Dear Gwyneth

Gwen- How I used to love you back in the day. I could spend hours and hours watching  Emma. And don't even get me started on the movie Hush. One of my absolute favorites to this day.

But sadly, other than those  movies and the Iron Man Franchise I can't really think of anything else you've been in. Wait, you were pretty decent in Country Strong and I loved when you first appeared on Glee a few years back. You seemed so fun and honest. Like the sort of person I'd like to hang out with in real life. Around that time I watched an interview with you on Chelsea Lately and you were hilarious!

 Lately however I don't share those feelings. I certainly wouldn't call you an A-lister and you are def not someone that I would ever want to hang out with. Please forgive me for being rude, I don't mean to be. It's just lately anytime your name is brought up it is because of some stupid comment you made about something or other. It should come as no surprise then when I watched you on the 100th episode of Glee I found myself rolling my eyes at your stupid facial expressions, awkward dance movements and your mediocre singing attempt.

Dang, I sound rude again. It's just I can't take you  seriously when you comment about a topic you know nothing about. Maybe if you were an A-lister, a humanitarian, a single mom, or a working mom I could take you more seriously.But since you are none of those things I don't find you qualified to comment about how being an actress is harder than being a working mom. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about click HERE

Although I stay at home and do not work I would give anything for the chance to make millions of dollar's for showing up and reading a few lines. Or to travel to some exotic location for 2 weeks to make a movie. Or to have the money that could be spent on the best food products, nannies, vacations, clothes and toys for my two little ones.

Nope, instead we budget and prioritize to do the best that we can. We are lucky if we can sneak away once a month for date night because sitter's are quite expensive these days. And my husband spends months away from his family to serve our country. Surely what he does is nothing compared to what you do as an actress

I know that your two weeks spent working a year are much harder to handle than the 6 months my husband has been home in the last 3.

And I know every working mom out there is so thankful that they have to work a 9-5 job on top of feeling guilty that they are away from their kids, on top of worrying about the laundry, cooking and cleaning that their non-existent  housekeepers don't do plus running the kids around to after school activities. I know that anytime they are watching Iron Man they are thanking God that they have it so much easier than you

 

Now I'm not saying that poor Gwen has it easy. It probably is hard to have to relocate to shoot a movie. However she has the means and resources to do all these things. And in the grand scheme of themes I will take two weeks of working over working 9-5 every day with only a week or 2 of vacation.

 

 So Thank you Gwen for proving that celebs are not like us and for making me boycott any movie you appear in from here on out. ( Unless it's Hush or Emma)

 

And just for laughs I found some of Gwen's most obnoxious quotes online. She's hysterical

 

"I am who I am. I can't pretend to be somebody who makes $25,000 a year."

 

"I feel a sisterhood emerging around me. I'm less threatening now that I'm 40 and not 26-with-an-Oscar. There's a sense of love and support."

Do you want me to be honest? [The Met Gala] sucked. It seems like it's the best thing in the world, you always think, 'Oh my god, it's gonna be so glamorous and amazing and you're going to see all these people,' and then you get there and it's so hot and it's so crowded and everyone's pushing you."

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"Even actresses that you really admire, like Reese Witherspoon, you think, 'Another romantic comedy?' You see her in something like Walk the Line and think, 'God, you're so great!' And then you think, 'Why is she doing these stupid romantic comedies?' But of course, it's for money and status."

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The Best Day

Yesterday was one of those beautiful days of mommyhood. Now that the furlough is over the Blue Angels are back to performing and opening their practice sessions to the public. I knew the kids would love it so Wednesday morning we got up bright and early, packed a lunch and headed to the Navy Base in Pensacola. We got there early and were able to score seats along the flight line. Surprisingly the kids did amazing waiting over an hour for the show to start. Once the show started however the kids were riveted

Gianna was standing up in the stroller holding her baby up to see and shouting with delight. I had to blink back a tear or to as I watched her face light up in excitement. And I busted with pride when everyone kept commenting on how smart, active and attentive she was for a 2 year old. And Ethan did amazing sitting in the stroller, watching as the planes flew overhead.

After the show we walked down to the Pensacola Lighthouse and had a picnic lunch. We had met up with some friends and the kids laughed and played while we sat and talked, laughing at our kids antics

After lunch we went back to the Navy museum in the hopes that the crowd of 20,000 had cleared a bit. Luckily it had and the kids got to be air traffic controller's for the afternoon since the museum also had an indoor playground for the kids designed to look just like an air traffic control station. They had a blast and I think we found our new weekly tradition!

The kids passed out on the car ride home so now I am enjoying some mommy time and reflecting on the day. Win win for everyone

An Ode to My Husband

We are just a few short weeks away from our 6 year wedding anniversary. 6 years! How is that possible? It seems like just yesterday I was flying down to Key West to marry the man of my dreams

And what a 6 years they have been. We have had some amazing times, and some horrible times. It is true what they say, marriage takes work. And lot's of it. Yet there is no one I would rather spend my life with than him

He is truly my best friend, soul mate and the most amazing father ever. He is  the yin to my yang. Where I am emotional and expressive he is stoic and level headed. Where I can be spacy and easily distracted, he is calm and organized.

We are similar in many ways as well. We both are avid reader's, share the same family and moral values and think that the best thing in life is spending time with our two little minions.

We also tend to be equally stubborn and hotheaded. An argument over whose turn it is to give the kids a bath can go on for days!

It's in those moment's that I have to laugh over how truly different we really are. And 6 years in it still takes some getting used to.

It's funny how different two people can be when it comes to the simplest things. I broke it down into categories to give you an example

 

On Cleaning The House

I can spend my whole day scrubbing the floors, wiping down the counters, picking up toys and vacuuming only to have my husband come home and throw his work stuff every which way all over my clean house. It is at that moment, while I'm glaring at his workbag on my freshly polished kitchen counter that he usually says something sweet like, Oh I see you didn't wash the baseboards.

 

My personal favorite happened a few weeks ago. When it comes to chores in our house it is truly  the 1950's around here. I do all the cooking, cleaning and laundry. Well he does his own laundry so that helps out a little bit. And in truth I don't mind our set up. I stay at home and he works so it's only fair I do the majority of the stuff around the house. The inside of the house. The outside is his domain. Anyway, after a month straight of everyone in the house having the flu the house was quite disgusting. Laundry was piled everywhere, the sink was overflowing with dirty dishes and the bathrooms hadn't been scrubbed in forever. So I got to work one Sunday and got to it. I had everything done except folding all 8 loads of laundry. I turned on the walking dead and dumped all the clothes onto the floor ready to start folding and assuming my husband would help. He sat on the couch, looked at the laundry and did nothing. Nothing. I finished the laundry and then got consumed with searching for something. I asked my husband to come help me and our search led to our guest bedroom which has become the dumping ground of random crap. As he muttered and complained under his breath I heard him say, Looks like the guest room won't be cleaned until the next time we move. Men, always so helpful and supportive. Nothing is stopping him from cleaning out the guest room! Maybe he should help with the laundry next time. Then I may have more time to actually get to the guest room

 

On Babies

During my whole pregnancy with Gianna my husband swore he would get up with me in the middle of the night for every feeding. That lasted about one night and that was our first night home from the hospital. Since I was nursing I cut him some slack and let it go. But when he complained about how he couldn't sleep at night or had to get up so early for work I was totally unsympathetic. When Ethan was born he deployed shortly after so once again he missed out on the midnight feedings. When he came home  Ethan was 6 months and all formula fed. I totally expected my husband to step right up to the plate and take over all his middle of the night feedings. Let's just say I'm still waiting for that to happen. And both kids now sleep through the night and don't wake up to eat so it looks like I will still be waiting. At least he has the decency to tell people that he never got up with either kid in the middle of the night

 

On Working

Obviously my husband works alot and is away from our family often. I ever want to downplay how hard is job is and I am so proud of all that he has accomplished. I also know that everything he does is for us and I can't even imagine doing what he does every day. That being said I know he thinks that being a SAHM is a walk in the park. He has no idea. When I tell him I've had a bad day and he asks why I know he finds it hard to believe that a day could be frustrating when it was spent at the park or the zoo. Before kids maybe it was enjoyable. With kids, although enjoyable it's not easy. I have to pack a bag full of diapers, wipes, snacks and drinks to last us the entire outing. I have to maneuver the stroller and two kids in and out of the car and then dealing with the constant fighting and whining. And don't get me started on grocery shopping. I love when my husband says something like How hard is it to go get an oil change with the kids, or hey can you run to the store and pick this up for me.  I guess when you've never taken the kids on an outing by yourself you truly don't know what it's like.

 

 

I could go on and on. And let me just once again state that although the above rants may seem like I'm portraying him as some lazy husband and father, I'm not. In his defense in the last 3 years he's barely been home six months. And while it's funny in how we each handle and expect things to go he is my biggest supporter and always lets me know that while my baseboards may not be clean, I am the best mom and wife in the world

 

Love and miss you babe

Do You Wanna Build A Snowman

Contrary to what this blog title and above picture suggests this is not another post about Frozen. Instead it's an ode to Motherhood.

Since Frozen has come out it has been all we've heard about or listened to. My husband and I can sing all the songs and Gianna requests to sing and dance to them multiple times a day.  I hear Do You Wanna Build A Snowman in my sleep. It is never ending

And it got me thinking about Motherhood and how some days are just never ending! It has been a rough few weeks around here. Ethan is getting his molars in, we all had the flu and then the husband's deployment date kept changing and changing. It was a little stressful in our house to say the least

For a week straight I got nothing done in our house. Ethan would not calm down unless held. I held that kid for hours and hours. We spent so much time rocking in the chair in his room leaving Gianna to sit on the couch playing on my ipad. On top of teething he also had a horrible sinus infection and we found out he may  be lactose intolerant. The poor kid had some major issues going on. Hence the endless amounts of holding I had to do.

And don't get me wrong. I  loved every second of it

However life goes on. The house still needed to be cleaned, laundry washed and folded and dinner made. None of that happened for over a week. One day I woke up with a major to do list and accomplished nothing. Nothing! Neither kid would allow it. Ethan's teeth finally poked through and then it was Gianna's turn to get sick followed by me coming down with the worst migraine ever.

When I finally felt better I was one ball of tension. My house was a wreck. I decided to leave it until after the husband left so last Friday I set out to finally clean my house. I strapped the kids into their high chairs, fed them a huge breakfast and got to work. I had the main areas of the house spotless and was pretty pleased with myself. I got the kids out of their seats, cleaned them up and ran to use the bathroom. Two minutes later I emerged to every toy thrown all over the house. Not to mention a thick cloud of goldfish cheese covering everything since my daughter decided to walk around the house shaking the jumbo box of extra cheddar cheese goldfish around. It was all over the tv and  embedded in my couch and  carpet. I was livid. I tried to enlist her in helping me clean but that was pointless. The terrible 2's my friends are truly terrible

Anyway the day only got worse from there. And the weekend was not any better. Between the endless cleaning and re-cleaning I had two super cranky toddler on my hands. Neither would leave me alone and if they had to spend any time playing together it immediately turned into a smacking match. My nerves were shot and I think I spent most of the day cleaning, yelling and referring between the two. I sat down at one point to try and read for a few minutes but that never happened. The open book in my hands must have been an instant cue for both  kids to come climb and jump on me, then get mad at the other because one wanted to sit on my lap and the other didn't want him to.

I felt like my days had become endless and stuck on repeat.

It's during those moments that you really let everything get to you. I was exhausted by what it truly means to be a mom. The neediness of my children, the endless cooking, cleaning and laundry that was only my responsibility. It was almost overwhelming. I found myself shouting Mommy just wants to read a book. Leave me alone.  The look on Gianna's face was all the affirmation I needed. She was shocked and even now, almost a week later she will ask Does Mom want me to leave her alone. Insert knife into my chest

It's true that right now, my kids need me. For everything, They are not at an independent age and with my husband gone yet again I am both mommy and daddy. It is impossible to meet both their needs all the time or to spend the one on one time each kid needs and crave.Yet there will come a day when they won't need me. And that day will be here before I know it.

Everyone has bad days, parents and kids alike and although this past weekend was a rough one I still went to bed each night wishing I wouldn't have yelled as much or wishing I would have spent more time actively playing with the kids instead of worrying about cleaning my house. I came across this quote on Pinterest

Source

The source is from Lisa Jo Baker's Blog and if you haven't read anything by her you are missing out. She has a book on motherhood coming out and I had the privilege to read the first few chapters and man are they amazing. I have never read a book on motherhood that so completely captured what it truly means to be a mom. I am counting down the days until the actual book is released because I need a good for the soul sort of read.

Motherhood is hard, dirty, messy, overwhelming, never ending and frustrating. Yet it's the most important thing I have ever done and will do in my life. And it's also the most rewarding, I would never trade this stage in for the world. Even the bad days.

So, Do You wanna build a snowman? I think instead of cleaning today the kids and I will be watching Frozen for the 1000 time and singing along at the top of our lungs.

Remember When?

I don't know what I did without Pinterest. I mean Pinterest truly makes me a much better wife and mother. There used to be a point in our marriage when my husband would utter the words, "Chicken for dinner, again?" Now I can easily meal plan for up to a month using recipes I found on Pinterest. And although I am not crafty, I am a good copier so I can easily copy a arts and crafts project off Pinterest and sit down and do it with the kids. Instant wall art. And the same goes for decorating. It's as easy as 1-2-3. I just log onto Pinterest, search kid's rooms and pin ideas I like. Then I make my husband get to work

However as much as I love Pinterest and this whole culture of DIY and crafts sometimes I wander if we get carried away.

Remember when birthday parties consisted of nothing more than paper plates, cake, ice cream and family. Or maybe a trip to Chuck E Cheese or a sleep over with your closest friends? Not a party with some elaborate theme, hand crafted decorations that took hours to make, dozens of cupcakes that go along with the theme and loads of money spent on bounce houses or activiites for the kids to do.Not to mention food to feed everyone on the invite list. Which is probably huge because if you spend hours planning and preparing for a Bubble Guppies birthday party and you made all the decorations yourself you better believe you will be inviting everyone you know so that they can bear witness to your awesomeness. I mean so they can celebrate your daughter turning 2

Remember when Valentines Day meant going to the store and picking out valentines with your favorite Disney Princess or heartthrob that take to school and  deliver to your classmates. And you were even luckier if you had a new shoe box to decorate instead of one that was found underneath your parent's bed smashed in on the side? Now Valentines are all handmade, with some catchy saying attached to a snack. And don't even get me started on the boxes, I am going to have to start researching Valentines boxes right now in order to get ready for Valentines Day next year. Seriously

And remember when the only Holiday you were guaranteed gifts was on Christmas. (If you celebrate Christmas that is) Now  for every holiday out there I see countless blog posts about the best gifts to get your kids for such and such! In my house Easter was another holiday where we got gifts but it was always something simple. A movie, or a new beach towel and swimsuit to celebrate the start of spring. Things like that. Now it seems that not only do you have to get pajamas and an outfit to coordinate with the holiday but the these other holiday's have become almost as big as Christmas

Now don't get me wrong. I do all of these things. I love buying the kids outfits and pajamas for each holiday or season and I do tend to get them a little something. I also love doing crafts pertaining to the holiday or engaging the kids in holiday related activities. But sometimes I wander if we take things too far. I  mean I didn't know people really did anything on St Patricks day until I reached college and participated in pub crawls. Ugh I shudder at the memories. (I also am Polish and German so that could be another reason St Patricks Day wasn't big on our family's radar) But I don't feel deprived that I never had a house full of green footprints

Now don't go thinking that I am bashing all the holiday gift giving, themed birthday parties or fun seasonal activities. I am not

But the older my kids get the more and more my priorities shift. When my kids were first bornI felt all this pressure to have a huge first birthday party, to buy them anything and everything, to make holiday's and celebrations a big deal and all that fun stuff. But as they get older I realize that all of that isn't necessary. Don't get me wrong, I love planning their birthday's and finding crafts to engage them in and you better believe that for every holiday I buy every holiday related book on the market, use them as decorations all around the house and read them to the kids constantly. But in doing those things I realize that it is not what I buy the kids, or the Yoda shaped cupcakes or handmade valentines that matter, It is the time spent with them, one on one, actively participating in their lives. Not just sitting on the side lines watching life pass us by. Some years there will be handmade birthday decorations and a theme, other years there will be a store bought cake and our closest family and friends. Some nights we will have spaghetti for dinner and others we will have black bean pumpkin enchiladeas.The point is that no matter what, there is no standard to conform to or live up to. All that matters is that in all you do your family goes first.Some mom's crafty valentines box may appear better than your smashed in shoe box but both were made for your child out of love. And at the end of the day that is all that matters.

Island Dreaming

It seems like everyone I know lately is away on vacation! Some in Hawaii, other's in Disney and others at my all time favorite vacation destination Sanibel Island fl. We took our first family trip there last summer and are going back this summer. This time with my parents and brother in tow. Free babysiters!Woot Woot. I may even be able to read a book by the pool this trip.

In all seriousness taking the kids last year was so much fun. I was a little worried about how a 9 month old and an almost 2 year old would do on a trip that included just the beach or a pool that didn't have a kid friendly entrance. I shouldn't have worried. Gianna had so much fun walking up and down the beach, collecting sea shells or playing in the sand. We took multiple walks a day! And Ethan loved splashing in the pool, lounging in his portable bouncer or being pushed up and down the beach. It was such a low key, laid back vacation. It's all I'm dreaming about. And this summer it will be even more fun. The kids are both going to be able to play, swim and walk up and down the beach and my parents being there will just add to so much for the kids. I was looking at pictures from our trip last year and decided to share some. I can't believe how young my babies look. Where does time go?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh Fl weather please start warming up so I can spend my days on the beach!



Making Bathtime Fun

I am pretty fortunate that both my kids love the water and run to the bathroom the minute I start the bath water going. However they both went through this phase around 15 months where they hated having their hair and bodies washed. The minute I would come near them with the pelican water bucket we had they would start screaming bloody mary! It was crazy. Then a few weeks ago I was contacted by Nuby to try out a few of their products.  I saw they had a tear free rinse pail and immediately chose that along with some few other bath items and bath time has once again become scream and pain free. Here are the key ingredients to making bath time fun for your kiddo's.

1. Prepare yourself. I usually start running the bath water while the kids are finishing up dinner. If I wait to start it when they are all nakey and ready to go they try climbing into the tub or have a fit if they can't get into the bathroom. So I line up everything I need, get the towels and washcloths out,  turn on the water, let the kids finish eating, turn off the water,  get the kids undressed and scoot them right into the bathroom where the water is a nice medium temperature and full of loads of bubbles

Getting all our fun new bath items ready

 Bath Time Fun! I loved Nuby's Floating Animals. During bath time the kids and I always sing silly songs and play and one of them is always Old Mcdonald. I swear the kids learned all their animal sounds from bath time. Gianna especially is on a animal kick and had so much fun playing with them in the tub. Then of course we had to decorate the shower walls. We also worked on colors and Gianna had a blast pointing out the animals, colors and imitating their sounds. The turtle is the only one we had no sound for

My teething one year old loved using these as teething toys. Serving dual purposes! I like that!

 

After play time it's time for the dreaded hair washing. Instead of pulling out our horror inducing pelican bucket I pulled out the no tear rinse pail. And went to work. Success!

No screaming, no tears and no soap or water in the eyes. I def recommend that you get this pail. It will save you so much trouble. When I pull out the shampoo bottle and tell the kids it's time to rinse they stand their willingly instead of freaking out! Now excuse it's bathtime in our house

For more information on Nuby and there products click here

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It's Friday and Deployment Goals

It's Friday. Thank the Lord. This week has been so crazy busy and stressful that  I couldn't wait to wake up today and sit in my pajamas without having to get everyone ready and rush us out the door. The hubby finally left. You would think that saying goodbye would get easier since he is gone so frequently. But it never does. In a way I think it gets worse. The only thing that gets easier is the fact that we get better and better at communicating during a deployment and making it through one without any big fights or issues!

As with any deployment I have a list of goals I want to work on while the hubby is gone. Mainly being intentional with the kids, reading more, watching less tv and saving, saving, saving. I want to save and pay off as much as possible this deployment since we will be going on vacation shortly after the hubby gets home. And with it being summer soon I plan on getting a year memerbship to the zoo and possibly the pool so that I can take the kids on some sort of outings everyday.

Speaking of the pool there's a country club right by my house that offers a pool membership. It's 300 for the year. I belonged when I was pregnant with Ethan and only having to worry about Gianna was pretty easy. I'm not sure how it will be taking 2 kiddos to the pool by myself. And it's just an Olympic size pool. There is no kiddie pool or any other little kid friendly activities. Then I found out a church in town has an outdoor pool and offers open swim every day. I guess the yearly membership is 20 bucks. And there's a kiddie pool. That is a no brainer. I plan on taking advantage of that as much as possible!

Usually during deployments the weeks fly by and the weekends drag. It never fails that my husband is always gone with my friends husband's are home and vice versa. So weekends tend to be a little lonely. Don't get me wrong, the kids are cute company but sometimes adult conversation is a necessity to get through the day. It's easy to get a little stir crazy being holed up in a house with two little kids for company. This weekend however is packed full of activities. Tonight a friend is having a Mary Kay party and kids are allowed. So that will give us something fun to do tonight! And Gianna can't wait to go. My friend has a son Gianna's age and those two together are something else. They hold hands, hug and we've caught them kissing. I'll def be keeping an eye on that. I know it's innocent and nothing to worry about but I also don't want to catch them playing Dr in the bathroom!

Tomorrow we have 3 birthday parties which will be so fun. One is our sweet friends 1st bday party for her daughter, another is a tea party themed bday for one of Gianna's friends and then Mommy has a party to go to tomorrow night where once again kids are allowed. I am so thankful for great friends who have kid friendly birthdays. Saves me a lot of money!

Also if anyone needs to place an order for 31 a friend and I are hosting an online party Sunday. I have been dying for this bag

Source

Look at how much stuff it holds. And the fact that it's waterproof is awesome. Def will come in handy when having to carry sippy cups and juice bottles on all our outings this summer.

 

I know this was a totally random post but that's just the kind of mood I"m in right now! Hope you all have a good weekend

My Thoughts on the Bachelor

I know I'm a day late posting my Bachelor review but I didn't get to watch the After the Rose ceremony to this morning. This season I only tuned into the Bachelor sporadically. I wasn't a fan of Juan Pablo when he was on the Bachelorette but figured I'd give his season a try. Ugh. What a train wreck. I thought most of the woman on this season were young and immature. And I felt no connection whatsoever with Juan Pablo. In truth he bored me. I found myself fast forwarding a lot of the episodes I had recorded. I must say, this season may have turned me off of the Bachelor forever.

I have been a huge fan of the series since day 1. Some of my favorites include Andrew Firestone, Jen, Molly and Jason Mesnick, Melissa and that football player whose name I can't recall right now. I can remember watching Jason's proposal to Melissa at work, anxious awaiting the bombshell the commercials teased that was going to occur during the after the rose ceremony. Although I was disgusted with both Jason and Molly( I had heard horrible things about Molly since she worked with a friend of mine) yet I turned into their televised wedding and cried buckets. They seemed genuine in their love for each other and truly happy together. Melissa as well has a awesome hubby and another baby on the way. It is proof that while the Bachelor is just a tv show, some people do find their soul mates. During Sean's season friends and I had weekly get togethers to watch his story unfold. I loved Sean. He seemed like the perfect guy. Honest, open, warm, good looking, athletic and I loved that he was open about  his religious beliefs and stood by them despite the temptation of the fantasy suite. Although not a fan of Catherine friends and I gathered at my house to watch Sean's final rose ceremony as we shouted and cheered when he proposed. I also tuned into the wedding despite my wishing he had picked someone else. I did however feel the talk about waiting till marriage and wedding night got old after awhile. I thought it became more about the publicity than about sharing and sticking to your beliefs. And Catherine kept going on and on about it. We get it. Everyone out there gets it. Your going to have Sex. On your wedding night. Shocker. I think it just became a ploy to extend their 10 minutes of fame. But hey, whatever works. And at least there is one couple out there willing to talk about waiting till the wedding night to do the deed.  I can also appreciate him not slutting it up and sleeping with three different women in a matter of days. I can totally respect that

But on to Juan Pablo once more. What a scuz ball. He was absolutely horrible to watch during the After the final rose. I mean in previous episodes his own parents talked bad about him and his character and he had countless contestants state the same thing. His attitude towards Chris Harrison was appalling and I don't know why Nicki is still with him. Honey you deserve a guy who will tell you he loves you

Now I think its commendable that he didn't propose when he clearly didn't feel the same way she did. I totally believe that before a marriage proposal you should spend time with someone in the real world. Not in a fantasy one where your dates involve jet setting it across the country to exotic locations and where a stylist is always on hand. Spend a few days with someone in their sweat pants when they have the flu and then decide if they are the one for you. But I digress. I feel that the show in general has become more about promoting the drama and ratings then helping someone find true love. Every season is the same. They go on amazing trips, a previous contestant always comes back with some sort of surprise, one person quits halfway through, someone is only on there for the fame and someone has a significant other back home that no one knows about. Blah Blah Blah. I'm over it and Juan Pablo was just the icing on the cake
 His attitude was horrible and you can tell that Chris, the producers and the audience did not care for him at all. I don't know why he even agreed to go on the Bachelor if he was unwilling to discuss the show and his relationship after the fact. Isn't that all part of a reality show? The after the rose special was so awkward to watch and he just came off as a dirty pig. I doubt this couple will make it but hopefully she wizens up and leaves him before she gets her heart broken!

What did you all think of Juan Pablo? Will you be tuning into the next season of the Bachlor/

Awesome Parents Sing Frozen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the Grammy's were on a few weeks ago my husband and I tuned in to watch. And it wasn't surprising to me that I hardly knew any of the songs that were performed or up for awards. I guess that Royal's song has been around for awhile.

When I told my friend's how I didn't know any of the songs they laughed at me and asked why. In truth, I haven't listened to anything other than the frozen cd since we bought it the day the movie came out back in November. And if the Frozen soundtrack isn't playing some other Disney movie or Bubble Guppies episode is being played on the car's dvd player. It is very rare when I actually get to listen to the radio

And to be totally honest, I'm ok with that. Even before kids I was a huge Disney fan and I need no excuse to turn on the Frozen cd and belt out the words to the song as loud as I can. Gianna and I have a singing(shouting) match while Ethan kicks his feet along to the beat and laughs at us.

Now anytime I get in the car Gianna asks me to sing and dance. I have totally become that mom at the stop sign who is waving her arms about singing as loud as I can to Let it go! Ahh parenthood. One thing motherhood has taught me is that you can't take yourself too seriously anymore

I saw this video posted on someone's facebook page and just had to share. My husband and I have also been known to bust out a duet  to the point where Gianna tells us to stop. We are well on our way to being those embarrassing parents. So watch this video for a laugh. This couple is so cute and their daughter's lack of enthusiasm is hilarious. Plus I want this mom's top!!

 

 

 

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Five on Friday

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Linking up with a.liz adventures, Caroline Charm, Hello!Happiness and the Good Life Blog for Five on Friday!

One!

I'm sure most of you have seen Frozen by now. We love this movie in our house and have listened to nothing but the soundtrack in our car since November! However, did you all hear the rumor that Elsa is gay and Let it Go is her coming out song? What ever happened to just watching a movie for pure enjoyment instead of having to analyze it to the tenth degree. But that's a whole other blog post coming to you next week

Two! The hubby was supposed to deploy again this week. But the army pushed it back for a few more weeks. You would think that would make me happy. Nope, I was mad. I was already in deployment mode, preparing for him to be gone and ready to get this deployment started and over with. Now I have to go through everything again. Preparing for him to leave, the sadness of his upcoming departure and then the goodbye! I know this may make me sound heartless, I swear I am not. But I hate dragging out the enevitable. I had come to terms with this deployment and was ready for it and now I'm back to being sad about it. Gotta love military life

Three!

I started these books because I knew the movie is coming out soon. And I can not get into it. Everyone else has loved it and has told me they devoured the series in a matter of days. Not me. To me this book is a crosss between the Hunger Games, The Give and every other dystopian book out there. I can't do it. Maybe I will just see the movie and never finish reading the books

 

Four!

 

Gianna loves when I dance with her. It's a nightly ritual in our house. Yesterday while Ethan napped and I was desperate to get Gianna to nap I turned on the movie Center Stage in the hopes that Gianna would pass out due to boredom of watching "Mommy's Show" As I watched the movie I remembered my dance days. I could leap like no other! I decided to try and show Gianna my switch side leap, the one I was known for on my dance team for my amazing height. I never took into account that I was known for that when I was 17 and danced every day. Not 30 who can't recall the last time she worked out. So I got up and started running down the hallway to prepare myself for the leap. I threw myself in the air, lifted my legs and felt my hip pop. By the time I landed on the ground I had a shooting pain running down my left leg. Today I can barely move it. Gianna wasn't impressed and I learned a valuable lesson. I am old!

 

Five! This weekend we will finally be putting together Gianna's big girl room. Maybe this means she will actually sleep in her own room for a change. Although I know the first night she stays in her bed all night long I will probably wake up sad knowing that that's just one more step towards Gianna growing up

 

More than Enough

At my Mops meeting last week a friend gave an amazing devotion about how mom's feel like we are never enough. From the moment she started speaking I found myself nodding my head in constant agreement of everything she said.

 

Feeling less than enough as a mother and wife is something I  struggle with daily. I tell myself  that the only thing that matters is me and my family but still it's hard to

 not let the outside in. I find myself constantly comparing myself, kids, and house to others. It's a never ending battle. There are some days where I wake up feeling on top of the world. I put myself together, dress in a super cute outfit and go on my way. Then I come into contact with someone who is better dressed than me, or whose kids are better behaved or talking more than mine and that insecurity creeps in.

 

It doesn't help that from the day you see those bright pink lines on a pregnancy test you are inundated with standards you must meet in order to be a great mom. Breast is best you are told. And if your baby doesn't take to nursing, you are given a smug look and told at least you tried. Or your given dirty looks when you wip out your bottle of prepared formula. If you nurse past 6 months people think you have attachment issues.  If you let your kid watch tv before they are 2 you are a lazy parent. If you cloth diaper you are a hippie. If you co-sleep you are going to murder your child. If you let them cry it out you are ruining your child forever. And the list goes on

 

It's hard to not let all those outside factor's bother you. I can stay up all night thinking about all the ways I failed as a mom that day. I didn't play enough, I yelled too much, I let the kids eat chicken nuggets for dinner, I let them watch more tv than normal, I put Gianna to bed with the ipad etc etc. I could literally go crazy with all the thoughts that run through my head. Pretty sure my snoring husband is not worrying about all the things that I am

 

But one of the things my friend said really sank in. It was this... At the end of the day all you can do is love your children. People can say and think what they want about you and your parenting style but  you are the only one who knows and loves your child more than anything in the world. God created you to be the mom of your specific child and as long as you love them you are dong more than enough. I thought that was such an amazing way of looking at things. Instead of focusing on all the things I could be doing, or what I do wrong on a day to day basis, the only thing that is important is that I know my children for who they are and love them.

People can give me all the advice they want(some solicited by me) about getting Gianna to sleep in her own bed, but only the husband and I know that no matter what we do, every night like clockwork at 11pm we hear the pitter patter of her feet outside our door and a little sniffle before she hops into our bed, snuggles into us and falls sound asleep. Only we know that after nursing, pumping and supplementing with formula, Ethan was much happier being a only formula fed baby. Only we know that Gianna isn't ready to potty train and no amount of bribery or pleading will work. Only we know that Ethan has to fall asleep with his monkey and may or may not want to be held. You get the point

 

As the parent, all that matters is that you do what you feel is important and necessary for your family. People are not going to agree with you or parent their children the same way you parent yours. But that is ok. You don't love their children the way they do and they don't love yours the way you do. And that's how it should be. So stop feeling guilty or superior that your way is the best way or the wrong way

Instead feel empowered by the knowledge that what you do is important for your family and your children and stop letting the outside world make you feel like you are never enough. For you are enough and to your children you are More than enough

 

So screw the laundry, cleaning, and guilt ridden thoughts today. I will be busy loving my children

I Want It Wednesday and G's big girl bedroom update

I very rarely buy anything for myself and when I do it is usually a new book to read. But I have a few items on my wish list that I thought would be fun to share. Plus maybe my husband who is reading this will save some of these idea's for mother's day or our upcoming anniversary. Hint Hint

I love this Thirty One Round About Caddy. I hear it makes the perfect beach bag! And I love the pattern

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I am usually a silver jewelry person but lately am on a gold kick. I am loving this necklace

Randeavenue.com

I am loving Alex and Ani Bracelets as well

This swimsuit from Target

This book. I hear it's really good. I've been on a young adult reading kick lately.

That's it from my wish list. Now onto Gianna's big girl bedroom. Gianna's bed came in. We settled on this one and ordered it from amazon

And my mom ordered these Pottery Barn Sheets

Her room is coming together. I can't wait to set it all up

Why I Could Never Be A Fashion Blogger

This past Saturday my friends took me out for my 30th birthday. The details of the event were a surprise so when it came to figuring out what to wear I was clueless. In Florida it's the time of year I most hate. The weather is constantly changing. One day it's 75 the next 40 and rainy. Some days you wake up and it's 30 so you leave the house in jeans and a sweater and an hour or two later it's in the 70's. It makes outfit planning hard! I also was told to wear something that was casual yet dressy but with comfortable shoes.

That threw me for a loop. When I'm not wearing flip flops I wear my uggs, boots or high heels. Clearly all my shoe options were out. So about four hours before my ride was picking me up for the party I started going through my closest. I tried on everything and anything. No luck. Then I enlisted the husband's help. He liked what I did not like and vice versa. I then tried to get him to take pictures of me so I could text some options to my friends for some other opinions.

After taking 3 pictures of me in 3 different outfits. he threw the camera down, shouted I'm not your gay boyfriend and sat down to play Call of duty. Obviously to make a point about his manliness!

Here are the lovely pictures my gay boyfriend took

He's an amazing photographer right!

 

But besides the lack of professional photographer I have figured out I am just not trendy anymore. I mean I try to be but I've determined my style is best suited for cooler weather climates. In Wi I always looked cute. I'd get up, shower, through on a pair of black leggings, a cute sweater and some boots and I'd call it a day. I loved that! Basically  my style  involves outfits that look like this

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And when you live in Fl where it's hot pretty much year round it's impossible to wear the clothes I want to wear

 

I've decided that living in Florida makes it hard to be fashion forward. Well living in Florida and being the mom of two toddlers makes it hard to be fashion forward. I spend my days at the park, playing in the backyard or at the beach.

If I posted pictures of what I wore every day you'd either see me in yoga pants, a swimsuit or shorts and a tank top. Pretty basic, nothing trendy or super cute about it. When the husband is home I do try and change it up a bit and will sport some cute maxi dresses during the summer months but that's as far as I go.

It's my goal this summer to find some clothes that are perfect for a day at the park but still fashionable. And cheap. I hate spending a ton of money on clothes!

 

So that is why I can never be a fashion blogger. I shop at basic stores, wear shorts and flip flops both days and have a husband that refuses to take pictures of me even when I am sporting a really cute outfit out of the ordinary