I've made $1.10!

I was just about to delete this Ad Sense nonsense (the ads you left below and to the right) b/c it's not very attractive...but I clicked on it to see if I've even earned any money and whoohoo I have $1.10 in my account. You can't cash out until you have at least $10, so maybe I'll see a check in like 5 years. YAY! (haha)

Happy Anniversary!

................to me! and my lovely husband of course ;)

We got married on 11/11/06 and although it certainly doesn't seem like it was 4 whole years ago, we have a 3 year old to prove it!  We celebreated by eating Monte Cristoes and watching a movie at home: Nightmare on Elm Street.

Wilmore Family Christmas Wishlist 2010

I can't believe it's that time again! We will be continuing our tradition of getting a gift for another child, we will probably pick a girl this year since last year it was a boy.

Jhett-- 
clothes - his fave colors are orange and green :)
old navy sweats
sit n spin
knickernappies one size diapers
econobums

Eli-- he's still into helicopters, airplanes, Iron Man, Diego, Dinosaur Train. He wears 8.5 shoes

Anniston-- she likes Zoobles, books, and artsy-craftsy stuff.

Corey-- Creationary,  Upwords , Itunes gift cards, or Microsoft Points.

and lastly, me-- this is so hard! i really like Ready Made Magazine...I like starbucks/cc's...

What's in your cup?

For the longest time (like 8 years?) my go-to coffee was a tall latte, from wherever...CC's, Starbucks, Books-a-million, whatever. I'd add 1/2 pack of Sugar in the Raw, and I was good to go. Sometime while I was pregnant with Jhett, my wonderful hubby Corey asked me to pick him up a Mocha Frap from Starbucks. I was never into the whole cold coffee thing. But I was curious, so I took a sip on the way to his work. And another sip just to be sure. I liked it! And I was hooked. I think I was missing out all this time! Since I jumped on the frap train, I've decided that CC's Mochasippi is much better than the Starbucks Mocha Frap (esp. since they changed to the "Create Your Own" crap that's some boring old premix). Mochasippis are made with espresso and Fraps are made with instant coffee. Those are good.....but recently I decided to try a Java Chip (back at Starbucks) and oh-my-yummy. I've had a couple since, and prob gained a couple pounds to go with it.

I tried the homemade thing for a while--when I was preggo and drinking them every day. But it's a lot of experimenting, sometimes it's too much of this or not enough of that. There's something about having someone hand you a ready-made cup of perfection in the drive-thru that you just can't achieve at home, even with the best beans and the Ninja Master Prep. I even got the reusable CC's straw cup, but for some weird reason they never leave enough room for the whip (b/c it comes with a flat lid rather than a dome). And I guess when they figure that one out I'll be shelling out another 9.99 on one.

When it's really cold, I'll still take a latte (or cafe au lait), but most of the time you will find me drinking the Java Chip or Mochasippi. What's in YOUR cup?

MPM

sunday-pizza sandwiches
monday-steak, potatoes, and salad
tuesday-rice and gravy with leftover steak
wednesday-little caesar's pizza
thursday-cheeseburgers and curly q's
friday- steak fingers, biscuits and white gravy
saturday- something in BR

Check out more menus at orgjunkie!

iPhone hog

eli
eli is
eli is an
eli is an i-Phone
eli is an i-Phone hog.

he has preschool flashcards, a spongebob game, talking tom cat, crazy train, a counting game, and netflix movies. this is great when he is bored in a grocery store or dr's office but i think he's becoming a bit obsessed. i find myself hiding the phone from him at home. i think i created a monster.

10 Things Friday

My 10 Things Friday this week will just be a to-do list of things I want/need to accomplish next week.

1--Get Eli's hair cut. I really liked the faux hawk we've gotten the past few times. But I swear, his hair grows sooo fast! I just can't keep up with it. He is looking pretty shaggy these days. I'd like to just let it grow out but I don't think his PawPaw digs the hippie look. So to the salon it is.

2--Mail out a package of hand-me-down baby clothes to Baby Devin. Jhett is growing and growing and growing, and it's such a shame that he doesn't get much of a chance to wear his clothes, but luckily we have friends with other little boys we can pass them on to.

3--Work more on turning Eli's new room into Eli's new room. Still have Anniston's bed in there, and some random boxes of "stuff" that I'm not sure where to put.

4--Find my printer cables. I finally went to Lacey's house and got my printer, but who knows where the cables are. Maybe in one of the boxes of "stuff" in Eli's room. I have $10 CVS extrabucks to print out for doing a survey (b/c I'm lucky enough to be on the CVS Advisor Panel, whooohoo!)

5--Make brownies for my dad and his co-workers. MeMe is coming to spend the day with us on Wednesday, so when he drops her off on his way to work I will have a plate of brownies ready for him to take.

6--Put some googly eyes on the cute little upcycled owl I made for Jhett (with MeMe's sewing assistance of course!) He is very sad looking sitting up there on the shelf with no eyes. Soon, I promise!

7--Take some fall pics of Anniston, Eli, and Jhett Saturday. Hopefully cousin Laura has some leaves in her yard.

8--Get out fall clothes for the kids. I figure they can still wear short sleeves for a while longer, but when we go places at night it's a little chilly so some long sleeves won't hurt. Plus we will need them for the pics lol.

9--Try to get a clothesline put up. I have been wanting one for diapers. I'm sure the landlord will think it's an eyesore in the front, so it will probably have to go in back, right in front of the nosey neighbor lady's yard. Not sure what she will have to say about it, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

10--Need to take a trip to the recycling center.

10-14-10 Freebies

Candy Corn @ CVS
$5 Chili's GC from MyCokeRewards
$10 K-Mart GC from MyCokeRewards

I had to run to CVS for something and I scanned my ExtraCare card in the little machine by the door. It printed out a .99 off coupon for Brach's Candy Corn, which is only .99, so it was free. And the GC's are new on MyCokeRewards. Bummer that there is a limit of 1. I could have done all my Christmas shopping at K-Mart/Sears if not for that dumb little rule.

Albertson's 10-10-10

Ok...I am a few days late with this one lol. You can double click the pic to make it bigger if you want. In the first pic, besides the cokes and water, is all meat. That plus the steak fingers in the next pic was 170.09. I only paid 95.62. The ribs had a $3 off sticker, and the boneless ribs, pork chops, and sirloin were all B1G2 free. Looking at my receipt I now see I was overcharged on the bacon, it was on sale 2/$5 but I got charged 2.79/ea. So I would be 1.16 richer if not for that--oh wells. 2nd pic is veggies (do fried green beans still count as veggies?) and other frozen stuff. 3rd pic is mostly junk food which I will *try* to avoid eating. The rice cakes were $1/bag. 4th pic is random stuff. The macadamias are for some yummy choc chip cookies I'm going to make soon.

The water was on sale 1.99 for the case--can't beat that. (Well you could if you drink tap but ours is yuck!) The Lean Cuisines were on sale 1.69/ea. I've never had them before but figured they can't be all that bad huh? All the Steamfresh veggies were 1.00/bag. I had coupons for the cinnamon rolls and bagel bites, and then a $30 off a $200 or more purchase from the sale paper. I spent 229.84 and saved 150.24.

CVS deal 10-10-10

Haven't posted my shopping deals on here in a long time but I decided I would. I have a lot of new people reading that have never heard of all this CVS stuff, so I will try to explain as I go. This is what I bought:

Jumbo Pampers (regular price 11.99) on sale for 8.99
Method Laundry Detergent 8.99
20 oz. Coke 1.59
total: $19.57

Scanned my CVS card and my green bag tag 
-$5 off $15 q
-$5 extrabucks
-free 20 oz. coke q
Total with tax 8.60
got back $6 extrabucks ($5 for the Method, $1 for green bag tag)
OOP = $2.60

Plus, I just took a CVS Advisor Panel survey and got $10 extrabucks. So next time I'll have $16 in free money to spend.

CVS= the most awesome store ever b/c they give you free stuff!
q= coupon
CVS extracare card= the little red card on your keychain. it really does save you money!
green bag tag= if you have your own reusable shopping bag, you get to scan this, and you get $1 back every 4 purchases
extrabucks= ECB's/extra care bucks (they print on the end of your receipt after you use your extracare card.)
$5 off $15= another coupon that prints on the end of your receipt. sometimes there are $3 of $15, or $4 off $20. don't throw them away or let them expire!
20 oz coke coupon= another one that prints at the end of you receipt. this has been going on for a while. it's a coca-cola promotion, it counts the cokes you buy and every 9th coke you get a free one. we use our the mycokerewards under the caps to get free cokes. then we get free cokes, from the free cokes!



Saying goodbye to a friend

Saying goodbye to a friend. It's never easy to do. You look back and remember all these moments--and it's hard to believe someone who was once here and very alive, is now gone.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Those we love remain with us
by Mary Alice Ramish

Those we love remain with us for love itself lives on, and cherished memories never fade because a loved one's gone. Those we love can never be more than a thought apart, far as long as there is memory, they'll live on in the heart.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goodbye Ashley.

Good morning!

What a Dump!

What does this look like to you? Well I'll tell you what it's supposed to be. A "recycling facility." Yeah. Right. If you been following my blog you know that I have been reading up on being green. My wonderful sister-in-law Abbey inspired me. Then when I started using cloth diapers, I learned a lot from other cloth diapering mommas. We don't have curbside recycling offered here, or of course we would do it. So I decided to try and find a local place where we could drop off stuff. Easier said than done. I found lots of places that take junk cars, metal, appliances. But actual paper/plastic/glass, not so much. Lafayette has a curbside program and I found out that I could drop off stuff to their facility. It would be a lot easier (and save gas) if there were a local place. I kept looking, and read somewhere online that 2 fire stations in the parish had "recycling facilities" and one was about 5 mins from us. Sounded great. Not so much. I drive over and THIS is what I see. I got out, there was just trash and rain water in the bins. I didn't even leave anything there b/c something gave me the idea it wouldn't actually be recycled. So, I contacted SPEAK and got some helpful info. I still plan to check out the other place in Lafayette. I don't think it would be very green having to waste gas to make a special trip just to drop off stuff so I guess I will figure out a once a week drop off when we are going somewhere nearby.

But, I have learned that reducing and reusing are far more efficient than recycling. It takes a lot of energy to recycle, and things can only be recycled so many times. Some people even make money selling things they normally would throw away, like these super cute gift tags or this jewelry made out of coke cans on Etsy.  Instead of throwing away t-shirt or jeans that have holes or stains, you can cut them up and use the fabric for other things. I am making a cute little stuffed owl for Jhett with some pj's that are too small for him. Don't worry, I will post a pic when I am finished!



Made this with some help from MeMe

If you read my previous post, you have already seen these recycled bibs. I decided it couldn't be that hard. I had no problems fusing the bags and cutting the bib, but when the time came to sew the bias tape around, I needed a professional. So I called MeMe of course, and she whipped it up real quick! Thank you MeMe!

Just need to add a velcro dot and throw it in the diaper bag!

Etsy finds

Etsy...a site I could spend hours on. I use the "Shop By Color" feature, and when it tells me "Pick a color, any color?" what color do you think I pick? PINK, of course.

1--

Oh how I think I *need* this for Jhett. I can just imagine him in it, with his red little cheeks in January. Whether the 6-12 month hat will fit his 90% size head by January, is another story!

2--

And what about THIS one?! Too cute!

3--  

And here's a pattern I may just have to buy! 

Okay, enough of the hats. What else....hmmm....

4--  

Butt Beans! These are used for cloth wipe solution. I just got some yummy smelling ones in the mail this week, in the Snuggle Baby scent. I traded her some scrapbooking rub-on's for an order of these. Haven't used them yet, but I will very soon!

5--

I have been searching for the perfect book to use as my pregnancy journal. This is awesome, a bit pricey though. I am going to *attempt* to make something similar. I saved all my records and calendar with appointments, weight, and pictures during my pregnancy with Jhett, and I've just been looking for something to keep it all organized. Something like this would be really cute!

 6--

6--

And b/c I'm into upcycling these days, I think these are sooo cool! And not bad on the price. I have a fusing tutorial from Instructables bookmarked, but have been scared to try it. One day, I will. But I may pick a couple of these up and use as a pattern. 

Yes I know, it looks like my world revolves around BABY. It kinda does, what can I say? Babies are cute, and baby stuff is cute. Not only do I have Eli and Jhett, but my first nephew and first niece were born recently and I have a lifetime to spoil them too. But this last one is just for Mommy. 7

7-- Yes, I think that will go well on my fridge!

For some really crafty fun....

Head on over to According to Kelly and check out these how-to's. I especially like the fingerprint pendants and think I'm gonna have to try that! When my babies are all grown up I'll be able to see how tiny their little fingers used to be. Awww, how sweet!

First Avocado

Jhett tasted avocado today. I had given him a tiny taste of some guac the other night when we ate Mexican, he seemed to like it. He has had sweet potatoes already (pureed), but I think he really liked mushing them up in his fists. I think the finger food stage is pretty fun, even though it's messy. He really loves these Baby Mum Mum rice husks, but they are super messy and sticky. He is a growing boy, and a hungry one! Today he had his regular 8-12 oz of formula every couple hours. He also had: oatmeal with squash, the avocado and sweet potato in the pics, 2 Baby Mum Mums and some applesauce. I think in a couple years, he is going to be Eli's big little brother!

My attempt at the Flourless Chocolate Cake

After drooling over this picture all day I decided to try it last night. I thought my new Ninja Master Prep would be great at beating egg whites. After some time, still no stiff peaks. So I got out my hand mixer to whip them into shape. It did a much better job, and I thought I was done but the instant I tried to fold them into the chocolate, they sort of deflated. I think I may have gotten a tiny bit of yolk in them but figured it was too late, whatever. So into the oven it went. I was scared to open the door, but I peeked through the window now and then and I didn't see it rising like it was supposed to. After the hour was up, I took it out and it looked like a soupy mess. I put it back in for another 10 minutes or so but didn't want the edges to burn. So I let it cool and then as the recipe instructs, I put it in the fridge without a taste, as tempting as that was. I thought overnight refrigeration might perform some miracle on it. Took it out this morning, and it looked decent, but my first forkfull was more like fudge instead of cake. I nuked a slice and after 30 seconds part of it bubbled and part was still cold. It was a ooey gooey mess, but still delicious. So rich that I couldn't eat more than that one piece. This could be a good thing. So the rest went back into the oven on low for a while, and now it has more of a cake like texture.

Meanwhile, I decided to google and self-diagnose. It seems like the reason it did not rise and fall was due to the egg whites. So next time I will make sure there is not one speck of egg yolk and maybe add a little cream of tartar.

My creation is edible, just not as pretty as I'd hoped it would be.

Baking in the Car?

I think it's definitely hot enough around here to! Click to find out how.

Jhett's Wipes

I cut up flannel receiving blankets about 10x10 and MeMe generously serged the edges for me. I bought some empty spray bottles and I'm going to make solution. I'm really wanting to try some Butt Beans.

{Prison Break}

Got Netflix? Watch Prison Break! I am finished with all 4 seasons. I rented Prison Break: Final Break and got it in the mail tonight but was disapointed to realize it was just a collab of the last two episodes on season 4. So nothing new. I was bummed. That really is it. But the show was great, and I liked the ending.

I have to say we are really lovin' Netflix. Cheaper than cable, and soooooo much more to choose from. LOVE it!

Diaper Stash

Still working on it, have a few more packages on the way. In the pic: extra Little Lions unbleached prefolds, Babykicks Bumboo side snapping OS pocket, kiwi GroVia with extra soaker, emerald Haute Pocket, retro cars fitted by Little Fancy Pants, b&w skull Cooshie Tooshies AIO, white Yucky Duck pocket, and five Fluffy's covers stuffed with Little Lions prefolds. Next pic: 3 dream eze fitteds, one vanilla and one mandarin GroBaby with 3 soakers. I'd like to try some bottombumpers, knickernappies, haute pocket with snaps instead of applix, and BG's.

Way Cool!

I was browsing MSN and saw this cool article with pics included. I have been fascinated with repurposed shipping containers since I first saw them in a ReadyMade mag. I was telling Corey how cool it would be, when we get a place with a big backyard, to have a place for the boys to hang out. Corey says he needs one for himself! I guess I wouldn't mind him having his own xbox retreat. These things are really neat!

The big THREE!

I so cannot believe my child is THREE years old now! I have a three year old. That sounds so weird right? I do realize they grow, but I wasn't expecting it to happen so fast. There are so many things he can do on his own now, but sometimes he just wants his Mommy, and I'm always happy when he does. He is so smart, and funny, and a great big brother. He puts his arm around Jhett and tells him "You're my friend!" How awesome is that?!

I had to see him off this morning. He is going on vacation to Branson with Nana and Poppa. He stuffed his backpack full of toys and waved bye to me and climbed up in Nana's truck. And then he was gone. I thought I would cry, but I didn't. (Not yet anyway, I still have all week!) I have a feeling when he comes back he will be even bigger. I can't wait to hear all his stories about the fun places he went and what he saw there.

I miss you Eli!!!!! Mommy loves you. Goodnight! xoxo

Love this one!

Got this one from Little Fancy Pants on hyenacart.....I opened the package and it smelled soooo good, like sugar cookies! It was so soft and fluffy and smelled so good! Corey laughed at me for smelling a diaper, but I told him it was okay b/c it hadn't ever been pooped in(yet).

Cloth Convert

Jhett is going to be a c.d. baby! I don't know why, all of a sudden one day I just decided to switch. I'm making cloth wipes and solution, and buying from diaperswappers and hyena cart here and there until we run out of pampers. I have been eyeing a couple patterns and thinking *maybe* MeMe could make us some, or maybe if I ever learn how to use my sewing machine I could try. We'll see!

Stuff I Like

TV:
Prison Break
Say Yes to the Dress
Cake Boss
Secret Life
Dexter

Waiting for new seasons of Sons of Anarachy and Law & Order: SVU. We finished watching The Riches, and hoping that the movie will eventually come out to tie up all the loose ends. ONE DAY, I will catch up on Heroes, LOST, and CSI: Miami. Those are shows I love but got put on the back burner for a while. Now that we have Netflix, there are so many more shows to watch than we had before!

Websites:
Etsy
Diaperswappers
Instructables
Mamabargains

Lately I am more interested in sewing/crafts. I quit paper scrapbooking and started digital scrapbooking instead. But I am months behind now that Jhett is here. I am still taking tons of pics so when I get in the scrappy mood I will have lots to work with. Right now I am drooling over baby stuff on etsy, and looking for cloth on diaperswappers for when we run out of sposies.

Food/Drinks:
cupcakes
margaritas
frozen coffee
wings
lobster
pizza

Colors:
Hot pink
grey
black
white

iPhone apps:
facebook
iVidCamFree
Words With Friends
Pandora
Photobucket
Target
PS Mobile

The Cake Show

I have been watching Cake Boss for the past few days and even got Corey and Eli into it. Eli loves cupcakes! He gets excited when it's time to bake. He pulls up a chair next to the counter and helps me by putting the cupcake papers in the pan, licking the beaters, and telling me how good the batter is. So when he saw that there was a whole show about cakes, he parked it right in front of the TV, saying "Daddy, Daddy! It's the CAKE SHOW!" while clapping his hands. He especially loved the cool dinosaur cake that Buddy made. I would love to learn some neat tricks and in the future, be able to make awesome birthday cakes for the kids. Eli's birthday is just around the corner so not this year, but maybe next. Tonight after we finished up season 1 of the show, Eli and I made Milky Way Cupcakes, with Milky Way Dark bars. Looking forward to a yummy breakfast!

Welcome Babies

Congrats to AJ & Melissa Nauss, and big brother Hayden, on the arrival of baby Cohen Rhys! 6/25/10 10:59am 2lbs 9.3oz and 14.5 inches

Congrats to Kayla Boman and Greg, and big brother Malachi, on the arrival of Alexis Mae! 6/27/10 4:30am 5lbs 8oz

she makes me giggle

Check it out


quote:
I get giddy when it is spray paint time.
The rattle rattle of the little ball inside is just the most wonderful sound!

Ha! I love it!

Summer fun

We have been trying to stay cool, eating popsicles and swimming. Eli has a nice little tan going on, MeMe says he looks like the Coppertone Kid.

Future Lifeguard

Mr. Jhett didn't get in the pool the first day, he just snuggled up in his swing in the shade and fell asleep.

Hello there

I have not been feeling particularly bloggy lately. But I decided an update was needed. Summer is in full swing here, we are in the mid-high 90's. We just set up our new kiddie pool in the front yard today. Eli and I had a blast while Jhett rested in the shade. I will try to post some pics tomorrow.

I used to absolutely L-O-V-E summer...flip flops, tank tops, popsicles, the smell of suntan lotion, ice cream cones. But the past few summers it's just been so unbearably hot. Not being able to tolerate extreme (hot or cold) temps is a symptom of my hypothyroidism, so that may have a bit to do with it. It's almost miserable just walking from the house to the truck! But hanging out in the pool with Eli was nice. The water was really cold so that helped. Maybe I can get a little tan without having to pay that monthly fee :)

WWF

No, not wrestling (I do like MMA). I am talking about Words With Friends. If you wanna play, hit me up! My username is Lindsaywilmore.

MPM

M- Soft Tacos
T- Pizza Quesadillas
W- Italian Shells and Sausage
T- Shrimp Alfredo
F- Breakfast for Dinner

Jhett @ 2.5 months

Jhett's 2 month checkup was Monday. He now weighs 12 lbs 14 oz, and is 24 inches long. Big boy! He got shots and was a little cranky for the rest of the day but that was to be expected. He is growing everyday, I can tell a difference in how tight his clothes are getting. Before you know it, he will be running around the house playing with Eli!

Happy Mother's Day!

This is the first picture I have of all 3 kids together. That's all I really wanted for Mother's Day, a pic of them. And if you know my family, you know they aren't as into the whole picture-taking thing as I am. Corey is lucky I didn't call Lacey over to do a family session lol! I did make Corey help me round up the kiddos and haul them outside. I told him it was my present, so he had to help. Going to have it printed and framed for tomorrow.

Happy Mother's Day!

RIP Mickey-o

Saturday night we had a tragedy. Eli had to say goodbye to his beloved "Mickey-o." Pinocchio 3000 was a movie I picked up in the $3.99 bin at Big Lots. He has watched it almost daily from the time he was 18 months. Even at almost 3, he could never pronounce "Pinocchio," and the closest he came was last week. He asked to watch Mickey-o. I said, "Eli, can you say P?" He says "PEEEEEEEEEEE!" And then I say "Okay, say Pee-nooooo-key-o," and he gets so excited and says "Peee-mickey-o!" with the biggest smile on this face.

Anyhoo, Saturday he somehow shoved the dvd in and it got stuck behind the tray. Daddy was able to perform surgery on the dvd player, and luckily it still works, but sadly, Mickey-o did not make it. There was a huge crack and no matter how many times Eli "fissed" (fixed/kissed) it, all he got was a "Disc Error" message. He cried and cried, "Mickey-o's BROKE Momma, Mickey-o's not workingggggggggg! Waaaaahhhhh! Waaaaahhhhh!"

I googled and found it for the super low price of 1.99 on Amazon. I'm contemplating whether I should order him a new one, or lay Mickey-o to rest and move on with the next chapter in our lives.

My Big Boy!

Eli has slept in his own bed, in his own room, all by himself for the past 3 nights. I'm really proud of him for being such a big boy but I will miss snuggling with him in my bed. But I know he has to grow up now, it's just so soon! Not only is he sleeping in there at night, he also took a nap in there today. I guess he has finally decided that he likes his cool race car bed.

Some days are fun and....

some days are, well.....days like today!

Between the 2 year old who turned the oven off before the food was quite cooked and the frazzled mom who didn't notice it had been turned off until the timer dinged, because she was trying to calm her cranky teething 7 week old, and two TV's blaring at once and the lack of trash bags forgotten from yesterday's shopping list (hence the banana peelings and empty juice boxes piled up on the countertop), picking up the occasional sippy cup and opening the lid to smell inside and see if it was from today or yesterday....and did I mention the teething baby? Where was I? Oh yeah, between all those things it's enough to drive a stay-at-home mom to take a coffee break. In the closet. In the dark. Hiding from her children. Only, coffee was completely left off yesterday's shopping list and some time during the day I decided a margarita may work better for all practical purposes.

So, while we waited for daddy to come home from work, Eli decided he wanted to play outside in the absolutely disgusting sandbox that has more leaves, sticks, and rain water than actual sand. As I was just about to mouth the word "NOOOOOOO!" I stopped in my tracks and figured, "Awww, why the heck not? He's a boy, and boys like to get dirty from time to time right?" So he is out in the yard, digging with a shovel, slinging this yucky looking mixture around, wearing a John Deere t-shirt, size 5 pampers, and his beloved red firetruck boots. I am feeding a very hungry, very cranky baby just inside the doorway because it's too unbearably hot for him to be out there, but obviously I need to keep an eye out in case Eli decides to wander over to the new neighbors' place and "borrow" their outdoor toys. (I have already promised he can play with their toys, but we must go over and meet them first.) Finally, daddy is home! We lure Eli inside with a purple popsicle. I mention the words "daddy duty" and sneak off to upload some pictures I had taken earlier. During said daddy duty, daddy gets puked on--I took a pic of that too!

Since I did not have time to defrost anything for dinner, I had to be creative, and invented a delicious concoction consisting of potatoes o'brien with cheese, and sliced breaded chicken patties. Finally, it was time for that margarita break. My blender did not cooperate with me so it was half frozen, half on the rocks, but in the words of my two facebook commenters, "as long as it has tequila, it still works" and it was a nice relaxing 10 minutes, and then it was over. Back to reality, picking up toys scattered all over the living room, wiping up all the white powdery substance off my nightstand (no, it's not that kind of white powdery substance, just candy left there by a certain unnamed 2 year old) and laundry that needed to be folded. All the while I am making a mental list NOT to forget the trash bags tomorrow, and the coffee. On second thought, scratch the coffee....another margarita will be fine.

photo FAIL

So I was trying to get one of those super cheesy shots of the baby with a blanket on his head. So here I am snapping my fingers like "Jhett, over here, look at Mommy!" but of course he had no clue what I wanted him to do, ya know? So finally I gave up. Maybe we will try again when he's a little older and more "smiley." But here are my failed attempts:

Taking a little weekend trip

Next weekend we are taking a little trip to NOLA. My brother-in-law Lance has a couple baseball games so we are going to watch. Hoping to have some fun and take a couple pics. My favorite part about staying in a hotel for the weekend is no dishes or laundry to wash. (Of course it will all be there when we get back though!)

Happy Easter!

I have a new Sister-in-law!

Yep, my brother tied the knot yesterday. Congratulations Mike and Abbey! The wedding was perfect. Eli semi-cooperated, and took a LONG nap in the bridal suite immediately after his groomsmen duties were complete. The food and music were great. Everyone had a fantastic time!

Big Brother Eli

Eli LOVES being a big brother. He likes to hold Jhett, feed him, and always checks on him when he is crying. He gives him hugs and kisses and tells him "shhh! it's okay!" LOL. Just sharing a couple pics:

Adjusting to life with a newborn

It has been surprisingly much easier with Jhett than it was with Eli. I think Jhett kept me awake more before he was born than he does now. We made it through the first week with no problems. I remember being so sleep deprived and grouchy after bringing Eli home from the hospital, but Jhett doesn't cry quite as loud, which is what I think stressed me out so much with Eli. He is really alert from 9-11pm, but mostly sleeps for the rest of the day. Another thing I was slightly worried about was Eli being jealous. But so far he hasn't been. He is such a good big brother, always wanting to help feed Jhett, give him hugs, and hold him. We are a happy little family!

Baby Jhett is here!

Jhett Xander Wilmore has arrived! He was born on 3/3/10 at 4:12pm. He weighed 8lbs 1oz and was 20 3/4 inches long. He got a 9.9 on the apgar. He is perfect in every way! We came home from the hospital yesterday and are adjusting well. Eli loves his new baby brother and we couldn't be happier. I am so excited about my new little man.

random thoughts

1-it's 2:26am and i am up....watched infomercials for a while. i *so* want to send mr. t 3 easy payments of $39.95 and get that nifty flavorwave oven. I have been wanting it for months and months. Maybe when he knocks it down to 2 easy payments....

2-didn't feel like i'd be able to go back to sleep, especially after seeing those mouth watering cinnamon rolls that baked up so fresh and yummy in only 11 minutes. it actually made my mouth water. so i got up and made sweet tea in my new tea maker, which i'm lovin' btw. i never really cared for tea before, i guess jhett likes it b/c for some reason, i've been drinking it the past few weeks. eli introduced me to pineapple while i was pregnant with him, also something i never liked before. interesting how pregnancy can permantely alter your taste buds.

3-while we're talking pregnancy, i think my timer has popped. my stretch marks are bleeding, signifying that my skin just cannot stretch anymore. hear that jhett? you can come out now!

4-i have this constant thirst the past few days. my glucose test came back normal several weeks ago, but i've been wondering what the chances of developing GD after taking the test are. i find myself getting out of bed at 2:26am and making sweet tea, drinking a huge glass, going back for a refill. my throat/mouth/lips seem so dry, almost like i'm dehydrated. i went to bed with 3 full water bottles on my headboard and woke up before the night was over with only one of them half-full. and now i'm sitting here drinking tea.

5-vent/whine time: i'm nauseated, have heartburn, i'm freezing (b/c this house is either too hot or too cold, we have a thermostat issue and can never get it right).

that is all.

To Dish or Not to Dish...

that is the question!

Not talking about cooking here, I'm talking about TV. Since we moved here in March we've had the most basic Cox cable package, which is $14/month. I only recently realized that the channels we get (local news, PBS, etc) are the same that you would get with an antenea and have no monthly bill. So I looked into that but it turns out our living room and bedroom TV's would both need converter boxes. Sure it would be cheaper in the long run, to buy the boxes and anteneas and not pay the $14/month but *keywords* "in the long run." We don't get to watch much TV because we don't have many channels and we would LIKE to have more but didn't want to pay a hundred bucks for the expanded cable, which left us considering Dish Network and their 19.99 package. I was sure that included some hidden fees and wouldn't really be only 19.99/month. So, we looked into Dish Network and considered going ahead with that. We figured when we got our income tax refund we could just pay it for the whole year. Then, if we didn't like it or couldn't afford it, we could cancel after the year was over. It was really the only "treat" we were planning to get at income tax time. The rest of the money was going to pay off bills. Turns out the 19.99 package doesn't include local channels, those are $5 extra. So, okay we can deal with that. It also doesn't include FX, but I suppose I can continue watching Sons of Anarchy online like I've been doing. Corey is only interested in the Discovery Channel and Comedy Central, and it has both of those. It also has Lifetime, I would be happy with that. But we are still debating. To Dish or Not to Dish.....

Still Pregnant...

Had a short trip to L&D last Thursday night but got sent home the next morning. Giving him another few weeks before the eviction notice gets posted. Anytime he is ready is fine by me. He is all set for "Life on the Outside," I have everything ready that he needs. My bag is packed and in the truck, all the hospital paperwork has been taken care of, and we are just waiting on him to choose a birthday!

Okay, so I just ate a whole box of........

Crunch 'n Munch.

family size.

12 oz.

We went grocery shopping yesterday and I had a coupon, buy 2 get 1 free. It's not something we normally buy, but i thought it looked good and why not? So i opened a box yesterday and ate some....then last night I ate more and this morning I ate more....and then it was just, GONE! Corey had a couple handfuls but I will take the majority of the blame. He was looking at me in shock saying "You ate that whole thing? It's FAMILY size!" I told him "Well....I am a family, a mom and baby!"

UGH.....the side panel says there are 11 servings, 5 fat grams per serving.....NOT good. Ugh. But remember Corey did have a little of it. Still not good though. There's a big thing on the front that says "No Trans Fat" as if that helps......DOES that help?!

V-Day Brownie Roll Out Cookies

I soooo need to make these!

Winn Dixie Meal Deal

I went to Winn Dixie Sunday night (yes, during the Superbowl, I was at Winn Dixie) to buy diapers. I had a $10 off $50 purchase catalina, and a $2 pampers coupon. I figured I'd find some other stuff to add with the diapers to bump my total up to $50. When I got there and saw this meal deal I was like "YAY! How cool is that?!" b/c Eli was just saying he wanted pizza.

When you buy: 2 Red Baron frozen pizzas (2/$11.98)
You get the following FREE: one box of Tyson Anytizers, (got the hot wings), one pack of Bryan Lil Smokies, one 2 liter Coca-Cola, and Bridgford Monkey Bread. Not bad!

The diapers were $20, the meal deal $12, and I picked up some 18 packs of cokes, and a Hotwheel for Eli, bringing my total to just over $50, minus my $10 cat and my $2 pampers. I paid $41 and walked out of the store a happy girl. And while we were there we discovered that the Saints had won, a strange man high fived me after getting a call on his cell phone, and there was also an annoucement over the intercom. When we got to the parking lot the whole sky was lit up with fireworks. I had a smile on my face already though, for a different reason. I love a good deal!

Packing my Hospital Bag

I am getting ready people! Tomorrow I plan to pack my hospital bag. I want to have it ready, unlike last time. Think it's about time to put the carseat in too, just in case! Whooohooo!

New words

It's been a while since I posted but we have a couple new things now--

k butter= pudding
skeered, as in "I skeered da filaworks" (he was quite traumatized by the Christmas and New Years fireworks.) He also says "I skeered da dark" even though he isn't. Sometimes he says "I be skeered da dark" and it's pretty funny.
nu-nu's (boobies, hehe)
He adds the letter "D" onto the end of certain words, like broken, or on. He says "it's brokened," "i need the feedee (tv) on'ed"
yes sir- he hasn't quite gotten yes ma'am, so everyone male or female just gets a yes sir!
"come err" - come here, Nelly style
"what's that noise?" anytime he hears ANY thing, he has to ask all about it and is very dramatic.
"Oh no!" again, very dramatic
"Wook" instead of "look"
"I need want _____." Instead of using need or want, he uses both of them together.
"How bout dat?" (pointing to whatever he wants, spaghettios, pudding, etc.)
"Pwwwwease" for please, and when he says it he puts his hand up on his forehead for some reason!
"Ice skate shoes" Some of his shoes, he calls ice skate shoes. Don't know why.
"He got wheels" Anything that has wheels, he exclaims "he got wheels!"
"GeeGee" means wake up. He likes us to pretend sleep/snore, so he can yell "GeeGee!!" and laugh hysterically. He does NOT however, like it when he is sleeping and we wake him up by saying it.
When he hears a baby crying in public, he says "hear a baby kyging? he need milk!"
He has picked up a bad word, starts with a d, has a couple of m's, and ends with a t. can you figure it out?
"Hi Guys!" or "Come on guys!" He makes his hot wheels talk to each other and they say this to each other a lot.
"Scuse me!" (when he burps, or accidently runs into the refrigerator)
"Sit in a wap?" (asking to sit in your lap)
"Right now Momma!" This is just funny. Sometimes he just points his finger at me and says "Right now Momma! Right now!"
"Dippit" He loves to dip everything, in ketchup/bbq sauce/ranch...When you ask him if he wants to go to Chick-fil-a, he says "I go Chicky-chay, I gonna dippit!"
He ate his sandwich today and said "it's de-wishes" (delicious).
When he likes something, he "knocks" it, and when he doesn't, he "can't knock it"
He can identify most animals, all the basics, and less common ones like alligators, goats, foxes, sharks, whales, possums, eagles, etc. He loves to read and has lots of pictures books with animals.
He can say his ABC's with help.

You can see the previous posts here and here.

10 Things Friday

I kinda like this!

1- I'm overly ecstatic that Eli has started calling me "Mommy," instead of "Momma." I have always wanted to be called Mommy. I was a little dissapointed that he picked up momma early on and it stuck, but for some reason lately he has decided to change it. YAY!!!!

2- The end is near. (of this pregnancy) I am huffing and puffing, getting out of breath just sitting down, getting heartburn just from drinking water....I have gained 23 lbs and have come to the conclusion that I like my babies better on the outside than the inside! I am in the semi-nesting stage. There are lots of things I want to do, but am simply too tired to actually get up and do them.

3- Eli has finally started watching other dvd's besides Thomas. He still watches Thomas several times a day, but now he also asks for Zoby, "Bobb-a-Builllllder" and Elmo. Variety is nice sometimes.

4- Time to take down the Christmas tree! We are probably the last people with a Christmas tree still up. And the lights are still turned on almost everyday. We really need to take it down and make room for the pack-n-play. Which reminds me, we next year we will need an extra stocking!

5- Getting a new SIL: my brother is getting married in March (just 8 days after Jhett's due date) and I am excited to be getting a new sister-in-law who loves the color pink and cupcakes just as much as I do! In fact, her wedding shower is tomorrow and everything is going to be pink. We are all wearing pink, and will have a pink cake and pink napkins, and the gift I got them is pink too! (well part of it anyway). I wish Michael and Abbey all the best!

6- I don't know what's gotten into my husband lately but I like it! One night he washed the dishes for me, and another night he put up the leftovers and made the bed. I swear the bed was more comfortable that night and I asked him what his secret trick was. The sheets seemed so soft and the pillows were extra fluffy. He has the magic touch! I told him that might be his job from now on LOL!

7- FREE Dreft! Yay for anything free! Although I was disappointed to see that the Pampers Gifts to Grow program no longers offers Starbucks gift cards, I was able to cash in my points for a free 32 load bottle of Dreft. So I can wash all the newborn stuff and it will smell soooo good. And while I was picking that up at BRU, I found a perfectly good pair of cute 5T sweatpants, marked down to .50 because they were part of a 2 piece set. I guess someone stole the shirt? So, they got packed away into the box of big boy clothes. In a few years, Eli will fit in them haha.

8- I'm reading. I never read anymore. Not since I was required to in college. But I have a book called Miss American Pie, I got it a while back at the Dollar Tree. Can't beat that! It's about a girl growing up in the 1970's in Louisiana. So far I like it.

9- Paranormal Activity is the last movie we watched, earlier this week, free from Redbox. It was a bit misleading in that the beginning credits claimed it was based on true events. After watching it I found out that it was based on a compliation of true events in different peoples' lives, and the couple in the movie was completely ficticious. Had I known that, I might not have had nightmares...

10- And last but not least, I want to say how thankful I am for my family, especially my husband who works hard to take care of us, my parents and in-laws who are always willing to provide free babysitting and are there for us when we are in a pinch, and have helped us out tremendously. We are very blessed.

{me, myself & i} challenge

I rarely take pics of myself and when I do, I usually hate them and delete them. But I dug up one for this challenge I found at i scrap. iNg designed this really cute kit called "Me, Myself & I" and you can grab it free on her blog if you'd like to participate in the challenge. 3 lucky winners will get some add-on doodled frames. Happy scrappin!

The Theme Song of our House?

Eli has 3 Thomas the Train dvd's:



And I think he watches each one about a gabillion times a day. I swear I hear this song in my sleep:






What's that moving in the corner
What's that shadow on the wall
Don't be afraid, don't be scared
It really is nothing at all
But I saw something in the corner
I saw that shadow on the wall
It's just your imagination
Look! It's just the wise old owl (whooo)

Boo boo, choo choo
Don't be afraid of the dark
It's easily explained you see
Why things go bump in the night - Boo!
Boo boo, choo choo
Don't wander from your track
And don't be afraid, don't be afraid, don't be
Don't be afraid of the dark
The little engine wondered
He thought and thought all night
Really nothing's changed, it's just the same
Just daylight turned to night
But something moved in the corner
A shadow crossed the wall
He closed his eyes, counted ten
And remembered the wise old owl (whooo)
Boo, boo, choo choo
Don't be afraid of the dark
When the lights go out and you have your doubts
Why things go bump in the night - Boo!
Boo boo, choo choo
Don't wander from your mark
And don't be afraid, don't be afraid, don't be
Don't be afraid of the dark
So, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, don't be
Don't be afraid of the dark
Boo boo, choo choo
Don't be afraid of the dark
It's easily explained you see
Why things go bump in the night - Boo!
Boo boo, choo choo
Don't wander from your track
And don't be afraid, don't be afraid, don't be
Don't be afraid of the dark
What's that moving in the corner
What's that shadow on the wall
Don't be afraid, don't be scared
It really is nothing at all
But I saw something in the corner
I saw that shadow on the wall
It's just your imagination
Look! It's just the wise old owl (whooo)
Boo boo, choo choo
Don't be afraid of the dark
It's easily explained you see
Why things go bump in the night - Boo!
Boo boo, choo choo
Don't wander from your track
And don't be afraid, don't be afraid, don't be
Don't be afraid of the dark
No, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, don't be
Don't be afraid of the dark

Boo!

Just sharing a new LO

I am pretty much LOVING this digi scrappin stuff! Eli is getting so big too, this pic was from a couple months ago and when I was making this page and looking at it, I could totally tell the difference. He looks like a baby here! He is definitely NOT a baby anymore though (sniff, sniff) but that's okay b/c I have another one on the way hehe. Eli will make a good big brother!

If you've noticed, I've renamed the fish section "Eli's Fish" since he has claimed them as his own. Every time he sees me on my blog he says "My fish! Needa feed my fish!!!" He sits in my lap and clicks away and tells them to eat their breakfast.

MPM

S- Crawfish Pie
M- Chicken and dumplings
T- Fiesta Mexican (Corey was not impressed)
W- nachos
T- sandwiches
F- Randoll's with my parents/brother/future SIL and her mom

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Someone was asking me about my homemade laundry detergent earlier today, so I decided to post the recipe here. You can google and find tons of recipes, but this is the one I use:

1 bar zote soap, grated
1 c. borax
1 c. washing soda



I use the white Zote soap. I have tried the pink but it doesn't grate into a powder like the white one does. Some people use Ivory soap too. That is Corey's only chore around the house, grating the soap. And he only has to do it once every few months, b/c this stuff lasts a long time! I normally do a double batch of it. I store it in a juice pitcher and keep a spoon in there. I use two spoons per load. I haven't actually done the math myself, but I've read that it ends up costing about .03 per load. This works great for people with sensitive skin. None of us have that, but we use it because it's cheaper. A few years ago, I could never imagine myself making my own laundry detergent. Why would I want to do that? I'd just buy whatever smelled good at the store. But when I became a SAHM, I started using coupons and learning how to save money since we only had one income. I read online about making your own laundry detergent and decided to check it out. I still buy stuff at the store if it's on a really good sale, like 2.99 or less. CVS and WAGS both have good sales.