Well Shit. Now I Am One Of Them.

Yup. I am one of those damn people who works out in the morning and spends half her morning at work talking about her great work out.  

Those bitches. 

I am one. 

After baby #2 I was HUGE! Not huge in a polite, "you're just naturally built big" way. H-U-G-E! It was sick, sick, sick.

I denied it. Ate more. Made fun of people who worked out. And ate more. 

Then I said to myself one day, "whelp, your kids are going to get older, smarter and faster so you better get your ass in shape before they run you to the ground." 

I joined a gym, WHAT???!!! Started going to Zumba again---LOVE! And started counting calories again on myfitnesspal. Its working. 

And damn it, I love the classes I am in. 

I want to get stronger. And forget that crap about being healthy...I want to be HOT again! Fine, healthy is good too. 

So what-the-shit. I am busy with a full-time job, 2 kids, 2 dogs, husband who works 13-16 hour days and a house that apparently falls all to hell if you dont take care of it. Whats one more hour a day of neglecting all those things?? Ha ha ha. Who needs a social life? 

So here I am, posting publicly about this because as one of the best trainers I know (Purenergy) said, "People will be watching you now. No turning back."

No pressure ;-)

I hope I can post more now that my baby #2 is almost 5 months old (HOLY SHAT!!) and starting to be cool. Follow me and make sure I stay in line. 

So here I am 2 months into my journey and 13lbs down with only 60+ to go...bwa ha ha ha. 

I will post another one in August....hopefully the hot factor will start showing in that one.

1 New Baby + 1 3 Year Old = Happy Mama

Well believe it or not, I have (so far) survived the newborn stage.
Have I screamed at my husband at 3 a.m? Yes.
Have I questioned my sanity for having another baby? Yes.
Have I called my mom for help? Oh my lord, yes.
Have I been peed on, thrown up on, buried in laundry, exhausted, stressed, and temperamental? YES YES YES!


But those are just little blips in my weeks. This time around, this baby business is like a walk in the park. Sure I have had nights where I text a friend saying I dont think I can do it anymore, but for the most part, I have been kicking ass.

I love my new little baby so much and my big boy baby who turned 3 a week after baby was born has been AWESOME! I seriously could not have asked for better kids and I am so confused as to why I am so blessed.

I took 8 weeks off from work and it was nice. Well, nice and boring. I loved spending time with the kids doing crafts or just holding them, but I learned I need my career and I need my kids to see that too. Of course its hard to send a new baby to daycare.....so I brought him with me to work for a few days instead :-) Such a good baby.

So what have a learned this time around?

1. 2nd baby is much easier. Not sure why, but I guess this time I know crying wont kill him and holding him wont last forever.

2. Pregnancy is NOT for me. Epidural and c-sections ARE for me! Ha ha ha. I seriously have had 2 wonderful experiences at Sheridan Memorial and I sometimes fantasize about getting a mild injury so I can be there again....to rest ha ha ha.

3. Organized Rhonda is gone...for now. When you are late to one of your best friend's 2 year old's birthday parties by AN HOUR, you can pretty much kiss your organization good-bye. Bless her for knowing me.

4. For me, wine can really hit the spot.

5. Messes are a part of life. Told my mom the other day that Liam and were going to make some slime. "WHY?" is all she said. Ha ha ha. Because Pinterest, thats why.

6. And I learned that my husband, my wonderful husband, puts up with the most wicked woman in the world. Again, confused as to why I am so blessed with this amazing man.

I am so excited to see my boys grow up together. I came out of the shower today and could hear 3 year old talking to the baby about Thomas. Telling him who was who. SOOOO CUTE!

I hope I can get back to regular postings. I still have lots of opinions I want to share. But for now, miss me, cause I miss all of you!

Holy Crap. I Am Doing It Again?!

So in 12 more days, I will be in a hospital, peeing in a bag with out knowing its happening (wish that was the case now, especially at 4am) and smiling politely to the nurses who come in to check on me right after I fall asleep. Bless their cursed hearts that I will curse when they leave the room.

Who cares, because I will be holding my new baby boy! Weeeee!

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but pre-family days, pre-baby days, I was pretty cool. I knew good music, knew all the designers and could tell who made a dress a celeb was wearing, and put eyeshadow on everyday. Not only that, but I was pretty self-sustainable. Like, I could do stuff by myself.

Are my kids my kryptonite? Yes.

As the day gets closer I have been thinking a lot about what kind of person I am today.

This past weekend, I literally would have been a crying mess with out my mama. She went to the store with me! MOMS: you know how fabulous that was? Sure, I did not NEED her to go, but she went and it was PAIN FREE! I waddled around and got things I needed and she chased my almost 3 year old. THEN, she carried all my groceries in while I sat and ate a quarter pounder! WHAT?! If she was tired, she didnt show it. I was sooo weak! And miserable. And pathetic.

How is that possible? It's was the kryptonite. He never stops.

My self-sustainability left when I got home from the hospital with our first son. Some know how bad it was for me. My husband and my mom know all of it. I was looney tunes. I was not able to cope, at all. After about 4 weeks, my mom said, "whats the matter, this isnt you." DUH. So I kinda picked myself up and got a little better, but I have never been the same.

Naturally, I am terrified for baby #2. But this time, more prepared.
This time, mom's are not telling me what a joy parenting is and building up my standards.....you know why? Because now they know I know better.
This time, books arent dictating how I feel.....you know why? Because I have not read them, they suck.
This time, I know that no matter what, I am a mom now and only *I* know what my kid needs. And this time....I know that *I* can do it.

I am not as strong as I used to be and I know that I am definitely not self-sustainable because I could not live one day on earth with out my husband or mom. But I have the coolest, smartest, most kick-ass kid I have ever met. Its all because of me ...

and dad, and grandma.......

So something is working.

I always wish that baby #1 could get the calmness of mommy that baby #2 is going to get. But without baby #1, I would not know how to be a mom.

Am I gonna lose my mind, probably. Is life gonna suck for a while, probably. Will I curse my husband at 3am, probably. But I got this.

I swore never to have another kid. Holy crap.

More 2011 Animal Victories

Just so you know, the 207K fine that Ringling received as mentioned in my previous blog, was for that one elephant. Never once were they fined for beating a chained baby elephant named Angelica with a bull-hook. Never once were they fined after an 8 month old elephant was euthanized because he broke his two back legs during forced training exercises involving bull-hooks and ropes wrapped around his trunk to force the maneuvers. 8 Months old. And never once were they fined when a lion baked to death in a box car. Still, that fine was the largest in history, and I call it a victory.

Also in 2011 we saw felony animal cruelty charges against workers in a lab. First of all, labs rarely get fined, sanctioned or shut down, let alone charged. Same for the workers, they are very protected. So this was huge.
Professional laboratory and research services shut down following the charges, closed their doors! Yay. What was going in you wonder?
The lab tested animal deworming medicines and other harsh pharmaceuticals, so the dogs and cats were constantly full of worms and treated with test medicine. Bad enough right? Wrong, gets worse. The workers charged,......females..... Were shown on camera kicking the dogs and cats, spraying them in the face with high pressure chemicals through a hose, dragged while cowering across the rooms, beaten with objects, slammed into their cages, thrown across rooms and forced to live years in cages with concrete floors. They were sick and infested with sores, only to be sprayed by hoses full of bleach to "clean" the runs they lived in but never got to run in. As I read more about this "lab" I discovered that not one lab worker has ever been charged with felony animal cruelty charges until these bitches were. Yay for 2011!

Soooooo whats the simple thing you can do regarding this particular victory?? Choose cruelty free products. Refuse to buy things tested on animals. I totally understand how hard that is, I do. But try. Become aware. Even if it just starts as one item, then grows to more. My son loves his Cars shampoo, and I buy it for him. But MY shampoo and body foo-foos are all cruelty free. Just do a little at a time. Try cruelty free laundry soap, or cleaning products, or even just hand soap. Something. Animals suffer because of us every day. Not just rats or mice, but puppies, cats, rabbits, dogs, monkeys.....

here is a LINK that will take you to a data base so you can see which products are or are not tested on animals.

It's Almost 2012!

I have been reading from a few of my friends on Facebook that they are certainly looking to get rid of 2011 and enter into 2012. Sorry this year was so crappy for them :-(

Ahhh, those Facebook friends – no idea their year was that rough, because they never say so in person when you see them. We should start doing that more. Just so each of you know, I would not stop being your friend if you ignored me in the store because you are having a bad year ha ha. I get it.

So, did anything good come out of 2011? Well heck yes it did! I am going to point out some animal rights victories that were, in my opinion, monumental. “What?” you say.

Yes, I love me some animals-all of them (except spiders). And even though I eat them occasionally (not spiders), I am forever trying to change that. It’s hard. But there are things I CAN do, and do do (do do..ha ha) until my life of vegetarianism kicks in again.

Let’s start with the circus. I despise the circus. And I do not attend, and will never ever attend. Not only is the thought of a clown getting all up in my face freaky, but I am not a fan of overpriced snacks and toys - or hot and muggy tents for that matter. We all know that elephants star in circuses all over the world. But they are not treated like stars, not by a long shot. They are transported in hot, sweltering crates, with unsafe locks or steel structures with no food or water until they arrive to their next place of torture. They are not treated for any illnesses they may have or wounds they may suffer. Not even simple oral medicines. They are constantly abused. I use that term lightly. They are stabbed with bull-hooks, they are shocked with cattle prods, they are chained for days on end with zero mobility and they are never allowed to rest. There is almost zero footage of elephants resting in hay or even STANDING in hay for their pleasure. They are only bathed to soothe the eye of the idiotic ticked purchaser, and never fully cleaned. The elephants are purchased as babies and beaten into submission. I have watched video of baby elephants being tied on all four legs and literally stretched in all directions until you can hear them SCREAMING in pain. Do not skip over what I just wrote because you can’t bear to read it. Read it. Those elephants screamed and cried in pain. While circus workers stood there, causing more pain. They do not live a life. They are suffering every single second of the day. There is no joy in their life, none. I am barley scratching the surface of what these amazing animals suffer. If you can honestly believe that they are not treated poorly and continue to attend, I feel so sorry for the animals that have to suffer because of your choice. So instead make an easy, simple choice. No more circus or show where animals are live entertainment. Please consider boycotting.

So how is all of this allowed you may ask? GOOOOOD QUESTION. The USDA is supposed to monitor these companies such as Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey but even their regulations are not up to date. But, in 2011 we finally saw the parent company of the 2 major circuses fined the largest amount in the Animal Welfare Act history……ready for it……. 207K. Yep, that’s it. For the torture and neglect of one elephant named Sarah who was suffering from illnesses that were going untreated. She was so weak she would fall over and be beaten until she got back up again. $207,000 is nothing to these companies who know YOU are going to buy their tickets. We need to stop attending the circus. The USDA is also the same branch that ALLOWS the purchases of these animals and is currently weighing the possibility of RB and B&B to purchase 9 more Bengal tigers from Africa.

Again, I am urging you to boycott the circus. If you want to take it further, contact me and we can contact the organization that brings the circus here yearly together. I have nothing against what the Shrine does for children, and I think they are great. But there is no need to bring the circus to Sheridan anymore - and I let them know.
Even though there are many strides that can still be reached when it comes to the circus, RB and B&B being fined, finally, was huge. It really was. Let’s hope 2012 sees the end of the circus or harsher penalties for these acts of cruelty.

I have to go for now, but I will post another victory for animal welfare tonight! Toodles!

Traditional Tastes

Christmas is this weekend. WEEEE!

In my family, our Christmas was always celebrated on Christmas Eve at my mom's house.
Those nights are so memorable for me for many obvious reasons.
Since we have had our son, we celebrate at my home and mom and brother come to us. I love having everyone over but there is always the feeling that something is missing. It's just not like at mom's house ;-)

Its all different now, but only because its a new tradition that takes getting used to. Also, my house tends to be a "tad" more chaotic than the calming lure of a mother's home. Also, my mom decorated the shit out of her house! Like, from the tree of course to changing her hanging pictures so that they were winter or Christmas photos! WHAT??!!! Oh ya, it was straight up Christmas in our house.

I can barely get my husband to take out our ONE Christmas tote to begin to decorate. But, some things will never change, it doesn’t matter where we celebrate.
For instance, my mom HATES, HATES and I mean HATES the movie "A Christmas Story." So naturally, my brother and I insist on having the 24 hour TBS feed playing at all times in the background on the TV. And about every 20 minutes we giggle when she grits her teeth and says, "turn that stupid movie off." Ha ha ha, never gets old. I just saw the commercial the other night mentioning the 24 hour marathon and secretly got a devilish feeling inside me that felt excited to torture my mom! What kind of daughter am I?!?!

Another thing that will never change is eating little smokies that night. YUM! I would seriously feel deprived if I could not eat those on Christmas Eve.

Another tradition is opening all of our gifts on Christmas Eve. SO FUN! One of the main reasons I love this tradition is because I like the feeling of opening gifts at night! Some recent Christmas mornings have not been a winter wonderland. Instead they were sunny, slushy and almost spring days. That’s not CHRISTMAS! But at night, all of that spring sunny lameness goes away, and everything is toasty and cozy- the way Christmas SHOULD feel. Then, Santa brings MORE for the morning. Its like a double dose of Christmas!

There are times where I thought it would be nice to go to the midnight service at St. Peters Church. But honestly, I like having my wine on Christmas Eve, and being there might ruin my buzz. Bad girl for even thinking that- I KNOW! Judge me now. But that does not mean my family doesn’t know the meaning of Christmas.

No wine for me this year L I have baby number 2 coming in about 4 weeks and apparently wine during pregnancy is frowned upon. So I will waddle around my house this year, picking up wrapping paper and reminding myself how lucky I am to have the most important people in the world to me share my home. I love this time of year, and I love the traditions that have come from it.

What are some of your favorite Christmas Eve or Christmas Day traditions?? I would love to hear them and why they are so special to you.

Merry Christmas to you and next year….this girl his getting her hot-buttered rum on!

Oh and holy crap! I almost forgot one of the best Christmas traditions of ALL TIME!

NATIONAL LAMPOON”S CHRISTMAS VACATION! Heck yes!

Seriously, this movie is stellar and if you are too lazy to post your favorite tradition, you at least have to post your favorite quote from the movie!

Love each of you!

Seriously mom.....get on board with this ;-)