Post Number 667

I left my last post and realized it was my 666th post! Call me superstitious, but I couldn't leave it. So here it is. My 667th post!

But because I don't have the time to put in a true blog post, I shall bombard with you pictures once again.

More from our Tweep Up...

And some of my 3 little blessings...Even though one of them called 911 while playing with the phone last night and then I had to answer my door in my leopard print night gown to 2 (cute!) police officers at 9:30pm...Never a dull moment I swear...

  

And one just for fun...

 

3 Things

1.) M loves her new "Nastics" class! And she is by far the cutest one there. For realz, just look at her its totally obvs.

2.) Toddler are complete little weirdos. If you have toddler this is no surprise to you. Tuesday's and Thursday's I am home with M, and today she asked for a "unkin" (Pumpkin) shaped sandwich (turkey & cheese) and INSISTED on a side a Trix. I obligedd because she really is such a great eater and I knew she would eat all the good stuff first (and she did!)

3.) If you have an iPhone and take 18166372 pictures a day like I, then you must download this free app called Postal Pix. It allows you to order prints (and more!) directly from your iPhone using your iPhone pics! Of course you have to pay for your prints, but its pretty reasonable. I think 4x6's are .21 cents. I cant believe I didn't discover this sooner. Finally I will have some of these prints, because really some of my most precious pictures I capture on my phone and then I am too eRetared to do anything with them after that. This one is a WIN!

Let's Talk Apps

I've discovered some simply awesome apps for my iPhone recently, but also there are some tried and true apps that I just cant live without. Apps that make me wonder, "how did I come along this far without this app?!" Here they are, the apps that changed my life in no particular order:

Vlingo (for us iPhone's without Siri) this app REALLY did change my life and works so well! Great for driving, or while doing your makeup.

Groupon, Amazon, and Living Social. I check all nightly. There really are some AMAZE deals on Groupon. I admit, I am so addicted I buy probably twice a week!

Run Keeper. I use it for my outdoor walks/hikes/runs/ It has a GPS so it tracks your distance and pace. It saves all your workouts too, so you can see your improvements.

Lose It. A food diary app that I have found to be the far easiest to use.

Fandango. Best, and easiest app to check movies, movie times, watch trailer, and even purchase tickets. We use this app ALL the time!

Food...Table. A meal planning app that I haven't really explored too much, but it looks so helpful. I WILL start using it soon.

And in my "Photography" section my favorite are Camera+, Vintage Cam, Instagram, Pic Collage, and PictureFrames. I am a picture taking FANATIC! I use all of these multiple times per day.

Budda. Daily inspirational quotes...for when I need a pick me up, or just to make me think or brighten  my day.

I am not even going to get into my "Kid, Toddler, or Games" apps...that's a whole other post right there. So if there anything that I'm missing? What are some of your cant live without apps (only iPhone users please, sorry android- you drool). Hee hee  I kid...I kid...not really..

Therapeutic Run

Some of the most beautiful things have happened to me in the last few months, and I try to think of those things often, so I don't want this to be a woe is me post but I have to get this out.

There has been a LOT of turmoil in my life over the last few months as well. The infertility and the whole loss of a baby that never existed, welcoming L to our family, going through some of the scariest financial times of our life in regards to our business, weight gain from all the infertility shots and hormones, being DEATHLY ill with the flu on Christmas day and the whole week of my girls winter break, a 2 year old that's been diagnosed with early asthma, issues with my marriage that we are trying to work on, grandparents that raised me being VERY ill and in and out of hospitals, and so much more that I haven't even discussed on this blog. Then work! Work...To top it off my Secretary put in her 2 week notice (which really was 1 week and a day) on the day I was admitted to the hospital on my death bed with the flu.

So yeah. Talk me off the ledge. Its been a LOT.

But today....today I had a free morning (which is VERY rare these days) so I put M in the jogging stroller, threw on my running shoes, and I ran...

....and ran....and ran...and ran....and I pounded out all those angry feelings, all the aggression, all the disappointment, bitterness, feelings of betrayal...and I just let it out...and I literally ran and said out loud "Just let it go...just let it go".

My anxiety has been THROUGH THE ROOF the last few weeks and I think its because I've had so much going on. And to make matters worse, I haven't been able to exercise in the last 4 weeks because of all of the above. What I'm realizing is that this anxiety that's piling up is due to the fact that I haven't been able to let it out, and I cant cover it up with medication anymore.

It was at this very moment during the run, that I could totally relate to fighters, boxers, cage fighters, mui tai fighters, etc. I can see that those people are probably people that deal with a  lot of anger and disappointment, or are emotionally turmoiled souls. Those feelings probably make them better fighters, etc. and that's is their way to let it out. I could be wrong, but that's my thought....

So even as a 5'1 115lb blonde mother of 3 girls I can totally relate to a 220 lbs male boxer.

It felt so good to literally pound out and rn out all those feelings. And I can only imagine that that's how they feel after a good boxing.

This morning I ran until I felt free, until I felt cleansed, and until I felt like all of the baggage was left behind. On the pavement. No longer on my back.

I Have Big News!

A boy proposed to Kay yesterday...

 And she said yes...

-insert me falling over-

She told me that the boy gave this to her because she was the prettiest girl in the world, and that this ring was just for now until he saves up $9,000.00 to buy her a diamond ring. Smart boy! I DIED!

She is over the moon.

Then  today, not to be out done by K, L came running up to me at the pick up line telling me that SHE GOT MARRIED TOO! That a *cute* boy gave her a ring today, asked her to marry her! And she said yes!

 and get this...they got MARRIED and DIVORCED today! Yep, by the time we got home, she was calling him her "ex"! Haha! Puppy love <3

My Drunk Kitchen

I recently discovered this chick on You Tube and I just had to share...she has a bunch of episodes, but so far my favorites are:

Brunch? - I am so stealing her Mimosa recipe!

Not Easy, Bake Oven -This is me baking, or the reason I don't bake!!

My little gift to you : ) Happy Hump Day!

Search Terms

I thought I would share some of the funny searches people do to get to my blog...Some of them are interesting!

• iui
• the pieces of my life
• everybody births
• pieces of my life blog
• "cd 8" clomid
• necklace carrie bradshaw got from alex
• operation get skinny
• pieces of my life blog lisa
• small dainty necklaces
• saggy skin after baby (Nice that my blog pops up for this right, hahaha!)
• everybody births
• pieces of my life kay
• trying to have baby p
• giuliana and bill places they go (remember the book signing?)
• giuliana and bill write a book
• pieces of my life - infertility
• what is it like having a sperm analysis (LOL!!)
• body after baby
• carrie bradshaw necklace
• tryingtohavebabyp blogspot com
• carrie bradshaw
• instant bronze body spray
• 10dpiui symptoms
• 5 dpiui not feeling anything
• after all the pieces fall giuliana and bill
• ergo sticks
• guliana and bill book they wrote
• snowflake themed birthday party
• 10piui + BFP twins (How and the hell does my blog pop up for this??!)

iPhone Photos

Kay in her dance recital costumes for ballet and jazz..

Enjoying the park...

Too cool..



Who needs toys when you have diaper boxes, these entertained them for hours!

The Reason Why

It don't think I have ever shared why I don't share my girls' names here on my blog..and its probably not the reason you would think. So I've been meaning to write a post to give you some insight as to why I choose not to share their names publicly here.

When I started this blog, I was in the depths of dealing with infertility and this was my place where I could come and let it all out. When you are going through that you don't exactly want to shout it from the roof tops, so you feel very isolated with your feelings. Blogging became my outlet and also allowed me to connect and get support from others dealing with IF. Although now, I don't keep my struggle a secret and I feel much more comfortable with being an "infertile" (that's a whole other post in itself). Probably because I've had success after IF. As a matter of fact when people ask me if and when "I'm gonna try for that boy!" my response is "well we had a hard time having M, so I am not sure if its in the cards for us". That usually shuts people up :) 

The point is, this blog was a secret place for me. No one in my real life read or even knew I had a blog. So in efforts to keep it that way, I didn't share Kay's full name.

After M was born I briefly thought about announcing her and Kay's name on the blog, because I don't not share it because I don't want YOU to know what their names are...Its because I didn't want people in my real life to be able to google "Kay..... and M....." and my blog pop up. Make sense? And to this day people in my real life don't know I blog. I'll share my life with complete strangers, but not my friends and family. I know, I'm a weirdo but it is what it is.

So that's the reason why! Hopefully now it wont be such a mystery. 

If You Want To Jump Start Your Diet...

Drink one of these...

But don't drink more than 2 in a week, got it? Trust me on that one ; ) My BFF in LA swears by these Kumbucha drinks, so when we went out for a picnic on my last day there we picked one up a the local heath food store (they can be found at most health food stores or Whole Foods). After a weekend of eating horribly we needed to get back on track. It is a raw, organic, enzyme, living organism drink that really gets things moving if you know what I mean. It doesn't taste the greatest, but I can choke down 1/2 at time. I've really never had anything like it. Its a great way to jump start your diet! And don't freak by all the little things swimming it....that's the good make you skinny stuff! It's weird, but it works! 

M.I.A

I feel like I have been neglecting my blog lately. Truth is I have been trying to find the time to blog and have a running list of draft posts that I am working on, but with a very hectic schedule right now, a toddler, a school aged child, and dealing with one shit storm after the next I just haven't had to time to sit down and write!

Shit storm #1: I had a week from hell last week! Thursday morning I went for a hike at one of the 2 places I always go and when I came back to my car I noticed that my back window was smashed out. Of course, I  left my purse inside (covered up, one the other side of the car no less and only because I had to go to Walgreen's after because Miss M was sick) So my purse, wallet (including 300-400 cash), and all its contents were stolen. What a mess that has been. I have no ID, no debit card, no credit card, no lip glosses, NOTHING! Thank god I had my keys and phone with me. But I'm out my 500 Coach purse, my 200 Coach wallet, the 300-400 cash (and I never carry cash, but I like to have cash when I travel and had just came back from LA), about 200 worth of MAC lipglosses, a 50 gift card, and other who knows what items. UGH. So I've been dealing with all that...

Shit Storm #2:  Miss M was sick all late last week; fever, runny nose, cough, coughing till she threw up cough, and all that jazz. She also finally cut her first set of molars, for a total of 10 teeth  now! A teething AND sick baby. So it's been real fun.  And BIG news: Kay LOST her first tooth! More on this to come...

Shit Storm #3: 2 days ago my dishwasher broke. So I've been forced to hand wash- which takes up A LOT OF TIME. Blog time. I'm in a crisis here people, and they cant come to fix it until Thursday!

I am leaving for a one day business trip tomorrow to San Fransisco, and thank god I have a passport or else I would be screwed with a capitol S. Because I have no ID, and there for would not have been able to fly. Its a very short trip (literally 24 hours) and I wont have any free time while I am there, so no blog love for a couple days. But when I return and pull my life together again I hope to post about the following:

-Miss M's 12 month update; yes she is almost 13 months now I realize this.
-How Kay lost her tooth!
-Pictures and all about my trip to LA
-Pictures from M's first birthday
-And finally losing this last 10 pounds!

Be back soon :)

Favorite Things: Suuuuuushhheeeee!

Okay so I don't know if you guys know this but I LOVE SUSHI! Like love. I went to a new place today called Tokyo Lobby and I have never in my life had better or fresher sushi than this place today. It is my absolute new fav!!

The Yellow tail..hands down best.ever.I've ever had. 

"The Boston" a California roll topped with spicy tuna? (I think) and row with a yummy sauce. This one was our least favorite...it was good, but had a very different taste...couldn't put my hands on what it was.  

"The Eel Tempura" Eel, crab, cream cheese, deep fried with yummy sweet eel sauce. M's fav roll!

"The Momma Mia". California roll topped with Salmon and tuna with  a very unique different very delicious sauce that I have never had before. It was SOOO good.

And last by certainly not least..."The Orgasm" and rightfully so! This was This is BY FAR the best roll I have ever had and was my personal favorite. It was a shrimp tempura but instead of being wrapped in seaweed and white rice, it was wrapped in very thinly sliced salmon. MY GOD it was amazing!!

So if your in the Phoenix area and love sushi you must go here. It isn't too big, or blingy,  but the food speaks for itself in a big way!

Just In Case You Forgot..

How massively HUGE I was this time last year...here is a frightening picture to remind you.

Yeah...This photo was taken on Christmas Eve last year and exactly one week later Miss M was born. I honestly don't think I could have gotten any bigger. Seriously....That ain't right. I mean look how small my boobs looks??! That right there tells you how big my stomach was. Okay, well maybe they dont look that small...but still!

See this is why we take belly shots...so you can look back one day and say OMG, I was HUGE! 

Weird Things My Kids Say and Do

• Miss M stuffs her blankie in her mouth while trying to go to sleep...literally STUFFS it in. Weirdo!
• Kay calls her girls parts her "Other Butt" or her "Front Butt".
• The other day on the way to school Kay said that letting the boys chase her at recess helps her work on her "social skills". She was serious.
• After M was born, Kay packed 2 suitcases (one with toys and one with cloths- smart girl!), wrote me a goodbye letter and told us that she was moving outside because it was "too hard to be a part of this family". She followed that with "But I'm still going to come in to eat and go to the bathroom...".
• Miss M grunts like an bull every time you put her in her highchair until you get food on her tray.
• Kay really thinks that there are things called "Booty Crickets". When she was 2 and went through the I- don't- want- you- to- wash- me phase, I told her that if you don't wash your butt you'll get booty crickets. Still works like a charm, so I'm stickin to it!
• Miss M hates holding hands. Refuses!
• I call Kay a little gypsy because every night she sleeps with: her pillow, her eye mask, her pillow pet, her stuffed sheep, and her cat "Saraphina". This girl has BAGGAGE.
• Miss M loves cat food....seriously, she goes back for seconds. When I said this kids eats anything, I meant ANYTHING. Gross!
• Kays thoughts on child birth:You either squeeze it out, or you cut it out. The other day she asked me "When you squeeze it out, where does it come out of" Oh dear god I thought...but then I told her, and her response: "Ewwww thats gross, I'm never having kids!".

And I'll end with that :) What are some "weirdo" things your kids do? I cant be alone here....Kids are WEIRD man!

Decisions, Decisions

I'm still here....and still shopping! Christmas just gives me a really good excuse : ) Kay's big Christmas gift from Santa this year is the new Nintendo DSi XL! I know she's going to be so excited to have a upgrade from her "babyish" Leapster 2 handheld gaming system. I am glad I didn't get the dsi for her last year like I was planning on because I think now she will appreciate and take care of it more now that she's a little older. And up until recently she's been content with her Leapster 2. But now I have tough decisions to make, like which skin I should buy her! So help...if you were 6 and sassy like Kay, which one would you choose?

The Purple:

The Fashion:

The Zebra...ya know cause she is my daughter..

Or the Pink Flowers?

You know because these decisions are just so hard. Stay tuned for my wish list!

Giuliana & Bill and The Book Signing

Anyone watch their show? I do, and I must say I love them! They are really an amazing couple and have a fun dynamic relationship. And he's not too bad to look at either if ya know what I mean  ; ) I just feel like they are different than other celebrity couples who have done reality shows. I also commend them for coming out and sharing their struggle to get pregnant. It was hard enough to go through in private, I cant imagine the courage it took for them to be so open about it. And that's what we need more of! People to talk about it. Infertility has this stigma behind it. But with one in eight couples suffering with infertility, people need to know they are not alone. They are not alone in that dark place, they are not alone with trying to decide what they should do next, or if they will ever have a baby of their own. So I really really look up to them for sharing that and for using their celebrity to help raise more awareness about infertility.

They are an amazing couple and I've been watching Giuliana on E! News for years now and loooove her on the red carpet. She always gets it right. Plus she's Italian, and you know how I feel about about Italian people. So when she announced on Twitter that her and Bill were going to be in AZ for a book signing this weekend I just had to go!

I've never been to a book signing before, and had no idea what to expect so I called Borders where they were going to be appearing. I wanted to know if I should come early, if so how early, would I be there for hours and hours, and who they whole thing works. He said it all really depends on how many people they draw in, etc. I have no idea? I love them, but how many other people love them too? How many other people follow her on twitter and know about the signing? Because that's the only place I heard about it!

So I decided to go an hour early. I figured that even if there wasn't a line, I could hang out and browse until it was time. I showed up and much to my surprise there were about 30 chairs set up in front of a table. Oh okay- so we are sitting, great! I had little M with me, so I took a seat (there were about 15 other people there at that point). I hung out and chatted with a few other people that were there. As the minutes went on the seats filled up, and people started standing behind the seats. I was glad I got their early! In total there were about 50-60 people there. Miss M was waiting very patiently too....

I had my book all ready for them to sign- and for those who have never been to a book signing, a lady actually walks around and writes your name on a post it and then you put out it on the page that they will sign, I guess it cuts down on time? Idk....either way I was ready. In case you were wondering, their book is called I Do, Now What? Secrets, Stories, and Advise from Madly-in-Love Couple.

Then the manager walks out and tells us how its all going to go down, and that Giuliana and Bill said its okay to take pictures (I guess some wont allow photos), that they'd be out in a few minutes and that they were jsut the nicest people.

A few minutes later, they walked out! They said hello, grabbed a mic, and started chatting a little bit about the book, and how and why they decided to write it. They both are so cute!

After that they opened up the floor and did a Q & A. People asked all kinds of questions, from financial questions for Bill, to which designers and brands were Giuliana's favorite (she said BCBG, Bebe, H&M, and Forever 21 in case your curious), what their shooting schedule is like with the show...all kinds of questions. They were very open. It was refreshing! They seem like a really normal down to earth kind of couple. And they both have a great sense of humor...just like on the show.

Then came the fun part. Meeting them! They didn't just sign books, and off to the next person, they really took the time made a point to talk to everyone for a few minutes. I was impressed by that.

Then it was my turn! They were so sweet, both shook my hand, we chatted a little about baby M. I told them how much I admired them for sharing their struggle to have a baby so publicly, because I know how hard it is- as I put my hand over my heart. I told them to keep their heads up and know that one day it will all be worth it.