.. We will monitor her, of course, to see if we need to go to the doctor.

Anyway, today was a weather shock. Yesterday it was very warm (in the low 70's) and today.. Well, today is a different story. The high was in the 40s, but at 7 or so this evening, I checked the weather, and the wind chill was 17! Yup it's 27 degrees outside with a windchill of 17. Tomorrow the high is 38! I love winter.. I'm just glad we don't have anything to do tomorrow!

I have 2 pictures we took of Leala today. They are both silly ones. :)

This is Leala being "Spidergirl". haha..

Excuse myself (even though you can't see anything), but I thought this was hilarious. Leala will be a gymnast.. haha.. (Excuse the no make-up.. I was ready for bed)! Oh, and she was asleep in this picture too.. haha, silly baby.

Don't forget to check out my previous post, and ask me a question!

Lots Of Fun!

So, I'll give you a little update and then we will have some fun!

Leala is sick. She woke sneezing, with a runny nose and cough. She sounds awful, but she hasn't had a fever and she's playing (almost like normal). We will be taking her to the doctor tomorrow though. Her cough concerns me. So, tonight I'm sure we won't get much sleep again.

Now for the fun! I want you to ask me questions! Anything and everything you want to know! I won't hold back. Just ask me anything you want to know about me, and I'll answer you in a new post. I'm not sure when I'll do the post answering your questions, but it will be soon, so get your questions in!

This will be a fun way for you to get to know me better, and I love telling about myself and family and our life experiences. So, go ahead, ask something.. one question, two questions, 10 questions! I don't care, just ask!

You know you're a Mommy when..

My husband and I were talking this afternoon, and I said, "That's when you know you're a Mommy!" So I thought it would be fun if I added some things here that give away that we're Mommies.. There's more where this is coming from, so I'm sure this won't be the last time you see these!

You know you're a Mommy when...
you vacuum everyday, or close to it.
you've traded in your Dooney & Bourke or Coach Purse for a diaper bag.
your whole wardrobe changes to make it easier to breastfeed.
you can't finish the sentence, "Don't let her drop that toy." before you hear it hit the floor.
every time you go somewhere, it seems like you're moving.
you can change a diaper with your eyes closed, and actually have.
you go to the store and dart over to the baby/kid section
drool, poo, and spit up doesn't gross you out anymore.
dressing up really means just getting dressed.
you can walk through walmart with your eyes closed.
you find yourself changing your own diet to help out your baby.
you find yourself using the restroom with a baby in your lap.
your "work-out" is carrying your baby around.
Christmas stops being about you and your husband, and you look forward to your kids opening their presents.
10 minutes to take a shower is worth $1000 to you.
spare time is a long lost memory.
when you stop using burp clothes or bibs for drool, and just wipe it on your pants.
when you find yourself spending a little longer in the bathroom, while the hubby is home, just for a break.

Come on, guys! Add some more in the comments! You know you're a Mommy when...

Long, Leala filled day.

So today has been a very long day.. Started out great. Leala had some extra sleep this morning. (Notice I said this morning, not last night. This morning, as in, after I already woke up and was getting ready). She woke up very happy, which made it easier to not be mad at her for being awful last night.

For several different reasons, this morning, Leala was given a bath in the sink. She has never actually sat in the sink and had a bath before. We used her bathtub in the sink when she was a newborn though. It was so cute to see her there. I even used the vegetable sprayer to wash her off. Very precious. I am so mad, but we didn't get any pictures of it. She was darling though. Anyway, we did our morning routine and then Leala and I went shopping. We stopped at a few places to get a few things done, and came home.

Leala was soo hyper when we got home. She acted so silly and energetic. I have no idea why. She didn't have any solids at that point in the day, and I hadn't ate anything out of the ordinary either, so nothing was tranferred through my milk. I don't know what was going on, but she was very very cute. I'm disappointed, but we didn't get any pictures of that either, as we were too caught up in playing with her. We have been horrible this week at taking pictures.. I need to take pictures of her tomorrow.. lol.

After playing real hard and eating, Leala took a nap, so I embraced the opportunity and took one with her. It was nice to be able to sleep for a bit, and that's probably why I don't feel as horrible right now, as I have been each night at this time.

Leala decided to bite me again tonight. Still not drawing any blood, which is good, but it might as well, you know? I'm not quite sure what is going on with her lately.

Anyway, it's about that time to start getting ready for bed. Hopefully Leala will sleep some for me. I really need it.

I am so ready for bed..

Today has been a long day.. Leala wouldn't nap at all. She's never been a great napper, but she power naps several times a day usually.. Not today. She slept a good 10 minutes at one point and then a whole 2 minutes this evening. So, she hasn't been the most pleasant baby today.

Then when it was time to start feeding her the bedtime feeding, she freaked out and acted horrible. She bit me 3 times (leaving two little marks from her teeth each time... I'm so surprised it didn't break the skin). Then she scratched me terribly twice, leaving cuts on my breast.. Then pinched me once, leaving a cut too. So it has been one fun night!

Besides that, we did get to go out to dinner tonight, which we haven't done in a while. It was rather spontaneous too, so that was nice.

I am exhausted from the day we've had though, so I won't be writing much more. I'm sure you all understand.

Chocolate Trifle! Yum!

I got this wonderful recipe from my friend Jennifer, after having it at her house in South Carolina. I made it today (started yesterday and finished today), as a test run for Christmas. It turned out great and was a big hit with Kevin's family.

Here's the recipe and at the bottom is a few things I'll do different next time.

*******

Chocolate Trifle

1 box chocolate fudge cake mix
1 8oz tub whipped cream
1 box chocolate instant pudding
6-7 Heath bars (crushed) [or you can buy a bag of pre-crushed ones on the baking isle of most grocery stores. . that is easier.. . you can pretty much use as much of it as you want)
1/2 to 1 cup of very strong coffee (depending on how strong of a coffee taste you want)

Bake the cake according to the package directions. Let it cool completely (I usually make it the day before, but you could make it a few hours before you need it).
Make the pudding according to package directions.
Crumble the cake (reserve about half a cup).
Place about half of the remaining cake on the bottom of a trifle bowl (or a decorative bowl).
Pour about half of the coffee onto the layer of cake.
Layer about half of the pudding next.
Then half of the heath bars (reserve about half a cup).
Now layer half of the whipped topping.
Repeat another layer of the cake, coffee, pudding, heath bars, and then whipped topping.
Now sprinkle the reserved cake crumbs and heath bars on the top for garnish.
Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

*******

Next time, I will...

* make sure my layers are more even.. The hubby made me put too much of the cake for the first layer.. haha
* probably use a little more coffee. I used 1 1/4 cups of coffee, but I might use 1 1/2 or 1 2/3 next time. Oh, and I'm using hazelnut cream coffee.. yum!
* use more heath bars.. I bought the bag at the grocery store of the pre-crushed ones, but it doesn't seem to be enough, so I might add in a few extra bars, or I might buy two bags and only use a portion of the second bag..

Anyway, we love this and I figured you guys would too!

I'm So Excited!

Travel mugs are finally back in stock in my cafepress shop! I've been wanting one of these for a while, but right before I was going to order one, they went out of stock! I was so mad, but now months later, they're back! And in time for the economy shipping too. Economy shipping ends December 10th to make it here by December 24th. I've already made me a design. I'm so excited!

My husband and I weren't going to get anything for each other for Christmas this year, since there's really nothing we need or want, but now there is! haha.. I'm very excited. I have even lowered the price of the ceramic travel mugs in my shop to help out all of you guys too! Here is the link to all ceramic travel mugs in my shop. I also do custom orders for free, so if you need anything, you can fill out this form.

And lastly, but definitely not least, you can save more money! Here's the coupons for December.

$5 off orders of $50 or more
Coupon Code: CANDORIVORY
Expires: Dec. 12th @ midnight

$5 off orders of $50 or more
Coupon Code: NEWLOOK
Expires: Dec. 31st @ midnight

Grandmothers..

Oh man.. today Leala and I spent the day with my mom. She needed to finish up buying my husband's Christmas presents and needed my help, so we went shopping! So much fun! Even if I'm not actually shopping and buying things, I love going shopping with people. I just love it. I don't know why.. oh well.. lol..

Anyway, my mom went crazy.. as every grandmother does, I'm sure. She ended up buying Leala 2 outfits and a pair of dress shoes to wear for Christmas. Then at the grocery store, she bought juice and lots of organic baby food.. lol.. It is not at all that we need help with these things. It's just that she's a grandmother and wants to help, I guess.. lol..

Anyway, she bought all that, when we were just looking for shirts for my husband.. haha. She was already done buying for Leala's Christmas presents, so she sent me home with the stuff she bought today.. haha. She's crazy.

Oh and don't even get me started on Christmas.. She has bought Leala more stuff than we have bought her! I know some of the stuff she's bought, but not all. At least 2 outfits, 2 sets of pajamas, a pair of snow boots, a doll, an educational toy, something else I can't remember.. and she paid for half of the "big" thing we got her.. lol.. That's only the stuff I know about.. haha. Leala is beyond spoiled and doesn't even know it yet.

I am so looking forward to Leala opening her presents on Christmas. I know it's not about the materialistic things, but I think she will be excited, and she is in great need of new toys. She has outgrown a lot of what she has, so I'm excited for her to finally get to open all the stuff we got her.

Anyway, here's a picture of what Leala did the other day, while I folded laundry on the bed.. She folded up her rug... lol..

"It's as easy as riding a bike.."

My husband mentioned this story today, and I thought you guys might get a kick out of it.

(I included a few pictures taken in Japan. They have nothing to do with this story, but I don't have any pictures of that night. I might do a post with more of our Japan adventures and pictures later).

Well, during my 4 months in Japan in 2006 (while the hubby was stationed there), we tried to be more active and do more "outdoorsie" things. He had a bike that he rode to work. He thought it would be fun if I could start riding his bike (the one he rode to work and back) and he could run along with me. He's a very fast runner and loves it, but there's no way that I could ever run with him.

One evening, we tried it. He took me out (on base) and tried to get me to ride. I was terrified. I hadn;t rode a bike in years, and the last one I did ride was pink with tassels and was very low to the ground.

Well, I got up on the bike and "rode" (I use that term loosely) a little bit. Kevin was jogging beside me and holding onto the bike. There were cars coming up behind us (in their lane - we had our own bike lane, next to the parked cars). The headlights of the cars scared me so bad, even though I knew I had my own lane. I freaked out.

I somehow (not intentionally) turned the handle bars a full 90 degrees, and hit a car! A parked car! I tried to stop myself. Put my foot down. Lost one shoe. Tore a whole in my sock. Turned the handle bars the other way. Somehow got my leg between the car and bicycle tire. I dented the car. Bruised my leg. It was awful.


Yes, I got back on it too.. We made it to the parking lot, where we were headed for me to practice and I rode around a few times there. Got too scared and said I was done.. haha.

So, when I hear people refer to the saying, "It's as easy as riding a bike" I can't help but smile to myself.