Tid-Bits on a Tuesday

1) Did you know that when you are labelling pictures on facebook and include yourself, the grammatically correct way to do so is "and me" NOT "and I"? It's true :) Here's a test you can use to determine whether "me" or "I" is appropriate: take the other subject noun out of the sentence - what would you say? Example: If it's a picture of you and your mom, the full sentence would be "This is me and my mom" or "This is my mom and me." Therefore, you would label the picture "Mom and Me" instead of "Mom and I" because if you took "mom" out of the sentence you would not say "This is I" but rather "This is me." Get it? I hope that makes sense!

Two Egg-celent TidBits:

2) Did you know that you can tell how truly free-range the chickens producing your eggs were by how hard the shells of the eggs are? The harder the shells, the more access to normal grit etc. the chicken had as it meandered about. (Many times eggs are labelled "cage-free" which often just means that a bunch of chickens were jam-packed into a room instead of being put into individual cages, not that they actually have room to roam around : / ).

3) You can tell how well the producing chickens were eating by the richness of the yolks in the eggs. The better the diet, the better the color. Weak color = weak diet.

*I actually learned these two facts on Christmas morning... Nathan's parents have chickens, which they are raising organically, and when my mother-in-law asked me what she could bring to Christmas Breakfast, I asked her to bring eggs since I was planning to make an egg bake. That morning, my dad was helping me cook breakfast and, having grown up on a farm raising chickens, imparted this knowledge on me :) The Fair Family Farm (lol) eggs have very hard shells and very rich yolks :D
*Nathan's Parents' chickens lay blue and green eggs in addition to brown ones - how cool is that? I'll have to post a picture the next time I have blue and green ones in my dozen :)

Tit-for-Tat:
Now it's your turn to impart your random knowledge on me ~
In the business world, are your socks supposed to match your slacks or your shoes???
I've worn them both ways (as well as fun patterns that match neither exactly) but I could swear I've been told before that they are supposed to match one or the other and I cannot for the life of me remember... maybe it only applies in a man's world anyway, where there aren't typically metallic shoes and what not...  ;) Just curious to know if anyone else has been told the "rule" here. Though rules (especially in fashion) are fun to break ;)

*and a random personal tidbit - I get to cut my first tithe check this week!!! I could pay it online right now, and probably will in the future, but I feel like it's going to be so satisfying to write a physical check and drop it in the basket on Sunday morning :) Nathan and I have been tithing jointly on the money that he earns but it's a totally different feeling when it's coming out of my paycheck. I didn't realize I would be so excited about this :D

tidbits :)

Just a few random things I've learned over the past month or so... :

1) Did you know that it is illegal to drive with snow on your car?
                      and no, I did not learn this by getting pulled over for it ;) Though I did drive with snow on my car before learning it! I thought, well, it's just a little bit on the roof, should fall off before I make it out of the neighborhood. Well, it did not. And I learned the hard way why it's a bad idea to do this, aside from the whole potentially endangering other drivers by flinging snow at their cars thing. I went to my parents house, dropped off Cadence, and was on my way back before the snow came crashing down at a yield sign and absolutely covered my windshield!!! Of course, it was 2 inches thick and too heavy for my wipers. So thankful I was already stopped! I had to throw it in park, jump out, and swipe it off with my hands! eeeeemmbarassing ;P Since then I can't tell you how many cars I've seen, on the interstate, with several inches of snow on top of their cars (SO dangerous!) not to mention one in Chesterfield whose rear window was totally covered in addition to their roof...yikes! So, before you get pulled over for it, take a few minutes to clear your car before leaving! I promise it will take less time than getting a ticket or causing an accident ;)

2) Did you know that coffee creamer (International Delight, CoffeeMate, etc.) has no actual CREAM in it??? I guess I've just been buying it for so long that I never thought to look at the ingredients, I just assumed it was basically half-n-half with a flavor shot. nope. would you like me to share the ingredient list that turned my morning world upside down? well, here it is:
(from Coffee-mate, The Original) -
water, corn syrup solids, partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil, sodium caseinate (a milk derivative), dipotassium phosphate, mono-and diglycerides, polysorbate 60, sodium stearoyl lactylate, artificial flavor, carrageenan.
(and Coffee-mate Belgian style chocolate toffee) -
water, sugar, partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil, natural & artificial flavors, nono-and diglycerides, dipotassium phosphate, cellulose gel, collor added, salt, cocoa processed with alkali, cellulose gum, carrageenan, sodium casseinate (a milk derivative), disodium phosphate.


Would you like to know what's in my now-staple (currently Horizon) organic half-and-half?
Organic Grade A Milk & Organic Grade A Cream. *free of antibiotics, added hormones, pesticides, etc.
plain, simple, and delicious ;)
Some other yummy alternatives could be coconut or almond milk! I think I'll be trying these when I run out of flavored coffee!

3) Did you know that when a flower company delivers they do not put water in the vase? I'm pretty sure I already knew this but it totally slipped my mind until my Valentine's Day flowers from Nathan were looking sad just a day or two after they arrived. Makes sense considering they have to drive them around...but couldn't they just put a lil bit? Or a note that says "hey, you might wanna put some water in this vase if you want to enjoy your beautiful flowers for any length of time"? lol.

Do you have any tidbits you'd like to share? Or a comment about the three above? I'd love to hear them!

WALKIN ON SUNSHINE :)

okay....maybe ONE more blog post before I sign off to get my life organized ;) Just because, in the middle of all of this wintery weather,  I can't help but share how absolutely in love I am with the color YELLOW right now!!! Aahhh...the color of sweet sunshine <3

I am all for yellow  ~  for bedrooms, clothing & accessories, and even weddings!

Here are just a few reasons why:

How could you not love these bedrooms from Warpedeco Home Improvement ?!

These two are from Decor Pad :)

And I LOVE yellow & gray together for clothing/accessories, so why not for a bedroom?!

Check out these fab accessories from Target:

 ~ Not to mention the million and one stunning things to do with yellow in a wedding ~

From She Walks in Beauty, Tempting Weddings (noted on photos), and shoes by J.Crew :

and Inspiration Boards from With This Favor / Snippet and Ink

and With This Favor / Stylish Events

And of course, because I never stop shopping for Cadence, check out these finds I'm eyein at

The Children's Place:

I am so in love with this embellished yellow cardigan!!!  And the dress w/a blue cropped sweater would be oh so sweet :)

how PRECIOUS are these accessories?!?

and bc I'm lovin the blue and yellow, and blue really brings out C's eyes, wouldn't these be adorable together? Maybe with little blue and white polka dotted leggings under the skirt and some little white patent leather maryjanes? oooooohh ;)

and I'm lovin the idea of these layered together, maybe with the little dark wash dressy jeans I just got her :)

 

hey look - it must be a good look bc I found a pic of it! hehe. Though I still like the idea of it w/her jeans ;)

See why I am so in love with yellow???

So, green may be my favorite color, with turquoise in a close second, but I think both go swimmingly with sunshine yellow :D

You Are What You...Wear!

Okay, it is definitely true that you are what you eat (as I have been reminded by my recent "I'm getting ready to start a new workout routine so I should eat all the bad stuff now" decision - poor choice!). And though I began to give it some thought in college, I didn't justify beginning to switch over to organic foods until I found out I was pregnant. I haven't turned back, only gained momentum and even gotten my hubby on board! In fact, he even catches me off guard some times now! If you're looking into it, here is some great information on the best foods to start with and your local farmer's market is an excellent resource!
 However, we should not only think about the things we put IN our bodies but also the things we put ON our bodies. Have you ever looked at the ingredient list on your shampoo? Considered what's actually in your deoderant? Your body is absorbing those chemicals every time you apply them. Scary, I know. You can thank Jill Reid, my Human Bio professor last semester, for increasing my obsessions over natural choices. I have always given serious thought to anything that touches Cadence's body but gone with the "whatever, I've been doing it for years" load of crap when it came to my own. HELLO! Aren't I suppose to be the one setting the example? And it feels soooo good to switch over! Though I admit, there's a price difference on some things, I don't think you can really put a price on good health (plus, I actually use much less of my natural shampoo and conditioner than I did of the other stuff so I think it balances out a little). I hear over and over again "our parents gave us X and we're fine"...well, we're still in our 20s - how fine are we going to be in our 60s? Have you noticed the cancer rates?
I could go on and on about the reasons we should be conscientious of what we're putting both in and on our bodies and the downfalls of a capitalist society that says "give it to me now, consider the consequences when it's too late" but for now I will leave you with the strong recommendation to read Silent Spring by Rachel Carson and to check out your products on this link.
I also just remembered to become a fan of Reid's Ramblings on facebook, which I'm sure is full of tons of info on this stuff!
Stay tuned for an upcoming review of some natural products I've been using! (Though I am swearing off the internet for the next week or two to get my house and life in order, this will be one of the first posts when I come back!). And remember, every time you make a purchase, you are casting a vote - VOTE NATURAL. It is so much better to pay the grocer now than the doctor later!

It Takes a Village

Grab a cup of tea and curl up, this is a long one ;)

The old saying "It Takes a Village" is so, so true! And not just in raising children - in keeping adults healthy as well!

First let me say, I am incredibly thankful for the family and friends I have been blessed with and how amazingly involved they have been in Cadence's life as well as mine.

From Grandma giving us our first date night to Auntie Katie taking Cadence when I was out a sitter and had to get to class, to Rachael staying with us to help out, to Cat coming with to run errands all summer, to all of the selfless offers to help, I cannot express my gratitude enough both to God and to our loved ones!

If it weren't for my mom (Grammy) I would not have been able to go back to school and finally finish my degree after Cadence was born. She stepped up and took Cadence two days a week (yup, I crammed my full-time schedule into Tues/Thurs!) in addition to working full time as a nurse. She and Dad have always been willing to drop any plans they have if we needed them (though thankfully I don't think we've had to take advantage of their generosity in that dept.) and never hesitate to say "family comes first". It is awesome to see the wonderful relationship that Cadence has with her Grammy and Poppy and I absolutely love how lucky she (we) is (are)! I know that my parents don't mind hanging out with Cadence (in fact, I'm pretty sure they would adopt her if we would let them) but I do know how hard it can be to get things off of your "to-do" list done when you have such a fabulous little girl to play with ;) So I absolutely recognize and appreciate the time sacrifice that they make to be so involved. (And I really wonder, how DOES my mom stay on top of it all??? hello superwoman!!!).

In my second semester commuting back to VCU I had to go M/W/F since my list of remaining courses was dwindling. My Mom works mostly on the weekends (7p-7a!) and couldn't watch Cadence on Mondays so my Granny (Mom's mom), who lives in Chesterfield, jumped on the opportunity to step in and take Cadence on Mondays. She and Grandiddy even drove out to meet me & C at their church (shout out to Immanuel Baptist on Monument Ave - where Nathan and I attended all through college!) near the fan and take her back to their place way out on the edge of Chesterfield. SO AWESOME!!! I could not have done it without them!!! And the relationship they have with Cadence now is beautiful :) I am praying we can make it out to visit them at least once, hopefully twice, a month to keep it up!!! It is so cool to think about how Granny helped to raise me as a little girl and is now getting to be so involved with Cadence as well -- double blessing! :D

In my third and final return semester Nathan's mom had just retired from her job and was then able to watch Cadence once a week as well! So, Cadence got to see THREE grandmothers every week!!! For this semester I got most of my classes into T/R but had one lab on Monday afternoons (laaame). So Nathan's mom happily stepped in to come play with Cadence while I knocked out my research lab in Richmond every Monday! As the semester progressed Cadence got to start going back to the farm with her and I'm pretty sure that put her in heaven :D I am so in love with the relationship she has been able to build with her Grandmommy!!!

Now that I am looking to go back to work both Grammy and Grandmommy have been more than awesome in their willingness to continue watching Cadence! And Granny, who use to work in daycare, has said more than once that she would be willing to drive up once a week if the moms could take care of the other days so that Cadence could be with family instead of in daycare. So sweet :) I am thrilled that Cadence will be able to continue to hang out with family while I'm at work and cannot get over how blessed we are and how generous our family is!!!

However, we have also put down a registration fee to hold a spot for Cadence to begin at the Goddard School over the summer, two days a week. We are a tad bit anxious but very excited for her because, even though she is ahead of our timeline (we weren't thinking preschool would happen until 3!), she is absolutely going to looo-oo-oove getting to make friends and play with other kids! She is such a social butterfly already but she doesn't have too many outlets for that yet.

One of the outlets that she does have is the nursery at church, which brings me to my next point!

At LifePoint last Sunday (1/17) Pastor Daniel talked a lot about the importance of community. I have never felt more community outside of our blood family than at that church!!! From working in DIVE (the nursery) to LifeGroup to the atmosphere and friendly faces every Sunday, LifePoint is the most amazing church family we could have ever asked for. They proved this once again when, after tearing down Sunday (we're a portable church and Nathan serves on the auditorium tear-down team), Steven called everyone together (not one bit embarassing!) and they literally surrounded us, put their hands on us, and prayed over our family for this period of Nathan's deployment. Aside from the blush factor, it was the most amazing support and I know that I will pull strength from remembering that moment throughout this deployment.

Also on 1/17 we heard from the newest member of the LifePoint staff, Beth, who is coming on board to maximize our LifeGroup experience. I am so excited for what is to come!!! There are countless reasons to love LifeGroup and we have built some wonderful friendships thus far, I look forward to expanding on those and growing together with a small group!!!

So, in "short" (haHA!), while it may be true that it takes a village to raise a child, it is more accurate to say that it takes a village to raise a family. My sanity is so reliant on the people we keep close to us, and what they do not only for Cadence but also for me and Nathan. I worked as a nanny with a woman in Richmond, who is now a dear friend, who wrote in our wedding guest book that I took care of not only her daughter, but her. At the time I laughed, not realizing how true that statement could be. But it is so true that through taking care of Cadence, my family and friends are also taking care of me (and Nathan - not having a crazy, disheveled (ok, maybe that's hard to fix), overwhelmed wife!). And they don't just stop there! Phone conversations, facebook updates & check-ins & photo comments, blog comments, lunch dates, emails, antiquing downtown, trips to Roxbury Gardens, company for Target runs, our friends and family are the heart and soul of our family <3

Revisiting Green bags

I was so glad to hear that a few of you have taken advantage of the veggie wash recipes I posted :)


buuutt - revisiting the green bags: i have found, after going crazy with them, that all produce is not equal in the world of Debbie Meyer. Do NOT put potatoes or onions into green bags, they will last much longer out of green bags. also, i'm not sure if I am just trying to take advantage of the bags and not realizing how long i'm actually leaving stuff in there and relying on them to keep it safe (maybe i should keep track to see?) but i don't think they work so well for grapes. i also didn't notice a difference in timing for tomatoes. However, for romaine lettuce, apples, and carrots, they seem to work great! Though I think carrots and apples have a pretty long fridge life anyway! Oh, and my uncle said they don't work great for strawberries either...so, basically, this seems to be a good lesson in only buying what you can eat in a week! lol. oh well...

i'd love to hear your story if you've tried them - what did they work for and what not so much? did you actually keep track of the timing?

Warning: Possibly TMI! ;)

I think we will be potty training soon....ugh. Definitely sooner than I was hoping. I mean, my intention has always been to wait until she was ready but my potty-training-dream was for her to be ready in the spring/summer so she could run around outside stark nakey during the process...
 Usually she could run around in a tank top and training pants in our house year round but our gas bill was ssoooo expensive that we dropped the temp from 72 to 70...which, after talking to many others is still higher than the "norm" but I think it's freeeezziiing. I guess I can throw some leg warmers & slippers on her too :P

I have been thinking over the last couple of days that she seemed on the brink of being ready and that I should probably pick up some books to introduce the topic from another angle.
Now I'm thinking I should run into Border's and grab those after The Little Gym tomorrow morning! lol

So, twice now she has asked to sit on the potty after Mommy pees. She hasn't peed in it yet but she happily sat for a while both times.

Then tonight at bathtime...the poo.

We had our first poo in the tub! ick. ick. ick. I thought I was going to escape this horror. Not so lucky.
BUT, it also led to our first poo poo in the potty.
What was frustrating about it was that we had already tried to poop on the potty when she was acting like she needed to during her bath. After a few short minutes she wanted back in the tub and gave up on the poo though. I figured - maybe she just has gas? She's not usually an evening pooper anyway.

So she's playing and she stands up. I ask her if she's ready to get out of the tub and hear 'plunk'! OH NO!!! REEAALLY????
I immediately pick her up, towel off her legs as quickly as possible and put her on the toilet. Yay! She finishes on the potty! So, she didn't seem as intrigued by what had just occured as I thought she would be, there was no "i did that!" moment, but she did get to see it, and flush it (which included saying bye bye to it) but she was more or less just worried about the fact that her bath was over now. She got a lil shower off with the pull-down shower-head-on-a-bendytube-thingy but there was no way she could have her bath rerun, all of the toys and the tub had to be sanitized and, fortunately for her, she had had plenty of playtime pre-poo. It was time to get ready for bed!  

Now she's sleeping soundly and I'm wrestling with potty training possibilities...

As far as method is concerned, I'm actually planning to use one very similar to an article I studied and critiqued in my Learning & Cognition Psyc class on potty training school aged autistic children. It should be pretty comparable and I'm hoping the timeline will be as well. I guess we'll see!

My question for all you moms who have been through or are going through this is what books did you use with your children? I have a couple in mind like "everyone poops" and "Once upon a potty" but would love to hear your input! Here's a list of Parents' picks if you need a memory jog on titles :)

Any other product or process suggestions??

Granny got Cadence a singing potty for her first birthday (which I decided to put up in the closet after she had determined it was for taking apart and storing calculators in, etc - I wanted her to get familiar with it but not to be use to treating it as a toy once she was actually ready to use it) and I'm thinking of picking up one of those toilet toppers too... she has training pants that Granny got her for Christmas, and I guess we'll need pull-ups... and lots and lots of changes of clothes ;) Am I forgetting anything?? I am ssoooo nervous!!!