If you don't have anything nice to say....

I really did not want to turn my blog into a place I come to complain or vent but I feel compelled to share my feelings about a certain issue I have been dealing with lately. So listen up all you Negative Nancey's and Rude Rudolph's! "If you do not have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!" It is as simple as that! I get that you may think that you're just a real or honest person who likes to tell it like it is, but the truth is, your classless. No one really appreciates your nonconstructive criticism. It is mean and negative and has no business being put out there into the world.Your unwanted verbal opinions engender resentment and negative feelings. If I were to enumerate character traits I value manners would top the list. I hope I can get Enzo to emulate the positive behaviors of the people around him and not the negative behaviors. I see many Disney Movie lessons in our future. In the meantime I will try to enervate the negative impact these individuals have on my life. 

Enzo says "Be nice...or else..."

In other life news, my closets are all purdy! I spent the weekend going through and organizing EVERYTHING in not just one, but our two closets. I also finished my painting project. However, when I finally completed my painting I realized it did not really go with my room decor the way I have envisioned so instead I added my work of art to my closet. 

My masterpiece is to the left

 I have been staying very active, ran over 4 miles last week and tried a Pilate's class last week (ouch). Feeling smaller, haven't weighed myself but I am hoping I am getting closer to my pre-preggo weight. I am still trying to finish The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest. It is a very good book, I just have been having a hard time finding time to read lately. Between keeping up with housework, cooking, laundry, working out, and Enzo by the time I have a minute I have already passed out. I do have to thank my Hunny for all his help this weekend. I was able to catch up on a few hours of sleep finally. SOOOOOOOOOOOO wonderful!

Enzo's been a great motivation in all of this

Today has been overcast all day and I am catching up on all the things I did not get done this weekend while Enzo enjoys playing and napping. I am so lucky to have such a great kid.

Simply Textbook

So, Enzo turned a big 3 months yesterday! Yes, I know time just FLIES when you have a baby.  I woke up to one of my baby center emails yesterday letting me know what development milestones my 3 month old will/should reach this month. Apparently, during the third month of life one learns how to grasp and roll over. Well my little over achiever has been grasping since two months and today rolled over on his own. I couldn't be more proud of him. If he could eat I would take him ice cream. Mostly because I am craving ice cream...maybe we'll go anyways.....

I have to tell you about my ESP baby center emails. I signed up to receive these emails as soon as I found out  was pregnant. Weekly I'd receive an email letting me know how my baby is developing and what to expect both physically and emotionally. Throughout my pregnancy and now Enzo's life I wake up to an email and then BOOM it happens. From Enzo's first kick to my labor to Enzo's first roll my baby is simply textbook in his developments so far. I know that doesn't mean jack but it is nice to know he is not behind in anyway. Some how that gives me a sense of comfort since this is my first child and I have absolutely no idea what to expect.

In other news,in attempt to simply my life I have been systematically going through each room in our house organizing and rebelling against my pack rat ways. To be honest I have not gotten very far yet, just our kitchen and our guestroom/gym/laundry room/ storage area.Today I have entered...wait for it...my closet. Now this is no easy feat. My closet doubles as Enzo's closet and is stocked full of baby clothes, maternity clothes, winter clothes, summer/spring clothes, crafts, teaching supplies, baby stuff, and general storage.

 To make it easier on myself Ive decided to tackle this monstrosity categorically. Today I started with my "craft bin." This is where all my projects come to die. I am a habitual project starter and not project finisher (( Something I hope to discontinue)) While some projects are no longer my style; I had a couple that I wanted to bring back to life. Now I am no Picasso, but I always wanted to make a piece of art that even I would hang on my walls. So my first resurrection is my paint supplies which I plan to use to paint a picture for the bare wall in my bedroom that I've been looking for something to cover. Next up is a spoil of yard and a hook.... Yes, I am old lady, yes Golden Girls is my all time favorite TV show, and no m not afraid to admit it! I bought these all a long time ago and its been sitting in this grave of a bin ever since.

 Looks like I'll have something productive to do after my workout tonight. Speaking of workout, I better get dinner started so I can head on my run before lover boy gets home!

Honesty, Integrity, Self Esteem

I am sure I am one of many who have been watching the Casey Anthony trail from the beginning, and when the jury read the Not Guilty verdict I was sick to my stomach. I have not felt right since then. It occurred to me that I do not know this woman, I did not know her little girl, why is this having such an effect on me? Why is the whole country in an uproar over this case? And how did they manage to find the only 12 people in Florida who think shes innocent? ....I could not imagine being able to breathe if anything ever happened to my baby, let alone going out drinking and getting a tattoo. Even if she decided to pretend it didn't happen, it does not make sense that she lied for years BEFORE Caylee went missing. I do not feel our justice system worked in this case. I do not agree with how defense law works, and most importantly I do not know how I would explain this to my son if he was old enough to understand. You teach your children not to lie. Lying hurts people and causes pain. Casey's lies caused a nation pain, and it caused her daughters death. And next Wednesday she gets to walk free. I do not think 3 years of jail time is enough to make up for the consequences of her lies.

I cannot sit here and blame anyone in particular for Casey's behavior. I do not know why so it would be ignorant of me to speculate. What I do know is that a person should be held responsible for their actions, people need accountability. Working in the classroom I know that better than most. Children especially need to be held accountable. Accountability creates a sense of accomplishment and indirectly self worth. I suppose what I have learned from watching this trial is that how imperative it is to hold your child responsible for their actions; whether it is an unplanned pregnancy or lying about eating a cookie. These actions will translate to how your child reacts to situations and responsibilities when they are an adult. HONESTY, INTEGRITY, and SELF ESTEEM. Those are three of the most important qualities I believe a person can have and I hope and pray that I can instill them in my son.

I know I have to lead by example, so I make this promise to YOU, as Enzo grows and starts to understand what is going on I will be aware and ready to always tell the truth, always act with integrity, and believe in myself in every situation.


On a lighter note.. isnt my son adorable??

To Be Thirteen

When I was thirteen....

I was boy crazy, into shopping and my friends, and would die to have straight hair. Honestly, today I can barely remember what it is like to be 25 let alone 13. It seems having a baby erased a lot of my memories, or maybe it is the complete lack of sleep! This week alone I believe I have been lucky enough to have gotten close to 15 hours of sleep total. Enzo is sleeping right now and I should be napping but instead I am taking the time to blog.

I was cleaning earlier and found my "list of things I want to do before I die" list. I remember writing this on my thirteenth birthday. I am happy to say I have completed quite a few of these:

1. Graduate High School -COMPLETED
2. Go to College-COMPLETED
3. Graduate College-COMPLETED (twice!!)
4. Buy my own house
5. Get married
6. Have kids-COMPLETED
7. Go parasailing-COMPLETED
8. Go skydiving
9. Go scuba diving in coral reefs-COMPLETED
10. Write and publish a book
11. Grow my own vegetables
12. Travel to Alaska
13. Travel to Hawaii
14. Travel to Europe
15. Go backpacking in Italy
16. Drive a Ferrari (and wear matching lipstick)
17. Go on a Cruise
18. Learn another language
19. Learn to drive a stick shift
20. Race a race car
21. Read the Bible
22. Start a library in my house-COMPLETED
23. Make a Home Video-COMPLETED... Not sure what I meant by this...but probably wanted a camcorder haha
24. Be a Blond
25. Make a scrapbook-COMPLETED
26. Learn to play tennis


I added two more things to my list at some point and wrote them on the back of my list. Looking at this list traveling will have to wait until Enzo is quite a bit older but everything else is pretty do-able. I think the next thing on this list I will get to working on is learning a new language. My fiance and his family speak Bosnian. Soon my son will be bilingual and I will even more out of the loop. And from personal experience it is pretty annoying to sit in a room while everyone else talks in a language you do not understand. Constantly asking for translation isn't any fun either, so now onto finding software that can help....

Craving Ice Cream

Can someone please explain to me why I crave sweets more now than I did before when I was pregnant? This constant craving for cookies and ice cream and chocolate is making it very hard to loose these baby pounds. I have not weighed myself in a week but I am feeling real good. If I can maintain this then I can cross off something on my list! I do not know what it is about taking my pen and drawing a deep dark line through words that makes me feel so good...but it is almost as satisfying to me as a double chocolate chip chewy cookie! YUM!

I ran for over a mile and half today with my awesome "friendtrainer." I find it really helps me to have someone else working toward the same goals as me to keep me motivated. I just don't get those loners at the gym, those people who LIKE to workout alone. It is one thing if your schedule doesn't work with anyone and you have to work out alone, but its another if you chose to. I guess I am just social at all times.

Speaking of social, my son is starting to interact a whole lot more with people. He smiles and laughs all the time now. I just love trying new things to get him to laugh. Nothing is sweeter than a baby's laughter that is for sure! This afternoon he got a kick out of me doing squats. I wonder what exactly is funny about it to him? Maybe it was the "woosh" noise I kept making?? We will see if hes as amused by it tomorrow. Hopefully, because it was so darn cute!

Going to try to get to bed early today, but before I go I wanted to share a fun fitness fact I read today:

Scientists from the University of Tokyo found that exerciser's who did two half hour stints of moderate cycling with a 20 minute rest in between burned 10 percent more fat afterwards than those who cycled for a straight hour. They found that the repeated bouts triggered a release of hormones that helped metabolize fat more efficiently so that fat supplied a greater percentage of the total calories used later.

Since I ran 20 minutes, "rested" with weight lifting, and then elipicaled for 20 more minutes...maybe I do deserve just one cookie!

"Life is nothing more than luck, circumstances, and determination"

I had originally planned on blogging every day but I realize with a baby, finance, two dogs, house, and a life that is just not very feasible.Working out everyday is. But of course, I was able to talk myself out of working out today (my stomach really did hurt) and into a bowl of frozen yogurt (with fresh berries to make it healthier) ha! To "punish" myself I signed up for a 6 am spin class tomorrow morning. I even recruited Narcis to wake me up if I press snooze.

On a positive note, thanks to one of my best friends, I ran an entire mile last night. That might not sound like a lot to many of you but for me it was worth a self pat on the back. Right now im not so much about my time but my endurance. I am going to have to NOT talk myself out of many workouts/runs if I want to be 5k ready anytime in the next few months. I also started to read The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest. So far this one has been much easier to get into than the first two. All in all I would definitely recommend the series. I can not wait for Enzo to be old enough to sit and play at the beach while I can sit there and read. This Florida heat is just so ridiculous I haven't had the heart to drag him out there and make him suffer, even if I have a shaded canopy for him. Perhaps in September when the weather cools off to below million degrees.

Speaking of September that's when I may have to go back to work part-part time. By that I mean few days a month. I really, really, REALLY do not want to go back. Not because I hate working but because I hate the idea of leaving Enzo with anyone. Not for more than an hour or two. I have this idea about maybe starting an in home daycare/day school. I need to look into it a little more, but I think it would be a great way for me to bring in a second income and stay home with my son.

For now I will just enjoy each and every day and every new and  exciting thing Enzo learns as he grows. I must say, he is super proud he has hands. He found those the other day and hasn't been able to stop playing with them since! Oh to be young!!

Sometimes it rains, sometimes it pours

Today I had every intention of crossing off everything on my To Do List. However, as the day progressed so did the rain. And as the rain came down so did my motivation. The rain always puts me in such a great and lax mood. I laid on the couch a good part of the day reading Let's Take the Long Way Home aloud to Enzo as he went in and out of consciousness. He must be going through another growth spurt because he is eating and sleeping much more often the past couple of days. It makes me sad every time he starts to outgrow another size of clothing. Not because I have to spend more money on clothes for him but because I know he'll never be this little again and I am just trying to enjoy every single day.

I wouldn't call myself a neat freak by a long shot, but I do like to keep a clean, mostly dust free house. I find it very hard to do so with an infant. Lately he only naps 20 minutes at a time and the rest of the time I am racking my brain for ways to entertain a 2.5 month old. I look forward to when he's old enough to appreciate books and we can spend hours at the library. I have great memories of my mom and me at the library picking out books and reading them together at night. Hopefully by then I'll have finished all the books in my personal library I bought intending to read and haven't. I have 23 books I have not read, I listed them below, and today I finished one. Not going to lie, feeling pretty proud of small accomplishment today. Also, since I talked myself out of running/jogging all day I spent a good part of the night looking up a 5k I could sign up for. I really wanted to do one for cancer, prostate cancer to be exact but it seems I missed the only local one in January. I suppose my new goal will be the turkey trot in November.

The best part about all this is the little guy I'm doing this all for, will be right by my side through it all. Every book I read, every jog I take ( OK he'll be in front of me then in the jogging stroller), every degree  I receive and bill I pay he will be watching his mommy following her dreams. With that said it is time for bed. Good night universe!