My smarty pants

On the recommendation from a friend, I downloaded the Starfall app for my IPhone for PJ.

He LOVES IT.

It teaches the ABCs, and my god, he loves it.  It's very interactive, there's easy games (that he has mastered, hence the smarty pants).  He literally played it for an hour before bed last night.  Did not move from the couch.

If you have an IPhone/IPad and a child that's at least two who you are willing to allow to play with it, I cannot recommend it enough.  Seriously.  It was $2.99 but so well worth it. 

Oh, and if you missed it, check out my post from last night. :)

365 Photo Challenge

So my good bloggy friend Rebecca inspired me to do a 365 photo challenge.  Of course, only a couple of these were actually taken on the date that they were supposed to, but from today forward I promise to be on time with them!  I'll post on Sundays, so this week you get a bonus pic. ;)

1.  Me 

2.  Breakfast.  

3.  Something I adore. My Kindle.  Yes, I've read four books in ten days.  And I don't necessarily adore the cover, but I wanted to show you because isn't it cute? Even John said it was very "Lisa-y."

4.  Letterbox

This was the card box at our wedding (it was much prettier for the wedding).  Now I keep all my cards from John, the kids and other meaningful, sappy momentos in it.

5. Something I wore.

Lucky Jeans.  Love them.  Lucky me.

6.  Something that makes me smile.

I realize this is a terrible photo.  This is the mat/picture from our wedding that our guests signed.  It hangs in our upstairs hallway so I pass it any time I go to or from our bedroom.

7.  My favorite.

I realize you'd all get bored of pics of PJ, Mags, and John (you all know I adore them and they make me smile), so here.  Coca-cola.  My favorite liquid. :)

8.  My sky.

Obviously not my morning sky.

Hope you enjoyed.  And if you didn't, I guess skip my blog on Sundays.

Life's Lessons: The What's With this Weather Edition

Linking up with Sara and Rach today for the triumphant return of Life's Lessons.

1.  It's January 6.

2.  The expected temperature today in Chicago?  57 degrees.

3.  For all you winter haters, if this makes it 30 in April, I'm gouging your eyes out.

4.  Speaking of gouging eyes out, I just finished Catching Fire, book 2 of the Hunger Games.

5.  I love it a lot.

6.  I also love my Kindle a alot.  If you read a lot you should get one.  Seriously.

7.  PJ's new favorite word is boogers.

8.  It sounds like an adorable word when he says it.

9.  I am having a holiday get together with some of my favorite ladies tomorrow and I am GOING BY MYSELF.

10.  No children to chase.

11.  No diapers to change.

12.  No crying or desperately fumbling for something to feed them.

13.  Just me, my friends, and martinis.

14.  Who said there's anything wrong with day drinking?

15.  I also got my Iphone 4S.

16.  I asked Siri what her favorite color was.  She said "I don't know how to describe it in your language.  It's like different dimensions of green."

17.  I told her I liked green too and she said "Noted."

18.  WTF does that mean, Apple??

My Best of 2011

I've had quite a bit of new followers the later half of the year.  I thought I'd bless you with the ability to see the top8 posts on my blog from 2011 -- as compiled by the Stat tracker here on blogger.  Alot of them are PYHOs (thanks, Shell).  So here you are!

1.  Linked up with the always amazing Shell to rock my baby bump.

2.  Pouring my heart out about the challenges of marriage.

3.  Potty training still sucks to this day.

4.  I hate everybody. (this one is pretty self-explanatory).

5.  The party no one wants to go to...

6.  I really am lucky.

7.  My first PYHO - about my jealousy of SAHMs.

8.  PJ starting to say I love you.

I hope you enjoy re-reading or reading some of these for the first time, and I hope that by this time next year, I have 100 followers. :)

Remember if you follow me and let me know you're a new follower, I'll follow you!

PYHO: Friendship

It's a new year. 

I've been thinking the past few days, when I realized this was the 7th new year John and I have rung in together (actually, 10th if you could the other three we rang in together when we were not a couple), about how truly, truly amazing the friends I have are.

My two oldest and best friends have been with me since I was 16.  We have had our periods of disconnect.  We have had our differences.  But nothing ever changed between us. We never loved each other any less.  We all had babies in 2009.  The same doctor delivered all of them -- three boys.  Dylan, PJ, and Luke.

I love these girls like sisters.  I would do just about anything for them.  One is the godmother to Maggie.  If either of them had godmothers for their children, I'm certain I would be the godmother to one or more of their kids.

Then I have my other close friends.  I have about 7-8 other close girlfriends.  Friends I love with my heart and soul.  Friends I can tell anything to.  The girls who get together for girls night out.  And I have known the majority of these girls for anywhere from 10-13 years.

I also have a solid group of close guy friends, some I've known since I was 16, some I've know since I was 19.  I can depend on them.  They can depend on me.  We help each other, look out for each other, celebrate each others happinesses and lean on each other for support in times of trouble.  Alot of these people I've mentioned are in this picture:

Some are missing.   But most of them are there.  Celebrating me and John's wedding day, because, for the most part, we have the same friends.  Since we were friends first.

I have another group of friends.  Girls I talk to on a daily basis.  Girls I met when I was planning my wedding and we now have formed a private group message board where we talk daily.  These girls know more about me than they probably ever wanted to know.  But they are a rock.  A support system.  Friends.  Friends I'm not sure how I would have gotten through some of the rough times without.

And then there's my bloggy friends.  Some of you I wish lived near me because I know how much fun we have.  Some of you I think about daily, when something comes up that makes you pop into my head.  Some of you are truly, truly friends.  Especially Rebecca, Monica, Sara, Rach and of course, Shell, the wonderful host of tis link up.  I consider all of you who's blogs I read and who read mine friends, but those five have been with me since the beginning.  And I love you ladies.  I love sharing your joy, feeling your pain, and for all the support, care, laughs, and love.

So cherish your friends.  I know I do.

Chicago finally realized it's winter.

Hey everyone.  I hope you all had a great Christmas and a good New Year's.  I had a great time off, which was littered with unusually warm winter days for Chicago -- 30s and 40s, even a 50 I think.

Not today.  Today it was 12 when I left.  Good times.

Anyway.  I've missed you all.  And here's what you've missed. :)

**Went to dinner with friends the first night of my vacation.  Had three-four martinis.  Talked about myself in third person.

**Went to Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier with the kids.  So much fun.   Will be more fun when the kids are a bit older but we still managed to have THIS MUCH FUN:

Christmas Eve.  First, here's Maggie in her adorable "russian" coat.

**I got Maggie dressed first and PJ saw her and said "Maggie, you look cute!" then took her hand, lead her to the couch and said "Cheese mama!"  The result:



We went to my parents.  Of course, there's not much we can get my mom, so I emailed a bunch of her friends and former co-workers and asked them to write letters to her talking about the fun times they had.  I put all the letters in a scrapbook.  She of course cried, but I have been told she has now read all the letters and loves it.  John and I also wrote one.

Then we  had Christmas Eve with John's mom in her trailer.  Yes trailer.  As in trailer park.  We'll save that post for another day.   It went surprisngly well, except for the fact my MIL will not stop saying shit about Maggie being too attached to me. 

The girl is in a clingy stage, and she also never sees you.  Maybe if you saw your grandkids more often.  Some gems:

**You're NOT going by your mother (while taking her out of my line of sight, which of course makes Mags scream hysterically).

**You really have to cut off this connection between you and Maggie.  It's ridiculous.

**You mom has to go and ruin everything (by saying good-bye when I was leaving the other day and she was babysitting).

And variations of this.  I'm about to rip her eyes out.

Oh and she bought my almost three year old that Go Fish game.  You know the game with about 50 little fish who's mouths open and close?  WHO DOES THAT???

Christmas morning went awesome.  Kids loved all their toys.  I got a KINECT!! For the Xbox.  John was all worried I wouldn't like it, but I love it.  Except my arms are so fricking sore today I don't even know what to do with myself.

I also got jewely.  Boy knows better, okay??

The rest of our vacation was a lot of just hanging out around the house, seeing some friends, etc.  It sucks to be back at work.  I'd stay home everyday if I could.  :)

Oh and can I just say?  I am ready for all the tv shows to come back.  Good lord.



Is there anybody out there?

So I've been off for 11 days and I have thoroughly enjoyed spending the majority of it with my loves.  So I haven't blogged.

However, tomorrow I must go back to work so I will be back to blogging.

I will probably not be able to catch up on all the blog posts I missed.

If you got something you know I'd love, please direct me to it and I will definitely read it.

Otherwise, I'm back in effect tomorrow.

Love you all and HAPPY NEW YEAR!