I never realized the amount of time

and effort before a mini vacation it takes for a woman to get ready. I swear it gets ridiculous. A guy can pack in an 1/2 hour, bring a few toiletries, do a quick shave and they will be good to go. We {or I} have a whole regimen I need to do before I even start to pack....

• Waxing eyebrows, lip ect......the "south of the border" waxing is not going to happen this trip{I know TMI} but I have been ultra sensitive so shaving is going to have to cut it...period
• I usually get my hair done - however I figured I will be hanging out in the pool 24/7 no need to waste a nice color and cut before vaca since I will have pulled back wet hair the whole time. I plan on spending a whole lotta time in water. I do not do well with extreme hotness! As long as I am near a body of water I am good to go!
• Mani and Pedi
• Air Brush Tan - You need just a little J Lo Glo before the trip makes me feel allot more comfy putting on a swimsuit!
• You need to get your wardrobe ready - which in my world equals laying out all the clothing items I will bringing {I always over pack you never know} with matching shoes and accessories - accessories will then be placed inside plastic bags and placed with the outfit..This is my old working in the fashion bus merchandising trait that comes out on every trip. My hubby thinks it is weird and very "serial killer" like.
• Then I need to get all my toiletries together - which is a choir in itself - Make up that does not make you look like your wearing make up...body lotion, sunscreens, this thing, that thing.....

The actually packing begins which is a science all in it's own - I need to get my clothes, shoes, accessories, toiletries, make up and other items in one suitcase. Which in my case never seems to work out. I was threatened by my hubby to make it work,  he will not be paying any additional luggage fees! 
On this vacation I am trying to bring less clothing and I will try my best too make it happen. Oh...and by the way I just LOVE all those magazines that tell you that you can pack for a week with just a few essential key pieces. I have tried it,  does not work {unless your a supermodel} so stop LYING to us!

Repeat above (minus tanning, waxing and nails) for LDG who for shorter trips shares a piece of real estate in my suitcase. She also comes with diapers, wipes and all the usual crap babies come with. I called the resort and it looks like they have all pool toys for babies so we are good to go on that. LDG is no longer doing formula so that saves up much room and confusion at the airport. Hopefully we can get through security quickly (they have family lines and I will be taking full advantage of that}. Once we are through those gates I am looking forward to a very relaxing few days with good friends...no rushing,no stress and no bullshit!

Swim up bar here I come......

Have a great and safe Memorial Day Weekend

I think I might have a.....

problem.....with magazines. I do not know were this has come from ...maybe from my past career were staying up on the latest trends was a must or was it that my mom used to devour the Italian Soap Opera Magazines called fotoromanzi when I was a child???? To this day those magazines still remind me of the summers I used to spend at the beach in Italy with my family....Ahhh memories

No...now seriously I need to pull back...I subscribe to so many sometimes I have a hard time keeping track{but I do}.
I have the smut read which is Star, Us Weekly, In Touch you get the idea....nothing like celebritie garbage to get me through the day
Love my Glamour, InStyle, Vogue you know the mags that make you feel like shit for eating a candy bar....
The house decorating mags, parenting mags, the cooking mags {which is crazy } and the porno mags {ahhh just kidding}...lol
The 7x7 and the San Francisco Mags need to keep in touch with what is happening in the city since I feel like I have been hibernating in suburbia since having the baby.
This does not include the monsoon of catalogs I receive because sometimes I go a little crazy with on line shopping or shopping in general...see I told you just a little bit of a problem...right?

Now that I have the Ipad I am going to try and get my read on({mags} through that but so far I have not seen too much on the apps. And even then I do not know if it will hold the same "obsession" with me. I love going to the mailbox and seeing the stacks of magazines. I love the feeling of sitting down and going through each one individually at my own pace, it is my relaxation...my therapy.  Sometimes I feel that this is my way of "getting away" for about an hour a night...my hubby knows the do not disturb sign is up when the latest US weekly hits my hands.....Bliss

PS - I do recycle the mags,  my awesome neighbor Special K gets the second round and I know she enjoys them as much as I do

Smooches Baby

It is amazing....

how much stuff you can do from the comfort of your couch with only a laptop.  Why do you say....

 As you all know team casa crazy here has been sick with some kind of stomach flu.....I heard from a reliable source that this little critter bug is making it's way  through the day cares and playgroups in the MC (Marin County) and we were fortunate to house the little shit...{no pun intended} for the last few days....We are finally beginning to get color back into our cheeks. This am as I try to get up (wanted to head to gym) my right leg is telling me others wise. It hurts to walk, move...anything....... *&^^%$%R*&)(U out of my mouth came a stream of the worst cuss words you can imagine and for me that is really simple.....I am like "OK I just went through 4 days of the worst stomach bug ever and now I cannot walk WTF..........It looks like I picked up LDG the wrong way and I might have pulled the groin muscle...yes...... ouch that bitch hurts.....

So of course in my OCD controlling ways I begin to freak out...I have so much to do, so many errands to run and now I am down another friggin day....Once I stop hyperventilating and think things through I realize that I can get stuff done just via my laptop instead of physically leaving the house. This is not the way I usually do things...I have always taken work/job 125 percent no matter what I did for work....Being a SAHM is no different...this is one of the most important jobs out there. I take my role as house manager seriously.

First thing...... I needed to get some groceries in the home:
Safeway.com I did the shopping via their website before the baby was up this am....Since I used them in the past I had my past grocery list saved so that took only about 1/2 hour to complete. I figure for the fruits and veggies I can hit the Farmers Market Wed. morning a little walk will probably do us all some good.
Of course when you are sick you run out of everything I ran out of toilet paper...shocker! I went to Soap.com, this website is AMAZING you can order anything you need paper towels, toothpaste ect....and you will have it the next day,  the shipping on orders over $39.00 are free, the prices on the items are the same as you would find at Target.... super convenient.
My awesome bi weekly cleaning crew came in today to do some cleaning and it could have not come at a better time - before anyone goes "Oh she has a cleaning service why does she need that,  she is at home all day whine whine whine..... Don't get it twisted...I clean on a daily basis but with 2 large dogs, walking toddler and just company that comes and go I need a super cleaning every two weeks.

I then remembered that my local cleaners does a pick up/delivery of clothing.  I would have not stressed out about this one but my lovely hubby was running out of work clothes so I had to get this one done today. They came, they saw they delivered /picked up....awesome.
I had a bunch of bills/correspondence that needed attending to...I finally set up some of my stuff on line and got those out of the way likety split....

I mean if you really think about it you can get anything delivered to your home now a days...so convenient but if you ask me kinda of scary..think about it....I used these services today because I was in a bind...their are some people out there that use them on a daily basis...and never leave their homes. 

Man I have been stuck in the home for a few days and I am about to go bat shit crazy.....Now I am off to cook some dinner....Tonight it's ratatouille of what is left  in the fridge.....

Cheers!

Chillin' Hef style

On my bed as I have for the last 2 days - closer to the bathroom since I have been making mad dashes to the porcelain God every 5 minutes. Whatever little germy virus attacked LDG's system has now invaded my body and it is not fun. I am suffering nut balls I can not imagine what my little one had to go through the last few days. This virus came in without a knock and it has kicked our ass big time. My super sensational hubby has been taking care of us the last 2 days because we have been unable to take care of ourselves. LDG was taken to the dr.yesterday because she was so lethargic and did not look very good my hubby had to take her because I was so ill - my stomach is making such weird noises that I am convinced their will be an alien coming out it any second.

Dr.determined that she was a little dehydrated and she needed electrolytes back into her body she was given pedialite through a syringe every 15 minutes for an hour. She finally got some color back and was able to come home. She slept most of the day but she definitely got better with the day she got her color back into her cheeks and the best thing is she gave me a big toothless smile a sign that she was feeling better. I on the-other hand feel and look like baby vomit and I hate being sick when the weather outside is super fantastic! However with this lovely stomach bug I have lost a few more pounds....great diet

I am stuck in the house today I hope to get better by tomorrow. So far I have watched the movie Roomate (basically single white female with bad actresses) I am now tuned into Less Than Zero which make me miss the 80's and James Spader.......

Really...bad...night....

*Note this is not going to be a pleasant post
here at Casa Crazy. Hubby and I have been up most of the night with LDG who has been very sick with what looks like a major stomach virus. This is her first major sickness besides having a few colds here and there. I have never felt as helpless as I felt last night. She has never thrown up before so she did not know what was going on and what she needed to do. She also has had the most fowl yellow stinking diarrhea for the last 2 days and I have no clue were it came from.

*If any mommies out there have had experience with this lovely poo poo ...sling some advice to a first time mommy

She is sleeping right now because she has had such a a bad night. My main concern with this right now is  dehydration.  I went to get some Pedialyte but she is not having any of it she hates it, we are drinking some water but not allot the only thing she is drinking is her milk and I hope that is enough. Everything she ate last night was projectile vomited out of her crib I am waiting for the pediatricians office to open so I can get some advice. It is funny I am here freaking out...and my hubby is like"
"Don't worry honey she will be fine babies get sick". I am like did you not see the same thing I did last night...We had the second coming of the Exorcist with the amount of liquids that were coming out of our daughter....My hubby is always so much calmer than I am....Thank God for that cuz if both of us were high strung, loud, OCD,  stress cases this house would officially be classified loony bin. I am glad that he balances me out. The perfect yin and yang combo.

I am sooo exhausted this morning it is ridic.I am sitting here watching the old ass episodes of RHOOC when the show was actually good and had real people on, Vicky was not a bitch, Tamra did not exists and Jesus Barbie was bible thumping somewhere in the OC. OK...OK...give me a break I am a little tired....

 I am hoping for the best today and let's keep our fingers crossed that Ms. LDG will get better.

Smooches from a very cranky mommy

Weekly...traffic

jam outside Casa Crazy....for the group dog walking......

I had the right of way

LDG you are not a puppy

Finally...found...the

hidden gem of a little runaround/gymnastic gym for my LDG. Today has been an awesome day just because she was so happy tooling around an open space for 45 minutes. I was so happy to see the teacher this morning for she is the same instructor LDG had at our other little gym {closed down a few months ago because the greedy land lord decided to hike up their rent and of course they had to leave} - now the huge location is sitting empty and have a feeling it will stay empty for awhile...so blah.

We had a super awesome time just hanging out and jumping around, they have a great big trampoline. It took all my might not to get on it...but it was made clear it was for the little ones only...Pfft.
I met a group of really cool mommies....one of the first "play groups" that I  have attended that the mommies were not standoffish..so I am super stoked about this class. I keep LDG pretty active during the week so this is another activity we will be adding into the bunch. So far we have music class, my regular gym day care, swimming, the gymnastic gym and once she hits her number 2 we will be starting dance classes. A busy child is an active child....I believe socialization is key with children and you can never start too soon.

It was hard to partake in any of the gym activity today, I was a little sore. Let me tell you what happened last night:

Background: I am clumsy...not a little clumsy but a whole lotta clumsy....My hubby refers to me as Grace Kelly because I am so bad. On a daily basis I accumulate about 1 to 10 bruises depending on what kind of day I am having, I have sooo many burn marks on my arm from cooking I am thinking that my lovely mani/pedi team at the salon think that I am being "thrown around from my man". I trip on myself in one way or another every day! So last night..the wind was howling up on our lovely hill and I just could not fall asleep..so I decided I would go downstairs and watch some tv so I would not disturb my hubby with the tossing and turning. In one hand I have my super size adult sippy cup - (clumsy remember) and my phone - I have no idea why I had my phone but I did. I slipped on the carpet with my bare feet and fell from the top all the way to the bottom with the left side of my body...note that I did not let go of either the cup or the phone - I did not have time to grip the banister. The size carpet burn on my left hip is so gnarly it's cool...this is going to be the Oscar of bruises! My shoulder, back and neck are killing me and I am super sore.
I am lucky I did not smack my head....God and my mom were watching from above. I think my mom wanted to teach me a lesson and slow me down a bit. OK ...mom got the message. Thanks.....

Another stellar day at Casa Crazy.....

Smooches

2 dogs and baby....

What an awesome day I had yesterday.  I spent the day with my dad at his house. Which is always fun but very tiring. As we all know,  when you have a child it is not just you that leaves the house. You have yourself and your crap, two dogs their crap and a baby and a whole lotta crap. I remember way back when when I used to leave the house and it was me with a large handbag that's it...Now it is

• diapers, wipes
• change of clothes, bibs, onesies
• toy for the car toy for the visiting house
• all types of food and snacks
• milk and water/juice
• place mats for eating out
• massive size stroller with awesome side bags

Then we have the pups, need to feed them before I place them in the car. Need to make sure they do not throw up on the baby during the car ride - Which is always soooo much fun. One of my dogs has a little bit of a sensitive stomach
*I don't have a gate barricading my dogs for the baby never needed it they just don't jump around in the car - unless we go by the ocean then they do get a little antsy. But..... hey they are my water monkeys.....

I have a large SUV/Sedan by the time I am finished packing the damn thing up there is no room left...WTF??? Then we are off for the 45 to 60 minute ride depending on traffic{my hubbies office is close to my dad's casa so we make the ride together}.  The ride is pretty mellow considering the car is packed to the gills, it is early morning, baby and hubby are a little crabby  and we are dealing with the lovely am commute. Once we get there it is getting unpacked and getting settled. I then  have a free for all shopping when I am at my dad's house. I live in a great area,  however because of limited space there are a few large box stores in our surrounding geographical area.

Target is my down fall...my kryptonite....my weakness. I can never go into that damn store without coming out with 150 other items I really did not need...but boy do I love to have...I usually hit up the baby dept. to get needed supplies but then it is a free for all in the other dept. I usually stick with the baby clothing - they have some cute dresses, great toddler shoes but that is about it for me. The housewares dept. is were I crumble...so many pots, baking pans, dishes, measuring cups.... oh my.....it is like porn for people who like to cook...Ahhhhhh

Next door I hit up the Old Navy....I was a big fan of them when I first started shopping for baby clothes now not so much.... I don't know what has been going on in the last few months but the selection has been horrible. I would think that a SF based company would know better than to bombard us with 100's of summer dresses/tacky shorts and T shirts with the damn word princess.
We do not have what we call a regular summer in the Bay Area. We live were fog rules the roast during the months of June through late August. We do have some nice little micro climates within the city but it never really gets summer dress hot here for more than a few days per month. Layer, layer, layer. We are NCAL not SCAL. Petco completes the shopping trip and then we are off to just hang out with the dogs and the baby. My sister in law usually makes the trip down so we have all the little cousins together, running around like crazy in the backyard while we sip on some vino and chill. My hubby and brother meet us at the house after work and then we grubb down on some really good bbq or Italian food. I need to watch my calorie intake since I am still on weight watchers {lost another pound this week making it a total of 14.8 pds  so far ....woot woot}. When the time comes to head home  repack and get the car ready for our journey home.... I have one super tired toddler, 2 exhausted dogs and one happy mommy.....

All in all a pretty fantabulouse day!

Cheers

Mmmm I feel like chicken tonight....like

Chicken Parmigiana Burgers below is what is on the menu for tonight: I have already gotten the patties ready and they are chillin in the refrigerator, side is going to be my famous little potatoes and rosemary....All perfectly awesome for the weight watchers program.....M

Chicken Parmesan Burgers

By Lauren, on May 16th, 2010

Chicken Parmesan with garlic bread. Burgers. Two of John’s very favorite meals that just happen to meld perfectly into one mouthwatering recipe.
I am aware that this Italian-American hybrid has been done before, but I wanted to share with you my own version. I kept the burger mixture nice and simple, using neither eggs nor breadcrumbs as a binding. The ground chicken remains juicy and moist thanks to a generous amount of marinara sauce cooked right into the meat. A touch of red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning adds a gentle spice to the chicken and the toasted garlic-dusted ciabatta rolls make for a perfect burger bun.
I actually made these burgers for the first time a few months back, but didn’t have the foresight to photograph them before digging in. They were every bit as delicious the second time around, and I have a feeling that these burgers will make it into our dinner rotation!

Chicken Parmesan Burgers
serves 2
Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb ground chicken
• 1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp marinara sauce of choice, divided
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• a few grinds black pepper
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
• 2 slices low-moisture park-skim mozzarella cheese (or 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, divided)
• 2 individual square ciabatta rolls
• olive oil cooking spray
• garlic powder

Directions:

1. Lay two pieces of plastic wrap  (about 6 inches x 6 inches) on the counter.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the ground chicken, 1/3 cup marinara sauce, and seasonings. Gently stir with a rubber spatula just until combined. Using the rubber spatula, divide the mixture evenly between the two pieces of plastic wrap. Fold the excess plastic wrap around each patty, gently forming the patties into squares to fit the rolls. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour or so. Remove the chicken patties and let sit at room temperature for about 5-10 minutes before cooking.
3. Heat a cooking spray-coated non-stick skillet over medium/medium-high heat. Unwrap the burger patties and carefully drop them into the hot skillet. Cook the burgers for 5 minutes, flip, and cook for another 4 minutes (you may need to add a few more sprays of cooking oil before the flip). Top burgers with mozzarella cheese, tent with aluminum foil, remove from heat, and let sit for 1-2 minutes.
4. While the burgers are cooking, cut the ciabatta rolls in half. Spray each half with cooking spray, then sprinkle with garlic powder. Toast for 2-3 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Spoon 1 Tbsp of the remaining marinara sauce onto one half of each roll.
5. When the burgers are fully cooked (juices run clear when gently pressed) and the cheese has melted, sandwich the burgers between the garlic bread roll halves and serve.

OK....Pissed

Blogger just got back from being down for the last 2 days and the post that I placed on here Thursday is now missing in action......So I will post it again when I can remember what I wrote......Baby brain strikes again...lol

No I did not want to grow up to be a.....

"Princess"! Did I miss something or did I choose to ignore it for so long... when did a society of women become obsessed with being a Princess? With the royal wedding this has escalated to major nuisance status. Everywhere I turn we have grown ass women wearing those stupid tiaras - take them off your head you look ridiculous.  Did not work for Paris Hilton does not work for you! AND I  do not care what friggin Walt Disney says. 

I was cruising the channels the other night and landed on  TLC's "Say Yes to the Dress"  every damn woman on that show said the same damn thing "I want to look like a sparkly Princess"  Pft.....God after an hour of that you want to shoot yourself in the head! Why could you not say I want to look like my fabulous self in a spectacular dress. Be yourself not an image of what society says you need to be.  I am having a really hard time with this one.  I have a girl and I know that at some point she will be doing the girly Disney princess thing. I cannot deal with the Disney movies they just seem to portray this weak female that cannot due anything for herself until the Prince comes by and saves the day. We should not portray this to our girls especially with so many few positive role models for our young darlings these days. I can deal with the Incredibles, Nemo and Shrek but Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and the rest of the girly gang really bug this shit out of me.  The two times I did go to Disneyland -

• 12  I had no choice parents ruled and I was more attracted to the evil characters anyways.... yeah so shoot me.  
• The second time a bachelorette party their was alcohol involved so it was not to bad....yeah shoot me again.

When did this Princess syndrome get completely out of hand. I cannot stand hearing parents say to their one year old  - "Who is my little princess, who wants to be a princess or to see the stupid onesies/T shirts with the future princess in training logo. No wonder we have a generation of spoiled, attention seeking, little brats! *Not ALL little girls are/and will turn out like this had to say this in order not to get bashed in blog land..

Yes,  I am the parent of a great little girl. I might not be a match for the Disney marketing machine but I will make sure that she does not turn out to be one of the - I am a Princess give me what I deserve crap.  I want LDG to know that if she works hard and makes something out of herself she is not going to need a man to "save" her. I want her to know that I fell in love with her daddy not based on looks but on what a wonderful, gentle and caring man he is.
*By the way I do not know of any real men out there who like this Princess BS either.

I hope that I will do the very best job I can with LDG...It is going to be hard to fight off all the marketing demons but I am ready for the fight and I will make sure I slay the dragons that come our way....Peace out

Friends or Foes?

Please shoot me now....

It has been a crazy few days. That is why I have not gotten to my bog until today
Note: So crazy that I have not been able to comment on the killing of Bin Laden. All I can say is good riddance that is my opinion. I don't speak politics but he was an evil man that took away 3,000 innocent lives..period! 

Monday was rushing from one place to another. I had a music class with LDG and as much as I try to get into this thing it is not happening I expected more, but she is having fun, so that is all that matters.  After the music class I had to rush to pick up a few things at the store and off to a dermatology appt. Yep.... I have never ever been to one in my whole 41 years - my skin is fine except for this little redness I have been experiencing after I had LDG.  Super great doctor, he informed me of the following 3 things

• wine might be causing the flare up and I am pissed about this one - might not be able to have any unless they are sulfate free
• stay out of the sun - no problem
• could be aggravated because of...GET READY for this one, just stab my heart  - Peri menopausal  - AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I am not ready for this. I feel good and I do not feel old. When you say something like peri menopausal you think f*** I am getting old. Plus all the BS your body is going to go through - I am not ready and I am not OLD. 41 to me is not old anymore I don't even consider 60 old anymore. So there - pft. I just def. need to start reading up on some of the stuff you can do to make the "change" minor. Suzanne Somers here I come!

Yesterday was just as busy. I am having some minor work done to the house - good bye 70"s porn doors and hello new, sleek and contemporary closets. They look fabulous and just a small minor change can make the rooms look so much better and larger.  I then went crazy grocery shopping at Whole Paycheck (Whole Foods) with my neighbor and friend Special K. She is due to have a little bambino very shortly. Can't wait LDG might have a future hubby - already a Cougar ...Rahhhh..lol

I went to the gym this am but I just could not muster the strength to work out. I am suffering some major allergies today - it is pollen city here,  never suffered from allergies until I moved to tree, flower, grass and other nature stuff central.  Damn nature...smile

I decided today to chill out and enjoy the beautiful hot weather with my little one. I set up her little pool all her water toys and we are going to chill out.... I have never noticed how I am always on the go today we are relaxing....Ooops have to be going now. LDG just got up from her nap and she is walling for me.  Have a good day all!

Almost forgot another 2.6 pounds lost this week......YEAH
Smooches