because you care

here are a list of things i/we accomplished this past week/end:

- rented out our condo. this is big. paying 2 mortgages + paying for childcare is so very painful.
- got our taxes done. when our tax guy gave us our return amount we literally couldn't speak. & then we started grinning like fools. we made out like bandits. apparently paying said 2 mortgages & working 60 & 45 hours per week pays off.
- went to Wahlburgers. yeah that's right- the burger joint created by the Wahlberg brothers. we met up with friends & i was introduced to sweet potato tater tots & i am now trying to figure out how to justify driving an hour for more. it was way better than i expected. however Mark was not in attendance. pity.
- tried my hand at some Canon gear. i know, terrible right? i'm a Nikon lover- i've made it no secret. but said friends (ment'd above) shoot Canon & they have enough gear to make any Canon fan green with envy. so i tried it out...& it was so weird. awkward. all of those things i was expecting. i had a hard time wrapping my head (& hands) around how things worked. so i'm pretty sure i'll be sticking with Nikon forever. and ever.
- used the Shark Steam Mop for the 1st time. dear Lord- it's rather life changing. my floors...they sparkle with clean. & the only thing my floors usually sparkle with is glitter- so this is a big deal. i had so much fun steaming that i did the floors twice. 2 times. as in, i did work more than once. what is wrong with me?
- we bought a new couch. finally. after 7+ years. ours has come in contact with enough vomit, poop, pee, spills, crumbs...everything you can think of, that it's just not ok. plus, it's a huge sectional & we live in a tiny house with 2 toddlers. see? very needed. fare thee well old couch, you've served us well.
- i made enough cookie dough to feed a small army. it's true. 2 double batches of both chocolate chip & lofthouse style sugar cookies. all of the dough is currently sitting in my fridge because apparently it needs to "age" or what not. but tonight it's on. because some poor woman in another state is waiting, with baited breath no doubt, on cookies that i promised to send her via a cookie exchange. i still haven't got the cookies i was promised either, but i'm going to assume my sender procrastinated much like myself.
- i took lots of pictures. no i didn't. in fact, i haven't picked up my camera for personal use in forever. i feel uninspired & tired & guilty & blah. i think it's a combination of this wedding i'm editing & the crappy weather. perhaps if this was the only thing i had to do...but alas.
- realized i desperately need to update this blog header. but didn't. but i will. eventually.

i'm sure there's more- but things are already fuzzy because, hello- it's monday.
but i aim to get back to my almost daily posting with some pictures soon. because i like that better & you probably do too.

mia

i realize i've been MIA. i'm hoping a bunch of small recaps & instagram pictures will make up for that.

recaps:
- i'm busy. duh.
- the 49ers lost. last night was a sad night in the bird house.
- i finally updated my food blog.
- my youngest child knows stuff. like where her nose is, where her eyes are & where her belly is. she also knows that owls say, "whoo whoo" & cats say, "meeeow". she plays peek-a-book & knows how to brush her teeth & hair. this blows my mind because i'm still in denial about her growing up.
- my eldest child is now sleeping in her big girl bed (i know, i know. pictures of her room. they're actually on my computer now- getting close!) & like to fight her afternoon nap. i'm not entirely sure that i'm ready for either of those things.
- i did the 30 Day Shred for 30 days (hooray). & then i stopped (booo). well, after 3 weeks i feel incredibly guilty- so tonight it's back on the horse, a horse named Jillian.
- what do i tell the husband i want for my upcoming birthday? besides things that are way to $$$ (hello, new lens) i have no ideas.
- i ordered a Shark Steam Mop (courtesy of a $50 JCP coupon thanks to a screw up on their end) & i'm beyond excited for it to get here. like, i'm giddy. wtf gets giddy for a steam mop?!

and now, here's a hefy dose of Instagram:







and because it deserves to be bigger- homemade CrunchWrap Supremes. right? kick ass.



& now i have to go buy milk, fruit & cheese. toddler staples.

well that was fun

see these 2 adorable little girls enjoying dinner in their teepee: (photo via instagram)



well, on friday evening i managed to lock both of them in the car. with my keys. & my phone. in a mini blizzard.

i am currently running for Mother of the Year- feel free to vote for me.

but seriously. last week was epic. my check engine light went off for the 3rd time in 3 weeks. then my heat stopped working. then winter showed up & i froze to death. then i dropped my jeep off & was informed that a mouse had made a home in my motor blower- which apparently wasn't a wise choice for him because now said mouse was dead & his guts were everywhere & he'd left a pretty shitty mess in his wake.

lolz- silly mouse.

so, jeep dropped off, loaner picked up, running around like a crazy person responsible adult, stuff & things, blah blah blah. that was mon- thurs.

this is how friday went.

- drive to work in a loaner car
- drop the girls off @ my mil's
- work
- do lots of other annoying adult stuff (ie: drive around, make phone calls, spend money...)
- get a call from the dealership, "come get your jeep. oh yeah, that'll be $880. burn."
- nature decides that snow is happening right now
- go get jeep. hand over my credit card. cry internal ugly tears.
- back to work
- leave work early to go get the girls
- come back to work to show off the girls (by request)
- say goodbye & heard the girls down the elevator & out to the car
- brynn grabs my keys. hits the lock button. i hear it- but it doesn't register 100%.
- i take key. toss them in the front seat.
- i buckle brynn & alex in. i turn on their DVD. i give them fruit snacks.
- i shut alex's door. i reach for mine....

holy shit. i just locked my kids in the car. along with my phone. do not panic. remain calm.

& i did. i walked around the car & whispered prayers that there was some way i could get in...no dice.

so i ran back into my building, back up to my office & called the husband's cell. he answered- i told him that's the girls were locked in the car....& it was brynn's fault. he questioned how i was blaming this on a 1 year old child- then he said he was on his way.

well he only works about 15 min from me. so i figured i'd be on my way home within 20 min. not too shabby.

i went back downstairs & peeked in on the girls who were happily watching Veggie Tales & eating fruit snacks. they waved at me & were obviously unaware of the predicament. good.

& then it started to blizzard. like, right then. snow, wind, howling. w.t.f?!

so there i was, standing outside in a blizzard, staring at my locked car.
well this is a riot. totally what i'd planned for my friday afternoon.

thankfully the door to my building was within 50 feet of my car- so i ran to it & stood inside. i could see my car & sort of stay warm. i felt a little guilty though- so i ran back out & looked in the car. both girls looked at me.

i waved & gave a thumbs up- like it's totally normal that they're inside the car & mommy is standing outside in the snow. duh.

then i ran back inside. back & forth. & as people left the building i desperately tried to look cool while i stood at the door looking like a 15 year old waiting for her ride. a 15 year old with no fashion sense & no cell phone. i'm thinking they weren't convinced.

then it got dark. like within 2 minutes. light. dark. shit. i should stand outside...

so i did. in non blizzard attire (hello, boat shoes, thin jeans & a fleece jacket) & 45 min later the husband showed up. apparently driving fast in a blizzard is frowned upon my mother nature- so he had to "take it slow..."

by this time my boss had come down & listened to my plight. he asked me if i wanted him to wait with me- i told him no. go home. i'm good. & i thought he had. but it turns out he's a really nice guy who waited in his car & watched to make sure i wasn't mauled by a Yeti (i know this because as i was pulling out & sitting @ the light he pulled up next to me. i gave a mortified wave & gunned it) many thanks to the boss man.

aaanyway. the husband showed up. unlocked my door. i climbed in to my surprisingly warm car & greeted 1 happy toddler & 1 starting to get pissed off toddler (brynn). drove home. unloaded. gave baths. ate dinner & called it a day.

are you jealous? because, hello! adventure!

so. new rule: brynn isn't allowed to touch my keys until she's 16. i told her this after we got home & she just looked at me. i don't think she gets it.

i'm still blaming this on her. at least 95% of it.

as for the squatter mouse who cost me $880, eff you mouse. although i feel bad that you got vaporized.

Mary Kay Winner

I think this is only the 2nd time this has happened:

i think we can all agree that #1 almost NEVER gets picked. it's like us eager beavers are being punished for wanting free stuff...but this time it paid off for MrsBro:

Congrats MrsBro! Please go here: Contact Melanie & click on the "Send Me a Message" link on the left hand side. Enter your contact info & Melanie will get right back to you!

to everyone else- thanks for commenting as always! if you do want to order something from MK, make sure you follow the links in the original post & enter "lookatthebirds" in the comment section when you check out- 25%!

Brynn's 1st Birthday Party

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Mary Kay giveaway

When Melanie first contacted me in regards to a Mary Kay review/giveaway my initial thought was, " Mary Kay? that's what moms use."

::blink blink::

i know, right?

so then i thought, "well i already have a skin care regiment..." which had me surveying my somewhat cluttered side of the bathroom sink & realizing that i totally don't. i basically use whatever. sale? sweet- i'll take it. i have a few things that i stick with, but then again, not really.

so what did i have to lose? nada.

i got a nice little package in the mail & i quickly de-cluttered my side of the sink. i'll be honest, i'm only about 1 week in so i can't say a whole lot. but i can't say anything bad either. skin can be a funny thing & i think changing up your regiment can sometimes throw things out of whack- but so far so good.
i don't have uber sensitive skin- but it's sensitive enough that i have to keep thing spretty simple. wash. rinse. moisterize. done.
Melanie asked me what type of skin i have & then customized my order based on that info.
...that actually makes me feel a lot more grown up than going to target & buying whatever they have on clearance. but i'm easy to please.

& now it's your turn.

1. Melanie is offering a FREE Miracle Set ($90) to 1 winner:



after you win you'll be able to contact Melanie & she'll determine the best set for your skin type. done!

TO ENTER: all you have to do is a leave a comment talling me 1 thing from the MK website that you think you'd use- or something that you have used in the past that you love.

me? i love the Mint Bliss Energizing Lotion. i saw it sitting on the counter at a friends house this summer & used it on my entire body once (not aware of what it actually was) & i was like, "whoa".

2. & for everyone else- you'll get 25% off any MK orders through Melanie simply by mentioning my blog in your comments: go HERE to order & when placing your order enter "lookatthebirds" in the comment box & that's it.

i know a lot of you may have your skin care down to a science & that's awesome, but if any of you are still trying to figure out the best match then this might be a winner.

this giveaway is open until Thurs 01.12 @ 11:59pm PST. i'll use random.org to select a winner on Friday morning.
good luck!

i'm still alive- just in case you were wondering. & tons of pictures. tons.

so do you guys remember when i was all: "hooray! back to real life! giveaways & happy things coming your way!"

but then i was all: "...i'm also sick. but it's cool, i can do stuff when i'm sick. i'm amazing!"

but then i was really like: "omg. i'm so sick. i'm going to die. this has to be more than the flu- maybe a new strain..."

you guys- it was terrible. more terrible than a regular flu. so of course i googled...& came up with Meningitis. which fit all my symptoms (cause i'm a Dr & all) & didn't sound too terrible...until i got to this part: "...however, bacterial meningitis infections are extremely serious, and may result in death or brain damage, even if treated."

have i mentioned i'm a wicked hypochondriac? yeah. hardcore. so i had a rough few days where i brought up the fact that we still don't have a will, to the husband, like 20 times.

he told me that i wasn't dying & to shut it so he could watch Sports Center.

for once- he was right. i'm still alive & it was just the flu (although i'm still pretty sure it was like the mega flu or something) ...but we still need to make a will. that one is staying on the "To Do" list.

anyway- so i didn't get around to much this week, besides going to work (yeah, i'm that annoying co-worker), trying to swallow (my throat people- it's on fire) & sweating in my sleep. oh yeah, i also have 2 kids that still needed baths, food & books read to them 1500 times.

but i did manage (last night) to finally upload the rest of my pictures from 2011. i think. at least the important ones.

so today (even though i'm still a bit woozy & swallowing even ice cream feels like razor blades) i'm just going to throw a bunch of pictures your way & call it a week.
but i do promise to get the Mary Kay Giveaway up & running on Monday (it's like $90 worth of stuff people- it's awesome) pretty promise.

ok- so here we go:

remember when we went to the fair? back in oct? yeah.



& then i took this picture of brynn...also in oct.



& then the girls were being adorable outside in their jammies..in oct.







& then brynn turned 1 & i took some pictures of her..









& then alex joined us..







awww- right?

& then brynn had a 1st birthday party (but i'm going to save those for their own post. not because they're amazing pictures (because they're totally not) but because it's only fair.)

so moving on- Christmas! i actually don't think i got any pictures of the girls opening present..i feel like that makes me a semi-horrible parents. but i did get a video...which i don't have. so later.
but i did make them put on dresses & go to church- & that was documented:



see how they're both still & looking around like- "wtf?!" - pretty sure it's because i yelled, "STOP! HAMMER TIME!"

then with dad...





& with mom...




perfect? no way. it was freezing & my children don't listen to me. but that is the 3 of us in the same frame. done.

& remember the "big" Christmas gift i mentioned?



a tee pee. boom.

& an Instagram shot of it:



& in case you were wondering- yes, the lights are still up on it. i think i'll leave them- i like it!
& you know what? i think that's it. for now.
i'm sorry for the overload- but what choice did i have? i had to give you something!

ok- have a fabulous weekend everyone.