Welcome to the world of technology Crispin....

So, I'm not too tech savy.... in fact, true story, I just figured out last week that the iphone I've had for a little over three months now, has been on silent (hah, hence the reason, I never caught a phone call.... EVER...). So, that said, you may have already heard of these cool apps, but I just found them and just in case you hadn't, I had to share!!!

I'm in full "Get Healthy" mode around here and a trainer at my local gym recommended these fun apps to me; needles to say, I am obsessed.....

The first one is My Fitness Pal. It is awesome. It's a calorie/exercise tracker, but what I absolutely love is that I can use my barcode scanner to scan the item I'm eating and BAM it's magically in my phone! AWESOME! I can also add all the workouts I do, to gain more calories back... It's pretty much the coolest thing EVER and amazing how plugging these stats in everyday can be so motivating.... If I forget to finish a day or go over my suggested caloric intake for the day, a little sad face appears.... I hate that sad face! Also, you can find friends and work together to remember etc. Think Words with Friends only this is all about exercise - genius! If you want to play with me, let me know, I'd love to have some buddies!

Then the other little guy I've been digging is the Couch to 5k. It's an app that you can download to play over your music. So for instance it beeps in and says jog, walk briskly, walk etc. throughout your workout. It tracks your distance and your time. The workouts change daily- absolutely love it!!! You can also buddy up and track your friends! I'm beyond obsessed!

So, anywho, just thought I'd share these fun finds with ya'll! 

Hope your having a GREAT start to the week! 

Dumb New Mom Question.....

So, Senor Ford has a cold.... again. I'm telling you folks, January has NOT been kind to us. It's kind of a tornado around the Deneault household lately. We're spinning in eight thousand directions, causing me to sometimes look at my significant other and say things like, "Who are you again?" It's utter chaos. To top things off I had my wisdom teeth out, then Ford got an ear infection/flu, then Tyler got sick, and now Ford has a cold- argh...... So where's the dumb Mom question you ask? Well here it is.... 

What am I supposed to do when my baby has a cold? Am I supposed to quarantine him completely until every little symptom is gone? I haven't gone to the gym once this week, I cancelled a play date, and almost missed a preschool preview this morning for fear that some scary Mom might give me the death glare (for those of you non-moms just you wait, Scary Moms are well.... scary..... and if I'm being honest, just down right awful). So I ask you, what's your take? Obviously if my child had a fever or was hacking out a lung etc. I would not bring him anywhere near another child (that's just rude!) But what about a runny nose on day three of a cold? What do ya'll think? Where do you draw the line?

I'm a sucker for sentimental gifts.....

This afternoon I pulled out my Joy of Cooking, trying to find a quick recipe to whip up for dinner; when I came across a sweet note from one of my best friends, Megan..... She gave me this book as a gift when Tyler and I first got engaged! Five years later, it's been quite loved and believe me it's got the wear and tear to prove it! I love gifts like this.  So simple and yet, the inscription makes it so special. 

How do you know?

So, this blog post has been floating around in my head for quite awhile; but even as I begin, I'm struggling to find the right words, but here goes, for better or worse, I'm going to try....

Motherhood is a weird job. But even more so, for me, this SAHM thing is even weirder...

When I was working, I was a hard worker; someone who obtained measurable goals frequently. I would even go as far as to say that I went above and beyond the expectations of my employers and peers. How do I know this?  Well, just like, I'm sure, most of you, when I did well, I received praise and compliments for the work I performed. Outside of work, I volunteered for various non-profits, and even helped start a Young Professionals Group in my hometown, which also did very well and still exists today. I was a go getter, super social, super busy, super organized etc. etc. I knew I was doing well.

Fast forward to today and for the most part, I feel like I'm all over the place. I'm still super busy; but put together? No. Organized? Not the way I want to be. Super Social? Egh, sorta? It's just weird: it's a work in progress. My drive to do well is still there and in my head I know I'm working my tail off.....but..... I don't feel that sense of accomplishment? That sense of "Wow, I knocked that one outta the park."

I think what drives me the most crazy with this whole SAHM gig is that I don't really have any tangible evidence to measure my job performance..... I no longer have bosses telling me I did well, or an event that goes off without a hitch (for those of you that don't know- I was an Event Planner in my former life) or a bonus, to say your kicking a*@! Being a SAHM is sort of weird like that? And really, do I need my husband to come home and say, "Gee honey, you've got mad vacuuming skills, way to go"!? Not really.

Obviously, my husband tells me when I make a good meal or when the house looks clean. And sure,  Ford's smiles and giggles tell me that he knows he's loved. And of course, when he does something on schedule like crawling or standing it tells me we're doing all the right things as parents. But should these things be a cue to me that I'm, "knocking it outta the park?" I'm not so sure. So, if I don't want the affirmations from my husband and the typical cues aren't enough.... How am I supposed to know I'm doing a great job it right?

I guess my newest struggle as a SAHM is finding ways to measure the job I'm doing? Am I being a good mother? Am I being a good wife? Did I spend enough time with each of my boys? Did I make each of them feel special and loved? Does my husband still think I'm as awesome as he used to? Does my son think I'm the best Mommy ever? Etc. Etc. Etc.

I mean really.... HOW DO YOU KNOW!!?!?!?!?

So the point of this long, drawn out, probably makes no sense blog posting..... IS.... 

All you Mommies out there, how do you know, that what you do, matters???

Midweek Confessions....

Linking to E, Myself and I today to participate in her weekly Link Up Party- Midweek Confessions.....

So here are a few brutally honest "truths," floating around my head this week....

1. There are three bodies in my bed at night..... And by that I mean, I'm still sleeping with a maternity pillow. Is that bad? I just can't quit it! I love it! It's sooooo comfy and snuggly and it never complains that I'm too hot or that I'm smothering it. I figure it's a win, win.... right?

2. I've got the Victoria Secret Swim Catalogue on my nightstand because I feel like I'm too old to cut out a picture of a chick in a bikini and post it to my fridge for weight loss motivation..... Therefore, it's sitting on my nightstand, probably laughing at me.....

3. My child has started this whiney cry thing, it appears that it may be the beginning of a temper tantrum. He doesn't do it with his Dad, just me.... So today on our way home from Baby Boot Camp, I turned the radio up.... Yep, bad Mom over here.

4. I am having a really hard time learning to say "No." We've got so much going on and it's hard to pick and chose what I want to be involved in and what I don't. I need to learn to "date" new friends, new projects etc. before jumping in and adding something else to my to do list. If I'm being really honest, I'm kinda overwhelmed lately.

5. I'm kinda "Jones-ing" for some of my Florida friends to come and visit us! Hubby and I have made a gazillion trips back home but now we're absolutely dying for some of our friends to make a point to COME AND VISIT US....... just a very small, small, small hint people!!!!

So, those are my midweek confessions.

What about you? How are you fairing this week?

Seriously.....

Weren't you eating rice cereal for the first time like, yesterday??? 

SERIOUSLY stop growing up so fast! 

Every once in awhile, I get it right....

Ok, so I know Christmas has come and gone, BUT I am so proud of a certain gift that I got my hubby that I'm just dying to share it with you!

I don't know about you; but I find it EXTREMELY hard to buy gifts for my husband. He hates when I spend money on him and when I do, according to him, it's either too much money, not the right thing, or it's something that goes in a desk drawer never to be seen again. I can't tell you the amount of gifts I've bought him that have been returned and or exchanged. Hands down, I stink at buying my husband gifts.

So at about this time last year I had had enough and decided to keep a running log on my computer of things Tyler mentioned throughout the year he wanted, but never bought for himself. This was as basic as LL Bean Slippers to as big as a Nail Gun; every time he mentioned something I made a note! So come this Christmas I had about twenty items I could chose from; it was AWESOME!

Hands down, the item I believe he loved the most was a leather recipe journal with his monogram on it (of course!). To understand why this is such a perfect gift, I've gotta give you a little background-- His Pepere (French for Grandfather) was a Baker and hand wrote all of his recipes into a notebook; which he passed down to his sons. His brother Conrad has also started doing this as well. In the recipe book, they write all of their favorite recipes with the intention of one day passing it down to their children and so on. Well, to say that I went "gaga" for this idea is an understatement! Last Christmas when Tyler saw his brother's he was dying to start his own, but like most random ideas, it got lost in a year full of crazy! But AHA! Thanks to my sneaky note keeping, it was under the tree for my sweet hubby this Christmas!

He's been writing and writing, and writing in it for about two weeks; so, at this point, I think it's safe to say I knocked this Christmas right out of the park! I'm pretty proud of myself if I do say so myself! 

In other news, in keeping with my New Year's Resolutions, hubby and I are taking a beginners wine class tomorrow afternoon at a local winery for a day date! I'm pretty excited! 

How about you, what are you up to this weekend???

Resolutions.....and all that jazz.....

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I'm on the fence when it comes to New Year's Resolutions. On the one hand, I love how the new year seems to usher in this "hope," that we can make life changes and be the people we want to be. On the other hand, I hate how come October, these resolutions have typically gone out the window; only to be made all over again come December 31st. It's a viscous cycle; one that I fall victim to almost evvvvvvery year! So, it is with great hope that as I write my 2012 resolutions, I actually live up to them, accomplish them, and make useful changes. So, in all their hopeful glory, in no particular order; here are my 2012 resolutions...

1. STOP buying books! Yes, I know this goes against the typical "I will read more this year," resolution, but hear me out. I'm a self proclaimed bookworm, I love, love, love to read. Pre baby, it was not unheard of for me to knock out two books a week, but things have changed. I have about fifteen books stacked on my nightstand anxiously awaiting to be read. I need to give in and accept the fact that reading has now become an activity best reserved for a beach vacation or something of that nature. So, this year I vow to stop buying books until I finish the fifteen already on my nightstand.

2.  This one's a two parter..... START making healthy dinners for Tyler and I at least five times a week, no more take out food! Obviously with the occasional exception, but for real, this home-maker has gotta get with it! My EPR depends on it! And secondly, get ahold of our grocery bill! Meaning, stop wasting leftovers. If we eat meatloaf twice a week, so be it. That's why some genius out there invented the meatloaf sandwich for pete sake!

3. This one's a reach, but I swear I am going to try my hardest...... Run the San Antonio Rock N' Roll Marathon... I want to do this, no.... I need to do this! I need a goal to get me fit! I don't do well with just your typical "I gotta lose weight..." I NEED to have a goal to work for and this, well that just seems cool. And if I'm really honest, I really just want to slap one of those 26.2 stickers on the back of my SUV. :)

4. Spend more quality time with my husband. If I'm being brutally honest, hands down--- we stink at it. We're couples kinda people. We like to be really social and hang out and have people around us. It brings out the fun people hidden inside us; we tend to relax more around others. We have a hard time having quality one on one time. When we try it usually turns into a planning session for the week or month or something else totally not fun. This year, we're going to start date night, with rules like--- no bringing up the calendar, our jobs, our check-book,  aggravations etc! Just good ole' fashioned date nights/days.

5. Get Churchy! Somewhere along the way Tyler and I have stopped going to church. We NEED to get back in the groove. Heck, we just need to find a church! I think this would a.) be good for us as individuals and also as a family unit, b.) It would help us meet like minded young families. So, we'll be doing some church searching in these coming months. Hey San Antonio peeps- any suggestions?

So there you have it! My top five New Year's resolutions.

We'll see how it goes!!! 

I've been a busy bee.... sort of......

This whole wisdom teeth thing really slowed down my "New Year, New Me" kick off. Meaning, the plan to hit the gym hard kinda went by the wayside for now...... but I'm hoping I'll be off and running next week once my mouth feels a wee bit better, cross fingers! 

So, my plan during this down time was to sew, sew, sew- I have two projects I NEED to get done, one for a fellow blogger and one for a girlfriends' daughter BUT then my sewing machine literally ATE my first paying customer's hand made blanket!!!! AGH!!!! Who knew a machine could literally bring a grown woman to tears? Luckily the "customer" was VERY understanding but geesh every time I think about it, it kinda makes me want to cry. But that's a whole other story, the point is my sewing machine was on the fritz and had to be taken in to be fixed, so besides caring for my child, I needed to find something else to keep me busy! When AHA! I had an idea..... thank you Pinterest..... 

I cooked, and cooked, and cooked! I made........ 

Pioneer Woman's Lasagna 

Enchiladas

Texas Chicken Bake 

Chili 

Stew 

Colorado White Chili

Meatloaf 

Breakfast Burritos

The best part..... I froze it all!!!! I am so excited! No more, "Hmmmm..... shoot, I didn't figure out dinner in time, gotta call the hubster to pick up take out." No sirrrree! The Deneault's have a full outdoor freezer full of pre-made meals! Hallelujah! 

So, I may have neglected working out the past two weeks, BUT when I finally start next week, at least I won't ruin a day of healthy eating and working out with a take out dinner! So that's a plus :) My favorite recipe hands down is Pioneer Woman's Lasagna, seriously amazing people! You can find it here! 

Enjoy!

Pinterest, you mock me.....

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Ok, so let me start this post by saying.... I truly love Pinterest.  I use it to find recipes, I use it for party tricks and ideas, and of course use it for home inspiration. It's my newest addiction. And at times is extremely helpful.

HOWEVER...... is it me or can it be extremely OVERWHELMING!? Geeesh. Yesterday I realized that I've started to double pin. Meaning I'm repinning ideas that I'd already saved; which means my original pin is lost in a sea of 336 pins on my party board, never to be found again.... There's just got to be a better way.

I've also found that after scouring Pinterest and lusting over the beautiful rooms, homes, and decorating ideas; I've got Pin-envy. MAJOR Pin- envy. My poor husband coms home and I'm immediately a faucet of ideas, wants and needs- " I want to do this, and that, and redo this room, and oh by the way we neeeeeeed this" etc. etc. etc.  He kinda wants to kill me, no joke.

I start to walk around my beautiful house and am suddenly dissatisfied. I want to change....er.... everything? What's up with that?  Seriously, no joke, Pinterest is kind of what I would imagine a drug addiction would be like... It's bad.

My husband likes to joke.... "Honey step away from the computer, put the computer down...."

So I ask all you Pinners out there.... Am I the only one? Or are you as addicted? Are you just as overwhelmed with the plethora of ideas suddenly at  your fingertips? How do you break it down so you don't lose your pins, or want to recreate your home every other day??? What's your strategy?

Signed,
Suddenly Psycho Pinner

My Yearly EPR (Employee Performance Review)

So to understand the title of this post you've gotta understand my loving, sweet, and well let's be honest, slightly sarcastic, husband. His favorite thing to say when he comes home from work and dinner's not made, the house is a disaster, or I forgot to pick up something he needed, or It's 6:00 pm and I'm still in my pj's, which may or may not be covered with peas etc. is ," Honey, let's not make this a habit,  it's not going to look good on your upcoming EPR (Employee Performance Review)." Now obviously this is said with a smile and love. My husband is a peach, but, in truth, he's used this line a lot since Ford was born because lets' face it, there's a learning curve with this "New Mom" thing--- it's tough. There is no manual, there is no right/wrong way (despite what some may say), it's all about being informed and then going with your gut. And as a woman (Mom or not) it's not always easy to trust your gut.

So that said, as I've been trying to compile a few possible New Year's resolutions (more on that later), I've been reflecting on our first year as parents, my first year as a Mom--- the good, the bad, and the downright ugly, because after all aren't you supposed to reflect after an EPR?

It's been a roller coaster of a year, one that I wouldn't change for a second, but gosh what a year of self discovery. I've learned so much about myself, my husband, my child, my parents, my relatives, my friends etc. As cliche as it sounds, "Parenting changes everything."

Hands down, parenting is THE most challenging experience I've ever had the pleasure of participating. It has the highest highs and the lowest lows. Over the past eight months I've had to get over the terribly high standards I placed on myself, on my husband and on us as a unit. I had to get over my preconceived notions of" This is how it HAS to be!" I had to remind myself that there will always be women who do it better and well, frankly, women who do it worse. But as long as I'm fairing well on my husband and child's EPR, that's really all that matters.

There are a million books out there that tell you how you can be a good parent and let's be honest half will tell you to do it this way, while the other half will tell you that's completely wrong. There are a million Moms out there who believe one thing and a million Moms who believe another. It's really hard to sort through and find the "right way." But I guess if I've learned anything at all over the past eight months it's that you've got to go with your gut and make decisions about your child based on your beliefs, your opinions, and what you think will help him/her. It's no one else's business if you decide to go cloth diaper or disposable, organic or non-organic, breast fed or bottle fed, use babywise or don't use babywise etc. etc. etc...... My decisions don't make me a bad Mother and are not going to completely mess up my child. He is loved..... and really isn't that all that matters?

I love my son and my little family more than words can possibly begin to explain. My world changed forever when Ford was born. So I guess, if I've learned anything this year and what I'll continue to strive for in 2012 is to love whole heartedly, unconditionally, and enormously. Love my child, love my husband, and love this little life we've created, together.......... as a family. 2011 has been wonderful to the Deneault's and I only hope 2012 will continue to be even better. Life is good.

Now, how's that for an EPR, honey???

Recovering.....

Note to self: Don't wait five years after the dentist tells you to get your wisdom teeth

 out to actually do it, chances are they'll be impacted and well... it just hurts more!

Snuggled in bed with the Little