Isla at 14 months

Baby boo, you are 14 months old! We can hardly believe it. You grow and change a little each day. You are full of personality and very stubborn. You shake your head when you don't want something and you make the most annoying sound when you do want something. You demand to hold the phone when we Facetime with Mimi and then you hold it to your ear and say "aaaaoooo" (hello). It breaks our heart when you aren't ready to leave your friends at the gym's Kids Club and arch your back and buck out of our arms. Your stubbornness is forgiven the moment you give us a hug. You give the BEST hugs. You wrap your little arms around us and then open and close your fists - so cute! When you feel you aren't close enough, you start climbing up like a little monkey, and mommy loves monkeys!

Favorite Foods: Strawberry Pop Tarts, Mandarin Oranges, Meatballs, and Lasagna. You also still love dog food. You fill up your little cheeks with fistfuls of the stuff every time I turn my back. Gross, Isla, just gross. Here’s a pick of you enjoying your first ham croquette, you little Cuban you.

New Tricks: Wave bye bye on command…FINALLY!  You have also learned how to take off your clothes during nap and bed times. One morning, daddy and I heard you on the monitor and I took a quick peek to ensure you were up and did a double take…WTF?! Is she jumping up and down in her crib BUTT NAKED? Yes, yes you were. You crack us up daily. Here’s a couple pics of the time you decided to undress, but keep on your diaper J

Walking - You can climb on the coffee table like a boss, climb into your toy box like a ninja, and worm your way into the laundry basket under the clothes, BUT YOU WILL NOT WALK. You have no interest. Daddy tries to ‘practice with you,’ but really he just pulls on your little arms while your legs dangle limply in the air. No rush, baby girl, no rush J

Teeth – You started cutting a molar (maybe two) and you have an almost constant low fever and bad attitude… After much debate, we decided to keep you.

Loves – You love your Gertie! Every time we call her name you squeal with delight! You’re still the only one she routinely kisses and you share every snack with her. Her faves? Your cheerios, pancake bites, and chicken bites.

You also love your Boppy. You lay in it like a recliner and watch The Today Show. If a song comes on, you sit up and dance! Shake it mama!

Bath time is still your favorite time of the day. Daddy handles most of your baths and he plays Pandora Hip Hop Hits for you. You sing and dance happily until it is time to get out and get dressed. You lose your shit the moment he lays you down to dress you. Our secret to calm you down is to brush your teeth. You absolutely love to have your teeth brushed. I don’t know if it is the flavored tooth paste or if it is the pure joy you get from inflicting great pain on my finger by biting down as hard as you can. You have a little evil in you…we all do. 

Swimming – You love the water more and more with each trip to the pool. Your favorite pool activity is climbing out of the pool. You no longer tolerate your float; instead you prefer to play on the steps and free swim with us holding just your waist. We bought you a new floaty, and you’ll soon be big enough to swim in it on your own. You’re such a little fish!

You are growing and changing so much. Every month, Daddy and I agree that this is our favorite month. I wish I could freeze time and just hold your little hand and kiss your sweet neck. As much as I will miss these days, I look forward to meeting the little girl you become. I love you , Islaboo

A walk down memory lane and MY FIRST GIVEAWAY!

Ahhh, St. Patty's Day. I'm sure we all have our stories. When I think back on some of my favorite St. Patty's  Day memories, I both smile and throw up in my mouth.

Flashback to St. Patty's day 2011: I was on a work trip to Chicago the two nights prior to St. Patty's Day. The last night in Chicago, my colleagues and I decided to order food from three different places. We ordered a Chicago style pizza, pad thai, and I can't remember the third. I voted for pizza because, I personally think pad thai tastes like a wet dog smells. You feel me? Do you ever equate the taste of one thing to the smell of another? I do. I think milk duds taste like the smell of a department store. Anyhoo, I decided to try the pad thai and it blew. my. mind. I loved it! I couldn't get enough of it! I ate and ate and ate...

Fast forward 24 hours. It was a Thursday and it was St. Patty's Day. My forever boo and I had plans to meet a former colleague in town on business for drinks at Bar Louie. Let's call him Mr. Grey Goose - partly because that is what he insists you take shots of and mainly because that was the title of his match.com dating profile. You can laugh. I laughed. Victor laughed. We still laugh.

We proceeded to take so many shots of Grey Goose, I literally crawled to the car. I don't know how I got home that night. I lie. I do know. I drove. Judge me now, but know I am much more responsible these days. These days, living downtown, I can crawl home instead of crawling to the car. The forever boo decided to stay and throw back a few more shots because Mr. Grey Goose still had some charge in his battery.

So I make it into my house and fall into bed. Within seconds I was sick. SO SICK! There are a few things that happen when I get that sick...

1. I throw up repeatedly

2. I piss on the floor

3. I strip down naked...because I piss on the floor

4. I curl into a ball and hug my knees all while crying out for my mommy

5. Repeat 1 - 4 at least twice

So this time, I was repeating steps 1 - 4 more than a few times. My boo finally made it home and promptly passed out. Apparently he was completely oblivious to the naked, piss soaked, puke smelling love his life curled into a ball at the foot of the bed screaming for her mommy.

By morning, I realized, I wasn't just drunk. I HAD FOOD POISONING from that delicious pad thai! I suppose I only like bacteria infested, salmonella breeding pad thai. Go figure. My suspicions were confirmed Monday at work, when the two colleagues from my trip also called in sick the day after St. Patty's.

So there it is. My most memorable St. Patty's Day. What's yours?

Share your fave moment with me in the comments section to be entered to win these adorable Best of Luck sterling silver mismatched stud earrings from Chloe + Isabel. You certainly deserve a raffle after getting through that :) In the words of Jimmy Buffett, "With a little love and luck, you will get by"

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Dinnertime!

Dinner in our house is most often an afterthought or a complete burden. I work from home and have Isla with me all day. Our nightly routine typically goes something like this...

 

5:30/6:00: Daddy's home! While he settles in, I'm usually feeding Isla leftovers from the night before

6:00: Daddy and Isla walk Gertie and then we all change into gym clothes

6:30: We walk to the gym and work out for 30-45 minutes while Isla tires herself out at the kid's club

7:45: Isla's bath time :) Victor typically gives her a bath while I round up a bottle, jammies, diaper, lotion, and her toothbrush

8:10: Bottle and face time with grandma

8:20: Isla's bedtime and our dinner time

 

Depending on the night of the week, I also have 1 to 2 hours of work calls and webinars to get through. Needless to say, dinners need to be planned, quick, and hassle free. Feel free to share any quick and semi-healthy go-to recipes in the comment section :)

 

Here's what is on the menu this week:

 

 This weekend Isla finally gave daddy kisses. Grandma and I have been on the receiving end of quite a few kisses, but she is always denying daddy. He finally got a big 'ol open mouthed smooch from our little Islaboo.

 

 

 

Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!

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Here is what I ordered this time (no judgement)...

From my test kitchen

I went to bed Thursday night with a little tickle in my throat. By 2:00 am Friday morning I was breathing fire so hot I thought I had swallowed a 100 red hots. I. Was. Miserable. I knew the next day would hold a new level of hell for me. A sore throat, a work from home job, and a 14 month old speed demon on knees. A complete recipe for disaster. Oh, and it was Valentine's Day. A day that I had been planning for weeks. Matching outfits. Heart shaped pancakes. Red Velvet cupcakes. Pish posh! Tears literally sprang to my eyes when I realized none of those plans would come to fruition. Real tears. No, I'm not pregnant. To top off my raw throat, Aunt flo came 4 days early. Come on! Cut a bitch a break.

I immediately Googled sore throat remedies and went to town on this one. Mostly because I had the items in my pantry and it took little to no effort. I'm sharing because it made a WORLD of difference. When I have a sore throat I'm one to suck on Chloraseptic drops until my tongue turns to hamburger and starts to hurt more than the sore throat I was aiming to dull. I was forced to try this sore throat remedy because my baby daddy had just sucked down our stash of drops last week when he had a red hot throat.

Mix equal parts water, apple cider vinegar, and honey. Gargle for 15 seconds per gulp until the mixture is gone. I did a tsp of each; three mouthfuls for a a total of 45 seconds. 

This worked almost immediately to dull the pain and numb my mouth and throat. Warning: It is nasty! But, this recipe will forever be my go-to sore throat cure instead of the Chloraseptic drops.

You're welcome.

Stay tuned for Valentine's Day 2.0, because once I'm 100%, my baby is getting those heart shaped pancakes...and we'll be rocking those matching outfits when she does!

I also would like to thank the Olympics for providing countless hours of TV viewing while I was down and out.

#sochiwins

January Favorites (A little late)

1. Zella Live In Leggings: Just like the title suggests, I live in these! They are the best leggings I have found on my quest to find the perfect legging. They have compression spandex so they are super slimming, they will not fade, and they have a wide waist band so there is no unwanted muffin top. Zella is Nordstrom's athletic line that is very comparable to Lululemon. I own 4 pair and plan to keep adding to the collection :)

2. Tangle Teezer: Amazing. I have a lot of naturally curly hair, but it is fine and prone to being dry. I used to dread combing out my locks after a shower even after using Moroccan Oil conditioner. I saw this creepy looking thing on a YouTube video and then spotted it at Target. I plucked out $9.99 for it and have never looked back. This brush is SO gentle and my hair doesn't make that ripping sound that used to make me cringe while thinking I should rush to salon for a hasty pixie cut.

3. Algenist Face Oil: My face is combo on a good day, and oily on most. Putting oil on my face seemed counterproductive to my skin care goals. I love the Algenist line and the girl at Sephora suggested I give this a try. After threatening her with a window egging if my face blew up with acne, I took home a sample to try. LOVE IT! It actually controls my oil and tricks my skin into thinking I have enough and it doesn't need to produce anymore. The anit-aging benefits are a plus as well. Hello, 30's.

4. Spinach and Kale Chips: We can't get enough of these guys!

5. Earrings: The new Morningtide Stud earrings have been my go to earrings as of late. They are so simple, but full of gorgeous detail. I love vintage feel and pop of pink.

6. 2 in 1 Statement Necklace: I'm obsessed with this necklace, or rather, necklaces... I love the nautical feel of it and it comes with two chains; navy and antique brass. I can instantly change the look of this for day to night. Just look at it! Perfection! Want $25 off? Just ask :)

7. Slippers: I found these at Target in January and they are so cushy and soft. Perfect for those chilly Florida nights :)

8. Hape Pound & Tap Bench: My friend gifted this to Isla for her birthday and the kid LOVES it! She's a little young to play with it as intended, so she makes sweet tunes with the hammer and xylophone, and plays fetch with the balls. Seriously, this chick throws the ball and then fetches it, then throws it again and fetches it. My dog acts like a cat and baby acts like a dog. Who knew?

9. Nosefrida: Honestly, this was not a fave of mine until Victor and I proved to be bad parents one night. Isla had just taken down her evening milk and we were making her laugh. Hard. She then threw up her milk and it came out of her nose! Her nose was packed with disgusting milk snot! I whipped this out, stuck it in her nose, and every trace of milk snot ended up in that little tube. It's not good for boogers, but snot doesn't stand a chance! I think this will be a life saver when Isla has her first runny nose...or we make her laugh so hard she nose vomits again :)

Books: An Addiction

Hi, my name is Megan and I'm addicted to books. 

I love reading! I can slam a good book down in 24 hours on a bad day. I'm an equal opportunity reader. I love chick lit, historical non-fiction, sociological studies, and business lit. I'm always looking for the next best thing to read. One of my favorite sources for good books is the airport terminal. That's how I found the Dan Brown novels. If more than one person is reading a book while waiting for their flight, I bet its a good one and I scoop it up at the airport bookstore.

All this scooping has led to a pretty impressive book collection. However, I never read books more than once. I try to pass them on to a reader in my life, but somehow I'm still stuck with boxes and boxes of books. We live a pretty urban lifestyle in a downtown condo and really don't have the space for these past friends of mine. I want them to go to a good home. So if you're in the market for some good chick lit reading, head over to Ebay and give these babies a home. I ran out of steam after listing these, but will continue to put up more titles over the coming weeks :) Round 1 is mostly chick lit.

I've already sold over 50 titles. I highly recommend Ebay if you have old beach reads to unload as well. You can ship them Medial Mail, which is pretty cost effective considering the weight of some titles.

You can find all of my current $0.99 listings: here and below are a few of the titles up for grabs