Obsessed.

McDonald's: My new home away from home

People constantly ask me about my pregnancy cravings. Oddly, there isn't anything too off the wall that sends me drooling like a rabid dog.

Nope-- Instead, it's just your everyday, run-of-the-mill junk that has me literally dreaming of feast after glorious feast of the following foods. And no, NONE of them are healthy. Not a single one.

This baby boy wants nothing but the bad stuff and I'm happy to oblige. Afterall, I don't want to neglect the poor kid... so really, there is no choice in the matter. I simply must eat this stuff.

Without further ado... Here goes! ::Let the shame begin::

Dean's French Onion: Especially good with Doritos!

L&F Pizza: Pepperoni, Mushroom & Pineapple (the delivery guy laughs every time)

These are so addictive. I eat a bag in a sitting. :-/

Natural Oven Brainy Bagels 
(smothered in veggie cream cheese
and sliced tomatoes)

Kraft Garden Veg Cream Cheese: It's my new Ranch Dressing: It goes on EVERYTHING!

Chicken Flavored Ramen Noodles- Not sure why I EVER stopped eating this after college..?

Starbucks Cake Pops

T Bell's Cheesy Gordita Crunch. Bring on the mystery meat! 

Snickers Ice Cream Bars 
(I love the bite size ones-
makes me feel a wee less guilty)

 

Chipotle Burrito Bowl 
(with Chips & Guac of course!)

Yep, these are the culprits for the baby weight that I've gained thus far. Sure there are some other "naughty nellies" but I'll stick with the ones I devour most. All this talk of grub has got me hungry now. I'm thinking I may have to swing by TCBY for some White Chocolate Mousse after my 28 week Dr appt (provided I pass my glucose test!). Wish me luck... because now my brain is completely stuck on TCBY! Yum!!

Pregnant & Painting

I decided that the bathroom in our entryway needed a facelift. Afterall, it was the PERFECT excuse to get the color "Bay Laurel" (from Restoration Hardware) on our walls! Rather than hire someone to paint it, I channeled my nesting instinct, grabbed the kid and headed to Home Depot (Yes... I am still VERY pissed at them-- read HERE for the story-- but I didn't have a choice).

I had a sales associate walk me through the paint aisle, guiding me to the right tools for the job. Ten minutes later, I was the new owner of a few paint brushes, a roller brush, a tray and a snickers bar. What?! I needed a snack.

That day, while Ava napped, I got started. I managed to complete the trim in 2 hours... which was WAY more time than I had anticipated; maneuvering around a pedestal sink and toilet, with a 26-week-pregnant-belly isn't as easy as I had anticipated. By the next day, the bathroom was done (and I even finished repainting the mirror). I think it looks WAY better. And I love looking in there, each time I walk in the door, knowing I did it! I need to add some decor & artistic touches so don't look too closely. 

BEFORE:

And... AFTER!

After this little project, I feel totally inspired to tackle our 2 spare bedrooms in the basement! First though, maybe I'll paint my baby belly...?

 On second thought- maybe not.

She's Crafty!

Ava will be 2 years old in less than a month! How crazy is that?! I feel like she was JUST born. Time really does fly. I look at her newborn pictures and I don't even recognize her.

To celebrate the big occasion, we are going to have a Mickey Mouse Themed party, complete with a bounce house and sprinklers for the little ones to run and play, while the adults enjoy an all day barbecue at the new house (ok, it's not new anymore but 90% of the people that are coming haven't seen our new digs-- so there!).

Here are the invitations I made for the party. I probably would have saved a fortune had I just bought them online or ordered some from Etsy. I like doing things like this though-- And maybe someday, Ava will look back and appreciate the little extra bits of love I added to these birthday parties of hers. Maybe. :)

 

Next up, I have to work on things like her birthday banner, welcome signs, and other fun little decorations to put around for the par-tay. I thought it would be fun to dress up like Minnie for the party so I Googled "adult minnie mouse costume". Here are my options:

Yeah. Um. I think I'll pass. 

Can you imagine opening the front door to your kid's party wearing one of these outfits? I'm sure Ken would love it. Can't say the same for the rest of the party goers. Maybe if I were part of The Real Housewives of Hoochville I could get away with it.

So, my next thought was "Perhaps I'll just wear some Mickey ears"... and this is what I found:

WTF?!

Looks like I'll be making my own ears, too.  :-/

Little genius

... clearly she takes after me. 

Awe yeah!

If you read my blog or "like" Whine & Cheez on Facebook, you know I love putting up random pregnancy pics of people. I find them on the web and I have the best time laughing at these "freaks" that take these random-ass pregnancy pics. I look at them and ask myself, "Who does that?!"

Wanna know who???

We do.

Here it is folks. A pic that we took when we were pregnant with Ava. A friend recently came across it and brought it to my attention. Holy shit. I am gonna be featured on someone else's blog as the "chick with the random-ass maternity pic".

Enjoy.

For what it's worth... the baby was supposed to be the size of a small pumpkin at the time the pic was taken.  I know. There is still NO excuse.  We are douchebags.

Missing me yet?

You may have noticed (but most likely didn't) that I didn't have an article on Patch yesterday. I know, I know-- I have probably thrown off your entire week (well Jim, maybe you and Mom anyway!).

Truth is, I have taken a week hiatus to try to get my creative juices flowing. Seems like I've lost me mojo and have been struggling with a serious case of writers block. Hopefully next Wednesday I will have a riveting, hilarious, insightful article for you to read, causing you to belly laugh at least a little bit.

In the meantime, these should get you belly laughing. Happy Thursday people.

Want more? Just google "blunt card" and click on images. You can blow an entire day cracking up at these! XOXO- Kristi

25 Weeks: Moving right along

... but boy, November sure seems like eons away! I seriously feel like we are light years away from winter which makes me feel like I'll be pregnant 4-EVA (Mark Wahlberg reference anyone?!). The only good thing about the fact that I've got 4 more months ahead of me is that I can keep eating Ramen noodles and ice cream at the pace that Charlie Sheen does blow-- non-freakin-stop! Holla!

Ava has taken to my diet of ramen and ice cream, too (or "eye cream" as she calls it). She has been very artistic lately... demanding to paint with her watercolors or to color with her "mar-mers" (markers). Thank God they're "washable". Not sure what our parents did to get that crap off our grubby little fingers when we were little. Turpentine? Perhaps.

Picasso, hard at work

She is just a wee-bit happy

Helping Mommy hold the "25 Weeks" sign

Christmas in July

Not sure what has gotten into me as of late but I cannot stop thinking about the holidays-- I want it to be Christmas already! Maybe it's because I know that our Baby Boy will be here by then and it makes me excited to think about our family of four, gathered around our Christmas tree, enjoying the fire and having some hot chocolate. Sadly, the reality is that instead, we'll probably have a screaming infant and a wild-ass toddler that will no-doubt insist on climbing to the top of the damn tree, and ripping off every glass ornament, sending them crashing down into a million pieces, leaving hazards for all of us. Yes. That sounds a wee bit more realistic.  Ahhh, the holidays.

Now that Ava is getting older, I think it's important for her to wake up in her own bed on Christmas morning-- especially if Santa is going to visit. He can't be expected to load all of his gear to Grandma's house every year, only to load it all back (Yes. I'm getting lazy.).
 
With that said, we will soon have to decide if this year will be our first year (in my entire life) that I will not spend Christmas with my family (in good ol' Q-Town). It makes me kind of sad to think of being without them. On the other hand, though, it makes me a teency bit excited for my little family to start our own traditions; I'm already thinking of fun things I could make for breakfast (snowman pancakes for the kids, Mimosas for Mom & Dad) and what kinds of things we'll do all day long, just the 4 of us. If it's anything like the way we spend Christmas Day in Q-Town, we'll watch "A Christmas Story" 12 frigging times and start drinking around noon. Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Jesus!

While I'm on the subject of the holidays, I thought I would give you a preview of our Christmas card for this year.

What do you think? Too much? ;-)

I'm on a boat.

Today was spent at our friend's lakehouse. We had a GREAT day and Ava behaved like an angel, something that has been rare as of late. Here are a few pics of the day:

Look at that booty. Could you die?!?!

Reason #873 for why I dislike mosquitoes

Poor kid

We decided to have a little fun in the a yard last night. We got the sprinkler out and let the little booger run wild.

When we came in for her bath I noticed she had a bug bite on her eyelid, right on her brow. It was pink but nothing that alarmed us. So into the bath she went and soon after, she was tucked away in bed.

This morning, I woke up to a kid that looked like she got socked by Mike Tyson.

My poor sweet baby. She looked so pitiful. It didn't slow her down one bit though; she was up to her old antics of jumping off the couch, climbing onto the counters, watching TV, etc.

We got some meds (the bubble-gum-flavored antibiotic I remember as a child) from her Dr which will hopefully help her. She is sleeping soundly now and I can only pray she wakes up with an eye that looks a little less like a gargantuan golf ball.

Bonzi!!!!!!!

Daniel-son was having some fun this morning--just playing in her playroom!

Something for your sweet tooth

It's that time of year again. I have started planning Ava's 2nd birthday! I've decided the theme for this year will be Mickey Mouse-- something I chose because she won't be baby-ish for much longer, which means I won't be able to get away with a Mickey theme as she gets older.

I am making the invitations by hand, which I will post pics of later... it's a labor of love, let me tell you. But I have to say, they are darling.

And last weekend, I ordered her birthday dress which is so darn cute, I can barely stand it.

As I'm sitting here, looking online for some fun cake ideas, I decided to check out Sweet Mandy B's website (where we ordered her cake last year).  Lo and behold, there is Ava's cake that I had designed for her 1st birthday! See, I knew it was cute!! :)

Anyway, if you live in Chicago and have the chance to hit up Sweet Mandy B's, I highly suggest you stop in for a treat (their red velvet cupcakes deserve a moment of silence). Scratch that. Stopping by is not a suggestion, it's a must!

That birthday cake will forever hold a special place in my heart (and ever growing rear end). I say that because it was easily the most decadent, rich and amazing thing I have ever eaten in my life. Don't worry about the fact that it cost an arm and a leg. It was worth every penny!