My baby is all grown up...

No, not the baby I gave birth to but the one that I have been practicing my mothering skills on for the last 18 years is graduating from High School this week. I can't describe how amazing it is to have known a person for their whole life the way I know my sister, from the sit down talk at the dinner table about "how would you two feel if we decided to have another baby?" when I was 10 all the way up through getting a phone call on Prom night about her last high school dance. The amazing thing is, I have learned more from my baby sister than I feel I have taught her. She is one of the funniest and most creative people I know, one of the first people I want to call with good or bad news, and my source of great new music and bands. I love that no matter how old she got, she still wanted me to come lay on her bed when I came to visit so she could show me yearbooks of her friends to put faces with the stories she'd tell me. I am waiting for the day when she realizes that I am a 29 year old married mother with a job and mortgage and soo not cool...but she hasn't yet and I am going to enjoy being cool while I still can! I feel so lucky to have been a part of the every day little things in her life, and blessed that even when we are miles apart, we've stayed as close as if we lived right by each other. I have been flooded with memories of her growing up these last few weeks and although her graduating is a little bittersweet, I am so excited for what lays ahead for her. Watch out world, here comes Auntie Jess!

WFMW - Mamasource.com

I have found an awesome website both for the mom in need of advice on anything from calming a teething baby to where there is a good hair dresser in your area : www.mamasource.com. The website description is : "Mamasource is a safe and easy way to connect with other moms in your local area. Find the advice, referrals and insight you need, in a supportive community of moms helping moms." I love it because I can post a question, such as "How can I help my 6 month old make the transition from sleeping in our room to sleeping in his crib?" and I get back replies offering tips, words of wisdom, and reassurance. I also like being able to help other mom's who have posted questions. Specifically, a mom who was moving to our area from out of state asked "Does anyone have a pediatrician they would recommend?" I would have loved to have had information like that when we were picking out a pediatrician and an OB! You get daily e-mails with 4-5 requests and you can read other replies. Check out Mamasource by clicking here and look for other great tips at Rocks In My Dryer!

The soundtrack of my life...

My friend Quinn passed this along to me and being a music lover, I had to try it out...and if you are reading this then *TAG* now you have to try it too!

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool..

Opening Credits: "Light In Your Eyes" Blessid Union of Souls

Waking Up: "If I had $1,000,000" Barenaked Ladies

First Day At School: "London Bridge" Fergie (Can you see me strutting in for my first day of Kindergarten to this :)?)

Falling In Love: "The Stone" Dave Matthew's Band

Fight Song: "Undone" Lifehouse

Breaking Up: "The Hardest Part" Coldplay

Prom: "I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend" Mary Chapin Carpender (I swear the last two were completely random!)

Life's OK: "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter In a Small Town" Pearl Jam

Mental Breakdown: "Expectations" Belle & Sabastian

Driving: "Swing, Swing" All American Rejects

Flashback: "High On You" Survivor (80's rock flashback!!)

Getting Back Together: "Juarez" Better Than Ezra

Wedding: "Build Me Up Buttercup" The Foundations

Birth of Child: "These Arms" Matt Costa

Final Battle: "One Sweet World" Dave Matthew's Band

Death Scene: "Songs of Love" Ben Folds

Funeral: "Sampson" Regina Spektor

End Credits: "Blackbird" Sarah McLachlan

Now you can see how diverse my music collection is and judge me for having bad 80's love songs, however keep in mind this is just a small sampling of my completely eclectic collection :).

Lazy blog day

The ether today is stunning! Beautiful clear sky & slight breeze, so we hit the side yard to lay in the shade, blow some bubbles, and play in the grass for the first time...

Basking in the sun...aint' life grand :)?

Wow, Craig's List has everything!

Mine eyes were violated today and I didn't even see it coming (pardon the pun). There I was, innocently perusing the pages of Craig's List when I saw an ad for **Nice Antique Bedroom Set Over 100 Years Old**" I took a look at it more to see what 100 year old furniture looked like, not that I am in the market for it. So I open it up and see a very detailed description devoid of typos (a CL rarity!) and three pictures: one of the vanity dresser and chair, one of the bed...and one of a crack pipe. Yes, a crack pipe. So I know you are wondering a few things: Why do I know what a crack pipe looks like? I admit I have seen my fair share of episodes of Intervention, that's about the closest I've come. Is the pipe included with the set? I don't think so, I checked it again tonight and the pipe has been replaced by a dresser. Are you surprised that an person who has a 100 year old bedroom set has a crack problem? Yes. Yes I am :). If anyone is interested in seeing this set or better yet, asking if the crack pipe is included in the set, here is the link.

This is almost as good as the post I saw for a coffee table in my area. I clicked on the link and the picture provided was of a topless man sporting a rather impressive mullet chasing a small child dressed only in a diaper...the corner of the table could be seen in the background of the picture...at least I think that was the table...

WFMW: Bath Aprons

I got the most wonderful gift from my friend Jenny after Monkey arrived...a hand sewn bath apron. She took a towel, sewed trim around the edges to create two straps to go around my neck and fasten with velcro, and two straps to tie around my waist. It keep you dry when the little ones are splashing around in the tub and when it's time to get them out, you pick them up, hold them to your chest and wrap the bottom of the apron around them! There are several sites that sell them, including online at Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Tubby Bundle. There is a really basic pattern on Martha Stewart for those of you who like to sew.

This awesome gift works for me, check out other great tips at Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer!

My *new* photoblog

As I had posted earlier, one of my 43 Things was to create a photo journal by taking one picture a day for a year. Since I am like most people with a digital camera and have roughly 1,235,789,591, 697 pictures in my my camera and have printed off maybe 40 in the last year, a actual album isn't very likely. So I found a group on Flickr that is posting them and creating a photoblog, one picture a day for year. It can't get much easier than that for me, so I have hopped on the shutterbug bandwagon. You can check out my photoblog at http://www.everydayinoz.blogspot.com/ (the link is also listed over here ---->). I would love to see if this catches on with others, I am such a sucker for pictures :).

Take care!

I learned from the best...

I have never been one to take a compliment well and I think I am as critical of myself as most people are. But I absolutely love who I am as a mother. I love that I treasure each moment of being Monkey's mom, I love sharing my silly sense of humor with him, and taking care of him. And I know that I am only the mother I am because I was raised by a wonderful mother. I was raised by a mother who wanted to hear about my day, who made me feel important and loved, and who made me laugh. That woman can still make me laugh so hard I cry thanks to the magic and technology of cell phones, e-mail, and web cams. I have always appreciated and thanked my lucky stars for her, but now that I am a mother, I love her even more.

Two Mother's Days ago, I was facing the reality that I may or may not be able to have children. Since I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) as a teenager, I knew it would be difficult road. Yet it was an experience I treasure now because it deepened my love for my husband as he supported emotionally and it makes me treasure every moment with Monkey in a way I might not have. Last Mother's Day I had officially been pregnant for two months and was so excited and so scared at the same time. This Mother's Day, as I held my beloved, sniffling baby boy while he wiped his nose on my shirt and got my sick husband medicine and Kleenex, I realized that I may not be having the most glamorous Mother's Day but I get to be a mother and that in its self is my gift :).

Happy Mother's Day!

iLike my iPod

I have a wonderful friend whom I will call Shleby (inevitably when I attempt to type her name, I always wind up typing Shleby instead... and from what we have seen on company e-mails, I am not the only one). Shleby is my carpool buddy to work since we are neighbors & have a 35-45 minute commute and let me tell you, when you have worked a 13 hour shift and are driving home after being up all day with your little one and all night with other people's little ones, having someone to talk to (and keep you awake) is wonderful. When Shleby learned that I was without MP3 technology, she offered me an iPod Shuffle she'd won at a company party...and it changed my life! I can't believe that the Walkmans of yesteryear have morphed into this tiny little machine with amazing sound quality. And if you don't yet own one, beware that iTunes will suck you in and steal precious hours of your day! I do love how you can buy the "essentials" of an artist, or their top 15 or so songs. Right now I am digging "Sky" by Joshua Radin & Ingrid Michaelson. Joshua Radin (in my best NY accent) "has a voice like butta." My hubby and I have the agreement of a "Celebrity Free Card." You can pick one celebrity and one celebrity only. If this person randomly shows up at our doorstep, you are allowed to run off with them no questions asked. I am thinking I may have to bump Ryan Reynolds from my #1 spot to make room for Joshua Radin...that man could sing "99 bottles of beer on the Wall" and I would dig it :). In case you are wondering, The Hub's Celebrity Free card is Gwen Stefani...

In Monkey news, he has had a very eventful week. He started his first full day of daycare (he is only going one day a week) and had a great time. I had to wait for the three lovely ladies he spent his day with to finish loving on him, giving him hugs, and finish saying goodbye before I could take him home :). He had a great time but it was all he could do to stay awake for dinner and he crashed a good hour earlier than usual. Today we went and hung out with our friends Meshellyn and Little Miss. I have a lovely picture of Monkey trying to show his affection for Little Miss by gnawing on her (it's teething, I promise he's not a vampire!) and she is trying to get away. Day care and playdates wear the Monkey out (and a more accurate bib would say "Where's my afternoon snack?").

Thanks for peeking in on us, have a good weekend!

Embracing diversity

So I know we have all heard about the terrible effect the media has on people's, especially young girls', self esteem. There is even a video on YouTube (click here to see it) about what the model on the Dove billboard really looks like before, during, and after the make-up, photo shoot, and digital enhancement. That's why I was so glad to see this:

Finally! People with horrible posture and skin the color of anti-freeze are being made cool thanks to the wonderful people at: Way to embrace diversity! Now, if they could just find a manikin with MY physique and occasional skin imperfections, maybe I'll be the next one on display at F RE ER 21!