Homemade Macaroni Salad

I love a good macaroni salad, but the ones you buy at the store never seem to taste how I want them to. I got this recipe from my friend's mother-in-law who makes this macaroni salad for every party they throw. I always find myself pigging out on it, so I finally got the recipe--although its not much of a recipe. This is one of the easiest things to make, and everyone will love it. Definitely bring it to your next barbecue.

Cook the macaroni

After macaroni cools, toss all the ingredients in

Give it a good mix...

...then transfer to a pretty bowl for a fun presentation

Here's what you'll need:1 lb. bag of salad macaroni
Mayonnaise
Hard boiled eggs (I used 7)
Green onions (I used 3 bulbs)
Carrots (I used baby carrots and cut them up small; use however much you want)
Olives (I omitted these because Joe doesn't like them; it tastes great with them though!)
Salt and pepper

First you boil the macaroni until fully cooked. Drain, rinse, then set aside and let cool down. Chop up your green onions, carrots, hard boiled eggs and olives, then toss into the macaroni. Give it a good stir, then start adding the mayonnaise. I bought one of the big squirt-bottle type of mayonnaise and used about 3/4 of the bottle. Start with a little, then add as you need it. You can always add more in, but you cant take it out if you use too much. Give it a good stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix one last time. Transfer to a pretty bowl for appearance, and viola! A delicious homemade macaroni salad.

Like I said, mostly everything is 'add as much as you like' ...I feel like store-bought macaroni salad is always very "slimy" like it has a ton of mayonnaise in it; if you like that taste, go for it. I added a minimal amount, and I think it turned out delicious. I used low-fat mayonnaise to try and cut the calories down, and Joe and I both agreed that it tasted like a very light macaroni salad and definitely didn't sit heavily like store bought usually does. Perfect summertime food--just in time for summer barbecues. I hope you like it! 

CUPCAKE WARS!!

I'm dedicating this post today to my bestest friend Megan.. she drove in from Arizona just so she can see me (okay okay--maybe I'm not the only reason.. maybe she wants to spend Father's Day with her dad and family.. maybe). Lets get a little back story of our friendship. We were BEST friends throughout middle school; I have so many amazing memories with her: going to the movies with her for my first time without an adult, sitting in my room listening to the radio and hoping they'd play the songs we had called in and requested--there's too many to list. Somewhere in high school we lost touch--until a few months after I had Madison and I got a friend request from her on Facebook. I hadn't seen her in forever, and I was SO excited that she found me. Turned out that she had a daughter exactly one week after I had Madison--so we already had a ton in common from that point on. What I didn't know is that we basically lived the same life: we had babies the same age, we are both obsessed with the holidays, we have the same sense of humor--everything was just like it was back in middle school--except we were adults now. We started texting each other shortly after she found me on Facebook, and that occasional texting turned into daily texts very quickly--she was my best friend again!! She lives in Arizona so we aren't able to see each other all that often, but when we do, we just pick up right where we left off.

And then I found out that she loves baking just as much as me. This girl is literally living my life! On one of her trips out here, we decided that we would start "Cupcake Wars" --a friendly competition of who can decorate the cuter cupcake. We get together, decorate our cupcakes, then post the pictures on Facebook and Instagram for everyone to see and cast their votes. It's so much fun! Our first competition we didn't have a theme we were going for--we just left it open to whatever we wanted to make. She ended up making an apple-pie lookalike cupcake, and I made a ladybug. She blew me out of the water with that one--funny story though: a few nights prior, I asked Joe whether I should make the apple pie or the ladybug. Joe told me to make the ladybug--it would definitely win. Thanks a lot Joe. Funny though--cause had I not taken his advise, Megan and I would have made the exact same cupcakes. We'll call that "coincidence #1."

If I could have voted, I would have picked her apple pie cupcake too ;)

For our second cupcake war, we decided that since we were doing it around Christmastime, we would do a Christmas theme. I found a reindeer cupcake idea on Pinterest and knew I would win with it. The day of the cupcake war came, and Megan got here and asked if she could borrow a specific ingredient that was used to make the reindeer cupcake that I was making (cocoa powder to give the frosting a light brown coloring). We then figured out that we were making the same cupcakes--"coincidence #2." That's crazy--out of the thousands of different cupcakes we both could have made, we both chose the same ones (basically two times in a row--I just changed my mind last minute with the ladybug). If that doesn't show how alike our personalities are, then I don't know what does. We were cracking up--to us, this was hilarious. Then we got really competitive and kept saying that "my reindeer is going to be cuter!" This competition I won--but not by a lot. Megan's is on the right, and mine is on the left. A few people said that mine looked like a bear--and I can totally see that. 

I barely won this one!

So that brings us to today: Cupcake War #3--the tie breaker. I'm totally going to win (fingers crossed!). We decided to not have a theme this time--we said it could be anything so that we wouldn't end up making the same cupcake. You know what though? We ended up choosing the same theme--but thankfully not the same cupcake. Check our competition out on Facebook or Instagram (kheezy08) around 2:00pm to cast your vote--I'm excited! May the cutest cupcake win--and I can't wait to win ;)

Time for some accountability...

I think its time for another fitness post. This one I'm dedicating to my progress and holding myself accountable. I started the year off weighing 140.5 pounds and I am currently weighing in at 125.3 pounds. Yes--I just shared my weight. My theory: if I worked hard at it, why should I be embarrassed about it? Nowadays its such a taboo thing to talk about--people get seriously offended if you ask them their weight. Why? Most likely because they aren't happy with it, therefore don't want to share it. Any random stranger could walk up to me on the street and ask me my weight and I would'n't be offended in the slightest. If you work hard for something and that hard work pays off, you should absolutely be proud of it! I'm not saying that I have the perfect body--that's actually the furthest thing from the truth. I'd love to be more toned, have amazing abs, and a boob job (that'll eventually happen.. eventually). But you know what? I'm okay with how I look right now. I'm a mother of two--I think I'm looking pretty good just based on that fact alone.

However, I've been slacking. I was on a crazy gym spree for the first 4 months of the year--and then I hit my goal of 127 pounds--and my motivation dissipated. I have no idea what happened--I was so motivated--going to the gym every single day (I didn't get burnt out--I actually loved going). I've still been losing weight, but I'm sad to say that that is probably muscle that I'm losing. I need to start getting back into the gym--especially since Joe got a new job and I no longer have a free gym membership: I'm now a paying-member of the gym. If I'm not going, then I'm basically throwing my money away every month--and I'm a penny pincher and hate doing that. I think that's where my problem started: Joe got a new job and the hours are different than they were, so its harder for me to get to the gym in the morning before he goes to work. I could easily go and workout after he gets home from work, but I usually have ZERO energy at the end of the day, so I end up skipping it. That's not okay. Its not Joe's fault by any means--its my laziness that gets the best of me. 

YES.

That's where you guys can come in. For a while I was getting daily emails asking what my secret was to losing weight because everyone could see how motivated I was. I've since stopped getting those emails, and I'm not surprised. I need you guys blowing up my phone at the end of the day: Are you going to the gym tonight? Are you working out right now? What workout did you do tonight? Anything. This momma wants to tone up! So now: some accountability pictures. These are embarrassing but necessary. Most of you have seen these, but a lot of you haven't.

This was January 2, 2013

This was March 2, 2013

This was Christmas Day 2012--how come no one told me I looked pregnant?!

This was last weekend at the Wine Festival

...and just for accountability, this picture was taken this morning

Make it Special

I am a huge enthusiast of birthdays--every year when my kids' birthdays roll around, my wheels start turning and I try and think up of new ways to make their day special. I have a birthday in August--when school is out--so I never got the "class party" or having my mom bring cupcakes in for everyone--and I always wanted it. Nothing my parents could have done differently; I'm an August baby and that cant be changed. Lucky for my kids, they're born in January and March--so they'll always be in school for their birthdays--and I fully plan on making it an incredibly special day for them.

Since they're still too young to start school (Maverick starts August 2014--I cant believe it!), I try my best to make their birthdays the best day ever. Madison is just now getting to the age where she knows whats going on, and this year her birthday was on a Saturday (the day we had her party), so the night before her birthday, after she went to bed, Joe and I decorated the entire downstairs. Unfortunately for Madison, having a January birthday probably means indoor parties every year due to rain. This year we threw her a princess party, so after she went to bed we got to work. We hung gigantic princess decorations all over the entire downstairs, hung glittery swirl things from ceiling fans, and blew up about 50 balloons and had them placed all over the house. It looked like the house threw up pink and purple princess stuff--it was everywhere. The look on Madison's face when she walked downstairs the next morning was priceless--she was SO excited!

Madison enjoying her birthday cake!

Every year on their birthdays, they always get their special birthday breakfast: chocolate chip pancakes. They only get this on their birthdays, so they get so excited for it. Since Madison's birthday fell on the day of her party this year, that's what we did for her special day. Maverick, on the other hand, had his birthday in the middle of the week--which meant a party on a different day.

We did his pirate party the weekend before his birthday this year (you can read about it here) ...because his party was later in the day (and for the first time ever, it didn't rain on his mid-March birthday so we were able to have it outside!), we didn't decorate until the day-of.. Maverick woke up the day of his party and couldn't wait to eat his chocolate chip pancakes (he was disappointed when I told him that he wouldn't get them till his birthday in a few days; he got over it quick). We had his party and it was a huge success; everything turned out adorable and everyone had a great time. A few days later it was his birthday--and I had big plans. 

The morning of his birthday, he woke up to all of his presents set up and waiting for him downstairs; he opened all of them before Joe went to work, and then it was time for the pancakes--which of course he loved. I wanted to make his birthday special, so I had the entire day planned out. First, we went to Toys R Us. We never go to that store--let alone with the kids (its usually a nightmare), but I made an exception. I took him there and let him pick out a few toys he wanted--and he LOVED that. Next we went to McDonald's.  Sounds stupid, but he was SO excited to get a happy meal for his birthday! Lastly, I took him to Chuck E Cheese for the first time--we had some friends meet up with us and it made it extra special. He was in HEAVEN. He had so much fun at that place (and I didn't realize how cheap it is--you can spend a few hours there for $20!). I skipped his nap for the day (which is always a treat for him; he is thrilled any time I let him skip nap time). After we finished at Chuck E Cheese we headed home then went out to dinner with my sisters after Joe got off work. We took him to BJs and he got his free birthday pizookie (which, who doesn't love those?!). We finished the day off and got home around 9:00 pm--it was a day full of fun activities and he was wiped out. We went home and put him to bed and he was out for the night--I think his birthday was a success. 

Maverick having fun on the Chuck E. Cheese "ride"

Fun at Chuck E. Cheese!

Maverick's presents that were waiting for him on his birthday

Along with everything else I do to make their day special, they also get a cake made special just for them! Madison didn't really care what her cake looked like, but Maverick LOVED his cake this year! 

Madison's princess cakes!

Maverick's pirate cake!

Growing up, I don't remember my birthday ever being a HUGE deal (maybe it was? Maybe I just don't remember?), but I have friends whose parents made HUGE deals of their birthday and I always thought it was such a fun tradition! I want my kids to feel special every day of the year, but I want them to feel extra special on their birthdays. When they're in school, I fully intend on bringing cupcakes to their classes and taking them out to lunch during the school day--I just know they'll love it.

Growing up, were your birthdays a huge deal? What traditions did your parents do for you? What traditions do you do for your kids? I'm always trying to figure out new fun things to do to make their day extra special, so the more suggestions the better!

Zucchini Lasagna

I found this recipe on Pinterest a few months ago and thought it was such a great idea: instead of using lasagna noodles, you slice zucchini up and use it instead. This makes for a lower carb (gluten-free) lasagna that's loaded with vegetables--and you don't even notice that there isn't any pasta in it (I'm Italian and LOVE me some pasta--but this definitely satisfies any craving). This is a very time-consuming recipe, so be prepared to spend a few hours preparing everything. The leftovers taste just as good as the day it was cooked (and I mean that--I literally never eat leftovers unless its this lasagna). Heck, while you're spending so much time preparing this, might as well make two so that you can divvy the portions out and have leftovers for lunches at work every day; one lasagna makes 8 HEARTY servings that are 345 calories per serving, 17 grams of fat, 16 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 36 grams of protein. That's awesome! Here we go:

Ingredients:
1 lb 93% lean beef (or you can use turkey meat--I did and you cant tell the difference)
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 onion
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper
28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp of chopped fresh basil
3 medium zucchini, sliced 1/8" thick
15 oz part-skim ricotta
16 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (Sargento)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 large egg

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan, brown meat and season with salt (I left the salt out; I found it unnecessary with everything else. You can always add salt while eating it). When cooked, drain in colander to remove any fat. Add olive oil to the pan and saute garlic and onions for about 2 minutes. Return the meat to the pan, add tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer on low fo at least 30-40 minutes, covered (or until you're finished preparing the zucchini--which took me forever). Do not add extra water; the sauce should be thick.

Meanwhile, slice zucchini into 1/8" thick slices, lightly salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Zucchini has a lot of water when cooked, salting it takes out a lot of moisture. After 10 minutes, blot excess moisture off with a paper towel.

On gas grill or grill pan, grill zucchini on each side, until cooked, about 1-2 minutes per side. Place on paper towels to soak up any moisture.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese and egg. Stir well.

In a 9x12 casserole, spread some sauce on the bottom and layer the zucchini to cover. Then place some of the ricotta cheese mixture, then top with the mozzarella cheese and repeat the process until all of the ingredients are used up. Top with sauce and mozzarella and cover up with foil.

Bake 45 minutes covered at 375 degrees, then uncovered for 15 minutes. Let stand about 5-10 minutes before serving.

Photo credit: www.skinnytaste.com

How To: Transform your Kitchen for under $100

When Joe and I first moved into our house, we loved everything about it--except the kitchen. We didn't pay much attention through our walk through, but the kitchen cabinets were boring, washed out, and looked dated. After buying the house, we most certainly didn't have any money for a kitchen remodel--so we had to come up with a plan. During one of our many Home Depot trips (once you own a home, that place becomes your favorite store), we saw a man buying this Rust-Oleum kitchen kit and we asked him about it. Apparently this guy was a contractor that used these kits regularly to spruce up people's kitchens on a budget. He told us that he had  tried the sanding-and-painting route and it was so exhausting he would never do it again--but he loved these kits and couldn't say enough great things about it. We knew we had to buy it!

We finally built up the motivation to actually do it, and we went down to Home Depot and picked out our color. We wanted DARK cabinets--so we got the darkest they offered. I believe the color was 'Kona.' As you can see by the picture, they have almost every cabinet option you can imagine--so it makes it usable for anyone.  

These kits cost around $80, but you have to buy some extra supplies (listed on the side of the box)

The left/right pictures are the differences between having a decorative glaze and not having one.

We took our kit home and watched the quick DVD that it came with to see the process of how it works--its SO easy. It isn't hard whatsoever, its just time consuming. We spent our entire Saturday and Sunday working from 8am to 9pm both days to finish our entire kitchen, but that hard work is absolutely worth it. Here's a quick run down of how it works:

1. Take all of the cabinet doors and drawers off. Take those out to the garage and set up a work space out there with a big drop cloth. The first step is cleaning the cabinets. Soap and warm water--give them a quick scrub, then dry them off.

2. Strip them. No sanding required; the kit comes with a solution and a scrub pad for you to get the shine off of the cabinets.

3. Wash them again. Warm water and some soap--you want to make sure you get all of the de-glosser off. Dry with a towel.

4. First coat of whatever color you choose. You have to make sure to put it on along with the grain of the wood to make it look natural. Let dry.

5. Second coat of whatever color you choose. Let dry.

6. Decorative glaze. In the picture above where you can see all of the different color options, the left/right pictures are with and without the glaze. Some of them make a huge difference, some of them make no difference at all. As you can see with the darkest color, it doesn't make hardly any difference--so we skipped this step.

7. Final step--glossy finish. This step goes fast, but make sure there are no 'drips' because they will dry that way.

...then you just wait for it to dry, then put all of the cabinets back on! While we did this, Joe was in the garage working on all of the cabinets, and I was in the kitchen doing all of the cabinet frames (which was equally as much of a pain in the butt). 

When we attached the doors back on to the cabinets, we bought new hinges to replace the old outdated copper-looking ones. We also bought hardware to attach to the doors and drawers--little details like those make the transformation even more great. We love how everything turned out and have even recommended this kit to family and friends--both of which have gone on to use it. This kit is a great alternative to spending thousands on new kitchen cabinets. 

You cant tell in this picture, but these cabinets were a mess! They were so dirty!

The starting point. Joe numbered each cabinet so he'd know where it went when we finished.

The cabinet frames that I would be working on.

...coming along.

Done!!

Such a huge difference, right?!

We even did all of our bathroom cabinets. This is the master bath "before"

...and this is the 'after' (we added hardware after this picture was taken)

Now we just have top buy some granite counter tops for the kitchen and bathrooms and it will look like completely different spaces! I cant wait for new counter tops ;)

Childbirth is a beautiful thing.. sometimes.

Having your first child is such a memorable event.. its definitely something you'll never forget. My entire pregnancy I thought that I was further along than the doctors told me I was--all of the "pregnancy milestones" (kicking, etc) were reached about 2 weeks before the doctors said they should be; I even had one doctor roll her eyes at me when I told her that I could feel him kicking (that was an awful doctor and I only saw her for that one visit). I hated being pregnant, but I also kinda loved it. Every night I had Joe rub lotion on my belly in hopes of preventing stretch marks (I've come to the conclusion that that's just genetics--nothing you do will change your fate). It was such a fun time when I was pregnant; we lived in Downtown San Diego--a 5 minute walk from both Seaport Village and Horton Plaza--so we were always walking "trying to get that baby out" (that also does nothing. I tried EVERYTHING to get labor going--its not going to happen until the baby is ready; anything that worked for you was purely coincidence).

The timing of my due date was unfortunate; I was due 2 weeks before our moving day. I PRAYED that I would go into labor on time (or even early would have been great!)--but Maverick had other plans. My due date came and went, and our moving day was closing in. We were still renting at the time, so we went to the new apartment a week early to sign our lease and give permission for my dad to pick up the keys on our moving day in the event that I was in labor and couldn't be there. We hired movers so that if I were in labor, my dad would just pick up the keys from the new place, let the movers in, and tell them where to put stuff.

Days were creeping up and I was now a week past due; my doctor set an induction date for the following week if I hadn't gone into labor. We decided on March 21 (Joe's birthday!) for me to be induced; our moving day was March 20th and I figured we would move and I would get as much of Maverick's room unpacked as I could, then go to the hospital to be induced the next day. Sounds perfect, right? (Well, as perfect as moving while pregnant could be). I'm very organized and had most of the apartment packed up; every box was labeled with the room it was supposed to go in, and under each label was a list of EVERYTHING that was in the box so that it would be easy to find stuff during this transition. On Thursday, March 19th, I woke up covered in little hives that itched like crazy. I told Joe and he told me to call the nurse hotline just in case. I hesitated but called (I had packing to do--we were moving the next day!). The nurse sounded urgent and told me that I needed to go into triage immediately so they could do a blood draw and make sure there wasn't anything wrong with my liver. I was PISSED. I had a lot to get done that day; I was not wanting to go to labor and delivery to sit in triage for hours. I called my mom and told her that we were heading to the hospital so they could monitor me and that I wasn't happy about it. She told me to keep her posted (which of course I would have anyways). We got to triage and they checked me in, stuck me in a little room, and hooked me up to monitors--then left me. For hours. At this point I was really pissed. I wasn't there because I was having contractions and needed to be monitored; I was there for a blood draw and to get back home--that was it. Oh yeah, those stupid monitors are horribly uncomfortable too. So once a few hours had passed, I told Joe to go find someone so I could yell at them. He went, found a nurse, and she sent someone in. A midwife greeted me and asked if it was okay if a med student sat in and watched. Sure--doesn't make a difference to me. The midwife told me that she was going to check and see how dilated I was; what she didn't tell me was that she was going to strip my membranes while up there (basically jump-starts your labor and usually sets you into labor within 24 hours). That hurt SO bad; Joe and I agreed that that was probably the equivalent of getting 'kicked in the balls' because my stomach started cramping up and I felt nauseous. I was pissed at this midwife; she didn't ask for permission to strip my membranes--and I would go into labor within 24 hours: my moving day. Great. She then gave me two options: they could induce me right then, or I could wait till I went into labor. Joe and I talked about it, and we decided that being induced then was a better idea so that we could just plan on my dad doing the move for us instead of me waiting to go into labor and it happening while we're moving with no one there to help us. I was TERRIFIED.

I knew that I was going to be induced on the 21st--I was prepared for that. I wasn't prepared to be induced on the 19th. I know that may sound crazy, but I was freaking out. I called my mom and told her that they were going to induce me then, and told her I'd keep her posted on when she should come to the hospital (my parents were an hour away from where I was delivering). At 10:00 am they hooked me up to IVs and at 11:00 am they started me on pitocin (in case you haven't seen 16 and Pregnant, pitocin is medicine to induce labor). At 2:00 pm they broke my water, and that has to be one of the grossest things in the world--I'll just say: thank god it never broke while I was at home.. YUCK. A few more hours passed, and at 5:00 pm I got an epidural (I was only 3cm dilated. I heard horror stories in my birthing class of people wanting an epidural but the anesthesiologist being stuck in surgery for hours--so if you start feeling like you may want an epidural, put in the order for it). I was hardly hurting at that point, but I knew that I would want an epidural in  a little bit--so I put the order in for it. My luck, the anesthesiologist was in my room within 5 minutes. Ummm, okay, lets do this. I got my epidural (which is crazy scary, but is such an amazing drug) and I was set. Now I just had to wait. This epidural was strong; I couldn't feel a thing. Hours went by, mine and Joe's family was starting to arrive, and I was still waiting and waiting. Honestly, it was kind of fun hanging out with everyone in my labor room while I waited to dilate. I was in zero pain, and we were all just hanging out and having a good time. I think it was around 11:00 pm that everyone started heading home to get some sleep; we promised that we would keep everyone posted. My parents and sisters went back to Joe's and my apartment and stayed the night there so that they wouldn't be an hour away. Joe and I both got some sleep, and around 6:30 the next morning (our moving day) they told me I was at 10cm and was ready to start pushing. My mom was there in the room with us, and I was ready to go. My epidural was still going strong, and I couldn't feel a thing when I was pushing. We would be having a completely normal conversation, they would tell me I needed to push, then we carried on with our conversation. It was kinda great, and time flew. I didn't realize it, but I pushed for 2 1/2 hours--that's CRAZY. The last 20 minutes of pushing, however, were complete HELL. It was awful. My epidural completely wore off (probably because I got it so early), they were trying to turn Maverick because he was facing my right hip and they thought that was why he wasn't coming out, and I don't remember this, but my mom and Joe said that I was just screaming at that point. I don't fully remember everything, but I do know that I was in the most pain I had ever been in my entire life. I felt like I was dying. After 2 1/2 hours of pushing, the doctor said that I could push for another 30 minutes and if he didn't come out, I'd get a c-section, or I could opt for the c-section then. I was in so much pain--I just wanted him out. I told them I wanted the c-section, and they threw a crap ton of release forms on my chest for me to sign: "In the event of this, we might need to take your uterus out and you can never have any more babies. In the event of this, you might bleed to death. Sign here." Uhh, okay, whatever--just get this kid out of me.

They wheeled me off to the operating room and they had Joe outside putting scrubs on while they prepped me. I was so scared; I just wanted him there with me. Seemed like the longest 15 minutes of my life. They injected morphine into my epidural and I instantly felt nauseous. Try throwing up when you're numb from your neck down; you're basically just dry heaving and making throw up noises--except you can actually throw up. They had to give me more medicine to counter-act the morphine, and then I was set. Oh yeah--did I mention that I had some weird reaction to the epidural and was violently shaking the entire time; they had to strap me down to the table to make sure I didn't convulse onto the floor. Oh, and I pulled a muscle in my shoulder while pushing for 2 1/2 hours--which your shoulders are basically the only part on your body (besides your head) that isn't numb from an epidural--so it friggin hurt BAD. My blood pressure kept dropping extremely low and they kept having to give me more medicine to bring it back up. More and more and more meds. Finally Maverick was born at 9:12 am on Friday, March 20th weighing 9 lbs and was 21 1/4 inches long; his head was 15 cm (the same circumference as his chest!)--which explains why I wasn't able to push him out: thank god for c-sections. As soon as Maverick was born, Joe didn't even go to see him because he was so worried about me. They finished things up and sent me into recovery (where I stayed for a few hours).

EVERYONE got to hold Maverick before I did--EVERYONE. I was so upset about this at the time but there was nothing I could do about it. I was stuck in recovery for so long that everyone had came and went. Joe put Maverick in the nursery and came to check on me periodically--I just wanted to get to my room so I could hold my baby. Finally, a few hours later, I was cleared to go to my room. I was so happy!

That night, around 5:00 pm, they told me that they wanted me to get up and try to walk around. I majorly underestimated how gnarly of a surgery a c-section is: I told Joe that I would walk to the nursery with him so the nurses could give Maverick a bath. The nurse gave me a funny look but didn't say anything. As soon as my feet touched the ground I could feel it--there was no way I could walk to the bathroom 3 feet in front of me, let alone to the nursery. I felt like a child learning how to walk. I could barely lift my feet; I would definitely describe my "walking" as more of a shuffle.

Some visitors came to see us, and I cant believe Joe let them in our room. Later that night, after everyone had left, I was able to get up and look in a mirror. My face was SO swollen from pushing so long that you could barely tell that my eyes were open; I must have had about 5 chins and my cheeks were huge. I looked terrible. I get it, I get it--no one looks great after having a baby--but this was bad. Luckily the swelling went down fairly fast. Oh yeah, another fun thing from having a baby? Having an allergic reaction to the morphine and my ENTIRE body breaking out in hives that itched so bad I made myself bleed from scratching--and that lasted 2 weeks. Ugh.

While all of this was going on, my dad was moving for us. This still makes me mad: the movers we hired were AWFUL. They took longer than they expected, charged us extra money, and didn't finish moving us. Joe had to leave me the next day to go finish moving everything. I'm not a confrontational person, but when it comes to stuff like this: I'm feisty.  I wanted to call the company and complain and demand my money back, but Joe told me to just focus on Maverick. I got to come home from delivering my first born child via c-section to an apartment full of boxes. Luckily I had an easy recovery and didn't have to take any pain medicine once I got home. As soon as we walked through the front door, I handed Maverick to Joe and told him to watch him while I unpacked everything (I think we all know how OCD I am by now; there was no way I was going to have Joe unpack everything and put stuff in the wrong place!).

All in all, it was a nightmare. But I got a beautiful, healthy baby boy out of it, and I couldn't be happier. For all you expectant moms out there--don't even bother typing up a birth plan: it wont go as planned. Keep an open mind about everything and realize that whatever happens, you'll get a beautiful baby either way. <3