Shaping Up To Be A Mom

2012-02-13T21:08:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the "Show Some Love Linky Follower Fest Blog Hop!"

Hello to everyone- regular readers and new "linky followers" too! If you are visiting from the "Show Some Love" blog hop, keep reading for all the details, and then link up below if you haven't already!

Welcome to Shaping Up To Be A Mom, hope you stick around! Also, I would LOVE it if you would hop over to my facebook page, and give me a "like!" Leave a comment letting me know you "liked" my page, and I'll "like" ya back!

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Valentine's Day!

Let's meet the lovely ladies who host this Hop:

Summer @ Made By Munchie's Mama

Katie @ Party of Four 

Lena @ Mom 2 Memphis and Ruby

Becky @ Petals, Lace & Pearls

Megan @  Shaping up to be a Mom 

What is a “Blog Hop?” It’s a fun way to link up your blog in the section below this post and get more traffic and readers. It’s a fantastic way to meet new readers and new friends. This hop is a Linky Follower specific hop. If you do not have the widget on your blog yet, you can get it HERE.
The rules of the hop are: Follow your hosts – by following the hosts it guarantees a follow back from all of us. Leave us a comment letting us know you are a new follower and reader – we’d LOVE to hear from you and get to know YOU better. Make sure you have signed up for Linky Followers and follow the blogs using this widget. That is the only requirement, but feel free to follow the blogs using any other follow widget (ie: Blog Lovin, Email, GFC etc.) The hosts are the first 7 blogs linked up in capital letters in the linky section.
Please follow a few others in the hop and leave them a comment saying you came from the Show Some Love Linky Follower Fest Blog Hop. You never know what new friends you will come across and meet. Thanks for joining us and we hope you have a great time!
You can grab a button if you wish to the help us spread the word!

Cents of Style Spring Line!

2012-02-13T20:36:00.000-08:00

The first wave of the Cents of Style spring line is out, and it's awesome! Lots of fun new items! Here are my favorites:

Lots more can be found on the website, and make sure to "like" my facebook page so you get all the latest updates! If you want to place an order, use code "0512" at checkout to get 10% off your entire order and free shipping!

Dinner Win!

2012-02-13T20:21:00.000-08:00

Well, while I'm up waiting for the latest episode of The Bachelor to be uploaded to a torrent site (hooray for living on the west coast!), I thought I'd post tonight's dinner. We had english muffin pizzas, and it was a win for all, from age one to 30!

The recipe came out of this book:

Here it is, plain and simple (in my own words):

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 can of pizza sauce

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 package of english muffins

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

15-25 pepperonis (if you like pepperoni)

Directions:

*brown the meat in a skillet

*set your oven to "broil" and broil the english muffin halves on a cookie sheet for 2 minutes

*mix Italian seasoning into pizza sauce

*take muffins out and spread pizza sauce onto them (about a tablespoon)

*add meat onto each

*add cheese onto each

*add pepperonis onto each

*broil for another 2-3 minutes, until the cheese has melted

*eat

Really quick and easy meal, and like I said, everyone loved it! I'm sure you could add in veggies, too, which I plan to do next time. This will definitely get added to our regular rotation!

My favorite thing about this meal (other than the taste)? Not only did we have leftovers from what I made, we had leftovers of each ingredient (plus an extra package of english muffins, because I think I had planned on making this for company)! So with two packages of english muffins, you could stretch this meal to 2-3 meals, depending on your family size. I count us as 2.75 (2 adults, Carter is a half, Vanessa is a quarter!).

Yeah, in case you couldn't tell, I'm neither a professional chef nor a professional photographer!

30 Before 30: #18

2012-02-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

Hairstyles!

I need to find three easy-to-do hairstyles...that I can actually do, and which look attractive. I. Am. Terrible. With. Hair.

Here are the ones I'm going to attempt:

I will report!

Ruffles!

2012-02-12T16:06:00.000-08:00

I am obsessed with ruffle tops and skirts lately. Not together.

Vanessa has this top that I'm oh-so-jealous of:

I saw this one at kohls.com, and fell in love, and then found it at the store on clearance! Unfortunately it just didn't look right on me. The sleeves were oddly large...

I really want to make this skirt from a tutorial I found on Pinterest:

And this one:

It just doesn't get any girlier than this!

Blog Design from The Momma Bird!

2012-02-11T12:05:00.000-08:00

Hey kids, check out my new blog button (and while you're at it, why not copy the code and post my button on your blog?!) and social media buttons!

I won a giveaway from The Momma Bird (facebook/blog), for $25 toward her blog design options. I chose to have her do my social media buttons, as well as my blog button with the code box below it (she didn't charge me the extra $5!).

Michelle was great to work with and designed my buttons quickly! She even did them on a Saturday, and responded immediately to my suggestions.

I will definitely be contacting her again when I want a new design or blogger blows up or something (she's a wordpress fan...might have to look into that).

Anyway, if you have a blog and want it to look oh-so-pretty, give her a call!

2012-02-10T12:08:00.001-08:00

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Linky Followers

2012-02-09T22:24:00.000-08:00

I'm going to give Linky Followers a try! I signed up earlier today and was immediately overwhelmed by how busy the dashboard was. When I signed up for Pinterest, they had me from the beginning because of how ridiculously easy it was to set up and go! This might be a different story, but I'm going to give it a fair chance!

See the new button on my sidebar? I'm going to be co-hosting a Linky Followers follow fest, on Valentine's Day! I will post more information about that soon.

In the meantime, here is a link to an in-depth tutorial on using Linky Followers. I want to quote what she says at the end of her post, because I like it:

"I would suggest considering at least joining Linky Followers and adding your blog even if you haven’t decided on adding the widget to your blog page. This will allow people to find you and add your blog to their readers even if you choose not to use it to follow other blogs. That way if GFC does disappear someday, you will have an account already established in Linky Followers with followers in place."

Hopefully tomorrow I will get a chance to take some time with my Linky Followers account, get it set up, follow all my blogs, and then see how I like using it! I will report!

Pizza Dip!

2012-02-08T22:56:00.000-08:00

I pinned this recipe awhile back on Pinterest, and we gave it a try on Monday night. The picture above links to the original post with the recipe.

Here's mine:

The bottom layer of sour cream, cream cheese, and MAYO?!

Added a can of pizza sauce

Mozzarella cheese

Green peppers

And pepperoni!

Here is the finished product!

We had a loaf of french bread to dip, and it was quite delicious. Did you know that you can soften bread by putting it in a paper bag, wetting the bag, and then putting the bag in the oven at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes? Well now you do.

Not the healthiest meal by a long shot (hey, there were green peppers!), so I don't think it's going to become a staple, but it was a fun, different meal, and I had fun trying something new!

I'm spent!

2012-02-02T22:27:00.000-08:00

Wow, I worked hard today!

First was a trip to the grocery store with both kids and an almost overflowing cart full of food. Luckily, I have the best behaved kids in the world (yes, I know that will come back to haunt me), and the errand wasn't too difficult. Also, it was (is) nice to have a house full of food! I'm going to be trying out some of the recipes I've pinned on Pinterest, so I'll be reporting on those!

Our afternoon was pretty relaxed, but then in the evening I ran 3.5 miles, no walking or stopping, including a steep hill halfway through, and then we went up to the basketball game, where Daniel's band was playing, and I completed my PT workout there, which involved 100 meter sprints, burpees, and kettleball lifting. And yes, that meant I was carting around two kids (one in a carseat) AND a 25-pound kettlebell.

So I'm tired, but I feel awesome. I don't know if I mentioned this, but my best friend's husband (also my husband's cousin) is interested in becoming a personal trainer, and when my friend mentioned this, I half-jokingly said he could practice on me anytime. Next thing I knew, he was texting me about my goals and emailing me a weekly workout plan! I would be a complete fool to turn down or slack off on FREE personal training, right?! And his workouts have been great so far! They are really short (like 10 minutes or less so far), but INTENSE. I have been sore all week. It's awesome.

Running is going well. I'm still depressingly slow, and I honestly don't think that will improve a whole lot before race day, but the most important thing is that I finish the race. I also really want to run the whole thing, even if I might finish sooner with walking intervals. Actually having that race date looming is making a huge difference in my training (thank you, Daniel), because I can't slack off, and I know I would otherwise. For that reason, I think I might need to sign up for a half-marathon after this race!

And now goodnight!

Winners!

2012-01-31T22:17:00.000-08:00

Rafflecopter has spoken, and it seems to like my sister! No seriously, as I was having it pick the random winners of the Cents of Style giveaway, it chose her THREE TIMES! I let her have her one win (which I would have done had it chosen anyone more than once) and continued to have it pick randomly until we had four (different) winners!

Winner of the Brooklyn bracelet: shopfreak!
Winner of the Kay hat: Rachel Newswander!
Winner of the teal earring set: Mandy Burt!
Winner of the wooden leaf necklace: Mallory Weeman!

Congratulations to you ladies, and thanks to everyone for participating! Keep an eye on my facebook page, because we are going to be introducing A LOT of new product over the next few weeks. There is also a promotion going on where hostesses can receive a free scarf, so let's book some parties!

I will be contacting winners by email, and they have 48 hours to respond before a new winner will be chosen. Thanks all!

10K Training Update

2012-01-28T22:53:00.000-08:00

Today I ran 4 miles without stopping or walking. That might not seem like a very big deal to you runners out there, but I don't believe I've ever done that before. In fact, my longest runs before today were 3.5 miles, and I didn't run those straight through. My pacing is still laughable. In fact, my 5K time during this run was a little slower than my last 5K when I walked a little bit of it. I think I'm just afraid that if I push myself too hard I won't finish the run. I need to push myself harder, especially since my app tells me exactly how fast I'm running. I should be able to pick a pace and not let myself go any slower. I'll try that on some of my shorter runs this week.

So my Saturday long runs will just keep getting longer, but 4 miles is the longest that I run during the week for the rest of the training. Now that I know I can do it fairly easily, the training should be a breeze.

Saturday is still the best day for me to run because I can go out midmorning. During the week I have to run very early morning when it's still dark out, because Daniel has to leave for work before 7am, or I can run in the evening, but that gets in the way of dinner. A few times I've had to go running right after dinner- not fun.

Anyway, training is going well. I don't expect to finish in a respectable amount of time, but I do expect to finish! And it is my goal to run the entire 6.2 miles. It's all in the mind!

Ideas for repurposing formula cans!

2012-01-26T20:05:00.000-08:00

11 Months

2012-01-20T23:23:00.000-08:00

I can't even begin to explain how much joy this little nugget brings me every day! Vanessa is now 11 months, and she is the sweetest, most easy-going, loving little girl. She just loves to play and explore everything around the house, and when we go out she just loves to look at all the new things she sees. She is very close to walking, and I think she will beat big brother, who walked about a week after he turned 1! She is also just starting to say a few words. She says Mama and Dada, along with a lot of other babbling. I got her to say cheese the other day, and she has a peek-a-boo book and says "peek-a" when she looks at it! I also think I've heard her say "kitty," referencing her favorite stuffy.

She adores her big brother and puts up with a lot of rowdy "love" from him. The two of them play together a lot throughout the day. She makes the funniest faces and loves to laugh and eat! She's just so huggable and kissable, too!

Happy 11 months, Vanessa! You are almost 1 year old, my big girl!

Cents of Style Giveaway!

2012-01-20T07:11:00.000-08:00

Here we go, folks! I'm doing a Cents of Style giveaway, now that my Facebook page has reached 200 likes (and counting)!

You must first "like" my Facebook page to get your first entry (or already be a fan), and then there are other ways for you to earn entries, including sharing this giveaway with your friends, getting others to "like" my page, placing orders, and booking parties! All the details are in the Rafflecopter widget below this post.

The first three items will be given to randomly-selected entrants. The fourth item is a bonus giveaway, for which I will select a random winner ~~if I reach my sales goal of $1000 for the month of January (I'm less than $200 away, so keep those orders coming!)~~ because I met my sales goal this month!

The giveaway ends on February 1st! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Training Week 1

2012-01-14T19:25:00.000-08:00

I did all my runs this week, which was an accomplishment in itself! I really didn't want to go tonight, but I did it anyway. Three nights ago I ran a 5k without stopping, and tonight I ran another 5k, with a little bit of walking, and I was three minutes faster than last time! That's a good sign. Also, I'm super sweaty, which means I pushed myself- also good!

I'm still very slow, but I feel great knowing that I have 7 more weeks of training to get in better shape and improve my time.

Now for some frosted flakes, Amazing Race finale (we are watching old seasons- never watched it before), a hot bath, and some reading! Also I have to do some work tonight, but I'm going to think more about the fun stuff! I knew I would appreciate relaxing tonight more if I went for a run first- mission completed!

Pin, pin, pin, all day long...

2012-01-13T19:01:00.000-08:00

Neil

2012-01-13T18:41:00.000-08:00

I've had too many "feeling horrible" days this week! Time to be awesome instead.

30 Before 30: #16

2012-01-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

16. Run in a 10k race

Daniel used my "30 Before 30" list as inspiration for my Christmas gifts, so for one of my presents he signed me up to run the 10k that happens simultaneously with the Phoenix marathon and half-marathon. I started training for it on Monday, and last night was my second training run. I was supposed to run 3 miles. It didn't specifically say without stopping, but I'm assuming that is implied for all these training runs.

So I did it. I went out around 7:15, in the dark, and ran 3 miles. Actually I ran 3.1 miles to see what my 5k time would be. It's pretty embarrassing how slow I am, but I was very proud of running the whole distance without stopping. It made me know that I can handle 6.2 miles.

The longest distance I've run up until now is about 4 miles, and I've only run a full 5k maybe 2-3 other times in my life, and that was before having kids!

So I know I can run the distance, probably without stopping or walking, and now I would just like to improve my speed! I have 8 weeks of training before the race on March 3rd, so hopefully that will help me to get a little bit faster!

Regret

2012-01-11T21:30:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to say that I don't regret many things in my life. Sure, I've made more than my fair share of mistakes, but I like to say that if things had been different, I wouldn't be where I am now. And I like where I am now, so I'm happy how things have gone.

But one of my regrets that I do have is that I didn't buy my wedding dress. Okay, now that I wrote that it makes me feel superficial and dumb.

When I got married, I wasn't crazy young, but pretty young (21, engaged at 20). And I didn't know a lot about temple weddings, so I got a lot of advice from my sister-in-law. She had rented her dress, so I went to the same place and rented my dress from them. I love this sister-in-law and don't blame her at all, but I really wish I had bought my dress. The same place I went to sold the dresses too, so I could have bought the exact dress that I ended up with (which I did love). Or at least the tiara I wore in my hair!

It wasn't even a question of money at the time. The cost of my wedding was extremely modest, when you consider the average cost of a wedding, and my dad was more than willing to buy me whatever dress I wanted.

I decided to have fake flowers, which I'm happy about, because I still have my wedding bouquet. We still have the crystal temple from the top of our cake, and a few other mementos. And of course lots and lots of pictures (although I wish we had paid more for those too- they are good but not great).

I just googled the place I rented my dress in Tucson (Gowns by Pamela). They are still in business, and it might be a strange request, but I wonder if they would be able to find my dress and sell it to me if they still have it. Or at least the tiara! But that's a no-go as far as money is concerned. And superficial. And dumb.

And this is all just because I saw a pin on Pinterest of a little girl sitting in her mom's wedding dress. I'm sure it's just hormones, but it hurts my heart a little bit.

I am a genius.

2012-01-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

As you can see, I'm not much of a "magnet" kind of girl:

I don't like the front of my fridge to be messy, and I like having things that match my kitchen decor. Functionality is also good. I have a shopping list notepad that I use regularly, the big magnet actually flips up to reveal a list of phone numbers for babysitters, and the circles are buttons that I made into magnets, with colors that match my kitchen, for times when I do need to post something on my fridge. I'm not entirely heartless. I do put up my kids' artwork from time to time!

But after having our heater fixed the other day, our repair guy gave me this big ugly calendar magnet with his information on it. He's a nice guy who did a great job (fixed our ac in the summer and our heat in the winter- yes we were that lucky this year), and I do want to keep his information handy, but I didn't want to compromise the beauty of my uncluttered fridge appearance.

Then a stroke of genius hit! The heater must be magnetic, right?!

BAM! Slapped that baby onto the heater itself, so now his information is not only handy, but it's right in the place where I would need it and not on my fridge!

Okay, so maybe other people already do this? I don't know. But it was pure elation when that magnet stuck onto the heater. What can I say, I have a love for organizing!

What do you think? Genius or something everyone already does?

January goal

2012-01-02T23:14:00.000-08:00

I want to be able to do this by the end of the month!

My pushup challenge in December went great. By the last day I was able to do 40 deep, controlled pushups in a row. I figured I should have another goal for January. This one is maybe a bit ambitious, and I also don't have a day-by-day plan to get there! I guess that's something I should do. It's a little harder to quantify flexibility, but we'll see how it goes!

I will also be doing lots of running in January and February, preparing for my 10k in March! I'm sure stretching after every run will help a lot. I'll post a picture of my best attempt...maybe!

Cash Only- 2012!

2012-01-01T22:09:00.000-08:00

I guess you could call this our major resolution for the new year- we are going cash-only in 2012!

It's a little bit of a scary venture, made even scarier by the major reactions from relatives! But I think we can do it. We will be budgeting from week to week and withdrawing actual cash each week (8 days from Daniel's paycheck to mine, 6 days from mine to his, which works out well because his is larger!). We will use that cash until it's gone and then...it's gone! We will pay our bills as usual, but the cash allowance will need to cover groceries, other food, gas, entertainment, and any other things that come up. We are hoping that this method, along with just deciding to scrimp for a year, will help us to pay off our credit cards and see a debt-free 2013!

I think this is going to be great. It will help us get a better idea of how we spend our money, limit unnecessary expenses, and we are only committed for a year, so if anything comes along that I want badly, I can just tell myself that I only have to wait until next year (or budget for it)!

We've done really well in the last 5-6 months, paying off our car 8 months ahead of schedule and (almost, give us 5 more days!) paying off Daniel's credit card. Now we just have mine to worry about, along with our regular bills.

We both definitely want to have another baby in 2013, so we are planning on doing the "prep work" during the last half of 2012. ;) In clearer language, I want to get pregnant this summer. And when baby #3 does come along, we will be in the market for a minivan. Hopefully that will come close to coinciding with the demise of our PT Cruiser (Did I say demise? I meant we'll be finished using it.). Our goal is to make the PT last the entire year of 2012 and then we will probably sell it early on in 2013 to hopefully get some money to put toward our minivan purchase! The car has been very very good to us, so we're knocking on wood. However, it's almost a given that it will not be reliable during the daytime hours this summer, so we will be limiting our summertime driving (except in the early morning and at night)!

I'm looking forward to a lot of other things in 2012, but this cash-only deal is going to be a pretty major effort. I feel really good about it though.

Happy New Year!

30 Before 30: #30

2011-12-27T22:48:00.000-08:00

If you hop on over to my "30 Before 30" page, you will see that number 30 on the list is crossed out! Daniel got me a Rubix cube for one of my Christmas presents, and I officially know how to solve it! I learned by watching YouTube videos for at least an hour tonight (maybe closer to two). There are seven steps, and the first three I have memorized. The last four have sequences of steps that I just haven't memorized yet, so I still have to look at my notes. But it shouldn't take me very long to memorize them, and then I'll be solving this baby everywhere I go! As it is, I unsolved and resolved my cube at least three times tonight, so I'm pretty solid.

29 to go. Two years, four months, and 27 days left! :)

Edit: I have now memorized all the steps and have solved the cube repeatedly. I'm kind of obsessed. My best time is 3 minutes, 4 seconds. I am a master.

2011 in review

2011-12-22T23:45:00.000-08:00

In January, Carter was enjoying his Christmas present, and I was in the final stages of pregnancy!

In February, our family of three became four when we welcomed Vanessa!

March was spent adjusting to life with two kiddos!

In April, Daniel gave Vanessa her baby blessing.

We traveled up to visit family in Payson in May, and had pictures taken!

June was filled with wonderfully lazy mornings!

In July we all flew to Maine (not actually Canada) and spent a fun week on the beach!

Daniel and I performed in Sweeney Todd in August.

I signed up with Cents of Style in September and have been growing my business!

Carter and Vanessa went as Steve and Blue for Halloween in October!

In November, Daniel and I directed our first professional musical, See Rock City & Other Destinations!

And finally, Vanessa is about to have her first Christmas!

2011 was a great year! 2012 is going to be even better!

And even more!

2011-12-14T18:53:00.001-08:00

More Cents of Style December products!

2011-12-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

"The Barb" hat in black, brown, and gray- $12.60

"The Brooke" cuff and earrings set in green and purple- $17.60

"The Eve" necklace/earring set- $12.60

"The Camera" necklace- $10.60

"The Ginny" necklace/bracelet and earrings set- $12.60

(necklace can convert to bracelet when you take the ribbon off!)

"The Tree" necklace- $10.60

"The Maca" bootie heels- $37.60

"The Cecilia" scarf in teal- $12.60

"The Liz" scarf in white and gray- $12.60

"The Wendi" scarf in fuchsia, black, purple, ivory, and green- $12.60

"The Elise" earrings in gold and silver- $8.60

"The Jasmine" ring- $9.60

"The Leah" earrings- $8.60

"The Lila" necklace (silver)- $12.60

"The Lydia" earrings- $8.60

"The Megan" earrings- $8.60

"The Piper" earrings- $8.60

"The Venice" earrings- $8.60

Do this with me!

2011-12-01T09:26:00.001-08:00

Santastic!

2011-12-01T08:55:00.001-08:00

It's Vanessa's first Christmas and her first time seeing Santa! Doesn't she seem old to be having her first Christmas? I guess that's what you get when you are born in February! It's old hat for Carter. He was busy telling Santa all of the things he wants for Christmas.

She almost lost it! That little face just puckered up...

But Gramma saved the day by handing Vanessa a woodstock stuffy. I think she just didn't realize we were still right there! She saw us by the camera and started smiling!

Success!

Favorite Tumblr

2011-11-30T22:15:00.001-08:00

This is copied from Healthy Is Always Better, my favorite diet/fitness tumblr, but I assume it originated at the tumblr address (codenamecollarbones) on the picture itself. Nice quick picture reference!

Here are some more I like:

Cents of Style December Line

2011-11-29T20:21:00.001-08:00

All items can be found here, and you can "like" my facebook page to get all updates. Use code 0512 at checkout for 10% off your whole order!

Couch to 5K

2011-11-28T22:12:00.001-08:00

I've done it before, and I'm doing it again. My level of fitness has just been so low since having babies that I need to start back at the beginning. I think it's a good idea. There just isn't any way I could go out and run for an hour straight right now.

But I truly enjoy running, which is a blessing! Tonight when I went out I hit that point where you feel like you could run forever, so I ran through a walk interval.

I'm using the 5K Runner app, which I like a lot. It lets me listen to my own music while I run, and the voice cues are very pleasing! Every few runs it gives you a badge to, I guess, feel good about yourself. I don't care too much about that, but it's cute.

I finished the first two weeks tonight, and I'm hoping to finish the program before the end of December. That way I can start January with a jump start on my new year of better health!

Baby Love

2011-11-20T18:55:00.001-08:00

Last night while we were at our show, my mother-in-law watched our kids. Carter slept especially late for his nap, so she decided to wake him up so he wouldn't be up all night. She brought Vanessa into his bedroom and put her right by his face. Vanessa broke out into a huge grin and started babbling. Carter opened his eyes and immediately reached up and put his arms around Vanessa.

I love that my kids love each other.

9 months!

2011-11-19T15:14:00.001-08:00

My mom is getting ready for Christmas... My two little ones are my parents' only grandkids so, yeah, they are doted on! My mom was taking pictures of them for her Christmas cards.

Vanessa turned 9 months yesterday, and as I type this (with one hand) I'm cuddling her while she downs a bottle of formula. Looks like she's about ready to stop nursing, and I'm ready for it too. She isn't even dependent on a nighttime nursing to get to sleep because we've been so busy with our show in the evenings, that my mom or Daniel's mom has been putting her to bed a few nights a week. If she takes a bottle in the morning, then I'll know we are ready to move on to the next stage!

She is such a silly little girl, and I love her!

Her big brother is pretty awesome too!

Welcome Petite Readers!

2011-11-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, I actually welcome readers of all sizes, but today I suspect I may have a few new guests to my blog coming over from La Vie Petite, one of my favorite fashion blogs! Cori is hosting a giveaway for me today, so if you don't already follow her blog, then you should! She has amazing style and you could win free Cents of Style jewelry!

Since some of you reading this don't know me yet, I thought I'd give you a quick and easy tour of who I am and what I write about on this blog (because, you know, it's not super obvious from my header...).

1. Fitness and Nutrition

I started this blog back in 2008 when I was getting ready to have my first baby, and I wanted to blog about getting back into shape. Now that I have two body-wreckers *ahem* babies, that is still a major focus of my blog! Right now I am about to begin a diet and exercise plan based on the principles in this book:

Related Posts: Resolutions, Overshot It, First Workout

2. Fashion

Not too long ago (a yearish?) my sister showed me Elaine's blog, and ever since then I've become interested in fashion. This goes along with the whole fitness and nutrition thing, because right now I don't feel like I can dress exactly how I want until I get back into shape. But I'm taking on fashion challenges anyway and starting to learn what works for me. I also signed up to be a stylist for Cents of Style, which I love because it keeps me on top of the fashion trends, while I get great deals on accessories and make a little money on the side. And so can you!

Related Posts: Day 7, In Action

3. Family

"But I help them love each other, father, mother, sister, brother, cheek to cheek!"

So far our family is me, my husband Daniel, my son Carter (3), and my daughter Vanessa (9 months).

Related Posts: Little Boy Says, Pumpkin Patch

4. Theatre

I'm a theatre person by profession. I earned my degree and teaching certificate, but now I am primarily a SAHM. I still work, often, as a freelance director and choreographer for musical theatre and show choirs. It keeps me busy and creatively stimulated! We are always rehearsing for something!

Related Posts: See Rock City, Sweeney Todd

5. Interior Decorating

I am no professional decorator, but I love it. We bought our first home in 2009, and I have painted almost every square inch and decorated each room in my style. The posts below show before and after photos. Here's one example:

That's an old photo; we now have a headboard and artwork above it!

Related Posts: House Part I, House Part II

Well, I think that's the bulk of it! Was that quick and/or easy? I hope so! I hope you see something you like that makes you want to stick around! You might also check out my 30 before 30 page and help me accomplish some cool things before I get old. Because once my age begins with a 3, well it's kind of all downhill from there, isn't it?! Just kidding, you ~~old people~~, 30+ year olds!

Thanks for stopping by. That's me. Who are you?

Centsible on sale!

2011-11-16T19:06:00.001-08:00

From now until the end of the year, Centsible items are on sale for $6.60 a piece. But if you use my stylist code 0512 at checkout, they are only $5.94 a piece. No shipping charge, no tax, no better way to fill those stockings or treat yourself to some new accessories! Check back because new items are about to be posted any time now!

Cents of Style

Follow me on Google Friend Connect, because the more followers I get, the more giveaways I will do!

Little Boy Says

2011-11-15T20:04:00.001-08:00

I need to do a better job of writing down the funny things Carter says. I love this idea from Cheri at I Am Momma Hear Me Roar.

One thing I do now is I pdf print my Facebook page month by month (at the end of each month I backtrack to the beginning of the month, select it all, and use win2pdf to save it). I'm not a very good journal writer, but I feel like my Facebook page is a pretty good representation of everything we do as a family! Many of Carter's gems are in those archives!

Here's a few for your enjoyment:

Me (taking my iPhone from Carter): You need to put your head down and close your eyes, because you are tired.
Carter: Noooo!!!
Me: I know, it's not fun to take a nap, is it?
Carter: It's not fun to take phones away from people.

Carter, talking about his toy: "Thomas can go to the farm, and then to the ice cream shoppe, and then he can go into the barn, and we can fold it up and carry it away from our sisters!"

Carter: (clearly going in his diaper, and seeing me look at him) "Nuffing...nuffing going on over here."

Me: "Carter, you have two Sir Topham Hatts, Vanessa can play with one."
Carter: (crying) "I haaaave threeeee!"
Me: (laughing) "You have three?!"
Carter: (crying) "I neeeeed fooooouuuur!"

Me to Vanessa: "Where ya going, big butt?"
Carter: "Haha! You got it wrong. It's Vanessa!"

‎Carter: "Vanessa's awake!"
Me: "What's she doing?"
Carter: "Just being a goober. You come see the goober!"

Me: "The faster you get a diaper change, the faster we can go downstairs."
Carter: "No, faster I might fall!"

I've been pinning...

2011-11-14T20:02:00.001-08:00

Halloween 2011

2011-11-14T16:42:00.001-08:00

Steve and Blue from Blue's Clues!

2011-11-14T09:36:00.001-08:00

A few recent pictures of some new Cents of Style products!

Floyee boots and India ring

Object flats ($26.60, use code 0512 for 10% off) and Spring scarf (from older collection)

Thursday's Theatre Thing...

2011-11-10T07:56:00.001-08:00

...is back!

I know, I know, I said I was going to do this and haven't in weeks? months? I do have a very good excuse, though! I haven't been blogging about theatre, because I've been up to my neck IN THEATRE! But my show opened last weekend, so I finally have a little bit of free time! This week has been a beautiful thing!

I directed the show See Rock City & Other Destinations for Arizona Onstage Productions, and Daniel was music director and plays percussion in the pit. It has been a truly fabulous experience. I have never directed a professional show (most of what I have directed has been for kids or non-professionals). It was great for me because it gave me the chance to see if I had it in me. I'm happy to report that I think I do.

So it wasn't a perfect process. The company's Artistic Director did not want to hold auditions for the show, so it took a long time to get it cast to begin with, and not everyone in the cast is an experienced performer. One review of the show said there is no weak link in our cast, but that's being pretty generous. At the same time, I am incredibly proud of everyone in the show. Some were fantastic to begin with, and others have grown throughout the process.

We've struggled with ticket sales and filling the seats, but our first weekend was more successful in that respect than we expected. We are still nervous for the last two weekends of the show, but we'll just see what happens. We got one really good review, and hopefully that will draw people in.

We got three reviews, and the overall point of the reviewers was that there are serious flaws in the writing of the show. I don't disagree with that, but at least that is something that was out of my hands. One reviewer said, "There is little to critique in Megan Tenney's direction, and Daniel Tenney's musical direction." I couldn't really have asked for more than that, for my first professional effort!

So overall I am very happy with the show. I hope that I get a chance to direct again in the future, but I'm okay if it's not for awhile! The driving back and forth is too much, and I need some time to focus on other parts of my life. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had, and I'm very pleased with how it turned out!

Day 1- Family Day!

2011-11-07T21:37:00.000-08:00

Daniel and I decided that since we've been over-the-top busy lately (hence the lack of blog posts), we would do 6 days during the month of November (maybe spilling into December) with each combination of family members.

1. All four of us
2. Daniel and me on our own
3. Daniel with Carter, me with Vanessa
4. Daniel with Vanessa, me with Carter
5. Daniel with kids, me on my own
6. Me with kids, Daniel on his own

This morning Daniel surprised me by having taken the day off school, so we did our family day today. I don't think it could have gone any better! We relaxed in the morning, catching up with our tv shows and playing with the kids. Then I went grocery shopping while Daniel stayed home with the kids. I brought back lunch for all of us, and then shortly after, both kids took naps. I took a short nap too! We did more playing and house cleaning during the afternoon, and we grilled out cheeseburgers for dinner. It was a rainy, chilly day, so it was just perfect to spend it at home together.

Our show (more on that later!) has been taking up every free moment of our time, and now that it's opened we have a little more time on our hands! And by that I mean that Daniel still has a full time job, is getting ready for his students' holiday concerts, plus he just started rehearsals for the community Christmas concert that he conducts, and I will still be traveling to Tucson twice a week to teach dances for the two musicals I'm choreographing at Basis, as well as traveling to Vail one day a week to work, and fitting in 9 extra work hours while at home. I'm also trying to do Cents of Style parties and boutiques, plus we still have 6 performances of our show left, over the next two weekends. That is our "light" schedule.

But today we had nothing all day and all night, so we relaxed (and got some necessary home chores done- like 6 loads of laundry)!

Cents of Style November Line!

2011-10-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

New November products! Get 10% off with code 0512 at checkout!

Cents Of Style in Action

2011-10-31T08:49:00.001-07:00

Winner!

2011-10-20T07:51:00.000-07:00

Random number generator picked number 3, which was one of Cynthia's comments!

Congratulations! I will email you with details on how to get your free copy of My Memories, and we expect to see some awesome pages that I can post on my blog!

Anyone else who wants a copy can get $10 off the software, as well as a $10 credit in the store, by using the code STMMMS66795. That's a $20 value, and a lifetime of fabulous digital scrapbooking!

Thanks for participating, and stay tuned because I'm going to be doing a Cents of Style giveaway very soon!

8 Months!

2011-10-18T22:19:00.000-07:00

8 months and pulling herself up on everything! She definitely wants to keep up with her big brother!

Such a sweet baby girl. I love her.

GIVEAWAY- My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software!

2011-10-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

The makers of My Memories Suite recently offered me a freecopy of their software to try out and review. In addition, they are going togive a free copy to one of my readers! Read on!

I was really excited to try out this digital scrapbooking software. First of all, I am not super skilled with my hands and so realscrapbooking is not very appealing to me. Second, I have done a little bit ofdigital scrapbooking in the past and, while I enjoyed it, I found the program Iwas using to be extremely complicated, with more options than I knew what to dowith.

I expected My Memories Suite to be a simpler version of whatI had tried in the past, and I am happy to report that it IS easy to use, whilestill offering a plethora of options.

I’m a pretty computer-literate person, so I like to open anew program and be able to use it with just a bit of trial and error. MyMemories Suite took me a little bit longer than I would have liked to figureout how everything worked, but after about an hour of playing around with thesoftware, I feel confident and comfortable using it. I was a little overwhelmedat first because there are three toolbars- on the right and left sides of thescreen, as well as at the top, but I soon found out that, for the most part,the toolbars have all the same options. I think it would be less confusing ifone toolbar was completely eliminated, and therefore the user would not bebombarded with so many buttons and options, many of which are redundant.

That one gripe aside, I can honestly say that I LOVE thissoftware! It took me no time at all to put together a couple of cute pages:

What I like best about My Memories Suite is that it isperfect for any level of digital scrapbooker. The software includes a “fastfill” option where you choose your template design and your pictures, and theprogram generates all the pages for your album, inserting picturesautomatically. This whole process can take just a couple of minutes.

And for those who like to take their time and make all thedesign decisions themselves, My Memories Suite is fully customizable! You canmake pages from scratch or edit the premade layouts and templates any way youlike.

The software comes preloaded with plenty of backgroundpapers with customizable colors and textures, embellishments, etc, but thewebsite also includes a store where you can purchase inexpensive “expansionpacks” of templates and extras.

My Memories Suite includes some features that are unique todigital scrapbooking, and which I haven’t seen elsewhere. You can makemultimedia pages that include background music, narration, or video clips! Youcan export your pages in a variety of ways, including sending them to youriPod. You can get your albums printed in book form and include a pocket inside thecover to keep a DVD of your album.

The My Memories Suite software costs only $39.97, and fromwhat I’ve seen of the software, that is a great deal!

In addition to this giveaway, the My Memories Suite people are offering a special discount: $10 off the My Memories Suite software AND $10 credit for the MyMemories.com store. The code for this discount is STMMMS66795. Please feel free to share this code with anyone and everyone!

But one of my lucky readers is going to get a copy of MyMemories Suite for free!

Mandatory Entry: Visit the My Memories website, take a lookat their digital scrapbooking kits, and then leave a comment here with the nameof your favorite one.

Extra entries: Leave a comment on this post for each extraentry you complete.

*Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect

*Like My Memories on Facebook

*Like Megan’s Cents of Style on Facebook

*Share this giveaway on Facebook by linking to this blogpost (This can be done once a day.)

*Link to mymemories.com on Facebook and share my discount code: STMMMS66795

Giveaway ends at midnight on Wednesday, October 19th, and the winner will be announced Thursday morning, the 20th. Good luck!

The (Cents)ible Collection

2011-10-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

Cents of Style has just launched a new line of specially-priced accessories called The (Cents)ible Collection!

These items are each priced at $8.60, but if you order through me, you can order them in sets of 3 for $20.60. If you order through the website, you can get the usual 10% off with my stylist code 0512, but you have to email me your order if you want to get the "3 for $20.60" deal.

AND, for a limited time (now through Saturday the 15th) you can get 30% off your order from the (Cents)ible Collection. If you order online, use code CENTSMT for 30% off your order, or you can still order through me, in sets of 3, to get the 30% off the $20.60 deal, which would make the items 3 for $14.42, or $4.81 each!

Here are some of the items for sale as part of this new collection:

While you're at it, "like" Megan's Cents of Style on Facebook, to stay informed of deals and to be eligible for giveaways!

Giveaways!

2011-10-11T02:52:00.000-07:00

I have some potential giveaways coming up here, but first I need to know that I've got some readers out there! I know at least some people read without commenting, so now is your chance!

Leave a comment on this post if you are a reader of mine and would like to participate in some giveaways! And if you are not already a follower through Google, well what are you waiting for?!

Exciting things ahead- don't miss out! ;)

Boots!

2011-10-09T22:42:00.001-07:00

Three late additions to the October Cents of Style line- these awesome boots! I ordered the brown ones!

Black and gray boots- $32.60, brown boots- $38.60.

They will be added to the website at www.mycentsofstyle.com this week, but in the meantime, you can preorder from me. They will go fast! Use coupon code 0512 at checkout for 10% off your whole order. No tax or shipping charges!

Cents of Style Fall Line

2011-10-09T22:37:00.001-07:00

Cents of Style recently released the new Fall line, and here are some of my favorites:

These items and lots more can be found at www.mycentsofstyle.com, and you can get 10% off your entire order by using coupon code 0512!

Perfect 10- second half!

2011-10-09T20:17:00.000-07:00

Here are the last 5 days of the Perfect 10 Challenge:

Deals at Target

2011-10-05T21:46:00.000-07:00

In the past two weeks, I have found incredible deals at Target!

First I found this mirror:

It was $29.99, marked down to $7.48! I don't have a place for it yet, but it's going somewhere. It's definitely my style, and um, $7.48?! Yes please.

Then, I found these chairs:

So cute, so comfy, also $7.48 each! The blue and green match Vanessa's nursery perfectly. I put the blue one in her room, since her walls are green, and the green one I put in Carter's room. They are sturdy enough for an adult to sit in, and they easily fold up. They also came in black.

I knew they wouldn't last long at that price, so I bought two without even knowing if I could fit them in my car! At the time we had both car seats, our double stroller, a full-sized keyboard, and a stand for the keyboard! I don't know what I would have done if I HADN'T gotten them to fit, but it wasn't a problem.

Hooray for awesome deals!

Under Construction!

2011-10-05T21:38:00.000-07:00

Does this picture bring anyone else back to the 90s?

I am working on some major changes for my blog. For example, I probably spent the better part of an hour this evening trying out fonts for the header I just uploaded. Still not satisfied...

Anyway, please stick around, and hopefully you'll be pleased with what you see. I'm still going to be posting, but my blog will probably go through several phases of design updates, so forgive me for the inconsistency while I try to find something permanent!

Opinions welcome!

Thanks for reading!

Cents of Style

2011-10-04T23:05:00.000-07:00

I've signed up to be a stylist for Cents of Style! They offer the cutest accessories for the best prices- never any tax or shipping charges.

This is a link to my pinboard for Cents of Style products! We just added lots of new fall items, so check it out! They all link to the site where you can order what you like.

Use order code 0512 for 10% off your order!

I'm working on getting a facebook page up and going, but for now, here is my pinboard!

Rachelle's "Perfect Ten" Challenge

2011-10-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

Rachelle is hosting a 10 day fashion challenge on her facebook page, and we are halfway through!

She made 20 of these adorable cards with outfit clues, and you get to pick one card each day for ten days. Here is an example:

Here are my first 5 outfits. 5 more to come!

Stripes and Paisley!

2011-10-03T10:19:00.000-07:00

I love stripes. I love paisley. I do not usually pair them together!

BUT, I bought this skirt at Old Navy and nothing, I repeat, NOTHING goes with it! The "blue" is not really blue, and the "white" is not really white, so it's impossible to match. I'm thinking I'll need to just wear a yellow or red shirt with this skirt most of the time.

That being said, I actually really like this combination, with the paisley shirt! I could see myself wearing this...well, somewhere! I am not super adventurous with clothing, but this could work. Maybe it should be a challenge for me to take a picture of myself wearing this outfit out in public somewhere!

Thanks Elaine, for the rule-breaking suggestion!

Skirt- Old Navy

Top- Kohls

Shoes- here (10% off your whole order with code 0512)

Exercise is addictive

2011-09-24T00:58:00.000-07:00

I need to re-addict myself.

Why do I suck?

2011-09-12T21:10:00.001-07:00

I just spent a couple of hours scouring the web for advice on feeding my family healthy foods (planning, shopping, and cooking), and also on couponing.

I feel like I'm exactly where I started!

First of all, there is far too much information out there! I want it simplified!

I'm okay with doing a lot of startup work, but then I want my weekly/daily work to be quick and easy.

So I guess I need to come up with some kind of binder of recipes (maybe 10 breakfasts, 25 dinners, and a list of lunch options) so I can get comfortable and familiar with that many meals, and then I can add new recipes to it every once in awhile when we need something new. I have no problem with having a set of regular meals that are good, healthy, and quick(ish) to make, because I'm just not that interested in food and cooking, but I do want my family to be healthy and well-fed. Maybe I can also make several copies of the ingredients needed for each meal, so when I plan the week's meals, I can just pull out the slips of ingredients that I need, and then I have my grocery list!

As for couponing...well maybe I should start with one thing at a time. But really, I do all of my grocery shopping at Walmart, so that simplifies it for me quite a bit. The only other store nearby is Safeway, so it wouldn't be that hard to get a Sunday paper each week and start collecting coupons for those two places.

Okay, just had to "talk" that out for myself! Any thoughts/advice?! What's a good recipe that I can include in my repertoire?

The Deal

2011-09-06T15:46:00.000-07:00

Wow, the 21 day challenge went by quickly! That was really fun, and I have to say that it wasn't easy posting all those pictures of myself. I'm nowhere near where I want to be, weight loss-wise, but I have to remember that the people I admire most, I don't admire because of their physical appearance. I should be able to dress well and feel good about how I look at any weight, which is what the challenge taught me!

That being said, here is the deal with my current health situation:

I finally went to the doctor's, because the weight I was gaining just didn't make sense to me. I mean, my diet is far from perfect, and I wasn't out running miles every day, but it just didn't seem to add up correctly.

So I had my thyroid levels checked, and it turns out that my thyroid is severely abnormal. In fact, my doctor said he hasn't seen a thryoid so abnormal in years. Apparently the higher your number is, the more underacting your thyroid is (causing weight gain, fatigue, etc), and whereas a normal number is around 4.5, mine was 198. He said that it's unusual to see a double digit number, nevermind a triple digit. So I'm basically on thyroid medication for life. I don't know how that happened, but at least now I'm on the medication I need for it.

My doctor said that explained the weight gain, because when your thyroid is that low, it's basically like having zero metabolism. So my body wasn't burning calories like it should every day. In the almost two weeks I've been on medication now, I've lost about 5-6 pounds. So it looks like the medication is doing its job, which is to get my body back to a normal state, where diet and exercise can actually make a difference!

So one health problem solved.

Then, long story short, I had a gallstone attack and had to go to the emergency room last week. I didn't know I had gallstones, and now I realize that I had attacks in the recent past that I thought were back spasms (because you can feel gallstone pain in your back). From what I've read and after talking to my doctor, it looks like surgery is going to be the best option, because the pain will most likely just get worse unless I have my gallbladder out.

So now I'm going to have gallbladder surgery.

From what I've found through online research, the surgery won't cause me to lose or gain weight, but it could help put me into a better position to lose weight, just like with the thyroid medication.

So now I'm super stressed out, just because I don't really have insurance (more long story that I won't get into), so we are trying to figure out the best way to go about paying for the surgery (and for the (probably) super expensive emergency room bill that is coming our way). We have a handful of options, but none of them is cheap.

So that is my update on my life right now. On one hand, I'm super stressed out and upset about finances, but on the other hand, I'm hoping to see improvements in my health (most importantly getting that surgery so I don't have to deal with this pain anymore!). I have other things going on, but I feel like I can't think about anything else until I know what is going to happen with surgery and our finances. I'm meeting with the surgeon on Friday, for a consultation and to find out exactly how much the surgery will cost. If it's under a certain amount (with a cash discount, hopefully) then it might make the most sense for us to just pay for it out of our own pocket. So I'm definitely going to be on edge until Friday, and then even if the news is not great, at least we'll have the information we need to go forward with making some decisions!

So if you've read this far, feel free to send some positive vibes our way! We could definitely use them!

Day 21- Killer Outfit!

2011-09-04T15:55:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day! Today's prompt was to put together a "killer outfit" using the knowledge and experience we've gained from taking the 21 day challenge.

Well, I'm still away from home, so I only have what I brought with me. But yesterday I ran over to Walmart to buy some food, and I saw this dress. I love it! It was on sale for 11 dollars! So that's my outfit for today, and I felt comfortable and pretty all day. I probably wouldn't have chosen these shoes, but again, I only have what I brought.

Wish I could have had these shoes for this outfit:

Vanessa also only had what we brought for her, but I love her little striped skirt and complementary tee! Very girly.

Thanks, Kayla, for all the fun and fashion inspiration!

Day 20- Sunday Shoes

2011-09-03T21:33:00.001-07:00

Sunday shoes...on Saturday. Not a huge fan of the outfit, but we are away from home so I only had what I brought. And the shoes are borrowed from my sister-in-law! Vanessa's rocking some sparklies from Walmart.

Day 19- Adorn Your Head

2011-09-02T13:29:00.000-07:00

I love this headwrap. I've been asked if it came with this skirt. It didn't, but they do match nicely! I've been asked if it's a "dance" thing that I wear when I'm dancing to keep my hair out of my face. To which I reply, "no, it's a 'bad hair day' thing that I wear when my hair looks bad!"

Vanessa is rocking her sunhat. She was very tolerant during this photo session! I think she likes her hat!

Day 18- Statement Jewelry

2011-09-02T13:18:00.001-07:00

I'm wearing my remix item (white peasant skirt) for my third time! We'll see if I can sneak in a fourth before the end! My jewelry is from my favorite place to get accessories- www.mycentsofstyle.com. This site has amazing jewelry, shoes, handbags, hats, and scarves, for very low prices, without any tax or shipping charges! Their inventory moves very quickly, and the bracelet I'm wearing is already sold out, but you can get the cameo necklace here.

Vanessa, in her pretty jewel-toned dress from Macys, is wearing one of my faux pearl bracelets, wrapped twice! I never let her wear jewelry, but we made an exception for the picture! ;) Maybe once she's older and not putting absolutely everything in her mouth!

Day 17- Repair and Wear

2011-09-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

I don't actually have a pile of clothes that need to be fixed, so instead I cut these former pants into capris/board shorts. The pants were from JC Penney, and I had already cut off the bottoms. They were the drawstring elastic bottoms that didn't work for me because I'm so short, but I think I cut the pants just a tiny bit too short. I really liked the way the pants fit, but they didn't look right with sneakers and were still too long for flats. I was unsure about cutting them until I realized I had already ripped one side a bit by stepping on the bottom, so that made my decision!

I'm not crazy about them, but as far as "around the house" wear, they are PERFECT! Super lightweight and comfy.

Flip flops from Target, shirt from Old Navy, headwrap from Walmart or Target, I think.

Vanessa didn't have any clothes that needed alterations either, so she went with the alternate prompt and broke a fashion rule by wearing leggings as pants! Also she is wearing a onesie underneath those leggings. Also the binky because it was almost naptime! Imagine if an adult tried that. Amazing what babies can get away with!

Day 16- Menswear

2011-09-01T20:48:00.001-07:00

We are running behind! Due to an unexpected early morning emergency room visit (for me), and some necessary recuperation time, I'm a little behind on my challenge days! We missed linking up to the hair day, but hopefully we can get back on track tomorrow and not miss any more!

My menswear outfit consists of black pinstriped pants and black heels from Kohls, a patterned top from Forever21, and a tweed blazer from who knows where?! It's very old.

Vanessa is wearing some blue and grey cotton shorts from the boys section that my mom bought for her. Come on! People think she's a boy when she's completely dressed in PINK! She's "girling" it up with a grey shirt with a pink ballerina on it.

Day 15- New 'do

2011-08-29T20:41:00.000-07:00

So this post is delayed because of a health emergency. :( But here are our 'do's!

I cannot begin to explain how incredibly horrible I am with hair. So I won't try. But I'm bad. Really bad. So I kind of took an easy way out and went with a top knot. I'm still being honest, though, because I have never worn my hair this way! I started with just a high bun, and then I didn't think it was drastic enough, so I went as high as I could. I don't think I would actually wear my hair like this regularly, but the bun I did before I decided to go higher is something I would do again. It looked cute and was very freeing- no hair in my face or for Vanessa to grab!

Vanessa's rocking a faux hawk. That's right.

Day 14- Copycat

2011-08-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

Inspiration picture:
This is my friend Rachelle, who is a stylist for Cents of Style. I bought these same sandals she's wearing in this picture, and wanted to recreate a version of her red, white, and blue outfit! Click the picture to go to her Cents of Style facebook page, where you can get her code for 10% off!

It was a lot harder to find an inspiration picture for Vanessa! They do not have many baby fashion sites! Anyway, I found this one that I like, and I used what she had (no long bloomers), and combined it with my red, white, and blue theme.

Day 13- Neutral with a Pop!

2011-08-27T14:59:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated big brother, Carter's, 3rd birthday! I'm wearing a top from Forever21, which I didn't think would go with anything until I tried it with these dress pants from Kohls! Undershirt is DownEast Basics. My shoes are the pop! They are from here. Definitely could have used some jewelry, but we were in a rush!

It was harder for Vanessa, as most of her clothes are bright colors, but we managed with her white skirt (I think that is 4x for her!) and a Carter's top with a green-yellow fish!

Note: For anyone unacquainted with kids' clothing, Carter's is a major brand. It is also my son's name, in case anyone is confused!

Wow, 13 days down, 8 to go!

Happy Birthday, Carter!

2011-08-27T14:53:00.000-07:00

3 years old

2 years old

1 year old

On his actual birthday!

Love our little (big!) guy!

One of those days...

2011-08-26T23:02:00.001-07:00

Yeah...so today...

AC went out yesterday, so today my house slowly heated up from about 88 degrees to about 94 degrees before it finally began to drop again in the evening.

Rented a carpet cleaner without realizing that my parents already own one and then got frustrated with how quickly it ran out of fluid and how often I had to refill it. Went ahead and spent a few hours shampooing carpets even though my house was super hot.

Planned on shampooing all the carpets in my house, until I realized that 1. it was 94 degrees in my house, and 2. that would be impossible to finish today all by myself. I don't have the room to completely clear out each room, so I had to do half a room, wait for it to dry, and then move the furniture, do the other half, wait for it to dry, and then move the furniture back. I got 1.5 rooms done. Will finish the other half of room 2 in the morning, then I have to return the cleaner.

Got no break, because as soon as Carter finally took his nap (after getting up over and over again), Vanessa was awake and finished with her (too short) nap.

Waited for the AC guy who was an hour late, just to have him tell me that our compressor is shot and needs to be replaced which 1. probably won't happen until Monday, and 2. will probably cost 1-2 thousand dollars.

Did I mention that I was shampooing carpets because we were planning a little birthday party for Carter at our house tomorrow? Well, had to replan that, since we won't have AC.

Got a bad rash. Don't know how. But it hurts.

Started to feel sick with allergies- scratchy throat, runny nose, feeling run-down.

Spent from 9-10:30pm putting the house back into (relative) order from when I messed it up earlier, thinking I'd be shampooing all the carpets.

Spent from 10-11pm trying to get Vanessa to sleep- first she wanted to play, then she wanted to cry a lot.

And then I wrote this blog. With a fan blowing on me. At least there's only 49 minutes left in this day. At least the Benedryl I took is probably going to put me out pretty soon.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.