Party Like A Rock Star

And I'm not talking about the annoying rap song. I'm talking about us. Or at least that what Mrs. Schmitty thinks of us because she awarded us the Rockin' Girl Blogger award!!


My turn. There are three bloggers that I'd like to give this award to:


Big Mama: I must read her blog on a daily basis. Her adventures with Caroline and Gulley and the gang are priceless. She has such a great sense of humor and a captivating writing style. It's a blog that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. After you've wiped the tears of laughter off of your face. And even though she has one of the top blog sites out there, she always takes time to visit and comment on her commenter's blogs.


More Than A Minivan Mom: Tracey's blog is a breath of fresh air. She "keeps it real" when discussing family matters and current affairs and encourages intelligent dialogue even if your opinions don't resemble her liberal, feminist ones. Oh and her music selections of the day rock. Take today, for example. Indigo Girls? I heart them.


Hot Mama's Guide to Life: If you haven't already, you should hop over and meet Pascalle. She's funny and light and fun. And above all else, she is an inspiration on how to tackle mommyhood with style! And she's a size 8. Barf.

Bonus: She shares all her mommy fashionista tips for moms at: Hot Mama Daily. And even if you can't fathom squeezing yourself into a mini-dress, you can always live vicariously through her.



Rock On Ladies!

My Playroom or Yours?

At the wedding I coordinated over the weekend, the best man was hitting on me the entire time. At first it was flattering. Then it quickly became annoying. But here's the joke: after the wedding was over, he offered to walk me to my car to make sure I got in safely since it was about midnight. Once we reached my car, he took one look at the two toddler car seats in my backseat and his eyes nearly jumped out of his head and he sputtered "You have twins!!??" The poor guy almost had a heart attack. I nearly died laughing.

Do you think the double car seat action caused my desirability rating to plummet? I can't imagine why.

Ever since Saturday, each time I get into my car and glance in the back, I have a little chuckle.

Week Eight: Weigh-In

Blah-di-blah-di-blah. No change. Again!

Since I seem to have 'plateau-ed' it looks like I am going to have to step up my workouts. Especially in the face of the Cajun Culinary Carnival that I plan to indulge in next week.

I am happy to say that I definitely have a handle on portion control though.

One dress size to go...one dress size to go...
(we'll work on the pants size next)

Beignets & Po' Boys & Shrimp Creole, Oh My

I am just so excited. In exactly 10 days hubby and I will be going on our trip to the Essence Music Festival. Alone. By ourselves. Sans petite filles. It will be our first trip alone together since May 2004. Seriously. Ah yes, I remember it like it was yesterday. Well, I would remember it if I didn't have Mommy Brain. I can barely remember yesterday. I do know that at the time I was 6 months preggars with Chatterbox. I missed the Ladies' Getaway that year because I figured that it wouldn't be much fun for anyone to have a big, tired, pregnant person (i.e. no mixed drinks) tagging along on a 3-day cruise to the Bahamas. As it turned out, the joke was on me because by the time the weekend of the cruise arrived, 2 of the other ladies also were pregnant. We're just a fertile bunch I tell ya. So hubby and I decided to take a road trip to Philadelphia. It was perfect - even my pregnant bladder was able to survive the 2-hour drive and we were able to relax and enjoy each other's company while taking in the sights of the city and of course, the food. Don't you just love the eating freedom that comes with pregnancy? I mean besides the fact that everything gives you indigestion, heartburn and gas. I remember eating my heart out that trip. Cheesesteaks, Italian Hero subs, Pasta dishes in Little Italy. Pastries from the Reading Terminal Market. Everything on the menu at Warmdaddy's. Really, eating good food is my number one favorite thing to do when I'm on vacation. And New Orleans has some of the best cuisine in the country so you best believe I'm already planning our dining options. And how did this post end up being about food?

Getting back on track. In addition to the food (dammit) I am also very much looking forward to spending quality time with hubby. We deserve it! And yes, there is a little voice deep down inside that is making me feel just a tad bit guilty for leaving my babies behind, but I know that they will be in great hands with their grandmas. And their mommy and daddy will come back after 4 days, refreshed, relaxed and...full.

Oh yes indeedy.

What Not to Wear

As I was leaving the house this morning, hubby said "you know you can see your *unmentionables* through that dress." I said "Really!?" And he said "Yeah, are they hot pink?" And so they were.

And after all these years of me giving him a hard time about not paying attention to my outfits.

Weigh In: Week Six

Yes, I know I've been slacking on my weight loss reporting but really, you haven't missed out on much seeing as how nothing new has happened in the past two weeks. And yes I realize that this means I only have 6 weeks to reach my goal, but I must say that nobody asked you anyway.


I'm hanging tight at -17lbs and need to get my butt in gear because well, SUMMER'S HERE folks! And this lady is still not "shorts-worthy." But actually, if you think about it, there are only a handful of situations in which shorts are the attire of choice: Golfing? Ha! Hiking? Ha! As a bathing suit bottom cover up while at the pool? Maybe. Other than that, summer dresses, A-line skirts and capris are fine by me. And way more fashionable. I mean, have you ever seen designer shorts? Don't answer that.


Really, I just need to get back on the exercise horse. But it's way hot and who wants to run jog walk in this weather? I will have to brave the hazardous Reebok Step again. Hey, maybe I'll fall off again and break my jaw and then I'll have to have my mouth wired shut and won't be able to eat solid foods which would most certainly be good for my weight loss goals. I wish I was one of those people who leaps out of bed at 5am, grabs an energy bar (not coated in 2 types of chocolate), and bounces out of the house for a "quick run" of 2.7 miles, and returns home all fresh and exhilarated and ready to tackle the day. I can't stand those people. They are often the ones you see at the mall wearing a pair of cute designer shorts.

Wretches.

All the Cool Kids Are Saying It

I. Am. Beat. It's never fun to start the week exhausted. But I am. And I blame it all on J. Jones and J. Ny for starting my weekend off with cute little orange and pink drinks of the alcohol persuasion. Let's just say it was more than a leetle hard for me to jump out of bed on Saturday morning. And then, my friend and I decided to take our kids to see their first movie in the theatre. I must have still been tipsy if I thought my two hooligans were going to sit through Shrek the Third. Actually, they did surprisingly well and sat "quietly" - it's all relative - for about 45 minutes. Shortly thereafter, chaoes ensued and we ended up leaving early. Which was really a shame because we the kids we were really enjoying the movie. But it was a good trial run. Tiring but fun. Add in the three strawberry margaritas I had at my mom's night out on Saturday and you can imagine how I felt by Sunday morning. But still, I made hubby a big breakfast for Father's Day and cleaned the house from top to bottom. And kept the girls busy so Dad could relax on his special day. Dropped his aunt to the airport and played with the girls on their Slip n' Slide. By the time Top Chef came on at 9pm, I was a goner. And so, this morning I am beat. But it's a happy tired. And that rocks.

Oh and this morning rocked. Having a nanny come to your house is positively delightful! This morning, Nini arrived bright and early and the girls were ecstatic. I'm sure they're still showing her exactly where they keep each and every one of their personal belongings. And now that she's only watching my two kids instead of her normal 5, she is looking forward to doing a lot more with them, and that rocks. As I was leaving, she was setting up a craft area for them while having Chatterbox count the number of pink shoes in her closet. Actually, I bet she's still counting. The poor thing has inherited Mommy's passion for shoes through no fault of her own. But I digress. Getting out of the house this morning was a breeze. There were no cranky wake-ups, no frantic dressing and no hasty daycare bag packing, and no jumping into the car speeding to work, sweating profusely. It was great. And that's when I realized that we have been led astray ever since I brought Chatterbox to her first day of daycare. We could have been living the easy life all this time! But that's ok. I'm just glad the daycare snafu has been resolved. I am already looking forward to the extra 30 minutes of sleep that I plan to add on tomorrow morning. And that definitely rocks.

We're in a pickle!!!!!

Justice Fergie and blogger world...there must be something in the air here in the D.C. area. I, too, am in a similar situation. My nanny gave me her 2-week notice on Monday and I've been debilitated ever since. This week was a particularly hectic week at work for both myself and DH (grammatical error - who knows?), so it has been hard to even focus on where to start looking for a new nanny.

Here's the story. When our nanny started back in January, DD fell off her bike and hit her head. Of course there was a huge bump and a bruise. It was difficult for me and DH to handle because she had never fallen before and this was her first bruise - the tough part was that she had just spent the first year of her life with me and nothing (except her falling off the bed at seven months) had ever happened. So within the nanny's first month of the with DD we had this incident. Then about 2 or 3 days after, DD fell and scraped her knee.

We accepted that she was at that stage where she had just started to walk and was still quite clumsy and accidents were inevitable. DH always points out however that although accidents happen while she's with us - there have been no bruises or serious injuries.

So, Monday afternoon, DD who was deliriously tired because she is teething and did not nap, jumped off the sofa chasing the kitten and bumped her head on the coffee table. She is bruised a little - nothing too serious. It was a little black and blue, but nothing that a little Iodex couldn't heal. The nanny is absolutely distraught. I believe that she was very remorseful that DD had sustained another injury while she was at home with her. Then she dropped the bomb - she said that she didn't think that she could keep up with DD anymore and was too afraid of another injury occurring and that she wanted to quit - for DD's safety.

I thought she was over-reacting and asked her to think about it. Anyway, 2 days later, I asked her whether she had given her resignation any more thought and she said no. So, I figured what the he!! .... you're really just going to quit!!!!!!!!!!!! What am I supposed to do now?!?!?!?!

The nanny sincerely loves DD and DD loves the nanny very much. I trust the nanny and I believe that she takes good care of DD. DH however believes that we should not beg the nanny to stay because if she believes that she can't keep up with DD then the chances of another injury are high.

So, we're in a pickle right about now. We have one week to find a replacement. One week!!!!! DH wants to explore some daycare centers, but I know that that's not going to work out for us because we both work crazy hours and most daycare centers close at 6 p.m. on.the.dot!!!!

One week....one week. Let's hope that something works out for us. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

5 Days and Counting

So. I have never been the type of person that hasn't been able to sleep. For as long as I can remember, as soon as my head hits the pillow I am dead to the world. Don't get me wrong. Of course I've learned how to completely function without 1.5 hours of sleep because well, you know I had two babies and that's just part of the job description. But I have to say that ever since Giggles started sleeping through the night, and but for the occasional nocturnal interruption by Chatterbox, I've totally gotten used to getting a full night's rest. Until last week.


Last week was the bearer of some particularly stressful news. And no, it wasn't the news about poor old Paris having to tough it out without her Sidekick for 45 days - the bad news was that Nini is moving because she got the opportunity to purchase a single family home. And of course, ordinarily when someone buys a home you are elated for them and excited and supportive and you can't wait to visit with a stylish little housewarming gift from Pier 1. Ordinarily. Too bad for us, Nini is moving 26 miles away. So no matter which way you look at it, we have to find a new babysitter for our precious little gals. Oh and one more thing. She is moving on Saturday. Yes, yes, that's right - this coming Saturday. Which means we had a grand total of 2 weeks to find a new Nini, and folks that's just impossible.


And I know what you're thinking: "Why didn't she tell you sooner?" "Didn't you know she was house hunting?" And I will woefully answer you: "It's a long story having to do with the nature of her homebuyer's program blah blah blah" and "No." And really, after pulling all of my hair out and chewing my nails to the quick, I've accepted all of that and moved on. But then came the daunting task of trying to find a replacement.


Of course I immediately sent out a Panicked Working Mother Nanny Alert to every acquaintance I knew. My mommy group, my church family, my book club, heck, if you've sent me an email in the last 365 days, you probably got an email from me too. [Sorry "Л.Л. Красовицкий@aol.com" I know you speak Russian and probably are offering the greatest mortgage rates around, but would you be a doll and just check to see if you know anyone who knows a great nanny? m' kay, thanks!] And I hit all of the classifieds and message boards I could think of. Then came the emails, phone calls and interviews. And, OH YEAH, I've had to squeeze in 9-hour workdays, family time and entertaining an out-of-town guest in between all of that. So, I won't bore you with details of it all, but let me just say that the pickins' are slim out there folks. Between shady-looking home daycares, nannies who want a company car and stock options and those who can only communicate with you via hand gestures and their 6-year-old son as a translator, it's rough.


And then the guilt sets in. You know, the Working Mommy Guilt.


Which is the reason why I am up blogging at 5:00am. I can't sleep. I can't eat. I am completely stressed and now that we have exactly 3 days to find Mary Poppins, I am panicked. We finally found someone that we really liked and were very comfortable with, who was great with the girls and very personable. I exhaled. We agreed on her hours and rate over the weekend, informed all of our other prospects that we had found someone, and we invited her over for dinner last night. But she called to cancel at 4pm. Inhale. She found a family that was willing to pay her more $ for less hours. And so. It was all I could do not to burst into tears while holding the phone and nicely diced veggies in the other. In any event, that door closed and, by the way, I still have tons of chicken marinating in a lovely red wine vinegar marinade should any of you be interested.


Ironically, yesterday around 5pm, Nini called to inquire as to whether our offer that she come to our home to care for the kids was still on the table. She says that she is attached to the girls and would like to stay with them as she couldn't bear to have them be watched by complete strangers. And so, while this is good news, I can't help but worry. If we thought that 26 miles was too far to drive to take our girls to her, how can 26 miles not be too far for her to drive to come to us? Will she be on time? What if there's traffic? What about her school-aged kids? Hubby says I am worrying for nothing and I just need to thank God for intervening. And I am thankful, believe me. But I still can't sleep.

I'm working on the eating part though. Archway Molasses Cookies taste pretty good at 5am.

In case you were wondering.

Bada Bing!!

Okay, the Sopranos finale was BRILLIANT. At first I was thoroughly disappointed because I didn't get it and knew this could not really be it. I even thought my TV turned off for a second. Hubby was so disgusted. So I jumped on the web for some answers and finally now it all makes sense. Each episode lead to this grand finale. If you put all together, it makes for a great ending.


MSN.TV had a great dialogoue going on. "The Responsible One" left this comment that pretty much sums it all up-

A) First episode Bobby describes how you don't hear it when you're killed
B) Second to last episode Tony flashes to Bobby saying you don't hear it when they're coming
C) Phil Leotardo was shot in the head in front of his family
D) The cat reminded the audience that Tony was a pretty bad guy in suffocating Christopher-
E) The psychiatrist finally realizing that Tony was a pretty bad guy
F) The perspective shift in the diner to Tony's every time the bell rang
G) The symmetry between Phil's murder scene with Tony's diner scene- Phil died in front of his family, and so did Tony. Notice, it was only after Meadow opened the door that the screen went black-Tony is finally shot.
H) The entire story arc having been Tony's, ending in silence with the death of Tony who didn't see it coming, right after the bell rang...

Apparently, last week's song at at the end of the show, the one in Italian, was about a son seeking revenge for the death of his slain father. Tony's father was killed in a diner and now, so was Tony.

Even if none of these theories are true, it's still brilliant that David Chase left it so that we would second guess, make these innuendos and leave us searching for answers from previous episodes.

Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant!

Innocent Mistake or Gross Neglect?

Have you guys heard about the missing 4-year old girl from England? Her family was on vacation in Portugal and her parents left her and her 2-year old twin siblings alone in their hotel room while they went to dinner. [???] When they came back, she was gone and has been missing for over a month. Authorities think she has been kidnapped by an organized p*dophile network.

This story has me both brokenhearted and outraged.

Any thoughts?

Not That I Would Be Able to Chew This Right Now

My mouth is on fire, so this post will be brief...

Today is the "Main Dish Recipe Swap" on Tales From the Scales.

Here's my summery lowfat dish:

Chicken Ceasar Wraps

Ingredients:
Romaine lettuce, torn into pieces
Grilled chicken breast, cut into strips
Fat-free Ceasar dressing
Turkey bacon, fried crispy and broken into bits
Fresh veggies of choice (bell pepper strips, shredded carrots, halved cherry tomatoes)
Whole wheat tortilla wraps (or you can use spinach or tomato...)
Fresh, grated parmesean cheese

Directions:
In a large bowl, toss lettuce, dressing, bacon bits, cheese and veggies (if desired). Top tortillas with a generous portion of salad mixture. Top with chicken. Fold in edges and roll tortilla to form wraps. Cut in half and serve!

How easy was that? You can even use prepared chicken strips like Perdue ShortCuts to save time. If you're feeling Giada-like, you can make your own ceasar dressing (olive oil, garlic, an egg, lemon, Worcestershire Sauce), just make sure to go easy on the EVOO.

[I like to serve them with oven-baked fries: slice peeled red bliss potatoes, toss in EVOO, sprinkle with Kosher salt, bake at 425, turning fries occasionally, until golden]

Great for a picnic and the kids like 'em too!

Weigh In: Week Four

I can't believe it's already been a month!

I'm happy to report that I've lost 3.5lbs since last week. I did have some help since my diet was severely limited through no choice of my own. I think that was my saving grace since, between my injured toe and my dental surgery, there was no exercising happening for me last week.

Speaking of exercising...we now have a Reebok Step! I'm addicted to step aerobics so I'm way excited. Of course the one hubby bought is new and high-tech so it's not like the basic gym class ones I'm used to and I've already fallen off of it more than once. Don't laugh. But it's a good workout and I can do it in the comfort of my own home. With carpeted floors.

13 more lbs to go!

Now HE'S In Trouble...

I had my wisdom teeth taken out yesterday. ALL. FOUR. What a positively miserable experience. My dentist was great and all and I even got to watch one of my favorite movies in a virtual headset during the procedure, but really, I'll take childbirth over dental surgery anyday.

Now that my "wisdom" teeth are gone, hubby said "Boy, are we in trouble now!"

He just cracks himself up.