Dog Breath

Last night for dinner {at 9:30pm} j.rue got kind of hungry for dinner, I know right? So, being the wifely wife that I am, whipped up a house specialty: buffalo chicken quesodillas. Bless those that invented the quesodilla maker.

Remember how I wrote about my eyebrows and I was on a mission to "maintain" my own? Well, it didn't work and last night I gave in and went to get the furry mammoths waxed. I pull up and my usual place is closed, of course. There would be no giving up though, my eyebrows were starting to become radically disobedient and rebellious. I even caught them joining forces to become one. Bad news. I called the next closet salon and they were booked, of course. Then I called the last salon in that .4 mile radius {yes there are 3 salons within 1.4 blocks of each other}. A lady answered and said she was just leaving but would wait if I could get there in 3 minutes. She wasn't kidding either.

I ran in and little did I know that I had just made an appt. with the Eyebrow Drill Sargent Master of Kaysville. She did not mess around. No small talk for this lady, just straight to business. She plucked and tweezed my poor eyebrows within an inch or their life. I started to panic, thinking that I would have those thin high arching eyebrows when she was done. I may have shed a tear, not for the loss of eye brow hair but out of excruciating pain. When she was done she handed me a mirror and I was prepared for the worst. Lo and behold, the best eyebrow waxing of my life! I can honestly say that they could win a beauty pageant. The best part? It cost me a total of $8, well, plus tip. But when was the last time you walked into an $8 brow waxing and were impressed? Me either.

{this is my excited for CCC face, but do you see the brows? perfection I tell you!}

Lastly, I just have a tiny share for all of you dog lovers out there. Greenies, the answer to all your rancid doggy breath problems.

{source}

A while ago these had a bad rap, so I did my research before putting them anywhere near my dogs. Apparently the old formula was hard and wouldn't digest in the intestines causing a blockage if the piece was too big. The new formula is much chewier and soluble. I feel okay about them.

 Maggie was the worst culprit of bad breath in our house. Her breath smelled like a can of tuna that was put in a dirty gym sock that was  found in a dead body's hand. Did I create a vivid enough picture? It was bad. When we picked up our first bag I was expecting to smell delightful minty goodness when opened. Well, that didn't happen. The treats actually kind of reeked. I was skeptical. But, within 3 days Maggie's breath smells much less like a dead body and more like, I don't know...nothing really? It's really neutralized everything, plus both puppies love the treats.

They're on the pricier side, but I will continue to buy now and again for maintenance so we don't have to pull out the gas masks again.

CUATRO

I'm 23 and I've been married for 4 years. Usually, when those two topics come up they're actually presented in reverse order. First, they're just surprised I'm married in the first place (this probably has to do with the fact that I still apparently look like I belong in the halls of Ogden High)...followed by the "how many years?" question. Lastly, they do that little eyebrow raise and then proceed to ask me how old I am. I quickly go through the motions...I'm currently....YES, I got married when I was 19...and a half.  That half is very important to me. During these conversations divorce statistics and unsolicited advice are given. I just smile and nod and just know if my wife heart that I'm going to be married to my husband forever...and also that I'll be younger and better looking than them at my 50 year wedding anniversary than they will be at theirs. I know I'm rude. Sometimes it's a little more fun though. Because, yes.

This years celebration was a good one. Since our anniversary is smack dab in the middle of the week, and we see each other about 57 waking minutes on a good day, we thought we'd celebrate the Saturday before. Of course I was awesome and took only one picture. One really flattering, professional looking picture. Here we are in all of our 4 yeared marriage glory:

Actually, I just looked at it full size and I think I'm going to pass. Enjoy a couple other pictures from the past year instead how bout...

We started off our day of festive love celebrations by not waking up until 9 am. Our puppy kids actually let us sleep in until 9 am! By 8 am Coop usually lays on my stomach and does his most polite and quietest growl, informing me that it is, in fact, time to get up and play. Please.

Anyway, we took our time getting up and getting ready and then headed off to Beyond Spa for our couples massage (they just opened a sa-wanky new place btw). Our first visit was during first anniversary for a nice couples massage and pedicure. This year we opted to keep it simple and go for just the massage, for 80 minutes.  You guys, I had someone rubbing me down, NAKED, for an hour and twenty minutes. Be warned, once you make the jump, you'll never go back. I told J.rue that we must budget for at least one a month. AT LEAST. I think he's considering it.

We followed with a quick lunch at Applebees and then a movie at the good 'ol Kaysville Theater. Pitch Perfect. Oh that fat Amy. Gets me every time. Bologna Barb, not so much. Then, came Jeremy's half of the day. He decided it was his mission to find an xbox game that I would agree to play with him. I kind of think the xbox is evil, so it was quite the feat. We settled on some Sonic racing game that sucked at, but I think the husband had fun. Secretly, I had a little bit of fun too. Shh! don't tell. We can't be making this a habit or anything. Because, you know, I' a lady and such.

J.rue then decided that after all that racing, sea food was in order. Sea food for all! So I was whisked off to Red Lobster, we obviously decided to go so fancy for our meals that day, and stuffed ourselves full of shrimp. We rolled each other home and crawled into bed fat and happy. The next hour or so was spent on our pillows, whispering back and fourth about our dreams and schemes for the future. We're so excited to see what this next year has waiting for us. I think we're most excited about the prospect of adding a little rue to our family (not of the fur type this time around). Fingers crossed.

I love you j.rue and I'm so glad you love me, even though I can be, what you call "difficult" and "stubborn" at times. Whatever that means.

p.s. The season premier of Cougar Town was on last night. This is how I celebrated, you know not being a wine drinker and all, Cheerwine had to do:

Lately, I've been forgetting to title my posts.

My name is Chelsea Ruesch and I need eyebrow therapy. Gag. I decided last month that I would take it upon myself to tweeze and wax my own brows every month because I would procrastinate going to get my brows done for so long that they were often mistaken as two tiny jungles on my face. No joke. And the last girl that did them decided that natural looking brows were skinny lines of hair. Trust me when I say, I am not a skinny brow gal. As of now, I'm not doing much better with the maintenance. They are unshaped, unruly, and unkempt. Plus I'm pretty sure that they're getting lighter by the month and now blending right into my head.

I'm usually not too worried about my brows except when there is some kind of social event coming up. Then I go into a panic and let just about anyone give 'em a good waking. Tonight I'm going to a baby shower and you bet your bottom dollar I'm running into the salon on my way home. Why can't j.rue be a closet cosmetologist {or why can't you just live WAY closer Whitney?!}

Has anyone else in the beehive state noticed that it's been feeling/smelling like the early parts of spring? I was walking into work at 7 this morning and noticed that I wasn't freezing my buns off and there weren't copious amounts of slush to walk through. I know Punxsutawney Phil has granted us with 6 more weeks of winter BUT I still do have that small glimmer of hope that we may be getting spring early. I know I know, I live in Utah. A girl can have dreams. I am usually quite content with current season. I dare say that I love all of them almost equally. This year however, j.rue amd I will be closing another chapter of our marriage and opening a new one. At least, that's how I feel, anyway. As my records indicate, we're on chapter three of our marriage. Oh how I love neatly tying off one chapter, kissing it goodbye and welcoming the adventure of a new one with open arms.

This is how our story goes, in my mind at least.

Chapter 1: J.rue and Chelsea tie the knot.They are poor, but not as much as they think. This is realized in chapter 2.
Chapter 2: J.rue and Chelsea buy a house and adopt fur babies. Now they are poor for real.
Chapter 3: Chelsea graduates and gets a full-time job. Still poor.
Chapter 4: J.rue graduates and...TBA

See? Isn't it exciting to not know what's going to happen next? I'm a little giddy about it. School has dictated our lives for our whole marriage in about every aspect. It feels goods to have the shackles loosened. What in the heck are we going to do without the old chap?  Move out of the country? Start a family? Go on vacations? Spend time together at night sans studying? The possibilities are endless! I do know that school will creep it's way back into our lives in the next few years, but for now, we'll gladly take the moratorium.

28

If I wanted to sum up 28 weeks into 2 words I could easily do so with ravenous beast. Ugh, it's not even the slightest bit funny, except it is because it's just ridiculous watching my hunger status change from stuffed to starved in .5 seconds. Ask j.rue. Not since high school have I had to get up and get something to eat in the middle of the night. Early Sunday morning I found myself wide awake at 4:15 am, which isn't unusual actually. It's a wonderful time to relive ones bladder. Anyway, I was starving. So, I went to the kitchen, ate a banana, took the small black fur child out for her own potty break and headed back to bed. Also important, not once in my whole entire life have I ever had a hard time going back to sleep in the middle of the night, not a once. Luckily, there's a first time for everything. I tossed and turned, checked instagram (no one was posting, rude), peed (again), and finally gave in and got up after J.rue started quoting scriptures to me. At least one of us deserved to sleep well.

I set up camp in the living room. It's amazing all that you can get done in the wee hours of the morning. I managed to run the dishwasher, sweep, eat my divine panda left overs and watch 90% of Jingle All the Way. Something about Christmas movies in July just gets me, love it. I decided to give sleep another go just as it was getting light outside, about 6:20. The bad part about insomnia? 9 am church. Here's to hoping this doesn't become a regular thing, especially during the week. My awakeness could also have something to do with the fact that I took a 3 hour nap earlier that afternoon. Going to 10:30 am baby showers and stuffing your face with delicious brunch can be hard work. Ya know what I mean?

I had my last ultrasound on Thursday. She's still a girl and her head was literally resting on my bladder. I do not over exaggerate the bathroom trips folks, we've been having this battle since week 12. I just hope she's fine to stay put right there for another 10 weeks or so. My bladder can handle it as long as I always know where the nearest bathroom is. If you'd ever like a guide of the cleanest most accessible bathrooms from Ogden to SLC, you let me know.

Saturday night we finished painting Ellie's ceiling and we finally moved everything back into her room, and when I say everything I mean her changing table (with a million things stacked on it), pouf, and dresser. No crib yet. I did notice that my her closet is jam packed with stuff that I basically have no where else to put so I plan on using one of my days off this week to sort through everything and get creative with little to no storage options. Oh the joys of tiny old houses with almost zero storage and seriously lacking closet space. Maybe I just have too many shoes? I don't know. I still plan on sharing the closet, but I don't even think we could fit a single diaper in there right now. 

Other than the closet issue I'm very pleased with how her room is coming together. A little girlier than I was planning, but I don't know how avoidable that issue was. I found the final crowning jewel to her dresser knobs with the help of my very patient friend Lindsey. It's surprisingly difficult to choose between foxes and stripes (we went with the stripes) Really all we have left to do is finish the curtains, hang the pictures add some storage bins and a crib and we're golden. Eh, that actually still sounds like a lot. It will probably take me until October, but, what can ya do? It almost makes me too anxious for her to get here, so I might need to slow things down.

p.s. my birthday week is in full swing and I'm being treated to a most delicious lunch by the above patient friend Lindsey. We're basically drooling. Oh and I need to give myself a good eyebrow was today too.

p.p.s Brickyard Buffalo has about a million things up today that you're probably going to want. Just a heads up (no they're not paying me to say that).

Potty Training Diaries: Ellie Edition, Pt. 1

Longest title ever, but completely necessary. I want need to remember this for the sole purpose that when we're successful (and when I say we I mean WE because this potty training is no joke) I want to be able to look back on this when Fitz has me in tears. It's amazing how quickly you forget those little but so important things. If you are not my children (and even if you are), I really don't expect you to make it through this post. I tend to write every single mundane detail. Right now I am currently catching up on the Bachelor and savoring every second of alone time. I'm totally going to stay up way too late. So, let's dive right in...

We started potty training on Monday February 29th (LEAP YEAR!) 2016. Ellie had been taking off her poopy diapers and valiantly trying to climb up on the toilet and wipe her bum like a big girl for a couple days. While I so appreciated her efforts, poop is the most difficult of the bodily excretions for me to handle. Oh, by the way, this post is going to be full of too many TMIs (sorry kids!). So we were forced into potty training with Ellie. I would have gladly waited a bit longer to do this. To be totally honest, 2 kids has kicked my butt in the ugliest way. I'm still not ready for this.

Back to Monday, I woke up to the sound of the toilet lid opening. I panicked that I would be starting the week cleaning up massive amounts of poop so I sprinted out of bed and there was my sweet little bean climbing up onto the potty on her own and going pee pee. She was SO proud of herself. So was I. Then I got all starry eyed and was like, "this potty training thing? Owned. Already." Then the drinks started flowing and so did the urine. Okay, to give Ellie credit she only had 4 accidents that day. And she pooped. Twice. Oh! and she took a 3 hour nap AND woke up dry. Do you know how much cleaning I got done in 3 hours?! magical! She rocked day one. She also is claiming that there is a poo monster in her bum. Just writing that down to have her groan at me in 10-13 years. However, potty training has also showed me that I am a selfish parent. The method I'm following has me staying hypothetically tethered to Ellie for 3 solid days. That means no (adult) shows, phone, or closet snacking for myself and no quiet/individual play for Ellie. I NEVER realized how tethered to my stupid phone that I am! It's awful and I've cried ugly tears over it. It was also awful how hard it was for me to sit and do whatever Ellie wanted to do all day while being totally present (you know, to make sure the pee didn't happen). I will be working on that. I love my girl and our moments are so fleeting. It's also amazing the difference spending the time with her has changed her general behavior. She loves, needs, and thrives on cuddles, praise, and one-on-one time. Every time she made it to the potty and even the times she didn't I praised her like I've never praised before and every time her eyes lit up and she felt so loved. I could tell. Kids are so hard but really when you take away all of those complicated layers, they're so simple. They need love.

Okay, this is getting a little mushier than I was planning on but I love my babies! I can't help it! But to keep things extra real I was also mentally and emotionally exhausted by the time Jeremy got home last night. I'm pretty sure I went somewhere to escape for a couple minutes but I honest to goodness can't remember where I went! gosh! You'll understand when I tell you about day 2.

Today, day 2, AKA hell week condensed into a single day: It started at 5:58 a.m. You guys, there are very very very few days that I have had to clock on before 7 a.m. I can probably count them on less than 2 hands. I also have never had the complaint of long days. Our days fly and I usually find myself at 7:30 p.m. every night wondering where the day went, why I got nothing done, and pretty positive that Ellie wouldn't be making her 8 p.m. bedtime. Today was so loooooooooonng. Painfully long. We had 8 accidents, 8! before 11 a.m. For some reason she woke up dead set on showing me that her bladder control wasn't up to me. Well, first she just woke up wet. At 5:58 a.m. and did not go back to bed. She also told me to "stop saying those annoying words" (!!!) which are "tell me when you have to go pee pee or poo poo!". I don't blame her, it's totally annoying! I don't enjoy it either. I've also found that treats will only get us so far. She really doesn't care much. We're going to try stickers to work towards a balloon tomorrow (thanks for the idea Lisa!).

She had accidents EVERY time I've gotten on the phone to talk both days and even had 3 accidents today within 25 minutes. Tell me, how does one tiny bladder hold 30 gallons of urine? By the 7th accident she fought me tooth and nail to stop wearing her undies. After much negotiating she won. I asked her why she didn't want to and she said she didn't want to pee pee in her undies. That softened me up a little bit. She likes to be in control and please people like I do. Sadly, her last accident (and worst) of the morning happened sans undies. I whisked her away upstairs (while getting saturated), sat her on the toilet, and cried. I shouldn't have, but I did. Ellie sweetly patted my head and said, "I so sorry mommy." That's when I realized I needed to suck it up. This is not about me at all. I'm here to teach and encourage her. So I told her that I was just frustrated because we were doing such a hard thing. That I was so proud of her hard work, and that I would be there to run her to the potty anytime she needed it. After our heart to heart over the potty, we both happily succumbed to an afternoon nap. We both woke up in better spirits. Ellie has caught onto my drinks trick and claimed that the drinks hurt her tummy, so not much pottying happened in the afternoon. I think we both needed the break. We snuggled, watched movies, and played little people for hours. J.rue finally made it home around 6:30 and I was so ready for him. After we spent some time together I high-tailed it out the door to make some returns, make some much-needed phone calls, and do some shopping. I'm trying out a new Anastasia eyebrow pencil so I'll let you know how that goes! I also got a quick workout in.

I'm feeling refreshed and somewhat ready for tomorrow and at the same time I still feel like we're going to be stuck at home potty training for an eternity. Also, are you wondering about Fitz? Probably not, but he's been SO good. Today was a little rougher because I think he was tired of playing second fiddle and those dang teeth have to be moving around like crazy because THE DROOL! Good thing he loves his sister oh so much.