Check this out . . .

The Bra*Kette.



From these people: www.coco-designs.com


I've been wearing the Bra*Kette for a couple of months now (while running of course) and I think it is incredible. Not only does the bra have a pocket (Brakette. . . get it???) but it is the most comfortable sports bra I have ever used. Here is a little TMI: Before pregnancy I was a perky B cup, after pregnancy and nursing for ten months I am a not-so-perky D cup. This body change made it hard for me to work out, I didn't feel like myself when I would run. The Brakette really holds the girls in place, there is no bouncing or anything. The bra is made out of really good moisture resistant material which keeps your skin fresh.

Love, Love, LOVE IT.

My Day

Here is a vague glimpse of a day in the life of Ella and Danny.

7:04-My wake up call gets me up late for the second day in a row (usually my son is up at 6am on the dot).
7:10-Waffle is in the toaster, I peel a banana for a very impatient 14 month old.
7:45- Diaper time.
7:55- Water the plants on our little deck before we turn on the TV just in time to watch Curious George.
8:00- Watch CG and chase Daddy around as he gets ready for work.
9:00- We say goodbye to Daddy. My son cries and tries to go with him (am I really that bad).
9:30- The little one wont hold out for Sesame Street. . . Nap time.
9:35- I check my email and do a little facebook-ing.
10:00- Laundry and cleaning up the house a little.
10:45- Danny wakes up. Short nap.
10:46- Diaper time.
10:51-Snack time which turns into me holding Danny captive in the highchair while I get a lunch packed to take to the pool.
11:13- Leave for the pool (my Grandma's house).
11:35- Visiting with Pop-Pop (my dad) and Uncle Joe (my brother) poolside.
Noon- Danny eats his lunch outside. Rather, Danny throws his lunch on the deck and Uncle Joe gives him a cookie.
12:45- Danny goes swimming while I get ready to bare it all in a bikini.
1:00- Swimming pool fun for Danny, Uncle Joe and I for the next hour and a half.
2:30- I sunbathe while Danny plays like a good boy on the deck.
2:32- I catch Danny trying to run back to the pool. Time to pack up.
3:00- Danny falls asleep on the way home.
4:30- Danny wakes up, we play.
6:10- Dinner is ten minutes late which pisses Danny off. He is in and out of the kitchen every 3 minutes to check if I've taken anything out of the oven.
6:14- Danny is in the highchair enjoying lasagna, broccoli and a cresent roll.
7:10- Bath time.
7:40- I tell Danny he can get one thing off the bookshelf for me to read. He slyly gets the box of alphabet books. "I'll show you mom, I got one thing that contains 26 books." I read all 26 alphabet books.
7:56- Daddy walks in just in time to say goodnight to Danny who is in his crib by 8.

I spend the rest of my evening catching up with an old friend on the phone and then hanging out with my husband.

We couldn't have had a more perfect day. It may seem boring to some, but this is the life I dream of. I am so blessed to be a stay at home mom all summer.

Quote of the Week

Yes, it is only Tuesday and I've already decided that nothing can beat this one.

"Danny looks really cute, his outfit isn't very masculine though."

Oh crap! I hope my son doesn't become gay because he wore a not-so-masculine outfit!!!

I wouldn't mind a good shopping partner though :):)

Terrible Mother??

Moms,

Do you ever feel like the most terrible mother that has ever walked the earth? Maybe that is a little extreme, I do actually know that I am not a terrible mother, but some days (or weeks if you're me) I just feel like I can't do anything right.
If I can recap some of the joyous things that happened in the past week. My son fell getting out of the pool-big scratch on his forehead; my son got stuck in his crib-bruise on his leg; my son scratched his face in his sleep because I forgot to trim his nails; my son got a big bump on his head because he was so slippery when drying off after a pool trip that I dropped him.
I don't know how this kid is going to survive growing up with me as a mother.
Or maybe I don't know how I am going to survive mothering such a rambunctious little boy.

Hi, my name is Ella. Sometimes I suck at being a mother. But I do love my son with all my heart and I always do the best I can. Some days are difficult, I'm not perfect nor do I try to be. I just wish we'd stop having accidents!

Booster Seat

For my brother-in-law's wedding I decided I needed to bring a booster seat for Danny to use during the reception (I posted previously that he didn't make it to the reception), so I didn't get to try it out. I wanted a very basic seat that can be easily taken from place to place (vacation/restaurant/Grandma's house). I did a little research and found the Prince Lionheart Cushiony Booster Seat to be everything I was looking for. It is made of a soft-ish material, it is light, easy to clean off and it has grippers on the bottom so I don't have to worry about it slipping. It is very similar to the Cooshee Booster that my nephew used when he was around Danny's age. To be honest I only chose the Prince Lionheart seat because it came in green and I have a slight OCD need to color code my children, but that is beside the point.

The other evening my husband was away doing a police ride along I decided to make a special dinner for just Danny and I and try out the booster seat. The seat works great, it is comfortable for Danny (as best as I can tell) and it doesn't move around. I think my son did better with just me at the dinner table then he would have had my husband been there (he knows he can't get away with misbehaving when it is just me, I guess you could say my husband is the good cop). I'm not 100% ready to stop using the highchair, sometimes I need to have my little one buckled in where he can't get out and run around like a mad man, but it is nice to know that we are on our way to taking that step and it is nice to know that I don't have to take the huge highchair on our vacation next month!

Here are links to both boosters. I have used them both and like them both. If I had to recommend only one I would probably recommend the Prince Lionheart because it has separate gripper feet on the bottom, where the Cooshee does not, it relies on the material that the seat is made of to keep from slipping.

Prince Lionheart: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=lionheart+booster+seat&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=3721376916908411773&sa=X&ei=E-gATsXHDafy0gH8tqiLDg&ved=0CFQQ8wIwAQ

Cooshee: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2908480&prodFindSrc=rv

Happy Boostering!

SUMMER TIME!

Remember when you were a kid and you dreamed about summer vacation? You couldn't wait to hang out, relax and have zero responsibility. Those were the days when you could stay in your jammies until noon, go to the pool every day, play outside, go to the mall, spend a week at the beach. Those were the days.

Well. . . I may not be a kid anymore but I am in the middle of my summer vacation and I feel just like a kid again. Thursday evening I finished my first summer course (online. . . love online courses) and my month long summer break began. I have never truly appreciated a break like this before. Last summer was my first time not working or in school but having just moved across country and taking care of a newborn I didn't really get to enjoy the season. I went back to school last August and didn't get a single break from school because I am taking winter/summer school in order to graduate when I want.

I am making sure to take full advantage of my summer vacay! Danny and I have been to the pool every day since I turned in my final assignment for the last course I was in. We have gone to the mall, gone on runs every day. We are having a great time. I feel incredibly blessed to have this time to spend with just my son, I don't have to take him to the sitter, I'm not stressed about writing papers or doing extra readings, I'm not up all night taking care of any of those things. Once my son is in bed for the night my husband and I actually get to spend some quality time together.

Just stopping to smell the roses :)

I am NOT pregnant

. . . Nor am I trying to be, but this is a great site for anyone who WANTS to be pregnant.

http://www.firstresponse.com/index.asp

Not only does first response have tons of info on all of their products, but they have a ton of resources for family planning, ovulation calculating and tons of Q&A's.

The site is great if you want to get pregnant, and even has some good information in the family planning section if you DON'T want to get pregnant. The ovulation tracker is great for anyone who is doing natural family planning, it is so easy to use.

Happy baby making

*Or not :)

Recovering

I am still recovering from my very busy weekend.

Thursday I had a million things to do, one of them being helping my brother-in-law take all the centerpieces for his wedding reception to the caterer. Wedding planning is so stressful and someone is always screwing something. . . I am so glad I never have to do it again. Friday was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner which my little ring bearer was a little angel for. Saturday morning I had to get my hair done, take my son to his My Gym class, get myself ready for the wedding, get my ring bearer ready for the wedding, make sure my hubby/groomsman ready for the wedding. It was a long morning. The wedding was beautiful and I am thrilled to have a new sister-in-law, Haley and her beautiful daughter Alexis as my niece. Danny did not last very long after the ceremony, my sister had to pick him up before the reception because he was so hot and cranky (outdoor wedding, 90 degree weather).


The next day I had been tasked with getting my sister-in-law out of the house so my brother could get things ready for her surprise birthday part. I had some much needed girl time with my wonderful sister-in-law, but once we got back to her house and the party began Danny turned into a little terror and we had to go home.

To start my week I had a cranky boy all day Monday. . . he does not like being so busy! As soon as he got to sleep I had to work on an exam for my summer course at UMD.

I am exhausted!

In-Laws

While shopping at one of my favorite stores this week (Target) I overheard two girls having a conversation about their in-laws. The conversation sounded like it had the usual complaints about in-laws that everyone has heard but one thing struck me as odd when I heard one of the ladies say "I hate in-laws." Well. . . If you have in-laws then you are an in-law right????

Here are my thoughts:

Having in-laws and being an in-law is not always an easy. Before getting all bent out of shape about your in-law situation think about it. It isn't easy for anyone to be thrown into another family, or for a family to have some stranger thrown into their family unit. Just because their son or daughter loves you doesn't always mean it is easy for that family to love you-this goes both ways.

I have four sisters-in-law and three brothers-in-law on top of the parents and grandparents-in-law. I always try to keep certain things in mind whenever conflict or hurt feelings arise. One of the most important things is to be fair and consistent. For instance, if I am upset with something my husbands sister does I stop and think if I would be upset if my brothers wife did the same thing. Before getting upset with anyone I try to really think about what is going on and decide whether I am really upset about what happened, or if I am upset about who did it. That is key. If you've ever had conflict with any family member you know that you can get stuck in a feeling of always being ready to be angry. You might justify this as just being prepared and anticipate the bad stuff, but you are probably just making your life harder. My advice (and I know I don't always take it) is to take each family gathering, occasion, fight, issue or whatever as a separate event. If you have a problem, talk about it, resolve it and move on. And remember, you are in it for life with these people, so make the most of it!

On the other hand. . . You can't let people break down your family boundaries, but that is a whole other post :)

Questions. . .

As a woman, even more so as a mother I find myself always asking myself a lot of questions. All day, everyday I am wondering something. I go through the day thinking thoughts like this:

(While feeding my son lunch) Why must he always throw his plate on the floor?
(While cleaning off my deck) Why do I always kill flowers?
(During naptime) Why can I never get everything done?
(While trying to clean up after my husband for the zillionth time) Why did I marry an asshole?

Once the day has calmed down and I don't feel so overwhelmed I start to find the answers to my questions.
Because he is still a BABY.
Because you water too much.
Because you spend too much time on facebook.
You didn't, he isn't perfect but neither are you.

I know that there will always be questions and there will always be answers. I may not always get the answers that I want, but they will always be there. As a wife and a mother I have very high expectations of myself. Multiply that with my type a student personality that is never satisfied with my work leads me to feel overwhelmed a lot. I am a work in progress. Sometimes it is hard to work on a project that you know will never be finished. Each of us are just like that, lifelong projects that need constant work and improvement. Right now I am trying to work on NOT becoming overwhelmed as often as I have been. I need to take my life one day at a time, even one hour at a time on some days.

Someone said to me several weeks ago (although obvious and could have gone unsaid) the person said "nobody is perfect." Well duh. I don't want to be perfect in reality, I just want to take care of all of my responsibilities, including husband, child, student, family and friends and do it well.

Sometimes it just helps to take a step back, look at yourself and think about what you can do to make yourself better.

THANK BOB!!

Okay. So after all of my stroller drama. . . I am on my fourth jogging stroller, I have finally found the PERFECT jogging stroller for my needs. After two Chicco strollers and one Schwinn (what was I thinking?) I took the plunge and bought the Bob Revolution SE stroller. I couldn't be happier. This stroller is so easy to maneuver, it is light and it looks so cool! The break doesn't fall down when I run and it really absorbs impact which I am sure my little one appreciates.

The best part about this stroller is that I am running again. I feel so good and am so happy knowing that my body is getting back into shape. I am exhausted, but I've been exhausted for about a year and a half so I am used to it.

Happy Jogging!!

Just in case you want to know where to get a BOB. . . http://www.bobgear.com/revolutionSE

Hi. . . Remember me?

May 13th?? Seriously. . . Where have I been? I must have taken advantage of not having to be attached to my computer every night with my short break from school. I have had a busy couple of weeks and an even busier month of June ahead. I have already attended two graduations and three family cookouts in the last two weeks. Coming up I have a bachelorette party, a wedding and another bachelorette party all in consecutive weekends. Also, an exam for one of the THREE summer courses I am taking each weekend of the previously mentioned events. EEEEK.I can't promise that my little boy will stick to his schedule and go to bed on time during this busy time, but I can promise he'll be fed and dressed. So much for being a perfect mother right?

On a happy note I have my first tan in two years! I was too busy breastfeeding and taking care of my newborn all last summer that I didn't spend anytime in the sun. I feel like a new woman with a little color on my body. . . It really is the little things.