Baby Girl.

That is what we call her.  Or Tater.  She will, of course, hate both when she’s 13.  I just want to smoosh her cheeks and inhale that baby smell all day. 

And keep her this little forever.  

  

Epic Life Fail.

Today is an Epic Life Fail kind of day.  You know the ones… the days where you feel like you can’t do anything right, you’re far behind in everything and the baby vomits on you, all before 10 am?

Just me?  Ahem. 

Send  help.

Most of the time I feel like I have my shit together.  Today,  These last few weeks, not so much. 

My coping skills are nil for feeling like a failure.  Add that to the list.

Our house is a mess.  Add that to the list.

My husband, bless him, is being SO incredibly patient dealing with the crazy.  Add that to the list.

Our checking account is laughably empty for two days.  Add that to the list.

I haven’t caught up with my friends in weeks.  Add that to the list.

And that baby?  She keeps throwing up on whatever I’ve just washed.  Her clothes.  Our comforter.  Her sheets.  Her car seat.  It is seriously like Vomageddon up in these parts.

And Finn?  He’s starting preschool in a week and I am just not prepared for that.  Not at all.  Not one little bit.

 

It’s hard juggling two, keeping up with the house, being a good wife and mom, and still maintaining my own sanity.  Hard, I say!

I dropped the ball on Dave’s birthday.  I mean, yes, we celebrated with his family and mine, but I always do something special for him and I didn’t.  I just didn’t.  It’s not even that he minds, because frankly he could care less, but I mind.  I mind a lot, in fact.

It’s not just his birthday either.  Right now, I have probably six, maybe seven loads of laundry to do, to fold, to put away.  That is absolute madness in this house.  The kitchen is a wreck and I feel like I spend half my life loading and unloading the dishwasher these days.  I would just be a mess if someone came over to my house right now.  It’s a disaster area.  There are unread magazines piled up.  There are dust bunnies elephants living in corners.  We still haven’t finished up everything in our room either, so my dining room is a dumping ground of bedroom stuff {because who knows what is in there really} and a bunch of crafty projects I’m working on right now.

And this blog.  Failing you guys sucks too.  I want to be posting pictures and cute tutorials and yummy recipes and doing nice stuff for you… not whining and carrying on like a baby and asking you to listen to it.

So what do you do?  Am I the only one?  Tell me your formula for fixing those Epic Life Fail days.  And send wine.  Lots of it.

Happy Birthday Davester.

  

My Love,

You are better with age. 

So much better. 

For realsies.

Happy.  Happy.  Birthday.

xoxo,  Me.

The Classics.

A couple weeks ago, my sisters and I got together for Sister Night.  Elise, the youngest, headed back to college the following day and we won’t all be together again until probably Thanksgiving. 

I have no idea how the conversation started, but we were talking about classic books that we’ve read.  Between high school and college, we all were at different schools spanning the last twenty years, so we had all read different things.  Most of that discussion involved exclamations of, “I can’t believe you’ve never read…” and not remembering titles of books.  We talked about how they were changing Huckleberry Finn.  We talked about the English boys on the island and Holden Caulfield.  {For those of you playing along, The Lord of the Flies and The Catcher in the Rye.} 

Did you know they were making The Yellow Wallpaper into a movie?  Because I did not.  That is going to be one whacked out movie, peeps. 

And before you think we only sit around discussing classic literature and other hoity toity subjects, please know that that conversation was proceeded by our chastising Dave for bringing back Drumsticks sans filling from the store. 

WHO wants to eat a Drumstick without any caramel or chocolate in the middle?!?  Who, I ask?

Oh, and thank you Honey for going to the store and bringing back 6 Twix bars along with the filling-less Drumsticks so that my sisters and I could sit around discussing “tampons and other lady bits” while filled with chocolate. 

Chocolate is clearly a big requirement of Sister Night.

By the way stupid DAVE, when you say that you bought a dozen Twix bars you raise our hopes until you try to pass off that you actually bought six.

Ugh.  NO, you don’t count double because there are two in a package.  A Twix bar by it’s very definition is clearly two.  Do I really need to explain these things?

Dave doesn’t enjoy Sister Night.  He likes to go to the bar with his buddy and hang out till they’re all gone. 

So, back to the Classics.  My absolute favorites are Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, and third place is a tie between Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. 

But it feels like there are a million I haven’t read.

For every Crucible or Metamorphosis that I struggled my way through there is a Jane Eyre or a Diary of Anne Frank just waiting in the wings. 

Yes it’s true, I’ve never read Anne Frank! 

So tell me, what are your classic literature MUST reads?  Your favorites from grade school, high school, and college?   And more importantly yet, do you like to eat Drumsticks without any extra filling in the middle??  Because if so, we can not be friends.

2 Months.

Currently.

I’m currently watching The Kennedys miniseries on Netflix.  And Big Brother 13.  It’s amazing how they’re pretty much polar opposites, and yet both are centered on a house and a bunch of crazy people.

I’m currently listening to Ingrid Michaelson on Pandora.  Gorgeous voice.  Check her out.

I’m currently reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  It has been on my ‘must read’ list for years, ever since I did this gift series in 2009.  I finally picked it up for myself and it’s been worth the wait.

Your turn!  What are you watching, listening to, and reading right now?

Emily’s Party Bread

My friend Emily, she makes this insane bread.  Every time we all get together, we require her to make it for us.  And while we’ve all had the secret recipe for ages, no one makes it as good as she does. 

Not even close. 

We are pretty sure that she puts magic in hers.

I asked Em if it would be ok if I shared the party bread recipe with my readers and she graciously agreed to part with her top secret recipe.  She also told me to tell you that in the interest of honesty, years ago, she bastardized another party bread recipe to come up with hers, so the creation is not entirely her own doing. 

Either way, I promise you that it is good. 

Emily’s Party Bread

• 1 loaf of Italian bread or sourdough
• 1 stick butter
• 2 cloves of garlic {1 heaping teaspoon of the pre-minced stuff}
• 2 teaspoons of poppy seeds
• 16 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees {I have also made this on the top rack of the grill with great success} and lay out two strips of foil that are as long as the bread.

Start by slicing the bread 3-4 times length wise and in thick sandwich size slices width wise, do not slice all the way through.  This will make a bunch of squares that will be easy to pull apart.

Then, put the stick of butter, garlic, and poppy seeds in a microwave safe bowl and microwave until the butter is melted.  Stir.

Next you are going to stuff the cheese in between the slices, filling until an obscene amount of cheese is packed into the loaf of bread.  You will believe that there is no way all that cheese is going to fit, but keep at it until all of the cheese is in there.

Finally, drizzle the butter, garlic, and poppy seed mixture all over the bread and wrap in the foil.

Bake for 10 – 15 minutes covered, then unwrap the top and bake another 10 or so minutes until everything is bubbling and melted.

 

 

Dinner Al Fresco.

Oh summer, how I will miss thee.   We’ve flung the windows open here quite a bit these last couple weeks.  We’re partaking in copious amounts of homegrown fruits and straight from the garden veggies. 

To celebrate summer and other good things, we had dinner al fresco.  Just a fancy way of saying the house was messy so we set up a table outside and had some friends over to enjoy the clear blue skies and newly moderate temperatures.  There is nothing like good great company who bring you giant donut cakes and even remember to add the sprinkles.

Tell me.  How are you celebrating these last weeks of summer?

 

 

 

 

Prettied Myself Up a Bit.

What’s that?  Oh nothing, just a little lip gloss, some mascara, and the same great um, good, entertaining ok it’s just writing Michelle’s rambling.

Do you see my shiny new buttons with their new glossy colors?  Go on, click them.  You know you want to.

Maybe you’d like to subscribe or hang out on Facebook?  Or check out the recipes? 

I hope you guys like the new look of So Wonderful, So Marvelous, it was so much fun dreaming up something different and fun while still staying me.

I have Sass to thank.  She is undoubtedly the most patient girl in the world.  Speaking of world, she’s on the other side of it and still stayed up till all hours so that we could work on things until they were right.

Thank you Sass.  You’re absolutely lovely.

Happy Things.

Flights to Atlanta for my cousin Meghan’s wedding have been purchased.  Don’t be jealous, but I also get to see Meg too!

The dresses?  They arrived!  They fit and look pretty dang good.  It’s fabulous when your husband tells you that you’re hot.

Sit down for this next happy thing…

I’m thinking about getting pregnant three more times just for the weight loss.  {Someone pick Dave off the floor please.}  My pregnancy with Tate, I only gained five pounds.  No I’m not kidding, and yes it was healthy since I was overweight to start. 

I wish it was something that I did, but really it was like magic.  Especially since those nightly hot fudge sundaes with extra extra peanuts that didn’t make their way onto my ass.  Anyway, that’s not all.  I went to the doctor for my one week check and I was already down ten pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight.  And now with the breastfeeding, I’m hovering closer to a fifteen pound loss from my pre-pregnancy weight. 

I’d say another three pregnancies would get me right where I’d like to be.  But, fifteen magic maternity pounds gone?  HAPPY thing.

Another happy thing?  I got to throw the dreaded maternity underwear away.  See ya later granny panties, I will not miss you.  Not one single bit.

Psssst….. Maternity jeans, don’t tell the granny panties, but you can stick around a bit.  Your comfort is astounding and has earned you a place in my closet until it becomes really not acceptable to wear you anymore.  I am holding out though as long as I can. 

I’d say I’m going to wear them until Tate turns 16.

Don’t judge. 

This picture makes me happy too.  Look at those little cousins.  How much fun will it be watching them grow up?

Tell me peeps, what is your happy thing today?

 

The Apple.

A few months before Dave and I got married, we borrowed his dad’s power washer. 

Now you might be surprised to learn that I like fun tools for about 3.2 seconds before moving on to the next thing. I’m kind of like the “Squirrel!” dog in the movie Up! 

The slit seeder when we re-seeded the lawn.  The hand sander when we repainted the nursery.   The leaf blower every fall.  The weed whacker that scared the bejezus out of me.  The power washer was no different.  I wanted to play around power wash the front walk in my flip flops and have Dave finish pretty much everything else.

He made me wear safety goggles.

I’m not even kidding.  He is Captain Safety. 

And when I bitched up a storm protested his response was, “Michelle, nobody likes a bride with an eye patch.”

 

The Apple… it doesn’t fall far from the Tree.

 

Even when we’re playing pretend with our belt and swim safety goggles.

Epic.

This little beauty made its way into my hot little hands yesterday.  I should not have things like this because firstly, I have a Facebook/blog/email checking addiction.  Secondly, I am SUPER bad about checking texts, answering phone calls, and charging my phone already which usually results in a dead phone that I have to go searching for because um if it’s dead you can’t call it and I stash my phone wherever is convenient at them moment… with the Epic, you have to charge it even MORE often and well… we’ll see how that goes.

I am hoping that Dave figures out all the bells and whistles and then teaches me how to use it.  And ummm, don’t call me right now, I am not really sure how to answer the phone yet.

So, who has it?  Give me your hints and tips!  What android apps do I absolutely NEED to have?  What can’t you live without?

Breakfast.

I am epically bad about eating breakfast myself.  Horrible.  Awful.  Rotten. 

The Finnster on the other hand?  He’s awesome at it.  It is probably his favorite meal as evidenced by his early waking and breakfast demands.

The problem is, we’re in a breakfast rut. 

He gets on these kicks where he wants the same breakfast every morning.  Right now it’s a Danimals Smoothie {which he calls a Monkey Milkshake because it has a picture of a monkey on it} and a bowl of Fruity Cheerios.  Before that it was Frosted Mini Wheats.  Before that it was yogurt and a Fiber One bar.  Before that it was frozen waffles.  The winter usually brings oatmeal with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a teaspoon of dark brown sugar.

We need some new ideas.  My only criteria is that it be healthy-ish.  Bonus points if he can make it himself and/or I can make it while half asleep.  {You can thank Tate’s 4 am feedings for my sleepy mornings.}

So give it to me straight.  What are your kids eating for breakfast?  What are YOU eating for breakfast?  And what are your tried and true breakfast ideas?

Dress Shopping.

We have lots of fun stuff coming up.  My cousin is getting married, my friend is getting married, there are showers and parties and all kinds of awesomeness forthcoming.  So, I have been a shopping fool.

This is the dress for my cousin’s wedding in Atlanta.  Keep your fingers crossed that my mother in law can work some alteration magic or this one is going back to Saks and that will make me very very sad people.  Isn’t it gorgeous?  I’m thinking some hot shoes and a gorgeous bracelet?

And for the more casual events, this one from Ralph Lauren.  What are your thoughts on jewelry for this one?

Six.

And I’d do it all over again in a second.

Zoo.

Yesterday we went to the zoo with friends… one last visit before school starts and the fun ends.  They spent the majority of the morning walking around hand in hand.

Getting absolutely soaked from the stream in Nature’s Neighborhood.

 

Pretending to be Spider{man}

And stopping at the information carts to learn more about the animals.

Not to mention visits with the baby elephant, snow leopard, seals, and polar bear.

Hope you have a terrific weekend, get out and enjoy the gorgeous weather!

A Picture is Worth a Kick in the Groin.

My Dear Readers,

These five cameras were procured from a box.  We have no Earthly clue as to what is on them.  Are there places to even get these developed anymore?

The last time this happened, Dave took them all to be developed and it was a session of Michelle’s Badness, A Photo Array.  There was one from a trip I took to Hocking Hills with A*, followed by pictures of the trip I took with Dave to Hocking Hills… yeah, that wasn’t awkward at all.  There were artsy pics of V* smoking, and a girls trip to Put-In-Bay** which may or may not have incriminated me further.  These pictures had Dave rolling with laughter and elicited questions of just how many people I dated.   

Basically, the only good thing that came from our foray into mystery camera land was finding a photo of me at my skinniest.  Or was that totally depressing?  I don’t remember which.

When we came across these five beauties hiding out in a box, Dave wanted to leap to get them developed so he could torture me further.  I, on the other hand, would like to toss them.  I may be convinced to get the underwater one developed because I think those are photos of our mini honeymoon in Cancun… but one can not be so sure.  I also think the Digital one is Finn’s camera of our California trip… it’s the other three that have me, ahem, concerned.

To Develop, or Not To Develop… THAT is the question.

*All names have been initialized to protect the innocent. 

** For those of you not in the midwest, please picture drunken debauchery on an island in the middle of nowhere and the saying, “What goes to the Bay, stays at the Bay.”

Fast & Easy Guacamole

We love avocados around our house and there is nothing better, quick, and easier than a bowl of guacamole for a quick summer get together.  Last night we made a black bean version of Enchilada Casserole, so we whipped up a bowl.

If it’s just the three of us, this is the version I make.   If we’re having guests for dinner or people over for munchies, I will double or even triple the recipe.

 

You will need:

• 1 ripe avocado {look for dark skin that gives a bit when you press lightly with your thumb}
• 1/4 red onion, minced
• 1/2 lime
• sea salt

Mince the red onion, scoop out the avocado, juice the lime, & sprinkle with sea salt.  Then smoosh with a fork or a potato masher, whichever you have handy.  We like it with some chunks of avocado.  If you prefer yours completely smooth, toss everything into a food processor.

A minute later you’ll have a bowl of yummy guacamole to enjoy.

#88

Slowly working through my 101 Things list, this weekend it was picnic time with great friends followed by a concert in the park.