If You Got an Email From Me About the C25K

and it ended with this line:

I think the duct tape is our next option! She is quite a rascally rabbit and I think that might be the solution! Glad to hear it works for you.

I'm sorry.

I should really try to slow down a little. In my haste to try to email the spreadsheet out quickly, I've been cutting and pasting from previous emails. So this little note that was supposed to go to one mom who commiserated on WC's undressing/peeing in bed, ended up going to who knows how many unsuspecting people.

So lest you think I am totally crazy (which I am by the way), that last sentence should not have been there!

Need for Speed

Friday night Mr. Sasha and I were in two separate cars on our way to a friend's house. The kids were with me. The Politician said, "Momma, can your turn on your speed? I wanna beat Daddy there."

And on the way home, I had to pull over because my little Houdini, The Wild Child, managed to get the plastic wrap off a bottle of bubbles and had poured the whole bottle on herself (and her Britax seat) and the wand was en route to her mouth.

Also, the Suzy Bogguss CD is getting put away today. P will be crushed, but I just cannot listen to "Two Step Round the Christmas Tree" any more. And I might put it away so well that it is not findable come November.....

I'm Tired Ya'll!

I got in a good run this morning and watched the Miss America reality show. I'm not sure what I think about it, but I suppose I'll keep watching.

This afternoon I managed to get out for a bit and do some shopping.

I can't believe how crazy I am going with the makeup these days- I swear I hardly wear any, but I just can't stop buying!

I got this Best Of Stila set at Ulta for $40. Awesome deal. I will report back later on each product. I know I'll love the eyeliner- I've used it before and it rocks.

Made a stop at Walgreen's to get in on their Loreal Skin Genesis deal. Buy a moisturizer, get the serum free. Plus, the products are normally on $25 and were on sale for $20, and I had a $5 coupon. So I got 2 products for $15. I love the way this stuff smells. This is my night routine right now.

I didn't find anything worth standing in line for at Old Navy, but I had a $20 Children's Place gift card burning a hold in my pocket, so I stopped in there and I got 2 pair of PJs for WC for next year, and a cute pink/white velour outfit for next year too.

A stop at the Gap where an awesome sale clerk let me use my expired birthday $15 off $60. She also broke up my order so that I could use a $10 reward card too. So two pair of very cool jeans, and it looks they have gotten on the bandwagon with vanity sizing, because I wore a size smaller than usual. I am totally cool with that, by the way. Totally fine with wearing a smaller size. No heartache at all there.

My best purchase, though was the $50 navy velvet dress I got for WC to wear next Christmas. After using a $10 Gymboree Visa reward and getting 5% off for using my card, I only paid $7! It is beautiful. Pic here, but seriously, it doesn't do it justice.

Tonight, one of my besties from absolutely the beginning of time (Hey Slim!) came over with her little girl for dinner and playing. One of my most favorite people in the world ever. MYM!

Hope you had a fun day too!

Couch to 5K Check In

How is everyone doing with the Couch to 5K? I am dying to know. Between here and the bargain board and my birth board, I bet I've emailed it out 100 times over the past two weeks.

Post a comment and let me know how it's going. Or if you have questions...

Edited: Oh- and feel free to snag the "Running Mom" graphic from above for your blog!

By George, I Think She Got It

Yesterday afternoon The Wild Child's teacher called my cell about 3:00.

Turns out she got bitten yesterday on the back during Spanish class. And it was a pretty bad bite and broke the skin, although it did not bleed.

I held my breath as she was telling me this story, sure that WC did something to retaliate.

But no, she just shook her finger at the biter and said "No biting Twos!!!!". It seems she also told everyone she came into contact with for the next hour that he had bitten her and he wasn't supposed to, because "No biting Twos!!!".

That's my girl.

Note to those with Comcast email addresses

I don't think Comcast likes Sasha. I sent out two copies of the running spreadsheet to two sweet girlies who requested it recently. And Comcast took their sweet time, and just now bounced them back to me.

So if that's you, please don't think I was ignoring you! I have replied to every single request (at least I think I have!).

Just send me a non-Comcast email address and I'll be sure and send it your way!

Tuesday night

Tuesday night was fun at the Sasha house. About a week ago, I had finally collected enough Pampers Points (400!) to order the Kettler Oceana tricycle for the school. It was delivered yesterday and Mr. Sasha sat down to put it together so I could take it in this morning. I laughed hysterically at the notation of "minimal parental assembly required" on the box, because it took Mr. Sasha over an hour. He spent quite a while trying to figure out how to release the swivel lock on the front wheel. I glanced at the instructions for about 2 seconds and pointed out to him the little black box on the front that serves as the release. Tee hee. It's a fab tricycle and The Politician was so proud to drive it into the school this AM.

The Wild Child insisted on sleeping in her new Cotton Candy Pink Crocs that her Mimi got her for her birthday. She was also clutching her Dora house shoes in one arm and my old Ironman watch in the other. Who knows?

Good deal alert: In the Smart Source insert from last Sunday (there were two, but in my area it's in the one with Champion Windows on the front) there is a coupon for $2.25 off a pack of Electrasol 3 in 1 Powerball Tabs or 2 in 1 Gelpacks or Dual Action Tabs. My Target has them on sale for $2.66 this week, making them only $0.41 each. If you run your dishwasher as much as I do, you'll love this deal. I have several coworkers who bring me their coupon inserts, and I get two papers each Sunday, so I'll be stocking up. Mr. Sasha calls it my Y2K stash.

One more thing-- my Coach earrings came in! They are so pretty and I've worn them the last two days. They hang down a little bit more than a huggie style would, but not so far that I look hooker-ish. Perfect!

Just Call Me Valerie Highsmith

That's a really obscure reference, but I think it was the name of the girl in an early 90s Martin Short movie who was really clumsy and generally unlucky. (Dude! I am totally right- I just imdb'd it and it was called Pure Luck.)

Anyway, I believe I broke two toes last night- two of the middle-ish ones on my right foot. Now, I have broken toes before, but I was drunk both times, and I am embarrassed to say I don't even have an excuse this time. Just misjudged the door frame. And it wasn't even in the dark. Good Lord.

Right now

The Politician is playing with his train table naked. He, of course, stripped his clothes off to go to the bathroom a bit ago, and can't be bothered to put them back on.

And I am waiting on The Wild Child to finally finish eating since she's been at the table for 45 minutes.

I am looking at a little gift catalog and just saw my new motto: "I used to care, but now I take a pill for that."

True that.

That was fun!

I just placed an order from Sephora, my most favorite online store ever.

I got Bare Essentuals Buxom Lips in

Candi, and

Brandi

Per Sephora: Naturally creates the look of fuller, more voluptuous lips. This mineral-infused polish imparts a luminous high shine with no sticky or tacky feeling. A deep infusion of antioxidant vitamins A and E help keep lips soft, smooth, and protected, while the tingly and cooling sensation reminds you that your lips are getting an immediate increase in fullness.

Per Sasha: I have this in Dominique (shimmery clear), and I lurve it. Tastes good, stays put, and makes my lips feel good.

NARS Lip Stain Gloss in Sayanora. Per Sephora: Soft shine and sheer color that lasts all day. Slightly less shiny than traditional glosses, each of these emollient shades gently stain the lips with a hint of color. Shades can be layered for added intensity. The reviews on Makeup Alley suggest dabbing a drop on your lip and applying with a lip brush or your finger. I'm excited to try this!

Dior Diorshow Mascara in Black. Per Sephora: Dior's cult-fave, super volumizing, lengthening, and curling mascara. And Traci gives it the highest recommendation (first on her Sephora list for me!), so I must try it.

Now, of course I went through Ebates, so I'll be getting 4% back. (My referral email address is sasha2599@yahoo.com.) And here is what I chose for my 3 free samples:

1. Samples - DKNY Be Delicious Body Lotion - 0.23 oz
2. Samples - Bare Escentuals bareVitamins Prime Time - 0.03 oz
3. Samples - Philosophy Hope In A Tube And Eye Believe - 2 x 0.067 oz

It also prompted me to choose a deluxe sample, so I chose: Deluxe Samples - Kinerase C6 Peptide Intensive Treatment - 0.25 oz.

And then I entered Kinerase in the Promotion Code field and got: A free deluxe sample of Kinerase Brightening Face serum, a brightening, anti-aging formula containing a luxurious pearl extract, which instantly leaves the skin with a luminous, glamorous finish, while supplies last.

I am just going to be beautiful! I have a friend who swears by the Kinerase products, so I am anxious to see what they are all about. If they make my skin look like Courteney Cox Arquette's, fine by me.

Friday Funny

So Friday I ran The Politician by the ped's office because I noticed his ears were almost glued shut with wax, and surely that's the reason he is acting like he doesn't hear me when I say it's time for bed.

The doc cleaned them out for us, and we had a good discussion on nutrition and she assured me that P wasn't going to waste away and she totally made me feel better about the whole "refusing to eat school food" thing. We also discussed chewable vitamins and she asked about WC's arm.

At the end, she said, "Well, is there anything else we need to talk about?"

Without missing a beat, P said, "Well, what about my Smarties?????"

The doc laughed and said, "Don't worry, I won't forget to give you Smarties on your way out."

On another note, I have had some awesome new commenters lately, and I can't wait to check out all your blogs and update my blogroll, and I swear that will happen soon. Well, maybe not soon looking at my to-do list for this week, but I promise it will happen!

Today

I have:

1. Heard The Wild Child saying "Naked Jaybird" over the monitor this AM and got scared that she was naked and had wet the bed
2. Said "Phew" when Mr. Sasha went to investigate and reported that she was fully clothed and dry
3. Ran 3 miles
4. Showered and got myself and The Politician dressed
5. Took The Politician by Wal-Mart to pick out a birthday gift for #6 because I am all about the procrastination this week
6. Took P to the birthday party at the local inflatable gym and gossiped with some fun parents. Also, had cake eating experience #1 of the day.
7. Came home and got some presents ready for a birthday party The Wild Child was going to this afternoon
8. Washed all of her bedding, including her bumper, because she de-clothed herself during nap today and wet the bed
9. Griped at Mr. Sasha because he dripped pee pee all through the house carrying the soaking wet bedding to the laundry room
10. Reluctantly took WC to a birthday party at an indoor splash pad, which turned out to be so much cooler than I thought, and we both had a fab time. Had cake eating experience #2 of the day.
11. Came home to find that Mr. Sasha did not transfer the bedding from the washer to the dryer (and was pissed off, duh!)
12. Was working on the that when I noticed WC was being quiet and so I went looking and found her in my bathroom rubbing her liquid soap all over her arms and legs, saying "Lotion"
13. Tossed her in the tub to wash off said soap and also chlorine smell
14. Put her bed back together
15. Texted a friend to see if she was still up for a pitcher of margs at Taco Cabana later tonight (She is! Yay!!!!!)
16. Came on here to tell you about my crazy day

Treadmill Running

If you reached me via ClemsonGirl and are looking for the Couch to 5K running spreadsheet, email me at barelytogether@yahoo.com and I'll be glad to send it to you!

Let's take the world by storm and start a running revolution! Let's get such a big group of moms together doing the C25K that the Wall Street Journal does an article on us! If I can do it, so can you! See my post Run Like the Wind to see the transformation of Mr. Sasha.

2 Years Ago Today

On January 3, 2006, my second child was born. Although I had another totally un-fun pregnancy, and a failed epidural, I got a fabulous reward that has been a bright part of my life for the past two years. Our family would certainly not be complete without The Wild Child.

I've been thinking a lot about how blessed my family is, and I hope you know that when I post all the nutty things that happen around the Sasha house, I'm just hoping someone will laugh with me. I wouldn't change a thing.

Back from Lasik

Ya'll. Mr. Sasha is The. Worst. Patient. Evah.

He's currently napping, courtesy of Vallium. I'm headed to pick up a few things for The Wild Child's par-tays (she gets two! buddies and family) and then to pick up the kids and see what clever notes the teachers have left me today. Any predictions? Bathroom antics? Lunchroom drama? Carnivore commotion? Only time will tell....

Poor Mr. Sasha. On the way up to The Big City, I immediately made two changes in his car. Before we left the driveway. 1. Turned off the Sports Talk Radio, because it makes me nauseous, almost like when I walk through the door at the airport, and 2. Switched his heat from console/floor to floor only, because console heat is like the breath of a dragon on my face! Of course after my explanations, he's all "You totally need to do stand-up, like The Working Mom Comedy Show." Shut up and be logical. We all know heat rises and now that the season is finally o-ver, what's the need in rehasing what's already happened? I know you all agree with me. High five me.

A Few Clarifications

1. I am totally cool with The Wild Child not being ready to potty train. In fact, I am all about waiting until age 3, which is what we did with The Politician. I am just super-tired of finding discarded diapers all around the house and Mr. Sasha was none too happy about cleaning up pee in the Rose Petal Cottage, and she peed (diaperless because she removed it herself) not once, but twice, in her crib this week while sleeping.

2. Mr. Sasha and I both actually took longer than 9 weeks to complete the Couch to 5K Plan. When you read about the plan at www.coolrunning.com, they say that it's OK to repeat weeks if you don't feel ready to move on. So I have to admit that we did that several times, and I think we both got stuck around week 5, and I may or may not have repeated said week for 2 months or so. I think it really took him about 5-6 months to lose the total 60 pounds. But. Still. It's awesome. Promise. Get on the bandwagon and be cool like me.

And this is not a clarification, but just an FYI- I am having a weird allergic reaction to God knows what because I woke up with the left side of my face swollen and red and my eyes were not agreeable to contacts. Not sure what's up, but this is not a good day for random problems. Mr. Sasha is scheduled for Lasik surgery in a bit, and I totally planned on doing lots of magazine reading in the waiting room while he recovers (he's quite the baby so I imagine he'll be in recovery for longer than the normal person). I did not plan on having to relive yesterday in my brain to figure out what's going on with my face. Hopefully this will be short-lived. I mean, I've got a new Us Weekly to read- I need to read "Destroyed By Mama: Shame on Lynne Spears"!

The Politician's Teacher Is Quite the Comedian

Note from school yesterday: "The Politician had a good day. He is very helpful by tell me if his friends are not behaving. Ha!"

Yeah, I can totally see this happening. I have heard that I did the same thing myself.....

Don't Shoot The Messenger

Found these Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs Chips Ahoy! Candy Bites (along with the Oreo ones) at Wally World over the weekend, and they are a huge hit. An even bigger hit because my box of Oreo ones had 7 packs instead of 6! Extra for me! Really, they are awesome and kind of whoppery. The Politician and two of my coworkers declare them a success.

I love the 100 calorie packs because I am the worst at portion control, so these are no-brainers for me. In WW speak, most sweets are my "red light food", but these packs makes sweets doable. My personal favorite of the 100 cal packs are the Lorna Doones.

OK, so I haven't tried these Hershey's Trio Kisses, and Walgreens was stupid enough to block out part of the package in their Sunday ad, so I can't even tell what the third thing is (dark chocolate? peanut butter? coca cola?), but I bet they are rockin' awesome. I ran to Walgreens yesterday to try to find them, but they didn't have them yet (then why did you have them in your ad?), so I will try again tomorrow and report back to you.

So I really feel it's my duty to try out new products and report to my friends what I think. I mean, there's no sense in you buying something I've already tried and know sucks, right? I totally think one day some big-wig at some food/candy/makeup company will run across this blog and say, "Hey, this chick totally has her finger on the pulse of America's young moms- we totally need to pay her for her services." So I'm just putting that out there- I'd love to!

Run Like the Wind!

Mr. Sasha "before" the Couch to 5K Plan

Mr. Sasha "after" the Couch to 5K Plan

You may have noticed my little graphic on the side that says "Running Mom". After The Politician was born in 2003, I needed something to help me lose that pesky baby weight. Mr. Sasha (former college football player) suggested running and I reluctantly agreed to give it a try. Someone on the bargain board posted about the Couch to 5K plan from http://www.coolrunning.com/, where you go from being a couch potato to running a 5K, and I gave it a try.

I am telling you, it is the best! I am a former smoker (I know, I know, but it was so cool in the early 90s and honestly I still miss it terribly to this day, but I swear I'll never smoke again) and my chest would always feel like it was going to EXPLODE when I tried to run. But the C25K really really really teaches the beginner how to run. You have to take it slowly, and not get frustrated and quit. I promise this plan can teach anyone how to run.

I lost all my baby weight, plus about 10 pounds. Mr. Sasha did the plan along with me, and as you can see from the above photos, lost about 60 pounds.

Being an accountant, I felt it necessary to create a spreadsheet to help me keep track of the running intervals. I watch TV while I run on the treadmill, and I found myself getting confused about when I was supposed run and walk. So I have a trusty little spreadsheet that I will be glad to email anyone who is interested. Just shoot me an email at barelytogether@yahoo.com and I'll send it your way. And I hereby volunteer to be your running coach. Any questions you have, any motivation you need, you can count on Sasha!

Available for loan

Available for loan: One extremely precious almost 2 year-old. I will take her back once you've got her potty trained, though.

Seriously, I much preferred The Politician's method of training. He simply refused to even sit on the potty, until right before his third bday, when he totally changed his mind and fully day-trained within 1 week.

The Wild Child is wearing me out and I am not at all ready for this. She took off her diaper and peed in her bed at nap again today, although she did pull up her pants after removing her diaper rather than sleep nekkid. My friend Slim has suggested duct tape, and by God, I'll be trying that.

All day I've been finding her discarded diapers on the floor and frantically searching for her, praying that she hasn't decided to pee on the carpet, because she sure as hell doesn't want to pee on the potty. We've tried an Elmo insert on our big potty, and even the little "Royal Potty" that is just her size. She may sit on there for a sec, but she's off in a flash, her bare little bottom running away from me as fast as she can, laughing hysterically at me.

Mercy. Uncle. Seriously. I don't know what to do but laugh.


Here's that shot I've been promising of my little rock star. Watch for him- he'll be big one day. Hope he can sing better than Mr. Sasha and I can.

Oh- I want to do some online shopping at Sephora since I didn't make it up there on Monday. Any ideas on new products to try? I want to get to $75 to get free shipping. (Isn't that logical?) Traci, this is your bag- ideas for me?