YARD-A-POLOOZA!!!

Today is our Yard-A-Polooza! Bill and I are going to tackle all the outside house maintenance, yard work, and other such things today! Yay! I LOVE working in the yard, it is just super hard to do while watching and talking with Little Dude, so having John and Bill around the 3 of us can tag team Little Dude and get tons of work done! Whoo Hoo!! We are going to:

*Power wash the house
*Power wash the driveway
*Wash the windows
*Mow and trim the lawn
*Trim hedges and bushes
*Weed the gardens
*Plant my rose
*Spray for bugs (luckily, I can't do this job this year!)
*Spray my roses for black spot and beetle defense (or this one!! yay!)

I also got a new rose bush that I am so excited to plant-it is yellow and red striped!! COOL!!!! I have about 6 rose bushes now, and though I am pretty sure I am allergic to the rose thorns, I still love working with them and taking care of them. I love the look of blooming rose bushes. Yes, every time I get pricked with a rose thorn, I break out in an itchy red bump. Smelling roses though, and having them in the house doesn't bother me at all, so go figure, I'm weird.

I'm also super excited to teach Little Dude more words while we are messing around in the gardens. (My plan is for him to help me, hopefully it won't turn into this). His words and speaking abilities are improving by leaps and bounds everyday and I love hearing new words come out!! I also have to say he is pretty good about following direction and coming when I call, but I still get nervous in the front yard with him because of all the cars that think they need to RACE to get the the park in our neighborhood. Sigh. One day Bill and I are going to build a speed bump to slow people down. Heehee.

At any rate, I am excited to get the yard going, and if you can't tell, it is crazy early on a Saturday for me to be up-in fact, I am already showered and dressed and drinking coffee while everyone else here sleeps. For some reason I just can't sleep. I don't know if it is because of yesterday's evening events, or if it is because getting up to pee a gazillion times during the night somehow gave me energy, but at any rate, Mom is up, and I am enjoying the quiet.

Carpe Diem

We have some sad news to share.

My husband's Aunt Kathy lost her fight with Cancer on Friday and our dear friends, Craig and Melissa, lost Craig's little sister to a hit and run driver, also on Friday. It was quite a shock to us to receive the phone calls, as they ended up coming only a few minutes apart. I still don't know that I have taken in what a loss losing these two wonderful people means to us and the world. I know they are up in Heaven now saving some good seats for the rest of us.

Please pray for all the loved ones left behind to heal from the grief.

So, for the rest of us, we should certainly "seize the day" and keep in mind, we never know our last day, so we should do our best to be proud of it, our behavior, and to enjoy life.

Carpe Diem!

Oh Drat.

Well, yesterday was awesome, and so far today looks like it will be too. Little Dude and I are going to the park again right after breakfast so we can 'beat the heat'. (It's going to get up in the high 80's today!) Then we will come back and play inside and take naps. Nice!

But, for oh drat drama, I was putting on my maternity hose this morning and snagged them. OH DRAT.

Some of you may not know, but with this pregnancy, I have had really bad varicose veins in my left leg. (So far nothing in my right, go figure) I finally caved and bought some ridiculously priced maternity hose to help with the pain. Which they do, they work like magic, and could possibly be worth the $60 it cost to get them (thus I have ONE pair).

So, as you can imagine, I am pretty sad I have a run going up my leg now, because really, we all know it is unfashionable enough to wear a skirt, dress or shorts with thick tan hose, let alone thick tan hose WITH A RUN. And esp uncomfortable for the middle of the summer. But oh well. I am going to be unfashionable until JR comes out in a few weeks. No way I'm spending $60 on another pair!

And overall, I can't complain too much, I am almost done and other than the varicose veins I haven't had any other problems. My acid reflux is even tons TONS better now.

So, if you see a super cute, short, little penguin wearing a summer dress with granny looking thick, runny hose; then yep, that is me. Nice to meet you.

Happy Anniversary To Us!!

Today, 4 years ago, Bill and I got married! It is amazing to realize how quickly the time has flown by! It really feels like we just got married, yet we have been together forever-such a wonderful place to be!

Our honeymoon was at Disney World-gosh I would love to go back to those 10 days of fun!! On top of the Disney touch of magic (they really know how to celebrate newlyweds, we got all kinds of free goodies and great stuff!!) there is nothing like coming back to your hotel to have it all cleaned. And drinking champagne in a pool. Nice!! I really can't wait to go back down with the kids-THAT will be SO FUN!!

Tonight I am making a dominant dinner for Bill and Little Dude is going to help me paint a homemade card. Tomorrow John is going to babysit for us again and we are planning on going out to a nice restaurant or something. Either way it will be super fun!!

Since yesterday was so rainy, I cleaned the house, so now today, even though it is still wet outside, Little Dude and I are going to go spend some time up at Lake Benson Park and play the day away.

It's going to be an awesome day.

****Added later in the day****

I came across this post while reading some of my favorite blogs. You all simply must read it-it is quite inspiring and lovely.

Working around the house with a Toddler

I have a very active toddler boy who loves to explore everything. This can be hard to keep up with when I have to do computer work for Dakno (my work from home-part-time job) or clean up before (gasp!) company comes, then I really need the "help" to be more than pulling the laundry out of the basket as I try to gather it in there, or take off with pens from my office for future artistic wall art...

So, what works for me? How do I keep sticky fingers off my walls while I am busy trying to keep up with my chores? I let him help. As simple as that. When I vacuum, I give him the hose extenders and a duster, and he runs around coping me, rubbing the tubes on the floor and rubbing the duster on the walls. When I am doing dishes, I pull up a chair and put his plastic dishes in a little bit of soapy water in the sink and let him go to town splashing and "cleaning" his plastic dishes. When I am in the office I give him post-it notes to go to town putting on some paper. We also have an extra computer board and mouse that he plays with on the floor beside me while I work.

Letting him participate to his ability level lets us do things together while still letting me get important things done AND keep him in my sights. No more heading out of the office to silent shenanigans going on in the playroom. (we all know silence is BAD).




So, that is what works for me! Head on over to Rocks in My Dryer for more WFMW tips!!

How do you Sling?

Well, I am excited to see what kinds of slings all of you babywearing bloggers out there have! As I am pretty new to the babywearing club, I only have two slings. They are both pouch type slings, one by Infantino that is perfect for a newborn until they can sit up/hold their head up very well. It is the black and white one draped over the chair in the pic below. It is super padded and comfy and Little Dude loved it until he was 2-3 months old and started wanting to be able to look around at stuff besides me.



My other one is a Buddy Sling that I got off ebay as my first experiement in babywearing. The stay at home mom that makes them started out her store on ebay, and made it just to my size and measurements. Now, 2.5 years later, she has her own store online! I also got the matching diaper bag, that I LOVE SO MUCH.



It is super soft cotton, (just like the sling), super easy to clean and throw in the wash and it has tons of pockets and hooks for keys, pacifiers, sippy cups and mommy stuff. I have been using it daily for almost 2 years now and you would never know it had been through so much wear! The diaper bag and sling are FABULOUSLY made. (The bag and sling look especially new after I wash them, so far nothing has stained them-I dunno if she put something on the fabric to help with that or if I have just been lucky).

Also, you cant tell in the picture, but I am almost 9 months pregnant and the sling still works for the hip carry because of how it was made to my height and torso measurements. Though now I can't carry for too long just because of JR weight and Little Dude weight together get me too tired!




I went with the pouch type again because I wanted something that I felt couldn't come undone. Since I did not know anyone In Real Life who used slings and could show me what to do with them, the pouch seemed the best way to start. As you can see in the pic below, my Little Dude still loves to be carried around in it.

I did get a hand made ring wrap as a baby shower present back before I even knew what babywearing was, but because I felt so uncomfortable trying to figure out how to use the wrap, and the girl that gave it to me had never used one, but had seen one in use and thought I would like it, I felt terribly uncomfortable about using it on my baby. The first time I tried using it with a doll I felt so awkward that I was sure I would drop Little Dude or end up smothering him, so I ended up giving the ring wrap to good will. I really regret that now, as I think that with some experience with the pouches and being able to find directions online in how to wrap, I would be able to do it and it probably would be a great one to have for discreet public nursing. Sigh. Live and learn.

The following slings are some I would like to try, but I may not get to buy one until after this baby comes and I find out how much I can keep working from home for Dakno. (hopefully I can fit a lot of work in, then I can justify splurging on some of these!)

A Mei Tai
A Beco Butterfly
A Ring Sling I am particularly in love with the Zolowear Silk Ring Sling-I can only imagine how soft that must be!

Well, thanks Steph for getting us babywearing parents together to share our slings! Head on over the her site, Adventures in Babywearing, to see what other sling recommendations and products other Babywearers (is that a word?)have!

Growing Up

This is for all the people with children growing up too fast. Even though my Little Dude is only 20 months old, it is going by way too fast. Even though I certainly have those moments where I want to hurry him to bed, or get exasperated because it is taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r to get him dress and out the door, it really hit me today that these moments will be gone soon, and all too soon, he wont need me to do anything for him, and he probably wont want me to do anything for him.

Why did this thought hit me? I went to the doctor for a JR check up, (which went great,everything is good), and left Little Dude with Uncle John. As I was leaving, I was so happy to not have the diaper bag; the thought of parking and going straight inside the office without messing with a stroller-I was elated!

Until I saw Little Dude crying in the window as I pulled out of the driveway. It hit me-how much longer will he do that, before he's "too grown"? How much longer do I have of him WANTING to hold my hand and snuggle at night to read stories-I don't know, but I know that I'm going to do my best to enjoy every second I get, even the ones that are tempting to get exasperated at. So, I am off to play with my son, and tuck him into bed.

Yesterday Was AWESOME

OK, so yesterday was AWESOME. Bill and I got to go on a date, and even though we ended up not having time to go out for Japanese Steakhouse like we planned, it worked out even better because we ended up at the Wendy's near the movie theater. Why is Wendy's special? That is the first place Bill and I went out to eat together back when we were in college and still in the very early stages of our dating status. So of course I got all teary eyed over our hamburgers and told him how very very wonderful the past 7 years have been, and how I can't believe it will be 4 years of marriage in a week. My hubby? Gave me a big kiss (and I think I saw a manly looking tearing up of the eyes)-then got me more ketchup. Ahhh, he knows the way to my heart.

The night was also great because we saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull-It was super entertaining and I loved 99% of the movie.

But BUT *SPOILER ALERT*******************************************I do wish that the whole alien/time travel thing had been more deeply explained-beyond just "knowledge is their power", cause the woman that put back the skull was destroyed by it...was that because she was bad, or because she did it? I'm confused because right before she burst into the scene, Indy was going to put it back. Would it have destroyed him? And the knowledge...did anyone gain it at all? The old professor, Ox, or that woman? Is that why she burnt up? The knowledge of the universe was to much for a human brain? I dunno!! That whole part and some of the graphics were so over done that it was a little on the cartoon looking side-Like when Mutt (shia labouf) is riding on the two cars and his legs got all stretched out? Yea....pretty sure human legs don't stretch, but at the same time, they were chasing aliens so I guess really who am I to say what doesn't look real? Like, yes, I'll buy the alien power and space ship and people jumping out of walls, but that sir, NO WAY! Hahaha!*Spoiler Alert Over******

So, Little Dude and Mia had a GREAT time at the park. Pullen Park is so great for getting energy out! Here are some cute pictures, enjoy!

Little Dude waving from the bumper boats

Little Dude loving the rocking spaceship...and waving to everyone that would pay attention

Little Dude-My sweet Big Boy, who will always be my baby, no matter how many babies I have.


Little Dude coming down the slide-Wendy got the greatest picture because she is so tall-I have never gotten a good one of him up there because I am so short, so THANKS WENDY!!! (He waved before he went down)

Little Dude and Mia doing "cheers" after their picnic was done.

Today is Here!!

I am so excited I can hardly contain it!! TODAY is the day Bill and I get to go out to dinner, and then see INDIANA JONES in a theater! YAYAYAYAYA!!! John is going to baby sit Little Dude for us, so we can stay out as late as we want. Oh I am SO EXCITED! I don't even know how I am going to wait until Bill gets off work!

In other fun news, we are going to Pullen Park today to meet up with Wendy and Mia-super fun! Little Dude loves the bumper boats and the train, so he is going to have a blast!

Tomorrow we find out if my due date is being moved up or not, based on the baby's size. I kinda hoping it is not moved up, but at the same time, it would be nice to be done being pregnant a little early now that it is getting really HOT here. As long as JR comes when he is ready, I will be fine whenever it is. Even if I go two weeks beyond the 15th of July...sigh.

Then, after my doctor appointment we will be having play date with Jess and Kip-super yay! I haven't seen them in almost 3 weeks because of one or the other of us having things happen that mess up meeting on Fridays-so THIS Friday we are meeting. I am hoping we can try to find a strawberry field to go to with the boys, but we may have missed the window of good strawberry season. I will let you know later on Friday.

As you may have noticed, I am messing around with the layout of my blog-I'm trying to figure out right now how to get some cute design next to words like "blogroll" and "about me" so that instead of having to scroll down to find and read everything, all the info can be easily linked to from the main page-I'll work on it this weekend. My nice little header is courtesy of Scraplog, but I did have to mess around with the html code to get it to fit in normal looking dimensions. I wish I knew how to mess with the code for my layout design in general-I really want to have 2 sidebars, so I can put ads and banners on the right and then my blog related stuff on the left and my writing in the middle...again, I will work on this more this weekend.

I have learned so much about computer code from working at Dakno Marketing, that it really is quite exciting to put my skills to work on my own blog now! Also, I have been able to do a little copy writing for client websites and blogs and that has been a super fun addition to being an Virtual Assistant. Sounds like I'm all tech-y, eh?

Coordinated Chaos Giveaway Rules

Here are the Rules to My Giveaways:


*Please remember to leave your contact information so I can let you know you won! You can leave email, blog url, OR you can even leave you comment then EMAIL ME at CoordinatedChaos@yahoo.com with your contact info if you don't have a blog or don't feel comfortable leaving said information in a comment.

*If you win I will need you to EMAIL ME at CoordinatedChaos@yahoo.com with your mailing address.

*Winners will be contacted and given 1 week to respond. After a week another winner will be chosen.

*Please give me a few days to mail your giveaway. As many of you know, getting to the post office with a toddler and newborn is a feat worthy of a brownie. So, I promise to get your gift to you as quickly as I possibly can.

*And, Good luck!

Works For Me Wednesday-Shaving Cream Fingerpaint

It is another Works For Me Wednesday hosted by Rocks In My Dryer! This time around I will share a fun fingerpainting alternative for preschool aged children (or children that are no longer trying to eat every new thing they see).

Shaving Cream Fingerpaint

I wouldn't advise this activity for children with sensitive skin or those prone to licking their fingers! If you like, substitute whipped cream or instant pudding if you are worried about the kids trying a taste.

Take:
Shaving Cream
Food Coloring or Tempera Paint

Squirt some shaving cream (or whatever you decide to use) onto a table top, highchair tray or piece of paper. Add a few drops of food coloring or sprinkle a bit of powdered tempera paint for instant fingerpaint fun!

Also, this is a great way to introduce letters and numbers to those of you with children 3 or 4 and up. You can put the shaving cream on the paper, spread it out, and show your kids out to spell out their names, initials or count up members of the family by using their fingers as "pens" in the cream. This is great for kids that are ready to move to learning letters and numbers, but just not quite at the motor skill level to hold a pen, crayon or chalk very well yet.

And this is a great way to make learning fun-just as it should be, esp for young children! This is also a FANTASTIC activity for a rainy day or to even do in the bathtub, with or without water. Just put the shaving cream on the tile walls and let the kids go to town. (watch the dye if you have white grout, as it might stain, you may prefer to just use plain shaving cream or pudding in the tub.)

All my preschoolers loved writing in the shaving cream and picking out the colors they wanted the cream to be, and it is also a great way to show how primary colors, when mixed, can create dozens of other colors!

Well, I hope you all have fun with this project!

Do YOU Have Your Tickets?

I Do! I am SO EXCITED about the new Indiana Jones movie coming out Thursday! YAYAYAYAY! My husband got us tickets on Sunday and I have been glancing at them at least twice a day since. I LOVE INDIANA JONES!

As an early anniversary present, we are going to go out to eat (fun!) and then go to the movie at 7:15pm(SUPER fun!) and get popcorn (oh yay!!!). My brother in law, John, is super sweet and offered to baby sit for us, so it is going to be an awesome night!! Bill keeps making fun of me for being an Indiana Jones freak, but really, I don't understand the people who aren't freaks! I can't remember the last time we went to a movie-it might have been back when I was pregnant with Little Dude! So, even if the movie doesn't hold up, it will still be a wonderfully fun night!

So, as you can see, I have Indiana Jones counting down on my blog, and you can see the movie trailer here. Or by clicking on the bottom of the ticker above. Awesome, I know!

Tag!

I got Tagged by Steph! How fun! So, I have never been tagged before, but it seems that now I must share 10 random, weird, fun facts about myself with all of you! OK, here goes:

1. I play the french horn and flute, neither one terribly well, though I do really enjoy it. Same can be said for most of my hobbies. I have tried my hand ad sewing, knitting, crocheting, scrap booking, and other such things; I'm not impressive at any, but find them all fun and relaxing.

2. I taught myself to play piano-again, not very well and I can only make it through a handful of songs without sounding just awful. So, I guess you could say I have been teaching myself for over 10 years without much progress, but still really enjoying it.

3. When I was a sophomore in high school a group of my dear friends and I skipped school to be extras in the movie "My Fellow Americans". We were part of the 'Danny Schmidt Band' and got to play in the 'Gay Parade' scene. I got bumped into and knocked down by James Garner during one of the takes (I am very small and was carrying a big mellowphone, so it didn't take much to knock me down) and he came up and talked to me afterwards to make sure I was OK. He was a super nice guy. So was Jack Lemmon-I was quite lucky to meet both of them during the days of filming. It certainly ranks as one of my favorite memories.

4. As a freshman in college I got an internship with Walt Disney World for a semester working in management, business and finance. I got to work at a hotel, in a park gift shop, and at the company cast newspaper, the "Eyes and Ears". I LOVED IT. I am a HUGE Disney fan now. In fact, I loved it so much that I went back many times to work, even auditioned for a character spot and was able to play Mickey, Minnie, Pooh, Piglet, and Alice's White Rabbit. Yes, you have been talking to Mickey Mouse and didn't even know it.

5. I absolutely hate snow. Give me warm, hot weather any day. I am a skirt, tank, flip flop girl. I think my hatred of snow stems from the fact my parents live in the mountains, on top of a mountain, and at even the slightest hint of cold they seem to loose power and have to 'mountain man' everything-and somehow every year they are never quite prepared for it, either. Some people like pumping water and having to build a fire to keep warm and eat. I; however, HATE THAT and would much rather just turn the heat up than to go outside in a snow storm searching for wood so we can heat up beans.

6. I was raised an atheist, but am now a Catholic. Going to church as a family is very important to me and I am so glad my husband and I have a strong footing to help us with raising our sons. Also, as Catholics, we are pro-life, we follow Natural Family Planning (and we have followed it for 4 years now). Also as a side note, I saved up money and went to Italy for a few weeks after high school graduation; I am quite lucky to have seen our late Pope, John-Paul II in person.

7. I LOVE to read. Especially historical fiction and action adventures.

8. I would like to have a lot of kids someday and I would really like to adopt a child at some point.

9. I worked my way through school, and got out with very little debt. I worked as a manager for Starbucks, a preschool teacher/daycare provider for Bright Horizons, and at the school gym, all at the same time and all while keeping a B average GPA and graduating in 4 years. No one can tell me that they can't afford school or 'have to join the army' to afford it. It can be done, you just have to WORK. I am also glad to say, it is all paid off and we are debt free besides our mortgage.

10. I love photography and for a summer worked with a wedding photographer and got to photograph a wedding-that was SUPER FUN!


Well, I guess that is some good, random info about me! I am going to tag the following people:

Miss Priss
Smockity Frocks
Life with the Hippie and Rifle Collector
Quilt of Grace
Rocks In My Dryer

Mother's Day Pictures

We were able to go down to my mother-in-law's new home for Mother's Day, and it was a fabulous trip! John and my sister Lisa got to come, and Little Dude LOVED the pools! Swimming lessons are in order soon....Enjoy the pictures!




Me and my sis, Lisa











Little Dude splashing in the kiddie area of the pool









Some of our Family: Me (and JR)Bill, Little Dude, Grandpa, Grandma, Lisa and John



My fabulous mother in law, Patty, and me.










Little Dude loving the ribs Grandpa made-they are all over his face! He enjoyed chewing on the rib bone too, just like one of the boys!

My Little Dude

We went out to Fat Daddy's (like Fudruckers) last night for our friend Alan's birthday and had a great time hanging out with all our friends! It hit me hard though, when someone commented that Little Dude won't be a baby anymore. It is true-as soon as JR gets here, Little Dude will go from being the baby to being a little boy. He is almost two!! I think I'm going to cry.

Now I know exactly what my parents felt when they said "You'll always be my baby", and I, a silly teenager, would roll my eyes and get embarrassed...yes, I am going to be doing the same thing to Little Dude and someday to JR.

Diaper Bag Organization

It is another Works For Me Wednesday! What works for me this week? Diaper Bag Organization; as in, carry as little as possible with this nifty little trick!

I hate it when I am out and about with Little Dude, and something happens, like getting the sippy cup lid off, or worse, forgetting the sippy cup at home, and even though my diaper bag is crazy heavy from all the other "I might need it" items, I don't have the ones I need!

So, I went to Target and bought a cute little wire basket that is about 9"x9" and about 6" tall to turn into a PERMANENT "diaper bag" for my car! In this box I have:

* 3 or 4 extra sippy cups that I bought just for the car-and marked on them in permanent marker "car"
*a ton of bibs
*half a pack of diapers
*1 box of diaper wipes
*various toys
*a hat for Little Dude
*a few books
*baby sunscreen
*one of Little Dude's sunglasses
*2 extra outfits-nothing nice, since in all likelihood they will stay in the car, just some cheap pants, shorts, socks, two tops and a jacket from good will, all bought for about 4 dollars
*a ton of granola bar snacks. (Little Dude and I love the Nature Valley brand).
*I also always have bottled water in the car because as a kid our car always broke down, and even though I an quite certain our van wont break down anytime soon, I still fear being broken down and Little Dude (or me) being thirsty, thus the bottled water

Now, in my Diaper Bag that I carry everywhere, I only need my sunglasses, my wallet,a sippy cup, 1 or 2 diapers, a small bundle of wipes, my inhaler (I have asthma), Little Dude's other pair of sunglasses, coupon holder (when going to the grocery store or shopping), phone, camera, chap stick, a small stick of sunscreen for quick touch ups, lotion, and a small toy or book. My bag is soooo light now and not a hassle to carry-wonderful! And when I forget an item at home, I don't have to stress or head home early-I have a replacement in the back of my car!

Moms: Win with Whirlpool!

I was contacted by a representative of the Whirlpool appliance company to share information about a contest they are hosting just for MOMS! Super!

This Mother's Day, May 11, Whirlpool brand will kick-off the fourth annual Mother of Invention Grant Program – just in time for the 100th anniversary of Mother's Day. In the past three years, Whirlpool brand has recognized and helped more than 15 moms turn their innovative ideas into reality.

The Whirlpool brand Mother of Invention Grant Program provides seed money and expert guidance to moms to turn their invention, business or service ideas into full-fledged businesses.

This year, Whirlpool is greening the program by adding a new category focused on moms who create an environmentally friendly product/service or use natural/recycled materials to create their invention!

Here is the Contest Information and Details:


-Program opens May 11 and entries are accepted through July 31, 2008
-Entry forms can be found at www.whirlpool.com/moms
-Contest winners receive
-A $20,000 grant for the grand prize winner
-$24,000 in grant money for the four runners-up
-Appliance prizes
-Invitation to business boot camp where winners will receive guidance from Whirlpool and industry experts
-Each mom can submit up to 3 ideas
-This year we added a Green category focused on moms who create an environmentally-friendly product/service or use natural/recycled materials to create
-The ideas submitted in this contest remain the sole property of the contestant
-Appliance and appliance component submissions will be disqualified
-Judging Criteria
-Creates a solution to an unmet consumer need
-Is unique in the current marketplace
-Could be a viable business
-Has an interesting story around the creation
-Winners will be notified around September 8, 2008

The Whirlpool representative assured me no spamming would result of your entries, and you would not be contacted by Whirlpool for marketing unless you specifically sign up for their newsletter.

So, good luck Moms!!

The Weekend

Well, we had the most wonderful Mother's Day-so far each year has gotten better and better!

Bill gave me a Yankee Candle, which I LOVE, and he got me a gift from Little Dude and JR-a willow tree carving of "Quietly". It is a beautiful wooden carving of a mother holding her two sons. When I opened it I was so close to crying because it was just such a sweet, beautiful gift and the way he gave it to me from Little Dude and JR was just too much for my little pregnant body to keep inside. My husband is the greatest!!

We also got to spend an AWESOME weekend with my in laws in their new home down near Wilmington. Their retirement home is SO LOVELY-you'll see pictures soon-and I know they are just going to love all the fun activities and day/night life going on in Wilmington as well as their community.

We got to see St Mary's Cathedral in Wilmington (which we drove to in a monsoon and everyone ended up DRENCHED except Little Dude) and enjoyed the historic, beautiful church. The church was built sometime in the late 1800's and the stained glass is just magnificent!

We also enjoyed some nice seafood along the Cape Fear River and Little Dude SUPER LOVED watching a big river boat pass by while we ate. Bill and I decided Little Dude's dream job would be a River Boat captain because then he could DRIVE, be on the WATER, and get to turn LIGHTS on and off. All three are things he is super obsessed with right now.

Happy Mother's Day!!

I know I am early, but later today we are all heading down to Wilmington to see my in-laws and spend the weekend there, so I won't be around a computer for a few days. So,



I hope you all have nice, relaxing weekends! I know I am going to be by the pool letting Grandma and Grandpa do whatever they want with Little Dude. In fact, I think I will be napping by the pools. There is an indoor one in case of rain, so my plan is fool proof. Awesome-nap time here I come!!

Life as a Penguin

I am officially a Penguin.

My neighbor has been jokingly referring to me as a penguin because I am very short, round and starting to waddle. Well, apparently he is not the only one to think that my cuteness is indeed similar to a penguin because yesterday I went shopping, and as I was checking out the old lady said to me "I knew I saw a penguin waddle!" At this point she was laughing. It took me a second becasue I am slow, so I was like, "what?" And then she said, "honey, I can spot a pregnant waddle from a mile away, but I couldn't be certain until I saw your belly puffed out! You've got to be due soon!"

So, I am a Penguin (I'm going to say a cute one at that) and in 7 days I will be entering my 8th month of pregnancy. Now I am off to waddle after my toddler, who instead of being a penguin like me is getting more to the speed of cheetah.

Like the bad guys in scary movies, no matter how fast or far he runs, my slow waddle will eventually catch up to him....I think.....wish me luck.

DOESN'T Work for me Wednesday!

Well, this is a special edition of Works for me Wednesday! Things that DID NOT WORK for me. Since my blog is mostly themed to our family and parents with young children, I will keep my list organized that way.

1. Small diaper bags or bags without lots of pockets-I have found it is so much easier to just have a nice big bag with lots of pockets so I know exactly where stuff is. Next week I will give you advice on how to keep the diaper bag light and organized.

2. Target brand diapers-they all leaked. EVERY TIME

3. Going to the grocery store without a meal plan list, sticking to the list, and carrying emergency snack for when Little Dude starts to scream in protest at being in the cart. I'm a really bad impulse buyer if I don't have my list and plan out meals before I go.

3. Trying to sleep when the baby slept-I actually found that I felt much more relaxed and focused on my job as a parent if I took that time to sip some nice coffee and read a book in quiet; or got a quick catch up on dishes and cleaning. For me that was tons more calming than lying in bed trying not to think of all the stuff I was behind in and never falling asleep anyway.

4. Spanking my child. When I was little, my parents crossed the line between punishment and beatings, so for me it doesn't work to spank AT ALL. We use other ways to discipline and they have all been working well for us.

5. Worrying about Little Dude getting some outfit dirty-if I wouldn't want the outfit covered in mud, and it isn't for church, then I don't buy it.

6. The Clip and Go cup holders-they don't work very well for anything other than bottled water or drinks with twist off lids because they tilt and jiggle A LOT. But, since I usually carry a bottle of water anyway, they were a cheap way to add a cup holder to my Peg Perego stroller.

7. Gerber transition sippy cups-they worked great since they can be bottles or sippy cups; however, once Little Dude realized that he could hit the cup on the table to the the stopper out, it was a pain to keep the stopper in. It falls right out as soon as the cups are dropped or smacked on a table.

8. Playtex, my first sipster cups-I had the worst time getting these open to wash after they got slimy from food, and half the time the long handles would end up hitting my hand as I twisted the lid off and HURT!

9. Skipping nap time. Yes, Bill and I did this one time thinking Little Dude would sleep like a rock at bed time-instead we had a crying baby til 2 or 3 am because he was SO TIRED yet COULDN'T sleep. Yes, the better nap the kid has during the day, the better he/she will sleep.

10. Wearing shoes while pregnant-I like flip flops, slide right in and go, and when I am inside I am barefoot. Just much more comfy. Besides, it makes me chuckle to be "barefoot and pregnant".

Well that is a short list of parenting things that just Dont Work For Me! Check out Rocks in my Dryer for other great things to AVOID!

Go Vote, NC!

Everyone in North Carolina, don't forget to vote in the primaries today! I am always excited to vote and take it very seriously before making a decision on who I like best. I am very conservative and Catholic, so the vast majority of the time I am in the Republican side of issues. This election, I am voting for Fred Smith for Governor, Eric Smith for School Superintendent, and McCain for president. Though honestly, I really wanted Fred Thompson to still be in the runnings. He was my favorite pic for president, but really since all the power lies in Congress, there is only so much change (or lack of change) a president can get away with.

For a few things (like gay marriage) I am on the "left", and that is only because the very Republican, "right" side of me feels the strict interpretation of the Constitution calls for separation of church and state, therefore in my views, it is a churches choice to marry or not marry whom they choose, just as it is the government's choice to marry or not marry whom they choose, the difference being one is viewed as being religious as well as legal and the other only being legal. So really, I don't even see the argument against allowing court unions for gays.

Anyway, that is me, I hope I didn't offend anyone and these area just my current views and a few of my choices. I hope you all have fun voting! Remember girls, we got the right to vote in 1920-we should use it!!*Thanks to Karen for catching my mistyped date for the 19th ammendment, I was giving us an extra 100 years! Whoops!*

My belly

Well, I am not quite at 7 months, but I thought this picture was such a cute shot of my belly I wanted to go ahead and share it, even though I am about to sneeze in the picture. I have never been photogenic. Anyways, in a week when I am officially 7 months I'll post another shot. (Perhaps my eyes will be open?) You can also see my new haircut-nothing drastic, just tons shorter and much easier for me to manage-I love it! I got my hair done by Tina at Salon 321 in Clayton. She was just fabulous, helping me find a cut that made my frizzy waves suddenly look like curl. Awesome.



I am actually hoping to get Bill to go get professional family pictures done with me-I want some really good ones of my belly and of Little Dude hugging/kissing my belly. I LOVE it when Little Dude says "baby" and kisses my tummy; I must find a way to capture it on film! So, if I can get professional ones done soon I will try to figure out a way to share them as well.

Also, this past Saturday was my brother in law John's 26th birthday! Yay! We had a really fun time getting together with friends and throwing him a party. Little Dude was the life of the party with his signature "dance moves".

Tummy Time

I'm a huge advocate of getting moms to let their babies play on their tummies when awake, simply because I have learned from my early childhood classes that though SLEEPING on the back is VERY important in cutting the risk of SIDS, spending time on their tummies when awake is terribly important for muscle, spine, head, and brain development. When babies don't get enough tummy time, their muscles remain weak, making it harder for them to transition to sitting up, crawling, and later walking.

Most of all, lack of tummy time can affect the development of the skull, which in turn affects the space in which the babies' brain is growing. Also, severe lack of tummy time can cause the head to develop with obvious deformities in shape, such has completely flat heads, heads that are off center due to weak neck muscles, and cause other areas of the head to protrude at odd angles. All can be fixed by having your baby wear a "helmet", which a doctor can tell you about or recommend, but really, if it is avoidable, we as parents might as well avoid it.

Well, let me just say I was a little excited to see that our local news had a short info segment about the importance of tummy time (thus prompting this blog entry). You can find the link HERE along with a video of the segment and the information the doctors have to share.

More Pictures!

My neighbor and I took our kids to Pullen Park a little while ago and it was SUPER fun! Pullen Park is great because not only is it a traditional park with swing sets, etc, but it has kiddie boats, a ride on train, carousel, paddle boats, and beautiful trails around a lake with tons of picnic areas. Tickets for one ride is only a dollar, so it was a great place to let the kids run off some energy! Here are some pictures from our fun day! Enjoy!