Monchichi costume

Originally I picked up a Cow's costume for Lovie to wear today but after I got it home, ripped off the tags, and tried it on her, I discovered it barely fit. And that was two months ago. Considering the fact that her size 2T jeans are almost too short, I knew the Cow costume, size 24 months, was a bust.

I wasn't happy about this revelation as I'm as cheap as they come and I was not wanting to spend another $15-30 on another costume for her to wear one, maybe two days.

 

And that's when it hit me: I was gonna turn my baby doll into a baby doll herself. A Monchichi doll!

It was perfect- she has the hair, I could easily dress her in brown and get a bib... just gotta figure out the tail... Did some online searches and it was a deal:

Lovie would be a Monchichi

The day finally arrived to try it all out... it was gloomy out, the temps were OK, we hadn't visited the in-laws in a bit. Why not dress our monkey up (is that what a Monchichi is?!?) and take a test run?

SUCCESS!!

* hand write Monchhichi (the way it's spelled on the doll's bib) on a Dollar Tree bib- $1

* brown shirt- $3 from Once Upon a Child and will be worn again so I don't even count this in the total of the costume cost.

* brown sweatshirt- $10 from Old Navy but has been worn often and don't count it since will be worn again.

* brown leggings- part of a $13 outfit from Marshall's and don't count it since they've been worn and will be worn again.

* tail- a women's knee high sock from the Dollar Tree ($1) stuffed with paper towel and safety pinned (free from my mom) to her leggings

* brown boots- $20 from Meijer store but don't count as they have been worn and will be worn again

* face paint - $1 - from Dollar Tree (love you Dollar Tree) but she's going w/out the makeup today as she just rubs it off (wuzdat on my nose?!)

Spooktacular-icle Listicle

H a l l o w e e n  is...

       1.       Candy

2.       Scary movies like the original Halloween

3.       Kit Kat bars

4.       Creepy music like from the likes of The Shining, etc.

5.       Bubblegum

6.       Orange and black and purple and green

7.       Snickers bars

8.       Witches, ghosts, pumpkins

9.       Full size candy bars!!

10.  My little Monchichi

School Pictures

I shared this the other day on my Facebook page, but I think I'll share here, too, because I'm not feeling very wordy today.

Can you believe these were taken only one year apart?

I mean it's like she went from baby to this little kid! It's really crazy, to me, to see this side by side. It really makes it all sink in, you know? Wow. And boy was I so happy when I saw this year's pictures. I was sure I was gonna get a repeat from last year- my kid is not a fan of "cheese" smiles, especially when she doesn't know the person. But I guess one of her teachers worked really hard to get this face. I owe her big, that reminds me.

Tomorrow my munchkin will be 22 months old- 2 months from turning 2. WOW!

WOW!!!

Happy Friday, Happy Weekend!

22 things

1.) …this week write a list of  22 things you HAVE done.

1.       Become a mom.

2.       Get married.

3.       Become an aunt 6 times.

4.       Become a great aunt.

5.       Met Bryan Adams in person.

6.       Get a bachelor’s degree.

7.       Gone to four different high schools.

from google images

8.       Owned and driven a 1969 VW Bug.

9.       Smoked lots of pot.

10.   Had surgery.

11.   Gone to Austria.

from google images

12.   Spent a week in Maine.

13.   Driven to Canada.

14.   Got stopped from border patrol in Tijuana, Mexico trying to come back into the States with drug paraphernalia purchased in Mexico.

15.   Get a tattoo.

16.   Gone to Las Vegas.

17.   Gone to New York City.

18.   Gone to a Broadway show.

19.   Had writing published.

20.   Met someone off the internet.

21.   Moved more than 15 times.

from google images

22.   Won $100 for best Halloween costume- Garcia, the Beanie Baby.

WW: Coloring views

from the top...

from the bottom...

Linking up with Dear Crissy, The Paper Mama, and Kiddothings

totally random, totally stolen, totally funny

my cousin posted this on Facebook with the caption: Apparently my barista believes that no caf / no fat / no whip = no fun - lol

Now while I'm not a fan of "lol", this picture warrants it.

New Mom Tips-icle Listicle

Ten Tips for New Moms

The beginning is hard. Don't try fooling yourself. It doesn't matter how many books you've read or babies you've held, the early days (weeks, maybe even months) of being a brand new mom is hard. And it's OK if you, too, cry because it will get easier. Promise!

The pacifier is not the devil. You may read that it's best not to confuse baby if you're breastfeeding or that it's best not to start a bad habit by giving the pacifier, but babies are used to sucking. That's what they know. That's how the live in the beginning. So give them a pacifier if they seem to want one, if they've been fed, changed, burped and are still unhappy.

Breast isn't always best if they don't work or if you just don't want to breastfeed. There are tricks to get your milk flowing, but sometimes no matter how hard you try, milk doesn't always produce to the liking of feeding your baby. And feeding your baby is what is important- not that it's done by breast or bottle. Also, bottle feeding a baby CAN be just as beautiful and bonding as breastfeeding. You can still hold your baby the same way you would when breastfeeding and looking into her eyes the same way. Trust me.

Zippered one piece sleep n plays are da bomb. Newborn babies don't need fancy clothes, just something to keep them warm. Sleep n plays are awesome but generally come with snaps which are better than buttons but when you're dealing with a squirmy little guy, a zipper is quick and easy.

Hold baby as much as you want- and then some. Don't be fooled by some folk who may say you're spoiling your baby by holding them. No you're not. You're nurturing your baby. You can't spoil a newborn. And so what if the baby stops crying when you hold him? That's a good thing! That means you're comforting him. If baby is unhappy and he's fed, changed, burped... why not hold him a little longer? It may seem like you've been holding him all day, but there will come a time when he wants little to do with you. Enjoy holding him now!

Swaddling is awesome. Your baby is used to being in tight, warm quarters. Why not try recreating that when he's on the outside? Learn to swaddle. It can really help baby sleep. And the Miracle Blanket is worth every penny!

White noise is life changing.  Baby is also used to lots of noise- non stop noise, really. Get a machine that plays white noise or run a fan when baby sleeps. It will help her sleep and keep out other distracting noises.

Accept help. This is normally the first piece of advice I give when asked. Don't be too proud to accept help if it's offered. And if it's not offered, don't be afraid to ask for help. Even if it's that someone come over to hold baby while you shower and rest for 1/2 an hour. Ask for and/or accept help.

Hold baby some more. She'll be 16 before you know it, I promise. Take advantage of her itty bittyness NOW.

Nap when you can. This is one that everyone says, but it's the flippin truth.

(all images are from google images)

face

Thinking ahead

For Lovie's first birthday, we kinda went big- spending more than we wanted and having everyone (family only- like 50 people) out for pizza in a private room of a pizza joint. I have no regrets because it was the first time several family members were meeting Lovie and it was important to me that we give them that opportunity.

But it wasn't cheap.

I mean, despite only getting a couple packages of balloons we blew up ourselves and some other random, cheap decorations as well as an inexpensive sheet cake, every penny went to the pizza joint for pizza and pop.

We spent what we spent agreeing that from that point forward, her birthday parties would be much smaller. Fine.

But the closer we get to her birthday, the more I'm hoping to do something more than just us and maybe her grandparents.

Enter one of those kid gym places.

A friend of mine, a SAHM, has been taking her kid there for well over a year and kept telling me to take Lovie. Hello! We spend a LOT of money sending her to daycare during the week - where she gets plenty of play time! But now that she's older and even more active, I decided to look into it for when the weather gets to be too cold or wet for us to get out to the park. They had a two week free trial so went for the first time last weekend.

It's AWESOME.

We spent an hour on the floor with Lovie, playing with her, encouraging her, spotting her. She did well with the teachers and the other kids, all older (she's the youngest in the class going up to 3.5 yo). We ended up signing her up after the class for another 8 weeks of classes starting in November so that the membership fee was waived.

I then "liked" them on Facebook and noticed they were having a contest for a FREE birthday party. So I slapped Lovie's pic on their wall and asked people to like. The contest ends in two weeks. So far (KNOCK ON EVERY PIECE OF WOOD), things look promising.

If we could win this party, it would really be ideal.

Fingers crossed.

In the meantime, I need to figure out what she's gonna wear for her birthday (and any time next year) so I found some images from google images and farted around on paint and came up with two designs:

She LOVES Team Umizoomi. Like, LOVES them. And I think I'm certain she would be beyond ecstatic to wear a shirt with the characters from the show... but I'm not sure I can find a place to make the design for me because of licensing issues. That's my guess anyway. Whereas the shirt with her name (her real name would appear, of course) can easily be made.

Keeping in mind I used Paint to create these so colors and style won't be the same, of course, what do you think??

Tick tock!

It’s 43 degrees right now; it’s cold, it’s gray and rainy, it’s autumn. And it’s a fantastic reminder that the holiday season is fast approaching. What better time to start thinking about what holiday cards to send?

 

Last Christmas, we sent out photo cards from Shutterfly and I’m sure we’ll be doing the same again this year- especially after the excellent experiences I’ve had with Shutterfly since first ordering (Lovie’s birth announcments) through them.  

 

They have such a vast variety of holiday cards to choose from and offer up a lot of customizing, too. Here’s a few of my favorites this year:

(I tend to like the more simple and flat cards because I think they’re easier to spot Lovie’s cute face on amidst an array of other cards, and they’re easy to pop onto the wall or fridge.)

In addition to holiday cards, Shutterfly also has some pretty neat calendars and other gifts that family is sure to treasure.

Tick tock, people. Halloween is in 11 days, Thanksgiving is in a little more than a month, and Christmas… will be here before you know it!!

Are you a blogger interested in getting 25 free Christmas cards from Shutterfly? Then click here.

Fall Haiku

5.) Write a Haiku for Fall and pair it with a favorite Fall photo you’ve taken this year.

Fall is vibrant colors

smiles from crunchy leaves

warmth from pumpkin spice

Wordless Wednesday: Grandpa's bday dinner was Saturday night

check out more WW photos at The Paper Mama and Kiddothings!

Guilty Pleasures, the Listicle!

all images via google images search

1. Pretzel M&M's. I just can't get enough these days.

2. Coffee- be it hot, cold, latte, espresso...

3. Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream. Is there more to say than that?

4. Jays (specifically) BBQ Potato Chips. There's a reason it's been a long time since I've opened a bag.

5. Message boards. The cartoon says it all, really. :D

6. Facebook. Ugh, I'm on it more than I admit.

7. The Maury Show. "You ARE...NOT the father!"

8. 90210. Cuz I'm a 14 year old trapped in a 39 year old's body?!?!

9. Teen Mom. Like number 6, I watch it more than I admit!

10. CROCS. I shouldn't have included this cuz there's NO GUILT in wearing these. I actually like their look AND their comfort. So there.

What are some of your guilty pleasures?

Colorful

 Linking up with The Paper Mama

One of the best things about Autumn is its gorgeous colors it provides us with. Love this time of year so stinkin much.

"A picture is a poem without words."

When I was in like 8th grade or so, I finally went to the Art Institute and fell in love with a painting by Pablo Picasso called The Old Guitarist.

Now, when I say I "fell in love with a painting", I mean it. I couldn't get the image out of my head, couldn't shake the feelings I got when I saw it or thought of it. I mean look at it and tell me it's not... intriguing, sad, hypnotizing, etc, etc.

Now, as a mom, I'm submerged in art. *smile*

And the older she gets, the more of it I get. And I freaking love it. Love it. But it's definitely a different kind of love than Picasso's masterpiece. After all these were made by my Lovie (with the help of her teachers).

Some just collected this week:

Both include hand prints. *LOVE*

Then there's the random coloring in the lines (uh huh):

Or the finger paintings. *LOVE*

And then, every so often, I get something like this and I'm all, "It's soo pretty." But what the hell is it?!?

Any guesses?

Maybe it should be turned?!? I honestly haven't a clue other than maybe it's supposed to be stars at night?!? It's white smudge of paint on black paper and in the center is some random gold glitter. (I plan on asking when I pick her up from school since I got it this morning on my way out... but I'd LOVE to hear your guesses!)

And let me know if you post any of your kids' creations; I'd love to see!

Oh and the first person who can tell me who the quote belongs to in this title gets... the satisfaction of being the first person to guess correctly. ;D

more Daria

When she asked Judd, the tattoo guy, how bad it hurt, he said nothing. Instead, snatching her hand, he stabbed the palm of it with his tattoo gun, leaving one small black dot, which would remain there forever.

Daria was mortified over what Judd had done- especially since the fucking thing did hurt. She was nervous, scared. Now more so than when first arriving at the tattoo party. But the room was closing in around her; they were all huddled together in little groups drinking, laughing, smoking. And who knew where her mom was. Daria really had no choice but to stay seated in that chair and get the tattoo.

Judd couldn’t finish the damn thing soon enough- the fucker hurt.

Just as Judd was on the last link of the chain making its way around Daria’s right ankle, her mom finally reappeared, wearing a proud smile as she looked down at her 16 year old daughter’s new ink. She thanked Judd and asked Daria to do the same and when she did, Judd crooned, “Well you know I need some kind of payment.”

Daria was certain she would vomit. She was still a virgin- hadn’t even really kissed a guy up to this point. There was no way she could have sex with this drunk vile of a man. Oh fuck, he wants to suck my mom’s titties, she thought to herself as he watched them smiling at one another.  “Oh Judd,” Daria’s mom cooed. “What can we do for you?”

He smiled, revealing a missing a gap in his front teeth. Saying nothing, he brought a finger to his cheek and tapped it, turning the cheek toward the young girl.

Daria swallowed the vomit burning her throat, stood up and quickly pecked his cheek. “Thanks,” she said.

This week we asked you to write a piece – fiction or creative non-fiction – in which a tattoo figures prominently.
We wanted you to explore the many facets of tattoos: why someone would get them, what the meaning was, what the tattoo says about them.
Word limit was 300.

Comments: I decided to do some more with Daria. I kinda dig her.

for the love of all that is, just get up off your ass and quit being so lazy!

A list of ten things you should never ask your spouse.

My husband is a funny, sarcastic, intelligent man. He's articulate, has a kind smile, and is the most patient person I've ever encountered. I love him, but there are moments... days... hell, sometimes weeks at a time when he drives me absolutely batty.

But god forbid I ever ask him to do something about some of the things that drive me batty:

1.  Gather the garbage when it's full instead of waiting till I get upset because it's all overflowing and other garbage lays on top of the garbage bin that will no longer close.

2.  Clean as you cook instead of waiting till your gourmet meal (his meals are always awesome) is complete. That way you don't leave an absolutely disgusting kitchen behind. Disgusting. Chef Ramsey would have a field day in our kitchen during or right after my husband cooks.

3.  See a chick flick with me. Just once.

4.  See ANY movie that you don't get a good vibe about or that doesn't get good Rotten Tomatoes reviews.

5.  Wake up, just once, when Lovie wakes and get her up for the day. Just once.

6.  Come to bed before the next day.  This one I'm used to be it still saddens me that we never go to bed at the same time.

7.  If she hadn't stopped doing her show, go see Oprah. Heh, this one is a joke because we've actually been to a taping of her show and he was not happy with me. He was one of like three men in the audience and man was it a boring show- about the chick from Growing Pains getting a DUI.

8.  Buy a used car.

9.  Take public transportation. He's a city boy and walked, took the bus and/or train everywhere until he got his license and bought his first car at ... 25! So he's done with buses and/or trains.

10. Go to the doctor so you can quit snoring and attacking your face at night and waking me up.

Canvas

This is NOT a sponsored post. This company doesn't know I even exist. I'm writing this purely because I want to. All opinions, all images are mine.

I've fallen in love with canvas prints of my Loviebug. And I blame it all on a company called Winkflash. You see, when I first heard about them, they were offering a free 8x10 canvas. I just had to pay for S&H. (I have no clue if they still have this offer as it's been a year.) If you know anything about me, you know I'm as cheap as they come. So I snagged up that offer and got an image of the three of us taken the day after Lovie was born.

I was super happy with the way it looked, but thought it was sooo small. Too small. It was too good of a picture to be kept that small. So a couple months later when Winkflash was offering a great offer on their canvases, I took them up on it and ordered a 12x18 canvas of an image from Lovie's one year photos.

The canvas looks small in this picture above since it's placed between the two windows, I admit, but it's a GREAT canvas. The image on it is absolutely spot on. The hubs was worried about doing it black and white, but even the snob he was happy with the result. (If you look super duper close, you can see the free 8x10 in the right corner of the window on the right- I stupidly forget to get a closer shot.)

I was so happy with the result of that 12x18, I waited ever so patiently for Winkflash to offer another steal deal on their canvases (thanks to liking them on Facebook and Twitter, it's super easy to keep up with their offers) to snag up another 12x18... and the result of this one...

took my breath away the same way it did when I originally saw the image months prior.

It's placed on that wall specifically in that location so that wherever you are in the house, you can see it. If I'm in the kitchen, one of the bedrooms or bathrooms, I just pop my head into the hallway and look down toward the living room and there it is.

I can't even tell you the number of comments I've gotten on that canvas. I'm so proud of it. :) And of course, it left me wanting more canvas prints. But, let's be honest, they aren't exactly cheap. Even if you wait for a good deal- and believe me, Winkflash offers up some amazing deals nearly every single day!

So I decided to be picky about what to get onto canvas. But I wanted to get something up on the one wall opposite those two small windows, next to the dining room table. It's been blank since we moved in and while I'm a minimalist, I have a gorgeous girl to show off so I made a recent purchase of a 12x18 and two 12x12 canvases and the result is... well, see for yourself:

Please excuse the clutter in all the photos- and the cat tree. Also, I can assure you that the canvas prints come out very crisp- I just took the photos of them head on with a flash so it doesn't look so crisp.

This is NOT a sponsored post. This company doesn't know I even exist. I'm writing this purely because I want to. All opinions, all images are mine.

PYHO: I hate phones

I've never been a fan of the phone. I'm not sure if it's that I've always been the listener and have gotten myself into some ridiculously long conversations in the past or what, but I've never enjoyed talking on the phone.

And now with cell phones, it's no exception.

In fact, my hatred may have actually grown. Especially now that I have a child.

I realize this may offend some people and well... whatever. It's my blog, my opinions, my time to pour my heart out on the subject: I'm so incredibly sick and tired of seeing caretakers of children with their phones glued to their ears or their eyes and fingers glued to the screen and minuscule keyboard of the cell phone- while their child(ren) is in their presence.

I'm sick of seeing a parent/caretaker talking on their gd cell phones when they drop their kid off or pick them up from school. Is the call that mofo important that you can't wait 2 minutes to give your child some undivided attention?!  I see this at least once or twice every single day when I drop off and/or pick up Lovie. Hell, just a little bit ago this woman left her car running as she jabbered on the phone while walking into daycare with a girl, about 4, trailing behind her looking lost and confused. Really? You can't put the phone down for two minutes to tell the child that you love them and will see them later?!

And don't even get me started about people in their mofo cars talking- or better yet, TEXTING- while driving with their kids in the back seat. It's one thing if you're gonna do that shit to yourself, but when you risk your child's life like that SO YOU CAN FUCKING TEXT MESSAGE?!

Ridiculous.

Selfish.

Am I judging these people who talk on their cell phones, who text message in the presence of their child. YOU BETCHA I AM.

Something tells me that it's not an emergency when the person is calmly talking on the phone while the kid is aimlessly walking behind them.

Something tells me it's not an emergency when there's an eruption of laughter coming from the bench mom sits on, with phone up to ear, while Lucy bullies my kid while we play at the park.

Something tells me TEXTING WHILE DRIVING isn't a necessity.

I have a cell phone. If I forget it, I generally will go back home to get it. I think they are awesome to have because you just never know. The idea of driving to and from anywhere without one causes me to panic a bit. Not because it's glued to my fucking ear all the time or because my thumbs hurt from texting, but because you just never know when/if an emergency arises.

So I guess it's not the phones I hate so much as its indulgent users.

scraped knees

My badass kid fell yesterday at the playground. She was running on the concrete area and bam, went down. She let out a cry and I told her it was gonna be OK. She cried some more and I got down to her level and noticed her knee was bleeding a tiny bit. I didn't say anything about the knee but I did scoop her up to hold her and tell her that I know that she fell but that it was going to be OK.

She wiggled out of my hug a second later to get back to playing. Cuz she's badass like that. Heh. :) When we got home and she was eating, I noticed the scrapes were on both knees. Oops. I still didn't bring any attention to it, but I did have to get photos.

left knee

right knee

After her bath, I quickly dabbed a tad bit of Neosporin on her knees but really, there was nothing there anymore after she soaked for a bit.

All this brings back memories of when I was a kid... and how I used to wear my scrapes and bruises proudly! But I was not a girly girl at all. In fact I hated being a girl when I was a kid. I hated dolls and pink and frilly shit and dresses and the fact that I had to pee sitting down. I wanted to be a boy so bad. Maybe that's why I was so proud to wear my scrapes and bruises? Or maybe it's just a kid thing.

I wonder how Lovie will be when she gets older... how will she react when she gets bigger and badder scrapes and bruises? At 21 months old, she's such a sweet, sensitive one- she cries real tears when the cats fight, for pete's sake! But she also has a side of her that loves to keep doing stuff till she's mastered it- and a little tumble doesn't seem to shake her.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring... I just know that right now, she doesn't see that the world separates Boys from Girls, that Boys are expected to do and act one way, while Girls are to do and act another; she doesn't see Black and White; she sees Little Kid, Big Kid, Baby; she sees Happy or Sad. And while she is a girl and she does like to play with her dolls and she's very sensitive and SO sweet, I refuse to treat her "like a girl." I won't do it. That's not to say I treat her "like a boy." I treat her like the love of my life, the light of my life. I mean, just because she's a girl, does that mean I should've swooped her up into my arms and cried along with her, rushing her home to wash the scrapes and put bandages on them? Pink friggin bandages perhaps?