We are the Millers

  Dear Baby Girl,  listen here....the whole sticking your hands in your diaper after you pooped thing you did the other day....not cool.  I will not be dealing with poop hands from you so you can stop that crap (literally) right now.  It's gross.  Don't be gross.    Dear Little Man,  I hope your new tooth pops soon, buddy.  You're not really that grouchy but I can tell that it bothers and hurts you.  Keep on screaming on big guy. Dear Spring, where the hell did you go?  You were here and then you left.  I know you left because there was a fresh layer of snow on the ground outside of my house.  Not cool, Spring.  Not cool. Dear park up the street from my house, I foresee many play dates with you in our future. Dear Jillian,  you and I are going to become good friends over the next 30 days.  Well, maybe not.  Maybe I will hate you and curse you and never want to speak to you again bu...

The basics? Diapers - Size 3 Clothing - 12-18 month Food - He has eaten everything I've given him so far.  He seems to favor apples and pears. Sleeping - Through the night!!! Teeth - Two little chompers, with one on the way Words - ba ba ba ba Favorite toy - Bouncer, plush parrot, Elmo Little man is now exclusively in all 12 or 12-18 month clothing.  I had to bump up his PJs to 12 month now too.  I can't believe how big he is.  He's not really a fat baby, he's just solid.  His legs are so chunky and cute but his belly is solid.  He's just so lean and tall.  He's still eating everything I give him.  He really likes all of the foods I've been giving him so far and hasn't really turned his nose to anything.  He favors carrots and pears right now.  I had a freezer stocked full of baby food and it is all gone!  I have to spend a day making a new stock pile. When he eats his solids, which is usually...

So what if we have two vacuum cleaners and neither of them work right now.  We bought a brand new vacuum cleaner about a month after we moved into our new house.  We figured new house, new vacuum.  Plus the new house has a lot of carpet and our old vacuum was just not efficient enough. So we bought this.     And I actually really like it.  I love that the canister comes off and that I can easily carry it up the stairs.  What I don't love is that it stopped working.  The canister and hose still work so my husband just think it's a belt but really?  I've only been using it for a month.  And I've already broken or slipped a belt? I do vacuum a lot.  At least every other day in some rooms.  The boy rolls all over the floor now and the girl likes to lay on the floor to watch TV so I like to keep it clean. The other vacuum we have (the older one) doesn't work either.  I think that's because it needs a new...

I've heard so many people tell me that bringing a second child home was not nearly as hard for them as bringing the first child home.  That they at least had some kind of idea as to what they were doing the second time around. This was not true for me at all. I had no issues bringing Baby Girl home.  I was never nervous about how I was going to take care of her.  I never had any doubts about how I'd adjust to having that little girl in my life.  My husband was the 'are they really letting us leave with this kid' type.  I was not.  I knew it would all be great. The second kid?  Scared. The. Shit. Out. Of. Me. Why?  I really had no idea how I was going to divide my time.  How do I take care of the baby and not piss off the toddler?  How do I keep the toddler busy and make her feel like I'm not ignoring her?  How do I make sure she doesn't resent her baby brother because he takes up too much of my time? And then there's her...

~I love, love, love music.  I listen to a pretty wide variety of music and don't really have one favorite genre.  My favorite band of all time is Queen. ~Grilled cheese and applesauce is one of my favorite comfort food combinations.  An awesome grilled cheese sandwich dipped in applesauce is like a slice of heaven to me. ~I hate feet.  Don't touch my feet and don't touch me with your feet.  I will never get a pedicure because they freak me out.  My husband has to wear socks because I squirm if he touches me with his bare feet.  The only feet I like are baby feet...and even that is pushing it. ~I smoked for ten years.  And I enjoyed it.  I have been smoke free for almost five years now.  I didn't quit because I wanted to.  I quit because I had to.  Quit smoking or run the risk of developing cervical cancer at 26?  I think I chose wisely. ~I am obsessed with purses.  Especially Coach purses.  I can't g...

  Dear Baby Girl,  I finally figured out what was wrong with you!  The vomiting in the middle of the night, the food strike you were on, the lovely liquid diapers you kept giving me.  It only took me four days to realize that you have another molar popping through.  Mom fail.  Sorry baby girl.  At least you're feeling better now.  I can tell because the pantry is starting to empty out.   Dear Little Man,  I have to tell you that this new screaming thing you are doing is pretty dam cute.  You just yell and yell and yell for no reason other than to hear yourself.  It's pretty funny.  I'm also loving how much you are rolling all over the place.  Play mat is pretty much obsolete because you never stay on it.  It's fun to try and guess where you'll be when I come back into the room.  Dear husband, that trip you took to Chicago this week?  Yea let's not do that again.  I'm used to y...

So if you've been following me at all, you know that I have been 'dieting' since the beginning of the year in an effort to lose the baby weight plus some.  I have had some success so far and I wanted to share some of the things I have been doing. I've been entering all of my food and exercise on LoseIt .  I'm limited to a 1200 calorie diet.  I know that doesn't seem like much but the lower number helps to motivate me to exercise a little more so I can eat more.  I generally do pretty well with eating but that's because I eat a lot of the same things every single day.  I like that kind of routine.  I'm also the world's most picky eater.  It's not even a joke.  It's so hard for me because I don't like any fruits or vegetables and that's what you're supposed to eat!  Instead, I just eat a lot of chicken and really try to watch my portion sizes.  I did have a 'binge week' where I just ate whatever I wanted.  I still ente...

So what if I call my kid Chunk.  It has recently been brought to my attention that the nickname 'Chunk' might be a little less than desirable.  Now I don't usually care about what people think but my own husband hates the name.  He hasn't really given me any particular reason as to why he doesn't like the name he just says he doesn't like it.  The other person who questioned the name asked what happens if the name sticks with him.  What happens if in ten years, fifteen years, twenty years people are still calling him Chunk?  That may or may not be damaging to him because it can give him a bad body image.  So I took to Instagram and I got pretty much the same reaction from everyone. He's my kid and I should call him what I want. Here's my thing.  I don't call my kid Chunk because he's fat.  Yes, he's a big baby.  He's six months old and weighs 20lbs.  He's a big boy.  But he's not fat.  He's...

    Little Man is officially more advanced than his sister!  At least in size anyway.  Even though 2lbs doesn't seem like much, it really is.  He's quite a bit bigger than she was.  I mean, he's already wearing 12 month and some 18 month clothing.  She didn't move to that size until 9 months. He also has two little teeth and she didn't have any yet at six months.  She did get them shortly after she turned six months, though.  He also holds his head up much better than she did and he sits up all by himself.  I think because of the size of her head, it took a bit longer for her to sit up on her own. He has finally caught up to his big sister in the sleep department.  He usually sleeps anywhere between 7 and 10 hours each night.  I'm not sure what prompts him to wake earlier on some days but when he does, he usually just takes a bottle and goes right back to sleep.  And those are usually days my husband feeds him si...

  Dear Baby Girl,  in order to preserve our sanity (yes, yours and mine), I think we are going to take a little break from potty training.  Peeing on the floor six times in one day is just not ok.  And now all I see from you is frustration so we are just going to give you a break.  Better luck next time.  Also, I'm sorry you are sick.  Throwing up in the middle of the night is no fun.  But you seemed fine today so we'll see how tonight goes.   Dear Little Man,  just like that you are sitting up all by yourself.  I'm not sure what happened but you've decided that it's time to be a big boy and Mama isn't liking it one bit.  Slow down on the growing my man.  Dear new bed, I was worried that you were going to suck but you're not that bad.  My back seems to hurt a little less now so kudos to you on that one.  Plus, you're like a regular size bed so the sheets fit you normally.  I was a little tir...

So what if I'm already getting a bit discouraged by this diet/exercise thing I've got going on. Let me start off by saying a I'm not a patient person. I've been doing the 300/30 Day Ab Challenge for a week now.  I've been doing some kind of other cardio every day.  I'm still on the cleanse (today is the last day).  I'm watching my food and calorie intake like a hawk. I should be down like 5 pounds already.  At least I think I should be. But I'm not. I know that I'm not being patient.  I know that it doesn't happen over night.  I know that the little bit of weight that I have lost so far is better than none. I still wish it would happen faster. On the up side, I have gotten my ass moving every day and that does feel good.  I like putting my exercise in my Lose It app.  I like to see how hard I'm working.  And that's about the only thing that's helping me to keep going. I also know that I'll be able to take the...

ONE I am in love with my Polar Fit watch.  I have been seeing this thing on Instagram and I have been wanting one so I finally got one.  It really is a great tool.   TWO After my binge week, I cleaned up and started my diet back up along with a 10 day cleanse and a 300/30 day ab challenge.  Last I checked, which was a day ago, I had already dropped 4lbs.  In the words of Dale Doback, I'm here to fuck shit up!  (click on picture for more information) THREE   This guy has been sleeping so well through the night.  I am so happy because I really did not see an end in sight when it came to his sleep.  If he stays awake after his last nap for the rest of the night, he sleeps even better than normal so that's our new goal.     FOUR   Two blog posts in one day?  And five in one week?  I can deal with that!  Let's see if I can keep it up.  Now that my house is mostly unpacked, I should...

  Dear letters,  I'm sorry I haven't been writing you lately.  I've been so busy that I just haven't had the time.  And even though the original host of these letters is no longer hosting a link up, I still enjoy writing you.  So, now that my new house is mostly unpacked and I have some more time on my hands, I intend to pick you back up.     Dear Baby Girl,  I think you tricked us into thinking we weren't going to have to deal with the terrible two's because when you turned two, you didn't change a bit.  I thought, if this is the terrible two's, I'm one lucky Mama!  I'm smacking myself in the forehead now my testy little toddler.  I need every ounce of patience to deal with you some days.  And then other days you are a perfect little angel.  Regardless of your toddler tude, you will always be my sweet baby girl.  And I love how much  you love your brother now and how much you try to play with ...

Little Chunk was 19lbs 2oz (80%) and 27.75 inches long (95%) at his 6 month appointment.  He did so well with his shots this time!  He only cried for a few seconds.  He was such a big boy!  Aside from a little bit of Eczema that he has on his belly and chest, he is perfect!  He's had a cold for quite some time now too but the doctor wasn't worried. The basics? Diapers - Size 3 Clothing - 12-18 month all but PJs.  Still wearing 9 month PJs. Food - He has eaten everything I've given him so far.  He seems to favor apples and pears. Sleeping - Through the night!!! Teeth - Two little chompers! Words - Nothing yet Favorite toy - Bouncer, plush parrot, Elmo So yea...we had to put away all the 9 month clothing already and put the chunkster in 12 month stuff.  I bought him a few things from Old Navy that are 12-18 months and while they are a little baggy on him, they fit him in length.  I can't believe ho...

So what if I'm on day 3 of my 10 day cleanse and I've already cheated. So here's the deal.  Last week was a binge week for me.  It just happened.  I ate whatever I wanted and didn't really care.  I was over at least 1600 calories for the week and that wasn't even me logging everything .  I also gained 3lbs.  Suck ass. I'm not kicking myself.  I know we all fall.  I also know it's time for me to get back up. So this week I started my diet back up and I also started a 10 day cleanse.  You have to drink this fiber drink and take some pills and follow a few diet restrictions.  No big deal right? Wrong. The fiber drink tastes like elephant ass.  It's disgusting.  And on both days one and two I literally vomited while trying to drink it.  I tried diluting it the way they suggested and that didn't work.  I tried diluting a different way as someone else had suggested and that didn't work.  I tried diluti...

~The new house is coming along nicely.  We have all of our stuff moved but there are still quite a few boxes in our front living room that need to be unpacked.  You never realize how much crap you have until you have to pack it all up and move it.  We lived in a tiny house but we've managed to fill our new house (three times the size) very quickly! The one thing that I will say is amazing in our new house is the closet space.  I am loving how much closet space each room has.  It's nice that Ashlyn finally has a proper closet.  Um...how awesome is this closet of hers?  And there's just a little sneak peek of the bookshelf in her room.   I will post more pictures of the new house once I'm completely unpacked and organized.  We are pretty happy with it so far.  I would be jealous of my daughter's closet if I didn't have such an awesome closet myself.  Stay tuned! ~I have to say that so far I am not impressed with this mini...