Another year has come and gone (almost)

I have met some amazing women. I have made some friends. I am still missing old friends and my Vegas.

We are having a NYE celebration tonight. Just a few friends and their families. Appetizers, wine, and champagne punch.

I have a good easy peasy punch recipe. Ready?
1-2 bottles of Champagne. Get the cheap stuff, no one will know. 1 bottle of ginger ale. 1-2 bags of semi frozen strawberries. Yum. Fast. Inexpensive for a crowd and people gobble it up.

I was planning to wear a fun sparkly cocktail dress that hasn't seen NYE in about 5 years... but then my husband said that I would be silly to do so. A friend said that might be silly. So, I will be in a sparkly top instead with some jeans or pants. Gotta add sparkle. It is NYE after all... even if I am cozy in my house.

I have seen some debate on Pinterest. Does it cause stress to regular moms to become Betty Crocker and Martha Stewart and Heidi Klum. No, IMO. I think it is great for ideas, inspiration, pairings. I like to keep tips, recipes, and the like together. I think that it is genius. What do you guys think? Do you get overwhelmed? Does it make you feel like you are less than a woman because you might not make your own play dough, cookie dough and dresses?

Tish

Football and Recipes

It has been so hard to not constantly have my tiny man in my arms. I have been really good at not lifting him much. I sometimes just cant take it and swoop him up--carefully of course.
I can hold him, just not lift him, so that makes my heart a little better. The upside is that the husband is doing most of the diaper changes these days :) Silver linings.

I have my 2 week check up at the Dr. tomorrow. I am doing pretty good. the disaster that is now my stomach is healing. It is still fairly swollen though.

I have been reading a lot. Finally read several Emily Giffin books-- she wrote "Something Borrowed" that was turned big screen. Cute books. I have a couple more to read. I have been utilizing the library. I must say, I do prefer my kindle though. It would be ridiculous to buy all of these short reads IMO. Do you guys have a kindle? Do you do the borrowing thing? I need to learn about it. Tell me if you know...

Football season is here and I love that! ASU and the CARDINALS. Now-- if they aren't playing each other, I will also root for Mizzou and The Chiefs. However, when push comes to shove, let's go Arizona!

I tried out a new spinach dip today.
8oz softened cream cheese
maybe 1/4-1/3 cup each of sour cream and mayo
garlic salt to taste
chili powder--beef it up since there is so much to balance it.
can of drained artichoke hearts
a cup or so of frozen spinach
mozzarella
Mix. Broil till cheese is bubbly and browned. Serve. It was pretty tasty.

I haven't cooked too much lately, but did whip up these things:

Baked Rigatoni with Spinach adapted from this skinnytaste recipe.

Olive Garden's Pasta Fagioli soup adapted from a pinterest recipe I found. I only had one can of kidney beans. I didn't have any tomatoes on hand and it still was pretty good. Next time I will fully cook the pasta before adding it to the soup since it sucked most of the juices when I cooked the pasta in the actual soup. Other than that, this soup will be on a rotation for me. Was really good.

My next new thing to try is hummus. I couldn't find any of the tahini that many of the recipes call for, so I will try it with out using that little guy. Some people say that you can use PB but that it is then not real hummus. Other's say that you don't need it at all. Who knows. What I do know is that my baby loves hummus. Hummus is pricey and Maddox would eat his weight in it if we let him. Beans, olive oil and garlic are cheap. Mama will try this way.

Am thinking about what to do for Halloween. Trick or Treating kind of scares me. I watch too much television. I know there are some good places. I will ask around at the mama group. Which brings me to his costume.... Good Lord. What a task. Your child's (first) Halloween costume! Plus I kind of am toying with the idea of a family theme... Geeky? Maaaaybe.

Gotta go. The Cards are playing.

Post-Op

Had the surgery Friday. Been recovering since.... feeling better now but on the mend.
To let you know that I still am around-- here are a few pictures of goings ons.

The last picture portrays part of our new backyard we had done. Took out all the rock:

and added this:

The other side of the yard is the pool. I can't find a recent picture of it with all of the new things the husband added on this computer so, you just have to take my word for it :)

We went patio furniture shopping today. Who knew that those sets were so pricey? BUT, gotta get a nice conversation piece to go with the chiminea we want! Arizona has beautiful winters. Perfect for cozying up with the fire and cocoa.

Are you following me on Twitter and Pinterest? You should :)

Catch ya later babes.

Tish

Mom, Recipes and Smash Cake

My mom is in town! MY MOM IS IN TOWN!
I am beyond excited. Over the moon.

We have been just hanging out. Cooking, baking, shopping, playing Phase 10, watching little boy.

It has been so good y'all.

Some recipes:

*I made the Zucchini Boats again. So yummy.

*Also made Chile Colorado again. Made a couple extra and threw them in the freezer for next week.

*I tried this chicken. Good,  comforting, lots of leftovers. Will be good to unfreeze next week after my surgery.

*Made this cake. Was pretty good. I started with a box of Golden Vanilla. I am still working on my butter cream recipes so last night I used a can. Whoops.
I am starting to practice a smash cake for Maddox's 1st birthday. This cake was my first try. It is 2.5 six inch round cakes stacked on top of each other.
I found out that adding those sprinkles around the bottom of the cake is much harder than it looks and I also found out that I am a crappy froster. I must practice. Which means a lot of cake. I don't need a lot of cake in this house. Help. LOL.

Off to go be with my mom.

Tish

Cinderella and her bad luck

I have lots of Cinderella things to do today. Cinderella things are what I call my chores :)
It sounds better to me. I will say, "Cinderella has things to do today". Ha. I am a weirdo, I know.

I finally emptied the dishwasher. You guys, it has been clean and full since last week. Whoops. And i know that it has been, I just didn't FEEL like emptying it. LOL. I opted to just wash the dishes instead. How lazy. I can't even tell you WHY I didn't want to do it.

I cleaned the master bathroom. I need to wipe up and scrub toilets in the other baths as well today.
I cleaned the fridge shelves and drawers. Something was sticky. I have no idea what. I didn't have anything old or sticky in there. I clean the fridge every week. It was odd.

Then the standard, sweep, mop, vacuum, dust, clean the sliding glass door, wash the dog linens. Woo! Are you excited yet?

I was reading some other blogs today and Kelly's Korner had a post about a rep asking her (and other bloggers) to come to an all expense paid weekend to try out the resort and to bring her favorite child. I was appalled. That was certainly not a mom who thought that idea up.

OH NO!! NO NO NO.
I was eating a cheese stick as I was typing this up... and my temporary bridge just came out. Are you serious with this? Sigh. I am so unlucky with my teeth these days. I called to tell them and get in.. I was expecting, "just come when you can get here and we will fix it". Nope. She said 3:20. Almost 5 hours away :(

I guess that means Tropical Smoothie for lunch. Even though... I still feel like crying. Plus, the husband will not be back in time to leave Maddox home, so I will be that mom with her son at the dentists office. Sorry in advance to all.....

I am off to sulk and shower.

Tish

Guess who is EIGHT MONTHS old?!

Guess who is EIGHT MONTHS old?!

This happy boy, that's who! I just love this boy to pieces! He really is just the best little thing that could have ever happened to us.

He is wearing a size 3 diaper. He has had to be in night time diapers now overnight. He wears 6y-9 month clothing. Some of the pants are too big still, but that is ok. He wears some 9-12 and 12m clothes too. Especially if there is feet involved. He is so long. we bought him 3t-5t socks the other day and my husband about fainted. He has ginormous feet.

He loves to eat table food. Grilled cheese, hamburger quessadillas, yogurt, you name it.

He is just a joy.

I love you little one.

Mom

Unorganized Brain Dump.

This will be an unorganized brain dump.

*Last week I was on a watching Sex and the City kick. I love SATC. It is such a girl classic. I popped season 1 in. I though that I had all the seasons, but I seem to be missing 4-6. Maybe they didn't survive all the moves, maybe I am mistaken and don't own them, never did. Who knows. But I think I need to invest in 4, 5, and 6.

*All of last week I had no meal plan. I hate not having a meal plan outlined for the week. We winged it  and that was fine but I much prefer the organization. I sit and plan it out on Mondays usually. It takes a long time to figure out what we have, what we need and then go to the store to get said things, but it seems to make it easier on me. I always have an answer to the dreaded "What's for dinner?" question.

*My son had a full screaming tantrum at Target. I was "that mom". He just screamed and cried. I rushed to get what I came for and left. I think he was overly tired and maybe is teething again because he has been a bit edgy lately.

*We went to Babies and Books at the library per the usual. He loves the "Going to Kentucky" song. If I start singing it at home (since the friggin tune gets stuck in my head ALL DAY) he just starts laughing and smiling.



*I downloaded Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin on the kindle. I had seen the movie when it came out but A. I am forgetful and B. Books are always better. I read it pretty fast and then got a library book. GASP. I must say, I am spoiled with kindle. I prefer it. BUT for such fast reads, it makes sense to check them out and return them. I checked out Something Blue and am nearly done with that since Monday. Fast reads, even with a little guy on the go. I will see if the next in the series is at the library next week when we go.

*This weekend was a low key one. We swam and just hung out. It was nice to not have to do anything.

*My husband is out of town on a business trip. He has two per year and I hate being alone. I used to not mind, I did buy my own house and live there no problem. I feel like I used to be much more independent. Now, married and mommy me does not feel that way. I feel awkward going places as just TISH. Not the wife, not Maddox's mom. Terrible.

*ADT called me to say that my alarm was activated by the motion sensor last night on my way home from the grocery store. Awesome. Second time it has happened and both times sans husband in the state. I had left 2 of our 4 dogs out and I assumed that was what happened. The sensor goes to 100 pounds. Well Zoey is 85-90 pounds and Sam is 55pounds, so they must have stood in the beam at the same time.

*I met the mommy group at Arrowhead yesterday. I had planned to go already, but that was a bonus since I wont get to many meetings the rest of the month. Maddox wanted to play so badly. He would start crawling and pulling up on the toys and then big kids would race by him chasing each other and my little love would sob. It happened about 8 times. No parents around to discipline their children. I wanted to yell at them and tell them to have manners and inside voices and feet but I didn't. I cant believe how ill-behaved children are. It is their parents fault I believe. TEACH your kid how to act. WATCH your kid when they are playing. It is pretty simple. We left and went shopping after that. I doubt i go back unless it is pretty empty. They need to have a designated baby area.

Tish

Chick-Fil-A

Have you guys been hearing all of the comments and backlash toward Chick-Fil-A?

What are your thoughts on that?

I saw this letter today and couldn't help but smile.

I just can not wrap my head around the fact that Christians are spreading hate and close mindedness. Shouldn't their message be "treat others the way you want to be treated" and "God loves all the little children"?

If you don't like same sex marriage, don't dwell on it. Continue on with your life just as you did yesterday. What does someone else's spouse have to do with you? Marriage is hard. Straight or gay. I do not see how denying an entire group of people is a "good thing". How would you feel if it was your cousin, your sister, your uncle, your mom.

Christianity should equal forgiveness, grace, and love... not promote segregation and hate.

What's going on 'round here

We had a lazy weekend for the most part. Saturday was a pool day. I need some sun on these legs. Sunday we cleaned and napped and then I had to watch like 87 hours of TV Sunday night. Whew. Bachelorette was on, then After the Final Rose, then Drop Dead Diva and Army Wives. My husband was in TV hell.
Did you guys like Jef with one F as THE ONE? I think I do. Arie was such a smooth talker. I wonder if they would have had more than kisses...

I planned out all my meals last week. I should have planned them around coupons, but I didn't. I haven't got that far yet.

Monday: we had "my" spaghetti. I don't have a recipe for it, but it is pretty delish.

Tuesday: Pork Chops with pineapple fried rice. It was very easy. Good.

Wednesday: we ended up going out.. whoops. Thank you Macayo's.

Thursday: we had yummy zucchini boats. I saved the sauce I used for my spaghetti, see how that plan worked out?

Friday: I had chicken: this I have made twice now. It is yummy. So rich though.

Saturday: I was using something from Pioneer Woman again. I need to quit that because so many of her recipes are Fattening with that capital F. Crispy Steak Fingers.
I paired it with a cool salad. Recipe:
Cut up one avocado into small chunks and drizzle with lemon juice. Dice up a few green onions. Dice up a whole nice sized cucumber, and slice some cherry tomatoes in two. Sprinkle with sea salt and course black pepper, and then mix with some balsamic vinegar. YUM. Easy. Fresh. Delish.

Sunday: I made pork tenderloin with zucchini grilled on the stove with a little evoo, s&p and a bit of oregano.

Today we had the electrician back over to finish up a few projects. My husbands office didn't have a ceiling fan, so we put one in. The front room didn't have any lighting, and that wont do. Based on some old pictures before we bought this house, the previous owner had our sitting room as their dining room, and our formal dining as nothing.
He also only put two lights on the three garages. We were the only house in the neighborhood with 2 lights. Plus it was really dark. So now we have 2 lights on each garage like a normal house.
This is our dining room:

We are contemplating a rug beneath the table. I am not sure now though if I want it or not. We need a vase to put these lighted branches in to finish this room. I have one more small picture that needs framed and that can go in here. When Maddox and the other future babies are bigger, our china or something fun may go in the shelves of the buffet. We shall see. On the opposite wall there is this horizontal red piece.

Up close view of the art you can see:

We have kind of a country, modern, earthy thing going on I guess.

Today was a meetup for the mom group. I had a good time meeting some new moms and seeing some moms I have hung out with before. Maddox had such a good time too. He loves playing.

Am contemplating watching my first ever Bachelor Pad. Hmmmm.

Tish

Aurora and the President

Things are normal here. They are the every day things. Maddox was awake and playing in bed with us this morning. My husband and I were just laying in bed listening to little man. We were in our own little world of happiness.

We turned the news on and saw the massacre in Aurora. My heart dropped. I couldn't even imagine what would possess someone to go into a theater and just kill people. I just really can't imagine. I can't imagine being in there, just minding my own business with my family, ready to watch the hot summer release and BOOM. So scary. So sad.

I am glad that the President decided to just let the day rest and not keep on the election trail. That was a well planned thing in my mind. Speaking of election, have you guys taken the isidewith quiz? It shows you who you really side with for the election. My results shocked me. See if yours do...or maybe you are really in touch with who you want.

Tish

Long summer day

Wednesday was a busy day. A fun day, but a busy day.
We went over to Julie's house for a play date. Maddox had so much fun! He loved playing in their awesome play room. Reid is still a bit shy around us, but I hope that will go away with some time. I think he was also in shock that he was supposed to share his toys.

I was shocked at how much Maddox liked the big boy toys. I felt so bad for sheltering him with baby toys. You know, soft blocks, rubber ducks, books, stuffed animals.
Me and the husband went and got him a few toys. He LOVES them.

After we left Julie's, we went home to get fresh and then headed out to the Avondale Fire Department for a tour with the mommy group.

Afterward, we all got firemen hats. I mean, what trip to the firehouse would be complete without a hat?

When we got home, I had to jump in the shower again because the tour was mainly outside seeing the trucks. Whew, HOT summers. As I got my loungewear on, my husband decided that we needed to go out to dinner because he didnt want to clean up lol. We headed for Mexican and got the boys toys.

Was a good good day.

And the surgeon says:

Yesterday I had to have an appointment with a surgeon. I have to go under the knife and I am obviously not thrilled.

I found a huge lump in my stomach a couple weeks ago. I showed my husband, who seemed panicked, and disgusted LOL. He told me to call my Dr. asap. They got me in that day. (good customer service!) I showed my Dr. and he said that it was a very large hernia.

Who knew girls got hernias. Not me. Apparently I got it from having my son via c-section. How many more things go wrong with c-sections. This emphasizes my jealousy and envy for those that can have vaginal births-- but I digress.
Since we moved the day I got my staples out, I wasn't able to recover AT ALL from the c-section. It was unbelievable. But we did what we had to do.

Anyway, I go into the surgeons office and they ask me if it is ok if the med student that this surgeon has working for her comes in first. Sigh. Fine. I will be your lab rat.
He was nice and somewhat shy. I hope he overcomes that.
The Dr. comes in and she says "wow, I have never seen a hernia that big from a c-section before". Awesome. That is just what I needed to hear.

So, yes, you will continue to see me in loose pants. :) Gives me an excuse right?

I have to stay the night "to monitor pain". Is this biatch serious? I was so freaking out.
She wont do laproscopic since I will have more kids and they have to be via c-section-- again DAMN you c-section and narrow pelvic bone! I mean come on! Looking at me, I have serious child bearing hips. It is an evil joke.

She then said that my recovery will be much like my c-section, just minus the hormones.

Sigh.

Step Up

I am pretty excited to announce two huge steps for me.
They aren't big steps in most people's worlds, but to me, in Arizona, they were.

As you know, I have not met any friends here so far. It is hard. I did join a mommy group, but don't have that girl friend to call and just go to lunch with or something.

I had one of the moms and her two babies over to our house for a play date Thursday. It was a mini success. This mama has a 1 year old and a 1 month old, so she is very busy and we were busy with all the babies. Her son and Maddox had fun. Maddox is so outgoing and Reid is shy, but they still played near each other well. Maddox kept trying to get the baby and see just what she was all about. They didn't get to stay super long due to nap times, but it was a good time and a step for me.

The next night, I had signed up for a "taco fiesta" at one of the mom's houses. I was so nervous. I literally almost cancelled. I was nervous to be "just me" and not have Maddox there or Steve there. I used to never be that way. That just tells you how out of touch I am with the world as a sahm. I made shredded chicken. That was super easy btw: a cup of water, a chicken bouillon cube, half of a Ranch packet, one whole taco seasoning packet, several jalapenos, and cayenne pepper. I got dressed and waited till the very last minute to leave to go.

I drove over and it ended up being not as scary as I thought. There were only 6 of us there-- apparently others cancelled. We talked and laughed and it was 10pm before I knew it. I had fun. Do I know if I will be real friends with any of these chicks, no, but it was a start. I had only met one of the five before Friday.

Baby steps, baby steps.

Loss

It sure seems that I am MIA a lot these days. I am. With my husbands family needing him, and it just being me and little boy for much of the month of June, I got out of the habit of blogging and even really reading blogs.
I do not envy the single mama life one bit. Chasing after 4 dogs, and this little boy wore me out. Maddox has decided that sleeping isn't on his agenda, so my sweet little sleeper wakes me up anywhere 1-3 times per night. Sigh. Makes for a tired mom. As you can imagine.

My husband is home now and is coping the best he can. It is never easy to lose a parent. July 14th marked the 17 year anniversary of my own father's death. It "gets easier" but you don't forget. I still remember falling to the cold tile beneath my legs as I looked into my mother's dark pooling eyes. I still remember having to tell my little brothers who were only 12 and 7 that they didn't have a father with them anymore. I remember how hard it was planning my wedding and knowing that my dad wouldn't be the one to walk me down the isle. That killed a piece of me. And if I think about it too long, I still cry.

Tish

A week in recipes

Recipes:

Lemon Cookies from Pinterest-- very good. Light. Fluffy.

Quesadilla Casserole also from Pinterest. It was just ok. I could tweak it to make it better I think. It froze well and thawed and cooked well. It was sort of like a Mexican Lasagna.

Chicken Divan. I didn't use a recipe off line. My mom has made this for years and I used her recipe. I found one similar to what I do here. I use 2 cream of chicken soups vs one of mushroom. I use a bit more lemon juice. I make a cup of white rice. I mix the rice and broccoli and chicken together, put the mixture on top and bake 350* for about 30 minutes. I then uncover, and broil lightly for a few minutes. It is a favorite comfort food of mine.

One night it was just me at home, and since I had decided that I needed Panda Express for lunch, I thought I should have a light dinner. I found this avocado recipe and I was in heaven. Why in the world was this the first time I had tried this?! YUM.

Last night I thought that I had Italian Sausage in the freezer, so I wanted to use that up. Turns out it was not Italian Sausage, but after I saw this recipe, I decided that I wanted it, so me and little boy headed to the store. Just for the record, I was going to the store anyway-- but this provided another thing on the ol' grocery check list.
It was really easy and so good. Thank you Johnsonville.com!

Today I have to go to the dentist to finish up my mouth. At least I think that this is the last appointment for this section. Whew. I hope.

Do you guys have plans for the 4th? We are going to have a little bbq at the house and be in the pool most of the day. Then head to one of the parks for some fireworks action. I hope it rains a bit. It is so needed. Me and the husband have had to pour pitchers of extra water on all of our plants. They all look crispy, even on a water timer.

Ok: time for  more coffee and to mop my floors.


Tish

Brain and Picture DUMP

The past couple weeks have been very trying.
I hate when I don't post regularly. I feel like I let me down, and let you down. I don't like when I go to a daily reads page and it is the same blog from the day before... and mine is.. from 12 days ago! Shheesh!
My husbands father is gravely ill. He is dying and it is taking my husbands spirit as it happens. His dad is his best friend. It is such a heart wrenching thing for me to watch. I would give anything to take all his pain away. My dad died when I was 14, so I know what he is going through on one level-- but I didn't have to watch it like my husband is. I just couldn't imagine. I hope I never have to endure what he is right now.
My husband was gone two weeks ago-- home for a few days and he is gone again.
This week my friend Patsy and her daughter stayed with me and Maddox. Chanelle, her daughter, had a soccer tournament so she was busy with that in the mornings and then we just all hung out the rest of the time.

Other than that, it has been me and the baby boy. So here is a picture dump :)

We read alot in this house. So, little boy has been right on cue. He had me read these 2 books to him over and over last night. So sweet. He gets his favorites for the day I guess. He is just growing up so fast! Ugh!

Tish

Recipe Dump

I ate a cheese stick for dinner last night. Today I have sustained on the nutter butters I should never have bought along with the vanilla iced coffee in my fridge. I put some chicken and potatoes and carrots in the crockpot so I feel human again. I added a little lemon juice and garlic powder to it. Smells good so far! I may also try out these lemon cookies.
I recently have made these things:

Cheesy Garlic Bread I didn't care for it. It tasted like a heart attack waiting to happen.

The Best Broccoli I really liked it. It was good. I have made it twice.

Alice Springs Chicken Delicious. Yum. Divine. Tasty. Easy.

Potato Slider Chips These were easy and good.

Baked Veggie Chips These were time consuming & they did shrink ALOT but they were yummy. I used squash and zucchini. I sprinkled with sea salt. Others garlic salt and another batch with sea salt and Italian seasoning.

Garlic Chicken This was good. It was easy and pretty fast.


Hope some of these may make an appearance on your dinner table. Like I have mentioned before, I think, I try a new recipe several times a week. I am a pinner, and food surfer. Now that I am a sahm, I figure it is part of my job title, even though my husband says it isn't-- he always asks me whats for dinner lol.

Tish

Police, Firemen, Alarms.

My husband had to leave on Wednesday morning.
As he was leaving, he said that I needed to call an exterminator pronto because he had found a scorpion in the garage. Scary #1.
Called. Taken care of. Check.

Most of Wednesday night was spent awake with a little guy not feeling well.

Thursday, I texted one of my aunts and said she should try to come out and visit. Things were in place and within 2 minutes, she texted me back saying she was on her way. Great. I really don't like staying home alone overnight. Yes, I am 8.

She arrived and had to run out for a bit. I was in the house and my chimes went off like someone was opening a window or a door... but there was only me, my sleeping baby and my 4 dogs, who were in the same room as me. I got freaked out of course. I was already on edge. I peeked around my house but didn't see anything... then I heard some noises-- which were probably coming from the neighbors. I grabbed my baby, and all 4 dogs ran with me, we got in the car and left for a bit and waited for my aunt to come home. Scary #2.

Later that night, we all went outside to let the dogs out. Arizona gets so nice at night.
So I was holding Maddox and we were sitting at the patio just chatting. Time to go in, my aunt acts like she cant open the sliding glass door. She wasn't acting. The flipping sliding glass door handle was apparently broken. The lever had slid down and locked us out! Might I mention that we are in our pajamas. I have no shoes on, she has sock slippers on, we have no cell phones. WTF. The whole side of my yard is rock-- leading to a big fence that is padlocked. They key is in the garage. My aunt gets to the fence and gets on top of the trash can and gets herself over the fence. I was pretty impressed.
She headed to my neighbors house at 10pm-- who I have never met--and knocked. They tried to see if they could get into their patio door but no luck. The husband said he could try to get into the garage: I said that would be great, except the inside door is dead bolted.

We were stuck. I couldn't get over the fence with Maddox, and no shoes. They called 911 and asked what to do. They sent the Fire Department. The guys hopped the fence, cut the padlock and got inside my house within a matter of seconds.... without breaking anything else. Freaky right? They opened my locked slider. Safe. Scary #3.

I had it replaced the next day. Friday went by without a hitch. Whew. We just went to bed early and then headed out Saturday morning to do some touring around. I showed my  aunt Westgate and then we went to downtown Glendale to see the cute the little old shops. They have all these old tiny houses that have been converted into little trinket shops. We went back to Westgate and had lunch at Margaritaville and came home to chill out and nap a bit.

We decided to head out to dinner. Had to get a little Mexican food for goodness sakes. HA. We planned to go to Michael's and then to redbox after. While we were eating, my cell rang, and normally I don't get many calls nor would I answer during dinner... but I felt I should. Good thing. It was ADT calling me to tell me that my house alarm was going off and that it seemed someone was breaking in through my laundry room window. They asked me several times if I wanted them to send police. I shouted: I am not home. It is not a happenstance that I accidentally set it off. Yes. Send someone. I would be on my way.

We got there and we waited. We waited quite a while it seemed. I mean, we had left a restaurant, drove back to the house and the police still weren't there. Ugh. They finally arrived and I gave them the keys to get into the house and they went in and looked around... came back out and said there wasn't anyone inside and nothing seemed out of place or broken. The Sargent arrived (consequently, he also was there Thursday night--OMG the impression I must be making) He suggested that it was the alarm company. There must be a hitch with the signal on that window. That is probably what I heard previously and what set the alarm off that day. Scary #4.

I told you. My week was crazy.

Tish

You guys, I have had the scariest past few days.

I will blog about it Monday.

Just wanted to let you know that I didnt forget to blog ;)

Tish

Hair Help

I need a new hair style. I am hating my hair right now.
I read this great article on Pinterest about fine hair and how we shouldn't put layers in our hair. That it is a disgusting ploy by hairdressers and that fine layers actually thin our hair out more. The pictures were pretty shocking to me, which led to me looking through some of my old style choices..

Lots and lots of layers & lots of highlights.

Short hair with a little bit of carmel color in it.

This has quite a bit of red in it, but it is an all over color.

 

Me in HS with very dark hair: this is my  natural color. Color virgin here.

These are both pretty much the same, medium length, seemingly a lot of highlights in that carmel-y color.

What should I do? It does not have to be one of these. I am thinking about just trying the blunt cut like the pinterest article. Now do I want side swept bangs? Kind of.

I need a lot of color. My grey is out of control. Thanks mom. So blunt cut, side swept bangs and lots of highlights?

xo, Tish

6 months

Maddox's appointment was great. Well they tried to say that our appointment was with  just the nurse and mama bear came out in full force. Shamefully I admit this.
I am fairly certain I had a head roll. Ha. Well rightfully so I think-- we booked this appointment 2 months ago. We saw the dr. :)

He is the length of a 9 month old. 28 inches. He weighs 17. pounds. My husband and I always make bets. I bet 18 and he bet 21, I won. Good day.

Still no sleep. I hate not sleeping. Where is my good sleeper? AHHHHH.

Sauce and Mommy Club

I gave in. I called the dentist for more meds and to check on myself to see if this was supposed to still be swollen and sore. I didn't feel as bad as I thought that I would.

Are ya'll using Viggle? It is an ap that you use from your phone to check into what you are watching on TV to earn points to redeem gift cards. They give you 1500 just to sign up so you aren't starting from 0. There are cards from sephora, Starbucks, best buy and so forth. I have 3600+ points and I have just been using a few days. They even have a "featured shows" option that you can get some serious points. I got 420 points for watching The Bachelorette. Bonus.

 We made burgers last night. I used a new sauce. Was delish. I also recently started toasting my kaiser rolls--not hamburger buns--on the stove top with a little spray butter.  You get such a wonderful little crunch on the bread. Yum.

The sauce: You mix Mayo, Ketchup, Worstercer Sauce and Season Salt.

The recipe I saw was 3/4 cup Mayo, 1/4 cup Ketchup and 2 Tblsp Wors Sauce and then Season Salt to your taste BUT that would make a boatload. We didn't need a boatload, so I kinda just eyed it and tasted it till it was right. It added just the right kick.

My son was miserable last night. I didn't get to sleep. I joined the Mommy's who don't get to sleep club last night. My poor guy just couldn't get comfortable. He was in his bed for about an hour and started screaming. I held him. That is what he wanted. I tried to move him to get a little more comfortable. He screamed. I couldn't move him an inch. He wanted as close to me as he could get. I finally got him in his bed-- well his bed that was in our room. He woke up an hour later. He wanted to be held and to be fed. So out of his character. One of my fb friends said that was bc I bragged on him about sleeping. I haven't bragged. He is just a good little sleeper. Since he was born, he sleeps through the night. He takes a good nap. When he was in my belly, they had to use the zapper to wake him up and sometimes that didn't work. They would have to feed me. Ha. That sounded funny. He just is a good little sleeper. Both mama and daddy like their sleep too. So last night, was way out of the norm for him.

His little teeth are getting big. I know that has to be what is causing his distress. I feel helpless. I know I will get through it as all of you mamas have. Still hurts my heart to hear him and see him so upset. 

He has his 6 month check up today. December 5-June 5. Little boy is growin growin.

xo, Tish



Caprese Salad and Lifetime Shows

I am still pretty sore this morning. I am running out of the pain medication. I don't think that I will call and ask for more because I always feel like a drug lord. Ha. After my c-section, I had to ask for a second prescription and I felt so weird! Really though, enough for 5 days is not going to cut it. Especially for a mama who has to move to a different state within 11 days of having said c-section.

This weekend was a very laid back one. I was pretty much down. We just vegged out. The hub was in the yard doing work as usual. He keeps saying he is all done but then he will come home with another cactus or hibiscus or something. It is kinda cute that he is so into yard work for the new house.

We had yummy caprese salad for lunch. Easy Peasy if you have never had or made.
Just get some Mozzarella, nice firm tomatoes, and fresh basil. Fresh basil is important because as my husband likes to say, "it makes it taste like a fresh Italian garden".
Then arrange on a plate like so:

Drizzle with a good olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a dash of s&p. Looks fancy. Is amazing. I saw this on Pinterest and want to give it a try if I ever have real life friends in AZ.

Don't those look yummy? Italian Popsicles. I may have these at Maddox's 1st birthday. The theme I think I want to do will go nicely with these. The theme has a lot of reds in it. It is December after all.

For dinner it was breakfast. Reminds me of being a little girl. It was always so fun when mom and dad had breakfast for dinner. So taboo right?

We had a mini Criminal Minds marathon while I impatiently waited for Drop Dead Diva and The Client List to come on. I love me some Lifetime on Sundays!

Do you guys watch either? So, so good! How cute are Brooke Elliot and Jennifer Love Hewitt? I think they are both so pretty. I was kind of hesitant about The Client List, didn't know what to expect really,  but I am sucked in and love it.

Hhmm, I am contemplating feeling like a drug lord and calling for a refill. So weird.

This week I need to set up my scrap booking room. I am pretty bad about scrapping alone though-- so maybe meetup.com will have other scrapbook folks. I am not a pro at all. Sometimes my stuff is good, sometimes I am lazy. I need to re-do my honeymoon book bc all of my stuff was packed away and I was very pregnant and didn't feel like making it pretty lol. Why did I even attempt you ask? Easy: I couldn't sleep.

Till next time...
xo, Tish