Teething, you bastard.

I wonder how many blog posts are written about teething?

I guess I could google it. But really, I've quite had it with teething. And I think Avery has also.

After a trip to the doctor's yesterday to make sure it was not a continued ear infection, Dr. B confirmed she was cutting 6 teeth. YAY!

That explains the restless nights of sleep, crying while eating, entire hands in mouth, funky diaper rash, fingers in ears, and general nastiness.

I would like my sweet girl back. Real soon.

On a positive note, it makes me grateful to be at work. And thankful for a sister with endless patience and kindness to be there for my monster all day.

When I asked the doctor if this is her last round of teething - because how could she possibly fit any more teeth in that mouth??? - he reminded me of the 2 year old molars. Sounds like a blast.

On the way home, we stopped at Target, because when you live a mile with 2 Targets, you just HAVE to. I grabbed some Hyland teething tablets that dissolve under the tongue. Shoving those in was lots of fun too and I am thankful I still have all my fingers. But they work! Fast! She was happy, laughing cuteness the rest of the evening.

And holla, city of squalor! for some Infant Advil on the shelf! Ever since Avery was born, all named brand  acetaminophen products were no where to be found. And Advil last night was a dream. She slept without so much as a whimper all night long. Poor thing.

Any other teething survival suggestions? I'm all ears.

xoxo


Oh yeah, 2 blog posts in 2 consecutive days. Chest bump to myself in a full length mirror.

An Epiphany of sorts

If I may, I'm changing this is shiz up, again.

It came to me while weighing down my coarse locks with "smoothing" shampoo in the shower this evening. I almost jumped out right then and there to start tapping away but then I remembered my hairy legs and so here I am, better late then never.

I have been delving deep inside, trying to figure out what it was I was missing from being able to catch this whole blogging bug. Yes, I love to read and I like to write, I love to talk and tell it all so it was really getting to me that I could not commit to this blog.

And then I realized what it was...my blog name. Pugs, kisses and bumblebee wishes. Cute and happy and sweet. I'm pretty sure not one in-real-life friend or family member would ever describe me using any of those three words. I was feeling responsible to write to back up this title and tow the "mom blogger" line.

But that is SO not me. Yes, I'm a mom and yes, I guess I'm a blogger since I am sitting here writing on My Blog but I much more than that and I am not going to limit myself to just those ideas.

So I am taking it to where I am comfortable, where it's ME. And me? I am ALWAYS late. The only time I was on time when for my birth - I was born on my due date at 11:36 am, right in the middle of the day. Most of the milestones I have reached in life, I have done by the skin of my teeth, at the last minute or some time after most people my ago have.

And that is me.

So welcome to the ride I call life. There will be some tears, lots of fears, but as long as it is followed belly shaking laughter, it's all good.

SMH

I'm not a big on acronyms. Most of the time I do not even know what they mean and have to Google them.
But I decided to use this one as my post title because that is what this blog does for me lately, makes me shake my head. Or maybe it should be SMHS - Shake My Head in Shame.

Why?

I have totally neglected this here blog. And I am mad at myself because I have so much I need/want to write down. For me, for my kid(s)...just to be able to remember clearly. Especially when Altzhiemer's looms so greatly in my family (My mom's uncle, dad, and aunt all have/had some form of it - and seeing it so close scares the hell out of me. But that is another post - like they all are)

I have so much to catch up on, since, uh, my last Avery post was 10months and she is now 15.5 months. It is kind of overwhelming and when I get overwhelmed, I avoid.

So I have decided to make a resolution: stop avoiding. My weight, exercising, cleaning, writing. I'm gonna slap that b*tch right in the face like she just said something about my mama.

In other news, I have 3, yes, that is ONE, TWO, THREE classes left before I am finished school 4 EVA!!! Or unless until I lose my mind and decided to go back for my MBA. For those of you that completed your undergrad in the expected amount of time, at the "appropriate" age, way to go! Because if you thought it was difficult then, trying to balances classes and studying and drinking and partying and dating...It is WAY harder when you have a family, a house, a full time job. But on August 23rd I will be able to say I DID IT! (being that my wonderfully sweet Spanish prof passes my non bi-lingual self. Hola Senorita Baker, just in case you ever read this) I have to say that as relieved as I am to have accomplished this huge goal I have been working towards for 14 years (3 full years the first time around, off and on for 6 years, back to school for realz in 2006 until now) I am feeling weird about it. Not the best way to describe my feelings, I know. I just can't put my finger on it. Yes, a great sense of accomplishment but maybe a little let down or confusion because I have had been focused on this for so long. I don't know. What I do know is that I am so looking forward to spending more time with my girl. And the husband. And being a "normal" family, using that work loosely.

In my spare time (HA!) we have been re-decorating our living room. I do have a post in my drafts that I started and have been adding to as we knock things off our To Do list. I am getting excited as we get closer to it being done and my vision being put into reality. {If you did not know, I started my college education as an Interior Design/Architect major, only to decide that was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, but I do thoroughly enjoy it as a "hobby"} My goal was to make our living space more open, light, and functional. We live in a townhome, without a basement or garage so storage is minimal. We are right in the middle so our home only get light in the front of the house and the back. The woman we bought our house from 3 years ago was a 50+ never married lady who had, um, different taste then we do. She liked a lot of dark colors and out dated stuff (can you say brass outlet covers and fireplace doors). After 3 years, I was just plain old tired of living in HER house! It all started with our need/want to replace the wall-to-wall carpet with hardwoods. Praise the Lord, it finally happened after months (years) of patiently(?) waiting. And then it kind of snowballed from there. I'm dying to share it all but I need to save if for the official post. Here are a couple sneak peak photos that I shared on Instagram:

Floors getting installed, Avery inspecting.

New chairs, ottoman, and couch covers, honeycomb lamp from HomeGoods,  new media table, and hardwood floors!!!

The Husband and my brother working on my built-in bookcases. Avery supervising.

New area rug from Lowes. 

Bookcases done! And I am in loooooove!!!

All in all, I can say I am staying busy. I have so much to be thankful for and more blessings then I can count.

xoxo

A yellow polka dot bikini: "Enjoying Life"

If you follow on Instagram, you may be aware of The Yellow Polka Dot Bikini - Avery's first {and Daddy says her last}.

She flaunted that thang all around the pool, sticking that belly out whenever someone walked by!

After "swimming" for at least an hour, it was time to get out and take a snack break. While she was hangin', I snapped this:

The extent of my photography skills lies heavily on my iPhone and Instagram filters, but I thought this was a perfect example of "Enjoying Life" in many ways.

Check out the new I Heart Faces challenge:

ABC's of Me...

ABC's of Me!

I saw this on Double the Fun's blog and ever since MySpace, I love me some 
questionnaires/surveys what-ever-you-want-to-call-them

A. Age: 32

B. Bed size: Queen, although Husband has been petitioning for a King for a while now, 
and I am sure when A starts to crawl into our bed at night, he will eventually win.

C. Chore you dislike: Dusting. And my house proves it. But I am terribly allergic to dust,
 so you would think I would maintain it better...nope.

D. Dogs:  3 fat, crazy, lazy pugs. Malcolm, 8, Parker, 7, and Grover Cleveland, 3. They were
 our babies before our baby. And I still try to remember that. 

E. Essential start to your day: Food. I have to eat as soon as I wake up, otherwise, 
I will not eat until dinner.

G. Gold or silver: I used to be straight up silver, but lately I have crossed over to the gold
 side now and then. As long as it is real and doesn't look all cheap and gaudy.

H. Height: 5'7" (although my Dr likes to say 5'6.5", I round up)

I. Instruments you play(ed): flute for a month or two, until I started having asthma 
attacks because I could not control my breathing. And the piano. 

J. Job title: In this order: Wife, Mama, and Color-data coordinator. 

K. Kids: 1 sweet girl 

L. Live: The Keystone state, in the suburbs of the city of brotherly love (yeah right)

M. Mom’s name: Margaret Mitchell - like the author of Gone With the Wind

N. Nicknames: Egg - real creative, I know. I do have a friend that calls me Schmegal.
 That is nice.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Tonsils out 3 years ago (hell on earth), and giving birth 
(a walk in the park compared to have my tonsils out)

P. Pet peeves: Oh, this could get long....wet strand of hair in the bathroom; people who 
drive slow in the fast lane causing you to pass them in the right lane; when people finish the 
ends of your sentences for you; people who do not RSVP or write Thank You notes - by hand,
 through snail mail; when there, their, and they're is not used properly, same with Your and 
You're and Too, to, Two; I'll stop there, but let's just say I can get annoyed very easily, 
something I am constantly working on ;-)

Q. Quote from a movie: "You Turd" - Chunk from The Goonies. I even tried to get a vanity
 license plate that said U TURD but I got denied by PennDOT

R. Righty or lefty: Right.

S. Siblings: I am the oldest of 6. Lauren, 30; Amanda, 29; Zach, 27; Eric, 24, and Lindsay, 14.

T. Time you wake up: Monday-Thurs 5am, Friday, 6am, Saturday & Sunday 7:30am unless
 we all sleep in and have nothing planned. Good thing I am a morning person. 

U. Underwear: Always. cotton bikini - sorry, probably TMI.

V. Vegetables you don’t like: I think I pretty much like them all. 

W. What makes you run late:Terrible time management and an unrealistic estimation of 
how long things really take.

X. X-rays you’ve had: hand, foot, chest, spine

Y. Yummy food you make: I would never say I am a good cook (and Husband probably 
wouldn't either) but there are a few things I can make better then my mom. Like our
 Hamburger Pie, a family favorite that I grew up eating. Let me know if you want the recipe -
 its easy. My grandfather says I make the best brownies and fudge. I can make a kick-ass
 dish of buffalo chicken dip, although the recipe is not my own. 

Z. Zoo animal you like: Monkeys. always. since I was little.

Something I Have to Share

Although I realize I have many posts that I keep promising to write {see: Avery is 14 months old and her last monthly post was 10 months - OOPS!}

But this is just too good to share.

Preface: My mom loves finding coins on the ground. She will squeal and grab that penny/nickel/dime/quarter faster then the speed of sound. It can be quite embarrassing. But there were many times all those coins she found and collected added up to help pay for something.

My mom always says that when she is stressed/worried/or in need of money, God always shows her that He is taking care of her by leaving money in strange places. For example, one time she was stressing about a bill and how it would get paid and while she taking her daily walk through the woods by her home, she found a pile of dimes...a pile of dime just randomly on a trail in the woods...

And that bill she was worrying about? It got paid with the money she received from an unexpected place.

While most people will call that coincidence, a Believer (as in a born-again Christian, not to be confused with a Belieber, a Justin Beiber fan) knows that there are no coincidences with God.

I always listened to her stories, because God had shown her many times with a random coin in a strange place, that he is taking care of her. I probably just rolled my eyes and moved on to the next thing.

Here is MY story:

Over this past weekend, our A/C stopped working. The fan was working, but it was not blowing cold air. While my husband has of gift of being mechanically inclined, he went through the possible scenarios of what could possibly be wrong. And they all were super expensive problems.

Ever since we moved into our home, we knew we wanted to replace the ugly, and now gross from 3 dogs and a baby, wall-to-wall carpet that was in our great room with hardwood floors. We saved our money and now have enough to fulfill our goal. Also - I have severe asthma and allergies so replacing carpet with hardwood is not just an aesthetic want as it is a health need.

But with an expensive A/C bill looming, we were coming to the realization that we may have to forfeit our hardwood floor to fix our A/C unit (in anticipation of a sweltering summer and a husband, daughter, and pugs that do not handle the heat well). Such is the life of an <responsible> adult.

Since the A/C stopped working on Saturday and this past weekend it was relatively cool, we decided to wait until Monday to call for a technician to come out and break our hearts and bank diagnose the problem.

Which means I had 3 full days to worry myself about what could possible be wrong and how we would afford to fix it and possibly have to wait longer for the new floors I so desperately needed/wanted. And of course my mom just kept saying "pray about it". 


My husband set the appointment up for first thing Tuesday morning. I was planning on working from home that day because, ironically, I had made an appointment with Home Depot to come out and give us an estimate for flooring the same day. 


Ryan and I both got up before Avery so I decided to run to Wawa to grab a coffee. I got my phone and wallet and headed out to my car. As I was sitting in the car, I remembered that I put my debit card into my bag, not my wallet. I said a quick "hallelujah" for remembering that then and not while I was standing in line at Wawa. So I ran back into the house and grabbed my debit card. 


When I came back out to my car, there was a penny sitting on my seat. I KNOW there was nothing on that seat when I got into the car. I immediately thought of my mom and her coin stories. So I said a quick prayer that what ever was wrong with the A/C, that it would be something we could afford to fix. 

Like most people (I think) we live on a pretty tight budget, which has gotten even tighter since we are actively working on a debt pay down plan. I knew $200 was the most we could afford. And I also "knew" that the majority of possible problems that could be wrong with the A/C would most likely have an extra "0" at the end. And good-bye hardwood floors.

But after I prayed, I felt a calm, a peace, a knowing that no matter what, God was in control of this. I could either trust Him or worry about something I could not control. I chose to trust Him. And that? It made a difference.

So I grabbed coffee, got home, sat down to work, and ate breakfast with Avery. As we were eating, the very nice technician arrived. Ryan showed him out to the back of our house, where the A/C unit lives. Mr. Technician was out there for about 5 minutes, assessing the situation.

He came inside, and I know Ryan and I both subconsciously held our breath, to tell us what he had found.

"It is a burned wire."


"It will be about $67 to replace."


"Plus $89 for the service call."


I almost started crying! 


$156!!!


Not only did God answer my prayer, He kept it BELOW budget! 


He loves me. He listens to me. He cares about the little things. And He answers me. 


I love Jesus.


xoxo

Midweek Confessions

Instead of writing about all the stuff I need/want to, I am going to keep it simple (and superficial) and choke up some of my midweek (Instagram)confessions...

- I unfollow people if they post too much of either themselves or their cats. One - I am a dog person (duh) but I really do not like cats, nor do I understand people who do. Don't get me wrong, I don't think less of people for being a cat person or loving their cat, well I kind of do of my youngest brother who seems to have an unhealthy, co-dependent relationship with his two cats (who are identical sisters he raised from birth), but I don't want your lame cat clogging up my feed. Sorry, its true and Ima confessin'. Two - I follow people because I like their posts (again, duh) and a few pictures of yourself is totally fine, and kind of nice to know who is behind the feed. But when the major majority ( I know, I know, not proper English) of posts are of one person taking picture after picture of themselves, I do not find that interesting.

- I have even unfollowed my 11-year-old cousin because of the stupid posts she clogs my feed with. They are not even real pictures, just "funny" stuff she finds on the internet. And some of them? If my uncle or aunt saw it, they would not be amused either.

- I always experience a pang of guilt when someone follows me and I check out their feed and do not follow back.

- I get a bit of hurt feelings when people do not follow me back or <gasp> unfollow me, or even ignore comments. Because of my current lack of real friends (which is a whole other post I am ready to let loose very soon), I rely highly on social media for any kind of interaction or affirmation that yes, my kid and/or my dogs are cute as I think is they are, which is made possible by the heart swelling flash of that little orange notification tallying up your likes/comments/new followers. *I believe that may be a little to real of a confession, and make me seem a lot lame, but hey, no one really reads this blog anyway...so boo hoo to me.

- I cannot stand people (usually teenagers) that 1. beg for followers, sorry, I must have missed the point of Instagram, did not realize it was a popularity contest. 2. ghost followers, again to "up" their numbers. I block those mo' fo's.

- The majority of people I follow are pug people. Kind of lame, I know. But it is funny to see other pugs all over the world that behave quite similarly to my herd. And whether you think they are ugly or cute, you have to admit, if you ever met a pug in real life, they are pretty funny little dogs.

Ok, done my bitching confessing for this week.

Cat people be warned.

xoxo