Getting closer!

I guess it's time to get the crib and dresser set up!

a couple QP's

These are some QP's (quick pages) which are kinda-sorta like cheating...it's like the digital form of scraplifting, only easier! Lots of designers give out free QP's on their blogs to promote new kits. I thought I'd try a couple out. Of course it's not as fun as making your own, but I thought these 3 were pretty cute. The first one is by Paislee Press Designs and the bottom two are both by Mia Designs.

Just for Stephi C!

Since you asked, I will be happy to share some freebie links. These two places are where I'm getting most of my goodies: http://digifree.blogspot.com/ and the lovely and talented Ikea Goddess.

New Hobby

Well, maybe just a change to an old one...I am figuring out the world of digital scrapbooking. I never understood why anyone would want to do digital scrapbooking instead of paper. Now that I have a 2 year old, I know! I also never realized how much digital stuff you can get free. I have made a couple practice pages, and haven't paid a penny for anything. I still have a lot of learning to do but here are my first few pages:

MPM

Sunday: sloppy Joes and bbq chips
Monday: spaghetti and salad
Tuesday: Taco Pie
Wednesday: chicken and sausage gumbo/cornbread/crackers
Thursday: chicken quesadillas
Friday: crawfish Etoufee
Saturday: ham and cheese sandwiches
Sunday: french toast and eggs

Wilmore Family Christmas Wishlist

Ok...it is that time again. Time to find out what everyone wants for Christmas.

Mommy's list: The FlavorWave Oven (Mr. T has a great infomercial--have you seen it??) Ok so I know this is a big gift, and lord knows how much they want for shipping BUT if it's not under the tree I will buy it for myself with any money I get: Starbucks gift cards or CC's gift cards are always great!! Or Starbucks, whichever. B/c SAHM's need coffee breaks too you know! An iced tea maker (this would benefit Corey more since he's the only one who drinks tea, but would make my life easier haha!

Eli loves Hot wheels and Thomas the Train. He has some dvd's but none of the actual trains yet or any little play sets like this. He also likes fire trucks, airplanes, and Elmo.

Anniston...she wants a new Wii game or two. She specifically mentioned Mario, but said it didn't matter which one. I think she needs some pj pants too. She has not been dropping too many hints, this is hard!

And Corey wants a Turtle Beach headset. And he can always use Microsoft Point cards and Itunes Gift Cards!

~Vacuuming Up Corn Flakes~

So Eli usually has dry cereal for breakfast...Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, Quaker Oatmeal Squares....but yesterday he insisted on having corn flakes. I'm like "Really? Corn Flakes?" Not in the mood to argue I get him a bowl. Then he says "I wanna do it!!!" and again, not in the mood to argue, I let him pour the cereal into the bowl. He then proceeds to overflow the bowl. I cringed. It would have been no big deal if he was at the kitchen table, right? But he was not at the kitchen table. He was sitting on the floor of my bedroom. So now there are cornflakes all over my carpet. Before I can do anything about it, he starts jumping up and down and smashing them further into the carpet, giggling and clapping.

He then makes little piles here and there and drives his hotwheels over them like an obstacle course. He is just having a blast and I know if I get the vacuum out it will be a scream-fest (b/c he is "skeered" of the noise) so I decide to fix myself something to eat and postpone the cleanup for a bit. I get sidetracked in piles of dirty laundry, stacks of bills, cooking lunch, etc. and I go in the bedroom a few times during the day and say "Oh, I need to vacuum up those corn flakes" but somehow never get around to it.

Then Corey comes home from work and I am juggling trying to cook dinner and dessert, wash the dishes, give Eli a bath, more laundry...and when it's finally bedtime my lovely husband walks into the bedroom to get to his side of the bed, crunching over the corn flakes with his bare feet. He looks down at the carpet with a look of pure disgust, and then at me and says, "You could have at least vacuumed up these corn flakes don't you think?" I just gave him the LOOK. You know, that LOOK.

I figured they wouldn't bother anyone while we were sleeping and I'd do it first thing this morning. And when I go in there and decide to snap a pic and post it here so that you all may find humor in my daily frustrations, I see little pieces of cheese mixed in with the cereal. Nice!

MPM

Sunday- BBQ at my parents' house
Monday- Rachel Ray's Ham and Cheese Cannelloni
Tuesday- chicken fajitas
Wednesday- Aunt Versie's Cowboy stew with mashed potatoes
Thursday-chicken quesadillas
Friday- cornbread dressing with ham
Saturday- Sicily's Italian Buffet
Sunday- leftovers
Monday-ham and cheese cannelloni (again!)
Tuesday- shrimp fajitas
Wednesday-not sure
Thursday- Thanksgiving dinner (and birthday cake??)
Friday- Logan's for lunch (Thanks Abbey and Mike!) dinner-Thanksgiving leftovers
Saturday-Rochetto's Pizza (took my boys out with my birthday money)
Sunday- not sure, fridge is looking pretty empty!

Pics from Scott Park

Went to Scott Park this morning...got a few pics, not THRILLED with any of them but I guess the sun was too bright. They aren't terrible at least!











and here he is like, "K mommy, put ur lens cap back on and let's go bye bye!"

Preggo Brain Much?

Yeah...I was just telling a friend who doesn't have children yet "if you ever get pregnant, don't expect your brain to function properly..."

Just the other day I open the freezer to take out meat for dinner and find a baby wipe that I assume I put in there, instead of the trash can. Hmm....

I find myself frantically looking for things like cell phones and debit cards and car keys, only to realize they are in my other hand already.

I just cannot stand when a recipie calls for "one stick butter, softened (not melted)" so tonight I am making oatmeal cookies, and the recipie requests that very thing. I put my stick of butter in a stainless steel mixing bowl, stare at it for a minute...it's not getting softer....obviously I cannot put the stainless bowl in the microwave so I brilliantly decide to turn the oven only to 200 degrees and pop it in there for a minute or so. Should work right? 30 minutes later when I remember to take it out, the butter is completely melted...totally not what the recipie calls for. Oh well, it will have to do!

MPM

Haven't done this in a while, have seen lots of bloggers getting back into it lately. Sure does help with knowing what meat to defrost the day before!

S- leftover spaghetti OR chicken salad sandwiches
Frito pie
M- Chicken salad sandwiches on wheat, apples & PB
Chili dog casserole
T- Grilled cheese sandwiches, oranges
Honey glazed ham with corn muffins and pasta
W- Ham and cheese sandwiches
Baked Chicken with homemade mashed potatoes, corn and peas, fresh baked rolls
T- French toast, bacon and eggs
F- Chicken quesadillas
S- Fried dear meat with mac-n-cheese and rolls
S- Shrimp Alfredo with veggies
M- DiGiorno cheese pizza
T- ?
W- grocery shopping day

19 weeks

I'm 19 weeks now...(my doctor was wrong when he told me I was 19 weeks LAST week lol) and so far so good. According to the scale I haven't gained one pound but you'd never know that by looking at me. I feel like a whale!

What a cute idea!

OMG CHECK THIS OUT!!!

I have made these several times before, it wasn't as easy for me as Bakerella makes it look. But these wedding cake pop are to die for! So cute!

It's a Boy!

I had an ultrasound on Wednesday, and it's a boy! I was hoping for a girl but on the way there I got this feeling it was going to be a boy. So I wasn't very surprised when the ultrasound technician told us. Eli will have a little brother/roommate. I have given away or sold most of Eli's newborn clothes but in the past two days I've had two very generous friends, Dana and Lauren, offer hand-me-downs. That is so nice of them! I have one very cool shirt hanging in the closet that Eli never got the chance to wear, we will save it for his little brother. And since this will (most likely) be our last baby, I will have to give up the two pink onesies I have been hiding away for 3 years now LOL. We have yet to decide on a name, I'm sure it will be quite a challenge for us to agree on something!

Yucky Day

So I had a yucky day today...besides the nasty rain and muddy yard. Corey accidently woke Eli and me up at 6am. I couldn't get Eli to go back to sleep. I tried to rest a little bit while he ate his breakfast but he decided to climb all over me and call me a choo choo train. He does not understand that it hurts me and I know he just wants to play. Poor baby! We made a little trip to CVS where he got a new hotwheel car....then to the grocery store where I almost fainted. Made it back home, had a tuna sandwhich on wheat for lunch, then threw up. YUCK YUCK YUCK!!! Just not having a very good day today! Eli didn't take his nap until 6pm, it's now 7:40 and he's still snoozing so I'm sure we'll have a long night after he wakes up. And we can't sleep in b/c I have a dr. appt. I will hopefully be able to schedule an ultrasound while I'm there.

Check out my fish -------->

I discovered a new gadget today: fishies!! You can click the mouse to feed them. Have fun!

2nd trimester

Tomorrow I will be 15 weeks....so far so good. In 3-5 weeks I will find out whether we are team pink or team blue. What's your guess???

newbies

this list is con't from a previous post as part of my project to keep track of Eli's 2 year old vocabulary.

finished! (usually when he's done eating)
recently has replaced "yes" with "no" which is difficult (yes=no, no=no)
"i wannnnn it!" (applies to anything and everything)
"go bye bye" he is always wanting to go somewhere, puts on his shoes and brings me my shoes when he gets the urge to go
"un talk" when he wants to call someone on the phone
"touch it" or "pess it" when he wants to push a button on remote, elevator, etc
"WOW!!!" when he sees anything with lots of colors (like the candy store in the mall)
"apooodah" (computer)
Mike-o (Uncle Michael)
Unk--any of his uncles can be "unk"
"where-eee go?" and "hea id is, i fine it!"
shoes! --he loves to point and say shoes, and try on other people's shoes
"shuddup!" (shut up, i honestly don't know where he got that one)
"fwens!" (friends)
"guh" (girl)
it's hot! (before he even GOES outside he announces that it's hot)
"pway" (play)
game, ball game
"eat!!!!!!!!!" while stomping his foot down
"i got it!" and "i did it!"
boingy boingy boingy--when he's jumping on the bed
frog is pronounced minus the r and with a k at the end....sorta like "fok" and fork is the same
"shut" for shirt, peents for pants
"piddy" he wraps clothes around his neck and says "i piddy!" or tells me "you piddy!"
pincess-princess
"it's ouch" and "i hurts" or "bo-bo hurts"
"un show you" (i wanna show you)
"pease!!!" (please)
"i fix it!"
"gidddit!" (get it)
"whey!" (over there)
"he-woe, hi!" (hello, hi--his phone greeting)
"keddits" (carrots)
ta-da! (got it from Elmo)

Edited to add: I'm back with a new one: "bo-bo mess," it means blood LOL!!!!!

"I Soddy"

I almost cried when I heard that.

Eli is always headbutting me, stepping on me, pulling my hair...I know he doesn't mean to hurt me, but he does. He is just a little too rambunctious. Most of the time I lose my temper and yell at him. Today he was sitting in my lap on the couch, and he leaned back and then rammed his face into mine as hard as he could. We are both sick so I didn't yell at him. His mouth hit my mouth--he immediately had this horrified look on his face and said "oh no! it's bo-bo!" and he grabbed my hand and held it up to his mouth. I told him "Mommy has a bo-bo too!" And held my own mouth with my other hand. He looked at me and said "I soddy. Hug!" And hugged me. I really almost cried. I gave him a big hug.

New Funny Stuff

So I added a new blog last week...Torts and Tarts (see it on the sidebar) that is written by a mom from my local mom board. I was browsing through her blog list today and found another really great blog-- Wiping Up Snot. Here I am, sick with the swine flu and feeling completely miserable, but at least I am laughing. So go check her out if you've had a bady day and need to crack a smile.

Pregnancy Journal - My Journals

Pregnancy Journal, your milestone marker and memory keeper - We've taken the traditional baby book and made it even better!

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I desperately need a coffee break...

This weekend has been hectic. Weekends always are, though: driving to get Anniston, having to cook meals for four instead of just two, extra laundry, extra whining, going here & there, driving Anniston back....today I needed a break. I woke up to two sinkfuls of dirty dishes. I fried deer meat last night so the kitchen was especially yucky. I was not in the mood so I gave the kids cupcakes for breakfast. I did get to take a short nap this afternoon but then it was "on the road again...." to bring Anniston back, and I actually suckered Corey into going grocery shopping with me. Picked up stuff to make cheeseburger casserole, sloppy joes, and chicken and sausage gumbo for tomorrow. Of course there were no watermelons so that meant a second trip to a second store....get home and realize I forgot the pizza sauce, plus we need diapers...and I didn't get to mail the mortgage b/c the stupid post office here doesn't have a stamp machine. So I already have a to-do list in the works for tomorrow. While I am out running my errands, you can better believe I will be pulling into a Starbucks or CC's for a tall latte....I can taste it now.

9/9/09

I knew this day was coming up soon...I can't even imagine--if things had turned out differently, I'd probably be coming home from the hospital with a new baby soon. It feels so strange to think about it. Instead I am blessed to have a second chance, and will be in my 2nd trimester of this pregnancy by this time next week. When I think back to March, it sounds so far away, but feels like yesterday. I still remember every detail. How strange it is that I find myself at "12 weeks" again....and just hoping to get to next week with no complications. It is a happy and sad day.

I feel like chicken tonight....

I have never actually done one of these myself but I'm proudly attempting today. My parents brought me a chicken roaster a few weeks ago and I am trying it out. I am using Coke instead of beer. The only beer we ever have in the house is Woodchuck in glass bottles and I'm not going to the store, pregnant, and buying one can of beer. LOL!

i have a plum!

Iggy

So I have been hearing this "iggy" for days and only today did I finally realize that iggy = blankie. I have no idea why. But it just does. When Eli sits down he likes to cover his lap with whatever is nearby--a blankie, a pillow, even a magazine. And today in the car he got an infant carseat head rest and used that for an iggy.

Eli's world

There has been quite a lot of activity in his little world lately. We went to THREE playdates recently--one to the University Art Museum with Samantha and her mom, then to the Scott Park with LOTS of new moms and kiddos, and pretty much the same crowd plus a few at Chick-fil-A today. He has never played with so many kids this often ever!

He also seems to be more aware of his clothing now--he does not like walking around the house in his diaper...he wants shorts and a shirt and will bring them to me or attempt to put them on himself. He does not like if I try taking his shirt off when he is going to eat a messy meal, he covers up his nipples and cries for his shirt. Sometimes he does not like the clothes I dress him in and tries to rip them off, and picks out his OWN outfit....and gets his daddy to help him change into it.

He has picked up a few new words and is repeating things very clearly. He said "brownies" yesterday and now sometimes says "milk" instead of just "mygink." He says "un talk" when he wants to talk on the phone and "kiss em bobo" and points to his ant bites. He understands ownership and points to various things and says whether they are "dadda's," "momma's," or "sissy's," for example) the beer in the fridge is dadda's, and the coke is momma's.

He does not like messes very much and says "uh oh....a mess! a mess!" and wants someone to clean it immediately.

He also is learning to be sneaky. He hid some candy from me, somewhere in this house he has a little stash and eats it as he pleases....I cannot figure out where he is hiding it. (Although he does bring me the empty sucker sticks to throw in the trash when he is done.) If he is told not to go in a certain area (example: behind the counter at the dr's office) he will throw a toy down so he will have a valid excuse to go check it out anyway....this tells me he is very smart. Instead of throwing himself down and pitching a fit, he finds a creative way to successfully complete his little agenda. Very impressive!

Pregnancy Update

I will be 11 weeks on Sunday and so far so good. My OB says I have a 95% chance of carrying to full term this time. And if I make it to 12 weeks that will increase to 99%. I am not nearly as sick as I was with Eli, and very grateful for that!

Eli's busy schedule....

Sunday-- visit with MeMe and PawPaw
Monday--visit with Brittany
Tuesday--toddler Tuesday at UAM
Wednesday--going to visit Nana, Poppa, and Mawmaw
Thursday--playdate at Girard Park (guess we will have to cancel that one, poop!)
Friday--Anniston is coming

We will spend the weekend up at Nana and Poppa's. What a busy little boy!!

tv junkie

so i've become a tv junkie lately. nothing really wrong with that huh? over the years i've had "my shows" but had a hard time keeping up with the once-a-week on a certain day thing. and right now we have only the most basic cable which is pretty much LPB, the home shopping network, and a couple news channels. but now that tv is available online it's been great catching up with some older shows and starting newer ones. here's what I have been watching online:

What I Like About You (finished all seasons)
LOST (waiting on next season to start--2010 is sooo far away!)
Sons of Anarchy - (waiting for season 2 to start. love this show, Corey introduced me to it, it comes on FX, a channel which of course, we don't have so I love that I can watch it online)
Heroes (waaaay behind, waiting for Corey to watch season 3 with me)
Secret Life of the American Teenager--I'm all caught up and having to wait for new episodes every Monday--what a total drag!)
Party of 5-- (I loved loved loved this show when I was in high school. I bought seasons 1&2 on DVD and watched them in college. Season 3 was never released but I recently discovered it on Hulu. So I'm halfway through that now...don't know what I'll do about seasons 4 on.)

Staycation

So Corey sprung a surprise trip to NOLA on me this morning. We are waking up early in the A.M. to go to the Aquarium of the Americas, with a group of 10 or so of his work buddies and their wives/gf's. Should be fun. Eli will love the fishies! Anniston hasn't been yet either so she is excited. And of course I will get to take lots of pics to scrapbook! He is teasing me about going to the insectarium afterwards, and I'm totally convulsing just thinking about the creepy crawlies over there---I've been there, back before I developed this phobia.

And since he and his wallet are feeling so generous, he has agreed to go and pick up some sushi for me tonight from Shinto's! I can already taste my Haley's Roll---snow crab, tempura shrimp, avocado, and cream cheese, deep fried and served with eel sauce and spicy mayo. Yummmmmmy!!

BLAH

Pukey puke puke puke....

that's all I got for today!

edited to add: OH YEAH, yesterday I sneezed and Eli said "bless you!" and I was like "how do you know about that??" lol

Eli just had...

a healthy lunch of cheese cubes, nilla wafers, chips, and a cupcake with icing and sprinkles......I am struggling to get him to eat anything period and he snarfed all this down so I guess it's a start. Tonight I will try some meat and veggies.

New Project

Sure I am a scrapbooker but I have been a SLACKbooker for quite a while now....one day I will go have some pics printed and start trying to catch up. But now that Eli is 2, there are so many things he says/does I have decided to try and figure out a way to record all these memories. Videos are great....I am trying to compile some videos of him making animals sounds, counting, identifying body parts, etc. and I suppose I will make a DVD to put inside his scrapbook....or something like that....I just don't have everything I need to include organized---I am making a list of all the funny things he says, if if miss anything you know of, tell me!


*first thing i ever heard him say-- "deja! deja!" (have no clue what that meant)
first "real" word was duck, then dada
eye-eye= Eli, what he calls himself
mygink- means "my drink" and can be said 10+ times in a row when necessary
shoodoo- his Po teletubby
baboo- his baby doll
oggy= monkey
choo choo= a train or any big truck
chack-tu= tractor (sometimes trucks too)
Sissy- Anniston, his big sister
shoont= star (the Sun can also be shoont)
boon- balloon (he get them frequently from Chick-fil-a)
bobbies- any fruit, veggies, or other round edible things
kendy- candy (normally said in a very whiny voice)
ah-see- Icee
gall gone- all gone
wawmaw- watermelon
ky-ging= crying
hearrit?? = do you hear it?
funder= thunder
soat= soap
fuh-he, fuh-he= funny
fiiiiine- when you ask him where something is, he points to it and says "find"
otch- ouch, what he says when we wants to headbutt someone
poppit= pocket (he always says "Mine!" and put things in his poppit
papoose= what he says when he is ready to get out of the tub and be wrapped in a towel (Nana started this)
side= outside
ight= light
awwwfant= elephant (can refer to cows too)
Coke- any drink including milk, water, juice. anything in a plastic bottle is Coke.
ose= nose
ouf= mouth
shash= hair
body parts he knows: shash (hair), eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, hands, fingers, belly button, feet, toes
animal sounds he knows:
cow, monkey, tiger, kitty cat, dogdog, snake, horsey, duck, frog
phrases he likes to say:
it's hot
go go go!
ready, set, go!
awwwnooo- "i don't know"
hereidis- "here it is" when he finds something
bite- when he wants a bite
off! (he likes to press off buttons if he finds one)
he sometimes adds "ze" or "je" in front of certain words, for example "je poot" and "ze cars" (don't ask me!)
at 23 months he started saying "boo-boo gock" when Black Eye Peas' song Boom Boom Pow came out on the radio
at 24 months he has a new phrase "beeba-honk" and I have no clue what it means
when he wants to avoid something (food, scary toys) he either closes his eyes and covers his ears or runs away saying "ni-nite!"
when he is in trouble, he smiles and says "HI!"
he like to put deodorant on. anything can be pretend deodorant!

Just sharing a video

Motivation (or lack thereof)

You know how you have all these things you someday plan to do? I'm not talking big dreams here...I'm talking small, ordinary, everyday "chores" like..."oh, I'm gonna fold that laundry that I tossed on the floor yesterday" or, "Next week, I am totally gonna finish painting those baseboards in the kitchen!" But nope....doesn't happen. What is it, besides a kick in the rear, that will MAKE me get up and DO this stuff? I get on these 2-3 day long mini sprees where I actually surprise myself with accomplishment but then it never fails, I always come to a standstill. Then I sit down on the couch, eat some ice cream (never straight from the container though) and just LOOK at the rest of the stuff that is on the to-do-haha-yeah-right list. I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day, and even if there were more I would find something better to do with them rather than waste them on this stuff. I just don't have a good concept of time management. I have TONS of ideas swirling around in my head but they just don't always materialize. Sure, part of it involves being a SAHM to a 2 year old but I can't blame him entirely....I was this way before he was around and I freely admit it. I used to be worse actually. I used to have rubber maid boxes full of gallon size ziploc bags of "stuff" including school papers, random receipts, change, cut up credit cards, etc. I then realized, I could toss out anything from college as I would surely never need it again, and any receipts for anything that has already been consumed and cannot be returned to the store LOL. I got rid of lots of junk that I had been pointlessly hauling around each time I moved. It felt good to "clean house" and I am a lot better about not accumulating things these days. But, I still don't fold my laundry fresh from the dryer, or go through the junk mail pile on the kitchen bar, or dust ANYTHING.....or finish all these unfinished projects. I wish there was this magical team like the Merry Maids, that would come over and do my to-do list FOR me......guess there's no such thing as that hmmmm?

Jealous much?

So yesterday was the first day of my new babysitting job. Maddy is 21 months and will be coming over M-F for about a month or so. Eli was immediately possessive of his mommy, wrapping his arms around my legs marking his territory. He put his hands over his eyes and wouldn't look at her. He shoved all the cookies in his mouth at one time so she couldn't have any. It took them a while to warm up to one another but I guess that's only normal. They ended the day on a good note and he even cried when her mom took her home. I reassured him she'd be back in the morning when he woke up! Here are a couple shots throughout the day--including the ones of him throwing himself to the floor, covering his face with his shirt so he didn't have to see me holding her, and her tata-ing (sp?) him, telling him "it's okay!"

I feel like a salesperson!

I have been selling things left and right online. Meeting people in random parking lots to get cash for baby gear, playing phone tag and price haggling LOL! Recently I've sold:

a camera flash: $100
clothes, etc at garage sale: $200
an exersaucer: $25
a high chair: $10
a jumperoo: $40
a bumbo chair: $10
clothes to OUAC: $43
scrapbook supplies at SS garage sale: $38 (store credit)

and have these sales "pending" lol--
select comfort mattress: $50
fuzzi buns diapers: $20

I don't know what is still left in my house to sell, but if you think of something you want, make me an offer and we'll play Deal or No Deal LOL!

Book your shoot now!

Just a little P.R. for my bff Lacey!







She took some pics of Eli today, can't wait to see them!!

Arrrrgh!

Eli attended his first Build and Grow Clinic @ Lowe's. He is a little young to participate but since they were building a pirate ship I couldn't resist signing him up. To my surprise he knew JUST what to do. He put on those safety glasses and grabbed up his hammer and went to town! Of course he needed some help straigtening his nails but I think he did a pretty nifty job! His ship looked just as good as any of the 4-5 year olds there. I think I have a talented 2 year old! And here is the finished product:

What happens when a 2 year old dresses himself--

I was running late one morning and ALMOST walked out the door with Eli dressed like this! He was so proud of himself for getting his shoes (and on the right feet for once!) He stood up, grabbed his keys and said "Let's GO!" I opened the door but then noticed he was going out into the world in his underoos. And by the way, yes he does have his very own set of keys AND two cell phones---so he will leave my stuff alone!

HI!

A few days ago we had dinner at Zapato with my brother-in-law and his girlfriend's family. Eli climbed out of his high chair onto the table and just when I was about to swat his leg and tell him to get down, he gets up in my face and says "Hi!" Everyone at the table was like "Aww mais now you can't fuss him!" I couldn't help but whip out my camera, only further encouraging him. Yep, this boy is one smart cookie!

Scaredy Cow

MeMe made Eli this cute cow shirt for Cow Appreciation Day 2009. As soon as we walked in the door he freaked out. I should have known his recent everything-phobia would kick in today. He especially did not like the scantily clad girl next to us who had more body paint on than clothes. He kept his head turned the opposite direction until she and her girlfriend left. After he was sure she was out the door, he started to eat his food. I asked him if he wanted to play with the kids, and he said no. I told him he could go on the slide. Again, no. He was just too shook up over that cow. He would not wear his hat for a picture. It took lots of cajoling just to let me snap this quick one.




























After a while he forgot about her and decided he would go play after all. Here he is enjoying himself and even wearing the hat (backwards but oh well!)

















He had a good time until some big boys accidently opened the emergency exit and the loud alarm sent him into hysterics. That was our cue to go home and take a little cow nap!

Fun Project!

Gonna turn this





























into this:



I am so excited! I snagged these at the Goodwill Store for only 9.99! I have seen lockers used in kids' rooms in magazines but never thought I'd find some affordable ones around here. I'm thinking bright red will go best with his room. (or maybe yellow...hmmmm) Can't wait!

Look Ma, No Diaper!

So Eli and I had a date with MeMe today, we went all sorts of places, and bought all sorts of things. Soon I realized I had forgotten to bring diapers along for the trip and when Eli was sitting in his high chair at IHOP saying "poo poo" I prayed he was just joking with Mommy. But the lovely smell that soon drifted out proved otherwise. Luckily he was wearing his new big boy underoos over his diaper. We didn't have much of a choice other than for him to wear those until we got back home. So I took him to the bathroom and explained to him that he was going to wear his big boy underwear and he couldn't pee pee in them or he would get all wet. Of course my advice appeared to go in one ear and out the other. But even after a lengthy visit to Jo-ann's Fabric Store, he made it all the way home and managed to stay dry! I certainly hadn't planned a public outing sans pampers this soon, but I was so proud of him!

And now....he is going to model them for you:

Ta Da!

Swagbucks Anyone?

I just signed up tonight. I guess I thought there was no way I'd ever get enough to get a prize BUT so many people say it's not that hard, so I signed up. I have 6 swagbucks, and 5 of them were just for signing up. Someone, anyone? Help me understand what to do!!

Fearless to Phobic?

Anyone who knows Eli would probably call him fearless. This is the boy who does acrobatics off of the furniture, runs away in stores, picks up bugs off the ground, plays with scary toys like HULK SMASH! etc.

But over the past two weeks he has become afraid of lots of things. It really surprised me tonight that he cried at the Chick-fil-a playground. He did not want to climb to the top, he went to the door and said "bye bye bye bye bye bye" in a panicked little voice. He also hid under the table and behind my legs earlier when we got a little rain. The wind was blowing our screen door back and forth and the squeaky noise sent him into hysterics.

Even the crinkling of a plastic bag has him jumping into my lap and holding onto my neck for dear life with a pained look on his face.

I know this is all part of toddlerhood and we will find ways to deal with it but it seems odd that it happened so quickly.

Diapers on the cheap

I went CVS'n today. I purposely went in there to FIND something to spend my $3 ECB's on...(somewhere I have another $1 ecb, it's missing!) They had free (after ECB) CVS brand tape and 2/$1 (after ECB) dawn dish liquid. So I did those deals and just paid with my debit card since it was $3.7x and I had no cash, only my ECB's. I got back $1.49 and $1 ecbs's from that. Then I used those, plus the $3 ECB's, plus a $1/1 pampers q, to purchase a jumbo pack that was 11.99 on sale for 8.99 this week. So 8.99
- $1 mfr,
5.49 ecbs
= 2.50 total NOT BAD HUH??

I Am....

haven't done this in a while, but my last entry on a product review got me thinking I should rave about this new cleaning stuff I bought a while back (also at CVS of course!) It's called Dr. Bronner's Magic Pure Castile Soap. And.it.cleans.everything!



















I bought it with the intentions of making my own dishwasher detergent. A local AM mom posted a recipie online and several of us went out and bought all the necessary ingedients. I was waiting to empty out my bottle of storebought detergent so I could refill it with the homemade version, but decided to try it out on something else in the meantime. I cleaned my kitchen floors, the air conditioner register, the countertops, and the bathtubs. It can be diluted to various strengths depending on what it's being used for. So this 32 oz. bottle I bought can be diluted up to 40x! I am no math major but I *think* that would make it one cent per ounce! (if diluted that much of course) The most interesting thing about it is the bottle and the fact that the label is completely covered in writing of all sorts. You won't find much in the way of directions on how to use the product, but if you're looking for religious babble here ya go!

"It wasn't until I'd been using Bronner's for a couple of months that I actually thought to read the label. When I did, what I found was a whole lotta Crazy. See, the late Dr. Bronner was what you might call a little bit of a religious eccentric, and he liked to get his freak on with his product labels. So if you pick up a bottle of his soap, you are likely to be greeted with statements such as:

Absolute cleanliness is Godliness! Who else but God gave man Love that can spark mere dust to life! Poetry, uniting All-One! All brave! All life! Who else but God! "Listen Children Eternal Father Eternally One!"

Yes, the man lurved him some exclamation points. For the full dose of nuttiness, click on the pic and survey the entire landscape of the All-One Holy Jesus Carpenter Rabbi Hillel Extreme Love and Clean Shampoo! (All-One!) It's, um, entertaining." -- Me and My Jesus Shampoo

And if you'd like to spend a couple hours studying the actual label, click here.

Product Review

I decided to start posting product reviews now and then, and I will start with a recent purchase (from CVS of course!) Now, to be fair I got this deeply discounted and the expiration listed on it is 7/09. Still, I had high expectations for this product....



Laugh if you will, but my recent pregnancy/miscarriage have wreaked havoc on my hormones and I have had to deal with all sorts of problems since then. I felt I already had a good skincare routine but it obviously was not working, so I decided to try out some new products. No, I didn't want to shell out 99.95 for some infomercial package (though at least that one has a money back guarantee!) So I browsed the shelves at my local CVS and found Skin Effects brand on clearance. Frugal me, went prepared with a coupon for additional savings. My final price was about $8 for this supposed $19.95 retail product.

The package mentioned something about seeing a difference within 3 days. I have been using it for about 4 days now, with no real positive results. In fact today I saw a new spot starting to crop up under my skin. But I will keep using it a while longer just in case.

New blogs to check out!

Since I had to make a small change to my blog a while back, my blog list disappeared into the big black hole of the world wide web and I was too lazy to try and re-create it at the time. I recently noticed more AM bloggers and decided to go ahead and make a new blog list so I could include them. So if you take a look at the righthand column you will see some cool new blogs to take a look at.

Got a job?

So I have been job hunting for the past...5 years? LOL I have not been unemployed for the past 5 years, but have not found my dream job either. After my 2 year gig as a SAHM it is time for me to start getting paychecks again. So I have been hunting, applying, interviewing, and finally I was offered a job. The hours are lousy and the pay is lousier (sp?) but I accepted. Without.my.husband's.prior.approval. You see, I tried to call him but of course he was sleeping and did not answer. So I got home thinking he would be thrilled with the news, but unfortunately I thought wrong. He is concerned about the hours and (not) being able to find childcare to fit such an odd schedule. He has valid points, and I guess I jumped the gun and took the first job that was offered. I suppose the hunt is still on and I will keep searching until I find something better. What was the job? Inside telemarketing at Gulf South Water Solutions. I was less than thrilled about cold calling, especially during dinner time. But it was a job, that paid. I guess I will call Monday morning to let them know I won't be coming in. Sigh.

Check this out!

So my BFF does these classes at SS and she posted about her latest one here at her blog. I think they are so awesome and I can't wait to try out a couple of them!

New Fave Website!!

So, I have to share this amazing new site I came across last night: Instructables (click here!!) I wouldn't call myself green, but I guess I have the potential to be, b/c I sure do find some of these projects and "upcycles" as they call them, very fun and interesting! The link I posted was for turning a t-shirt into a tote bag, and whoever thought of that was just brilliant! I browsed the categories for no less than 2 hours before I just had to get some sleep. But when I have more time, I will definitely be back!

WAGS ♥ me today!

So I haven't posted about any of my freebies lately but I had a nice little surprise today that I can't help but share. I ran in WAGS real quick to grab one of these $1 cupcake mixes and to my surprise I got a $1 register reward. WHOOHOO for free cupcakes! It's nothing major, but free is free right? Technically they were not free cupcakes, but rather three cent cupcakes since I did pay tax.

the terrible two's....

So this morning my child drove his hotwheels through pancake syrup at breakfast....repeatedly jumped on the furniture and crawled/climbed over me for the next few hours. Refused to take a nap until I had to run errands, then wanted to fall asleep in the car, making it difficult for me to push him in a stroller while carrying a huge rubbermaid tub full of clothes.....I was such a nice mommy I still got him an icee when he asked for one on the way home. When we got back home he displayed some very destructive behavior with Hulk, throwing him against the wall and floor several times. Climbed on the cabinets and table. When I threatened to spank him, he saved me the trouble and spanked himself, laughing as if it was a game. Looking at him standing up there, spanking himself while ripping the curtains off the wall, I had to take my own time out. I closed my eyes and took some deep breaths to calm down. I decided to give him his own drawer in the kitchen so it would be easier for him to help tidy up the mess of toys he brings into the living room everyday. At the moment he is sitting on the potty (but not pottying) for the 3rd time today. When he gets off he will undoubtedly run to the kitchen and stand by the pantry whining for cookies and refuse to eat anything else for dinner. I estimate another 3.5 major tantrums and a couple minor ones before bedtime. But just breathe. We WILL get through this!!

Learning the ABC's...

A few days ago I checked out a book at the library called "Everyday Creative Play" and it has lots of fun things to do with toddlers. Since Eli doesn't go to daycare (yet) I feel like maybe he has missed out on the artsy-craftsy kind of stuff. And though he will be starting daycare soon, I decided to go ahead and do some fun things with him while we're still at home together. So we are making the ABC's to put on the wall in his room. We are using things we find around the house--popsicle sticks, ribbon, dried beans/pasta, yarn, etc. I thought we might do one letter everyday, but it's just too fun to make only one! We are not going in order. Here is what we have so far:

Cross Your Fingers For Me Please!

I have an interview on the 29th. I am really really really really hoping to get this job. At this point I will settle for whatever pay is offered and I just hope that it will be worth paying for daycare and gas. I have been through the initial pre-screening process and am now waiting for the actual interview....hope it goes well!