Lack of Fashion Post:)

I do not consider myself a fashion guru..

Who am i kidding?  I HAVE no fashion sense...

Me, who wore pjs to high school...whom the other cheerleaders had to beg to shave her legs...what TMI?  sorry...

the point is, if it doesn't go with blue jeans, it doesn't necessarily work in my closet...

this can be a stumbling block when going to functions with my husband where proper attire is required...and by proper, I mean something other than flip flops, denim and a t-shirt with yellow armpit stains...(I'm the picture of the professional I tell ya!)

In just awhile I'll be heading off with my hubby for some R&R on a company trip...I actually had fun planning for the trip last year...goin' and gettin' my pretty tops and picking out dresses...

This year however...

ummm...life just got in the way of my "fashionista" (or lack thereof) desires...that and laundry, soccer, snow, finishing the basement, homework, photo sessions, cleaning out the closet, NOT unclogging toilets...you get the idea...

and yet...the day approaches...so I go smart and did some shopping online for just a few items for the trip...all in all, I'll be wearing the same things as last year...but considering I'm normally the one behind the camera, I'm not going to stress about it...

but, because I KNOW my aunt will LOVE seeing stuff that I've gotten and because I love her to pieces...I'm sharing some key items:)

I purchased this skirt: SKIRT  to go with an old dark purple ruffley tank top from last year.

I also purchased the black version of this dress from Target, for some reason the picture in the color black isn't showing...so, here's the gist of it DRESS: I have no idea what kind of jewelry to wear with it, but I'm hoping that something colorful will pop out of thin air...either that, or Sweetpea is working on a SWEET Starburst wrapper chain necklace...could be making a fashion statement in the long run...

I got these SHOES as well...I got the darker version, but again, Target must be having some picture techno problems b/c half of their photos are "unavailable" and I won't come back to this post to fix it later...I like these b/c they are different and cheap...cheap being the main word here...

All the other days I"m just wearing whatever I have in my closet already...which consists of jersey tanks, jersey skirts, and a pair of white capris...

I figure I'll be spending most of the days in my swim suit...which I now own a plain black from Athleta from last year and a plain brown from overstocks at landsend...I was kinda disappointed that I couldn't find a more colorful suit this year, but compare that with the amount of actual time I spend in a swimsuit on a normal basis and it's really not THAT important...

I will say that p90x is kickin' my behind...The scale hasn't changed drastically, but my body has morphed in areas...I feel a whole lot stronger than before...which also means that I can single-handedly run the length of a football field with Little Munchkin in my arms as she squeals loudly, "I gotta go potty Mommy...NOW!" heading toward the only toilet in the middle of a soccer game in pouring rain, whipping winds and temperatures lower than they EVER should be for April...

and for THAT (the "being strong" part) I am thankful..

so...that's the plan right now...Italian Stallion and I are in need of some together time...he's been away a LOT this year...and between my crazy OCD and inward worries and his burden of providing and taking care of the family...we are both "feelin" the stress inside...so we are thankful for this time together and for the generosity of the company who will be sending us and indulging us with their foods and sunshine...and the occassional poolside dakuri:)

The Love Affair with Toilet Paper

This is a common scene in our bathrooms...

My girls have a love affair with toilet paper...be it the ever-so-soft *charmin* on their little bums...be it the pure delight of spinning the tube round and round on the holder...be it the boredom of sitting on the potty waiting for "something" to happen...

whatever the case...I am guaranteed one of two things each and everytime that I enter a bathroom in my house:

1) clogged toilet : of which I will not touch b/c with my last attempt to unclog a disgusting toilet...okay, you just don't want me to go there...let's just say that I closed the door for 3 days while Italian Stallion was traveling on a business trip and HE got to "fix" it when he got home

2) endless paths of paper streaming throughout the room and/or in a pile on the floor...at which point I start the RE-rolling

Therefore, if you plan to ever POP in sometime...please note that the cottony tissue that you use to wipe may or may not have been lovingly handled by tiny hands in a moment of bliss...

just thought I'd share:)  Have a great night:)

It's About that time...

...when I start freaking out about leaving my babies for a few days to go on a trip with my husband...

It's right about now that I start worrying about tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, plane crashes, and allergic reactions to foods that I've never been introduced to before...

It's right about this time that I begin my to do list of writing letters, going over our will, checking with our friends and family to be sure they are still 10000% committed to my girlies should anything happen to us while we're gone...

It's also about this time that I start madly cleaning my house b/c I know that my inlaws and other friends and family will have full reign and I do NOT want them knowing what is REALLY in the back corner of my closets or the fact that I may or may not have cleaned behind the toilet in awhile...

In addition to all this, I start feeling pudgy...I feel this way regardless of the fact that I "treat" myself to ice water and salad instead of my Cadbury eggs that are piling up in the stores where I have willed myself to let them stay...but it may have something to do with the fact that my hubby can lose pounds by just "thinking" about a diet and only eating half of the Papa John pizza...again, whilst I eat my yogurt and granola...yum.

The good news, is that all this worry and fretting makes me incredibly tired by at least 11pm, and so I go to bed much earlier than ever before...which in turn means that I can awaken at an earlier hour without knockin' off anyone's (aka Italian Stallion) head in the morning for "showering too loud"!!! 

The large white snow flakes falling all afternoon convinced me that I'm ready for some sun however...so if I must invest in coverups, so be it...

by the way, anyone have some "fantastic reads" they'd like to share...I'm planning on taking at least half a suitcase of reading material...that's MY idea of vacation!!!

It's a good thing there wasn't any duck tape...

and YES, I am fully aware that it is ducT tape and not ducK tape, but you may well know that we, over here in the Italian household, don't bat an eye at using different sounds for different letters...i.e. Sweetpea (back in the day) always wanted "a yittle yick of the frosting" and Little Munchkin (currently calls her Grandma, Damma b/c aparantly, the G sound isn't to her liking)  So there you have it...

So, what's up with the ducK tape?  Yes, well, when you are confined to a small area (aka the car) for lengthy periods of time without another adult available...you TOO would dream of duck tape and the wonders thereof...

I can't say that I didn't "daydream" using some of the silvery wonder to put across many 'a face when whines and complaints came spewing forth...

After the craziness of doctor visits at the beginning of our spring break, and we became more settled into our week, I took the opportunity to head back "home" to visit the family up north...We spent a total of about 9-10 hours in the car over a 48 hour span of time...it wasn't the WORST of times, but it wasn't the BEST of times either:)

But, we're back now and school has started and we're back into the full swing of things...minus the fact that I managed to get a cold somewhere over the weekend and would be happy to just stay under warm blankets until spring would like to make an appearance!!! 

I suppose I could have called this post: Spring Break in pictures...but, what fun would that be if I couldn't lament about duck tape first? 

Here's what we did this week anyway:)

Started off with that crazy coughing spell and time with poor little Peanut

Next we decided to put it all behind us and get hair cuts...Sweetpea is such her mother's daughter and could not/would not cut her hair short...and yet, she soooo wanted the "look" of something new...bless her heart...she ended up with about 2 inches cut off (if that) and we just humored her to say that she looked so different and we could totally tell that she got it cut...Peanut, on the other hand...she got hers chopped...no inhibitions on that girl...uh uh, no way...

The majority of the week was spent up and down from the basement...down for my hubby and up for all of us (except when the girls wanted to "help") Which I am positive that my awesome Italian Stallion loved!

We're finishing off part of our basement...because 2 play rooms just ain't cuttin' it apparantly...NO...not really, well...kinda...At some point we will slowly start to pack up the main floor play room and turn it into who knows what, but hopefully this new space will be the new "growing up" rec room for our family...I'm watching my girls grow taller and though boys aren't necessarily on the radar...yikes...I know it's coming...just still trying to utilize our house to make the most of family time!

We did do a quick run to COSI and Spaghetti Warehouse ( Daddy's choice ) and the girls had some great play dates with friends that they don't often get a chance to play with...

Lastly, we headed up north and got to see all the cousins and I got to see my brother and sister and my other sister (whom I totally forgot to get pictured with..sorry Teen!)

please note that I tried, oooohhhhhhh I tried to fix myself up in this picture and it just wasn't cuttin' it...I gave up...and I'm just living with it...bushy eyebrows, no make up, flat hair and all...At least my brother feels "tall"...I still look like the OLDest...not so much fun I must say...

Currently, I'm battling a cold and am on the countdown to my 5 day getaway with Italian Stallion...I hope to have fashion options posted soon...but that would mean that I'd have to go out and SHOP and then SPEND MONEY..so we don't really know when that will actually take place...

Until then, I'm still trying to declutter, keep Peanut on the breathing/not coughing track, and attempting to keep up with new soccer schedules as they've now come into the line up...

Spring has GOT to get here soon!!!

oooooo I almost forgot...I did splurge with some extra CTPhoto moneys to get this little beauty:

Hopefully it will begin to replace my 50mm/1.8...since I still own the crop frame camera (because I really wanted the video feature that wasn't offered on the full frame D700) I needed a wide angle lens...the 50 is beautiful, but I still had to back up soooo far to get all 3 of my girlies in a picture..this baby does wonders!  I still have lots of control with aperture, etc...It was about $100 more than the 50mm...AND, it's out of stock everywhere...the camera stores love me here however and called me when they found ONE floatin' around in their storehouse...I RAN to the store and picked it up...MUCH FUN!

An Update, a Woe and a Thought....

I figured that after that last post, I'd better update at least a bit:)  Thanks for your patience!

Peanut is still coughing, although not as much as before.  The inhalers seem to be calming her inflamed breathing airways, but the source of the cough is still an unknown and quite viable.  We are heading back to the doctor's today to just see if we can get some more answers.  She broke my heart the other day saying, "Mommy, I get scared at school when I cough b/c I am scared that I won't be able to stop." 

It's mostly the nighttime that is causing the difficulty, but I know that she is tentative when playing during the day and mindful of anything that could cause a coughing spasm.  So, that's where we are...the chest x-rays were negative for anything (which is great!) but still leaves us with questions concerning everything else.

In other news, Itallian Stallion took the week off and has been working his tail off on house stuff.  He and I are still trying to "get in shape" for our trip coming up...and I must admit, passing up my delicious jelly beans that are calling to me in my candy dish on the hutch...well, it's about doing me in!  Not to mention that my favorite chocolate of all time: THE CADBURY EGG is out in large quantities at the store and beckon to me as I push my grocery cart in between the lettuce and avacados...

Ohhhh, they beckon...and I hear them...and I MUST look the other way...it is a sad, sad, sad day for me.  Woe, Woe, Woe...

Okay, I know it's pathetic...I'm addicted to the chocolately mass of goo and sugar!  If any faithful friends want to stock up for me and keep them at YOUR house, I'd be happy to come "visit" once we return from our trip...because at that point, the rubber tire around my middle is welcome back home in it's place around the top of my jeans if it means I can down some of that cadbury goodness!

I read a book last night (while counting the coughs of poor Peanut in the wee hours of the morning) and I must say that I was actually surprised at the ending.  Normally, you can figure out how a book is going to end within the first 3-4 chapters...especially if you tend to read the same genre and stick with similar authors (as yours truly happens to do)  However, this book,  Jane Austen ruined my life,  although there were some unrealistic aspects to the story, I found it interesting how the main character clung to her "hero" in her search to "know" Jane...how often I do this with characters in stories...I want to "live" how they live so that I can "feel" what they feel, to get lost in the story...I wonder, if I put that much thought and heart into reading The Book, if I would "live" and "feel" much that same of my Savior...hmmmm?

Anyhoo...looking forward to a good week with my hubby and girls...I'll keep you posted as I'm able...Have a good one!

Breathe In...Breathe Out

One nebulizer treatment, albuterol inhaler, flovent puffs and a chest x-ray tomorrow...and with that, the hope that they will figure out what is causing the breathing difficulty and the dag-gum coughing that WON'T EVER STOP!!!

Do you get the feeling that I'm a bit perturbed by the fact that my little Peanut has been coughing for about a month...and the fact that we dealt with this same issue right around Christmas time for the same amount of time?

I'm grateful...beyond thankful that we have somewhat outgrown the croupe...that awful barking that completely seemed to obstruct her airways causing me to dial 911 on occasion b/c I couldn't get her to take a full breath...

So the fact that we are just dealing with this rattling cough...well, as I said, I'm thankful...

at the same time...the awakenings in the night, the tired little girls in the morning, the tummy aches from hacking so much...all this has just had it's toll.

The doctors are baffled at the moment...is it asthma? is it allergy? is it reflux? is it sinus? we've tried every remedy it seems based on her symptoms and yet the "cure" doesn't work on that particular symptom and so we are dumbfounded and bewildered as to what to do next...

in the meantime, we're inhaling through air chambers and downing the Triaminic, adding vicks to our feet and sipping lots of water...

Adding to my "day"...(since I'm in this mood of "woe is me") Little Munchkin has decided that naps are a thing of the past...and though she can make it without a nap on occasion, she is QUITE the cranky and ornery and stubborn little thing when this happens...today was no exception.

I knew the doctor needed my full attention...so did Peanut, who is trying to "control" her cough in the office.  Little M doesn't see it that way and is determined to throw back her head and have a full on temper tantrum...now, had I NOT been in the presence of the doctor dealing with a boatload of information about mycoplasma walking pneumonia swabs and other words about which I have no comprehension, I would have been able to deal quite sternly and readily the issue at hand...

she's a smart one that Little Munch...when she sees an opportunity...she runs with it...and RUN she did...

Long story short, however...by the end of the conversation and Peanut is getting ready to exit the office with the doctor, Little Munchkin seized the moment to slam the door...the problem with this being that Peanut's fingers were within the door frame...

you know what happened next...

If you want to know what will bring a stubborn 3 year to her senses in a split second...have her cause pain and uncontrollable crying from her elder sister WHOM SHE ADORES...needless to say, I then had TWO little girls bawling in the office...

One in my arms, the other sniffling along with her bag of ice and my eldest bringing up the rear carrying the prescriptions and X-ray procedure papers...

All in a days work I tell ya...

I do have a picture from the office with Peanut and her breathing treatment, but at the moment I can't figure out how to get it off my phone...so you'll just have to trust me:) 

Thanks for listening!

Time Management Girl...to the...uh....rescue?

Italian Stallion and I have a joke around the house...

He likes to call me Time Management Girl and then sing a little jingle similar to "Toonces the driving cat" from SNL...

Basically, the idea is, if he calls me "Time Management Girl", it really means I have no such skill...

and truth be told...he's right...

This is an area that I have always struggled with...

In high school, I was the one up into the wee hours of the night studying b/c I figured I'd have enough time to study if my plan was to start studying by 7pm...which NEVER started until 10pm in reality...

As a teacher, I planned and planned and had FUN planning...only to always run out of time and pushing my schedule further out into the future in the hopes to accomplish all things "fun and teachable" before the end of the school year...

Fast forward into life as a wife, mom, photography, housekeeper, friend, sister, daughter and lover of reading...

Let's just say that I start out my day with GREAT expectations...

I awaken (always with the intent to get up with I.S. because, of course, I would have gone to bed before 1am right? that was my time management plan...but no...not happenin') and so I drag myself out of bed as the minutes slip by and I stumble downstairs to begin my workout...only to be distracted by lunches that need to be made, breakfast needing to be fixed, a shirt that suddenly needs to be ironed, shoes that can't be found, apple juice that needs to be poured and last minutes things that can't seem to be remembered the night before (again, I have NO IDEA where they get it)

And so, once the older two are out the door, I again look at the clock and realize that I am now an hour and a half OFF schedule...you'd THINK that the TIME MANAGEMENT GIRL would then formulate a plan in which to tackle those priority items and get herself moving...

yeah, well...no...

then I grab my coffee and do my "5 minute" email check, which often turns into 30 minutes and then I realize that I'm 2 hours off...

so I scramble through a workout, in which I remember laundry that was supposed to be put in and so I press the pause button and head to get the laundry...

on the way seeing dirty dishes left near the couch...so I go to pick them up and put them in the sink...

only to realize that the dishwasher needs to be emptied...and so I empty it and then fill it back up...

and see that the garbage can is full...so I pull out the bag and see that I could probably stuff more things into it...

so I go upstairs and start grabbing garbage cans to dump into the bag...only to spot dirty clothes left on the floor...

and then I remember that I originally needed to get the laundry going...so I drop the garbage bag and pick up the clothes...then to see that the bathroom has been left a mess with towels...

so I go to check all the other bathrooms to make sure that there aren't any other towels laying around...only to see mirrors filled with toothpaste spit (ahhh motherhood)

and so I go to grab the glass cleaner to wipe them down...I head back out to bring the towels to the laundry and trip over the garbage bag...which I pick up and head back downstairs getting into the kitchen to remember once again that I left the laundry upstairs...

by this time, my workout p90x has gone into complete sleep mode and I still haven't showered and storytime starts in 40 minutes...and I live 25 minutes away from the library...

I'm bringing out my old underroos...

And adding this super power cape to it...

Italian Stallion has now begun to tell me that whatever amount of time I "think" it's going to take me to accomplish something...just mulitply it by 5 and I should have a good "schedule" to follow...so if storytime actually starts at 11 and I have to leave by 10:30...I should actually be getting up by 5:00 am in order to get everything finished before heading out the door...

GREAT! 

drowing in my own distractions,

Mamarazzi