Oh The Odor!

Ever since the girls have started eating "real" food their waste has smelled something awful. I have switched diaper pails to try to keep the smell contained and I will admit the new pail is so much better, but it still isn't keeping the smell completely in. Today I had the genius idea to purchase those little travel diaper disposal bags that are powder scented... I know how can you be green when you buy more plastic, but really the smell is awful. You can sometimes smell it when you walk in the door and I do not want the new house smelling like poo. We will see if this new method of double wrapping in scented bags works, but if any of you parents have any advice, aside from recommending a different diaper pail I would LOVE to hear how you keep the smell down!

All Sorts of Wrong

Last week I was driving in my car and heard the song Lean like a cholo or something like that and I just started laughing because it was cracking me up. I asked Tom if he knew what a Cholo was and he didn't so I asked my sister...she is 16 and knew the definition...scary. Anyway, Tom wanted to check out the actual definition, which then lead him to look up the video on YouTube. Now the actual video is fine as far as videos go, but then he stumbled upon this version. Yes, that is Dora the Explorer doing Lean Like a Cholo. Now seriously, what kind of message does this send to our kids. At first we were laughing, but then I was like, "wait, that is horrible." At this discovery I realized once the girls have access to the internet we will be blocking some websites and monitoring their activity as close as we can. I mean there was even an Alvin and the Chipmunks version, as Ellen would say..."WHAT!"

Deja-Vu

Today was Deja-Vu day. I spend hours moving boxes and re-packing as I was doing this I just kept thinking, "been here, done that." Then I kept thinking that I better not be doing this in vain and we better get to move this time. Well, we know we are moving one way or another, either into our house or somewhere else. I need a garage and more space....ahhhh more space. So hopefully the rest of the packing will go well and in a week and a half we will be moved...yippee I don't want any more bouts of deja-vu, just my house!

Daunting

As we get close to closing on our house, again, we are just 11 days away. There is so much anticipation, nervousness and the daunting fact that we have to pack again. Last time at this time we were pretty much ready to go minus the few everyday things we use, but this time neither Tom nor I seem to be in any big hurry to get things packed up. I think it is that lingering feeling that something will go wrong again and we won't close. We haven't let ourselves get excited so there won't be any disappointment should it fall through. The chances are so slim that something will go wrong, but we just have no faith we are emotionally and mentally exhausted. So I begrudgingly will start to pack this week and as we get closer to next Friday I will pack more day by day, hoping we actually get to move this time. I know Tom and I won't sleep well Thursday night and until we have that key in our hand and we have changed the locks we will not be totally happy and excited...so here is to hoping the next 11 days pass quickly and that we get an early Christmas miracle and actually get to move.

They Arrived

Today, just a few days after ordering them, my envirosax arrived. I was very excited to see what they would look like and I was pleasantly surprised. I love the pattern I picked, the monochromatic one and the size of the bags is great, much larger than I had anticipated.



They also came in a little pouch that will easily fit in my diaper bag or even in my purse. Now the goal is to remember to take them with me when I go to the store and hopefully I will even remember them when I go to target and other places like that so I can totally cut down on the plastic bags!

Going Green

Last week the girls and I were in Ohio, I feel like a lot went on, but none of it was extremely interesting, so instead I am going to write a post about some new grocery bags I ordered and cannot wait to use. They are called envirosax, envirosax.com and they are an economical, fashionable, green way to do your shopping. I am just to sick of all the plastic bags we get weekly and I wanted something that would help the environment. I feel like the baggers today were trained to put as few items in a bag as possible, for instance one thing of deodorant went into a bag alone today and I almost lost it, so when I got home I did some research and ordered the new bags. Now the goal is to remember to take them in when I do my shopping. Some other bags I found that I may also get down the road are baggubags, baggubags.com, they come in a variety of colors and if the envirosax work out well then I might add to my collection with the baggu. Both of these sets of bags can also be purchased at amazon.com. If you end up getting these or know of any other re-usable bags let me know!

Toddler Land

We have officially, officially entered toddler land. The girls hardly ever crawl anymore and walk everywhere. They are even almost to the point of being able to run. It is pretty dang cute, but hard to keep up with at the same time. Especially when they go in opposite directions. We have started to have to practice no, no, no to about everything, especially to my parent's wood burning stove. They are facinated with the dancing flames and keep wanting to touch it, but we just keep saying no and hot, hot and blowing, which is the sign language for hot. We are also starting more sign language and they seem to understand it so much better now. I think we were a little ambitious when we started, but now Maddie always does the sign for milk. Especially when I ask if they want to eat she will do the sign for milk, and Natalie does the actual sign for eat. One day she, Natalie, was standing there doing the sign to eat and I asked if she was hungry and she kept doing it and then ran to the gate and kept trying to get out to her high chair. It was pretty cute, but then again pretty much everything they do these days is cute. Natalie loves my dad and just follows him around, curious about everything he is doing. Maddie will watch, but usually from a distance. All I know is toddler land is a lot different than the infant stage, but it is more fun too, even though we are super active.

Thank Goodness

Yesterday the girls and I drove to Ohio to stay for the week. It rained the whole way and I was really hoping that they would sleep the whole way so I wouldn't have to stop to feed them, but no such luck. Thank goodness though for Steak n Shake's Drive Thru and I can't believe I am going to say this, but my mini van as well! There was no way I was going to get all 3 of us out of the car, we would have been soaked. So I kept my eye's open for a Steak n Shake and found one just outside of Columbus. Went through the drive thru, got the girls a grilled cheese, parked, hopped into the back of the van and fed the girls. Then changed them really quick and we were off. I just kept thinking, there is no way I could have just done that in another vehicle, ah thank you mini van. So even though I still cannot believe I drive one, it has come in very handy and I think I like it!

Week One: Down

Well, I survived my first Starbucks free week. I am very proud of myself and ready for my first Friday Treat! I also joined the Biggest Loser online club, to help me get control of my weight and poor eating habits. It has truly been great. It has an extensive meal planner that plans everything down to your snacks and you can swap out meals if you don't like what they have planned for you. It caters to no red meat diets and vegetarians as well. Then it allows you to track your food intake, calories, fat, etc. as well as your exercise...which it also sets up a plan for you as well depending on your goals that you enter when you register. At first I was a little skeptical, and didn't think that I would be able to handle the eating, but it really hasn't been that bad and you can still eat things like peanut butter and jelly for lunch or grilled cheese. Basically it restricts you calorie intake to around 1200-1300, well for me at least, I am sure others are different. But it really makes you aware of what you are and have been eating and how full you actually can be if you eat smaller meals throughout the day that are healthier. So week one of BLC and Starbucks are complete and I must say I am feeling much better! If you would like more info on the BLC go to their website: Biggest Loser Club and good luck.

I think I am going to do it, but when is the queston!

A few days ago I was watching Oprah, something I don't do that often, honestly! Hilary Swank was on and she had Oprah cut her hair really short so that she could donate it so they could make wigs for women who are battling cancer. I have been thinking a lot about cutting my hair or not cutting my hair, but after watching the show I think I might take the plunge, cut my hair short again and donate it. You need 8 inches in order to donate, so I don't know if I am there just yet, I don't want super, super short hair, so we will see. I also hope that I am brave enough to take this plunge. I have had short hair before and I always get so sad afterwards, but maybe if I know my hair is going to a good cause it won't be so bad. If you are interested in donating or know someone else who might, you can get more information at Pantene's Website If I take the plunge then I will post before and after pictures, but it might be awhile...I still need to measure my hair to see how much I would have left if I did it now and I am not sure about the winter cold and very little hair. So we shall see, but I know in the end it would be totally worth it.

Christmas in Novemeber?

Like each year prior to this one I am disgusted when I go to the store and see Christmas stuff for sale before Halloween is even over. This year I have to say that I think the Christmas commercials on television have started earlier than any other year and that sales people have gone crazy. Even in Wal-mart yesterday they were playing holiday music. I couldn't believe it, it made me want to puke and if I were an employee there I would go nuts. Don't get me wrong I love Christmas, it is my favorite holiday, I love decorating the house and seeing Christmas lights and everything else that goes along with this holiday. Seriously though, do we have to start things so early, people are still going to spend money and I honestly feel that the true meaning of this holiday is lost in all of the commercial propaganda and I wish that the stores could at least wait until Halloween is over to put up their displays and wait until Thanksgiving is over to start playing music. Oh well, I will spend the holiday with family and friends and will be thankful for that and I guess in the end that is all that matters.

The Daylight Savings Game

Prior to having the girls I loved daylight savings time in the fall, an extra hour to sleep, how nice and while the girls didn't wake up to early...I guess Natalie woke up at 5:00, it was actually the bedtime that was tricky. The girls go to bed pretty much right around 7ish and yesterday they didn't nap well because they both have colds so they were ready for bed at 5:00. Their clock was telling them it was 6, but it was way to early. We managed to push them until 6:30...a real task, but we managed. However, this morning Maddie woke up at 3:30...oh yes and Natalie woke up at 4:30. Ah, there was nothing I could do, but get up with them, and of course we ended up accidentally waking Tom up around 5:00. Not sure how much he appreciated that one, but what ya gonna do. Oh well, we are all suffering from some sort of cold or something. Natalie started a few days ago with the runny nose, Maddie started getting it last night (wouldn't you figure too, that the little one, Natalie, is much stronger and less pathetic than Maddie, who cried almost all night) and now Tom and I both have sore throats...ah family germ sharing. Oh well, we hope others out there with kids were able to adjust to the time change easily!

Dodged a Bullet

Today we went over to the new house to look around and see how things are progressing. I find that as each day we get closer to close date the more I get excited, even though I don't want to, just out of fear from the last time. When we got there we were ready to go get the key from the sales rep, but of course the garage wasn't locked. All the cabinets, counters and doors were in there as well...why is it so hard to lock the door. Anyway, we looked around and Maddie and I finished quicker than Tom and Natalie so we headed over to our old house to see its progress. We looked in some windows and then tried the garage, it was open so we went in. The house still isn't totally finished, over 4 months later, the door aren't hung and all the fixtures still weren't up. What was finished though was done horribly! They had taken out the wood floor to fix stuff and put the exact same floor back in...you may be asking how we know this, well, there was a big scratch in our old floor and low and behold, that same scratch was still there, in the same spot. Also, the counter and snack bar were not connected properly and either the entire wall had bowed or they put the old cabinets and counter back in and it had bowed, because there was at least a two inch gap between the back splash and the wall...it looked awful. Finally the floor was all squeaky. As we looked at all this we just started laughing at how we really dodged a bullet on that house, and it is no wonder that it hasn't sold yet. Who in their right mind would be a house that has a 2 inch gap between a wall and a counter and who reuses a floor, who knows what else they reused. They claim they are disclosing that there was water damage, but the house has been listed a lot higher than we were originally going to purchase it for and it is way worse ship. I pity the fool who buys it, but thank goodness we had the sense to move on!

To Funny To Wait

I know this is my second post for the day, but this was to funny, at least to me to wait to write about it.
Ever since I have lived here my uncle and I have had a big rivarly, going on. He lives in Massachusetts and obviously is a HUGE Patriots fan. Well, every time the Colts play the Patriots I expect some kind of razing from him. I thought it was kind of weird that I hadn't heard from him, but them he called to day. He was laughing when he called and he said, "I didn't realize your phone number changed when you moved. I have been calling you for weeks, saying how sad it is that you live in Indianapolis, and wouldn't it be great if you lived in Boston and the Colts suck." (He also had been telling my aunt that he thought I must have been in a really bad mood or was just being, a you know what.) I was like okay, where did you leave these messages. He goes, "well that is just it, today I called and this little old lady answered the phone, and was told me that no Lauren lived there." Oh, yes, he has been calling some little old lady's phone and leaving nasty Patriots messages on it. Can you believe that. I couldn't stop laughing when he told me this...that poor lady!
So, when we win on Sunday I will be looking for good ideas of how to get him back and welcome all suggestions. Last year we sent him a picture of the girls in Colts gear with a sign that read, "Rub some dirt in it uncle Kirby." So, bring on the ideas after the game on Sunday and GO COLTS!

Step Two

Today begins step two in my addiction recovery to Starbucks. I am going to attempt to going to one drink a week, probably on Friday's as a reward for making it through the week. It is going to be tough, but I am sure I can do it. I would like to get off the caffeine again anyway. I did so well not drinking it at all while I was pregnant and then only in limited amounts while nursing, but then I got out of control. So I am hoping that I can somehow go back to being caffeine free for the most part and only have the Starbucks as a treat once a week for now and then hopefully eventually maybe only twice a month or so. I just hope I don't get horrible headaches or turn into a monster....ahhhhhhh

How to be politically correct

Sometimes I have so much on my mind that I just want to write it all down and vent, but then I think, "no you can't do that, it isn't politically correct." "You might start a riot, or you will totally offend some people." How do you go about voicing what is running around in your head, without totally obliterating relationships that you have built? Does anyone out there speak their mind, feel refreshed, but do it in a way that doesn't hurt others? Advice Welcome!