potty tales.

week's been a little crazy on top of the "normal" crazy. i started potty training my 2.5-year-old this week. well, i started in the fall to see if it would take, but there were signs that she wasn't ready. and, we didn't want to train her too close to her brother being born for fear of total regression. so, we decided to take a break and start fresh in the new year.

which brings us to now. the peeing in the potty is going well and we seem to have progress on that front. like, she doesn't pee on the floor and makes it a point to hold it and then use the potty - a complete reverse from when i tried originally this past fall. woo hoo! progress {and less carpet cleaning}. pooping is an entirely different story. she seems to have an aversion to pooping in the potty and would rather do it on the floor if she doesn't have a diaper on. yes, gross. we acquired a potty chart, which is a little fun reward system with stickers and stuff -she's been pretty into that. we're just trying to beef up the reward for pooping in the right place. if anyone has done this before and can share some advice, i would really appreciate hearing your personal experience.

on the scrapping front - i threw this together recently:



can i just say that i love, LOVE prima's stuff. i used the clearly IOD tape on some of the "frame" and love the end result. the photo was taken on our honeymoon. one of our napa-stops was the french laundry. what a great experience. it's been fun scrapping some honeymoon pictures. it's like reliving a wonderful experience...

'til next time! =)

no pain, no ?!?*!?%$#!!

...which is pretty much what went through my head as i stepped onto the treadmill this afternoon. UGH! got the 6-week post-partum green light from my doctor that i could start exercising again, and i didn't really waste much time. but, ouch!
i'm literally cursing every holiday cookie i consumed because i'm pretty sure some of it took up residence from the waist down. not to mention the complete loss of muscle tone. so, here's to getting things back to better, as i am going to say as i approach this whole weight-loss, tone-up goal i have in mind.

will have to balance that time with my free scrapping time, which i have not been able to do the past couple of days. maybe tonight? on the upside...i started uploading my pages onto 2peas. it's taken me about 3 years to do this, so i've starting showing my more recent things. haha. no one wants to see the 1st scrapbooking attempts here on my end. =)

mid-winter itch.

this is the time of year that sort-of gets to me. i call it the mid-winter itch.
hard to believe, too, that spring is next month; but, it feels like an eternity away.
it can be a bummer feeling trapped inside the house. can't really go outside for walks because it's either cold or rainy {snow is a rare sight this season}. i feel that between the pregnancy and winter-eating i'm lugging around extra pounds. this time of year is just no good for me.

funny because i used to swear up and down that fall was the season for me. i've come to the conclusion that it was the baker in me talking...i mean, almost every piece of fresh produce i love is in season - pumpkins, squash, apples. as soon as september hits, i've got thoughts of cinnamon and nutmeg running through my head. so, it's more like, fall is my favorite time of year to bake.

lately, i've been loving the summertime. fresh herbs. perfect time of year to make quick foods with ultra-fresh produce like corn and tomatoes. {love tomato and mozzarella salad}. strawberries are in season and i can throw them in my cereal. meals tend to be tastier because they can be grilled. the days are longer. you can run and walk outside without having to throw on 10 layers of clothing. evenings are perfect for walks or sitting outside, listening to crickets, watching lightning bugs and sipping wine. go to the shore, check out the local shops and breathe in the ocean air. it's really just perfect {minus 90+ degree-stagnant-with-humidity weather}.

but, one thing i will say for the winter: what a great time to scrapbook. i've been fitting it in here and there and it's really just a great feeling to see a page come to life. so, in the end, maybe the winter is good for something other than gaining weight, getting sick and staying indoors.





so, back to my last post - i was able to make valentine's day dessert. molten chocolate cakes came out good. i do swear by this recipe and will make one note - if you use a ramekin bigger than the one called for, decrease your baking time in order to ensure that the centers are soft. i didn't make a sauce but dusted the cakes with confectioners' sugar. i can promise you the end result is just as satisfying.

as for valentine's day gifts - my husband and i "gave" each other a new heating unit for the house, a couple of weeks ago. i know, it's terribly romantic. what can i say? it's the gift that keeps on giving.......heat.

mmm...chocolate.

trying to figure out how i'm going to make freshly prepared molten chocolate cakes with tonight's dinner. and be prepared to breastfeed at a moment's notice. and make sure the two year old is OK with all of this activity and no time to play dress up.
and i have a wicked craving for chocolate right now.
happy valentine's day!
{must go play dress up now and make sure the rice hasn't burned.}

catching up.

losing track of my days here. i know it's been a few weeks since i've last blogged, but the days are meshing together lately.
i've got quite a few layouts to post, i just haven't had the chance to upload. love getting back into scrapbooking - i've been doing mostly pages, which is fine, but i'm itching to branch out into other things like altered projects. {breathe, breathe...one thing at a time}.
everything is just dandy though. we've been going through a rough streak of crappy things happening. here are just a few examples:

1. convection toaster oven bit the dust. this had been a wedding gift so, in theory, the darn thing wasn't that old.
2. thought we had to replace the refrigerator because it wasn't staying cold. turned out that we *thankfully* only had to have the fan reattached to the freezer - it had somehow fallen off.
3. water-main break in the street, right in front of our house. long story short, when the water went back on, our first load of laundry happened to be my daughter's new sheets which now are bespecked with rust stains. lovely...
4. heater completely tanked. long story short - we had to replace it entirely. boo hoo...untimely occurance, but it's done and is one less thing we'll have to update on the house in a couple of years. still stinks that it happened...

on the upside...you must try this recipe...it is wonderful and is the easiest appetizer in the world.