Suburban Chic

Sex Obsessed!

2012-01-22T22:48:00.000-08:00

Whoa, like that title?! I'm totally obsessed about finding out the sex of this baby. I was pretty obsessed with knowing if Charlie was a boy or a girl but I've taken it to a whole other level. What level you ask? I've peed in a cup and added baking soda to see if it fizzles (fizzle= boy, no fizzle = girl). Yeah. I went there.

My latest obsession is the "nub theory". Basically you look at your 13-15 week ultrasound pics and if the genital area is > 30 degrees as compared to the spine, you are probably having a boy. If its more horizontal to the spine, you are probably having a girl. I've looked at ultrasounds that were confirmed boy and girl and I have to say, I think this whole nub theory may not be totally crazy.

Here is a pic of a 12 week old boy (see it pointing up a little?)

and a 12 week old girl (this one is sticking out, not up)

and here is our ultrasound picture of #2

Our pic is a bit fuzzy but I dare you to take a guess!

I posted our pic online and got 17 girl guesses 13 boy guesses.

Other "tests" I've done:

Chinese Gender Predictor Test - Girl (note: it also told me Charlie was a girl)
Baking Soda Test - Boy
Ring Test - Girl
Heartbeat Rate - Girl

Apparently you can read your palm to find out the gender but I couldn't find the lines. They said you may need a magnifying glass but thats just too much work for me.

Well, 2 more weeks and we find out. Until then, I'll continue to lose sleep over it but thats ok. We will know soon enough!

P.s. Seriously - look at the pics and let me know what your vote is ;)

Pregnancy #2 - Week 13 Survey

2012-01-11T20:26:00.000-08:00

How far along? 13 weeks, 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: 3 lbs. Oy.

Maternity clothes? Yes. I decided I didn't want to look frumpy this time around so I've hit up some maternity stores. Some at the mall, one great second hand store 2 towns away. My friend Sarah has also given me bags of great clothes but I only fit into a fraction of them. She told me she would often buy non-maternity clothes but in larger sizes. So when I find an Ann Taylor LOFT shirt in size Small, I know it aint gonna fit this body of mine. She has given me some great stuff I CAN fit in so I'm a happy camper. My sister in law also said she has some to pass on to me as well and I'll pick those up next week at our playdate.

Stretch marks? No.

Sleep: Not bad at all.

Best moment this week: Lots of great things this week. On Sunday, we had Charlie's birthday party at Pump it Up -he had a blast (so did his dad).

I think sweet Uncle Jimmy had fun, too.

Monday was also great. We had our NT scan (nuchal translucency) and got to see the baby.

He/she had a heartbeat of 161. They used my bloodwork from a couple weeks ago and gave us the results on the spot - 1 in 2600 chance of down syndrome. I will have my blood work done again in a couple weeks and they will re-enter the numbers to get a more accurate number so I'll update you all when that happens. And I had my regular dr.'s appointment today and heard the heartbeat again. This time it was 150 beats per minute. I scheduled my next appointment for Feb 7 which will be the appointment we find out the sex!

Movement: I felt a couple twinges but am not positive its movement. Probably just gas. ;)

Food cravings: No
Gender: 4 weeks and we'll know!

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? In.

What I miss: Nothing at the moment

What I am looking forward to: Taking a trip this weekend to Aptos assuming Rob feels better. He's been a bit under the weather.

This week, baby is the size of a large shrimp!

That's Random.

2012-01-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

What may be more random is that this has happened before, years ago, with another car. I'm guessing someone tossed it out their window and it got lodged in my grill (is that what its called?).

Hi, Blog. It's me, Alyssa.

2012-01-04T16:47:00.000-08:00

I'm just going to pretend that I haven't NOT blogged in 2 months. No great reason why I haven't been around but I am pregnant so I think I'll be blogging more often! And with that said, here is my first pregnancy quiz for "#2".

How far along? 12 weeks, 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: I've only had 1 appointment so I'm not sure yet. I do know I started this pregnancy off about 20 lbs higher than Charlie's pregnancy (sigh) so I hope to not gain as much this pregnancy.

Maternity clothes? Yes, I busted out the maternity clothes around week 7. I told you I'm big!

Stretch marks? No.

Sleep: I sleep fine other than getting up 2+ times a night to pee.

Best moment this week: Charlie and I went to Diddams earlier this week to shop for some stuff for his birthday party. We're having a farm theme but the only farm animal stuff they had was horses so I guess its now a horse theme! Its pretty cute though. I also had fun making the favors.

Movement: No.

Food cravings: Depends on the day. Most days I crave deli sandwiches. I just might buy stock in Subway.

Gender: I'm thinking girl, Rob thinks boy. What do you think?!

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: I'm not a big drinker but I went to PF Changs with some ex-coworkers a couple weeks ago and I really wanted their Key Lime Pie Martini (my favorite).

What I am looking forward to: Rob and my dinner/movie date on Friday plus we have 2 appointments next week (regular appointment and NT scan).

Other Updates: We had our first dr.'s appointment at 9 weeks on Dec 15 and saw our Charlie's sibling. It's heartbeat was a healthy 180.

I am going to have a planned c-section since I had a c-section last time and am not interested in a VBAC so we get to choose a birthdate within a week of the due date. I think we're going with Thursday July 12. I was thinking of doing it that Friday but it would have been Friday the 13th and Rob felt a little funny about that. Of course, I could also go into labor early but since I didn't go into labor early with Charlie, my dr. doesn't think I'll go into labor early with this one. I guess we'll find out!

This week, baby is the size of a lime!

Holiday Boutique.

2011-11-11T12:12:00.000-08:00

I'm hosting a holiday boutique this weekend at my house. If you are not local, but would like to start your holiday shopping, I'm sure you will find something you like!

If you order something from Stella & Dot, I'll enter your name into my raffle. I will be raffling off a piece of jewelry or a key pouch. I think I'll give the winner the option between the patent leather key pouch, Trio Soiree Ring or Caroline Pendant Necklace.

Please find below all the information you need if interested in making a purchase. You don't have to be here in person - its an online catalog party too. If you are in the Morgan Hill area, please let me know if you would like to come to my holiday boutique!

Here is some information for those who would like to order online:

Stella & Dot

Shop at: www.stelladot.com/alyssawagner

Select Alyssa Wagner as your hostess at checkout.

Willow House

Shop at: www.erinblodgett.willowhouse.com AMAZING home items, so cute. Select Alyssa Wagner as your hostess.

Scentsy

Shop at: https://heathermontero.scentsy.us/Buy?partyId=57575493&fb_source=message

Hope you find someting you love for yourself or as a holiday gift! If you are interested in ordering, please do so by November 13th.

We've Been Doing Stuff.

2011-10-21T07:26:00.000-07:00

Hello neglected blog. I like blogging but as you can see, I haven't done it in awhile. We've been having fun doing family things and the thought of catching my blog up with our activities makes me tired. So, I think I'll just post a pic here and there and then try to resume my semi-regular posting activities.

We've been busy making weird faces...

Goose egg + vomit = Emergency Room

"You've been here before, right?" -Triage Nurse
"Mmm, hmmm..." -Charlie's mama

Happy birthday balloons are fun even if its not your birthday. Thanks dollar store!

Visits with Mimi and Poppy are one of the highlights to Charlie's week.

Terrorizing Buddy is a good time killer.

First annual trip for apple picking at Gizdich Ranch. We have not had too many of the apples we picked but we devoured the pumpkin pie and apple pies we bought.

Going to "sea" the Monterey Bay Aquarium and having lunch in Moss Landing is good for the soul.

Playdates with neighbor friends makes for a great start to the day. Have I mentioned what great neighbors I have?! It took us 3 years to meet but thats ok. We are making up for lost time, now.

A trip to the pumpkin patch during the week is highly recommended. And, free parking. Score.

Charlie, the artist.

I've also been busy with my little bus-nas. #6 out of 250 peeps in sales in September. Just sayin'.... :)

That's all for now.

My Goal for October.

2011-10-06T12:05:00.001-07:00

As most of you know, its Breast Cancer Awareness month! In the month of October, Stella & Dot will be donating 20% of the sales of our Tribute Bracelet to the Breast Cancer Research Fund. I will also match Stella & Dot's donation and donate 20% as well. My goal is to sell 50 bracelets in the month of October which will be a total donation of $720. If you want to make a purchase, be sure my name is listed as the stylist and hostess at checkout. http://shop.stelladot.com/style/b2c_en_us/b178rg.html?s=alyssawagner

Breast Cancer Awareness Bracelet.

2011-10-02T07:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Stella & Dot released their Holiday capsule release. A capsule release is a mini release between the BIG releases (Fall & Spring/Summer). One of my favorites is the Tribute Bracelet because its very cute and best of all, 20% of the proceeds will be donated to breast cancer awareness. This bracelet would make a great gift and a meaningful one to boot. Behold, the Tribute Bracelet....

$36 - The rose gold pave bar anchors on a delicate band of faceted hematite beads

Linky: http://shop.stelladot.com/style/b2c_en_us/shop/bracelets/b178rg.html

Be sure to search for Alyssa Wagner as your stylist if you haven't been to my website before. We moved over to a new fancy site but for some reason, I can't direct someone to a particular product on MY site. It goes to the general site unless you have been to my page before (cookies).

So excited for Fall! I've said it once and I'll say it many more times: its the best time of the year. It doesn't feel like Fall is here yet, but sometimes I pretend its Fall and make some hot cocoa even though its 70 degrees out at 9:00 pm. Rob makes fun of me but thats ok.

I'm also loving that my business is taking off. Fall is the biggest time of year for retail and that is ringing true with my Stella & Dot venture. I have 6 trunk shows booked for October and 7 for November. I hope to book at least 1 or 2 trunk shows at each of those trunk shows and earn more free jewelry (and of course, commissions!). I'm about to hit my 3rd "jump start bonus" which gives me $500 in free jewelry. I'm hoping to hit 1 more after this one so I have a total of $2,000 in free jewelry. I think its do-able but I will have to work my arse off a little. ;) But really, I'm having fun. My favorite part is the trunk show - it really doesn't feel like work. Speaking of - if you would like to have a trunk show, I would be honored to have one for you at your home, at the office, I can even give you my jewels for a week in a cute S&D jewelry tote and you can get orders on the go and still get your hostess rewards. I came up with an idea to have a Black Friday trunk show so people can skip the malls and shop out of their friend's home. I have the date open (Nov 25) so if you are interested, let me know!

See, this is why I don't post about Stella & Dot too much because I ramble because I am excited about it.

Have a great Sunday! Happy Fall!

Photo Challenge: Day 5 - Someone I Love.

2011-09-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

My high tech loving boys.

Public Service Announcement.

2011-09-27T17:29:00.000-07:00

When you are at the post office counter and searching for a pen in your bag, do a visual check before pulling out your "pen."

It's Fall!! I Need This. Ok...Want This.

2011-09-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

The Pottery Barn Fall/Winter catalog arrived yesterday. I'm loving these cable knit blankets. I've been wanting a nice, good quality blanket for our family room for awhile.The price tag is hefty (on sale for $99). I scoffed and thought "ya right." But then I started thinking "why not". Well the answer to that question is the price, of course.

When we finally decorated the entryway, I decided to not get cheap and buy things that made me happy. If that meant spending months (or years) on having an entryway I loved then so be it. I splurged on a couple items and lucked out with some free and awesome items or some items found on the cheap that I loved. The result: my favorite space in the house.

So back to the blanket....it makes me happy and I'm considering using part of my next commission check on it. I had a REALLY good trunk show last week and made a little over $500 in commissions for the 2 hours I was there. My commissions are to be used for entertainment or if we are having a tight month then we will use commissions for the unexpected items that come up in the month. Well, I unexpectedly fell in love with this blanket. That counts, right? I'll hold out for now but gosh I want that blanket!

Rob said we could never have that blanket because Buddy would destory it. Its probably true. Buddy gets his bone, puts it under the blanket, then chews the bone through the blanket creating holes in the blanket. This isn't a big deal because our blankets are cheap. We have 2 Sharks blankets we got at customer appreciation night for free, an Ikea blanket (gift from about 10 years ago) and a blanket received as part of a bridesmaid gift, it has my name embroidered on it. Sorry, Dorothy! Buddy just loves your blanket. :)

Our mismatched blankets with the king of the household doing what he does best:

What do you think....shall we splurge on a new blanket for Fall?

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2011-09-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

Our 5th wedding anniversary was on September 9th. We got all dolled up (I curled my pony tail) and went to dinner at Il Postale (yum!) and I had my first espresso martini (double yum). Our meal wasn't too spendy because I had bought a gift certificate from restaurant.com (love that website!). The dinner was delish and we almost had the restaurant to ourselves because it was a little early.

After dinner, we went to see My Idiot Brother. It was entertaining - a couple laugh out loud moments. The part I hated the most was when I realized half way in the movie that I had chocolate all over my arm and I had no idea where it came from. I was aware I had some junior mints but I couldn't figure out how it got on my arm. I was trying to find a sanitizing wipe in my purse but the 2 I found were all dried up. After the movie, when the lights came on, I realized I had more chocolate on my other arm, jeans and all over my bag (of course, it was the most expensive bag I own, my beloved Gucci). Basically I dropped a thin mint and it melted between my bag and my arm. Gross. I still haven't tried to clean my bag yet. Maybe I should do that today....Wow, sorry for the long random tangent!

The traditional 5 year gift is wood. We are going to get 4 new wooden kitchen table chairs once the budget allows.

If you must know, I'm sporting Stella & Dot's Chantilly Lace Earrings (best seller) and the matching Chantilly Lace Cuff (I died when I put it on - made me feel oh so fancy!).

Happy Anniversary, Poo!

Photo Challenge: Day 4 - Favorite Color.

2011-09-22T07:33:00.000-07:00

I like a lot of colors but my favorite color has always been yellow. Its fun and happy! My skin tone is a little yellow-ish so I don't look bad wearing it either - perk!

Source: http://dianasneighborhood.com/category/color/

Photo Challenge: Day 3 - Clouds.

2011-09-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

Taken in our backyard.

Fashion's Night Out.

2011-09-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

Join in Fashion's Night Out and support fashion and the economy by shopping my Stella & Dot "Mystery Hostess" Online Trunk Show today until 8:00 pm pacific.

1. Shop online at my eboutique www.stelladot.com/alyssawagner

2. Enter "Mystery" "Hostess" as the name of the Trunk Show Hostess

3. Make a purchase and be entered to win $45-$250 in FREE jewelry and 50% off coupons that the Mystery Hostess will win in a qualified show based on everyone shopping!!!

Encourage your friends to shop and the winning Mystery Hostess will win the maximum hostessing rewards!! The more that is bought, the more free jewelry! Get a head start on your holiday shopping.

I will notify the winner via email.

Having trouble deciding? Here are some of my best sellers:

Soiree Trio Ring ($49)

Soiree Studs - Hematite ($24)

Bardot Spiral - Silver ($49)

Chantilly Lace Earrings ($49)

Good luck!

Photo Challenge: Day 2 - What I Wore.

2011-09-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

I wish I had packed some decent clothes but I didn't. Here I am out to lunch with Rob, Charlie and Buddy at the Apple Cafe in Aptos. The only thing that is helping this outfit out a little is the necklace.

Top: Ann Taylor
Skirt: Old Navy (not shown)
Shoes: Gap Outlet flip flops
Necklace: Stella & Dot - Riviera Coin Necklace (borrowed from my mom)
Sunglasses: Target

Totally frumpty dumpty,

Photo Challenge: Day 1 - Self Portrait.

2011-09-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

Nope, not naked. That would be weird. I am in a towell waiting for the shower to heat up.

This is what I typically look like for half of the day. No makeup, hair a little scraggly from being in a pony for too long. Its a rare day when I blow dry my hair and an even rarer day when I have had time to curl it. Half of the reason is lazyness - ok, 100% of the reason is lazyness. ;)

Me, Myself & I

Photo Challenge.

2011-09-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

I decided to participate in a photo challenge I found on a blog. I find myself lacking blogging material now that I am home with Charlie. I'm not out and about in the "real world" and daily life is mostly the same routine so hopefully this will help me post more often.

Skinny Eggplant Parmesan.

2011-08-31T08:42:00.000-07:00

This dish was doomed from the start. I was getting ready to make dinner and realized it said I needed 1 large egglant (2 lbs). My eggplant didn't seem to large. I weighed it. 14 oz. Damn. So I headed off to Wal-Mart because I know Target doesn't carry eggplant and I was too lazy to drive 5 miles to Safeway. So I went to Wal-Mart and luckily they had eggplant. I went to to the register and the cashier asked me "what are you going to do with the eggplant?" I told her we are making eggplant parmesan. (blank stare) "Eggplant parmesan is kind of like a casserole and just has veggies and cheese in it." "Oh".

Alas we were home. I did the first step of slicing the eggplant so I can put it in the oven on the baking sheet and realized some of my slices were a little small. They proceeded to burn in the oven and I only had a small picking of good slices - this would come in handy later. So I salvaged what I could and decided to move on.

I was looking for a dish and realized the dish I had that was required was dirty. I tried cleaning it for 20 seconds and realized it was too much work so I got a smaller dish. The rest of the dinner making was a bit half ass (I know - it was a bit half ass from the beginning but thats ok). I didn't really measure from there on out and I'm big on measuring because I am a baker, not a cook. I decided to pile on extra cheese on top because usually that makes things better. Usually.

I would say this dish was pretty good. I would make again since I think its pretty low in fat thanks to the nonfat ricotta cheese.

Recipe: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/03/lighter-eggplant-parmesan-5-pts.html

Just a Typical Weekend...

2011-08-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

Giveaway!

2011-08-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

I'm giving away a pair of Stella & Dot earrings AND giving 15% off any order. Have a birthday coming up you need to shop for? Or want to get a headstart on your Christmas shopping? Smart money saving lady says "then you should take advantage of this offer."

Check out the deets here.

You're welcome.

Birthdays.

2011-08-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

I had forgot to post pictures from my and Rob's birthday. For my birthday in June, we went to Monterey and went to lunch, the aquarium and did some light shopping.

Rob also took the day off work for his birthday but it was a low key day, per his request. We went to the Little Gym, hung around at home then went to pick up some Philly Cheese Steaks takeout and Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. Yummo.

Charlie's Italian impression

Busted.

2011-08-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

New Challenge: Start Cooking More.

2011-08-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

Foil balls, its whats for dinner! Learned today you can make baked potatoes in your crock pot. Sure it takes awhile (8 hours on low) but you aren't heating up that kitchen on these warm summer days. I'm wondering what takes more electricity - baking an hour in the oven or 8 hours in a crock pot? Am I the only one who thinks of these things?

I learned of this little trick today from this blog: http://realmomkitchen.com/7995/crock-pot-baked-potatoes/

I wanted to also share a new recipe from one of my favorite blogs. I had bookmarked it and my sister made it and it was GOOD. So I made it last night and Charlie liked it (but he loves him some Mexican food) and we had no leftovers. Its a pretty cheap recipe but it didn't make that much food.

You can check out the recipe here: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/03/cheesy-zucchini-enchiladas.html

I used canned enchilada sauce.

What are your favorite/easy/cheap/healthy recipes? I need inspiration!

Pals.

2011-08-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

I always looked forward to the day Charlie and Buddy would play together. In the last few months, they started playing more often, typically tug of war. I got a couple videos of them playing a few months ago and never posted them but I think they are cute (because they are my children, I realize it may be boring for you all). I'm not sure exactly when these were filmed, it says they were filmed in December 2011 but I know thats not true!

Stella & Dot Update.

2011-08-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

I'm obsessed. I have been for awhile but I didn't want to "bore" you all with that and I rarely talk to my friends about it except for the ones that are "into it" and love the jewelry. I have been obsessed with logging into the "stylist lounge" where I can read up on current events and see where I am on track commission wise for the month, I also go into "stylist space" which is basically a facebook for stylists to trade ideas, share successes, etc. I've had a few trunk shows and I'm averaging about $850 in sales for a trunk show which I think is pretty good for being a newbie (average trunk show is $1,000)! I make 25% of that so I've been a happy camper! I'm almost done paying back my investment - I invested more than I planned because I do believe the more you have to show, the more you sell. And I have some sweet jewelry to wear - bonus! I have already hit my first "jump start" which gave me $500 in free jewelry and I think I'm track to get 1 more before my first 100 days and possibly another but for now, my goal is 1 more jump start bonus while I'm in my jump start period. This will come in handy because Stella & Dot is coming out with handbags next week - fun!

This hobby is still for fun - a chance to get some "me" time with friends and meeting new friends. I had my first job at 10 and really do love working so I think this is filling any void I may have about staying home with Charlie and not going to the office. For the record, I have not once thought "I wish I was at work". So thats a good sign since I wasn't sure if the stay at home mom job was for me. I've also always wanted to open my own boutique and I think Stella & Dot is filling that want as well.

I'll be at a local boutique on Sunday so send me some good vibes! I have no idea what to expect but I'm hoping to have a couple sales and perhaps book a trunk show. My September is filling up fast and for that I am thankful.

So thats my "attention whore" update for you all in case you were wondering how its going! I'm really excited for "Q4" - the busiest time of year for Stella & Dot.

I'd love for you to follow me on Facebook so you can be updated on sample sales, events, new product and more!

www.facebook.com/shopwithalyssa

And of course, contact me if you are interested in having a trunk show or becoming a stylist!

Lazy Sundays are the Best.

2011-08-07T08:21:00.000-07:00

Phone Dump.

2011-08-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

I was going through my phone pictures and found some of Buddy that I thought would be fun to post. As you can see, he can pretty much lay anywhere, on anything. We love you Buddy! Sorry you don't get as much attention as you used to... :(

Groupie.

2011-07-31T16:48:00.001-07:00

"The Poo".

2011-07-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

This started off as a practical joke on my brother in law. I found this dog poop dog toy in the Target dollar bin and couldn't resist. After the prank was over, Buddy took ownership of the dog toy. I'm pretty sure its not BPA free.

We call this thing "the poo." A friend was over the other day and Buddy was barking at her. She asked what he wanted and I told her he wanted her to throw the poo. "The poo?".

These are common statements in our house:

"Buddy, go get your poo"
"Where is the poo?"
"Can you throw the poo for Buddy?"

You get the picture. So if you are over at our house, don't be alarmed if we start talking about the poo. Its probably not surprising that Rob and my "pet names" were Poo long before the poo existed.

Entryway.

2011-07-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

Our entryway had been pretty much empty for 2.5 years. I wanted an entryway table badly but there were other items that were higher priority so we went without for awhile. I would go online and check websites for entryway tables. I found some I liked but I didn't love the price so it was easy to hold out.

After I stopped working, I started nesting and was obsessed with making the entryway look like someone actually lived in the home. As luck would have it, I found THE entryway table at Pier 1. I was in love. It wasn't something I had in mind but when I saw it, I was in love. I was in love except for the huge crack in the table. They offered it to me for half off. I thought about it for a few days - maybe I could put a runner on it but even at half off, it was still a decent amount of money. I decided I wanted a new one that had no cracks in it. After I made that decision, I found out it was sold out at all my local stores and they were not making any orders because they were back logged or something at the warehouse. I called Santa Cruz and they had 1 in the back - a bit of a drive but it was worth it. I love it so.

Its hefty and solid. Delicious. I was then on a mission to get "stuff" to put on it. I fell in love with a blue vase at Pier 1 and wanted to do something with it. My mom suggested a local florist (Stems). I went in there and loved her work and she made that arrangement for us. The mirror was a Home Goods find. I then wanted something on the other side that was sort of antique/older since the vase and table are so modern. I found that wooden box at Home Goods, I had the little picture frame already (there is a picture of Buddy is in the frame - I'm not quite sure what to put in the frame) and we already had the little candle holder.

I wanted to create some height and while at my in-laws saw some really old books that I thought would look neat. When I was at my mom's I asked her if she had any old books that I can use on the table. I didn't care what the books were, just that they were old looking.

She went to her living room and opened a cabinet and said "what about these?" She opened this book up

How cool is that? I wanted an old looking book and my mom randomly selected one that was given to my grandpa in 1931 by his teacher for perfect attendance that he then gave to me 1985. It just makes it much more special than having some random old book there. So neat, it was meant to be!

I also got this bench from Home Goods so people can take off their shoes and not have to sit on the stairs or perform a balancing act. I love the green, blue and chocolate brown paisley print. The blue ties in with the vase quite well.

The entryway is probably my favorite spaces in our house. I'm not sure what the next project is, I think we're going to stay steady for awhile. I'd love to paint the staircase a dark brown but we got a quote and it was definately not in the budget. Maybe some day!

Fun at Casa de Fruta.

2011-07-18T18:34:00.000-07:00

We headed to Casa de Fruta (last week?) with my sister and the girls. I had never been there before. There isn't too much to do but it is cheap. They had a good deli, restaurant and an awesome sweets shop called Casa de Sweets. Just the scent that is in there will bring you back to when you were young. It was pretty great. I'd like to go with Rob sometime, its only a half hour away. Good times!

On the carousel - a little blurry and he almost fell off while I took this....oopsie!

S&D Fall Collection

2011-07-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

Stella & Dot released their Fall collection on Thursday and it did not disappoint. I know you are probably thinking "FALL?!" we just got started with the summer season! Even though I'm loving the Spring/Summer line, I'm so excited about Fall! I love the Fall season and love holiday parties.

I ordered about 12-14 (can't remember!) pieces. Here are the ones I knew I HAD to have. Love these!

I should be getting them on Tuesday, just in time for some upcoming trunk shows. I'm also getting out of my comfort zone and approached some local businesses and am thrilled to be involved in some upcoming events. So fun! Happy Spring, Summer & Fall to you all!

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I had my Stella & Dot launch party and it was a huge success! Since it was my launch party, I acted as the hostess so I received the hostess benefits on top of my commission. Its a good thing because I really needed to get more jewelry for my display. My sponsor loaned me her jewelry for my launch but now I'm on my own for my upcoming trunk shows. I put in a big order yesterday and will put another order in tomorrow when the Fall line is available. I can't wait to see it! I know it will be available at 3:00 PST for stylists to order and I'm assuming you can view it at that time too. You can check it out at www.stelladot.com/alyssawagner

Then on Sunday, we headed to Aptos for some 4th of July fun and returned yesterday.

Weekend Highlight.

2011-06-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

Wine tasting with friends!

That's Random.

2011-06-25T08:56:00.000-07:00

I've been of legal drinking age for 10 years and had never open/tried to open a bottle of wine. I've drank the "mom juice" before but I was always intimidated by the act of removing the cork. Last week I was making dinner and it called for some white wine. I called my mom to see if she had any errands to run and she said "no, why?" and I told her I wanted her to stop by and open a bottle of wine for me. She offered to have my dad come over to do it and I realized that is just silly. She recommended I look online - brilliant! I watched a video on youtube and opened my first bottle of wine and I used one of the old school kind of openers, not the "easy" openers. I was pretty proud of myself. ;)

Next goal: opening a champagne bottle

Majority Rules.

2011-06-18T20:00:00.000-07:00

I will not be creating a different blog just for Stella & Dot. I also will not post more than twice in a week. Balance is good.

Today I signed up officially with Stella & Dot. I have to say its pretty fun going shopping for my samples but its hard to decide which to choose. I think I'll figure it out though. :)

I was blown away that I had my first sale today! A prior co-worker of mine ordered the Sofia Pearl Bib Necklace, get yours here: http://tinyurl.com/6yuu4my

If you want to shop or buy anything, you can do so my going through my page: www.stelladot.com/alyssawagner

You can also follow me on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Alyssa-Wagner-Independent-Stylist-for-Stella-Dot/223919377625828

My launch party is on July 2. Have I mentioned how excited I am?!

Strawberry Picking at Gizdich Ranch.

2011-06-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

We had a fun morning with my sister and the girls. We headed over to Gizdich Ranch and got our pickin' on! The girls were really good about picking their berries and would ask "is this one good?" (good means they are red, not white or green). Charlie picked probably 3 berries and I picked the rest. All in all, it was a fun and different (oh, and cheap!) way to spend the morning.

After we picked berries, we quickly browsed the antique store. I wish it wasn't quick but they had some non-kid friendly items and I knew I couldn't trust Charlie in there. Then we headed towards the bakery where the girls had some of their famous apple juice. And before we left, we had to squeeze in some play time at their little play area in the back. I'm looking forward to apple picking in the fall!

Poll Time.

2011-06-12T20:45:00.000-07:00

I posted a few days ago about how I'm joining Stella & Dot. I know I'll want to blog about that experience as well as blog about new products, etc. I might blog once a week about Stella & Dot so my question to my readers is whether or not to create a separate blog for that or keep it on this blog. Please answer the poll on the right hand side. Thanks :)

Stuck in a Rut.

2011-06-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

I want to blog and lately I've actually had some time to blog at night but nothing is coming to me. I don't know why but I feel like I have nothing to blog about. I'm hoping that me putting this out there will somehow make the universe prove me wrong and the weird, random crap that used to happen to me will happen again. Or I might continue to blog about boring stuff. :) There is always Mr. Charlie but I don't want this blog to be a 100% "mommy blog." I want it to be a well rounded blog if you know what I mean. I don't want to blog for the sake of blogging. Ugh, I sound like such a loser.

Loving Thy Neighbor.

2011-06-10T20:10:00.000-07:00

I recently became better friends with one of our neighbors. I met her in early summer of 2009 after I had posted some garage cabinets on freecycle. They happened to live on the next street over in our neighborhood. I didn't talk to the couple much when they came to my door because I was in my first trimester and very sleepy and not in the mood to chat so Rob "handled" the freecycle transaction. Months later I ran into the wife in the park and started talking about kids, etc. since my bump was more pronounced. We would run into them from time to time and they were always very nice. After I had Charlie and when she was very pregnant with her son I told Rob I wanted to buy her something for the baby and ask them over for dinner. Rob told me that would be very weird because we didn't really know them. I was a little bummed and not confident enough to say "who cares!" so I let it go. I would later see her in the park with her newborn and older daughter and we'd chat a bit more about babies, shared hospital stories (we delivered at the same hospital) and c-section stories (we were both c-section mamas). I knew I liked her and thought she was very sweet, funny, etc. Its been tough meeting friends in our neighborhood because Rob and I are a bit younger than most families and I'd say the average kid age would be about 8 or 10. So I was excited to meet someone who I felt I clicked with but I wasn't sure where to take it from there. Long story short, this woman and I recently created a "mom's group" in our neighborhood and we've been spending more time together (at least once a week) and I'm loving having someone in our hood to hang out with.

After thinking about my new buddy, I started to think about neighbors in my prior residences. Growing up, I'd say my family didn't always "click" with neighbors. I'm not saying there was drama - we'd just exchange pleasantries and thats as far as it went for the most part. Well, speaking of drama, I DID one time bring a dead possom to my neighbor's doorstep once for them to see it. I got a pair of pliers from my dad's tool area and grabbed the dead possom by the tail and laid it on their doorstep and rang the doorbell to show it off to them (it was very large). I got in a little bit of trouble for that. Oh and I did toilet paper their house once and when the mom told me she was going to tell my mom I told her "she already knows we're doing this" - I'm sure that didn't help the neighbor relationship. By the way, my mom really did know we were going to do that. Mom, that might not have won you some good neighbor points, but you were a pretty cool mom I must say!

Then after college, I got a myspace message from someone telling me he lives above me in our complex and asked me over for some Persian tea sometime. Stalker!

Then Rob and I moved in together in our townhouse where we finally met some "normal" people. One couple were boyfriend/girlfriend and we'd go over for drinks and dinner and vise versa. One time we drove by and there was a moving truck so we stopped to chat and we found out they broke up so there went that friendship. Then a couple moved in literally right across from us. They were engaged, fun and we really liked them. One day I saw the guy outside BBQ-ing and asked "so how's married life?" and he said "I wouldn't know." I said "shut up!" (laughed) and he basically told me they called off the wedding and his ex-fiancee moved back to San Diego and he was moving to Texas.

So I'm happy to say my/our losing streak with neighbors seems to be gone.

We're Losing This Battle.

2011-06-10T10:46:00.001-07:00

Stella & Dot.

2011-06-05T13:09:00.000-07:00

I'm loving my time home with Charlie and not missing the corporate world (yet). :) I know someday I'll most likely go back but I'm enjoying my time for now.

I co-hosted a Stella & Dot jewelry party a couple of weeks ago and fell in love with their jewelry. I loved it so much that I'm signing up to be a Stylist! I'm super excited. I thought this would be something fun to do part time (probably after Charlie is sleeping), get some girl time in, wear some fun jewelry and make a little money while doing it!

Here are some of my favorite pieces:

If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area and would like to come to my launch party or have your own trunk show, please let me know! Not local but would like information on ordering some jewelry? Just ask and I'll send you the details!

Special Rug.

2011-05-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

Charlie below is laying on a puppy rug my mom's mom (grandma) made me when I was little. I didn't know my mom held onto it over the years and its held up great! I think it would be special if Charlie's younger sibling had a handmade item to snuggle with. You got that, mom? :)

What I'm Lovin' Wednesday.

2011-05-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

My sister and I hosted a party on Saturday and there was lots of wine and Key Lime Pie Martinis that were drunk so needless to say, there were lots of glasses to be washed. I do not like washing dishes by hand so luckily my mother in law gave me these containers that you put your delicates (stemware that is) in the washer and you don't have to worry about breaking them. You can only wash 8 glasses at a time but I'd rather do 2-3 dishwasher loads than wash them all by hand. Love these!

I'm also loving this silk flower arrangement that was created by a wonderful local florist. I love the vase as well which I recently got at Pier 1 Imports.

I'm loving our new weekend of tradition that we started which is going out to breakfast or making a breakfast one day over the weekend. It started on Mother's Day when we went out for breakfast. I love family time!

And finally, these Trader Joe's Mini Brie Bites. 2 points a pop.

Photos courtesy of http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2011/02/cool-product-alert-mini-brie.html (I was too lazy to take a picture)

That's Random.

2011-05-22T11:56:00.001-07:00

Late but Worth the Wait. Mother's Day Pictures.

2011-05-19T17:48:00.000-07:00

The three of us went out to breakfast on Saturday at a place in town called Just Breakfast. Its one of those places that hasn't changed in at least 10 years decor wise at least. Very homey.

Then on Sunday we had family over for a BBQ. Thanks mom for the pictures!

*boo boo happened the day before when he hit his head on the corner of my very sharp dresser drawer :(

This girl made me an auntie for the first time. Love her to pieces!

My other love bug.

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day!

Naked Baby.

2011-05-19T07:40:00.000-07:00

I love bath time. Bath time means bedtime is coming soon! I know, that sounds mean but I think a lot of moms would agree its pretty great when the little ones are tucked in bed and you can do whatever the heck you want to do with the few hours left of the day. Most of the time for me its making a decaf cup of coffee with creamer and getting in comfortable pants and watching tv with Rob. Once in a while, I'll opt for a warm bubbly bath. Just me and Oprah catching up and sharing some quality time.

Charlie is quite the book warm. He can't resist flipping some pages in some literature even in the comforts of a soothing bath. I think he got that from me.

Washing hair comes last in our house. Charlie is not a fan of having a wet head.

But sometimes he surprises me.

What a ham!

Leg on the tub = get me out

12 hours mores until bath time, but who is counting?

What I'm Loving Wednesday.

2011-05-18T09:03:00.000-07:00

I'm loving my new Target sandals. They don't look really cute in this picture but I assure you they are. :) The strap goes across the foot and there is a little spot for your big toe. They are different and fun. And practical which is perfect for running after a 17 month old. Unfortunately, I'm having issues loading a picture. Check them out here.

I'm lusting after a couple items on etsy. The first is a necklace from Lilly Pie Accessories. How cute is this?

I'm also loving headbands. I have a few but wouldn't mind adding to the collection. My hair dresser had a headband on from Ruffles and Fringe and I loved it. It looks like she doesn't have the exact one in her shop anymore, but this one is equally as cute.

My birthday is coming up...just sayin'... :)

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day! My mom was in charge of pictures so hopefully she'll send me a few that I can share (hint hint). :) Here is a picture of my lovely mom on Thanksgiving with Charlie and I. I love you mom!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2011-05-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

Charlie and I at Jardines in San Juan Bautista.

If you would like to see more pictures, then head on over to my sister's blog: http://gracieandemily.blogspot.com/2011/05/happy-cinco-de-mayo.html

What I'm Loving Wednesday.

2011-05-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

This may be a bit TMI but what I'm loving now is Secret Clinical Strength deodorant.

I know it sounds serious but it is just deodorant, don't be alarmed. When I was pregnant with Charlie, I noticed that I was hotter than normal. And recently, I noticed on a warm day or just any day running after Charlie, I have that not so fresh scent under my arms. I was talking to someone (I'll protect her identity and not mention names) and told her what was going on. She said "that happened to me, too!" and she recommended Secret Clinical Strength. I've been using it for a few days and no stink! Its a little on the expensive side but its worth it. I don't like scented deodorants so I got the sensitive skin one hoping they had less fragrance in it. This is pretty big news because I've used the same kind of deodorant since 7th grade.

Charlie's Baby Brother.

2011-05-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

My mom got Charlie a baby boy doll because he loves his cousins' dolls. He was very sweet with baby brother...

"What's that you say, baby brother?"

and then it got weird...

I was ok with my mom buying him a doll. I'll also be ok with it if Charlie wants to play dress up, play with my makeup, wear nail polish, etc. His interest in these things is bound to happen with 4 girl cousins by his side.

Finally Organized. For Now.

2011-05-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

Organizing is a constant task for me because I can't organize something and keep it organized. I really do wish I was organized, but disorganization is in my blood. Just ask my mom. Sorry, mom! :)

I've been struggling with organizing my jewelry. I had a nice jewelry box that Rob got me years ago but not everything fit in there so I bought a jewelry holder, and then another jewelry holder, and then a earrings only holder. It still looked like a mess.

Last night as I was putting my laundry away, I had a brilliant idea to put my headbands on the closet rod above my dresser in the closet.

Then I got smarter and decided to hang my chunky necklaces on there, too. Oh but don't forget step 1 which is move all your old hangers that used to be on the rod to your husband's side of the closet.

So now the rod holds my headbands and chunky necklaces, my earring holder holds only earrings, one of the jewelry holders holds non chunky necklaces and the other holds bracelets. And the nice box Rob got me holds the "good stuff."

The true test is to see how long it stays this way. Oh and with my new organization, I have room for MORE jewelry! Stop rolling your eyes, Rob!

Easter!

2011-04-27T15:52:00.000-07:00

What I'm Loving Wednesday.

2011-04-20T14:54:00.000-07:00

My neighbor has huge Easter eggs on their lawn and it looks so cool. I ~~want~~ need them! This is what I'm loving today.

I am not loving that they are $20 each.

It's Ok to Say No to Free.

2011-04-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

I follow my sister's college friend's "deals" blog. She often times has good deals posted that I take advantage of and sometimes she has links to sites that are offering free samples. She had one for a free nail polish which is exciting but the color was not. It was blue. I thought "what the heck, it could be fun" and a few weeks later, I got my Essie nail polish in the mail, full sized bottle to boot.

Yesterday during Charlie's nap, I decided to give it a whirl. I knew right away it was a mistake but I kept going. I thought maybe I'd have time to add some pink dots on them and pretend I was getting in the Easter spirit. I met my sister later that night and showed her my smurf toes and her laughter was the reaction I was fully expecting.

I think the worst part about blue toes is trying to get rid of them. That nasty polish is a bit** to get off. For the life of me, I cannot get it out of the crack between my skin and nail so now my foot just looks dirty. I tried to color over the blue in a hot pink but it just looked worse. So now I have one blue foot and one dirty looking foot. Charlie and I had a playdate with our friends Maryanne and Matthew and I wasn't about to go out in public in my toes current state so I wore my sketcher mom shoes. I think a trip to the local pedicure lady is in my near future.

You Might Be a Mom If...

2011-04-18T17:24:00.000-07:00

You know those lists you read about being a mom, like "you know you are a mom when you haven't had a warm meal in weeks", etc. I thought of a couple non traditional ones to add to the list. These two are from the past two weeks.

You know you are a mom when...

1.) You find a mega block in your bed and don't think nothing of it
2.) You find yourself at Safeway with poo on your pants

Do any of you have anything to add from personal experience? I'd love to hear them.

Honeymoon Phase.

2011-04-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

I'm 2 weeks into my new job of stay at home mom. My friend Melissa said there is a honeymoon stage and I'm knee deep in it. That doesn't mean everything is fun and awesome. On both Fridays, Charlie had a nap strike and I was not happy about it, nor was he. But, the other four days of the week went pretty well. We had regular get togethers with Charlie's cousins, went to a local amusement park geared towards toddlers (and got a membership, woot!), went to an inflatable jump house place, had breakfast with my mom and sister, met mom and sister (and cousins) at Peet's one morning, etc. And we also had the non glamourous fun of wiping bums, noses, etc. I'm looking forward to exploring more local attractions, having walks with our friend D and visiting other local stay at home mamas.

Here are some pictures of our first couple weeks...

First day on the job called for Princess Earrings

Advice.

2011-04-13T15:32:00.000-07:00

If your husband gets a speeding ticket, don't be too mad at him because a month later, you yourself may just get one. G'bye $800!

What I'm Loving Wednesday.

2011-04-13T12:26:00.000-07:00

I am loving casual breakfasts with my mom, sister and kids. I hosted the first of hopefully many casual breakfasts this morning. I made a weight watcher frittata, Ashley brought the fruit and mom got Starbucks. Gracie was at school so we just had Emily today with Charlie. We're hoping to do this on a regular basis. Very casual and easy food are the requirements.

Nice action shot! Don't worry, no kids were hurt. :)

*forgot to put the flash on, a bit blurry folks!

That's Random.

2011-04-11T15:35:00.000-07:00

I'm allergic to sponges. Ok, not really but I do not like sponges. They sort of freak me out. I know you can zap them in the microwave and get rid of the bacteria and whatever else is growing in your sponge but I just don't like them. They are ok for cleaning the house, not cleaning dishes.

But for some reason, I'm ok with using this dish scrubbing device that was left by our home's prior owners. Three years ago. Even though it was used on other people's dishes for whom I didn't know very well, and even though its at least 3 years old and we have never cleaned it, it doesn't gross me out. Not one bit.

*side note: even though it doesn't gross me out, I would never use it to clean a "clean by hand" item. I'm ok with using this random thing and throwing items in the dishwasher. If I have to clean something by hand, I'll use my hands (literally) and maybe a sponge. Then, the sponge gets tossed in the trash.

15 Months Stats and Self Feeding Dramatizations.

2011-04-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

Charlie had a dr.'s appointment last week. Here are his stats:

Weight: 24 lbs (55th percentile)
Height: 31 inches (50th percentile)
Head Circumference: 18.5 inches (50th percentile)

Charlie feeds himself things like toast, cheerios, etc. but he doesn't use a fork or spoon. She told me to start this now.

First attempt was with mac n cheese which was a semi-new food for him. I'll let you decide how it went down...

Then we switched to his all time favorite food: yogurt.

What a stinker!

Oh and per the doc, we need to work on: losing the bottle and putting milk in the sippy cup, getting him to sleep on his own (I know, we are long over due on this one), encouraging him to talk more, self feeding (see above on how that's working out for us) and dropping 1 bottle of milk a day (going from 3 to 2). Fun!

Help Me.

2011-04-08T14:27:00.000-07:00

What would you do?

I found the entryway table of my dreams at Pier 1. Its $500. Here are my options:

Option 1: Buy table at a store 45 minutes away with 20% coupon so price is $400, haul back home.

Option 2: Buy display table at a store 10 minutes away at 50% off so price is $250. Display table has BIG crack in the middle. I'd have to put a runner on it.

I don't think there is anyway to fix the crack at all. Its pretty bad but I can cover it up easily with a runner. But I'm not sure if I like the idea of HAVING to always have a runner on it. But after all, its only $250 so if I change my mind in a few years, big deal. However, I LOVE it so maybe I should spend the extra $150 and get it as beautiful as it can be. Ugh... see the dilemma?

A Year Ago Today...

2011-04-06T08:09:00.000-07:00

I'd like to put some butter on those rolls.

What I'm Loving Wednesday.

2011-04-06T07:30:00.000-07:00

I'm loving the Archer Farms Blueberry with Almond Flax Oatmeal. Yum.

Olay Total Effects + Touch of Sun Moisturizer. I'm not tan, but I don't look ill. A little color goes a long way. I ran out of the moisturizer for a few days and used my back up/non tinted moisturizer and I just looked dull. I realized my faux tan was fading and after a few days back on Olay, I looked normal again. Yeah for normal!

Both can be found at Target.

Random Ramblings: Favorites

2011-04-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

My favorite tushie.

My favorite moody princess.

My favorite tantrum thrower.

My favorite sometimes BFFs

He Kills Me.

2011-03-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

There is not a basket in our house that hasn't had Charlie's butt in it at some point.

What I'm Loving Wednesday.

2011-03-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

I'm loving that this is my last week of work and looking forward to my new adventure as a stay at home mom.

I'm loving weight watchers, only because things are going well with the program. I hate the program when I have a bad week. Its a love/hate relationship. I'm down 10 lbs since I started (after Thanksgiving, but I also took a 2-month hiatus). Down 8 lbs since I restarted a couple months ago. I want to lose weight because 1.) I'm vain and I want to look good 2.) When I get pregnant again (not trying yet), I want my weight to be a normal weight since I'll probably gain 40 lbs again (this probably falls into the vain category) and 3.) to be healthy. I never said my priorities are in the best order but thats ok!

Unexpected $$. I was thrilled to find out some of the stock I was granted is actually worth something! I'm going to cash it out (literally) and save the cash for fun stuff like memberships to kid friendly places in our neighborhood. And to keep it real, I'll admit to save a little for myself for the occassional shopping trip, pedicure, etc.

Another Charlie Trick.

2011-03-27T09:04:00.000-07:00

Charlie has some foam letters and numbers that he plays with in the bath and he has a new trick with the number "1" foam. He folds it in half, puts it in his mouth and makes noises like mwa mwa mwa mwa over and over again. I remembered to bring the flip with us in the bath but he was being a stinker and had his back to me but I was able to get a good side view of his new trick. Video is better with sound.

I Freaking Love You.

2011-03-24T22:20:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in a prior post, Charlie has been under the weather. I stayed home with him Mon-Wed of this week (technically I have every Wednesday off) because he was just not himself. I noticed when we were out and about, he was happier. I'm thinking it was the distraction that he liked.

On Wednesday I decided to go to the mall because I thought he'd have fun exploring. He forgot he was feeling crummy when there were things to be picked up off random floors and plants to be tugged on. I didn't realize how many big potted plants the mall had until Charlie decided to touch each and every one of them. He'd run to one, hug it, then run to another one. And so on.

I went to Borders while at the mall because Charlie got a gift card for his birthday and the store is closing. There were barely any books and really, not too many deals except for the $1 wall calendars but Charlie doesn't need a calendar. I got him 3 books with his $40 gift card (not a great deal, right?). As I walked away looking at the receipt I noticed a book title that I didn't recognize. It was called "La Arana Muy Ocupada." Clearly there was a mistake.

So maybe Charlie will be speaking Spanish before he speaks English. Since they are closing shop, there were no returns to be had.

After running around the mall for a bit, I saw a photo booth and thought it would be fun to take pictures. The photo booths these days are pretty high tech. I remember when the biggest decision when taking photo booth pictures was if you wanted to have a red curtain in the background or a blue curtain. They now take credit cards (well they have to now that they charge $3!). They also have categories like Love, Friendship, etc. I stuck with Love, naturally. The first love subcategory was called "I Freaking Love You." Ummm, no thanks. I think that subcategory would be perfect for jr. high school sweethearts but not myself and my baby love. Well I couldn't figure out how to switch the subcategory and Charlie was starting to get moody so I Freaking Love You it was.

The second picture is my personal favorite. I looke half stoned and half possessed. I also love how Charlie is curling up his lip like a little mean puppy in the third picture.

I swear Charlie was actually happy and laughing at the mall but I guess he was in no mood to take pictures.

What I'm Loving Wednesday.

2011-03-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Jamie over at This Kind of Love posts what she is loving every Wednesday. I thought it would be a good way to stop and appreciate the big and little things I'm loving.

Today, I'm loving SESAME STREET.

Charlie hasn't been feeling well since Friday and Sesame Street is one of the few things that makes him a little happy, even if for a few minutes. I try not to let him watch too much tv but we're a little desperate.

I'm also loving coffee. Today is a 2-cup kind of day.

If you want to share what you are loving right now, blog and link up at http://littledaisymay.blogspot.com/

That's Random.

2011-03-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

A couple nights ago I told Rob I was going to eat dinner alone in the living room. He asked why and I answered "because I want to." I think a fellow mom can appreciate and understand the lovliness that is eating in silence, while the food is warm, and with the capability to eat with two hands if you really want to. Those 7 minutes were awesome.

Organization.

2011-03-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

I'm not the most organized person (understatement of the year) but now I have a new problem. Not only do I still have the problem of not being organized, I have a little person moving my stuff. I found my uggs on the kitchen chair yesterday. I KNOW I didn't put them there because thats just unsanitary.

*the chair is in the kitchen next to the counter because I couldn't reach the strainer on the top shelf. I'm unorganized, but not that unorganized.

Oprah.

2011-03-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

I really like Oprah's magazine. I don't read all of the articles because sometimes they are too deep for me. I often rip out pages of her magazine because there is something I want to refer back to, buy, cook, etc. I find random rip outs all over the house. I decided to share with you something I ripped out of Oprah's March issue that I thought was useful. The article was called "Who wants my _____?" and shares ways to donate, recycle, sell stuff you don't want or need anymore. My favorites:

1.) Stuffed Animals - Send them to SAFE (stuffedanimalsforemergencies.com). They donate gently used stuffed animals to homeless shelters, hospitals and emergency aid workers like paramedics who give them to kids they meet on their calls.

2.) Children's DVDs - If your kids are "over" a certain DVD, you can donate them to Kids Flicks (kidflicks.org) and they donate them to pediatric departments at children's hospitals.

3.) Freecycle (I use this a lot) - Go to freecycle.org and sign up for your community's freecycle group (its a yahoo group). You post to it stuff you don't need anymore and people respond and let you know they would like it. I just leave stuff outside my doorstep and they pick it up, you don't really have to coordinate a time or anything and don't have to interact with the people picking them up. I once picked up a bunch of mason jars and used them for a shower I was co-hosting. The guy DID want to chat and insisted to tell me about his divorce that he is in the middle of and about the floorplan of his new apartment. So...yeah..moving on...

4.) Musical Instruments - Donate your instruments to mustcreate.org (a SF Bay Area based program) and they will donate the instruments to needy schools.

Sick Charlie.

2011-03-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

This is our happy, normal Charlie.

And this is our 102 degree temperature Charlie.

Unfortunately, we have the latter Charlie today. :(

Yes, those are Christmas jammies. They still fit, so he still wears them. Deal with it. :)

Workout Tip.

2011-03-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

I'm back on weight watchers and its going pretty well (until I had two scoops of Baskin Robbins on Friday night - 17 points. Yeah.).

I was on their website to look for workout tips and found this gem:

Brush and squeeze

Use the time that you're brushing your teeth to squeeze your butt muscles. Hold for one count and repeat. Do this trick in the morning and at night.

I Win Stuff.

2011-03-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

Ever enter one of those online blog giveaways? I do, and I've been pretty lucky a it! I don't enter them all the time but I follow a few blogs that have giveaways regularly. Here is what I've won, in order:

1.) Baby Beanie - I wasn't even pregnant at the time so I didn't know if I should get a girl beanie or boy beanie. Of course the girl ones were cuter so I got a girl one. Its chocolate brown with a pink flower on it, its very cute. Charlie's younger sister is going to love it.

2.) Earrings

3.) Shirt

4.) Ring with matching bracelet

and a few days ago..

5.) a bowtie for my little man

Because I am "putting it out there" I'll probably never win another blog giveaway.

What I'm Loving Right Now.

2011-03-10T12:52:00.000-08:00

Moroccan Oil. {bows down}

I've heard of this but didn't really jump on it because I'm not big on hair stuff because I feel like whatever product I put in my hair, it looks the same. I got my hair cut and highlighted a couple weeks ago and asked my stylist if I only put 1 thing in my hair, what should it be? And she told me moroccan oil. So I purchased a bottle and I am in love. Its a bit spendy ($40) but it lasts a long time (according to the stylist). It really leaves my hair feeling silky like when you leave the salon but your hair doesn't feel oily or heavy. I use an amount equal to the size of a nickel and work it through my unbrushed hair from the middle of my hair down to the ends. Then I work the remainder from the top of my head and down. Then I brush my hair. This was her suggestion and it seems to be working. I have never recommended a hair product before so that should say how much I'm lovin' this stuff! You can get it online and in some salons.

Big Grown Up Stuff Going On.

2011-03-09T19:47:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of "stuff" going on the past few months. Rob created a LinkedIn profile (with my suggestion) and recruiters kept contacting him. He scored some interviews and received two offers and accepted the one that he thought was best for his career and our family. This has been going on since the beginning of December. He literally interviewed at two differnet companies for a good 2 months. It was a loooong process and there many hoops to jump through, its been exhausting.

Since about the time this all started, December, I really thought about putting a halt to the career I have and stay home to be with Charlie. When I was little, I thought "I would never want to be a stay at home mom, I want to get my degree, get a good job, work in a fancy office building and be successful!" Working in a fancy building at a young age was a pretty big priority. I literally remember driving in our family van on vacations and seeing big beautiful office buildings off the freeway that seemed to have mirrors all around them. They were so beautiful and so blinding when the sun shot onto them. I thought "how glamorous it would be to work there!" Years down the road, I went to college, graduated and started my career. About 3 years into I thought "I would LOVE to be a stay home mom, what the life! I'd go shopping, have lunch with girlfriends, watch Oprah and live the dream." Sound familiar? Well, I became a mom and towards the end of my 6 month maternity leave I thought "Crap, this mom stuff is HARD! I want to go back to work!" So I guess you can say when things get hard, I look for what I think is the easier option. Months went by at work and leaving Charlie every morning got harder and harder. Rob and I started having more discussions about the feasibility of me not working and both finally agreed we wanted me to be home with Charlie if we could afford it. I always told myself if we could do it (financially) I would try staying at home with Charlie.

Rob fortunately received a job offer that would allow me to stay home with Charlie and I gave notice last Friday. My last day at work will be April 1st (not an April's Fools Joke!). I realized the stay at home moms weren't the lucky ones and the working moms weren't the lucky moms. The lucky ones are the ones who have the choice. I feel very lucky to have had that choice.

For all I know, staying at home may not be for me but I'm happy to know I have the option of going back to work (somewhere) if thats what I decide is best for us.

This is the fancy "mirrored" building that I've been calling my home away from home for the past 7 years:

An Enlightening Discussion.

2011-03-06T14:21:00.001-08:00

Rob: Charlie's hair grows out to the side in the back.
Alyssa: I think the person who cut his hair missed that spot.
Rob: No, thats how my hair grew when I was little so unfortunately he got that gene from me.
Alyssa: What does that me?
Rob: He can never grow a mullet.

Second Fiddle.

2011-02-27T09:06:00.000-08:00

People told me that Buddy would not get as much attention after we had a baby. I thought most people would not give their dogs the same attention after they had a baby, but not me. I wouldn't do that because Buddy is my baby and I love him more than a lot of people I know. That's horrible isn't it? This doesn't include family and close friends, I just want to be clear on that!

Fast forward a year or so....we would be lying if we said Buddy got close to the same attention that he used to get. Sure, we do walk him almost every day (we'll skip if its raining or we're REALLY tired but most days, he's walked) and we play with him everyday even if for a few minutes. I think Rob and I both try to give him as much attention as he was used to but its so hard when you're focus has changed to that of a human that needs you for everything.

So this is what its come to...now Buddy will tolerate any type of attention he receives from us.

Someone Got a Haircut!

2011-02-18T22:28:00.000-08:00

That's Random.

2011-02-16T12:56:00.000-08:00

I'm a fan of water.

Not drinking it, unfortunately, but soaking in it, like I did the other night.

I've always loved taking baths. I remember almost every night, I'd tell my parents that I was going to take a bath and off I went. I'd load up the tub with my barbies and ken doll. I'd fill the tub up with the water as hot as I can handle. Then when the water would go cold and I would turn pruney, I drained some water, and added more water to make it warmer.

And in the summer, I'd go to the community pool by my lonesome and swim for hours. I'm proud of myself for doing that - I think I had more guts to do solo stuff like that when I was younger. I'd swim so much I'd build up a mean appetite and then I'd call my mom and she'd drop off Chicken Littles for me. I thought it was awesome. Rob tells me its not awesome, but kind of strange.

Goood Mornin'!

2011-02-12T07:35:00.000-08:00

Confession.

2011-02-11T08:26:00.000-08:00

I received a few comments to my last blog saying stuff like "oh no, my house is much worse." I felt like I was lying to y'all because I conveniently left out a couple pictures that I was too embarassed to post. I don't know if I'm posting out of guilt (partially) or because I can be a bit competitive ("no, I have the messiest house!"). Whatever the reason, I thought I'd come clean.

This room doesn't look like this all the time. Most times, the stuff isn't on the bed but dumped in the corner of the room. I promise I am not a hoarder and there is not a small puppy trapped underneath my stuff or mushrooms growing in the carpet. It does get straightened up sometimes and then it gets all crazy again.

I have another room upstairs that we call "_____'s room". That's the name of our future daughter (nope, not pregnant yet). That room you can't even walk in. Its stuff we never unpacked when we moved 2.5 years ago plus all the baby stuff Charlie has outgrown. Maybe I'll share that room with you someday but I'm not ready yet.

Please Tell Me Your House Looks Like This.

2011-02-10T13:20:00.000-08:00

We hired a new nanny a few weeks ago. The night before her first day, I frantically tried to clean up as much as possible. I didn't want to be judged, I don't like having a messy house (contrary to what my husband thinks). As I went from room to room I ~~thought~~ hoped I wasn't the only one whose house looked like this ~~all the time~~ sometimes.

Random Christmas dog toy on living room coffee table.

Tables leaning up against couch, tables are from Christmas dinner. Yes, Christmas.

Oh look, another random Christmas dog toy (I swear I took these pics a couple weeks ago and not in December) and baby wipes on the formal dining room table.

Towell holder, with no towell.

Bag of poopy diapers. Just chillin'.

Stuff on the laundry room floor, just cuz.

Moving right along...

Toy explosion.

Overflowing sink.

Un unpacked bags from a weekend getaway that happened a week ago.

So I cleaned it up and now, a few weeks later, we have new random piles of crap laying around the house. I do not know how to stay on top of it. The few times I have to relax, I do just that and leave the heaps hanging out around the house. I walk by them and glare at them. They annoy me. But its my fault. So I guess I annoy myself. I'm not sure where this post is going. I should probably go clean.

That's Random.

2011-02-08T08:09:00.000-08:00

Rob's mom got Charlie a "Rody" for Christmas. Its basically a blown up plastic horse type animal that kids can rock on. It's made in Italy. That's all I know about this toy. We haven't blown it up yet because I think Charlie would just fall off of it since he is in a climbing phase.

Anywho, I am looking forward to having him play with this but the kids on the box are kind of creeping me out.

Example #1 - Why is she frowning? Shouldn't she be smiling because of all the fun she is having with her Rody? You're not selling the Rody to me, Creepy Girl #1. As a mom, I feel kind of bad calling a girl creepy. But c'mon..smile or something!

Example #2 - This kid looks like he's about to get a whippin'. It makes me feel like using the Rody is bad. Very bad.

Example #3 - Ok, really? You are now resorting to going the sexual route? Yes, you are smiling now but that just looks wrong.

I promise to share pictures of Charlie riding his Rody when the time comes. I also promise he will be smiling and not looking sassy.

Superbowl.

2011-02-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

Facebook told me that the Packers won the superbowl. I didn't watch any of the game but we did go over to our friend's house to watch the game. For me, that meant watch Charlie and make sure he did not get into any trouble.

Here is Charlie last year on his First Superbowl day:

And today, here is Charlie kicking a ball around.

He met a friend, Wrigley. He liked Wrigley until he popped his ball. After the ball popped, Charlie wailed for awhile. We bought the ball only 45 mins prior to the popping incident but it seems he grew attached to it. I'll have to pick him up another ball at babies R us one of these days.

Remember Me?

2011-02-05T21:20:00.000-08:00

I hate when I don't blog in awhile. I think its harder to blog when you lose your momentum. Things have been super crazy at work and by the time Charlie is down for bed, I have only the amount of energy to watch a few minutes of Teen Mom 2 or Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Reunion (part 1 and 2). A girl's gotta prioritize.

I'll be back, and hopefully soon.

Happy Birthday, Mimi!

2011-01-23T21:33:00.000-08:00

My mom's birthday was last week and we had ice cream cake at my house after work.

Then this past weekend, we went to the beach with my sister's family and my mom and dad met us down there on Saturday for lunch, some hanging out, and dinner to continue on the birthday celebration. We were blessed with awesome weather - very high 60's in January. Most pictures below are from my mom - thanks for letting me steal them, mom!

Quality of pictures below are not excellent but they cracked me up. This is the look Charlie gives me when he acts like a "drama queen" and needs me to hold him. I <3 him!

Hospital Underwear.

2011-01-22T11:30:00.000-08:00

I heard about the hospital "mesh underwear" on a mommy board. It seemed women either hated them or loved them.

As you can see, I loved them so much that I brought six pairs home with me and wore them for weeks. They are like boy shorts but they're not cute and the waist band goes about 1 inch below your boobs. I think I liked them because they were comfy and didn't rub against my c-section scar like normal undies would.

So all you moms out there, were you a lover or a hater?

Sippy Cup Success

2011-01-21T17:11:00.000-08:00

I've tried to have Charlie drink from a sippy up and he is FINALLY doing it. What did it take? A $15 sippy cup, that's all. (eye roll) This kid is going to be expensive something tells me. We got it at Buy Buy Baby and since he actually drinks from it, we went back and got two more using a coupon from Babies R Us (buy a sippy cup get one half off, score!).

Presenting the Thermos Foogo Sippy Cup (lippy part is very soft and squishy)

Sippy in action

So Behind!

2011-01-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

I feel like I haven't blogged in awhile and feel very behind on things. I know I'm probably the only one who cares but it still bugs me. I like to document whats going on so our family (and Charlie some day) can look back at the memories we created or just look at some random post that has absolutely no deep relevance to anything but mama blogged about it anyway!

I'll kick off the posting extravaganza with a couple pictures from the beach house about 3 weeks ago. We were supposed to come down for the weekend Rob's sister Kathy and Michael and Charlie's cousin Carla but that was around the time Charlie was going through the allergic reaction aftermath. So instead of coming for the weekend, we took a day trip for lunch and for a play date. I realized when I got home that I barely took any pictures (I hate when I do that - or don't do that, you know what I mean?!). So....here are a couple that I did capture of the cousins...

I'll kick off the posting extravaganza with a couple pictures from the beach house about 3 weeks ago. We were supposed to come down for the weekend Rob's sister Kathy and Michael and Charlie's cousin Carla but that was around the time Charlie was going through the allergic reaction aftermath. So instead of coming for the weekend, we took a day trip for lunch and for a play date. I realized when I got home that I barely took any pictures (I hate when I do that - or don't do that, you know what I mean?!). So....here are a couple that I did capture of the cousins...

Peekaboo! Charlie's New Game.

2011-01-16T15:28:00.000-08:00

Charlie's new thing is hiding behind the curtains. He does this over and over again so I posted the shortest video of him doing this because its pretty much the same thing over and over again. :)

I Don't Like Change.

2011-01-13T18:53:00.000-08:00

I've heard on multiple radio stations this morning and read on facebook about how the horoscope signs are a changing. Its due to stuff moving in the sky or something. If you want to get technical, read this.

In a nutshell, I am a Taurus now and I don't even know what it means. I'm too annoyed to read about what it means to be a Taurus. Don't get me wrong, I'm not all into astrology but when you go from happy to moody in 3.2 seconds, its awesome to have something to blame it on that is COMPLETELY outside my control. See, I used to be a Gemini and all you need to know is they have multiple personalities and something can set them off like you wouldn't believe. They also like to shop A LOT. And eat yummy food. They can't help it you see, because thats how they were born. It's really sad actually.

So...I'm not sure how to ~~blame my behavior~~ act now that I'm a Taurus.

Help me.

Did your sign change? Do you care? What has the world come to?!?!

I'm Back on the Market.

2011-01-13T09:05:00.000-08:00

I joined my local "Las Madres" mom group to meet other moms with kids that were born in 2009. I joined a few months ago and only went to 1 very brief playdate and the Holiday Party at the Little Gym. I didn't really meet anyone at either event because Charlie was running around and I was chasing him to make sure he didn't get into any trouble or be too agressive with kissies to the other kids.

Last night my sister and I (who also has a kid who was born in 2009 and is part of the same mama's group) went to our first MNO, also known as "Mom's Night Out". We met at a mexican restaurant a couple towns over for dinner/drinks. I was looking forward to meeting some other moms sans kids since the kids make it a bit harder to actually have an interrupted conversation. I'm a bit of an introvert until I'm "comfortable" so I wasn't sure how the event was going to go. Ashley and I had a good time and it was nice to meet the other moms. There were only 9 of us so it was easier to have conversations than when there is a big group of people. Funny enough, one of the ladies used to work with my good friend, Jen.

I realized when I was there that meeting other mamas is very similar to dating. I hoped they liked me, thought I was smart/funny and had a decent fashion sense. I hope they also didn't notice the roll hanging over the top of my jeans. I wore a new necklace and new top and blew dry my hair. I thought "do we have anything in common?" and "I think we'd have a good time together." I didn't go to the MNO to find my new BFF (or life partner, ha!) but I was hoping to meet some ladies that not only had kids similar to Charlie's age but someone whose company I'd enjoy.

I think I'd like to go out and see them again. Hope they liked me. :)

Home is Where the Nerds Are.

2011-01-11T19:34:00.000-08:00

I was driving home from work and ~~peed my pants~~ almost peed my pants. No, I'm not pregnant, I just had some tea before leaving on my 1 hour and 15 minute drive home and forgot to go to el bano beforehand. It rained about a millimeter so traffic was really bad. Horrible. As we were stopping and going, I tried to find a place to go potty off the freeway. I ended up stopping at a Mickey D's but as I was trying to find a place on my GPS, I found this.

I've never been to Nerdy Avenue but I think they'd like me there.

I'm Blaming Pottery Barn Kids.

2011-01-05T08:06:00.000-08:00

In 2009, Charlie was ranked 274 in popularity on the Social Security Name Database. Babycenter.com is reporting Charlie is in the 64th spot for 2010. Sometime after Charlie was born, Pottery Barn Kids started having the name Charlie in their catalog. I just knew after that it would become more popular after that. They tend to have popular names broadcasted in their catalog. I didn't think Charlie was a popular name but I think its on the rise!

Another bummer (to me) is a few months ago they started using our second choice for a boy name in their catalog. I do not know anyone with the name but I'm thinking things are going to start to change! We probably do not need to think about baby names for awhile but that won't stop me from thinking about it anyway. I've had a "list" of names since high school. Its changed (a lot) over the years.

12 Month Dr.'s Appointment

2011-01-03T21:08:00.000-08:00

We've been to the dr.'s too much lately bur thats ok. Today was Charlie's 12 month checkup. We finally got to see our regular pediatrician. She's hoping his skin will clear up in a week or so. With each day that passes, Charlie's skin is looking better and his personality is shining through. He's almost back to himself again.

Here are his stats:

Weight: 22 lbs 10 oz (50th percentile)
Height: 29.5 inches (55-60th percentile)
Head Circumference: 18.25 inches (50th percentile)

Charlie's dr. is pretty sure he's going to be one of "those kids" with lots of allergies. She gave us a prescription for an epi pen to keep in the diaper bag in case he is exposed to peanuts. She told us to not give him any kind of nut. We're going to re-test his allergies when he is two. She said most kids who develop a peanut allergy early on in life, typically don't outgrow it. Bummer.

We received the green light to drop the formula and bring in the whole milk. She also wants us to start weaning him from the bottle. Sure, like thats gonna happen! Well, I guess we'll need to work on that but its not going to be fun. Maybe we can introduce a pacifier while we get rid of the bottle? Yeah, probably not a good idea at this point.

I realized the other day that the day he was supposed to have his birthday party was a year to the day that we took him home from the hospital. Freaky, eh?

Love.