Physically Sick...

Because what world do we live in where a parent would ever leave their child in a closed car on a warm day for hours, not only accidentally - because that is tragic enough - but possibly INTENTIONALLY?

I am angry, and literally physically ill at this story...

And the beautiful innocent... (above linked article has a photo that will make you cry - don't view at work, like I am - sitting here trying to hide the tears from coworkers and office-mate)


If the homicide theory proves correct, I'm going to strongly suggest they reinstate the whole Salem Witch trials method:  He deserves to burn alive.

Hey Hey - WHAT DAY IS IT?!

And here's your wardrobe Wednesday:

Top from Express ($10 on sale!)
bottoms from Express ($15 on sale!)
shoes from... probably NineWest (had them too long to remember! and again, just an approximation - couldn't find more accurate pic...)
bracelet from Express ($4 on sale! and also apparently sold out...)

*Can you tell- Express had a big sale, extra 50% off clearance items (last week) and the package arrived recently... =)

Tour Tuesdays!

After long weeks of waiting for a "Final Master" shot (i.e. after long weeks where I couldn't find the time to get the bed made - why bother making it when you're getting back into it in a few hours?!) the the first installment is finally ready...

Welcome to a new weekly series - Tour Tuesdays!
You've heard the stories of house renos we've done (new closet! new bathroom! new nursery wall!)
Why not put some pictures to the stories?

The very first view of our house, as we pulled up to tour almost 3 years ago!

And our very first HomeOwners portrait! (December 2011)

Why don't we start at the top (literally!) and work our way down?

So, at the top of the stairs (the nice, recently-carpeted-for-safety stairs!) is our itty-bitty hallway, where I FINALLY got the middle picture framed and hung, just 8 months later!
Off to the right is our master bedroom (see the BEFORE shot below, I did some massive cleaning over the weekend!)

Once you step into our room, the bed is straight ahead (just wait til you see it all made! so pretty - love my sleigh bed!) with my side on the left (see the built-in dresser E sunk in the wall for me!) and E's side on the right.

Working on sinking the dresser:

Another before shot - in which (I must point out) the bags of clothes I for giveaway, sorted into:

"Plain Old Give Away" (stuff I'd be somewhat embarrassed to claim)

"Stuff for Mom&Sis to peruse"

"Stuff for E's 16-17yo sisters" (the "cool" stuff that is just too itty-bitty for a grown woman... lol)

((There was a whole 'nother huge garbage bag not in camera view!)

Some After shots (in stages - I cleaned dresser and closet before I tackled the rest of the room...

The "Faith" sign on the left wall has been sitting in the corner behind my dresser for MONTHS - a purchase I made randomly in the local thrift-shop one day, and I finally decided - TODAY we're hanging this sucker! Who cares if the shades of green don't PERFECTLY match the paint?!
I also hung the "Sisters" frame - it had been sitting in my guest-bedroom closet for, oh - probably a year or do... (we'll not mention that I hung it with the store picture in it still...)

So these shelves in my dresser were originally intended for "Media" stuff - cable box, VCR DVD player...

But since we do no TVs in the bedroom, I got to use it instead for my fun perfumes and knick-knacks!

So, you can somewhat see in the mirror that directly behind the dresser is my closet (also built by Eric!)

First - how the previous owners had that area of the room (NO CLOSET!)

The closet framed out, and then current-day (how handy is hubby??)

The poster on the right door is something I made in a yoga/goal workshop I went to with my SIL -  my "2014 Personal Projections"

*Fun fact - the bottom right phrase ("La vie est belle") is a tattoo on my right foot!

Just a teensy portion of my shoe collection... =)

A Master(Bedroom) Transformation!
1. Previous Owners
2. When we first moved in... (camping out!)

PRESENT DAY =)

I still want to do some aesthetic changes - mostly some window treatments, instead of just whatever curtains we had laying around.  Given the location of the windows and what they look out on, we don't need a ton of privacy, so I'm thinking leaving the window open and get a nice sash... (there's so much more natural light during the day when the curtains are open!)

 I feel like you can't quite get the proportions of the room from the picture - it looks small to me, but it is decently spacy! (Check out my shoes in the bottom left of this picture for some better perspective of size...)

More "Final" shots from the opposite angle (facing out into the hallway)

And finally - back out in to the hallway where, between the two upstairs bedrooms, is our newly renovated (well, finished last summer!) master bath - coming next Tour Tuesday!

(P.S. While cleaning out the dresser, I found this old C.oach scarf.... I was a little loopy after so much cleaning...)

Paging All Doctors...

So, oops - I couldn't remember at my final PP OB-GYN visit if I was told to come back for my regular pap in 6- or 12-months... so here we are about 11 months later, and I'm making my appointment...

I just called the practice (there are four physicians) and got their automated phone system greeting me for "Dr. R, Dr. D, Dr. M and Dr. B."

Well.

Dr. M was my gyno for the years of birth control and TTA.

and then Dr. R. came in during The Appointment, and gave me my options (or the fact that I didn't really have options, being that my body hadn't recognized what happened three weeks prior...) and performed the D&C.  (And then I saw him all over the practice months later as we wound down near Ben's EDD.)

anyways - and then I saw Dr. D. and Dr. B. throughout my pregnancy with Ben - Dr. D. monitored his stubborn breech-ness, and Dr. B. was the one who made the call for the c-section two days early.

I've run the gamut, and with all four physicians there.

While I didn't absolutely LOVE Dr. R - I actually don't really remember much of him based on the situation, aside from the fact that he looked like Mr. Burns

 - I do feel like I'm in good hands with all my doctors...


And there - I've got my appointment scheduled.

(And it was 6 months PP I was supposed to have gone in.... oops)

My Husband, the comedian...

So I was sharing with E some G.roupons I was finding -
$37 at a fancy Italian restaurant for 2 appetizers, 2 entrees and 2 desserts!
$25 for a portrait session - and two sheets (wallets, etc) - and a CD of 3 images!

he responded "yes" to our next date night, and yes to a family portrait, and then requested that I stop spending all of our money...

(this is all via G.oogle chat)

now, he's a programmer/web developer/mobile app coder - a big computer nerd.

So, a few minutes later he says, "at the top right of groupon is a link that says "Log Out; click that real quick, I just wanna test something."

We'd talked, in the past, about how funny/creepy(stalkerish?) it was when we'd be chatting about, say, going to M.edival T.imes and <SNAP> there was an ad in the side bar for the damn jousting knights!

So I'm thinking, he's got some theory to test, so I [log out] and tell E, "ok now what?"

....

He says,

Congrats. You're one step closer to saving more money!

and - another Tuesday gone by without the Tour Series started... (tonight! I'll finish the post! especially because E has an indoor hockey league with Game #1 scheduled for tonight at 7:30 - so I'll have the house to myself while Ben sleeps!)

so, here's Wardrobe Wednesdays!
I have a ridiculous amount of clothes, alot of which I very rarely wear.  which is insane, because I just bought more from E.xpress... (see, now I'm putting dots everywhere so the spy-spammers don't spam me with targeted spam!)

Anyways - I fight with my closet every morning, throwing clothes on and ripping them off, leaving the bed and floor strewn with cast-offs:
the jeans that I didn't realize were still dirty
the shirt that I discovered had a stain on it
(I'm noticing a trend here...)

and it's usually the days that I feel I've just thrown something on after exhausting nearly every summer outfit, when I start receiving compliments as early as day-care drop off: "You always have such cute/put-together outfits!"
And continue at work: "I want you to be my personal stylist!" (that from a therapist, and was probably one of the best compliments I've received - cuz it's not just a particular piece of clothing, accessory or outfit - it's all of it that they like!)

So without further ado, here's Wardrobe Wednesday #1
(one of my more tried-and-true outfits, rather than a science experiment of layered tanks, dresses, and cardigans - I'm sure you'll eventually see those!)

*top from - can't remember where, or how much
*pants from asos - can't remember how much 
*shoes from - can't remember where, and the image was the closest representation I could find for my actual shoes
*cardigan from - thrift store, I'm sure...
**all images are approximations of actual clothes... since, obviously I can't quite remember where anything came from...

nice right? I'll try to do better with sources for next Wardrobe Wednesday!

Drafts and a Daft FIL

Perusing through old draft posts, just seeing what was there.

Oh, like, 15 or so started blog entries...

Oops..


Including one that I still intend to finish - Tour Tuesdays! (Maybe I'll finally have the first post ready next Tuesday! It's only been waiting two months for a picture of a clean master bedroom... ha)

Anyways - on to the daft FIL...

I can't remember if I enlightened you during the times he was obnoxiously insinuating that we were starving our child during the BFing saga...

He's a real peach...

Telling me that I'm basically doing it wrong...

(and by "It" I mean parenting. Thanks FIL.)

We were over at their house on Sunday (where Ben got his first taste of a real pool!)

And MIL asked if there was anything particular that we wanted/needed for Ben for his birthday, when FIL suggested a PlayPen.  That we "ABSOLUTELY needed a playpen! "
That E was just complaining the other day to them about not being able to get anything done when having to watch Ben.
(To E - really? I'm sorry, you play hockey with the guys for 4 hours on Saturday, then go out for lunch afterwards - and then even go out with the guys later that night - and you bitch that you couldn't get anything done during the hour or so you were watching Ben?!?)

I digress.

So FIL is all, "You're crazy for not having a play pen! You need one! you absolutely need a play pen! We'll get you one for his birthday! You have to have one.  Otherwise, you have to just let him wander all over the house unsupervised, that's dangerous.  You could do that I guess..."

...

Seriously?

Yea, because I like to just leave him in the other room unsupervised while I sit and sip coffee in the kitchen. Uh-huh.

I haven't had a hot cup of coffee in 8 months, nor a meal eaten in one sitting, from start to finish.
And I'm fine with that.

But FIL - chill.  I don't need a Play Pen.

AND I'M DOING IT ALL RIGHT!

(P.S. Yesterday was Wacky Wednesday at Ben's daycare... )

 

And this sharp-dressed kid then stood on his own last night for like, 8 seconds... AAAAAH!!!

I NEED A PLAYPEN! QUICK!

Bear With me...

Hey guys - Bear with me (haha, get it?!) while I try out some blog re-designs!

Ego Boosts and Ironies

So after having to go into work last minute on Sunday until 8pm (BOO BOO BOO.... stupid job) I declared that I was taking Monday off.  And so very unlike my last day off, (being out "sick" with a little head cold - I sat around and watched TV, then picked up Ben early from daycare to play...) I GOT SHIT DONE yesterday.

 I first dropped off Ben at daycare, and then returned home for breakfast (cereal, coffee and blueberry bread).  I called and made appointments for a haircut (OMG I hadn't had one in almost 12 months...), for the dogs to get their vaccinations (um - doggy-parenting fail... Zoey was overdue by like, 9 months...), and for my eye exam (*sigh. once again, my contact Rx had expired months ago and I had been stretching my contacts (Monthlies) to As-Long-As-They-will-Last.)

hm... starting to notice a trend here...

Anyways - so I took off at 9:45 to drop by the bank to get cash before my 10:30 haircut appointment.
Which didn't begin until almost 11... (Waiting Session #1 of yesterday...)
My stylist took off so much dead hair (I kept my length, just cleaned up the ends and razor-thinned it).  I got a comment today at work that I look like I just stepped out of a hair commercial... WINNING!

(And this is where the day started to veer a little off-course when E called and told me Kia had contacted him about a recall on my car (UGH Awesome) on the computer - if it wasn't fixed very soon, I could start randomly stalling out...)
So my proposed remaining schedule went from PostOffice to vet (2:15) back home until eye appt (5pm) to this:

On the way home from the hair salon, I picked up pictures at Walgreens...
Ok, again with the overdue trend: My mom's birthday was this past Sunday, and I had intended to get framed pictures of Ben mailed to her... well, so they got framed and packaged up with some cute cards, and I finally got them to the post office yesterday, after a quick lunch at home (beer, EasyMac and some sun on the back deck!) and then headed out, with dogs in tow.


I had had E make a service appointment for 2pm at Kia, and then I would walk with the dogs to the vet's office - about 1/2 mile away.
After my GPS recommending I make a left turn onto a highway - across a 2-ft high median, might I add, I pulled up to the Kia dealership, only to find out that Service is at a whole 'nother location... So instead of sludging through the heat for 1/2 mile, across a decently busy road with 2 dogs, I was able to drive instead, telling the Kia guys that I would have to reschedule the service appointment.

And here's where the EgoBoost comes in:
I walked into the Kia dealership, hair all very recently cut and styled:

 And the three guys behind the desk literally all stumbled out of their chairs, each speaking over the last, trying to be the one to help me...
I walked out of there all giddy and, to be honest, gave the hair an extra flip... EGO BOOSTED!

So we shlepped into the vet's office, and as I'm sitting there (waiting AGAIN) in walks Irony:
their mail delivery person (and no, I'm not trying to be P.C. here, I just couldn't see around the corner if it was a man or woman...) is afraid of dogs.

 (aren't they just vicious!?)
I wonder if, at the USPS HQ, they were all, Wouldn't this be funny? Pat's afraid of dogs, right? How about s/he gets the route with the VET'S OFFICE?! HAHAHAHA!

The doggies weighed in healthy (16lbs and 12.6 respectively); they got their shots - took 'em like champs (except when Zoey had to have blood taken for heartworm testing... she no likey the big needle in her arm...)
After they got their treats from the Doc, we packed up and headed back home.

It wasn't even 45 minutes of hanging out that I was back out on the road, with an eye appointment on the books - got the weird yellow drops put in, got the numbing drops put in, and then the pupil-dilating stuff...  (and isn't THAT fun - I get it done at every exam, but I still flinch and blink, head straight back while the assistant is attempting to squirt the drops directly into my eyes, meanwhile they start leaking all over my face as soon as I tilt my head back straight...)

And then I had to wait more, to let the pupils get niiiiice and dilated, like THIS:

Check out those saucers!
*Also, I'm pretty sure that you can see in the picture the highlighter-yellow eye drops and where they smeared all over my face... lol

Got my contact Rx nice and updated (R eye the same, L eye got worse - but I'm a "perfect candidate for LASIK based on my tests!")

At this point, it was closing in on 6:30 and I just wanted to go home and see my boys...
so squinting against the bright sun, I made my way home to this:

This is starting to be a typical sight when we get home from work, it could be considered crazy, how far I've already gone with birthday party planning:
There's photobooth props, a name-banner, pinwheels (DIY), a can of chalkboard paint, cupcake recipes/ideas, and just STUFF.  
There'll be a ring toss game (see striped bottles!) and a balloon-dart-toss!

(The clown noses came in yesterday. 

They hurt to wear...)

We had just put the last touches on our mapped-out back yard, deck and garage last night when E blurted out, 

"what if it rains?!"