Sugar & Spice of Every Day Life

If we met for breakfast,
these are the random stories about life at my house that I'd be telling you this morning:

+Sugar: We are finalizing all of the arrangements for where we are going to live in Mississippi and I can't wait to share all of the details with you once it's a "done deal".

-Spice: About once a week, I miss having long hair.  I loved wearing a top knot and having a pretty pony tail.  I appreciate how quickly I can do my hair now that I have a bob but my puny pony tail is not my favorite.  

+Sugar: I've been working hard on being more flexible with my day to day life and it's working!  I love having everything planned out to a T and being really in control of our schedule.  My husband is more flexible and easy going.  He likes to surprise me and pick up dinner on his way home from work, make last minute plans with friends and be more spontaneous.  So I've tried hard to say YES more and it's resulted in us getting to do fun things.  He's noticed and appreciated my efforts because he knows that's not my nature.  I'll still be making lists and stay organized BUT it's fun to change things up a bit.

- Spice: Running errands with a little one is h-a-r-d especially when it's hot/raining/humid out.  I tried to get some things done one day last week and my to do list involved: Walgreens, the library, get gas and Wal-Mart.  I did not remember asking for a super thunderstorm, crying baby, dirty diaper, crackers spilled everywhere in the backseat, get poked in the eye with an umbrella, getting soaked and carrying in groceries with a baby in one arm and heavy bags in the other.  I was thankful to make it home for nap time and recharge my battery because I was exhausted.  Note to self: avoid running errands in the rain if at all possible.  Sidenote: How do people get anything done with multiple little kids??? :)  I'm thinking super hero capes might be involved.

+Sugar: I get a smile on my face when I start thinking about fun plans for our summer - moving (well not so much the moving part but the settling into our new home part ), visiting family, meeting a new baby, seeing friends, heading to the beach and Kevin starting a new job.

-Spice: Olive has learned how to throw a tantrum.  I was hoping this milestone would stay away for a while longer but it is here to stay.  I was grocery shopping and she started trying to eat my grocery list she was holding.  I took it away and a mental meltdown ensued.  Luckily, she was able to recover within an aisle or two but I was embarrassed.  Guess it's time to get over myself and eat a piece of parenting humble pie.  Somewhat related: Maybe it's time to seriously think about an app on my phone for grocery lists??

+Sugar: Grilling season has arrived and my husband enjoys contributing to dinner with his grilling skills.  He does the main course and sometimes the veggies so dinner prep has gotten much easier for me.  Now I just need to try all of those grilling recipes I've been pinning this summer.

-Spice: Olive is obsessed with banging on the computer keyboard.  We put it up whenever we can but if she hears you type she comes "running".  Her message to you today:

,kfhmghgi,hm , kjmnmj nj nj mk nh  kj mkn  

nju vfdvfy mhnubg cgki vojih jugbtv4g hsn hui yui hnm

+Sugar: I got several tips about the best sprinkles to use for homemade funfetti cakes - the long skinny tubular kind apparently work best.  I'm anxious to try my recipes again and see if I can come up with a good funfetti cake.

-Spice: My summer shoes are "missing".  Well technically they are in the house somewhere BUT I can't find the box.  We don't live in a big place but I fear they are buried in the very back of one of our closets.  I keep looking in my closet hoping that they might magically appear.  No such luck :(

Sugar & Spice of Everyday Life

+Sugar: We've really been enjoying watching the Olympics even though they seem to be on at slightly odd hours.  I've found myself tearing up when they feature certain athletes and their families and love all of the tradition and patriotic festivities.  I've also been tearing up when seeing poor pink eye ridden Bob Costas.  Someone get that man some eye drops!

-Spice: Our current place has odd heat circulation and our bedroom is always cold.  Step into our walk-in closet and you'd think you had just stepped outside.  We were remedying this situation with a space heater and it QUIT this week - which makes for a chilly night sleep and extra close cuddles :)

+Sugar: It's the week of Valentine's Day and I've been having lots of fun baking, DIYing and celebrating this month of LOVE with my family.  I sent two Valentine care packages and have been spreading the love.  I'd also like to bake some treats for my neighbors.  Sometimes I chicken out because I don't know them that well and I'm afraid they'll think I'm weird or that they won't want to eat treats from me.  I really should just suck it up and spread more love!

-Spice: I've been looking out my windows and missing the mountains this week.  I got spoiled with an amazing view in Utah and after 9 years it's kind of strange not seeing them.  Plus I'd gotten used to using them to help my navigation around the city.  No mountains equals a constantly disoriented me.

+Sugar: We got a new vacuum cleaner.  Our old one just wasn't cutting it anymore; it was time to be a grown up and spend far more money than we wanted to on an upgrade.  We weren't willing to spend Dyson money on a vacuum but we found a Shark that does a great job.  I've been vacuuming daily since Olive spends a lot of time on the floor and since we have to furry felines in our family.

-Spice: We had quite a debacle at Wal-Mart last weekend.  It was my idea to use the self check out since the two lines they had open each had 10+ customers with carts full of merchandise in them.  It was dinner time and nap time for Olive so we were trying to be quick.  We scanned everything, bagged it and tried to wedge it all in our car seat filled cart.  Kevin swiped our card, inserted the coupons, payment received flashed on the screen and then everything froze up.  An associate came to help and said that we'd have to RESCAN everything because the transaction did not go through.  We said the screen said payment was received but he said it was not.  We called over a manager and she agreed that we needed to do it all again.  The store was packed, I teared up and Olive was crying.  We were all ready to go and they wouldn't let us leave with the groceries.  Kevin called our credit card company and we had been charged for our purchase.  They employees said it didn't matter because we didn't have a receipt.  We weren't allowed to leave so I went to stand in a line.  People looked at me like I was crazy because all of our groceries were bagged.  Kevin went to consult a manager and she said we had to recheck out and that the charge would not go through.  Fast forward to mid week and we have two $100+ charges on our credit card and Wal-Mart isn't being helpful about giving us our money back.  They said to wait and the first charge will go away but it has yet to be taken care of.  So much for living in the Home of Wal-Mart state...

+Sugar: I have been on quite a contest winning streak.  I mean I enter contests regularly and NEVER win but for some reason my luck has changed.  I won a gift card to a fun, handmade shop, a gift card to an athletic apparel shop and I won the mother of all giveaways to promote my blog on 22 different blogs for two months.  Maybe I should head to Vegas with all this luck on my side... I kid, I kid :)

+Sugar:  I've been doing a good job of working out regularly.  The scale isn't reflecting major changes yet but my jeans are fitting better already.  Let's be honest, jeans are a pretty great measuring tool, no?  I'm using my "jean-o-meter" to stay motivated to keep fitting into those jeans that have been tucked away for months.

Just a little dose of reality from my house to yours :)

Sugar & Spice of Everyday Life

I wanted to start documenting the sugar & spice in my life
to help me remember the little things and to help you to get to know me better.

+ Sugar: Olive is loving her toys and is getting better at entertaining herself.  I was amazed to observe her playing and entertaining herself for a solid 20 minutes the other day.  Makes me excited for things to come as she gets older.

- Spice: I stepped on the scale today and wasn't thrilled with the number I saw.  My goal for the coming week is more healthy eats and less treats.  I've been making time to go on walks but I'd like to squeeze in a few more workouts too.

+ Sugar: Kevin has received several job interviews for the coming year and we are working hard to get them scheduled and planned for the next few weeks.  It's exciting to think about what God has in store for our family in the coming years.

- Spice: Olive is going through a frustrating stage.  Frustrating for her and for us.  She wants to crawl, move, reach out and stand but she needs a lot of assistance for any of these things to take place.  She gets mad when she cannot reach something or when she flops in the wrong direction.  She screams out in frustration and looks at us like we need to do something to help her ASAP.  I feel like a human jungle gym 99% of the time because she literally climbs and crawls all over me.  I'm sure that I'll miss this stage when she becomes more independent but right now I feel frustrated that I have a hard time keeping her content.

+ Sugar: We have done a good job of planning fun things to look forward to in the coming months.  A road trip here and there and visits to see family and friends are all in the works.

- Spice: I'd like to get my hair cut but the majority of places I find close at 5:00pm.  My husband gets home around 5 each night and so that won't work.  I'm considering being that mom and taking Olive to my haircut and praying that she'll sleep through it.  I should probably look into weekend appointment options but it just seems like a lot of work.  Definitely a time that I wish I had a good friend in this city.  Womp, womp.

+ Sugar: I've been making time to read REAL books.  Sitting down in a comfy spot and flipping the pages of a good book has been a fun treat each night.  I wait until everyone is in bed and squeeze in a few chapters.

- Spice: Olive has been having a bit of skin trouble mostly on her arms, collar bone area, neck and mouth.  We are trying some new Aveeno Baby lotion to see if that helps and I've been lathering her in lotion several times a day.  She's quickly gotten used to this baby spa treatment and babbles the entire time which I LOVE.  It does not help our cause that she is drooling like a faucet and seems to have her hands in her mouth the majority of the day.  I think teething is the likely culprit of the excessive waterworks but her pediatrician said she'll like be drooly from now until age 2.  Awesome...

Just a little dose of reality from my house to yours :)