Hotel Doggieville

we recently watched our friends dog while they flew over to the east coast to visit family. they have a beagle named AJ. my friend's nephew had the honor of naming her and AJ stands for "Apple Juice" isn't that cute!!! miss AJ is our dog Max's bestest friend. they LOOOOOVE each other!!! they will sleep next to each other.....well......that is when AJ will share a spot on the couch....tho most times we find her like this:

they love to play together. chase games, tug-o-war games, sneak up on each other games.....it's the funniest watching them. and they're both so ok with being around kids that they pretty much let A do what ever to either of them....things like this....


maaaarvulous ms. aj


and mr. max feeling most faaaaboulous today.


these dogs are awesome.


xoxo
-amanda

Summer Break

on wednesday june 13th at 12pm it will officially be SUMMER VACATION!!!!!!!!!!

so excited for not having to wake up to an alarm clock!!!

but summer break always comes with mixed emotions. every other summer A and i get to travel back to FL usually for a good two week visit with family and friends. this is an off summer so to me it brings a bit of sadness. as much of a pain it is to travel, i do love going "home" and seeing everyone. it's only the 3 of us out here in CA and it can get lonely at times. there's no family to just pop over and visit or they visit us. no big family sunday dinners or holiday dinners. but during our time out here we've created a bit of a "misfit family" of others whose family is also on another coast.

so with no traveling this summer, we've signed A up for a few day camps that should keep her from being too bored and from her and i "killing" each other ;)

the last two weeks of june, A will be joining a few of her friends in a band "camp" (no jokes...they're 10). she'll be learning to play the alto sax and she's pretty excited about it. dad plays the tenor sax so this will give them something even more to bond over. i can't wait to get pictures of them together! it's going to be so cute!!

she's also take a LEGO animation camp where, in a small group, they will be creating the sets, scripts, directing,....everything and making a stop motion movie. she's grown up watching her dad animate on the computer so she's developed a love of animation. this will give her a chance at doing something like dad. they'll be receiving a DVD copy of the movie they make at the end of the week. i can't wait to see what her creative mind comes up with!!

her last camp of the summer is a marine biology camp. all of these camps are put on by our local parks and rec and are really awesome. at this one she'll get to touch a shark's egg, see different smaller sea creatures and learn more about our oceans. all of this will take place in a building here in town, not at an aquarium or the beach, but it should be really interesting for the kids.

as for me and my plans between carting her around......i plan on going to the gym daily, working on some craft projects i've got planned and pinned on Pinterest, working towards my Goodreads book goal and relaxing.

what plans do you have for the summer? any trips? projects? please share! i'd love to hear about them!

xo
amanda

me at the gym?!? heck yeah!!!

i officially joined my local YMCA back in march and have been going pretty consistently since then. especially on tuesdays and thursdays. those are kick boxing days. those are days that i've grown to L.O.V.E.

WHO KNEW!!??! i freaking LOVE this class. it KILLED me in the beginning when i first started going, but now i can last through a whole hour of class without stopping a ton of times. i take water breaks and moments to regain my balance, but other then that.....that whole hour is an hour of constant movement and therapy! it's fun punching and kicking my stresses away! i haven't seen many physical changes yet, tho i am down a pants size and don't have to suck in my tummy when i'm pms-ing, but i know that all my extra fluff didn't come on in a day and it's not going to go away in a day. man i wish it would tho.....but.....sigh. it's not.

on june 1st i signed up for another program that's offered through the Y that sets you up with a routine through the weight machines. with the end of school activities, i haven't been as faithful as i could have been, but this summer will make up for that.

i just bought new workout shoes today and man....are do they feel amazing! they cost me my spleen and a kidney, but i know it'll help eliminate potential issues. i'll let you know how they work after a week.

i'm slowly working up to running. and i will admit here.....anywhere really....I LOATH RUNNING!!! with a passionate fury do i hate running. BUT. i'm going to work up to it. maybe even grow to have a mild distaste for it. who knows? i've come this far in liking the gym and working out that anything is possible.

any advice? tips? routines that have worked for you?

xo
amanda

where i've been.......

alright....sheesh. haven't been on here since MARCH!!! good grief! so here's a quick re-cap

march: hubby and i did end up going away for our 10yr anniversary. we took a weekend trip up to Santa Barbara and stayed an a great b&b and we also took a great wine tasting tour of the Santa Ynez Valley. if you ever get the chance to stay and take the tour, it's very very well worth it!

april: CRAZY MONTH!!!! the 2nd our baby girl hit the big double digits. we had some of her friends over as well as some of ours to celebrate. the kids slept over and were up half the night. hubby's mom also came out from NY to celebrate the weekend with us and that was fun. on the 28th, i turned 31 and we celebrated that with friends, good food and plenty of laughs.

may: so far it's been quiet....just random things winding down the school year and starting to plan summer activities. over the past Memorial weekend our little town hosts a Cajun Festival. our family looks forward to it every year and can't wait to go!! there's such great food, vendors, amazing music and it's such a great time. we get to get a small taste of food from "home". Southern Sweet tea, bbq pork ribs, gator tail, sweet potato pie.....oh man.......just so so so good.

june starts tomorrow. A will be done being a 4th grader on the 13th. i am still not ready mentally for her to be a 5th grader. but i've got time for that. we've got a few end of the year things to help out with at school then it'll be a few summer camps over the next couple of weeks and i'm sure endless days with friends and sleepovers.

june will also bring something pretty big in our family. our very first NEPHEW!!!! my hubby's brother and wife are expecting their first baby and he will be joining us sometime this month! we're all crazy excited but the distance is killing us! they're in FL, while we're all the way over in CA. But we'll be seeing them this December and will be there to celebrate his very first Christmas!!!!

with this arrival you'll finally see me being crafty again! i've been in such a horrible creative funk!!! i've even considered re-naming the blog because of it! but i'll be busy with some projects that i'll be sharing soon over the summer break.

hope all is well with everyone! i've added an email contact to this site if anyone has any suggestions, questions, thoughts, links to share....anything!

xoxo
amanda

dark days

some days it's really easy to sit here and say "yeah i'm totally cool with it....no biggs" and continue on my day/life like i totally mean it. other days my brain is telling me something completely different. along with my heart. those days suck ass. no other way to really say it. sorry. those days punch you in the gut and take super small pieces away from you.

i'm not talking about depression. i'm not talking about a serious disease or something like that. today i'm going to open up about something only a few of you may know about me. it's not even really that serious....just something i really don't like talking about to many cause it hurts and it comes off complainy and whiny and i'm not cool with that.

i really want another baby and my hubby doesn't. i know that i will never have another child unless there's some freak accident with my birth control which i know won't ever happen because it's really not that hard to remember to take a simple little pill every night. so yeah there it is.

to you it may not seem like a big deal. "oh you already have a beautiful daughter....be thankful...be happy" or i get those other lovely comments "oh...you're still both really young, you totally have time left." umm.....she's already 10. time has passed. in 8 extremely short years, she's legally an adult. ADULT. then there will be college. then grad school (maybe) then she'll meet some guy (or girl who knows?) and they'll want to start a life together. then the life may bring me grandkids........

i didn't have a "normal" pregnancy. A was born 6wks early via c-section. i never got as far as Braxton Hicks, or having my water break, or anything "normal" women experience. didn't even have a baby shower or time to really mentally prepare....it was "ok....you're going to be a mom today by 4pm" and out walks the doc and in walks the nurse to prep for surgery. after 2wks in NICU we brought home our little 3lb110z preemie. at 20 years old i dealt with all of this. i had hopes of having another child. but those hopes never happened.

i can talk big game about being "ok" with everything. that i'm totally happy with only having one child who is so completely awesome, and i am totally happy with one child who is so completely awesome. but i would have loved to have had a sibling for her. one that's not walking on 4 legs, completely hairy and answers to the name "Max". but there are days when seeing women pregnant that it kills me. that i just want to cry because i'm so completely jealous and envious. days when seeing friends pregnant make me feel that same way, even tho i'm so completely happy and excited for them! and even knowing that their kids will bring such happiness not only to them, but to me as well, because i can help out and snuggle them anytime i want......but it still hurts.

i know that when A is out of the house it will be just weird. so quiet and empty. and hubby and i have grand plans of travels, but doesn't everyone? no more waking in the middle of the night. no more dirty stinky diapers. no more worries about playdates, which preschool is the best, which teacher is the right one, silly school age drama.......none of that. it'll be different worries.

did i do the best that i could for A while she was little? did we spend enough time together? did we teach her how to be a good adult? did we show her how a happy marriage works so she knows how hard it is to work at it? these will be my worries when she's grown. but not now.

 now there are others that come and go. there will always be those. along with an empty feeling some days. 

so yeah.....i can talk big game about being "ok" and "everything's fine".......but some days.....it's not. and that's ok. i know these feelings and am working on them. i'm so thankful for what i do have in my life. i love my lil family so amazingly much. even my extremely fuzzy lil boy, Max.

random monday

random things i've been up too:

took kiddo to see The Lorax last week. animation was great, wasn't expecting all the songs tho. it was still good tho.

i've been pinning like crazy on Pinterest. but it's been paying off cause i've made some yummy food. i'll post pics and links to the recipes soon.

i've checked out some books from the library on mean girl behavior. yup...it's started. my little girl is dealing with mean girls in FOURTH GRADE!!!!! so not happy about that. but these books have been helpful and a good resource.

Little Girls Can Be Mean: Four Steps to Bully-proof Girls in the Early Grades
by Michelle Anthony, Reyna Lindert

The Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence
by Rachel Simmons

also i've offically joined my local YMCA and i've been going tues/thurs for kickboxing and m/w/f for use of the gym. i feel really good about that. i've partook in a full body fitness class and holy crow did that class KICK MY BUTT!!! i sneezed the next day and was in tears my abs hurt so bad. so i'll be going back to that this friday.

i re-read The Hunger Games for the upcoming movie. i still don't really like Katniss. i know people LOVE her, but eh. i'm interested in seeing how they pull everything off for the movie, but i know i'll be disappointed with some stuff.

i've finally made some way in reading The Games of Thrones. i think i'm finally more then halfway through. i'm really enjoying it. it's just such a THICK book!! which normally doesn't bother me.

the next two weeks is going to be a bit crazy for us. next weekend the 24th, marks 10yrs of marriage for hubby and i. we've had a roller coaster ride so far and i'm not ready to get off. he's my everything and i'm so happy to get to spend some time with him. no clue what we'll be doing yet but i know we'll have fun.

the following weekend we'll be celebrating kiddo's 10th birthday!!! i'm still in shock that i have a 10yr. i love that kid so flippin much!!!!!

this week we'll be having kiddo undergo allergy testing. she was tested for peanuts at age 1 and it came back positive. we were told then that she'd have a 20% chance of growing out of it. she's not a severe case, but we have an Epi-Pen just in case and watch what she eats. but we've never had her tested for tree nuts. it was pretty stressful just for the peanut test, that it just didn't happen. so we'll be going thursday and seeing how the allergy is now. she's kinda excited and nervous all at the same time. if she comes back negative to peanuts, the first thing she wants to try is....Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. that's my girl.

so yeah....that's what's been going on here! hope all is well!

xoxo-amanda

i want my hour back.

so last night was....wow....just plain sleepless for me. i think i may have gotten...maybe...an hour. i didn't have any tea/coffee/caffeine too late in the day, i wasn't stressed, nothing buggin me....i have no clue why i couldn't just sleep.

it turned into just thoughts after thoughts...."i haven't blogging in awhile...i should think of something to write" ( and i swear i wrote like 3 blogs in my mind last night) then it went to memories of when kiddo was little and we use to make up "baby stories" for her at random. then i went on "writing" one of those in my head in hope to print it out and send it to my friend whose always wanted to illustrate one of those stories.

then the random itchies happened...you know the kind. you're just laying there all comfy when all of a sudden your left calf itches....then you upper right arm...then the left side of your head.....then your back......then back to the right leg.....it's horrible.

then you get all settled again and it's quiet.....except hubby was snoring. yup...sorry love but you were. sigh......so then it's gentle moving and nudging to "wake" him up to stop snoring. yeah....didn't happen. snore.....snore.......snore.......sigh.

then it's trying different sleeping positions: back, right side, left side, tummy, back to trying curled up on the right side again. then...just as i got somewhat comfy....i had to use the bathroom. sigh.

then it's walking in the dark with no glasses. now mind you, i'm like not completely blind, but sheesh! it's a strong prescription. so everything is fuzzy and dark and even tho i know my way around my own home at night, i still look out for things. ::pause to give quick back story::: i have an older sister.....she and i would ALWAYS try to scare the poo out of each other growing up. sometimes i'd win, sometimes she'd win. but mostly it was her "torturing" me. there was one time where i was waiting for her to come in and say good night (she's 11 1/2yrs older and was always my "babysitter" when our parents were out). now my bed room door opened to a long hallway where the top of the stairs came out too....she snuck up the stairs quiet as a mouse and as i'm watching the stairs for her anxiously, cause even tho i called for her like 5 times....she didn't answer. i was like 7 maybe so i was mildly freaked.....so as i'm looking down the hall....slooowwwlllly just her heads appears from the top of the stairs!!!! i totally SCREAMED!!!! so.....yeah...i'm just a tad jumpy at night. (thanks sis....it's totally all your fault) so back to the main point of this.....as i'm walking to the bathroom in the dark i look down our hallway to make sure everything is ok....when all of a sudden all the scary movie/tv show creepiness come rushing into my head and i mildly freakout. i KNOW there's nothing in the house to get me....i KNOW!!!! BUT.....there's a very miniscule chance that there could be. so......yeah. that happened. i rush back to bed trying not to just jump over hubby to my side cause i wouldn't want to disturb his peaceful peaceful slumber. sigh.

back to trying to get comfy again. but all the time making sure that no body part is hanging off the bed. cause there's STILL THAT CHANCE OF SOMETHING BEING UNDER THE BED!!!! don't laugh.

just as i was entering a dream of talking to hubby about not being able to sleep the dark is broken by the bathroom light. it's time for him to get up and get ready for work. and my own alarm will be going off in 40mins.

i'm so screwed for energy today.