Earliest Memory

I hear people talk about their earliest memories and always feel a bit guilty because I don't really feel like I remember much from my early childhood. It's not actually true, that I don't remember things, but my idea of remembering means not just remembering based off of pictures and videos. I'm so grateful that we have those documented images, but at the same time, I can't distinguish what I remember and what I am told.

The other day, I remembered two things that I know we have no documentation of. 

The earliest thing, which I know happened first because of the location, is probably stuck in my head because of the strong sense of fear. Before my mom married my dad (stepfather but dad to me), we lived in a little one and a half story house with a few big trees in the front and back yards. My room faced the back yard, and there was a huge (in the mind of a 2 or 3 year old) tree that had branches right outside of my window. I remember laying in bed watching the shadows and being absolutely terrified because I didn't realize what I was seeing. The mind of a child can be extremely imaginative! I also remember that I was half asleep and that it was a one-time thing. I wasn't always scared of my room or that tree. 

Isn't it funny how that sticks with me? I never associated my actual age with that memory so I never realized that it was one of my first true memories.

The second memory I really remember is from my parent's wedding. I was 3 1/2 years old and was the flower girl. My cousin must have also been a flower girl because she was also standing near the alter during the wedding. I remember her fidgeting and causing trouble, and I really remember being interested in what she was doing while also knowing it was wrong to do it. 

I've always been very aware of right and wrong, and the fact that I remember that feeling so strongly from so long ago just amazes me. I truly must have been born with that to a certain degree because 3 1/2 is pretty young...

Why am I certain that this is not from a video? Because a little girl who shall not be named happened to tape over her parent's wedding video with cartoons. There is no video anymore. They blame this little girl (surely not I!) but she was just wanting to watch a cartoon.

This was in our old house. That house had a big willow tree in the front that I loved and my mother didn't love (ask her about it, she really doesn't love them like I do!). I only remember the good things so to me this house is just the cutest quaintest place. 

I found my baby book and have a poor quality scanner on my tablet so expect to see more pictures soon. Mike's baby book is also around. It's going to be a historical weekend if I get my way!

Every Morning is a good morning

I love getting up in the morning to this sweet picture. Now that she can stand up on her own, she is always beaming when we come in. She loves to stand and look around her room at all the exciting things going on (usually consisting of Buckley, a pile of laundry, and a few toys left over from the last night's clean up).

Not only are morning fun because the well rested beauty in the house is happy and laughing in her crib (containment=getting ready in peace), but she gets even happier when she gets to eat her banana and bread in the morning. 

Can life truly get any better?

Organize that kitchen!

Just like everyone else, I've got the urge to organize. And it is bad. So I will show you how hard I've been working on my kitchen. I don't have good before pictures but I am so excited about the after pictures that I will proudly show them off.

Here's my one before picture. Well, really it isn't "before" because I took them all out of the cabinet and put them on the table. This is all of my tupperware that is getting the boot. I plan on replacing all of it with glass containers to avoid all the junk that plastic gives off like BPA and other chemicals. I'm finally jumping on this bandwagon...

I like being environmentally friendly and recycling and all of that, but I get so sick of the hype of it all that sometimes I just throw in the towel. If you remember, I was a vegetarian for about two months before I got pregnant with Josie. I did this because of everything I was hearing about the meat industry and what was happening to the animals and even more so because I found that my body did just fine without meat. I was no longer ignorant (sometimes that's not a good thing). But pregnancy won in the end, and my cravings and general appetite required it. 

I am all about trying new things and finding what works best. I try so hard to balance what is good for this beautfiul earth that God gave us and what works for us because if I tried to be the "greenest girl in the world" I'd be completely overwhelmed living in a hole in the ground; I'm sure of it.

Baby steps.

So here is my cabinet that had been packed full with tupperware that was worn out and obviously in need of replacement. I purchased some Pyrex bowls (a set of nine bowls with lids) and another set of three that were smaller but still matched). These glass containers take up about the same amount of space, but I don't have (or probably need) as many of them. I'm sure I'll add to my collection eventually but they are expensive (and way longer lasting of course) so it will be a work in progress.

Aren't they pretty?

 The next thing I'd been wanting to do was use the space on the inside of the cabinets. I keep seeing this brilliant idea of putting hooks up and using that space for more than just a door. Who'd have thought? So I found some cheap hooks at Target and put them up in two different cabinets. Voila!

This added a lot of room to one of our very few drawers that was poring out and getting jammed shut all the time. Pictures of that exciting update will come soon.

Then I moved on to the canned foods cabinet. If I had a before picture, you would have seen cans filling the bottom two shelves and pasta along with other random things that don't have homes filling the top shelf. I went through my canned foods and set aside everything that was expired (much to the dismay of my husband who insists that canned food cannot go bad). It left me with half of the cans left. That is so gross. But it also shows me that we don't use canned foods all that much. Why are we storing all of it then? So out it went, and it will not be replaced (until we use some more of the current-not-expired cans). 

I also added this little shelf that matches a shelf we have to separate our plates and bowls (completely made my week when I got it the first time and of course didn't fail me this time). These things work miracles. So lovely to go up vertically instead of just wasting all of that space!

I rearranged our lazy susan (Susan? Since it's a name, should it be capitalized?) which also had a lot of wasted vertical space and filled in the bottom shelf. I haven't perfected good ole Susan yet so that will have to have follow up pictures later. 

I mentioned before that hubby had added roll out shelves to the pots and pans disaster corner. Here they are:

It makes my heart go pitter patter. No joke. I actually grin like a fool when I get to take something out or put something away. I'm sure it will wear off, but I'm determined to enjoy it while it lasts.

More updates later (because you know there is more. I don't ever do something just a little bit!).

I give up.

Sometimes it's just not worth it to even try to fix that hair.

Note to self: Don't put her to bed with super wet hair (which just so happens to happen every bath night).

And another view, just you can understand how ridiculous it is:

But just to show you how I'm not always a failure, I made this meal. Doesn't it look delicious? Black Bean Burgers and oven fries. Yes. Good.

Pancake feed

Last weekend (yes that's how behind I am. Shhh) we went to the Kiwanis pancake feed. We haven't gone to one since Josie has joined us and it's always fun to stuff our faces with carbs and syrup.

All ready to go, a good 20 minutes early (for once)

How do you crawl with mittens and shoes on?

She enjoyed herself some pancake and people watching

Awkward family photo with blank stares, greasy hair, and chaos in the background.

Those blue eyes are mine to look at every day!

Funny how Josie is the one looking at the camera while Daddy is a bit off. 

Still working on these Mama and J photos. It's entirely my fault that they look awkward... 

V Day revisited

Josie got a package in the mail on Valentine's Day from her great aunt Joyce and cousin Brianna. These pajamas are too cute! 

She played in them for a while at night before sleeping (ever so comfortably) in them too.

Did you know it is really hard to get a seven month old to sit still for a picture? The flash took at least 3 minutes to go, I swear.

Thanks for the sweet gift!!

Pre-bed

Most nights, we get a chance to just hang out in our living room after supper but before Josie needs to go to bed. Sometimes I even remember to grab my camera! There are a few things you can expect to see on a regular basis.

1. Buckley and Mike "fighting". Why is this entertaining, you ask? Because all Mike has to do is move suddenly or slam his hands on the carpet and Buckley will get in his "pounce" position and hop up and down. It's what he does when he is excited and I do have to admit keeps us laughing all. the. time. He just doesn't get how to play the "normal" way!

2. Josie crawling and pulling herself up on laundry baskets, couches, chairs, trunks, and more.

3. Josie getting picked up and pulled away from heaters, doorways of other rooms, guitars, and more.

4. Mike and me trying to get Josie's attention (failing miserably) while making complete fools of ourselves.

5. Everyone laying or sitting on the floor instead of on the chair and couch provided. Why do we have those again?

Like I said, sometimes I grab a camera. I don't have many pictures of me with Josie so I thought I'd take a few. I forget that seven month olds don't really get the "look at the camera and smile" thing. These were the best out of at least 20 pictures.

Yep, two pictures. Then I thought to myself, to make us look like we are on the same page, why don't I just do what Josie is doing? That worked well, see?

I swear she's not scared of me.  

She really loves watching her daddy play with her puppy. She hasn't attempted involving herself but I'm sure that's coming soon. 

After Mike makes this face, Buckley usually runs upstairs in fear. I probably would too... 

Bath time + Bed Time = Fail (should be win!!)

What's missing in that equation? Because it is not right. It's like deja vu. I hate using the cry it out method, but nothing is working. Food? check. Bottle nice and warm as a night cap? check. Clean diaper? check. Warm room but not baking hot? check. Sound machine with just enough light to not be scary? check. The only thing we can think of is that it's too late. So we'll start creeping the bedtime up a bit. Again.


We're. all. so. tired.


My sweet hubby brought home Johnny Carino's (italian) food and some dark chocolate (favorite!) with a sweet card that was perfect.  He also got Josie a card asking if she would be his Valentine. Of course, she said yes. Then she screamed for two hours while I tried everything to get her to sleep. Fun night at our house!


I wish she'd be this happy as I was laying her down to go to sleep...

V Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've been a negligent blogger, but I promise that will change soon. I just don't seem to have the time or energy to be creative these days and I think part most of it has to do with the weather. That, and being sick as a family has just knocked me over. I'm getting back up, don't you worry!

Things I'm loving, just for fun:

1. My smiley happy daughter that literally brightens every room that she's in these days.

2. My sweet husband that put in roll out drawers in our pots and pans cabinet. love it.

3. The fact that we already have $133 raised for the YWCA!

4. We'll all healthy.

5. The weather isn't miserable and this winter has been the best of my whole life.

6. I've lost ten lbs and it just keeps coming off, finally!

7. The new "cake batter" shake I made yesterday and plan to make today.

8. The fact that Josie's cousin is growing big and strong every day. Yay Liz!

9. My family is all close by and I get to see them regularly.

10. Buckley. :)

What do you love today? Leave me a comment so I can love with you!

Quick weekend update

I ran outside this  weekend and didn't get sick. Also, I learned that I really need to work on speed since I was only averaging at about a twelve minute mile. Lame. Well at least I went out and did it.

Josie is back to her happy smiley self. It's wonderful and I feel like it must be summer mixed with my birthday mixed with the best part of every day because that's how much better she is.

I had a three day weekend. Best weekend.

Its already the  middle of February and you know what? I'm okay with that because  I've lost ten lbs as of this morning! It is so nice to hit this milestone, finally. It seemed to take forever. Hopefully the next ten will come off a little faster than three months since I've got this thing really rolling now.

Here we sit, watching cars drive by. Happy Monday!

Superbowl at last

We spent the evening of the Superbowl with some friends of ours. We were the only one with a kid, and I was hyper aware of this. I really didn't want to be the one with the annoying kid that kept blocking the TV. Can I get an Amen?

Our hostess had a stuffed animal for Josie to play with and of course every single new thing in sight is so much better than anything I could have brought with. It really worked well keeping her entertained while we all had eyes on the prize game. I'm thinking I need to hit up a dollar store and stock up on new toys to present when we need some cooperation. It works so wonderfully.

Josie got to spend some time with her Godmom Jerri. Sometimes she's happy about this, but apparently this was not one of those times.

Our little family spent most of the night on the floor in front of their amazing sectional couch. It's just easier to monitor the little explorer. 

Godmoms are great at being a roadblock for wandering babies.

A sneak preview at my amazing photography skills. Amazing, right? No bag of Doritos has ever looked so good.

Goddad Henry was there too. He was really into the game.

Josie shed some tears but overall was pretty great the whole night. 

We played with the camera a bunch when the toys lost their appeal.

We left right as the game was finished and she fell asleep on the way home. Little did we know that would be our last night of solid sleep for the week.

Thankfully, we have antibiotics that are making each day better and better. You wouldn't know she was so miserable just a couple of days ago by the looks of her now. Thank you modern medicine!

Oh, and its an ear infection. First one, and its a doozy. 

More Than Conquerors

Remember how I said I had volunteered at the YWCA? One of the things we heard about while talking with the volunteer coordinator was an opportunity to run for the YWCA in the upcoming Fargo Marathon. Three of the five of us are already signed up, so we have decided as a group to raise some money for this organization that does such wonderful things. Check out more here.

Our goal is to have  at least 25 people donate at least $33 which covers the cost of one woman staying one night at the shelter. That's not that bad right? Not bad at all. Totally doable.. So please check out our fundraising page and consider joining us! 

Of course you can always come watch us run too. :) 

Three of us are running the 10K (gulp) and two of us will be walking the 5K for now. We'll see if we end up adding more or not later. 

I added a link on my sidebar to easily access our fundraising page. If you are at all interested, please check in once and a while and see how it is going.

We need to raise this money by the race days which are May 17-19. Thanks for reading about it! 

Midweek confessions

1. I get so annoyed when reading articles/blogs/stories with too many explanation points. In fact, sometimes I just have to quit reading it altogether to avoid my blood pressure rising. This may seem like an exaggeration because it is, but only slightly. Feel free to call me out when I get a little over excited with the !!!!! in the future.

This face is like four explanation points.

2. I also get really annoyed when commas are overused or in the wrong place in a sentence. I'm no grammar expert, but come on... we all had to take the basic English classes growing up. It just erks me. Erks... look it up. :) (Again, feel free to call me out, but not too often because I'm sure I do it too all the time and I can't handle that kind of criticism on a daily basis. I never call others out on it, it just is in my head every.single.time).

3. I don't feel like I've  had quality time with Josie since she's gotten this annoying cold. When she is awake, she is so determined to be active and on her own, and when she's getting tired, my efforts are all focused on getting her more comfortable for bed. I don't feel like we have any fun anymore! A small part of me gets scared that she won't even like me after this is all over (the cold, not her childhood) even though I know that is ridiculous.

How is me being a baby babushka not fun?

4. We've lived in our house two years now and we still have not decorated many of our walls. We have some large paintings that I inherited (and love to death) but its hard to decorate around large paintings. I would just leave them up alone without another thought if they took up enough of the wall space, but unfortunately they do not. It's just awkward.

Now that you mention it, you could really improve this place.

5. I have two pairs of shoes that I leave at work because I wear them often enough. I'm so lazy these days that I am basically only wearing those two pairs because I don't feel like carrying/wearing a different pair. So all of those shoes in my closet that I need to have? I still need them...just not using them... If you are wondering what those two shoes are, you are in luck. I will share. :) One is that nude heel I had talked about here and the other pair are the boring black shoes I mentioned here. Safe, reliable, totally me. Someday I might step out of the box but that someday is not today. It's too easy!

My kicks are better than yours.

Linking up with E... click below to read other confessions.