Thursdays = Lame.

Today is Thursday. Which gives me slight anxiety because I feel like I never really got to give Wednesday the respect it so deserves since I didn't REALIZE it was Wednesday until 10 p.m.

Thursday is not Hump Day. Thursday is not Friday. Thursday is basically an in-between, sucky day that pretends to be Friday, but fails miserably. Epically, even.

So, in a feeble attempt to make it suck less, I am going to shower and take my babe out for an afternoon in Royal Oak with Aunt Kelli and Aunt Sarah. Take that, Thursday.

Weigh In Wednesday.

10 p.m. and I *just* realized that today is Wednesday, not Tuesday as my brain and internal calendar has lead (led?) me to believe. Which is fiiiiiiiiiine.

So, the stats: down 1.2. I feel like a yo-yo riding a pogo stick. Hopefully, it's 1.2 lbs. that will never return to my ass and/or thighs ever, ever again.

What Up?

Hello, blogosphere. It's me, Alex. Mom's putting another load of my barfy bibs into the washing machine, so I scooted my Bumbo over to the 'puter to get my blog on.

A lot has happened in my little noggin' since you last heard from me. I'm basically rockin' out the number twos like it's my job, and I like to let everyone within a 3 mile radius know when I'm doing my business. Mom always laughs at me when my face gets real red and I start grunting away. Not so amusing, she also captured it on video and threatened to show it to my senior prom date. So. Embarrassing.

I adore this thing Mom and Dad call "bath time." They put me in this giant thing of water and I just get to splash around and squeal like a little piggy. My favorite part is when Mom washes my hair...gives me the goosebumps just thinkin' about it!

My morning time with Dad is always fun. He always laughs at me when he unwraps my SwaddleMe because I stretch to what seems like 6 ft. tall. I don't know why I'm so amusing to him...if he had to be wrapped up like a burrito when he slept, he would really like it when he was finally free, too. Anyway, then he changes me and sings to me and feeds me until Mommy wakes up. She loves to sleep more than me, I think.

While Daddy is gone, Mommy sings to me and reads to me and plays pattycake. Yesterday we made cookies...why can't I have one of those instead of those crappy bottles I always get? Boo. I love it when Mommy rocks me to sleep for my afternoon nap...and then I trick her into thinking I'm really asleep. Then *right* at the moment she puts me in my crib I snap my eyes open and want to play again. Basically, I'm awesome.

Ok, looks like my time here is up. Time to go meet up with my bouncy chair...me and the yellow star that blows bubbles have some unfinished business.

Peace out,

AJVW

Look What I Can Do!

I've officially become one of "those" moms. I celebrate every little, insignificant milestone. But instead of the eyeroll, let's embrace my weirdness and give *snaps* for Alex, who is changing and growing every day!

So if you happen to see a crazy Mom in Somerset squealing with delight because her son is riding the moving sidewalk rail like a pony, please entertain my insanity and at least laugh with at me. Or, you could be like the dweebs behind me and stick your nose in the air at my very apparent lameness. Yes, this actually happened. Proof:



And yes, Alex is for sure wearing a Polo onesie complete with popped collar and plaid shorts. Ladies, back off. He only has eyes for Mommy!

Since he seems to want to sit and stand more than lay down, we got out the Bumbo seat the other day. He was a little unsure at first:



But eventually grew to love it:



And last, but certainly not least, here's the munchkin holding his own bottle. It was a total fluke - mostly because he hasn't done it since (and mayyyyyyyyyyybe the little rattle around his wrist was helping) but we had fun capturing it for all the world to see.

Where Does It Come From?

How can something so little vomit so much?!?!

At Alex's last pediatrician appointment, the Doctor warned us that between 3 and 4 months is the peak of spit up for babies. If by 'peak,' he meant that Mister Alex would be spewing gallons of partially digested formula from his face every 45 seconds, then he was spot on. Ok, so maybe it's not that bad...I just rather enjoy the dramatic.

Honestly, I don't know where it comes from. Right at the moment I'm sure he's hurled up everything he's just eaten, blaaaaaaaaaahhhh and out it comes. All over my shirt. The couch. The floor. Himself. Even Jake. Nothing is sacred anymore.

All I have to say is thank you, Babies 'R Us, for selling bibs in bulk.

FRIDAY!

I really have nothing to say today other than IT'S FREAKIN' FRIDAY! WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

And for the first time in a long time (and for awhile to come) it's the first weekend with nowhere to go. I can stay put on my couch all weekend if I so choose.

But I do not so choose. I plan to get out and enjoy it with my little, perfect family. We'll sleep in as long as Mister Alex lets us, have delicious breakfasts, go to church and take long walks. Much deliciousness.

Until next week, childrens.

A'int Nothin' Like The Real Thing, Baby.

We all know that I adore coupons. And store brands. And sales. And basically anything that will save money. However, there are a few things that I absolutely do not compromise on. I know that you probably don't give a rats ass what they are, but I'm going to tell you anyway. And you will probably read them.

1. Jif peanut butter. I don't care what anyone says, no other pb on the planet is as delicious as Jif. I am a choosy Mom and will continue to be for the rest of my life. Let's not kid ourselves here, though, I always buy it with a coupon. It's like freakin' $8 for the big jar!

2. Nabisco reduced fat Wheat Thins. The store brand "wheat crackers" just simply do not cut it. And I would buy the reduced fat even if they were the full fat kind, because I think they taste better than the regular ones. Also, no fancy flavors here. I applaud Nabisco's venture out into the world of flavored crackers, but I'll stick to the good ol' fashioned nutty goodness of the original, thankyouverymuch.

3. Reduced fat Cheez-its. I could literally eat an entire box of these in one sitting. And the same goes here for the reduced fat - I think they actually taste better than the full fat ones. Mmmmm delicious. And while they don't often print coupons for le Cheez-it, I typically will only purchase them on sale. And buy purchase them I mean throw 2 family size boxes in my cart and salivate until I can open them.

4. Diet Pepsi/Coke. The store brands just simply do not cut it. Perhaps I have a very refined palate (Joey stop laughing), but they are NOT the same. And as long as we're talkin' soda pop, there is NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING like McDonald's Coke. It's like heaven through a straw. I don't know why, but no other fountain Coke tastes like Mickey D's...it has more of a cinnamon-y taste that I simply adore. And the $1 any size summer deal? Let's just say they know me by name at the McDonald's down the street.

5. Swiffer dusters. I hateloathehateloatedespise Swiffering more than anything on the planet and would do anything including faking a heart attack to avoid it. Meijer recently came out with a store brand version of the refills, so I bought them and thought, "Hey, to save $3 I'll give it a whirl." They sucked so much I actually threw away the rest of the box. That should tell you something.

Told you you would read them. :)

Now that I have successfully wasted a good 6 minutes of your life (4 if you're a fast reader), I shall go make friends with the treadmill so I can have a successful WIW next week. Ciao!

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR.

Weigh in Wednesday has TOTALLY been trumped. I WON A GIVEWAY! A FREAKIN' GIVEAWAY!

Seriously - click here for proof.

Wowza. Mrs. Newlywed is celebrating the anniversary of her blog with a few different giveaways (all of which I've entered, thankyouverymuch) but never in a million years did I think I would actually WIN one! I mean, the girl's got nearly 1,300 followers. Yes, she's basically that awesome.

Now, what shall I do with my winnings? I won a $30 gift certificate for Avon products. It's been foreverandaday since I've perused the Avon product offering (back in the day my mom used to use their yellow cream/lotion and there are still certain memories that will conjure up that smell in my sniffer). Anyway...does anyone have any recommendations? Favorites? I want to use this cashola wisely!

Thank you, Mrs. Newlywed!

...oh, and as long as I'm in here, typing away, you can bet your green ascot that Weigh In Wednesday was not good news. I'm almost back to where I started. Which, technically, means that WIW has been a hoax and a complete waste of time and energy. However, I see no more setbacks in the foreseeable future (i.e. deep fried Oreos, BBQs with the family, carnival food). Here I go again!

True Story.

I just popped in the 30 Day Shred with every intention of completing the 20 excruciatingly sweattastic minutes that make up Level 2, got 4 minutes into it and decided instead to just sit on the couch holding Alex. The worst part is that I kept it playing and watched for pure entertainment value. Then, instead of restarting it and actually giving it my all, I made the conscious decision to sit on my ass and blog. And Facebook. And e-mail. And otherwise do anything unrelated to exercise.

Maybe now I will go turn the treadmill on and watch the belt go 'round and 'round while I fold some laundry and snack on some poppingcorn.

I think I've reached a new all-time low.

A Weekend Of Poor Choices.

The surprise party for Gramps was awesome. He cried and everything. It should be noted that he is one of 21 children born of the same mother and father. Good Catholics, no? :) I believe a little over half are still living, and it was wonderful to see them all together. Lets be honest here, it was also super loud since they are all 93.7% deaf and big, big fans of adult beverages. I heart my family.

Anyway, the night before the party, Joey was a little pouty that he hadn't yet tried the deep fried Oreos at Harvey's. So we left the munchkin with Gramii and Papii and went to Bay City for the goodness with Kelli. We went only with the intention of getting deep fried Oreos. Only.

But as we were seated, we realized that mayyyyyyyybe we were a bit hungry. So, Kelli got some soup, I got a kiddie burger and fries and Joey got a Chicken sammitch and fries. AND THEN WE STILL ORDERED DESSERT. But wait, it gets better!

After we ordered the Oreo platter de la heart attack, the waitress gets a little twinkle in her eye and asked if we also wanted to try the deep fried Twinkie. Yeah, you read that right. Twinkie. Deep fried.

Of course we ordered it. Who wouldn't? Probably someone who cared about their health... Regardless, we ate most of what was before us and wished we were dead after the fact. Behold:


I know what you're thinking...that looks like an awfully fancy presentation for deep fried dessert. I would agree, but would argue that it's also part of its charm...it's as if they are saying, "Look how fancy I am. Eat me, eat me!"

And if, by chance, you are wondering what the menu was for G-pa's party, it was fried chicken, rib tips, cheesy potatoes, potato salad, cake, strawberry shortcake and other artery-clogging deliciousness. And no, I didn't practice any restraint that day. My parents know how to throw a party.

I'm eating lettuce and air for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next week. I might also consider getting my stomach pumped.

Le Sigh.

Today is another one of those *just* perfect ones. I'm blogging away with the windows open, sipping on some muy delicioso java. Have you tried the new Hazelnut Biscotti Coffemate Creamer? Yum! Mr. Alex is delightfully squealing away in his bouncer at the prospect of the little yellow floating star blowing just one more bubble his way. GMA speaks to me from the adjacent room, where Robin Roberts is strangely talking about feet. Mine, of course, are perfectly pedi-ed and propped up before me. Oh, and the best part? I get to pick Kelli up from the airport tonight!! And we're going to Auburn this weekend for a surprise party for Grandpa's 80th birthday. Super good thing he has that pacemaker...

This moment must come to end, though, as my temporary-stay-at-home-mom duties are calling screaming to me. Laundry. Cleaning. Flowers. Etc. Ugh.

Oh, and I MUST send congrats to a friend and coworker, Jen and her husband Kris who welcomed baby Evan into the world last night! The only deets I have right now are that the little bugger is in NICU, so please pray for him!

I Wasn't Kidding.

Remember that new little fence? And the repurchased and replanted flowers? To hell in a handbasket. The little shit dug them up. Again. I have no idea how, since there was a FENCE IN THE WAY. And he only digs up that one spot - right where the new flowers were planted.

So I threw away the dead ones and moved some others to replant the area. Then I hit them with some Miracle Grow and SURROUNDED the area with chairs. Even Jake the Nazi Dog can't infiltrate it. Famous last words, I know.

He gets one. more. chance. I will have that lovely and floral summer backyard that I'm used to. Or else. You hear me Joey?

Told You So.

Alex And The WIPpo.

Three months old today!!! :) It's been the most eventful, exhausting, joyful, frustrating, fun, exhilirating, educational and amazing three months of my life.

Enough about me. Alex is what you're here for today.

Here's how our little photo session began:


And then he seemed to be just a tad bit uncertain of his situation:

But soon, it was nothin' but love for Mister WIPpo:


And should these photos not be enough evidence to prove he is, in fact, the most adorable child on the earth, I will post more photos tomorrow to throw it in your face. :)

Happy Hump Day, kids!

Weigh In Wednesday.

What a busy day! Today is not only Weigh In Wednesday, but it's Alex and the WIPpo day, too!! But as the little slugger is currently slumbering, that post will come later today.

First, the weigh in: down 1.6 lbs. If you're keeping track of all my ups and downs, I'm down 1.4 lbs. total since I started. Secretly I think I'm screwing myself just because Jill and Kyle's wedding is in 20ish days and my dress for their wedding fits perfectly...and if you know me (or stalk me) I'm far too cheap to pay to have it altered. And I think Kelli and David have ruled out an August wedding, so as long as I continue at this slow and steady pace, I should be back to my original level of hotness in...oh, about 20 years. Le sigh.

Oooh...lest I forget! I promised to tell you about an AWESOME product for sanitizing le bottles. I bought them in the shopping trip I made the day my water broke, but stashed them away in the cupboard so I didn't find (or remember) them until yesterday.

These puppies ROCK! All you do is add 2 oz. of water to the bag along with your (separated) bottle parts and throw it in the microwave for 3 minutes. It's so easy even a Caveman could do it. I mean, if they had microwaves. It works just like those steam veggie packs that are all the rage right now. There's even a "cool touch corner" to grab and a little spout to drain all the water when you're done. And, if that wasn't enough, there is a spot on each bag to write your kid's name (so you can send one to daycare or keep track if you have multiple children using bottles) and 20 checkboxes to mark every time you use it, since each bag can be used up to 20 times. So not only are they far, far, far less expensive than those bulky, plastic sterilzer machine thingys, they are also travel-friendly! Brills. Just brills.

I'm so in love with them I would like to become their company spokesmom. So, if you PR folks for Munchkin are reading this...call me! :)

Supermom.

Joey is home from work today (obvs) so I am playing the role of mom and nurse. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm basically awesome. Toot, Toot.

Today I've accomplished:

- Wake up Alex, feed, change. Sanitize bottles b/c we forgot to do it on Sunday. Sneak preview: blog on AWESOME bottle sanitizing product tomorrow.

- Wake up Joey, ice for foot, give medicine. Repeat every 2 hours.

- Brew coffee, provide bfast for both me and hubs.

- Show the treadmill who's boss for 30 minutes. Holla!

- Diaper change for MASSIVE poop. Though some of you might be thinking for Joey, I assure you it was Alex.

- 3 loads of laundry. Washed, folded AND put away, thankyouverymuch.

- Lunch for all three of us.

- Shower.

- Trip to Wally World for miscellaneous grocery and household items.

- Planted NEW flowers in the back yard, protected by supercute mini white picket fence. In related news, dog for sale: name is Jake, but will answer to Dumb Dumb, Nazi Dog, Crazy and Royal Pain In The Ass. Sheds like it's going out of style and digs up freshly planted flowers just for fun. Screw the sale, I will PAY you to take him.

- Bathed Alex. Splish, splash I was takin' a bath...

- Watered flowers and lawn. I should warn you, sprinklers are very, very tricky. I may or may not have soaked both me AND my child in an attempt to figure out which direction the stoopid thing was going.

Next I shall make dinner (talapia, couscous and roasted veggies...and a glass bottle of white wine) and chillax on the couch until one of the men in my life need something else.

Toot, toot, indeed.

I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

...at Beaumont Hospital, that is.

How did I get here? Well, I ran out to the chiropractor and to CVS today. At about 5:15, Joey called me. Here's how that conversation went:

"Hi, Honey."

"Hey, babe. Are you still in the area?"

"Yeah. I'm at CVS. Do you need me to pick something up?"

"Um, I need you to pick me up. At work."

"Why? What happened?"

"I sort of fell down the stairs and jacked my ankle up."

"Oh my God! Are you ok? Are you serious? Do we need to go to the hospital?"

"I'm ok. Security is with me. And I'll probably need an X-Ray."

"Be right there!"

And with that, I was off to pick up Joe. Alex decided that would be the PERFECT time to throw the temper tantrum of all temper tantrums. Seriously he was crying so hard there were times he wasn't actually breathing. Lucky me. Stress City.

I picked up Joe, dropped Alex off with our amazing neighbors (Thank you, Dave and Sue!) and now here I sit, blogging from the waiting room at Troy Beaumont whilst my graceful husband sits in X-Ray.

He was walking down stairs. Seriously.

In other news, the kid next to me is pure entertainment. He's 13 going on 40 and fell off his bike. Actually, his version of it was a bit more entertaining:

"I was, like, riding my bike and my stupid shoe got caught in the spokes. I was going home from a friend's house, you know. Anyway, I fell and my leg squashed my nads and that hurt real bad. But after I recovered from that I realized I couldn't feel my arm."

For his future wife's sake, I hope his nads heal nicely.

For my sake, I hope Joe's ankle heals ASAP.

Walking. Down. Stairs.

Etsy Goodness!

So, I've been wanting to blog and brag about my friend Jackie for some time now. You see, she's basically the most faboo multitasker that I know...and she's talented to boot.

We met through work, and I quickly became aware of her extreme design talent and attention to detail in some of the little gifts she would thoughtfully leave on my desk during holidays and other special events. I can't even begin to describe the level of detail she puts into her work - everything from desk calendars to journals to notecards to invitations - I am WOW-ed every. single. time. And with my extreme obsession for all things paper and cute, I'm a tough customer to win over.

Like I said, I've been waiting to brag about her (and I did briefly in the blog post about Alex's announcements...remember? She did those, too!), but I didn't want to shout it from the rooftops until she had a place for you all to not only SEE her supercute designs, but to also purchase them.

The time is now! :) YAY!! Jackie finally has a blog AND an etsy store!!! Click here to visit her blog and here to visit her etsy store. You can also contact her directly to custom design something that might be in your head.

I pinky promise you won't be disappointed.

Coupon Ninja.

Who saved $42.60 on a $145.68 bill at Meijer yesterday with an assortment of fabulous coupons?

You're reading her blog.

Oh, snap!

Touchy Feely.

So here's a little something they don't teach you in pregnancy school: your belly will remain numb for quite some time after a C-section, possibly forever.

You read that right: forever.

It's the strangest sensation to not be able to feel your pants touching your skin...or even another person touching you.

There is a flip side to this coin: I can just see Alex at 2 years old standing on his little tiptoes at my feet with his arms flailing in the air, pounding on my belly 'cause it's as high as he can reach screaming at the top of his squealy lungs, "Mommy! Mommy!"

And I will look down at him and say, "Son, I can't feel that. So Mommy doesn't even know you're throwing a temper tantrum right now."

My Parents RULE.

So Alex has been with Gramii and Papii for 4 nights and 5 days so far. My dad has ALWAYS, ALWAYS looked forward to the day when he could give his grandchildren "loads and loads of Mountain Dew and Snickers bars and send them on their merry way back to Mom and Dad." He always mumbles something about paybacks...

Well, it looks like he got started early with Alex. This is the picture message I got on my phone tonight: (The caption read: "It's my last party night with Gramii and Papii. I sure do love them! Love, Alex)



Note the extreme ninja grip he has on the licorice. And the remnants of Reese's PB cup on his cheek. And what you can't see is that his onesie is unsnapped. Klassy.

I love my parents. They are the best.

And at least the Red Bull was sugar free, right?

Weigh In Wednesday.

I knew it. I predicted it. I made it happen with my mind. And my mouth, too, let's be honest here. Up a pound.

Le sigh. It was all worth it, though. Carnie food is basically what I live for, so if I have to equate a weekend of gorging myself on such delicacies to an extra hour on the treadmill, so be it.

In other news, we get Alex back tomorrow. I'm not having any weird separation anxiety - is that odd for a 1st time mom? I mean, I still love him a great, great deal and I'm excited as hell to get him back, but these few days have been very nice. It was fun to be the Joe & Kristi we were before Alex - staying up late, going to dinner, going to the movies, having ice cream eating contests straight out of the container...oh, that probably didn't help with this morning's weigh in, did it?

We're concluding our whirlwind with the Counting Crows concert tonight. Joe got us lawn seats at DTE with a discount through work; should be a super fun time. One of Joe's favorite bands...bad wife, didn't know. I have all their songs sorted on iTunes so I can learn some before we go tonight. Strangely, he has about as many CC songs as I have Rascal Flatts. Seriously HOW did I not know he liked this band?

Gotta run. I have a date with the Swiffer and Dyson. Counting Crows will be turned up so loud the neighbors will likely complain. KVW out.

Kidless.

Alex is at Gramii and Papii camp until Thursday. Yes, I actually conned my parents into keeping the little guy. Well, let's be honest...I barely got "Hey do you want to keep Al--" out of my mouth before they were both like the seagulls in Nemo saying, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

What sort of things do you do without a kid?

Oh, I remember...and it also resembles my to-do list:
- mani/pedi
- grocery shop (like, the hardcore kind when you cringe as the checkout person tells you the total)
- clean la casa
- return a few miscellaneous things...probably will also buy things I don't need during said return session...which is fiiiiiiiine
- romantic dinner with hubby
- massage
- blog on a regular basis
- sleep. in.

Muy delicioso! I don't miss him yet, but we'll see how Wednesday's post goes...

It's Like Christmas With Fireworks.

Happy 4th, my friends!

I'm just going to put it out there that Weigh In Wednesday is going to be atrociously embarrassing this week.

Exhibit A: On the way to Auburn, Joe and I made an impromptu stop at Sonic for lunch. We'd never been, so we had to see what the hype was all about. Muy delicioso.

Exhibit B: At last night's Loon's game, I had stadium "loaded" nachos and an ice cream/brownie sundae that might have made my heart stop for a few minutes. Oh, and of course, the token brewsky.

Exhibit C: As I type from the kitchen island, my daddy-o is preparing waffles, which will be consumed at lightning speed and topped with what some people might consider ice cream toppings...but here at the Talicska residence we call it breakfast.

Exhibit D: Fair food WILL be consumed tonight. We're talking elephant ears, hot dogs, cotton candy, slushies, pizza and Twizzlers.

I might have to unpack my maternity pants...

Ew.

So I forgot how much I totally hate sweat. Or simply the act of sweating. Or just even the thought of it. Ew.

On the flip side of this rainbow, I just got off the treadmill. Thirty minutes of pure, unadulterated awfulness, thankyouverylittle. Also, a big shout out to Stacey and Clinton from TLC's 'What Not To Wear' for keeping me delightfully entertained for the duration. I find her to be incredibly annoying; yet Clinton so very, very charming.

In related news, this act of self-sweat-mutilation has been brought to you by letters 'S' and 'C,' as in Sagebrush Cantina - the greatest Mexican restaurant on the face of the earth and also where Joe and I will be dining with the deliciously pregnant Keliann this evening.

Get my motivation?

Weigh In Wednesday.

Down 0.3 pounds this week.

...which can only tell me one thing: that I was actually UP last week, but Mom's scale was slightly off. Drat.

Either way, I'm back in the game. I actually went for a run for the first time since...oh...a year ago...on Sunday. We got home from church and my brain was so exhausted but my body had this crazy burst of energy. So I strapped on the ol' Asics, grabbed my iPod and went for it.

As only my luck would have it, my iPod ran out of juice about 1/3 into my run and by "run" I do mean a slow jog with a little extra "hop" to make it look as if I'm actually running to anyone that might drive by. I have all the songs on my running playlist strategically placed so that the super energizing songs I love come on right about the time I know I'm about to poop out. As such, I was well into the 2nd chorus of Kanye's "Stronger" when it died. Gah. Then I lost my mojo.

Today's lessons: always fully charge your iPod at night and Gerber's prune apple juice is a GREAT laxative for constipated babies. Story for another day.

How'd you do?