Food for Thought

My ingenious husband brought up a very valid question earlier this week.

Why do men have nipples?

The long scientific reason

Never before had I ever questioned this. I just accepted it. I can't think of one single purpose for men to have nipples. Possibly for sensation. Things that make you go hmmmmmm.

While you're still pondering that over, we have an exciting trip coming up! Originally we (my dad, mom, E, and me- Chris will be working BOO) planned on going camping for a short Labor Day holiday, but thanks to Hurricane Isaac, we (my mom, E, and me- my dad has dropped out due to work) will be headed to see Josh (my bro). I am so excited. E has gotten so big since the last time we visited Uncle J.

 Our Last Trip to Visit Uncle J

Hopefully this time our little friend Mr. Constipation won't make another visit. Gosh that was a nightmare! Definitely unforgettable. Chris is going to have an empty nest for a few days. I bet he gets bored. He won't have E to chase and me to nag. What would I do with a few days of no E or Chris? I think I'd possibly go insane. I love those two boys. They make life so much fun.

E saw himself in Mom's oven. So funny. He kept trying to hit the reflection of his face.

Driving around. Trying to pick up some ladies.

Charlie and His Cracked Head

This is Charlie. Charlie is our newest addiction. When we were putting E's convertible seat in Chris's truck I looked under his passenger seat to find the head of a ceramic doll. Weird. I requested an explanation from Chris, because I was quite frankly a little freaked out. Chris actually had an acceptable explanation: My nieces and nephews always go to the Dollar Tree and get everybody in the family a Christmas gift. You think, Dollar Tree, really? But it teaches the kids to put thoughts into their gifts and it actually ends up being quite entertaining. Past Christmas's we've received a pack of erasers, an oversized comb, a plastic sword, socks, bungee cords, and a coffee cup, just to list a few. Well Charlie is/was one of those Dollar Tree gifts, and along his travels from my Mom's (where we do Christmas) to our house he was beheaded and reigned his thrown under Chris's seat for eight months now. 

Being the funny gal I am, I decided Charlie needed to sneak back into Chris's truck and make a grand reappearance. I put Charlie on the dashboard for Chris to find at a later date in time. It didn't take him long, and this my friends is how our game started. 

Headed into work at 6:00 a.m. and looky who I see. My long lost friend Charlie. 

Charlie snuck back into Chris's truck.

And a couple of mornings later, this is what I see. Apparently in Chris's attempt to strategically place Charlie, Charlie lost part of his head. Just enough to fit his head on my volume control knob. 

How long will this game last? Who knows. But there is one thing I can just about guarantee, I will have the last laugh. So now it's my turn to hide Charlie. What shall I do, What shall I do?

Sliders

My post pregnancy diet is ridiculous. I will eat just about anything. Pre pregnancy I was the pickiest eater on the planet Earth. If it looked funny, if it felt funny, if it smelled funny this sister wasn't getting near it. Wouldn't even try it. A food monster entered my body when I was pregnant and she told me to eat any and everything. And I did. Well now, almost nine months later that monster still exists. My husband would consider this a blessing (he hated my picky eating habits, blamed it on my mother). I eat bell peppers, I eat balsamic vinegarette dressing, I eat guacamole, I eat broccoli, if it's edible I will eat it- exception liver, wild animals, and tongues. Where in the world is this story going you ask? Well tonight I was telling my mom about these Pinterst slider sandwiches that my friend made that were absolutely delicious. Here's our conversation played out for all of blogger world to see:

Me: Mom my friend at work made these amazing slider sandwiches and they were SO good. I'll have to give you the recipe.

Mom: I know I've made those for you before.

Me: No you haven't. These were delicious. I would've remembered if you had made these. They are ham, cheese,  on a Hawaiian roll with mustard and brown sugar on top.

Mom: That's what mine were.

Me: No they weren't

Mom: (pulling out recipe) Was the topping butter, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and poppy seeds. 

Me: YES! That's it, but I'm telling you I've never had them.

Mom: I know, that's when you were a b*tch. 

And this is why I love my mom so much. If anybody wants to know where I got my personality from, look at this woman. Apparently I refused to try the sandwiches. Here is the recipe for the most delicious sandwiches EVER!

Swiss or Mozarella Cheese

Hawaiian Rolls

Honey Ham

Topping:

1/2 cup butter

2 T mustard

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 T poppy seeds

1/3 cup brown sugar

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degress for 30 minutes. SO GOOD!

Here's a link to the actual recipe. I took some stuff out ;) World's Best Sliders

I couldn't close without a couple of cute pictures of my little man. E's new toy, his own personal Radio Flyer airplane. Ready for takeoff. 

Doing some wheel repairs. This child loves the wheels on toys.

The Great Twenty-Eight

Thirty is approaching even closer. Creeping closer one birthday at a time. I actually dreaded my birthday this year for some reason. No reason in particular. Just more proof that I'm getting older. Much to my surprise, I had an AMAZING birthday. Possibly the best. And in all honesty I really didn't do anything. I'm not one to want all of the attention placed on me. I am known to crack a joke here and there, but that's for a momentary second and it's over. I like making people laugh. I don't want a whole day dedicated to me. I had to work today...blah right? Not for me. I love my work family. They surprised me with a birthday cake and ice-cream, along with a little singing and dancing, a few games of BINGO, and prizes (compliments of our party planner Sonya). We laughed A LOT, probably too much and worked a little. We had a Super Salad Bingo Birthday Bash. Everybody brought their favorite salad topping and a dressing from home and we had a giant salad bar. By far one of the best parties we've ever had. And it was healthy! Next time we decided somebody was going to be in charge of a breakfast entree because come 11:00 we were starving. Here are a couple of pictures I captured throughout the day.

I bragged about being the BINGO queen...well I talked TOO big of a game. I didn't win until about the forth round!
L-O-S-E-R

The salad bar...DELICIOUS! 

My birthday cake...probably the unhealthiest thing there.

Once I got home I took a small siesta until Chris and E got home. I played with little bit for a while and then opened my presents. I must say, this year Chris hit the jackpot (usually he is a horrible gift giver). Love him to death, but he sucks in the gift department. He got smart this year and called my mom. Mama's got some new tennis shoes :) And  (not pictured here) some Rachel Ray cooking utensils to go with the pots my Mom and Dad got me. You know you're old A. when you get pots and pans for your birthday B. when you are beyond excited about getting pots and pans for your birthday.

We headed off to my parent's to celebrate a little more. With amazing food (as always) and a cake covered in the best icing ever. I would seriously cover my whole face in it...that good. I suppose I finally got my own golden cake (Golden Cake Story), but not THE golden cake per se. I got to see my sweet niece and nephew, which is always a joy. That was probably the icing on my cake. I absolutely love those kids. 

Chiara teaching E how to get all Jerry Lee Lewis with it.

My day was quite simple, but spent with the people I love the most. My birthday celebration will continue tomorrow and Tuesday with Chris' parents (birthdays are always a week long celebration for us), which will make my birthday complete. I'm sure I will have more pictures to add. Thank you to all who took a little extra time to wish me Happy Birthday. You really know how to make a girl feel super special. Much Love!

The busy life of an E

E got his BIG boy car seat in. A hard reality for his mommy. He is growing up way too fast for my liking. So much so that he won't even let me rock him to sleep anymore :( Super sad face. E was ready to explore his new deluxe recliner. We chose to get the Britax Marathon, which had some of the best ratings. It was a little pricey, but is there truly a price for your child's safety? I think not.

P.S. Don't judge me that my child only wears onesies. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity my dear. 

Got to give it the chew test. Sorry my pictures are blurry. Hopefully by the time Christmas gets here I will save up enough Best Buy gift cards to get that new camera I've been wanting. 

Big boy E in his car seat. Likes it much better. He doesn't look like a sardine in a can anymore.

I traveled to the Sheriff's Safety Town to make sure I installed the carseat properly and they gave me some very helpful information I feel I should pass along. Exhibit A: The very handy mirrors you can strap on the back seat so you can see your child have been known to decapitate children in wrecks. (Mirror gone.) Exhibit B: Carseats expire every seven years due to the climate affecting the materials the carseat is made with, especially in this hot, humid Louisiana weather. Exhibit C: You can only use the tether straps for under forty pounds. Exhibit D: You should not use the tether straps and a seat belt. Choose one or the other. Other than the mirror, I installed the seat properly. I was so proud of myself, those instructions were so confusing!

We have some good friends that live in our neighborhood who just had a baby, Dylan. Being the good friend that I am, I let our friends borrow all of E's toys/baby necessities that E no longer uses. There's no sense in buying all new stuff that you will only use for six months. Baby stuff is so expensive. Well on one of our visits to see Dylan, E found his old toys and took quite a liking to them. 

 

Monster baby under the play gym. If he pulled hard enough I'm pretty sure he could pull the whole thing down. 

E was VERY curious about baby Dylan. If Dylan cried E was looking for him. I tried not to let E get too close because he doesn't quite understand how to be gentle yet. Hence, see three pictures down. 

And this picture I do believe explains E's ultimate goal. Reunited with his bouncer chair. Just a smug too tight. 

And for the grand finale. Our latest casualty is the stroller fan. This stroller fan was the bomb too! I'm still not sure it's done. I think I see a little super glue in it's future. It was only a matter of time before the fan lost a limb, because E sees this fan more as a toy than a survival tool from this excruciating heat. 

Excess

In the world we live in, can we EVER have enough? Are our houses never big enough? Our cars never fancy enough? Our clothes never fashionable enough? Our money never plenty enough?  What does enough look like? Is it enough to just put groceries on the table or must we have that top of the line fridge to put them in? Is it enough to be able to just afford the gas that goes into our cars or must we drive that expensive luxury car? Is it enough to buy school supplies or must our children go to the top of the line private school? Is it enough to just have a job in today's society or must you make a certain salary?

I remember when we bought our house a few years back we thought we could never fill up all the room in its spacious 1,690 square feet. Now, one child later, we're busting at the seams. Is that reason for me to move? Or do I throw away all the junk I've managed to accumulate? Better yet, do I quit buying junk? I honestly feel like if I had 13,000 square feet at my disposal I would still fill it up. I think you grow into your house. If you have space, you ARE going to fill it up. Same thing with money, if you have money, you are going to spend it. Can you ever have enough money? I feel like as a society as a whole we are so focused on the monetary. On how it looks on the outside.

I remember growing up as a child my family was a middle class family that worked hard for their money. We lived in an average house. We wore average clothes. My parents provided as they could. We played every sport we wanted to, we participated in every activity we wanted to. But never do I remember my mother buying a $1,000 purse or a $25 eyeshadow. Never do I remember my father going on a $5000 hunt.  Every penny went to their children. We lived in the same house my whole childhood and my parents still live there. If they were ever to sale it I would be devastated. Every memory I have as a child is in that house. That's the important stuff.

I hope I show E what is important in life. I hope his memories don't revolve around monetary things, but around his mommy reading him a certain book, or his daddy teaching him how to ride his bike. I try to stay grounded and remember what is important, but goodness our society makes that hard sometimes! Excess is the new in. Do I really care what the Jone's have? Do I really need what the Jone's have? No, I don't think so. Sometimes what's on the outside doesn't match what's going on in the inside. Many times when people have problems they run to buying things. Things, anything. Anything to make them feel better. Anything to make them feel like what appears on the outside. Am I content in my simple little life? Absolutely! I would have it no other way :)

Heavy Heart

Today my heart is heavy. A horrendous tragedy struck the hospital I work at. A tragedy that hits so close to home. A physician accidentally left his six month old baby in the car. Eight hours later he realized it, but it was too late. I can not even begin to imagine the pain he is feeling. My heart hurts for him. He is a kind, caring, compassionate man who worked hard to better other people's lives. Giving people a second chance at life. And sadly his pride and joy, the love of his life was taken too soon. People are so quick to judge this man...who could leave their child in the car all day? Who could not know their child was in the back seat? What kind of parent is he? .......so on, and so on. Life is busy. In the 2012 generation it's go, go, go. I see it all the time. Families trying to get to work, trying to make ball practices, trying to get the kids to school, trying to make dinner, trying to sustain every day life. As a generation we never just SLOW down. We never stop to smell the roses. I'm sure this physician was out of his normal routine. I'm sure it's not his every day routine to drop his kid off at day care. Baby falls asleep, he rushes into work with a mind full of what surgeries he has today and forgets she's even there. We all say we would never forget our kid...but would we? One slight glitch in our routine and would we? I personally can't answer that. My eyes swell with tears thinking about what if I was in his position. I can't even begin to wrap my head around it. And it was so obvious around the hospital how much this man loved his child. All I can offer him and his family is my prayers, because I have no words. The words I offer won't provide the comfort I wish I could bring. Please say a special prayer for this family and the sweet angel they lost.

Tacky Shoe Bunko Dinner

I know everybody has patiently been waiting my tacky shoe reveal. Wait no longer.

My disco inspired heels

*Blang Blang*

Our fun Bunko group

Shoe shot

My previous statement on my last blog entry about the shoes not being tacky was confirmed. Everybody thought they were fun and not tacky. Agreed. But that's all I had, so I rolled with it. I haven't graced my precious feet with a pair of heels since I found out I was prego with my sweet E man. Post baby, Mama has transitioned to an all about comfort moto, that means no heels. I used to be a pro at walking in five inch heels....not so much anymore. But I must say, I was not the only one. My sweet friend Julie, has a broken foot that's in a boot and squeezed her other size eight foot into her mother's size seven shoe. But it was SO worth it! I'm going to go ahead and say she won the tacky shoe award. Luckily my other friend, Leah, was as insane as me and wore ridiculously high heels. I wasn't alone in my discomfort. It was a fun night. We ate at Blind Tiger (got to love some Louisiana cookin) and it was goooooooood. I'm so thankful to have such a fun group of girls to get away with once a month. As a parting note, this was my conversation with my husband before I left:

Me: "Do you wish you had a group of guys that got together once a month like my Bunko group?"

Chris: "I do, it's called hunting season."

Oh how I love being married to my sweet Louisiana hillbilly ;)

Randomness

Here goes the rambling......

I have this God awful wall in my living room that is very spacey (the wall behind my couch). A big picture/portrait looks teeny tiny on it. The wall swallows it. So in an attempt to tame this annoying wall, I ran to Pinterest. Pinterst- the website created for design dummies. I found a lot of collage picture walls, which I thought would be GREAT for this wall. I began my quest for the perfect pictures, frames, and nick nacks. Where better to shop? Of course Hobby Lobby. For less than $150 I found eleven objects to take up space on my wall. Here is the final finished project.

It turned out just like I wanted. And as E grows and more pictures get taken, I can keep adding.

Second ramble.

I am so excited about tomorrow night. It is my bunko groups dinner night and the theme is tacky shoes. I (in my pre pregnancy days) was a shoe connoisseur (looked that spelling up in the dictionary). My specialty- heels. I don't believe any of my shoes are tacky, I consider them more unique/fun/crazy. Kindof like me. Here is a hint as to what to expect- Jessica Simpson and Saturday night fever, disco ball included. I can't wait to post pics.

Third ramble.

Is this not possibly the sweetest thing you have ever laid your eyes on?

This is how HE chose to lay and watch tv. Melts my little mommy heart. 

Demolition Derby

E is like a tiny tornado of destruction. He leaves his mark on every room he enters. Our palace is his playground. He might be all of twenty eight inches (at six months, I'm sure a couple of inches taller now), but boy can he cause some destruction. 

He chews on remotes, spills bottles, throws toys, yanks on blankets, climbs over pillows, and crushes food in the rug. And loves every minute of it. And I must admit, as a mom, so do I. The housekeeper in me hates it, but I push her back until after he goes to bed. That's when the fun begins. Thirty minutes later.....peace and sanity are returned.

The last nice thing I had....GONE.

The last nice thing I had is ruined...gone just like that. Lost to a long string of teething baby slobber. E sent my iPhone to its fiery grave. RIP iPhone. It was a good run. I'm semi holding on to hope that the bag of rice it sits in will save it. Doubtful. I get it now....I get why my mother had NOTHING nice. Because kids will ruin it in one second flat. E used my iPhone as a teething toy. It was an amazing distraction. And when (not if) he got his little slobbery hands on the phone it went straight to the mouth. And heaven forbid you attempted to take it away, the child would nut the heck up. When I weighed my options- screaming baby to ruined iPhone- guess which one won. The baby. Would I pick that choice now? NO. Now that I can't hear out of my earpiece and my phone has no volume. My mother warned. But parents don't know what they're talking about..right? OHHHHHH....one day I'm going to be in my mom's boat. Having the kid who never listens. The kid who has to find everything out on his own. Hopefully he won't be as hard headed as me at twenty-seven years old and still not listening to his mother's warnings. Eventually I will learn. But until then....out with the nice. 

Olympics....who needs sleep?

I am obssessed with the olympics. My bedtime for the last week has been olympic o'clock. Once baby E is asleep, the hubby and I park it in front of the tv. Whenever the olympics go off, we turn the lights off and lay it on down. Most of the time with adrenaline pumping. Definitely not the best sleep I've ever had. It's too hard to sleep with such excitement going on. The best in the WHOLE world competing against each other to be THE number one. There are sports I never even knew existed competing. I love how NBC airs stories about past olympians/olympic games. So inspirational. I honestly can't pick a favorite sport that I've watched. I've watched everything from swimming to gymnastics to water polo (that's a hardcore sport- who knew?!) to track to volleyball and the list goes on. I'm about to throw a little girl power in here.....

Wait for it.....wait for it....

You earn bonus points if you know who these girls are...

How about our women olympians? What strong women!!! Representing our country well. 

A few of our track ladies. 

Our beach volleyball ladies. 

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings

Our gymnasts...The Fab Five

Gabby Douglas- women's overall gold gymnast

And of course I couldn't leave without posting a picture of my sweet E.

We now have two beggars in the house. An E and a Peppi. This should make mealtime SO much fun. We can put the dog outside, the kid- not so much. :)

Ohhhh ahhhhh wow

The teething monster has reared its ugly head AGAIN. And this time I think we have a few teeth coming in. For sure the top two teeth and a left bottom tooth. It seems the ugly tooth monster always comes when the hubby is at work. E woke up twice last night crying (very unusual now a days). After the second time I decided it was time for some intervention from my good friend IBUPROFEN. Worked like a charm. Today he boycotted his naps and was a little extra fussy. But nothing we couldn't handle. As long as you were on the ground playing with him he was fine. Amidst all his teething pain, he learned a new trick today. 

Tadaaaaaaaa! Little boy is pulling up.

Ohhhh ahhhhh wowwww! A whole new world.

My big EIGHT month old.

On to a completely different subject. Tonight I cooked a delicious pasta. Have you ever wondered what in the world would we do without Pinterest?! It is my lifeline. "Crap, crap, what are we going to eat for dinner? Let me look on Pinterest." This meal was quick and super easy. Two things I am all about (especially post baby). Here is the recipe.....

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

How do I know it was good? The age old test...does the husband go back for seconds? Why yes, yes he did. 

New Year Resolution...kindof

I've made one New Year resolution in my whole life..and I actually kept it...and it backfired, directly in my face, actually my mouth. I made a crazy, ridiculous resolution to floss my teeth EVERY day. Why you ask....I was tired of going to the dentist and having them ask "Do you floss?" Why even bother asking? It was quite obvious. As soon as the floss touched my gums the blood started spurting, similar to a bloody massacre. A bloody massacre in my mouth. I would always respond (lie) "Yeah like once a week." They knew better. So in an attempt to be a better patient I flossed religiously every day. Fast forward to a year later, sitting in the dentist chair (still bleeding) and knowing I was a good patient and wasn't lying when I said "Yes, I floss every day." Take a wild guess who had THREE cavities. ME. It's a dental conspiracy. I had never had a cavity in my whole life. I freaked out. When I freak out I break out in red splotches everywhere. As the doctor started drilling away in my mouth, she asked if I was allergic to anything. If I was smart I would've started acting like I was having breathing difficulties, and would have gotten out of the whole gig. But my honesty shone through and I admited to my anxiety induced splotching. The process wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but definitely not something I enjoyed or would want again in the future. So all that being said, I've decided to hit up the New Years resolution ring again, but instead of starting in January, I'm starting in August. New Years resolutions are about bettering yourself, right? So I can start any time of the year. My Mid Years resolution is to read the Bible in chronological order. I know the stories of the Bible, but not necessarily in order. I feel this will help me better understand.

So here's to sticking to my Mid Year resolution.

Here's a sneak peak of what E and I got into today....