Oh Child....

It won't be long and Mr. Ryan will be a full fledged two year old. This statement make me equally as proud as it does terrified. How can my little squirt of a baby be a running, talking, opinion sharing little man? 

We are starting to see peaks into what having a two year old will be like. Some of it is wonderful fun, some of it, not so much.....

For starters....

Ryan wants to help with everything. This is awesome when it comes to throwing away trash, picking up toys and working the i-pad. It's also great that he wanted to slide down the steps on his own every morning, grab his own coat and hat, pick up his shoes, etc.

I also love that his language is developing so rapidly. He says: no, yes, kitty cat, more, cheese, row-row (for the song), yucky, yeah, wow, woah, buh-bye, hi, hey, Mama, Daddy,sssssh, car, ball, doggie, Moo, Choo-Choo, the list goes on and on and on.

And then there's.....

Temper tantrums to beat the band,  melt downs over lord only knows what, opinions- lots of opinions, fake tears, throwing, hitting, biting (yes, still, yes, I know...) 

This week alone I have had to defuse the following situations:


The Banana Incident: Lately Ryan has taken to eating a banana in the morning before we leave. I peel it about 1/2 way and let him eat at while he roams the kitchen or sits in his chair.  Earlier this week, I handed him his prepared banana and he proceeded to break the top of it off. Chaos ensued, and quickly. There were tears, screams and howls all because the top of the banana wouldn't go back on.

Somehow by an act of God, I was able to mash the broken ends of the banana together. This appeased said toddler long enough for him to take a bite. The remains of the broken piece again fell off, but this time it was deemed acceptable.

The Case of the Missing Hat:  During school pickup last evening I had to negotiate leaving the classroom, with my child, without a toy spatula, a Care Bear, and a toy milk carton.  The process included three other toddler spokes people, who all agreed with Ryan. We reached agreement with the promise of playing outside.

In the process, I managed to leave school without Ryan's winter hat. (He needs it in the morning but by the afternoon he doesn't even need a jacket half the time.... PA weather is like that sometimes)

We get home, I get changed and then I announce it's time to go play outside. Ryan insisted on wearing his jacket. Seeing as it was getting later in the evening and cooler, I complied. Then Ryan went looking for his hat.... you know, the one I felt at school.

OH SWEET JESUS  (never mind that it was 60 some degrees outside)

He cried as he looked for it in the kitchen, he practiced his best pout lip as he took me by the hand to look in the car. It was pathetic and frustrating all at the same time. He was also not appeased by any of the baseball hats I offered him, or the toys I made appear for no wear.

He finally caught of glimpse of his water table in the garage and for whatever reason found the diving board piece to be a good replacement. 

Whatever works.

Early Morning Alligator Wrestling

Ryan does not wake up sweetly. If anything, he wakes up angry and hungry. Thus Hangry. It's beautiful, really.

Thus, the first 15 minutes of Ryan's day are spent crying, alligator death rolling on the changing pad and refusing to wear pants. I don't really blame him on that part.

There are often tears because he either does or does not want to sit in his high chair. He wants Cheerios, then he doesn't want Cheerios, and how dare I give him the milk he just asked for.

Part of me thinks waking him up a little earlier would be helpful.
The other part of me says "yes, but then he'll be awake"

All in all, it's been a wild ride and I wouldn't change a thing.

Goodness, I love that little man!!

A Detailed Explanation of Why I Am Not a Fan of Today

One year ago today I took a very ill cat to the vet's office for his final visit. I left covered in cat hair but without the cat. I walked in knowing that would be the case but it didn't make it any less hard.

Today I'll be taking another ill cat of the vet's office. My only prayer is that I'll leave with the cat. At nearly 17, Sophie is having some trouble. I'm well aware time isn't exactly on her side, but I'm hoping for the best.

I tried a new video this morning and it was hard. I ended up pooping out half way through. This always puts me in a mad mood. It also makes me shift my workout rotation for the week so I can try it again. I'll be hitting it again on Thursday.

I can't figure out what my body is doing. But I can tell you that having period cramps without your period really sucks. (And no, I don't think I'm pregnant. One would have to ovulate in order to do that.)


I didn't like a single outfit I put on this morning. I'm not entirely sold on the one I'm wearing either.

I'm hoping the cramps and moodiness mean my period is on its way. 

That would be a fantastic thing to add to my in-laws visit this weekend.


I promise your typically pleasant poster will be back sometime soon. However, there is no guarantee you'll see her this week. Just sayin.....

Oh Monday....

Ever have one of those days where you wake up feeling like everything is going to go your way? I totally had that this morning. I was up before my alarm. I had an awesome, albeit, exhausting workout with Jillian. I was the first one in the shower this morning, something that never happens. I was fully dressed and made up before Ryan woke up this morning. (With one exception, pantyhose.... just wait on that one).

I had my lunch packed and my smoothie ingredients ready to go before I went to get Ryan. He was as pleasant and cute as could be as I got him ready for the day. He even ran around the kitchen eating a banana when I made my breakfast and Mr. Berg got ready to leave.

I packed the car, double checked my lunch bag, threw everything in my purse and got the dishwasher started in peace.

Ryan laughed his ass off from his highchair while I attempted to put on my new pantyhose with my jello legs... thanks for that, Jillian. The pantyhose that I just bought at The Target the day before. The pantyhose I never even got upstairs, they just sat on the kitchen table until go time. (Yes, The Bergs are a classy bunch of people, thanks for noticing.)

We were out the door in record time. Ryan chit chatted and played with his favorite flash light on the way to school. I totally felt like Super Mom as a walked across the icy parking lot, toddler in tow, flight light a blazing. 

That was until I got into Ryan's class room, bent down to take off his coat and noticed the giant hole in my hosiery. 

Did I mention I have three meetings tonight, one of which being a really important strategy planning session for the Board I sit on? Yeah, hope they enjoy my business professional hooker look I got going on today.

And..... I quit!

I Confess....

I opened up my blogger page this morning and stared blankly at the computer screen.  Tapping my fingers lightly against the keyboard I wondered to myself "What to talk about, what to talk about?"

 No ideas came forth


I would like to say that never happens but... well, it does. For someone that typically suffers from verbal overflow, I have a really hard time blogging sometimes.

So, I shamelessly ignored blogger, went about my boring business, bought some clothes for spring online, did some work, remembered and then forgot 20 things I needed to do and then clicked over to Blogger for a mental break. It was there I discovered two of my favorite bloggers posts confesses for the day. Some of them where really heavy and personal, others were funny, both were totally repeatable.  Thus, I'm hoping the Confessions Blogging Band Wagon.


Here you go:

1. My pants do not fit. They are way, way too tight. I am remedying this situation by wearing a long sweater that covers my hips and my bum,
1. I probably could have worn a different pair of pants. Instead, I'm using these as a self shaming tool. Over indulge in The Bahamas and this is what you get.
2. I stopped taking my birth control pill last month. My body is currently in a holding pattern similar to the last time I stopped taking the pill. With any luck, it will stay there. I'm not wild about getting knocked up before I get to wear at least some of my cute summer stuff.
3. I'm personally hoping to get knocked up in July.. (Last time I wanted to get knocked up in January and ended up pregnant in October).... Yeah... I'm already shaking my head at myself.
4. The only reason I want to look really cute and skinny for our trip down south in 3 weeks is because I want a certain person to be jealous. Yes, I realize the high school mentally of this statement.
5. My legs hurt so bad from my workout on Monday. Sitting on the potty = the death of me
6. Tomorrow I have to testify in a court hearing. (don't worry, nothing huge) I'm not thrilled about it AT ALL. I'm nervous I'm going to say/do the wrong thing.
7. I am currently trying to talk myself out of getting a cupcake after said court hearing.
8. I haven't called to register my son for Breakfast with Easter Bunny because I don't want to go. How nice of me. (Don't worry, I'll do it)
9. Same is getting Ryan's first hair cut. I don't want him to be a big kid yet :(
10. I am so not the mother my mom was. It makes me really sad sometimes.

This One Time I Made Soup.....

Who am I kidding, I love soup. I make it and eat it all the time.

This past weekend I made a huge pot of Minestrone Soup in my slow cooker with a few twists. I've been feasting on it ever since.


Here's the run down:


Minestrone Soup with Quinoa

1- Yellow Onion, Chopped
2- Carrots, Peeled and Chopped (If you're a baby carrot eater like me, 1/2 cup of chopped carrots equal approximately 1 carrot)
3-Celery Stalks, Chopped (I chopped these semi finely, as I'm not a huge fan of celery chunks)
1- Sweet Potato- Peeled and Chopped
3- Cloves of Garlic, Minced Finely
1/2 Tablespoon- Garlic and Herb Seasoning- I prefer Mrs. Dash
A Couple of Dashes of Poultry Seasoning
6- Cups Vegetable Broth
1/2 Cup- Dry Quinoa (Rinsed)
1 Ounce-Cheese Rind Such as Parmesan (I used a Gouda rind, it was delicious)
2- Cans of Diced Tomatoes (I have used fire roasted and oregano and garlic- both are awesome)
1- Can of Pinto Beans- Rinsed and Drained
1- Can of Cannellini Beans- Rinsed and Drained
2- Cup Fresh Green Beans Trimmed and Chopped into Bite Sized Pieces (you be the judge of how big your bite is)
Salt and Pepper as needed
Red Pepper Flakes would have made a nice contribution to the soup. Unfortunately, I didn't use it because Mr. Berg doesn't do spicy.


Throw everything except the quinoa in the crock pot and set the crock pot for 4 Hours on High or 8 Hours Low.
Add the quinoa during the last 30 minutes of cooking and stir to incorporate. The quinoa will be done when it looks as though it was popped open. 

If you wanted to you could saute the garlic, onions, carrots and celery in olive oil or butter until soft before adding it to the crock pot to develop the flavors. I didn't have that kind of time this past weekend. The soup still turned out amazing.

Serve with fresh, grated parmesan for topping. Bread would be awesome for dipping. Salad is always nice too!


This makes 8-10 serving depending on how big a bowl you are using.

Enjoy!

Hitting the Ground Limping

This morning I dropped my child off at daycare with his pants on backwards. If that isn't a true indication of how this week is going, I don't know what is. In other words, things are not going well despite my best efforts 

Monday was supposed to look like this:

Wake up early, workout, kiss my husband good morning, shower, look fabulous, drop my child off a daycare while chatting pleasantly with his teachers, be a total rock star at work, pick up my child with glowing reports, have a nice dinner, play sweetly and tuck my snoozing child into bed before hanging out with my husband in my clean house.

What Monday really looked like:

Was up all night with a bout of insomnia, never worked out, didn't kiss my husband because I declared him a royal jerk (long story, but really, he isn't a jerk), looked like shit on stick because I felt like it, ran out of daycare to the sounds of a screaming child that was pried off me by a somewhat horrified teacher, did okay at work, ran around like a chicken with my head cut off mostly, picked up my child from daycare (did receive a glowing report), threw food on said child's tray as I tried to make pork chops and sweet potatoes for the rest of the family, dodged flying rice and pretzels with hummus, sighed as my child felt it necessary to stick his finger in my belly button every 45 seconds, got soaked at bath time, ran out of the nursery as my child had a nighttime melt down, finally kissed my husband (jerk status revoked), pinned a bunch of hair styles on pinterest that I'll never actually do, ignored the huge mess in my kitchen and went to bed really early.

So, yeah, welcome to my week.

Today has gotten off to a better start. I was up on time, worked out, had a shower and almost had product in my hair before the shit hit the fan. One stressed out husband, breakfast and 15 toddler melt downs later, I made it to work on time. Ryan's pants are probably still on backwards but he's happily playing with his friends at daycare.

 All in all, we're doing just fine. 

The Post Vacation Hangover

Oh sweet mercy, The Bahamas were amazing. We meet our friends at the airport in Charlotte and flew over together. Within 40 minutes of arriving at the resort, we were surprised by another set of friends who originally weren't planning on coming. It was an amazing time!

We ate everything we wanted to eat, drank everything we wanted to drink (and then some), and did a whole lot of laying around... as the vacation gods intended.

And now we're home and I feel sluggish, bloated and headachy. As I should, I'm so far away from my routine isn't not even funny at this point.

While I fully intend on dialing it back this weekend, I assure you I'm hitting the ground running on Monday. Mama needs a workout!


Right now I'm focusing on the 100 piles of laundry that need tackled, the grocery shopping and menu planning that needs to be done and reinstating the structure that was lost on us while we were gone. That and Ryan is hysterical and full of new tricks. Row, row, row your boat anyone? He probably sings that song a million times a day.

So, that's where we're at.

See you Monday with a soup recipe review, maybe a workout review and lord only knows what else.