Party Time!

Okay, more like vacation time, but vacation is kind of like a party, right?

Anyway, my friends, I am officially on vacation.

I have one or two things scheduled for the upcoming week, but it will probably be pretty quiet around here.

Unless I get the urge to bust open my laptop when I should be sleeping.

LIKE I’M DOING NOW.

Never fear, I’ll be back with a vengeance soon enough.

You know you’re addicted to social media when: thinking about taking a vacation from your laptop makes you twitchy…

I’m sure I’ll survive.

Catch ya on the flip side…!

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Benjamin Eats – Bananas

After the introduction of yams, I thought perhaps I’d jumped the gun, and maybe I should have started with a sweeter food.  Something that all babies love.  So, the obvious choice for Ben’s second food was bananas!

We hopped on out to pick up organic bananas (yes, I know, you don’t *really* need to buy organic bananas… but they were pennies more than regular bananas, so why not), waited a few days to make sure Ben wasn’t allergic to yams, and got ready to banana it up.

Surely, this would be a bigger success.

Benjamin would go crazy with love for bananas.

Babies love fruit, right?  Especially bananas.

Everyone knows that.  Except Ben…

Reaction?  Worse than yams.

His resistance to bananas was far more fierce than yams.  At least with the yams, I could kind of trick him into taking a bite, but bananas?  Mouth closed, head turned.  Any time I managed to sneak a bite into his mouth, you would think I squirted lemon juice in there.

BUT…!!! After several meals of bananas, he started to get used to them, and just like with the yams, started to lean into the spoon for more!

Banana Puree

As simple as simple gets.

Ingredients: As many bananas as your little heart desires.  Water, if needed.

Break/cut into 1-inch pieces, toss into a Baby Bullet/food processor, and go to town.  Make it as thin or chunky (ugh, that word again)… textured… as you like.  Add water if you’d like a thinner puree.

*Note* The banana puree WILL turn brown in your fridge/freezer, but it is still okay to eat.  Looks gross, tastes the same.

We used only bananas in the puree – no water (as mentioned previously, we’re going with thicker purees to start since Ben is older).  I also tried giving him a piece in a mesh feeder, which ended up more of a toy than food, as well as tiny pieces of cut up banana.  He liked the puree the best.

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My Dirty Little Secret… Girl Behind The Blog Vlog #2

HOORAY, it’s FINALLY time for another Girl Behind the Blog Vlog.  Seriously peeps, I feel like it’s been forever since my first one, and I’ve been SO flippin’ excited for the next chance to do one!

So,  I’m linking up with Ashley and Nicole for GBTBV!  (Say it like Napoleon Dynamite –>) Yessss! 

If you’re visiting for the linkup, WELCOME!  Hope you enjoy yourselves.

And now, on to business:

I brushed off my completely learned some video editing skills today, so forgive me if the effects aren’t completely how they should be.

If you watch the video, you’ll get a glimpse into my dirty little secret – something you probably wouldn’t know about me just by reading my blog.  SHOCKING.  And it’s not the strange Midwest accent that comes out of me in these videos. I swear I’m from New England, NOT Fargo.

I actually can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched this, laughing my butt off at my crazy ass self.  Hope you find it similarly funny, and if not, you can at least laugh at that nasssty screen shot.  Or Benjamin’s little cameo in the bottom right corner.

Make sure you watch ‘til the end, tee hee.

Anyway, ENJOY!

WORST CAPTURE EVER. I hate you, YouTube. Seriously.

Ciao!

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Back In Time – Anniversary Picture Post

Please indulge me today with this post a little devoid of my usual snark.  I added a lot of pictures to keep you interested.  You’re welcome
Three years ago today, I was lucky enough to marry this great guy:

All photos above courtesy Agnieszka Wormus, A Brilliant Photo.
We have gone through a lot together, living the in sickness & health, good times and bad, richer & poorer, the whole bit!  I’d say that after having been together for almost 10 years, that happens!  Yup – almost 10 years – we met when I was <eek> newly 20, and Derek was about to turn 21.  What kids, huh?  Now, we’re old fogies.
Look at us in our younger days, freshly in love…  Say it with me now… AWWWW…

And now we’re a family of three… best. thing. ever.

So, to the man who tolerates me making him t-shirts that say, “Cutie” (and actually wears them to humor me), helps me put self-tanner on my back, listens to me yammer on about what’s going on in blogland, puts up with me wanting to document EVERYTHING with photos, hears me out when I try to explain the deep meaning behind the lyrics to MMMBop and does a meeeellion other things for me – thank you, I love you, you’re the best!

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Benjamin Eats – Yams & Preparation

I’m on a series kick lately, starting the cloth diapering 101 series, and Benjamin Eats today.  But when we started giving him real food and I was snapping away on my camera, capturing his crazy faces, I knew I had blogging gold… Yes, this is what my life has come to.

The Plan: track the completely horrified faces Ben makes when trying new foods, and chat baby-food-making (recipe & info on starting food with an older baby, below!).  Fun, right?

Thinking Behind The Plan: I’ve had a hard time finding good information on starting solids with an older baby.  Most sources start at around 4 months with watery purees, but Ben is 7 months old, and I knew he could handle more than that from the start.  Side note: what’s with the inconsistency in doctors recommending when to start solids?   They recommend solids to help smaller babies gain weight, and they recommend solids to bigger babies because they can handle it.  What the heck? 

Anyway, we ignored our pediatrician’s incessant pushing of cereals starting at around 5 months and waited, because you know what?  I trust my intuition, I wanted to wait, and felt it was best for Ben.

And now… BENJAMIN EATS!

As you know, I painstakingly planned The Big Food Day for awhile.  Um, the past few months, to be exact.  I was all too excited (and a little a lot sad) when I woke up on the morning of The Big Food Day, but sad knowing that my baby would become just one more step closer to being a big boy.  Ahh, this growing up.  Be still, my heart.

I may or may not have cried this day. Legit. 2Legit2Quit.

Anyway, after consulting the allergic kids food introduction schedule, I decided sweet potatoes would be the best first food.  Except that I couldn’t find organic sweet potatoes anywhere, and believe you me, nothing but organic goodness will be touching my angel’s mouth for his first foods!  (Ha – I wonder how long that will last…?!)  So, organic yams it was.  Close enough, right?

Ben & I got up and headed downstairs to bake up some yams.  I excitedly waited for them to be done, let them cool a bit, threw them in the Baby Bullet, and then it was time.  I called Derek up from the basement for this most momentous occasion.  Ben is such a big baby and loves nursing so much, that I KNEW this would be a sure hit.  He was going to LOVE food.

Except… he didn’t.

Loves food? NOPE.  Not so much.  He looked like this almost the entire time.

BUT…!!!  After a few meals, he actually did start to enjoy the yams, leaning into the spoon for more.  Success!

Making Solid Foods for an Older Baby:

Now, because Benjamin is 7 months old when we’re starting solids (And why we call this solids, I’ll never know. Baby’s first foods resemble a solid like, 0%. Didn’t anyone go to science class?), I didn’t feel like it was necessary to make a super thin, watery puree like you would feed to a much younger baby.  The yam puree was thick enough that if you held a spoon full of yams upside-down, the yams wouldn’t budge.

I made the yams two ways – baked one day, and steamed the next. I planned to bake them all, but in my overzealous state on The Big Food Day, I peeled a yam – and it needs skin when you bake it. So, I had a nude yam that couldn’t be baked. (nude yam… tee hee)Steamed it up the next day, and we were ready to go.

Baked Yam Puree

Ingredients: as many yams as your little heart desires, & water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Poke the yams a few times with a fork to let steam out, and bake for about 50 minutes.

When done, let cool, then scoop out the yammy goodness and put in a Baby Bullet/food processor with water (or breastmilk if you’re feeling frisky).  Start small with the water – you can always add more but you can’t take it out.  For 1 baked yam, I added about 1/8 cup of water for a thick consistency.

Steamed Yam Puree

Ingredients: as many yams as your little heart desires, & water leftover from steaming (it’s filled with vitamins from the yams!)

Peel & slice the yams into large, 2-inch chunks (ugh, that word).

Steam for approximately 20 minutes, or until fork-tender.

Put the yams in a Baby Bullet/food processor with water. Again, start small with the water. I was surprised that I used more water with the steamed yams – 1/4 cup for 1 yam.

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1 yam = approximately 6 ounces of food.

We were lucky if Ben ate one two-ounce serving over the course of a day – breakfast, lunch, and dinner combined.

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Weekend Update – Week 3

Yikes – has another week gone by already?!  Time for this week’s weekend update with Dana, Sami & Leann! (Why is it that I always want to say, “with Tina Fey & Jimmy Fallon?”)

On Friday, I went nuts making baby food (stay tuned for a new series, Benjamin Eats, coming this week!) – with bananas, carrots, and pears on the menu.

Saturday was spent almost entirely at the mall.  Derek was working, so I took Ben for my first post-baby-bathing-suit-shopping-excursion.  What. A. Nightmare.  And for reasons different than what you would expect.  It was a bodily fluids bonanza.

As if shopping for a bathing suit after having a baby isn’t bad enough, Ben started fussing in the fitting room.  Odd, because he’s normally a great shopping buddy (he gets a lot of practice).   So, I took him out of the stroller and there it was…  trouble…  an ass-splosion.     A  sh**tastrophe.

Sick.  I couldn’t put him back in the stroller with poo everywhere while I set up an impromptu diaper-changing-station, so I had to let him crawl around the dirty fitting room floor.  SICK.  Once we took care of his diaper/clothing change issue, he was still fussing.  I was still trying on bathing suits.  And I think we all remember (if not, read HERE) what happens when Ben starts fussing in a fitting room. 

A lact-cident. (I’m killin’ it with the new words today, huh? Can’t take credit for ass-plosion or sh**tastrophe, but lact-cident? TOTALLY JUST INVENTED. Booyah.)

Despite the day’s challenges, I managed to find a $110 bathing suit that I got for… drumroll please… $10!  Between the sale at Macy’s, and some old gift cards, I only spent $10 big ones.  Suck it, budget!

Good lord, what a day.  And if that wasn’t enough, my fave D&G sunnies broke beyond repair while we were shopping.  Say it with me now – WAAAAAH!

I’m sad because I loved them, sad because they were expensive, but mostly sad because they have sentimental value.  Derek bought them for me on our way to our honeymoon (since he accidentally drove over my Coach sunglasses, crushing them, the night of our rehearsal dinner). 

Le sigh.

And after all that fun, we needed to pick up a few things at the Wal-Mart, and I won’t even get into the grimy details, but it involved a screaming newborn with two completely dickhead parents that just ignored the poor thing the ENTIRE TIME.  I actually still can’t comprehend how the mom was so completely unaffected while I was practically crumbling to the ground.  I almost went up to them to ask if they wanted me to rock and shush the baby for them because my heart was breaking for that baby oh so bad.  It obviously needed something – food, cuddles – something. 

I may or may not have cried on the way home, hand to my chest, and totally burst into ugly face tears when I walked in the door and Derek asked how shopping was.  Yes, he thought I was crazy for being that upset about a stranger’s baby, but I’m sure some of you mamas understand!

On Sunday, we started the day with a new food for Ben – PEARS!  I’ll save his reaction for a later post in the new Benjamin Eats series.  But oh, were we surprised!

Since Ben is now SUPERCRAWLER extraordinaire (a.k.a., fast as heck), we spent some time on Sunday babyproofing.  And subsequently getting annoyed every time we had to pop off an outlet cover to plug something in.  As well as trying to figure out where to get 1 stove knob cover because they are sold in packs of 5.  We have 6 knobs.  Isn’t THAT ironic, Alanis?

Later on, Derek’s mom and grandmother stopped by for a visit, which was fun.  And even better was my MIL calling later in the evening to give me complete warm fuzzies by telling me how much she admires our parenting and what we do for Ben, and how much she loves us all.  My heart was about to explode in the best possible way.  Who doesn’t love compliments on their parenting, especially since it’s probably the most sensitive topic that people worry about (“Am I doing this right?” “Am I a good mom?”).

We ended the day enjoying a little time in the front yard where Derek showed off his newest model remote control airplane creation, and Ben tried to smash the wings. Typical.

And that, my friends, is all.  Let’s see if I can make good on my promise to myself to go to bed early tonight, and for the rest of the week so I’m not an evil tired witch for vacation next week.  Except RHONJ is calling my name already…

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Sunday Social–Week 3

It’s that time again!  Time to link up for the Sunday Social.

And, um, ladies?  Do you know how excited I was when I saw this week’s questions??  I can hardly restrain my fingers from typing a 17-page blog post about my love for everything discussed in what you are about to read below.

VERY EXCITED.

Now let’s get to it!

What is your all-time favorite song?

You guys, it’s my thrill in life to get to talk about my COMPLETE, TOTAL, ALL-ENCOMPASSING, FULL-BODY, UNBELIEVABLE, MIND-BLOWING, SPINE-TINGLING OBSESSION I have with this song.

I am not joking, I kid you not, this is forever and always will be, my favorite song OF ALL TIME.  Put it on my gravestone, my love for this song will never change.  When Derek and I were first dating, I used to give him dissertations during long car rides about what the lyrics mean and how deep they are.  And yet he still married me.  Now that’s love.

I’m smiling already,

I practically have tears with SHEER JOY.  It actually makes my heart race a little when I hear the opening notes.

 

What is your favorite singer/band?

I am every bit as passionate about the one, the only, Britney Spears, as I am about MMMBop.  Anyone who knows me, has heard me ramble on and on and ON about how much I love Britney and how she’s the bomb.com.  OMG, did I really just say that…

Anyone who knows me, knows I’m completely obsessed and the biggest fan of all time.  I can’t even say anything beyond that.  This love goes beyond words.  Ha!

Benjamin has even “seen” Brit in concert already – last August – from the womb!  We had seats so close, we could have almost touched her.  Since I wasn’t looking to get hit with a restraining order, I refrained from touching. But it was one of the best experiences of my life.  Swoon.

The one that started it all…

What is your theme song/song that best describes your life?

Okay, I really struggled with this one.  I have no idea. 

I love, love, love Katy Perry’s Firework – I find it super motivating – it’s a huge confidence-booster & makes me feel like I want to try harder, do more, and be better at everything I do.

 

What songs put you in a good mood?

Clearly, covered in the above.  MMMBop, hands down, is the only song that IMMEDIATELY gets me in the BEST mood within the first few notes of the song.  I listen to MMMBop to get out of a bad mood, get excited, break nervousness – anything.  I used to listen to it before giving big presentations at work to get pumped up, and every time I did, I kicked major ass.

Aside from that – any Britney CD, and any Spice Girls CD will get me into a good mood!  That, plus pop songs from the late 90s/early 2000s – reminds me of high school and college and the good ‘ol days and I just get all giddy.

Case in point: picture me, 38 weeks pregnant and huuuge (so huge my shoes didn’t fit and I wore slippers to work every day), prancing through the cubicle aisles of my office building, dancing like a looney and busting out the rap part of Spice Girls’ Wannabe when it came on my Pandora station.  I just couldn’t control myself.

What is your favorite road-trip music?

Umm… Hanson, Britney Spears, and Spice Girls??

Are we sensing a theme here?

For reals though, obvi Hanson, BritBrit, and the Spice Girls get me going on a road trip, but anything peppy, cheerful, pop-ish that’s easily sing-a-long-able – that’s what I love.

What song are you embarrassed to admit you love?

I probably should be embarrassed to admit everything I’ve written so far, but instead, I am seriously proud like a mofo.

I do have a penchant for Miley Cyrus’ album, Breakout.  This fact is probably the most embarrassing thing of my life.  Don’t even get me started on what I actually think of Miss Miley.  You would be surprised at the profanity and choice words that come out of this mouth.  We’ll leave it at horrible role model, to keep it G-rated.  Which is why it’s all the more shocking and embarrassing that I freaking love that CD.  To the hills.

 

Hope you all enjoyed and don’t think I’m too bananas!

Can’t wait for next week!

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4 Reasons to Use Cloth Diapers – Cloth Diapers 101

I’ve had this post sitting in my drafts for months, and rather than spend my evening writing about Ben’s foray into the world of food (we’ll save that for tomorrow evening!), I thought I’d finally dust this one off before he’s practically potty-trained, and give it a go.  Hooray, procrastination.  I’m a go-getter, can’t you tell?

When I started writing this, it was total word vomit, so I’m going to break it up into a little mini-series, starting with why we chose cloth.  Enjoy!

~~

We used disposables for a few months in the need-a-diaper-change-every-hour newborn phase (CD’ing a newborn is not for the faint of heart!), but started moving to cloth when Ben was 2 months old.  Lots of people think I’m totally bucknutty when I tell them we’re using cloth diapers, but there are 4 reasons why I’m not a complete looney for making this choice!

1.  Better for Baby

I hated the thought of chemical-y diapers on Ben’s skin – even if you buy “natural” disposables, it still seemed questionable.  I just found out that the Seventh Generation diapers (our fave disposables) were DYED BROWN so they looked more natural.  Redic. 

See? He loves them!

There are a whole host of health concerns linked to disposables, including male infertility (WOWZA) – they keep the “business” too hot.  I’ve heard about babies getting chemical burns from diapers like Pampers with Dry Max (Pampers no longer advertises Dry Max on their packages due to all the controversy, but it is still used in their diapers), and read about all the crazy chemicals that go into disposables.  We tried Pampers when Ben was a newborn, and he ended up with the worst rash in all creation.  Seriously nasty, and painful I’m sure.  Overall, cloth is better for preventing diaper rashes, which Ben is super prone to.

There are a few great articles on the health concerns of disposables here: http://www.nickisdiapers.com/health-concerns.html

2.  Better for Planet

Disposables take freaking forever to decompose, so they’re pretty icky for the earth too.  Did you know you’re not even allowed to throw poop away in your regular trash (I had no idea!)? You’re supposed to flush the ickies, then toss the diaper.  WHO KNEW?! 

Every child in disposables adds about 6,500 diapers to our landfills (Holy CRAP. Literally.), and they can take up to 500 YEARS to decompose.  I’m jonesing for three children, so that’s almost 20,000 diapers sitting in a landfill for hundreds of years. 

Holy moly…

Some say the energy needed to wash and dry cloth diapers negates the environmental savings, but – think about how many babies are born every day, and how most people use disposables – and how the population is growing rapidly – and well, I’m not sure about that argument!  It’s like saying that paper plates are better for the planet because dishwashers use too much electricity.

There are a few other articles on disposables’ impact on the environment here:  http://www.nickisdiapers.com/environmental-issues.html

3.  Better for Wallet

We use Seventh Generation disposables as backups, which are about $40/case.  Benjamin was growing so fast in the early months (who am I kidding, he’s still growing fast), that I couldn’t buy bulk cases because he would grow out them too fast.  Multiply that by how many diapers you go through in a week, and that’s a lot of flippin’ cash!  Now that we are on a tracking-to-the dime-budget at the Cookies for Breakfast household (ughhhh), we are really appreciating the savings here. Wahoo, maybe I’ll splurge for a Starbucks. Probably not.

There are expensive cloth diapers, and inexpensive cloth diapers, but either way, you’ll save money.  I probably spent about $18 per cloth diaper, which will last forever (well, last through multiple children with proper care), and you really don’t need *that* many.  Most brands recommend 24, but just multiply by 3 the number of diapers your child goes through a day, throw in a few extras, and you’re good.

4.  Better on the Eyes!

Apart from all that, cloth diapers are just stinking cute!  Ever notice how in newborn/baby photos, babies are wearing diaper covers over their disposables or wearing cloth diapers?  Because they’re freaking adorable!

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Now that we’re moving into solid foods (banana poop… good lord…) , my joy of cloth is not the greatest love of all (It’s easy to achiiiieeeevveeeeee…. come on… Whitney?!), but I do still have much love, and we’re powering through.

Next Cloth Diapers 101 installment: GEAR.

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Benjamin Missed the Memo – Milestone Alert!

Ben missed the memo that Mommy was doing a BIG THINGS post last Sunday, listing all the big things he experienced/accomplished over the weekend.

Because on Monday afternoon, he did this:

Seriously, I was sitting on the couch on my laptop, with Ben in the middle of the living room on his blanket.  Next thing I know, he’s at my feet, pulling at my laptop power cord.

What?!

He’s been rolling and wiggling around for awhile, but nothing that even resembled crawling.  This seriously came out of nowhere.

I’m not used to a mobile child.  I left him in the living room yesterday while I quickly went to tie Cooper outside, and came back in to find Ben in the kitchen, practically swimming in Cooper’s water bowl.  He was flailing the bowl around the floor, and water was EVERYWHERE.

Given this development, I thought I’d see if he can stand too.

He can.

What?!

Okay, not on his own, but if you put him up to a table, he stands up (before when I tried this, he’d fall over) really, really well.

Whoever said the newborn days are the hardest was clearly nuts. This is way harder. I already miss being able to sit him somewhere and go from room to room, not worrying that he was getting into mischief!

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HUGE Weekend Wrap-Up. Seriously.

Yikes.  This double-posting Sundays might become a regular thing around here!

I’m linking up with Dana, Leeann, & Sami again for the weekend update.

And this weekend, my friends, was a big one.  Seriously.  I know I wowed you all with my two-walks-in-one-day & eating an apple for the Great Weight Loss Challenge last weekend.  But this weekend, kids, we REALLY did BIG things.

I’m talking learn-to-fall-asleep-unassisted, learn-to-nap-for-two-hours-at-a-time things.

I’m talking first Father’s Day, 7-month-old-birthday, and trying to stand things.

And, friends, I’m talking THE BIG FOOD DAY things.  That’s right.  Our sweet Benjamin had his first taste of food this weekend.

CAN YOU BELIEVE ALL THAT HAPPENED IN ONE WEEKEND?!  I can hardly stand it.  Be still my heart.

Let’s go back to the beginning (Does that remind anyone else of the Laguna Beach theme song?  I digress…) and start with Friday.

Benjamin and I were chillin’ in the garage/driveway (Yeah, that’s what we do in these parts.  I know it’s weird.  But it allows us to be “outside” and have some privacy in our neighborhood.).

Then all of a sudden I see THIS happened:

WHAT?  Ben hasn’t fallen asleep unassisted in probably 4 months.  I didn’t think it was even possible.

Then it happened again:

And then a few other times.  This also marked the start of Ben taking 1.5 – 2 hour naps for THREE DAYS RUNNING.  WTF?  Who is this child?  Certainly not mine, but I could get used to this one!  Let me tell you, it is delightful to have a child who naps.  We got along much better.  I had time to myself, and he was less whiney.  Win-win.

Saturday was Benjamin’s 7-month birthday, and we headed to Derek’s family’s house to celebrate Father’s Day there.  D’s grandmother bought Ben his own mini Adirondack chair, which is probably the cutest thing I’ve ever seen:

And finally, Sunday, Father’s Day.  I thought it would be the perfect day for Ben to start solids.  A momentous occasion.  This warrants its own separate post later this week, but for now, we’ll leave it at… DOES NOT LIKE:

Ben also went for a dip in my parents’ pool for the first time:

And after his swim, he started kneeling for the first time, and then trying to STAND UP.  Again, who is this child?

Sadly, I didn’t get a good picture of him trying to stand.  He was kneeling on one knee, pushing up with the other leg, and pulling/pushing up with his hands.  You can kind of see the one leg pushing up in the picture below.

Umm, yes, a box of Sam Adams Light is an appropriate learn-to-stand-tool for a baby…?  Embarrassing…

Anyway, my friends, that’s all for now.  Can’t wait to read all your posts for the weekend update to see what you all were up to!

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Sunday Social–Week 2

Hooray, it’s time for another Sunday Social!  Big thanks again to the sponsors, Neely & Ashley for such a fun idea.  Loving this so far.  Is it bad that I spent the whole week, excitedly anticipating what next week’s questions will be?

I will preface this post with the fact that I am HORRIBLE at picking favorite anything, and always have been.  When I was younger, we would go on family vacations and my mom would always ask what my favorite part was.  I’d rattle off 10 of my favorite moments because, well, apparently I just can’t commit.

Favorite movie of all time?

I’m going to have to go with Clueless.  I had a friend in high school, and we could pretty much talk entirely in Clueless quotes.  Used to drive everyone bananas.

And you know what gets me about this movie?  Every time I watch it, I STILL love the clothes.  Like how is it possible that a movie that old (okay, it’s not like, black-and-white-old), is still fashionable?!

I’m pretty convinced this is just the best movie of all time.

Favorite movie quote?

This, my friends, I cannot even begin to choose.  It’s probably one of the million Clueless quotes I used to have memorized.  Like this one, from our good friend, Travis:

I would like to say this. Tardiness is not something you can do on your own. Many, many people contributed to my tardiness. I would like to thank my parents for never giving me a ride to school, the LA city bus driver, who took a chance on an unknown kid, and last but not least, the wonderful crew from McDonalds, who spend hours making those Egg McMuffins without which, I might never be tardy.

Though my current favorite is Stepbrothers…

“DID WE JUST BECOME BEST FRIENDS?”… “YUP!”

Can you tell I have high-class taste in cinema?

Best movie to watch for a girls night in?

None!  I don’t believe in movies for girls night in.  I’d much rather chat and gossip, eat good food and have wine or fun drinks.  The movie bit just gets in the way of all the other fun stuff.  I’m not averse to reality TV playing in the background, but that’s it.

Best breakup movie?

The Story of Us.  I HAAATE sad movies and normally refuse to watch them.  The Notebook?  Forget about it.  The Vow?  Go poop in your hat.  Nicholas Sparks, STOP MAKING SAD MOVIES THAT MAKE ME WANT TO JUMP OFF A CLIFF!  I just do not understand the people that like those sad movies either.  Life is sad enough without having to sob (and then get a crying-headache) through a movie.

This movie has a tolerable amount of sad, even for the sad-averse like me.  I even own it, and I never buy movies.  There’s just something about it – it really seems REAL.  Not like one of these romantic movies that you know would never happen in real life. 

Geez, now I’m going to have to try and watch this movie this week because I’m all excited about it again.

Seriously – if you haven’t seen this movie, fire up your Netflix and GO SEE IT NOW.

Favorite celeb eye candy?

I’m horrible at this game.

I spend all my celebrity-watching-time looking at the girls’ outfits rather than eye-candy.  I don’t ever get celebrity crushes since it’s obviously unrealistic.  I mean, I’m a married woman.  It has nothing to do with the fact that I couldn’t get a celebrity to fall for me… HA. HA.

Anyway…

Call me crazy (or old) but Javier Bardem, HANDS DOWN.  There is something unspeakably sexy about him, unlike any other actor/musician/famous person. (Minus when he was in Old Country For Old Men… that haircut was… yikes…)  And I mean unspeakably.  I don’t even have words.

I think it’s the accent.

Okay, the accent combined with that hot face and hot body.

So hot I couldn’t even pick just one picture…  I’m restraining myself from making an entire collage.

OMGgggggg…

While we’re on the topic, am I the only person that doesn’t get this obsession with Ryan Gosling??  I do not think he’s attractive AT ALL.  I was dumbfounded when he was playing the heartthrob in The Notebook, and it’s only compounded since then.  I find his last name very fitting, since he looks like a goose.

Which movie stars closet would you want to raid?

One time I interviewed for a job at the GAP and they asked me this question and I said Jessica Simpson.  I immediately regretted that answer by the time I got out to my car and thought I should have said Jackie O.

But for today’s stars… hmmm…

Kate Middleton.  Okay, that’s outside the scope of the question since she’s not a movie star, but whatever.

I just die for her outfits every single time I see a picture of her.  Granted, I never in a million years would fit into any of her outfits, but in my dream world, I would be that thin and look that freaking fantastic in her clothes.

Can’t wait to see everyone’s answers to this week’s questions!

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It’s Okay Thursday

It’s okay…

That I’m seriously dragging today after being up until 3:30am.  Which didn’t even have anything to do with Benjamin – it was all me, enjoying some computer time in solace!

That my biggest internal philosophical debate this week was over who has a crazier storyline on Teen Mom/Teen Mom 2 – Amber or Jenelle (verdict: Amber).

That I just pulled out a new toy to serve as a babysitter so I can write this post.

That the only way I can eat brussels sprouts is with a pound of bacon.  Legit.

To feel like blogging puts you on a roller coaster of emotions… sometimes all in the same day.

That I’m kiiind of excited about trying to ACTUALLY stick to a budget for this month.

To be terrified of what’s going to happen when Ben outgrows his baby swing… which is coming any day now… and is often the only way I can get him to nap EVER.

That I’m psyched for our upcoming vacation, but sad that it means summer is moving along quickly.

That I’m sad summer is passing quickly because every day is one day closer to Ben’s first birthday.

That I haven’t washed my hair since Monday night.  But hey, I haven’t left the house either!

That I can literally spend hours in the humor section of Pinterest, laughing so hard that I cry.  Today’s fave? This:

Happy Thursday, everyone!

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Dairy-Free Faves – On The Go: Dunkin’ Donuts

Hooray, today we are officially kicking off our next series, Dairy-Free Faves!

Now that Benjamin and I are officially dairy-free (read more here), I’ve been challenged to find on-the-go snacks.

We live, seriously, in the middle of nowhere.  Sometimes I hear the twangy sounds of Deliverance when I drive on my street.

I kid, I kid.

Anyway, because of that, it takes foooorever to get anywhere, and I try to bunch all our errands together in a day to make the most of a tank of gas.

And because of THAT, I need options for on-the-go snacks & meals while we’re out.

Peeps, let me tell you – dining out while dairy-free is comparable to quantum physics.  Maybe not that intense, but still confusing.  Think you can just skip the ice cream and cheese on your burger?  Nope.  There’s dairy in bread, crackers, sauces, in the butter that coats pretty much everything.  It’s hidden in more foods than you can imagine.  So, I’ve been on a mission to find dairy-free options. 

Dunkin’ Donuts is the best of the best when it comes to finding out what’s dairy-free on their website.  You can actually view the entire menu and filter by various allergens, as well as read the ingredient lists for everything.  I haven’t found any other company that has information this easy to access.

Which leads me to… drumroll please… the first Cookies For Breakfast Dairy-Free Faves!

Mocha Coffee/Iced Coffee

My #1 favorite is a mocha iced coffee, black.  Shocker: the chocolate syrup is dairy-free!  And it’s sweet enough that you don’t need extra sugar, and creamy enough that it makes up for the lack of milk/cream.  I even got my mom hooked on them, and she’s a diehard Starbucks fan.

Breakfast Sandwiches

Bagels in general, typically, are also dairy-free, and there’s a meellion choices at DD.  My fave is the multigrain – I figure if I’m going to take in all the calories of a bagel, it might as well be made of whole grains and have a little fiber.

I pair the multigrain bagel with either egg and sausage for breakfast (of course you could do egg & bacon or egg & ham), or the tuna salad for lunch.  Yup, DD has tuna salad.  And it’s good!  Who knew?

The English muffins are also dairy-free.  Sadly, my favorite chocolate cake donuts, are not.  I’ll miss them dearly.

That’s all for now, my friends.  Try some of my faves and let me know what you think!

This post was entirely not sponsored.  Dunkin’ Donuts has no idea who I am.  Okay, the employees of the DD in my town practically know me by name (Drive through employee: “Large iced mocha coffee, black? Oh, hi Heather!”), but DD as a company – nope!

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