It's getting close!

This weekend Joshua is going to visit Grammy Kelley at her house (sniffle) but that means I get to go to a friend's wedding, and to my 5k on Sunday sans baby (hip-hip-hooray!) This Sunday is the first of May, which is the day of my Margarita's 5K, and it is ALSO the beginning of my new body for life lifestyle. I am NOT calling it a diet. Because if I call it a diet, I am going to get all freaked out about it and it's not going to last. (I've decided calling it a diet, is kind of like when you were in school and something was called a test, immediately drains the fun right out of it.)

So it's going to be a busy weekend! I also need to go grocery shopping and stock up on some of the essentials for my new healthy lifestyle. I won't be able to do a full grocery shop until early next week I think, but I HAVE to do a little before then otherwise I'll starve. Or be surviving on turkey hot dogs, cheerios, and yogurt, which is all we have in the house right now.

So I will update you with how Joshua's weekend goes, and how mine goes too early next week. Just thought I'd pop in and let everyone know why I will likely be MIA most of the weekend. Wish me luck! And if you see me eating junk, or hear me talking about eating junk, kick me in the butt, would ya?!

Here we go!!

Easter 2011

This past Sunday was Easter, as everyone probably knows. We ended up have a beautiful day! It was about 70 degrees outside when we left our house to head to Jay's grandma's. Joshua was dressed up in his Sunday best with his favorite hat (maybe ours... I dunno) and he was looking sharp.

He had a blast walking around outside. This was the first time he walked outside. He has been walking for awhile now, but whenever we'd bring him outside before, he would just sit down and not do anything. Not Easter, he kept trying to go back outside every time we brought him in, and he was doing laps up and down the driveway all day.

It was a great day full of ham, turkey, and all the other Easter foods you can imagine. Joshua is a bottomless pit so he was eating from just about the time we got there until the time we left. I'll keep this post short and sweet. Here are some more pics of him In his awesome Easter outfit.

the towel Grammy Nikki gave him. Adorable.

Five things I'm doing for Earth day.

It's Friday. And it's earth day! So I thought I'd share with you, some of the things I am going to do today in Mother Earth's honor.

1. In case you were unaware. Starbucks is giving away a free coffee or tea if you bring in a reuseable cup. So I will be heading to my local Starbucks, with a travel mug and filling up for free.

2. Another awesome Earth Day freebie I found. Origins, which is an awesome cosmetics and skincare company, will give you a free fullsize facial cleanser if you bring in an old one to recycle (can be full or empty.) Check out the link HERE and print the form and go grab your own!

3. I will be using my reusable coffee cozie instead of the cardboard ones. I even use it on my reuseable cups sometimes. I love it! I found it on Etsy at Christmastime and bought a couple for my sisters, and of course, I had to have one too!

4. I am going to go for a walk. (I know, I can do this any day really), It's nice out . . . so far . . . and I thought it would be nice to get out and enjoy nature, and take a minute to appreciate all we have around us everyday that so many take for granted by littering up with their garbage, and cigarette butts (gross), and other non-biodegradables. 

And lastly . . . 

5. Joshua wanted to contribute, by having extra nakie time. Happy Earth Day from Joshua.

He will kill me one day.

but look at the cute lil' bum!

Yay earth day!

Sunday Confessions: The Baby Itch

So I have to confess this lovely Sunday. Every time I see Joshua playing with other kids, especially smaller babies (Like Ethan, who is my friend Katie's baby and is completely adorable, and kind of reminds me of Joshua at the same age) it kind of makes me want to have another one so Joshua will always have a buddy.

I always knew I wanted more than one, or more, thought, I wanted more than one. I say it like that because until Joshua was out of me, I also thought I wanted twins. And still I say sometime, thank goodness there is only one of him. Don't get me wrong, he is all sunshine and rainbows most days, but those first couple of months may have been the end of me if he were two, instead of one.

Last time Ethan and Katie came to visit, there was a moment where Joshua wasn't trying to jab out Ethan's eye or throwing a toy at him, where he was just holding his hand and leaned in onto him a little. And it was super cute. And I actually caught myself saying out loud, "Awee, Joshua wants a baby sister!" Ha. Don't get all excited though you baby fanatics (you all know who you are ;-) ) We can't have one just yet. For two very good reasons. 1. We have no room to put two babies. and 2. We haven't even finished paying off the birth of the first one yet. So, that said, if anyone wants to buy us a bigger house, and sell the one we're in, or throw some cash in our direction, maybe we'll think about getting started on #2. In the mean time, we'll just keep enjoying Joshua, and I'll continue to get all mushy when I see him playing with other people's kids until he can have his very own sibling.

These pictures aren't of Ethan, (obviously) These are Joshua and his buddy Brandon. Joshua had a fun day Saturday playing with Brandon and Carter, I think Carter was napping when these were shot.) Doesn't he just look like he wants a baby sister?!

Don't forget to write your own Sunday Confession and link up here! (It doesn't even have to be written on Sunday, since I was so late today... I'll let it slide :-) Kidding, I'd let it slide anyways. So just write a confession blog and link up here! Go!)

Friday Five: Things on the top of my "wish list"

I think with spring now teasing us with warmer weather on a slightly more regular basis, it is making me get the shopping itch. I know I wrote about how I have been online window shopping lately in last weeks Sunday Confessions Post. So this kind of goes with that. I've been itching to do some minor landscaping so Joshua and I can go outside and play when it's nice out. I've also been dying to just go clothes shopping, and household things shopping . . . any shopping I guess. So my Amazon wish list just keep growing, and growing! So I'm linking up with Kat's Living Like the Kings Friday Five postings, with these 5 things that are at the top of my list, at the moment.

1. This swing. And these hooks for hanging it.

We have a nice big deck out back of our house, and under it there are little hooks for hanging things. Joshua loves, rocking, and swinging, any kind of motion really. I would LOVE to get this, hook it up and spend an afternoon watching him swing while I sit and read a book.

2. New cushions for our patio furniture. We've had the same ones since we bought the set years ago, and they are nice and faded and smelly now. Time for new ones!

3. An umbrella with a base so we'll have a little shade. Since there aren't any trees, it would be nice to have a little shade outside without having to go sit under the deck!

4. New red mulch. Under our deck is crushed rock right now, sort of. It's all washed away, there isn't really anything besides dirt now. I want to lay down some nice mulch, put some pretty shade plants down there and make it look nice again.

5. Some edging to go around the pretty new mulch. 

Is it weird that I have gardening and landscaping things on my amazon wish list? All I really want is to be able to bring Joshua outside to play this spring. Haha. I have been dreaming about making our little outdoor area look pretty for years now! But now, Joshua can walk, and it's getting nice out, so it's bugging me more than ever. I may do something crazy and open up a credit card just so I can redo our deck space so I can play outside on nice days! Watch out! 

Don't forget to link up if you do a Friday Five too!

Easiest pulled pork ever.

So I am still relatively new to the blogging about food thing, and suck at remembering to take pictures of things as I make them. But I thought I'd share will all you busy people out there, the easiest, most delicious pulled pork recipe ever.

Here is what you need:

• A crock pot. I have this one.
• An onion (optional)

• Some pork loin. I buy the Smithfield brand natural pork tenderloin. I usually get around a 2.5lb package. There is plenty if you have company, or it makes great leftovers if there are only a couple of you.
• About 16oz. of BBQ sauce. Whichever kind you like works. I used Sweet Baby Rays sweet and spicy for todays pork.
• Some rolls if you are making the pulled pork into sandwiches. I usually get onion bulky type rolls from the bakery in the grocery store.
• Cheese if you want, cheddar or something similar is amazing.

Here is what you do:

• Cut up the onion. I usually cut it in half the tall way, then slice it into little strips.
• Toss the onion into the bottom of the crock pot.
• Put the pork on top of the onion.
• Pour about half to 3/4 of the BBQ sauce over the pork, you want it to be covered.
• Turn the crock pot on low, and cook away. Usually I start it around 10 or 11 AM if I am home for the day, but you can easily let it cook all day if you are away at work.
• About an hour or so before you want to eat. Open the crock pot, and using a couple forks, or something similar, shred or pull the pork apart. Add more BBQ sauce and let it sit for another hour or until you are ready to eat.
• top your roll with the pork and cheese, and some cole slaw if you like it (sounds weird, but really great) add some extra BBQ sauce if you want to and enjoy!

I made homemade baked sweet potato fries today with the pork. I'll do that recipe another day, it's also super easy.

And that is all, my friends. you're welcome. Seriously, I have yet to encounter anyone who doesn't enjoy this meal. It's also great for pot lucks, and parties, not too expensive, and very easy to do!

Worst baby book ever.

This is a review of the worst baby book. Ever.

Maybe that's too hash. This book is meant to be a teething, infant-who-isn't-interested-in-books kind of book, I think. Not a toddler-who-wants-the-same-book-read-to-him-98-times kind of book.

Anyways. We were given This book by Garanimals, which is Walmart's brand I believe.

The book is cute and all, and it makes a crinkly noise and is soft and has nice rubber chewy corners. So, when used as something to chew on, rather than a book to read, I'd give it a thumbs up. BUT, Joshua, for some reason LOVES this book, for reading. He will find it, in a stack of great kids books, and bring it to me and make me read it over and over and over.

So here is my problem with the book. It has no story. Bright pictures, yes, story, no. It is just a bunch of pictures with phrases with them. See below.

There is is. In all its glory. the whole entire book. Now, try to be excited to read it. Now again. Again. Again. . .  See? Not cute. I have begin making up my own story to go with the pictures to save myself for repeating this little peach over and over in my head in my sleep at night. I keep trying to hide this book, and somehow it keeps getting found and ending up back in the pile of other books and toys. 

So a recommendation, from one mom to another. Do yourselves a favor. And buy children's books that YOU wouldn't mind reading repeatedly. At least Joshua likes reading though, so I can't really complain I suppose. I just thought I would take this opportunity to vent about this book while it is still hidden. :) Maybe I need to hide it from Daddy too so it doesn't keep ending up in the pile!

Embroidered Baby-Gear Giveaway!

Say that three times fast! Betcha can't ;-)

Kat from Living Like the Kings, is having a giveaway sponsored by Brayla Bee's, which is an online gift shop that makes custom gifts for all the babies and kids in your life!

Adorable stuff! It's free to enter, so why wouldn't you?! Even if you don't have any little ones of your own, I am pretty sure you know, (or know of) at least ONE extremely handsome little fella' named Joshua. Just sayin' :-) Just click the giveaway link above and follow the instruction to enter. You can get up to five chances to win!

Personally, I want (I mean Joshua wants) the customized sippy cup. One toddler can not have too many sippy cups, especially the spill proof kind. Although, these elephant shorts are pretty stinking cute too!




Good luck!

disposable diaper + washing machine does NOT = clean diaper.

I will call today, the day of the great diaper disaster. In case anyone was curious, you really can't wash disposable diapers in the washing machine. They weren't lying to us. And no, if you wash a disposable diaper, it does not give you a clean diaper you can use again. Too bad. I am sharing, in hopes that you can learn from my mistakes, and know what to do if this should ever happen to you.

Really though, that's not what I was doing, or trying to do. My guess, is that a certain small person, snatched a diaper out of the clean diaper basket when no one was watching and dumped it into the laundry basket, because he loves to hide things in other things recently. Of course, I don't inspect every piece of clothing before tossing it in the wash, I check the pockets of things that sometime have things in them (Like Jay's work pants) Other than that. Nope, it all gets tossed in there together for the most part! Never had a problem before.

EEW

But, much to my surprise, today when I opened the washing machine to switch the last load of laundry to the dryer, there was a big, slimy, pile of goo, on the inside rim of the washer and all over the door. At a glance, it looked kind of similar to when you run a piece of paper, or a tissue through the wash, but there was a lot more. Then, I decided to touch it. Gross. I don't recommend doing that. Thankfully, it's not toxic or anything, (obviously, since it goes in diapers) but it was slimy and gross. Blech! As I began to pull the clothes out, I started to realize the huge amount of this goo that was covering absolutely ev-er-y-thinnng! 

My first reaction was to pull everything out onto the floor so I could find the cause of this goo. (this was a bad idea, as it caused the goo to go all over my kitchen floor.) Of course, as I dug, in the very back, bottom edge of the washer, there sat a huge, exploded, wet, disgusting diaper. I knew it. So I tossed it out. then panicked again, because how does one get sticky diaper goo out of a full load of laundry AND the washing machine?! So I came over to my handy Internet machine, and luckily one of my fellow Mama-friends, knew what to do. She told me to put salt in with the load, and run a cycle through, then an empty rinse cycle with salt to make sure it's all out of the machine.

So, I tried this. I was running out of time since Joshua was in his crib talking to himself, on the verge of a screaming fit because he wanted out. And Jay wasn't home to distract him for me while I cleaned up the goo off the floor and myself. So I (stupidly) shook the clothes out onto the floor, then reloaded. when it was about half full, I dumped in about a quarter cup, I'd say of plain old table salt. (I have a front loader so I didn't want to put it in the soap area or anything. then I also put about the same about inside of a sock that was going back in, in case the loose stuff didn't cut it. I also threw some more detergent in, since I felt like i was going to have salty clothes if I didn't and I didn't feel like washing everything 3 times if I could help it. 

Happily this worked! While it was washing through, I cleaned my floors with a wet paper towel, then the swiffer wet jet to make sure I got it all before I brought the human vacuum back upstairs. 

Everything turned out OK in the end. Floor is clean, laundry is clean, baby is clean... And I guess lesson learned. Always check the baby's laundry before tossing it in the wash. And if I do miss a stray disposable diaper ever again, I will know how to fix it, and you will too! SALT! 

My helper

The "goo"

poor, poor, floors.

Sunday Confessions

Since my blog is now called confessions of a mom. I thought I should do some 'fessing up :)

So every Sunday (Or at least some Sundays . . .) I am going to be doing Sunday confessions. I encourage you to share with friends, loved ones, friendly neighbors, whoever, and encourage everyone to link up down below, and have a little fun sharing. doesn't have to be mom, or baby related either. So, just do it. you know you want to :-)

Here are my confessions for this week. I have three.

1. I have a problem. It is called "online window shopping." and I can't stop. Nor do I really want to! Now I can stare at things I can't have from the comfort of my own home. And I can even put them on a nice little list, thanks to Amazon. So every day I can go and stare, dreaming about the things I will have, someday. Maybe. this is my Amazon wishlist, so far. I went a little nuts on Etsy last night, as you can see. This is a sampling of some of the things on my list. (Random, I know).

2. Ummmm. I kinda like this song. It's by Hanson. So that's a little embarrassing. At least they aren't like, 8 anymore though, right?! And Joshua liked it first. He was dancing to it one day, and I didn't know what/who it was. now it won't get out of my head.



3. As cute, and funny as Joshua is 98% of the time. He is just like his father when he doesn't feel good (A big baby) And I am pretty sure, if anyone had offered to take him, I would have gladly given him up. Does that make me a bad Mom? I didn't say that to Joshua, haha. And I still love him more than life itself. So I think we are ok. :) But man, the screaming fits, and throwing himself on the floor, lack of naps (for all involved parties) just get tiring! Mentally and physically. I'm sure you other Mamas can relate, right?! I feel bad for the kid and all (Especially now that we know it's an ear infection) But it doesn't make the ordeal any less tiresome.

Ok that's all I have this week! So be sure to add your link below, and set a link back up on your blog too! Happy Sunday, friends!

(A special thanks Kat from Living Like the Kings for sharing her linking tips!)

Ear infections are YUCK!

Yesterday morning we woke up, bright and early to a screaming baby. Generally, Joshua is very happy and good natured. He only really wakes up screaming when something is wrong, teething. hungry, sick, etc. That said, he has been getting over a cold for awhile. The stuffy/drippy nose had just about gone away on Thursday, we barely had to wipe it at all! But yesterday, it was like someone turned the faucet back on! 

So, after getting up way to early. I spent most of the morning chasing Joshua around with the little booger sucky thing and boogie wipes. (click the link if you don't know what they are, they are awesome! So much better than plain tissues for a constantly dripping nose, no more sore, chapped noses for us haha.) Anyways. So we were playing chase with a boogie nose, Joshua would not nap, every time I tried to lay him down he would scream like I was trying to break his legs, though eventually, he did end up getting a nap in. Overall, he was just off. And I had one of those Mommy feelings that he had an ear infection. He was tugging the ear a little bit, but he is also cutting the first two molars, so part of it has been that lately. With the screaming anyways. So I called his pediatrician and told them what was going on and they said I should bring him in since it was Friday and it's easier the get in on a weekday than the weekend.

So we went in at the end of the day for a quick check. He did have a red ear she said, but it wasn't bulging (yet) and there was no puss, so likely it is the beginning stages. She said ordinarily, for a chile Joshua's age, she would just prescribe the meds for him since usually they don't clear up on their own. But since it was early, and she is the doctor on call in the office all weekend. We are going to watch him for one more day, and if we think he's acting the same, or gets another fever, she will call in the meds for us.

He did wake up screaming again this morning. And has been sort of on and off mood-wise. So I think I will be calling for him once the offices open (since they are only there until noon today) Plus, Joshua has a play date later today we've been looking forward to, especially since it's supposed to be beautiful out today! (Finally) And the Red Sox won last night. (finally) haha. 

Ok, that's everything. Enjoy the day everyone! Come back tomorrow for Sunday Confession ;-) 

Go Umass!

I didn't go to Umass. But I grew up watching their football and basketball teams with my Dad and family :) this one is for them, and all of my friends who went there. (Pretty sure Auntie Gina or Krista got this for him at Christmas, it now fits)

Now their song is stuck in my head... you know, this one . . .? "du du du duuuuu du HEY dudu du duuuuu du HEY dududududu duuuu du HEY du du du do chicka do chicka GO UMASS!"

Anyone?

Five things I've learned by being a Mom . . . so far

My first actually. Idea from Kat over at Living Like the Kings Go check out her blog and link up! And link up here down below as well!  AND don't forget to find and "like" confessions of a mom on facebook as well! Enjoy!!





1. Patience is a Virtue. this is a big one. If you don't have patience, you will quickly lose your mind during temper tantrums, baby colds, nights with limited sleep . . . or days when your house looks like this.

2. Always appreciate a warm meal. You know, people always said how moms always eat last, if at all, and how you are lucky to A. get to eat while the food is warm, and B. Get to eat slow enough to realize you've eaten or taste your food. It's so true. I always eat last, by the time Joshua, Jay, the dog, and the cat are taken care of. I either don't want to eat what I've made, it's cold, or I'm not even hungry anymore haha.

3. Sometimes you just need to laugh. No matter how bad, or stressful things seem. Or how bad a day we may be having on the baby front, Joshua can always seem to make me laugh and forget about it. Sometimes, when cleaning piles of spaghetti off the floor, or diaper explosions, or washing 98 loads of laundry, it helps to just sit back, look around, and laugh. Because, as they say, this too shall pass (and man, does it go fast!)

4. Sleep is a funny animal. I am one of those people who do not function well on under 7-8 solid hours of sleep. Try telling that to a newborn, infant, or toddler though. I knew, going into this that babies don't always (understatement?) sleep through the night. We still have bad nights over here, though we are lucky because once Joshua started eating more at a time, he pretty much slept through the night without issues. But it's amazing how great 4 hours can feel like 8 after a couple bad nights. Who knew!

5. Plan to never have a set plan, perhaps ever? I don't know... I'll tell you when we get farther in life haha. I feel like anytime I say the words "I will definitely be there" or especially, "I will definitely be there at XX time." It automatically means something is going to happen to either cause me to not be able to go, or at least go on time. On that same note, it takes twice as long to type anything on my computer during Joshua's awake hours as it used to. But with a face like this, how can I feel anything but lucky? 

link up!

Spaghetti monster!

Someone doesn't like utensils. At least not when I use them to try to feed him. So I gave in, and let him do it himself. This is what happened . . . actually these pictures are deceiving. It was a lot messier than this, I should have taken a picture of the floor!