Cupcake Ornaments

I got this idea from my bargain board recently and it looked so cute and easy that I decided to try it. The foam is toxic so I wouldn't do this as a kid project. They could sprinkle the glitter though.

Cast:
DAP-Tex Multi-Purpose Foam Sealant
Cupcake liners
Cardboard (optional)
Glitter
Seed beads
*Berries*(I used a Christmas berry sprig)
Eyepins (got from the jewelry area)
Cord (not pictured)



Using an old muffin tin, put a cupcake liner in each and add a circle of cardboard to the bottom. I used a cut up cereal box.

Take each berry off the stem and using a jewelry eyepin, screw it into the berry where the stem came out. Go ahead and do all your berries before starting your cupcakes.

Shake, shake, shake your can of foam, add the straw and pull off the tab. Squirt foam into liner in a circular motion. It does expand so don't go too high. If you end up with a swirl on top, you can flatten it out with a finger or plastic knife.


Once it's filled, quickly add your berry (cherry), your beads and glitter. Optionally, you can add paint to them. Do each cupcake seperately. The outside foam dries quickly. Let them sit for a bit before moving. They will probably take several days to cure/dry completely on the inside but you can move them once the outside is set.



Once dry, add your cord or ribbon to the eyepin, tie in a knot and it's ready to be hung on a tree or given away! These are super lightweight and cute!

Don't talk to strangers

Yea, this goes for us moms too. How many times do we tell our kids not to talk to strangers yet an unknown man (in a wheelchair and more than likely homeless) asks me a question, and I stop to see what he wants. Stupid! I was just outside Starbucks tonight, in clear view of the inside, and with other people outside so I didn't feel in danger or anything. This guy was going to ask me something and then stopped and said he's ask me when I was done inside. Huh? I don't know what he was going to ask, for money perhaps? When I left I had 2 drinks though and he had rolled a few feet away so I didn't stay to see. He had his *girlfriend* with him too. She asked me something about ice while I was in the store but with no teeth, it was hard to understand her. Do I look like a good person? Or a pushover? And why do I always stop?

Two In A Row

Tooth number two came out! I think he may have coughed it out. He's been coughing all day long and while he was playing his video game, out it came! Guess the tooth fairy will be back again tonight.

Done!

I finished the Twilight series last night. I can't believe it's over. I'm not sure what to do with myself now. I haven't been that into a series since Harry Potter. I'm going to go back and re-read them since I read so fast that I tend to miss details. Then I'm going to need something new and GOOD to read next! Any suggestions?

If you haven't read them, go pick them up, borrow them, buy them! You won't regret it.

Look Mom

No Tooth! He wouldn't give me a normal smile so this is the best I got. (I'm not sure what's all over his face.)


The tooth right next to it is very, very loose too. The new tooth is already thru and pushing on it which is why there's such a huge gap on the other side I think. It won't be long!

The tooth fairy did come and wrote Logan a little note about swallowing his tooth and also that he should always ask Mom or Dad before he eats candy since it's not good for his teeth. ;) He got $2 for his first tooth. Sorry, our tooth fairy isn't rich enough to give out $10/tooth like I've heard some kids get. He was thrilled with his "two green dollars" though and promptly told his teacher all about it this morning.

1st tooth lost

Logan finally lost his first tooth tonight. Unfortunately he really lost it. I noticed his tongue was blue and there was candy on his teeth as well but he says he wasn't eating candy. Uh huh. Right. I guess he swallowed it. So we'll see what the tooth fairy does or says tonight. His other loose tooth should be coming out any day now. His adult tooth is right behind it already coming in.

Science Olympics

Today was the Science Olympics at our local Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI). Logan and his friend Justin were chosen out of all the kindergarteners in our school to participate. Unfortunately, Justin was a no show so Logan had to do it by himself. They had a 10 min time limit to build the tallest structure they could from cups and folders. Logan built his and then just sat there waiting. LOL I have a feeling that some of the parents really practiced at home with their kids. So he didn't win but he was proud of himself and did very well! There was one kid I just wanted to yell at. He was sitting closest to Logan and kept reaching over to Logan's tower and acting like he was going to knock it down. This was before it was even measured. All parents were in the room yet noone said a word to this kid. Ugh.

After it was all over we were free to enjoy the museum for the rest of the day for free! And that's just what we did. The boys had a blast. Bella was on my back in my O&A and took at least 2 naps back there. Never heard a peep from her. We went from floor to floor and enjoyed everything.

I only had one issue and it's a sensitive one (re: fetuses) so feel free to skip to the next paragraph. There was a whole section called The Amazing You. For the most part it was a cool area- all about the body, hearing, sight, pregnancy ultrasounds, lungs, height/weight and a neat Hollywood Squares type gameshow with puppets. There was one area though that was behind a wall that had different fetuses in various stages of development. Had they not been real babies, I probably wouldn't have had such issues. On one hand I was fascinated by it. I could see what I've only read about so many times online when I was pregnant. Tiny fingers at 12 weeks, lips, ears, etc. BUT I was also saddened that these were real babies. They were on loan from another institute. I could only look at the smaller of them. The most term baby- approx 27 weeks- was just too close to home as I can't even imagine losing a baby let alone a baby that far along. I wanted to cry for them.

Along those lines, I did see a preemie doll in an incubator (okay, not sure if that's the correct technical term) that was sooo teeny. It was a *live* doll too in that you could see it move and breathe. I was okay with that.

We eventually moved on to the Kids In Charge area where the boys could do puzzles, tug of war, go grocery shopping, milk a cow, see how gears work, etc. It's a really neat area. I decided it was far past time for Bella to eat so I found a bench to sit on. Here's the irony- I picked the one bench near the cow milking area! Hahaha! It didn't even occur to me until I was already sitting there nursing her.

So on to some pictures!

Logan's tower


Posing after the contest was over.


Hurricane wind tunnel- this was probably around 70+ mph


Coming in for a landing


Star gazing


Rope maze. We pretended they were laser beams they had to crawl under. Logan and Ian had fun rolling and crawling under them.


Hey! Where's my body?


My boys morphed into one.


Yes, the guy moving back and forth in front of me without paying attention to anyone behind him was quite annoying. The 2 kids in the very front won.

Addicted

I am addicted. It's an obsession now. I am in love with the Twilight series of books. I started book 4 today and I just don't want to put these books down. You know she's a good writer when you smile, laugh, and cry when reading a book. I bawled in book two. Seriously, if you haven't started this series, I encourage you to pick them up. My obsession has gotten out of hand though. Apparently I can't read these books before bed. The past few nights I've had the most vivid dreams about the characters and what's going to happen to them. So much so that I toss and turn all night long. I even wake myself up to tell myself to stop dreaming and then go back into the dream. Ugh. Too bad none of my theories in the dreams have panned out.

I'm so excited to see the movie. I know I'm going to be disappointed but I want to see how they bring this book to life. Already I can say that the actor Edward is nothing like I pictured in the book. I really imagined someone much better looking. Books are always better than movies though. There's so much more detail in a book than they can fit in a 2 hour movie. I'm excited nonetheless! I doubt dh would go see it with me so *hopefully* I can get some girlfriends to go on a weekend afternoon or something. Any takers?

Desperate ISO

Plea #2!!

I bought a used Leapster Lmax for my 3yr old so he'd stop fighting with his older brother over his but now I can't find a charger for it anywhere. Ebay and Amazon prices are ridiculous. If you have one you'd like to sell, please email me! If you've spotted one clearanced somewhere, please let me know. I've checked Kmart, Walmart, Target and Goodwill to no avail. This is for the Leapster/Lmax (not the original triangular leapster or the new leapster 2). I'd be happy to pay shipping and a small finders fee.

Student of the month!

Logan got it! Woohoo! He got a Certificate of Recognition too but it doesn't say SotM, it says "For Honesty and Trustworthy". Okay, is it just me or does that make no sense?

He'll also be on TV tomorrow at school. I'd love to see it. I'll have to wait and see if I can record it on my camera or something. ;)

What she said!

I lurve Ashley.

Kmart Story

I can't believe I forgot to post this!

Just last week I was in the Kmart parking lot putting my kids in the car when a car pulled in next to me with a sleeping baby in the back. The mom got out, looked at the baby and preceded to walk off. I looked at her and said, "You aren't seriously going to leave your baby in the car are you?". I think I took her by surprise. She said No, I'm just getting a cart (the other side of my truck). I felt kinda dumb but then I was like what if I hadn't said something. I did apologize to her and explained that people do some dumb stuff and she completely understood and thanked me for caring enough to say something.

Election Time Is Ovah!

Phew. The phone calls can stop. The commercials can stop. The bickering can stop. Oh wait, that hasn't stopped yet. I've seen so many political threads today online. Lots of sore losers. Many happy moms and some who are unhappy their candidate didn't win but will make the best of it.

Congrats President-Elect Obama! I'm excited for you!

Going Green Updates (Women's Eyes Only)

I will keep updating that thread only instead of posting a new one. Just FYI.

Sweet Boy

Ian was crying this morning because Logan had some candy corn in his chair pouch (hangs on back to hold his stuff) at school. He cried all the way down the hallway that he wanted candy corn. I don't have any and we didn't get any for Halloween plus I told him he could have a piece of candy after lunch. (FTR, Logan wasn't eating the candy, he just showed it to me.) So anyway, I see this little boy walking with his hands over his ears like Ian's crying was bothering him. He seems like one of those kids that's just a loner. I've seen him a few times this year. We walked past him and were almost to the office when he stops us and asks Ian if he wants his Speed Racer car to make him feel better. How sweet is that? I'd say his parents are doing a good job with him.

Going Green (Women's Eyes ONLY)

***Guys- do NOT read this***

This means you Dad! Don't say I didn't warn you, it's women's talk!!!

Trust me on this.





So I'm trying something new. I've never been able to wear tampons. I could never get them in far enough so they were comfortable. I hate bulky pads. Since AF reared her ugly head today I decided to try out my new Diva Cup. So far, so good. I put it in tonight and after a slight adjustment, it feels really comfortable. It's completely reusable so that makes it good for the environment. I'm not having to throw anything out and add more to the landfills. It doesn't go in as far as a tampon so it's easier for me at least to use. I read rave reviews on my bargain board and got in on a deal a few months back. It's just been sitting in my cabinet since then. I will post more later and how well it works!

Update #1 (POSSIBLE TMI!)- I wore it all night with no leaks. Emptied it and reinserted it this morning with no issues. I have noticed a slight pinkish tinge on the TP at times but it never reaches the pantyliner I'm still wearing just in case. I can't believe how comfortable it is. I don't even realize it's there!

Grump

Well, I know why I was so grumpy and emotional this weekend. If you're a woman, you'll understand! Ugh I was so hoping *she* wouldn't be back for a while longer. Darn that doctor and all his solid foods. Think if I nurse, nurse, nurse, it will go away for a bit longer?

A New Tooth

Tooth number two has broken thru! She'll have a mouth full at this rate! LOL Thankfully (knock on wood) she hasn't used them on anything but my finger yet!

Emotions of being a Mom

There the smile on Bella's face each time she sees me. The giggles I get out of the boys when I tickle them, the smiles when they say *I love you Mama*, the laughter when your oldest says quite seriously *You BROKE my heart* because we yelled at him to be patient already (ironic), and the joy I feel when just picking up Bella stops her crying or when she stretches and twists around to find her Dada.

There's the happiness of seeing her sitting up by herself or reaching another milestone. The love I feel for them each and every time I kiss them or go in to their room when they are sleeping to tell them one more goodnight. There's the sadness that they are growing up so fast yet blessed feeling that they are happy, healthy and well rounded children.

There's also the anger and frustration when they don't listen or when they are fighting and nit-picking each other.

Is it really a wonder how moms are so exhausted at the end of the night?

Feeling a bit Blah

It doesn't help that I'm all stuffy from this rotten cold and my muscles are sore (not sure why except carrying Bella on Halloween night) and I've just been grumpy the past couple of days. I feel really out of sorts. I don't feel connected to my girlfriends anymore. Everyone is off on their own. Everyone is busy volunteering at various schools, working and doing other things together. We don't have playdates anymore. We don't do any Mom's Nights. No holiday get togethers. It all feels really disconnected and I'm not liking it. I'm not sure what can be done though. Maybe it's all a part of growing up and growing apart?

Our core group has been together for over 5 years with a few others in our circle coming later. We all get along wonderfully and enjoy each other's company. There's no beef with anyone (at least not from my perspective). I just feel lonely I guess. I wonder if my hormones are shifting again since Bella is eating more solid foods and nursing less. Maybe that's why this is all coming out. To all my friends who read my blog, please don't be alarmed or anything. I still love you all. I'm just feeling blah right now and had to get it out. Dh doesn't get it. He doesn't have close knit friends like I do.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who feels this way- at least sometimes.

(I almost didn't post this. I may come back later and delete it so I don't look completely pathetic LOL)

Halloween!

Our night started with the boys bugging us. Is it dark yet? Can we got ToTing yet? Is it dark enough yet? We let them get their costumes on for pictures but being they couldn't sit down in them, they had to take them off again until it was time to go. We did hit more houses this year than usual. The boys even braved the house with the graveyard, scary music, fog machine, and strobe light only to find they had gone out ToT'ing and weren't home!

Halfway thru, Logan once again started in on the "can we go home now?" spiel. His candy was "too heavy". My response, if you can't carry it, you can't eat it. Sorry bud. I've got Bella in my arms and a flashlight too. There were a LOT of homes with no lights on, a few I wasn't sure about (had decorations up but no porch light) and a few with lights and noone answering. Seriously, how long have kids been ToT'ing and you don't know to turn OFF your light if you aren't participating? The boys got plenty though. I already raided their candy for the chocolate. Sshhh.

It was a beautiful night too. Not hot or humid. It was perfect. Bella fell asleep (way past her bedtime) part of the way. I had to try and keep her head from flopping. I couldn't wear her with her tutu on. She also decided to try eating her tulle and ended up spitting up a few times. Lovely. I had to rinse her tutu out when we got home. It was rather gross. She is such a good baby. She never fussed at all despite being out so late. In fact, when we came back inside she was smiling and giggling at me.

So without further ado, here are our Halloween 2008 pictures!

Julie, it's hard to see, but you may recognize this shirt. She was wearing the pumpkin socks too! I already had a black headband and found the bows at Target's $1 spot.


I picked up the cape and hat at Kmart while getting diapers. I had the spiderweb stockings leftover from a clearance sale from who knows when.


The boys got a lot of compliments on their Lego costumes. One lady thought Ian was a stoplight though. Hmmm good idea for next year!


Bella got her fair share of Ooh's and aah's too.

Halloween Pics

Coming soon!

You may have to wait until tomorrow though as dh and I are off to watch the LIVE Ghost Hunters (already in progress). Thankfully while we were ToT'ing the DVR was recording! I hope everyone else had a wonderful Halloween and got lots of yummy candy! I know we did- I already raided the chocolate! LOL

Mommy Brag

Logan was chosen as 1 of 2 students in all the Kindergarten classes at his school to participate in the Science Olympics at our local Museum of Science and Industry. Apparently they had a stack of 2 different size cups and plain manila folders and they had to stack them as high as they could. Logan and his desk buddy both made the tallest structures so they get to go. How cool is that?! Hopefully on the day we go he'll actually participate and not play shy.

Tacky Weddings

You like the Cake Wrecks blog, right? Now you have to go check out the Tacky Weddings blog! O.M.G. There are so many jaw dropping photos and videos that it will be hard to look away. Take a look at that first entry. The 16 and 17 yr old getting married...in a bikini dress...along with all her tacky bridesmaids and kids, kids!!! in hideous 2 piece dresses. Look at the makeup. Oh my! Talk about classy.

Bella Update

She had her follow up appt this morning. I made sure she nursed well before we left and the results are in....

In 2 weeks (14 days), she gained 23.75 oz!! Holy Moly! She's officially over 13lbs. I can now stop stuffing her with food (which is what I felt like I was doing) because we don't want her gaining this much so fast. LOL I feel like I'm backpedaling now. I knew in my heart that there was nothing wrong with her, she's just a peanut.

She got her vaxes and even the flu shot. The boys never had it and for some reason, I feel like they need to get it now as well as dh and I, especially with Logan in school. I'll have to back in a month for the 2nd shot for her and I need to make an appt for the boys too. I fed her when we got home and she ate a lot! 1/3 cup of yogurt mixed w/oatmeal plus I made her some plain oatmeal with a little brown sugar and pear juice. Then she nursed on top of that. I think I've created a little piggy. ;)

Brrr

It's cold outside! It was in the 30s this morning and broke records. This is the weather we don't usually get until January! There was even frost on the roofs this morning. Is it completely horrible to say I'm kinda glad Logan got sick last night so we could sleep in this morning? LOL He came home from school with a headache yesterday and a few hours later he was throwing up. That lasted about 3 hours. He took a bath and went to bed (his body was worn out) and woke up this morning perfectly fine. I wasn't going to take him to school after he was so sick yesterday. He can go back tomorrow. I certainly do not want him infecting anyone else. I still don't know what it was. Not to mention we were up at 5:30am when the power went out. The house gets eerily quiet with no heat, no noise machines and no fan blowing. Logan woke up when his noise machine went off too not to mention his night light. The power finally came on about 20min later and Bella woke up when I went to turn her machine back on. So I had to nurse her and get her back to sleep.

We were supposed to go to the park with friends this afternoon (in about 10min actually) but we'll be staying home. I made a big pot of veggie soup that's simmering. I would have made chili but it seems everyone and their mother had the same idea and there wasn't a single. can. left. in the store. Oh well. The house smells so good right now. Maybe I'll make some more of my lactation cookies later. Yum. If it wasn't for these boys fighting with each other and tattling every 2 minutes, it might be a perfect winter day!

How the Grinch Stole Marriage

Also taken from OBBC this morning. Read if you choose to. It is about gay marriage and I have no problem posting it on my blog.

How the Grinch Stole Marriage.

10 reasons why gay marriage is wrong ;)

Stolen from the OBBC board (oh how I will miss it when it's gone)

01) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.

02) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

03) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

04) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

05) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

06) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.

07) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

08) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.

09) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

Weigh In

I was on my way home from the bank this morning and since our ped's office is on the same road, I stopped in. As fate would have it, there was a parking spot right up front (probably wouldn't have stopped if I had to park further away- it was cold!) so we stopped in to do a quick weight check. Apparently you aren't supposed to just pop in but they let me simply because they know us and think Bella is just so cute. ;) I went back and weighed her, clothes (minus her sweater) and diaper on so I didn't inconvenience them too much, and she was over 13lbs! Woohoo!! She gained some weight so hopefully by Friday she will have gained some more and I can say *Told you so!*. LOL

Is she serious?

I reposted my Craigslist items to *bump* them to the top. Some lady emailed me and said she'd offer me $20 for my $75 lot and $30 for my $100 lot. Is she kidding? Umm, no. I think I'll hold onto them and either keep listing them or break them up and throw them on Ebay or another free site. I could get more at a yard sale for them- even at a $1 per piece!

Animal Kingdom Pics

We were watching this guy go thru a training exercise in which his handler thru food to him. She said he enjoyed the crowd's reaction when he caught it with his mouth. When he was done and going in for the night(park was closing), he stoped and pounded his chest for us. It sounded like bongo drums! I didn't expect it to be that loud or even that pitch.


Wearing Bella- I wore her all day and we were both fine. She loves being so close and she always falls asleep. I get some extra exercise since I'm carrying extra weight.

Zoo day!

I called up my friend Jen last week to see if she wanted to take advantage of this lovely weather and head to the zoo. So that's where we were this morning. It was so quiet- unless you count those loud siamang/gibbons and even the lemurs at one point. They are right next to each other and I swear the lemurs were telling the gibbons to shut up already! :) The boys had a great time together. Ian took a few minutes to warm up to them (as he does with anyone) but after that, he and Zane took off together. I was able to wear Bella all day which I love. I even got her up on my back by myself, not once but twice (scared Jen when she saw me fling Bella up there. LOL). I stole the pic from her blog so I could post it here.

A Disney Day

Since it was an breathtakingly beautiful day in sunny Florida today, we took advantage of it at Animal Kingdom. Dh, Logan and I all rode Expedition Everest for the FIRST time. I may have a new favorite ride! My mom went with us as well so she stayed with the younger two while we rode. It was so much fun! We also saw the Nemo show and walked the trails. Saw lots of animals. Dh, mom and the boys all went on Dinosaur. I thought it would really freak the boys out but they surprised me. Dh bought the picture so I'll try to scan it in so you can see their faces. LOL They didn't look as terrified as some of the kids in the car.

While walking one of the trails, we came upon a little girl who was crying. She was lost! Poor thing. She couldn't have been more than 6. My mom quickly took her to the Castmember and he was able to calm her down. He started walking back up the trail with her and showed her all the animals along the way. He was so good with her. When he finally found her family, they had no clue she had gone missing! She must have been gone a good 10 minutes easily if not longer since she had to walk the length of the trail to where she found us. How do you not miss your small child for that long?! I have my eyes on my boys constantly- especially at such a crowded place like Disney. Yes they can get away from you I know, but I'd like to think I would have noticed sooner. Logan realized what was happening with her and told me "She lost her Safeside adult." That movie really had an impact on him! I'm glad we found her though and she was safely reunited with her family.

I'll post more pics tomorrow! (hopefully)
Click on the photo for the full size. Everyone is in the back row.

Christmas Countdown

It's on! Only 60 days and counting. See my new ticker over there <------------? You can even decorate my tree! Go ahead, I'll wait....... (humming a little Christmas tune)



Are you done? Yes? Wow, it's beautiful! Good job!


Like I was saying, the countdown is on. I've already started the *Santa Claus is watching you* threat with the boys. Our elf should be popping up sometime soon to watch over them as well. I wonder what kind of mischief he'll get into this year. I'll be sure to update you on his Elfcapades with pics! If anyone has kids around the computer right now bugging the heck out of you, show them the Live Elf Cam. See what kind of trouble those elves are getting themselves into when they are supposed to be working. Naughty elves!

Christmas Gifts

I got 2 more gifts for the boys for Christmas thanks to Craigslist! They love Star Wars and I was able to find a brand new in box Darth Vader talking helmet and a barely used Storm Trooper talking helmet. Woohoo! I picked up the DV one tonight and I'll meet the other lady tomorrow sometime. I think between the huge wooden castle (bought after Christmas this year at 50% off), the Narnia characters to go with it (clearanced), some Leapster games I've saved(clearanced) and these helmets, they've got a decent Christmas ahead.

Bella obviously won't understand Christmas but I'll find her something to put under the tree. Some kind of girly toy perhaps. She doesn't need clothes at. all. Between all my clearance sale shopping this summer and clothes that have been given to me, she's set for the 12mo size as well as a bunch of 18mo. Our neighbor around the corner from us has 2 little girls and she brought over a bag today for me to go thru. I was able to get several cute outfits out of it (gave back the rest for her yard sale). A little Oxiclean on a couple of them and they were good as new! Bella has quite the wardrobe!

Addiction

Taken from Melodie's Blog...
Wow. I may need some help. Therapy? Counseling? Outpatient treatment?



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A Mish Mash of Stuff & Random Thoughts

Footed Pj's and potty trained 3yr olds do not go together. Ian woke me up at 2:30 in the morning the other night because he couldn't get his pj's back on. When he took them off, the arms became inside out. So I had to get out of bed to help him. And why is it they always wake ME up? Dh is closer to the door!

And speaking of it, why do they always come and ask me to do something or get them something while I'm nursing Bella and can't get up when dh is in the room (usually the kitchen) with them already!

Our school crossing guard is too high strung. She yells at parents all the time for parking in the wrong spots (which I agree with- it could be dangerous) and the kids who are patrols. I swear she must have high blood pressure. Her jokes just aren't funny anymore either. How many times is she going to ask us if we're taking Bella for show and tell?

If you are going to advertise online for a company, learn to spell! Now I don't know if this person actually works for the company or he/she is just a really enthusiastic customer but there's just no excuse. There, their, and they're are NOT interchangeable! Unfortunately those weren't the only errors.

The Woot Off which began yesterday has sucked. I missed the only toys they had and nothing else has been worth it. I think there have only been like 5 items all day today. I did however score some BabyLegs for Bella pretty cheap on Babysteals.com. With all her cute little dresses and winter coming, they'll help keep her warm.

On the way to tumbling tonight Logan spotted a sign that said something about "closed from sun up to sun down". I asked him where he saw it, like on a fence, tree, etc. He said it was where all the rips were. Huh? I said what do you mean rips? He said "rips R.I.P.s". Ohh! It dawned on me then. He must have seen the sign at the cemetery we were next to! I had a good laugh over that one!

Stupid server on Woot. They had the BOC (bag of crap= essentially a surprise box of stuff you get really cheap. Could be good, could be crap) earlier and I got into the page twice only for the server to crash again. Grrr. I wanted some good crap! ;)

The weather actually looks like fall weather today. It's overcast and I swear you can just smell fall in the air. When we got out of tumbling tonight there was a cool breeze blowing too. Ahhh. A cold front is supposed to move thru this weekend and if Sunday is as good as predicted, we WILL be headed to Disney! We're going to the zoo Monday too. I'm going to take advantage of the weather while I can!

Okay, I think that's it for now. Told you it was a lot of random stuff!

Enter to win a Beco

Win a Beco Butterfly from babySNAZZ!

Go check them out! They carry lots of nice stuff in the store too!

I.Can't.Win

Bella now has the Medicaid but her actual insurance which will be Staywell won't take effect until Dec. 1st thanks to Medicaid not getting their act together all these weeks. They screw up, we get punished. The ped. I was looking into for her doesn't take straight Medicaid which would mean I would have to change Drs again or pay OOP which is around $200 freakin' dollars for the office visit and vaxes. sigh....

Beautiful day!

This time of year is so nice. Ian, Bella and I went to the park this morning to meet some other babywearing mamas. I got to see some new wraps and a Babyhawk in person. I was able to do a back carry in my wrap with Bella although she doesn't seem entirely comfy back there. She doesn't like back carries so much yet. I've never seen so many BW mamas together! I also saw a mom in a ring sling and a mom in a Mei Tai that were NOT with our group! I never see anyone BW in our area so that was nice.

I also talked to one of the moms about pediatricians and it turns out she doesn't like my ped either. She and some other moms recommended a few others to me that do take our insurance so I'm going to look into them. Except for Ian's behavior at home and in the car, it's been a really nice day!

Good News!

Bella has healthcare! I called once again this morning and got someone who knew what they were doing. I explained what had been happening and she said I should never have been told to keep calling KidCare. All I had to do was go to the website, print out a verification form of how many children I had and fax it over. She called me back a few hours later with the approval. I have to call tomorrow to find a pediatrician for her and she's set. Yippee!!

Now I'm seriously considering changing doctors. I feel like I only go to our ped. because that's what I'm used to. I want my kids to have just one doctor but I hate getting a long winded lecture every time I go there. He's a good Dr and wants what's best but we don't meet eye to eye on a lot of stuff. I'm not sure he takes her new insurance either so I'm asking around and we'll see. Changing doctors is not about Bella though or her recent visit. I feel like this every time I leave his office. Like...I'm being scolded...it's hard to describe. I don't like feeling that way and I don't like rolling my eyes (in my mind) after each visit. Ugh. Wish me luck in this decision!

Go Rays!

Thought I'd give a shout out to the Tampa Bay Rays! I can't stand baseball but it's always nice to see the home team make it to playoffs and then to the ultimate game or in this case- series of games. Good luck Rays!!

My Blogging Type

Taken from Melodie's blog... I think the only thing I don't agree with is the "eye for design". I sooo don't have that!

Your Blogging Type is Kind and Harmonious

You're an approachable blogger who tends to have many online friends. People new to your blogging circle know they can count on you for support. You tend to mediate fighting and drama. You set a cooperative tone. You have a great eye for design - and your blog tends to be the best looking on the block!

What's Your Blogging Personality?

Found a winner!

Bella absolutely loves yogurt! I had to use the sweet kind though. I went for the plain whole milk yogurt but it expired too soon for me to use it all. So instead, I got the Stonyfield YoBaby cups and she will eat the entire 4oz cup. I mix it with some oatmeal to thicken it up a bit and add some calories. Tonight I also added in some sweet potatoes. She won't touch plain baby food but didn't mind it together. Great, she's already picky! LOL Whatever, I just want to get some weight on her and I can worry about getting veggies in her afterwards. I think the baby food really threw her digestive system for a loop. But after eating some yogurt, she's seems better and let's just say that things are coming out a bit more smooth. ;) I also bought her a multivitamin at our local natural food market. The employee there told me a lack of vitamin B can cause a lack of appetite so we'll see! She seems to really like taking it. Between the vitamin and the yogurt cultures, she should be a healthy girl! Haha.

As for me, I'm trying to boost my milk supply. I made a huge batch (8 dozen from just one recipe) of "Lactation cookies". They are basically oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with added ingredients like flax seed meal and brewers yeast that are supposed to help boost milk production (and possibly the fat production on my body LOL). They came out yummy!! I also bought some Mother's Milk Tea. We'll see what happens!

This cracked me up

Poor goats. It's mean to laugh at them, but damn it's funny! Stolen from this blog!

Class Picture

So the friend who got in touch with me was able to get our class pictures from her parents. Wow! I totally recognize my Kindergarten teacher and a few of the kids. I wonder if anyone became famous. Check out the clothes we wore! These are so funny to look back on. Can you spot me? I am not the one with the glasses. I either didn't get them yet or wasn't wearing them.

kindergarten

1st grade


2nd grade

Wild!

I find this absolutely crazy. I just logged onto my MySpace acct and saw a message in my inbox. I thought it was from a friend I had written to last week. Nope, it was from a schoolmate from my Maryland elementary school (Pine Grove) that remembered me and was wondering if I was the same person. How wild is that? I moved away from MD to FL around 1982/3-ish I guess. She didn't just remember my first name (which is NOT a common name), she actually remembered my maiden name too. Now, since I'm so horrible at names, I'm trying to figure out which classmate she was. I can only think of two at the moment. I wrote her back though so we'll see. I never thought I was very memorable. Still don't. LOL Maybe it was my oh so lovely glasses. Or my sparkly personality. ;) Totally kidding. Well, almost.

I checked out her profile, or the little bit I can see since it's private, and she now lives in FL. Very cool! I almost recognize her picture too. Isn't the web fascinating? It is for me! I love finding old friends again!

Tagged again

Here are the rules:

Grab the nearest book. Find the closest book...Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one. Pick the CLOSEST. Open the book to page 56. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the next two to five sentences on your blog along with these instructions. Tag five other people to do the same.

Here's my book. It just happened to be sitting on my desk.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J K Rowling

But the owl lay motionless and pathetic as a toy on the floor of her cage. He could not take it in, and his terror for the others was paramount. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a mass of people moving, flares of green light, two pairs of people on brooms soaring off into the distance, but he could not tell who they were --

"Hagrid, we've got to go back, we've got to go back!" he yelled over the thunderous roar of the engine, pulling out his wand, ramming Hedwig's cage onto the floor, refusing to believe that she was dead.

Poor Hedwig!!! Okay, I'm tagging Keela, Mandie, Alison Sage, Jen & Heather

No, uh-uh, nope

She doesn't want food. I can get a jar of it into her once a day and a few bites more throughout the day but that's it. She closes her mouth and turns her head. I'm trying not to stress about it anymore. I'm going to continue nursing her and attempting foods 3x day and hopefully all will be well. I weighed her twice today and she was 12.4lbs both times. She's just tiny damnit. I am also keeping a food diary I can show to her ped so I can prove what I'm doing. You just never know if I'll need it or not.

Here was our schedule today:
6:45am woke up, BM (breastmilk)
8:00am BM
8:30am Jar fruit
weighed her 12.4lbs
10:30 BM- started falling asleep
12:30 BM/few bites fruit (in that order)
3:30 BM
5:oo few bites fruit/BM
6:40 BM- bed

Bella's 6 month appt

Our appt didn't go so well today. Bella has actually lost almost a pound since her 4mo appt. so her ped is worried about it. He's giving us 2 weeks and asked us to up her solids during the day and add cereal and/or formula and then come back to get a weight check. If she gains, great. If she doesn't then he'll be sending her for metabolic testing and to see a dietician. We may also test my breastmilk for it's caloric content. I don't know why my milk would differ so much from one child to another but I guess it's possible. My intuition and my heart says there's nothing wrong with her. She's just petite. But the Dr. has put doubt into my mind though so I'll follow some of his suggestions. She'll be getting at least 3 meals a day of solids mixed with oatmeal, breastfeeding as well plus I'm going to add in some avocado and yogurt. I do not plan on adding formula. It's a man made chemical compound that I don't think she needs when she's getting the perfect milk from me already. (Fwiw, if you had to use formula or chose to do so then that's your choice for your baby.) I'll continue to nurse her too and maybe do it more often even though I was already nursing her quite a bit. Maybe I'm dehydrated and not producing as much? I don't know. It's frustrating! Neither of my boys were like this. They were both chunky.

6mo stats- I didn't get her stats. They forgot to give them to me but she was around 26.5in and 11lbs 12oz. She's my skinny minny. Off to go BF her again!

ETA: If there's one positive out of our visit it's that our ped's office is getting involved in our KidCare/Medicaid situation and it will hopefully be resolved by the time we have to go back so no more out of pocket for us!

ETAA: I realized tonight that my grandmother (Nanny) was a very petite woman. It's possible that she taking after her namesake. Also, the ped's office wasn't able to get any further than I was in the Medicaid process. It couldn't be that easy. They instead gave me another phone number that is apparently very hard to get thru on. Of course. Well, if she's not on Kidcare in 2 weeks, we may be cancelling our appt. I can't keep coming out of pocket. It's not cheap!

1st Tooth

Well it's a bit hard to see but it is there. She was screaming earlier and since that's a great way to get to see what's in there (LOL) I grabbed the camera. I can actually feel it now too. Sharp little thing! I can't wait until she bites me while nursing with that thing! (insert sarcasm here) ;o) Thankfully I'm a 4.5 year veteran at nursing and know what to do!

Craziest things

Ian, Bella and I went into Goodwill this afternoon because someone said they had a Leapster charger/battery. We were walking towards the back where they keep that stuff locked up and a lady walked by me and smiled at Bella (I was wearing her) and proceeded to rub her head. Please don't put your hands on my baby. I don't know you. Ugh.

That's not the craziest part though. She joined up with her friend and walked to the cashier. When the friend turned around, she had a monkey, an honest to God, live monkey in the cleavage of her shirt. O.M.G. It was really cute though. When I told dh, he said it must have been a very happy monkey. ;)

Teething, Talking and Movies- oh my!

Boy oh boy, I have my first cranky teething baby. Neither of the boys were particularly cranky during teething. Bella has her days though. During one of her screaming fits today (when I plopped her in the highchair to feed her some applesauce) I was able to get a good look in her mouth and I swear I see both of her front teeth coming in. One for sure but I think I see a hint of white next to it. Poor baby. Still no pics. Sorry. When she's screaming she's also moving so there's no getting a decent shot.

She's also begun *talking*. Never when the camera is on of course. She talks to her brothers in the car. We were driving on Saturday and all of a sudden I hear dadada from the back. Color me surprised! She loves her brothers though and I don't know what they do back there but she was just having her own little conversation with them. She's sticking her tongue out and trying to make sounds too. Oh so cute!

I've discovered that Baby Einsteins videos work on her just as they worked on the boys. They really save my sanity some days. She'll be fighting a nap, cranky and crying and I can pop in a BE move (she loves Baby Neptune and the duck in particular) and she immediately quiets down and within minutes she's asleep in her swing. Love them!

Here's a pic from this weekend and some video!

Silly Face


(If the video isn't working, give it a few minutes. For some reason it takes forever for YouTube to process my videos)

Healthcare again

If you have private healthcare, count yourself lucky. I'm so fed up with the KidCare program at the moment. My application was recv'd on Aug 13 and while Logan has healthcare, Ian's was JUST approved on Oct. 9th. Getting thru to Medikids is no easy task either. I got lucky this morning. I also was told we were already past due on payment which made zero sense to me as I had just paid on the 1st. Turns out you have to pay a month ahead so the 1st was for October and I had to pay again on Oct. 1st for November. Do they think I'm just supposed to know this crap? Am I freaking psychic?

And once again, noone can help me with Bella's Medicaid. I call Medicaid and they act all frustrated with me because they are sending the request to KidCare and KidCare is dropping the ball. I call KidCare and they act like they don't know anything. Why can't they run this as one group? Why do the kids all have to have different programs which means sending Bella to one group, Ian to another and Logan to yet another (goes by age)? They are once again resubmitting everything as hopefully a family of 5 so Bella can get some damn healthcare. And you know what? When she turns one, she gets out of Medicaid anyway. I hope I don't have to fight for the next 6 months. This is flippin' ridiculous!

Picture this

Older woman- maybe in her 60s- wearing bejeweled/rhinestone (only on the lower half of the leg) boot cut pants, shiny white sequined top and pink sequined shiny ball cap. (insert catcall whistle here)

That's what we spotted at Costco yesterday. Sorry no picture. Had we been in a more crowded part of the store I would have gotten one for you. It was just us in that area though.

Did You Know?

You have to be 18 years old to buy spray paint at Walmart but you can just walk in and buy a machete?

Hmm. I can be a serial killer but heaven forbid I spray something with paint! LOL I loathe Wally World but in this case it was a one stop trip (or what we hoped would be one stop and wasn't). Dh wanted a machete to clear some of our bushy Bougainvillea and something to stop my toilet from constantly running. I needed duct tape in colors for the boys' costumes and we were looking for a Wii. I was also hoping to find a Leapster charger clearanced. No such luck.

Down with the devil store. I'm a Target girl anyday!

Someone listened!

I look at Craigslist a couple of times a day just to see what's there. I came across an ad for cart covers and car seat covers. If you know me, you know just how passionate I am about car seat safety and car seat covers (aftermarket) are just not safe. They aren't tested with the seat, they void any warranty, they may compress in a crash and they may hinder the seat from working properly.

So I emailed the mom about them. She was really nice and open to links I may have about the dangers of them. I emailed her some info and this and this are what changed her mind. Aftermarket covers are not fire retardant. I know we all want to keep as many chemicals as we can away from our kids but these could help save your child. A fire retardant seat may give you those extra few seconds to get your child out of the car. Think about what would have happened to those seats with a homemade cover. It would have gone up in flames immediately. Thank God no one was actually in this van when this happened. I always feel a bit weird about emailing a complete stranger but in this case I actually did some good. She is pulling the covers from her website and more importantly her own dd's car seat. I'm happy I was able to help!

ETA: Andrea posted a good question in her comment-
So I'm confused, Karlise...are you saying the replacement covers you buy from Britax are bad or just the generic ones people make??? Technically anything you put on your seat yourself is "after market" - I have had to replace the seat cover on the marathon before (the one we no longer have) but I bought a replacement cover from Britax. What's the 411?

The answer is that any covers you buy from the manufacturer (ie. Britax, Graco, etc) of your particular car seat are SAFE. They are tested with that car seat.

The aftermarket products are anything NOT made by your car seat's mfg. This would include homemade and even some "name brand" items you'll find online, Ebay, and even Babies R Us. There are no laws preventing the use of these unfortunately. Other aftermarket products would include anything that didn't come with your seat and wasn't tested with your seat like the cutesy harness strap covers (and even plain ones) you can pick up at any baby store. Anything that you put on the harness or behind your baby/child that did NOT come with the seat or is not made by the manufacturer of your seat is not safe. Did that answer your question?

First Tooth?

I do believe all that crankiness Bella displayed last week was due to tooth #1 making an appearance. I checked at that time and didn't see anything but I believe I spotted a bitty piece of white right on her bottom gums tonight. I'll try and take a pic if she cooperates tomorrow. Make her stop already! Where did my newborn go??

Convo with dh

Dh was headed to the convenience store to grab some lotto tickets.

dh: Want anything?
me: Hmm boiled peanuts maybe? (I was hungry!)
dh: They've been sitting all day....
me: Yeah you're probably right. We don't have any chocolate. I've eaten all the chocolate in the house.
dh: (laughs) What about some orange slices (candy)?
me: (WTH?!) I mention chocolate and you say Orange Slices?
dh: (about to walk out the door) What about Caramel Creams?
me: Uhh no thanks.

He did bring me home a Mr Goodbar. Not quite what I wanted but I was in the shower when he called so he just grabbed something. At least it had chocolate! I'm still not sure where he got orange slices from chocolate. SOOO not the same thing!

It's hockey time!

Yippee!! I love my hockey. Hockey, hockey, hockey! (3 different links)

Dh can't watch the games at home. He gets too invested in the game- on the edge of his seat yelling at the tv invested. It's definitely more fun to be AT the game. The crowd going wild, the music, the action- the atmosphere is just something you have to experience. I probably won't make any games this year unless it's one of those rare early afternoon games. Maybe in a year or so we can take the kids to a game and introduce the sport to them. I want them to love it as much as we do! Go Lightning!!!

Great Babywearing article

Babywearing and strollers from the Washington Post

Gas Prices

Why does gas go UP overnight but take FOREVER to come back down?

I know people in other states that are under $2.75/gallon right now and we are still sitting at over $3.35. WTH? And the kicker is that OPEC now wants to decrease production to stabilize the prices. Ugh!

Talk about timing

We just walked in the door from getting Logan from school and it's now pouring outside! When we pulled in the neighborhood it started sprinkling, when I opened my door to get Ian and Bella out (Logan can get out on his own now- though harnessed) it was sprinkling harder. I get everyone in the house and not 2 minutes later the heavens open up. That's good timing! I feel for the kids and parents walking home though!

Need some help

By tomorrow night no less (just the ideas, not the costume). Logan needs a homemade costume for one of these words:

dog, hog, fog, log, jog, etc.
snake, bake, cake, make, lake, etc.
dad, mad, bad, pad, sad, etc.

It can not be a Halloween costume. Nothing gross or inappropriate. It must clearly have the word somewhere on the costume. My first idea was to take a chef hat we have and add an apron and that could be for "bake" but after reading the rules again I feel like it needs to be more homemade/crafty. Keep in mind, I do not sew.

What about dressing him in all blue and adding paper fish for "lake"? Not sure how to attach them though.

Dress in blue and tape cotton balls or spider webbing for "fog"?

Anyone have one of those huge birthday hats with the candle on top we could borrow? I could dress him in bright colors for "cake".

Any other ideas?

Before and After

Best recent pic I could find.


Tonight.


I'm getting used to it. He says he'll grow it back but I think he kinda likes it bald too. He doesn't have to fret about the balding spot on top of his head if there's no hair anyway!

Tagged!

The rules are, you have to answer with only one word. Then pass it on to 7 others.

1. Where is your cell phone? bag
2. Where is your significant other? computer
3. Your hair color? blah
4. Your mother? strong
5. Your father? moving
6. Your favorite thing? hugs
7. Your dream last night? frogs
8. Your dream/goal? happiness
9. The room you're in? TV
10. Your hobby? blogging
11. Your fear? death
12. Where do you want to be in six years? schools
13. Where were you last night? tumbling
14. What you’re not? single
15. One of your wish list items? lotto!
16. Where you grew up? Florida
17. The last thing you did? 90210
18. What are you wearing? pjs
19. Your TV? no
20. Your pet? dog
21. Your computer? quiet
22. Your mood? tired
23. Missing someone? nope
24. Your car? green
25. Something you’re not wearing? shirt
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? HOT
28. Love someone? Absolutely
29. Your favorite color? pink
30. When is the last time you laughed? tonight
31. Last time you cried? fortnight

Okay, I'm tagging.... Mandie, Keela, Alison, Lindsay, Kelly, Holly, and Debbie.
(PS It's not easy picking someone that hasn't been picked already when we're all in the same group of friends! So if you got picked twice, think of yourself as loved! LOL)

I got an award!

Woohoo! Thanks Melodie!




The rules are:
- the winner can put the logo on his/her blog
- link to the person you received your award from
- nominate at least 7 other blogs
- put links to those blogs on yours
- leave a message on the blogs of the people you nominate

So, I nominate the following blogs for this award:
1. Holleh- Multi slacking mama
2. Mandie- My Fragrant Life
3. Heather- My Life, My Blog
4. Fix It Mommy
5. The Virtual Voyeur
6. Suburban Turmoil
7. Ashley's Closet

Naked Head

Dh decided to shave his hair off on Sunday night. The boys didn't see it until Monday morning when they woke up.

Ian's response: "Go put your hair back on!" LOL

Logan's response was that he "had the same haircut as ___" (in his class).

Bella didn't see him until that night and she just looked confused. He was talking to her and she'd look at him and look at me questioningly and look at him and then back at me. It was funny! She wasn't sure it was him but the voice was the same.

My awesome bargain!

I was browsing Craigslist last night and came across a listing for girl's clothes and shoes. Most of it was too small but I wanted to see what she had for Bella's next size up. She also had a pair of Stride Rite shoes Bella can wear this winter brand new. When she emailed me the pics she added two beautiful boutique brand dresses that she hadn't included in her post. These are the old timey smocked/embroidered dresses that are so timeless. They came with the little diaper covers/pantaloons and one even came with a seperate slip. So adorable. I met with her this morning to see the stuff plus some shoes for Ian (which were too small) and bought the clothes and crib shoes. All for $25. I looked up the dresses online and a similar dress sells for over $40(each!).

I'm on a bargain high and I can't wait for Bella to be able to wear them!

All I Want for Christmas...

Is my two front teeth...

Guess who the tooth fairy will be coming to see very soon? Yep, Logan! He told me his tooth was loose so I checked myself and sure enough he has not 1 but 2 loose teeth. They are just barely loose though so it may be a few days or even weeks!

People Watching

I love people watching, especially at Disney where there are people from all over the globe. The Japanese are fascinating. I've seen some crazy outfits from some of the girls. I saw one girl this weekend with a knee length dress with lace accents and a high turtleneck, thigh high printed socks (not stockings) and strappy sandals.

I see man-pri's are still popular with the European crowd. These can't even be decribed as Lorts as those are clearly just long shorts. Man-pri's as I like to call them are not.

Certain items of clothing are CLEARLY inappropriate at Disney World. If you didn't know, there are a lot of kids around. Noone wants to see your ass! Not me, not my husband, not the castmembers and certainly not my kids. Someone should have pulled you aside before you entered the gates and told you to go find something to wear that covered your whole butt. Seriously. Leave a little something to the imagination. How is that even comfortable??? It's hard to look away isn't it?


Not quite as bad but there are certain things you should not wear. Especially if I can see your underwear thru your black shorts. Lady in the grey shorts isn't much better. Looks like a butt camel toe. (It may be hard to see what I'm talking about. I didn't want to zoom in though)


This must be redneck chic. Ripped at the bottom jeans, boots and a tux jacket. I'm guessing they were at a wedding earlier in the day and there'll be a reception later.


Nothing, nothing can beat that first photo though. I hope I didn't burn anyone's eyeballs!

Next Duggars?

The stroller caught my eye first so I had to get a picture but after they had walked by I realized I hadn't gotten the entire family. I thought 8 kids was a lot but there was a ninth child AND mom was pregnant again. Wow. That's a lot of work but more power to them! (ETA: Looking closely at the picture it looks like the first little girl may be an adoptee).

(Faces blurred out)

Without Further Ado

Here are our Epcot Food & Wine Festival pics! Be forewarned, this post is picture heavy and there will be more pics in the coming days/weeks. Dh wants to take his mom next week and I hope to go with just the girls too if everyone can get their schedules together.

In my hunger, I forgot to take pics of everything so you'll just have to imagine some of it. Sorry!

San Juan, Puerto Rico
-Frozen Mojito $6.50- My mom got this. She said it was only okay but she doesn't like mint. I tasted it and thought it was pretty good.


-Mofungo (green plantain mash with pork cracklings and Shrimp Salsa) $3.75- This was interesting and not bad but I wouldn't buy it again. It needed more of the salsa.

New Orleans, Lousiana (No pics)- I don't remember which was which but I thought they were both very good!
-Cajun Crawfish Etoufee $4.00
-Seafood Gumbo (shrimp, crab and catfish stew) $3.75

Oh I lied, here's a pic: Before you get all grossed out, it's not what it looks like. The guy delivering the food dumped a huge container of it on the ground splashing a very drunk guy and his wife. Drunk guy walked over to us at one point and was talking (slurring more like it) something about "what's wrong with the world" and sueing the big corporation or something. I had to warn more than one person not to step in it as noone was paying any attention!


Lyon, France
-Escargot Persillade en Brioche (snails with garlic butter in brioche) $4.50- YUMMY as usual!! If people would only adventure a taste, I think they'd love this. It's really more garlic butter and bread and it's just so mmmmmm. (Sorry about dh's hairy leg in there LOL)


-Quiche au Fromage de Chevre et poireaux (goat cheese and leek quiche) $4.00- Dh loves this.


-Creme Brulee Chocolat au Lait (milk chocolate creme brulee) $3.75- this was okay. I thought creme brulee was supposed to be thicker but this was the consistency of a thinner pudding. Ian liked it as well.


Munich, Germany (no pics)
-Spaetzle with Creamy Mushroom Ragout $3.25- I had this last year and liked it. Dh tried it this year and thought it was like pasta with cream of mushroom soup. LOL It was full of mushrooms though and looked good!

-Regensburger Sausage with sauerkraut in a pretzel roll $3.75- Mom had this and liked it. I don't care for sausage of sauerkraut myself.

New Delhi, India
-Samosa with Tamarind Sauce (spicy pea and potato pastry) $3.25- This is dh's favorite. I didn't try it this year and mom had a bite but didn't like the sauce.


-Mango Mousse $1.75- I don't care for mango but this was really good! It had some chunks of fresh mango and the sauce on top also tasted very fresh. The kids loved it as well.


Shanghai, China
-Chicken Sha Cha $3.50 - Mom and I tried this. I warned her on the bad reviews. The taste is okay but the texture of the chicken is just weird!


-Ginger Caramel Ice Cream $3.25- This was yummy as usual. It's got pieces of candied ginger in it and has a good flavor. You get a decent size cup of this too.


Melbourne, Australia
-Pepperberry Prawns on the barbie with sweet potato hash $4.75 - Not worth the price. You got 2 shrimp and while mom liked the sweet potato hash, I didn't and gave her mine. (no pic)

-Wattleseed Mousse (coffee-infused lady fingers with wattleseed filling) $2.75 - This was different. It was like a custard cake and it was def. coffee flavored. Not bad.


The Mouse Catch
-Trio of Cheese $4.50
--Asiago Pressato, Italy (cow's milk cheese)
--Manchego, Spain (sheep's milk cheese)
--Dorothea, Holland (goat's milk cheese with potato and basil oil)
No pics but this was really good! I love cheese! The Dorothea got a thumbs up from everyone. The basil really came out in the flavor of it. Ian, my little cheese lover, ate every bite we gave him. Logan wouldn't touch any of it. LOL

That's it! I think dh was a bit disappointed this year as there were not many vegetarian choices. He ended up eating a sandwich over in The Land (veggie cuban) which he always loves. I was full by the time we made it all the way around. Little bites here and there can really do it although I think I would have made room for more escargot. ;)

ISO Leapster LMAX charger/battery

I am in search of a Leapster LMAX rechargeable battery and charger(charger not necessary though). Ian got a used Leapster recently and we really need the rechargeable battery so we don't fly thru AA batteries constantly. If you have an extra you don't mind parting with, please let me know!

Saturday Food Fun

Epcot was great today! Beautiful weather, yummy food and good company (my mom was with us). I got some great people pics, food pics and more. But guess what? You're going to have to wait one more day. I'm exhausted so I'm off to bed.

Going to Epcot

Tomorrow for the Food & Wine Festival. I'll be back with lots of yummy food pics hopefully. Sorry, I got nothing else tonight. Odd isn't it?

Halloween

I'm so excited to show off Bella's costume! She's going to be a fairy! I bought her some $1 butterfly wings at the Dollar Store and I made her a tutu. She'll wear a onesie underneath. I already tried it on her and it looks soooo cute! I need to figure out a way to make the bands that hold the wings on her smaller though. The wings are fine, it's just how they are worn that's too big. I think I spent less than $5 total on the costume.

I can't wait to make her some more tutus. It was so easy and didn't take long at all. I think the hardest part was cutting the tulle in half semi-evenly. Cutting the strips was easy after that. I'll probably wait to make more until she's a bit older though and will have fun dressing up.

As for the boys, they have no idea what they want to be. Everything was $50 and involved a mask that I know they won't keep on. I did throw out the idea of making them both Legos this year and that seemed to go over well and will be super cheap so I may have to get busy!

New TV Season

Thank goodness for DVRs! I think at least half of my DVRs memory is full right now. I love my TV. I readily admit it. I watch when I'm having some down time. I watch when I'm nursing Bella. I get emotionally involved in the characters. I cry when someone dies. I smile when something good happens. I love my shows.

So I'm so happy that the fall season of shows has begun. Private Practice, Desperate Housewives, ER, Grey's Anatomy, Ghost Whisperer(tomorrow!), Gossip Girl, Lipstick Jungle and more! I also watch several shows that started this summer that are ending soon like Project Runway, The Hills, Making the Band 4, etc. I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to see who wins, who makes up and who breaks up. Yes, I'm 30 something year old mom that watches MTV shows and loves them. They are my guilty pleasure.

To whoever came up with the idea for a DVR/TIVO, you have my eternal gratitude. I no longer have to pick just one show to tape on those awful VHS tapes and trek to another TV to watch a different show. I no longer have to watch commercials. I can zoom through an hour long show in 40min. Technology is awesome.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

You're the best!!

(this pic was from May- best I had. She's lost weight since then though and looks great!)