Oh, Sunny Day!

Shrimpie relaxed on the swing

To say that we had a pretty mild winter is an understatement. Moving out to the midwest, we were bracing ourselves for subzero temps and crazy winds all winter. We probably had those days about 7 times…total. Now, it’s 64 degrees and sunny and it’s going to be in the low to mid-70s all week. LOVE THIS WEATHER! LOVE! IT! I really wish I could just bottle up and open it up on drab days…or sell it! Hello, beaucoup buck$$$$…

But, with all this warm weather, allergies start earlier and so do bugs coming out. We went out this weekend and saw flies…lil baby flies on my truck’s windshield…just hangin around being all hunky dory. But flies this early in March? Ewww…makes me wonder about mosquitos. This will be our first spring/summer here so I’m wondering how bad the mosquitoes are. I hate mosquitoes…I’m sure pDaddy hates mosquitoes only for the mere fact that I complain about mosquitoes and their bites incessantly all summer long…

I’m just hoping our allergies aren’t as bad as they were in NJ. In NJ, we lived pretty close to a park w/an abundance of Cherry Blossoms so yeah, our allergies were HORRIFIC! It used to be my alarm clock…4 / 5 am, my sneezing would start! And of course, Razz and her allergies that trigger her asthma and have landed her in the hospital 2x w/one of those times in the PICU.

But, let’s focus on the fun, shall we? SPRING FEVER has hit and what do I usually do first? Get a much needed foot spa pedicure. I’ve no idea if I’m going to go for my dark, brown / vampy colors or a frenchie or a pinkish nude, but I know I’m going to go for one tonight. hmmm…I would LOVE to get a coral / tangerine one, but my legs are still so very Cullen-like (aka Pale…yes, that was a reference to TWILIGHT…yes, I’m still a TWIHARD, but not as much as before…until I watch the next flick, I’m sure).

This past weekend started the beautiful weather streak and so we hit the park. Don’t let that pic above fool you. Apparently, Shrimp is now afraid of swings and if you don’t distract her and make her laugh, she will squeal and cry and scream w/that screechy scream of her.

Shrimp’s not a big fan of the swings (though she really used to be), but remembered she LOVES the slide. She didn’t want to pose for this pic and just wanted to slide down already!

Oh, I LOVE this weather!

Resolutions: Week 2 of the New Year…

In keeping w/our Family Resolutions,we played “Chutes and Ladders” last night. Of course, we had to wait until Shrimp took one of her quick naps because she was ALL over the board and game pieces. 4 year old Razz has been great w/helping w/the laundry by pairing socks!

Now, I didn’t add “more home cooked meals and NEW recipes” onto our Family Resolutions, but we are trying to do that as well. Last night’s dinner was slow cooked Ropa Vieja. It didn’t look as pretty as the picture from the recipe, but it wasn’t bad at all. It was a bit bland…definitely adding a little bit more salt next time.

As for MY resolutions, I have been more patient w/my girls, though I could be even more so I’m working on that still. I have been good w/my skincare routine and also looking more put together when heading out. As for exercise, that’s a negative, but it’s also because I’ve been fighting bad acid reflux lately so I spend a lot of time being all miserable and heart-burny. Then, we got SNOW yesterday – our 1st real snow of the season! That made jogging outdoors impossible and forget trying to get to the gym.

I still need to work on the letting go of the past thing, but all others are pretty much lining up nicely. Look, 3 blog entries in 1 week! WOOT! I even took pics while cooking yesterday! Unfortunately, no nice pics of snow…it was BITTER cold and windy. We only left the house to pick up the big girl from school. It’s also hard when I have my 15 month old to carry around b/c she can’t figure out how to walk on the snow yet and I wouldn’t let her anyway. The wind was blowing snow everywhere so the grounds were very uneven – one spot had barely a dusting…the next step had snow up half my leg! Hard to see from that pic, but at least you can see some spots where the grass is popping out and then you see the girls with their feet / ankles buried a few feet later!

So, how are you doing with your resolutions or were you one of those that “resolved not to make resolutions” (I’ve done that as well…hehehe).

*shakes off dust*

Been awhile, again…Much too much going on this summer and I’m not complaining one bit! Let’s do Friday Bullets, shall we?

• The Diet - I stayed on it for over a month and still going. Didn’t get all strict about it (as in I would have junk food here and there, but rarely), but I still haven’t eaten pasta, bread or rice (and that’s HUGE for me b/c I loves me rice)!
• The Weightloss - Well, I lost about 10 lbs. Seems like I’ve hit a plateau and am not sure what I need to do in order to lose more, but I’m happy about the 10lbs so I’m not stressing it toooo much.
• The Running - I’ve been doing well…actually can run 1 mile straight now which is a BIG improvement for me. My best time for a 5k so far was from Wednesday night on the treadmill: 42.22. I get bored on the treadmill so luckily, the weather in the northeast has been quite nice to jog/walk at night. Still, I haven’t set my pedometer correctly so I didn’t know what I was really running and had to do it on the treadmill for accuracy.
• Summer Fun so far – We had a lot of parties so far (graduation, wedding shower, birthdays, etc.). We hit a local zoo and the State Fair. Beans went on rides for the first time and yes, folks, she is our daughter! She LOVED them! She went on a Ferris Wheel and Rollercoaster with me and wanted to keep getting back on. She went on a couple of rides herself as well! I should get those videos up on Flickr or something. Razz and pDaddy couldn’t join in on all the fun b/c Razz is not tall enough, but Razz had fun munching on cotton candy and “looking” for us on rides.
• Cotton Anniversary - We celebrated our second wedding anniversary on 7/7. Yes, we got married on 07.07.07. I was 7 months pregnant with Razz. I love the number 7. pDaddy never liked it until I pointed that out to him
• The Weather - As I mentioned, the weather has been cooler on the Northeast so far this summer…with the exception of late yesterday and today. So yes, the hot / humid summer weather is upon us and sorry, but I wasn’t missing it at all. Still, I guess that gives us a reason to jump in the pool during my lunch break. woo-hoo!
• Pictures - We’ve taken so many, but I’m too lazy to upload to Flickr. I guess I should upload to Flickr the same time I upload to FB.
• Twitter - I have an account, but it doesn’t appear correctly on my sidebar…hmmm…If it did, I would update it more often. Then again, seems like everyone’s just twittering instead of blogging these days. I kind of miss reading blogs.
• The Grim - Is it me or have there been so many deaths as of late? Celebrities like Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcet, Ed McMahon…Friends, Family…Yesterday, my BIL’s cousin passed. He was 34. Still unreal. Today, it’s my BIL’s bday. Poor guy is, needless to say, still devastated.
• The Great - My girls have been awesome!
  Beans is one week from testing for her Yellow Belt in TaeKwonDo. She’s really starting to get really good at writing letters and talks so well that my Dad is still in shock when they have conversations.
  Razz is starting to really formulate words and makes little sentences. She recognizes all the letters although she still gets a couple wrong here and there. She also knows her colors. Her favorite color is Pink and knows her sister’s fave is Green.
  Both of them LOVE to sing and talk and play and swim and well, fight…ahhh siblings…but it’s always nice to see them hug and kiss and make up

So, that’s what’s up in these neck of the woods. I’m determined to upload pics soon and post more often…Hopefully, it won’t take me over a month to post again!

Playtime / Interaction

My girls…growing up so quickly!

Beans plays with Razz – sings to her, plays with her hands, tries to kiss and tickle her.  Razz used to get annoyed by it, but now she actually smiles and laughs.  I can’t believe how interactive Razz is now.  She will be 5 months old on Friday, so I guess she’s on track.    She’s not really rolling over a lot though.  She’s only done it 2x.

Anywho, they play well, but Beans is still a bit territorial.  If she’s in the mood, she will share her toys.  If not, well, stay away world!  She also plays with Razz’ toys and tries to show Razz how to play with them.  It’s the cutest thing.

Beans has been getting more mature too.  She tries to sing and teach Razz songs and the alphabet, colors, etc.  She’s a  huge help when she’s not acting up and is the cutest little big girl.  Whenever I change Razz and Beans sees her thighs, you’ll hear Beans say “Hi Chubby-Chubby”…lol…

I have some AVIs, but I have to figure out if it’s better to post on Vimeo or YouTube.  What do you think is better?