I'm a little crunchy

Crunchy. Adjective. Used to describe persons who have adjusted or altered their lifestyle for environmental reasons. Crunchy persons tend to be politically strongly left-leaning and may be additionally but not exclusively categorized as vegetarians, vegans, eco-tarians, conservationists, environmentalists, neo-hippies, tree huggers, nature enthusiasts, etc.

I've been described as hippie and tree hugging before. It doesn't come as a big surprise to those that know me that I'm a little on the crunchy side. When it came to my baby, I'd love to be as crunchy as it gets. However, a few things stood in my way. First off, my sweetly smelling newborn babe didn't co-sleep well. When we try, neither him nor us sleep well. Strike one. We thought we'd be putting him in childcare so while I would love nothing more than to cloth diaper, we didn't see it as an option. Now since we haven't needed childcare, I mildly regret that. Strike two. I think I get a semi strike for strike three. I was induced since the baby and I were in danger with him still being the womb. The entire 8 months he was bouncing around inside me, I would teeter totter the line of whether I wanted an epidural or not. I finally decided I did want it and I wanted a nice labor. Well thanks to the Poison (as my husband lovingly calls it), err, Pitocin, labor advanced very quickly. Within 2 hours, my sweet bambino was evicting himself and not taking NO for an answer. Then came the words I'll never forget.
"It's too late for the drugs"
I wish we would have a video camera on my face when the nurse said that sentence.
"NO DRUGS?! You've gotta be kidding me!!!"
Then stepped in the begging, screw all those crazy tree hugging hippie women, Rachel and I started begging.
"I can't do this. Pleeeeeeaaaaase. I won't do this. " (Yeah like that was an option)
Unfortunately Derek had other plans and he proceeded to remind me that he was coming out regardless and I better get on board. So strike three shouldn't be a whole strike, I went through labor naturally. Even if it wasn't my decision.

There are several other things that make me less crunchy, like for example that at 6 months Derek started formula instead of breastmilk. That was the best solution for both of us because of his reflux and now we pay outrageous amounts for hypoallergenic formula because he can't handle the cheap stuff. He has expensive demands like his Mama. :) I'm all about crunchy though and love organic food for him. If I had it my way, he'd be a cloth diapered, breastfed, co-sleeping, organically fed, crunchy baby. But if I've learned anything by being a Mama, it's that I've lost all control to make any of these decisions. And I'm ok with that so long as he's my happy bouncing baby boy.

This might a bit crunchy for me


But this one seems pretty neat!

Mama hates drama

Ugh, it just drives me batty. It's unnecessary 99% of the time. When I get dragged into it involuntarily, it's even worse. Why should I have to clean up the mess you created?! Blech. It makes me nauseous and just wanna run and hide under a sand dune and wait it out.

Just shoot me. I'll be under the sand dune til the sky is clear again.

Who needs the sippy

Derek wants to move right on to the mamba jamba quart sized cups.

I like to eat, eat, eat Pringles & Kit Kats

Sung to the tune of "I like to eat eat eat apples and bananas." Psh, if only.

I started McFatty Monday with Heir to Blair a while back but didn't really have a chance to really get into thanks to our lovely pipe problem and not being home. However, now I'm going o full force. I am definitely an emotional eater, I don't need to even question that. When I feel down, I reach for salty and sweet. Come on, what's better?! So no more. This week I am going to try to be more conscience about what I eat. Perhaps I'll have the same success she's had. I'd love to see that scale take a downward turn.

Goal this week: 30 minute shred at least 3 days this week.

Weekend bliss

"I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things."

This weekend was great. It had a few rough moments, namely a horrible headache Saturday, but overall it was wonderful.

Friday:
Date night. Dun dun dun. It'd been a while since we'd been able to get out and enjoy each other's company and have adult conversation so that in and of itself was nice. We went to see Legion first. Hadn't seen previews for this although from what Chris said the previews were a bit misleading but it was actually very good. A little biblical for both of our tastes but the message was good. Doesn't everyone love looking at ripped half naked angels with machine guns? ;-)



We then went to eat sushi, which was very delish. I seriously love sushi, it's one of my favorite foods. The Japanese bagel roll (salmon, avocado, and cream cheese) is what I get just about every single time. It's also the only roll Chris will eat, but since he's a tad on the picky side, I'll take what I can get.


After eating we stopped by BRU and picked up Derek a surprise kick toy for his crib. Our wonderful baby doesn't alert us that he's awake by crying in his crib, no no, that'd be far too predictable. He likes to be different and turn in his crib so his feet are against the wall and proceed to kick the wall in between the slats thats between our room and his his. It's not his monitor, it's not him crying, it's not even usually him talking (although sometimes it happens), it's him kicking the wall. Soccer player in training I tell you, watch out Beckham!



After that we went to B&N. MMMM heaven on earth. The one by my work we went to though, doesn't have as many books and is a little on the sad side. Nonetheless, I still managed to spend my gift card and a little more on some good books.

Saturday:
We went to the IL's to visit with them and see the little guy. Mama and Derek had some good 1:1 time while Chris and FIL went to get something to eat. The rest of the day we just hung out and did a whole lotta nada besides spending time with Derek.

Sunday:
A rainy day perfect for even more snuggle time as a family. I stayed in my pj's all day and we watched tv and played with Derek. Most of the day was spent cleaning up Derek's smelly soy spit up and we established that soy isn't what works for him either. We're going to try something hypoallergenic to see if that helps him. Man does that stuff smell awful though!!

How was everyone else's weekend?

Date night with the Mr.

I told him to surprise me and gave him a few hints of what I'm envisioning. Which is - flowers, a nice dinner, a good movie, caramel macchiatos while strolling around B&N, home without the baby, breakfast in bed the next morning. Mmmmm, I get dreamy just thinking about that dream date. We'll see what we really end up doing.

It reminds me though, I can't wait to see this...



I love Nicholas Sparks and read this book when it first came out. It's a great book. I wouldn't pass up a chance to see Channing without a shirt either though. ;-) Perfect Valentine's idea for another date with the Mr.

Any movies coming out you're looking forward to?

Book recommendation

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Someone asked me for a book recommendation and for some reason this is the first book that came to my mind. It's been a while since I read it, but I loved it. The author made me laugh, cry, and smile all throughout this novel and I was sad to see it end. It's not usually something I would pick up for myself but I'm glad someone else recommended it to me.




Fans of Marley & Me, rejoice: Here's a schmaltz-soaked novel told from the point of view of a large, lovable mutt named Enzo. From his deathbed, the pooch recalls his beloved Denny, a struggling race-car driver; Denny's wife, Eve, who succumbs to brain cancer; and their daughter, Zoë.

I'm ashamed to admit

that I like Adam Lambert's song "What Do You Want From Me?". I heard it on the radio for the first time and was jamming along and didn't know who sang it until it ended and they announced it. I didn't like Adam at all on Idol but this song is catchy and I still have it in my head this morning.



Anything you recently like that you're ashamed to admit?

My mosaic

Here's the game.

1. What is your first name? Rachel

2. What is your favorite food? Fried Okra

3. What high school did you attend? HCHS

4. What is your favorite color? Pink

5. Who is your celebrity crush? I'm starting to really dig Channing Tatum

6. Favorite wine? Pinot Noir Mandra Rosa

7. Dream vacation? Paris

8. Favorite dessert? Peanut Butter Fudge Cheesecake

9. What do you want to be when you grow up? Happy

10. What do you love most in life? My Family

11. One word to describe you? Bubbly

12. Your Flickr name? ckdram but that had nada so I searched for penguins.

All you have to do is type your answer to each of the above questions into Flickr’s search. Using only the images that appear on the first page, choose your favorite and copy and paste each of the URL’s into the Mosaic Maker (3 columns, 4 rows). It's awesome guys. Go mosaic yourself, I can't wait to see what you come up with.

I got this idea from Momma Ra go check her mosaic out Here.

It's my life...in a nutshell

Albeit, a pretty big one to me, it might just be a peanut in your world. Either way, welcome. Join me on my daily musings as I travel down this path with my lovely little family. At any given moment I'm a Wife, Mama, Daughter, Sister, Friend, Working Woman, Counselor, Accountant, Lover, Teacher, and so much more. Sit back and enjoy my ride as I juggle the act and try to keep everything afloat.