Tag: parenthood

I HEART ZAPPOS!

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Yesterday I had one of the greatest customer service experiences of my entire life.  Seriously, it’s the stuff legends are made of.

I ordered a pair of Christmas shoes for Bay about a week ago. I love Zappos free shipping both ways policy (I hate paying to ship back a return) and I am now in love with their “video view”. You know when you’re looking at something on-line and you can’t quite tell if it’s the right color or if it would look right on? Enter video view. It’s a quick 20 second video of an employee holding, squishing, twisting and pointing out the assets of a shoe. I was set on a pair until I watched the video and saw the color wasn’t quiet true to the picture. LOVE.

Naturally I was super excited to open the Zappos box when it came yesterday – but when I did, I realized it was the wrong shoes. I checked the receipt to confirm that I didn’t have an aneurism while shopping and saw that they had clearly shipped me the wrong shoe. Right size, wrong color and style. No biggie, I’ve returned with them before so I knew it wouldn’t be a huge deal. I called up customer service and with in 45 seconds was connected to a person (LOVE). I explained the problem and read off all the number for my order and on the box. The man said he would get it fixed in no time and would I mind holding.

When he came back, he apologized profusely and told me that the shoes I wanted were no longer available in B’s size. Before I could relay my disappointment, he had already launched into a compensation shpeel – Zappos was going to refund my money for the wrong shoes but they insisted that I keep the wrong shoes since they were the right size AND they were going to give me a $25 coupon to purchase a new, different pair. Huh? I asked him to run through it again so I was sure I got the point – I got my money back. And a free pair of shoes. And a nearly free pair of the shoes I actually wanted?? LOVE.

When B woke from her nap, I tried on the new free shoes and realized that she really could get away with a half-size bigger. So I used my coupon and ordered her up the pair I wanted in a half-size bigger for a total of $8.99! Amazing!

She’ll be looking so fancy in her new, nearly free shoes! Shop Zappos. Shop them often and tell your friends!

BFFs

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Baylor’s new things are favorites and bests. As in her favorite song, animal and meal and bests friends.

She is constantly asking me if the song we’re listening is my favorite, or if my shoes are my favorite pair, or if my car is my favorite car. And in turn, she tells me when she’s wearing her favorite outfit, hair bows and Bear the dog.

After a weekend spent with her step cousins, soon to be cousin and second cousins (yes, we are the actual Big Fat Greek wedding family – just English decent), Baylor is into picking her best friends. On Thursday, it was her cousin Madi. Then her cousin Zoe. On Saturday, it was her cousin Abby. And on Sunday, it was me.

While getting ready for bed, B looked at me and sincerely said “Mommy, you mine best friend”. My heart melted. I reciprocated and told her she was my best friend and she responded with “No mommy, you mine best friend”. There was no need to argue. It was better to just snuggle up with my BFF.

Giving Thanks

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Holy moly. It’s been a crazy week! Thanksgiving was one of the best yet  – after 5 years of hosting, I think we have feeding 20+ down to a science. We’ve gotten to see and spend time with old friends and lots of extended family. Baylor is officially BFFs with her second cousin, Abby. And is solidly convinced that her (step) cousins are the best.

Mother Nature threatened, once again, to rain on our parade. I literally stepped out onto our patio with my hands on my hips just daring her to keep sprinkling all over my beautifully set table. Thankfully, I have a very convincing “mom stare” and she backed off before my linens were soaked. In fact, the sun came out by the time all of our family and friends arrived with side dishes in hand. PW’s turkeys were the best he’s ever made and the entire evening was…relaxed. The everyone ate and then sat and enjoyed the beautiful Arizona weather, candle light and kid’s laughter.

{Mother Nature threatening to ruin my table!}

{Chef Wand}

{Chef Wand’s Turkeys}

{Titi and cousin Zoe}

{The hungry crowd}

{How many kids can you fit on a toddlers climber?}

{this many!}

{How do you make tree climbing more interesting? Do it in a tree not really meant for climbing and add fire!}

{A sweet note from cousin Madi about being thankful}

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving too! I am very thankful for you reading, commenting and liking my humble blog 🙂

I Like You

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This morning while changing Baylor’s Pull Up, she put her hands on my face and said:

“Mommy, I like your shirt. And you ponytail and your headband. And I like your eyes and your mouth. And I like your boogers.”

With “boogers” she cracked up. As did I. I asked her if she meant the rest of it but she was too busy giggling at her own joke to respond. I like to think that she meant all of it!

Baylorisms – part 2

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Because our sweet girl has a language all her own:

“Frog” – Bay has a humidifier that looks like a frog. Therefore all humidifiers are called Frogs.

“Hopsitle” – or hospital to you and me

“Gubs” – gloves

“Cookie” – her cousin Quincy

“Nahma and Nampa” – grandma and grandpa

“Poppynoni” – the fast way to say Pop and Noni

“NumNums” – her favorite stuffed rabbit – Peter taught her that rabbits say “num num num” when their little noses twitch

“Loga” – yoga

“Busssssss” – when she was just starting to speak, she would only say Buh for bus. I would accentuate the S sound and now bus has a super long s!

“Baylor lock” – the lock on the door that she can’t reach and therefore keeps her inside. When Peter comes home, I hear “Mommy!! I can’t open door because the BAYLOR lock!!”

 

 

 

Say Cheese

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I have been on the hunt for a photographer that fit into our budget to take family pictures for us. I love pictures and I like when I get to be in them, which doesn’t often happen when I’m the one taking all the pictures! Plus, I love the candid shots and retouching of professional work.

Awhile ago I “liked” a friend from high school’s photography page – 2 Comforts Photography. I thought she did mostly wedding work but recently saw some family pics pop up. So I reached out to Meredith for a quote and it turned out that not only were her rates increadibly reasonable, they were having a special AND had openings! Jackpot!

So we met a few weekends ago at Civic Center Park and spent an hour snapping pics. I have to say that Bay was quite cooperative. She did start to loose it towards the end of the hour, but Meredith and her husband Travis were able to catch some great shots during that phase. Needless to say, I am thrilled with pictures and I can’t wait to get them up on the wall!

Here are a few of my favorites:

 

This is the epitome of our relationship – we just follow her lead!

Act surprised when you get our Christmas card, ok?

I love this one

This was when we started entering the uncooperative phase. Thankfully she looks cute when she’s being defiant.

Thank you again Meredith and Travis for the gorgeous family treasures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garlic Shots

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Two weeks. We are closing in on two weeks of sickness around here. As soon as one of us starts feeling better, another is feeling worse. And then we switch.

A family friend told me about a Mexican homeopathic remedy that was sure to ward off whatever illness I have an also keep me healthy. As I was scribbling down the recipe, I started feeling a little queasy at the thought of ingesting the concoction. But I’m into natural remedies and I would like to get rid of my Rudolph nose, so I was in.

I gathered all of the ingredients and then began mixing: 2 cloves of garlic finely crushed. Juice of 1 lemon. Honey. A little hot water. And I added some crushed ginger because it too is a great immunity booster, and if you’re going to drink something disgusting, it might as well be really sick. I stirred all the ingredients together in a high ball glass because it made it feel a little more fancy.

Then the moment had come. I couldn’t mix any more so it was time to drink. I picked up the glass and chugged that beast like it was Thursday at Dirtbags and the glass was filled to the rim with a Sicilian Whore.

And really? It was not the worse thing I had ever had. It sort of tasted like a sauce you would use on chicken – a little spicy and sweet. So if you see a recipe here soon with those ingredients, you’ll know where the idea came from.

As for the immunity properties, I’m undecided. I think it might do better if you were trying to stay healthy rather than get healthy. So Bay and I opted for a trip around the medical complex (our doctor’s are right next door to each other) and got loaded up with antibiotics. We’ll save the lemon garlic honey mix for the chicken.

It’s All in the Jeans

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Somewhere between gaining baby weight, maternity jeans and post pregnancy jeans, my favorite pre pregnancy jeans have become woefully out of style. I wore them for the Scottsdale Moms Blog photo shoot and when I saw the proofs, I was sad to see that my old stand by pair were now a little too baggy. What were once the perfect cut, look almost like the oh-so-hip carpenter jeans I was so fond of in 8th grade.

In my defense, it’s not for lack of trying. Somewhere in my denim transitional phase over the last 3 years, JCrew had changed the cut of their jeans. I bought several pairs (I have to order online because apparently no one with an inseam over 32 inches shops in the stores) and each one was either just a little too tight or just a little too big. And for $130, I’m not paying to have the damn things altered. Plus altered jeans never come out right anyway. So I ventured out to other styles and other brands. And nothing. Nada. Nothing was quite right. It was the right fit, but the wrong wash. Right wash and wrong fit. Wrong wash and wrong fit. ARG.

In addition to finding a new go to pair, I also needed (read wanted) a pair that I could wear tucked into boots – meaning jeans that would STAY tucked into boots after many rounds of stand up, sit down, pick up kiddo, squat down and pick up dropped toy, etc. Which is a struggle all in itself. Oh, and in case anyone hasn’t noticed, I’m not 16 and wearing anything too skinny or low cut or faded just makes me look sad in a I’m-too-old-to-wear-this-but-I-think-I-can-so-I-did kind of way.

I went to an unlikely source for some new dries, Victoria’s Secret. I ordered the Siren and the Pencil fit in several sizes since you never really know what will fit. But if you use Retail Me Not and find a few coupons, the shipping is free so it makes it a little more cost efficient.

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised!  The Siren jeans are jeggings – they are a little too tight to wear by themselves, but they are great with boots. They stay tucked in and wear the entire day. I have to say, I even caught a nap in them this weekend…which made me think of Pajama Jeans. The Pencil cut are very cute, but they do stretch a little after a whole day. But for $60ish bucks, I don’t mind having them taken in a little – I’ll even take my chances of them coming out right..

Also, I like to think that these fit so well because I’m built like a Victoria’s Secret model. True or not, it’s a happy day dream.

**And don’t forget to enter The Hall Girls~Bows, Tutus and Everything Girlie giveaway!!! The winner will be chosen tomorrow at 5pm!

Commitment (breaking) Phob

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I was supposed to run the 5k portion of the Women’s Half Marathon this past Sunday. Read “supposed to”. I contracted Baylor’s croup sometime Thursday and by Saturday night, I was feeling miserable. Coughing, sore throat and just a general feeling of crap. I was set that I had to run on Sunday morning and would just battle through it. I had made a commitment to run and damn it, I’m tough.

Around 10pm Saturday and after a major coughing fit, PW sweetly looked at me and said “please don’t get mad. But I really think you should skip the run tomorrow”. And damn it if he’s not right that I would have gotten mad if he hadn’t said it. At first I refused. But after I thought about another week of feeling crummy, I decided he was right. I had to skip it. I sadly texted Stephanie (who finished 13 out of like 2000 runners!!!) that I was out for the run and for our breakfast plans after.

I woke up Sunday around 7:15 and felt…human. I didn’t feel horrible. PW and Bay ventured out to Bosa Doughnuts  and we sat on the couch, watched CBS Sunday morning, ate fresh doughnuts and bacon, drank coffee and turned on the fireplace for the first time this season. I’m not sure if it was the uninterrupted family time, the doughnuts or the sleep that made me feel so much better.

It got me thinking that I get too uptight about keeping commitments. Yes, it’s important to follow through. To go to the events that you’ve RSVP’d for, to complete the race, to finish the project. But sometimes it equally if not more important to cancel and stay in. To say no to the world and yes to snuggling your family on the couch.

Croupy Kiddo

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We’ve been hit with the croup. B came home early from preschool with a fever and then woke up from her nap barking like a puppy – but not in a fun way.

So I reluctantly took her to the doctor. I say reluctantly because she’s still at the super fun “we don’t give medicine other than Tylenol” age so there’s not always a point to handing over the $20 copay. But they do check her oxygen levels so it’s worth it when she’s got a cough. We’re lucky that she is very healthy and had clear lungs, just the inflammation in her trachea. We did walk out with a prescription, which felt like a small victory.

She’s on the mend and the cough has drastically improved. But the lack of sleep all the way around in our house is starting to take its toll. We broke down and let her sleep in bed with us last night – and now I remember why we don’t do that. She’s like sleeping with a badger. Even though she is totally asleep, she kicks, flails, throws punches, headbutts, rolls – God help her when she’s not in a crib any more, we’ll have to make her sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor to prevent injuries from falling out of bed.

I’m praying that we will all sleep well tonight and wake up ready for a busy and fun weekend. Fingers crossed!

Oh! And it’s Scottsdale Moms Blog day. Check out my snazzy bar stool makeover. It would be the perfect chilly weekend project. http://www.scottsdalemomsblog.com/