Apr 25, 2013

It's Potty Time!

We have entered the "potty training" zone in the Gaddie Household this week.  I'm not planning on pushing potty training for awhile, but I did want to go ahead and get Avery her very own potty so she could get used to it and we could be talking about it long before the official potty training began.  So Avery and I made a quick trip to Walmart this week to pick out her "big girl potty."  It was almost sad how ridiculously excited my child was about a toilet.  I let her choose between a Minnie Mouse and a Disney Princess potty (she picked Princesses....when did we cross into an alternate universe where my Minnie-loving daughter is suddenly obsessed with the Princesses???)  After adding it to our cart, she would randomly burst into giggles and announce to shoppers around us that we were carrying a potty around.  Yeah, that's real life.

I have a potty!!!!!!



Are you seeing my potty?!?

Seriously!!  It's RIGHT HERE!! 
Looks like my baby isn't much of a baby anymore.

Also, with potty training, I solemnly swear that you will never see a "Look!  Here's my kid sitting on the toilet" picture because:  1.  I don't think they're cute.  2.  I do want my child to eventually like me one day and know that I didn't take a picture of her on the toilet and share it with the entire world.  Just sayin'

Apr 23, 2013

Sweet Sheets.

Since I made an embarrassing confession yesterday for my lack of tennis shoe ownership, I thought I would share another confession:

I've done NOTHING to our master bedroom since we've moved in.  

Literally.  I've unpacked our clothes.  I've put books and a lamp on our side table.  The end!  

Our bedroom is the biggest cluster of crap that needs to be put away, rugs that don't have a home, two chairs that don't match my current living room decor, a giant container of clothes that don't fit me that I'm too emotionally attached to get rid of.......it's a MESS.  Mess is probably an understatement.  It's horrible.  I don't like being in there, but I'm trying to decorate one room at a time and this room hasn't been high on the priority list.  Wanna see why?


Holy moley.........this is super embarrassing y'all.  I am a little bit of a comforter addict.  I LOVE comforters.  It's such an easy way to switch out decor without spending a ridiculous amount of money.  Our old house's master bedroom was decorated in black, white and red.  Fun fact about me:  I love black and white.  So every room in our home was a variation of black, white and one other color.  Kitchen:  black, white and red.  Avery's room:  black, white and purple.  Office:  black, white and teal.  Bedroom:  black, white and red.  So, in the new house, I'm trying to push myself out of my black and white comfort zone and introduce this amazing concept called color!  Our living room is grey and navy (which I'm planning to add some yellow pops of color).  Then there's our bedroom.  The walls are grey and I've been on the hunt for a grey and yellow bedspread for practically forever.  In the meantime, I was using an eclectic mix of every comforter set we've ever owned (basically because I can't find a complete set anywhere...).  Black and white comforter, Better Homes and Gardens quilted shams, green pillowcases and flat sheet, grey fitted sheet.  Do you see why I wanted to avoid this room completely??

My style dilemma came to an end this weekend at TJ Maxx in the form of this gorgeous Cynthia Rowley (didn't pay anywhere near that price that's on the link, btw) comforter and sham set (shout out to my sister Dayna for finding it for me).


 Do you hear the Hallelujah Chorus?  Because I totally did when she pointed it out.  It's perfect.  EXACTLY what I've been looking for.  Plus, I found these fabulous sheets at Target that just make my heart happy.


They're grey gingam sheets .  Another fun fact about me:  gingham is my second favorite pattern (anyone know my first favorite??).  I've had my eye on these beauties at Target for a hot second.  Literally months.  Any time I needed to go to Target, I'd walk over to the bedding section and admire them.  But I never had a comforter to match them and would tell myself I didn't need them.  Then I'd sadly walk away.  That ended this weekend!  As soon as I bought the comforter, I KNEW I'd be buying these sheets.  When I visited Target yesterday, these sheets were on sale (regular $43.99 for a Queen set, marked down to $38.99) AND I had a coupon for 15% Threshold bedding.  It was fate.

Side note:  while we're talking about bedding, you NEED one of these.


I was having HORRIBLE back pain most days.  I would wake up in complete pain and it would continue throughout the day.  One day, after being close to tears with lower back pain, I told my husband we needed to do something drastic to help me...whether that meant a new mattress, visiting a specialist, whatever.  He brought home a memory foam mattress topper for us to try out before I went and spent a ton of money at a chiropractor's office.  Honest to goodness haven't had a single day of back pain in the 4 months we've had it on our bed. {Similar options}

Back to the post:  Now that I have pretty sheets and an actual completed look to my bedding, I'm ready to start decorating the rest of my room.  Also at TJ Maxx, I picked up a wooden ampersand symbol (&), thinking that I could find a "D" and a "M" to put together and put on our dresser (sweet, right?).  It's a minty green and I think the color combination is gorgeous.


Now I'm on the hunt for mint green and yellow and grey!  Further inspiration:

via

via

via
Yes.  I know these are pictures of baby nurseries.  No, I'm not having a baby.  It's called inspiration people.

Other small snippets of decoration in our house:


Rug in the dining room.  It's tiny.  I want a bigger one, but I love the design of this one.  I'll deal.


Our couch FINALLY came in!  When we bought it, the frame was bent, so Corvin's very graciously told us about it and ordered us a brand spanking new one for the clearance price we bought it at.  Pumped.
A couple of weeks ago, I posted pictures on Facebook on my living room walls and asked for advice on what kind of rug to get...what color, what pattern, etc.



Navy in the dining room and on a very long wall into the living room and grey on the rest.  I like red, but couldn't find any red rugs that just screamed "Buy me!  I'll look fabulous in your living room!"
Instead, I found this rug on Target's website.  Gasped a little.  Fell in love.  Bought it.  Just got an email that it shipped out today!  Cross your fingers it looks good with my decor!!

via

That's all I have done so far.  Maybe in five years, my house will finally be decorated how I want it to be......maybe.

Apr 22, 2013

Confession.

**Confession time**  I haven't started my Couch-to-5K training for the Color Run yet.  Because.......**super embarrassing confession time** I didn't own a pair of tennis shoes.  Wait, clarification:  I owned a pair of tennis shoes, but they were a boy's pair and were very tight and I hadn't worn them in years.  Not even really sure where they're located right now.  I LOATHE tennis shoes.  They're ugly with jeans, I would never wear them in public to just go shopping, and I didn't see the point in owning a pair. When I vowed to start my workouts, I realized this meant I would have to go buy a pair of tennis shoes.  Gag.  I tried to pump myself up and had visions of cute pairs of sneakers dancing through my head. With that idea, I walked into a local shoe store.  After looking at 3 pairs, I walked right back out.  Holy Super Expensive Rubber Shoes Batman!!  Tennis shoes are like $80+!  Who knew this information and didn't tell me?!  I could buy a rug for that much.  Heck, I could buy a one day pass to Disney World for that much.  No thank you.  After that, I kind of gave up on my shoe hunt and put working out on the back burner.  Until my mom so kindly pointed out yesterday that I hadn't started the Couch-to-5K  Yikes.  Nothing like your mother calling you out on a commitment you made and haven't done yet.  Less than an hour later, I was a proud owner of a pair of purple Ryka tennis shoes (don't worry...never heard of them either) from TJ Maxx for a whole $35 (God bless you TJ Maxx with your ridiculously marked down name branded merchandise). These suckers are comfortable too...they basically have an Orthopaedic sole (because I'm secretly 90 years old and have terrible back and knee problems).
via 



Couch-to-5K, watch out!  Because here I come (now that I finally have the appropriate footwear *blush*)

Apr 18, 2013

Gluten Free, Woe is Me.

If you're a reader that's been here since my blog's "Life Inspired By Audrey" inception--first of all, thank you for sticking around and reading my random dribble for this long (That's like 4 years of reading my stuff.  You rock.)--you may remember that a couple of summers ago, I was having a lot of stomach problems.  We didn't really know what was going on, but I was in a lot of pain most of my waking hours...but more so after I ate.  After a gallbladder test, endoscopy, colonoscopy and multiple visits to multiple doctors, I still didn't have a definitive answer to what was causing all the pain.  But my surgical specialist felt pretty sure that I had IBS, some ulcerative colitis and, what could be a "touch" of Celiac's Disease...basically meaning I had a gluten sensitivity, or intolerance.  Per the doctor's suggestion, I went on a "semi gluten free with IBS" diet.  I quickly recognized which foods would trigger my pain--whole wheat, pizza, salads, some cereals--and stayed far away from them.  I did really well for awhile, and then I got pregnant with Avery.  I'm not sure if it was the pregnancy hormones or what, but I suddenly had very little problems with anything I ate.  I no longer had any stomach pain.  This continued on until....well, last month.  My stomach problems, have not just reared their ugly head again but, have come back with an unbelievable vengeance.  Things that contained gluten that never bothered me before are suddenly keeping me awake at night with a heating pad to dull the pain.  Tums and Gas-X have become my best friends. 

Why am I telling you about all my tummy troubles?  To let you know that my weekly menus are going to be getting a makeover.  A gluten-free makeover, to be exact.  I've got to start cutting out all the foods that are making me completely miserable:  cereal, bread, pasta, chips and *sob* Cokes. 

I've always had a tiny bit of a caffeine addiction.  I must have at least a can sized serving of Pepsi or Dr. Pepper a day to avoid what will become a massive headache later in the day.  Lately though, I get horrible headaches AFTER I take a couple of drinks of my Coke.  Shortly after, I'm in a lot of stomach pain.  To my knowledge, sodas don't contain gluten....but there is something in there that my tummy is vehemently protesting.  So, no more Cokes. 
Side note:  if I know you personally and will be seeing you in the next couple of days, I'm really not a hateful person.  I'm just experiencing the effects of a caffeine withdrawal.  *sigh*

So, there you have it.  No more gluten.  I hope that this helps me also lose weight in my quest to be a Hot Mama, but that's not the priority at the moment.  It's more about getting my stomach under control so I can be a Happy Mama that's pain-free.

Anyone have any kick-butt gluten free recipes (or restaurant orders) you wanna pass my way??  The whole "going COMPLETELY gluten free" is going to be a new and foreign experience to me!

Apr 16, 2013

It's Okay. Brag on Yourself.

I make it no secret that I want to be a "supermommy."  I want to be able to do it all, cook it all, clean it all, DIY it all.  When I don't meet those ridiculously high expectations that I've set for myself, I usually feel pretty down.  Make myself feel like a failure.  Focus on all the things that I'm not good at.  I have terrible self-confidence.  Before Avery, I thought little of it.  It's just "how I was."  Now that I have a daughter, I don't want her to grow up like that.  Focusing on her faults and things she can't do, rather than empowering herself and focusing on her assets and things she has to offer.  As a result, I'm going to list a few things that I know I do well.  Normally, I'd think this was bragging.  But why shouldn't I be able to point out all the things that I do really well instead of pointing out the times I fail?


  • I can do almost anything one handed.  Put my kid in one hand and ask me to do anything with the other.  I'll amaze you. 
  • I'm pretty creative.
  • I can remember Disney movie quotes like it's nobody's business.  Try me. 
  • I can be really witty when I wanna be. 
  • I'm organized (just not at the moment in our new home).
  • I think I have a talent for party planning.  Hope to make a career out of it someday. 
  • I have a knack for finding super cute planners.  
  • I am very tender-hearted and want to help people when I know they need it.
  • I can spot carrots in a meal or in an ingredient list from a mile away.  It's a gift, really (or I have a carrot allergy and it makes it necessary.  Tomato, tamato).
  • I make some kick-butt Kraft macaroni and cheese.
I didn't list these things for you to hate me or think that I'm bragging about anything (because I know you're super jealous of the carrot-spotting skill).  I did it because I want all of us supermommy wannabes to start thinking about all of the great things we do.  We're amazing women!  We carried our babies for 9 months and then endured hours of labor to bring our babies into this world and then went back to work a mere 6 weeks later (whose idea was that??)!  Or maybe you've been foster mommies or adoptive mommies and dealt with drama and legal systems and biological parents and lived to tell the story!  We've lived through terrible twos and spilled milk and burnt dinner and didn't break down and lose our minds!  We're Supermommies!  Why not focus on all the things we do amazingly?  Why not brag on ourselves a little bit.  Why shouldn't we pump each other up instead of tearing each other down?   Challenge for you:  make a list.  Right now.  Write down 10 things that you do really, really well that makes you the person that you are.  Then focus on that the rest of the day.  Stop thinking about all the things that are going wrong or you're not doing right.  See if that doesn't make a difference in your self-confidence and your attitude the rest of the day. 

Apr 13, 2013

Negative Nancys Not Needed.

The other day, I received my very first negative comment here on the blog.  From what I understand, it's a "badge of honor" of sorts among bloggers.  It MUST mean I've arrived!  But it got me to thinking:  what makes people feel the need to leave negative comments?  Is it because they are "anonymous" behind their computer in their home and they feel like they can say whatever they want?  They insult people and say anything they want that they would never dream of saying to someone face-to-face?  Don't get me wrong, I didn't take it personally.  I wasn't crushed when I was reading through my comments and came up on that one.  I didn't take it to heart, by any means.  I just couldn't believe that people go through life, cutting other people down, for absolutely no reason.  Does it make them feel superior?  Does it show how intelligent they are?  I have trouble understanding where people are coming from when they leave anonymous hateful comments.  Would you ever dream of walking up to a woman in a dressing room and tell her that the new dress she's trying on looks hideous?  So what makes it any different over the Internet?  Goodness people.  Just be nice!  We have enough negative bull-hockey going on in this world, why feel the need to cut each other down? 

Here's my advice...if you feel the need to be mean to someone (Internet or otherwise) for absolutely no reason, do these things:


1.  Go to Olive Garden.  Eat a breadstick and gorge yourself on Italian. 


2.  Find a Westie puppy**.  Pet it.

**If you can't find a Westie, a Goldendoodle will do in a pinch.


3.  Go to Orange Leaf.  Get a large cup, fill it with frozen yogurt and top it with whatever your heart desires (might I suggest Fruity Pebbles and Cap'n Crunch?).  Inhale.


4.  Get in your car.  Pop "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey into your CD player.  Roll your windows down and cruise some backroads, rocking out. 


5.  Come home.  Choose a Disney movie.  Pop some popcorn (may I recommend kettle corn?  or popcorn with Buncha Crunch mixed in?).  I don't care what Disney movie you pick (except "Dinosaurs."  Please for the love of all things good, don't watch that). 


6.  Open your computer.  Get on Twitter.  Follow Kid President. 


Last but not least (and how freaking appropriate???)....



Now, feel better?  If you still feel the urge to be negative, then I guess you're just a natural meanie and the rest of us will have to deal.  Just please, try to work on it.

Apr 9, 2013

Is it worth it?

Recently, I was having a conversation with a friend who decided to never have children.  When I pressed her on the reason why, she replied "Because I have lots of friends who are moms.  And when they tell me about motherhood, it just seems really hard.  It just never sounded worth it to me."  My first reaction was to sugar coat it "Noooo, parenting is so great, it's not hard, it's rainbows and puppies and butterflies 24/7....." because what kind of person wants to complain about being a parent?  But I thought that honesty was the better policy......

Parenting IS hard.  It's a job....one that sucks out loud sometimes.  It's waking up to throw up in the crib and glancing down to see poop in the bathtub.  It's labor and delivery and epidurals and recovery and doctor bills.  It's little sleep and being a walking zombie.  It's not getting to show my husband any affection whatsoever until my toddler goes to bed (we're dealing with jealousy issues right now). It's toddler tantrums and messy vehicles.  It's getting off work and starting my second job.  It's walking through the door in the evening and fitting in mealtime and cleanup time and playtime and listening to the "Winnie the Pooh" movie on repeat until I think I'm going to scream.  It's magnets under the couch and bread crumbs in the bed.  It's curling my hair with a toddler clinging to my legs.  It's HARD.

But, unlike most jobs, it comes with built-in rewards.  It's walking in the door at the babysitter's house and hearing her yell "Mommy!!" and watching her run to me like I'm the single most important person in the world.  It's pride when she learns a new word.  It's sticky kisses and squeezing hugs.  It's singing Mickey in the car and laughing when she does.  It's watching her grow and learn every day and knowing that I'm helping her become the person she's learning to be.  It's forgetting about all of the terrible things because the great things make it all worth it in the end.  I'd take a million poops in the bathtub for a "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" and a kiss when I walk in the door.  Parenting isn't easy, by any stretch of the imagination.  I wish someone had opened my eyes to that in the beginning.  But.....I don't know that it would have mattered.  Because I'd do it all again in a second. 

Apr 7, 2013

Menu Plan {week of April 8-18}

Continuing on my quest to be a better wife and mommy by honing my skills in the kitchen.  I have discovered a couple of things during my time cooking:

1.  I really like cooking.  It's time in the kitchen, just being by myself (for the most part).  Sometimes, I do have a clingy toddler grabbing at my legs, but I still enjoy it.  It's almost like a stress reliever.  Why on earth did I stop cooking?

2.  Coming up with a menu plan every two weeks has made me realize how few recipes I actually have.  My Pinterest board is surprisingly lacking on recipes I actually want to make for dinner.  Thinking maybe I should invest in actual real-life cookbooks.

3.  Cooking in my kitchen makes me long for the day when we do our fabulous kitchen remodel.  But more on that later....

Menu plan!

Monday--Roast beef/ham and cheese sandwiches  (I've recently discovered the Pioneer Woman and I'm OBSESSED)
Tuesday--Bible Study.  No dinner
Wednesday--Cheesy Taco Shell Pasta
Thursday--Mini Meatloves and Mashed Potato Cups
Friday--Manicotti
Saturday--Mini Meatball Sandwiches
Sunday--Ranch Chicken
Monday--Ham and pineapple pizza
Tuesday--Relay for Life meeting
Wednesday--Lasagna Roll Ups
Thursday--BBQ chicken sandwiches

I over-plan.  I know that I'm not going to cook every single night.  Things come up, I get tired, whatever.  But whatever I don't use, I can stick in next week's menu plan and use the ingredients I purchased. 

Enjoy your week all :)

Apr 4, 2013

Pizza Blahs.

I promised recipes, and I'm going to deliver....good, bad and ugly. 

I found this recipe on Pinterest--French Bread Pizza--and thought it looked yummy and easy (two things that make a recipe a winning one in my book).  I thought I'd modify it a little and make it my own.  Instead of the French bread loaf from the deli, I picked up a loaf of garlic bread from the freezer section.  Not a wise decision, friends. 

I brought the garlic bread home, unwrapped it and popped it in a 350 degree pre-heating oven just so it could unthaw a little.  After it wasn't so frozen, I took it out and added my toppings:  pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, green pepper and diced tomatoes. 


I cooked it for about 15 minutes on 350. 


Verdict?  It was just okay.  The garlic bread was a little overpowering, to the point that it was all I could taste on some bites.  I should have gone with the French bread loaf from the deli.  It tasted okay and was fairly easy, but I think if I have a craving for pizza, I'm going to be calling up my local Dominos (who has FANTASTIC gluten free pizza BTW) or go another route.  Definitely won't be saving this one to my list of favorite recipes! 

Do you have any fails in the kitchen?  Or recipes that didn't live up to your expectations?  Share!

Update:  this pizza is MUCH better the next day when warmed up in my toaster oven.  Still think I'd go the Dominos-frozen pizza-delivery boy route.

Apr 3, 2013

iPhone Customization--Part TWO!

Holy iPhone Customizing Batman.  Apparently, I'm not the only one who was on a desperate quest to make my iPhone screen prettier.  As of time of this post, I've had 45,768 views on my iPhone customization post ALONE.  I'm averaging like 15,000 views a day.  That blows me away, considering my little blog gets a little over a 1,000 views a week.  So, since you guys are so pumped up about making pretty icons, and I promised you a post on how to make the icons for some of the pre-downloaded apps, here it is!!

To start, I'm going to do an icon for the App Store.  This is an app that comes already downloaded on your iPhone and you cannot delete it.  The steps below are going to be for apps like that.  Ready?


Just like in my last post, go to the Cocoppa app.



Make sure you're looking at "Icons" instead of "Wallpapers" or "Stamps."

                         


Scroll all the way down to the bottom and search icons by typing in "App Store." 



Go through all the selections and pick your favorite icon.  Click on it. 



Next screen, hit "Set up link." 



Next, you're going to assign the short-cut link for your app.  In the previous tutorial, you would search for your app that you downloaded.  Here, we're going to scroll to the bottom and hit "URL."



 Now, here's where it's going to get a little complicated.  You'll have different URL codes for different apps. These are the ones that are available so far: 

iTunes--  http://itunes.apple.com
Maps--  Maps: 
Messages--  SMS:
Music--  Music:
Photos--  Photos-redirect:
Safari--  pick website homepage (I picked www.google.com)

Enter the URL and hit "Done" at the top. 

Correction:  This is the URL for iTunes, not the App Store.  I haven't located the correct URL for the App Store, if anyone would like to post that in comments!

Next screen, you're going to name your icon whatever your little heart desires.  Then hit "OK."



A box will automatically pop up, asking you to go to Safari and add the icon to your home screen.  Click "Yes."



Almost done!  Hit the "share" button on the next screen.  It's near the bottom and looks like an arrow coming out of a box.  


Next screen, hit "Add to Home Screen."



Last screen, name the app--again.  Not sure why they make you do it twice.  Hit "Add."



Shaboom.  There it is. 


 Hooray pretty screens and icons!  Now, just like any other app on the market, this one has its flaws.  There are no URL codes yet for some of the other pre-downloaded apps like Phone, Calculator, Notes, Calendar, etc.  The codes I listed above are the only ones I've located.  

Also, warning numero dos.  Don't do too many of these.  Since you do have to keep your original icon (or it'll delete the app completely), it does take up memory space on your phone.  I learned the hard way that if you change all your icons to ones from Cocoppa, your phone will run crazy slow.  So I picked my favorite apps, the ones I use the absolute most, and transformed them.  I left some of the others, like App Store and iTunes, alone.  Your call though.  If you'd rather have a pretty phone that runs slower, go icon ca-razy! 

Enjoy :))) 

Disclaimer: I do not own the Cocoppa app. I am simply doing a review of the app and how it works on my personal phone. I am not responsible for the app or how it may work on your phone.

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