Pineapple-Strawberry Angel Food Cake

This is a recipe I got from Weight Watchers long long ago and I still make it to this day because its absolutely yummy, especially for those nice warm days, super easy and not a hazard to your waistline.

So now I know I said that I didnt like out of box baking but this is kind of a Semi-Homemade recipe (if you watch Food Network, Sandra Lee). Its so easy you just do it by memory, no reading required!

You just buy a box of the Angel Food cake mix and a can of crushed pineapple, preferably the no sugar added 100% pineapple juice rather then heavy syrup, and a carton of fresh strawberries. The amount of fruit is totally up to you.

-Open the box pour the mix in to the bowl
-Empty the whole can of pineapple in to the mix juice and all along with some washed and sliced strawberries
-Mix
-and wallah!....

Pour it in to a bundt cake pan or which ever you please.

Cook at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. Make sure to put it on the bottom rack of the oven. Take out when the top is golden and not jiggly in the middle when you touch it. Pull out and let cool!

** Im sure you can also add your own favorite fruit if you wanted.

This cake is pretty sweet. If your not a sweet person then substitute some of the pineapple juice for some water, equal amounts. FYI...if your adding other fruit then dont sub water for juice the other fruit will absorb the sweetness while cooking.


Then, of course I have to fatten it up a little and put whipped cream on it with some more sliced strawberries. Then go out on the porch with a slice and a yummy mimosa and read a magazine! Yay....I will post a picture of the cake in a bit!

Gotta go check up on my pork roast in the crock pot!

The Missing LBS's....

So after I had my last baby I had some weight to take off. I gained less with Oli than with Jack. With Jack I gained 32 lbs and only 22lbs was able to come off and with Oli I gained 25lbs and I still had that 10 lbs from Jack. So after I had Oli 22lbs came off very quickly thank goodness and so now Ive been trying hard to get the rest off. I had been walking with the kids at the park and lost an additional 15 lbs and then stopped and some came back. Eeek!

Let me tell you, if I really wanted to I know the way to lose weight and luckily its not too hard I just need to stick with it. I have been trying to lose weight again. I have some workout videos that I do they they work great and I have been doing them for the past two weeks and Im already seeing some improvements. I've lost some inches! Yay. But as you other moms know...after children your body shifts and is totally different. So the scale may say a happy number but your left looking in the mirror going "what the hell?".

As I said in previous posts I am an infomercial freak. And one of the work out video series I bought was when I was in the hospital after having Oliver. At night when the baby is awake all that is on is infomercials and of course they have to have weight loss ones with women who are 20-40 lbs heavier because they now have no baby in their belly. Is that really necessary? Well I was sucked in and its a 10 minute work out video by the guy that does the p90x or whatever that thing is called. Its pretty intense and you do see results! So Im going to keep that up and hopefully I see even more results!

7 Things No One Told You About Becoming A Mother

So, in a short 2 years of being a mom of 2 totally crazy but wonderful boys I stumbled upon a few things that no one really ever warned me about. Really? Come on, I thought us moms stuck together. Of course you always get, "cherish the moments, they grow so fast" and then the "get your sleep now", but never the REAL warnings. You would think that you would want to prepare your fellow moms but apparently not. Especially after learning a few things along the way, I understand why this warning is not wide spread. Except of course for me, I try to let my first time mommy friends in on some of whats to come, hey even 2nd or 3rd time mommy's because of course you can't possibly encounter all this drama after one child or can you?

1. You Are Required To Learn A New Language.
Yes, obviously parenting is not a class taught with cheater codes and your children do not come with interpreters (although that would make life way easier). So of course, you have to learn your babies cries and yes there are different cries for different emotions. You may not get it at first but after a few months they are quite distinctive. Of course the kid might not like this learning curve of a few months but, hey, what can you do. Then they hit 15 months and its a whole new language. But of course, you still have that one word that translates in all languages, NO. Although in this case you wish it didnt exist. You will catch on and the language does get easier to learn. You may get stares as to why you are not learning it fast enough but dont worry, they dont understand but still think you are the smartest and greatest.

2. You Start New Fashion Trends.
No one ever told me and I would have never believed that I would ever in a million years leave the house with drool stained clothing, better yet, barf stained clothing. Ok, ok Im not talking like you are sporting chunks or anything so maybe we will call it spit up. But babies spit up and its not nearly as disgusting as say 1 year old barf. So a little bit on your shirt or pants is not life threatening and lets face it being as tired as you are, Im sure your closet is not as full as say...a year ago and you sure arent going to add uneccesary laundry to the already overloaded pile. So, no a little spit up never hurt anyone, maybe you can accessorize it! Ok, Im kidding......

3. Unconditional Love.
Yes, yes, they did tell you this. But unless you already have children, no one can express how much love you have for your child until you hold him/her for the first time. I just had to throw that in there because absolutely no one can warn you about this emotional outbreak.

4. You Are Not Obligated To Always Like Your Child.
See above. You love them unconditionally, this does not mean you always have to like them. Lets face it, kids are terrors, they distroy your home, they try to do as they please and we are supposed to take it with a grain of salt? I dont think so. Your kids color on your $3000 interior paint job (thank goodness for washable markers), you are not smiling as your cleaning that wall, believe me. Or say, your child purposely throws a cup of water on your work papers. I also have had a colic
baby and its not all bubbles and butterflies after hour 5 of crying. So you are allowed to take a mommy time out and wonder "What did I get myself in to?". Then when your time out is over, you walk in to the room that your children are in and they flash you that stunning grin and you think to yourself "Thats why" and you also like them again. I'm not telling you to actually tell them you dont like them its just an inside thing not to feel bad when you want to send them to live with the other Monkeys at the Zoo. Yes, that thought has crossed my mind.

5. People Judge.
We already knew this, because people judge in general. But when you become a parent, you are judged even more and in an even more harsh way. Other parents like to pick at other parents parenting style and beliefs. I am one of those parents and Im sure you are or will be too. You cant help it, you try to do the best for your child and think others should too (this is based only your own opinion of whats best). I try hard not to judge, because I dont like it, but like I said I cant help it. I get judged because I dont and didnt let my kids watch television until the age of 2. People thought I was crazy, mean and that my kids were missing out on the great cartoons. Im sorry, from birth to age 4 is crucial in your childs development and they could do better than sit in front of the TV. Try art projects or playing outside or inside, building forts, this all aids in the development of their imagination and creativity. They have preschool and kindergarten to learn what people would argue that educational TV teaches them. I dont give my kids juice, soda or candy. Sorry, there I go again. This is a touchy subject but people should beware that this kind of judgement is everywhere and it can consume you, so please take this with a grain of salt and know that because others' way is not your way, doesnt make it wrong, just another option. Dont hate me, I swear Im a lover, not a fighter.

6. Some One Will Always Ask You If You Are Pregnant.
They will ask this right after youve had your baby and all hormonal and they would be so lucky not to get a fist imprint in their face. Come on, girls, teach your men some manners, father, son, brother, who ever, just teach them. And yes 9 out of 10 times it comes from men, there will be that one time that it comes from a women,and when it comes, well, it will be time to wipe the floor with her face because she should know better, but obviously not a mom (ok maybe thats a bit harsh). Everyone knows that you never comment a woman about her weight(unless its to say how skinny she looks), call her fat and/or ask if shes pregnant especially not when shes holding a 3 month old. Are people really that ignorant? I guess so. If it didnt happen with your first child, it will happen with some children after. If you are one of the lucky women whos body is like a freakin' rubber band and went back to being tight right after having a baby, well them you wont get this. For the NORMAL, women, punch that mans lights out and move on. You've just created life, be a little bloated for a few months and dont let fools get you down.

7. There Will Always Be Someone Better Than You
Its just apart of life. Yes you are doing your absolute best and that IS enough for your family. So dont stress out on the mom who lost all her baby weight that first month or that mom that always has nicely ironed clothes and clean children with healthy meals that are always home cooked or the mom who is always calm when her kids are acting a fool and has a spic and span house at all times. There are things that go on behind the scenes that we dont see. You dont know if they are in debt $50,000 because she hires maids and nannys so she can appear to have it all together because yes, she is really overwhelmed. So yes they seem better on the outside and thats ok, let them. God gave us the tools and abilities to do the best for our own individual families needs, not theirs. The sooner you come to peace with that tidbit of information and stop pushing yourself to the edge to be "perfect", the sooner you will be "perfect" for your kids.

This is just a little bit of what Ive learned along the way, there is more but then we could be here for days. Just remember that your best teacher is your mistakes, and we all make them. Don't stress out over the little stuff and remember that no matter what life goes on. Feel free to have a glass of wine in the midst of the crazy, wonderfulness of being a mom and laugh at all the drama that it entails and congratulate yourself on a job well done!

Books, Books and More Books

Well, the other day I started unpacking the office and putting things away. I started unpacking my bookcase and came across all my great books. I love reading, anything and everything, obviously it has to be interesting. I thought I would share some good reads with you all.

I love Jane Green and Meg Cabot as a writer. Meg Cabot has an interesting style in a few of of her books. They are written as though you are reading someones emails (thats always fun) so you feel that you are reading something your not supposed to.

A few of the really good books Ive read are as follows:

By Meg Cabot there are
She Went All The Way
The Boy Next Door
Every Boys Got One
Boy Meets Girl



By Jane Green
Jemima J
To Have And To Hold
Mr. Maybe

In Between Men by Mary Castillo was pretty good, a little steamier than the other ones but one of the ones I just couldnt put down.


Little White Lies by Gemma Townley


A book I found pretty amusing is The Great American Stay At Home Wives Conspiracy, of course it was written by a man. I must admit, I laughed. I read it a while back before I was a stay at home mom. Maybe I should re-read it and see if I see it differently.

There is so many more books, if you need some recommendations just ask. If you know of some good reads, I would love to know. I also want to buy Tori Spellings new Mommywood book, I hear its pretty funny.

Alright thats my story!

Just a Little Bit

I think its time, for you all to learn a little bit more about me. 20 random things that not many people know about me.

1. I can easily spend $200 on a pair of jeans but have a hard time paying $3.99 for cereal that is not on sale.

2. Im not obsessed with shoes, I wear flip flops and uggs, for the most part.

3. I can live off of wine, champagne, and chocolate cake.

4. I am obsessed with infomercials, dont leave me infront of the TV with a credit card (Oh wait I've memorized mine, thanks online shopping). I have everything those commercials can offer, really, I do.

5. I love baking but I hate out of the box baking, I feel its too much work to have to read while you bake. Im a mix and make your own recipe kind of girl.

6. I procrastinate, its the only way to get things done.

7. Im obsessed with not having things in my eyes, I feel every spec of dust that enters and it is banished in that second.

8. Although Im a clean freak, Im not a freak about my family keeping things clean, why, because I love to clean.

9. I am not from the South or anywhere near but I always say Y'all...who knows!

10. I get annoyed very easily, so easily that when we are out in public and my husband knows that someone just irritated me, he has to pull me away very quickly.

11. I am secretly a closeted interior decorator, I could decorate my house a million times over and never be done.

12. I love football and participate in fantasy football leagues and can make grown men cry with my shit talking. Just ask my brother inlaw...haha.

13. Im an avid reader, I love to read girly novels, I feel like Im there with them in the book. Its my getaway.

14. Im super crafty. I love to sew, scrapbook and make things. Ive made 20 different invitations for people, wedding invitations and engagement party invitations, announcements, birthday party invites and baby shower invites and my mom and husband think I should probably start my own company.

15. I cant stand people who are unoriginal. Its not that hard, if you cant be yourself around yourself and loved ones then you've got big problems.

16. Sometimes I speak with an english/irish/jamaican accent. I cant seem to master any which one, why not combine them!

17. I cant stand people who ignore strollers in public, after they ignore my stroller believe me, they will never ignore another. I do run people over!

18. I cant stand when girls say that they get along better with guys than girls. How is this? Boys break hearts, girls sew them back up with laughter and shopping! How can you prefer to befriend boys over girls. Whatever..I guess Im just a girls girl.

19. I hate bugs more than anything in life. I constantly spray and clean to avoid bugs. I am known to scream and run away from moths, beetles, and every other tiny flying bug.

20. I love to sing opera and apparently I always sing comedys because people are always laughing. Who knew so many people could interpret latin!

What a Day!

This has been a crazy, weird, just one of those up and down days.

Jack woke up at 4am wanting to watch cartoons....whats that about?! Thank goodness for the loft because I plopped him there and I fell back asleep on the couch except when he woke me up because he wanted a snack and milk and several refills. Then of course when the rest of the regular world wakes up he is a complete grump. It was the worst, I thought, not one of these days please! So he went back to sleep, woke up, got dressed and was brushing his teeth. Lets just add that I am totally anal about toilets, I hate them and I hate the kids to be anywhere near them, I clean them every other day because I just HATE TOILETS. Anyways, so Jack is brushing his teeth and hes done so I tell him to go put his tooth brush away in his bathroom, that little shit stuck his toothbrush in the toilet and continued brushing! Oh my gosh I just about had a heart attack. I knew its wasn't his fault and so I called Dave to calm me down because I was ready to jump out a window, he had to talk me down. He should probably take up a career in that because let me tell you he did a pretty good job. So Im getting ready and some how my beloved Chanel eye cream is missing, of course it is.

Then I cant find anything to wear and finally I am happy with my outfit and it turns out that I have my shirt on and its wrinkled. I try to tell myself that its just my eyes and I continue to do my hair trying to ignore it, but I cant. So I have an idea or should I say thought.....back in the day people used to iron their hair with clothing irons before flat irons were big and accessible, I wonder if a flat iron can iron my shirt (I was just too lazy to take it off and get the iron out). So my flat iron is still on and Im trying to take that one wrinkly out and Im almost there and what do you know?.....It turned my shirt black....that shit burnt my shirt, what are the freaking odds. There was the end of that.

Then at target, Oli thought he was in the Supermarket Sweep ( I loved that show by the way), and was using his lovely little arm to sweep all the stuff off the shelf, only to forget that a basket was supposed to catch those items.....oye veh.

A bit of good news, my furniture came back. The movers damaged some of my furniture and some of it I damaged but they took it all in to fix it, recondition it, I should say. It came back and was just about better than brand new! Yippee!

Conversation that led to the rest of the good day. I was talking with my mom about my Macys coupon and she joked that she should come this weekend to use it with me. Of course Im trying to make it happen and so I call my daddy and tell him and he tell me...

DAD: "You want us to go all they over there to use a coupon?"

Trish: "No"....ummm Im shocked that he didnt succumb to his little girl and so I lie..."uuuhhh Oli started walking and you have to come see!"

Dad: "I cant believe you want me to go there for a coup....oh Oli started walking, really?" "Well your moms car is still in the shop and we still have the loaner so maybe we will go."

Im thinking, wow that was easy. When should I tell him that Ol is still as lazy as ever and doesnt want to crawl much less walk. He possesses the ability to do so, but would rather not. Although, I do think he will walk in the next few weeks, I wonder if I worked with him for 24 hours straight if I can get him to walk by Saturday. But I love sleep too much so maybe Ill just tell him I lied. Hmmm....

Then I call my mom and tell her the great news that she can come shopping with me and she tells me...

Mom: "It was supposed to be a surprise, he wasnt supposed to tell you!"
Trish: "Huh?"
Mom: "Oh shit, I just told you."
Trish: "Yay!"
Mom: "Dont tell your Dad."

So my weekend is going to be pretty fun! That was my day that started a little shaky and then just got better and better!

Thats my story!

Males and their...ahem....stuff

Some one please tell me why, men/boys are obsessed with their male parts? I dont get it.

I have 3 boys living in my house and all of them are constantly touching themselves. Ok so I dont need to go in to the grown man part because if your married to a man you know the deal. Jack is 2 years old and everytime his diaper comes off his hand is straight to his junk, kind of like a magnet. I dont know, in the bath and sometimes he tries to get a little over the diaper action. Puzzles me the extent to this obsession.

Ok so the main reason for this post is Oliver. Hes there too, sticking his hand down there during diaper changes even if it means getting poo all over his fingers, yes very gross. So the other night, Oli was so so so tired and he fell asleep while we were at the store, it was 8pm, his bed time so of course he was ready to go. Anyways, if Ol makes it to the car then back out and is still sleeping, he is out, no ifs and or buts about it. So I have to change his diaper and put his jammies on. Hes lying on his changing table, still out and the diaper comes off and what do you know, his hand goes straight to his peepee. WTH? Hes still sleeping and doing this.....so Im thinking, is there something programmed in their brain that tells their hands to go there or are there really magnets on their fingers and in their boy parts? I dont know, it would sure explain alot. All I know is Im not looking forward to their teenage years....

And What Do You Do?

To me, housewife is as appealing a title as septic tank cleaner. Mention either at a cocktail party and suddenly no one wants to stand near you. House wife might satisfy the IRS because it explains in one word your negative cash flow. But it doesn't describe what I do every day, seven days a week with no sick days, holidays and at times no bathroom breaks.

I could call myself a domestic engineer, like my sister-inlaw did. But if i knew anything about engineering, I'd be able to open and close the playpen without stifling more four-letter words than you hear in an episode of "The Sopranos".

Domestic engineer is far too supercilious a title. Mention it at your husbands office holiday party and people might ask where you got your degree. After a few eggnogs, you might reply, Episiotomy U or Postpartum State. The nex day at your "office", your responses won't seem as clever, except to your mother, who holds masters degrees from those institutions.

Stay at home mom sounds benign enough until you've spent three straight rainy days trapped inside with a two year old who thinks Nancy Reagan coined "Just Say No" for him, and a 10 month old who chews on shoes--including the pair you're wearing. Then you'd realize that stay at home mom is an oxymoron.

A stay at home mom stay home only when Dad drags the kids to the Home Depot (thank god) or when the governor declares a state of emergency. Otherwise, shes at a Moms and Tots meeting, the spermarket or the mall dropping quarter after quarter in to the Batmobile ride.

Full time mom is another misnomer, because is implies that working mothers are part time mothers, and thats just not true. Anyone whose Day-Timer reads "Marketing report due," "Pediatrician appointment" and "make eightteen cupcakes for preschool party" on the same page is not only working full time at motherhood, shes working overtime.

Beside "full time" does even begin to cover how much time I spend at my job. Must full time workers put in forty to fifty hours a week. I put that in by Wednesday. In my job, Im on call around the clock. Add family vacations, where I bring my work with me on very, very long car ride, and full time becomes all the time. Homemaker is a quaint title, but inappropriate, I havent made any homes, though Ive seen enough Handy Many (thanks to my sons) that I probably could build a decent cabin -- or at least a nice shed where I could hide. But really, Im not making a house so much as I'm trying to keep my sons from tearing ours down.

In some ways, homemaker sounds worse than housewife. To me, a homemaker does all the same things a sa housewife, but with a warm smile and a meatloaf she whipped up between craft projects and Christmas Carols. She certainly doesn't have a toddler throwing a tantrum on the kitchen floor because she won't let him have animal crackers for dinner. A homemaker: By five o'clock, I'm too exhausted to make dinner, let alone a home.

I wish I could think of a better title for the toughest job I've ever had. But no matter what I come up with, my accountant will likely just put housewife on my tax returns anyway. And the Social Security Administration will keep sending me reports with zeros on it. Perhaps that just how society values what I do.

But the next time someone asks, "and what do you do?" Ill just say that I do what my mother did and her mother did. I'll say it's such a hard job, my husband wouldnt want to do it and my father wouldnt know how. I'll say my kids are very proud of what I do. And they should know, because they come to work with me every day. And then Ill go chat with the spetic tank cleaner.



Jennifer Singer

Almost done?....Kind of not...

So this weekend, we dedicated to trying to work on finish packing. Unfortunately, with children, things dont always go according to plan. Jack, still sick, really wanted mommy and daddy and wanted to lay in our arms. So sweet, so of course we had in indulge him. Dave was still feeling a little under the weather so he kind of just hung out too.

Me and Oli got dressed and went to Target and did a little shopping, by the time we came home every one was feeling a little better. So then we all got up and went to Lowes and bought some ceiling fans and outside lights and stuff like that. Then we heading over to Toys R Us to look at swing sets and outside play stuff for the kids. After that the kids were exhausted and we came home and put the kids to bed. Then we started on the dreaded office. This room and boxed stacked high, you couldnt even get in there do a jumping jack, not sure why youd want to but if you did you couldnt. Dave was weak and tired but I pushed forward and we were both glad I did. There is probably like 2 boxes left in there! Yay!...Now I have to go buy a rug and a futon for that room, its going to double as a 2nd guest room.

Sunday we woke up and got right to work. We finished Jacks room, just put together toy boxes and put all the toys away, thats all that needed to be done. Then dave put together the TV stand he bought for the loft. Once again, the kids wanted some attention so we lost a few hours, they also refused to nap all day. So anyways, back to work, hanging pictures, cleaning the kitchen and the floors, dave mowing the lawns, hanging lights, then we put the kids to bed and got started on our room! We had like 6 boxes in our room and most are my clothes. OMG, lets just say Im in no need for clothes if they would fit, they are before kids clothes. I told dave that for the next year not to let me buy any jeans because I found tons! All I need to do is lose a few more lbs. I found 3 pairs of new adorable Joes jeans, 2 pairs of Citizens, one of which I had to clue I had, a pair of Dolce & Gabbanas, and 2 pairs of Bebe jeans, these are all fairly new, barely worn. This isnt to include my newest jeans 2 pairs of William Rast, Citizens, Paige Premium Denim.....yes I think I am crazy! Anyways, it was like a treasure chest of lovely clothing! Anyways, we got a lot done! Still so much to do!

**On another note, Im so excited for next weekend! Last month at Macys, they had this offer that if you donated $5 to their charity they would give you a 25% off purchase coupon for the whole day of April 25th and that includes Impulse!!!! So Dave said I could take my next hockey check and go shopping! I need to...not jeans, just summer tops, dresses and shorts...so yay me!

Ok thats my story, a bunch of nothing!

No More No More....

Ya I know, today I kind of posted a lot of blogs, I think. I dont remember much about today. Whatever, I had an in pain 2 year old who just wanted to sleep on me all darn day and a lazy 10 month old who was content doing the same. That left me with 2 kids draped over me and a laptop at my side, what else was I to do? Yes I did type everything one handed or should I say one finger style.

Anyways, Dave is sickie poo too and when he got home from work him and Jack went to sleep and I was left with the crazy Ol (pronounced All for Oliver, ok lets not get in to that now). I had to clean my floors, which I do everyday, vacuum up the big stuff first and then sweep all the dust and dirt and then mop (eww I hate mops I just mean clean with a wet rag and floor cleaner). Ok on with the story, my mom may have bought Oliver the best thing ever his walker. We have all this room downstairs and its all wood so he pretty much can go till his little hearts desires. Anyways, every day I do my floor cleaning routine and hes always right behind me! I have the music turned on and we jam! Its hilarious, I dont care that he runs over my dirt piles or that he gets tangled in the cords or he walks on my clean slightly wet floors, he is just a riot. We dance a little, sing a little and have way too much fun for a tired mom who is cleaning 1300 sqft of wood floors.

So while we were doing our thing I decided to take some pictures of the little rascal!

Hes chasing me around! Hes too much fun....and yes he is eating and chasing, so while Im cleaning hes dirtying! I love it!

This Says It Oh So Well.......

***Click on the picture for a bigger version.

Your Fired.....Do I Really Have To...

So I am not looking forward to 10am this morning. Im pretty much going to fire our contractors. They came highly recommended and either the contractors totally did a 180 and are lazy bums or the people that recommended them have totally different standards than me, I dont know.

They come in at 10am and leave by 3pm so its obvious they arent going to get much work done in between those times, especially taking smoke breaks every 5 minutes. Dont get me wrong, their work isnt horrible, its decent but not to my standards and although I got a good deal Im still paying them and they should do things right, right? Since moving in, I've noticed things and have made them come and fix them and touch up paint and all that good stuff. Something that should have taken 2 days max has been dragged out to a week! They are supposed to paint the outside of our house too. Forget that mess! I want my house back, they bring in dirt, clog my toilets....I dont think so. Dave was going to do the dreaded deed but he had to go in to work this morning early because he has to train employees on a new system and so Im stuck with the job! That little bastard. Anyways, I was planning on lounging around all day today and unpacking some more but guess what, I cant! I will have unwanted company soon!

A Little Too Excited!

So for the past week my precious Oliver has had a stomach virus. He was only throwing up 1 out of those long 6 days. The rest of the days my Oli was poo'ing really bad, the leaky, come out of our diaper, change your clothes, give you another bath poo. TMI? Get over it. Anyways, so this got to the point that I was constantly smelling for poo to try and catch it before it leaked, impossible with the exception of a few miraculous times! I was straight out of clothes for him, he was dirtying them faster than I could wash. Two days ago he had only 3 big blow outs and 2 of which I did catch on time. Yesterday morning was the greatest day of the week. I smelt some poo, rolled my eyes and was ready to take him upstairs for another bath. I pick him up and nothing is leaking, so I go to change his diaper and OH MY GOODNESS...its regular little nuggets! I dont think I have ever been so happy about poo before! I called Dave and was telling him that I was so excited to see this that I could take a picture! Of course he proceeded to tell me "Babe your a mess". Later that morning, my 2 year old had his first blow out of the season. Here we go again.

Newness

So Im working on updating my blog (look), so sorry if it starts to get a little crazy!!!

Some Funny Food For Thought

It is bad enough knowing that our tax money is propping up banks. What is worse is seeing our tax money spent on bank TV commercials and websites telling us to come to the bank for advice on how to save and plan for the future.

What the hell do banks know about that?

The timing of these TV spots is incredibly bad. These days, many of us check the news daily to see if Citibank is broke and going out of business, if Bank of America is actually lending the TARP money we gave them, if Wells Fargo has bitten off more than it could chew by buying subprime monster Wachovia.

If US banks knew anything about planning for the future, we wouldn’t even be in the mess we’re in today. Based on what we have seen the last couple of years, a bank is the last place I would go for advice on saving, planning, or investing.

The following comedy material comes from the banks’ and insurance companies’ actual current websites after the recent debacles. (The websites pretty much reflect the content of the current related TV commercials.) Please finish whatever you’re drinking now as we take a look at some bank and insurance company websites and their hilarious attempts to serve as a clearinghouse for your financial advice needs. (Wouldn’t want you to snort milk or any carbonated beverages out of your nose.)

· “Knowledge is the key to any investment.” – Citibank (Pause for loud laugh here.)

· “Creating a budget can be done easily with pencil and paper, spreadsheets, or financial planning software. Look at your monthly income first, or how much money you receive each month.” – Bank of America (Good advice…did they follow it themselves?)

· On having a good credit rating: “Your score is negatively affected if you have paid bills late, had an account sent to collection, or declared bankruptcy. The more recent the problem, the lower your score -- a 30-day late payment today hurts more than a bankruptcy five years ago.” – Washington Mutual (Wonder what their FICO score is!)

· “AIG Retirement Services offers a wide variety of retirement products including mutual funds, combination, fixed, and variable annuities to meet your needs.” – AIG (Does anyone believe that AIG will even be there by the time we retire so they can “meet our needs”?)

· “Making suitable investment decisions can be tricky. “ – Wachovia (Just ask Wachovia's new owner, Wells Fargo!)

· On managing credit: “Can you reduce your payments and consolidate outstanding debt at the same time?” – Citibank (Question: can they?)

· On tax planning: “Sometimes a little knowledge makes a lot of difference in your return.” – Citibank (Stop it! You’re killing me!)

Is anyone stupid enough to consider these incompetents as experts at anything but begging for government money? Will anyone of this generation ever believe banks or insurance companies again? Will you? Thats my story.

The Big Move

So Friday I kinda started, the house was finishing getting cleaned, which by the way, the girl that cleaned it took much too long to do nothing but pretty much vacuum. Needless to say I didnt pay her the $150 she wanted. I ended up sending her home before she was on her 6th hour! Really? She did absolutely nothing! Oh and who cleans wood banisters with windex? Whatever! So I took over and started going over EVERYTHING, Im a huge clean freak by the way. So luckily I had a babysitter with the kids. So Im cleaning the shutters and my phone falls in the sink! Somehow after 3 days it started working, yay for me!

Anyways, Im there forever and then start trying to unpack some boxes. The movers brought our stuff from storage that morning so we had lots to unpack. Got very little done that night. Saturday morning my mom and dad came and we started moving the townhouse, my dad and dave hustled on that and moved all the furniture that day. One of the suckie things about buying really good furniture is that it is way too heavy to move up and down stairs. If youve seen my dad, he is pretty strong and buff, and it was definitely a challenge for them. Anyways, me and my mom stayed and was unpacking the kitchen and livingroom.

We also had deliveries come in that day too, our couches for the family room, our bed and mattress, we bought a comfy latex mattress, size king! Anyways, Sunday was more of the same. The upstairs with all the clothes is still not done, at least not my room. The boys room is finished except for some wall hangings and little things, just the master and the loft is far from done. Last night I finished up the kitchen just about and the family rooms need some wall hangings and the living room needs a little bit more work. Over all, moving in to a 3000 sq ft home is way hard, cleaning it is pretty hard too!

The contractors are still working inside for some reason, finishing up the trim on the floors. Thats a whole other story that I really dont want to get in to. Errrr. Everything is great and we are living in our big beautiful home! I will try and post pictures soon!

Potty Training!

Ok, I need help with this whole potty training phase. Maybe Im trying too soon, I dont know. I introduced the potty to Jack at about 18 months. We never and still have never forced him to go on it. He knows what its for and what to do and what goes in it, he is just too darn stubborn. He is definitely his fathers son, no doubt. He roams with out a diaper and will just whine when he pees. He knows to go in the toilet but just doesnt. Hes always been content with dirty diapers. He has never complained about having wet diapers or poopy diapers. I would always have to check him to make sure he was dry and clean, other wise he could go all day, even leak and not complain! So now I even go as far as to dumping his poopy diapers in the toilet to show him how it goes and nothing. When Im changing his diapers pee or poo I always ask him " Next time can we try putting your peepee in the toilet?" He says, "no mom". Then I say, "When are you going to poop in the toilet like a big boy?" He says "never". Oh lordy....I can imagine changing a 6 years old diaper...NOT!!! Well Im still going to try, maybe Ill bribe him with his favorite, The Park! We shall see, wish me luck!

My Boys

Well, as you know I have 2 of the most handsome boys on this earth, really! Jack is just so darn handsome, he already has that mature look to him and is super smart. Jack is 2 years old and growing by the day. His vocabulary is outrageously huge and is expanding by the day, pretty amazing to witness. He is the cutest kid and always has been. People stop, stare and comment where ever we go, just gawking at how cute he is, it got to the point that I would cover the stroller when he was a baby so I could shop in peace! Jack was born with an eye condition and when he was 6 months old they said he could be blind by the time he was one. We went from doctor to doctor to find one we liked and we found one at the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, he is pretty amazing. They also said while his vision was fading he would need glasses to help him see. Well, Jack is 2 years old, far from blind and has no need for glasses! He is absolutely perfect. His eyes started developing where they normally dont, with his condition and he did a complete 180! Thats not to say we are out of the woods, he gets checked twice a year and each time is better and better news. The only thing is that his eyes are super sensitive to the sunlight and NEEDS to wear sunglasses outside during the day, but with the ozone layer the way it is, all children should be wearing sunglasses anyways. We are trying to get Oli to wear them too, but he is not having it!



Then there is my lovely pretty Oliver. He is just the prettiest baby you've ever seen. Seriously pretty. He has the biggest most beautiful eyes that just reach out and grab people. You would never believe it until he gets you. There has been people that chase us down to get a really good look at how pretty he is and to play with him. He has this look that he gives people that is kind of like a come play with me. Its too unbelievable because I couldnt see me acting that way with a baby that is just passing by. This one lady seriously tugged on my shirt so I could turn back around with him! Anyways, Oli is my high maintenance child. He had colic and even after the colic he didnt stop crying. Me and the doctors tried it all, reflux, allergies to milk and all. I breastfed him, and at 7 months they told me to stop, which I kept doing at night because the formula didnt help. He was always crying in the car, at the store and everywhere. He didnt sleep during the night, where Jack slept great at 2 months old. Its was extremely hard, then my Grandma stepped in. She told me to put him on regular milk, ya right I thought. She said, whats the worse that could happen, he cry? So I thought it was worth a try. Wow, what a difference...totally different baby. I dont know what it was but it worked. I read up on it too and everything said it was wrong and bad for the baby and signs to look for. So I just made sure his poo was normal and he wasnt losing weight. He also hated babyfood by the way. The doctor said he would probably be the baby that went from formula to table food and that was correct. He is 10 months and eats corn dogs, mac n cheese, spagetti, hamburgers, everything! It was a hard 8 months but he's come around and is doing great. He now has 6 teeth....and looks adorable!

Upcoming!

Yay, so right now our family is bombarded with too much things to do. I swear people who are this busy in life have maids and nannies and stuff. Not us! I guess its ok because hockey season is over in July so we have nothing to do but be with eachother until November! Anyways, with the move and a busy hockey schedule we have had no time for much. Yes we get in our weekly family nights out and stuff but thats about it. Me and Dave want to take ballroom dance lessons. Its funny but there is something to be said about a man that knows his way around a dance floor! Daves excited but itimidated. Im the dancer of the family, I have been dancing for about 15 years! Ever since I was four up until college. Me and my friend that I went to school with in LA we would alway go to the Core in SM. We even auditioned for a Janet Jackson video too! Of course for fun, just to challenge ourselves and we made it to the final call backs only! We were surprised we made it that far. So when I got married and even a little before I was doing Jazzercize, lots of fun, but nothing like a dance class! They wanted me to teach, but Im not a teacher Im just a learner! Anyways, so Ive never done ballroom and so it should be fun! Dave's sister is getting married in October and so we will show our moves on the dance floor!

Bummer!

Yesterday, of all things, my flat iron went out! Boo! Its about 4 years old and its a Chi so I guess it lasted pretty long. Whatever...I havent had the time to go get another one so Im sportin' an afro! haha. Im busy getting ready for the tournament this weekend and of all the things I should be doing, blogging isnt one of them. Although I think this blog thing is pretty good for me because if you havent noticed, Im a big talker! Not that I write anything profound or anything, but you know, I guess if you like this kind of stuff its cool. Anyways, hopefully we should start moving in to the house next week! Yay!

Anniversary

Today is our 3rd Wedding Anniversary! And 7 years together. Its crazy to think we've been together for that long! Our wedding was a freakin' blast, people are still talking about it! Not just on our Anniversary! Fun times! We have come a long way from 2 people 11 1/2 years apart living in Orange CA to buying our first home when I was 19! Now on to our second home. Luckily we are able to rent our CA home out! We are very lucky people! We didnt do anything today but work and exchange presents. We are too busy right now, we took a raincheck! Dave bought me this beautiful necklace from Tiffany's that I've wanted for a while and forgot about it! This is our leather anniversary so I bought dave some leather Sandals and a really nice Diesel watch...stuck to the tradition!ha, Im silly. Anyways, when we get some more time we will celebrate, even if we dont celebrate it will be ok because we have our new beautiful home! With parties coming up!