And in Second Place. . .

I was reading this article about Serena Williams being voted the AP Female Athlete of the Year.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news;_ylt=ApH3DfQTqBW4IRx.R3J_Ugo5nYcB?slug=ap-femaleathleteoftheyear&prov=ap&type=lgns

I was surprised to read that the second place finisher was a horse. Not sure what that says about the state of women's sports.

Granted, the Male Athlete of the Year was a race car driver, but you would think that the honor of athlete of the year would only be bestowed on humans.

Counting Down the Days

My husband arrived home last week and I couldn't have been happier. It is just a lot easier to have an extra hand here and there with the Ladies.

The Lady was very excited and has spent every morning since calling her daddy down to change her diaper. This frees up my mornings some!

We are in full holiday swing at our house and actually got a tree that isn't potted this year. The Lady was very excited to trim it and only broke two ornaments. Needless to say most of our more fragile ornaments are still wrapped up and packed away.

I still haven't finished shopping, but I am almost done. I wanted to be super organized this year, but as usual, things have been left for the last minute and finding the time to actually get out has proved more difficult than I thought.

Also, wrapping gifts takes considerably longer when the Lady helps put the "sticky tape" on.

I am trying to take a few extra deep breaths and I am also trying to stop shoving as many baked goods in my mouth as I can. Oh, the Holidays. . .

The Lady is a Princess

I thought that the princess obsession started at age 4. Apparently it has already begun.

The Lady has gone to a princess tea party and has a Cinderella dress that she likes to dress up in on occasion. It is in fact, one of the only forms of clothing I can get her to wear. She likes to go all out, requesting both the scepter and the crown, as well as the princess shoes, which I have banned due to the fact that she can't walk in them at all.

It puzzles me why she has suddenly become so into the entire princess phenomenon (or cult--whatever word you want to use here), she really hasn't had that much exposure to it. She has never seen any of the Disney movies and with the exception of a kickball that has princesses on it and the dress, we have no princess paraphernalia.

So, the other morning when the Lady was all dressed up in her Cinderella dress crying large drops of tears that fell fast from her big eyes because she wanted to watch Cinderella, I was at a loss of what to do.

Now, I probably should have tried to calm her or distract her with her tea party set, or take her into her room and play in her kitchen with her "ingredients." However, after almost two weeks on my own and the fact that she didn't fall asleep until 10:30 pm the night before and woke up at 6:19 am, exactly two seconds after I put my head on the pillow after feeding the little Lady for about the eight-hundredth time, I grabbed the remote and prayed.

I knew that there was a Barbie channel somewhere. I found it, but couldn't figure out how to actually see any programs. I also quickly realized that a princess obsession was one thing, but I am not ready for Barbie yet!

Next stop, Disney on Demand. I thought this was a Disney movie channel, in reality it was just a channel with videos on all the stuff you can do at Disney. I clicked on the minute video about a little girl going to Cinderella's castle, where she got all dressed up and had her hair and make-up done. After watching this twice, the Lady turned to me and told me she wanted make-up "on her face and mouth." Click.

Besides Cinderella, the Lady kept asking about Tinkerbell. She had seen a Tinkerbell movie over Thanksgiving with her cousin, but I hadn't seen or heard anything about it since then. Oh--iO Video on Demand--please give me something.

And then there it was. Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure, in HD no less for only $4.95. Play. And then three hours later, play--again.

So, now we have been talking about Tinkerbell for the last few days, and Santa may be bringing a Tinkerbell princess dress, but I am going to try to keep the whole princess thing to a minimum if I can. I am all for imagination and dress-up, and I think we all want our children to believe in whimsy and a happy ending until the harsh reality of real life actually sets in, but I am not buying anymore of the matching shoes.

Welcome! Welcome!

I would like to congratulate two of my fellow bloggers and friends, on the arrival of their two little ladies last week.

Their mom went through 10 weeks of bed rest to bring them into this world, and I know many of you were following their progress at thetwinsarequiteahandful.blogspot.com.

I am sure their cynical dad had found plenty to be happy about in the last week or so.

Check out the links to both their blogs in the sidebar.

Congrats again!!!!

Don't Drink the Milk. Why? It's Spoiled. Pass it On.

I had to dump six ounces of breast milk in the last 12 hours. Not only did I have to dump said breast milk in order to figure out if it was good or not, I had to taste it.

Now, a drop or two of milk has landed on my hand in the past and I have tried it, but I never really tasted it.

I was worried about the milk I had in the fridge, because I had pumped it on Sunday and although you can keep it in the fridge for 5-7 days, it had been transferred twice in a cooler. I have been trying to keep up with the pumping, but have been having a hard time finding any time to actually sit down and do it. So last night, when I got to my parents house to stay over, I smelled one of the containers and it seemed okay but I wasn't sure so I tasted it. Now, I will say I took the smallest possible sip I could because if that milk had been good, I didn't want to waste one single drop. Sadly, it was not, and it tasted just like sour milk. Totally gross.

3oz. down the literal drain.

I was still worried about the other container I had, even though it had only been pumped on Tuesday, but it too had spent some time in the cooler at the office and then in transport yesterday afternoon. This morning before I left I opened it and took a sip. Not good.

Here is where I realize how much mothers love their children. I asked my mom to taste it to double check. She poured a small amount in her empty coffee cup and confirmed my initial assessment. Not good. Ugh.

Another 30z. down the drain.

Just to make sure that I knew what good breast milk tastes like, I tried the container I pumped last night. It was very sweet and definitely not sour, but instead of 9oz in the fridge, I only had 3.

Now, the Little Lady needs to eat, so obviously I left her with some formula (the travel-size 4oz samples given to you by the hospital) that my sister (the breast milk champion of the world) had given me last night, when in my attempt to leave the house, I left behind the formula I had.

Now, when I am with her the Little Lady gets her boob juice, but I would like to be able to leave her with it as well. Not only am I now stressing over the amount she gets, but I am stressing over if it is good or not. My ultimate goal would be to pump and freeze immediately. I think I foresee some power pumping in my future!

The Biggest Loser

We made it to the finale! 

Check out photos here. 

Oh, the drama, the tears, the twists and turns, engagements, endorsements, oh my!

Well Danny C. is our new Biggest Loser. That guy looks amazing. Truthfully,  I think it was a toss up between him and Rudy but I am glad to see that all the finalists look fantastic.

I will say in a small moment of self-pity, I kind of got pissed that Tracey weighs less than I do--at the moment--anyone else think she looked a little juiced up? I think she looked a little juiced up. I was also glad that she didn't take home the $100.000.00 and I think so were the other contestants. 

Rebecca was the at-home winner and when she first walked out I had no idea who she was. The blond, short hair was a little severe, and even though she did look great, the silver skirt was way too short. I also wasn't a big fan of her shaking and crying act. She is a little drama. I was surprised they didn't make mention of her relationship with Daniel--although, I don't know for how much longer she is going to keep him around. He isn't quite there yet with the weight and she looks really good.

Speaking of romance. . . an engagement? An engagement on National TV, while you are wearing a BL tank top and spandex? Super romantic. I do feel happy for Antoine and Alexandra, but she is only 20. That is a pretty big commitment. It did look like their two moms were happy though, they were hugging each other in the aisle. The Biggest Loser has provided love connections before, maybe this is just another love story to be told. We will see, hopefully they won't end up divorced and at 300lbs in the next five years.

There were so many contestants that looked great. Abby, Coach Mo and Allan were a few of my favorites. I will say I felt bad for Liz. She worked really hard to get to the final and was voted off by America. She would have been my vote--had I bothered to vote and  I hope the best for her. 

Ok, lets talk about Shay. If someone paid me 1,000 for every pound I lost, I am pretty sure I could find the time to run my ass off every day. Hey Subway, let me know, I will be willing to shill for you anytime. Just write the check and I will post my progress and let you know how much I enjoy eating your Veggie Delites and small bags of pre-cut apples. I think we could have a really great relationship!

I am glad for Shay, she definitely needs to drop at least another 100-150 lbs. and this is the incentive she needs to continue her journey. I hope that come May, she is writing herself a check for over $100,000.00, and I wish her well.

Since the finale is live, there are always those weird moments where Allison is trying to fill the time, or rush a contestant along, or just says something that doesn't work, like when she tried to get Abbey to scream out that she weighed 147lbs. and Abbey totally didn't hear her. I also thought that the side-by-side hologram of the finalists walking out with their old self was kind of weird. When Rudy gave it an ass slap, I almost turned the channel.

Well, one more season down. I love me a finale. Hopefully, I can reach my own goals by the end of next season. Stay tuned. . . 

Finding Me Time or "No, those aren't fuzzy caterpillars above my eyes."

I have been lacking in me time lately.

My husband left on Friday for California. He won't be back until next Thursday. That means I am only on day 4 of this 14 day trip and I am already feeling it.

I will admit to looking forward to work today. I needed to get out of the house for a little while. Granted, we have been trying to keep busy since he left. Friday, I called my SIL and she came by and hung out with the ladies so I could run a few errands. I figured it would be easier to go food shopping alone and probably more productive. Saturday, we headed down to see the Wild Man and his sister. I had to wrestle The Lady twice into putting on her clothes, but we made it.

Sunday, my parents stopped by and I was able to get a few things out of the garage for both Christmas and the Little Lady, who until recently was just getting put in a small travel swing, or on the bottom of a play mat, with nothing to look at and nothing to entertain her, except for her mother and older sister battling over wearing clothing.

(BTW. . . the Little Lady looks like she is about to roll over. She is so close, she just has to get that bottom arm out and she will be having tummy time! Note to self: do not leave her on the couch--you do not want to bring her to the doctor's office and have to call your husband hysterically crying after she falls off. You have done this once before--no need to repeat it.)

Monday, my girlfriend came over with her newest little guy. We were very excited to meet him and were very grateful they made the trip.

As much as we have been trying to keep busy, that doesn't always mean that I have time for myself. It is kind of hard to schedule showers these days and on average I am getting one every other day. This also limits other grooming issues. For example, there is the possibility that I still have a tiny, tiny bit of toenail polish on my big toes from September--yes September.

Since the showers are a little less frequent, certain shower standards are as well. I still shampoo, condition and wash, but if I am showering every other day, then I am shaving every fourth day. I am totally convinced that I could have run the Turkey Trot seconds quicker, had I actually shaved my legs in the days leading up to it. I was running in capri running pants and was super embarrassed when I had to have the volunteers attach and detach the chip on my sneaker, not only was I exposing them to a landscape beyond stubble, it was a pale, dry, white landscape as well. Had I shaved, I might have glided into that finish line with a much lower time.

And then there are the eyebrows. Every time I look into the mirror I see two very furry, fuzzy eyebrows staring back at me. Usually, I pluck after I get a wax and am able to maintain the shape and style for a while without me looking like Bert from Sesame Street's doppelganger. I haven't quite had the time to do that lately, so it was with much pleasure that I was able to get out at lunch today and have the slate wiped clean. I feel like a new woman.

Beyond, basic hygiene there hasn't been much time just to sit back and relax either. Even though she is in her bed at pretty much the same time every night, it seems like the hours after bedtime just fly by, as opposed to the slow crawl of time between 6:30 and 8 pm, before bedtime. my problem is that once The Lady is asleep, the Little Lady, is in her prime. This kid just likes to hang out. She doesn't care that she went to bed at 9 pm last week, now that daddy is gone, she is hanging out until at least 11. And if she is hanging out then I am too, and so are my boobs, because she refuses to sleep without getting nursed first.

I have answered a lot of e-mails lately, one handed, with the Little Lady on my lap and her drool all over my pants, while watching Hoarders on A&E and trying to keep my eyes open.

All I want for Christmas is a massage and two hours at the bookstore--alone.

Some Random Stuff

Just wanted to let everyone know that I got my replacement parts for the Maclaren stroller. If you don't know and you have a Maclaren, there was an issue with fingers getting caught in the hood while closing. For more info and to request your replacement parts go here

http://www1.toysrus.com/safety/maclaren.cfm

Also, I have been getting some e-mails about discounts and deals. Here are a few you might want to check out.

Shutterfly 8x8 book for $5 http://freebies4mom.blogspot.com/2009/12/shutterfly-free-8x8-photo-book-499.html

Free Batteries at Staples: All you have to do is have your Staples Rewards card (free to sign up)  Just buy a 20 pack of AA or AAA Duracell batteries and you'll get 100% back in a Staples Rebate in January.  You can do this up to twice a week and it's going on for the next few weeks so stock up!!

If anyone has any great deals or discounts let me know and I will post them here. 

The Biggest Loser

I had to wait an hour to watch the BL last night because of the President's speech but at the end we have two out of the three finalists. Danny and Rudy are definitely in and America has to vote for either Liz or Amanda. Personally, I hope Liz gets in, but we will see.

As for the rest of the show it is always nice to see the homecomings and to see how big of a change the contestants have made. I feel like they have gone much more psychological this year, everyone seems to be thinking or talking about the emotions and issues that have caused them to gain the weight. Throw in a plug for Subway and that was pretty much the first hour.

The final challenge for the contestants was to run the marathon. I have to give them all credit for finishing, I certainly wouldn't be able to do it. 

I guess we will just have to wait and see who wins it all. Finale here we come. . .

BTW. . . forgot to mention Mike and Ron from the "Where are They Now" show. Looks like with a little help from the BL, younger brother Max was able to shed a few of the lbs. I hope he can continue to get all that weight off. 

I Can't Like These Pants

The Lady and I are still battling the whole pants thing. 

She has recently started saying "I can't like these pants," when I know she means she doesn't like them, but I think it is funny and it makes it seem like she thought long and hard about those pants and just cannot bring herself to accept them.

I know I can't like the whole no pants thing!

The Biggest Loser and Other Updates

We are down to the final four. With Allan getting voted off, we are left with Rudy, Danny, Liz and Amanda. I am pretty surprised to see Liz still kicking around. Early on, I thought she would be one of the first to go. I will have to say I admire her work ethic--plus it doesn't hurt to have a team member in Danny on her side.

I am routing for Danny. I like him. He seems a little crazy-Southern and the big eyes don't help that, but anyone who not only would go on TV and show off that belly he had, but who would also publish a photo of him in the 80's with a ponytail--gets my vote. I mean, I think he is genuinually changed by this experience. He and Rudy have the best chance of winning, if they are able to drop a few more of the lbs. by the finale.

I wouldn't count out the ladies, but we will see. Tonight two are voted into the final and America gets to choose the third. I always say I am going to vote, but I never do. I am sure America will make the right decision. We will see tonight.

Where are They Now?

I have to admit, instead of packing and organizing myself for Thanksgiving and the Turkey Trot, I spent two hours watching the "Where are They Now?" BL special. I mean, it was great to see some of those past constestants. Here are a few things I noticed:

1. A lot of the black women on the show seem to get voted off early, but have not only lost weight on their own at home but have kept it off and have gotten certified in training. They have also given back to their community in positive ways.

2. Vicky is still kind of swarmy and even though she looks good, I can't be 100% happy for her.

3. Matt and Susie have cute kids and I think they are the "reality" in terms of what can happen when you go home. You gain back some of the weight, but at the same time you have to try and continue to find the time to make your health a priority. I will say--Matt you are an Ironman in my book. I mean the guy missed the cutoff by 3 minutes. I did think of him when I ran the Turkey Trot--5 miles isn't that much compared to a full Ironman.

4. Eric. Eric. Eric. I mean I know you work in a deli, but how could you let yourself fall so far? The best part about the entire interview with Bob was that it was obvious they were sitting in their recently remodeled kitchen, bought with the BL winnings. I feel bad for the guy, how embarrassing must it be to have people recognize you as the Biggest Loser when you gained back almost all the weight. 

Overall, it was well worth the two hours devoted to it. It was great to catch up with past contestants and to see who continued on the right path.

Other Updates

I ran the Turkey Trot. I didn't get too much sleep the night before and I wasn't in as good of shape as I was last year, but I ran the whole way without stopping and I finished in under an hour. Granted, it was one minute and one second under an hour, and about 4 minutes slower than last year, but for just pushing out the Little Lady 3 1/2 months earlier, I think I did pretty well.

I had to really run this race for myself and this time around I think it was more mental than anything else. My running partner was running at a faster pace then me this year, so after the first fifty yards I was on my own. I also didn't have a cheering section at the end this year. Two kids are hard to get out of the house. I did however almost puke again while crossing the finish line and this year I am not even pregnant. Hopefully, I can curb that feeling next year. 

In the race bag was a flyer for a half marathon in April. I am considering it. . . 

Holiday! Celebrate!

Well the Holiday Season is officially upon us. I am not sure if any of you braved Black Friday but there looked like there were some good deals out there.

We had a very busy Thanksgiving week. We started at the Holiday Parade on Sunday, made Turkey cookies with our Texas cousins on Monday, took a family photo on Thursday and headed out to Mistletoe Magic on Sunday. It was a big week for us.

Here are some pics.

 The Ladies at the Parade

 The Wild Man's Little Sis (I have to come up with a better name for her!)

 The Lady and her Texas Cousin Making Turkey Cookies

Cousins

The Lady and The Wild Man at Mistletoe Magic

And Then She Said. . .

When I started this blog, it was to help me find balance in the madness that is sometimes my life.

Looking back on my last post, I started thinking about all the things the Lady does that make my everyday life a little bit more difficult than necessary.

But I also have to remember that even though we sometimes battle, there are those other moments when she says or does something so funny or unexpected that it takes my breath away. It amazes me sometimes about how someone so small can influence me so much.

Sometimes I have to laugh even though I probably shouldn't. Like the day the little Lady had an unfortunate encounter with the poo foot. The encounter between me and the Lady went something like this:

Me: The Little Lady has poo foot.

The Lady: Poo foot? Oh--that sucks.

After turning away and laughing into my shoulder, I did tell her that she shouldn't say that word.

The Lady: Oh, Daddy shouldn't say it.

Sometimes she just gets so excited it is hard not to get caught up in her enthusiasm. This weekend we left the ladies with my parents and my husband and I did a few things around the house and got to spend a little time together. We put together her toddler bed, as we had been promising her. When she got home and saw it not only was she super excited about her "big-girl bed" but ran out of her room exclaiming "I got a new kitchen!" We had in the process of putting the bed together, rearranged the room. The "new" kitchen, was actually her old kitchen in a new place. If wish I had known how excited she would be, I could have been putting her old toys in new places for months now.

Sometimes the Lady just makes me love her more and more. Like when she is sitting in her carseat after a particularly long and napless day, when the Little Lady is screaming and I am stressing out so much, I can feel the cortisone pumping through my body and creating belly fat on my body as I drive, and then I hear her little voice in the backseat, very softly saying, "It's okay, little lady," over and over. I would take one hundred thousand mornings of "pants wrestling" for just one of those.

Oh. . . The Lady

The Lady is so two.


Everyday I am not sure who is going to meet me in the morning. Will it be the "No, I want Daddy!" or "No change my diaper, I want milky," shrill-voiced little crank pants, or will it be my sweet little girl who gives me a big smile and an even bigger hug.


Will we start the day wrestling over putting on clothes, because she insists on either wearing only her pajamas or wants to "just be nudie?" Or can I distract her enough to slide on a pair of leggings and get out the door with her velcroing her own sneakers and helping me put her sweatshirt on?


I realized that my kid is now the one that is acting out. That she is now the one that we are trying to bribe, threaten, punish, or ignore into completing our simple requests.

Eat your breakfast. No.
Put on your shoes. No.
Stop touching the computer. No--its mine, or my personal favorite--"I'm doing my e-mails!"

Some days I don't know if I should just ignore her completely or lock myself in the bathroom and cry. I know she is just asserting her independence, and it is important to me that the Lady be able to assert herself in life, to stand up for herself and to make her own decisions. I just wish she wasn't doing it at the same time that I am trying to get her dressed and out the door.

I know that eventually, the outbursts will subside a bit, that the tantrums won't seem so bad and that maybe, sometime soon, she will actually allow me to put pants on her body without wriggling around like a greased monkey, but until then I will try to use every single parenting tip I got from watching random episodes of Supernanny, hope for the best and remind myself that I am still in charge.

A Few Changes

As you may have noticed, there are a few changes to The Three Bean Salad. I have added a little ad space on my blog from BlogHer.com.

BlogHer is the end all and be all in women blogging. Check out what they are all about here.

http://www.blogher.com/about-blogher-0

I have decided to join with them in the hopes that I can reach other readers and so that the Money Saving Mom can make a few extra bucks through the advertisements.

As for the layout, I am just tinkering around with different colors/fonts and layouts. I think the look of the Three Bean Salad might change again in the next couple of days until I find something that I really like.

I would welcome any feedback on the look of the site. Let me know what you think.

The Biggest Loser and Other Updates

I only got to see the last hour of the BL. We did some rearranging in our bedroom, and forgot to plug the TiVo back in so I missed out on a few shows this week.

Anyway, I like the second hour better, but I did miss the makeovers.

Oh, I did see that Shay was on the Leno show, so at least we know she didn't totally balloon back up again, and as of that taping--she also wasn't super small. I am looking forward to seeing her on the finale.

As I am writing this, I hardly remember anything else that happened. See my previous post for possible reasons!

I do recall that Allan was taken aside by Bob because he should be winning more challenges. It was interesting to see that he is playing the game a little. I don't think he will win the BL, because he doesn't have as much weight to lose as Danny and Rudy, but I think he will be one contestant who might be able to keep the weight off.

I also remember the interaction between Jillian and Rudy. Jillian does get all psychological on people, and for emotional eaters to connect the reasoning behind their behavior, it is important, but sometimes it just seems weird. I mean she was all pissed off that he never told her his sister died when she was younger. I mean, that isn't something I would be coming out and advertising either, especially on national TV. It just seemed a little forced--however, Rudy is putting up some big numbers so maybe pinpointing this event in his life as the start of his overeating will help him in the long term to keep the weight off.

Now to the weigh-in. The contestants are dwindling and I like most of them so at this point I am always disappointed to see someone go. However, if I had to pick someone to leave, Rebecca would have been my choice too. She is a strong competitor, but she cries entirely too much and is a little high-maintenance. I thought the Rudy reasoning for kicking her off was kind of bogus, but whatever. I think he just wanted to have something concrete to say so that it seemed like he actually thought about it.

I will say that Rebecca looks amazing now. That footage of her running the half-marathon was actually inspiring to me (although she was also crying through that as well).

But now for the big news. This link was given to me by my sister so I have to credit her. Check it out http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=442541&affid=100055

Daniel and Rebecca are dating!!! Remember when he left the show and he said he couldn't wait to introduce America to his girlfriend? Well Rebecca is his girlfriend. That is two love connections for this season. Hmmm. . . we will see how this long distance/weight loss love develops.

I can't believe the season is winding down so quickly!

Other Updates

I am picking up my race stuff next week and am all set to run in the Turkey Trot. I have been trying to run consistently this week and this weekend I am planning to run part of the race course. I am hoping adrenaline and the fact that I am running with someone who can push me will help account for the lack of training I have had this year as compared with last. I might puke, but I am going to finish.

I have fallen off the journaling a little and am re-starting today. I had to wear maternity pants last night to an event, because my black pants don't quite fit yet. I will say that the top I was wearing was a medium and someone said my face looked thinner, but until I can button those pants around my belly, I haven't quite reached my goals.

I did however, find a pair of really cute black flats in my closet that I forgot I had. It was like getting a new pair of shoes without paying for them!!!

A Major Mommy Mind Melt

I feel like the past few weeks I have been living in a fog. Between the lack of uninterrupted sleep, the cold medicine I am taking and the overwhelming feeling that I am never going to catch up on what I need to get done, things are bound to go wrong.


Last Wednesday, the Bean and the Bear Photography had a paying gig. It was the second job we had that week and due to some computer issues at my best friend's house, I have been downloading and editing all the pictures. So, I left the shoot with her memory card in my camera bag and mine in my camera.

After returning from shoot to pick up the girls at my parents I had to take pictures of my dad's car, which got a little banged up from a deer incident in the early morning hours the previous day. There really isn't anything like taking photos of a little girl for Christmas one minute, then a photo of deer hair embedded in a bumper the next. But I digress. . .

I packed up the girls, headed home and was blocked from entering my driveway by a truck and a car parked illegally at the Spanish Market in front of our condo complex. I could go on for hours about this place, but if I start I won't be able to stop and I might put myself into such a frenzy of stress and anger that I might start slashing tires.

Anyway, I took some photos of these cars to send to the police department to see if they could please up their patrol of the area. So I definitely had my memory card driving into my complex.

Here is where things get a little blurry. I was having an issue with my external hard drive (now totally taken care of) and wanted to post a few pics of the kids on facebook. I hadn't updated in a while and the Little Lady is just getting so big and cute, so I removed the memory card from the camera and replaced it with a blank one that I could copy photos on from my old computer to the new one.

If you haven't checked out my facebook page in a while you should, because the pictures are super cute. This took me a while and I was distracted by the Lady and the Little Lady and the amount of tissues I was going through because my head was so stuffy. I planned on downloading the photo shoot pictures later in the day and just never got around to it.

Fast-forward to Thursday afternoon. I got out of work a little early because there was nothing to do and headed home. The Lady was napping and I had a few minutes to myself. I figured I should start editing the photos from the shoot, but I couldn't find the memory card.

I searched the camera bag, I searched the table, the counter, the bookshelf. I remembered that the Lady had given me some photo paper on Wednesday and I started to panic--what if she took it? It could be anywhere in her room. I searched her room. Nothing.

Now, I was in a real panic. This was a paying job--how could I have misplaced this memory card? The worst part about it was that I had absolutely no recollection of what I did with it. I searched the camera bag again. Nothing.

I called my mom. She suggested praying to the St. Anthony, the Patron Saint of Lost Items. I pulled out the couches. Nothing.

I knew that the memory card had to be in the house somewhere. I played the events of Wednesday over and over and I just could not figure out what happened. I knew it wasn't on the table because Wednesday night one of my husbands friends from work came by, so we actually cleaned up a little. We would have found it, if it was in plain view.

When my husband got home Thursday night, he looked too. He looked in pretty much all the places I did and still nothing. Next step--emptying the garbage.

Friday morning rolled around and I had to take the Lady to the doctor for a follow-up visit after her iron levels tested low. Luckily, with the help of a $38 bottle of vitamins, she is fine. While there I stole a rubber glove because I knew I had to tackle the big bag of dirty diapers, taco meat, and cantaloupe rinds sitting in my kitchen when I got home. Luckily, I had someone to take the Lady out of the house.

So, I looked. There was a lot of dirty diapers and tissues, but no memory card.

Panic. Panic. Panic.

I only had half the photos from the shoot edited and downloaded and I had taken the majority of the shots. How was I going to explain this? In the middle of it all, my best friend called, I feel badly but I totally ignored her phone call. St. Anthony--please?

The Lady returned, the garbage was put back in the bag, I searched my camera bag again and still nothing. Now what?

The only thing I could think of that was in the house that had moved out of the house was the bag of recycling I had put out the night before. I took the garbage out to the garage and pulled open the recycling bin. I grabbed our bag, luckily there wasn't too much stuff on top of it and pulled out each piece one by one. Nothing. Until. . .

I shook out the magazines and heard the sweetest sound ever, the sound of a tiny plastic memory card, hitting the bottom of a dirty, dirty recycling bin. My heart soared. Joy. Happiness.

I figured that I put the memory card on top of the magazines on the table and then put the entire pile into the recycling bag. I really should get more organized.

Oh, the mommy mind melt! When will this fragmented brain reconnect? When will I emerge from this fog and be able to think clearly? When will I be able to remember the things I once took for granted? I fear, I will never have a complete recovery, which each kid a little bit more of my focus has been lost. For now, I will try to be more conscious of my actions and everyday say a little prayer to St. Anthony.

The Biggest Loser

They knocked off two last week!! As it turns out team Orange went home, Daniel for falling below the dreaded red line and Shay for being the biggest threat, even though she lost 17lbs and became the fastest woman to lose 100lbs. on the show.

Oh the tears!

I am not sure why they thought it was necessary to throw off two contestants, but it certainly pushed the contestants hard. I was surprised at the amount of weight loss by a lot of players, like Liz for example, and I guess they have to keep everyone motivated and in a constant state of fear!

I will say that I am getting kind of tired of watching these "pop" challenges. How long can you watch someone scoop up money and put it in an container, duck underneath a barrier or grab tennis balls off a velcroed wall? I think the reason I am so over it, is that every time I see Danny on Brown do things like this his shirt comes up and his incredibly large gut flaps around!

My cousin texted me after last weeks episode and wondered why there was no follow-up on Shay. We saw Daniel back home with his family and in a very awkward forced face-to-face with Dave, his partner from last season, who is still ginormous and was drinking a fountain soda. But why no Shay?

I have a few theories:

1. She totally blew up after she got home and the producers don't want us to see her.
2. She totally lost a ton more weight and it will ruin the reveal in a few weeks.
3. She is preggo
4. They ran out of time, because they insist on replaying the same thing after commercial as they did before the commercial and we will be updated this week.

I am looking forward to tonight. Tim Gunn shows up and it is makeover week! I love it when these contestants get cleaned up. The exposed stomach/sports bra look is getting tired.

Other Updates

I am signed up to run the Turkey Trot, but have been lacking on training time. I am finally feeling better after about two weeks of a cold/sinus infection. I have to get out and running a bit more this week or I won't last past the first mile. I keep visualizing the event in my head and I think this will actually help me this year because I know what to expect. I am hoping that the next week will be full of productive workouts so that I can beat my old time.

Now, if the Little Lady would only sleep better at night, perhaps I wouldn't feel so run down!!

A Few Photos

The Lady at the Touch a Truck Event

The Little Lady

Halloween with Grandpa and the Wild Man

Getting ready to Trick-0r-Treat

Pants Off/Dance Off

So, I have been complaining about the Lady's lack of pants time.

Here is a photo of the first incident where I had to bring her to Dunkies in just this outfit. 

Yes everyone, this is my life. 

Update

So, I didn't hear back from the hubby yesterday after I returned from work. I started to worry a little so I thought that warranted a phone call during my afternoon pump session.

Turns out, he was able to push the snake out into the driveway area with a broom, then our neighbor came over and picked the snake up with his mail and flung it over the fence. 

I asked how far it was thrown and was assured it was quite a distance, but I would have been just as happy if they had run it over with the car. 

I am still skeeved out every time I walk into the garage. Yuck.

Grossed Out

I went home at lunch today. The Ladies were out, so I had the house to myself for a few minutes, which is always nice and super rare.

On my way back to work, I dragged the garbage bin back into the garage and I saw a snake! It was just laying there inside the door area. I could only see the back end, but I totally freaked out. I hate snakes. I repeat. I hate snakes.

Now, the Ladies were out in the carriage and I couldn't bear the thought that the Lady might see this snake, or might be running around in the garage and come upon it, so I did the only thing I could think of and called my husband.

He agreed to come home and take a look at it. I was already on my way back to work, so I was praying that he could remedy the situation. When he called me about 10 minutes later, he could not find the snake. I don't know what is worse, seeing a snake in your garage--or knowing that there was a snake in your garage and now you can't find it!

Anyway, with a little direction and some banging on the wall, my husband did see it. He wasn't as concerned about its size as I was, and I haven't heard how he disposed of it yet, but I am praying it was in a humane--yet permanent way.

Yuck! I am still freaking out about it. It totally gives me the chills. I can handle a lot of things, poop in the tub, screaming children in the middle of the grocery store, blood, 5-mile runs, and fantasy football, but snakes--EWWWWWW! Gross.

Oh Boy! Oh Boy! Oh Boy!

We have been welcoming quite a few new little ladies this year to the Three Bean Salad family, so I am excited to announce the arrival of a few new boys to the mix.

First, I would like to welcome a big guy, weighing in at 9.7lbs, this little Irishman joins his big sister up in Newtown, CT. We hope that everyone is feeling well and adjusting!

Second, I would like to welcome another little guy with a ND connection. He is also a CT boy and we would like to welcome his mom and dad to parenthood!

Third, yet another CT boy. This time a NL connection who joins his big brother. We can't wait to see him at the beach this summer.

We hope everyone is feeling good, getting rest and enjoying these first few weeks with their little boys.

A Bit of Gossip

US Weekly sends me e-mail updates. The subject line today was Lawyer: Josh Duhamel Kept Waking Up Stripper for "More Sex"

I hadn't heard about the apparent romp with a stripper until then. Good thing I checked my mail at lunch when I was dropping off more boob juice for the little Lady and my copy of US Weekly had arrived with Fergie and Josh on the cover.

Oh. . . Hollywood couples, why do you have to ruin your marriages with cheap stripper sex?

All I have to say is "Fergie. . . Big Girls Don't Cry."

The Lady and The Wild Man Visit GG

I am very grateful that I have three living grandparents. I think it is amazing that my kids will spend time with their great-grandparents and have photos to see when they are older.

I still remember driving around with my own GG and visiting her in Florida. And it is a very vivid memory of mine of lining up with my cousins to get a haircut by Grandma Re and having her give us all Certs. Ah, Certs your wintergreen tastiness, stays with me to this day.

A few weeks ago, I piled in the car with the ladies and headed out to LI to visit my grandparents. It was a beautiful day and the kids played down on the beach by their house. It was the first time that they had gotten to see the newest additions and everyone was relatively well-behaved.

Yesterday, we packed up the car and headed north towards Albany to visit with GG. The ride is a little over two hours and when we pulled out my main concern was that the little Lady would need to eat halfway there and I would have to pull over at some Thruway rest stop and breastfeed her in the car. She however, was perfect and slept the whole way. The Lady on the other hand had her moments.

I have been allowing the Lady to listen to my iPod so that she can hear "Halo" on repeat. Yesterday, I made the mistake of not putting the earphones in her ears before we left, so she had a few issues with her "earpods" as she calls them. Once she figured out how to get them both in I had to listen to her sing. I am not a good singer. I admit it. I don't know all the words to songs so I just wing it, I can't carry a tune and any high note I hit sounds like a braying dog. I do, however, love music. The Lady is the same way. As my dad said the other night. "She loves to sing, but she isn't a good singer." So for about 45 minutes I had to listen to her hit the high notes in "Halo." Oh, it is a sound only a mother could love.

Anyway, things started to fall apart when she was unable to keep the earpods in, so I told her I would play the iPod through the radio. I then proceeded to listen to Halo for another 45 minutes, until I turned around and saw that her eyes were closed. When I switched songs, I heard a little voice in the backseat say "NO. Halo." So, we listened to Halo again.

It was around this time that the Lady got uncomfortable. She started squirming in her seat and complaining about wanting to get her backpack off. Now, I didn't realize she was wearing her purple Dora backpack and that my husband had strapped her in with it on. The whining started, then the winging, then the wriggling, until not only was the backpack off but the straps to her carseat as well. She then started to try and heave her body out of the seat. This wouldn't have been as scary, had she not hit the window button with her hand and the window rolled down. Note to self: Child Lock the window and the door immediately!

Needless to say we had to readjust and then finally we pulled into GG's.

The Wild Man had pulled in right before us and was already out of the car, around the side of the house and running through the leaves. The Lady made her way out of the car in her Dora nightgown, a pair of brown fleece pants with multi-colored hearts and her rainboots and was soon right behind him. Before we even got into the house, The Wild Man had knocked over the recycling bin in the garage and the Lady was right there with him. This should have been clue #1 that things were going to get crazy.

I realize now why, when we were younger, my cousins and I were confined to either the basement or the upstairs room of the house. I am not sure how our parents coped with not just two kids running around but upwards of 10-15.

Here are a few of the things that we encountered yesterday, and let me just preface this with the fact that my grandma said that there was nothing out that they could really get to that would cause a problem.

1. The Lady found a coin. This led to my aunt giving the kids handfuls of change, which they proceeded to carry around in a wicker wastebasket, that later in the day they both wore on their heads.

2. This obsession with change led them to the antique cash register that belonged to Grandma Re, where they tried, in vain, to open with a key that didn't fit the register and that ended up in the Wild Man's mouth.

3. Next to this antique cash register were two bells. My grandma has a bell collection, thank god they weren't all out or we would have been subject to some sort of jingle bell catastrophe. These kids were ringing the bells with such vigor that I thought that I would either go deaf, or one of them would end up hitting themselves in the head with the bell with such force that we would end up in the emergency room.

4. Silence is never good and it usually means that your kid is playing in the toilet. This happened twice.

5. Closing doors is probably a good idea (see above) or you may find yourself prying away eye drops from your two-year old, who insists she "needs them," while your nephew chews on a cork coaster in your grandma's room.

6. Letting the kids run around outside is a good idea. Letting them dig in your grandma's flower beds with diggy trucks works too. However, letting them play with sap covered pinecones that leave their hands blackened and sticky, isn't that good of an idea. And, once again when you hear silence, run. Because, as you make your way around the side of the house and hope that the two of them aren't in the street you will probably find them in the garage playing with the recycling bins again.

7. When you hear crashing from another room, run as well. My biggest fear was that they had knocked over something valuable, a bell perhaps or even broken a photo frame. I was grateful that it was just pewter coasters that had fallen to the floor. As I went to pick these up, I found the mechanical pencil with a three inch point on the floor with a pile of post-it notes that I noticed later had been randomly drawn on, the Wild Man with a handful of photos in his sap-covered hands, and the Lady wearing somebody's reading glasses.

8. If you have ever been to my grandma's house you would recognize the cat door-stopper. Basically, it is a brick-stuffed cat that will hold a door ajar. The Wild Man used it as a projectile.

These are just a few of the things we encountered. I am sure my grandma will find evidence of our visit in the next few days. The former "clown room" a scary kind of room when you are small, and lets face it when you are an adult as well, has been reconfigured. The kids were allowed in there, but still were able to take advantage of it. Apparantly, the Lady was trying on clothes in the closet, all the pillows were thrown from the bed, the little crib my grandma put out in case the little ladies needed a nap was full of anything and everything those kids could reach.

Luckily exaustion set in on the ride home. Both of my girls slept the entire way back to my parents, where we were meeting my sister for pizza. We left there a couple hours later, the second house that day destroyed, but with no toilet incident, a small victory that I will cherish.

The Biggest Loser and Other Updates

Ding Dong the witch is dead!

Tracey is off the show. I will say I will miss her crazy big eyes and exaggerated facial expressions, but it is always fun to watch someone try to manipulate the game, so when I look at it from that perspective I am a little sad to see her go. She does look good now and I was happy that she could run that mile without passing out and having to be hospitalized. In a weird way it gives me hope!

So the contestants headed to DC, recruited fellow Americans to work out on the Mall, ate out of Obama's garden and switched from teams to individuals. I am interested to see how the alliances will pan out. Will they stick to black vs. blue like they did in the past or will they honor their original pairings with their partners?

This is the part of the season that I actually love, the numbers are dwindling and when they flash back to previous photos of the contestants you can really see how far they have come. It still amazes me that in 8 weeks some of these people have lost between 75 and 100lbs. It makes my quest for 15-20 seem doable.

Other Updates
I hit the gym on Tuesday and got in an okay workout. I didn't run for as long as I wanted, but in my defense I have a bit of a head cold and kind of feel like crap. I have been using the gym at my sister's condo and have been pretty lucky to usually have the place all to myself.

Tuesday, a guy came in for his elliptical workout, had to ask how to turn on the TV, then left the room after about 10 minutes. I didn't think too much of it, since I was entrenched in watching the Jeopardy Teen Tournament with no sound on, while shuffling songs on my iPod. I assumed he had to take a poo, get some water or had a phone call, since I saw him standing outside the door for a couple minutes at a time. What I didn't realize until after I was done with my workout is that for all those times I saw him standing outside the door, that he had forgotten his key and was waiting for me to let him in. Oops.

I am thinking about running a 5k next Sunday. I am hoping that if I can finish it and feel okay that it will serve as a catalyst for me to really make sure that I am ready for the Turkey Trot. We will see. . .

The Yankees Win!

I will admit to falling asleep between the bottom of the 7th and the bottom of the 8th, however, I did rouse myself to watch the Yanks capture their 27th World Championship.

The Little Lady watched as well. She got to ring in a Yanks World Series Win in her first few months of life. She joined her big sis in watching a championship team win it all soon after she was born, the Lady watched the G-men go all the way when she was only four months old!

Next kid--a ND National Championship? We will see. . .

The Biggest Loser and Other Updates

I am two weeks behind on BL updates. Let's just be quick about this. The black team is not doing so well and they have sent home Dina and Abby.

For the record, I think Daniel should have gone home, as much as I like him and hope he gets to his weight loss goal, he isn't dropping any lbs. and he isn't really doing anything. Why send home Abby? She looks great now, but I feel like she could have benefited much more by staying at the ranch.

Was anybody else annoyed that the info on the last episode was titled "Derek Jeter talks to the contestants" and Jeter was only on a big screen for like two minutes. I mean really, if you are going to advertise him, at least give him a bit more face time. I have been staring at these sweaty, double-chinned faces for weeks now, how about a little bit of pretty once in a while?

We got the DVR yesterday, so now I can watch both BL and SYTYCD and not have to choose, hopefully this will enable me to post quicker on the BL this week. Since there is no World Series game tonight (the Yanks blew it last night--good job pitching AJ!), I will be able to watch the BL live. Look for updates tomorrow.

Other Updates: I ran two days last week. I have to be more consistent if I want to try to run the Turkey Trot. I only have 24 days, but I think I can do it. I tried on the bridesmaid dress I have to wear in January, and much to my chagrin--it fit. I was hoping it would be a little bit more loose. Granted, my boobs are ginormous, but a bit more wiggle room would have been ideal. I am hoping that by December it will have to be taken in a lot more. The food journal went by the wayside this weekend. Why are mini snickers so delicious? Why?

I Am The Worst

Talk about being a delinquent blogger. I apologize for my lack of posts in the past couple of weeks. I am still feeling like I am just two steps behind. Excuses. Excuses.

Anyway, I apologize and here is a quick recap of some of the past weeks adventures:

Work: Still ugh, but some days busier than others and although everyone still calls me the "proofreader," I am feeling like I am getting the hang of things here.

Halloween: This past weekend was super hectic. We started out Friday morning with the Lady in her busy bee costume and hit a Moms Club playdate, we then headed over to the photographer for Halloween pictures with the Wild Man and his sister. The photos are free when you bring a toy for Toy for Tot's, so these are quick sessions in a basement studio, where the big kids are sitting on hay bales and the babies are put in wooden buckets stuffed with burlap.

The Wild Man took a tumble off the back of the hale bale and struck the photographers assistant in the head with his fireman's helmet. At one point, three out of four of the kids were screaming. The Lady was the only one with no tears, however she had her finger up her nose for the majority of the day!

After the photos, we packed the kids in the cars and headed to my husband's office for some trick-or-treating. Since we got there early, the Wild Man and the Lady had free reign of the place and picked up a ton of candy. For the record--who likes Whoppers? Anyone? I think they are gross and should be discontinued from the variety pack. After that we headed over to a Halloween party at my best friend's place. The amount of sugar the Lady consumed was incredible. We didn't get home until 8:30 and I think I was the one who was the most tired.

On Saturday, we got dressed up again, headed over to my parents for a Halloween parade, however the rain came with us and we settled for a quick trick-or-treat around the block, umbrellas and all. We did make it home in time for the Yanks to win, which was a very good Halloween Treat.

Sunday, we went to a Touch a Truck outdoor exhibit where upon entry the girl at the table had to use the calculator to tally the amount of three adults paying $8 each. I mean really, I know that they say the US can't keep up in education, but really? 8 x 3? On a calculator?

After the Lady and the Wild Man got a chance to go in a school bus, a city bus, and a diggy truck, we headed up to the in-laws for my MIL's birthday. The Lady was in her element because there was cake!

I will post some pictures when I get home from work!

The Biggest Loser and Other Updates

I haven't been blogging on the BL! So sorry! I missed the show two weeks ago, Julio went home!

Last week, I caught the drama that unfolded when Tracy, yet again, won a challenge and was given power over the group.

Having the ability to split the teams, she split up every couple with the exception of herself and Coach Mo, and Danny and Shay. So basically, she alienated everyone else, again.

Even members of her new team (blue--with Bob, who didn't seem super pleased to have her on the team) want her gone.

Now, in the past I have said that sometimes there is too much game play, but this season it seems to be a good mix. I mean really, if there wasn't some drama then we would just be watching a show of fat people exercising and nobody really wants to see that!

I will say that I was surprised that Tracy didn't go home this week. Coach Mo fell on the sword for his team. I do understand that he was a liability in terms of his injury and the fact that he probably wasn't going to drop as much weight as Tracy, but blue had a chance to get her off the team and now I think they are going to have to deal with the aftermath of keeping her.

Best case scenario is that the next time Blue has to eliminate someone, Tracy goes.

Anyway, didn't get a chance to watch this weeks episode, the Yanks were on their way to winning game 4 of the ALCS. Will update again after I watch.

Other Updates

I am planning on running in the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving again this year, the problem is that I haven't started running at all. My plan was to also run a 5k a couple of weeks prior to the race and I am hoping I will even be able to do that.

I did go out and get a new sports bra and a pair of workout pants. The next step is actually putting them on and running.

The food journal has its good days and its bad days, as do I when it comes to putting things in my mouth. I didn't realize how stressed out I would be these days, between pumping, working and trying to balance home, kids and hubby, I find myself making not the best decisions when it comes to snacking. I am trying to hold myself accountable. I did go out and buy a new scale and since that purchase I have lost 2lbs. So the scale is moving in the right direction.

Updates to come. . .

UGH!

So, I am at work and it was time to pump and I got my little black bag and headed into the conference room and then I realized that I left the adapter plug at home.

My battery pack back-up is on its last legs and would just die every couple of minutes. Needless to say, I got less than nothing in terms of boob juice.

Normally, this would be okay, but I am trying to increase my production and my plan was to go home at lunch to drop off the morning pump so I would have enough for the little Lady for the day.

Now, I have to pump at home just to get caught up. UGH!! UGH!! UGH!!

The Before Photo

It is official. I am a "before" photo. I know I have touched on this a bit in the past, but in the last week or so, the reality of this has really set in.

Anytime I see a glimpse of my own flesh in the mirror, I am reminded of the advertisements in the back of US Weekly, where similarly shaped women claim to have lost 30lbs in 30 days by eating anything they wanted, and pumping enough speed into their bodies that eating, let alone concentrating on anything wasn't even an option.

This "before" photo image doesn't end when I actually clothe my body. Not only, am I going out in sweats (and sweats, that I probably wore the day before or walked in, or slept in), but I am pairing these sweats with XL maternity shirts that look like small pup tents and almost come down to my knees. It was one thing to wear these things immediately after the baby. I couldn't even function and everything hurt, so wearing big, loose clothing was ideal. However, the little Lady will be 2 months old tomorrow and things are a little different.

Now, I have watched hours and hours of What Not To Wear, and never before have I recognized myself so vividly in those women. I ran errands yesterday wearing a pair of capri, blue sweatpants, that I had worn the day before and had walked in a few hours earlier. I paired these sweats with an over sized sweatshirt and a pair of sneakers. Now, the outfit wouldn't have looked so bad, had the sweatpants not been stretched out from frequent use, and infrequent wash, and the crotch of the sweatpants had not been hitting me mid-thigh.

I probably wouldn't be so mortified, had I not caught sight of myself in the large pane glass windows of Bed, Bath and Beyond--where I was going to finally buy a scale so that I could hold myself accountable and try to move forward in my ultimate weight loss goals. God--please let this be the bottom for me!

Freaking Froggy!

I have been trying to figure out a way to spend some time with the Lady by herself. This always poses a challenge because I have to leave the little Lady behind without the boob. Even though I have been trying to pump on a consistent basis things have been a little hectic and I am finding myself only pumping enough to leave for my work days and not much more to store. So any opportunity to get out without her can be a little stressful for me. However, my husband told me he would be home early enough for us to get out and I had some milk in the fridge ready to go.

Anyway, the Barnes and Noble by our house has a 6:00 pm story time on Friday nights and last Friday, Froggy was supposed to be there. Now, from what I can gather, Froggy is a giant frog who reads to the kids and then takes a couple of photos. I figured that this was a great idea. The Lady and I would get out for an hour or so, take a couple pictures with the frog and maybe spend a few minutes playing with the trains in the store. I maybe would even get to look around the bookstore and pick out something for myself.

We invited the Wild Man and his mom to come along. Now if any of you have ever experienced Friday night traffic on 95 in lower Fairfield County, CT, you know that actually getting anywhere can take forever. The Wild Man left his house at 5 after 5 and didn't get to B&N until after 6. My husband left his office at 25 after 5 and didn't get home until 5 to 6, so I was waiting, anxiously, with the Lady to go.

We showed up a little after 6 and the children's book section lady was mid-story. I did, however, not see any giant frogs. She finished one story and then another, still no frog and still no Wild Man.

Finally, the question was posed--where is Froggy? Froggy, apparently was not coming, but they were in the process of "working on it." I am not sure what that means exactly, but unless some guy was in the back putting on a giant frog head, it looked like there would be no Friday night frog.

Now, the only reason I took my 2 year old out at 6pm on a Friday night was because of the promise of a giant frog. I wasn't even sure if she would like him. I could see her being afraid and then talking about how scared she was of the frog for 3 weeks, but it afforded us the opportunity to get out together and experience something away from the baby. Froggy--how could you disappoint us?

So, now it was 6:30, my sister and I had two 2-year old's as well as the Wild Man's little sister. The big kids needed to eat and books were not keeping their attention. We tried the trains for a bit and then headed up to the food court/play area.

I was shocked by how many kids were at the play area at 7 pm. We let the big guys run around for a while and then finally packed it up. It wasn't quite the experience I wanted with the Lady. I was hoping she and I could share something exciting and new and that she would be happy to talk about for a while.

Instead, I fed her scalding hot chicken fingers and fries, exposed her to a bazillion germs at the indoor play area, got home well past the time I wanted to, which pushed bedtime back again, and once again skipped her bath. All of this for a giant frog that never showed up. UGH.

BTW. . . when I got home the little Lady had gone through a bottle and a half of boob juice in the 2 and a half hours that we were gone. Is this ever going to get any easier?

Morning Yang

We have a guest blogger today. Here is a little something from Steadman. . . as always we welcome comments


Two things are constantly recycled in my mind during my hour and a half commute in the morning. One is the quote “Get busy livin’ or get busy dying” from Shawshank Redemption. The second is the sight of a 90 year old man wearing a “carpe diem” hat I saw sitting around the Back Bay train station some years ago. The threat on another full day of work chokes me in a miasma of both disgust and unpure thoughts. Yet I continue to kiss whitey’s ring day after day, laboring under the yolk of a consistent paycheck. Sure I have family obligations, bills, an out of control fabergé egg addiction (who doesn’t?)– but these are not the reasons I have yet to abandon ship. Nor is it the sanguine feeling I get when I leave work, serving as the yin to my morning yang. Nor still is it the hundreds on emails I exchange daily with Sheils, or the possibility of fresh entries on Aileen’s blog. These just maintain my sanity, and keep everyone else in the office alive.

There are just two real reasons that I have not ended this employment nightmare. One, is that I have absolutely no brass in my pants – none - and everybody knows it. The second is that if I had the opportunity to go back in time and change anything about my life, studying a different field or getting a different job would not even be in the picture. The only thing I would do is go back to April 2002 and try to buy the Cinnamon Toast Crunch windbreaker I saw some dude wearing on the street. God that was a sweet jacket.

Now back to work. Thanks Aileen.

Weekend Update

Had a whirlwind weekend of travel. The little Lady and I went to Michigan for a family wedding. I got about 9 hours of sleep total from Thursday night through Sunday, but it was all worth it.

So glad to see the family and hang with my girls.

Steadman--you looked stunning in the pink on pink. Guest blogging privileges have been extended to you--so don't disappoint!

The Lady hung with her dad and the in-laws while we were gone. She passed the time by playing with her cousins, eating about 700 pieces of ice cream cake and barely napping.

Will post a few pics when I get a chance to download them.

The Biggest Loser and Other Updates

I will admit that I missed the BL last week! It was my first day back at work and it was a long day for me. I thought it was TiVoing, but alas I was mistaken. So instead of even catching the last half hour of it, I watched the end of NCIS-LA--big mistake.

Turns out that there wasn't much to see anyway, nobody was eliminated. This week, however, I made sure the TiVo was set and carved away a little time to watch.

Tracey on purple is crazy!

Talk about crazy eyes and panic attacks. She certainly is not in a good place in terms of self-confidence and is clearly looking for any advantage she can (especially if it involves eating cupcakes!). I feel bad for Coach Mo, who now is part of a team, where everyone hates one member. If they ever fall below the yellow line and have to be eliminated as a team, they will certainly go.

I have to say, I like that Jillian called out Coach Mo, and I like that she lost it on Tracey. Ah, game play. . . where will you take us next?

I am still trying to get to know these contestants. As much as I am routing for Abby on the green team, I don't need to see them flash back to her telling the horrific story of her loss every time she comes on screen. I also like Allen from the green team. He seems like a really good guy and partnered with Abby, they have my vote to go all the way.

Love the orange team. Daniel is so positive and I want him to finish his journey and just drop all the weight and finally get laid (I am just assuming that this has never happened, but I am sure I can't be that far off!) And Shay, well she just needs to keep losing that weight. I mean when you see her in just the sports bra and spandex, it is really unbelievable to imagine getting that big.

Anyway, I was sorry to see the red team go. I liked those guys. Sean still has a while to go as well, I mean he is still over 3 bills but it looks like he is on his way.

I have to say, I love a BL love connection. Congrats to Antoine and Alexandra, they are so cute and hopefully they will continue to lead a healthy lifestyle.

More to come next week.

Other Updates

So, I am clear to exercise and I am mapping out my return to running. I have been running the stairs at my house and trying to fit in a little cardio each day, but the next step is actually lacing up the shoes and hitting the pavement. I am going to try to follow the 5k plan that I used last year, and I am hoping that I can get to three miles running sooner rather than later. This all depends on if I can actually find the right time to get out of the house!

I have looked into signing up for some 5ks in the next 6 weeks in preparation for the Turkey Trot and I hope that this will help kick-start the weight loss. I really would like to fit back into my clothes.

I had to go out last night and get a dress for a wedding this weekend. It was a little disheartening to try on sizes. I was hoping I was only one dress size higher than I started off at, but it looks like it is more like two! I settled on just getting a "L" dress, which I think camouflages the belly and I am hoping to spice it up with some accessories. I did have to endure another hot, small, dressing room where I tried to avoid actually looking in the mirror when any bit of skin was exposed.

I know I am only 7 weeks out, but combined with the food journal and some actual movement, I thought I might be a little bit more ahead.

Speaking of the food journal, I was always one of those people who never believed others when they said "I am too busy, I don't have time to eat." I am not one of those people, I am always thinking about when I can eat next, however, with the arrival of the little Lady, her feeding schedule and our pretty aggressive plans to get out of the house each day, I find myself not eating anything until mid-day on some days. This isn't leading to weight loss though, because I am trying to make up the calories later on and make sure that I am taking in enough to keep up the milk production.

Oh, weight loss why are you so evasive?

National Coffee Day!

Today is National Coffee Day.

http://www.mypunchbowl.com/holidays/2009/9/29/national-coffee-day

To all my fellow caffeine addicts out there, let's celebrate.

My mom picked up my coffee this morning, so no knowing if my Dunkies was giving out freebies. I might have to stop by on my way home from work!

I Was Milked

I don't want to constantly blog about breastfeeding, but since it is something that takes up a huge part of my day and I am constantly thinking about it--you will for the next few months, have to read a little bit about it.

Anyway, last week my nipples were burning.

This was not a minor discomfort, this was something else. I decided to call in a lactation specialist to check it out. I had met with a woman when the Lady was first born and called her again. She showed up a half-hour late after pulling into the Market in front of our house and getting involved in a minor fender-bender with a wall in her rental car--because her other car was in the shop getting repaired from another small accident. Not a great driver obviously, but she is pretty knowledgeable about the boobs.

Once you have had children, your modesty kind of goes out the window. I will still turn my back if I am changing in front of my husband, because even though he has seen it all and more, and even though I whip out my boobs like thirty times a day--and not in the good sexy way--I don't need to remind him of my belly flap and stretch marks. However, when it comes to complete strangers, I will apparently, strip down for a Brazilian or just casually expose my breasts to bad drivers.

So, I found myself standing in my living room--while the Lady watched the "Wonder Pets" and the little Lady hung out in her bassinet--being milked by a virtual stranger.

Along with having basically a yeast infection on my nipples--I know--SUPER GROSS, I also have two blocked ducts (or blebs--the technical term), one on each boob. She descried the bleb as basically a blackhead on my breast. Great. Not only do I have acne on my face I have it on my tits.

The lactation specialist was trying to loosen the block by basically "popping" the bleb by scraping it with her fingernail and then trying to get the milk to flow by milking me.

And believe me the milk was flying. Part of me was annoyed because we were wasting so much milk. It was flying across the room, onto the floor and directly on the front of the lactation specialists red suede jacket.

Let's talk a bit about times in your life where you have stopped for a moment and taken in the present situation at hand. When, if ever, did I think that I would be so aware of myself as a mammal? I wondered quite frankly how I had gotten there in that exact moment, leaning against my couch, both boobs out, with the little Lady starting to stir, listening to yet another irritating theme song from a children's show, staining a suede shirt, while being pawed and pinched. How had this happened?

After going through a few paper towels, and not being able to "pop" the blocked duct, I was prescribed some cream for the yeast and something else to dull the nipple pain so that when I tried to pop it myself it wouldn't totally kill.

I also was given a flyer on how to self-express milk. I am thinking of framing it or scrapbooking it as a reminder of this time in my life, when boobs were more functional than fun, where sleep was a precious commodity, where strangers instead of shaking hands, shake boobs, and when I was so fully aware of being a woman and a mother and all the responsibility and craziness that comes with it.

Ugh, Work--Why Didn't I Bring a Stain Stick?--or--Am I Pumping in a Handicapped Bathroom?

Back to work!


I started my part-time/temp position on Tuesday with very mixed feelings and plenty of questions. Was I leaving the little Lady too soon? Was I relying too much on my mom for childcare? Was I throwing too many changes at the Lady? And more importantly, what would I wear and where would I pump?


I have been wearing yoga pants almost everyday for the past two years. Before that, I worked in a public county center with dirty old books that was frequented by the general public who may or may not have had questionable hygienic practices. I wore jeans and a hoodie most days.


The office I am working in is pretty casual, jeans can be worn everyday but lets just say the pre-preggo clothes aren't quite fitting and I am super tired of anything maternity. I really don't need to be wearing jeans that go from my boobs to my ankles--although it does cover the "before photo" that is my stomach!


My other problem is that I have no shirts to wear. I have what you might call a broad back, plus a little bit of a belly so tops are always an issue for me, but I had to make due so the first day back, I hiked up the full-body jeans, folded down the front panel and wore the shirt I had bought for "The View," you know, the one that kind of highlights my back fat. I slipped my feet into some ballet flats that hurt before I even left the house, packed my pump, grabbed my lunch and headed out the door (well actually my parent's door--my husband was out of town and it was easier just to stay there then worry about showering).


I tossed my Maybelline foundation in my bag to do a quick cover-up in the car, but it never quite made it on my face--it did however find its way to the front of my shirt. The bottle opened a little bit and smeared its way onto my wallet and apparently the bottom of my water bottle, which I leaned up against my shirt. Did you know that makeup doesn't really wash off? To add insult to injury I also opened my yogurt facing me and some splattered on my shirt. So there I was walking around the office searching for a place to pump with brown makeup stains and small dots of dried yogurt on my shirt.

Pumping at work is a foreign concept to me. Having no work to go to the first time around, I was unsure of how to approach the topic of finding an adequate place to pump. To make matters worse, I am only a temp at this office. I haven't even seen the entire floor, I don't know where there are offices vs. cubicles and I don't know who to ask to point me in the right direction. I had resigned myself to pump in the car!

After further review, I realized that they had a handicapped bathroom, separate from the regular bathrooms and it had a chair in it as well as a lock on the door. I made myself comfortable, balanced the pump on my lap and looked for a place to plug in. Unfortunately, there was no outlet. I used my backup battery pack, tried to ignore the decor and the fact that I was sitting next to a garbage can and finished pumping. Would it surprise you to find out that when I went to "disconnect" from the pump that some of the milk splattered and landed on my shirt? Ugh.

I decided after that, that I need to be a little bit more pro-active in my life. Do I want to find myself pumping on an open toilet in a stall or sliding low in the passenger seat of my car behind a dumpster? No. So I called my contact at the temp agency and she put me in touch with HR. They are letting me use a conference room with a lock on the door and an outlet, twice a day for my pumping routine. I am a little worried about the time when someone will knock on the door and I will have to answer them, but I am not quite willing to post a sign.

I want to make sure that I am consistent because at the end of the day, this milk is for my baby and that is more important then the locale of where I pump, or the minor embarrassment it might cause me, when I have to open the door and explain that I am connected to a mechanized pump and expressing milk!

The Lady Turns Two

Happy Birthday to the Lady!!! I cannot believe she is two.

She has been celebrating all weekend long and tonight we are hoping for an early bedtime!!

Birthday Wishes

Happy Belated Birthday to some September Ladies!

Just wanted to give a shout out to some little ladies with September b-day's.

Hope you had a great day, Bunny, The Littlest Lady from CNY, The Lady from the Beautiful Fountain and little miss Maryland!

The Lady Wears No Pants

So the Lady has started refusing to wear pants and removing her diaper at nap and night time.


It all started last week, when we were trying to get out of the house to visit the Wild Man and his very sweet little sister.

The Lady absolutely refused to wear the shirt and pants I had for her, she cried, and repeatedly told me "No like it!"However, by some divine intervention she was totally open to wearing the sweatshirt I had for her as well as a pair of socks and her pink Converse All Stars.

So, we left the house in a sweatshirt, socks and sneakers and her diaper. I tried to convince her to put on pants when we got to Dunkin Donuts--this didn't work. I am sure you can picture me walking into Dunkies with the little Lady in the super heavy infant car seat, while the Lady held on to the side of it, wearing no pants. I briefly considered not going in, but lets face it, I have an addiction and had to feed the need.

Flash forward to nap time about 3 hours later. The Lady had fallen asleep in the car on the way home, I transported her into her crib, but she woke up. I left her in there for a while to talk it out with the hope that she would fall asleep. After 15 minutes, I went in to check on her and not only was she not sleeping, but she had removed her diaper and thrown it on the floor.

When I asked her why she did that she told me she just had "wee-wees." For a brief moment, I thought this might be a good thing, maybe she was taking the initiative in potty training and I could soon be only buying one size diapers. This thought was quickly dashed over the next few days, when I would go and check on her and she was diaperless. One day, she was totally naked doing the downward dog in her crib.

Coinciding with the diaper removal was the fact that the Lady got a brand new Dora the Explorer nightgown. She loves this nightgown and wants to wear it every night. The problem is that she is now not wearing pants at all to bed and there is no barrier--however minimal--to stop the diaper removal. So every night I have to check and recheck to make sure the diaper is still securely fastened to her very cute moon.

Last night, I heard her calling me and went in to check, all seemed well. I ignored her subsequent calls because it was time for bed--big mistake.

About a half-hour later I went in for the final check and stepped in something wet on the floor. I am not sure how actual pee got on the floor. The two scenarios I am running in my head are that she was standing up while she peed, or that when she flung off the diaper some leaked out.

My husband lifted her up, still sleeping, I changed the sheets and he put on a new diaper.

Before I left this morning, I reminded her that she had to wear pants today. I am hoping for the best but thinking of getting out the duct tape!