i thought good things came in threes...

'Twas a tough week this week.  And at the same time I would say it was great.  There were lots of tears (from Ryann).  THREE of her 'I' teeth are pushing their way in.  Her poor little gums are red and swollen.  She smashed her little nose into something (the floor, the media console, the coffee table) THREE different times. She had her 18 month check-up, which meant THREE shots.

The official stats from the doc:  24 pounds 15 ounces (can't believe my peanut is pushing 25 pounds!) and 32 inches tall.  That puts her in the 59th percentile for weight and 62nd percentile for height.  Nice and proportionate :o).  Her head circumference, however, is in the 73rd percentile.  She needs room for that smart little (big?) brain of hers!

This doctor's appointment was definitely one of the worst as far as tears go.  And it also happens to be probably only the second (maybe the first?) appointment that I've taken Ryann to by myself.  We made it through the first nurse and the doctor without too much trouble (but she didn't particularly enjoy it either).  But when the nurse came in for the shots Ryann already knew what was up.  And man, that kid is strong.  I basically had to lay on her while the nurse pinned her legs down to keep her from squirming away.  We all hated it.  Lots and lots and lots of tears.  I felt terrible.

pre-shots, obviously.  giving me her ornery eyes.

But even with all the not fun stuff this week, Ryann has maintained her adorableness (well, and sass), of course.  Lately we are getting a lot more unprompted "Sank (thank) you mommy!  Sank you daddy!"  And one night after Chris said "I love you" when tucking her in, I heard her respond "I love you too Daddy."  My heart turned into a puddle right then and there.  It was so sweet.

Sorry it was kind of a crappy week for you kiddo.  I LOVE YOU!

turkey taco salad

This salad is PERFECT for having delicious healthy leftovers on hand.  My mom put it together while we were staying with her, and sent me home with the leftovers.  I ate it the following three days (once for dinner, twice for lunch) and would have happily ate it several more.

I'm going to include the recipe exactly as written, but I didn't eat it that way.  Personally, I didn't need the tortilla chips.  The first night we had it I made my own 'chips' from a La Tortilla Factory tortilla in the oven.  But the next three days I did just fine without them.  Also, the first night I just used some fat free sour cream as my 'dressing' (no salsa), but with the leftovers I used Trader Joe's cilantro salad dressing.  I also used Monterey Jack cheese with the leftovers.  Seriously, amazing.  Oh and I didn't have any avocado in my leftovers, and I was totally ok with that too.  So more or less this is a recipe you can easily tweak to your liking, but the base is a great healthy thing to have on hand!

Turkey Taco Salad (serves 8)
from Weight Watchers 20 Minute Recipes, spring 2009

*Prepare and measure all of the components first, and assemble the salad just before serving to keep the lettuce and chips crisp.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey breast
• 2 tablespoons 40%-less-sodium taco seasoning
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced ripe olives, drained
• 1 small avocado peeled and diced
• 1 cup refrigerated fresh salsa
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 8 ounces light tortilla chips
• 1 (10-ounce) package torn romaine lettuce (about 8 cups)
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) preshredded reduced fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese

Directions

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Add turkey; cook 7 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble.  Drain, if necessary, and return turkey to pan.  Stir in taco seasoning and 2 tablespoons water; cook 1 minute.
2. Combine turkey mixture, tomato, and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Combine salsa and sour cream in a small bowl.
4. To serve, place 6 chips on each of 8 plates; top chips evenly with lettuce, turkey mixture and cheese.  Serve with sour cream mixture.

One serving had 355 calories.  A serving includes 6 chips, about 1 cup lettuce, 3/4 cup turkey mixture, 1 tablespoon cheese, and 3 tablespoons sour cream mixture.

So basically, we just did steps one and two (minus adding avocado to the mix, my mom doesn't like it, so I just put it on mine), and kept that mix separate.  From there you can pretty much make your taco salad however you like it.  And I just heated up the mix in the microwave when eating it leftover, then mixed in my lettuce, cheese and what not.  So good!!

Enjoy!

embrace the camera

One of my favorite embrace the camera posts is this one.  Not sure why, but I love it.  And the pink tutu?  Kills me of course.  So I thought we try some timer photo booth action.  Ryann didn't really get it.

For the record, I am not wearing the same shirt as the post I linked to.  Just so happens to be rather similar.  Funny huh.

At one point I was trying to show Ryann how we could make funny faces and then I could show her and what not.  She was sitting on the window seat watching me.  I ended up with these gems.

You know you want to be my best friend now.  I'm so cool.

And no.  I have no idea what I was thinking while posting those.  Apparently I love to make a fool of myself.

a day in the life - maria

If someone wants to come over to my house and clean my bathrooms that would be awesome.  It is one item on my to-do list that I have ZERO desire to do (does anyone ever want to clean the bathrooms?).  Since you probably don't feel like doing that, I guess you can have a peek at Maria's day :).

***

Hi! I'm Maria from Momma Maria. I've been married to my wonderful husband, Brandon, who works as a web designer, for almost 5 years now. We've been blessed with a daughter, Lillian, who is 14 months old. I'm a SAHM, so our days sometimes seem long -- especially when I write out everything we do! But, I wouldn't trade it for the world!!

****

6:15 - Brandon wakes me up to tell me good-bye. I'm in a bit of a haze. Usually I feel him get out of bed. Or hear his alarm. This morning -- nothing. After a quick, morning-breath kiss from his woman, he's out the door.

6:30 - My alarm goes off, but I hit the snooze until 7:00. That's right. I set my alarm for an entire half hour before I have to get up. Then at 7:00, my phone won't give me the option to snooze anymore. :(

7:00 - I wake up, make the bed, go to the bathroom, put in a load of laundry (which is upstairs in our master bathroom = love), brush my teeth, then get dressed and do my hair.

7:12 - I head downstairs and put the dishes away from last night. Then I enjoy my breakfast in peaceful silence. Today it is a fruit & grain bar & milk.

7:30 - I make my way to my computer. I realize I need to straighten up my desk.

7:35 - A little Facebook/Reader/Pinterest first, please.

7:54 - Start to hear Lil move around. Realize I really need to get going on my desk.

8:00 - Lil seems to have gone back asleep, so I take a look at the new blog design my husband is doing for me, note a few changes I'd like to make, write a post, & brainstorm future post ideas.

8:13 - Lil finally wakes up. I go up, change her diaper & get her dressed. I let her play while I take dirty clothes to the laundry room.

8:24 - We head back downstairs for her breakfast. Today it is yogurt and eggs.

8:39 - Breakfast is done, so the dogs I clean up the egg that made it to the floor. I head back to the computer to finish a post while Lil plays. It doesn't last long -- I end up playing with her and her kitchen set.

9:13 - I can tell she is getting cranky. We head upstairs to play in her room until nap time.

9:45 - I'm back at my computer. The grandmas have been on me to update Lil's and my Amazon wish lists for Christmas. So, I spend some time browsing through Mellisa & Doug toys, as well as some clothes for me.

10:15 - I can hear Lil crying through the monitor, which usually means a dirty diaper. So, I change her diaper and we snuggle while I sing her songs (Twinkle Twinkle, Little Houses, Jesus Loves Me (('cause singing that after the Weeds theme song makes it better)), and Amazing Grace). She lays back down peacefully.

11:02 - After spending a lotsome time on Pinterest I decide to start browning our bulk meat to freeze.

11:28 - Lil wakes up again, but this time for good. I get her lunch ready: meatballs and veggies. I have leftover BBQ and chips.

11:58 - Lunch is cleaned up -- just like at breakfast -- so now its play time!

12:01 - Eko (our black lab -- we also have a pug/boxer mix, Dharma -- anyone Lost fans, too?) pees on the floor. Kidding me? I yell for Lillian to come back to me. She, of course, thinks it is a game and takes off running. She belly slides through the pee. I couldn't make this up. Worst. Mom. Ever.

Sorry -- no pictures of this. I'm too stressed about the fact that my daughter is laying and splashing her hands in dog pee to even think about grabbing the camera.

12:18 - Bath is over for Lillian, she is changed and playing in her room. I clean up and sanitize the floor. I then join Lil & play in her room. We do some puzzles, which are her favorites right now.

12:46 - Cranky baby = nap time.

12:55 - I start watching Desperate Housewives, Pan Am (which I think I'm going to love), and Modern Family online.

2:45 - Lil wakes up. I set her in her high chair to color while I do some dishes. We then move into the living room to watch Sesame Street.

3:25 - Brandon's home!!

4:23 - She's cranky again and keeps rubbing her eyes, so we lay her down for a nap. She's been sleeping a lot lately due to teething, I'm guessing. I use the time to watch Pawn Stars on Netflix. However, I just end up napping. Brandon goes into his office to work on my blog.

5:00 - Lil & I wake up. I start dinner. Tonight it is Nacho Pie.

5:45 - We eat dinner (I don't have any pictures of this... I guess I forgot).

6:30 - We all head up to The Lillian's room for playtime/stories. Right now we are reading Freddy in Peril. It's an awesome series. Highly recommend it. (It's a five book series. Here is book 1)

8:00 - We put Lillian to bed. Brandon and I head downstairs. He works some more; I watch Heavy on Nextflix.

9:30 - We start Bridesmaids. Not as good as I hoped, but still good.

11:45 - We go to bed. Waaaaaay later than normal. Usually we try to get there by 10:30. I'll be feeling it tomorrow.

*****

Thanks to Ashley for letting me share my day with all of you!

Now for the questions:

1. What is the most surprising thing about being a mom?

The most surprising thing is how much I've learned to trust God. I have major problems worrying over everything (from bumps to rashes, schedules to learning activities, & everything in between). Caring so much about Lil has made me a little crazy. I've learned that keeping my daily time with God means I keep my impulses and troubling thoughts at bay.

2. What advice would you give new or soon-to-be moms?
My advice would be to be sure to schedule alone time with your husband. It is so important to keep your relationship on track. We lost that for a while & nothing felt better than that first alone date after baby to get things back to normal. I also firmly believe that keeping your relationship with your husband in line makes your baby feel safer, more secure, and happier!

3. What are your top three baby products?

• Glow Worm - which is actually a seahorse...but that's not what we call it. It's been with her since the day she started sleeping in her crib. It is soothing to even us when we hear it through the monitor at night.
• Nursing Covers - maybe this is an obvious one. But, honestly, I breast fed everywhere. They are so much nicer than having to deal with a blanket. My mom bought be one as a present, but since I've stopped breast feeding, I've made one using this tutorial for a friend. I love it because you can make it as big as you want -- which is especially nice those first few months when you feel like you have a lot going on down there.
• Chicco Polly Highchair - We got it in the vinyl covering, but it comes in fabric, too. We liked ours so much, my mom bought one for her house. We've used it since day 1 with Lil. When she was a newborn, we would recline the seat and put of up the foot rest. She would snooze in there while I was on the computer, while we were eating, etc. With our hard floors, I can easily maneuver the chair from the kitchen to dining room. The seat levels change, so we now have it lowered enough so she eats off the table with us! We just removed one of our dining chairs and pushed her up! If we ever have to buy another highchair, we will be getting the same one, but in fabric. It cleans in the washer much better than the vinyl.

Thanks so much for sharing my day with me! And thanks again to Ashley for hosting me! Be sure to visit me!

***

Thanks for sharing your day with us Maria!

this and that + some videos

::  I snagged some new throw pillows for my family room couch at Pier 1 (including this, this and this.  I'll take pictures, eventually...).  I'm loving them!  I've been hating my family room, and feel like the walls were making everything look drab, but the pillows instantly made the room feel brighter and cheerier.  I think if I can incorporate a little more turquoise and teal into the room, plus a little white, that I won't hate it so much anymore.  I would LOVE to find some curtains like these...

via

::  I need to figure out a good carry on bag for traveling.  It has to be able to do a bajillion things, like function as a diaper bag, purse, laptop bag and camera bag all in one.  Any suggestions?  Oh, and it can't be too hard to carry because of course I'll be juggling a toddler as well.  Thanks for your help :o).

::  If I need a little pick me up, I generally just go stare at all my pins.  Sounds silly, but so many things I like in one place, it makes me happy.  Especially my decorate and celebrate boards.  Oh pinterest.  How do I love you?  Let me count the ways...

::  The other night I yelled for Christopher while in Ryann's room.  I can't remember what I needed, but nonetheless I yelled for him.  Yesterday my mom was hanging out with us, when I went to put Ryann down for her nap I decided I wanted her sweater because she was itching a bug bite like mad, so I yelled for her.  Ryann looked at me and yelled "Christopher!  Christopher!"  I died laughing.

::  Video dump time!  I'm sure mostly just the grandmas and great grandmas will appreciate these, but whatever.  Here you go.

Ok, generally, we don't listen to Kid Rock with Ryann.  But this is pretty funny.  It was mostly for my friend Kenzie, but I think it can be appreciated by many.

Don't you love that kids generally don't want to cooperate when you bust out the video camera?  Good news, I still think she is cute.  And apparently Donald is a number.

More or less Christopher was standing in the hallway and would jump into her room.  I just love her laugh so I had to share :o).

And lastly, we were trying to show off her ABC singing skills.  She gets pretty close to making it the whole way through.

::  I've got a batch of chili started in the crockpot this morning.  If it turns out well maybe I'll actually share the recipe.  Have a great day!

gps fail, again.

Yesterday I set out for my nine mile run.  Because the trail I had been running on is closed after 3.5 miles in one direction and I didn't want to have to run in one direction than the other, I decided I would just run to the trail and then only run on it for a bit before heading home.  I strapped on my phone, plugged in my headphones, and grabbed some Jelly Belly sports beans.  Which I ended up having to carry because I didn't have anywhere to put them.  Mildly annoying, but I ordered a spibelt on Amazon last night.

The first mile was excellent, seriously when the voice prompt told me I'd already reached a mile I wasn't expecting it at all.  But then it seemed to take FOREVER for the second mile prompt.  I'd checked the mileage to the trail the night before, so I knew I should have at least hit two miles... stupid freaking gps malfunctioned at 1.69 miles.  I wanted to chuck my phone in the street right there.  I'm not looking to set any records or anything, and I had an idea of mileage, but I'm just the kind of person who wants to know EXACTLY how far I've gone.  Not to mention I'm paranoid I won't hit the mileage, and that just isn't cool with me.

I had no choice but to keep going.  I figured I'd use time plus the mile markers on the trail to roughly gauge my distance.  I thought it was about 3.3 miles to the trail, so I'd need to run for just over a mile on the trail (I walk about .2 miles before and after my run, so I needed around 9.5 miles total).  I made it to the trail in almost 30 minutes flat and was feeling pretty good.  It was probably only a tenth of a mile before I saw the first trail marker, so I knew I'd have to run for a couple of minutes after I passed the next marker.

With probably half a mile left on the trail I started to feel a little out of sorts.  I don't carry water with me (bad, very bad, I know) and I'm guessing that was part of the problem.  I took a little walk break and ate some of my sports beans right before getting off the trail.  I figured I had a little over three miles to go.  I started running again, but literally, it was a slow and steady uphill climb for almost the next two miles.  I was EXHAUSTED.  Last week I was on such a high, making it my 8 miles without walking at all, now I was feeling a little defeated.

There were definitely way more little walk breaks towards then end than I would have liked, I figured my pace was super slow.  But the hills!  Seriously, it was killing me.  And I knew I started out too fast if I had made it to the trail in half an hour.  Eventually I made it home, after an hour and thirty-eight minutes.  My guess was that I had covered 9.5 miles, which would have made my pace just over an 11 minute mile.  Not the end of the world, but not really what I was hoping for, based on my last couple of runs.

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon, I was really irritated not knowing exactly how far I'd gone.  Chris found me a website to calculate my mileage, runningmap.com.  It was pretty easy to use, just click along the street where you'd gone.  When I put in the last location point I checked the total mileage.  10.48 miles.  No wonder I was freaking exhausted!  I definitely felt a little bit better about my walk breaks and my pace (just over a 10 minute mile).  And holy cow I did a double digit run!  My guess is that I was actually running for just under 10 miles.

 

via

The half marathon is in less than two weeks!!  I'm getting more and more confident that I can actually do it.  Really I have almost no doubt that I can cover the distance, my worries are more about what my time will be.  I would LOVE to finish in under 2:15, but I think I'll still be happy with under 2:30.  Obviously just crossing the finish line will be a great accomplishment considering where I started six months ago.  But I'm one of those people that can't go into something just hoping to 'pass' if you will.  If I'm going to do it, I'm going all out.

Questions for any runners out there:  how do you deal with hydration while on a long run?  I really don't want to actually carry a water bottle in my hand, but I also don't want to pass out on a sidewalk somewhere.  That probably isn't good.

And for everyone, does anyone have a recomendation for a mileage tracker app for the iphone other than imapmyrun?  I'm very close to smashing my phone into little pieces. 

Please link up any of your health and fitness related posts! I love reading them.

week in iphone pics

This was another one of those weeks that I was so thankful to be close to my parents, thankful that they take great care of me, and thankful that I have the ability to pick up and head to their house when Chris is going to MIA for awhile.  We had such a good time with Grammy and Papa!

SUNDAY

Ryann just chillaxin' in her peacock pajamas.  Funny thing about those jammies, when I ordered them online (during the Old Navy baby sale), I SWEAR I ordered heart pajamas.  I went back and checked, nope, I'm just an idiot.  They weren't hearts, they were peacocks.  The good news?  Ryann is completely smitten with her peacock pajamas.  "Wearing the peacocks!!"  A grocery store trip was necessary to feed me and Ry for a few days.  A little retail therapy during nap time, hooray for new jeans!  The weather was great for an afternoon boat road.  And after dinner Papa and Ryann helped Grammy water the pots.

MONDAY

It was a wee bit chilly for a morning walk with Ryann, but she wanted to look for the llamas (yes, there is a house close to my parents that have llamas).  Ryann rocked some super cute boots while we ran errands... a trip to a running store in an attempt to find me new shoes (unsuccessful, I tried them out on the treadmill, I don't like them) and a stop at Babies R Us to stock up on diapers (if you bought two boxes you got a $20 giftcard, score!).  Whoa!  We let Ryann drive the boat!  Ok so maybe it was in the driveway on the trailer, but whatever.  And Ryann's Rock face is definitely coming along nicely.

TUESDAY

Tuesday was when we played at the Children's Discovery Center.  Stacking big blocks is lots of fun of course.  While we were at my parents Ryann was able to talk to daddy on the computer.  It was pretty funny to watch.  Another evening with perfect weather meant a walk to look for the llamas again.  Ryann was pretty obsessed with her Papa, and enjoyed playing all his instruments with him.

WEDNESDAY

At some point we took the seat out of the exersaucer, I think we tried to convert it to the play table or whatever, but it wasn't sturdy so we put it back in a circle form.  Ryann discovered that she could get inside it and play, fun stuff.  Huzzah!  There was a llama at the zoo, made Ryann's day.  She was a goofball while we shopped at "Obby Lobby Lobby" (not sure why it needed two Lobbys) and tried on a funny gorilla hat at the dollar store.  My bestie stopped by to see us after nap time, and Ryann put her to work coloring, complete with ridiculous requests for pictures of gorillas and castles.  We scored some glow sticks and bracelets at the dollar store, and had a little bathtub rave thanks to pineterest.  Ryann didn't like the lights being off though.

THURSDAY

I slacked on my picture taking on Thursday, it was the day we made our way back home, I drove Ryann straight to 'school', she wasn't amused.  After Ryann was done at MDO we did some grocery shopping.  And we played in the bed after daddy had to go to work for the night.

FRIDAY

Ryann seriously had a party in her carseat when she realized we had pulled into the gym parking lot.  And she was extra excited when we got a spot in the front row so she got to walk in all by herself instead of me carrying her.  Later she was determined to get inside the diaper bag, I have no idea why.  Daddy spent a good chunk of team reading the little miss Tails.  She has fallen in love with that book again.

SATURDAY

Sushi date night, woot woot!  No joke, we inhaled that plate of food in less than ten minutes.  Christopher was irritated that I wanted to take a picture of him eating, but he loves me so he was a good sport about it.  We came home in time to give Ryann a bath and put her to bed.  That last picture?  Totally makes my heart melt.  LOVE seeing those two playing together.

'twas a good week, how was yours?

Linking up with Amy!