Dreams...

This is what I've been dreaming of lately - a Singer sewing machine, to be exact. I've always wanted one but lately my mind is FULL of ideas of what I would make if I had one of my own. I found this tutu on Etsy:

...and I'd love to get my hands on some tulle and some sating ribbon and get going.

I'd also love to make some of my own pillow cases and maybe a duvet cover. I can never find just what I'm looking for within my price range (our decor budget is equal to nearly nothing). I LOVE these pillow cases (also etsy), and I know there is more than one fabric warehouse in the twin cities where you can get beautiful and cheap fabric.

I guess what I really miss is having a creative outlet. For a while, I was into scrapbooking, but the time required for those projects got to be a bit much for me. I also have a tendency to get into something obsessively for awhile and then ditch it completely. If I had a sewing machine, I could obsess over one project at a time and always have something to keep me busy.

You know, besides working full-time, being married and being a mom...

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Random

Can you believe Christmas is a week away? I can't wait for a little time off, family time and relaxation!

I feel like I have a million things I could post about, but our computer was misbehaving on Sunday (strange pop-ups and Live Writer shutting down), and it freaked me out. Instead of dealing with it, I shut it down very quickly and a few days later Dan fixed it - Hooray! But, I'm at work, without the laptop, so no pictures. :(

Speaking of Dan, he's been full of surprises lately! He's not a computer guy - usually I'm the one on top of the computer issues, but Wed. night he spent two hours cleaning it up and restoring it to its full glory. A few nights before that he jokingly picked up a guitar and declared it to be Family Worship Time. I just laughed, knowing he is musically illiterate, but as I sat at the computer music starting coming from the guitar behind me - Wow! Even after six year, there are still surprises here and there!

Last week I mentioned a group diet plan...anyone interested? It's still in the works, but you may want to get on board. It may be the next South Beach Diet. :) I thought it might be a good idea to have a healthy plan in place before the New Year even begins. If it's not labeled a Resolution, it's more likely to be successful!

Lastly, random incident of the day: I had the kiddos at Ridgedale Mall today at their play area and we ended up sitting down with a drink for a bit. Somehow, my 20 oz. drink ended up all over the place, with at least 10 oz. landing in my diaper bag. Awesome. And of course, instead of hitting the super-absorbent diapers in the bag, it ended up on my phone, wallet and camera. Everything is still in working order, thankfully. Just one of those days with two toddlers in tow!

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Always behind...

I feel like I'm always catching up. Blogging, e-mails, phone calls, texts...it seems like all I do is remember how much I have to do and try to get caught up in responses to people. Ugh.

On another, more positive note, I'm am having a fabulous week! Thanks to TC and Evie (my 7 yr. old and 5.5 yr. old friends) who have made a huge turnaround in their behavior this week before school, I am a very happy girl! They've been so peaceful and much more willing to take care of business and get on the bus on time (without me jumping in the street to catch the bus for them, which actually happened last week). It's so crazy, but the hour I have with them before school in the morning seems to set the tone for the rest of my day.

I'd like to give credit to Herme - their Elf on the Shelf, but I think they made this turnaround all on their own!

Do you know about this?? Great behavioral tool during a season when kids can reach the epitome of crazy behavior! It really only works if your kids believe in Santa, so if you are a household that doesn't do Santa, you'll want to go ahead and skip this one.

You get to name your elf and print out a certificate online with its name. The idea is that the elf watches your kiddos all day, and each night he flies back to Santa and reports on their behavior. Every morning the kids find him(or her) in a different place and aren't allowed to touch the elf (because, obviously) it would ruin the magic.

I think another reason for my great week is that I've had a bit of a change in attitude. Kids can stress you out, if you let them, but I've decided to expect complete craziness and when it happens, I'm ready. When it doesn't, I'm pleasantly surprised.

When Sophia was A-W-F-U-L at Target this week I just accepted it and didn't let it ruin my day. I actually ended up laughing because every time she did something naughty, Davis would reprimand her. He's no dummy, he knows that at the end of a Target trip with great behavior is a cookie and he earns it every time!

___________________________

A little update on my 21 day challenge. It flopped. I wasn't even able to go to my appointment to see how I'd done because Sophia was sick and I had to cancel. Bummer...that's okay, maybe now I can use that as motivation for not eating too much throughout the holiday season. I LOVE peppermint and chocolate together, so it would be nice to have a reason not to pig out!

I like challenges, goals, motivation, etc. So I'm thinking of doing a new one, post-Christmas. Stay tuned - I'm thinking of making this a group challenge!

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How to: An amazing Christmas on a budget

So, obviously Sophia will not really know that Christmas is going on.  She will only notice that we’re having a fun day with a lot of goings-on, even so, I still want her to have a great Christmas.  I know that’s not about gifting, etc., but I do really like giving gifts and it’s so fun to see kids rip open their presents. 

 

SO, the solution is to spoil Sophia, with restraint (I’m TRYING!), but to do it on a budget. 

Have you met Rody??  This is Rody – it’s a cute little horse made of durable, inflated vinyl.  The kiddo gets to hold onto Rody’s ears and bounce up and down.  Sophia plays with one when I have her with me at work and LOVES it.  On a whim, I looked for one on Craigslist and found just one result, which happened to be pink for $20.  Since they typically sell for $50 new, this is a great deal!  And it’s sizable, and it’s fun to give a BIG gift for a lower price!

Sophia LOVES my Camelback water bottle, so I’ve been wanting to get one for her for a while.  I saw an old friend at a wedding a while back.  He works for Target as a buyer in the sporting goods department and hinted that Target would be carrying them soon.  Well, I kept looking for them, and now they’re here, plus the first week they were at Target, they were on sale for about $5 less than usual.  I snatched one up and started a pile for Sophia’s stocking.

Moral of the stories? 

Whether you are trying to save money, have a limited Christmas budget, or you would just rather spend less than full price on the same things you are planning to buy anyway, you can end up spending far less on Christmas than you’d think.  All you need to do is spend a little of your time looking around and think ahead about what you’d like to gift to people. 

We’ve gotten many items on Craigslist, brand new, for up to half the price you’d pay in store (more on that later…).  Take a look around – you may end up with a little wiggle room in your budget or a bit of extra cash in your wallet.

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21 day challenge

 

 

So, on the 29th I have my one year post-baby check-up.  Funny, since by then, Sophia will be 15+ months old.  :) 

 

 

 

Anyway, I had a goal number(weight) that I wanted to be at that check-up.  I HATED that scale.  I HATED that no matter what I did, how healthy I ate, it seemed to go up at least 8 lbs. each monthly check-up during my pregnancy.  So, I made a vow to beat that blasted scale and be ten lbs. lighter at this check-up than I was before I got pregnant with Sophia.  I want to have at least one triumph over it and NOT walk away with tears in my eyes. 

Well, if I’d had that check-up at the one-year mark like you’re supposed to, I’d have done it.  I lost ten extra pounds – YEAH!! – but now I’ve somehow found three more.   I blame Halloween and a major slowdown in my running.  Monday I decided that I was still going to have my victory, so I’m going to lose three pounds in three weeks. 

It shouldn’t be that hard.  If I stop eating 3-4 pieces of Halloween candy/day (sure, no problem), stop eating my nightly small-handful of chocolate chips and even stop drinking Diet Coke and pound even more water than usual I think I can do it. 

Yesterday was my first day trying to beat the Diet Coke beast.  Someone said to me yesterday that it’s like crack-cocaine, and I completely agree, but I made it all day!!




I’ve also been to the gym twice already this week and am enjoying getting my shape back, even after just two days!!  I love quick results.

My next step was to replace the chocolate chips with something healthy, but really, let’s take baby steps (a girl can only handle so much at once!), so I got these:

If you haven’t tried these yet, you NEED to!  They will fix any chocolate cure, and you can have more of these with ZERO guilt than any chocolate substitute – YUM!

The Halloween candy will be hard.  The oldest of the children that I nanny has severe peanut allergies, so most of the chocolate candy he got from trick-or-treating is off limits to him, but all of the grown-ups in the house have a green light to eat it at will.  And eat it I have.  Unfortunately for me, most of the candy that is unsafe for him are my favorites.  And in case you were thinking of suggesting it, putting it on the top shelf of the cabinet is not helping.

I think it’s possible, after all, I’m only asking for three little pounds to go back to where-ever it is that they came from!

Cross your fingers!!

 

 

 

(Oh, and don’t worry, Dad – cute baby pictures are on their way.  I promise!!)

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Civic Baby

Sophia voted for the first time!!  Sort of – she participated and supported us – that counts!

I grew up in a very civic minded home and specifically, when it comes to voting, it’s not a question of “if” you will.  You WILL and I’m very glad for that perspective!  I felt very grateful, and even a little excited, when I voted this year and we had to take a picture to remember Sophia’s first time at a polling place – Papa DePuy with LOVE this picture!
  

    

Voting makes a baby very sleepy!

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mom·my shoul·der

[mom-ee shohl-der]

1. one part on each side of the body in female childbearing humans, at the top of the trunk, extending from each side of the base of the neck to the region where the arm articulates with the trunk.

2. a tightening or pain in the shoulder of a maternal human caused by simultaneously driving and reaching into the backseat of a vehicle for the purpose of appeasing a small child/children. Typically caused when said child/children have thrown a paci/blanket/toy/book/shoe/sock/etc. and are loudly demanding immediate attention
[Image]

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Cleaning with water and S'mores cake

How does THIS look??!?

I think it looks pretty darn good and from licking the knife I used to take it out of the pan, I can tell you it's super yummy! I made it for my first Norwex party, which is tomorrow night. What's Norwex? Well, I'm glad you asked! :)

I recently learned about Norwex through a friend, and am very excited about their cleaning products - I got so excited about their products that I jumped right in and decided to become a consultant. I've always been interested in a home-based business but hadn't found just the right one that I could really get excited about enough to sell. When I discovered Norwex I knew it was the right move for me because these products are cost-effective, time-saving, healthy for your home/family, and environmentally-friendly - all of which are things I am passionate about.

If you've never used Norwex products, Norwex stands for Norwegian Experience - the reason being is that the technology for the microfiber the company uses was developed in Norway. It's a unique microfiber that has a silver agent imbedded in it. Silver kills bacteria, so you can clean with just the microfiber clothes and water and a few hours later, 99% of the bacteria on the rag has been destroyed. The reason I love it the most is that I can clean without the chemicals that I'm nervous to use around Sophia, especially with her climbing all over everything and crawling on the floor. It's also fabulous because you can stop investing so much of your money in paper towels, chemical based cleaners, etc. It's also been proven to save you 50% of your cleaning time, but since I've never timed myself cleaning (before or after using these products) I can't attest to it personally. :)

Now that the sales pitch is done, take one more look at this cake:

It's a Barefoot Contessa recipe with marshmallows and graham crackers on top - how can you go wrong?!

If you're interested in eating some of this cake tomorrow night while you learn about Norwex products, let me know at beth(dot)zustiak(at)gmail(dot)com. (trying avoid spammers!).

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MIA

So, we moved on Saturday, which is the reason for the blogging absence. It went really well, fairly quickly and we are now working on settling in and getting out of our boxes, suitcases, etc.

I do NOT do well when a project is unfinished and this is the first time we have moved with a baby in tow. That means I can't just keep plugging away all hours of the day and night to get it done, like I usually would, especially because the girl wears me out!

SO, since I feel a little stressed about it, I just dream of Sophia's birthday party and pink cupcakes...

I wish I could say I was making the cupcakes for Soph's party, but I'm not going to. I LOVE to bake but there are too many other foods to make for it and because of a friend I'm getting all 36 cupcakes from Wuollet's bakery for about $5, instead of their original price of $45! Not bad, since it's my FAV place to get cake!

YUM!

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Secret #1: Moving...

Ever worry about what others think of you?


Yeah, me neither...ever.

HA!


If I'm honest, I would say that yes, often, I worry about what other think of me. Most of the time, it's a passing thought, but every once in a while it's a loooong passing thought. :)

Sooo...here goes. We're moving - Hooray! Our apartment has been a great transition spot for us, but it definitely has it's downsides. For example, the crazy people above us who seem to vacuum at least three times a day, at all hours. Honestly...



So, where are we moving? Ahem...in with my in-laws. Yep - the crazy part? I'm excited! How many people could say that about their in-laws?!



We sold our house, about a year ago, and it was definitely a good decision for us. However, we have some debt from the crazy high amount of money it took to get out of that house and we are tired of it. After hearing a few sermons about money and good decision making, Dan suggested that we move in with his parents. I think he was scared to suggest that to me, but I immediately said I thought it was a good idea. They had offered this option a year ago when we moved out of the house, but we didn't want to bring a newborn into someone else's home, especially not knowing what her temperament would be. I'm glad we didn't - transitioning to a family of three has been beautiful and busy. I'm happy we have been able to adjust first and then move on.

Anyway, we are very lucky to have the opportunity to rebuild by doing this rather than having the rebuilding process move as slow as snails. Dan's parents have been very gracious in making lots of extra room in their home for us and it's looking to be a comfy spot for us to transition...once again. We will buy a house again in the future, but in the meantime I, apparently, need to decide what I'm going to be when I grow up. That's a WHOLE other post...

So, we move a week from Saturday - wish us luck!

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Homemade frappe anyone??

Yum! After a loooong day of getting things accomplished...

...I decided I needed a treat. We don't have treats in our house, though, because my self-control generally rates somewhere around ZERO. So, I thought back to my days working Caribou and dug through the cabinets and ended up with something VERY yummy. You're gonna LOVE this recipe, cuz it's easy, yummy and low enough in calories that since there was extra, I had one and a half and didn't feel guilty at all!

Okay - but where is the recipe?

Haha - I want "followers," and I, yes, I am resorting to bribery to get them! If you look down the left side a little ways, you can click the "follow" button.

C'mon - it'd be fun to know who's reading our blog - and if you do it, I'll share my secrets...

(And, yes that is Sophia in a moving box. More on that another time - we are FULL of secrets today...)

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Playdate!

I might be giddy...

Sophia is going to a play-date tonight

without me

because I

am going on my OWN play-date!

Myself and a few other ladies are all stuck at home every Friday night, alone with the kiddos while our hubbies get to go out and play softball together. Then they follow it up with free pizza. EVERY WEEK.

It's seems a BIT unfair, don't you think?

So, we took advantage of the silent auction at church, bid on a babysitter, and won.

And man, did we win. We not only won the babysitter but we also won free time, time with friends, time for OURSELVES, etc.

So, THIS week...we'll not be at home doing kid-duty solo. We will be out, chatting, laughing, and eating something chocolate-y, I'm sure.

I'm seriously BEYOND excited...

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Someone's in the kitchen with Mama

"We" spent some time baking on Saturday. I was given my apron as a birthday present from a good friend a few years ago. Soon after I found the matching one in a child size and couldn't resist. I'm SO glad I grabbed it when I did - hopefully we will use them a LOT in the years to come!

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9 Months: Moving on...

Sophia had her 9 mo. check-up last week. Her stats weren't as exciting as they usually are because they were pretty much the same as her 6 mo. appointment:

Weight: 17 lbs. 14 oz. - 35th percentile

Height: 29.5 inches - 97th percentile

Head: 45.5 cm - 90th percentile

____________________________

She only gained 12 oz. in the last three months, which wasn't typical for her - up until 6 months she was averaging about 1 lb. each month. He wasn't overly concerned with her numbers, it was just a little different than usual. But, I know that on the days she is at daycare I bring home about a third of the amount of milk that she drinks from bottles while I'm not with her. To me, that says she wants more than she's getting. So, we are beginning the process of moving on from nursing.

It will be a slow process - we're not going cold turkey here, for both of our sakes, but it's definitely happening. At first I felt really bad, guilty, sad, etc., and I still feel a little of that from time to time. However, if we're being completely honest, the emotion that ranks the highest is RELIEF.

I don't find nursing to be that convenient. Just being real - mommy is the only one who can feed the babe, which means you are on call 24/7. It's not always inconvenient, but there are a lot of times when it is. If you're in the car and baby is hungry - pull over 'cuz you can't (okay - you can, but it's complicated!) nurse while baby is in the car seat. If you get a sitter, go out to dinner and give baby a bottle, you still aren't off the hook because you have to pump when you get home. You get my point.

It's starting to sound like I don't support breast-feeding, and I do. I have loved doing it for Sophia and I love the bonding, but there comes a time in every baby's life when it's time and I'm okay with it being time for us to start winding down. Really, I've been struggling with wanting to be done, but couldn't quite justify it. Nursing is free and I figured I would just keep going as long as it was working, so now I feel like I just got Dr.'s permission to start to wean guilt-free.

I've started a list of all the wonderful things that will come from this:

-Daddy can wake up first!

-All those great sundresses I want to wear that don't accommodate nursing(well, without flashing the world) - I'm bringing them out ASAP!

-I will no longer be supporting Lansinoh's company with all of those freezer bags we've been buying for the last 9 months.

-I've started putting away some of the Medela bottles and accessories since I won't be pumping as much, which is making it much easier to keep the bottle area of our cabinet organized.

-I WON'T BE PUMPING AS MUCH! HALLELUJAH!

I'm sure there will be more benefits as we go along. One nice thing is that I thought I might drop one or two feedings in the summer so I stocked up on formula last fall (no worries - I checked expiration dates, and all are safe), so once we run out of the frozen milk and start formula, we won't even have to pay for it for at least month, maybe longer.

***UPDATE***

I wrote this post last week. Let me just say I'm starting to see some of the conveniences of nursing as it fades away. Saturday during her 4am feeding, I was very happy that I wasn't thawing milk or mixing up a bottle - that would wake me up too much. Then, Sunday, I forgot to bring a bottle to church, so she had to wait until we got home - she made it just fine, but it could have been disastrous!

So, I guess, either way, we won't have freedom until she's one and is on sippy cups. Hmm...really? Because then I have to make sure to remember the sippy cup...

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Breakfast

One thing I really like about my work schedule is that I don't work until 9 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And since Sophia comes to work with me on Tuesdays, we don't have to leave until 8:25 (but somehow we always end up leaving at 8:28 - huh...). That means, we have time for a really good breakfast.

Most mornings, I have a little bag of Smart Start and a berry smoothie on the way to work, which I actually really like, but variety is nice too.

This was one of our recent breakfasts - omelet with turkey sausage, spinach and cheddar for me & banana and oatmeal with applesauce for her. Not a bad way to start the day. And, the better my breakfast, the better I eat all day long - always a plus!

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Paperless Post

Okay - this is a Mommy MUST HAVE!

Do you know about Paperless Post? My friend Ingrid introduced me to it a while ago and between moving, having a baby and life in general, I totally forgot about it. But, since I've remember, I realize that it's amazing! Confused yet?

Okay - How many time have you purchased really nice stationary and then promised yourself you'll use it and write all of your friends incredibly thoughtful notes and thank yous? And how many times do you really use that super cute stationary? I know I have a special place in our desk for mine, and it doesn't go out as quickly as I'd like. Don't you sometimes wish they came in two packs, instead of ten-packs? I do - I love buying stationary for one specific occasion, so that it "matches" my friend or the reason I'm using it in the first place.

Paperless Post lets you to send really cute "stationary" through e-mail. It even arrives in a cute virtual envelope. You can pick the theme, and even add an envelope liner. The catch? Well, there is a cost - I think the stamps are about half the price of a snail-mail stamp, but don't forget to also factor in the savings of the card that you don't end up buying.

I'm not saying that you should stop buying cute cards, because I won't and neither should you. But I do think that in some cases, this is going to come in really handy. Like, moving announcements - who wouldn't want to save some $$ on that?

I think you should check it out - and I now think they should give me a commission for advertising on my blog!

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Cutie Patootie

I had a TON of fun with Sophia Saturday morning. We walked around the mall for a while and then just played at home. She looked so cute I couldn't stop taking pictures!

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Random-ness

**FYI: I'm SUPER frustrated because my posts aren't "posting" correctly. Apparently blogspot doesn't want to recognize when I hit "return." Sorry for the ugly-ness. :(


Remember this post? There was a night soon after Sophia was born that I ran into a very skinny, very put together cutesy girl in the laundry room while I was looking anything but.

Well, I ran into her again, only this time the tables were turned. Turns out if you give motherhood a few months, it can suit you really well. Well, that is, if your baby is sleeping and you managed to escape the day looking normal, fairly put together and pretty much uncovered in the gooey-ness of children.

I've been enjoying a LOT of quesadillas lately. We typically grill a whole bunch of chicken breasts sometime on Sunday and end up using it for all kinds of things through-out the week: tacos, salads, etc. Most of the time I end up making a chicken quesadilla - a whole wheat torilla folded in half and loaded up with seasoned chicken (I like Penzey's chicken taco seasoning) and cheddar. I can't get enough of them!

Chicken Fried Rice (are you sensing the theme of our kitchen here?)
-This is a really good recipe for a quick meal on a weeknight, but only if you make the rice ahead of time. It works the best if you were already making rice for another meal, make extra and keep it in the fridge. I'm hoping Sophia will like it once she's eating more "regular" food in the future!


-2 eggs scrambled
-3 chicken breast cut in small pieces
-about 2 c. brown rice, cooked
-small box frozen peas
-1 carrot shredded
-random assortment of asian ingredients - choose your favorites

Spray a large frying with cooking spray, cook the eggs, remove from the pan and set aside.
Put a couple tablespoons of olive oil in the pan and add the chicken, seasoning with salt and pepper. Once the chicken is cooked, remove and set aside.
Put rice in pan, reheat if you need to and add your favorite asian ingredients. I like plum sauce, low-sodium teriaki sauce, and sweet chili sauce. I also usually add a couple tablespoons of soy sauce. Once it tastes the way you'd like it to, add the peas and carrot, heat, then add in the eggs and chicken.

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A few new faves

Daddy's new favorite: Kashi fruit and grain bars - Dark Chocolate Coconut

Mommy's new favorite: Nature Valley Crunch Granola Bars - Oats 'n Dark Chocolate

Baby's new favorite: Anna's Ginger Thins

Okay - let's be honest. I really love all of them.

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Mother's Day!

I had an amazing first Mother's Day!

I really felt amazingly happy all day long and feel so blessed!

We started the day with Starbucks and breakfast, not made my myself(!) and cute earrings given to me by "Sophia."

Next was Sophia's dedication at church, followed by lunch with family.

We even got a picture with Sophia, myself, her two grandmothers and one great-grandmother. A perfect shot for Mother's Day!

Later in the day I got to go to a movie for free with another mom friend and then spent the rest of the night with Dan and Sophia.

Who couldn't have a perfect Mother's Day with this perfect girl for a daughter!

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