I know I'm a Mom now that...

1. I have to check to make sure my nursing bra is snapped back up before I go out in public
2. Lucy spits up on my pillow, I don't clean it up
...and I kind of think it smells good as I fall asleep
3. I regularly sniff her bum
4. I have bruises all over my legs from carrying her carseat
5. It takes me 3 hour to get ready now, instead of 1...
...shower, feed baby, make-up, play with baby, fix hair, change poopy diaper
6. My pajamas are plaid maternity bottoms, and a striped maternity shirt
7. Getting ready means showering, not blow-drying my hair
8. I sing songs all day, even though I don't know the words and I can't really sing
9. I'd rather buy clothes for Lucy, not me
10. I can finally get someone to giggle when I tickle them
11. I get poo on my hands am not completely grossed out (but still kinda)
12. I get a certain pleasure removing Lucy's boogies and ear wax
13. I'm super proud when she rolls over
14. Laugh when she gets stuck
15. Am amazed that Baby Einstein really works
16. Cry when I watch the Lion King
17. Love having my hair pulled
18. Can kiss an angry baby into a happy baby

And I love the fact that my days are a lot quieter, but oh, so much more content

Magic

Once, when we were first married, Scott was telling me about his favorite quote. He had printed it off, but didn't know who said it (this must have been before Google). Lucky for him he married me. Not only did I know who the quote was by, I owned the book it was taken from.

Destiny? I think so.

“I was born and raised in a magic time, in a magic town, among magicians. Oh, most everybody else didn’t realize we lived in the web of magic, connected by the silver filaments of chance and circumstance. But I knew it all along. When I was twelve years old, the world was my magic lantern, and by its green spirit glow I saw the past, the present, and into the future. You probably did too; you just don’t recall it. See, this is my opinion: we all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand.”

Robert R. McCammon "Boys Life"

Loving

fingers and toes

Even more so, when I hear Scott reading it

Laughed out loud, so many times

Vinto. I love everything here; from the decor, limeade's, service, cool electronic order gadgets, apple galette's, and of course, pizza. My new go to restaurant.

The most fun I have had working out in a long time

Lovely, lovely, lovely

Good for post pregnant body
(image found here)

Baby Toes, Baby Fingers, Baby Tummy

(Scott likes to give Lucy a Mohawk after her bath)

Lucy and I have lots of games we play together that nobody else sees.

We have quiet games. The moment anyone walks in the room the quiet game is over and
Lucy wants to PLAY!

I feel bad that Scott doesn't get to see this quiet, sweet side to Lucy, but that must be the prerogative of mommy's.

One of my favorite games is when she is in bed with me after eating and we are laying next to each other. I'll touch her fingers and say, "baby fingers" or toes, "baby toes," "baby eyes," "baby tummy."

She loves it. She will close her eyes and smile or concentrate really hard on me.

My heart melts a million times over. Or she loves it when I tickle her face. She will reach out and touch mine.

The power of touch to communicate love is pretty cool.

Meal Planning

For the last 9 years our married life MO has been a little like this.

8:00 get home from work
8:30 what do you want to do for dinner?
8:30-9:00 discuss
9:00 Decide it is too much work to go to the store and cook
9:15 eat either, frozen pizza, cold cereal, barilla pasta or go out

Maybe not the best eating habits.

I have lately been inspired by Marianne and her meal planning. She has a meal list tacked onto her fridge that is nothing short of wonderful.

So, for the last 8 weeks or so, I have been meal planning. And honestly, it has made a world of difference. It is so nice to just cook the meal, and not have to worry about ingredients or what to make. It has actually been really fun to try new things and I'm branching out more and more.

Here is this week's meal list,

Monday: citrus and mint pasta/grilled pineapple with mint sugar
Tuesday: honey aebelskivers/maple bacon/oj with mint
Wednesday: sweet potato and black bean quesadillas/homemade salsa
Thursday: spicy chicken burrito bar/grilled pineapple
Friday: leftovers/spinach and blue cheese salad
Saturday: date night out

Although I have never been a huge meat-eater or much for fast-food Scott and I have decided to go an extra step and use only organic animal products. This means an extra grocery store run (Whole Foods), but it is worth it. The food tastes better and we feel better about it too.

I'm always on the look now for new recipes, and fun food blogs.

Any suggestions out there?

Post Edit: Scott recently told me how much he liked my salads. How cute is that?

Growing Up

Landscaping

This is what our house looked like when we bought it.

I got these pics off of Google Maps, so I know they aren't the best quality. I like looking at them, though. Whenever I feel stressed about all the home repairs we (I) want to do, these remind me how far we have come.

A few weeks back we got these landscaping plans made up by. Aren't they cool? I can't wait to implement them. We have already started digging out the garden beds. We also need to put in a sprinkler system, which, honestly, is just a pain.

I would rather plant.

And to remind me how far we have come I wrote notes on our current state of the house. So far, in the 2.5 year we lived here the front yard has,

a new fence (half the backyard too)
new cement porch and foundation
new porch awning paint
new street sign
landscaped park strip
a Maple Tree
hours and hours of overgrown weeds/plants/ivy removed

In the plans this year are,

front yard sprinkler system
new front door
new mailbox (have it, just need to install)
fully landscaped front yard

Wow, that isn't too ambitious, right? We are also planning a flag stone patio in the backyard and a new bathroom upstairs.

I like to dream big.

The back yard plans are even more intense. Next year.

Easter/Scott's Birthday/Conference Fun

Lucy's basket

This Sunday was a perfect combination of family, food, Conference, Easter, food, Scott's birthday and food.

Sunday may have included,

Easter Basket's
Easter basket scavenger hunt for Scott (with chocolate and clues hidden in the eggs)
Honey glazed Aebelskiver's and candy bacon (bacon coated in maple syrup and baked)
Conference
Dinner at my parents with rolls the size of small puppies
Homemade brownie sundae's for dessert (complete with homemade mint Oreo ice cream)

I'd like to thank Scott for helping me make the brownies and ice cream (I was sick and operating on very low energy). I think I should make brownies and ice cream more often. Scott almost cried, he was so happy.

For the record, Scott did a great job on my basket and Oliver's.
It was an Easter basket extravaganza over here.

Scott's basket

I had so much fun coming up with the Scott's presents and the clue's for him. Unfortunately, he didn't really get a big screen TV, but he did get a savings account (with a deposit already made), for a big screen TV.

On Monday, I took Scott to Clash of the Titans and Fresco's to finish celebrating.
(Fresco's is where Scott proposed)

All in all, it was a wonderful Easter/birthday/Conference weekend.

Happy Easter, Peeps!

Decorating

These days I can't resist fun prints I find online.

I love collecting bit and pieces that are so affordable.

I know baby animals might be cliche, but I think this giraffe is pretty adorable.

Giraffe here
Better days print here