where have we been?

a lot is happening in our neck of the woods...

but just where our neck of the woods is these days

 is the major question!

we are currently without an address until mid next week when we can move into our new apartment in AUSTIN! we are becoming texans y'all!

but before we could officially move (which we still haven't done yet), we had some holiday travel to attend to. during the past two weeks, this is where we've been and what we've been up to:

• packed up and moved out of our apartment in san francisco
• shipped all our possesions (minus a few suitcases) and our car to austin. (the disaster stories acciated with this process are a nightmare and may or may not be shared in another post. too enraging to relive! but i digress...)
• flew to chicago. early morning flight and we all slept. pretty smooth 4.5 hour flight. phew!
• rented a car, drove to grand rapids, michigan and spent the night visiting my aunt's family and my two little cousins
• drove to windsor, canada to spend a three nights with david's brother's family meeting our new neice Clara for the first time and playing with our nephew Sam
• drove back to chicago and spent one night downtown for annual cousin's christmas "uncle santa" tradition
• drove to northbrook, il, the town where i grew up and where most of my family lives, and spent four nights hanging with my fam, the sibs, my cousins and seeing some of my best friends too
• had christmas eve and christmas day celebrations with family
• flew to austin the day after christmas. scarlett screamed for 2.5 hours of the 3 hours flight. we were that family.
• then we waited 2.5 hours for a policeman so we could file our car stolen because the shippers would not release our car due to a dispute unrelated to us with the booking company! argh! ridic!
• drove to llano, texas where david's parents live
• i spent two nights in llano laying on the couch reading on my new kindle
• wednesday morning i drove to austin to have appointments with two potential OBs
• then i flew back to san francisco, leaving Scarlett and david with his parents, so that i could return to work
• i've been working the past three days in the PICU and will work again tomorrow. (that's four 12s in a row, nurses!!) yikers!
• meanwhile, sad news that one of david's best friend's father passed away, so david flew to cincinnati yesterday to be at the funeral while Scarlett stayed with pop and nana sue in llano. he will return tonight (hopefully, just got a text that he may miss connection due to delays)
• then i fly back to austin monday, which is way too long to not see Scarlett!! 
• david starts his new job on tuesday
• we can move into our apartment on tuesday, but the movers won't arrive with our stuff until thrusday or friday
• then one day after that i might release a huge exhale and be grateful its all over.
• but we are still not done yet. january weekends are already full with visitng davids grandparents, me returning again to SF for work and david traveling to conferences.
• maybe in february i can exhale?

wow! i hope you're tired reading this because i am tired just remembering it all. but our holiday travels were completely worth it. We got to see my large fun crazy dysfunctional but amazing extended family and celebrate a very wonderful christmas. in fact, one of the best christmases i can remember in recent years! I haven't been able to take that much work off around the holidays in 5 years, so i am very thankful to have had that time with everyone.

thank you to all of our wonerful hosts: aunt maureen, uncle john, stephen, cynthia, uncle eddie, aunt tara, uncle chuck, mom, nana sue, pop, kate and margy! and lots of love to my siblings, cousins and wonderful family and friends!!

why am i returning to SF to work, you ask? three words: maternity leave pay! i'll be flying back to work part time until i start maternity leave. because i remain a california employee, i will receive califronia maternity leave benefits. phew, thank goodness! obviously if i quit i would get nothing. even if i started a new job in austin, i'd only be working for a month and a half before going out on leave and thus would not get maternity benefits. not ideal right now, but i'll be thankful when i don't have to start a new job six weeks after baby2 is born. delayed gratification i keep repeating. delayed gratification...

oh, forgot to mention: Scarlett was sick this entire travel time with a fever high of 103.3, continuous congestion and runny nose, terrible sounding cough and just altogether a sad little puppy. i guess that's what happens when you travel to cold weather climates and surround your 18 month old who has never been very sick before with a million little cousins! david was sick too. boo. i somehow remained unscathed from any viral infections, thankfully, but am experiencing shortness of breath, weakness, near fainting and racing hearbeat from pregnancy related anemia. awesome.

ok, ok, ok, i'm done now. my apologies for being mia the past few weeks, but as you can tell, there has been a lot going on!

i'm exctied to start blogging from and about Austin. i've been looking up a lot of kid friendly activities that i can't wait to try and share with you all. check back soon!

hope you had a fantastic christmas and holiday season as well!

and happy happy happy new year!

photo cred to auntie K

and thats auntie gracie creepin' in the background! ha!

love you both, kisses!

Non-stop action

been traveling since last saturday.

three different cities so far and non stop holiday celebrations with cousins.

all equals one extremely tired chica!

thanks to daddydave for the photo. perfect capture.

santa's coming! santa's coming!

i'm really excited to be Santa this year. last year Scarlett was pretty oblivious, and this year of course she still doesn't know what Santa or Christmas means, BUT she LOVES playing with toys! and i am super excited about giving her awesome presents this year and even more thrilled to play with the new toys with her. and i feel like i can't stop picking out awesome things that i know she'll love. i can't help myself!

here are a couple things i've purchased Santa's elves have made already...

pacific play tents very hungry caterpillar tent and tunnel

image via

bought from theminisocial at half price

smart gear balance bike

image via

bought from zulily at half price

new houndstooth toms

new toms purchased today, yay!

not the leopard print ones i was lusting after, 

but i'm very excited about this large houndstooth pattern

image via

purchased at one of my favorite stores, sports basement

Scarlett's favorite game: running in circles!

Scarlett has discovered that if all the doors are open, she can go from her bedroom into the living room then into the bathroom  and back into her bedroom, which is also connected to the bathroom. A perfect circle for a 17 month old to run around and around for HOURS!

c'mon, moms, any activity that lasts longer than 10 minutes seems like hours, right? well, this activity really has lasted hours before. it's her favorite!

but what could possibly be even more fun than walking around in circles? oh, i'll tell you. being chased around in circles. and then having mamma sneak around the other way and surprise you! her laughter was insane; she was squealing and giggling in delight having the best.time.ever!

a few times she fell because she was so excited

but i'm ok mamma! so much fun!

it was just a coincidence that Scarlett was wearing her "little miss giggles" shirt the day i decided to take pictures of our regular evening routine. (and please indulge a proud happy mamma who is posting too many pictures of the same exact thing. i told you this activity lasted hours!)

POP!

there's a baby in there! 

hello, elastic waistband pants! 

it's nice to see you again. oh, how i've missed you!

gap maternity skinny cords 

ah, so comfortable. 

now i'm on the hunt for the perfect maternity jeans...any suggestions? 

Honesty corner: nanny probs

just fired my nanny via email. eek! does that make me a terrible person? (probably)

honesty corner: I was too chicken to call her or talk to her in person.

(oh, and ps: this nanny was not my sister. that'd just be awkward. it was someone else)

Inevitable nap time while driving

Of course, blocks away from home, all I hear is silence. I start to say "Scarlett are you asleep?" as I turn around and see this:

three product make-up routine for the busy mamma

since there is barely time to brush my teeth in the morning with Scarlett running around, putting on make-up has become a seriously low priority. but then i'd catch some glimpses of myself in the windows or bathroom mirrors and be horrified by my lackluster pale complexion mixed with red spots and tired eyes. blah! so now i've recently stepped it up a notch by putting on a little makeup in the morning.  i've dwindled down my make-up routine to using only three products for time efficiency. it is so fast and easy, plus makes me look (and feel) about a thousand times better (slash not like a zombie mom) that it's worth the 30 seconds it take to apply! and i seriously don't feel like i need to use anything else. it lasts all day too! when david comes home after i've had a full and exhausting day with Scarlett, he still says i look pretty, so that's good enough for me! try it, you'll like it!

3 product make-up routine:

1. You Rebel Tinted Moisturizer by Benefit

image via

provides three steps in one: great tinted coverage, good moisturizer that isn't greasy, and SPF 15! how could you ask for more? available in regular and lite shades. if i'm really in a hurry this is all i'll put on. it covers redness, pimples and dark eye circles easily and evenly. it's expensive though. i normally wouldn't pay $30 for a moisturizer, but i tried my friend meghann's and it was truly amazing. i forked over the dough and have not been disappointed. in fact, i LOVE it!

2. Colossal Volume Express Mascara by Maybelline

image via

seriously triples your lashes in volume and length. make my eyes stand out, incredible difference with and without it. sometimes i like to put it on one eye first for a second and can't believe the difference. doesn't smudge, lasts all day. available in regular and waterproof. i've tried both and prefer the regular. and it's really inexpensive, available at your local drugstore. bonus!

3. Benetint Rose-Tinted Lip and Cheek Stain by Benefit

image via

i used to be very skeptical of this product. it comes in a nail polish bottle but i put it on my face? i just didn't quite get it. but now i'm a convert and i'm obsessed. two little dabs on each cheek, rub in on cheek bones and upwards with finger tip like you would apply blush. it's the perfect color, it stays all day long, does not come off on your cell phone or clothes, and adds the perfect little bit of cherry apple brightness to your cheeks that sleep-deprived mammas need (desperately). you can put some on your lips too for a little color. just make sure you wash your hands immediately after because it will leave a stain on your finger tips. it comes in posietint (poppy color) and chachatint (mango color) as well. I've tried those shades too but prefer the original rose tint the best, seems the most natural i think, and smells like delicious roses. again, this is more expensive than i usually like to spend on makeup, but a teeny tiny bit goes a long way so it seems like this bottle will last me forever!

well, i hope you try these and find them as great and easy as i do! i just love that it's only three steps. if you have any other quick beauty tips for the busy mamma, leave a comment and let me know. I need all the help i can get!

fun with photobooth

peek-a-boo Scarlett

mamma hugs Scarlett

chunkster laughing scarlett

chipmunk cheeks hooray Scarlett

conjoined Scarlett twins

alien Scarlett

this was a fun way to waste 20 minutes! 

i was laughing so hard at her reactions to herself. 

which one is your favorite?

jimmy kimmel live you tube halloween candy challenge

this is hysterical!! 

parents telling their kids they ate all their halloween candy. 

kind of a sick joke, but i sure got a kick out of it. 

Happy Halloween!

the itsy bitsy Scarlett spider!

its a fitting costume bc it's her favorite songs these days and she loves doing the motions

i'm not quite sure why the spider wears a top hat, 

but she's obsessed with the hat and doesn't like taking it off!

enjoy your halloween! 

what are you and your babes dressing up as this year?

honesty corner: joys of pregnancy

verbatim from two nights ago

me: david, i had a serious low point pregnancy moment this afternoon.
david: what happened?
me: i was throwing up and then i peed my pants mid-barf
david: ha! did you sh*t your pants too?
me: no.
david: well, you can go even lower then.

thanks for the sympathy and emotional support hubs! i guess he has a point, but here is a glimpse of what this pregnancy has been like so far.

and yes, this is how i am blognouncing my second pregnancy; with a peeing in my pants while vomiting vignette. oh, the joys of pregnancy and what it does to our bodies. while i did have morning all-day-every-day sickness with Scarlett, the incontinent bladder is new with this one. yay!

i'm 15 weeks so far, and though the horrible-feels-like-a-forever-hangover-feeling has subsided a tad bit, the nausea and vomitting remain with full force. whereas with Scarlett i literally could not eat a thing, the good news with this pregnancy is that I'm hungry all the time. the bad news, though, is that i'm hungry for heavy cravings of BLTs, sour cream and onion potato chips and mcdonalds chicken nuggets. when i try to eat actual foods of sustunance and nutrition, it's bathroom city.

my apologies for sparse blog updates and pictures, but i've pretty much been sleeping as much as possible the last three months, ya know, just growing a new human inside. but also seriously neglecting all other domestic and personal duties. whoops! sorry husband and Scarlett and friends and family! ugh! this first trimester has been so depressing. i'm ready to feel better!

i'm really counting on this "energy spurt in the second trimester" to come any.day.now as i'm completely in need of a happy hormone surge and these vomitting/peeing episodes to be over.and.done.with!

to close on a positive pregnancy note, here's a pic of the new baby due to arrive late march/early april.

Best. Mamma. Moment.

I put Scarlett to bed tonight following our usual night time routine: dinner, bath, pajamas, drink milk, brush teeth, read books, bed.

The one difference from tonight though was that as I was giving her final squeezy hugs and hundreds of kisses before laying her in the crib the following happened: She abruptly pushed away from me, pulled her pacifier out of her mouth, puckered her lips and smacked a big smooch right on my lips!

Then she wrapped her tiny arms around my neck in a perfect squeeze and laid her head on my shoulder. This lasted about 5 seconds as my heart melted into mushy goo on the floor. She then just as quickly pushed away again, huge smile on her face and popped her pacie back in her mouth.

This was all a first for her (and me too, obviously)

I walked out of the room, barely able to breathe and about died from the Best. Mamma. Moment. EVER!!!

Obligatory.

(photo cred to margy)

Notre Dame couple dressing their first born in Irish gear for first game of the season. (I know it's lame but I can't help it, they make you sign a contract when you graduate.)

Let's go Irish!

Sadly, the first game was pretty terrible, but at least Scarlett got to do some pushups after we finally scored.

i can't stop laughing, give me Moore!

how have i never read any of this before? tracy moore is my new fave mom-author-cynical genious. do you think she wants to be my new best friend?

backstory: i recently told my friend beth a story about a mean old humpback at whole food's bistro who was none too delighted at Scarlett's baby babble pointing and screaming tactic to get your attention. (which is a whole 'nother pain in my arse these days, but i digress). despite it's fancy nomiker, wholefies b (as i like to call it) is a cafe opening up to a grocery store, not a michelin rated french establishment or a funeral home where silence and best behavior are expected; children discouraged.

boring story short, the woman turned around with a squinchy face and said, "hhm, it's getting a little difficult..." as she squinched her nose at Scarlett. i don't know what squinch means, perhaps i just made it up, but it's the only word to describe her contorted face, squinched with disgust at my baby.  i stared at her for second because she didn't actually finish her sentence...she noticed and repeated herself, "it's getting a little difficult..."

what's getting difficult, lady? oh, oh, i could tell you what's difficult!...but i kind of have a headache and just want to get to the better part of this blog post...plus, Scarlett was being a little difficult.

fast forward to why i can't stop laughing: last night, beth emailed me an aprapos article entitled, "where, exactly, is it okay to take your kid?", written by Moore, which lists whole foods as an universally innapropriate place to take your kid. touche.

this led me to jezebel, and a pleothora of articles written by moore and other brillantly hysterical commentators on motherhood, pregnancy, pooping and the like under jezebel's motherload subheading. I kept wanting more and more, she's so damn funny! and more importantly, so damn TRUE! spot on, i tell you. hysterical. go read immediately! GO!

some of my favorites (and new anthems on life and motherhood) are listed below:

• how to befriend cool people when you've got a baby 
• how i got all precious about daycare
• pregnant and pulling a deuce, because i can
• motherhood more depressing than ever!  

i'll be checking back frequently for more laughs for sure. you?
now, how to deal with what's getting a little difficult...

 oh, and squinch is a word!



jumping in the pool!

well, sort of "jumping"...

she's so excited about it! 

love her little laugh

(hopefully you can hear it below my loud cackle, eek, sorry 'bout that)

hiking land's end

with baby S and sister Grace

gorgeous day with the ggb in the background

Hipster chic

Thanks Milly for the cool threads! 

You can't see in the pic but the leggings have super sweet ankle zippers! 

tiniest pony tail in the world

finisher!

thanks to my sisters shannon and grace for making the most awesome motivational poster 

(which was completely necessary at mile 12!!)

and to david and Scarlett for cheering us along to the finish line

the hills on miles 11 and 12 seemed

  n e v e r e n d i n g 

but

we finished!

2 hours, 8 minutes and 8 seconds

and it was worth the hurt for the Scarlett kisses at the finish line

{and if you don't get the poster, it is our new obsession. highly recommend} 

big girls use spoons

Scarlett refuses to let us feed her anymore and loves using the spoon herself. 

Potential left hander just like her mamma?

I love watching her use the spoon with so much concentration and effort, 

her mouth open the entire time, which seems like an eternity, 

for the spoon to make the long arduous journey from bowl to final destination. 

And a yummy bite of yogurt as prize for her hard work! Way to go Scarlett!

motivation!

the san francisco half marathon is THIS sunday!
been trying to psych myself up, but instead feel like i'm psyching myself out...ah!
but i'm really excited, nervous, scared and happy to be doing my first half marathon EVER!

we strarted our training in early may with hal higdon's novice training schedule
with my eratic work schedule and long hours, plus prev planned summer vacations,
sticking to the schedule got a little sticky at times, but we did our best!

not gonna lie that there were more than a few text message convos as follows:

margy: are we running tomorrow?
mags: of course! 6am?
margy: perf, text me when you leave
mags: great, see you then
{next morning}
margy: are you up?
mags: nope

BUT

we actually did a great job training

we got all of our long runs in, either together or

with the help of sisters, cousins, brothers, husbands

{thanks everyone!}

and i'm really surprised with myself and feel good about starting at 3 miles back in may

and thinking it was sooo hard to running 10 miles last monday and feeling great

here are some pics of one of our longer runs

also first time running over the golden gate bridge!

and first time eating gu!

which for you non-runners, gu (pronounced goo) is exactly the consitency that it sounds like

and you have to eat it on long runs to replace electrolytes and sugar.

obvs, i was a little skepical. ick.

(however, i really did feel better and reenergized post gu)

trying to take a running partners shot, but i was still mid-gu-swallow

please try not to pay attention to my awk pose (i think i was too hot and sweaty to have skin to skin contact with myself) and instead focus on the gorgeous day the and GGB!

alright, a little trip down memory training lane is helping with my motivation for sunday. i know i can finish, i'm more worried about finish time and keeping pace and not pooping out in the end but also pushing myself and...

oh! i just can't wait to give baby Scarlett a big smooch when i cross that finish line!

any tips or motivation greatly appreciated!

see you at the finish line!

gap deal: ends tonight!

40% off at gap.com!!

ends tonight, tuesday 7/26

{thanks to shelley for the tip}

enter code: GAPLOVE

i LOVE dressing babyScarlett in babygap!

party on a stick

party: Scarlett's first birthday

location: park on top of the hill in our 'hood

challenge: make food for 30+ people with no kitchen or grill on site

answer: party on a stick!

longer answer: premake everything at home (day of or night before), place on kebab sticks, transfer to party site on platters, do absolutely no work during party except eating and enjoying time with friends!

menu

 turkey meatball kebabs

chicken kebabs

roasted veggie kebabs

fresh fruit kebabs

and

cake pops!

cake pops were pretty labor intensive, so they were made first

totally worth it though because soooo good!

i used trader joe's chocolate cake and frosting mix with wilton's candy melts for the coating.

 i followed this recipe, which has good tips.

(i tried once before making cake balls and they were a disaster.

the above directions, using candy melts instead of baker's chocolate,

 and the addition of the stick made it all easier.)

unfortch, i don't have many pics of the food,

 but easy peasy directions below.

it was so easy i don't even need to write the directions, but here they are...

chicken: marinate chicken breasts in trader joe's island soyaki sauce (or sauce of your choice)

bake 30 mins at 350 or untl done, cut into cubes, place on bamboo kebab sticks.

if pre-making day before, on the day of cover with more sauce and reheat in oven  

turkey meatballs: place trader joe's frozen meatballs in large oven proof pot

cover with island soyaki sauce (or sauce of you choice)

bake 30 mins at 350 or until done, place on bamboo kebab sticks

veggies: cut fresh veggies of you choice into 1 inch pieces

 we used zucchini, peppers and onions

place on bamboo kebab sticks

drizzle with olive oil and season with salt

bake at 350 until done

fruit: cut up fresh fruit of your choice into 1 inch pieces

we used strawberries, watermelon, apples and bananas

place on bamboo kebab sticks

voila! party on a stick is ready!

it was actually a lot of fun making 200 kebabs and 45 cake pops!

special thanks to my sis shannon for all her help.

more scenes from the day...

sweet puppy Beau, a swiss mountain dog,

made an appearance and was a big hit with the babes

and then Scarlett opened her present from her bestie, Milly.

with Milly's help, of course.

thanks to everyone who came out and enjoyed the day

it was a great first birthday party for Scarlett!