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It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to somewhere. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Can I have some money? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' or I'm a car to order, 'Right around 8:30, please.' I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated college- but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone! One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. Initially I had thought, oh she remembered I wanted to travel this year. Until I read her inscription: "With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.' In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything. A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.' I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no button you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.' At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the girlfriend he's bringing home for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies', that would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to bring his friends home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.' As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
Do NOT click on this link if you don't want to know! These are a few small spoilers from the next season of LOST set to air next year (why must they make us wait soooo long?!).And look who's coming back to TV. The MUPPETS!!! I love the Muppets!
Here's a teaser of the newest Disney animated film set to come out next year. It's about time we got a new princess! The Princess and the Frog
You see these birds a lot in our area. They are called Florida Sandhill Cranes. They are a PITA although nice to look at. There always just a pair of them(they mate for life) unless they've had a baby recently and they love nothing better than to take 10min. crossing the street in front of you while holding up traffic. And no, you can not hit them (for those out there thinking that). They are protected by law.I always see them but I've never been able to get close enough to take a picture. I'm usually driving or they are across the street and too far away or I just don't have my camera with me so when I spotted them at Costco right where I was going to park anyway I had my opportunity! I couldn't get too close as they spooked easily but here are a couple of shots.
Accident count as of almost 7pm:Poop- 1Pee- 1He did tell me he had to poop both times he's gone today but only one was a mess. Yay! He's still waiting to tell me though instead of just going like he does with pee. I don't know why.
Dh and I discovered accidentally the other day that the tortillas I had been buying were NOT vegetarian! I never thought to read the label on a bag of tortillas. It's just bread! So I wrote the company to ask why there was gelatin in their product (I didn't even get far enough to see there was also FISH oil!). This is what they wrote me back:Karlise, thank you for your email. The gelatin in the wraps is a fish gelatin the is used as a carrier for the micro encapsulated fish oil that is in the wraps. As you know fish oil is the healthiest form of omega-3(EPA/DHA) oil which is extremely beneficial to your health. Unless you are pure vegan, this should not be a problem for you. Thanks(The bold is mine.)Umm yes, it is a problem! Last I checked vegetarians did not eat fish of any kind (that's a pescatarian) and dh definitely does not eat fish. He didn't eat it before he went veggie. So I'm letting everyone know that the South Beach wraps made by Santa Fe Tortilla Company are not veg. friendly!
It's only noon but the score is:Pee accident- 1 small (ran to the bathroom though)Poop accident- 1 BIG time! Yuck!We'll see how it goes by day's end. We're all getting hair cuts today too so I think a pullup will be in order. He's not ready (and neither am I) to go there yet!
But at least it's growing! She had very little hair up front before and it's filled in. Now if she'd just quit rubbing the back bald...LOL
I decided since we have no school the next 3 weeks, we were going to be dedicated to getting Ian potty trained and today was Day 1. Unfortunately we got a late start so he had a poopy diaper this morning but we were strictly underwear (he hates being naked) the rest of the day. He had 3 small pee incidents but other than that, he ran to the potty everytime by himself. Yay!!! I was at Target this afternoon and picked him up some Diego and Mickey Mouse underwear. He also has Scooby Doo that someone bought Logan that way that were too small that he never wore and I found some more generics brand new in his drawer so we are set! I did put a diaper on him tonight for bed as I don't know how well he'll do at night yet. I'm not worried about that. Here's a pic of my dirty boy today. Check out those chicken legs! LOL But check out the muscle too. I wish my legs were that toned! 
I LOVE me some Jelly Belly jelly beans. So when I was at Walgreens today and saw a new flavor assortment, I had to grab them to try. They are Cold Stone Creamery flavors! MMMM!! Jelly Bellys always taste awesome but these take the cake...or is it ice cream? I tried the Chocolate Devotion and it tasted like a chocolatey brownie. The Apple Pie a la Cold Stone really tasted like apple pie right down to the cinnamon. And the Birthday Cake Remix is just like a bite of vanilla cake. YUM!!! And better yet, there's a coupon on the bag so you can go to Cold Stone and get the real deal. Can't beat that!Oh and if you go check out the JB website, there's a contest you can enter for $100,000!! Just come up with a unique flavored jelly bean, design it and write why you think it should win. I came up with the Chai Creme jelly bean after my favorite Starbucks drink. Voting starts on August 15th so I'll be adding a link and asking everyone to go vote for me!
I have three bags full of school supplies sitting in my living room right now. I think I'm done though. I ran to Walgreens this afternoon and picked up the last 3 folders and some Germ-X to complete the list. He has new uniforms (shorts and shirts), new socks, new sneakers, and a new backpack and lunchbox I think the only thing I'll need to pick up will be uniform pants later this year. I told dh that he needed to come with me to drop Logan off for his 1st day of school simply bc it's such a milestone but now I think I'll need him there just to carry the supplies! Three weeks to go...Go Slowly please!
Finished, completed, concluded...the blogging contest that is. If you remember, way back at the beginning of the year, several of my friends and I began a blogging contest to see who could blog every.single.day. It had to be an actual blog with at least a couple of sentences, not just a picture or something. Most of the girls had dropped out by March but Melodie and I have been plugging on and on and on. Since at this point, we're only paying ourselves, we decided to call it a draw and split the winnings from the other girls. And here's a little tidbit for you, I've written 388 posts in this year alone!! If that doesn't deserve to win, I don't know what does!
I got soaked today. It started pouring just before I was supposed to leave the salon today. The electricity went out so we decided to forgo the hairdry as I was going to get wet anyway plus we didn't want to get electrocuted. The stylist let me borrow one of their big umbrellas but the rain was coming down at such an angle and the wind was blowing so much that I had to hold the thing sideways to keep from getting wet. The entire bottom half of me still got wet though! I drove home thru flooded streets- that's how hard and fast it was coming down. I got home and dried off and had to check out my hair. I'm blonde again! I didn't expect her to go so light. She did all over highlights. I really don't like the cut though. She said she followed my old cut and just took off the razored edges but now the layers are just blunt and ugly so I'm going to have to call her and see what she can do. It's not going to be worth the discounted rate (half of what I was paying at my other stylist) if I don't like the cut. I'll have to update on that later!
Bella rolled over today for the first time (and 2nd and 3rd too!) from back to tummy. She's been able to roll the opposite way but that's easy. She would be on her belly and lean over and just kinda roll. Tonight I was playing with her before bed and trying to make her laugh. All of a sudden, she just rolled! I went to get dh and Uncle Frankie and they came in and when I put her back on her back, she rolled again. Yea! She'll be 4 months old tomorrow. Someone make her stop growing!!
This just made me feel so ill. Logan and I were leaving tumbling class tonight and as I was strapping Bella in I happened to look over at the car next to us. Inside was an infant carseat (rear facing only) facing forward! (I don't even know if it was strapped in or not) The family had a 9ish yr old girl, a 2-3yr old boy and maybe a 15mo old girl with them. They put the 15mo old in the carseat and the straps were SOOO freakin' loose! I could have pulled her out without a problem. I couldn't let them go without saying something and if you know me, you know it's not easy for me to talk to strangers but I will if I feel strongly enough about something. So I said- Excuse me, did you know that's a RF only seat?"mom"(don't know if she's mom or not): yes I know
Me: (dumbfounded) Those straps are also way too loose. In an accident, she'll fly right out of the seat.
"dad"(looks really old): I'll hold her in.
Ummmkay. You're going to hold her in...right. As he's closing the door on me (bc he obviously doesn't want to listen to me) I told them they could get a Scenera at Walmart for about $40. I went back around to Logan's side so I could buckle him in his carseat and I just want to cry for those kids. There was NO carseat for the 2yr old.I just can not for the life of me understand how you can pay to be on an All Star Cheer squad (over $1900/yr not including travel expenses and yes, I know she's on a team) plus $40/mo for tumbling classes and NOT BUY A CARSEAT FOR YOUR KIDS. These people did not look like had much money and I'm betting they work the fundraisers to pay for the squad but I don't think there's any excuse for the lack of safety for your kids in the car. We don't have tumbling class for 2 weeks but I know I'm going to see these people again. Why are people so dumb, ignorant, clueless, (insert word here)? Ugh.On a good note- there have been no tears the past few practices and Logan's having a lot of fun. We don't go back for 2 weeks since the gym is closed but we'll be back the rest of August and at least part of September. We'll re-evaluate then!
and four to go.... the Mac sold easily and had 50 "watchers" at one point. That money will go straight to the bank. It will not pass Go and it will unfortunately not collect an extra $200.
From the strange to the outrageous to the disastrous, this blog is full of cakes that you have to see! I'm not even sure what these "decorators" thought they were doing. Scroll on down to the Beyond Bizarre post. You'll know which one it is! The "cake" has a jello top, slime and pink ruffles!
I have 42 watchers on my Mac Ebay auction! I can't wait to see the bidding war begin tomorrow as time ticks down.
Apparently my chatterbox became a detailed (that's not the word I want but I can't think of another) chatterbox this morning. I just picked up Logan from summer camp and his teacher (who he's had all year) was telling me how he completely surprised her today with just how detailed and wordy he was today. I think the funniest thing she told me he said was about his coach at tumbling. It was something along the lines of "Coach Cherry is _____, but he's not a cherry, he's a human". I love it!!
I've discovered "stranger danger" is not as easy as I thought it would be to explain to Logan. I realized I had bought THIS dvd a year or two back though and I decided to pull it out and watch it with him today while Ian was napping. It really helped him understand better and we were able to talk about it without it being scary or confusing. It's talks about people who are "Don't Knows" and people who are "Kinda Knows" and how to deal with both. If you are having the same issues as I was, I highly recommend getting it. It was cute- when Ian got up from his nap, Logan was attempting to tell him all about the video and teach Ian what he should do in a situation with a "Don't Know" or "Kinda Know". I'm sure Ian had no clue what he was talking about but I loved the big brother/little brother moment.
No, not in my house. That just doesn't happen unless everyone's gone or asleep. It's too quiet online. Several of my girlfriends left for a week long beach vacation so there haven't been any emails. I miss them already! We were invited along but I didn't feel right doing that since I'd be nursing Bella a lot and someone else would have to watch the boys for me. Maybe next year...
I recently discovered Zatarains Jambalaya with Cheese and everyone in the house loved it so I decided to make it again and jazz it up some more. It came out really good. I made 2 boxes so we could eat off of it again tomorrow (probably dh's lunch) and added some veggie breakfast sausage patties and a can of diced tomatoes. Yum!! Now I want to learn to make real jambalaya minus the meat of course. Okay, so I guess it wouldn't be real jambalaya if there's no meat but I bet it would be good none the less!
I was out shopping today for diapers and grabbed some sushi (calif. rolls) at SuperTarget on the way out for a late lunch. Dh had never had wasabi so I gave him a small taste of just that. He tasted it and nodded his head that it was good and then it hit him 5 seconds later. If you've never had it, the heat of it goes straight to your nose. I was dying laughing at him! I wish I had thought to get my camera out.I also had to go to Costco for a few things and was wearing Bella in my mei tai. She had fallen asleep and one of those sample giver ladies asked me if she was suffocating in there. I was nice and said no, she's just asleep. But really?! Do you think I'd let my daughter suffocate against my chest?? Oy vey!
My heart just stopped for a split second when I realized what time it was and couldn't remember if I had blogged or not. Phew! Melodie, how long are we gonna have this little contest? Neither of us are budging and at this point, we're just paying ourselves! We may as well cash in on what everyone else owes and split it or donate it or something!What's on the agenda this weekend? I have to run errands like returning certain buttons that a certain little guy put in my basket this week. I also need to get diapers and make a Costco run for Bocas, veg sausage and bananas. I think we'll be visiting some produce stands too and comparing some costs. The grocery store is getting too expensive and I like the idea of buying local produce. Dh mentioned Disney on Sunday but I just turned down a beach day so we could save on gas not to mention we're still smack dab in the middle of July aka busy tourist season at WDW. I think we'll wait until next month.I think dh is planning on cleaning out our laundry room and putting stuff up in the attic so he can make room for a chest freezer. I guess we're getting it sooner than I planned which is great if he can find the room. I can buy in bulk (as long as the price is right) and can stock up on good sales when they roll around. BOGOs are my friend! Add coupons and we're BFFs. LOL
Money issues bite!! I'm spoiled and readily acknowledge that. Dh has always had little jobs here and there that gave us some extra and now that we don't have all the extra, money has just gotten very tight. I'm selling some stuff on Ebay and one of the bids is up to $400 already. Yea!!! That will give me something to give Logan a party this year. He didn't get one last year and I know he wants to invite some of his preK friends. I've got some Coach bags up for sale and I may be adding more. I think I'm going to list Ian's crib bedding too since it isn't moving on Craigslist. What else can I sell off? LOL At least I'll declutter my house- there's a silver lining! :)
The joys of shopping with a 3 yr old...where to start? We went to Joann's this morning to get some bow making supplies and some fabric to try making my own MTB panels. Ian was carrying our little basket and kept throwing stuff in. I caught him each time and he put it back on the shelf. Well, I guess I missed one. When we checked out I thought the cost seemed a bit high but didn't really think too much about it. On the way home, I pulled out my receipt and kept coming back to one item for $7.99. It said 60pc Psh Butt. I know I didn't pick up any buttons and the first time I glanced in the bag, I didn't see anything weird. When I got home though, there was a tin of white buttons in there. Ian must have grabbed it. I handed the cashier my whole basket so I didn't even notice her ring it up. Ugh. Now I have to make a return trip at some point because I have no need of 60 white buttons! I guess the good thing is that I need to make a run to Target for diapers so I'll be back in the area. He was good in the store too so at least he has that going for him!
I hope... please try again.
Let's go see the staaarrrs. Red lights holler deep Depression, What do we care? Movies are there!Bonus points to whoever can tell me what movie that's from WITHOUT looking it up! No cheating! Today was $1 day at the movies again so I let Logan stay out of summer camp so he could go with his friend Hayden. It was me, Bella and the boys, Jen and Zane and Scarlett with her boys. I think we took up half a row all on our own! After getting everyone settled in with their popcorn and drinks, we sat down to watch Shrek 3. It was ehh. The boys have watched it a few times but dh told me later on that it's not a movie they really like. They'd much rather watch one of the first two Shrek movies. There was a lot of adult humor in it that goes right over their heads. On the way out of the theater, I heard someone mention a Shrek 4 coming out. Oy. How many are they planning on?So after the movie, we parted ways with our friends and walked down to Sally's Beauty to pick up some hair clips for Bella. I really want to try making my own bows for her hair. We also stopped by the candy shop near the theater. Mmm. Ian got a M&M cookie, Logan got a white choc. pretzel and choc covered oreo and I got a huge hunk of Peanut Butter Overload fudge to share with dh. Then we stopped by dh's office to drop off a CF card for his camera and went to get lunch at Burger King. Bleh. The only good thing about their lunch is the apple fries. Especially when compared to McDonalds. Cold nuggets and fries are not appetizing! Even the mac & chs that Logan got was tasteless. It's Kraft- how do they screw that up?! Guess that's why we rarely go there. Now we're home and just relaxing waiting for the rain to come. Logan and I got pretty wet yesterday after tumbling- even with the umbrella! I kinda wish we would get a good sprinkle without any thunder so I could let them go out and play in it. But this is FL and where there's thunder, there's lightning so we don't get to do that very often.
Logan was watching Ni Hao Kai Lan the other day and came to me asking to make chinese dumplings. So when I went to the store I got a few things and made up my own dish. Since I wasn't about to make homemade wrappers, I got WonTon wrappers and they worked pretty well. Tonight we made Wontons 3 ways- baked, boiled and dessert. I also made some steamed tilapia with seasoned salt. Yum! I picked up a bag of shredded slaw (broccoli, cabbage and carrots) and added some ginger, garlic and soy sauce and cooked it up. Used a bit of egg white to close the wrappers and folded them up. The baked ones were too chewy- almost stale like. They'd be better fried but we're trying to eat healthier. The boiled ones were yummy! I boiled them in some veggie broth with some soy sauce added for extra flavor. The dessert ones had a square of Hershey Dark and a vegan marshmallow piece(soo good!) and I dusted them with powdered sugar with a drizzle of chocolate syrup. Mmm. Again, would have been better fried but came out tasty all the same!Logan was happy though and ate his entire dinner.
Since so many of us are trying to be more "green" I thought I'd pass on a few websites I've come across today.BPA, PVC and Phthalate Free Shopping- baby dishes, sippy cups, baby bibs and more!Green Mom FindsKiwi Magazine articlesToys- just one of many sites
Logan was mad at me tonight. He and Ian were to clean their room up today and it took them hours because they were playing and not cleaning despite repeated threats of punishment. They lost tv for 2 days which means no video games and they sat in a time out corner for a long time. They just didn't listen. So when they finally finished, Logan asked to watch a movie. Uhhh...no. You lost that privilege. I don't know what he was thinking I meant when I said if you don't start cleaning up, you'll get no tv for today or tomorrow. He'll get over it.
I don't know why I just realized it but it just came to me. I'm no longer "afraid" to nurse in public (nip). With my firstborn, I went to another room to nurse. I always came home to nurse if I was out. I don't think I actually NIP at all. With my second son, I nursed sometimes when I was out with my friends at the park or something for a playdate. They've all been there, done that (BTDT) so it wasn't anything to them. I was more cautious though.With Bella, it's whatever, whenever. I've nursed in the middle of DisneyWorld. I've nursed in the middle of a Mary Kay meeting and will continue to nurse wherever I am when she's ready to be fed. I'm free! LOL I am still very discreet about it and unless you really stared/studied, you wouldn't know what I was doing. I don't "whip it out" as so many people like to say BF moms do (yeah, I've never seen that happen). I can't hide though when I have two other children and things to do.I really don't understand the hoopla about NIP. Most states have laws giving breastfeeding moms the right to nurse wherever they are. The sad part is that the states had to make a law so people couldn't discriminate against us feeding our children. Have you ever seen a bottle feeding mother be asked to move to the bathroom or cover up? What about someone wearing a skimpy top? Why should nursing moms be asked to? Would you want to eat in the bathroom? We didn't ask that our breasts be made into a sexual objects. They are doing exactly what God intended them to do. And as long as I'm producing the ultimate baby food, I will continue to NIP and feed my child when and where I want.I added a cute little button to my sidebar <----- check it out. (got it from Facebook and the Pieces of Flair add on)
I have nothing else to talk about tonight so I'll just tell you about my busy day. Got up this morning and went to get a Mary Kay makeover for my friend Julie who just became a consultant. I left there, came home to feed Bella again and to pick up Logan for a birthday party for one of his preschool friends (same friend in tumbling with him). Of course it rained just before we left but it stopped just before the party started thankfully. It didn't matter though, the kids were doing a water slide and were going to get wet anyway. There were plenty of tears yet again today. Logan hurt himself at least 3x at the party. When we got there, he stepped on the inside doorway of the car, slipped and scraped his leg pretty bad. He also scratched himself while we were there and got hit by a water balloon which led to more tears. He dropped his chips on the floor and despite the fact that we all said it's okay, we'll get you more, he still cried. sigh... Then, I told him they were starting the pinata. He decided to play on the slide instead and by the time he got to the pinata, he was last in line to hit it and didn't get to as it broke open. Since he didn't get to hit it, he didn't want the candy. When he decided he wanted the candy, it was mostly gone so all he got was 2 pieces. The hostess took pity on him though and gave him some little party packs of playdoh she had.I just don't know what to do with all these emotions of his. I feel like I have THE most emotional child on the planet.I did get to catch up with some of the moms from preschool which was nice and talked to the hostess about my tumbling situation with Logan. She even offered to call this coach and talk to him. LOL I told her not to though. Hopefully I'll get to speak to him next week plus I found out he doesn't usually teach the little ones. Good!Soooo if you've made it that far. We came home and apparently Bella had been crying for over an hour. She was sleeping when I left and she had been fed so I didn't take her with me. Now why dh didn't call me to come home or at least come get her, I just don't know. I was only 10min away. Got home, fed her again and dh offered to take us all out to dinner (his boss gave him $$ to do just that!). We went over to the new Tres Amigos Cantina (formerly Don Pablos) and it was pretty good. Came home again, fed Bella and put her down to sleep. Now dh is getting the boys ready for bed and soon, very soon, I'll have peace and quiet and a chance to relax. Phew!
I mentioned last week that I had tried out a Paula Deen Strawberry Shortcake recipe but that it was just over the top sweet. So today for our pool playdate/lunch I made my own version and everyone said it was really good. I liked it and it wasn't sickly sweet. So here it is so you can try it out:quart of strawberries, washed and cut into halves or quarters depending on size8oz cream cheese (I used light)- softened *you can also use a tub of whipped cream cheese*1 large tub of Cool Whip or equivalent (I used store brand)pre-made angel food cake from the bakery~In a medium size bowl, cream your cream cheese with an electric beater. Fold in your cool whip. If it's not folding together well, you can whip it but you may have to add a bit of milk to thin it back out again.~Tear off chunks of angel food cake and place in your serving bowl. A trifle dish would work well. Drop spoonfuls of cream cheese mix and top with strawberries.~Repeat layers.~Add a few strawberries to the top for decoration.~Enjoy!
And the tears begin again.... I just don't know what to do or say to Logan. He gets frustrated so easily and cries until he's choking. He's one of the youngest in the class and the newest. Everyone else can do the things he's only beginning to learn. There is one coach that is filling in for the regular coach and this guy is awesome with Logan. He takes the time to talk to him and gives him tons of encouragement. The only time I saw Logan having any fun tonight was when Torian was teaching him. The other guy seems really hard assed. I'm hoping the regular coach will be better. I already paid for the month so we're going to stick it out. I was always told I had to stick it out and if I didn't like it after that, I could quit. It's just hard to see him cry and not be able to help him. He did tell me he wanted to quit tonight- right in the middle of practice and again afterwards but I talked him into going back out there and I'm encouraging him as much as possible. We'll do a bit of practicing at home with what I know and maybe, just maybe, we'll have a good practice next week. I think I'll enforce a nap before we go too.ETA: I haven't been able to get close to a coach to even discuss things with them. Hopefully I can someone's attention next week and they can give me some advice.
While I haven't really lost any weight recently, I did manage to put on my size 12 capris this morning! They are still a bit too tight (can you say Muffin top?) so I took them back off but I was thrilled just to get them zipped! I'm coming to terms that I more than likely won't lose all my baby weight any time soon- at least until she nurses less. I'm still doing Weight Watchers but I think I'm maintaining rather than losing and my body must still be shifting the weight around from the pregnancy.
Ian, Bella and I all went to the movies this morning. (Logan was in summer camp). AMC has $1 movies during the summer for kids so we thought we'd try it out. We went with our friends Jen, Evan and Zane. This was Ian and Zane's first movie in a theatre and they both did really well.We went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. Ian got a bit antsy towards the end but overall he was good. It was hard for him to see and we couldn't find a booster for him to sit in. He thoroughly enjoyed his popcorn though. We already have tickets for next week to see Shrek 3. I'll make sure Ian gets a booster and he'll be wearing pants as he complained of being cold. I'm glad it was a theatre of all kids. Bella got a bit fussy but I tried really hard to keep her content. That usually involved feeding her or bouncing her but we got thru it! Hopefully we'll have an even better experience next week!
I got to talking with a mom of a little girl from Logan's Pre-K class last night (I was RSVPing) and she mentioned a tumbling class her dd's were in so we went tonight. The first class is free for the kids to try and Logan had a lot of fun. It isn't too far from us and the cost is really good. It's a not for profit center too and she told me they LOVE having boys. It was really fun watching him although I think I may have the most uncoordinated child in the world. He tried though and he had fun and that's what matters. I tried to take some pics but I was too far away and my pics came out really dark. I think if we go back on Thursday (if we choose to enroll him), I'll bring my big camera and long lens so I can share with you.
I found this site on another blog I was reading today. You can do all sorts of fun stuff with your pictures and you don't need to learn any complicated programs to do it (ahem Photoshop). Check out this fun picture I just did of Logan. It's free unless you want to upgrade to the "premium" membership. You don't even need to register to play around on the site.
For those with questions about cooking or wanting to learn a few tips from chefs, check out this website. There are tons of videos with how to tips and recipes!
We did absolutely nothing today. My mom came by for a bit, I did some laundry and now I'm popping popcorn and going to watch Ghost Hunters with dh. Lazy, boring Sunday.
All the kids are in bed. There's a thunderstorm overhead, I can hear the rain outside the window and I'm looking at Food and Alcoholic drink "porn" thread (just pictures of all the yummy drinks and food at Disney restaurants- get your heads out of the gutter people!) on the Disboards. I'm a foodie at heart and while I can't drink, I certainly like looking! Hopefully in a year or two, I'll be able to partake as well. Yum!
Bead necklaces- 92Bracelets- 3Rings- 4Mini Frisbees- 3Bouncy Ball- 1Tshirt- 1Candy- a tonWant to see what 92 necklaces looks like? (Excuse the melted makeup and nursing tank)
I've been shopping and cooking non stop today it seems. Dh's mom came over so I tried a couple of new recipes. We had Publix fried chicken, baked beans all doctored up, a low fat mac & chs recipe and a Paula Deen strawberry shortcake recipe I redid to lower the fat. Not sure if I would make the mac & chs again. It certainly wasn't a creamy recipe although it did taste okay. The PD recipe was yummy but overly sweet. I'll try it again and leave out the condensed milk and/or the glaze it calls for. It was just over-the-top sweet. His mom just left so now I'm just sitting here hoping for a bit of peace and quiet. I'm ready to r.e.l.a.x.
What a beautiful morning! The parade started at 10am and we got there right around 9:30. The sun was beating down but there was a nice breeze and we stayed pretty cool under our umbrellas. There were a few complaints through out the parade about being tired but they were basically told to suck it up (not in those words though) because we couldn't go anywhere if we had wanted to!Bella slept thru most of it and got quite a few "aww(s)" from people walking in the parade. She did not sleep thru the car horns, revving engines, fire engine sirens and loud music speakers though. They startled or scared her and she cried a few times. I tried to cover her ears a few times which helped.We came home with 2 Target bags filled with beads, candy, beads, flyers, beads, political stuff, beads, toys and oh did I mention beads? LOL I still have bags of beads from past parades. Logan had fun. He stood and waved to everyone and after a bit of prompting, remembered his manners and started saying Thank You to everyone who gave him something. Ian sat in dh's lap most of the time. I'm not sure why he didn't want to get up there with Logan.I won't bore you with float pictures but here are a couple of pics of the kids. Since Ian was in Dh's lap and dh was the photographer today, we didn't get any shots of him. (Karen's post has parade pics!)You can't read it but her shirt says All American Princess. (and yes, that is a Little Einsteins bandaid on my finger)
You can't really see it, but Logan has rhinestone star stickers on both sides of his face and a USA sticker on his arm. I had both on me too. I thought they were cute! 
Look at that face! This was either after she was sprayed by water guns (or the firehose) or after a siren.
We are off to the parade this morning so I'll be back later with the highlights!
I'm really starting to think they should be mandatory. I keep reading story after story of stupid, neglectful, brainless parents. I just read THIS story about a 5mo old who drowned in the shower. Who the hell leaves a 5mo old in a shower alone?!Then there's THIS woman who decided to make shoplifting a family affair. Oh and one more- what are these mothers thinking?And a mother (I'm starting to question this word) who hid a knife and sawed off shotgun in her child's stroller! WTF?!Then there are the moms who let their kids (ages 4 and under) stand with their heads thru the sunroof while in car line (yes she drove slowly thru car line with their heads sticking up thru the sunroof). Wanna see? I'm sure there are some readers who would say, oh that's not so bad but in my book, that's dangerous. (ETA: While I think this is dangerous, I don't think she's necessarily a bad mother- just poor judgement in this case- certainly not in line with the rest of these "moms")
Seriously, I'm thinking mandatory classes or some kind of test would be better than letting these people become parents.
No not in the dryer this time although that's always nice but I was looking for my Movie Watchers card in my wallet and came across some gift cards that I wasn't sure about. I had $15.xx on one and $4.xx on another! I also have a couple of restaurant gc I haven't gotten to use yet. I haven't figured out why people keep giving us gc to steak houses when there's nothing on the menu that's dh can eat (vegetarian). Maybe it's some kind passive-aggressive thing... Anyone want to go to Outback or Longhorn?
Okay, here's how it goes:MEME Rules:1. Put your iTunes/ music player on shuffle2. For each question, press the "next" button to get your answer3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER WHAT4. Post all answers on your blog and send a shout out back to this blog!Here we go!IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY? "Complicated" Hit Crew-Kid's Conga Party MusicWHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY? "Rub You the Right Way" Johnny GillWHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL? "Shimmy Shimmy Ko Ko Bop" DJ's ChoiceHOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY? "Great Balls of Fire" Jerry Lee LewisWHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? "Like Humans Do" David Byrne (I'm not sure where this song came from or why it's on my iPod??)WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO? "The Haunted Mansion Unauthorized" (speil from the HM ride at Disney- I guess it's fitting that's it's a Disney song!)WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? "Find My Way" Laura Bell Bundy- Legally Blonde musicalWHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS? "Grease" Hit Crew- Kid's Conga Party Music (um okay)WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? "Don't you Forget About Me" Breakfast ClubWHAT IS 2+2? "Breakaway" Kelly ClarksonWHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND? "Everything I Do (I Do for You)"- Bryan AdamsWHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON IN YOUR LIFE? "When It's Over" 3 Doors DownWHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY? " Dip It Low" Christina MilianWHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW-UP? "The Party has Just Begun" FreestyleWHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON IN YOUR LIFE? "One Love" Bob Marley (perfect!!)WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU? "Break On Through to the Other Side" Doors- Forrest Gump SoundtrackWHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL? "Under the Boardwalk" Bruno RatelliniWHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST? "Father Figure" George Michael WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET? "Do You believe in Us" Jon SecadaWHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS? "Riding Along in My Automobile" Chuck BerryIf you're reading this, consider yourself tagged. Enjoy. Just let me know you did it so I can read and get some more songs for my iPod.Thank you to CIGMSF for this meme!
I read this quote on one of my message boards yesterday and it stuck with me.The days are long, but the years are short. (short, sweet video too)Think about it. There are so many days my boys drive me up a wall but that's one less day of their childhood. Logan will be turning 6 in just 2.5 months. Where did 6 years go? It's been a blur it seems. He'll be headed off to Kindergarten in August.Ian just turned three. He's as talkative as his brother. When did he learn so much? I can't remember certain details about when he did things. I don't think I was paying attention. Sad isn't it?Bella is already three months old. When did that happen? She's already grown and changed so much in those three months.I really need to step back at times and remember my kids are kids. I need to slow down and take time to enjoy them. It won't be long before they won't want to hold my hand in public or shower me with hugs and kisses. Take time to enjoy your kids and life- they won't be little forever.
Do you realize there are only 176 days left to Christmas? Yes, you read that right- we're halfway thru the year already! I don't know where time went either but I'm starting to think about gifts already. I know we plan on having a budget friendly Christmas this year. Gas prices are soaring as are food prices. I don't forsee a Christmas bonus so I'm not counting on one and dh's side computer work has slowed down dramatically. So my dear family, don't expect much in the way of store bought gifts this year. We are going old-fashioned-handmade-from-the-heart gifts. I've already got a list going of things I can do/make and I think everyone will like them. Or I hope they will. And if they don't, then pfffttt to them! I hope to post pics of those items as we get closer to Christmas time!If any of my readers want a Word file of different Christmas ideas, leave me a comment with your email address if I don't already have it and I'll send it on. (Yes this is a shameless way for me to get comments! ;) )
She's got a little mohawk! Nothing keeps this hair down. 
I was looking at some Christmas music this morning getting ready to make my next post and I was singing along to I Want A Hippopotomus for Christmas. Ian came over and told me I was a "good singer" and Logan chimed in with "you should do opera". LMAO! I am not a good singer and could not and would not embarrass myself even trying to do opera. Singing in the comfort of my own home and car are okay though. ;)
You better hurry!! The winner is being picked some time tomorrow! This time it's for one of these cute monogrammed travel mugs. You know you want one!!!Thanks to Can I Get My Subscription Filled for filling me in on this contest!
Dh brought home some candy his Aunt had bought in Puerto Rico. It's made from sugar, vanilla and coconut. Sounds good right (if you like coconut)? Well I smelled the package first and thought it had a chemical like smell but I chalked it up to the plastic wrap on it. OMG it was NASTY! It tasted as bad as it smelled. I couldn't spit it out fast enough and I still can't get the taste out of my mouth. I like coconut. I've eaten coconut many times but this was just GROSS. Dh ate the rest and thought it was good. I thought it tasted spoiled. Blech!!!!So now I'm sucking down some Crystal Light and eating a Fiber One Oats & Apple Struesal bar which are super YUMMY!!! (and only 2pts). I guess my nose knows!
Dh took the boys to his mom's house this morning so Bella and I went shopping. I thought I'd check out Kohl's and I had some coupons I had to use since they were expiring so I went over to SuperTarget too. Kohl's is having some awesome sales right now. I got a really nice knit hoodie sweater for $4 and a hoodie long sleeve tshirt for $2. Perfect for the fall! They have summer stuff on sale too- just not 80-90% off. I got dh 2 button down ss shirts that came with a seperate tshirt on sale too. And of course, I couldn't pass up a few more outfits for Bella. ;) 50% off course!So if you're in the area, you may want to go check it out. They had some good deals!
Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)Wow! You can win 5 different baby carriers if you enter this contest! I'm all for that!! So please enter and if you win and want to pass one of the carriers back on to me, I'll love you forever! LOL
Dh had a business meeting tonight with a couple of co-workers. They chose Cheesecake Factory. When he told me where he was going, I said "Unfair!". LOL I love that place! So he called me when he got there and ordered me something to bring home, plus cheesecake of course. He loves me. :)Oh yeah, I had already had a light dinner (Couldn't starve myself until he got home) so I just got the Vietnamese Spring Rolls and he brought home Banana Cream cheesecake and the Adams Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple. Yum!!! I only ate 1/4 of each since we did share it 4 ways with the boys. Not so many WW points that way! Ha!
Three of my friends have had/are having babies this week! My gf Leigh had her baby Tuesday night I think. My online friend Jenifer had twin girls Tuesday morning and my other online friend Lindsay is currently in labor (as of the last update at 7am) with her twins. Woohoo!! Congrats to all of you!! I can't wait to see pics. I'm such a sucker for a good birth story and newborn pictures.ETA: Linds had her babies! You can check out her blog for her update.
I love a rainy day- at least some of the time. I especially love waking up to a rainy day if I don't have to actually get up and go somewhere. Waking up to such darkness and listening to the raindrops is so comforting. I love to snuggle up under my covers and just lay there for a little bit longer. Of course, being a mom, it doesn't last long. Maybe one day my kids will come snuggle up with me and we'll all listen to the rain together.I'm really not sure why this post came to me. It's not raining (yet, this is FL after all) but it's just one of those thoughts I get sometimes.
Go add your story or just post that you've had one. HERE's the form to fill out. Waterbirth International needs you to register your baby on their "I Was Born in Water" list on their website if you had a waterbirth. They have over 4000 baby names listed and their goal is 10,000 by 2010. They are in line for an NIH grant to do follow-up research for these babies and their mother's experiences of waterbirth. Not only will you get to be on a very cool list, but you will be helping to prove that waterbirth is a safe and wonderful way to enter the world!
Amazing how the opinion of the UK's Health Dept (govt) and the US's differ! And speaking of homebirths, if you are at all interested in that than please check out these links. I've been reading some wonderful birth stories and watching videos. Giving birth never ceases to amaze me. Another video.
Only 45 days left according to Julie's Olympic ticker! I love the summer Olympics. I look forward to them every 4 years. My absolute favorite event is women's gymnastics. I watched the Olympic trials this weekend and was so happy to see Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin win the 1st two spots on the team. Congrats girls!! It's all up in the air on who else will make the team but I'm betting on Chellsie Memmel and Alicia Sacramone being two of them. Now those 4 girls plus 8 others are all off to the Karolyi training camp for some intensive training to decide who will represent the USA this year. 8-8-08 can't get here quick enough!!
I know it isn't for everyone but I hope you will sign this petition and help out. It should be the woman's decision on where they want to give birth and as long as they know the risks, why should anyone else tell them otherwise?For those of you who haven't seen it and might be interested in signing...Please help send a message to the AMA and ACOG, and to our state and federal legislators, to tell them that we object to these resolutions and we view legislation that would restrict a woman's right to choose a home birth as a being contrary to scientific evidence and a violation of women's basic human rights.http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/birthathome/
I'm a bad mommy and just took Bella to her "newborn" hearing exam. Yes, she'll be three months this week. Oops! I dropped the boys off with dh at work (love that his new boss doesn't mind!) and off we went to the All Children's Specialty Care. It's only the second time I've been in there. The first being 3 years ago (nearly to the month I think) when Ian had to see a surgeon for his suspected MRSA as an infant. It still smells and looks pretty new. We got all checked in and I nursed her hoping she would fall asleep. And she did...for about 2 minutes. So I tried the other side and of course, that's when the audiologist came in. She was very nice though and as Bella was the only patient she had at the time, she sat and asked the questions she needed to ask me and we talked a few minutes hoping Bella would fall asleep again. No.Such.Luck.I gave up and we headed for the sound proof room. I had to ask her if she ever used it to vent frustrations but she said she hadn't. She must not have toddlers. LOL I could so use one of those rooms where I could shut myself away for a minute and just SCREAM. Hmm...maybe I could just throw the kids in and close the door. That sounds even better! ;)She said I could hold Bella during the exam so it all worked out okay. It's the first time I've ever seen one of my kids get a hearing exam. The previous two times were in the hospital and the parents don't go in. She clipped the wire to Bella's shirt and put in a tiny earplug and then the computer sent different tones and beeps and recorded how her ear reacted. Then we switched sides. To keep her happy and still, the Dr used a light from an otoscope and bubbles. She also did a second test to check how her eardrums reacted to stimulus. She passed them all!You'd think my story would end there but no it doesn't. As we were doing the right ear OAE, Bella decided to poop...all over her white pants, out the back and onto who??... you guessed it- ME!! Ugh. I had just enough wipes left to clean her up. I stashed her pants in a diaper baggie and thankfully the Dr gave us a trash bag for the mess. Oh the fun of a breastfed baby! Needless to say, we had to make a pitstop at home before going to pick up the boys. We both needed a clothing change!
So you have to go check out SITS (the Secret Is in The Sauce). They are running a contest right now to win a Bounce House! How cool! Tell them I sent you and add their button to your blog!
Ian got a Spiderman costume for his birthday and it's a bit big so Logan was able to put it on (although it's a touch too small for him). I also found our Hulk costume someone had given Logan a few years ago and it's a bit small on Ian but it works. They both decided to dress up and I was able to grab a picture before they were done. They don't last long in costume.
I Gizoogled my blog. Check out this LINK to read my blog after Gizoogling it. It's the schniznit! LOL
Or not?This lady was not from here- I'm guessing England from her BF's accent. She started to bend over as I walked by her. Thankfully that's not the shot I got! And yes, that is a one piece denim outfit!
And is this a new trend? Mismatched patterns? He was even wearing black sneakers with GREEN laces!(Sorry for the color- all my Lego store photos came out yellow-y. I've tried fixing it but without much luck)
