A recap of 2011...Blog Style

One great thing about a blog is that you always have a reminder of what happened in the past.

This comes in extra handy, especially when you suddenly have 2 kids and can't remember when you ate last nevermind what you did 3, 6, or (GASP) 11 months ago.

So here is a look back at 2011 via my favorite posts...

January was typical January. It mostly involved hibernating and "trying" to lose weight. Because I still only had one child, I also had way more time to post. I had just found my stride in blogging and stumbled upon this little thing called Twitter. I wrote about my obsession and how Social Media was addicting after my my new friend Liz inspired me with her post on the levels of Social Media "relationships".
I also wrote a really funny post about underwear.

February involved a vacation, a Snow-pocalypse, and a slight identity crisis (aka major hair color change)
I also wrote the most honest and vulnerable post I've ever written.

March brought some MAJOR changes. I also got a little reflective in one of my favorite posts, "Dear 15 1/2 year old me" and a post I wrote about how my poor relationship with my mother actually helped me find true love.

I spent most of April in a nauseous tired haze and most of my post's are about this. I managed to get out of my funk long enough to write about my five least favorite people on Facebook.

I went crazy in May and did my first (&only) Vlog. Apparently,  I was feeling a little nostalgic back then because I wrote all about how I made an ass of myself in front of a boy when I was younger and how I looked like a vampire when I was in High School.

I also wrote a post about ten things you should know about this blog. It's a must read.

June, we learned the sex of Baby Insomnia.

July, I worried about naming said baby. I also wrote about the embarrassing thing that happened to me when I found out I was pregnant and a top ten list of why I am ALLCAPSAWESOME.

August ,I went golfing.
September, was filled with a lot of fluff and toilet humor.
October, I told you all the things I did.

November, I watched my little boy turn 2 and welcomed baby #2.

and this month I was so tired I got naked and mugged.

What was your favorite post of the year??

Linking up with Mama Kat's!!

Dear Santa

Christmas changes once you have kids. Suddenly, it's not about you anymore. Not even a little bit. My husband and I have decided not to exchange gifts in the interest of spending more on the kids and when other people ask what I want I find myself saying things like, "just shop for the kids".

I'm OK with this. 100%

As a matter of fact, I spend most of my time perusing the Internet looking for things that I think the kids would want instead of for myself because shopping for kids, especially a toddler who is just starting to grasp the idea of Christmas, is a blast. (Toys are so much cooler now a days)  I fully believe in spoiling the crap out of my kids each year.

But let's face it, Mama could use a little pampering too sometimes.

So Santa, if you are listening, here is my wish list...

1.) A Silhouette Cameo.
I want need this machine. Ahh the things I could do with it-including all the things I've found on Pinterest that require it. Plus?? I have a little dream of opening up an Etsy shop featuring artwork and crafts with quotes on them and this little machine could make that dream a reality. I've been saving my pennies Santa, but I could really use your help.

2.) Zumba Classes
I am fortunate to have deflated quite a bit since Nolan was born, but the key is to keep it off now.

3.) A Housekeeper
Because any extra time I have these days is devoted to sleeping, eating, or showering and my baseboards (&everything else) are feeling neglected...

4.) A new hairdryer
My current one tries to eat my hair and I have been too lazy to buy a new one. If you wanted to throw in a new flat iron too, I'd be down with that.


7.) A new house
This is a WISH list right??

Also, I would like to ask that you stuff my stocking with only Hershey's Mint Chocolate Truffle Kisses. They are only around this time of year and I LOVES them. (Now you see why I need the Zumba classes??)

What do you want for Christmas???

One more thing I want- make my holidays extra jolly and "Like" me on Facebook.

Holiday Movie Mania

When I was a kid, we were big on watching Christmas movies. So I was shocked when I met my husband and learned that he hadn't seen most of them. Especially the classics like White Christmas and It's a Wonderful Life.

I took to making it my mission to catch him up.

And these 5 movies are my "Must Watch":

When my brother was little he looked just like Macaulay Culkin. So much so, that my parents got some picture made with my brother making the same face. Plus, the movie was filmed in Chicago and I actually had a friend whose house was in the same neighborhood as the house in the movie.

Favorite Scene: The scene in the church on Christmas Eve. When the choir is singing 'Oh Holy Night and he sees the old man watching his grand daughter sing. Gets me every time.

Favorite Quote: When Kevin goes shopping by himself and is checking out...
"Is this toothbrush approved by the American Dental Association? "
Sales Clerk: "Well, I don't know. It doesn't say, hon."
"Well, could you please find out?"

Not quite a "Christmas Movie" but there is just something about it. The whole plot is just genius and Nick Cage and Tea Leoni play the parts magnificently. I LOVE this movie and watching it always makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Favorite Scene: There are so many to choose from but my favorite is scene where they are making brownies and Nick Cage looks at Tea Leoni and tells her she's beautiful and she says "How can you look at me like you haven't seen me everyday for the last 13 years". That scene is so romantic.

Favorite Quote: Besides the one above, the end of the movie when Jack tells Kate the life he sees for them. (I couldn't remember it all so I had to get a little help from IMBD!)

 "We have a house in Jersey. We have two kids, Annie and Josh. Annie's not much of a violin player, but she tries real hard. She's a little precocious, but that's only because she says what's on her mind. And when she smiles... And Josh, he has your eyes. He doesn't say much, but we know he's smart. He's always got his eyes open, he's always watching us. Sometimes you can look at him and you just know he's learning something new. It's like witnessing a miracle. The house is a mess but it's ours. After 122 more payments, it's going to be ours. And you, you're a non-profit lawyer. That's right, you're completely non-profit, but that doesn't seem to bother you. And we're in love. After 13 years of marriage we're still unbelievably in love. You won't even let me touch you until I've said it. I sing to you. Not all the time, but definitely on special occasions. We've dealt with our share of surprises and made a lot of sacrifices but we've stayed together. You see, you're a better person than I am. And it made me a better person to be around you. I don't know, maybe it was just all a dream. Maybe I went to bed one lonely night in December and I imagined it all. But I swear, nothing has ever felt more real. And if you get on that plane right now, it'll disappear forever. I know we could both go on with our lives and we'd both be fine, but I've seen what we could be like together. And I choose us"

Really does this one even need explaining?? A must watch every year!

Favorite Scene: The end when they are in the Chinese restaurant. Fa raa raa raaa ra.

Favorite Quote: "Fra-Gee-Lay. Must be Italian."



This movie quickly became one of my fav's. Will Farrell as an elf? What's not to love??

Favorite Scene: The scene in the boardroom where Buddy call's the little person an angry elf.

Favorite Quote: "SANTA! OH MY GOD! SANTA'S COMING! I KNOW HIM! I KNOW HIM!!"


We watched this movie every Christmas night. It was a family tradition and it never got old. Plus, my father is like Clark Griswold in so many ways. (I swear they got the inspiration for the tree cutting scene from our family)

Favorite scene: The whole scene where Clark puts up the lights and thinks they don't work. And then they do and they blind the asshole neighbors.

Favorite Quote: "The shitter was full"




Linking up with:

#iPPP recipe

You know the saying "Never go grocery shopping when your hungry"?

The same goes for Pinning.

Don't do it on an empty stomach. Unless you want to stare longingly into your pantry looking for something to substitute the craving you now have for "Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese".

On a full stomach though Pinterest is a wonderful source of inspiration, especially when it comes to ideas for tonight's dinner.

I saw this recipe for homemade calzones last week and haven't been able to get it out of my mind. The only problem I was running into is that Kevin and I differ in our pizza topping choices. He's a sausage and pepperoni kinda guy, whereas I am more of a cheese and veggie kinda gal.

Since we didn't have any pepperoni in the house, I thought we were S.O.L.

But then I had an epiphany...BBQ Chicken Pizza Calzones!!

So here is my take on the calzone pin, complete with pictures for this weeks #iPPP:

Here's what you'll need:

BBQ Sauce, Refrigerated pizza dough, a medium sized onion, cheese- I prefer a mix of cheddar and mozzarella, and chicken. I cooked up 2 chicken breasts earlier and shredded them. You could also use a rotisserie chicken.


I LOVE LOVE LOVE caramelized onions on my BBQ Chicken Pizza so first things first, brown up a medium sized onion. I prefer to caramelize mine with butter but you can use some olive oil if you'd like. The key to sweet, brown onions?? Slow and Low people. Slow and Low. That and stir often.

Preheat your oven to 400 (or whatever it says for your dough)
While your onions are browning, start filling up your calzone.
First lay down a layer of BBQ sauce in a smaller rectangle in the middle of your dough. Leave about 2 1/2 inches on both sides.

Add your cheeses, chicken and once they are done, your onions.

Now use a knife to cut the dough on the sides into 1 inch strips. Be careful not to cut all the way to the filling. Don't worry if the strips are too short, you can stretch them out as you go.


Once they are all cut fold them over, cris crossing them as you go.

Once she is all wrapped up, I like to brush her with some garlic butter but that is entirely up to you. Throw her in the oven for 15-20 mins or golden brown & enjoy!!!

Before

After! YUM!!

Follow me on Pinterest!!

Linking up with #iPPP

I'm an egg

 I've been racking my brain this past week trying to figure out a way to participate in Taming Insanity's #AntlerUp link up.

You see, I have no antlers.

Wah Wah.

But I could really use that Starbucks gift card because having a newborn means I pretty much need caffeine running through my veins 24/7.

Fortunately in life, sometimes material has a way of presenting itself.

If you are out of the loop you can catch up HERE. But basically @TamingInsanity and I were accused of being spam when I accidentally tweeted the wrong person about #MugSwap2011.

I've been called a lot of things in my day, but spam? This is a first.

So in honor of my new Spam-y status I am changing my Twitter Avatar to this this week:

I promise not to harass you about iPhones or Viagra so please don't report me!

Linking up with #AntlerUp!

This too Shall Pass

I knew having a newborn and a toddler was going to be hard.

But man oh man...

First and foremost, there is the sleep thing. Maybe I just repressed the memories of what it was like when Jack was born, but for some reason it seems so much worse this time around.  With one baby you can at least sleep when they are sleeping. Now, there are no breaks. Very rarely are my boys on the same schedule. Nolan, who sleeps all day, seems to be wide eyed the very moment Jack goes down for the night. Conversely, by the time Nolan finally dozes off in the morning, Jack is rip roaring and ready to go. Sometimes I wonder if they are already conspiring against me.

Then there is the fact that I haven't slept in the same bed as my husband since we got home from the hospital. Since Nolan's bewitching hours are usually from 12am-4am, we've decided to set up camp in the living room so whoever was on baby duty could actually sleep and not be awoken by a crying baby every 2 hours. So it works out pretty good for my husband who I must admit is pretty good at helping me out. The only problem is that he works and as much as I need some sleep and/or a break, I feel guilty asking him to take the baby if I know he has to work.

Of course there is also the guilt.

I feel guilty that Jack is couped up inside all day.

Guilty that sometimes I bribe him with TV and treats because it makes things so much easier some days.

I feel bad that we have gotten lax about the whole Binky thing. He only gets it and night and for naps, but lately some days when I am so tired, I let him have it during the day because it's the only thing that makes him calm down and cuddle with me. I know doing this is only going to make it harder to break him of the habit, but I can't help it. The desire for a quiet moment or a few minutes of sleep win over my better parenting judgements.

I feel bad because I am not a fan of the newborn stage. I feel horrible saying that, but I can't help it. I love my little bundle of joy, but the newborn stage is so boring and isolating. I feel like a robot most days. Feed, Burp, Change, Swaddle. Of course I want to savor every minute of my children growing up, but I can't wait until Nolan can laugh and interact with me. And sleep more than 3 hours at a time.

Even though I have 2 years of parenting experience, I still waiver in my confidence as a mother. I question my choices at every turn. I worry about juggling the needs of two kids.  I have yet to get out of the house by myself with both kids and frankly, I am terrified to but, being couped up in the house 24/7 is making me stir crazy.

You'd think that growing up Catholic I would be use to living with guilt, but I find myself having to reassure myself of things on a daily basis.

Be Patient
Calm Down
It's OK
Just Breathe
You ARE a good mother
Sleep is overrated

and my favorite

This too shall pass

Linking up with Shell over at #PYHO

Thoughts on life as I know it...

I was originally going to title this post, "Who does number 2 work for??", but then I realized that's  probably only amusing in my sleep deprived state.

Life here is trucking along and I thought I'd pause for a minute to write a little sumpin' sumpin' since I have been sparse around the blogoshphere lately. So here are a few sleep deprived thoughts on life since #2 came along:

*I will take 1 hour of uninterrupted sleep over 8 hours of "keeping an ear out for the baby" sleep any day of the week.

*Short list of priorities these days: Sleep, sleep, a meal, sleep, a shower, sleep, 10 minutes to myself, sleep.

*Any day that I can get in a shower is a winning day. If I can get in a shower and a square meal?? A miracle.

*When child #2 comes along you will almost always feel pulled in one direction or another. Accept this as quickly as you can and move on. Otherwise you will live the rest of your life feeling guilty.

*Expectations are for fools. Newborns and toddlers will NOT be on the same schedule, at least not on the days you need them to be.

*Activities that should be avoided on little to no sleep: Cooking, Shaving, Getting on a ladder, and pouring water out of a just filled Brita water pitcher. TRUST ME on these thing.

*Do not believe the husband when he says that he will change all the diapers since you are doing all the feedings. Sooner or later he will have to go back to work.

*Being able to drink a glass of wine again is great.  I just wish that one glass didn't make me comatose.

*I forgot how deflated your body gets after pregnancy. My body looks like a balloon someone just popped.

*No matter how stressful life with two gets, this makes it all worthwhile: