BlogHer12: I'm ready!

We cut our camping trip short yesterday, which means we're spending today (the last day before BlogHer12!) home. Since I assumed we wouldn't be getting home until later tonight, I had everything packed and ready back on Sunday. I love that I don't have to rush around and get last minute stuff done, but at the same time I sort of feel like I should  be doing BlogHer related stuff! I may go stir crazy by the end of today.

I am SO excited for this trip. My business cards are designed, printed, ordered, delivered, and packed. Dresses are bought and jewelry is chosen to go with them. Shoes are picked out. Daytime and travel outfits are ready. Wine is bought. Suitcase is borrowed from my little sister. Schedule has been prepared and inputted into my google calendar. I really think I'm ready! Eeek.

I wanted to link up a picture of my shoes with Candice from The New Modern Momma for her post today, but my shoes are already packed. On the bottom of my suitcase. And there is NO WAY i'm unpacking everything just to take a picture. Instead, you get a picture of the suitcase:

Notice the bottle of wine, prominently featured on top for easy access. Ha!

I will not be posting about the conference while i'm there, since I'm not bringing my computer. But there will definitely be a recap post as soon as I get back! See you all on Monday. :)

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The Call Of (Motherhood) Duty

I've learned that being a Mom is all about expecting the unexpected. If you keep that in the back of your mind, you can learn to merely laugh when parenthood throws a wrench in your carefully laid plans. (And really, the only other option you have is to curl up in a ball and cry. Which doesn't really help the problem.)

The kids and I are off on a camping trip tomorrow. We're meeting my parents at a campsite about half an hour from our house. We'll be there until Wednesday afternoon. I'm leaving at 9am on Thursday to go to NYC for BlogHer12. I had everything carefully planned out. Lists written, schedules for packing, errands I needed to squeeze in. We were even going to my cousin's graduation party today, an hour away. I knew that if I could accomplish everything on my list this morning and tomorrow morning it would all get done and I wouldn't have to worry about it. Both trips would be executed without a hitch.

Then last night Stephanie seemed stuffy. When we put her to bed we noticed she was having a lot of trouble breathing out of her nose. When I went to bed at 11:30, she had already cried out for me a few times. At 1:30 I heard her again. I went in and laid with her. She was very restless, and seemed warm. I took her temp. 100.2. Gave her some motrin, laid with her for a while longer, and left her room around 3. At 4:30 I heard her again, and ended up spending the rest of the night holding her as she tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable.

At 8:30 in the morning, as she was standing in the middle of the living room, she threw up her entire cup of juice. (Sorry if you have a weak stomach. This is parenthood for you...uncensored!)

 For the briefest of minutes, as I stood staring at her standing in the middle of her own puke, sobbing her heart out, thoughts of my to-do list and our plans for the day flitted through my head. Then the thoughts left, as quickly as they came.

I sprang into action, scooping up my sick child and putting her in a warm bath. I called the host of the party we were attending to explain why we wouldn't be there. I spent the rest of the day alternating between giving her lots of TLC and crossing items off my to-do list. (Thanks goodness it was a Saturday that Dan didn't have to work.) Everything got done, but most importantly I was able to give my little one the attention she deserved during her time of need.

Motherhood is a balancing act. It requires the flexibilty to alter your plans at a moments notice in order to tend to the needs of your child. It isn't always easy, and it can be extremely challenging to let go of all the other stuff that you need and want to do.

But in the end, these trips will come and go. All the hard work and planning will soon be forgotten. But years from now, as Stephanie cares for her own sick child, she will (hopefully) remember how her mother reacted when she was sick. How it seemed like nothing else in the world mattered except her needs. How she spent the day in cozy clothes, and rocking in the glider, and eating "sick" foods like saltines and chicken soup. How her mother dropped her endless lists the second she said, in her sad, plaintive voice "Mommy, I need you." I know these things are what I remember from my own childhood.

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$20 for $40 Worth of The Honest Company Products

As a mom, I'm always on the lookout for great deals when it comes to products for my children. As a blogger, I get excited when I find a deal I can pass along to my readers. Today I bring you a fabulous deal for The Honest Company!


The Honest Company sells all natural, non-toxic products for children. It was founded by actress Jessica Alba, who discovered that when her daughter was born it was challenging to find eco-friendly supplies for her little one.

The company offers a full line of products, including diapers, household cleaning products, personal care products, wipes, laundry detergent, and much more. And they are all non-toxic, eco-friendly, free of harsh chemicals and, most important of all, effective.

In addition to making such awesome family-friendly products, The Honest Company donates a portion of it's proceeds to Baby2Baby.org, a non-profit organization that provides families in need with essential baby gear and clothing.

I'm excited to announce that Plum District is offering a deal right now, where for $20 you can buy $40 worth of products! This is a fantastic deal for moms and dads of little ones to take advantage of. You can choose individual products or really make your life easier by choosing the bundle and save option, which is a monthly subscription where you can receive products on your doorstep every month.

You can find this amazing deal here:

http://www.plumdistrict.com/deals/the-honest-company-20-for-40-toward-eco-friendly-diapers-baby-care-and-home-clean-TQCDPF

Hurry...offer is valid now through July 31st!

*Note: This offer is only good for new The Honest Company customers

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Project 10: Upcoming Vacations

I'm still on a losing streak, down another pound! I've also finally figured out how to stay within my calorie range on My Fitness Pal. For one thing, I've been eating healthier food. Also, I've trained my body to not eat all day long. I used to eat constantly. Not because I was hungry, but because I wanted to. Now I snack when i'm hungry, and I eat one reasonable snack at a time. I also eat meals until I'm full, and then stop. It's been a big challenge, but I haven't binged on food in a long time. My water consumption is up, but not quite where I want it to be. This will be another week of working on that goal!

I'm very happy with the progress I've made, but I'm getting nervous about the fact that I have two vacations coming up. This weekend I'm taking the kids camping with my parents. There will be a lot of food. Snacks, homemade (elaborate) breakfasts, smores, ice-cream, etc. My hope is to continue tracking, so that I'm aware of what i'm eating. But i'm not going to deprive myself. I go camping once a year, so I'm going to eat what I want, in moderation.

Then as soon as I come home i'm heading to NYC for BlogHer12. I have no idea what the food is going to be like there, and to be honest I have no intention of tracking what I eat. I'm there to learn, network and have fun, so I don't want to stress out about what i'm eating. I'm just hoping that I'll be so busy I won't have time to pig out, and that there will be a lot of walking for exercise.

I'd love for you to share some of your tips on how to stay healthy on vacation! Because although I refuse to stress out about my food intake while I'm away, I don't want to come home 5 pounds heavier. I've worked hard losing these 6! :)

As always, thanks to Stephanie from Stephanie's Mommy Brain for putting this project together. And feel free to link up your own health/fitness post! I love to read them all. Gives me extra motivation. ;) 3 hours ago · Like

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If you take your kids dress shopping...

I don't think I've mentioned it on here yet, but I'm going to BlogHer12 in NYC in less than two weeks! I couldn't be more thrilled for such an exciting opportunity to network, learn, and, ok, have a LOT of fun. I'm heading down with a group of my local blog friends, and rooming with two of them. (I think the road trip will be one of the best parts of the conference!) Since I've been steadily losing weight, and the conference is a week and a half away, I decided it was time to go dress shopping.

I'm happy to report that today I happened to find two dresses at Target that I love and that fit great. But it was quite an arduous process to get there. Starting with last week's trip to Marshalls. I thought for some reason that it would be a good idea to bring the children with me. HAHAHA.

If you bring your kids with you to Marshall's to dress shop, here is what could happen:

-Your 2 year old daughter might use the pile of dresses you're collecting in the shopping cart as a comfortable place to lie down. Which might pull them all off their hangers so you have no idea how many you have. It also might bunch them up and cause them to wrinkle.

-The same daughter might ask you 500 times what you're doing, why you're doing it, and when can she hold another dress.

-When you get to the dressing room, the attendant might not like it that you hold out a pile of bunched up dresses to show how many you're taking in.

-The same attendant might also direct you to a family-sized dressing room in the men's fitting section. Which is fine, since there are no men around, and it's away from anyone else trying anything on.

-The attendant may fail to mention that there is a huge rack of clothing blocking the way. She might give you the hairy eyeball as she watches you struggle to move it, while simultaneously pulling the shopping wagon and instructing your children to put their hands and heads in the cart! (For the 15th time.) (Oh, but don't think she'll actually help you. That would be silly.)

-Once you're safely inside the fitting room, your daughter might demand to be let out, climb onto the bench and jump off onto the hard floor. She might narrowly avoid slamming her head onto said floor.

-She might also take all the clothes you just stripped off and smear them around on the piles of dust in the corner of the dressing room floor.

-As you throw the dresses on, decide they don't look right, and toss them off again, you might slowly start to feel like you will never find anything that fits or looks nice. You probably won't have a lot of time to dwell on that though, because your daughter might slam the shopping cart, with her baby brother inside of it, into the glass mirror on the wall. You might hold your breath as you wait to see whether the mirror cracked. (Miraculously, it probably won't.)

-As you put your own (filthy from the floor) clothes back on, your daughter might throw a temper tantrum because she is having so much fun in the fitting room that she doesn't want to leave. Since it's a large, mostly empty room, her screams will echo loudly, which might cause your uber-sensitive baby to start crying.

-You might feel the start of a headache coming on.

-You might un-ceremoniously toss your daughter into the cart, and leave the room. Where you might be met with the same rack of clothing. You will probably say a lot of bad words in your head as you struggle to move it again.

-The delightful attendant might sigh loudly as you hand over the dresses (which you've put back on their hangers.) She might also demand you give her back the "number of clothes I took in" ticket. When you explain that she never gave you one, she might glare at you like you're some kind of ticket thief (because who wouldn't want a souvenir from their shopping trip?), sigh loudly again, and huff off in the opposite direction.

-You might make it out of the store in one piece.

-You will probably need a large glass of wine that night.

-You most likely will laugh as you look back on the day and think "well, at least it's a topic for a blog post!"

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Joseph's 9 Month Letter

Dear Joseph,

Happy 9 Month Birthday!

It amazes me that you have officially been outside as long as you were inside. Wow. Time is flying by, and every day your personality shines through more and more. And boy is it a good one! You're the happiest baby I have ever met. I'll catch you giggling to yourself for no reason. You also laugh at me, you laugh at Daddy, you laugh at Stephanie, you laugh at your toys. And your laughter is contagious! Nobody can stay in a bad mood around you.

This month you truly blossomed. It felt like you turned 8 months old, and from there just kept hitting milestone after milestone. You:

-Started crawling on all fours
-Started crawling FAST!
-Started pulling yourself to standing
-Started letting go while you were standing
-Stopped eating puree food because you much prefer table food
-Started spending every night in your crib
-Got two more teeth
-Started saying "Mama" and "Dada" when you see us
-Started saying "uh-oh"
-Started getting very demanding at meal-times
-Started giving kisses when we kiss you
-Started clapping

First time standing in your crib

Wow. I don't know if it's because you finally sleep now, but it was just an explosion of development this month. I'm sort of reeling from it still. You went from seeming "newborn"ish (ok, you weren't a newborn. But I still thought of you as an itty bitty baby) to being....a bigger baby. A baby who will be a toddler before I know it.

I look at you and watch you grow and am so amazed that we've made it this far. (Seriously, when you weren't sleeping, I wasn't sure if we would make it to the next day. But we always did.)

You are so attached to me, and cry when I leave your sight. (I've taken to making sure you're distracted by something so I can sneak away to the bathroom. If you don't see me leave, your reaction isn't quite as strong.) When someone else is holding you and I walk in the room, your face lights up and you throw your arms out to me. I love our bond. Your sister was attached to me, but not like this. She was much more independent right from the start, so I'm not used to all this attention. And since I know you won't always think of me as the most beloved person in your universe, I take advantage of it whenever I can. I rock you just a little bit longer. I hold you a little more than I need to. I soak up every ounce of baby love!

You bring such joy to our lives, and I can't thank you enough for being such a wonderful baby. I love you a million billion!
Love,
Mommy

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Project 10: Another Pound Gone!

I've lost another pound, which makes a total of 5 since I started Project 10. I owe it all to My Fitness Pal. Recording my food, knowing other people can see what I ate, and seeing what other people are eating is helping me eat less. I love the app! (And website. I do a lot of it on the computer, not just my phone).

However. I've noticed that i'm still going slightly over my calorie allotment for each day. I'm also slowly eating more junk each day. I'm rationalizing the junk by saying "Well, as long as I stay close to my calorie goal, it's ok." But to compensate for the junk, i'm eating less fruit, veggies, lean mean and whole grains. Which is not what I wanted when I started this project. Yes, I wanted to lose weight and i'm accomplishing that goal. But I also wanted to eat healthy so that I would feel better, have more energy, and be a positive role model for my children.

So what I need to do now is find a balance. Figure out a way to incorporate more healthy foods, stay within my calorie goal range for each day, drink more water (another healthy habit that has slipped lately) and cut out some of the junk. I think that I can do it! I mean, I don't need to split a donut with Stephanie every time we hit Dunkin!

On the plus side, i'm snacking SO MUCH LESS than I ever have before. This is a huge success for me. Yay!

I would love to hear how some of you incorporate "treats" into your daily menu without going overboard. And feel free to share your successes. We can celebrate together. :)

As always, thank you to Stephanie from Stephanie's Mommy Brain for putting this project together. If you're a blogger and have a health or fitness post, feel free to link up below! I make a point to read every post that is linked and do my best to comment on them.

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