strainer, drainer, what???

well, i'm still fighting the crud... my throat is so sore - bleck. we had an insane morning. i overslept. had to run nuggie to hang out with daddy while i went to class and then rushed to have lunch with my super sweet TMG girlies. it was all nutty, but a great morning still!

so i'm sitting in class this morning and as an illustration our prof was comparing the capillaries in the kidneys to a colander. and several of the blondies in the class were like, say what?? and so he explained - you know the thing you'd dump hot pasta into to drain it. and blondie one says - oh a drainer? and blondie two says - no a strainer. and the prof says - you don't call them a colander? uh no they say - in a tone of - you are soooo dumb you OLD man. ok - be honest - does everyone else not call them a colander? that's what i was always told they were called. thoughts??

and sweet shannon shared a recipe for funfetti cakies for her sweet daughter's birthday this week. well, they sounded so yummy i rushed to my pantry to see if i could whip up something similar. all i had was a white cake mix and cinnamon chips - i'm baking them now, i'll let you know how it turns out!

short and sweet - weighn' in addition

we had a crazy weekend. there was theology homework to complete, a ladies prayer group, bub hung out with his "little brother" from big brother big sisters, cleaning house, grocery shopping, helping some friends, oh and yeah - we got a puppy. the last two nights have been like when we first brought nuggie home all over again. we're crate training her, so she's whiny. bub's been very attentive to her, but she's still not a fan of sleeping in her own little space and nuggie isn't used to the added noise, so she's getting up 3 or 4 times a night again... little izzy came to live with us on saturday. she's sweet as can be and i'll put some pics up soon, but it has added a whole new level of chaos to already crazy life. to top it all off i seem to be coming down with a nasty head cold. i was so lucky to not get sick once during my whole pregnancy, which is such a blessing since you basically can't take anything, but now i'm sick full force. i'm whiny (as if you couldn't tell!), tired, feeling icky and totally overwhelmed with caring for nuggie, then running to izzy and trying to do my normal monday chores. oh well! it's all worth it :-)

so quickly - weighn' in for the week. i haven't stepped on a scale yet... i'm avoiding it, bleck. it's just every week - nothing. i have noticed several pair of pants are continuing to feel looser and looser and i started doing - jillian michaels, 30 day shred. uh - tough! which is good - but ooh, it is hard.

both the pup and nuggie are asleep so i'm gonna run now. happy monday everyone.

cupcakes - take 2

raspberry cupcakes - yum!

 continuing on my mission to make every cupcake in my betty crocker cupcake cookbook i made recipe number two - lemon cupcakes with a raspberry filling. these were delightful. the recipe called for a boxed mix and i know after my last cupcake creations i swore off boxed mixes, but i wanted to follow the directions. ugh - wish i hadn't. i will for sure go back to a homemade mix. these were tasty, but just not the same. and i'm thinking rather than using lemon zest i may just use lemon juice? the zest was a little chewy and bitter. but really overall these were super yummy and super easy. i'm making mimossa cupcakes for a ladies brunch tomorrow morning!

 i'm not sure why blogger is putting this pic on its side, oh well. so anyhow, at bub's work they were hosting a fellow employee from guam last week and he brought them this special kit kat. look closely - it's in japanese. and do you see the color of the kit kat on the box? it's green! they were green tea kit kats and they were amazing! i shared them with bub, i did not devour the whole package, though i would have if given the chance. when bub goes off to guam next month he has orders to bring some of these home.

here's the back of the box. look at all those characters - crazy!

it's friday - woohoo! i survived two exams yesterday, feeling pretty confident about them both. nuggie turns officially six months old today (how is that possible???), and she has her 6 month shots/dr appt today. if you think of it please send a little prayer up for her. we're going to be discussing the possible hearing loss in her right ear and where we go from here as far as further testing.

to tattoo or to not tattoo - oh what a question

our trip to portland is quickly approaching - only 4 weeks away (which means bub's trip to guam is only 5 weeks away...boo). and while there bub and i are considering adding to our tattoo collections. he has something he for sure wants, i on the other hand do not. my other two have alot of meaning to me and i picked them both for very specific reasons. i'd like to continue that, but am having some creative block... hmmm... everyone says they're addictive and whoever said that was right!

i'm a little nuts about our bird feeders... i'm so totally going to be that old lady with bird seed in my pocket sitting on a bench in the park some day. somehow to me buying $10 worth of bird seed each week seems totally necessary and i often send sweet bub to home depot to get me some. i've recently added to my collection with a suet feeder as well as a hummingbird feeder. ok, why am i admitting my hugely nerdy bird love? well, i guess our house has become a little bird paradise and we've got oodles of them now. one, i'm not sure which kind, sings and sounds sort of like a baby fussing. every time i hear that bird i look to nuggie expecting to find a fussy munchkin, but always find my sweet happy babes. it's driving me a little bonkers. i need to get some bird books so i can try to identify the little culprit.

modern family last night was amazing! if you haven't seen it yet - you must. did anyone happen to watch the new show - happy endings - after it? thoughts? i enjoyed it, not sure i loved it, but it was sort of cute.

rant retract

i'm sorry lovelies for the rant last night. it was late, i was tired and really bugged that anyone would hate on someone in that way. let's all love on mommas - however they come. working, not working, one or five kids, co-sleepers or not. homemade baby food or gerber all the way... whatever. if we all love our babies and are doing the very best we can let's support each other. ok, i'm done. for real now.

on to lighter topics! it's wednesday - the best day of the week :-) and i hear, that for real this week, there is a new modern family on tonight. woot!

have i told you this week how much i love our new washing machine. oh no? well, i do! it's wonderful and amazing and makes washing clothes so nice. it spins them so well they're practically dry when you take them out. i'm probably a huge nerd for loving it as much as i do, but whatever.

i got up early this morning... and knocked over my phone (as i use it for an alarm clock) while it was still in the docking station. which then made a terrible clattering as it hit the floor, waking up nugg bright and early. i wanted to say poo on you workout, the babes is up. but i didn't. i laid her on a blankie next to me with some toys and she was my little cheerleader as i tried a new workout this morning. jillian michael's 30 day shred. oooh, it was tough. which is good :-) and i made for dinner last night tuna salad with lots of veggies and herbs and only a little light mayo. i hate tuna, i hate how it smells and i hate how that smell lingers in your house - but it's low fat, high protein so it's what we had last night. i put it on a big pile of lettuce and walaa - din din! i had a night class after that, so i took two cuties (which are so sweet and delightful!) and that was my snack. i really wanted to go to the vending machine and get oreos - but, i resisted.

well nugg is up from her nap - i best be off

should be sleeping, but...

i should be sleeping, but i'm wide awake. that's what several large caffeinated beverages will do to me. i'll try to hit the hay shortly, but figured i'd go ahead and blog a bit.

school is getting set to wind down for the semester. i'm anxiously awaiting my letter to see if i made it into the nursing program for the fall. rumor has it they won't be sent out till the end of the month... why are they dragging this out so long? it's not like it's a big stack of applications they have to sort through. it's a teeny tiny school! another reason i'm anxious about it is that it will determine my summer/fall plans. if i didn't get in i'll take the summer off and take microbiology and ethics in the fall. if i did get in then i'll be cramming summer school into my schedule.

i recently read on this super cool chicky's blog about her trials and adventures of being a new stay at home momma. and some hateful comments popped up on one of her entries. everyone is allowed to have their opinions, but why do you have to hate on a newly created stay at home momma? aren't all new moms frazzled enough? aren't we all sort of wondering - what the frap happened to my old life and will i EVER fit back into my old jeans? and oh, by the way, you're now totally responsible for the care and rearing of a tiny, helpless human being?? and it's a job that lasts 20 years!?! to think what we do isn't a "legit" life calling or whatever - all i have to say is bull crap. just as someone commented on her blog, i'll agree totally - you work 24 hours a day for no pay and for a boss who's a little tyrant. no one says thank you. you don't have coworkers to chat with, you get a drooly toothless baldy baby. you don't get an hour lunch break to yourself - you get to think - oh crap, it's 2pm and i still haven't brushed my teeth, or peed, or eaten anything more than handfuls of fruit loops. a full nights sleep is a distant memory. praise from anyone is out the door. an excuse to wear nice shoes or a skirt??? yeah, that'll just get spit up and poop all over it. better go with the old standby - yoga pants and an old tshirt.

BUT

it is without a doubt the most rewarding, amazing, wonderful "job" i've ever had. am i worn out all the time, yes. but i wouldn't trade it for a second of any of those "legit" jobs i had before nuggie came into the picture. is it for everyone, no. can everyone afford to stay at home with their kids, no. we are extremely blessed that i can. does every woman even WANT to stay at home, no to that too. and that's ok. let's all just love on each other and our life choices. but let's not also think that the life of a stay at home momma is sitting on the couch watching dr. phil and painting our toenails.

whew - ok, i'll stop ranting now. it just really got me riled up that she was hated on for writing about the "real" side of being a SAHM. why does everyone think we all must fit into the perfect june cleaver ideal? that we all must be wearing our sweet little apron with a perfectly clean baby and a pot roast and martini waiting for the husband when he gets home? can't i vent a little about the hard days? can't i be honest about what i struggle with? can't we all say, yeah - being a mommy sort of sucks sometimes, but. oh. my. goodness. it is SOOO worth it! nuggie grabbed at a flowers in a vase last night. she was sitting in her bumbo near them and it didn't occur to me to move them, she's never shown an interest in anything like that before. when she had those flowers in her sweet little fist though i couldn't have been happier! she is learning and growing and being curious and i LOVED seeing her try something new... it's the little moments like that when you think Oh My, i am the luckiest girl in the world. and today i did brush my teeth before 7am, so it really was a good day :-)

weighn' in

happy monday everyone! it's another stormy one here in nashville. i'm hoping it's not as bad as last monday's storms. hiding in our coat closet with nuggie isn't a fun way to spend our time.

it's weighn' in confession time. no weight lost this week :-( but none gained! i got three good workouts in and lots of walks with nuggie. i had two episodes of really low blood sugar and was out and hadn't planned well (ok, or at all) and so i didn't have my normal granola bar or apple juice, so i ended up eating a snickers bar one day and a large bag of peanut m&m's the other. you think after struggling with hypoglycemia for years now i'd always have a little something stashed in my purse, but ugh, these days, it's just one more thing to remember. plus, we really don't leave the house a whole lot, so it hasn't been something i've had to deal with in a while.

i've got a super healthy, super yummy recipe to share with everyone! i made these friday night and it made a ton. so we've been enjoying them the last couple of days.

sweet potato burritos

i know, they sound weird. but trust me - they are delicious. we enjoyed dinner with our sweet neighbors a few weeks ago and she made sweet potato enchiladas, and ooooh, they were good. so i wanted to try something similar for us. a few things i'll do different for next time. first, i'll use a low carb or low fat tortilla. i sent bub out for tortillas and he got traditional flour ones which is what we normally buy, but since i'm trying to lose this baby weight, any way to cut some calories is good :-) also, i'd add some of the seasoning to the sweet potatoes. they're a little bland while the beans are really full of flavor. i just added a big salad on the side and done - a healthy, vegetarian dinner!