have you met my friend?

okay, this is probably random, but i just had to share. sure, it might be the bar keepers friend, but the stuff is seriously my BEST friend. to be honest, i don't know who first introduced me to bar keepers friend, although i'm going to credit my mom - she's pretty much all-knowing. if you haven't had the good fortune of meeting bar keepers friend yet, don't be afraid to introduce yourself, you'll be thanking me, i swear! the stuff is amazing. although it sounds like some super duper, top secret, cocktail hour ingredient, it's anything but. it's more like a super duper, top secret, cleaning machine. it works on pretty much anything & everything... porcelain sinks, bathtubs, tile walls, countertops, cooktops, cookware (it's the only way to keep my pots & pans looking shine-y & new), stainless steel, chrome, copper, brass, fiberglass, cement, ceramic tile, grout & more. (i've even used it on a painted wood surface to remove permanent marker!) really & truly, the stuff is amazing! & to think it only costs about $3 and can be found at most major retail, grocery and drug stores. although i'm sure it is a "bar keepers friend," it's definitely a mother's best friend.

domesticated bliss.

today, i tied on my apron, put on my pearls, slipped into my favorite pair of heels & channeled my inner june (as in my grandma june... not june cleaver) & baked bread. i had to take this little lady out for her inaugural mission. & nothing beats the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the air. grandma june would be so proud.

new year resolutions.

 image via flickr.

have you noticed? it's a new year. twenty ten. yep! i don't know about you, but it kinda snuck up on me. over the past few days i've been working on my resolutions. but frankly it's hard. & bound to be disappointing. honestly, i don't think i'm ready for any disappointment quite yet. i'd rather twenty ten be a year of opportunity. so instead of making a list of things i'm going to do, that deep-inside i know i probably won't,  i thought i'd make a list of things that i will not do in 2010, in no particular order.

* i will not pretend i'm super mom.
* i will not stop crafting.
* i will not stop saying hell & damn, but i can promise you - that's the worst of it.
* i will not cut my own bangs. 
* i will not stop loving the target $1 aisle.
* i will not stop blogging, although i won't promise that it will be daily.
* i will not maintain my eyebrows on my own.
* i will not use my husband's razor to shave my legs.
* i will not stop wishing i had a maid & a cook.
* i will not be afraid to get dirty.
* i will not stop going to disneyland weekly.
* i will not forget the truths about motherhood. 
* i will not stop traveling. (even if i never travel past utah, at least i'm traveling.)
* i will not let life get me down.
* i will not let having children, stop me from snowboarding.
* i will not become a professional karaoke-er.
* i will not leave the toilet seat up.
* i will not be afraid of being real.
* i will not stop reading.
* i will not stop eating dessert.
* i will not stop wishing i could sleep more.
* i will not stop running, biking, swimming,or exercising in genearl.
* i will not be afraid to be me.
* i will not stop making spontaneous purchases.
* i will not stop ohhhing & ahhhing over my little girl.
* i will not stop eating cookies for breakfast.
* i will not stop trying to break my addiction.

so what will you not do in 2010?

'twas days before christmas

'twas days before christmas, when all through the house
all the creatures were stirring, even the mouse;
wet undies were hung by the chimney with care,
in hopes that they would dry, much faster there.
the family was gathered around the john,
hooting & hollering, cheering little owen on.
& i in my 'kerchief, and pa in his cap,
had just awoken owen, dry from his nap.
when out in the bathroom there arose such a clatter,
i sprang from the couch to see what was the matter.
away to the "can" i flew like a flash,
tore open the door, after my mad dash
there was pee, i could see, in the toilet bowl.
meaning owen had aimed at the cheerios.
when, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
completely dry undies, & him smiling ear-to-ear.

my muddy hubby & me.

7 miles, 5 obstacles & one mud pit later,
the hubby & i crossed the finish line together.

i guess it's true what they say...
boys like dirty girls.

can't wait until next year.

the new me.

new baby. new life. new 'do.

what do you think?

the power of positive thinking.

there definitely is power in positive thinking. so, i'm surrounding myself with positive energy, good thoughts and all the warm fuzzies & love you've sent my way. i'm not going to let life get me down. so pull up a chair & read a quote or two. & if i've missed YOUR favorite quote, be sure to let me know. i need all the help i can get. i'm hoping that sending all these positive thoughts out into the universe is going to get me (& a few of you too), through this. in the words of one of my very favorite willie nelson songs: you've got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, don't mess with mister in-between. 

what seems impossible one minute becomes, through faith, possible the next. -norman vincent peale

today is the first day of the rest of your life. -american proverb

we should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry. -e.b. white

everything happens for a reason. -american proverb

just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly. -anonymous

never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do. -h. jackson brown, jr.

the best is yet to be! -robert browning

never never never give up. -churchill

if you're going through hell, keep going... -churchill

finish each day and be done with it. you have done what you could. some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. tomorrow is a new day. you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. -ralph waldo emerson

be the change you wish to see in the world... -gandhi

whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. -goethe

overcome the notion that you must be regular. it robs you of the chance to be extraordinary. -uta hagen

go with a spirit that fears nothing! -homer

when one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. -helen keller

have faith in yourself and in the future. -ted kennedy

believe in yourself and all that you are. know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle. -christian d. larson

it's never too late to be what you might have been. -george eliot

whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. -max ehrmann

do not go where the path may lead. go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. -ralph waldo emerson

find life experiences and swallow them whole. travel. meet many people. go down some dead ends and explore dark alleys. try everything. exhaust yourself in the glorious pursuit of life. -lawrence k. fish

whatever you are, be a good one. -abraham lincoln

go into the world and do well. but more importantly, go into the world and do good. -minor myers r. 

life does not put things in front of you that you are unable to handle. -unknown

life isn't about finding yourself. life is about creating yourself. -unknown

i think i can. i think i can. i know i can. i know i can. -the little engine that could

anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed. the fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just like people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. life is just like an old time rail journey ... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. the trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride. -gordon b. hinckley

cheaper than therapy.

it's been one of those days, er weeks, okay... months. it feels good to say it out loud, let the healing process begin.

as much i wish i were, i've never claimed to be super mom, or to live a practically perfect life. that's the stuff fairy tales are made of. & while i am living my own version of "happily ever after," it's definitely not disney material. but lately, things aren't even close to being perfect, in fact, life seems to be utter chaos. these days, i've been fighting the blues, you might say i've been just a wee bit grumpy. i don't know, maybe you can relate, or maybe you'll think i'm completely off my rocker - but it feels as though i'm slowly drowning. i try not to let it show... that's what i do, what i've always done. i like to build a wall or fortress around myself, slowly shutting out friends, family & the world - transforming myself into what jeffy lovingly calls the "ice princess." sweet of him, huh? it's the sad, but real, truth. i can feel it happening. so i'm trying hard to fight it. each and every day i wake up & try to put on a brave face. i try to think of all the things i'm grateful for, for all of the wonderful blessings and opportunities i have & have had throughout my life. and most days i manage to come out on top. but not lately.

if you know me, you may or may not have noticed a difference. maybe you've realized that i don't call as much, that i'm not as "bubbly" as usual, or that i'm just not any fun to be around anymore. but, if you were to ask me about it, i probably brushed you off, or simply said "i'm fine." but that's just it, i'm not fine. but, i don't really want to complain, & i definitely don't want to talk about myself. yet here i am, doing both - complaining & talking about myself.

but, i've finally decided, instead of drowning in my own personal sea of sorrow, i'm going to "put it all out there." i'm going to open myself up, think good thoughts, & hope the universe takes pity on me. either that, or maybe i'll just move to austrailia - i hear the weather's nice & maybe i'll run into alexander, he knows what it's like to have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day month. but don't mind me, pretty soon this blog will be back to it's regularly scheduled programming, that is if anyone is even reading it still. & if you do happen to still be reading, i hope i didn't just scare you off.

image via here.

friday five: my most recently "starred" blog posts

this week i thought i'd share the five blog posts that i most recently "starred" in my google reader... maybe you'll find a favorite you'll want to "star" yourself.

1. peanut butter pie: an oreo cookie crust & reese's peanut butter cups... oh yum!

2. nie nie's red hat and his brown eyes:i don't think i've mentioned it before - but when i grow up, i hope i can be as amazing as miss nie nie, she's my hero.

3. gettin' crafty, a little mod podge is an amazing thing: a new-to-me spin on freezer paper stenciling that uses one of my favorite crafting supplies - mod podge.

4. party in the usa music video: i'm loving this home-made miley video

5. $5 refashion, the ruffled tuxedo: this might just be the project that breaks my sewing machine out of hibernation

now that i've shared some of my recent favorites, what's the most recent blog post that you've "starred?"

change is in the air.

i'm up to all kinds of mischief this week.

starstruck

i had the greatest weekend ever. i spent it with over 100 ladies (& maybe one or two gents) who are creative, inspiring & overall just complete visionaries. i loved getting the opportunity to meet and greet a few new, & several familiar faces. i loved chatting & getting to know new friends. i loved feeling important as i exchanged business cards. & i loved, loved, loved, LOVED getting to meet several of my absolute favorite blog crushes... marie of make & takes, allison of petite elefant, & carrie of this is me journal & this mama makes stuff (okay, you caught me. carrie & are practically bffs from way back when, but i did LOVE getting to spend the weekend with her). but that wasn't all! i also got to spend a little time with the beautiful, creative & awe-inspiring heather bailey. (excuse me for a moment while i pinch myself, i still can't believe i actually got to meet her. & yes, she is absolutely amazing! definitely one of those people you want to hate, but you just can't - she is just sooo incredibly genuine & gosh darn nice!)

make & takes marie, this is me carrie, petite elefant allison, & me
(photo stolen from allison. & allison, you're right...
the close-up, in your face pictures look way better.)

it was so incredible being surrounded by so much "greatness." i felt like a starstruck little kid, visiting disneyland for the very first time. it took everything i had to restrain myself from taking pictures with everyone & asking each one of them for their autograph.

i lost my virginity this weekend.

early sunday morning, along with about 13,000 people, i laced up my sneakers, loaded up the playlist & hit the pavement running... for my first ever 1/2 marathon. although running 13.1 miles is definitely a daunting task, it's a wee bit easier when you have a friend or two by your side (or at least in the near vicinity).with an "official chip time" of 2 hours, 13 minutes & 15 seconds and a division place of 239 (of 1252 women ages 30-34), i'm feeling pretty good about myself. not bad for a gal 4 months & 4 days post baby, & about two weeks of training. now the question is, what's next?

who i am.

recently i was challenged to write about myself using 25 words or less. kinda like my own, self-describing personnel ad, complete with self-portrait. here was the end result...

cherry coke drinking, crushed ice loving, bike riding, apron wearing, marathon training, surprisingly shy, REAL orange county housewife & mama of 3 with ADD crafting tendencies.

care to play along? i'd love to get to know YOU even better.


step one: take your self portrait. no primping necessary (check me out in all my mountain biking glory... complete with helmet hair & a thin coating of dirt)

step two: describe yourself in 25 words or less

step three: introduce yourself to the world (or at least me), by posting it to your blog. just make sure to leave a comment here, so i can make the blog rounds. or, if you're feeling lazy, just post your 25 word bio in my comment section. either way, i can't wait to get to know you just a wee bit better.

it's all happening so fast...

do you ever wish you could hit "pause" on life?
just to enjoy the moment just a wee bit longer?
charlie's growing up so fast. where has the time gone?

ana, thanks for pushing the pause button on our memories.
even if, it was just for one afternoon.

images by ana brandt.

it's part-tay time!

last night we had a little party.

nothing fancy, just a little shin-ding.

we took silly pictures.

we dined on sweets & treats

there were even party favors.

like father, like son.

child sized helmet: $24.99

trail-a-bike: $230
spending time with dad: priceless

my happily ever after.

once upon a time, in a land so very far away... a girl met a boy. the setting was picturesque, a quaint little ski village nestled away in the mountains.

as the fates would have it, late one afternoon we find both the boy and girl - alone, in this magical winter wonderland. & as if destined to meet, together they rode the last chair lift of the day, to the top of the mountain. just as their journey began, the snow softly started to fall, each little snowflake glistening like diamonds. & the sun was slowly setting, casting a beautiful, soft candle lite glow. and, just like in the fairy-tales... it was love-at-first-sight. by the end of that momentous chair life ride, they had fallen madly in love, each knowing that they had finally met "the one".

okay, so maybe that really isn't exactly how it happened. but we did meet at sundance, & for one of the parties involved there may, or may not, have been a slight inkling of love-at-first sight, although it may have taken the other party a couple of months to notice (let's just say that i am definitely a blonde, & often times can be a bit oblivious. i thought we were just friends). & it definitely was fate, because honestly, i'm really not that good of a snowboarder, & to think that someone actually hired little 'ole me to instruct others in the art of snowboarding? yes! no question about it, it was definitely fate. but, eight years after pledging our eternal love to one another, we are still just as happy, & more in love than ever.

as they say "life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." and together, jeffy & i have had plenty of take your breath away type of moments: we've feed the sharks in bora bora, rocked out at more concerts than i can count, survived the wilds of australia. had two wild & crazy boys, a baby girl (with a boys name) & a pup named gigi. sailed the spanish coast. remodeled our entire house - ourselves. got literally lost in italy (to this day, i'm still amazed we aren't still lost wandering around the italian countryside). went to the winter olympics. surfed in hawaii. cheered for the angels more times than i can count. snowboarded beneath the shadows of the matterhorn (the real one, not the one at disneyland). made it out of canada alive. practically lived at disneyland - we've been so many times. lived like the flintstones in turkey. kissed with the eiffel tower looming overhead. graduated law school. passed the bar exam. kissed the blarney stone. finished my MBA program. scootered around greece. attended the tour de france & to many other adventures to name.

what's even more amazing? it's only been eight long short years. we've still got the rest of our lives ahead of us. i'm not saying our life together has been "practically perfect in every way." we've definitely had our share of ups & downs. but if we've made it this far, i know we can weather every & any storm. i can't wait to see what the future has in store for us. i'm definitely looking forward to continuing to live... happily ever after.

8.15

sorry for the rather quick & sudden disappearance. being a mom to three can sometimes be just a wee bit stressful and overwhelming (but so, totally, totally worth it). so, when life gets crazy & hectic, little things start to drop... the laundry, showering, making dinner, & unfortunately blogging. but i'm back, at least for today.

so, by now, you are probably wondering what today's title means. any guesses? 8.15... is it a date? a measurement of time? perhaps it represents a distance of some sort. actually, it's a measurement of weight: 8 pounds 15 ounces. that's how much charlie weighs today. woot! woot! confused? wondering what all the excitement's about? well, to make a long story short-ish, little baby charlie has what's called "failure to thrive." never heard of it? basically it means that she is having a hard time gaining weight. maybe now, you can better understand, that all-too-sudden & definitely unexpected blog vacay... finding out you're practically starving your baby, tends to leave a mother feeling like a complete & utter failure.

at birth, charlie weighed 7 pounds even. definitely not huge, but she wasn't exactly tiny either. unfortunately, battling an awful case of thrush & taking some heavy-duty antibiotics. (the side effects of which include: nausea, stomach pain, low fever & loss of appetite. all of which charlie experienced on daily basis for about a month, which resulted in one very, very un-happy baby doll.) well, all this drama, caused little charlie to slowly eat less & less, which resulted in me producing less & less milk, unbeknownst to me. so, at 2 1/2 months charlie weighed just 7 pounds, 11 ounces & was taking in only about 1 and 1/2 ounce, of the suggested 4 ounces needed at each feeding. ay crumba! upon learning the news, that not only was charlie teeny tiny for her age, she had completely fallen OFF the growth chart, suddenly we went into survival mode, as you can imagine... feeding her every 2 hours, round the clock (sorry charlie! no more sleeping in for you!), nursing her, & then supplementing her with formula. oh heavens! i feel like all i do is feed this poor child! now, at 3 whole months, charlie weighs a whopping 8 pounds 15 ounces. still really, really small. & i still need to closely monitor her eating & feeding. but, she is once again, back on the growth chart. wahoo! don't believe me? here's the proof.

so, while we aren't completely out of the woods, yet. i can safely say, we are on our way. i hope you don't mind if we celebrate the little weight gains along the way. next week are hoping to cross the 9 pound mark - now that will truly be cause for celebration. one day, i'm sure, little charlie will complain about how hard it is to lose weight. i'll just have to remind her of the days when we were absolutely thrilled to hear she had gained a pound.

so, the secret's out.

i hate to shatter any images you might have had of me, but obviously, i'm not perfect & i am far from being super mom. i'm the first to admit that being a mom is hard, hard work. but luckily, as we have so recently learned, "we're all in this together." sure, it might be a line from a cheesy disney movie (which i love btw, bring on the cheese baby!), but... cheesey or not, the words definitely ring true. it's kinda like our very own, very special mom anthem:

everyone (every mom) is special in their own way
we make each other strong
we're not the same
we're different in a good way
together's where we belong

we're all in this together
once we know
that we are
we're all stars
and we see that
we're all in this together

i love that... "we're all in this together!" suddenly i don't feel so alone. because, often times, that's exactly how i feel - alone. when you are deep in the throws of motherhood, it's easy to think that you're all alone, that no one has ever felt this way before, or would understand what you're going through. but luckily, this isn't true. mothers all over the world, at this exact moment, are having the exact same feelings & emotions. together we can share our experiences & frustrations, our disappointments & joys, and together "we make each other strong."

so today i thank YOU... thank you for encouraging me. thank you for being a shoulder to lean on. thank you for inspiring me. thank you for listening to me. thank you for sharing your experiences with me. thank you for not judging me. thank you for always being there. thank you for making me stronger. we are definitely "all in this together."

in the end, all i can hope for, all anyone can hope for, is to my best & follow mr. lincoln's advice: "whatever you are, be a good one." so, i might not be super mom, & might be far from perfect. but, in the end, at least i know (& hopefully one day my kids will know) that i am always, always doing my best. & that's what's really important.

so, let's make a promise to each other today... let's promise that we will continue to be "all in this together." let's continue to create "a judgment-free zone, a sisterhood of motherhood where anything goes" in the words of oprah. & together, let's promise, that we will continue to do our best & forget all those silly expectations. so who's with me - any one want to pinkie swear?

image via here.

the truth about motherhood.

going on month number two in little charlie's life, i still find myself pretty much housebound. that's right, i haven't quite gotten the hang of taking three kids out on the town. & as much as i'd prefer to be crafting, holding my little baby, doesn't leave much time for projects. so, these days i find myself watching lots of tv. did you happen to catch oprah's the truth about motherhood episode? maybe it's just the stage (of life) i'm in right now, but i swear the entire show was the extension of an on-going conversation playing inside my head. everything they said, i could totally relate to... "oprah is saluting moms everywhere and letting them know they have support. 'we hear from mothers all the time who say they feel alone. they feel overwhelmed; they feel sometimes inadequate. and you say you're afraid to admit the truth for fear of bing judge," oprah says. 'so today we're creating a judgment-free zone, a sisterhood of motherhood where anything goes."

when they said "the expectations we have on ourselves is completely unrealistic. this generation of women was raised to believe that we should and could do it all... and that list (of expectations) is so huge that we think if we can't live up to that, then we're not good moms." i wanted to shout: AMEN! & i couldn't agree more with the idea that "the one universal truth about motherhood seems to be that no one ever tells you what to really expect." so, today, i too am "creating a judgment-free zone, a sisterhood of motherhood where anything goes". & although i LOVE being a mom, (i really, really do!), sometimes, i wish i had been more prepared for motherhood, if you know what i mean. so, here are some of the truths about motherhood, that no one remembered to tell me. maybe someone else can benefit, or possibly at least relate...

* every woman doesn't LOVE being prego. there definitely are some women who do, but i wasn't one of them. i hated getting fat, i never had that "pregnancy glow". all in all, pregnancy isn't exactly my favorite stage in life.
* recovery AFTER the delivery can sometimes be harder, and worse, than the actual delivery. (i was put on bed rest for 6 weeks after i had gavin.)
* stay in the hospital as long as possible. you might be bored & lonely, but when you go home, you're on your own. at least in the hospital you can call a nurse for help.
* i must not have paid very good attention during health class, because i did not realize i would bleed for weeks. (a bit personal, i know, but a truth about motherhood that i did not know.)
* breastfeeding might be natural, but it is definitely NOT easy & often times it can be painful
* hemorrhoids, 'nuf said!
* your boobs will never be perfect again... they'll get super huge (& probably painful while engorged), & then they'll shrink down, practically becoming indentations.
* just because you carried the baby for nine months, doesn't mean you can soothe & quiet them when they are screaming bloody murder, for hours & hours on end.
* sometimes, you'll go days without showering. a pony tail will become your new 'do, a hat your new best friend, & you can go hours without realizing you haven't eaten anything.
* finding the energy & time to do all the things you "used" to do isn't going to be easy
* sleeping more than 2 hours in a row should be considered a luxury
* getting the time & energy to clean the house, fold the laundry, or load the dishwasher will make you feel like you've won the lottery
* counting the number of wet & dirty diapers will become your new hobby
* you'll find yourself thinking "of a day as units of time, each unit consisting of no more than thirty minutes. Full hours can be a little bit intimidating and most activities take about half an hour. Taking a bath: one unit, watching countdown: one unit, web-based research: two units, exercising: three units, having my hair carefully disheveled: four units. It's amazing how the day fills up. (especially when you are feeding the baby every 6 units!)"via about a boy.
* in the end, holding your little baby, seeing them smile, hearing them laugh... will make you forget everything else, as though it never happened, & make you willing to possibly, do it all over again.
edited to add:
* i always knew i was going to breastfeed, i just was never prepared for how much i could (and would) leak. i didn't realize that i could soak through my shirt, even while wearing a nursing pad.
* i wasn't prepared for being man-handled by everyone. i didn't realize that i would also get used to totally strangers grabbing & "feeling up" my boobs.

so, your turn. what are some of the truths about motherhood that you wished someone had told you? what's the real scoop on motherhood?