I'm an O Hero!

GOOD MORNING!  Welcome to Monday!  Does it sound like I am excited about Monday?  I am really trying hard to look forward to another week, but I am really sad for the weekend to be over, so I am over compensating with my happiness about the day...did it work?  No?  Saw right through it huh?  Hmmm...I will do better...Sadly, my monstrous cold/sinus infection is still lingering so I am still full of sniffles and...well you know what else I am full of by now ;)  Moving on to Meet Me On Monday






1. Caesar Salad or Garden Salad?
Garden Baby!  I love to have a colorful salad-when I make a salad, I strive to have every color of the rainbow represented on my plate...Mmmm...red tomatoes, orange carrots, yellow squash, yellow corn, (Hello summer squash, I cannot wait until we meet again!) green peppers, blue cheese crumbles (okay-not so blue but you get the point here) purple onions, brown mushrooms, black (and or green) olives, maybe some beets, white cauliflower, black beans ...I am practically drooling thinking about that salad...top it off with some balsamic vinaigrette...Makes me want some salad real bad

2. Will you be watching the Royal Wedding on April 29th?
Did they watch my wedding on March 12th?  No?  Probably not then, that thing is on a Friday-a) I have to work and b) when i am not working, and have time to watch tv, Hans is more interested in Cars or "Tangles" (AKA Tangled to everyone else).

3. Last thing you spent lots of money on?
An Earl Grey Tea Latte from Starbucks...look, I wasn't going to get one today, but Kendall needed to be picked up from the airport, and her flight was slightly delayed, but if I went back to work, i would have had to turn around and go back to the airport as soon as I parked my car at work, so I drove to the Bucks instead...judge me if you want, but it beat sitting in the airport cell phone parking area...(though I will say, Kudos to the CCAA for installing that flight status board in the waiting area because you know when the flights have arrived AND when the passengers are ready to be picked up (or have unboarded  (deboarded?) the plane....very useful)

Just what I needed for this ridiculous ongoing sinus issue...

4. Window seat or aisle seat?
How appropriate, as I was just talking about the airport!  I prefer the window seat, though, if I am traveling with Hubs, I give him the window seat so he has a little bit more entertainment...I swear, her is worse than a small child some times when we travel...he has a very difficult time sitting still (even when we aren't traveling) and he will seriously resort to the whole "I'm not touching you" game...you know where he will hold 1 finger in my face and I say "Please get your finger out of my face" and he responds with "But I'm not touching you..." For some reason he never seems to tire of that game, me on the other hand...I am getting irritated with it just from typing about it...so for that reason, I will gladly fore go my window seat view for a few more minutes of quiet on the plane...

5. Do you know your blood type?
I am an O Hero People!  O+...I feel like I just wrote about this not too long ago...I would go back and look for that post, but I just don't feel like it...oh well.  Are you a blood donor?  No?  You should be (if you can...I know some people can't for whatever reason and I feel bad for the ones who can't but really want to).  I know many people who just haven't even thought of donating.  if you are one of those people, allow me to tell you, 1) it doesn't really hurt...for me, the worst part is getting my finger pricked (ugh) before donating...but sadly, it is a necessary evil, as this is how they check your iron levels, and mine tend to be low so sometimes, I can't donate... 2) it doesn't take that much time...Hubs has large veins, and can donate in 10 minutes...whereas, I have super small baby sized veins (my veins are just about the only small things I have going on!) and it takes me about 30 minutes to an hour to donate 3) They give you FREE snacks!  Seriously, no one wants you to get sick while donating, so eat the snacks, and drink the juice/soda they give you-it is there for you!  4) Passing out is not typical.  The number 1* reason for people to pass out while donating is due to low blood sugar- make sure you eat a large meal before donating and you should be fine.  (*This is an unreasearched # 1 reason, however, I almost passed out one time, and it was due to not eating, and every other time I have donated, I did eat a large meal before and I was fine...)
Please make an informed decision regarding weather or not to donate by reading the information provided by the  American Red Cross
 

 
We want to meet you on Monday too!  Join in!

Ode to the Cheesecake Incident

I have had a pretty nasty cold/sinus infection since Saturday so thankfully today is Friday and I can get some rest this weekend...Wait?  What?  Thanks for the reminder, you are right, I will be spending the weekend with Hannah and Hubs, so sadly, there will be no rest for me...but we do have some exciting Pre-Easter activities...we are going to try to go to an Easter Egg hunt at Hans' school and a brunch downtown (EGADS, yes, downtown, but don't you worry!  Hubs will be driving so I am pretty sure we won't get lost!) to send my CareBear away to DC...I am pretty sad that she is leaving me, but I am very excited for her new opportunity in DC...sigh...Let's get started with Five Question Friday!



1. What is your favorite sign of spring?
Flowers and Plants blooming!  I love when the flowers start to bloom, however, I wish they would keep their nasty old pollen to themselves, because the allergy season here pretty much lasts year round!  I love how the flowers really liven up my drive into work, the leaves on the trees are back, and the drive is just pretty :)

2. What was your best birthday ever?

EVER?  My 26th birthday...That was the first birthday I spent with my Hannah-she was 2 weeks old and I loved that I got to spend the entire day with her and Hubs doing anything we wanted (you know, like sleep...)

This is how we spent My birthday and it was AMAZING!

3. What is your favorite dessert?
CHEESECAKE!  You may not know this about me but I was born on July 30...which just so happens to be National Cheesecake Day!  No lie-look it up, so it is no wonder that I am obsessed with Cheesecake... Story time kiddies!  We had a meeting at work one day and I had ordered a cheese cake platter for it...I could NOT wait for dessert because I knew what was coming...well, dessert time rolled around, and I was walking to the elevator with Dolly (co-worker) and the UNTHINKABLE HAPPENED!  I tripped and the cheesecake was ruined!  (I was wearing brown trouser pants that were cuffed, and some pointy brown shoes and the shoe got caught in the cuff and it was all down hill from there!)  The sad part was that I didn't try to save myself from landing too hard on the floor because I was too worried about the cheesecake!  it was awful, and I am still reminded of the "Cheesecake Incident" to the day (4 years later)...

I LOVE a raspberry swirl Cheesecake!

4. What is the best excuse you've ever used to get out of a ticket?
I have NEVER gotten out of a ticket...seriously people...one time a police officer was IN FRONT of me, slowed down, got behind me and then turned his lights on and gave me a ticket...jerk

5. Do you wake up before your alarm, with your alarm, or after hitting snooze several times?
If Hannah is still sleeping, I hit that snooze button at least 3 times...but if she is awake, there is no point so I just get up...

Join in the FQF fun!

Weekend Wednesday v.3

This was a pretty low key weekend for us.  Hubs had to work so Hannah and I were left to our own devices...neither one of us felt particularly well so we watched movies (and by that I mean Cars and Tangled of course).  Recently Hannah has been paying more and more attention to my toe nails-well more so the polish on the nail not so much the nail itself...so I asked her if she wanted me to paint her toes too.  She got very excited and said "Yes, I love it!"  So I went and found a color that is more appropriate for a two year old (my toe nails are painted a very dark purple, so dark that they look black...I am pretty sure her teachers would have some raised eye brows when Hannah strolled into class Tuesday morning rocking that look...) I found a pink color and brought it back to the couch.  I put Hannah's sandals on her feet (I figured if she was wearing them, there would be less opportunities for the polish to find its way to my couch, carpet, etc...)  I proceeded to paint them.  She saw them and said "Nice...You clean them off now..." When I told her they could not be cleaned off, she proceeded to scream and cry demanding that her toes be cleaned off...it was clear that it was nap time...I let her toes dry for a little while and then sent her off to her bed...when she woke up, she strolled out to the couch and said "Loooook mommy, my toes are so pretty!"  Maybe Mommy/Hannah pedi's are in our future! I will try to post a picture of it later for you...

Hope your weekend was awesome!

You Never Sausage A Thing!

I feel like I am falling behind...Why you ask?  Well because I am...I had a draft for 5 question Friday...but I never posted it...because I am slack...or because I was insanely busy at work (but for you, the excuse doesn't matter because, sadly, you just missed out on learning more about my awesome life...like how I am navaigationally challenged-and can get lost while using the GPS (or Midge, which is what I named her, unless she has to yell at me that she is Re-calculating my route because I have, yet again, missed another turn, then her name is Madge...)  So let's move on to Meet me on Monday and try for a fresh start for the week...






1. Who would be your dream celebrity date?
hmmm...This would either be Zack Braff or Ryan Reynolds...I am a lover of funny people.  I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to  meet Zack or Ryan (now that he is no longer with Scarlett...ew) I like to have a good time and I am pretty sure either one of those guys could help me have a good time :)

2. Do you have any food restrictions?
Yes...should I have more probably...Red Grapes are out of the question-for reasons of they make my face blow up like a beach ball...and I recently (last night) found out that a co-worker of Hubs also has this same issue...except he doesn't care and eats them anyway...silly...I should restrict myself from eating ice cream, pasta, bread, (carbs in general), and really anything that is causing me to not lose weight, but, as stated before, I would starve to death if I couldn't eat the carbs, and I like my ice cream too much to let it go...so it seems that I am going to have to step it up in the gym...again...As a side note, for about a year, I was a vegetarian. I read this book that traumatized me, and literally that night, I looked at Hubs and said, "I don't think i can eat meat anymore" and I didn't for a year, but then one night we went to Wild Wing (mmmmm) and I wanted some Ranchilada wings...so I got some, and now I am a recovering vegetarian...

3. How much time do you take to get ready in the morning?
This really depends on how many times I hit snooze on my alarm...I can get ready in 10 minutes...but I choose to take at least 20...this also depends on what time Hannah makes an appearance in my room...for example, this morning she decided to wake me up at 5:30 (15 minutes before my alarm) and wanted to watch tv and have some chocolate milk...no sleeping in today so I took my time getting the both of us ready.
4. Sausage or bacon?
Bacon...I would find it strange if more people chose sausage...(Though if you are going towards South of The Boarder towards North Carolina, there is a Sign that says "You never Sausage A Thing" with an enormous sausage on it and it cracks me up EVERY time I see it...so in that instance, I would choose sausage) 

5. Do you Google, Bing or Yahoo?
I google.  I have done it for so long that it is just second nature for me at this point.  When I type in the wrong URL and bing populates, it throws me off.  I will close that page, open up google, and start a new search...Plus, they do cute pictures sometimes...judge me if you want...

Join in the fun!

Weekend Wednesday v. 2 (Operation Paci Fairy)

I certainly hope everyone had a great weekend.  We started our weekend knowing that it was going to be a struggle, Hubs has a cold and the PACI FAIRY was coming!  Oh the dreaded Paci Fairy.  We have made a few attempts of trying to take Hannah's paci away, but each time we did something would happen, and I would give up...She came down with the flu the last time, and the only way I could get her to get out of bed when she was sick was if she had that blasted paci...the time before that, she cried and screamed so much that she made herself sick so I gave it to her...I am a wimp, I know, but I really hate to see her so upset, and in my defense, she is only 2ish (she won't be 3 until July so there's that).  I recently saw a picture of Suri Cruise strolling the streets with a Paci, and I KNEW we had to do something to about our Paci issue, or else Hannah would be the next (cuter) Suri Cruise, and would probably go to college with a Paci, because that is the only way she can go to sleep (or so she says...)

Isn't Suri 5?

So I started investigating this Paci Fairy idea, and it sounded much better than just throwing away Paci (yes, as if it is a person, we refer to it as Paci-not The Paci or A Paci, but just Paci) or Cutting Paci...because Hannah, much like me Hubs, is quite stubborn, and would probably either a) go into the trash can and get it (unsanitary), or b) use the broken paci out of spite (unsafe)...Enter Paci Fairy.  This Magical Fairy takes away all of the Pacifiers from the Big Girls and Boys and takes them to babies who need them...and she leaves the Big Girls and boys gifts in exchange as a reward for being so big and brave, and we all live happily ever after-sans paci.  End of story...If only it was that easy...

First challenge: Explain the paci Fairy concept to a 2 year old...we started this about a week Operation Paci Fairy commenced.  Friday morning before I headed to work I asked Hannah who was coming to visit-it went like this:
Me: Who is coming to visit tonight?
Hans: Paci Fairy-she bring me babies...
Me: Well, yes, the Paci Fairy is coming, but you are going to give her your pacis so she can bring them to the babies who need them, because you are a big girl and big girls don't need them, but she is going to bring you a surprise!
Hans: Paci Fairy going to bring me a giraffe! and a Race car!
me: So you want Paci Fairy to bring you a giraffe?
Hans: Yep, I want to ride him...Paci Fairy Sounds fun Mommy!
Me:  Well...I don't know that the Paci Fairy will bring you a giraffe you can ride...but I am sure she will bring you something awesome...

hmmm...A giraffe?  Really?  most kids want a pony, not mine, a giraffe.  I knew she wanted a race car, because she has wanted this Toy Story race car set ever since we bought one for the birthday party we went to a few weeks ago...

Second Challenge: Find Paci Fairy Gifts
When i left work, i headed to the store to find a suitable Paci Fairy Gift.  I made it to the store, however, the battery on my cell phone was dying so I was about to really have to go on this adventure alone, without the input of Hubs...who was at home with Hans...Race car set-Check

Giraffe...hhmmm...does this girl seriously want a giraffe-or does she just want to go back to the zoo to see and feed the giraffe...as I pondered this question I wondered around the store...and found 2 movies I know I she would like to watch (ANYTHING would be better than Mickey's Road Rally AGAIN or Finding Nemo...) so I grabbed Tangled and The Princess and The Frog.  and of course, the Easter Candy was out...so I also got some jelly beans inside of this cute little frog/chameleon holder....but if you know me, simple does not do it when it comes to my baby Big Girl (it really hurts my heart to type that).  So off I went searching for something else...as a gift for when the Big Girl wakes up after a whole night of sleep without Paci...Then I found it...A Tinker Bell Papason chair...so I got that too...and then found a small Tinkerbell bag and a Large Tinkerbell bag, some fairy tissue paper and I made my way home...(after standing in line to check out for literally 45 minutes...sigh)

Third Challenge: Preparing for the arrival of the Paci Fairy

When I got home, I brought everything inside while Hubs took Hans out for a bike ride.  I brought out the smaller Tinkerbell bag and left it on Hannah's dresser.  When Hannah got home, I told her the Paci Fairy stopped by while she was out and left a bag for Hannah to put her paci in.  Hannah was very excited (don't think she understood what was happening despite my efforts before) and got her paci from under her pillow and happily put it in the bag.  I told her we had to hang it on the front door so the Paci Fairy would fly in and take the paci and leave her a surprise...so she ran to the front door, opened it up, and hung it on the doorknob.  We shut the door and waited...

Fourth Challenge: How/When was the Paci Fairy going to get here?
Because Hubs and I were both in the living room with Hans it would be very obvious if one of us were to walk over to the front door, open it up, take Paci exchange it for the movies and candy...so we had to be creative...After about 10 minutes, I asked Hans to go check to see if Paci Fairy had come, so she ran to the door, opened it up, and looked in the bag..."Paci Fairy not come yet"  so she closed the door again...10 minutes later, same thing "No Paci Fairy here Mommy."  It was bath time...so sure enough while Hans was in her bath, the Paci Fairy came and made the switch...


Fifth Challenge: Paci Fairy Surprise!
After Hannah was dressed, Hubs and I told her that the Paci Fairy might have come so we needed to check the bag again...so very excitedly she ran down the hallway to the living room, pulled the door open and saw that the Paci Fairy had indeed made a visit and took Paci and left some gifts!  She was so excited to open the new movies and candy-that we had to watch Tangled (with is a cute movie, BTW, in case you want a change in viewing selection for your child(ren)).  Everything was going well!  Hans was eating her jelly beans we were laughing, she professed her love for Max (the horse)...until about 8:30....(side note-usually Hans is asleep by 8, however, we intentionally kept her awake longer, to try to wear her out so she would resist sleeping sans paci less...)

Watching Tangled while eating our Jelly Beans

Frog thing that had the jelly Beans in it

Sixth Challenge: Realizing Paci is GONE!!!

At about 8:30, she looked up at me and said "I need Paci."  And heeeeere we go.  I reminded her that Paci Fairy took Paci and brought it to babies, and how she was a big girl and doesn't need a paci.  I watched her little face fall as she realized that the only reason we were watching Tangled and eating the Jelly beans was because Paci was gone..."BUT I WANT IT!!!!!"  She kept screaming it over and over "I want it!"  I really tried hard, but I couldn't help it...I laughed right in her face...(World's Worst mom no?)  She was truly devastated and I just laughed at the poor girl right in her face...when I said she couldn't have it she ran to Hubs (who was hiding his face under a blanket so he didn't have to see her face)  and when he told her the same thing...this is the face we got

"I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT!"

Seventh Challenge: Sleeping without Paci
We brushed her teeth and put her in bed.  Surprisingly, she only asked for Paci once.  We reminded her that the Paci Fairy came and took it, but if she went to sleep without it, and slept in her big girl bed all night then when she woke up, the Paci Fairy would leave her a gift for being a big girl.  She whimpered "Okay" and went to sleep.  She only woke up once that night, at 2:30, and cried because she couldn't find Paci...I reminded her where it went, and she went back to sleep...until 6am...

Life without Paci:
Hans still asks for Paci...every night, but she doesn't resist going to sleep without it, though I have not had any luck with her sleeping past 6 am since the Paci Fairy came to visit...When she references the Paci being gone, she talks about the babies.  The other day she said "Hmmm...I take a bath with the babies?"  As if to say if I take a bath with the babies who have Paci, I can get it back-so i have to remind her what actually happened, because, I am afraid with all this talk of babies, people are going to think we are having one...WHICH IS NOT THE CASE...

My Baby is no longer a baby...next we tackle Potty Training...Lord help us all!

Is A Twizzler Scented Candle An Option?

I am terribly sorry for the lack of posting...my excuse is pretty in line with what you would expect it to be...busy with work...For Shame...I hope you are looking forward to My Weekend Wednesday this week because the PACI FAIRY come to our house to visit little Hannah...and it was quite an experience...





1. If you had to eat only one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Oh....tough one...Initially I would say pasta...any pasta...because I LOVE spaghetti (or any carb really) but then again I would need some protein, so I am going to go with chicken...you can make that in a variety of ways so maybe I wouldn't get sick of eating it...

2. Do you write your blog posts in advance or the day you post them?
Honestly, I had no idea you could do the advanced thing...and really I do the link blogs more frequently than I do my own so it would be difficult to do them in advance, as I don't know what the questions will be

3. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
Yes, when I was in the 8th grade my mom was rear ended and my head hit the window pretty hard so the EMT made me ride in the ambulance on the way to the hospital because they thought I had a concussion...uncomfortable ride-I would like to never ride in one again.  Thanks.

4. What is your favorite candle scent?
I love Apple Pie candles...Or the Febreeze Hawaiian Aloha smells delicious as well...If There was a Twizzler scented candle, I would probably love that too

5. Coffee or tea?
Tough one again...I am going to go with Tea...I do love coffee, but I love to drink tea-iced or hot...(okay fine, luke warm, I have a sensitive tongue-don't judge me)  If I am at Starbucks and I choose a coffee drink, it is generally a vanilla latte, but if I am in the mood for tea, I will choose an Earl Grey Latte (DELICIOUS!) or an iced  passion tea with 1/2 raspberry and 1/2 clear sweetener light on the ice (HEAVEN in a Starbucks glass)

Want to Join in? 

Weekend Wednesday v.1

I am not sure why I always wait to blog about the Weekend Recap until later in the week...maybe it is because I miss the weekend more when it seems SO far away on Wednesday...or maybe it is because I am super busy at work...probably both...but none the less, this one is about Our very weekend...and how it did not end how it started...

So I did it-I took a day off-Did I just hear you gasp?  It's understandable.  I knew that if I didn't take a day off Friday then I would not be able to take one for quite a while...so I have to jump when I had the chance.  So Friday, Hubs, Hans and I made our way to Columbia to go to the Zoo for some Quality Family Time.  Hubs and I went to the Zoo on our first day-10 years ago (egads-that is a long time) so it has always been special for to us, and Hannah LOVES to see the animals so she is a big fan of the zoo as well.  We recently procured a family membership for the zoo that included a wristband so we didn't have to pay for any additional attractions Hannah might want to partake in...such as:

Riding the "Merry Go Round"

Feeding the Birds

Riding a Pony (named Bear...very confusing for a 2 year old)

Riding the Train (who looks more excited to you-Hans or Hubs?)

Or even feeding the giraffe (Chrissy likes to be fed-but does NOT like to be touched...when we got closer, Hannah said "I don't no want to touch it...so we went to see the elephants)

We had a lot of fun at the Zoo

When we left the zoo we went to eat at the Salty Nut...one of our favorite places in Columbia and this was Hans' first trip there...she really like throwing the peanuts on the floor...and me...and in my drink...

Saturday I woke up early and went to the gym for my usual Saturday Morning Spin class...Man!  That class is no joke, though I really did feel like I was going to fall over while we were stretching at the end-so I had to sit down for a minute in the locker room...when I got up to check my phone I saw I had a text from Hubs asking if I was on the way yet...usually I don't get that type of text unless a) I am late (which is VERY unusual) b) Hans is a crankapotamous or c) something is wrong...so I texted back saying that I was walking out...when he responded he said that he thought he needed to go to the hospital...WHAT?!  I called ASAP.  Hubs told me he felt awful stomach pain and then threw up blood...I called my mom and asked her to please come get Hans and I hurried home to pick up Hubs.  (I am sure I did not smell very good, and I was certainly very sweaty...lucky for me (and everyone around me) I bring a body splash to the gym and carry a full size deodorant in my purse...Hey-you never know when you are going to need some people-so I reapplied and spritzed up on the way home.)  We arrived at the hospital at 10:30am...

He would kill me if he knew I took his picture...and posted it...

After MANY hours (seriously we didn't leave until 5.  We were there for so long that Hubs' nurse, Jeffrey, came in around 4 and said "Oh-you guys are still here?  I left for a while and went to see my son's baseball game."  It was at that moment that I no longer cared that I smelled bad and came in all sweaty) and many tests (including 2 ultrasounds (SIDE BAR STORY- So the ultrasound tech wheels Hubs to the her ultrasound room-and on the way proceeds to tell me that the room is rather small and she is quite claustrophobic so she asks that I don't stand over her shoulder while performing the ultrasound...No problem here-as I HATE when people stand over my shoulder-so we go to the room, and sure enough-it is pretty small...so as she is performing the ultrasound-she says "I am having a really difficult time seeing your pancreas through this big ball of gas..."(now, if you know Hubs you KNOW he is always...releasing gas (to put it nicely) so the tech proceeds to begin pushing on said ball of gas-to "push it down"-may I remind you that we were in a VERY small room-so that very small room started smelling a little less welcoming...and now (days later) any time he releasing  some gas, he will look at me and say "She pushed on my stomach so the ball of gas would move down..."oh dear) and 1 CT scan) the Doctor advised us that Hubs is full of stones...in the kidney...and has some sludge in his gall bladder (um...I always just thought he was full of poo...now I know that he is full of poo & sludge? It is going to get very deep at home...) and his condition could turn into appendicitis...but he was okay for now...

If you look closely at that picture his heart rate says Fail...never a good sign...

And today poor Hubs passed one of those dreaded stones...poor guy...
Sunday was full of yard work, but I did get to take Hans on a bike ride-which she also LOVES.  Sadly I think poor Hans has seasonal allergies and she became quite sniffly as the evening went on...

So anyway-the weekend most definitely did not end how it started, but luckily Hubs is "okay" and we had a great Family day on Friday :) 
I am thinking of doing Weekend Wednesdays...seems like a good day to recap...we will see if I stick to it though...
Hope you guys had a great weekend...