Over and done

This handsome fellow survived this past weekend! Boards are over. And dental school is about history to us. We...er he, survived the last four years, and come next Saturday, you'll be looking at the newest dentist in our family. We're happy campers around here, and thrilled the end is oh so close. A few more patients to take care of, and even more to pass off to the 3rd year class, and it's over and done.

Even though, as a wife, I cheated the whole dental school thing, seeing that I only had to endure three years of it, not four, it was still a long (but short) road, and I'm so proud of John for all of the hard work he has put in to becoming the best dentist he can be. He's a dedicated one, and as someone who studied the bare minimum in college, I always questioned why he needed to study all.the.time. "That's what you do in college," he'd tell me. Of course it is! Some people are just born to be good students, let's home P follows in his fathers footsteps.

St. Louis, here we come...minus a few months detour in Utah. Sure, it's not really in the same direction, but somehow going there for a few months first, made the most sense. Family bonding time at it's finest, and now we get to be that couple that can pawn our child off on my parents whenever we feel the need to, right mom?!

Graduation in T-12 day!

Monday night musings

I feel like I don't sleep much these days, and I can't even blame my child for that. What!? Poor little one gets blamed for most things, but not this one. Although, he's randomly decided to wake up earlier than normal these last few days and I don't particularly love that, 6 am early! And then I keep waking up in the middle of the night and can't fall back to sleep. Seriously?!

My child has become extremely opinionated. At lunch the other day he kept pointing to something he wanted, and each time I unintentionally grabbed the wrong thing, he'd hit my hand away. When I finally got it right, he was a content little baby. This is becoming a regular occurrence around here.

While at the park the other night, John and I were both being irresponsible parents and not paying attention to our child. A few minutes later I heard yelling, only to look up and see my baby sitting at the top of the slide, basically shouting "hey, mom, look at me, I'm on the slide, come catch me." He climbed all the way up the playground unsupervised, like it was no big deal. After freaking out a little inside for being so careless, I felt a little proud thinking my child was smart enough to know I needed to be at the bottom to catch him...that pride quickly faded to feeling extremely irresponsible again.

After this weekend, (as long as he passes), John's pretty much a dentist! The most expensive test he will have ever taken is on Saturday and Sunday, where he has to prove his skills on actual patients, root canals, fillings, cleanings, the whole works! I can't wait for Sunday afternoon to be here, and neither can he!

We move in less than three weeks. LESS than three weeks. How is it possible that our time in Oklahoma has already come to an end? I was commenting to a friend via facebook that it's totally a bittersweet feeling, and when she commented back that maybe that's why we're leaving during tornado season, so it makes it easier, I just had to laugh and remind myself, yes, leaving during tornado seasons makes it a thousand times easier...although, I hear they get them in St. Louis, too! Awesome.

And lastly, my baby turns one in less than two weeks, and it's breaking my heart. I can't think of a faster twelve months in all my life. Let's just rewind and do it all over again. The long nights. My sleepless child. The fussing and crying. I'd do it all over again to keep him small. On the flip side, he's going to rock his sombrero at his Cinco de Mayo party, so, at least he'll turn on in style.

Sweets to say yes to

This picture has nothing to do with this post, more to do with showing off his cuteness!

We're half way through April, and so far, this household is rocking the whole no sweets thing. Which is why John questioned my purchase of, not one, but two, bags of cadbury mini eggs while at the store the other night. They were on sale for $.90. I couldn't say no. And so, there they sit, in the cupboard, unopened, staring at me every time I open the door looking for a "non-sweet", sweet, to satisfy me. And believe you me, they hold no temptation over my strong-willed self. Promise. If they were chocolate covered pretzels sitting in there, things may be different. Those ARE my weakness.

So how are we mastering this sweets restriction.

Easy!

Allow me to present to you the best non-sweet, sweets we've discovered over the last 15 days.

• Energy Bites, more like bites of deliciousness. {we omit the chocolate chips and throw some pecans in for good measure, or craisins} You can thank me later for this...and just note, these things are full of fiber, so plan accordingly...meaning, don't go too overboard. You're welcome.
• Smoothies, mainly this one, throw in some spinach to feel even healthier, and/or an avocado.
• And my favorite, fruit parfaits, with greek non-fat vanilla yogurt, and some kashi cereal to top it off. Yum!

But really, I'd stick with the energy bites everyday from now until forever if I wasn't allergic to half of the ingredients in them, and the fiber...all things that don't make for a pretty combination.

I'd like to think we could stick to this way of eating always, but, someone has a birthday next month, and you can be sure I'll be stuffing my face, after his, with some delicious cake to celebrate! 

P.S. Thanks for making me feel guilty, mom, for eating less than a tablespoon worth of jam today. 

Faces

The faces of this boy. I never want to forget them. He melts my heart. 

 All day long. Every day.

How has my baby gone from teeny tiny to a boy so quickly?

Please stay little forever.

Please!

11 Months

The funny thing about having an 11 month old baby who is the size of some two year olds, is that I forget he's still "little". And that he's still a baby.  No matter how big he is compared to others his age, he will always be MY baby. Always. He still crawls. He babbles. He cries. He puts everything in his mouth that doesn't belong. And he still relies on me for nearly everything.

On the flip side, you may be confused that he's not almost two by how "big" he is. By the tantrums he throws. By his independence. By the attitude he has when he's mad at you. And by his occasional stubborn stubborn ways. Which I'm still trying to figure out where he got that from. {Hardy har har}

This 11 month old boy, who melts my heart every day, is simply the best. The best, EVER!

At 11 months, Preston:
Has three teeth
Sleeps like a champ, 12 hours straight!
LOVES to be outside. And if you'd like to witness a tantrum of his, just pick him up and go inside. He won't love you for a few minutes.
Favorite things to say are "yeah" and "we wee"
Obsessed with dogs, or "dah's" in his lingo
Will tweet like a bird and growl like a lion
Can stand on his own, but mostly when he doesn't realizing he's doing it
Loves books, but only when you're reading him the one he wants to be read
Eats pretty much everything
Gets excited when he hears an airplane, and will point to the sky to show you where it is
Loves music, and will dance along when he hears it
And has more energy than anyone I know, and I love him for it

Little man, you rock our world. How is it possible you will be one next month?!

Liebster Award

 A couple of my friends "nominated" me for something called the Liebster Award. Huh? My thoughts exactly. I had never heard of this award before until reading my friends blogs. I'm not entirely sure what it means, how it started, or the actual purpose of it, but what I do know is that there are certain rules you're supposed to follow once awarded, and my guess is it's to help others get to know you even better. Fun stuff huh?

So, what are these rules you're supposed to follow once awarded: 
1.  Post 11 facts about yourself.
2.  Answer 11 questions from your nominator.
3.  Nominate 11 other blogs with under 200 followers and ask them 11 questions.

So, here's me following the rules and playing along. Thanks Mandy, and Emily for the nomination, I'm flattered.

Facts about myself:
1. I love working out and being active, but just as much as I love to go for a good run, I LOVE to sit on my bum and be lazy. And eat food. Lots of delicious food.
2. I lived in the same house my entire childhood, but once I left for college, I have since moved 12 different times and lived in five different states.
3. I've hung out with President Bush in the Oval Office...my one claim to fame.
4.  I have an innate sense of direction, and rarely get lost.
5.  I hated doing crafts, coloring, or anything else that required even the tiniest bit of creativity when I was a child, now, I live for that stuff.
6. I'm obsessed with musicals. If there was one thing I could be good at in life, singing would be it.  Alas, I was not blessed with such an ability. So, instead I admire it in others and feel envious.
7. I've never actually loved being a redhead.
8. My dream life would be to live near the ocean...walking distance to be exact. More specifically, just across the street. I won't even be picky about which beach or which state. 
9. I eat chips and salsa almost daily.
10. I love to cook/bake, and somehow my husband never knew I had the ability to do such things until we were married. Surprise! At least I know he didn't marry me for that.
11. I dream of being a boss of some high up company. It's the red personality in me.

I'm splitting half of the questions both girls asked me, 22 questions to answers seemed a bit much:

From Mandy:

1. Morning or night person? Definitely a night person, I despise mornings.
2. Do you want a big or little family? I honestly have no idea. For now, I'm good with the three of us!
3. What always puts me in a good mood? Being around friends and just chatting.
4. What is my biggest fear? I was asked this question the other day, and I couldn't think of what my biggest fear is, other than loosing the people I'm closest, too.
5. Favorite movie? I don't think I have one. Movies are just, eh, to me. But growing up my sisters, cousins and I LOVED A Very Brady Sequel. We loved quoting that movie.
6. Roadtripper or flyer? Definitely a flyer, I hate driving...even short distances.

From Emily:

1.  What is your favorite go-to recipe? This one. The simplified version of it first mentioned. So good, SO easy. So healthy!
2.  If you could change one aspect of your life right now, what would it be? To be happier in the present. I always look back on experiences of mine with fond memories, but in that moment I usually don't view it so fondly. I can already tell you I'll look back on Oklahoma and think it was amazing, but I haven't always thought that while living here.
3. Do you have any regrets from your childhood? (e.g. wish you never quit piano, etc) I quit every thing I did sports, instruments, etc. I wish I would have stuck with something and gotten really good at it, instead I just say I can do everything now. Except sing. I still can't sing. But I also never took voice lessons. You're either good or your not, and if your not, it's not worth the effort, right?
4. Dog or cat person? Cat person, I can't say I really like dogs.
5. Share with us one of your favorite memories. I remember one night in high school while I was working at Joe Morley's, my favorite BBQ restaurant, my dad randomly showed up at work, alone. He wanted to come eat dinner with me...and he wanted to get out of the house while my mom was busy doing Activity Day's with the little primary girls, but that's beside the point. I remember we just sat there and chatted, and cried (my grandma she was really sick at the time), but we just hung out, just me and my old man. I remember feeling like the luckiest girl to have such an amazing dad who wanted to come spend time with his little girl, and eat dinner with me while I was at work. That's still one of my best memories to date. Love that man! 

Alright, here are the 11 blogs I'm nominating for said Liebster Award:

1. Jana Eliason
2. Lauren Richey- do you even blog anymore?
3. Flight of the Thorups
4. Hello, Lindsey
5. W&K + H&H
6. Charlee Chats
7. Have you ever thought about...
8. Kristin
9. Tom and Elise
10. Diana and Ryan
11. The Flake Family

And my 11 questions:

1. Who/what inspires you?
2. What is something you can't live without?
3. What is something you have to do every day but wish you didn't?
4. Best piece of advice you ever received?
5. What is the best piece of advice you've ever given?
6. What is your most prized possession?
7. What are you most pleased about in your life right now?
8. What is the best book you've ever read?
9. What color is your personality based on this test?
10. What is one thing you love about yourself?
11. What age/year would you love to relive/hate to relive? 

Ready, set, go...

Goals

In case you were all curious how my daily flossing went this month, I pretty much nailed it...minus while on vacation, because apparently floss wasn't as plentiful at my parents house as it is in a house with a soon to be dentist living in it. But even with a few days missed here and there, I'll take it, seeing that the number of days I flossed this month, is pretty comparable to the number of days I usually don't.

On to April, the month of NO, as in zero, zip, zilch, sweets. Whose joining me? Come on, you know you want to have a month of feeling awesome, and not weighed down by delicious, cookies, cake, ice cream, brownies, cadbury mini eggs, etc. etc. etc. What a drag, right?

I fully support good indulging, daily if you want. I don't judge. I love my treats. Love them! Which is why I'm making myself avoid them for awhile, you know, so I can truly appreciate them all the more come May. No more stuffing my face for awhile. Because that's pretty much my daily. Thank goodness for nursing, but, someone's almost one, so, we're saying goodbye to that extra caloric burn. It's bittersweet.

I've already started compiling a list of all of the healthy and delicious things I can "indulge" on over the next month or so:

• Edamame
• Smoothies
• Cottage cheese and crackers/peaches/pineapple/tomatoes/avocado/salsa (I love my cottage cheese...not MY cottage cheese, just the kind you eat, not harbor on your body, in case anyone was confused)
• Apples/celery and peanut butter
• Pumpkin seeds 
• Nuts
• Greek Gods yogurt (this is the BEST yogurt.ever! Taste pretty much like dessert with it's delicious creaminess, except its not. And it's healthy!) throw in some berries, delish!
• Hummus
• And if I'm really feeling boring one day, I suppose I could just munch on some veggies.

Anyone else have any delicious, healthy snacks that are good dessert replacers? Please share, I'm going to need them. And so are you, because you're joining me, right?