Gone Fishin'

Today we caught up with Pop while he was fishing for the ever elusive and highly delicious baby Goldfish.

Who Says White Elves Cant Jump!?

Who says white elves cant jump!?

Elfing it UP!

Here is our elf 'Pop' enjoying the Florida weather with some waterskiing with Tonka fireman before heading back up to the North Pole to see Santa!

Do you have a soundtrack?

Are you all sick of hearing about my first 5K yet? Okay, good, because I am not tired of talking about it yet! :)

Although I have been told that "runners" don't listen to music when they run because they are "in the zone", I absolutely rely on my tunes to keep me chugging along. What's better than hitting a tough moment in your run and then all of a sudden Ke$ha comes flying through your ear buds and gives you that musical push you need? Yes, she may be covered in glitter, and I may be covered in sweat, but at that moment Ke$ha is a lifesaver and we are soul-sisters.

So, in honor of my adventure at the Womens Running Magazine Half-Marathon and 5K here is my soundtrack from the race:

• "Ready to Go"- Republica
• "Typical Situation"- Dave Matthews Band
• "Club Can't Handle Me"- Flo Rida
• "Now That We Found Love"- Heavy D and the Boyz
• "Waking Up in Vegas"- Katy Perry
• "Stronger"- Kayne West
• "Empire State of Mind"- Jay Z
• "If"- Janet Jackson
• "Your Love Is My Drug"- Ke$ha
• "Everyday"- Dave Matthews Band
• "Stone Cold Yesterday"- The Connells
• "Paparazzi"- Lady Gaga
• "Right Now"- Van Halen

These were all great tunes and the only one I would have changed was "Ready to Go" by Republica. Its a great song to get pumped up to, but its over 5 minutes long and got boring after a bit.

What are your favorite work-out or running jams? Leave me a comment and let me know.

My first 5K was, um, crappy!?

This weekend I ran my first 5K in the Women's Running Magazine Half Marathon and 5K-- yay me! The race itself was amazing. The pre-race smearing of another runners feces all over my clothes was not. Yes, you read that right, ANOTHER.RUNNERS.POOP was all over my jacket and pants moments before the race began. What in the holy hades happened you wonder? Well, sit tight and keep reading--and maybe grab a trash can to hurl in if you have a weak stomach. Here goes:

For my 5K I wore black spandex capris, a white t-shirt and a light pink Lululemon zip-up jacket (it was cold when we arrived at 6:30am). Palm Tree Dad came to the race with BB and CC to cheer me on-- such troopers because it was EARLY... like really, really early when we woke up at 4:50am.

Before the race started (around 6:45am) I told Palm Tree Dad that I needed to use the restroom because I was nervous-- I always have to pee when I am nervous, doesn't everyone? There were TONS of people in those lines for the zillion porto-pottys so after waiting in line for 10 minutes or so it was my turn.

It was pretty dark in the porto-potty and didnt smell particularly good, but no big deal, right? Its a porto-potty. WRONG! I squatted/hovered to pee and when I stood up I thought to myself "Oh man, I smell poop. Like fresh poop, new poop. WTF!?!?" Then I saw it... on the inner lid of the porto-potty there was poop (diarhea-y poop) and I had it all over my light pink jacket from squatting over the potty, and now all over the ass of my pants from standing up, and a TINY TINY bit on my WHITE shirt from when I stood up. I fought the urge to burst out of the porto-potty and hunt down the mad-crapper and kick her ass.

Meanwhile, its still pretty damned dark in the porto-potty and I am trying to clean myself off with shreds of cheap toilet paper/sandpaper before I walked out to (not even kidding) 100+ women who are waiting to use the potty before the race. I was panicked and considering quitting the whole damned thing right then and there. I was literally covered in another persons shit and not happy about it at all.

When I got myself figured out enough to leave the porto potty I ran to Palm Tree Dad as fast as my little untrained legs would carry me (after I warned everyone else in line that this potty was OUT OF ORDER!) and with tears in my eyes I explained to him what had happened, showed him the damage and ordered/begged him to get the baby wipes out of the baby bag (I knew those kids would come in handy at some point, LOL!). I could hardly hold it together and I could tell he felt terrible for me. He knew I was already super nervous for my first race and to have this happen on top of my nerves was a nightmare.

We were able to clean me off as best we could with the baby wipes and Palm Tree Dad dumping water down the butt of my pants--and literally reaching inside my pants to scrub the poop off them so I didnt smell like it during the race. He was a hero.

I am pretty sure I didn't leave a wave of poop-smell when I ran but I didn't exactly poll my fellow racers to check. "Do I smell like poop?" isn't exactly a question you ever really want to ask people in social or competitive situations.

The race itself was a life-changer for me, seriously, but thats another post for another day.

Can I make a suggestion?

For those American friends and followers next week is Thanksgiving, right? Well, round about the Sunday after Thanksgiving you are going to get a feeling that if you eat another leftover turkey sandwich you are going to sprout a beak, grow some feathers and fly right off the roof. You also might get violent if your family requests that you make them a full meal that isn't leftovers. I promise. You will. It happens. No shame in it. I have the solution. You're welcome.

Check out our friends over at Everything Mom and their amazing list of freezer meals, pick a couple of simple recipes, make them and shove them in your freezer until November 27th, 2011.

Seriously though, who wants to start back up cooking full meals a few days after cooking all day for the Superbowl of all cooking events, Thanksgiving dinner? So stock up your freezer with a couple simple recipes and voila! Healthy prepared meals that arent turkey, stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes, green beans and cranberry sauce! Enjoy!

It Could Only Get Worse if There was a Creepy Santa.

Tonight Mr.PTM got home from work and asked that question that puzzles me every Friday night "What are we doing tomorrow?". Tonight I had the answer ready and waiting--- PALM TREE FAMILY CHRISTMAS CARD PHOTO SHOOT!!!! Whoo hoo!

We havent yet picked the location and the only guarantee is that we will get lots of 'outtakes' and 'blooper' photos. And now I will share with you some of the outtakes from last years photo shoot:

I mean is his face priceless or what?!

Two toddlers on the beach for the first time was NOT

the best choice for a Christmas card photo shoot. FAIL!

So we moved to the pool in our neighborhood to try that instead. They had been to a pool before, it wasnt scary. They even kind of liked it, kind of.

Okay, so BB was less than thrilled with our "Kids in the Jungle" location.

Okay CC hated it too! Jungle background-FAIL!

Off the the pool we went, hoping for better luck!

This was in October, in Tampa, Florida. So while it wasnt freezing, it also wasnt super warm. That apparently doesnt stop die-hards in our neighborhood from frequenting the neighborhood pool. Who cares, right? It makes for some HILARIOUS pictures. Like this one:

Dude has bigger boobs that I do. Thank goodness

Campbell is facing the camera or she might have tried to breastfeed.

So this is the best picture we got from the pool location--- Christmas card worthy?

No we didnt think so either.

How hilarious is CC's expression?

As you can tell by the kids expressions they were done and so over the photo shoot. Not awesome at all. Just as I was thinking I was going to have to pull out the Santa hat and throw it on the dog I was able to snap this picture of the kids in their Thanksgiving outfits:

And BOOM--Christmas card photo!

Lets hope tomorrow goes much MUCH more smoothly! Does anyone have any funny stories about taking the family Christmas card photo? Please leave a comment and share. I love them!

Turtle Power My Ass!

You know how sometimes you think of a situation, and in your head its very cool and runs very smoothly, and you look like a hero, and your kids learn from your actions and it overall pretty much rules? Thats the opposite of what just happened to me.

So the kids and I are coming back from running errands and thus far we are 100% toddler tears and whining free. Toddler Moms know that it is at this point that a Mom can start to get a little cocky. Big mistake. I see in the roadway in my neighborhood what appears to be a shopping bag or something in the road. Its not a shopping bag, its a big, fat, algae covered turtle. The cocky Mom in me thinks "Oh man, here is your chance. Pull over. Save the turtle. Show the kids that you are a hero and an animal lover. Teach them that saving animals is rewarding and people who save animals are good people". The practical Mom in me thinks "Keep driving lady. We are coming up on lunchtime. You have two kids in the car and that turtle is not your problem. Plus, genius, turtles bite and carry diseases". Cocky Mom wins and before I even realize what I am doing I have pulled over to save Shelley (I nicknamed this turtle in my head the moment I saw him).

So down go the kids windows so they can see my valiant act of heroism, and from the back seat I can hear "Mommy, turtle" and I respond with "Yes, BB, Mommy is going to help the turtle out of the road so he doesn't get hurt". Yeah, not so much. As I approach the turtle I see that he is indeed covered in slimy nasty algae and the idea of touching him makes me dry heave a bit. Against my better judgement I reach down and try to grab this turtle, who when he saw me retracted his head and legs into his shell- good turtle. When I have him about 3 inches off the ground (Did I mention he smells bad? Very, very bad.) his legs and head dart out of his shell and he whips around to try to bite me. Eek! Down to the ground he goes, and from the back seat I hear "Alright Mommy? Alright?". BB is such a sweet little guy-- but no I am not alright. My index finger was almost Shelley's lunch!

At that moment I see a landscaping crew working on a neighbors lawn. They notice me sort of nudging the turtle with my foot and simultaneously saying "Listen dude, I cant help you if you don't want to be helped". One of the landscaping guys comes over and I inquire how one gets a turtle out of the road. His response, "Well, you pick it up, but you try not to get bitten cause they can carry diseases". My inner Practical Mom says "See? I told you so". She needs to stifle it.

The landscape worker, who I can only assume relocates turtles semi-professionally based on his skill and confidence, then knocks twice on the shell (secret turtle code for 'friend not foe'?) causing Shelley to full retract inside its shell and picks him up, setting him safely on the grassy edge of the road.

I wish I could say that Shelley scampered happily to safety, but as I was driving away I saw him still sitting on the side of the road, probably waiting to humiliate the next Mom when she tried to show her kids her super-hero skills.

When I got in the car CC, as only a toddler can, summed it up in one word, "Yucky". Indeed, CC, indeed.

You know you are a toddler Mommy when....

1. Your child speaks and it sounds like gibberish to everyone else, but not only do you understand every word, you can also respond to your child in this toddler-ese. There are also times when this language makes not a lick of sense to you.

2. You have found yourself more than one humming a tune only to realize that its the theme song to a Disney Junior or Nick Jr. program. You may or may not have realized this because another Mom started humming along in the Target baby aisle and you thought to yourself "What kind of lunatic hums the Special Agent Oso theme song in public!?" then realized she caught the crazy from YOU! True story.

3. You have considered turning your shirt inside out to hide the *insert messy toddler snack food here* stains rather than change your shirt entirely so you can keep from producing another piece of laundry for yourself to wash, dry, fold and put away.

4. You have left the house more than once wearing one of your girl toddler bows in your hair.

5. The 'messy ponytail' style trend is old news to you.

6. You could be in a room with the radio on, television on and dog barking and as long as there wasn't a toddler whining or crying it would seem very peaceful.

7. At some point you have vacuumed the inside of your purse.

8. If your car had a memory and could drive itself two places on its own they would be Target and the pediatricians office.

9. The salesgirl at Ulta tells you that she has had her makeup on since the day before and instead of being grossed out that she clearly didnt shower or wash her face, you are impressed that her eyeliner hasnt smudged and wonder what products she is using and if you might be able to get 3 days out of a single application.

10. You sometimes hesitate to call a repair person for fear of what the actual problem might be. For instance, if your sliding glass door was having issues sliding properly in the track and after you checked it out a few times you started to look for sliding glass door repair people on the internet, and when your husband inspected the problem he found two Starbucks cup stoppers jammed in the track of the sliding glass door. Yeah, true story.

So if you qualify for any of these 10 things you KNOW you are a toddler Mom---and you are probably, like me, exhausted, but loving every second!

Thankful for family.

Hello friends. Sorry I took a couple of days break from the blog. We had an awesome guest in town for the weekend and we were pretty busy!

My stepson Joey, who is working his tail off at a college in Manhattan AND doing an amazing internship too (!!), came down to enjoy some Florida sunshine for a few days. It was a great visit with him. BB and CC adore their big brother and couldnt get enough of playing with him or holding his hand. Watching the kids together was so sweet- totally the highlight of the weekend. Its always awesome to see your kids bonding with other members of your family.

I also had the great pleasure of spending some more quality time with Joey on Cheetah Hunt-- the newest rollercoaster at Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay. Yikes! Its official, I am too old for that take you really high up, really fast, then drop you down to the ground, even faster nonsense. About a third of the way through the ride I said to Joey, as calmly as you can while travelling at a million miles an hour, "Joey, I dont think I like this!?" as if he was going to be able to do anything about it. LOL! It was a great visit for everyone and we are all hoping that Joey comes back to visit us again very, very soon. In fact, the plans are already in the works for his next adventure down to Tampa. Yay!

Here is a picture of the kids by the Myombe Reserve where you can see chimps and gorillas in very cool habitats! Enjoy the rest of the weekend. Did everyone remember to turn their clocks back? We did.

Cheaper than therapy.

I am sure many of you, dear readers, have heard the expression "Its cheaper than therapy" about various things in life-- wine, sex, cigarettes etc. I never thought that I would be saying "Its cheaper than therapy" about my blog topic for the day. Fabric steaming.

I just spent the last hour steaming some new drapes that I got for the living room. I am not one to brag but if anyone knows of any local dry cleaners or celebrity stylist (Rachel Zoe-- I'm looking at you!) please let me know. I really think I have natural talent for this type of thing. LOL!

Anyway, back to therapy. Fabric steaming, while slightly dangerous if you arent paying attention, is therapeutic in the same way that vacuuming is therapeutic. If you are 'one of those people' you know what I mean. And by 'one of those people' I mean the people who like the straight vacuum lines on freshly cleaned carpets; those who get an adrenaline rush from wiping a glass top table free of toddler finger prints. You know who you are- and this post is for you!

It was divine to see those wrinkles literally vanish as I brushed the steamer on the drapes, like magic. So if you have some wrinkles in your life that need to be eradicated I highly recommend picking up a fabric steamer of some sort. I used a Conair Compact Fabric Steamer but there are many different models to choose from. My Conair was $25 and at that price it is certainly cheaper than therapy.

Maybe if I pay DOUBLE tuition?

Today Jay and I went the Open House at the school where BB will start in September for pre-school. (Go Wildcats!) Um, nothing prepares you, as a Mom, for envisioning your own little tiny baby, who you wished and prayed for, to be going to school. The thought of it literally made me weepy today--with anxiety and excitement. Jay was great and held himself together very well, but I saw his face as we watched those little ones playing and learning, and playing some more. He was imagining BB in his little uniform with the other kids....making friends, going to the bathroom all by his little self, tracing letters and numbers and having fun....without us. I know he needs to grow up and be his own little (handsome!) person but would be okay if I did it with him? You know, in case he needs me. :) I'll pay my own tuition-- and I'm totally potty-trained. Win-win.

Okay Moms, let me have it. Share your experiences with your little ones going to preschool!

Oh good, the brainwashing is working.

For the last few days BB has been pointing at a picture of Demi Moore on the cover of In Touch magazine ( dont worry it was a gift from Jay!) and saying 'Mommy. Mommy'.... it might not be the hot picture of her from Striptease in the little sequin bikini, but I'll take it!!! Is there a celeb that people (even tiny people with limited toddler vocabulary) tell you that you look like? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Trick or Treat!

Tonight will be the first time that BB and CC will go Trick-or-Treating. It doesn't seem like that long ago that I was a young teenager running out my front door of my house as my mother yelled after me to make sure I didnt take the 'good pillowcase' to collect my candy. Of course, back then, I had no notions of thread-counts and probably ruined some pretty nice sheet sets dragging my sack from house to house. Oops!

Anyway, tonight we will load our little Handy Manny and Princess Cinderella Ballerina up in the red wagon and drag it down the block visiting neighbors and asking for treats. I predict at first BB will hang back, a little unsure. He will need a bit of coaxing, and might need me to take his little hand and lead him up to the door. CC will be her usual wide-open self and Jay will have to hold her hand to keep her from running around in the street, into peoples houses, wherever. No sugar high needed for my girl, she runs on pure fearlessness. I am sure both of them will have a good time-- and collapse into bed after only a short bit of Trick or Treating.

I will report back on the candy loot after I go through it and take my 'chaperone fee'.

Have a safe and happy Halloween everyone!

Kindness Ripple

So on Monday I went through my Starbucks drive-thru and paid for the coffee of the car behind me. It was the nice thing to do and I hoped to make someones day. Well, I just drove through that same Starbucks and the same girl was working the window (she knows me because I am an addict) and she said "On Monday when you got that guys coffee it started a chain reaction of like 10 cars buying for the car behind them. It was great". I love that I was able to start a 'kindness ripple' like that.

Idea for Moms!

My kids LOVE couscous, like really, really LOVE it. I HATE to feed it to them because it is so super messy and the clean up is a total, complete pain in the patooty.

So I figured out something that I could do to bind the couscous together to make it just as delicious as it usually is, but also make it easy to eat for the kids and clean up for me.

I start by making a package of couscous. I use Near East, but any kind will do. My kids like all the flavors really, but BB loves the Mediterranean Curry and CC likes the Herbed Chicken.

Then I press the cooked couscous into a bit of a loose patty in the bottom of an omelette pan. I put the pan on a medium/high heat and pour over it a lightly beaten egg that I have mixed with a splash of milk. The egg will surround the couscous patty and also get in between the grains of couscous (this is why you pack the patty loosely). Cook this patty until the egg is firm on bottom, then flip and cook on the other side. It should flip easily once the egg is cooked on the bottom.

Let cool and serve to children in slices. They will love that they have that same couscous taste, and you will love that you dont have to Hoover up a million tiny grains of couscous that little hands with tiny forks and spoons have spilled.

Okay, now its your turn: tell me in a comment your favorite Mom trick to make you life in the kitchen easier!

One last thing-- you could also add things you are trying to 'disguise' into the couscous---cooked carrots, peas, broccoli etc.

Work It Out Wednesday!

Some of you might remember last summer when I posted as my FaceBook status "Friends, when I fall off the wagon and stop eating well and stop running/walking PLEASE remind me how good I feel right this moment as I sweat my ass off on my couch after a fantastic run". Well, for those of you who remember-- SHAME, SHAME, SHAME on you for not reminding me. LOL!

Since the move to Florida life has taken over, and chasing my tail on treadmill at a quick clip turned into chasing babies as a slow crawl, literally. And preparing healthy meals with quinoa and whole grains turned into shoving whatever I can in my mouth and washing it down with Pinot Grigio (the fuel that keeps mothers going). I stopped paying attention to my weight (other than to secretly chastise myself for clothes getting tight) and stopped remembering how good it felt to move and sweat. I made excuses, lots of them.

But those days are done my friends. I have a brand-spanking new pair of running shoes on their way to my door as we speak. I have my groove back for exercising-- and I WILL do it. So let me say it again, dear readers, if I forget, remind me. You wont offend me, you will support me. Once in awhile shoot me a comment asking how my daily exercise was. Ask me what I did, how much I loved it, and what my plans for the next day are.

Hold me accountable to the promise I have made to my health.

Get Well Wednesday!

I am so sorry I have neglected you all for so long. First there was Easter, then I got hit with the plague. Well not really the plague but some sort of allergy induced cold/sinus thing that is kicking me in the keister. For the past few days I have been living on these:

Though if I can avoid medication I try to. I find that my Neti Pot helps me to beat any sinus issues I might have usually. If you have never used a Neti Pot you absolutely MUST try it- especially if you have any sinus issues that result in sinus infections. If you have never seen one--here it is:

Quite literally a pot that you mix a saline solution in then pour it into your nose. I wont get into the yucky details, but you can imagine the results. For someone like me who suffers from sinus issues, its heavenly.

So please accept my apology dear readers and know that I will be back, possibly with a give-away. How about that for an apology? A promise of free stuff! Best apology ever? Maybe.

Fashion Friday-In your Easter bonnet...

I have an unusually small head, like fit childs baseball caps small head. For this reason I have never been one to gravitate to hats. But I love the look of a super sophisticated hat for say, a polo match, or an afternoon tea, or an outdoor wedding. I even think a day at the beach is an occassion to wear a gorgeous hat. If I could pull hats off I would wear them all the time (grocery store runs included) and shamelessly beg for invitations to events at which to wear them.

Here are a few of my favorites that I have seen recently:

How about this casually fabulous wide brimmed straw hat? So gorgey!

Or this "perfect for the derby" hat- its PINK, enough said.

How wonderful and whimiscal is this hat with the black birds on it? LOVE!

This black and white hat is GORGEOUS! (I might have to make a purchase and see how it looks).

So as this Easter weekend looms, please remember me and my small melon as you slip on your Easter bonnet. Here, in the land of the palm trees. I am jealous. Happy (Good) Fashion Friday! Hop! Hop!

Travel Tuesday! Girls Weekend Planning

Another Mom friend and I are planning a girls weekend away. We arent planning to go far, but a few miles can seem like another country when you are in the right setting and out of screaming distance of your kids. LOL!

We are lucky enough to live in the land of sunshine and palm trees, so a tropical location is easy to do, but where to stay? We found just the place!

The Don Cesar Hotel in St. Pete Beach, FL. How can we go wrong-- its PINK! (maybe an appletini will add just the right GREEN element, LOL!)

I grew up vacationing in St. Pete Beach and staying at the Don Cesar. (I even met the members of Bon Jovi at the Don, but thats another story for another post). It was gorgey then, and its gorgey now. Even more so since it was acquired and updated by the Loews hotel franchise.

So for our girls weekend we are planning to sip frozen drinks by the pool and leave our IPhones in our rooms. How could we not relax and soak up some rays by this pool?

What girls weekend is complete without at least one pedi? Doesnt this look like the perfect place to sit and gab with a girlfriend while having your piggies pampered? The Oceana spa will be where I let my stress melt away. The only thing missing in these pics is a glass of bubbly-- maybe its BYO? LOL

And after a stressful day of lounging by the pool, ignoring our cell phones and getting our piggies painted we can FINALLY relax with a nice massage while overlooking the Boca Ciega Bay. Heaven!

There might be a few of these thrown in for good measure. Whats a girls weekend without some laughs and a few bubbles?

What was your last weekend away? Was it everything you hoped for it to be? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Happy Monogram Monday!

After a weekend spent with my wonderful family I could think of nothing better to tell you about today than one of the things I love almost as much as DH, BB and CC---MONOGRAMS!

I really dont think there is much in this world that doesnt look better with a monogram thrown on it. My car even has my monogram on it from 2PreppyGirls.

And I am thinking that for Mothers Day these car floormats from GGBailey might be the perfect addition to my monogram collection. I am partial to the pink/green combo, but I am sure thats not surprising!

How about this ultra elegant monogrammed flatware. Love!

Or, and this is for you if you are reading DH, this super chic Louis Vuitton luggage with monogram? Mothers Day is right around the corner, hint, hint.

For some fun, affordable, ADORABLE monogrammed items, you can click the button to 2PreppyGirls on this blog page. Incredible gifts for Mothers Day, and select items offer Free Shipping! Happy Monogram Monday!

Fashion Friday! Sunnies.

If you know me, you know I absolutely LOVE sunglasses. They are right up there with shoes and handbags when it comes to the perfect accessory that ALWAYS fits.

Right now I am rocking some seriously hip Ralph Lauren aviator style sunnies, and I am OBSESSED with them. Here they are:

They are the perfect size for my petite face. I tried Ray Ban aviators but the small is too small, and the medium is too big. I am the Goldilocks of sunnies, I think.

When I am looking for a little more face coverage, or want a more chic, formal look I wear my Gucci glasses. Have had these for over a year and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them. Obsessed. How cute is the little bamboo horse-bit on the temple? Adorbs!

A new friend and fellow prepster blogger Maryland Pink and Green has me totally green (and pink!) with envy because she just picked up a replica of the famous Jackie O signature sunnies from the Kennedy Center Gift Shop. Arent they PERFECT!?

Was there ever anyone more chic than Jackie O? You can read more about her and her famous sunnies here.

If anyone has any awesomely gorgey sunnies that you think I should take a peek at (aka-- purchase!) please tell me about them! The collection can never be too big.

Smells I Love

I think that smell has a huge impact on mood and behavior. When I was in high school I remember pretending I needed to go to the bathroom so I could run back to my dorm room and refresh my perfume during an exam because I was convinced the smell helped me concentrate. Silly? Maybe. But I did pretty well on that Algebra exam.

To this day I like to surround myself with smells I find appealing. Here are a few:

Clean laundry. I swear the only reason I do the wash is that moment of taking the fresh, clean, wonderful smelling laundry out of the dryer. In our house we use Bounce Outdoor Fresh.

Is this the best smelling thing on the planet or what? One whiff of Hawaiian Tropic Dark Tanning Oil and its like I am no longer in my backyard, but on a tropical island in the Caribbean.

A little unorthodox but I love the smell of nail polish. This happens to be my fave Essie shade, Starter Wife. Something about the smell brings me to a place of getting my nails done in a particular salon with my Mom when I was little. Love it.

Last, but certainly not least, the Meyer lemon. This lemon is known for its fragrant skin and less acidic sweeter juices. Its is delicious to use in foods and beverages for that reason.

Martha Stewart uses them often in her cooking and made them much more popular in the US.

What smells do you like?

20 Things About Me.

I thought this might be a fun way for you to get to know me and my family.

1. First (and somewhat telling) things first. My monogram is kGg. I welcome any and all monogrammed items. Love them. My car is even monogrammed with a decal from 2PreppyGirls.

2. I have 2 children who are 13 months apart, BB (boy, currently 26 months) and CC (girl, currently 13 months). Millionaires family.

3. I live in Florida as of September 2011, and DH and I say to each other regularly "we should have moved here years ago". We love it.

4. Ah, the DH. He is a wonderful guy; full of humor. I am sure he will make guest appearances in the comments section with wit and sarcasm. His gifts.

5. While I will call myself a prepster, I think my style is actually more classic. Think Ann Taylor, meets J.Crew, meets Lilly Pulitzer. I am a preppy mutt.

6. This is not my first blog rodeo. I blogged about my IVF process to conceive BB also. That one is private now, but was a great source of support at the time.

7. I love cars, expensive ones. I can spot a luxury car from a mile away. It is getting harder now with lower-end vehicles mimicking luxury all the time. I mistakenly identified a *gasp* Hyundai as a Benz the other day.

8. I worship the sun and aspire to be a leather-ball by the time I am 50.

9. I adore my current friends, and I am always looking to make new ones. My circle can never be too wide.

10. My Starbucks name is Faith. If you hear it called out associated with a Venti Americano with room, look around. I am there somewhere.

11. Home invasion is my greatest fear. Its somewhat irrational how much I think about it.

12. Even writing #11 makes me think that someday a newscaster will reference this blog post when reporting on how I was killed in a home invasion. I told you, irrational.

13. My favorite TV shows are COPS and Americas Most Wanted. John Walsh is my hero. I am also a "Real Housewives" junkie. DH wont admit it, but he is too.

14. I cant stand 'reality talent shows'. American Idol makes me want to hide underwater in my bathtub. DH pink, puffy hearts the mediocrity that is American Idol. Blech!

15. I have 2 dogs. A Golden Retriever and a Maltese, aka- Little Beast and Beast. Little Beast has been mine since before DH and the monkeys came along. I am his one true love.

16. When it comes to wine I am not a snob. Most nights I am sipping a crispy, light Pinot Grigio. I drink what I like, not what I have heard is 'swanky'.

17. Sushi makes me swoon. I love beautiful food and a colorful plate of raw fish usually has me whipping out my iPhone to snap a picture before attacking the plate.

18. I cant play golf but I love the driving range.

19. I went to an all-girls boarding school and made some of my very best life-long friends there.

20. When all else fails I use humor to get me out of most sticky situations.

Beautiful Beach Towels. My current Little Thing.

I have always been an 'enjoy the little things' kind of girl. I delight in a short line at the Starbucks, a good smelling lotion can make my whole day. These arent HUGE things, but they make me happy. This is my latest love- BEACH TOWELS! Maybe because I use them everyday, or because they are so bright, colorful and FUN, but I am obsessed with the soft,over-sized terry cloth goodness of them.

How about this adorable Sea horse towel from Ralph Lauren? Sea Horses are very IN right now, I am seeing them everywhere for summer fashion!


Or these wraps from Pottery Barn Kids for the littles? Personalized is the way to go for BB and CC! Love!



Whether its after a day at the pool, the beach or just running around in the sprinkler with the kiddos, a nice, plush beach towel can make all the difference to warm you up after a chilly dip!

Naptimes and Vacation Living?

DH and I took the plunge and moved to sunny Florida for a job opportunity for him, and a chance to park my butt on a pool chaise for me. After a few months of being here I spend more time in the a/c with the babies than by the pool but the sun is great and the pool is wonderful when we use it. In my dreams I saw a 3-4 hour chunk of time when BB and CC would nap at the same time and I would lay by the pool smelling like cocoa butter and smearing myself with Bain de Soleil Orange Gelee like a bronze goddess.


Sadly, I have learned the hard way that my kids enjoy a "1 up, 1 down" naptime approach and havent gotten a handle on "sit here and be quiet, Mommy is sunning".

One day.........