Photo-a-day 16. Sign

A sure sign that I suck at dieting: this is in my freezer right now. I bought it last night.

Photo-a-day 15. Finger

Hey, here's a random one from the camera roll on my iPhone: Genevieve had a mosquito bite on her knuckle. What a poopy spot.

14. If you won the lottery

If I won the lottery. This feels like a topic for a 10th grade English class essay. I hated writing essays.

Hasn't everyone dreamed about this? To have unlimited funds without the hard work to go with it. To spend your days free of worry, other than what you should spend your money on next.

I used to think I would buy several homes, all complete with maids and personal chefs and gardeners and butlers and nannies for the children. The mansions, the cars, the extravagant trips and purchases. Designer clothes and $3000 purses.

But as I get older I realize how little of the materialistic items I really need to be happy. Oh yeah, it all sounds wonderful, but I'm just as happy in our 1200 sqft house and two little girls. My only wish is to not have to worry about income. Sure we might still work if we won the lottery, but it would be carefree work. There would be no concern about whether we can buy this or fix that this week or next month. Just an easier life in general.

I wouldn't go crazy. We wouldn't take extravagant trips. We would just live comfortably. Heck, I get too much of a rush out of finding good deals anyway.

Of course to WIN the lottery, you must play. And I'm both to cheap and not one for losing money to play. So this dreaming is of course all for naught.

13. What is your earliest memory?

The World's Fair, New Orleans, 1984

Jimmy says I am full of bologna. But I swear I remember being there. Yes, I was young. Around 18mos depending on when my parents and I went. But I remember: the giant gorilla (King Kong?), and riding the gondola. That's the clearest memory - being in the gondola and seeing the fairgrounds from above.

Photo-a-day 12. Texture

The lovely smock I am wearing right now as I wait for my doc to come in for my annual exam.

I know you're jealous. 😝

12. What's inside your fridge?

Don't you hate those old episodes of Cribs on MTV where the celebrity (pseudo-celebrity?) opens their fridge and every time it's a perfectly aligned showcase of energy drinks, bottled water, beer... And yeah do these people not eat real food? Annoys me every time. Wait tho, when was the last time I watched Cribs? I'm holding on to a long time grudge here. Also? As I typed "grudge" my phone auto corrected it to "fudge" and I kinda drooled a little.

I need to work on that chocolate addiction, y'all.

So yeah here's my refrigerator.

Sour cream, hummus, parmesan cheese, almond and whole milk. Meat and cheese drawer. Strawberries, eggs, yogurt. Leftover homemade snickers bars, raw shrimp. Leftover mac&cheese, leftover corn, sausage and tortillas (in bulk!). Grapes, Capri Sun. Produce drawer.

What's missing? Oh yeah there's no wine. You caught me on a day where I finished off the last bottle last night. What else? Oh there's a whole slew of condiments hanging out in the door (that I didn't take a pic of), along with some orange and V8 juices. There's definitely a jar of pickles in there somewhere, and two ziplocks full of pecans (thanks to MIL's tree).

Six weeks

Six weeks.

Gabrielle starts school... In six weeks.

Excuse me while I hyperventilate for a second here.

There's a lot to accomplish in the next few weeks. I haven't bought her uniforms yet. Or any new school shoes. She has no lunchbox or backpack or nap mat. No school supplies of any sort.

We're still working on potty training. :-/

Only six weeks left that my first girl will be home with me. That she will be all mine. She's only ever spent a few hours away from me at a time. She's only ever been away a full night once (while I was in the hospital, after delivering Genevieve).

Now my buddy is leaving me, for 7.5 hours, Monday through Friday. Someone else will be instilling knowledge in her. She will learn from other adults, other children. She will grow.

And all I want to do is sit here and cry about it. She will undoubtedly be one of the youngest in her class - she turns three the day before her first day. I'm scared for her.

Don't get me wrong, I realize this is a choice, an option. She doesn't HAVE to go to pre-k 3. But the opportunity was upon us and we took it. Her admission to the French immersion school guarantees admission for Genevieve as well. And we couldn't guarantee Gabby would get in (via the lottery system) next year, so we jumped at this opportunity. But it's leaving me very sad right now.

I know it will be good for her, and for Genna, and for me. And I know there are plenty of holidays so she'll still have lots of days with me and her little sister. But I still worry that we're pushing her too fast.

She's still a baby.

And as conflicted as I am at times about wanting her to start just to give me a break (any stay-at-home-parent knows what I mean), I know we'll still send her. And I've got to enjoy these last few weeks as much as I can.

They grow too fast and I cannot even think about how she will be three in less than six weeks. Where did these years go?

Now excuse me again while I go look at her baby pictures and cry into my coffee.

Photo-a-day 11. Letter

Gabby is learning to write her letters.

10. What's your best physical feature?

Not so sure on this. I don't typically have the best self esteem or a good body image. So asking about a physical trait, won't lead far.

I do wish I could pinpoint one particular spot. But since I can't, and I don't want to talk about it, I'm skipping this post.

Also I am determined to finish this challenge, so here's a random pic for today!

Courtesy of a recent trip to the park to feed the ducks. This guy was nice and friendly. Despite his (her?) obnoxious "HONK!" when he wanted more bread.

Photo-a-day 10. Favorite color

Purple.

Pic from fourth of July fireworks.

Photo-a-day 9. Big

"That's a big circle, there!" she said before climbing in. Yay Target. Also? She wore her daddy's Saints hat to go shopping. Totally awesome.

9. What are your worst habits?

Oh fun! Let make another list!

This is a question you should probably ask my husband. I'm sure he can enlighten you on what my worst habits are. Aren't spouses really good at that?

The biggest one I CAN list myself tho is procrastination. Without question.

And my iPhone addiction. Since ya know I am literally at the gym on a recumbent bike right now as I type this.

That can't be good. Hey at least the pic is blurry. Proof I was actually working out.

Also? Even after acknowledging my bad habit, I still haven't put the phone down. Ha.

Painting with Water

The other day, I took the girls to Toys R Us. We were on the hunt for gifts for my nephews. Plus it was a hot day, and spending an hour and a half letting the girls run free playing with toys was a good way to spend the afternoon. Thank you TRU for the free entertainment.

I found these little paint with water books in the Melissa & Doug aisle. I had seen something online about letting toddlers paint using q-tips and figured these would work well. And they totally do.

Gabby picked up how to use it right away. I personally love how little mess there was.

Dip the q-tip in a lil water, swirl on the little paint pad, and bam: perfect amount of watercolor paint.

The books did come with a paintbrush, but the q-tips held the paint better and provided much less mess. Yay!

If you're looking for a paint with water book, I highly recommend these. We've used the old school paint with water books before and they really weren't worth it. Once we make our way through these, I'll be getting another set.

Photo-a-day 8. Lunch

Gabby had alphabet chicken noodle soup for lunch today.

8. What's in your handbag

This is my handbag. My purse. My mini diaper bag.

You're in luck because this is a recent purchase, so it still fresh and new. And tonight I went to work, so there's nothing kid related in it. What??

It's pretty empty in fact. Currently it only houses:

• My wallet (which ACTUALLY was my only purse for the last 15+ months - I bought it right before Genna was born)


• A hair brush


• Lip balm and gloss


• Peppermints (for me, and for Gabby)


• Sunglasses


• Floss

What you don't see but is usually in there:

• Toddler snacks (yogurt drops, trail mix, granola bars, etc etc)


• A diaper and wipes


• Car keys


• iPhone


• Kindle Fire (really only when I am going to work)


• Barrettes (for me, and the girls)

Photo-a-day 7. Garden

We don't have a garden, but our neighbor does. The girls and I, and sometimes Daddy too, walk over to visit our sweet neighbor and her garden.

7. Your pet hates

What do I hate?

I'd like to say nothing. Because ya know I WANT to be all sunshine and rainbows all the time. No, really, I do. I'm not good at it, but I do.

I guess I could make a list, but who wants to read an annoying list of things that annoy me (hey! Stuff like this would be on there!). Instead, go check out some funny stuff on my Pinterest funnies board.

Laughing is so much more fun.

Photo-a-day 6. Chair

Remember yesterday's pic? This is why.

6. Your five senses right now

see: I'm watching Friends.

hear: The TV us on. Commercials are loud.

smell: It still smells faintly of fried shrimp, what Jimmy cooked the girls for dinner while I was at work.

taste: Riesling.

touch: I am cuddling with my (Genna's?) boppy. It's soft and cozy.

5. 10 songs you love right now

What's funny about that pic? I have all of those sings on my iPhone right now. Oh yeah.

I think I'm lacking in the whole "discover new music" area right now. And I'm certainly not interested enough to be all hipster-y and claiming how much I liked a band before they were mainstream. Meh.

I also cannot off the top of my head name ten songs right now.

But I will admit that I do kinda love Stupid Hoe. And the husband and I sing Sexy and I Know It to our kids pretty much daily. So there's that.

Photo-a-day 5. On the floor

Stickers. :-/

And chairs. Because I'm out of ideas for keeping the one year old from climbing.

Photo-a-day 4. Fun

(stolen from my SIL's FB)

Our family enjoying this fourth of July.

4. What are you afraid of?

1. Cockroaches. Ok I'm not afraid of them, really, I just think they are one of the most disgusting bugs. Ever. I will hunt one down like a crazy Yosemite Sam huntin' Bugs Bunny fool. I WILL be sure it's dead. Then I will make the husband pick it up and dispose of it. *shudders* So I don't know if it's really a fear, or just pure hatred.

2. All the normal stuff: not growing old, not seeing my children grow up.

3. Getting my teeth knocked out. Seriously that's something that terrifies me. And since over the past two months Genna seems hell-bent on head-butting me directly in the mouth whenever she gets mad, I've had a rough go of it lately. Too many teeth falling out dreams too. Gah!

4. Water. I love the beach. I enjoy swimming pools. But I really cannot swim. Even after taking swim lessons at 22 years old, I'm not at all comfortable with it. I stay in the shallow end always, and you'll never find me actually floating out in the ocean. Feet gotta touch the ground. When we wet to Hawaii in 2006, it took me almost an hour to get comfortable enough just to float around so I could snorkel (you're not supposed to let your feet touch the coral. Feet not touching??!!! Holy crap I had a nervous breakdown right there in the ocean.)

5. My parents dying. I am NOT ready for that. I am normally ok with death, it is what it is, it's part of life, but I cannot think about them dying. Obviously this goes for my husband and children as well, but I have this weird deeper fear involving them. And I don't know why.

Photo-a-day 3. Best part of my day

Today, my favorite part was swimming with my girls.

3. Your favorite quote

"Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions."

and

"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible."

both from the Dalai Lama.

Photo-a-day 2. Busy

Busy cleaning out my car thanks to toddler #2. Yay puffs!

2. 20 facts about you

Well damnit, this is going to take me all day to write.

1. I hate lists like this and really want to skip this whole post. Boo.

2. I like grocery store sushi. Judge me.

3. I also like Very Bradley. Judge me some more cause I'm carrying a VB bag and wearing VB flip flops right.now.

4. While watching our kids play tonight, I laughed so hard I may have needed to run and change my underwear. I think I need to get back into kegels. If I start tweeting a daily kegel reminder, would that be cool? Or would you be freaked out? C'mon moms...

5. I started this list 8 hours ago.

6. I have exclusively breastfed both of my children. Gabby for 12 months, Genna for 15 months so far. It is something I am very proud of and im a huge supporter of breastfeeding. I'm having a lot of trouble weaning Genna tho.

7. I watch old episodes of Friends most nights. My "me time" is usually 10pm-12am, reading blogs/books/the twitters/clearing out my email. Often with a glass of wine, and my "Friends." This makes me sound kind of sad, huh?

8. This post needs more pictures. I drink water out of this cup all day/every day:

9. This is only #9?? You don't want to know how many unfinished craft projects I have cluttering our laundry/utility room. You don't. I blame Pinterest, obviously.

10. I think I must suffer from what Beth Anne calls "bitch face." I swear I'm a friendly person, but I cannot make friends easily for the life of me, never have been able to, in fact. Today I was on the treadmill at the gym and got all jealous of the chicks who obviously just met ("are you new here? How many kids do you have" blah blah blah blah). Why didn't they talk to me? I'm working out! Look at me! I have kids! Oh wait... Bitchface.

11. Hey look, it's my husband!

12 - 20. I give up.

Photo-a-Day 1. Self portrait

Afternoon, glasses cause my eye was all gross over the weekend, no makeup, post-gym and pre-shower cause toddler #1 is sleeping in our bedroom and I know better than to wake her just so I can get clean. Ha.

1. Introduction and recent photo

Hi. Welcome to This Side of the Fence. I'll be your host, Stephanie.

I'm a (mostly) stay-at-home mom to two gorgeous, amazing little girls, and wife to one pretty cool husband. We live in the suburbs. I like it ok. :)

Why "this side of the fence?" Doesn't it always seem true that the grass is greener on the other side? I'm trying to live our life day-to-day and bring myself to understand that that saying is not always true. It's a hard path. I am grateful for my husband, our children, and our little family, but in this world it's hard to not always want more.

More about me? I'm 29 years old. For the first time. :-P No, really y'all, I'm pretty freaked about turning 30 ... IN SIX MONTHS. Gah! I'm kind of addicted to my iPhone. I seem to be on a perpetually never-ending diet, which I fail at a lot because I love food too much. And all things baked, and chocolate. And shoot, we live in New Orleans. We know good food (none of which is low fat, low carb, blah blah blah) and I enjoy eating it.

Wanna know more? Keep following along.

Oh yeah, and this is me. And my Gabrielle. Back on Father's Day. Recent pics of me are few and far between.

31 Day Blogging Challenge and July Photo-a-Day Challenge

I want to blog more. It gives me a small outlet. Something to share. Something to remember this time in my life. I want to look back and say, oh wow, look at what I did that day.

Despite the millions of pictures I take daily, I want to actually record what went on. Who I was at this time. Who my kids were. They are growing and changing so fast. Don't get me started on that, cause the second I think about Gabby starting preschool in about six weeks, I have the fight off the tears.

So I'll be participating in these TWO blogging and picture-taking challenges. Yes, two. Go big or go home, right? Yes, I am rolling my eyes at myself right now too.

I found both of these via Pinterest over the weekend. Credit goes to whoever is listed in the pics, because lets be honest, I'm writing this from my phone as usual and that's a bit too much of a PITA to link to whoever and blah blah blah. I won't be tagging my posts, but feel free to follow along and post with me. You can follow my blog, or Twitter (where I'll update as I post).

Oh and no surprise here, I'm a day late starting. Weeee!