The temptation...

I went to Walgreen's today to pick up a few things.

Innocently wandered into the candy aisle

Stumbled upon these:

'Those look mighty tasty', I thought, 'and a good low fat treat'

There was a little yellow sign saying "SALE 3 for $3!" (they actually had me at "Red Vines", but the fact that one package was $1 made it even more enticing)

I purchased these Red Vines (just one package...I like to think that was at least some will power I mustered up)

Told myself I would only eat the suggested serving size of 4 licorice twists.

4 lead to 5, then 6

The chewy, strawberry, Red Vine flavor hooked me in

Ended up eating 8 before I reached home

Ate 5 more later this evening

Looked at the package and realized that 4 twists have 140 calories!

Yes, I consumed 455 calories in licorice

What ever happened to the advice that licorice was a good, diet treat?

Maybe during the low-fat craze, but now calories mean more

Maybe in moderation, but who can think about moderation when you have delicious $1 Red Vines?

Oh, the temptation.

From Julia...Oh where, oh where have grandma and grandpa gone?

I had such a great time this weekend with my Grandma and Grandpa Mock. They love me so much and I love them so much. Grandma gives such great hugs and Grandpa loves to joke around and play (especially at the dinner table...which makes grandma and mommy a little upset because I don't eat..mommy wasn't really upset though). Grandma and Grandpa babysat me on Saturday night while mommy and daddy went out all by themselves (why would they want to go out without me? I am so much fun and I love to throw food which I think is fun).

On Sunday, I went to church with mommy and when we returned home, I realized that Grandma and Grandpa were gone. Mommy said they had gone home to Wisconsin.

I pondered their whereabouts and thought 'I would like to live in this place called "Wisconsin" (I know I have been there before)' :

But...then I realized I was too tired and would miss mommy and daddy too much if I left to live in Wisconsin...

But I do miss my Grandma and Grandpa and had a great time this weekend! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! I love you!!

The cold war rages on

We have gone through a lot of these...

And these....

All while trying to catch some extra zzzz's....

to get rid of the sniffles and the sneeze.

Blog Bug!

Us humans weren't the only ones in the household getting attacked by viruses lately. If you weren't on the blog recently, you have no idea what I am talking about, but something odd was going on with the blog today. Apparently, you have to be careful what you load as a cute "extra" or "button" on your blog sidebar. I put a cute "Spring has Sprung" button in the side bar on the right last night and I guess that carried some nasty virus* that redirected you immediately to another website (nothing dirty or anything). I have since deleted the pretty extra and it seems to have solved the problem (I hope). Onward and upward!

*I have had bad luck lately with viruses: I have a cold virus, my hotmail account got a virus and now the blog. What's next?

Mommies Shouldn't Get Sick-a short rant

Is there anything in the health care reform bill that mandates that mommies NEVER get sick again? I would greatly enjoy never having a cold, ear infections, bronchitis, pneumonia, blood clot or anything else again.

The couch is my home, my office, my lunch table and my napping place on this bright, sunny day as I continue to battle the cold war.

The Lost Story of Noah and the Ark?

I don't recall reading a Bible verse in the story of Noah and the Ark that said: "and on the 41st day after the rains came, Julia ate Noah".

Fighting the cold war

It is always fun when one of us in the house gets sick, but not so fun when the two parents get sick and you have to care for an ambitious, energetic toddler. Mike and I have been battling cold symptoms since about mid-week.

Even though I am totally into modern medicine and the treatments it provides, we do rely on some of the old fashion, natural cold remedies. Here is our cold battle ammunition (some might work for you should you have to fight the common cold war):

• Lemon tea with honey (we use a lot of UW-Madison mugs as alumni, but of course any collegiate mug of your choice is fine) :)
• Chicken Noodle soup (we like Mrs. Grass' Extra Noodles)
• Vitamin C tablets (or lots of OJ which is what Mike likes)
• Cough drops (for the sore throat and cough)
• Tylenol for the throat and ear pain and/or fever if there is one
• Salt......what, you might say? Salt?! That is odd. Well, I swear by salt water gargles for a sore throat (fill a cup [yes, we us the UW mugs] with 6-8oz of warm water, add about 1 tsp of salt and stir to dissolve salt-gargle in throat 3-4 times). It really helps with the pain and reduces the swelling and makes it easier to swallow. I have no idea why or how it works (here are some theories), but I think it works well.
• Baby bulb syringe. Nope, not for Julia; for us adults. Once the nasal congestion hits, I also swear by nasal saline rinses to relieve sinus pressure and congestion. 1) Mix 8 oz water with 1/2 tsp of salt, stir to dissolve salt (some recipes add baking soda too, but we use just salt). 2) Head to the nearest sink (you definitely want to do this over a sink). 3) Lean your head over sink and inject salt solution into one of your nostrils. Be sure to point the nozzle toward your ears when it is in your nose to hit the sinus cavities. Blow your nose afterwards because "stuff" will come out. (sorry for the detail).

It will be messy. It will sting a little, but it totally relieves the congestion. It is same the same thing as buying pre-mixed nasal saline rinses from your local pharmacy, so you can use those too if you don't have a baby bulb syringe.

That is it for your health (sickness) tip of the day. :) Stay healthy and happy!

My caffeine addiction...

In the past, I couldn't last even 1-2 hours in the morning without one of these in my hand:

Unfortunately, my dear grande, nonfat, no whip mocha and I had to part ways (except for an occasional weekend rendezvous) due to our pricey, high calorie (220 calories a pop!) relationship. I have now moved on to:

A much, much cheaper, zero calorie caffeine provider. I may have to start the break-up process from this lovely drink also since there is this study that found that women who consumed 2 or more diet sodas a day (meaning two-12oz cans) had a 30% drop in kidney function! Darn kidneys! I have a dear cousin who is a nephrologist (kidney doctor-Dr. Eric); he can take care of me, right?

I still partake in a cup or two of morning java. After all, this study just came out saying that coffee (regular, not decaf) reduces the risk of arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms). What's a girl to do? I am so torn!

Priceless...

Julia is really enjoying this warm weather we are having. She LOVES being outside. We grilled out this evening and she loved being on the deck with daddy cooking our dinner. After dinner, we promised her we would go outside after cleaning up the dishes, but she was too excited (and impatient) to wait. She kept running to any door that lead to the outside saying: "side?" "side?" (meaning outside of course). Finally we gave in and I took her outside while Mike finished the after dinner clean-up.

Homemade bubble solution (Palmolive dish soap + H2O)= $0

Bubble wand= $1

Pink baby doll stroller = $10

Enjoying the unseasonably warm, March weather with our little gal= priceless

(The pond across the street from our house...the ducks are returning!)

Squeeky Clean

I came home from work to find a house that shimmered and shined.

I didn't lift a finger to clean all the stuff that is mine

Do I thank my dear Mike for cleaning the house? Nope, he was too busy reading books to Julia about a mouse.

It wasn't my mother, it wasn't a friend; it is a great cleaning company that has just the right "touch" in the end

We love these people, especially being full-time, working parents! But I recommend them to anyone in the area!

One more thing off the to-do list: the Master Bedroom Reveal

FYI: there are two other new blog posts for this week after this one since I am a little behind, so keep reading (if you want).

We have finally finished our master bedroom. We painted about 3 weeks ago and just put the finishing touches on today (mostly art work and other decor on the walls). I am loving everything and it feels like we are in a hotel room. We LOVE, LOVE the king size bed (especially when a certain little girl needs to bunk with us!). Before and after pictures are below. The before pictures were taken after we emptied out the room; I don't have any before pictures with furniture, but you should get the idea.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Most of the accessories are from Michael's craft store. They had an awesome sale two weeks ago where room decor and things like the little tin baskets on the side tables, candle sticks and floral vase and floral arrangement in the corner of the room were 50% off. A steal! The art above the bed we bought at Bed, Bath and Beyond on clearance ($20/picture). The shelves and other photos were things we already had, but just never put up in our house. The most costly thing in the room-the new furniture of course.

Let the sun shine!

Finally some sunshine to go with this warm weather we are having! We took the opportunity to go for a late morning walk today while the sun was shining for fear the sun would go away later. Of course, it is now around 2pm and it is still nice, sunny and not a cloud in the sky, but Julia is napping, so it is good we took advantage of the morning sun. :) I loved feeling the warm, bright sun on my face. I was starting to feel couped up and getting the winter blues without any sun! ;)

Ready for the first walk of the year

At the playground near our house. There were lots of kiddos there.

Julia loved going down the slides

Watching the big kids climb the playground equipment

Meeting more family

Last weekend, March 5-7, we were in Madison for James (Mike's brother) and Beth's wedding reception (they were married in St. Lucia in December). Julia finally got to meet more Mock family members who live in Georgia. We had a great time with the whole family. It was great to see all of them and party with them late into the night!

Julia helping Grandpa Mock win at Texas Hold'Em

Hanging out with the fam in Grandma and Grandpa Mock's kitchen (Great Aunt Kathy is holding Julia). Cousin Jason is the weird guy on the left.

Julia and Cousin Addison giving each other a hug (Addison is about 2 weeks younger than Julia)

Cousin Shawn reading to Julia

Great Aunt Kathy reading to Julia (Julia had lots of people willing to read to her)