it's been a while

It's been forever since I posted, but with good reason. My sister's wedding is approaching on Memorial Day weekend. So I have been busy busy busy with her shower, her bachelorette party, and planning the details of her wedding day! I'm so ecstatic that she is getting married, especially on the beach in Corolla, NC. It's been an exhausting few months and I'm hoping all of this planning is well worth the effort! To say we are on a budget, is a bit of an understatement, but I really think it has been fun coming up with all of the DIY projects. I'll reveal more details and the projects after the wedding (hoping it all goes well) but until then, here are some pictures that have inspired us throughout the planning process:

so much to do...so little time

There are so many little things that have been added to my to-do lists. Consolidating my to-do lists should be on my to-do list. The picture shows a few of my lists I have lying around at work. Sometimes I trick myself into thinking I'm actually accomplishing something by making a to-do list. See all of those empty check boxes? I need to check them! Well first, I need to accomplish the task, then check them. Of course that involves having free time...you know like the time it has taken me to write this blog post? I guess what I really need is some MOTIVATION! I need some motivation to complete the little things that have gotten past me. I always wonder where people find the time and motivation to reorganize their closets, create scrapbooks, blog daily, clean, do laundry, go out with friends, and cook. I seriously want to know because I need help! I wish I could say our home is always spotless and dinner is always prepared and my clothes are always hung up, folded, or put in hampers. I feel like my nights are spent cleaning up the mess made in the mornings and my weekends spent cleaning the messes made at night. Did that confuse you? Because I'm confused. Just to give you an idea, my mornings go something like this: Wake up by 7am, shower, find something to wear from the piles of clean and sometimes dirty clothes on the floor, kiss Brian goodbye as he leaves for work, frantically pack Lily's breakfast and lunch, pack my own breakfast (instant oatmeal and a banana) and lunch if I'm lucky to see a Lean Cuisine in the freezer, warm up Lily's bottle, give to Lily as she wakes up and watches cartoons, finish my make-up and hair, make coffee, pour into thermos, pack up my purse and Lily's bag, change her diaper, get her dressed and somehow try to make it out the door by 8:15am. Truthfully, I'm lucky if I make it out that early and if along the way I haven't spilled my coffee all over the place or can actually find something to wear! Then after work and after I pick up Lily, I'm at home around 6 trying to figure out something to cook for dinner. And if it's anything like last night's dinner which took FOREVER...we eat around 8:30pm. Who knew brown rice took about an hour and a half to cook in the rice cooker? So, the last thing I want to do after dinner is anything productive. Unless it's making brownies. Which I did last night...and after I finished my brownie sundae, I found myself going back to the brownie pan with a spoon then to the freezer for a spoonful of ice cream, then back for a spoonful of brownie and so on. Which is not the point of my story at all...I just wanted to highlight how my mind tries to trick me into thinking I'm eating less than I really am.

See what I mean? Even my thoughts are cluttered! So, the point I'm trying to make is that I need to make a change in my life before I go crazy! I need to prioritize and organize my life. I need a schedule. I need, I need, I need...I sound so greedy! 

Maybe, I should just make a new to-do list:

• Prioritize
• Organize 
• Schedulize 

Now I feel better. I have a to-do list. I've accomplished that much at least.

things i'm loving right now...

category: quick toddler food

Normally I like to cook for Lily, but sometimes there's not enough time in the day to do everything. So here are a few things that I rely on for quick meals and on-the-go snacks:

Breakfast:

1) YoBaby Plus Fruit & Cereal Yogurt and YoBaby 3-in-1 meals

 

2) Earth's Best Cereal Bars

 

3) Earth's Best Organic Mini-Waffles

 

Lunch/Dinner:  

1) Coleman Organic® Chicken Breast Nuggets

[so so good...i have to constantly remind myself that I bought them for Lily and not me]

2) Earth's Best Frozen Meals

 [oddly enough, her favorite part of these meals are the veggies!]

3) Frozen veggies

Snacks:

1) Toddler Mum-Mum's

  

2) Garden Cheddar Goldfish

  

[now with veggies added!]

Other things that are quick and easy to prepare: cut up bananas, sliced cantaloupe, & cheese cubes. Hope this gives you some quick ideas for your toddler!

the little gym

Lately I've been thinking of enrolling Lily in The Little Gym that's near us in Ashburn. I think it would be really good for her to interact with other kids her age. While we are so blessed that her grandma watches her during the day while we are at work, she doesn't really get the same interaction with other kids like she would at a daycare. I don't want her to end up being socially awkward and greedy when it comes to her toys. This morning I went to drop her off and her cousin, who's a year older, was also at her grandmas for a bit. Her cousin had a calculator that Lily NEEDED right away, so Lily went up and hit her in the back of the head and started making a mean pouty face. I'm sure that's normal...maybe. Either way, it got me thinking that Lily needs to learn how to share before she assumes she can get whatever she wants.

So, next week we will be trying out a free introductory class. She'll be part of the "Birds" class for infants/toddlers 10-19 months. It's also a parent/child class, which means active participation on our part. Ohhh just one more thing I thought I'd never do as a parent. It's amazing what you'll do for your kid!

 

this picture warms my heart...

life with a one year old...

...is so much different than life with an 11 month old! It's been less than a month since Lily has turned 1 and I've already noticed such a change in her personality. She wants to be held all the time and of course we can't resist her when she puts her arms up and makes the squeezing notion with her hands. She throws her food on the ground. She doesn't sleep in her crib. Even when she's in the deepest sleep, as soon as we put her down in her crib, she senses she's in her room and wakes up immediately. When we try to let her cry it out, she cries so much that she'll throw up. So, it's been a lose lose situation for us and we end up letting her sleep in our bed...which means no sleep for Brian or I! So, needless to say, we need to get her on a tighter schedule and need to start cracking down on her bad habits. Now if only we knew how to do that!

Lilyan's 1st Birthday

Lily is 1 year old! I can't believe it. Does that mean she is no longer a baby? Do I say I have a toddler now?! Well she is definitely acting more like one these days. She screams when she doesn't get her way and throws a fit if she can't play with your phone, keys, wallet...anything important. On the flip side, she is more cuddly  and just the sweetest girl ever. I love my baby toddler!

Here are a few pictures from her birthday festivities. If you couldn't tell, she's obsessed with Minnie Mouse. I'm hoping we didn't overdo it because I can see her developing a phobia over Disney characters thanks to her parents.

This was her on her actual birthday. I stayed home from work and made her mickey mouse pancakes for breakfast! These were the only two that resembled mickey mouse; the others looked more like blobs.

Her cute birthday dress:

Her birthday cake (Ultimate White Cake from Wegmans - SO GOOD)

We put the entire cake in front of her and she refused to touch it until we cut her a slice! So much for the typical baby face in cake pictures.

These pictures were from her Birthday Party over the weekend. I bought a smaller version of the Ultimate White cake above from Wegmans, smoothed down the frosting and decorated this cake with fondant. I must say, I'm very impressed with how it turned out...not so impressed with the stains left on my palms from the red and black fondant dyes. (more on this cake later)

 Dessert table and favor boxes. (The cupcakes were hot fudge sundae cupcakes - recipe from Joy the Baker...guests could decorate them with whipped cream, sprinkles, and cherries!)

Time to eat your birthday cake!

(or just stare at it until we cut you a slice)

yummy BBQ, pesto pasta salad, lumpia (spring rolls) & baked corn

She pretty much sat in this chair the whole night (gift from her Aunt) ...what a lazy kid!

Happy Birthday Lilyan!

Help Haiti!

Click on the image to donate online at Global Giving:

Please donate! I did and it only took 3 minutes of my time!

birthday planning

Someone very special is having her first birthday party! I'm so excited and at the same time in shock that her 1st birthday has so quickly approached. I can't believe that a year ago I was eagerly prepping for the unknown experience of childbirth. I read everything there was to know about childbirth and watched every episode of 'A Baby Story' on TLC. I did so much research that I freaked myself out about the worst case scenarios. What a stressful time! Thankfully, I expected the worst and it wasn't that bad! Maybe there's a lesson in that. Always expect the worst. Actually, that would lead to a very depressing life...so, maybe that's not the best lesson. Anyways, one year later, here I am, prepping for her birthday party! What are you supposed to do anyway at a 1 year old's party? The only things I have right now on the list are eat, drink, and sing Happy Birthday. I need ideas!

While you're thinking of ideas for me, I'll give you a little preview of what I have planned.

Theme - Minnie Mouse (not over the top, mainly just red, black, and white polka-dots)

Location - local Community Center

Invitations - Alyssa and I made these on Photoshop...I think they turned out quite cute!

Birthday cake - 2 tier cake inspired by the images below:

 (I wish I would have chosen this pink instead of red as the theme color...I love it!)

http://www.kellechu.com/gallery/6

http://tast-e-cakes.com/birthday_girl_cakes

Birthday outfit - did I say not over the top? because this might be a bit overboard:

I bought this tee with short sleeves and Lilyan's name on it at http://www.etsy.com/shop/makmaydesigns and the tutu at http://www.etsy.com/shop/jujustutus. I also bought a matching bow from http://www.etsy.com/shop/BetsyonEtsyBows. I can't wait to show pictures of her completed outfit!

Food - catered by Beltway BBQ second place winner Matty. He's making pulled pork and barbecue chicken, so so good. I've taken on the task of making the sides. We only have to feed about 60 people...that shouldn't be so hard, right?

Drinks - keg of beer. It is a Matheny party after all. For the (handful of) non-drinkers, sodas and water in these red cooler tubs I bought. Oh and Lily can have juice in her cute Minnie cup that I just now thought of buying.

Decorations - Mickey and Minnie ears for everyone (well for everyone that doesn't have a big head like me and can fit into a kid sized headband). Red, white, & black balloons. Cute red napkins with white polka-dots that I found at Paper Source.

Music - I'll go through my iTunes and see what Lily dances to and add it to my iPod. Maybe I'll even throw in the Mickey Mouse clubhouse theme song.

So, that's it. That's all I have so far! I still need to find a birthday banner, goodie bag gifts and more decorations. I have a lot of planning left to do!

can't our players just get along?

Ughh. Portis needs to stop talking. Every time he opens his mouth he says something stupid. He pretty much came out and called Campbell a pushover who sucks as a team captain. Stuff like this really annoys me as a loyal Redskins fan. Then again, if we had a winning record this season, maybe I wouldn't be so easily annoyed. Oh well, I'm just glad Campbell came back and defended himself. I can't say that Portis is 100% wrong in what he said, but why does he always have to be so disrespectful? I wonder which one of them will be gone by next season...my money's on Portis.

Then there's Arenas. Good ol' Gilbert. I wonder at what point he thought it would be a good idea to bring not one, but three guns into the locker room. So, now he's suspended indefinitely for taking his guns out and playing a not so funny joke on Javaris Crittenton after they had an argument a few nights before. In his defense, they were supposedly unloaded and the argument between him and Javaris Crittenton stemmed from a card game. I know what its like to be a sore loser...just ask my husband after he came back to beat me in Mario Kart.

Oh, and Welcome to D.C., Shanahan!!
Can't wait to see what the off-season brings. HAIL!

project 365

Check out my Project 365 blog! Each day this year I'm going to post a picture that I've taken. By the end of this project, I hope to look back and reflect on all the blessings in my life, no matter how small. Wish me luck in this long assignment!

2010 Resolutions

(http://www.wordle.net/)

Happy 2010!

Lily's 1st Christmas (in photos)

Christmas Eve at the In-Laws

[first gift of the night - matching P.J's with her cousin!]

[she also got a sleeping bag to match her cousin's from last year!]

[I love this picture...they are so cute together]

Christmas Eve at our home

     

      

     

Christmas Morning!

[coming out to see all of her gifts]

[reading her card from her mommy and daddy]

[inside her Dora playhut!]

[she loves the tunnel!]

[opening her stocking]

Christmas at Grandpa's house

[opening one of 100 gifts she received]

["Excuse me...this is MY gift!"]

[remember when I said, "I wish my sisters and I could take pictures in front of the tree in ridiculous outfits like the old days"? Well my wish came true, when my sister bought us matching p.j's! haha]

[back at home - Lily wanted to play on her new cute lamb rocker from Pottery Barn]

[p.s. - ignore my husbands outfit...he's wearing Transformers p.j's he got from my sister as a joke...

...except, he secretly loves them]

Hope everyone enjoyed the Holidays!