Tag: personal

Sweet Sweet Sleep

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Last week, out of the blue, Baylor started waking up at 4:50am. I was woken up out of a deep sleep by a very loud voice shouting “MOMMY!!! AWAKE!!!!” over the baby monitor. I promptly turned the monitor down a bit and attempted to go back to sleep, praying that she would do the same. No luck.

This has gone on for the last two weeks. Bay wakes up, attempts to wake us up and then we all spend an hour + trying to get back to sleep. It’s made for some amazing melt downs (from each of us) and some extra super dark circles under my eyes.

I stomped into Bay’s room one morning, tired and crabby. I was sure I couldn’t take the forced, early mornings anymore when the sweet face standing in the crib proclaimed “Mommy. Teeth. Hurt.” I asked her which tooth and she pointed to the new white molar stabbing through her gum. My heart broke. Her early mornings were obviously coming from painful new teeth causing her not to be able to sleep – or get back to sleep.

Suddenly the early mornings didn’t seem so bad and getting her to feel better became the priority. With some extra nap time and a little Tylenol, she is finally sleeping a little later. Not like 8am sleeping, but you know, a mom can dream.

Um. Yeah.

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I sat down and got half way through a post before I decided it was utter crap. It was all about how I’ve got a few too many irons in the fire and was actually quite funny….and yet began to sound a bit stupid by the time I got to the 12 thing on the list.

So instead, I decided to just come clean; life is busy. A good busy, but I’m short on time AND material so I’m sorry, but I’ve got nothing worth reading. It’s a terrible excuse, but a true one. I promise funny and entertaining posts are a comin’. Promise!

Interest in Pinterest

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My friend Kristin turned me on to a website called Pinterest. I consider myself a pretty hip, happening and tech savvy person – and yet Pinterest baffled me. What the hell is it? How do I make it work? And why do I need to use it?

I decided to get an account, mostly so I could see what my friends were doing. They all post beautiful pictures that either they have taken or have found on the web somewhere. Again, I was left feeling left out. At one point in my life I would troll the internet looking for pretty things and fun ideas while chained to my desk during a conference call – but that ship has sailed. I barely get a check in on Facebook and fire off emails before it’s time to actually get to work, pick up the munchkin or get an errand run.

I met with the creators of Scottsdale Moms Blog last week and I am happy to say that I will be their DIY/Craft/Home project contributor starting in October! I was energized after our meeting and started to make a list of the things I wanted to write about and research to be done. I began Googling as fast as my fingers would type crafts, Halloween, kids crafts, easy crafts, no mess crafts, etc. I was bookmarking all the lovely ideas – but later when I was trying to find a picture again, I was stumped and guessing at each of the random bookmark titles to find what I was looking for…and then it hit me, Pinterest! How silly of me to over look such a useful tool…and just like that, I got it. Pinterest. I can take the picture from each of the sites I’ve bookmarked (better known as pinning) and put them on to a board (also fancy for category I create) and they will all be in one place!

So I spent a good hour going through all of the things I’ve felt were important enough to bookmark: books, recipes, pictures, craft ideas, home improvement ideas, funny blog posts. You name it, it was in my bookmarks. I created new boards on Pinterest and then sorted out all of the little Easter Eggs of ideas. And the result was a beautifully organized and visual account of all the things I think are worth hanging on to. Fun craft ideas for Halloween? Noted. Delicious recipe ideas? Pinned. Great books and blogs? Done. All of it right there and best of all, now friends and readers can see my ideas too. You can also steal them and pin them to your boards if you love them.

Check it out: http://www.pinterest.com

Search for me under Beth Wand

See what you think of what I’ve done and look around a little at what other are doing. I guarantee you’ll find something you like or worst case scenario, it will be a fun way to waste a few minutes. Happy Pinning!

Best. Neighbor. Ever.

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The first time I met Melissa, she came by on a sunny afternoon. As I answered the door, Baylor and her cousin Zoe were having a hair pulling / screaming match in the background. The pretty lady at the door said “Hi. I’m Melissa. We met a few weeks ago – but I was wondering, do you drink wine?”. My sister-in-law and I burst out laughing. My response? “Do you hear this shenanigans? Of COURSE we drink wine!!”.

Flash forward a few months and PW and I have become friends with Melissa. We’ve gotten to know her and it’s been a blast!

The other night, I realized while making dinner for friends (who were due in less than an hour) that I was totally out of balsamic vinegar. Despite my obsessive list making, the vital ingredient in my balsamic reduction for the caprese salad was no where to be found. Thankfully, in addition to working for a wine supplier, Melissa is a trained chef so there’s a good chance she will have whatever item I’ve forgotten at the grocery store.

Sadly, she too was out of vinegar. I hung up the phone and began dialing PW to ask him to stop on the way home when my phone rang:

“I felt bad that I didn’t have any vinegar so I’m running to the store. See you in a few minutes!”

And not 10 minutes later, there was smiling Melissa with a full bottle of vinegar. She explained she didn’t want me waiting too long to make the reduction as it leaves the house smelling quite pungent and she didn’t want our guests to arrive and immediately fall over from the smell.

seriously, who does that?! Best. Neighbor. EVER!!

Rain Rain….

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You know what is great? When it finally, finally rains. Like a good, soaking rain.

 

You know what is not great? When all of your clean bedding was air drying on the patio. Including the down pillows. And you don’t remember until they have all been soaked by the awesome rain.

 

Laundry? FAIL.

The Grinch Who Stole Night Night

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For months now, Baylor has required various stuffed animals, books and other talisman in order to fall asleep. Sometimes she’s literally sleeping on top of them so that all of them, and her, can be tucked in. Because of this, I usually sneak in her room about an hour after she goes to sleep to pluck out several items and move others to the foot of the crib (I can buy myself 15  more minutes of sleep in the mornings if she has a book and an animal).

I have perfected the art of lightly plucking the toys, blankets, pillows, books, tea cups, wooden angels, etc from under her or around her so that I don’t wake her up. I always think I must look like the Grinch nabbing Cindy Loo Who’s candy cane and sugar plumbs – quickly and nimbly sliding each item away from Baylor.

The other night she was dead asleep. I was pulling out the usual items when, without opening her eyes, she snatched back her Spot the Dog  book and said “no. My book” and clutched it to her chest. I realized that maybe I wasn’t as stealthy as I thought….or the kiddo has inherited both sleep talking and sleep walking (or grabbing in her case) from her parents!

PB&J Sashimi

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We don’t usually get to eat together as a family during the week so we make it a priority to eat almost all our meals together on the weekends. This Saturday we got take out from one of our favorite places, Dozo sushi. It is by far, one of the hidden gems in Scottsdale.

While PW and I enjoyed salmon sushi, a Vegas roll and a Rainbow roll, Bay enjoyed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a fruit smoothie and carrots. She was loving using the plastic forks that came with dinner – but then became obsessed with using the chop sticks. So we handed her a pair and cut up her sandwich so she could grab a few bites. And I have to say, she did pretty well!!

 

What?? I use chop sticks all the time.

allllmossttt got it….

Success!!!

The best part? The novelty of the chop sticks means she ate every last thing on her plate!

A Day to Remember

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Honestly, every time something comes on the news about September 11th, I’ve changed the channel. As the 10 year anniversary approaches, this is getting harder to avoid. I am very blessed that I was not directly affected by the tragedy – however the haunting images and the heartbreaking stories of others pain is so hard to watch.

September 11th is this generation’s “where were you when Kennedy was shot?”. Every knows, vividly, what they were doing.

I was asleep on the Alpha Phi sleeping porch. It was sometime after 6am and the plane had hit the pentagon. Two older girls in the house came in to wake up a girl from my pledge class. Her sister, who was an alumna of A Phi and had graduated the year before, was living in DC.  Her parents were calling and they couldn’t get a hold of her and so they started calling the cell phone of my friend, the sorority house, any friend that would answer their phone to go find and wake up my pledge sister.

I rounded the corner from the porch to my room, I heard my phone ringing. It was my mom telling me to turn on the TV. I stood, silently holding the phone with my mom silent on the other end, watching. Friends started piling in my 6 foot by 6 foot room to watch. I remember asking my mom “What do we do? Should I go to class? Should I come home?” and my mom, who always has the most  level head of anyone I know and an answer for any question, was speechless.

Thankfully, the alumna and sister of my friend was found. She was safe and had been a good distance from the disaster and was home safe. I decided I couldn’t watch any more horrible news stories and the school had not canceled classes. I had one of the meanest math teachers going so I assumed she would be taking attendance. She didn’t disappoint. She gave a heartless speech about life going on and then gave a lecture where not one person took even one note. F16 fighter jets patrolled the skies. The deafening fly overs seemed to happen every 5 minutes.

I headed home that weekend. I needed the safety of my family and my home. When we went to church that Sunday, the closing song was an acapella version of “God Bless America”. The cantor was the only one singing because there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. There was complete silence when the song ended. I remember that the song didn’t bring comfort, rather it seemed to be more of a question. The silence was eerie and the sorrow and uncertainty of what life had now become, was palpable.

I am very much looking forward to Monday (for once). I am ready for the sadness of the memories this weekend has brought to be put to rest until next year. But I think it’s important to note that everyday we are proud to be Americans. Proud to say that the heroes of that day are our countrymen. And that “God Bless America” is no longer the question that it was that day.

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I bought a new camera a few weeks ago – it’s my first digital SLR and it’s great. I don’t have a clue what I’m doing with it, but I love the pictures it takes and how fast it takes them. I can finally catch the munchkin on film before she looses interest and runs away! I also am loooving the landscape shots. I’ve started to just snap a few and see what develops. Here are some of my favorites:

 

 

 

 

 

The Legend of Kate Morgan

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While sitting on the deck of the Hotel Del Coronado, my mom and I joked about the legend of Kate Morgan. We quickly realized my brother-in-law had never heard the story and so began a dramatic retelling of the legend…

In the late 1800’s, Kate Morgan checked into the Hotel Del awaiting her loovvvaaa. However, after days of waiting, he never showed. Angry, upset, sad, confused…no one knew her true state of mind when she flung herself out of the window. Kate Morgan checked in, but never checked out. It’s said that the room she stayed in is frequently disturbed by ghosts. A shadowy figure by the window, toilets flushing by themselves, ash trays thrown across the room and billowy curtains despite closed windows.

Somehow, the tall tale spiraled into this topic: what if KM had just moseyed down to the bar and enjoyed a “screw him” cocktail? Maybe things would have ended a little nicer for her. Having already imbibed our own cocktails, my mom and I flagged down the waiter and asked him: “What would you have brought Kate Morgan if she wanted a screw him kinda cocktail?!”. Bewildered and then suddenly amused, the waiter agreed to bring us whatever the bartender deemed worthy of Kate.

A few minutes later, the love child of a Mai Tai and a Pina Colada arrived at our table. We toasted Kate, wherever she may be. Two sips and we were giggling. Three sips and we were howling. Four sips and we decided it was time to go back to the beach before we were asked to leave.

Along the way, my mom informed me that the little metal strips on the short wall along the board walk were butt spacers – so no one would sit too close to you. I countered with the fact that they were there so skate boarders wouldn’t ride along the wall. “Oh.” She replied and then promptly told me I was wrong. Fits of laughter ensued.

Oh. Helllloooo my pretty….