Weekend Review: Guest Prep

We finally had a mild, somewhat relaxing weekend hanging out at home. My mom and sister, Ellen, are coming into town today so we spent our time preparing for them. I think looming guests are the only motivation to clean my house! I get the basics done but put off almost everything else until my secret messes are threatened with exposure and then I clean up.

Both Saturday and Sunday were unusually warm and gorgeous. Everybody was out which made our obligatory trip to Lowes for household needs (we had more than one repair need that I had conveniently ignored until the last minute) that much more crazy.

Here's Maggie hanging out in the backyard on Saturday. Notice the weeds in our rock beds....um, they have been plucked up just in time to make it look, to our guests, like we're always on top of our weeding...

Shopping in Cherry Creek

We spent the day down in Denver at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. Wow, what a long (yet exciting) day! This mall had an Anthropologie which made the whole trip worth it. I should shop exclusively there for the rest of my life....really.

Maggie also had a pretty darn good time. Here she is trying on sunglasses.

The High Desert

It's dry in Colorado. Very dry. The locals call this area a "high desert" and warn us to use plenty of Chapstick.

Since I've instituted "bath time" as part of Maggie's evening routine from birth, she doesn't understand it's sleepy time without one (ugh, thank you Baby Whisperer). That can be rough on a new baby's soft skin. The best solution I've found, by far, is a good over all lotion and ointment for extra dry spots.

I really love a shea butter lotion and Huggies smells SO good!

I also use Aquaphor Healing Ointment for Maggie's knees, elbows and cheeks. She's always soft.

Maggie getting lotioned up after bathtime:

Hanging Out at Home

Not much going on today. Trying to prepare the house for guests.

Maggie is much better at balancing and moving from standing to sitting--she used to just throw herself down--now she knows how to bend at the knees and lower herself to the floor.

She likes to pull herself up on me:

Getting ready to let go and lower herself down.

She used to ignore the front room. Now when everything goes quiet I know she's wondered in there. So much to keep her occupied...

Oh Happy Day

Um, love this chick! I want to go back in time and throw MYSELF a baby shower just for the sole purpose of having these invitations!
Check out all the pictures and the assembly process at Oh Happy Day here.

I admire those with artistic talent. When you have none, as I do (or don't as the case may be), you can really appreciate those that just have it! Jealous much.

Our Lone Tulip

I'm not sure if this single flower was an accident but its the ONLY plant on the entire property. Did the previous owner start something and then give up? Did someone some how drop a bulb?? I don't get it! It's come up every year we've lived here and each year I ponder why and how this single flower got there.

I have big plans though...ok, not so big but will hopefully make a good bang for the buck. There will be a bench, lots of big potted plants, ground lighting, etc.

Digital Scrapbooking

Last night Patrick took Maggie for the night while I hit a digital scrapbooking class. Since I don't own Photo Shop I had to download a 30 day trial (Photo Shop Elements).

I did find the class very informative and I can see the huge possibilities with this. Since I am creatively challenged, this program and the digital page elements you can download for free are a life saver. I like the clean lines, the fonts, etc. No manual cutting, gluing, etc.


We learned only a few basic tools--red eye reduction, basic cropping, layering papers and embellishments, and text.

Here's a VERY simple layout I made from the class using all the tools we discussed. I imagine how much more complex and beautiful the layouts can be to someone more skilled in digi-scrapping. Can't wait to play around with this!

Wheat Grass

Just thought I'd post a picture of the wheat grass I started about 5-6 days ago. Since I worked for quite a few years at a health food store I was familiar with wheat grass--but just for juicing. It had not occurred to me to use it decoratively until I read this from Design Mom. Its so beautiful and is the only color at all in my sterile white, boring laundry area (in fact, its such and ugly area I moved the grass to our kitchen table to take the pic).

Rainy Day

Its been raining all day--big, heavy, windy rain.

A local theater offers "parent" movies where they keep the lights up and the volume lowered and kids are everywhere. We had a Mommy n Me activity there this morning. Its the first movie I've seen in a theater since I was 7 months pregnant. Its odd to be in a theater full of moms (and a few dads) walking isles, feeding, generally milling around with baby.

We've been cooped up in the house since. Maggie is climbing the walls and not letting me clean anything! I finally put in some Einstein videos and got this...

Hopefully tonight will be fun--digital scrapbooking class.

Pottery Barn/Benjamin Moore Sweepstakes

Just wanna let the readers know: Pottery Barn and Benjamin Moore are offering a Room Makeover Sweepstakes. One grand prize winner will receive:

$10,000 in Pottery Barn home furnishings

An entire room painted with Benjamin Moore paint

Services of a Pottery Barn design consultant and Benjamin Moore color consultant

25 first prize winners will receive a $100 Pottery Barn gift certificate.

I seriously have my fingers crossed! Don't anyone ruin my dream by reciting the statistics on my chances of winning.

Here's the link to enter.

Weekend Round Up: Breast Cancer Walk

Yet another busy weekend. Oh the days of old--waking up at 10am, greasy breakfasts, hitting the gym, staying up late. ...at the MOVIES! I do miss the movies...

First, Maggie finally started saying "mama" but of course not exactly to me. Just in babble...I'll take it.

Saturday morning was the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5K walk down in Denver I signed up to do. It was a really great time. Since I signed up kind of last minute I didn't have time to put together a team and fund raise but I plan on doing it next year. So anyone who lives near me be warned--I'm going to recruit you next time around! Here's a picture of me walking the course and one of me right after I crossed the finish.

Here's a picture of what Maggie does to the outlet covers when I take them out to vacuum or plug something else in. Kind of a babyproofing vampire.

And...the binki has been reinstated. She doesn't need it and spits it out if offered to her during the night but I've started hearing her grind her teeth which gives me the chills! I'd rather have her suck the binki than crack her teeth together like that--it's like fingernails down a chalk board. She's taken to it like it was never missing.

Saturday night we watched a movie (Stranger than Fiction) and made a chocolate cake--yum.

Sunday was beautiful so while Patrick went to his bowling championships (or whatever it was) Maggie and I hit the park. The park is not a ton of fun yet since most of the time I'm either digging rocks, sand, or grass out of her mouth or swatting something out of her hand thats headed there.

Colorado Childrens Day

Today was the annual Colorado Children's Day. The city of Boulder had some fun activities going on down there so I picked up my friend Micaela and her daughter Addy and we headed to Pearl Street to check it all out.

It turned out to be a really gorgeous day and Pearl Street was packed with kids. So much fun!


Here's a picture of Micaela and Addy enjoying some music.

All the tulips were out and looking so beautiful.

Here's one of both Maggie and Addy as we headed out.

We'll definitely do this again next year!

WOMAN Challenge

This May the US Department of Health and Human Services along with the Office on Women's Health is issuing a challenge. An eight week walking challenge for better health. It begins on Mother's Day and runs to July 8th. They are even offering a free pedometer to help us out--freebies are good.

We are encouraged to walk 10,000 steps or get 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day. Once you sign up you can use the site to track your progress, make goals, get health tips, etc. It's pretty cool!I am in need of some exercise and this may be the perfect kick in the pants I need to get back in the game.

You can participate as an individual or as a team. Anybody wanna form a team? I'll be the team lead/coordinator...

Hit the website and sign up. what could you possibly lose? Pounds? I can only hope I do....

http://womanshealth.gov/woman/

Magazines

I am a magazine person. I like them--a lot. I am the exact reason magazines are located at the register where ever you go.

I have two must-reads that are subscriptions: In Style (duh) and Sunset. And I have two new favorites:

Martha Stewart Living is GREAT. I am a slow learner or something cause I'm pretty sure everyone else has already discovered and/or appreciates this. I always kind of rolled my eyes at Martha Stewart and considered her a little silly. I was the silly one. After thumbing through a few issues I'm a full blown addict. Can you mainline Martha? Maybe it has something to do with an unknown genetic condition that was triggered by child birth.

Real Simple is my other new love. SO useful and motivating. Even the cover just makes me FEEL good. Ok, there are some bits of the magazine I find amusing and sometimes I really do roll my eyes. For example, the May edition had a "Simple Solution" to use a toilet paper roll as a hair accessories holder. Are they kidding? Why would you DO that?? I tried to find it on their website to get a picture but couldn't. Could they possibly know this idea wasn't one of their hottest?

Jogging Stroller

My new jogging stroller came today. Yipee! I'm very excited. After way too much research and asking everyone I know we finally decided on this:

Its a Tike Tech. My friend, Vicki, has one and I was really able to see it in action. The other deciding factor for me was that it was WAY cheaper than the other highly rated brands. I'm not such a hard core runner that I need the best of the best. I found it on JoggingStroller.com which offered free shipping.

Here's a picture of Maggie being oh-so-helpful in assembling the stroller.

And, we were lucky enough to catch her first wave on film! I've been working on "hi" and waving for a while and it really didn't seem like any of it was sinking in. Then, today, her dad came out of his office and said "hi". She looked up and waved!! Of COURSE it would be for daddy (no, I'm not bitter.)

I Give Up

Before I had a baby and while I was pregnant I swore I would never let my house fill up with baby toys and general baby paraphernalia. Oh, how quickly things change.

I've seen oodles of organizational "tricks" and lots of sites claiming to have a handle on it. Not one does. Nothing works or looks good. So.Just.Give.Up.

Moms Night

In January we instituted one night a week for me. Every Tuesday night I get to do whatever I want. For the month of February I went to a beginning knitting class. Sometimes I go to a Mommy n Me activity for moms only, sometimes I go to a church activity. I've decided this is a must--a MUST--to stay sane.

I understand this is not something many men do or have done. As my family tells me often, I'm lucky. To my husband who actually suggested it, I say THANK YOU.

Last night Patrick made his famous homemade pizza. So tasty. I wanted to get a pic before we ate but...oh well. Here's a pic of the pizza on our well-worn pizza stone.

Then my wonderful husband took Maggie for the night and let me hide away in our office to do "whatever" which turned out to be scrapbooking and collage making (I made my visualization board per The Secret--but that's a story for another blog). He brought her in at 7:30 freshly bathed and in her pjs for kisses. Even one night a week away from dinner/play/bathtime duty really makes all the difference.

Daddy Taught Her This

When Maggie gets upset her dad likes to hold her and use the shade pulls as a toy to distract her. She's caught on. Hmm. You ARE seeing the shade pull coming out of her mouth. Strangulation danger? Time to baby proof that, but how do you baby proof her dad?

She did quite a bit of independent play today. I put on a Baby Einstein video and occasionally, when the puppets came on, she would look up and squeal at them.

Does this Outfit Work?

I bought these shoes almost a month ago thinking good weather was right around the corner here in Colorado. I've been waiting not so patiently to wear them. These shoes are quite trendy and I'm not sure I can pair them correctly.

I thought this top from Old Navy was cute.

Maybe paired with the Kitty Cat pants from Anthropologie.

Do you think it would all come together well?? Any thoughts or suggestions on what to wear with my sweet slingback wedges?

If I hadn't

If I hadn't used up my mother's day gift on a jogging stroller (dratted need to get in shape!) I would be drooling over these. gorgeous place mats and napkins.

And if I get the place mats and napkins I'll have to have this adorable tea pot...

and if I have that then I'll need these beautiful plates to serve some spring treats say, cupcakes?

Don't you hate how Crate&Barrel has little "coordinating/suggestions" off to the side???

Weekend Round Up

We had a very busy weekend (as it seems that we always do lately).

Saturday was a birthday party for Maggie's little friend Alex. He was a fantastic cake smasher!
Here's Maggie at the party.

Here she is at home playing with her party favor loot. I ate the candy out of the bag.

She was a very curious child at church crawling all over every body. She aims right for all the ladies bare toes now that it's sandal season. I spend the time not listening to the lessons but sweating to death as I chase her around and feel embarrassed that she's being too loud or obnoxious.

We took a family pic after church.

Then Patrick fixed some BBQ ribs and chicken while we hung out in our barren back yard. Yes, I have landscaping plans. They just always seem to be at the bottom of my list.

After we put Maggie down we discussed our week. How did I go from having little or nothing to do to having way too much to do?? My calendar is pretty booked. I guess that's a good thing, right?