Bring the Pain!

I'm sure this will be another one of those ideas that sound better in my head, but I've signed up for 4 weeks of torture bootcamp. I did a 6-week bootcamp class through the YMCA a few years ago, and it was pretty good, but I thought I would try something a little different. I'd been looking at alternatives for a while, but everything is so pricey. That's where my good friend Groupon came through for me. The week after I researched the program I ended up signing up for and found that they charge $180 for 4 weeks, I got an email from Groupon offering the exact same session for $40! So, I signed myself up, and I got a friend to join me. I'm not going to pretend to be super athletic or anything, but when I workout, I want to be pushed, I want to sweat, and I don't want to feel like I've wasted my time. The description on the website reads, "for men and women who want a true bootcamp experience without the commitment of enlisting." Sounds a bit scary, but in a good way. I think.

Why the bootcamp you ask? Well, three of us couples have an upcoming trip to Cabo planned, and to inspire some friendly, get-in-shape motivation, we have a little Cabo Wabo Fatso Challenge going on. The sad few who lose the least percentage of weight will be forced to sing karaoke on the trip. I don't sing karaoke. I don't sing at all. In fact, last time I was on a karaoke stage, this is what happened.

This cannot happen again, people! So, you now see the seriousness of the situation and why drastic measures are needed. My first class is tonight. I'm not going to lie. I'm scurred. I will report back tomorrow, assuming I am still alive.

Looky, Looky!

One of Izzy's favorite things to do is walk, but she still needs help from mommy and daddy. I've been testing her a bit lately by only allowing her to hold on to me with one hand. She wasn't so sure about that at first, but she is getting braver.

Today, I tricked her. I walked her with both hands, then I pulled one a way after a few steps, making her walk a bit with one hand free. Then, still standing behind her, I held a toy in front of her, and she grabbed it with her free hand. I pulled my other hand away, and she was holding the toy with both hands, and STANDING all by herself! We repeated this trick a lot today. She was surprisingly very stable, and would stand for close to 30 seconds at a time before she sat herself down.

Look at her! She's a professional stander. She's all nonchalant about it, "Yeah, I'm standing on my own for the first time ever. No big deal."

I'm so proud of my baby girl, and also a little nervous about the craziness that is about to unfold when she takes off. From the looks of the picture below, she was pretty proud of herself, too! Poor daddy was out of town for this first, but he will be home late tonight, and he will probably have to fight off the urge to wake her up and make her perform her new trick.

The Bachelorette

I’ll admit it. I watch The Bachelorette. I managed to avoid The Bachelor/Bachelorette for several seasons, maybe even since the Bob Guiney days, until this past season. Don’t worry. It was not my love for cheese ball Jake that reeled me in. I simply forgot how much I enjoy watching a good trainwreck, and in the world of trainwrecks, it just doesn’t get much better. It also helps that I have more freedom to access my DVR these days. You know, without work and other minor things to get in the way. I find myself following a lot of television shows that I haven’t had time for in the past. I think I just painted a picture of myself sitting on the couch all day eating bonbons, watching my “stories,” as my grandparents refer to their beloved soap operas, while Izzy is stuck in a playpen in the corner. Well, if it makes you feel better, I prefer cookies over bonbons, I get caught up on most of my “stories” after Izzy goes to bed, we have no playpen, and I think it goes without saying that nobody puts baby in the corner! All this to say that I am shamefully back on board with The Bachelor/Bachelorette.

Obviously, as with every reality show, there are people who participate just to get their 15 minutes of fame. The B/B-ette certainly has its share of these types, but it’s the ones who are completely sincere and are truly looking for their spouse on a reality television show I have to wonder about. Let’s take last year’s finale for instance. Jake had narrowed down the group to two women: Tenley, whom despite the fact that she just about beat me down with her baby talk every week, seemed like a really genuine person, and Vienna sausage. He went on and on about how this was the hardest decision of his life, he didn’t know who to choose, yadda yadda yadda. I know that everything is dramatized for ratings, but I’m not sure that I would be okay accepting a proposal from a man who a) up until 2 minutes ago, was dating another woman, and b) basically flipped a coin to decide which of us he wanted as his wife. Apparently it worked though, because he and the sausage seemed happy on Dancing with the Stars. Not that I watch that show or anything. Ahem.

So, on to this season. I’m honestly not a big fan of Ali’s. She was one of my favorites in the beginning last season, but somewhere along the line, she became an instigator and a bit of a cry baby. I have my suspicions about her dramatic exit from The Bachelor, and whether it was just a stunt to set her up to be the next Bachelorette. I mean, did you not make arrangements with your boss before you left to be on a national television show??? Seems like everyone else did, and I find it hard to believe she didn’t get the memo. Anyways, I wasn’t sure I was going to watch this season until I found out something that sealed the deal. One of Griff’s friend’s younger brother, Hunter, is a contestant this season. I’ve never even met Hunter, but it’s still fun to watch someone you “know of” on television. And he’s pretty entertaining so far.

Ali and Hunter

As for the rest of the guys, is it just me, or did Ali get some slim pickens? Even Griff (Yes, he is watching with me. He claims it's just because of Hunter, but I think he really likes the show. Shh…) pointed out that all the women on the Bachelor are smokin’ hot (His words. Hmmm…nobody he knew was on that show, and he still watched it. Things are starting to come together now.) and the guys on the Bachelorette are doucheriffic* (Also his word). I do have to agree, though. I saw maybe 4 or 5 guys worth keeping, and the rest I just didn’t get. I mean, the lawyer with the bad hair, the creepy outdoorsman, and the infamous Shooter??? Where do they find these people? And by the way Bachelorette, when someone’s job title is “entrepreneur,” that just means they’re unemployed. You aren’t fooling anyone. Looking forward to watching the chaos that will undoubtedly unfold this season!

Caught in the Act

Izzy is currently in a Yo Gabba Gabba trance, so I'm taking advantage. Hey, don't judge me. We've made it all day without cartoons, but it's almost 6pm, and Griff isn't home yet, so it's time for reinforcements. And seriously, what in the world is with this show? I really question the sanity of its creator.

I'm a little late at posting this. But really, what else is new? Here's a quick recap of all the fun stuff Miss Izzy has been up to over the past several weeks.

So, a few weeks ago, I go in to get Izzy from nap and notice that the side of her crib is all messed up. At first glance, I thought, "what the???" But one look at her face told the story.

The Damage: closer examination reveals a drool drip.

The Evidence: Notice the black paint chips around the culprit's mouth.
She turned on the tears quick so as to avoid punishment. Those babies are sneaky I tell you. ;-)

Yep, my baby is eating her bed. She also eats books. I'm raising my own little baby goat.

I used to keep her books in the living room on a shelf she could reach so she could play with them. After pulling a chunk of this book out of her mouth, I've removed the books from her reach, and she only gets them while mommy is reading to her or watching her very closely. As for the crib, we've tried this gummi crib rail thing, but it doesn't want to stick the the crib, so we're still looking for a solution. If you have any suggestions, we're listening.

One of her most favorite things to do, up until recently, was to open the doors to the tv cabinet and mess with everything behind them. It drove me crazy because I was constantly pulling her away from the cabinet and shutting the door, only for her to be back at it again seconds later. Well, the hubs got smart and removed the handles from the doors. Now she can't open them. Problem solved. It's the little victories...

Izzy was playing with a little ball that Nanna made for her, and it rolled under the table. She went in after it, but got stuck and needed some assistance getting out from under the chair. Silly girl!

This was the first piece of furniture that we had to remove from the living room. This was pre-fireplace screen injury. It was just too tempting for my girl, so we moved it into the dining room.

Another thing we have to keep out of her reach now: wipes.

The girl loves to climb!

And this is my favorite, from several weeks ago. I had put Izzy down for a nap, and she was just not having it. After about 15 minutes or so, it sounded like she had finally calmed down. I tip-toed into her room to check on her, and she was sitting straight up in bed, completely asleep! I ran to get the camera. I know, not smart, but I just had to. Well, the click of the camera startled her, and she woke up crying. I should have left well enough alone and let her sleep since the flash was off and the picture is blurry anyway, but I just had to get my picture. If I remember correctly, she never continued her nap that day. Poor girl was afraid she'd miss something. Talk about fighting your sleep. If only I knew where she gets her stubborness. ;-)

First Babies, Now Boobies

I'm starting to feel like a professional fundraiser. Now that March for Babies is behind us for the year (did I mention our team raised over $10,000?!?), it's time to start fundraising for my 3-Day debut.

My friend Karanae and I (and possibly one other friend) are participating in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk this November. It will be a first for both of us, and something I've been wanting to do for several years now. I've been so worried about the $2,300 that each walker must raise that I haven't even thought about the 60 miles we will be walking. Yes, that's right folks. My reward for raising $2,300 is getting to walk SIXTY miles over the course of 3 days, sleeping in a tent each night following a 20 mile walk, and don't even get me started on the shower situation. Those of you who know me well know how I love my showers, and the "shower/sink truck for washing up" I've read about online just doens't sound like it's going to cut it, so this could be interesting. Hmmmm....I wonder why nobody else wants to do this with us. I really don't have much of a choice in the matter now that I went and put it on my 30x30 list for all to see. If I don't do it now, I'll look like a total slacker. By the way, I just realized I still haven't come up with my last two goals, so I guess at this point, 28x30 would be more accurate. But I digress... In all seriousness, this is for such a great cause, and I've heard great things from past participants, so I'm super exicted not only to experience the 3-Day for myself, but to do my part in finding a cure for breast cancer, even if it means blisters and greasy hair for 3 days. ;-)

I'm trying to get creative with my fundraising efforts since I just begged everyone I know to donate to March of Dimes (see mention of $10,000 above). We started things off with a Pampered Chef fundraiser party last week that made $800 for our 3-Day team. Woohoo!! Thanks to everyone who placed an order. You guys rock!!

Our next fundraiser is a garage sale planned for June 26th at my house. If you have anything you are willing to donate to the sale, we will happily accept it.

I will keep you posted on additional fundraisers. Until then, online donations of any size will be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks for your support!

Happy Mother's Day!

I had a great 2nd Mother's Day. Izzy was in the hospital for my 1st Mother's Day, so it wouldn't have taken much to out-do last year, but we really had a great weekend. Griff went to the Ranger game with some buddies on Friday night, so Izzy and I had a girls night at home. We completed our first 5k as a family of three on Saturday morning in the Buffalo Boogie Race at the Fort Worth Nature Center. Izzy had fun running with her daddy! We spent the rest of the day hanging out at home as a family (rare for us!), and went to a benefit dinner with my parents and aunts and uncles that night. On Sunday, we met Griff's parents and our niece for lunch, and we had dinner with my parents, sis, and her family. And to top it all off, these super cute Banana Republic shoes I've been eyeing showed up on my front porch.


There was even a SpongeBob Mother's Day card to go along with them. Pretty impressive work for a 14-month-old, don't ya think?

Hope all the mamas had a special day yesterday, especially my own mama and my mama-in-law!

You Should've Seen the Other Guy

Well, my sweet little girl has her first official boo boo. She got in a fight with the fireplace screen, and let's just say the screen won. This screen has been an obssession of her's for a few weeks now, so I should have known to take it out of the living room. Motherhood fail! Actually, it's motherhood and fatherhood fail because Griff and I both witnessed the "fight." She crawled over to the screen as usual, and we both told her "no-no" in our discipline voices, which apparently aren't very effective. She proceeded to pull-up on the screen and turn around to look our direction. We again told her "no-no," and she started to sit down to come back toward us. Unfortunately, she kept her hand on the top of the screen, and brought it down with her. She immediately went in to her out-of-control cry where she holds her breath for an eternity. The kind of cry where the longer the pause, the louder the scream. Luckily, she calmed down pretty quickly, but she was left with a shiner and a bruise on her head that is mostly covered by her hair. I felt like the worst parent this morning when I went to get her out of bed and she had a swollen, beat-up eye. It looked a lot worse then than it does in these pictures. And I had to make a trip to Wal-Mart and the post office today, so I'm sure there were a few calls to CPS made on my behalf today. Good thing is she is a tough little girl. Look at that face. You know you're scared.