Not The Kind With Bees

I hate to even type the words because every time I do I seem to jinx them out of happening, but the hives seem to have subsided for now.  {Thank God} Last night was the worst of them with my face, neck, hands and stomach being completely covered.  I finally broke down and had a hysterical sob fest and then dunked my body into a cold bath filled with two packets of Aveeno Soothing Bath Treatment.  I popped four Benadryl, covered my body in Calamine lotion and passed out for the night.

This morning, my face and hands had cleared up, but the hives had migrated to my legs and feet.  I got back in the tub and soaked again for about 30 minutes and they have almost completely disappeared.  Hopefully they stay gone!  It is so frustrating feeling so bad and not being able to do the things I am used to doing.

The timing of these hives is horrible since my brother is in town, but it has also been so great having him here to take care of Olivia for me while I've tried to get myself better.  He is amazing with her and she just loves him to pieces!

This morning's Benadryl has kicked in so I am just going to post a few pictures from our trip to the fair and Avila Beach.

She was a Buffalo Soldier...

The sheepdog at the Mutton' Bustin' corral

   

  

Showing off her pigtails

See that watermelon barrette?  Yep, I made that myself!

She's so adventurous!

Happy Wednesday from the Central Coast!

A Day Without a Blog is Like a Day Without Sunshine

My seventh grade math teacher had a banner at the front of his classroom that read, "A Day Without Math is Like a Day Without Sunshine," and he repeated that mantra during each class.

Today was almost one of those days without a blog, but I am whipping one out at the last minute (even though I have four hours until midnight).  However, I probably have much less than that before I fall asleep since I am currently hyped up on Benadryl, Codeine and vinegar body wash.  Ladies and Gentlemen, I've got a gnarly case of the hives.  And considering they are ALL up and down my arms, my sides, my stomach, my EARS, and the backside of my legs, I've taken pictures documenting their attack.  But, I'm not going to show any of those here just in case some of you happen to be eating while reading.  Just trust me when I say they are NASTY.

David came home from work early to nurse me back to health and Uncle Ryan is taking awesome care of Olivia.  Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.

I don't know how {or why} I got the hives, but I've got a sneaking suspicion it has something to do with this:

And the fact that after I asked him how it felt to hold that snake he said, "Yeah, that was cool.  I'm going to get one of those one day."  INSTA-HIVES, folks.  I quickly replied, "Over my dead body!"  Come to think of it, maybe that's what he was going for...

Dear Lord, we need something cute to get that aftertaste out of our mouths.

I think that will do!

Hope you all are having a hive-free day. 

 Happy Monday from the Central Coast!

My Sunday Smiles, Volume 5

This one is pretty simple today, but my smile is HUGE!

Uncle Ryan is in town!

We're off to the fair, ya'll!

Happy Sunday from the Central Coast!

Blah Blah Blog

My brother just departed from LAX and I've only got a few minutes before I need to wake both of my sleeping beauties up from their late naps to head up to the airport.  So, I'm just going to post a few quick pictures!

She's going to make a great actress someday!

Olivia has a slight obsession with this purse - every time we visit Katie's shop she picks it up and carries it around.

My heart swells....

Blue Eyes + Goldilocks = Heart Breaker

Olivia, meet Booboo.  He'll let you grab his leash and walk him around.

ALOHA!!!

Happy Saturday from the Cenral Coast!

What Was I Thinking?!?!

If you are checking out my blog, you are probably noticing things look a bit different.  They are on their way to looking AWESOME, but it is past midnight and html code looks like a foreign language {especially after a half glass of wine}.

Hang with me - I hope to get things up and running smoothly soon!

Look at That Girl With the Daisy Dukes On

We have been busy little bees today!

Magnum had a teeth cleaning this morning, so Olivia and I were out the door before 8:30.  After dropping him off at the vet, Olivia and I headed up to SLO to run some errands.  Let me just say that it is getting more and more difficult running errands with her!  She does not want to be strapped into a cart or a stroller and would much rather be running around wreaking havoc.  Snack cups are a necessary addition to each trip!

Any guesses on what she had for lunch?

After we returned home and Olivia rested from her exhausting morning, we went to spend a little time with Papa at work.

We picked up Magnum from the vet and came straight home to get him some food.  The poor guy hadn't eaten since yesterday morning.  He scarfed down some chow and headed straight for our bed.  He's going to get some extra cuddles tonight.

Check out those pearly whites!  I VOW to brush his teeth Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays whether he likes it or not!

My brother is coming to town for a few days and arrives tomorrow.  I'm so excited because our weekend will be filled with {but not limited to} these:

This doesn't even include our trip to the Mid-State Fair!

Here are a few more pictures of my little Honey Bee!

That's her dancing face!

Hey Baby, what's a bee say?

BZZZZZZZ

Happy Friday from the Central Coast!

Go Blog About It, Why Don't You

So, you may have noticed that I've been blogging a bit more lately....fourteen days in a row, in fact.  That has to be some sort of record for me.  Well, there is a reason behind it, and NO, it isn't because I somehow discovered two extra hours in my day.

A couple of weeks ago I finally got around to turning the blog into book form on Blog2Print*.  I had been planning on doing that for awhile, but their program wasn't allowing all of the comments to be printed and I really wanted that to be part of the book.  Things are up and running now and so I ordered one up including posts from the very beginning all the way through Olivia's first birthday.  It ended up being huge {TWSS}** -- 345 pages long!

Already showing an interest in her history.

The beginning...

The back cover

The thought that Olivia will have a tangible book that details my pregnancy and her first year just blows my mind.  I would LOVE to know the experiences my parents had when my mom was pregnant with me and also the things that I was doing when I was Olivia's age.

Because of this, I am making a really strong effort to document as much as I can {while still enjoying some free time} to fill the next volume of the book.

Uh-oh, somebody wants to redecorate!

If this isn't an ad for Crayola...

...this should be!

My order from Gymboree came in a couple days ago.  I got a few things for Olivia that she'll be wearing now {like that adorable citrus top she wore yesterday}, but most of the stuff is for our Hawaii trip this December.  I even got her a few outfits for when she is TWO because she already has more clothes in her closet than occasions to wear them!

It doesn't get much cuter than this!

Can't you just see her frolicking on the beach in this?

Um, do these come in my size?!  I want, I want, I want!

Olivia is taking a nap and I plan on doing the same!  

Happy Thursday from the Central Coast!

*I really, really love the book.  And I would honestly recommend doing it if you have a blog.  I do have a couple little complaints about it though - the pictures are pretty small, sometimes the paragraphs all run together and some of the longer post titles don't all show up.  But, aside from those minor complaints, the book is incredible.

**That's what she said!!

And Let's Do It In a Timely Manner

Before I had kids I was almost always on time to places.  I hated being late.  I still do, I just don't have much control over it these days.  I feel like anytime we are going somewhere, the fifteen minutes before we are supposed to leave are filled with Magnum, come on! and Olivia, let's go.  The easiest thing I have found is scooping both of the children up and getting them in their appropriate seats in the car and then heading back inside to gather all the necessary items for our excursion.

The toughest thing for Olivia and me is our early morning toddler class.  Thank goodness it only meets once a week because I am pretty sure we would be stress cases if we had to be in SLO at 9am more than that.  To say that neither of us are morning people is an understatement.  Olivia's latest habit is to wake up around 4:30 for a little morning snack and then stay asleep until 8:30 or 9.  While I would LOVE to have a straight set of sleeping hours, I am not complaining about that sleeping in part.

This morning we managed to get everyone loaded in the car by 8:30 - not bad since I went in and woke Olivia up at 8:20.  Of course then I had to get the diaper bag, the camera, and oh wait, the memory card is still in the computer... and my coffee and Oh crap, I haven't had breakfast and the class goes until 11:30... and my banana and Nutri-Grain bar.  And, before I knew it, it was 8:40 and we were going to be late.

But, we made it nonetheless. And there were other moms who straggled in behind me so I felt rather proud.  Last week we missed the class completely and the week before we didn't show up until 10:15.  Small accomplishments, but accomplishments they are!

Snack time with friends

Playing house

Isn't he a doll?!?!

Remember how I told you that Olivia likes to push things??

Mmm hmmm

Uhhh Huh

Yep, she LOVES to push things!

Xander was all, Hey, I can do that too!

One in the wagon....

Two in the wagon....

Three!

Happy Wednesday from the Central Coast!