10 Reasons why Children are Strange

10 Reasons why Children are Strange Creatures

Sometimes kids do strange things, and by strange I mean things that absolutely make no sense in any subject matter, except the subject of children. This subject has many manuals and “what to expect” books, support groups, and community forums, all which moms from all corners of earth frequent to make sense of their child’s behavior. I’m here to tell you that no book or chat room will explain some things that you experience when you have kids running around. Sometimes, kids just don’t make any sense.

1. They won't eat a home cooked meal you just busted your ass cooking for the past 2 hours trying to hide as many veggies as possible into, but they'll eat you clear out of chalk and glue. 

2. To them, there is such a thing as the wrong kind of sippy cup; and it all depends on the hour of the day, the day of the week, and what their sibling is momentarily sipping out of. Oh you want the red sippy cup with the orange lid? Oh you mean the only single sippy cup, out of an entire cabinet, that happens to be your dad’s truck on the other side of town right now? Sorry, here's the one you wanted an hour ago. 

3. They will feel freezing cold but want nothing to do with a blanket. I'm talking goosebumps on legs and shivering cold. You gently try to cover them with a blanket, and based on the reaction you get, you'd think the blanket was actually hot lava.

4. They will scream and cry about being cold but karate kick your fingers when trying to put pants or jackets on. "Well I WAS going to help you..."

5. They remember the tiniest of details, but can't tell you what they did with your keys they were just playing with.

6. They cry because they're tired and get mad when you tell them to go take a nap. 

7. When were out of the house they want nothing to do with you, kicking and screaming to let them run around. When you get home and they have free range of the entire house and yard, they want you to hold them.

8. Sleep. They fall asleep sitting in a highchair with spaghetti all over their face, or in the umbrella stroller you paid five bucks for. Sometimes it seems like they'll sleep absolutely anywhere on absolutely anything. Until you put them in their own comfortable bed equipped with an organic mattress and $200 cotton sheets from Pottery Barn kids. 

9. They have a bazillion toys at their feet but want to play with your phone, remote, or a pack of markers. It's the same thing with the whole liking the box that the toy came in better than the toy. Wtf?

10. You cut their food into small pieces for their own safety and they act like you just soaked it in the spiciest habanero sauce you could find. They claim the food totally inedible at that point, all because you're trying to prevent them from choking. 

Sometimes you just have to sit back and laugh. Kids are literally nuts, but we love them and all their nutty ways. Life would actually be a little dull without the craziness that is our kids. 

XOXO

The Cozy Pajama Hunt

I'm a fan of cold weather...and when I say cold weather, I'm talking like no colder than 40 degrees. Florida winters are my thing.

Lately, the weather has been perfect and creates this magnetic field between me and my couch. All I want to go is curl up with good movie on (that I can hardly hear) or a book open (for me to read the same page 9 times), while my kids are going crazy running around the house and asking for ridiculous stuff at such an hour.  Sounds comfy and cozy right?! Well it all really is and you know what my secret is? Comfy Pajamas!

There's something magical about a good pajama set, especially if they're Christmas themed. They kind of go hand-in-hand here in Florida because we don't have nice Pajama sets on the shelves until it gets into the holidays. But, you also want a season-less pair of pajamas that are your go-to when you're doing some comfy lounging around the house in the evening any time of the year.

Pajama sets are also good to wear when you have guests staying at your house. What you usually wear to bed might not be entirely appropriate when guests are at the house. So, without looking super sexy around your in-laws and without having your husband shake his head at the site of you in grammy jammies, a good pajama set is in need.

If you've ever been on the hunt for a pajama set, you know they can get pretty pricey.  The one time I did go on an extensive comfy PJ hunt, was when I was pregnant with Nelpe and wanted a good pair for the hospital. Then I got stuck in the hospital NICU for 3 days when she was 10 days old with RSV and those 3 days were lived in those pajamas. I may not have made it through that without those pajamas... So trust me, splurge on those good pajamas at least once. You will not regret it.

Best Pajamas for a good night's sleep
(and to make you feel like you're not in the hospital's NICU, not a grandma, and not trying to put on a show for in-laws)

Kensie Sleepwear

Nordstrom

Gilligan & O'Malley 

Target

J.Crew Vintage Pajama Set

J.Crew

VS Mayfair Tee-Jama

Victoria's Secret

XOXO

My 6 Favorite Running Problems

Running has always been my “thing”. I’ve been running for about 11 years but I've kept the relationship very casual. I’ve run countless 5ks, a few 10ks, and 3 half marathons.  I’ll sign up for a race here and there but I’ve never trained for any of them and my run times have always been around the same.  It’s more of a stress reliever for me and I don’t necessarily look at it as a workout or exercise. Its free, it’s always available, and it’s one of my favorite things to do.

I told the hubs about a free race we should do on Sunday, but we didn't get up in time to get out the door and there at 7:30a.m. BOO. Now that some cooler weather (like not in the 90s) is coming, I’m looking into signing us up for a half marathon to do before the end of the year. Now it’s deciding which one to sign up for.

I know I’m in a small group on this one but I absolutely hate Disney races. LOVE Disney….HATE their races. Maybe we just had a bad experience, but we ran the Epcot Food & Wine Half Marathon in 2012, and it was by far the worst race I’ve ever done. There were some cool things about it, like running through the theme parks that were all decorated with Christmas lights, but the majority of the race was spent on dark highways around the Disney property. Super boring most of the time and I swore I was about to go into labor (I wasn’t even pregnant at the time).  Total Body Shut Down.

My 6 Favorite Running Problems.

1. The first half mile of any run. More like the worst half mile in history of miles! You’re beating yourself the entire time and it takes a lot out of you to not turn around and sit back on the couch. Why am I doing this? My stomach hurts. Blah Blah. But you just keep running and by mile 2 you've forgotten all your problems and you’re officially in the running “zone”.

2. Death trap sidewalks. These might be the single reason I never picked up skateboarding. Horrifying. If you’re an early morning runner or a late night runner, beware of these! Miss a step and you end up with bloody knees and hands. 

3. Lizards. You realize you care way too much about animals when doing the salsa dance trying not to step on the dare devil lizards who just so happen to want to cross the sidewalk at the exact same moment you run by. If you’re not careful, you’ll kill an entire village of lizards during a single run.

4. Pine cones or other things that fall off trees. These little pine cones look so innocent don’t they? You usually channel your inner Christian Ronaldo and do an awesome soccer kick to each one, but sometimes they bounce off the edge of the grass, come back, sneak under your foot and basically try to kill you! Many ankles have been sprained due to these ricocheting beasts of nature. 

5. Your phone/ipod dies. This may be the worst thing to happen to you while running. I mean besides breaking a leg or accidently running off a cliff…That moment when your music stops and all of a sudden you snap back to reality…ekkkk {insert face of pure horror}. First World Problem, but problem none the less.

6. Hills that you never thought existed. You don’t realize a hill exists until your running. You drive these streets all the time and never once thought about one of them being a hill. Well, when you’re running and not in your air conditioned motorized vehicle, a little slant of a road can feel like you’re climbing Mount Everest. Maybe not that extreme, but you get the idea. Calf workout

 Do any of you have these problems? I hope I'm not the only one :) 

**While I took pictures for this post I totally felt like Jim Carey in Yes Man doing Running Photography. See Clip Here 

XOXO

10 Signs You’re Over the Party Scene

The current bar scene is.... {Insert adjective that describes something not for me}.  I've come to the realization that I've completely moved on from that time of my life and don't want to look back at it.

We used to go out to bars/clubs allll the time during college and a couple years post college. I mean, that’s what you do in college right?! We'd start off Wednesday and continue the party Thursday,Friday, Saturday, and end up at a beach bar on Sunday to top the week off. Ending the night any time before 1 a.m. was early...like "Really?! You're going home already?! LAME-O!"

Fast forward 4 years to this past Saturday.  We started our night at 5p.m. and even THAT felt late. Don’t get me wrong, it was exciting to go out and I had fun with good friends! (We were dressed up 80's style and I just happen to really enjoy theme parties) I’m just saying it’s more like a "I only do that a couple times a year" type of thing for me now. What I really enjoy these days is being with my kids, and when I’m not with them, I better be sipping a mimosa somewhere getting a massage. 

10 things that make you realize you’re over the Party Scene

1. It’s just too late. It’s all about brunching and day drinking now.  None of this out till early morning crap. Nothing good happens after midnight anyways, right?! You have waffles and bacon to get to in the morning…and you want to be well rested for those waffles and bacon!

2. It's expensive! It’s NOT cheap to go out and have drinks. The next morning you’re scared to look at your bank account.  It’s not that you’re spending your life savings to go have some vodka-waters or anything, but it’s that you’re literally drinking your money away and that makes your stomach hurt.

This is literally someone's mortgage payment

3. You don’t understand why people actually enjoy being at these overcrowded bars or clubs. You don’t like crowds and certainly don’t like crowds of drunk people who don’t know what personal space is.

Sardines

4. You complain about the music being too loud. You don’t even like loud music in my car anymore, why would you go somewhere with blaring music, unable to talk to the people you’re there to see? Ludicrous! You didn't leave your kids at home and drive all the way here to listen to music…Turn that down and let’s talk about life!

5. You wonder where all the seating is. You just want to sit down and not have to chase around a toddler for 20 minutes. That’s why we got a babysitter right?

6. You only want to go to places that serve food. You think you make way better drinks at home than that bartender anyways, so just bring out the food…that’s all you really want.

7. You no longer care that other people are out having "fun". You use to go out all the time because everyone else was and you didn't want to miss out on the fun. Now you could absolutely care less and you know you’re having more fun at home than they are out spending their rent money.

8. Your hang over feels more like a deadly virus. 

9. You’re absolutely horrified when you walk into the dirty bathrooms. You don’t remember these things bothering you before…have the bathrooms changed? Or have you changed? I’m guessing the latter.

10. You have your phone glued to your hand. Not to take pictures of the awesomeness that surrounds you, but because you’re worried you’ll miss a call from the babysitter.

NOW with all that being said, I understand some people NEVER pass the party stage in their life. And that’s OK. I mean look at P.Diddy. He’s still rocking out in clubs at like 50 years old. Good for him. But you’re not P.Diddy and neither am I. We’re not getting paid to sit at an overcrowded loud ass club. If I was, that’d be an entirely different story/list for ya.  

XOXO