Today is the day.

I cannot believe it has taken me so long.  Ridiculous, really.  I am in love with “Hands Free Mama” by Rachel Macy Stafford.  I have taken my sweet time reading it, in hopes that I would absorb it (and in hopes that I wouldn’t completely negate the point by obsessively reading instead of living).  But here we are, at the end of the book, and the number 1 biggest distraction of my life is STILL ON MY PHONE!!!

You guessed it (since it might be yours):  Facebook.

I’ve almost deleted the app a bunch of times.  You know what stops me?  You’re going to laugh.  Well, I guess there’s 2 things.  The first thing that has stopped me every time is when it says “if you delete this app you will delete all of the data.”  It’s a freakin web based program!  I know my stuff won’t be deleted!  But every time,  I kinda panic and hit cancel instead of delete!!!  Ridiculous!!!  The second thing that stopped me was that I liked being able to share photos so quickly and easily.  That is full of good intentions.  But, why worry about sharing them with 400 of my closest friends at the moment of impact?  Shouldn’t I let the moment of impact, impact me more deeply? 

But today, this fine, rainy, cool summer day, I am taking the leap and I am deleting the facebook app from my phone. 

I am pretty sure Rachel Macy Stafford was speaking directly to me in her 12^th and final chapter.  When she uses language like, “This week, protect time with loved ones by creating barriers between you and your distraction (186).” How do you like that one?  

"Daily distractions have a sneaky way of stealing time- that rare and precious commodity that once we lose, we never regain.  Every time we get online to check email, social media, or search the Internet, suddenly a large chunk of time disappears.  Is that really how we want to spend our precious time?  By removing the temptations of the phone and Internet, you will receive the gift of time- time to laugh, time to love, and time to live for what most matters in your life (186)."

How about this one- “Turn off all notifications on your phone (186).” Or just stab me.  Same effect.

That’s just insanity.  I’m pretty sure notifications are directly linked to the oxygen I breathe.  But, fine Rachel- I’ll try this vintage parenting thing.  Vintage parenting, vintage relationships, vintage LIFE.

Rachel, it was so much easier agreeing with you when you didn’t give me literal, tangible assignments.  “Perhaps the simplest yet most effective strategy I used to permanently abandon my highly distracted life was changing the notification settings on my phone (186).”  Well, that sounds… really easy.  Why didn’t I think of that….  Maybe I did, and I was afraid… of paralysis.  Chances are if you are reading this, you may feel that separation-from-devices anxiety as well. And we have a great camaraderie, us that use our phones way to much. 

Well, it’s gone.  The sky didn’t turn dark, the ground didn’t shake, my heart is still pumping blood, and the air does still seem to be full of oxygen. 

Maybe I can do this whole vintage life thing after all… Or, I guess, it's probably just called "life."

Ohhh boy.

This is as far as I've gotten...

It's GONE.

Yes, I know I could delete the contractions app.  But it has all my data from starting labor with Andrew, and I just can't part with that.  Ha!

(Before I send this into the webernet, I should mention that this is my journey, and I am not intending for anyone to feel like I am guilting them in any way.  I’m just trying to evaluate my life and the relationships with who matters most to me, and it seems as though I have been devoting a lot of time to someTHING, rather than the someONES.  Blogging is a great way for me to get my thoughts out in a tangible way, and share with anyone who might give a care.  It’s as inward as it is outward.)

Hi again!

Just some housekeeping- I'm playing around with a new template, and I know my formatting might be off.   Bear with me!  While I've stopped a moment- any ideas for content?  I have some thoughts up my sleeve, but I'm open to your ideas!

Shopping at Aldi's

Good morning!

I’m off to swim lessons for Molly, my oldest daughter.  My younger one doesn’t love to swim yet, hopefully next year!  Before swimming, we took a little detour to Aldi’s.  Now, there’s a lot I don’t buy at Aldi’s.  And I wouldn’t say I go there regularly at all.  But, when I see the flyers come in, I’m tempted.  I used to think going there would be gross (what can I say, I’m a snob).  Something about discount food just creeped me out.  But, they carry more and more organic items, and I’ve gone enough times now to have tried some of their products, and they’re pretty darn good!  There’s still plenty I don’t buy there- any of the super cheap-y stuff, regular meat, most of their regular dairy…  just can’t do it. 

Here are some of the items I bought this morning:

Almond milk:  $2.29

Organic arugula:  $2.49

Trying out these apple straws…. I could see my little man Andrew loving these.:  $1.99

non-organic Bananas were only 39 cents per pound!!!

Non-organic asparagus (I remember finding a chart on which produce was safest to buy, didn’t have it with me so I just took a chance.  Love asparagus roasted with olive oil):  $3.29

I shall find that chart, and I shall post it to this blog.  It was super helpful!  

Aldi’s version of organic Pirate Booty (I am super excited to try these out- soooo much cheaper than regular Pirate Booty and all of my kids love that expensive stuff!):  $1.99

(ps the kids LOVED them.)

Non-organic strawberries- I know that’s a huge no-no, but Molly really wanted them, and they were at least small, not those “grown in Chernobyl for optimum unnaturally huge size!” ones.  $2.69

Here's my receipt:

(I'll have to remember to rotate my pictures in iPhoto first...)

There’s tons of buying guides you can find from bloggers on Pinterest that have great tips for buying at Aldi’s, and price comparisons with places like Walmart.  I cannot handle Walmart by and large… I just can’t do that store anymore.  It’s just too much.  But seriously, just go on pinterest and search “Aldi’s,” and you’ll find tons of tips and buying guides.

Here’s what I have found with shopping at Aldi’s, in a nutshell:

• ·      They only take cash or debit cards (or food stamps, etc.)
• ·      They do not bag anything
• ·      You should remember to bring your own bags because otherwise you have to pay for them, although they are super cheap and the plastic bags they sell are large and “deluxe,” so it’s not really a problem.  Alternatively, you don’t have to bag your groceries…. But that will be regretful when you get home lol
• ·      Lots of great organic choices
• ·      I only buy organic meat there…. The giant tootsie-roll ground beef creeps me out, that’s just me.
• ·      Great for snack foods, chips, etc.
• ·      Hours are limited- I think they close at 8pm most days!
• ·      Biggest problem for me- since I won’t/can’t “buy it all” at Aldi’s, that means I have to make a second stop at my usual Hannaford (I despise Price Chopper).  This is all find and good during the summer and weeks off from school,  but during the regular school year when I’m working, I don’t see being able to stop there AND going to another store.  Too much time.  But, I do enjoy being able to go when I can!

Over the years, I’ve tried couponing and various methods of saving money on grocery shopping.  I can tell you one thing’s for certain- saving money on groceries is a time consuming job.  I will dabble here and there, but other than just spending a few minutes here and there printing coupons or pre-planning on the Target cartwheel app, it’s usually not worth my time.  I’m fortunate that I can get away with that.  When I do have some extra time, I try to squeeze it in!  More money for the fun stuff that way!!!

((((((( the next day )))))))))

Here's some random pictures of us at North Star Orchards.  Another store I love shopping in, even if it means extra work for me, since it means more stops.  I restocked on that weird yogurt I love, bought some other produce like local sweet corn, and of course we picked some blueberries!

Molly wasn't really interested in having her picture taken, as you can tell. 

Yay!  She cheered up.

It was very sunny.

Best Brownie Recipe EVER.

Hi again-

I just put a batch of brownies in the oven to bring to Cale, since they have a meeting tonight at work.  I have tried quite a few good brownies in my life, but my mom's recipe is absolutely the bee's knees.  I don't know where she got it, but here it is:

FUDGEY BROWNIES

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Hershey's cocoa
1/2 teasp baking soda
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup boiling water (measure accurately)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 teasp salt


Stir cocoa and baking soda in mixing bowl.
Blend in 1/3 cup vegetable oil.
Add boiling water; stir until moisture thickens.
Stir in sugar, eggs, and remaining 1/3 cup vegetable oil; stir until smooth.
Add flour, vanilla, and salt, blending completely.
Pour into lightly greased 13"x9" baking pan OR two 8" square pans.

Bake at 350 degrees-
13"x9"- 35-40 minutes
two 8"- 30-32 minutes

I have only made it using the 13x9.  They come out with a nice crust on top, super chocolately and dense on the inside.  My favorite are the corners!!!  I do NOT add frosting to the top because that's stupid.  :)

Me and my mom, Rose, last summer

A lovely summer week :)

Well, this has been quite a lovely week.  Lots of sun and lots of fun!

I'm going to make this a quickie- just wanted to share a few things...

First- went blueberry picking last Saturday at North Star Orchards.  One of my FAVE places to visit with the kids.  Great in the summer and great in the fall!  It was rather hot, so we picked as many blueberries as we could stand (10 minutes worth) and went in the shop to get some produce and mini half-moons.  Their blueberries are deelish.  Their iced blueberry cookies are crack.  I look forward to going again real soon, especially since there were still plenty of unripe blueberries on the bushes, so we really had to use a discerning eye to pick out nice dark ripe ones.

Ohhh I digress for a sec- they sell this yogurt there that is out of this world!  It's high protein (11g... not really sure what that means lol but I guess that's a lot!), it's a totally different consistency than regular yogurt or greek yogurt... it's more... custardy??  I don't know.  You can stir it all you want, and it's not going to get smooth or homogenous like regular yogurt.  I'm sure I'm making this sound horrible.  But it's ahmaazing.  I had it after I worked out this morning (that's another story!).

If you are anything like me, you always have a few boxes of cake mixes in the house.  I may not have the essentials to make a cake (oil, eggs, whatever nonsense goes into a cake), but i usually have a box on hand haha!  So I thought... what if I just put a ton of blueberries in a yellow cake.....  I reduced the water to 1/3 instead of 1 cup (used duncan hines yellow cake mix) and voila, it was a healthy/unhealthy snack.  No icing, no nothing.. it basically tasted like a moist muffin.  It was gone within 3 days, probably mostly by me.  (Yes I am aware that this is a completely unoriginal idea that no one will find inspiring.)  Tons of blueberries, not too sweet, yeah it was great.

Second, I finally completed a craft I've been eyeing for a while.  Well, it's not totally complete, one last thing I need to add- a big letter T.  I made a burlap wreath for my front door!  Took a few tries, but once I got the hang of it, it was so easy, so fun, something I could see myself do a zillion more times to make themed wreaths for holidays or gifts!

The materials...  (not including the big letter T)

The mostly-finished product!  I feel like I took this pic at a weird angle... you can trust me, it is a work of ART in person!  haha.

OK, so, how to make this:  obviously you could fill up a board with just burlap wreath tutorials.  I originally tried just using this cute little website:  http://www.thetallytales.com/2014/02/the-secret-to-making-fluffy-burlap.html.  That resulted in mega-frustration because I couldn't "get it."   So then I took to youtube...  And I found a couple great tutorials-  This one was the main one I watched over and over, kept re-watching it:

(I am squealing because I just embedded a video.  I am soo tech savvy!!!!  Look at me!!!!!!)

But yeah, basically you just sort of awkwardly make 3 unsecured loops (one through each wire), then twist the burlap once (the twist appears to be the major thing to remember), then repeat until you're done.  You basically tie it to the wire frame twice; once when you start, once at the end (I guess 3 times if you have to use more than one roll of burlap ribbon, like me.)  It's super awkward until you get the hang of it, then you realize it's silly-easy.  ONE MAJOR THING TO KNOW- this is an outside job.  The jute goes everywhere, including your brown capri leggings.

This other lady ROCKS and broke it down really slowly, and made you feel so comfortable when you're ready to set the freakin burlap on fire because you're losing your mind:

I'm definitely going to check out her YouTube channel.

Now, I mentioned before that I worked out this morning...  I have never been consistent with working out, 4 days on, 3 days off, 2 days on, 3 months off... you got it.  But I am very interested and always feel better inside and out when I do.  Well, I finally tried out Results Matter with Erin... decided last minute to go this morning at 5:30am for Turbo.  Had no idea what Turbo was even, other than it sounded fast and terrible.  It was pretty much awesome, I felt great, it was a good amount of hard but not discouragingly so, and I was in a great mood all day and I can only attribute it that class!  I don't have a great track record with working out BUT I could totally see myself going back.  I highly recommend!

A few other highlights from a great week:

 Andrew LOVES watermelon (and corn on the cob)!

Don't you HATE it when that happens!!!  Makes me lose my mind when I do that.  Happens like twice a year.

We caught butterflies (unsuccessful) and sold lemonade (successful) during Andrew's nap!

ermergerd btw do you totes love my new blog background????   Found it here http://thecutestblogontheblock.com!!!  

ok ok ok ok ok on more PS- KRISTEN CHENOWETH IS KILLING HER SOLO IN DISNEY'S DESCENDENTS!!!  When are they going to give her a starring role in a feature film???  I am soooooo in love with her voice!

Hey dudes/dudettes!

It is indeed summertime!!!  It's actually about halfway through.  Needs to slow the eff down.

Again, it's been a lifetime since my last post.  Sigh.  I love working on the blog, and I think throughout the day, TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT!  I'm so writing after bedtime!  And then I never do.  I am so cooked by 9:15, gah.  But, here we are.  And it's super fun writing this blog with the gif just going to town above my text.  Will Smith is so awesome.  Hasn't really aged at all either.  

But I'm not here to talk about THAT.

First, just want to say how awesome it is that people have commented on my blog in a positive way, even said omg why haven't you written more??  It is very baring, and I feel like I'm opening myself to a new world of embarrassment, and I've already got plenty of embarrassment in the non-tech world.  I might embarrass myself more than I don't embarrass myself. Whatevs, long hair don't care.

OK, let's see, in the finite amount of time I have to do this, I'll just share some of my current obsessions.

Besides that GIF of Will Smith dancing.

Ok, I'm moving on now, I promise.  

Loving 2 newish shops in the village of New Hartford- The Topping Tree and Linsey Layne.  So much damage to be done there.  The Topping Tree is a hair accessory shop, and I want everything in their store.  They just had their grand opening this week, unfortunately I wasn't able to go (didn't think everyone would appreciate me bringing 3 uninterested children).  But, it's not going anywhere, and I plan on treating myself on occasion!  Lindsey Layne is right next door, and I think everyone in my local world is aware of the amazeballs of this little boutique, but if you don't, check 'em out on Facebook and in the store!  Perfect afternoon or evening:  lunch at Georgio's, shopping at The Topping Tree and Linsey Layne.  Or, for people with 3 uninterested children, you can always shop online :)

Speaking of shopping online, I like everyone else loves shopping online.  I think I've told everyone I know, but I use subscription services through Amazon and Target, and I looooove it.  I never buy paper towels, toilet paper, laundry detergent, diapers, etc. etc. etc. in the store, I just have it shipped to my house, so when I go shopping in store, I don't have to buy these big big items that take up way too much real estate in my cart.  Thousands upon thousands of items to choose from, with various lengths of subscriptions (monthly, 6 weeks, 3 months, etc.).  So, just in case you hadn't heard of subscriptions, there you go.  Hopefully that was the lamest part of this blog.

OK, another big thing I'm into are these books; I think they might qualify as self-help LOL.  One I've already written about in my blog, Hands Free Mama by Rachel Macy Stafford.  It is totally speaking to me at this time.  I'm not even done reading it, I am reading it very slowly so I can reflect and apply some of the thoughts in the book.  It's a book that relaxes me and gives me something to think about and work on.  Also, I recently bought some parenting books.  You know, it's a funny thing, the shame that comes with buying parenting books.  I would tote it around and often lay it upside down so people wouldn't see the cover and think things about me.  But you know, why wouldn't I read parenting books!  The more I thought about it, I have (mostly) changed to feeling proud that I would actually research new techniques on the most important and challenging endeavor of my life- parenting!  (admission:  I care way too much what other people think about me)  In late May, when my mind was quickly unraveling over the stresses of work and parenting, I decided to look into techniques for disciplining our middle child, in particular.  I had yelled enough times, and I do not want to be a yeller.  So, I went on amazon, found some appealing books, and ordered enough to get free shipping (I HATE paying for shipping.  Hell no.)  So I bought these:

Now, I've read about 2/3 of Peaceful Parent, Happy Child.  Love it.  It's more on the theory side of things, but has some practical strategies in there as well.  It's a good mix of "here's the psychology/biology behind why" and "how to parent best."  I'm also trying to read slowly and absorb.    It's geared towards parenting children ages 0-7, so jump on it if you find yourself struggling with young children.  

Orange rhino is more of a 30 day challenge to not yell.  It's written by a non-writer such as myself haha, it's very cute and has some great quick strategies to parent better.  It's visually very appealing and the pages are smooth!  (haha!)  The thought of the orange rhino is to remain a warm, calm person and avoid being a regular rhino mom that will charge when provoked (aka scream at your kids like a lunatic when they piss you off).  Another one I highly recommend.  I haven't read it cover to cover, but what I have read, I love!

Haven't gotten to the siblings book.  Mostly bought it to save on shipping (my husband would call that "female reasoning" LOL).  I'm looking forward to getting to it and I have no doubt I'll find great things in there.

I will be honest and say I still feel a little bare by telling the world that I bought these books, but I keep telling myself that doing some reading to give me some new strategies is only a good thing and I  am not too proud to work toward improvement!  Hopefully, by sharing I can help someone else who is feeling overwhelmed and unsure of what to do or where to look.

OK, I think I'll leave it here, but I have a small request.  If you have any advice for my blog, please let me know!  I know it is a bit of wishful thinking to think I'll get back into doing this regularly (or, actually do this regularly lol) but if you have any ideas as to what I should write about, etc., let me know!  I think for one, I am going to try to stick to specific topics for each entry; narrowing the breadth of what I get into.  I feel so vulnerable by writing a blog, I am aware it's fairly terrible, but I do enjoy tinkering with it.  Thanks for reading!  Hope you were at least mildly amused by the GIFs.

This chick's the best.  

Wait!!!  Ermergerd one more thing.  My husband is obsessed with all things Apple computer, and this is totes old news but we just watched it again the other night.  Hilarious!

Bill Hader WWDC 2015

Finally!

Welp, it took me quite a while to get back to posting on here, and a lot has happened since I last posted.  Today is the last day of January, hard to believe it!

We have a new niece, that's probably the biggest and most exciting news since I last posted!  Little P was born a few weeks ago, and she could not be any cuter!!!!  It's fun watching our nephew enjoy his new sister.  Such a special time!

I don't even know where to begin.  But I'm going to leave a lot out and keep this short and sweet!

I'll start with the fact that today, Molly chose to watch "A Little Princess," and I just looooove doing things with my girls that I did as a child.  I used to love this movie!  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_Princess_(1995_film)

Lately, I've been into the following things:
-21 Day Fix.  I'm not super dedicated, I average working out every other day, and I am not dedicated to the eating portion, but at least I'm improving!!!  And I ordered Shakeology and I really love making it every morning.  It's such a better alternative to stopping at Dunkin!  Shakeology ends up being $4 a day or so, Dunkin I was spending more and eating/drinking crap.  Which I still do from time to time but way less often now!

-Hands Free Mama!!!!!  Rachel May Stafford is the author of a book called, Hands Free Mama.  The overall gist of the book is to improve your connectedness with your family and maintaining a calm household and focusing on your meaningful relationships (in my case and the author's case, relationship with children and husband.)  A major theme of the book, and the hands free part of it, specifically has to do with being "unplugged" and not married to your devices.  Which... seems like I"m missing the point if I'm working on my blog.  Hehe... But the kids are all occupied so I"m taking a few minutes to work on this!  I just want to share Hands Free Mama with every mom, especially, that I know.

I found out about Hands Free Mama via Facebook; the author has a Facebook page for Hands Free Mama, and a mom friend of mine had "liked" one of her posts, so it showed up on my newsfeed.  It intrigued me right away, I googled it and that day i bought the ebook for my nook.  I'm reading it very slowly so I can really absorb it (very hard to do because it's not like a heavy read or anything.)  The author actually recommends reading a chapter per month so it takes a year to get through it.

I often either talk to people about how people are generally too into their electronic devices, or I witness it firsthand.  And I'm the first to admit I'm guilty.  But, improvement has to start somewhere, and Hands Free Mama has gotten me on the road to recovery specifically with putting down my iPhone, and just with other ways to put my priorities straight!  I even ordered a copy for a mom friend of mine.  Can't wait til it comes in so I can give it to her!

Ah, let's see, what else.  We're approaching birthday season for my kids, so naturally it's all I'm thinking about.  Molly wanted to have her party at an indoor playground that we frequent, we call it triple F, but then last minute she said she wanted to do a baking party.  It's going to be EPIC.  The only down side is that she can only invite 5 friends, because 6 kindergarteners baking is my sanity limit.  But it is going to be EPIC and I am so excited to plan this!!  Molly's birthday is first, then Andrew's, then Emily's.  It's going to be a busy spring.  Plus, we are going to FLORIDA for Easter break.  It doesn't seem real, but it is definitely real!  Cannot wait for warm weather!

I'm running out of time, but I'll share a fun little craft I did:

I'm sure I got this idea from pinterest, then I just did a google search for "diy ornament baby id."  I wish I had posted this sooner, you probably can't find these anymore, but I bought 3 large plastic bulbs at the dollar tree (my favorite store!), then stuffed them with id bracelets from the hospital when my children were born!  I also added christening bibs and socks.  The last touch I need to do is to pain on their names.  I might use stickers or foam stickers for that, because i don't want them to look crappy.  So excited to put them on our tree next Christmas!

Happy February everyone!  Hopefully I will write much sooner :)