tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17572735513532592792024-03-13T13:53:27.920-04:00First Time Mama - First Time Blogger About being an older Mom, life with my husband and 2 beautiful children, and a little bit of photographySkye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.comBlogger448125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-50948453492518131522017-10-24T16:00:00.000-04:002017-10-24T16:00:19.612-04:00My how things changeWhen you have small children or babies, I felt like I sometimes got caught up in the mindset of "There's no end to this" ... referring to changing diapers, baby food, formula, big bulky double strollers, heavy over-packed diaper bags, our super over-crowded 780 square foot house in NJ, and the list goes on. Oh and let's not forget what seemed like hundreds of cardiologist visits in the first year of Tyler's life. But the good news is, things change. For the better. Life keeps evolving and so should we. Hindsight is always 20/20 isn't it?<br />
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Fast forward to now. I attended a parent function recently in library at Grand Oak Elementary school, the A+ school I am proud to call ours. It's the school that will educate both of my kids all the way through 5th grade. I was there for the "Parent coffee chat" with the principal, to hear about everything going on at our school in the first month of school. I promised myself I would get more involved this year and even got pulled into the yearbook committee a few weeks back (eek!). This is the school where Julianna attends 2nd grade and Tyler will be in next year for Kindergarten.<br />
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My kids are growing up and I am lucky enough to be involved with the PTA & school, walking into school every morning with my kids, and getting involved with their education. I guess I have evolved as a parent too. We've come a long way from the days of formula and diapers. Now my kids are older and in school. Instead of baby talk, I can now discuss the books we have read, talk about friends and life, have 'mature' conversations, and we also have many new friendships in our still relatively new world of North Carolina.<br />
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I love that I am lucky enough to still be involved with school even though I work. Working from home affords me this luxury. I get to walk the kids to school, pop in for lunch when I can, pick Julianna up from the bus stop and pick Tyler up from preschool.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>EDIT 10/24</b> - I was just recently laid off from my job after 14 years. Looks like I will be getting even more involved in school stuff for a few months or until I find new employment! </span><br />
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I've had some of my own personal milestones this year. I started running, which was something I always deep down wanted to do but never had the guts to try. I registered for my first 5k race, another dream I've always wanted to do but shot myself down immediately in thinking, "I'll never be able to do that". I am also working out 5 days a week, early in the morning before the kids get up, on top of running and eating very healthy. I am healthier in my mid (er uh, almost upper) 40's than I was throughout my entire extremely overweight (50+ lbs ago) and unhealthy 30's. It's a daily battle - I have bad days and good days like everyone else. But lately I've had a whole lot of good days! The bad thing is we are about to enter fall and holiday baking. My downfall! haha!<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>EDIT 10/24</b> - I started writing this post over 3 weeks ago, and my life got put on hold for a bit - so I ran my 5k this past weekend! I ran the entire time and it was such an accomplishment for me! I am signed up for another 5k in December and possibly a family run on Thanksgiving day! </span><br />
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It's amazing when you set goals and do small things that make you happy, and how it overflows into other areas of your life and it plays into your overall happiness. A big part of being happy with me is 'acceptance of me'. I have learned to finally accept me, and stop comparing to everyone else and thinking I need to be a supermodel to be happy. I am what I am and will strive each day to be healthier and work towards my goals. Every day is a new day and even if I had a bad day yesterday, I wake up saying I will make today better.<br />
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I chopped a foot of my hair off as well recently and love it. 10 years ago, I wouldn't have had the guts to do that either. For a long time, I hid behind my long hair, big clothes and very overweight pre and post-baby body. Now, I feel like I'm climbing a mountain but I still have so much more to explore! I also feel like this year, my marriage has sort of matured to a new level as well.<br />
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Another awareness I've had lately is that these 2 little people we have been raising are actually turning out to be pretty OK kids! They are happy and respectful. I try to back off and let them do their own thing, and be themselves. It's empowering to me to be able to let them have their own little lives and grow up right in front of my eyes. I try not to be that helicopter parent as often as I used to, I try to give them their space, something else I've been making a conscience effort to change lately as well.<br />
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Walking to school on a typical day</div>
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New short cut for me! </div>
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After the finish line at my first 5k this past weekend. </div>
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My family (including Pepper) was there to meet me!</div>
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-85457104625147443052017-10-19T16:18:00.000-04:002017-10-19T16:18:20.231-04:00What's new in our world? My goal is to blog at least once a month with updates. I used to do it every few days when the kids were younger in order to document our life for them, in hopes they would one day go back and read everything and appreciate us capturing our lives for them to later enjoy. Funny thing is I think I had less free time then, and yet somehow I got it done. Most of my new North Carolina friends probably aren't aware that I have been doing this for the last 7 years (wow!).<br />
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Here is the status-quo on things. I'll do a separate update on myself next time.<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Tyler</span></u></b><br />
Tyler's health has been nothing short of stellar. He is now down to one cardiologist appointment a year, and we really like the Pediatric Cardiology group he goes to, which is affiliated with Levine Children's hospital in Charlotte. Regardless of this current health, there is still that looming 'what if' for the future. That feeling is always in the back of my mind.<br />
He's in Pre-K this year and loves school. Apparently he behaves and listens to the rules (Bahahahaaaa!). I really thought he would be THAT kid in school. So far, he hasn't been, with the exception of the toy hitting incident, which was isolated to one day. I talked to him and he promised not to do it again... If only! Next year will be the big test, when he enters Kindergarten. The good news is, he will be in the same school as Julianna and I know she will check in on him during the day. He keeps saying that he can't wait to be in the big school with sissy.<br />
Tyler is really the epitome of a Mama's boy. This kid just adores his Mama and I love every minute of it. Everyone always told me how different boys are, and there couldn't be any truer statement. At night, he asks me to snuggle with him and puts his arm around me, and tells me he loves me. My heart almost bursts into a million pieces when he says that. Don't get me wrong, Julianna is the love of my life too, but she has a much more special relationship with Brian. She is definitely Daddy's girl.<br />
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">Julianna</span></b></u><br />
School is treating Julianna good. She is happy in school, happy when she gets off the bus and loves all of her friends. Our school does not give out homework, however all kids do need to read for 20 minutes each night. Some nights are a struggle trying to get her to read. She would much rather be playing with her American dolls or Barbies, or with her neighborhood friends, or on the iPad (like most kids!).<br />
She is making so many new friends, and hopefully some will remain life long friends. This is something I never really had as a child since we moved around often, and I switched schools very often bouncing between public & private until I was in 10th grade.<br />
Me and the kids walk to school every day unless it's raining or unless it's too cold once Winter hits. The good things is, even during Winter, you don't get that long lasting frigid cold like we got in New Jersey, so we should still be able to walk some mornings during those few months.<br />
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">Brian</span></b></u><br />
We still own our house in NJ and rent it out. Right now we are in between renters and the house needed some cosmetic work, including interior paint and some other work (like dig up & cover/seed the firepit our renters thought it would be fine to put in the ground the backyard - WTH!). Brian went back to New Jersey a few weekends ago to do work on the house, along with my In Laws who helped him out as well. They did a lot of work in that little amount of time and the new listing is out there now. Crossing our fingers we get renters soon.<br />
We also needed to part ways with our old Property Manager and hire a new one. The old property manager did not work out and we needed to go with someone new. Our new manager has been wonderful to work with and he is local to Hopatcong. We feel that he and the property management company will do a great job.<br />
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">End of summer</span></b></u><br />
Summer came to an end, and while we've had some abnormally hot weather, we are finally coming into some cooler days. It should start to feel more like fall any day now. The Macaulay pool closed up mid-September and with that, came the End of the Year "Dog pool party". Everyone brings their dogs and lets them loose to swim and run around. It's controlled doggy chaos, but lots of fun. We brought Pepper and she was a trooper... we put her in the water and then she ran for the gate!<br />
When we were in NJ, the end of the summer meant it was time to winterize the boat, and put it on the trailer in the driveway for 6 long cold months. Not here. No winterizing. We will be going out on the lake as weather allows all fall/winter. One of the many perks of our beautiful North Carolina weather.<br />
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">Adjusting to our new life in North Carolina</span></b></u><br />
This is our forever home. After 2 years, I still have no hesitation in saying this. We love living here and have zero regrets about making the plunge to move out of New Jersey. I love our house, and I love our neighborhood. Not everyone gets lucky like we do with such terrific neighbors. I am never leaving our house. Not to mention, I am never moving again. This last move was taxing - I am not doing that again. As far as where we live, again I feel we really lucked out, this has turned out to be the best possible scenario for us as far as where we live and all the amenities & quality of life. It's fun to still explore all that this area has to offer. We can drive up to the Mountains for a day or go to a food truck festival in Charlotte or explore Lake Norman (which we will never get tired of).<br />
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<u><b><span style="font-size: large;">Friends</span></b></u><br />
I am still missing my friends from NJ - I don't think that ever goes away. There is a certain familiarity that comes with long time friends. It's that comfort level of just being able to send a text or calling any time of the day or night, and picking up where you left off, having that quick intimate conversation with your friend that only she can understand, because she knows EVERYTHING there is to know about you, and there's no judgements. It's that person who has a special place in your heart forever, even though you don't talk to them every day or even every week. It takes a long time to find people in your life like that again. This is a process still for me. I still feel like an outsider sometimes and miss those special friendships. For me, I would say this is still the hardest part about relocating and everyone who has done it says it takes a long time to get adjusted with that aspect of your life. Don't get me wrong, we have met some fabulous people and made some amazing new friends, but true deep down friendships take time to develop much like a marriage does.<br />
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-92191896427951252622017-08-22T17:00:00.000-04:002017-08-23T09:33:15.142-04:00Some tips (from my own experience) for keeping my family healthySeveral years ago, my family made the choice to eat healthier whole foods. Real food. Food without chemicals or fake sugar. Real ingredients. I didn't realize what an incredible life-long change this would actually become for us. My husband and I lost about 40 pounds and managed to keep most of it off. My kids actually eat healthier when given the choice (most of the time, unless french fries are in front of them). Unfortunately, due to my frail will power, my weight has always fluctuated, especially around the holidays. Homemade cookies are my downfall. And ice cream. It's a constant battle between eating and weight, and now more recently, exercise too.<br />
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<u>Here are some things I have learned over the past few years:</u><br />
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<li>Small changes - replace the unhealthy food items with healthy choices slowly - this takes time and patience as you are trying new things. Not everything you try will be a home run for you. </li>
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<li>Research ingredients and what you are feeding your family. For years, I was obsessed with calorie content, fat, carbs, etc... But now the most important thing to me is that ingredient list. Learn to read labels. Learn where your food comes from. If it contains chemicals, GMO's or is highly processed, it doesn't make into my shopping cart. I shoot for mostly organic when possible.</li>
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<li>If you don't like what the store has to offer, make it yourself. One of the things I decided to make at home a couple years back is bread. I make all of our bread now from scratch weekly. It doesn't take long and I can control what ingredients are in it. I also make my own salad dressings and other items that are usually highly processed or loaded with chemicals in the store. I will occasionally buy bread (when crunched for time) from the <a href="https://www.greatharvest.com/" target="_blank">Great Harvest Bread company</a>, who makes the most delicious organic whole wheat, white and cinnamon bread (they post their ingredients online and in the store). </li>
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<li>Plan your week! I plan our meals out a week ahead of time, usually on a Thursday night, and do my shopping list (and online order) at the same time. Then it's done - no wondering what's for dinner every night. </li>
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<li>Where do I shop for food? I will start by saying I am not a 'couponing' type person - I just don't have that time. I break up my shopping between 2 or 3 stores mostly. I do my online food order (for pickup) from Harris Teeter, and buy my basics there - mostly organic basics and lunch essentials, paper goods, etc. Then, first thing on Saturday morning, I drive to Whole Foods for produce, meats, organics and other specialty items I can't buy elsewhere. I also love their bulk bins there. This is my favorite food store in the entire world, hands down. The Whole Foods '365' brand, by the way, is extremely budget friendly. We will also go to the Farmers Market every so often as time permits. Sometimes I will hit Earthfare as well if they have good sales - Earthfare is sort of like a Whole Foods-Lite. (Both stores are within 2 miles of my house). I just recently started going to Aldi for some items - and while I just don't love Aldi like everyone else does, I still have found a few things there at a very good price like our sparkling water that we go through by the case, and the kids school snacks. I am cautious with Aldi because I am skeptical where some of the food actually comes from and they have a lot of processed packaged food which I do not buy anyway. I also recently tried some coupon apps like Ibotta and Favano... the jury is still out on those ... I will let you know how much I like them once I have had enough time to use them thoroughly, </li>
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<li>The easiest way to keep things in check is write down and record what you are eating daily. It's an eye opener to say the least.</li>
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<li>You can, unfortunately, only control what's eaten under your roof. Not all situations are ideal. You can't control everything outside of your home when it comes to food or the choices that will be given to your children. This was one of the hardest things for me to accept is that I can't control every scenario. I feel like our lifestyle at home rubs off on my kids and I hope it will benefit them long term without them even knowing it.</li>
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<li>Get the entire family involved with making food. Julianna loves to help me put recipes together and now Tyler loves to help as well, even if it's just pouring in the measured ingredients. When I get the stand mixer out, they ask "Oh are you making bread?". This is the stuff I hope will stay with them down the road. Learning to cook and the ability feed yourself (other than 'take out' food) is an important life skill and requirement for kids as they get older. </li>
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<li>Move. It doesn't matter what you do, but just make sure you move. Get off your butt and go! Go for a walk, jog, take a burn bootcamp class, go to the gym, walk on the treadmill, or dance around. Whatever works for you. It has taken me a couple years to finally realize that eating 'healthy' by itself will no longer keep the weight off or keep me as healthy as I should be. Up until a few months ago, I haven't done any sort of exercise in 10 years other than walking a few times a week. Just under 3 months ago, I started working out at home before the kids get up in the morning 5 days a week doing Beachbody on Demand. It's super awesome! I feel like I hit the ground running to start my day. In addition to my morning workout, I try to walk daily and lately have started jogging, which is something I have always wanted to do but was too scared to try. I manage to somehow squeeze it all in and I feel better than I have in years at 46 years old! I would love to run a 5k - maybe I will work up to that. I'm far from perfect but I'm learned to be happy in my own skin and I'm owning each day making the conscience choice to live fit & healthy.</li>
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<li>Don't 'ram' the 'good food/bad food' down your kids throats. Lead by example. For instance, we use certain terms in the house like 'this is healthy for our bodies' and "I feel good when I eat this because it gives me energy", and phrases like that. Salad is good for your body! We don't ever say anything like "french fries will make you fat' because I feel it is not something the kids need to hear or put preconceived notions in their heads. We try to word it like ' lets try something different today other than french fries' or if they insist on them when we go out to eat, we will say "Let's have something healthy with it like fruit!" and they go for it... most times. Their favorite thing to eat before bedtime is strawberries while we read books. Don't tell them "If you eat that, you will get fat" and surely don't let them hear you saying how fat you are feeling today - save that for when you are out of earshot and go ahead and curse yourself out then! haha. And we do buy ice cream - I just buy the kind with real ingredients and without carrageenan and other nasty ingredients in it (Yuck!). </li>
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<li>Believe in what you practice. There is more than one right way to live a healthy lifestyle. Don't preach friends or family about how they should be doing things since it's a touchy subject. I talk to people about what we eat and our beliefs but I don't force it on anyone. Everyone else has their own way of doing things. You can only control your own. Do what you think is best for your family. Stand by your values. I pack my kids lunch every day before school, and I personally do not mind doing it because I do not care for the food served in school. But I play it up as mommy likes to pack lunches and surprise them daily - they love it too.</li>
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<li>Find something that inspires you, no matter how little it may be. For me, I like to read the Fitbit Community posts on my Fitbit app - they motivate me because I see that I am not the only one out there struggling some times. Find your inspiration and let it motivate you. </li>
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<li>Does junk food make it into our house? You betchya! Once in a while it does. I would like to blame my husband but he's not always the culprit. My kids go to school and sometimes bring things home like candy given to them in school. Sometimes you just have to pick your battles and say we'll do better next time. </li>
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<li>Weight loss or being healthy is a journey. Don't beat yourself up. Everyone has bad days (OK, bad weeks even!) and good days. Sadly, I had 10 bad years! Ha! It's a journey and a marathon - not a 50 yard sprint. There is no miracle pill or magic diet. Being healthy takes thought, mindfulness, willpower, want, and longevity. You have to do it for yourself because no one is going to do it for you. I have learned to accept the fact (recently) that no matter how hard I try, I may only lose a half a pound every 2 weeks, or none at all. And I am finally OK with that. My goal is to wear a bikini by next summer... Let's see if I can make that happen! :) </li>
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And finally, here are some pictures from this summer...<br />
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Tyler, me and Julianna gem mining by Chimney Rock, NC </div>
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My husband, the captain</div>
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Tapas & Drinks in Charlotte </div>
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Pepper doing what she does best </div>
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Rock hopping </div>
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Flying a kite on a windy day on an island in one of our favorite spots on Lake Norman</div>
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The kids playing in the water - they spend all summer in the water!</div>
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Morningstar marina - one of the most beautiful places to be during sunset - It's our happy place</div>
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Daddy - daughter walk </div>
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Tyler loves to sit in Brian's lap while driving the boat</div>
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Loving our pool in the summer </div>
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Visiting Chimney Rock in the mountains of NC - about 2 hours from our house. </div>
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A rare moment this summer - the kids smiled and snuggled together </div>
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-18550419776368440522017-03-21T16:30:00.000-04:002017-03-21T16:30:20.101-04:00Catching up - Part 2 The most common question I am asked since moving to the south is, "How do you like living in North Carolina?"<br />
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Here's my answer;<br />
I love it. I love how friendly the people are and the how our neighborhood is such a tight-knit community. There is just a completely different feel here and different way of life. Best thing we ever did. You only live once; you have to decide what's best for you and figure out a way to do it.<br />
We also have some pretty great pizza places - all owned by northerners!<br />
Babysitters are shared by neighbors and there are plenty to go around. Neighbors take care of each other and everyone watches out for you.<br />
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One of our biggest motivators for leaving NJ, was the cost of living. The housing costs plus the property taxes are among the highest in the country. It was time to get out. It's amazing the size house you can get for your money compared to up north. Our property taxes are ridiculously low as well. Our old house would fit in our new house 4x over! There's just no comparison. <br />
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The weather ..... oh the weather. Short winters where the average temp is 50 degrees, then a long spring, longer summer, and long colorful fall. Everything starts to bloom in March and flowers come up so early. I love seeing all the green when up north, we did not see that until early May if we were lucky. I also love that the kids can play outside almost every day.<br />
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I also think, much of how I feel is based on why we decided to relocate. For us, it was just the right time in our lives and this was the right place. Some people relocate to a new place because of a job, family, or other reasons, and my not like it. We did it for us and made the 100% right choice.<br />
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There so many parks in every town - big parks where the kids can play, we can walk, picnic, do NFL obstacle courses, and they all have real bathrooms. You laugh, but most of the kids parks where we used to live had port-a-potties (yuck!) or no bathrooms. Super inconvenience.<br />
We can walk to Julianna's school from our house- a major perk. Many of the kids walk or bike to school.<br />
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Things here are just so different, but in a good way. I love exploring all new places and there is so much to do. I also love how everything is geared towards outdoors. We are only an hour or so from the Mountains if we want to get away for the day or the weekend. We live right down the road from an outdoor shopping and restaurant area called Birkdale Village. Truthfully, it's one of the things that persuaded us to live where we live. We go there at least once a week to shop or eat out. All the restaurants offer outdoor seating because the weather is so nice here. You can bring your dog everywhere, they can even sit with you when you eat dinner or lunch (outside), if that's your thing. <br />
We live within a few minutes of every major convenience known to man kind. In NJ, I've always had to drive far to go anywhere, but here I barely have to drive far ever. I love living so close to everything! I fill the tank of my SUV maybe once every 2 weeks.<br />
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Everything is clean, landscaped, and kept up wherever you go.<br />
Charlotte is the cleanest city you will ever step foot in. There is so much new construction and so many new buildings going up all over the city. I love living outside of a major city but not having the cost like we used to when we lived outside of New York City. We don't have to pay a $15 toll to cross over a bridge or go through a tunnel, and then we don't have to pay $30 to park ... and we don't have to sit in 2 hours of traffic just to get into the city. We can cruise in and out in 15 minutes time from our house, a very nice convenience. Charlotte is such a foodie town - we have discovered some really great restaurants as well.<br />
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I was nervous before moving here that we would feel like outsiders or have a hard time fitting in. I don't feel like we've encountered that much really. There are a lot less working moms here, so I do find I don't fit in with some of the mom groups who don't work, but there's not much I can do about that. The part that I knew would be hard was making new friends. It's been a big adjustment, but I sure didn't expect to miss my lifelong friends from NJ so much. Luckily with technology, we can keep in touch easily and my best friend has already come to visit as well as some others that expect to visit soon. I miss my friends from NJ terribly and they can never be replaced (you know who you are).<br />
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We have, however, met some wonderful people since moving here, but it's hard to make close friends and make that connection with everyone right away. Good friendships take time and need time to cultivate, so I am just learning to being patient. I feel like we are finally headed down that path as we have met some exceptional neighbors, and also have developed friendships with some of the parents through the Julianna and Tyler's school.<br />
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One nice surprise is, two of my high school friends live here in the Charlotte area, they moved here long before us. I found out they were here and was in touch before we moved. Once we moved here, we have met up and out to dinner, on the boat, kids activities, etc. It was so nice to have some familiar faces from home.<br />
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I feel like we are 'trailblazers' for the rest of our family. Brian's parents decided they will be moving down here in a couple years when his step-father retires. They fly down every few months to visit because of the weather and we have plenty of room for visitors. My mother ended up moving here a year ago (shortly after we moved), and she loves the senior community she lives in. My Aunt and Uncle may end up here in a couple years as well. Oh and Brian's aunt will be moving here soon as well. We also just heard from a cousin that wants to visit and move here! Brian's father and step-mom live in Charleston, South Carolina, which is only 3 hours away. It's nice to have them close by.<br />
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In closing, I will say that of course nothing is 100% and I would be foolish if I said this has all been perfect. There have been a few inconsequential things that I do not like (to be expected), but overall I have zero regrets about moving, and we will never go back.<br />
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As promised, Here are some more pictures from the last year...<br />
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I just love our neighborhood. </div>
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This is Birkdale Village (my happy place). </div>
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-31372980949877412432017-03-06T19:00:00.000-05:002017-03-06T19:00:09.170-05:00How do I get this thing going again? I have sat here several times, in front of my laptop, staring at the empty blog draft, trying to think of something to write. And then nothing happens. Nothing at all. I think about great things to write during the day while I am driving the car, or in the shower, or when the kids are screaming, or as I'm falling asleep, but never as I sit in front of the laptop. I feel like the more time has gone by, the more overwhelming the task 'to write something' becomes. I have so much to catch everyone up on. I started this blog in order to keep a 'diary' for my children to read and enjoy later in life, so I feel like I need to get back to this now. It's time.<br />
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Two years has gone by. (WOAH!) Julianna is 6 and a half. Tyler is 3 and a half. I guess that means I am ... 2 years older as well. During this two year time period, a lot has gone on.<br />
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About two years ago, we decided to make a big change in our life and move out of NJ. We kept our house in NJ and rented it out to tenants, and then we packed up and relocated to Huntersville, North Carolina. We did it and it is, by far, the best decision we have ever made.<br />
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A lot of planning, research, discussion, thought, sweat & tears went into this big change, and was not easily decided. Brian and I visited the Charlotte, North Carolina area for a long weekend in April 2015. We spent a couple days with our realtor, and looked at too many houses to remember. We fell in love with this area, specifically the town of Huntersville, instantly. The first house we looked at that weekend, ultimately, ended up being the house we bought. We decided right then and there, that weekend, that the Fillmores were moving to North Carolina. Brian was able to find a job here relatively fast, and since my job can move with me anywhere (I work from home), we put an offer on a house in June of 2015, moved in and closed on August 1st. It all happened very fast, and everything fell into place very quickly. When you really want something bad enough, you can make anything happen with hard work, planning, and determination (and sometimes a little bit of luck).<br />
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A little backstory on our move; In early 2015, Brian and I were at a crossroad in our life. We knew we needed to move out of our house in NJ that we had completely outgrown after Tyler was born, but weren't really sure where we should end up. We asked ourselves, "Do we stay comfortably in NJ and just buy a bigger house, but keep paying ridiculous property taxes and other high cost of living, and continue to suffer through awfully cold and long winters?" We had been wanting to move out of NJ for a while, due to the extremely high cost of living. We wanted a different lifestyle and quality of life for our family. We talked about leaving NJ and decided if we were going to do it, now was the time in our lives to do it. It was now or never.<br />
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The kids were young enough where they wouldn't be ripped away from all of their friends and lives like they would be if it was 10 years later in life. Bottom line is, it was the right time to make a leap. We love our new home, our neighborhood, our town, the kid's schools, and the community. Oh and the weather - it's pretty freaking awesome. It's always sunny here. Did I mention that we can boat for 9 months, on Lake Norman, a lake that makes our old lake look like a pond. Every person here is from the "North". When you meet someone, everyone asks you "Where are you from?" ... because it's a rarity to meet anyone that is actually from Charlotte or North Carolina for that matter. Most of the people we have met are from NY, NJ, PA, Ohio. It's a nice commonality. Crazy, huh?<br />
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Here is a summary of our lives in pictures, since we moved to North Carolina. I'll post a part 2 with more pictures in a few days.<br />
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-92017411658662641272014-11-24T17:00:00.000-05:002014-11-24T17:00:11.909-05:00Vacation Pictures - Fenwick Island Part 3 And finally the 3rd post for our vacation pictures... From July!<br />
Here is <a href="http://www.juliannabelle.com/2014/09/vacation-to-fenwick-island-de-part-1.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a> and <a href="http://www.juliannabelle.com/2014/11/vacation-pictures-fenwick-island-de.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a> in case you missed it.<br />
I realized when writing up this post that I take so many pictures of my daughter and not enough of my son. Why? Because she stays in one place for more than 2 seconds!<br />
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The only way to get to the beach ... by water! </div>
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Love this girl! </div>
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Siblings playing together in the sand</div>
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Our kids love the beach </div>
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Best day ever... </div>
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Love Tyler's little hat</div>
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This might be one of my favorite pictures ever of Julianna! </div>
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Julianna loves the sand</div>
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Water fight </div>
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I forget the name of this ride but I think Julianna went on 3 times! She's under the "Ruby" seat. </div>
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Look at the happiness on these kid's faces! </div>
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Tyler is THE man! </div>
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-85848721938184351702014-11-03T16:47:00.000-05:002014-11-03T16:47:00.620-05:00Vacation pictures - Fenwick Island, DE (part 2) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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OK don't laugh. I have not posted anything since September! With 2 kids and a super busy schedule and working full time, I really just find I do not have the time to blog anymore. I have thought a lot about just stopping cold turkey, but then I thought about why I did this in the first place. I wanted to document my kids & their first few years growing up. It's wonderful to look back at the posts I did when Julianna was a baby and read them. For that reason alone, I will keep up with this when I can. I want them to have a place to go see everything from when they were babies too.<br />
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So with that said, here is part 2 of our vacation pictures from this summer in Fenwick Island. Enjoy.<br />
<a href="http://www.juliannabelle.com/2014/09/vacation-to-fenwick-island-de-part-1.html" target="_blank">Part One was here </a>in case you missed it.<br />
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Daddy & Julianna standing on the shoal that we anchored on in the bay. </div>
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Another view of the shoal - you just pull your boat up and anchor! This was the best! </div>
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Julianna collecting shells - our boat in the background. </div>
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Daddy with Tyler and Grandma.</div>
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Tyler with his Shark hat on (Shark-nado!) </div>
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Daddy walking with Tyler... </div>
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Me and Tyler. I am super classy with the beer in hand while holding my son! </div>
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Julianna collecting shells on the sand shoal in the middle of the bay. </div>
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Collecting shells again ... </div>
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Family shot on the boat </div>
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Those folks have clearly done this before! </div>
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Us again </div>
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Julianna writing in the sand</div>
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Brian was brave & grabbed a horseshoe crab</div>
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Osprey nest </div>
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Tyler playing in the sand! </div>
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-21324521179957476932014-09-09T17:00:00.000-04:002014-09-09T17:00:02.484-04:00Vacation to Fenwick Island, DE (Part 1) I finally finished editing my pictures from our summer vacation to Fenwick Island, DE!<br />
Two months too late - oh well! Things get done a little slower around here with 2 small children. Here are the first batch of pictures. For those of you that don't know, Fenwick Island is located about 20 minutes north of Ocean City, MD. We had a fun vacation and will probably end up back there next year, it's a great area for families & kids. Fenwick is quiet and peaceful, yet so close to the Ocean City Boardwalk and tons of other things to do. Most of the pictures below are from the rainy and cooler days we were there. Sunny pictures to come in the next post.<br />
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Brian and Tyler on the Ocean City Boardwalk </div>
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Where we stayed (our townhouse is on the right)</div>
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Every morning, we had beautiful herons out in the marsh </div>
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I forget the name of this bird, but he was so cool with his long orange beak!</div>
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Cloudy & rainy day = bubble blowing day </div>
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View from our bedroom balcony - I love this shot (we brought our boat with us) </div>
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Sibling Love</div>
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Osprey nest </div>
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My little girl posing for the camera</div>
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Egret Island </div>
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Such beautiful wings</div>
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View from our balcony in the morning </div>
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Pepper's favorite spot to sleep </div>
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Happy boy on the bed with Pepper. I just realized he has so much more hair now - just 2 months later! </div>
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-9097521945375799492014-08-22T16:30:00.000-04:002014-08-22T16:30:00.166-04:00What's up lately? <u>What book am I reading now?</u><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Special-Heart-Journey-Faith-Courage-ebook/dp/B00FPQCY9Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408716589&sr=1-1&keywords=bret+baier" target="_blank">Special Heart: A Journey of Faith, Hope, Courage and Love</a> by Bret Baier<br />
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I am reading a few pages at a time when I get a few minutes for myself! Fabulous book for heart moms and families to read. </div>
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I also read the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Closer-Mariano-Rivera-ebook/dp/B00EXTQVKM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408716537&sr=1-1&keywords=mariano+rivera" target="_blank">Mariano Rivera book called "The Closer</a>"- about the best closer (in baseball) of all time. Loved it!</div>
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<u>What did I do this summer?</u><br />
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As usual, it seems that summer went by too fast and here we are rounding the corner to fall already! I don't blog much in the summer, there is just too much going on as much as I have the good intention of doing it. This summer, even though it has been on the cooler side, we spent a lot of our weekends on our boat trying to relax. It's hard to truly relax with a 4 year old and 1 year old - but we sure tried! We went on vacation in July to Ocean City, Maryland. Well, we actually stayed about 20 minutes north in Fenwick Island in a bay front townhouse - it was a lot of fun and much needed. It's fun for the kids because we went to the boardwalk twice where there were plenty of rides for Julianna. She was in her glory! I'll be posting some pictures of vacation soon enough! Did you take vacation this summer? Where did you go?<br />
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<u>Exciting News?</u><br />
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We sure do have some really exciting news here in our household! My husband accepted an offer to work with a larger company in a higher management position a few weeks back. He just started his new job recently and he is in his glory. This new job means longer hours and unfortunately more responsibility for me to take care of the kids; I now get them up in the morning, feed them, pack their lunches, log into work (I work from home) and then drop them off at daycare down the road. He won't be around as much during the week, but it's worth the sacrifice in the end.<br />
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The other big news is my that company is spinning off from our larger fortune 200 parent company in October. I work for the 'Dealer Services' division of ADP (the payroll/human resources co). In October, Dealer will be spinning off and leaving the nest to be our own company. The new name was just announced and is CDK Global. We will be a fortune 1000 company and not much will change for us day to day - business as usual in my own group especially. This is a really good thing for our company and looking forward to the future of CDK.<br />
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<u>How is Tyler doing?</u><br />
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<li>How Old? Tyler is 15 months old</li>
<li>Eating: He eats most table food even though he doesn't have all his teeth. He loves any food you put in front of him. He eats pasta, most cooked veggies, sweet potatoes, any fruit, anything roasted or steamed, meatballs, fish, whole wheat muffins, oatmeal....and the list goes on! </li>
<li>Drinking: He loves his milk in a cup (about 24 ounces a day) and he also drinks water in a straw cup. We do not offer juice. </li>
<li>Sleeping: Tyler sleeps through the night from 8pm to 7am, with the exception of some separation anxiety he has every couple of months; where he has a few nights of crying himself to sleep, which is difficult when both kids share a room. </li>
<li>Size clothes: He is wearing 12 months pants/shorts. He is wearing 18 month tops. He's on the small side, so I think he will be in size 12 bottoms for a little while. </li>
<li>Talking: Not saying much yet. He says mama and dada sometimes - but not much else. He is delayed in speech and is having a hearing test in a couple weeks to rule out any hearing issues. I also have a call into Early Intervention to have them evaluate him to see if he will need some speech therapy. More to come on that. </li>
<li>Walking: Heck yes. Running, actually. </li>
<li>Doing: He is a true boy; tears the house apart, destroys things, climbs furniture, gets into trouble and laughs about it. </li>
<li>He likes giving things to me like the remote control, toys, his milk cup. He understand requests like "Sit down' and stand up... please give to mommy ... More milk? I can tell him to go to put his cup in the sink, and he does. He listens & responds, just no speaking yet. </li>
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<u>How is Julianna doing?</u><br />
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<li>How old? She is 4 years old and going on 10! What a little lady she is turning into! </li>
<li>Eating: She is expanding her horizons in her picky toddler eating. She recently discovered she likes peanut butter smeared on apple slices and also grilled cheese (up until 2 months ago, she wouldn't touch grilled cheese). She has been a very picker eater but getting better. </li>
<li>Doing: A lot of things. She is making new friends & having a blast playing with any kids she meets! She is a fun & happy girl who wants to go go go all the time! </li>
<li>School: She is starting pre-k in 2 weeks. I can't believe in 1 year she will be starting kindergarten! My baby girl! </li>
<li>Friends: Lot's of them - I wish I could let her play more often but it's hard to find the time with us working full time. She's excited to start up school in a couple weeks and reunite with her friends from last year. </li>
<li>Size clothing: Julianna wears size 5 bottoms and 6 on top. She has zero clothes for school and the fall or winter. We need to go do some school shopping ASAP! </li>
<li>Her favorite things: baby dolls (new thing for her!), giraffes, jewelry, lip gloss, octonauts, sherriff callie, chugginton, disney princesses, Frozen (I can't take a simple car ride with out her wanting to hear and also sing Let it go!) </li>
<li>Value of money: We are trying to teach her the value of money slowly - even if it's her learning how many quarters it takes to get on the ride at the mall! She has her own change purse and brings it with her - she decides how she wants to spend it but once it's spent, it's gone. </li>
<li>The beach: This girl loves the beach - she would go to the beach every day of her life if she could. She gets that from me! The girl loves summer and warm sunny weather! </li>
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Some random pictures from this past summer...<br />
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Sibling love</div>
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My boy with his adorable sun hat on</div>
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Julianna loves to float in the lake</div>
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Fishing with Daddy off the back of our boat </div>
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Lounging time - our favorite place to anchor in the summer</div>
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Super cuteness</div>
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A picture of Brian and I that I Might actually frame!</div>
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Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-22317995758650457382014-07-29T07:00:00.000-04:002014-07-29T09:17:27.381-04:00How I lost 37 pounds so far (and about 15 to go!) Eating real & whole foods. That's how I did it.<br />
I think it helps completely that my husband is 100% on board. We are in this together.<br />
(p.s. - has it really been 2 months since my last blog entry?!)<br />
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<u>The past 7 months</u><br />
We have slowly cut out 95% of processed foods (I'll explain the other 5% later), we cut out anything that is a 'diet' product (i.e. fat free, low fat, fake sugar), anything from a food store with more than 5 ingredients, and foods chemicals in their ingredient list. All eggs & whole milk are organic always. All meats we purchase are organic and humanely raised; not fed with antibiotics & grain.There is no comparison in taste from the typical commercial beef (from the food store) to the organic grass fed beef we get from a local farm. We only use coconut oil or olive oil (organic) to cook or bake with. I still use real butter sometimes, but sparingly.<br />
We have easily doubled our intake of fruits & vegetables, and I really try to make more vegetable based dinners such as butternut squash chile, roasted veggie tacos, or big exotic salads.<br />
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<u>Why organic?</u><br />
That's easy. No pesticides, no GMO's (Genetically modified organisms), and no chemicals. Organic usually tastes better. When talking about organic meats & eggs; there are no antibiotics and the animals are humanely raised.<br />
Sure, organic costs more - but prices are getting better as it goes more <i>mainstream</i> and consumers demand it. I told my local Food store that I want to see more organic products & more fresh organic produce. Why don't you do the same? Demand what is healthy for your family, they might just do it if enough people ask. You think nothing of spending $5 on a latte from Starbucks. So why wouldn't you spend $4 on organic lettuce that will feed your family chemical free (pure) healthy food for several meals? I can feed my family organic products knowing I have done my best for them!<br />
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I posted <a href="http://www.juliannabelle.com/2014/04/small-changes.html" target="_blank">THIS BLOG POST</a> a couple months ago about the small changes we have made. A bunch of small changes have added up to some big changes for us!<br />
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<u>Why are we doing this?</u><br />
That's easy. Healthier long term lifestyle.<br />
Sometimes when I am talking to others about our recent life changes, it's hard to convey what we are trying to do. Yes it's about weight loss, but it's also about long term health and setting the best example possible for my children so they make healthy choices for the rest of their lives too. Obesity, heart disease and diabetes is an epidemic in this country and I will do everything in my power to make sure my family is not a statistic. What I thought was 'eating healthy' over the past 10 years was really sabotaging our bodies. Diet foods. Low Fat & Fat free foods (loaded with tons of chemicals and sugar). Fake sugar foods. Super processed foods with zero nutritional value. Fad diets. I think it's very difficult to make anything work where you deprive yourself of basic foods that your body requires, long term.<br />
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<u>Read the ingredients</u><br />
I can't urge you enough. Read the ingredient list on your food before buying it. Educate yourself as to what is in the food you buy and your kids are putting into their tiny little growing bodies. Google it. If there is an ingredient that you wouldn't normally have in your cupboard at home and cook with, then it shouldn't be in your food from the store either. If there is an ingredient that you can't pronounce, then it probably doesn't belong in your food. If the ingredient list is longer than the constitution, then you probably don't want to buy it. Look up the ingredients that are in processed foods - I think you will be shocked at how much of it is some kind of modified sugar, preservative chemical, fat and artificial colors/flavors... and much worse. And why does the food industry think something has to be bright red, purple or coated with some kind of sugar for kids to like it? Yuck! The amount of sugar that is in processed foods is really mind-blowing. We look at the ingredients, not so much the 'nutrition' information.<br />
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<u>What I struggle with still</u><br />
Ice cream. I love my ice cream. Of all the indulgences, I happen to think (or at least I tell myself) this one is not quite as bad; most local ice cream shops carry real home made ice cream.<br />
White rice - It's not that we don't like brown rice, because we actually love it. It's my daughter that won't touch brown rice. So this is a weakness with me, and I am totally at fault here. I make white rice still because she will eat it. Have I mentioned she is picky with dinner foods?!<br />
I sometimes bend the rules when we eat out. I try to make good choices, but it's not always the perfect situation. I have found that most places will accommodate some special requests. I do stay away from anything deep fried or heavy cream sauces, when possible.<br />
Corn tortillas. Yeah I can make my own I'm sure- but we use so many of these that I am sticking to the premade ones for now - still trying to find some made without nasty chemicals though. (Have I mentioned that I pray Whole Foods will open up near us?)<br />
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<u>Some of the things I make from scratch</u><br />
Breadcrumbs - Have you ever looked at the ingredients of commercial breadcrumbs? No bread there. I buy whole wheat bread from the food store bakery that actually only has 4 ingredients. We use this for toast, sandwiches & breadcrumbs.<br />
Granola - yup we love this and I make it weekly - even Julianna eats it! This has replaced our morning 'boxed' cereals. My husband makes his own granola bars too. Yum.<br />
Salad dressings - I make all salad dressings from scratch. Always. I have a few standby recipes that I use over & over again. You can't beat home made dressing; and there aren't any chemicals or bad stuff in it. <br />
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<u>Some things I will try making soon</u><br />
Macaroni & cheese<br />
Bread - I need a bread machine. Looking forward to that once I purchase one.<br />
Other kid friendly foods - I have yet to master a 'chicken nugget' that Julianna will eat. She got hooked on Perdue Chicken nuggets (blegh!) and has not liked anything I made for her at home yet. Doesn't mean I am giving up - I will keep trying.<br />
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<u>Some things I am not willing to make from scratch.</u><br />
Simply put, it's about time management. My husband and I work full time and have 2 small children. There is only so much time in the day people! You need to choose what is worth doing and what is worth cutting corners on to manage your time efficiently.<br />
Vegetable or Chicken Stock/broth - I buy organic broths & stock for easier food prep.<br />
Condiments - We still use ketchup (hello, I have kids!!) and mustard, etc. I try to buy the organic brands but not all stores offer this option, especially mayo; I can't find that organic in our food store. So frustrating.<br />
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<u>What I am proud to say I have overcome.</u><br />
Switching to 'real' foods like whole milk and we do not have any store-bought food in the house that resembles 'fat-free' or 'low-fat' except for fruit, the way nature intended it to be.<br />
Making anything I can make from scratch - even whole wheat muffins, which if you know me, I hate to bake. This was a HUGE accomplishment for me.<br />
Removing diet soda & fake sugar from our house forever. (My husband will still have a diet soda every so often, but he will totally see me glaring at him when he drinks it!)<br />
I used to buy store bought grated cheese, but now I grate my own. Check out the 'preservatives' in some of the stuff in the bags.<br />
We pop our own popcorn using coconut oil in a pan. Delicious.<br />
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<u>Things that are out of my control</u><br />
Our local food store does not have enough fresh organic fruit & vegetable choices. I wish we lived by a Whole Foods or Earth Fare. How do I compensate? I buy fresh if organic is not available. So in other words, if given the choice, I will by from a local farm stand before I buy from the food store. The local farms here we visit use very little pesticides if any. Still way better than your food comes from some other part of the world.<br />
It bothers my daughter comes home from school with candy sometimes (I believe it's a reward for activities they do in class) or that she is offered juice. I have asked for it not to be offered but I won't win that battle. I am proud to say Julianna does not eat candy, however, she is not a robot. If it's offered to her, she is going to say yes.<br />
If Julianna is at a party or special occasion, she can have birthday cake or whatever is offered. I want her to enjoy herself with special occasions and don't want to tell her NO to everything. A few times a year is totally fine with me.<br />
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<u>The other 5 percent (I mentioned we eat about 95% non-processed)</u><br />
Annie's snacks such as; cheddar crackers, graham crackers, & bunny grahams. I do not load Julianna up with this stuff, but we do allow them as snacks; since we can totally trust the ingredients.<br />
Onion crisps - occasional splurge that I enjoy a little bit as a topping on my salads.<br />
Triscuits - While these totally meet my "less than 5 ingredients" rule, they are still considered a processed food. Fine line.<br />
Cereals - We stick to the "Less than 5 ingredients" rule with this stuff. I buy Barbara's organic cereal for Julianna, although I am reading lately this brand has GMO's and hidden sugars in it. Organic doesn't always mean non-GMO.<br />
Pretzels - I found <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beigel-Wheat-Pretzels-Sticks-5-Ounce/dp/B000N55TC6/ref=sr_1_1/181-8265521-8138743?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1406599708&sr=1-1" target="_blank">these 5 ingredient pretzels </a>that are made with Whole Wheat and very good! They are processed but at least under 5 ingredients. And amazingly enough, the food store where I shop, carries them!<br />
Pizza. Yup, we still eat pizza - this is New Jersey after all. 1 slice of plain pizza is not horrible.<br />
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<u>Sugar</u><br />
I use organic sugar in my coffee in the morning. That is the only 'added' sugar in my day, but I do try to keep it under 3 teaspoons total. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar a day for adults. For kids, no more than 4 teaspoons of sugar per day. Take a look at your kids morning cereal or those supposedly healthy '100 calorie snacks', granola bars or fruit (aka fruitless) snacks. 4 grams of sugar is equal to 1 teaspoon. Check out how many grams of sugar are in the servings in processed food. <a href="http://www.generalmills.com/~/media/Images/Brands/Nutritional_Images/Nature_Valley/Greek_Yogurt_Protein/NV_Greek_Yogurt_Protein_Mixed_Berry.ashx?keepThis=true&" target="_blank">Check out the ingredients on this supposedly healthy Yogurt-Granola bar</a>. One bar has 11 grams of sugar- that is just shy of 3 teaspoons of sugar. It's loaded with corn syrups and soy products, chemicals and other unpronounceable things.<br />
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<u>My day to day inspiration</u><br />
<a href="http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/" target="_blank">100 Days of real food.</a> The information on this website has really just amazed me. It's my daily guidance.<br />
Hearing my husband tell me how great I look (and I think he looks great as he has lost 30+ lbs too!).<br />
Getting to donate ALL of my big clothes and buying a whole new wardrobe. There is no feeling like buying smaller clothes and they fit!<br />
Looking at older pictures of myself; seeing how big I really was, and how far I have come; knowing that progress takes time. There will be setbacks and bad weeks; weeks where I gain weight, and weeks where I lose weight. It's a marathon.<br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">What kind of healthy eating habits do you have in your household? </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">What tips can you share for others?</span><br />
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-12877962338655998992014-05-24T10:22:00.002-04:002014-05-24T10:22:49.886-04:001 year ago today was Tyler's open heart surgeryI can't believe it's been a year since Tyler's Open Heart surgery.<br />
1 Year.<br />
365 days since my beautiful baby boy had his open heart surgery and bravely fought his way to recovery. It has been 8,760 hours since our lives changed forever.<br />
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When Tyler was born, we were so relieved he was healthy and perfect, and we had no idea what was about to happen in a few days. My daughter Julianna had a brief stint in the NICU after she was born for a small pneumothorax. So with Tyler, when we were discharged to go home, we were relieved and thrilled to be going home with our boy.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">A few days after we were home, Tyler was brought to the ER by my husband on a Thursday evening, and nothing was the same after that</span>. <span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.juliannabelle.com/2013/06/your-son-has-congenital-heart-defect.html" target="_blank">Click here for Tyler's story</a>. </span><br />
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In the last year, we have celebrated many milestones as you would with any other baby. <a href="http://www.juliannabelle.com/2014/05/tyler-is-one-year-old.html" target="_blank">HERE is his "One Year Old</a>" post from the other day. Tyler has grown and developed into the most amazing little boy, who is clearly meant for big & amazing things in this world. He is such a special little boy and I love him more than I could ever possibly put into words. I never knew how much I would fall in love with this little boy, because it's so very true what <i>they</i> say about moms and their little boys. Please don't take it the wrong way, Julianna is my beautiful little girl who I love so so so very much! You just never quite understand how much room you have in your heart for each child until you actually have them. It's really quite incredible.<br />
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Tyler's smile lights up a room and his personality is happy, beautiful and loving. He is so innocent to the world and the bad thing he went through in the beginning of his life. He loves to be held all of the time and snuggle with mama and daddy. It makes me sick to think 20 or 30 years ago, babies passed away from heart defects because the CHD/TAPVR surgery just wasn't in existence yet, and no one operated on baby's hearts back then. God Bless modern medicine and the surgeons NY Presbyterian Children's Hospital (CHONY) ... and of course the pediatric cardiologist that found his defect in the ER. They saved his life and they are the reason Tyler is here with us today.<br />
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In the last year, Tyler has been to a multitude of doctor appointments with the pediatrician, cardiologist, neurologist, had blood drawn more times than I can remember, was on Digoxin heart medication for 6 months, came home with halter monitors for 24 hours several times from the cardiologist, had his 'early intervention' appointment, and an ER visit. Not a day goes by where I think I need to check him while he's sleeping because I ask myself "What if his repair gives out?". I am always watching him to make sure he doesn't turn blue (a common symptom of CHD babies, even the 'repaired' ones). This all gets easier with time, but I don't know if it ever truly goes away. We as parents will always worry about Tyler's heart health, and will always stay on top of everything, and educate him so later in life, as an adult, he stays on top of it too.<br />
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<u><span style="font-size: x-large;">One year later</span></u><br />
Tyler is off all medications & he now sees his cardiologist every 3 months. His future prognosis is a positive one and we pray he will never need any further surgeries. Nothing in life is guaranteed though. There will always be a risk of a side effect from his heart surgery. As his heart & body grows, all the repaired parts need to grow with it. The biggest long-term risk for him is stenosis of the (repaired) veins, and this will always hang over our heads. Any time a cardiologist appointment is coming up, I can't help but think, are they going to find something wrong this time? Will this be the time they see something not growing correctly? I don't spend my days worrying about this, but it is always a concern to us.<br />
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I see his scar every day, and while it is part of Tyler, it is a true-life reminder of his congenital heart defect called TAPVR. We will continue to move forward and heal with him. I will help spread awareness through my blog, facebook page and raising money through the CHD Coalition in NJ each year.<br />
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Some pictures from the last couple of weeks.<br />
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-89350936878105074202014-05-22T16:30:00.000-04:002014-05-22T16:30:00.707-04:00Tyler is One Year Old! I really can not believe my little boy is One year old. It doesn't seem possible we have been through an entire year since he was born. It's been a year of random ups and downs, happiness & emotional times. Overall it's been a great year to look back on. My little beautiful baby boy is ONE. We are blessed by the happiness he brings into our lives. It is so true what they say about Moms and their baby boys. Little boys are so special with their mamas!<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">Here are some of Tyler's milestones at one year old.</span><br />
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<u>Walking</u><br />
Sooo close. Not there just yet. He furniture surfs and can stand on his own briefly. Soon he will be walking/running/climbing. (Oh wait he already climbed up on Julianna's chair!)<br />
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<u>Crawling</u><br />
He's been crawling for 3 or 4 months ... he's an expert. Fast little bugger too.<br />
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<u>Eating & his routine</u><br />
Since he only has 3 teeth, he's not eating much more than pureed foods, puffs, and a few mushy finger foods, like small diced bananas. Breakfast is oatmeal with a mixed pureed fruit. Lunch is 2 pouches of mixed veggies/fruits. Dinner usually consists of oatmeal, veggie mix and fruit. Now he is able to eat diced up mushy fruit, we're doing that too. I'll try veggies next. He has a small snack around 11am and then at 3:30 with his milk. The idea of pureed meat in a pouch kind makes me cringe, so we have been staying away from it. Tyler eats some kind of bean every day, so he still gets plenty of protein. The pediatrician said she would like to see him have some meat though, so I am going to start giving him some mushy white fish or chicken. I think he will like it, even with his 3 teeth! We eat meat, so I am not against it, I was just not into giving him pureed meat (yuck!).<br />
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<u>What brands of food & milk do we feed Tyler? </u><br />
His pureed baby food has been either Ella's or Plum Organics. His puffs are Plum Organics also and his crackers are Baby Mum-mums. Those are the best crackers for babies without a lot of teeth that are more than able to eat snacks. His milk is organic whole milk. Pretty much anything I put into him is organic, along with my daughter too!<br />
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<u>Formula/Milk</u><br />
No more formula. Yay! Tyler drinks whole milk now and had no issue moving to milk. He has an 8 oz bottle when he wakes up. Then some milk with lunch. He has 6oz of milk at 3:30 with a snack, and then 4-6 oz of milk before bedtime. I am working on weaning him over to the sippy cup for milk. He loves water in a sippy cup - and has it with dinner and lunch and morning snack.<br />
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<u>Naps & Bedtime</u><br />
Tyler takes 2 pretty solid naps a day. One in the mid-morning around 9:45-11ish, and the other mid-afternoon around 1:30-3ish. He goes to bed at 8pm and doesn't make a peep until 7am. He is a great night time sleeper just like Julianna. Not as good as a napper but almost.<br />
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<u>Teeth</u><br />
He has 3. That's it. More are coming really soon!<br />
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<u>Speaking</u><br />
Not much. He has his own baby talk. Lot's of it. He babbles on and on and tells us a bunch of stuff in his own language. He does say Mama and dada. He has his own communication with Julianna - baby talk that I think she understands more than we do.<br />
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Can you tell he likes his life-jacket? HA! (We will be getting him a new one that is not so stiff)</div>
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<u>Weight</u><br />
Tyler weighs 20 lbs 8 oz. He is about 20th percentile in weight & height. (What's crazy is, I have lost 30 pounds since January - that is one of him plus 10 lbs!)<br />
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<u>Other things</u><br />
He loves to play Peek-a-boo (Where's the baby?!) and laughs hysterically. He likes when someone claps, but he is not clapping yet. He is not waving bye-bye yet - but likes when someone waves to him. He likes pat-a-cake but is still learning how to play it. He is able to figure out shape-sorting toys - he gets the ball in the hole, and is so proud of himself. He also likes to push any toy with wheels; his trucks, school bus, train, dump truck, wheel loader, etc.<br />
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<u>The Scar</u><br />
Tyler's scar from his Open Heart Surgery (from 8 days old) is healing up beautifully. It will never go away, but it won't be as noticeable. (<a href="http://www.juliannabelle.com/2013/06/your-son-has-congenital-heart-defect.html" target="_blank">Click here for his story</a>)<br />
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<u>Party Time</u><br />
We threw a combo birthday party for the kids this past weekend, since their birthdays are a week apart. We had a small party at our favorite local pizza place - just family and some close friends. It was fun, the food was great and the kids had a nice time.<br />
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Me and my baby boy! This was Mother's Day weekend. </div>
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-17446345991913098552014-05-15T07:00:00.000-04:002014-05-15T07:51:45.496-04:00Truth & Reality shows I have always said and still say that Reality TV shows reflect the direction our country is going. I still can not believe how long reality shows have been on the air and the level of absurdity of most of them makes me just shake my head. HOW does anyone watch some of this stuff? It's so fake & clearly scripted in most instances, and it's just a bunch of trashy people praying their 15 minutes of fame makes them into the next Kim Kardashian (as if the world needs another one).<br />
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With that said.... I have a <span style="font-size: x-large;">big</span> confession to make.<br />
I got caught up in the Tori Spelling story that's been on the news lately - how her husband cheated on her, and how they are filming it for their reality show. I was thinking, "WHO in the world does this? Who airs their dirty laundry on TV like this & why?. But as I was thinking it it, I couldn't stop reading about it online or see it enough on the TV. I read her book about growing up in her family, and sort of followed her life (for some weird reason) and I read a couple years ago how she almost died from her last childbirth. So, I felt like I needed to know about their relationship and him cheating. WHY? Who knows. Just call me trash.<br />
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So I did it. I started watching "<a href="http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/true-tori/" target="_blank">True Tori</a>" online. Yep, I did. And you know what...I love it! Ha!<br />
I discovered that while some of this is no doubt scripted and things are totally done FOR the camera, she is a mom of 4 kids, having the same feelings & struggles that most of us have as moms on a daily basis. Her husband is in rehab for having a mental breakdown after cheating on her, and she is home taking care of the 4 kids, and having a really hard time. I can TOTALLY relate to the 'taking care of kids' part of it - the mom part (not the cheating part!).<br />
It is very hard taking care of kids - it doesn't matter who you are - being a mom is tough. When my husband works late or is not home (which isn't too often luckily), I have to go into full time mom mode and it's not easy. Maybe the 'mom' part of me feels bad for her. No amount of money or fame can help make the anxiety of being a mom easier. So the show's premise is them trying to work on their marriage, being parents and her maybe forgiving him for what he did to her (yet to be seen).<br />
She is in a bad marriage and trying to work it out. She does show that, like in most marriages, you can get lost in being parents, and lose focus on your marriage without realizing it. Things do change after you have kids, and anyone that says different is lying to themselves. It happens to everyone. You have to work harder to be husband and wife, and know that time together (sans kids) is limited. You just have to have the where-with-all to get back to being a married couple along with the incredibly tough (but rewarding) job of being parents.<br />
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Looking at my own life, one of my biggest complaints is how much I do not like my house. I hate it actually. We need a bigger place desperately, but due to the bad market in this area, we won't be able to sell for a few years. I hate that my kids share a bedroom and how small our space is. It eats away at me daily.<br />
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So, here I am watching this 'True Tori' show, I am looking at her kitchen and thinking "Wow, I would love a huge kitchen like that!". Then I took a mental step back and thought, she would trade places with me in a heartbeat if she could have the kind of husband & family happiness that I am blessed to have. Sounds silly right? But it does make me realize by watching this, that the big kitchen and other things like that, don't make happiness. It is soooo cliche' and I know it. But sometimes we have to see things like this remind us that what we truly have is a blessing.<br />
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I wouldn't give up my life with my husband and kids if it meant having a bigger kitchen or better car or less bills to pay. No way. I guess what I'm saying is - sometimes you need a <i>Reality</i> <i>show</i> to give you a big time <i>Reality</i> <i>check</i>. I will deal with my teeny house and teeny kitchen if it means I get to keep my life with my husband and kids, which I cherish (but take for granted like most people do sometimes). My life is just fine, thank you. Small kitchen and all.<br />
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Maybe people watch reality shows to remind them of how good their lives truly are?<br />
I mean come on, who really wants to be "Teen Mom"? Ugh!<br />
Do you watch reality shows? Which ones do you watch & why?<br />
Do you just need some mindless drama to make you laugh?<br />
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Mi Familia</div>
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-7344025789791104442014-05-11T08:00:00.000-04:002014-05-11T08:00:11.296-04:00Being a mom ... I love being a mom & I love my children. They have filled my heart with such joy, love & beauty. They have taught me to love in ways I never knew possible. Being a mom can be challenging but the rewards are just so incredibly fulfilling. Sometimes I look at my beautiful little babies, and I can't believe they are mine! I made these perfect little people.<br />
Simply amazing.<br />
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: x-large;">Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: x-large;">Here are my 2 inspirations in life. </span></div>
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-53300915802844270702014-05-05T17:00:00.000-04:002014-05-05T17:00:07.382-04:00The Good & Bad of working from home {mostly good!}I work from home full time (7:30-4:30; M-F) every day & never have to go into the office. I have worked for ADP for 11 years now - I was in the office for the first 5 years and then came home about 6 years ago, along with the rest of my co-workers in the Clifton, NJ office. It was a way to cut costs for our company (as opposed to laying off in that very bad economical time) and it has worked out well for everyone. I get to meet up with my coworkers in my group once a year for our annual meeting- but other than that, I am home. It's good & bad. Mostly good.<br />
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<b><u>The dreaded commute</u></b><br />
I don't have a commute. I used to drive 38 miles (each way) which took me upwards of 1.5 hours each way with traffic (hello, welcome to NJ!). Now, I walk to my dining room office for my commute. I don't spend $7 a day on coffee, $10 a day on lunch and easily $75+ a week on gas. Overall a win win situation!<br />
But, since I don't commute, I don't leave the house very often during the day, so I do feel cooped up after a few days. Even taking a ride to the store hits the reset button for me when I have cabin fever. Certainly beats commuting.<br />
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<u><b>Weather</b></u><br />
Ohhh how I dreaded those rides home from the office in bad weather. A bad rain storm or snowfall could add an additional half hour or more of sitting in never-ending traffic. On those nights, getting home felt like it took 4 hours sometimes! Now when it rains or snows, I am comforted looking out my slider to my deck watching the wet stuff collect outside, knowing I do not have to go out in it (Except to pick up my kids after work from the babysitter).<br />
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<b><u>Less hours for kids to spend at daycare/babysitter </u></b><br />
That's a no-brainer. The less time the kids are away from home, the better for us and them. I love the woman who watches our kids, she is great and so happy we have her! Her house is a mile from us. They get dropped off around 8am and picked up around 4:45pm. If I worked in the office, it would be easily 2-3 more hours a day.<br />
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<u><b>The kids are very near</b></u><br />
If something goes wrong, like one of the kids gets sick, or our babysitter has an emergency (which doesn't happen often), the kids are close by and can be picked up very fast by me or my husband.<br />
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<u><b>Household chores</b></u> <br />
This has a good side & a bad side. The good side is, I can race around on my lunch hour and clean, vacuum, mop, do laundry, make the beds, straighten up. Done. Don't have to do it after work! The bad side is - there goes my lunch hour!<br />
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<b><u>I am home</u> </b><br />
It's nice to be home. In my own house. And home when my husband gets home. It's easy to start prepping for dinner during the day - like chop up ingredients & put them aside - or get the crock pot going. All very convenient.<br />
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<b><u>Run local errands on lunch</u></b><br />
I can easily run out to the food store, Walmart, Petco, Babies-r-us, etc... on lunch time - I have to hurry but I can do it and get back in an hour if I need to.<br />
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<b><u>I get to pick up my daughter from school</u></b><br />
I don't feel like I miss anything. I can also attend school programs and other things they have for the parents to attend (parent/teacher conference, Mother's Day tea party, field trip to the zoo). I get to pick Julianna up from school on Tuesdays & Thursdays. Our babysitter drops her off in the morning since it's not far from her house, then I get to pick her up and drop her back at the babysitter's house. Perfect set up for all of us.<br />
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<b><u>I love my job</u> </b><br />
I really love my job, and love that I get to work from home. We have some big changes coming up at the end of this year for our company, and I am so glad I get to be a part of it - along with still getting to work from home.<br />
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<b><u>I forgot to mention the view</u></b><br />
I don't have to sit in ugly grey office cubes desperately looking at the back of someone's head - or out a teeny window that's up to high to see anything anyway. Instead, I get to look out my slider - and this is my view of our deck. Pepper enjoys sitting out there on nice days too. <br />
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<b><u>The one thing I really do miss</u></b><br />
...is the daily interaction of my work friends. We all chat through work email and work chat groups now - but it's not the same as all being there together. I do get more done working from home since there isn't a lot of 'stopping by someone's cube & talking' going on. I do get to see some of my work friends occasionally- but not as much as I would like.<br />
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<b><u>Routine</u> </b><br />
I really enjoy the routine of working from home- I find it pretty easy to stay on track with eating healthy and good. I don't keep any bad food in the house- so even if I get a craving, I can only eat what's here. Makes it very easy when you don't have access to a cafeteria with tons of fried food and garbage.<br />
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Many people think because I work from home, why do I need daycare?<br />
My job is the type of job I need to focus on things and sometimes need to be on the phone with clients for a while, or I can easily get stuck working on something for 2 hours... It is just not possible to watch 2 active children all day while trying to work and produce for my job. When one of them is home sick, or my babysitter is on vacation, it is very hard to get anything done. I could never have them here with me on a daily basis.<br />
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Do you get to work from home ever? If so, do you like it? Was it hard for you to get used to? It can be a big adjustment to say the least.<br />
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-28499075724956712482014-04-27T07:00:00.000-04:002014-04-27T07:00:02.035-04:00About the Hello Kitty band-its and other 3 year old thingsYeah I said BAND-ITS.<br />
That's the way Julianna says Band-aids. I love it. (Well, sort of!)<br />
The child is obsessed with Band-Aids. Not just any old band-aids; she is obsessed with <u>Hello Kitty</u> "Band-Its". She will be sitting watching a TV show and will look at us to make sure we are looking at her, and out of nowhere, say "Ouch my finger hurts. I need a band-it! Owwww".<br />
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Then she will do her best academy award nomination acting to show me how much her imaginary boo-boo hurts. She will whine & say OUCH over and over until we say OK you can go get a band aid. And then she hops up and sprints to the bathroom cabinet. She must then pick her own Hello Kitty band-aid out (we are not allowed to pick on out for her or a meltdown will ensue!). She takes it apart and puts it on whatever finger she determines is the 'injured' finger at that moment in time. At first we questioned each injury - but now we just know it's band-it time.<br />
You know that saying, "Choose your battles". Well that applies 100% here. It's just not worth the 20 minute meltdown and crying if we say 'no' to a band-it. Sometimes she walks around with 5 band-its on. Fingers, knees, elbow, leg, toes... pretty much anywhere a band-it will stick! I know I can't be alone, can I? Other 3 year olds go through this stage right? There are bigger & better things to worry about in the scheme of life, so this is not something I let bother me too much. I should probably own stock in Hello Kitty band-aids. Really.<br />
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See the band-it?</div>
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Julianna has so many other quirky little cute & adorable things she does. She is so particular as to what things need to be done a certain way and if it's not to her approval, she melts down. When she eats something (snack or small meal sometimes) in the living room, she NEEDS her "Sticker Tray" to eat off of. That's her tray with the random stickers she has covered it with. No sticker tray = Meltdown. If a specific pair of {Hello Kitty} underwear or socks are not clean, guess what that equals... yup, a Meltdown. No chicken nuggets in the house when she wants them NOW? Yup another meltdown. If we mistakenly pick out her fork for her at dinnertime and don't give her time to pick her OWN fork; that's a meltdown. Apparently it must be a specific fork for that night! No ordinary fork will do, especially one that mom or dad pick out.<br />
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Bubble container empty? Meltdown.<br />
Not allowed to play with play-dough 2 minutes before dinner? Full blown Meltdown.<br />
The PJ's she wants to wear that night for bedtime in the laundry? Meltdown deluxe squared.<br />
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What is it with 3 year olds? And I thought 2 year olds were difficult. No one warned me about 3 years! What the heck?? And the added drama of throwing herself on the floor as part of the meltdown, actually makes me laugh sometimes so much that I need to turn my head so she can't see me laughing while her world is ending over the wrong color sippy cup. Meltdowns. Meltdowns. Meltdowns. It's par for the course with a 3 year old. Her 4th birthday can't come soon enough. I heard a rumor this crap evens out then.<br />
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I thought I was really alone and no one else's child could possibly behave this way. Well, I was wrong again. I am still learning new lessons in this every day {ever changing} schooling of being a mom. Sheesh!<br />
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I went to Julianna's school to help out with her Christmas party back in December and had an HUGE "Ah-Ha" moment. All the other kids in her preschool class behaved <u>JUST LIKE HER</u>. It was mass-chaos. All the kids were wild, whining and crazy <u>just like her</u>. None of the kids were listening to the teacher and in their own little worlds, <u>just like her</u>. It hit me that I am not alone. All the moms of these kids go through the same daily battles that I do.<br />
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I chalk this all up to being a preschooler. Three years old is a tough age. Four can't come soon enough, however I'm sure age four brings a whole new set of challenges that no one warns you about! You can never be sure from day to day (minute to minute) how a preschooler will behave. One thing I am pretty sure about... We will be buying enough Hello Kitty Band-its during Julianna's childhood to cover an entire New York City block.<br />
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-31570595959214760792014-04-24T07:00:00.000-04:002014-04-24T07:00:08.383-04:00A brief trip South A few weeks ago, we took a quick trip down to the Charleston, South Carolina area to visit my inlaws. It was very nice to see my husband's family and spend some time with them. It was also so nice to be in the warm sun and hit the reset button on the winter-blues.<br />
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Julianna loves the beach. She hugged us all and thanked us for bringing her to the beach! </div>
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This girl takes after us 100% with loving the warm outdoor weather. </div>
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Collecting shells </div>
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Rare family shot! Too bad Tyler was facing the other way! </div>
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Daddy & Tyler selfie! </div>
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She thought nothing of sitting right on the wet sand and digging in! </div>
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More shell collecting. </div>
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Tyler was touching the sand and deciding if he liked it. </div>
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He then tried to put it in his mouth... and mama picked him right up and he was done with the sand after 6 seconds! </div>
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Me & my little boy! </div>
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A rare shot of me ... for those that ask :) </div>
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He did not like the sand on his feet - I put him down and he lifted them right out of the wet stuff! </div>
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Walking the beach. </div>
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Running.... running... running! So much fun! </div>
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We went to a local festival and Tyler fell asleep in Daddy's arms (in the pack!) </div>
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Ooh I forgot to resize this one - Daddy & Julianna browsing the festival. </div>
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Julianna discovered Sidewalk chalk. </div>
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Too bad we don't have sidewalks here; she really had a blast with this! </div>
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Hop-scotch on the driveway, with baby giraffe in hand! </div>
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She also discovered the soccer ball! She wanted to play all weekend! </div>
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Guess we'll get her one for her birthday next month! She'll be so happy. </div>
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We had a great time, but it was a long drive there and back - 16 hours each way, with many many stops. I think we will fly next time!<br />
<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-27892345418014059262014-04-21T16:30:00.000-04:002014-04-22T16:55:51.403-04:00Favorite recipes Here are some of my absolute favorite recipes lately since we've started eating a lot 'healthier'.<br />
Eating real {organic}food & healthy doesn't mean you have to give up taste.<a href="http://www.juliannabelle.com/2014/03/food.html" target="_blank"> Go here to see what changes we've made as a family to our lives due to food! </a> <a href="http://www.juliannabelle.com/2014/04/small-changes.html" target="_blank">Click Here to read about </a>the small changes I've made lately that are making a big difference.<br />
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<li><a href="http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/05/chicken-piccata.html" target="_blank">This <span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">Chicken Piccata</span></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span>is to die for. I am a huge fan of Piccata anything, but not a fan of the fattening sauce and calories that go with it. I decided to try this recipe half-heartedly because I thought it couldn't possibly be as good as the real thing that I used to make with 8 tbsp of butter and 4 tbsp of olive oil! Well I was wrong. It was incredible. p.s. this website has some incredible recipes! </li>
<li>I never made or tasted vegetable tacos until I tried <a href="http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/roasted-vegetable-black-bean-tacos/" target="_blank">this delicious recipe for <span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;">Roasted Vegetable & Black Bean Tacos</span></span></a>. Holy cow these are seriously incredible - and the taste is amazing! I can not say it enough how incredible these are! Try them out. I promise you will love them.</li>
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<li>If you like buffalo chicken anything - but not the fattening sauce & wings, then you can try <a href="http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/04/crock-pot-buffalo-chicken-lettuce-wraps.html" target="_blank">this recipe</a>. It is seriously incredible. My husband, who loves buffalo wings, fell in love with these healthy <a href="http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/04/crock-pot-buffalo-chicken-lettuce-wraps.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;">Buffalo Chicken Lettuce wraps</span>.</span></a> No kidding! Check it out - and you make it in the crock pot, even better! </li>
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<li>I have started making my own salad dressings lately. I love Blue cheese and blue cheese dressing. I found <a href="http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/04/low-fat-creamy-blue-cheese-dressing.html" target="_blank">this recipe for incredible <span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">Blue cheese dressing</span> </a>when I made the above Chicken wraps. Holy moly it is so tasty, creamy and blue-cheesy... and not super artery clogging either! Love it. </li>
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<li>We've been trying to eat more fish lately. I found this incredibly healthy & fresh recipe for <a href="http://www.skinnytaste.com/2014/03/flounder-milanese-with-arugula-and.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">Flounder Milanese</span></a>. The arugula & lemon mix makes this recipe. This is the first recipe I used my home made breadcrumbs on. Yum. Make it for your next fish recipe. My husband loved this one too. Well, he likes anything I make! </li>
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<li>We've been trying to eat more vegetables as part of our daily regimen. Luckily Brian and I both love salad, so we've been having big salads for dinner at least once a week. This <a href="http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/avocado-strawberry-spinach-salad-with-poppyseed-dressing/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">Avocado Strawberry Spinach salad</span></a> is so full of taste, flavor and color! We put a big star by it for meals to bring on the boat this summer! Oh and the poppyseed dressing is incredible. I make this for my regular lunch salads because it is so good. This is a keeper! </li>
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<li>I like rice. Yup I do. Fried rice is even better... but let's face it, fried rice is.... just that- Fried. Not healthy. Well.... guess what. I found this super duper (healthy) <span style="color: red;"><a href="http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/fried-rice-recipe/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">Fried Rice recipe</span></a> </span>that I could just eat every single night. The smell of it cooking alone sold me! Try it - you won't regret it. </li>
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p.s. I am down 25 pounds ... from eating just 'real' food. No low-fat, fat-free, fake sugar, or processed stuff. </div>
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Can you share some favorite recipes or healthy websites you frequent? </div>
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I would love to try some new ones!</div>
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-66384561762080850532014-04-16T07:00:00.000-04:002014-04-16T08:31:06.392-04:00Small changes <span style="color: blue;">Before I start this post, I would like to add something about the post I wrote earlier this week; <a href="http://www.juliannabelle.com/2014/04/10-things-ive-learned-in-first-year-of.html" target="_blank">10 things I've learned in the first year of raising a baby with a CHD.</a> One of the absolute most obvious thing I totally forgot to write was the friendships I have made in the past year with other CHD parents. The compassion and caring in the CHD community is just incredibly beautiful. I have made some close friends and talked to so many other moms in our same situation. We all support each other - there is no room for hate, negativity, jealousy or gossip. It's just pure honesty, emotions, & sharing. What a great bunch of moms I have met locally through my support group and online through my Facebook CHD and TAPVR groups. Simply amazing. </span><br />
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<b>Here is my original post for today about SMALL CHANGES: </b><br /><br />I mentioned a couple weeks ago that our family is undergoing a big change towards our goal of 100% healthy living. (<a href="http://www.juliannabelle.com/2014/03/food.html" target="_blank">Go here to see that post</a>). It's a process that can't happen overnight (I feel) and needs to be transitioned over slowly, which we've been doing. I find myself focusing on a few foods, recipes & ideas each week to substitute or changeover to. For instance, we are trying to cut out most or all processed foods. Due to the fact we don't live near a Whole Foods store and our Shop-Rite (food store) severely lacks in the organic and healthy department, we can't really cut out 100%, but I sure want to try! There are many reasons for switching our lifestyle, none of which I will get into right now (again) because everyone has their own causes, and I don't want to turn into a preacher. Everyone does what they do for their own reasons. We have ours.<br />
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So, one of the things I am really focusing on when buying store-bought (premade) food is the <a href="http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/06/10/mini-pledge-week-14-five-ingredient-rule/" target="_blank">"5 ingredient or less"</a> rule. Reality is, we do have a busy life; my husband and I work, and we have 2 kids. We do need some quick snack alternatives - so this is where the '5 ingredient rule' is going to come into play for us, when purchasing things from the food store. When anything has 5 ingredients or less, it <i><u>usually</u></i> is free of artificial junk, sugars, preservatives and chemicals. This past week, I was trying to find some breadcrumbs at the store that met this requirement. I couldn't even come close.<br />
Every can of crumbs had loads & loads of chemicals and not even any real bread in it! So I thought- heck with this - I am going to make my own.<br />
(<a href="http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/05/31/recipe-veggie-burgers-another-meal-you-can-freeze-including-homemade-breadcrumbs/#more-479" target="_blank">Click here to see the instructions I followed to make breadcrumbs</a> - It's SUPER EASY folks!).<br />
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I bought fresh whole wheat bread from the store bakery (which has 4 ingredients) and I made my own breadcrumbs for the first time ever this weekend. And you know what- it was very EASY - almost too easy - and they came out great. I pan fried some fresh fish covered in our fresh crumbs, and it was excellent. It's so easy to make the breadcrumbs - I am SO DONE with the store bought ones. I want to know what's going into our bodies and my kid's bodies. I also am taking on the task of making home made chicken nuggets for Julianna. This is her weakness, like every 3 or 4 year old child. Again, when I look at the ingredients for the ones in the store, I cringe. We buy the Perdue naturals for her - but still - that stuff scares me. Since this is a staple in her diet, I am going to make my own big batch of them, freeze them, and pull out 3 or 4 at a time as needed. <a href="http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/10/14/recipe-homemade-chicken-nuggets/" target="_blank">HERE is the recipe I am using for her nuggets</a>. Can you tell I am in love with the "100 days of real food" website?! Great stuff there.<br />
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One huge 'change over' I made with the 5-ingredient-or-less rule is this; We love the tiny thin pretzel sticks. I think they are usually called 'Amish' pretzels sticks. Once I <u>really</u> read all the unpronounceable stuff they are made with, I tried to find a healthier choice- and I did! I found <a href="http://www.wholeandnatural.com/servlet/the-122/Beigel-%26-Beigel,-100-pct-,/Detail#.U0v51-ZdWxM" target="_blank">THESE</a> at our local Shop Rite (which is amazing that they carry them). They taste great and only have 5 ingredients, without any yucky stuff! Score big time. Yeah they are a little pricier, but so what. When I used to commute to work (I work from home now), I thought nothing of spending $5+ a day on coffee. You can justify any cost if you really want to, for the right reasons.<br />
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One thing I am having a hard time with making a healthier choice with is Deli cold cuts. I still buy our cold cuts from the deli. I have tried the "pre-packaged" organic cold cuts by Applegate farms and they do not taste good and kind of slimy I think, along with enough salt for a lifetime. So, I have been begrudgingly buying the normal fresh cold cuts from the deli with tons of God-knows-what in them, and who knows where the meat comes from (it's sure not from my local farm!). I do try to get the natural stuff without nitrates, etc - but still, I know they are not good. Again, this is where living by a Whole Foods or Trader Joes would be terrific. I could also make my own by baking up a ham or turkey and slicing them - but that honestly is just too time consuming for me, not to mention I don't own an industrial meat slicer. Here's my solution for this week: I just found out that Applegate makes fresh organic (uncured) cold cuts for our Shop Rite, so I am going to give that a shot. Baby steps, right. My daughter and husband like their sandwiches too much - I'm not giving up on them yet.<br />
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No thanks... </div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I am going to be posting some of my favorite websites and recipes later this week. </span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Do you have any favorites you would like to share? (leave in comment area)</span></span></div>
<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-68666150990422879382014-04-14T07:00:00.000-04:002014-04-16T08:20:32.063-04:0010 things I've learned in the first year of raising a baby with a Congenital Heart Defect 1.<br />
Life throws curve balls when you least expect it. No kidding.<br />
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I have slowed down and truly enjoyed the precious moments with my kids. I sincerely enjoy every hug, smile and nuzzle with Tyler. He is a blessing and I thank God every day that he is with us.<br />
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I see other parents of children with special needs differently now. I am <u>now</u> part of their club and understand the emotion of having a child with a major medical issue or special needs. (<a href="http://www.juliannabelle.com/2013/06/your-son-has-congenital-heart-defect.html" target="_blank">Click here to read Tyler's story</a>) I have compassion and understanding of what those parents have gone through, especially since we have been there. I have learned what 'love unconditionally' means.<br />
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I have grown so much in the last year, as a parent, a human and a wife because of Tyler.<br />
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I have learned not to judge people so quickly, especially since you never know what is on their plate. I have an absolutely different perspective now.<br />
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I have learned not to care about petty things and don't get annoyed as easily (with exception to the couple of months when I thought I was losing my mind when pre-menopause was kicking in! <a href="http://www.juliannabelle.com/2014/02/after-long-much-needed-break.html" target="_blank">Go here for that story.</a>)<br />
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I have learned that being happy & healthy for my family and with my family comes first.<br />
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I am grateful for the doctors and hospitals that Tyler has been to in the last year for his Heart Defect and open heart surgery. The doctors were incredible, and we had the best outcome for Tyler's scenario.<br />
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I have also learned that the reality of Congenital Heart defect can be death (there, I said it) and I say a heartfelt prayer when a parent in one of my online groups loses their baby to CHD. It breaks my heart in ways that I can't even put into words. I hold my Tyler even closer & say a prayer to thank God for him.<br />
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I know my baby boy is on this planet for a greater good. God put Tyler here to do big things.<br />
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-69872694522638700772014-04-11T17:00:00.000-04:002014-04-11T17:00:06.754-04:00Catch up Working on a couple posts but I didn't want to leave you high & dry...<br />
Here are some recent photos, it should be the last of the indoor pictures for a while... at least until the next snowfall. Now that the warmer weather is here, I should be snapping more photos outdoors!<br />
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Happy Spring</div>
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The girl is nuts! </div>
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So is he!</div>
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Smiley boy.</div>
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I'm gonna get you!</div>
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Bye bye</div>
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Checking out her goodie bag from a birthday party</div>
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-1494865865737715082014-04-03T07:00:00.000-04:002014-04-03T07:00:07.007-04:009 Things I'm loving lately ... <br />
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April is here. That means Baseball season officially started and the weather is getting warmer...and maybe just maybe we can get our boat in the water by the end of the month with a lot of wishful thinking!</div>
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Oh and Easter- I can't wait for the Easter bunny to bring Julianna & Tyler their baskets! </div>
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Ipad Air. Loving it. I did not think I would like it as much as I do but I am 100% loving it. </div>
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It's great for recipes while I cook - I prop it up on the counter and it's so convenient!</div>
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(ooh it's dirty - should have cleaned it first before taking it's picture!)</div>
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Loving this 10 grain cereal. </div>
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I've been eating it for a couple weeks now and I really look forward to making this for breakfast! It's very tasty & filling. </div>
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Loving my little boy's first sneakers! Our friends got him these when he was born, and I am dying for him to wear them! They are just the cutest little things! He is about a month away from wearing them - they slip off a little easy still and I'm afraid of losing one. </div>
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Loving my little Jack Russell terrier mix. Pepper is almost 6 years old. I feel bad somedays when she gets ignored because we are so busy, so we try to snuggle extra with her after the kids go to bed. </div>
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Loving Aquaphor. This stuff is incredible. It works great on everything and anything - chapped lips, cracked dry winter hands, chapped baby face, diaper rash, and anything else you can think up. </div>
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We had to throw out Julianna & Tyler's sleep-seahorses due to the fact we found out they catch on fire. In case you have one of those Fisher Price Seahorses, please google it- tons of them have smoked or caught on fire and fisher price has NOT recalled them yet. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Ocean-Wonders-Soothe-Seahorse/product-reviews/B0083IXKYY" target="_blank">Click here</a> to see the many complaints. I bought this new sleep machine for Tyler. It projects a mobile on the ceiling and plays a lullaby song or soothing noises at bedtime. It also has a timer or you can play it all night long. Love it.<br />
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Loving this Clinique Turnaround Overnight face cream. I am a self-admitted Clinique junky and just tried this for the first time. It makes my skin feel so good by the morning and so soft! </div>
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Loving Ella's and Plum Organics for Tyler. They offer the greatest combinations of food for babies without any chemicals or preservatives. Tyler likes most of them except anything that has peas or greenbeans in it. He is the same as Julianna with that - hates peas. Ha! </div>
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-18018892551048546052014-03-31T07:00:00.000-04:002014-03-31T09:09:29.424-04:00FoodMy name is Skye & I'm 43. I've been a food addict for about 5 years now. <br />
I always considered myself to be a pretty healthy person for my entire life. When I was younger, I played sports & worked out at the gym 4 days a week. I ate very healthy and clean. I felt good about myself, always weighed a healthy weight, but then my weight slowly went up after I turned 30 with the onset of a new relationship, longer work hours, lifestyle, etc.<br />
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Before I got pregnant with Julianna, Brian and I ate pretty healthy, worked out and lived a relatively healthy lifestyle. We went for walks and even started running some nights on our walks. Once I became pregnant, I stopped most activity and I started eating A LOT of not-so-good-for-me food (no shocker since I felt great with my first pregnancy). After I had Julianna, I stopped caring about how much I weighed (since after all, I just had a baby!). I never really lost much of my pregnancy weight and then we decided to try to have another baby. So, I figured why bother losing weight? I'm going to just gain weight with another baby anyway. It was a horrible way to think, but it was my excuse to eat. Then I got pregnant with Tyler and felt so sick the entire time, which I'm sure you've heard me say here many times. (One thing to note; once I found out I was pregnant with Tyler, I did cut out most or all products with 'fake' sugar like aspartame, and have kept it out of my diet since then - all diet products scare me - I pray that all the years I used fake sugar and drank diet soda didn't harm me).<br />
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After I had Tyler, I made up for all the time I couldn't eat and spent the first few months of celebrating being able to eat again. I totally "emotionally ate" for the few months after Tyler was born when he was recovering from his open heart surgery (Click <a href="http://www.juliannabelle.com/2013/06/your-son-has-congenital-heart-defect.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> for Tyler's story in case you missed it). What is a better fix for sad mom? Ice cream right? Ugh! I also went through an unimaginable tough emotional and mental time due to pre-menopause. I knew I was unhealthy and very overweight, but for several months, I wasn't emotionally ready to do anything about it. It's always a mental thing for me. None of my clothes fit me and I felt so terrible about myself. I knew I needed to do something but had to wait until I was 100% mentally ready to take this on. Knowing WHAT to do was never an issue (I've never believed in goofy fad diets like drinking celery juice for 2 weeks to lose weight!). For me, weight loss is totally mental mindset. Brian and I made unhealthy dinners almost every night and enjoyed big-calorie dinners regularly when we ate dinner out. We had Ben & Jerry's after the kids went to bed every night - ugh - talk about big fattening mistakes! Large portions did me in. I have never been a candy or fast food person. I just ate too much <i>regular</i> food all of the time.<br />
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Finally, towards the end of 2013, Brian and I had some very long discussions about 'being ready' to finally start being healthy and changing our lives. We needed to be good roll models for both of our children. We have always encouraged and given healthy & fresh foods to Julianna (not counting chicken nuggets lol). She eats very healthy, but we, as parents, need to set a much better (long term) roll model for healthy living for them.<br />
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One fabulous thing Brian and I already changed once we had Julianna, was to switch all 'fresh' foods to organic. We started buying organic chicken & beef, eggs, milk, fruit & veggies. I'm so glad we did that and focused on Julianna eating healthy foods. Let's get one thing straight, organic and fresh doesn't mean weight loss. The focus was there on organic, but I cared less about how much I ate daily (clearly!).<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><u>As of this past January</u></span>, Brian and I made a conscience decision to make a change. We decided to eat ALL organic, pesticide-free, pure & healthy foods. We continue to buy organic 'fresh' foods, but now stepped it up to include everything else we buy (when possible). Our local food store does not offer the best organic selections, but we can usually find most things we need. I would love if we had a Whole Foods near us. The closest one is over a half hour away, and not convenient for shopping. In the summer, we plan on visiting our local farmer's market, as we do every summer.<br />
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We made the decision to cut out all or most processed foods from our diet immediately. Brian and I read all ingredients and try not to allow any foods with chemicals or artificial anything in the house. If organic is not an option when shopping, then I'll choose the 'cleanest' product I can get, i.e. I get the bakery to slice fresh whole wheat bread (that has 4 ingredients) instead of buying the packaged bread that has a ton of 'preservatives' in it. In the past, we never really bought sugary foods or candy for Julianna anyway, and luckily now she prefers fruit or carrots as a snack over to sugary treats (pat myself on the back for that!). We have never bought juice for her since day one and she doesn't even like it - she likes water. Tyler will be on the same track.<br />
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Our life goal now is to eat nutritious & pure food, make smart food choices, be healthy, be a good roll model and lose weight. We are also taking vitamins daily (which we never did before). Brian and I are trying to focus on adding more vegetarian meals to our diet and trying some new (healthy) recipes. We plan out most of our meals for the week and have managed to make everything we make taste great and it has been keeping us very satisfied. This change takes work and is working out better than we ever imagined, especially since we are both 100% committed. It's a marathon, not a sprint (cliche, I know!) and we look forward to the long haul. It's time for life change. It's been a LONG time coming. I can't change what I did for the past 5 years, but I can change the future.<br />
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<u><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;">I am down 21 pounds since January.</span></span></u> Yay me. Oh and I still use real sugar in my coffee. Sugar in <u>small</u> amounts is <u>not</u> the enemy like the diet industry will have you believe!<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u><span style="color: red;">Brian is down about 25 pounds.</span></u> </span> I am so proud of my husband and he looks great!<br />
We are both using Weight watchers (online) for guidance. I need something to help me keep track of what I eat and be accountable. Weight watchers has worked for me in the past (many moons ago).<br />
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Oh and p.s. - I dropped my overall cholesterol down about 50 points to a very good number. My cholesterol was pretty high (totally self induced) last fall, and one of my personal goals was to lower it. I had my well visit with my doctor a few weeks ago, and discovered it had gone way down. Yay me again.<br />
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I still have a lot more to lose, but I am very satisfied with my results so far, and really looking forward to trying on clothes that haven't fit me in 5 or 6 (or more!) years. I am looking forward to boating season where I won't have to cover up and be ashamed of how I look.<br />
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One thing I hope to add to my life in the near future is exercising. I would love to have that back. That's one downfall right now with 2 small children, working full time and everything else that goes along with our crazy life right now. I will get more active once the nicer weather is here.<br />
One thing at a time, right?<br />
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I'll share some of our recipes here next week. We have discovered some great food blogs!<br />
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Here is my inspiration (photo taken October 2013)</div>
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-44622702718318357472014-03-22T07:00:00.000-04:002014-04-11T15:50:13.318-04:0010 indications our house has been taken over by a preschooler and an infant1. <br />
In addition to my wallet, sunglasses and lipstick... I now have Binkies, wipes, diapers & Desitin in my purse at any given time. Also a few random toys. An empty fruit squeezy & an apple core.<br />
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I find empty toilet paper rolls stuffed in the bathroom cabinet (and could never figure out where the girl threw them out until recently).<br />
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Toys have taken over every square foot of our living space (when I <u>swore</u> that I would never allow that to happen, pre-kids!). Oh and let's not forget about the car. With 2 kids, I can truly say that no SUV is big enough, between the 2 carseats, toys, supplies, miscellaneous toys, school projects & food wrappers that collect on the floor in the back of the car. Oh and the ginormous double stroller. Time to move up to a bigger SUV.<br />
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Our house has been taken over by giraffes. All kinds of stuffed giraffes. Big ones. Little ones. Fat ones. Skinny ones. The girl has 97 giraffes. She loves them all.<br />
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Sticky snotty unidentifiable fingerprints all over my refrigerator, dishwasher, tables, leather sofa, ipad, phone, floor, & clothes. I clean them. They magically re-appear. Hourly. Daily.<br />
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Basement storage. We used to only stock up on and store food & supplies in the basement, such as popcorn, pasta, olive oil, tomato puree, paper plates & paper towels. Easy. Now all of that takes a back seat to the boxes of diapers, pull-ups (Yup the almost 4 yr old girl still poops in a pull-up - Just kill me), tubs of formula, diaper genie refills, Aveeno baby wash, baby food, baby cereal, old baby toys, new baby toys, older-baby baby toys, tubs of outgrown baby clothes, tubs of to-be-worn baby clothes, 2 kid bikes and a princess ATV, mounds of laundry the size of snow moguls. We could easily film an episode of "Hoarders" down there. Did I mention the attic full of miscellaneous everything that no longer fits in our house due to kids taking over!<br />
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7.<br />
Speaking of laundry. Who knew 2 adults, a preschooler and an infant could generate so much laundry. It's like washing clothes for a family of 10. It never ends. And then there's the folding... Folding of 298 teeny tiny pieces of kid clothing that can fit into the huge front load washer. 59 pairs princess underpants, 31 socks, 14 tiny boy pants, 18 onsies, too many pairs of girl pants, fuzzy PJs, cotton PJs, Hello kitty everything, etc etc... Oh and a pair of my own jeans slips by to get washed every once in a while.<br />
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7am is considered sleeping in. Even on the weekend. 7:15 is a super glorious bonus. We were always early risers, but good grief it would be nice to sleep til 7:30 once in a while on the weekend.<br />
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9.<br />
95% of the pictures on my phone, camera & computer are of my babies. Not of me and my husband. Not even of the dog. Not of the rest of our family. Not of much else. Just our kids. Why? Because they are beautiful little creatures and I want to capture their every move. They have taken over my heart and soul.<br />
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10.<br />
And finally; the tenth indication that the children have taken over our house. Brian and I can sing (and dance to) the <u>entire</u> 'Hotdog song' from the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or the theme song to the Octonauts. We can name every cartoon that is on Disney Junior - and whether or not we have seen certain episodes of each show. I quite often hum the Octonauts song when I am alone in the car or working. I can also recite every line from the all 3 'Toy Story' movies and the 'Cars' movie. And what about our adult shows? HA! All I can say is thank goodness for Netflix, 'On demand' and Tivo.<br />
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Have your kids taken over your house?<br />
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She takes after me. </div>
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Giraffe craziness! </div>
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1757273551353259279.post-72597961818384725492014-03-19T17:00:00.000-04:002014-03-19T17:00:00.649-04:00Waiting for Spring... Just like most of the Northeast; we are waiting... and waiting... and waiting... for Spring.<br />
I've been limiting my photography this Winter due to the simple fact, I really don't love shooting indoors. I like warm, nature, and outdoor location shots! There is only so much I can do in our tiny little house all winter for photos of the kids over and over. Since it was so cold this past Sunday, and we spent yet another weekend indoors, I decided to get my camera out and spend a couple hours letting the kids play and taking some shots of them.<br />
Here's what we've been up to while Spring is taking it's sweet old time to arrive.<br />
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Tyler has mastered standing and loves looking out of the top of his crib at the world! </div>
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Waiting for teeth ... at 10 months! My gummy boy! </div>
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Pondering the world. </div>
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Squinchy face... he loves making this face. </div>
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Tyler loves to be near his big sister any time he can! </div>
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She loves to ham in up for the camera (on her terms). I didn't even have to bribe her. </div>
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Julianna and her cheesy toothy smile. She is precious and so happy. </div>
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Another toothy smile. I love this girls presence - she can light up a room! </div>
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They play well together (most times) and Julianna shares with Tyler now. I love seeing them interact. </div>
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Snack time & a quick Mickey Mouse cartoon. </div>
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Back to running around like a maniac and entertaining her brother. </div>
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She was running & diving on the sofa while he stood there laughing hysterical at her! </div>
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And finally, we are waiting for spring so we can get this in the water... </div>
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Soon ... soon! </div>
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<br />Skye http://www.blogger.com/profile/05663879992702576347noreply@blogger.com2