american idol

so do you mind if i brag a little? because that's exactly what i'm going to do... last week i became a STAR. just kidding! no, no - i'm not bragging because me & some friends scored tickets to last week's american idol results show (wanna get your own tickets? go HERE for the how-to), nor am i bragging because we got to see stevie wonder, joss stone & smokey robinson all perform LIVE, & i'm also not bragging because we ended up with killer seats (i was in the third row, behind the judges, sitting immediately next too allison's family, nor am i bragging because for about 10 seconds i was on television (check me out HERE, at about 24 minutes & 1o seconds into the show). so why exactly am i bragging? because i have got the greatest gal pals in the world. all my crazed ranting & ravings caught their attention & they decided i was in desperate need of a girls day out! thanks ladies for the AI adventure, it was awesome!

wish me luck...

last week i visited the dentist for the first time in years. go ahead... chastise me, gasp, raise your eyebrows. it's one of the things that i've needed to do, that's always at the back of my head, but i'm always great at finding a excuse not to go - lack of time, lack of dental insurance, lack of money, & my favorite one, "but my teeth don't hurt". seeing that it's finally dawned on me that i'm having a third child, which really does mean a lack of time & money, i felt like it was high-time i get myself into that dentist chair. not surprisingly i had several cavities, i won't tell you how many, because you would then fall out of your chair & i don't want to be held responsible for anyone getting hurt. let's just say that i'll be making several trips to the dentist over the next month, in an effort to get them all taken care of before the princess arrives. so, with that being said, wish me luck... i'm off to get the "big ones" filled, let's just hope i don't end up having to get a root canal (or two). but when i get back, i have so much to tell you. did you see me on american idol last week?

image via here.

just in case you doubted me...

just in case you thought there was a slight possibility that i was exaggerating just a touch regrading my current mental state - here's some proof. randomly & totally out of the blue, this week i decided i needed to sew a quilt for the baby. mind you, i've already sewn one quilt & several blankets. what i really should be working on is stocking her boudoir with clothes, that she might actually wear. but no, the bee in my bonnet insisted i sew another quilt... i was a little worried that my the other quilt i had made was a bit too girly - because it had purple & pink in it, gasp! so, i thought i needed another, more subtle-ly pink quilt. anyway, long story short - i sewed the quilt. but, when all was said & done, there were two patchwork squares driving me crazy. one square had two pieces of the exact same fabric touching at the corners (yes! just the corners were touching). the other square had two pieces of the exact same fabric separated by only one small square. when i actually thought about it, i knew i was being crazy. hello?! the ENTIRE quilt is patchwork. lots of different fabrics going on there. no one would ever notice, except for me. & yet, all day long, i kept looking at that quilt, letting those two little squares eat me up inside. until finally, i picked up my trusty seam reaper, un-picked my way to those devilish little squares & fixed the problem. when i was done, i really & truly felt like i could breathe again.

believe me now? i'm definitely on the fast-track to the funny farm. hopefully this baby arrives before i make it the entire way.

bob the builder.

this morning we've been keeping busy. the boys have been "consolidated" into one room, amazingly. so now it's time to get to work girl-ifying the princess' new royal palace. i had the brilliant idea of picking up an old beat up dresser at one of the local thrift shops & making it purr-ty, like we did HERE. would you believe that all of dressers i came across were super pricey, like over $200! hello?! so, instead, we decided to go pick something up from ikea. assembling it this morning gave me a good chance to do some bonding with the boys. seeing that i was able to assemble the dresser with the actual help of two little boys & an elmo hammer - i hoping that speaks more to the brilliance & simplicity of ikea, as opposed to really shoddy craftsmanship. i guess we will see. now we just have to decide what color to paint the dresser, the baby blue just doesn't seem fitting.

nesting.

i think i'm crazy. really & truly, i'm pretty sure that i'm certifiably insane. don't believe me? just ask my family. i doubt they'd have any problem locking me up & throwing away the key these days. as a means of protecting YOU from my lunacy, i haven't been posting very much lately... i wouldn't want to scare you away, but i just don't think i can hide it anymore.

my mother always warned me that the third baby killed her, & i'm starting to see what she means. besides being crazy, i'm grumpy & crabby all the time. my body & health are shot - when i'm not hobbling around like a 90 year old woman, i'm coughing up a lung. recently, the coughing has gotten so bad i've resorted to sleeping on the couch downstairs, in hopes that some distance will let everyone else in the family sleep. i haven't cooked in weeks, possibly even months. it's sad that my four-year old's response to "what do you want to eat?" results in a long list of restaurants. my house is a disaster... moving the boys into one room has erupted into an explosion of "stuff" that has slowly taken over everything. it literally looks like a bomb has gone off. i've pretty much lost control of everything these days, including my bladder.

& while i'm sure you're ready to agree i'm definitely toeing the line with sanity, the only thing keep me on this side of sane quite possibly is "the list". you know, that incredibly long list of things that need to get done before the baby comes. my list is probably as long as santa's, which is a touch overwhelming. but remember, these days i'm living simply. so, instead of looking at the big, huge, daunting picture, i'm taking things one day at a time. hopefully, i'll be able to learn & thing or two from bob, as i practice my "baby steps".

hopefully i haven't scared you off yet. hopefully you'll come back tomorrow. but just in case you are sick of my complaining, tired of listening to me rant & would probably agree that i'm crazy - check back in a month or so, i'm hoping by then i'll be back to my normal self.

image via here.

something to live by...

i'm loving THIS free download from ReadyMade Magazine. i think it might just be my new motto for life. as confucius once said "life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."

today is beautiful. i think, just maybe, i need to throw out the list of to-dos & chores, and just stop to smell the roses. care to join me?

on this st. paddy's day...

photos circa july 2006, ireland

back to basics

i'm going to share a little secret - i really am a true blonde, sort of. unfortunately though, my hair isn't naturally a beautiful platinum blonde color like my brother's, i too have to pay for that kind of "fun". instead it's kind of this ugly, sandy blonde color that isn't quite blonde or brown, just kind of in-between. for most of my life i have embraced the blonde, although on a few occasions i have gone over to the "dark side", including recently, but to be honest, it just doesn't feel like me. luckily i have my own personal hair dresser who is always ready & willing to perform her magic at my beck & call. so last week i walked into her "salon" with dowdy, mousy brown hair & emerged a blonde bombshell. it felt so natural, i didn't even have to look twice... although, i am still getting used to my shorter new 'do - cutting 6+ inches can really lighten your load! at least now i can put another check mark on my countdown to baby checklist - hair beautified, check! now even if she comes a bit early, at least i'll be looking hot (as hot as you can look when you are about to pop! that is). hopefully though, she will make her entry right on time... otherwise my mom just might miss the big celebration, it's kinda hard to rush on over to the hospital when you are backpacking around india.

home-made bling.

under chelsey's most excellent & very patient tutelage i've been trying my hand at a new craft. it's very fun & very addicting... just try not to drop the hot iron on your foot! now that i've got a slew of these done maybe i can get around to making something for the pampered princess - i'm not procrastinating or anything.

advice, please.

life these days is crazy, wouldn't you agree? maybe it's just my hormones, but one minute i'm flying high & the next i'm totally overwhelmed. i keep telling myself that i'm totally prepared for this baby... that was, until one of my best friends (who is due just a few weeks before me) just happened to have her baby today. oh heavens! suddenly my world is whirling around me... more than likely, this baby isn't coming early, but the possibility makes me a little crazy!

when i actually stop & think about it, i know have all that i "need". already having two kids, pretty much prepares you. sure, her room might not be ready, i have yet to purchase a single outfit for her, i haven't even acquired the required slew of headbands & bows that loudly proclaim "i'm a girl!". but if push came to shove, i could send the hubby to the store to buy some infant diapers, put the infant car seat back in the car & break out a few of the infant gowns currently being stored in the garage (i figure i have at least five years to come up with a good story to explain to her why everything she wore was blue for the first little while). however, if i can have things "my way", every single little "to do" will be done, all my i's will be dotted & every t crossed.

so while i'm busy "making my list & checking it twice", i'd love to hear your thoughts on a few matters...

- anyone have a favorite baby bag? being a purse-a-holic, i've gone through several baby bags... petunia pickle bottom, kate spade, & harvey's to name a few, but i'm on the lookout for something new. i prefer baby bags that don't look like baby bags, does that make sense? any recommendations?

- what about car seats? with both of my boys i used an infant car seat, you know the kind that has an infant carrier that attached to a base. with gavin, i used the carrier EVERYWHERE. with owen, i found i didn't use the carrier nearly as much as i thought i would - lugging the baby carrier & running after a 2 year old was harder than i had imagined. so the decision i've been trying to make lately is... should i stick with the infant car seat, or should i go with the convertible car seat? the biggest pro with sticking with the infant car seat is that i already own one, so i won't really have to purchase anything. however, that means, that i'll have to put gavin's big, bulky convertible car seat in the third row, which also involves me having to climb back to the third row to strap him in. or, i could put the infant in the big, bulky convertible car seat (facing backwards of course) & move gavin up to a booster. thoughts? any experience in this area? if you've used a convertible car seat with any infant, did you love it? or did you wish you had a carrier to detach?

- room sharing. currently both boys have their own rooms. but with only three bedrooms, someone's going to have to share. the question is, should i move the boys in together, or put the baby & little o together. i think the boys would have a blast, after gavin got used to it. but, owen still naps, so their would be large chunks of the day when gavin won't be able to go into his room. but, would two napping babies in one room be crazy?

- what "must-haves" do you pack to take to the hospital?

- any other favorite baby items & accessories that i just need to have?

thanks so much in advance for all your advice & suggestions, i can't wait to hear what you have to say!

potty training?

so the countdown has begun! less than two months until the soon-to-be pampered princess is scheduled to make her arrival. am i ready? not really. but, that "nesting" urge has definitely started to take over. suddenly i'm feeling the urge to take a toothbrush to the baseboards & make sure they really are clean. the other urge i'm feeling, but trying hard to resist, is the need, no want, to potty-train owen.

with gavin, i didn't even attemp to potty-train until he was 3 - but mostly because i was too lazy, & he had no interest at all. but when i did decide to train him, it was fairly quick & easy. little o has just turned 2. which, in my mind, seems rather young, but he is showing an interest. although, he definitely doesn't really "get it". the idea of only having one in diapers is wonderful, but am i dreaming? if i potty-train with only two months to go, will he just revert to diapers after the baby comes? will all the effort be a waste of time or will this be the best decision i've ever made? thoughts? theories? any experience on the matter you'd like to share?

image via anne taintor

making noodles.

recently the boys & i hunkered down, rolled up our sleeves & made some homemade noodles for chicken noodle soup. the boys had a blast playing with the rolling pin & cutting out different shaped noodles with the cookie cutters. personally i was just looking forward to one of my all-time favorite meals... you gotta love a recipe that uses 1/2 an eggshell as a measuring device.

you'd be so proud...

look what i broke out this weekend. a big 'ole bottle of PINK dye. i'm baby stepping my way there, but i'm slowly surrendering myself to the pink revolution.

inked.

what does every self-respecting pirate need? just a touch of "ink". granted i am already tattooed, but it's just not the same thing... if i'm going to be sporting an eye patch, i need some artwork a pirate could be proud of. luckily, target & their massive book of 500 tattoos came to the rescue. it's okay, i know you're jealous.