Having a Day

It started off really well, I have started to walk Emily to daycare in the mornings (not so hot at that time) with Eli strapped up in one of those harness-y things (I really want to try a wrap - less clicks and velcro etc) but off we went!  I keep hoping to lose some of the extra ass I picked up while being pregnant - no such luck yet - but I still hop on the scale when I get home hoping to see the thing drop 15lbs...does everyone torture themselves like this?!?!

Then something threw me off a bit, nothing terrible but just hit me in the right spot and threw off my mojo.  As I was walking, called my hubby thinking it might be good to at least get it out in the open and kind of purge myself of the yucky feeling...

It didn't work.

It followed me home, even with a great soundtrack on the iPod to walk home too.  Even after a two mile walk.

Sigh.  Then of course, being in the sad state I was, I looked at an old friend's facebook page who passed away last year due to brain cancer.  Not a good idea.  Not a good idea esp. if you are only two weeks postpartum.  Why did I do that to myself?!?!

Then there was a call to HR help desk since they messed up on my maternity leave pay... how well did that go?  Not so hot.  Not helpful.  No solution today, will be trying again tomorrow when I am more mentally stable.

But my husband knows me so well.  He knew I was having a rough day and texted me that he has a bag of Swedish Fish with my name on it.  That is true love.

And to top it all off, what is more fun than writing on paper with a pen?  Writing on a couch with pen... thank you Emily.  Luckily it is one of those microfiber couches so I think I can get it out - worse case scenario it will help me motivate myself to get the free couches reupholstered faster...

But I am going to focus on tomorrow as of now.  I think I might just prime my kitchen table legs tomorrow if the weather permits it or find some other half finished project that I have started.

A project will get me out of my funk.  I promise.  Then I can have more "happy" posts.  And really who likes the poor me posts anyways?

 

I Normally don't do this but...

I just love her images!

And if I lived in TX still or visited a little more often I would totally call in my friendship for a total favor, but sadly I have yet to have a chance to have Sarah capture my, and my family's fabulousness on film.

So I am forced to stalk all her "teasers" of other cute families and engagement photos and dream of the day I can set up a session... so here are a few of the images that I have fallen in love with but I do recommend that you go and stalk her facebook page and her website - lots of visual treats!

And here is one of Sarah and her husband - who I honestly have not met yet, but he sure does look like a guy I would like... did I mention he was the one to carry the desk out into the river for the Senior picture above ... yeah, any guy who would do that to help his wife wins some major guy points.  And they just seem to be a fun couple.  And I think his glasses add a bit of "coolness" that every guy needs... maybe if we visit that coolness can rub off on B?  No.... I think B has his own short quirkiness that no one can rub off him :)

But yes - please check her out she is definitely worth it!!!

Sarah's Facebook Page

Her Website for more stalking opportunities

Insider - yeah I am lucky like that

So one of the part time jobs B has taken on is one  at Ikea... and I got the call today...

The 2012 catalog is out to employees 3 weeks early... and being married to an employee mean I get to have a sneak peak at it tonight when he brings it home.

Yes, I know Ikea has a rep for being the ideal way to furnish your college dorm, but if you are creative and use some of their pieces in unsuspecting ways you can really create a bang for your buck, and I need my bucks to stretch a little bit further these days.

Check out this blog for some creative ideas people have come up with: Ikea Hackers
 

This is one of the small favorites of mine - but there are some really great ideas I promise!

So needless to say I am super excited to page through the catalog and dream up all the fabulous ways I can make my house a home.  And they always seem to have great looking rooms - and great color schemes...

And speaking of making my house a home, I am pretty sure my daughter has perfected this.  After I cleaned her room top to bottom, finally centering a shelf over her bed and finally putting on the hardware on her new purple desk... Emily chose to tear down her cute ruffle curtains and by tearing them down I mean - ruining the curtain rod and everything... then she proceeded to take all her pillows out of their pillow cases...throw her duvet on the ground... dump out all the balls out of the ball pit the was neatly hidden under her bed and throw plastic fruit all over her room. 

So yeah - my house has that home-y lived in feeling now.  I am thrilled.  I also called my husband and told him that I deserve a can or two of dark blue paint for dealing with today...

I think he might be game with this deal - since I am not asking for expensive boots (the usual bribe/you owe me deal)...but it is about to be boot season (at least in the stores - I am expecting snow suits to start showing up in August - in fact I know they will be there).

Sigh, I am worn out.  Props to all the stay at home moms who have not gone insane.  It has barely been over a week for me and I am sitting here with a glass of wine blogging a poor me post. God I am weak.

But the wine is so good :)

Yellow Piano = Instant Husband Veto

So I have a little time on my hand to scourer google images... this is where trouble comes from FYI.

Today's google ... Painted Pianos.

I have a great piano I got off Craigslist for free about a year ago (yes the same one I got stuck in the middle of the living room trying to move it on my own being super pregnant if you need a reminder here ya go) but the finish is slightly yucky... old and the stain is fading...

I was thinking white at first but I am thinking that is a little bland and if I have my gray couches and neutral it might get a little boring against the blue walls I want.  Then I happened onto this happy yellow piano.

Stephanie Raye

 And I love it.  And think it would pop against the blue wall.

 But this was my husband's response to me telling him about my idea ...

"It doesn't matter if it is sunshine yellow or puke yellow it is still all yellow.....now what is next on the list to veto?"

Got to love him.  So it looks like white might be the "compromise".  But we shall see - remember I did get my purple desk...mind you it did end up in Emily's room and not the office - but I did win technically...

Maybe some yellow vases on top of the piano...pillows... sigh I do love that yellow piano though.

Introducing "Boy"

So trying to get Emily use to the idea of having a little brother we tried to tell her that she was going to be like Maddie at daycare who has a baby sister who is baby Morgan...

She knew the nursery was for baby Eli (and here is the true announcement!!! We went with Elijah Pierce Vargas... will get into that in a little bit) but when she came to the hospital to meet her brother ... he was baby Morgan... I am pretty sure we went the wrong route in trying to explain the whole baby brother thing...

Well, now that had morphed into "Boy".  Eli is not a baby according to Emily. He is a Boy.  And she will correct you.

But overall the adjustment has gone quite well for her.  Maternity leave for me has been a little rougher... It is quite the adjustment to go from 60 mph to 0 mph and to sit back and enjoy this time.  I am one who needs to be busy...needs a project...not that I don't enjoy relaxing but this is slightly different.  A crying baby is not as relaxing as one would think...go figure.

But baby Eli is doing great, he decided that he wasn't going to come on his due date and gave me one last Monday at work, but then he didn't want to share his birthday with his Grandpa Bob or cousin Jacob... so he came on his own day July 12th.  My water broke a 1:30 in the morning (interesting sensation - not one I would like to relive) so we called up my Uncle Brian and Renee to drop off Emily and off to the hospital we went.

Eli showed up at 11:31 AM and has been my needy baby ever since.  He loves me what can I say... I have that affect on men ;)

And then I had my first post margarita that Friday my birthday - yay - me!

So now on to the photos!!!

 

And so this is Elijah Pierce Vargas.  Elijah we just liked - and thought it would sound good as Eli Vargas.  Pierce is a family name on my Mother's side (thank you Uncle Robert for doing all that family research and finding this name) and I think it is a good name if he ever he wants to be famous on some level.  And yes I will be living through my kids cool names....

I got stuck with a nice 80's name - Megan Marie... My sister got the cool name Eliza Ann... yes mom, I will need therapy for this :)

Dust Bunnies, a Bunny, and a Bird

So after my doctors appointment yesterday, where my lovely doctor did give me an end in sight (the 14th if this little booger doesn't come on his own before then) I kind of went crap.  My house is in total chaos.

I had balls from Emily's ball pit everywhere.  Laundry piling up from god knows where, I have only 3 outfits that fit right now... and dishes that seem to be never ending.  I swear I would love to know that others have these moments where they just stare in amazement and ask themselves "I live like this?!?!"

That was yesterday.  So I figured I better get on it.  I really hate leaving my house to go anyway and come back to it in the same state of chaos.  And so heading to the hospital with a yuck house was not an option...even after calling my mom about something else and mentioning it, and her saying well "I'll be there..."

I know she will be. But something called pride is just getting in the way of letting my mother fold my underwear at 27 (I am not yet rounding up to 28 even though that is a week away)....

So I decided my bedroom was a great place to start since the living room is dominated by Emily and her toys...

Well, after loading the washer and dryer and clearing the room of all nonessentials... I got out the broom and dust pan...and went after all the dust bunnies under the bed.

Yeah, if all I found were scary dust bunnies it would have been all good.  But we have to keep in mind I have a lovely man cat that loves to bring home "surprises".

I recently had a bird waiting for me in front of my washer and dryer down in the basement.  He also had just trotted across the street with a vole (a cross between a mole and a mouse) in his mouth....I made Bryan dig me a hole for that burial.

But yesterday I had the pleasure of a double whammy.  First sweep brought out a bunny tail...(in my mind I was already mentally preparing with a major F@CK going through it).  Second sweep a bird's wing - just one.

At this point I just shoved the bed way across the room (don't worry it was light and we have wood floors).  And TADA.  A bird's head and a bird's wing.  Luckily it wasn't "messy". Oh and right when I thought the carnage was done ... I found one bird's leg.

Did I mention that my cat is declawed (just the front paws - and no I don't need a debate about how cruel this is- believe me this cat can fend for himself - and he was suppose to be an inside kitty - tell him that).  He is a killer.  But I love him....just not the gifts he brings home.

 I know, from these pictures you can't really picture this cat as the murderous serial killer cat that he is..

I am pretty sure if I had found the wishbone it would have meant that I was going into labor, but no such luck.

Needless to say the deep clean continues today.  MY lovely cousin Melissa has offered to watch Emily so I can catch up on a few things, relax and maybe have a few minutes without Bug's Life on.  She gets a gold star for the day.

I am Vain Act Surprised

So, as we all have witnessed over the last couple of months I really do not care to be pregnant. Yeah Yeah Yeah miracle of life... and don't get me wrong I love the end results (right after they learn how to hold the bottle themselves) and wouldn't trade Emily for anything ... but I am just not the glowing happy super excited pregnant lady. 

But here I am, at the end of it all and my feet are starting to swell (okay okay lets be real - I don't think they un- swell at this point - I have cankles - permanently) and I am rotating the 3 outfits left that I can actually fit in... so I have started to day dream about "normal clothes".

No one told me the first round that I would be leaving the hospital still looking pregnant (not happy about that one) and those fabulous tabloids that show all the famous people walking out with model figures didn't help me feel super fantastic about it either.

So this time I am taking action, not in the physical activity way, that probably would have been a great idea (working out - staying active while being pregnant) but I didn't.  I ate Redvines, donuts etc instead.  But I am giving the Belly Bandit a try....

Serious. I picked mine up today since supposedly I am not going to be pregnant forever (I am still not so sure about this).  So yeah,  I am going to give it a try and hopefully bounce back faster than I did last time.

Wish me luck and expect an honest review in a few weeks.... but you know Kourtney Kardashian did design her own so  obviously it works right?!?! I think she also has a personal trainer.... cook... and few more secret weapons than I do... but at least we are on equal playing ground with the Belly Bandit....

See...obviously this is 100% proof that this sucker is bound to work... but don't worry I didn't go for the "lacy corset" look - not my bag and I am not sure if my neighbors would appreciate me walking around the neighborhood looking so Seski...