House Dress PART DEUX

Day one:
Wake up, baby awake, must get up and feed baby, look around dazed for house dress. Knowing this would happen the night before I hid house dress. Half dazed I glance at yoga pants on floor. I have vowed to leave yoga pants wearing to people who actually do YOGA. Rummage through closet and find jeans and long sleeve shirt. Decide to take it slow today. Feed baby, work on laundry/dishes/cleaning/bills put baby down. Hurry into the shower so as to be clean and made up for Husband when he comes home. Husband home, me clean with wet hair.
Husband fed and back to work, glance longingly at yoga pants. NO NO NO. Must stay strong. Get out makeup and hair dryer. Baby wakes up, baby this and that for the afternoon. Put away makeup and hair dryer. Cook dinner, husband home.
Dressed kind of
Clean YES
Makeup NOPE
Hair in wet ponytail

Day two
Wake up ect… much like day one. Clean but not dry by lunchtime. Since my efforts at being attractive have yet to be acknowledged I queue Kyle (25 husband).
Me “I have been wearing real clothes for the last couple days”
Kyle “Ya I noticed”
Me “well?”
Kyle “Well what?”
Me “ I have been dressing up for you! I haven’t worn yoga pants or my house dress in two days.”
Kyle “you mean the black dress you wear all the time?”
Me “ya”
Kyle “I like that dress you look great in that dress.”
Me “well steph said….(see house dress blog)”
Kyle “why didn’t you just ask me?”
Me “ I dunno…well this is just stupid”
I put on the house dress

Planny Plan Plan

For those of you who know me you will be SHOCKED to discover I have been spending a large amount of time (drum roll please) PLANNING!!!
And I LIKE it.
As Kyle (husband 25) and I have been trying to be good stewards of our money we are always looking for creative ways to SAVE money. An area we had not been looking into was the food we eat. The problem is we have so many restrictions. Here is the short list
JP
Lactose intolerant, Always in a hurry, must be easy to make, must have meat in it preferable of the NUGGET variety. Must come in a box or bag mostly prepped.
Madi
Must get Baby Formula, Must be gummable, must be able to feed it to herself (she only let me spoon feed her for a week…. independent much?) Lately she as been carrying on a continuous chorus of “me me me me me” (like the seagulls in finding Nemo) while she plays I think she may be self absorbed as well.
Kyle
Not Picky, except about cheese. Must be old cheddar by Cracker Barrel
Me
Must be healthy, must yield a lot of food. Lactose intolerant. PICKY

The struggle with eating healthy and making lifestyle changes is sometimes you get into a chicken and salad SLUMP. What’s for lunch? Chicken and salad what’s for dinner? Chicken and Salad and so on. You stop cooking and enjoying food and you drudge through your chicken and salad days munching and gnawing into oblivion…. ok I exaggerate.
But then…
CAPTAIN MEAL PLANNING to the rescue.
To save money I began to meal plan for the month. It has been a learning process but I have discovered many GREAT recipes, which cannot only be, low fat but also delicious.
It has brought me back into my kitchen and made me LOVE cooking again. The benefits are as follows.
We save money
We eat great food
WE EAT IT TOGETHER AS A FAMILY
I get to learn new and fun recipes.
I have been having a great time scouring the internet and cookbooks for recipes I can make low fat.
After each meal we all (Kyle, JP, Mac, Madi and I) vote if the meal should remain in the meal plan rotation.
It’s like Meal Plan Idol.

The House Dress

This is the story of my addiction and subsequent intervention…keep reading.
I am a mommy.
As a mommy I find whatever I put on tends to get dirty FAST. If its not baby #1 or #2 its puke or thrown food. If none of the above; my life of cooking, cleaning and other motherly duties has made me a bit of a slovenly dresser. Not to say that I don’t dress up on occasion, I do, but if I am at home dressing up consists of yoga pants (my friend Christina helped me buy one in every color from Costco) and a mostly clean shirt.
I like to think that I am simply practical. Why wear nice clothes for the baby and sometimes Kyle(25 husband)? I could wear trash bags as pants and a box for a dress with cauliflower in my hair and JP (22, basement dweller) and Mac (19, JP's bff and employee) wouldn’t notice or care if they did.
However in San Diego I came to a realization.
I am a frumpy mummy.
It hit me when I made a casual allusion to my 'house dress.' It’s a black dress I wear at home all the time. It’s my cleaning, feeding, changing dress. I throw it on because it’s easy. I keep it on because I’m lazy and if I don’t leave the house I’ll wash it and wear it again the next day.
I THOUGHT THIS WAS NORMAL.
I have been friends with Stephanie (38, San Diego, like a sister to me) for almost 10 years. She has five kids and also cares for her husbands two ailing parents. She even recently acquired two golden retriever puppies. She home schools and is helping to plant a new Church called Roots Family in Temecula California. She is a super woman.
Stephanie has been a mentor to me in many areas of my life; worship, motherhood, marriage to name only a few. She taught me to play Piano and guitar and then scheduled me to play bass at church so I would be forced to learn that too. So when she told me she had to talk to me about something important, I paid attention.
Steph stammered and stumbled over her words, making excuses and trying to get out what she had planned. Finally I said “Come on Steph just say it!!!”
Steph “I have to talk to you about the house dress”
Me (laughing) “WHAT?!?”
Steph “While you have been here you have managed to wear normal clothes and do your makeup everyday.”
Me “ya”
Steph “I know you can do it at home too”
Me “But why would I?”
As Steph explained the value in showering regularly and putting on real clothes to me I realized I had had this exact same talk with my sister after the birth of her first baby. I had said “it’s good to shower and put on clothes in the morning, good for you and good for us.”
It is time to take my own advice, well I mean it’s almost time. THE CHALlENGE
Monday March 22 2010 I will begin a full week of wearing normal clothes, makeup and brushing my hair. I will look presentable when my husband comes home for lunch. I will look presentable when he gets home for dinner and I will NOT WEAR THE HOUSE DRESS OR YOGA PANTS FOR A WHOLE WEEK
Signed
Anita Catherine Broussard March 16th 2010
PS: Journal blog entries will help me chronicle the challenge

POTTY MOUTH

Potty Training
Eli (almost 3) as entered the Potty training stage. I went out and bought Gummies to reward him when he used the potty so he has been going to the potty as much as possible. The other day we began to talk about number 2 on the potty.
Me “Eli when you go (number 2) on the potty Neen will give you FIVE gummies”
Eli “ an trooo feet?” (and 2 feet)
Feet are red jujubes shaped like feet with giant big toes
Me “ok”
Eli “and beans?”
Jazz and Eli only eat Gourmet Jelly Beans they won’t even touch regular Jelly Beans
Me “ok a couple beans”
Eli “A holatta beans and saberry marmallows” (a whole lot of beans and strawberry Marshmellows)
Me “ OK fine 5 gummies, 2 feet, beans and strawberry Marshmallows”
Eli “ Neen?”
Me “ya eli?”
Eli “Just putta diaper on me Neen OK !?!”
Not only is potty training expensive it may also not be worth the fight.