So yes, Being a Parent Changes you

 If you would have told me 7 years ago that I would one day be couponing, and pushing around the race car shopping cart in the grocery store... I would have died laughing.

 I would have laughed even harder if you said that some day I would be making up songs about going pee pee and poo poo on the potty, or that I would would have every song ever sang on Barney memorized, (and maybe even know a few of the dance moves.)

 There are so many things I do today, that leave me wondering " who the heck am I!" I always knew I wanted to have kids, and it was no surprise when I found out I was having Ava. But it is funny how your world changes... I didn't think about me dishing out timeouts, and turning simple words like "socks" and "wipes" into "sockies" and "wipies."

 I didn't think I would ever have a good excuse to eat childhood favorites like grilled cheese sandwiches, and  macaroni and cheese again. I guess I still don't really have a good excuse for that...

And I didn't think that I would have 150 videos on my phone of Ava saying " hi, I love you and bye bye" over and over again.

 So yes being a parent changes you, I think for the better...

Stop and Smell the Roses

 I consider myself to be a pretty forgetfull person. I'm not forgetfull when it comes to remembering people, names, song lyrics... or all the other useless information that fills my brain.



 I'm forgetfull when it comes to remembering to pick up something while I'm at the store, or remembering where I put my phone, where I put my purse, or where I put my keys ( because why would they ever be hanging on the nice little key hanger thing I bought, so that I wouldn't misplace them.)



 I like to blame it on my daughter ,and call it mommy brain.  I'm trying to not be accountable for the fact the I may need ginko biloba at the age of 25.



 I realized that the root of my absent mind-ness, is that I'm always in a rush to get somewhere, or if I'm not in a rush, I feel rushed. Even though my daughter is two. I still think of the days when I could just get up and go without having to make sure I have back up everything, juice, a snack and whatever else.



  I would like to say I never forget things for Ava... only myself. She is my number one priority, but in the midst of making sure she has everything she needs, I forget that I just might need my wallet containing my money to be able to purchase the itmes I went out to buy...



 So now that I found the root of my forgetfullness issue, I can work on it. I still don't quite know why I'm always rushing, but I am now aware that I am doing that. I'm trying to have a we will get there when we get there attitude. So with that in mind, heres the story of what happend yesterday...



 We have a couple Toys R Us giftcards that I want to spend, I love getting stuff for Ava especially when its free. When she gets new things its like I'm getting new things. Anyways My husband didn't want to come, but I made him. It was a totally blah day, cold and rainy. He asked me if I had both giftcards and I said yes.



 Before we even get out of our neighborhood, I then decide to double check to make sure I had both. Well I didn't I only had one. He didn't want to turn around, but again... I made him. He handed me the keys, I ran back inside, grabbed the giftcard, and ran back outside to the car.



  I reach to give him the keys... UH OH! Where are the keys!! I turn to go back inside the house, and the door is locked! AWESOME... Some where along the way in my rushing around I left the keys on the kitchen counter, opened the front door, and locked the inside lock on the door knob ( something that I do often), shut the door, and started back to the car on my merry way.



 Since I'm a little paranoid about robbers, there was no chance of another door being unlocked. We were locked out of our own house, in the cold, rainy weather. FAIL!



 One locksmith and $120.00 later, we were back in our house. Thats right $120.00!!! and It only took the guy 5 minutes to open the door. I felt so bad. Like anyone can really afford to spend that much money on something so stupid. No matter how much money you have, it still stings to have to fork over that amount of money for a careless mistake.



 We decided to stay in the house the rest of the day. I'm looking forward to when I'll be able to bring this again as a joke " remember the time I locked us all out of the house in the rainy cold weather, then we have to waste $120.00 on a locksmith to get back in! wasn't that hillarious!"

Just Another Day in Paradise

 It started off like every other day...Woke up to my daughter poking me in the face. " Hi Mum Mum, hi!" apparently shes a little British. I rolled over and tried to pretend I didn't hear or see her, in hopes that she would curl up and go back to sleep. This never happens but I always try anyway.

 I finally decide to get up when I hear her playing with toilet water in my bathroom. We make it half way down the stairs, when she starts calling out for " Ba-ey, Elbow, Uppy" These are the FOUR stuffed animals she has to sleep with. Barney, Elmo, and she has two puppies. Why all four? Who knows, but I have to admit, when she comes stumbling in my room in the middle of the night with her crazy curly bed head, while holding all for of these stuffed animals... its pretty stinkin cute! Anyways So I walk back up the stairs and grab her babies, and anything else I might need.

 My old house didn't have stairs, and I'm starting to hate them. I make sure I get EVERYTHING I need for the day before I come down, because I'm not going back up there, unless I have to!

 Ok so back to the story... first things first, I have to get my coffee going, nothing good happens in the morning before my coffee. Something about knowing that its brewing makes me feel better. Thanks to my keurig this process only takes like 5 seconds. Ava eats, watches Barney...blah blah... same thing every morning.

 Then it all goes down hill from here...

 I go to change her diaper, its an all out battle trying to get another diaper on her. After 10 minutes of her actin a fool, I finally get the stupid diaper on. " HA, I win!" That's what I'm thinking so myself.

 Not even 5 minutes later she comes running around the corner wearing nothing but her shirt, and her plastic barbie heels.She took the dang thing off! I tried to put it back on...FAIL.I tried to get her to at least cover up and wear pants...FAIL. Finally I had it, I was not going to spend the day hearing her screaming like crazy... " fine be naked and see what happens!" I swear the way she looked at me after that, I could just tell she was saying "HA, I win!"

 At this point Ava wasn't 2 yet. This was about 2-3 weeks before she turned 2. I wasn't planning on potty training until after she was 2. She hadn't shown any signs of being ready, she wouldn't even sit on the potty.

 So that being said... yes she peed on herself, a few times. She didn't like it, I didn't like it, but the kid wouldn't put clothes on. Not only that, she kept going behind the curtains on my glass sliding doors, So anyone who would have maybe been outside(we don't have a fenced backyard) would have seen my naked child standing there, probably peeing on herself. This is parenting at its best!

 I finally got her to wear something, it wasn't a diaper, it was the little bloomers that go with her dresses. Not that it did anything, but at least she was covered up. By nap time she FINALLY let me put a diaper on her. For the rest of the day it was off and on.. and this continued for about 3 days total. I was desperately hoping it was just a faze, and that I wasn't going to have a two year old nudist who sometimes said words in a British  accent.

 I think it might have on the 3rd day, I hear her say "pee pee" I'm thinking there is no way! I take her to sit on the potty and can you believe she went! I wasn't prepared for this! I had nothing to give her to make her feel special, except for these Three wolf moon stickers, my brother got my husband as a joke.

  ( if you don't know what Three wolf moon is, please click here, and read the first review about the "dual function design" its a completely ridiculous review somebody gave this wolf t-shirt on amazon, and it will make your day!) Because of this one review this T-shirt has gone viral, and has been on the news, and even on the show The Office.


 Sorry back to my story...

 From that day on Ava has been potty trained. She learned in just 3 days! A pretty good amount of time has gone by, and she has done amazing. I have never felt so proud. Its amazing, the feeling you get when you see your child learning.

 She is also wearing clothes again...

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Getting a little personal...

 Is it just me or is everyone extremely hard on themselves? I feel like sometimes I just set myself up for failure, because there is no way I can ever live up to the expectations I have in my head.

 We moved from Florida to Georgia recently, and thank goodness its temporary. Its been hard living here, with no friends or family around. I have always considered myself a home body, I like to hang out with my friends, but most of the time I'm just hanging around my house. So I find it funny that I miss having friends around so much. Maybe I just like to have the option...

 Georgia is very pretty, but Florida is home. Since we have been here I feel myself falling. I feel like everything is falling. I feel like I'm sitting and waiting for everything to get better, because I feel like everything will be better when we go back home.

               

Being alone most of the day, allows me to much time to think harp on little things that don't matter, little things that I don't think I would normally care about are getting to me, and its sabotaging my thought process.

I woke up the other morning and said to myself.. " I'm done with this negativity. Its not healthy for me, or for anyone. Look at everything I have. My health, food on the table, a roof over my head, love, support, and most of all a perfect healthy little girl."

I realized I was falling into a depression, and I'm blessed that I was able to realize this wasn't me, and this isn't how I'm suppose to be. Everything that was wrong, was because of my own doing. Why waste your time feeling sorry for yourself? Get up and make it happen.

Don't Blink

Today is Ava's 2nd birthday!

I can't believe it has been 2 years, Time has gone by so fast, its scary...

When I look back at pictures of her when she was just a few months old, I feel like I don't ever remember her ever being so small.

                             (look closely you can se my husband behind her holding her up)

 

             Being called "Mom" is the greatest blessing I have ever received

 I love you Ava! Happy Birthday

 

Hair Tutorial: Curls

I have recieved some emails about my hair, I'm flattered, thank you everyone! Even though watching myself on video is torture,  I decided to do a little tutorial on how I curl my hair.

Check it out!

Grilled Mahi Mahi with Fresh Mango Salsa

You will Need:

Mango

Cilantro

Red Onion

Lemon Juice

Lime Juice

Diced mango,onion,and cilantro, mix in a bowl with lemon and lime juice

Serve over fish.

Mahi Mahi

seasoned with 1 tsp of olive oil, 1 tsp of balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.

Cheesecake stuffed Strawberries with Graham Cracker sprinkles

YUM!!

These are so easy, I used the no bake cheesecake from JELLO, it comes with graham cracker crumbs also, but you can use home made if you prefer.

Simply cut the top of the strawberry off, carve out the center,and fill with cheesecake.

(I used a baggy with a little bit of the corner cut off.)

When you are done sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs, and refridgerate according package directions.

Christina Johnson Guest Post: Give your House a Makeover

 Today We have a guest post from Christina Johnson who works with Elliman Prudential. Check out her tips for giving your home a makeover!

 Christina Johnson who works remotely for Elliman Prudential in the New York City Apartments and Rentals market. She is using her journalism major to combine what she loves most, writing and her career. Her specialties include home decor design and DIY home improvement projects.

Give your House a Makeover

Article submitted by Christina Johnson

You would never consider wearing the same colors or clothes every day. However, you may find yourself living day after day in a house whose decor has grown old on you and ceased to be the lively, fresh space you had envisioned. You can rekindle the love for your home with a few simple, inexpensive decorating tricks that will keep your house an always-surprising space, in agreement with your moods and the seasons. Here are a few of them.



Accent Furniture Pieces

If you plan to periodically change your decor, create a background in a neutral palette, ready to receive the different strokes of colors you will later use. Keep your heavy furniture and your floors away from bold patterns or difficult to match designs. You can then play with smaller elements of decor and change them as often as you please. Accent chairs in bold colors can be easily painted and reupholstered whenever you are in the mood for a change. The same is true for the much-underestimated ottomans that bring you a flexibility no other piece of furniture has. They can serve as coffee tables, foot-rests or seating options and are cheap and easy to reupholster.
(Via)

Paint

Paint is an inexpensive way to instantly give a room a different feel. If you are skeptical of painting all the walls of the room, a simpler alternative is to change the look of only one wall by choosing a darker shade or a completely different color. An even easier option is to create some drama by adding to what you already have. Draw a few vertical or horizontal stripes on one wall using paint with a beautiful, subtle sheen.




Pillows and Layers of Fabric

Fabric is an important decor element, since it softens the look of a room. Bring it into your home in the form of accent pillows in lively colors. You can be as daring as you wish, since pillows are an easy fix. You do not have to buy different pillows every time you are in the mood for a change. Instead, purchase discount fabric and make your own pillow covers. Sewing is optional: fabric glue is always an alternative.



Layering fabrics brings a sense of luxury and opulence to a space. In a bedroom, create a combination of soft surfaces using your linens, pillows, blankets and bed spreads. If you dare, add a fur pillow to top it all.
 


Draperies

Who said you have to put up with the same draperies all year long? How about having two or more sets and change them according to the season? A rich taffeta curtain in sparkling gold tones is a perfect match for your holiday decor. A fresh, crisp set of green and white draperies will raise your spirits when springs finally sets in. Changing the draperies is a great solution if you have a hard time deciding between two or more that you like. Layer some more fabric by adding sheers to your current window treatments and soften the light entering your house.   


Greenery

Never underestimate the power of plants in bringing your space to life and turning it into a relaxing nest. The human eye is conditioned to be drawn to green that, in nature, signifies abundance and security. You can use artificial plants that require no maintenance. A ball of greenery on a tall candlestick, for instance, makes for an unusual accessory. While artificial plants are indeed a simple option, real plants are many times cheaper and not necessarily demanding. Plants like Golden Pothos are almost impossible to kill and can live well in a vase full of water, minimizing greatly the need for maintenance.



In addition, you can make a habit of buying fresh flowers whenever you purchase your groceries. A bouquet of a different color every week may last for many days and will definitely improve the look of your house – and your mood.
 
  (Via)

Your house does not have to remain the same, petrified in an unalterable decor scheme. By using these tricks and changing your decor every now and then, your space will remain fresh, surprising, and a good pretext for a never-ending decorating experiment.