Fabulous Friends and Fantastic Finds: Northpark Day

This is my last week just relaxing at home...back to grad school next week. I've been loving my three weeks off. It's much more fun to blog than write a thesis. I think this ecard says it all...

This past Saturday I hit up Northpark with a couple of awesome gals. Lisa moved here a few months ago from PA/NYC, and thank goodness she did! She's TOO much fun. We met through a mommy's group and instantly clicked. We have a fab time hanging out every week! Plus, our sons are both complete lady killers. This is her trying on hats in Loft...

Lisa is hiding her "disco ball" eyelids underneath this pompom hat...post Bobbi Brown counter.

If you haven't checked out Lisa's blog, twitter, pinterest, something, you're way behind. She's even given me a full tutorial on how to use it #what? few twitter pointers lately and I'm actually "tweeting" now to the 42 people masses. You should follow me, so I can follow you, and then we're all winners. YAY!

Emily is another sweet venting buddy friend and she cracks me up. Seriously. I met her through her hubby a few months back and we're neighbors too! I think I knew we'd be great friends from her bachelorette party. She had me at three rum and diets and an enthusiastic "I'll cut that b*tch!" on the corner of 7th and Main. Aww. :) I know we'll be friends 'till the end.

Em hard at work. (She'll cut you.)

Back to the mall...so I haven't been to a mall on a weekend in oh, 15 months. The mall is somewhere I take my toddler on a weekday morning so we can stroll around in his stroller, sans crowds. Holy shoppers...Saturdays are crazy! Nordstrom was off the hook! We hit up the Bobbi Brown counter, and while we're looking at mascara, the girl offers to glam up my eyes with some mascara, gel liner, shadow, and about 32 things for dark eye circles. Yesss! Okay maybe not 32, but this chick made my eyes look more alive than they have in 18 sleepless months. 

the AWESOME concealer kit (a cream and powder) and

the no smudge (waterproof) mascara...LOVE IT ALL

this corrector goes on before the concealer kit...it's AMAZING and totally erases your

dark circles...it's darker than it looks in the pic, and takes just a dab...AWESOME

I was so excited about my little eye glam-out I wanted to throw on a prom dress and hit up a high school gym. This make-up is worth its weight in gold. Seriously. I'm a Bobbi Brown fan for life now...mad props to Lisa for her savvy cosmetic advice! I love this stuff so much I'm heading back to Sephora soon (YES they carry Bobbi Brown now!) and getting the gel eyeliner and a couple shadows.

When I tweeted about how much I'm loving Bobbi Brown's stuff on twitter, she RETWEETED me! Lisa and I were overly excited about this...check it out!

Awesome!!!! So glad Lisa gave me that twitter tutorial last week LOL.

Another new product I'm UBER pumped about are these alpha beta facial glow pads by Dr. Dennis Gross! O M G. Why didn't I see these or hear about these before now!? I haaate how pale my face looks, especially when I bleach my hair glow-in-the-dark blonde. I hate bronzer even more, because it clogs the hell out of my pores. Even when I tan outside I spf 50 my face to death because I'm scared of wrinkles and more freckles. Just use these on your face after it's all nice and clean, and you get an awesome tannish glow for days! Plus they're packed with vitamin d! These wipes are seriously the best thing everrrrrr. Bye bye bronzing powder!

Em was so excited about these wipes she sent this at 10:00 last night lol...

P.S. to Em: Lisa told me today you can order them online or get them at Sephora! WIN!

So, all around the girl Northpark day on Saturday was awesome. We all bought some makeup, we got our smell on at Bath and Body Works, hit up MAC, Loft and had some fun girl convo. We even chowed down some Red Mango after lunch, where the cashier guy was overly enthusiastic about their product, voted "best fro-yo in Dallas". Hilarious. I need more days like that! 

Here's to awesome friends and fun times!

Face Down on the Floor of Central Market

So, today I decided to take Kyle over to the Central Market cafe for some lunch. He loves CM's lunches. It's such a gorgeous day!

Well, the second we get into the cafe area and I attempt to put him in a highchair, he starts kicking and screeching as loudly as possible, for no apparent reason.

Sweat.

As fast as I can, I grab some snacks from his bag and feed him little nibbles while we're standing in line to order. He reaches over and almost pulls a bottle of cabernet sauvignon off of the metal shelf, and I catch it just in time.

Sweat.

We get up to pay at the counter, and he's crying because he went one second without a snack. He grabs the vibrating coaster thingy and throws it across the room at the cashier girl. (I should've stopped here, but I'm an optimist idiot.)

Sweat.

I manage to roll him over to the drink bay, holding the coaster thing, my empty cup, receipt, my LV and his huge bag, and I'm wearing uncomfortable shoes. As I struggle to get the lid on my tea cup as fast as humanly possible, he begins to yell...again.

More sweat.

We get outside and all he wants to do is go over and play. I know that, but I really wanted us to eat first before heading over there. It was getting crowded, tables were filling up, and I didn't want to give up our seat. I finally decide to leave his diaper bag on the table, his sippy cup, my tea, and his highchair, "suggesting" that our table was taken.

As soon as we head over to play, the coaster vibrates.

More sweat.

I wrangle him back to the high chair, where we had a pretty solid 20 minute lunch...he only threw three perfectly grilled strips of chicken on the ground, along with his cup...two times. No one was stabbed and we didn't melt down, so I call this a win. 

Blood pressure decreasing.

We go over to the play area and he plays pretty well for 15 or so minutes, but due to his Casper complexion and the sunscreen I left in the car, I have to drag him away...literally.

Sweating again.

We walk inside and I reeeally wanted a refill of my tea, but I have to pee. Ugh...dilemma. So, we head to the restroom. There's one stall open, and I have no stroller. This is a first. I have my strongman 31 pound 18 month old, two large bags, and I'm holding on to that damned tea cup if it kills me. I'm freaking thirsty.

I lock the door, hang up my bags, and he immediately runs to stick his hands in the water, where I yell out "NO NO!"...and the lady int he stall next to me says "excuse me!?" (not realizing my son was in there), and I had to tell her I was referring to my toddler. So, I sit down to pee (sorry if this is TMI) and Kyle's unrolling the toilet paper, looking underneath the stall at the woman next to me, and trying to grab her feet, laughing. I have to pick him up, and literally set him on my lap...while I pee. You can't get any more "mom" than that.

Full-body sweat mode.

After the fastest urination I've ever experienced, I set him down, flush, pull up my pants, grab the bags, my empty cup, and unlock the door. There are now three women waiting in this tiny restroom...we open my stall door, Kyle attempts to run out, I grab his hand and say "No, wait for mommy Kyle"...and BAM.

There's my son, screaming, face down, on the floor of Central Market's bathroom.

Mortified.

I proceed to bend over and pick him up (totally limp) with my hands completely full, and now I'm frantically trying to get him off the floor, wash his hands and face, and my own as well. Ewwww. He's still fussing. I get us washed up, and there's no paper towels. Really? My Loft pants are just as absorbent.

At this point, my hopes for a refreshing peach and ginger tea refill are shattered. I reluctantly throw the cup away and carry him out the door.

So that's it folks. My son's mouth was on the floor of a public restroom today. Oh well. At least he got his lunch.

Embrace it, love it.

"It's SO Good": Fooding, Cooking, Devouring

My husband always laughs at my lack of adjectives when I taste foods. I would love to have my own "Woman vs. Food" show like ole' Adam, but I would fail at the awesome descriptives. All I can ever get out is...

"It's SOOO Good!"

So a few friends have been asking me lately what all I'm cooking/eating. I've tried really hard to cut out all processed food from our diets. Only real, natural, whole foods up in our house. I don't follow my own advice 100% of the time, but I do my best. All veggies, meats and eggs I buy are organic/grass-fed, and most likely from Homestead Farms. LOVE that place!

I love taking pics of food. I'm weird like that. :)

How pretty is this swiss chard? Fresh swiss chard from a farmers market or co-op will taste MUCH better than any you buy in a store. You can def tell a difference. Heat a pan on medium, add olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper. Saute for about a min. Add leaves, cover, check after 5 min. If it looks dry, add some water. Flip leaves over, cover again, check in 5...taste for preference. Add salt and butter to taste. Delish and crazy nutritious!

Homestead farm eggs, sauteed shrooms, onions and red bell peppers, pepper jack cheese, sprouted Ezekiel bread. Fresh, organic eggs are much darker yellow than store bought eggs, and taste just slightly different, incase you haven't tried them. I've cut WAY down on even organic, natural grains, but I cheat with my Ezekiel bread.

Justin's maple almond butter on sprouted Ezekiel bread. It's about 200 cals for 2 tbsp but it's great protein, right! :) Uh, YUM.

Central Market cafe spinach salad...always a WIN.

My nemesis.

Grilled chicken w/lime, cauliflower w/garlic, onion and cheese (due to baby mishaps I had no time to mash), and parboiled/grilled sweet potatoes with lime, cayenne, salt, pepper and cilantro. YES.

Homestead Farms haul: all natural chicken, bacon, pork chops, tamales, beets, swiss chard, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, peaches, squash. I'm about to make pickles with the small cucumbers! I love that place.  

Fro-yo is another nemesis. I mean, it's only about 35 calories an ounce, and I get about 5-6 ounces...so that's not terrible for a delish dessert? Or, lunch, as seen in this picture. White chocolate mousse fro yo, coconut and pineapple. Aloha baby!

Carrot chips...throw some sliced, slightly salted carrots in a convection oven for about 45 min...voila! Healthy carrot chips! Mine were a tad thick, but still great! Use a mandolin slicer for making any type of zucchini, carrot, or similar chip...I just cut them into strips this time. Don't add too much salt, because as veggies cook down they shrink/dehydrate and you'll end up with salt sticks if you add too much. These are so much healthier than regular chips. Kyle loves veggie chips!

Delish grilled sandwich: Ezekiel bread, peppered turkey, swiss cheese, colby cheese, sauteed mushrooms, pickles, grilled onions, and romaine lettuce. My hubs is a huge fan of this. YUMAAY.

How fresh is this? Green lettuce straight from the dirt into my bag! LOVE!

Veggie and bone broth stew...fresh zucchini, mushrooms, cauliflower, celery, onion, carrot, garlic, seasonings, and a soup bone from Homestead. The bone marrow and broth that results is FULL of amazing nutrients: calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, collagen, and much more. Totally a superfood! Here's more info on bone marrow benefits. I'd like to incorporate some kind of bone marrow soup at least once a week.

Carrot, kale, cucumber and apple juice. Looks and sounds gross, but CRAZY nutritious. I try to juice at least 1-2 times a day, especially in the morning. Anything with citrus and ginger is an amazing energizer!!!

My awesome friend Lisa and I hit up eatZi's the other day. I threw down this amaaazing tomato and mozzarella salad seen in the pic. She grubbed out on some amazing salad and picked up some eggplant goodness for her hubs. We will def be hitting up eatZi's on a regular basis. 

Rosemary dijon mustard grilled chicken, grilled sweet potatoes, and (TADAA) portobello mushroom cap stuffed with spinach and cheese. (I could eat this three times a day, everyday.)

I've always loved some yogurt, but my friend Lisa calls this her "yogurt bomb"...I always love a good name! I threw whatever I had into a bowl: greek yogurt, strawberries, Kashi cereal crumbs, banana, honey, cinnamon, pumpkin and nutmeg. So good!

I'll begin posting about all the healthy meals and treats Kyle' been eating lately. Kyle eats super nutritious, whole foods, and we're having a blast watching him taste so many new veggies and fruits lately with his big boy molars. Yes, yes, he's still super chubby, but hey, it takes a lot of work to slim down those adorable chub rolls, right?

Foodie love,

Our Son: Comedian in the Making

I just thought I'd post just some cute/funny videos of Kyle we've taken since he's been born. He's always laughing, and he cracks us up. We try to keep videos from our iphones uploaded to our youtube channel, but we get behind pretty often. We've recorded some freaking hilarious (and cute) stuff....these are just a few.

Kyle spinning in his new jumper! (He was fine...don't worry. LOL)

Daddy is SO funny!

Kyle eating...and us thinking we're just the funniest parents ever lol.

Kyle's first walk for mommy and daddy! (He walked for mimi and pawpaw a few days earlier while we were in D.C.)

Pawpaw is funny!

I award myself "mom of the year" here. It's hilarious though!

Kyle having a BLAST with Braxton, Kristen and Rudy! LOVE his belly laugh!

I can't believe how fast our little pumpkin is growing up! Crazy!

Dreamlights...Please Just Stop

I'm really tired of seeing this "Dreamlight" commercial. WTH is wrong with the producers, directors, or whoever created this three minute waste of my life. Have you seen it? Good Lord. I'm so tired of watching this hot mess.

These moms are freaking creepy. Heck a couple of boys are sleeping under some blanket fort on a hardwood floor. Yeah that's not comfortable. The kids all wait until the light is off and the door is shut before they turn on their "Dreamlight" pals. What are they waiting on? Why not turn them on while ole' mommy is in the room? Something to hide? There's such anticipation with the turning on of the Dreamlight. And what's up with the fiercely bright stage lighting the commercial advertises? We all know these stuffed animals aren't going to light up the room like a freaking Lady Gaga concert. If your  kid needs that much light at night, just turn on the ceiling light and buy something more practical. Like a Shamwow.

Keep dreaming on with #failDreeeeamliiight!

Normal Things I Hate Doing

There are all things we hate to do on a daily basis. Small things that just suck. Here is a list of things I hate doing on a daily basis. Why? Because it's super interesting.

1. Getting gas: I detest getting gas. I ride the fumes as long as possible. Now that my car has one of those spiffy screens that tells you exactly how many miles you have before you're stuck on the side of the road calling your husband for help.

2. Showering: Now that I'm a mom, showering is just a pain. It's a race against time. While we're on the subject of showering, I pretty much hate conditioning too. Why can't my hair get silky soft with shampoo? I hate drying my hair too. My arms get tired and I sweat. Ugh.

3. Looking for remotes: When we lose the remote to the tv, I'll do a general living room/kitchen scan. If I can't find it, I either get on my laptop or I just push the button on the tv and watch whatever comes on. Kyle hides them now anyways. They were in the dryer last week. 

4. Wearing a bra: Yeah, I hate bras...any type of bra. I especially hate them now that I've had a child and my boobs are larger and droopier. Suck. Bras are tight, uncomfortable, and I just don't like them. I think wearing nursing bras or no bra at all the first few weeks of Kyle's life spoiled me. I wear one most of the time, simply to prevent my boobs from falling any further south. 

5. Small talk: I avoid small talk whenever possible. I mean, when people ask how you've been, you're going to say "great!" or "fine", and we reply with the general "oh good" or whatever. It's even worse when you visit your hometown and you see people you haven't seen in maybe a few years, and you're like, uh how much information am I required to disclose in order to seem polite? So stressful. It's easier to look the other way and avoid it all together. Besides...that's what FB is for.

6. Putting on mascara: Mascara is that number one make-up product I can't live without. I look like a creepy ghost of a person without it. It takes me like 20 minutes to pile on the layers of mascara I prefer. Ugh...I really want to use that brush on prescription that makes your lashes grow at a scary rate...but apparently it can change the color of your eyes and I like mine, thanks. I'll just keep globbing my mascara on and complaining about how long it takes me. Washing it off...oh good Lord don't get me started.

7. Changing diapers: My son is 32 pounds of muscle, and he HATES getting his diaper changed. It's like two minutes of complete torture on both ends. I take kicks to my face multiple times daily.

8. Putting clothes away: Yeah, I do laundry, but I hate putting it away. I don't know why. It sucks. I'll wash all day, and pile the clothes up. I'll even separate them, and maybe fold them into piles. But, getting them back into appropriate drawers is like climbing Mt. Everest. Hell, hanging up my "hanging" clothes is even worse. My dining room table is used more for laundry than food. I'd rather clean bathrooms than hang/put away clothes. I'm weird.

9. Getting ready for bed: I hate the whole night time routine. Putting on pj's, washing/drying my face, brushing/flossing, peeing, it's just time consuming at a time when I'm usually exhausted and I just want to go to freaking bed. 

10. Washing dishes: Yeah, we all hate dishes, but I reeeeally hate it. I can't stand touching plates and utensils that have already been used. If the high pressure from the sink faucet doesn't get rid of it, I'll throw it in the dishwasher. Cleaning pots and pans is completely gross to me...ewwww. 

11. Going to the bathroom: I'm probably going to start peeing my pants when I'm 50, because I hold my pee too much. Not to the point where I'm putting it off for hours, but I just get annoyed with going to the bathroom. It's always such an inconvenience. Like right now. I need to go, but I think it can wait 20, 30 more minutes. It's even worse after you have a child, and you have an audience anytime you need to sit on the freaking toilet. And then mid stream your son gets into the cabinet and starts throwing toiletries or unused pregnancy tests everywhere. Or, he flushes the toilet while you're trying to go. It's like have a bidet. I'm classy that way.

Kyle's Craft Explosions o' Fun!

Now that Kyle is almost 18 months (OMG) we're getting pretty crafty here at the house! He's VERY active and it seems that coloring, crafts, anything of this nature seems to calm him a bit...it's awesome!

About a week ago we decided to try painting on the porch! It was our first time, so it wasn't perfect, but he sure had fun! We used flour, water and food coloring to make some paints. I used too much water as you can see, but Kyle didn't know the difference. He had a blast getting all messy! We attempted to use some white paper, but that lasted about 12 seconds. The paint washed off of the concrete...and baby...no prob. :)

Is that not the cutest face ever??

I've realized it's getting harder and harder to keep Kyle entertained. The other day when the weather was gloomy I was desperate for something fun to do inside. What did I do? Looked in the pantry. Beans...hmmm...

Yes, it was a huge mess, but he loved it! What toddler wouldn't like to play with a huge bowl of beans? He only tried to eat a couple before he learned not to do that. He isn't smiling here, but wow he was having the BEST time just making a huge mess! He was pouring the beans, sitting in them, touching, smelling them, trying to peel them, it lasted maybe 30 or so minutes! I had to continuously pick them all up and put them back in the big Christmas bowl (BTW, this isn't my bowl...if you recognize it let me know!) for him to play with all over again.

Now, THIS is by far my FAVORITE craft this week. We mixed water and corn starch, and it makes this totally weird, dry, slime gook stuff! It looks like it's dripping wet, but it's not! It's firm to the touch!

cornstarch, room temp water, coloring

This was shot just before he took his first taste of it...and it was not good! So, we got that out of the way early!

Kyle played with this for maybe 45 minutes...he loved it! We added different colors, cut it, mashed it, it was SO weird! I'm definitely doing this again on a larger scale. A huge pile of weird melting/but not really wet slime would be awesome! I took some cute video of him playing with the gook, but I haven't uploaded to our youtube channel yet.

He loved trying to swirl the coloring...we also used spoons, forks and spatulas to manipulate the gook!

We've also begun our daily coloring activity. I need to buy some white butcher paper, but until then he's loving his nightly coloring time on the coffee table...we just tape paper down and let him make his masterpieces! He even tries to copy my swirls and shapes now! Perhaps we have another artist in the family!? :)

So far, purple appears to be his fave. :)

So, I'm trying to get in 4-5 crafts a week until school/work starts in August. I'm loving how much Kyle can do now that he's getting a little older! This just gets more and more fun!

Next up...big box o' feathers and pompoms? Sounds fun!

Overambitious Mommy Thursday!

Have you moms ever had a day where you wake up feeling extra awesome and you have these awesome mommy/baby plans for the day? Yeah, that was me this morning.

I thought we'd have our first trip to the Saratoga pool. Kyle was sick pretty much all last summer, so he's never been swimming. Then, I thought we'd come home, clean up, and head to Southlake for a nice CM Cafe patio lunch together. Next, a nap, followed by playtime, coloring then dinner for the family.

But of course, great plans rarely go as expected with a baby toddler.

While getting ready for pool day, I remembered that Kyle needed a life jacket. Now, he'll be 18 months on the 25th, weighs 31 pounds, and I have no idea what type of floaty/jacket/tube thing to buy. So, we head to Academy to buy one! Fun!

No...not so fun. Who forgot to bring snacks into Academy? This girl! Who is cranky and TERRIFIED of life jackets? My son! He wanted nothing to do with any of the swimming equipment. Kyle was crying, yelling, he wanted nothing, except to be out of the basket and out of the store. He literally cried 98% of the time we were in there. A couple with a newborn son walked by us during a particularly heightened part of the tantrum, and I saw them look at each other in pure fear of their potential future. 

#fail

Well, we get to the pool, and there's a nice lady there with her two year old daughter. The lady is pregnant and laying on the chaise lounge in the 1ft kiddie pool, her daughter sitting quietly next to her, feet dangling in the water. We say hello, and I see her daughter and think...okay...I can do this.

This is our new form of "hold mommy's hand". Notice my death grip...and right after I got this shot to show his daddy, he freed himself and ran straight toward the pool. Did I give birth to one of those strong man guys?

WHOOOAAA. As SOON as I sat my bags down, Kyle was trying to dive head first into the pool. Going limp, pulling away, he was so excited to get in! I got in with him, sans the floaty, thinking he'd walk around in the little pool for a few minutes, waving his arms back and forth, and slowly get used to walking on the bottom of the pool. 

#fail

As soon as we got in, he throws his body forward, out of my arms and dives underwater. Really?! My child is afraid of nothing! I was happy he was so excited, but geez! The next 15 minutes I was trying my hardest to keep his face/head above water. He was jumping, thrusting, pulling away from me, etc. He wanted to swim like he's 20. He wanted nothing to do with me, the floaty, my hands, nothing. He's a little independent, wouldn't you say? I blame this on his father. I used to cling to my mother's leg in complete terror at those swimming lessons growing up.

My grip is somewhat loosened here, as Kyle was playing in the mushroom waterfall. Immediately after this picture he attempted to jump into the waterfall, and landed face first in the water. He loved it though! Chlorine anyone?

Anyhow, we tried the floaty, it just enabled him to flip forward or backward more easily. Then I thought, okay. I'll take the floaty off and take him into the adult pool. Yeeah...I'm smart. I would just walk around with him in the deeper pool while he's in my arms. 

#fail

Kyle wanted to swim all by himself. I was struggling thinking, how do parents do this? How do I hold him without braking my arms or drowning him? I had a little success, keeping him on his tummy and letting him paddle and kick, but OMG I had no idea what I was getting into! I was completely exhausted and winded from trying to keep my crazy active toddler above water.

And what was the other lady and her daughter doing? Watching our hot mess. She was very sweet, and her daughter was afraid of the water so she just wanted to sit quietly on the side and let her toes get wet. It blows me away when I see moms and these quiet, dainty little daughters who just sit still and look cute. I can't imagine lol. Meanwhile my son thinks he's Michael Phelps. Kyle did have a blast though...and I'm so glad we went! Here's a shot of us before we left! He's just a little upset we were leaving. :)

We went home and just as we're walking in and thought, phew! I made it! I need to sit down! We're walking into the house from the laundry room, I'm shutting the door behind me, and I feel resistance. I immediately push the door back open, look down and see Kyle's two little fingers in the door. NOO!

My heart broke. There's nothing worse than the feeling you get when you accidently hurt your sweet baby. Especially when your accident took the skin off of two little fingers and he's screaming! 

#fail 

After a short nap to recover from the door incident, we take a shower, get ready, and decide on Jason's Deli instead of Southlake. Kyle's track record for the day isn't great, so the closer the better. And what happens when we get there? Sleeping baby! I thought about going back home, but he'd probably just wake up. I thought about driving around, but I really wanted a wrap. So, voila!

Sleeping baby, hungry mommy. I loved my turkey wrap and veggies, and he was sleeping soundly. Ahhh...just what I needed after my "pool workout". But, of course it didn't last. Kyle woke up and wanted lunch too. I got him a turkey sandwich and apple. This was his reaction, right before his explosion of turkey and cheese hatred. 

#fail

Anyhow, we finished up at Jason's Deli, and he actually ate most of his food. Glad he did, as he's lost a little bit of weight. I'm not ready for the fat rolls to dissapear just yet. :) On the way home he seemed happy and content, and to end on a happy note, mommy had to stop and treat herself for an overall, pretty good day.

White chocolate mousse flavored yogurt with coconut topping, anyone? YUMMAAYY

#success

Woohoo for "Overambitious Mommy Thursday"! Now, when does that hubby get home....?

Love this!