Belated 11 month photo fail.

Hey, better late than never, right?!

Bad Blogger. Bad Blogger.

Ugh, sorry for my lack of posts lately. Things have been a bit crazy around these parts, to say the least.

I had a little toothache that turned into a massive toothache which has basically rendered me useless. Thanks to a prescription of heavy narcotics, I am able to function at a human level until I get my root canal tomorrow. I am counting down the seconds until that glorious moment when all of the little nerves in my tooth are no more. The bastards.

So, let's blame my tooth for my lack of posts lately, k?

As promised, here are my answers to your important questions. I know you've been sitting on the edge of your seat just waiting to hear my thoughts on the following...

Amy asked:

Thoughts on Duggar child #19?

My first thought is how has her uterus not fallen out of her body yet. My second thought is how odd it is that she's having children while her children are having children. At this point, I think she needs to retire her fallopian tubes and start focusing on her grandchildren. She's being selfish at this point. Yeah, I said it. I don't think it's normal to have that constant need to reproduce - you have to stop at some point, right?

Since I've already asked you a question, I have a complaint for you. Ever since you described a cheesesteak to me, I've been craving one something fierce. The only problem is I have no idea where the heck to get one round these parts. You see, I live in creole country - jambalaya, red beans and rice and crawfish pie are bountiful. Cheesesteaks, not so much. Maybe a reader on here can point me in the right direction. If not, I will curse you for the rest of my life unless you choose to send me one via mail. Then I will love you again.


MommaSalsa asked:

Hey Natalie! What are some things that you swore that you would never do as a
parent that you have done? And a 2nd question: give me at least 2
recommendations for toys for my Banana for x-mas this year. She will be 8
months old. OK, that was more like a demand. Same thing. Thanks!

Let's see here. Well, I co-slept for the first few months of Anna's life. I always swore that I'd never do that because it seemed so un-safe, but when you're going on 1 hour of sleep and putting her in the bed with you is the only way to get more rest, you do what you've gotta do. Besides, I can't say that I hated it - I liked it, actually. It's cute to wake up and have a baby butt in your face. Unless it's covered in crap. Then that sucks.

Hmm, toy suggestions - I honestly have no clue at all. All of the toys Anna has are hand-me-downs from friends/family. The one she really likes is this little piano looking thing that speaks in spanish and english and says the colors and such. I can't remember the brand name of it to show you a picture, but it seems to be a pretty popular toy as I've seen it around quite a bit. Anna prefers playing with crumpled up paper and old bottles of water, so we plan on wrapping those up for Christmas and calling it a day.

Totally kidding, btw. ;)

Here's your question:
I see in your blog that you are a foodie of sorts who likes to bake and cook. Are you better at baking or are you better at cooking? I ask because it's usually one or the other. I can bake like Betty Crocker, but my cooking tastes like crap with a side of vomit. If you're good at both, I will be jealous of you and aspire to be more like you.

Julie asked:

Is there anything you swear you'll do differently with your next child from
what you've learned in doing with Anna?Also, what's your absolutley #1
favorite Etsy shop?

Yes, the first thing I will do differently is I won't introduce a bottle and pacifier so quickly. I think it messed up Anna's latch initially, and it got to the point where I had to exclusively pump those last few months because she no longer latched. Some people say the whole confusion thing is a myth, but it certainly wasn't for us. I'd like to breastfeed longer the next go-round. I made it to 4 months with Anna. My goal with #2 is at least 6 months with a year being my ultimate goal.

I have TONS of Etsy shops that I love. I'm there basically every day just drooling over the stuff. Some of my favorites are Mada's Place, Peachy Keen Designs and Lil Cubby.

Here's your question:
So, tell me more about your job! I see that you get to meet cool celebs like Jordan Sparks and Juliette Lewis. Is Juliette as cooky in person as she seems like she'd be? What's she like?

Ok, kiddos, that's it for today. I have a lot of work I need to catch up on - gotta pay those bills. :)

Share the love.

I nominated my good friend Erin over at Rare and Beautiful Treasures for the Divine Caroline best blogger award. Lots of wonderful blogs were nominated, but Erin has gone a step beyond and has promised to donate all winnings to her missionary friends running a children's hospital in Ethiopia.

Please go and cast a vote for her today, so she can pay it forward! Looks like she's in third place now.

Click here!

Q&A: Part One

Thanks to all of you who came out of hiding to ask some questions! It's always nice to "hear" from the readers, and I'm always looking for more opportunities to find out about other cool bloggers on the Internets.

So, here goes.

Ashley, Danielle & Justin, Amy and Sara B. asked about which products I use on my hair to make it so afro-licious!

1) Any cheap shampoo/conditioner you find on sale at Wal-Mart. I'm currently using Pantene Volume/Body shampoo and conditioner. Joe also uses Pantene so his locks will be thicker.

2) After I get out of the shower, I comb my hair and put in a quarter-sized dab of Beyond Zone Anti-Frizz Zapper while my hair is still wet. You can get it at Sallie's Beauty Supply. This keeps the frizz in check and makes me look a little less like Don King.


3) Then I apply a pretty substantial amount of Tresemme Flawless Curls Mousse.

4) Diffuse dry it and voila!

I am also quite flattered that you girls like my curls. Hope this helps tame your hair!

Ashley also asked me:

what is your favoritest movie quote of all time?

Wow, that's a tough one. My favorite movie of all time is Shawshank Redemption, but I don't really have any quotes that I can pick out. I do tend to say, "What's a happenin', hot stuff?" quite a bit, so I'll go ahead and say that's my favorite quote. Long Duck Dong from 16 Candles said that! :)

Here's your question:

When Brooklyn was born, what do you remember the most about those first few moments with her?

Amy asked:

what's your favorite pizza topping?

Easy, anchovies. Nah. Gross. I'd have to say that cheese is my favorite pizza topping. Cheese and pepperoni. I like cheese on top of my cheese. I eat cheese on everything. This is probably not a good thing.

Here's your question:
I see you chowing down a cheese steak in your blog. What the heck is a cheese steak and where can I get one? It has cheese on it, so I'm going to ASSume that it's pretty darn fantastic. Plus, you look to be enjoying it in your picture.

Haley asked:

How did you meet the hubs and do you have any siblings?

Joe and I met my first semester at Southeastern Louisiana University. We were in computer class. He sat in the desk right in front of me. When he turned around to pass the roll sheet back, I thought he was extremely good looking but probably out of my league. The next day in class he came and sat next to me in lab, and we started chit chatting about random crap. We became good friends after that and gradually started a more serious relationship. 10 years later we're married with children (well, technically 11 years, but we broke up for a little bit). Or child. Crazy, ain't it?!

I have one sister, Nicolle. She is 7 years younger than me, but we're best friends. Although it took a while since we were so different for so long. Now she's my twin personality wise - we're very similar - like the same music, have the same sense of humor, etc. She has a bigger rack, so she's got me beat in that department. I don't know what I would do without her, to be honest.

Here we are at her wedding:


Here's your question:

What are your plan's for Ella's 1st birthday?

Ok, that's it for now. I'll be back with part deux soon! Thanks for playing!

Old school Anna.

Just thought I’d share this little gem with you. Not only does it showcase my mad singing skills, but it was also one of the first smiles and pout lips I got on video. Do you think Anna likes the way I sing? American Idol bound?

And I ran. I ran so far away.

Anna has channeled the Flock of Seagulls for her latest photo session. This is how she looked after her afternoon nap. More blackmail photos. Evil mom, I am.

I just raaan. I couldn’t get awayyyy. I couldn’t get away.

Always the perfect mother, I decided to give Anna more hair. She wasn’t feelin’ the Joe Dirt look.

She even threw in some drool just for that extra trashy effect. Where’s Anna? There she is! And then she was done! I like mullets.

No mo’ peas, please.

Having a child is wonderful. You see, every single day they do something cute, funny, unique, different – something that either makes you go “awww” or “ewww.”  It varies day by day.  Today was an eww day.  This is why.

And just for the heck of it, I’ll throw in some still shots because I just can’t help myself.

This was taken right before she spit a mouthful of peas at me.

Wait for it.

 

Pffft right at mom.  

This is a future baby blackmail photo. I’ll probably whip it out when we meet her boyfriends – let them know what a messy eater she is.

Yeah, don’t let that innocent look fool you.  That poor sheep on her bib will never have fleece as white as snow.

I think I’m going to have to burn her high chair after this.

It's that time again. Lurkers come forth.

So, it's that time again. My boring life = no new posts lately. Now it's your turn to make my blog un-boring. Ask me some questions. Anything you want. I will answer all questions as honestly as possible unless you ask me about my prison record. My lawyer advises against that.

(Totally kidding - I don't have a lawyer.) ;)

Anywho, what do you want to know about me?

To make this a little more interesting, I'll throw ya a curve ball here. I'll let you pry into my life if I can pry into yours. I want to know more about you, too, so if you ask me a question, I'll ask you one back. I like to be engaging and such. It's one of my best qualities.

So, shoot - what do you want to know? I'll compile the questions into one blog post and ask my follow-up questions there.

Annnnddddd go.