New pets?

Nah! But I don't mind holding them or touching them. We went to a friend's birthday party today and this was the entertainment!






Like my new fashion accessory? There were several snakes, a bearded dragon, tarantula, alligator and a frog. The kids all had a blast. Ian wouldn't go near any of them though. There were only a few things that Logan wouldn't touch like the spider for one! I haven't held a boa like that since I was a kid. I want to say it was at Busch Gardens years ago. This one was named Carlos I think and weighed about 35lbs.

Frustrated!

I applied to the Fl KidCare program for my kids since we recently lost our health insurance. The way they have it all set up, birth to age 1 would get Medicaid, 1-4 gets MediKids and 5-18 gets Healthy Kids. So far the only child approved was Logan. I haven't gotten a letter on Ian. But here's the kicker- Bella was denied bc we make too much for Medicaid so the one child who needs medical coverage the most (vaxs, well visits) has NO heath coverage! This sucks! I'd gladly pay a small monthly premium for her (it's $20/mo for Logan) but there is no option for her until she turns one. I'd have to pay out of pocket for her 6mo visit or take her to a free clinic somewhere.

Could we please vote in a president that gives a rats ass about healthcare for our kids?? Preferably someone who's "been there" and knows the struggles and cares.

Tired

What a tiring day! Judge me if you will, but we took the boys to Disney today. Go ahead, tell me what a bad mom I am. Logan's homework was turned in early and I have his list for next week already so we were good to go. It was Robert's last official day of vacation too.

We decided to hit Epcot today. We got to do quite a bit! Spaceship Earth, Nemo, Soarin' (twice), Mexico's boat ride, new shows/stuff inside Innoventions (free velcro frogs!) and Test Track! Since Ian is now tall enough, he was able to do both Soarin' and TT. He never smiles on rides but he says he loves them when they are done and wants to go again. This was only my second time on Soarin' and I loved it even more. We were in the 2nd row and it was better than the 3rd row. Maybe one day I'll make it up front. It really does feel like you're flying!

New stuff- Velcro is now a sponsor of an exhibit at the Innoventions building. They put on a little show and some kids get to participate in building a velcro skyscraper and the second half of the show, a couple of dads get to participate in a baby diapering/feeding race. Guess who was picked? Yep- dh!! LOL I was cracking up! I'll post the video in a sec.

Right outside the show is a velcro frog station. Jen, I'm sure your boys will love this. They are just plain green frogs and you get to dress them up with crowns, glasses, ties, clothes, etc. We even got Mickey ears for Ian's frog. All FREE! Still not as good as the free robots we were getting but it's all good.

There's also a new recycling/Waste Mgmt exhibit and storm exhibit. The WM exhibit wasn't working at the time. The storm one is a preparedness quiz and puzzle thingy. We didn't really go thru it.

What else....spotted a Daddy Babywearer today! When I came off of Soarin' he was standing nearby wearing an Ergo. I had never seen one in person so I went over to talk to him. Little ole shy me stopped a complete stranger (a man at that) to ask him about his carrier. I really liked the look of it. (Did I mention I sold one of mine to try a new one? More of that in another post)

Can I just say what a pleasant, wonderful baby girl I have? She fussed maybe once or twice today. She was up way past her bedtime and didn't make a peep despite being super tired until we got home and I set her in her crib. Then she let me know she was ready for bed! LOL I think I have the only baby in the world who won't sleep in the car too. She doesn't cry at all, she just sucks her fingers and sometimes talks back there. Ian however was asleep before we even hit the parking lot! Ok enough jabbering...here's that video. I'm lucky I got it. My battery was THIS close to being dead.

How cute is he in his pink/purple apron?

Christmas in September?

Would you believe I saw Christmas decor at SuperTarget along side all the Halloween and Thanksgiving stuff?! Seriously? What's next? Valentine's day in June?

9-11-01

Where were you on 9-11? That day is forever burned into my memory. I can't remember when Logan got his first tooth, but I can remember 9-11.

I was working at that time. I always had my radio on and was listening to the MJ Morning Show when they broke in that a plane had hit the tower. I told my boss and we ran out to his van which had a tv in it. We were just in time to see the second plane hit. Astonished, stunned, I don't think there's a word to describe what we were feeling at that moment. We knew it just wasn't coincidence even though we hoped it was. We hoped it was just an accident. Just a small plane that hit.

We came back in and although we still needed to work, our ears were glued to the radio. When I heard the first tower had fallen, I told my boss and he didn't believe me. There's no way a skyscraper could just fall. Then the second tower fell. I get chills just thinking about that day.

Oh my. I just turned on MSNBC and they are replaying the news footage from that day. The phone calls from eye witnesses, the actual pictures of the towers burning. It's still so unreal that such an event could occur, that people could be filled with such hatred to kill thousands of innocent people, and not just Americans. There were people from 90 different countries killed in the attacks.

I was glued as were millions of others to the tv for days and weeks to come. Everyone was praying for a miracle, that the rescuers would find someone, anyone alive in the rubble. There are still so many that were never recovered and so many unanswered questions. I hope everyone takes a moment today to reflect, say a prayer and/or moment of silence, and hug your loved ones. My thoughts are with all Americans today and to everyone worldwide who has lost a loved one in the attacks.

Fabric for sale!- SOLD!

Wow! I totally forgot to blog on Monday. First time all year!

I went out to Joann's this morning to get some fabric. I really wanted to make a wrap to carry Bella. I knew what I should have gotten but I was blinded by the gorgeous-ness (is that a word?) of this brocade/sari fabric and got it instead. I know it can be used for a carrier, but it's just too slippery for me. If anyone's interested, LMK!! It's up for sale now! It's turquoise/mint green with a print/pattern on both sides (no wrong side). I have 5 yards- $40ppd.

This doesn't show the true color of the fabric. It's much prettier in person but no matter what lighting/setting I used, I couldn't get it to come out right.


This is closest to the colors.

Vacation day 2

I think I forgot to mention that dh is on vacation this week. It's nice having him around- for a week at least. We headed to the Florida Aquarium this morning to see some fish, sharks, penguins and more! Unfortunately, they are undergoing renovation so no sharks and we missed the penguin encounter so no penguins either. Ian was disappointed. I really don't see the appeal in a FA membership except if you have small kids who like to play in their Explore A Shore outdoor water area. Ian's not really into it so we didn't bother today. I guess I'm just not that into looking at fish and either is dh.

After the aquarium, we were all hungry so went to Mimi's Cafe where I got to taste my first fried pickles appetizer. If it ain't fried, it ain't the south! They were okay the first few bites but they were way too salty after that. I need to guzzle down some water tonight and tomorrow! I did have some yummy pot roast with gravy, mashed potatoes and veggies. Mmmm. It's been so long since I had pot roast- probably not since my mom last made it. I may have to make some up in the crock pot one night for the boys and I.

After lunch, it was time to go get Logan at school. We were early (I'm always there at least 30min early so I can park up front) so dh took a nap and Ian watched part of a dvd. Came home, ate dinner and off to tumbling class.

Logan is doing so well in class! He's taking direction really well. No more tears either! He can do a handstand and hold himself up with someone spotting him of course and holding his legs. I can see how his arm muscles have gotten stronger. When we first started, he had jelly arms. I just paid for October's classes tonight so you'll get to hear how he's doing for at least one more month!

Here are a few pics from today!

Who you staring at?!
(It doesn't look like it but this fish was HUGE! He could have swallowed Ian whole)







Look! It's Crush!


Bella in our Mei Tai Baby.

Re: Wanna Speculate post

We got a closer look at what we thought was a garbage can when we drove by today. When I took the picture, I just used my long lens to get a good shot. Turns out, it's a bumper or what appears to go under the front bumper of a car. Maybe I'll have to get a close up shot tomorrow. I wish someone would come fix it though! Who do you call in these matters?

Pumpkin Cheesecake Sunday

No, I could not come up with a better title.

What did we do today? Well we had planned on hitting Disney again but my phone fiasco took too long this morning so we ended up going to Babies R Us because dh wanted a "girly" swing for Bella. We can't seem to locate the most important part of our old swing- the motor! We also picked up some fall/cold weather clothes for her on sale. Oh and we saw Heather there!

After shopping, we headed back home for a bit. I was waiting on my mom to call as we were meeting her and her friend Katie for dinner at Olive Garden. Yum! Love their salad and breadsticks! The boys were very well behaved as was Bella. One of the hostesses kept going on about how cute she was and how she looked just like a baby doll. LOL She is cute! She got to wear her first size 6 month outfit today too given to her by our friend Jen in Washington. Finally! It's a little skirt and onesie outfit. Adorable! Oh and the reason for the title- we ordered some Pumpkin Cheesecake to go. It wasn't that good. WAY too much ginger in it so it was too spicy. I'd love to try making it for the holidays though. I can make it better! ;)

Slobbery girl!

I could have cried!

And I was very close to it. While doing some stuff with my phone, I found out there was a firmware update directly from the manufacturer so I started it. Once you are in the middle of it, your phone is useless. It's a blank screen and nothing will work. You also lose all data on your phone so I did my backup first. I started the download and I kept getting an error message. I left it on all night and it still didn't work. Omg. I was searching forums, Nokia's website, blogs and anything I could think of to help me out. I'm lost without my phone. I'm freaking out now. This isn't a cheap phone. Dh spend a lot of money on this as a gift. O.M.G.

On a whim this morning, I asked dh to move my USB cable from my monitor to my tower since the monitor's USB tends to be slow and it worked! Yippee! Woohoo!! Hooray!!! Now I just have to restore all my content and hope that works! LOL At least I have a phone again.

Win an Ellaroo MT or Rolz and Sassy Ring Sling!

Here's another babywearing contest for you! I love to wear Bella and spread the babywearing love to other moms!

Can you see them?

What do you see? I thought it would make a pretty picture. They glowed in the sun. Unfortunately, they are just too fast so this is the best I could get. (I didn't even notice one of our feral cats walking by)



I cropped in for you. See how they glow? They are dragonflies if you hadn't guessed!

Wanna speculate?

What do you think happened? We didn't hear anything last night or this morning. The boys didn't wake up. I know sirens would be turned off since it had to have happened sometime in the middle of the night (I went to bed after 12am). Drunk driver? Hit the garbage can and went out of control? I wonder if they were able to drive off and didn't call the cops. I'm just glad they didn't hit my house!

This is what I saw when I opened the front door. I live on the corner so this is across the street looking to the right from my front door.

ETA: That's someone's trashcan mangled there too. While I was outside getting the mail today, a neighbor I don't know came by and stopped to look. He said he'd been outside until 2am and never heard/saw anything. I checked the Sheriff's log tonight and I didn't see any mention there. It probably wasn't reported. I'm guessing it was a drunk driver!

We won!

Armwood- 9, Plant- 2

Friday Night

I dropped the boys off with dh at his office tonight so he could take them to see his mom so it was just Bella and I. I didn't want to go (smoker's house) plus Bella's been so cranky in the evening lately. I think it's a mix of teething, getting up earlier and not wanting to nap as much. I had no idea what to do with myself! I thought about buying some dinner but ended up just coming home and fixing myself something so as not to spend the money. Bella was asleep by 6:30.

I surfed my websites for a while and then decided to tackle the pile of newspapers- a week's worth- I had sitting in my living room. I'm also listening/semi-watching the Plant/Armwood high school game on ESPN U. Armwood is my alma mater so I'm rooting for them! They are both nationally ranked teams and state champs. The game was sold out at $20/ticket and I heard on the news earlier people were actually scalping tix for $50! For a high school football game! Crazy!

That's it. That was my fun filled Friday night! Aren't you jealous? ;)

Giveaway!

This mama is giving away one of her handmade necklaces. So go check out her BLOG and her ETSY shop to win! I like a lot of her stuff but I picked the Tiny Tags necklace for my entry. It was a toss up between that, the Circle of Love or the Family Circle necklaces.

Nothing to report

We had a fairly relaxing day. No insane running around. Just to school and back and then to tumbling class tonight. Dh and Ian even joined us about halfway thru class. Luckily for Logan, there was only 1 other student tonight and 2 teachers so he got a private 1 hour lesson! Apparently the Jonas Brothers are here for a concert tonight and all the girls were there. Teams cancelled practice because so many girls were going. The gym was empty!

I did get 2 of my final 3 Ebay auctions ready to ship tomorrow. Only one left and she hasn't paid yet.

I need to get more auctions up. I have an awesome Baby Gap corduroy/"fur" lined coat I need to sell still and a lot of plus size maternity clothes. I have a bunch of M&M dispensers like some of these, although mine are older versions. Some are NIB minus the M&Ms though. ;) Don't ask me why we collected these. Most were given to us by the Mars reps who came into our office but we did buy a couple. So much to do still....

Disney pics

Okay, here they are!

Longest chess game in history






Happy girl! I think she was diggin' the Cosmic Rays music sung by "Sunny Eclipse"


Getting ready for Big Thunder Mt RR!


Logan got to "drive" the Ferry Boat. He also got a pilot's certificate. I'm not so sure he's ready for a car though. Not only did he keep looking away, he wasn't understanding how to turn the wheel!

Sorry...

I know I said I'd have pics for you but I just haven't had time!

After taking Logan to school, I came home and fed Bella and then started fiddling with Ebay stuff I had to get out. Then we left to meet our friends at Mimi's Cafe for a surprise baby shower for our friend Heather who is due in just a few weeks with her second baby boy. Wanna know what I had? Of course you do! It was the triple berry french toast stuffed with cream cheese with cheesy scrambled eggs and bacon and a tall glass of oj. Doesn't that sound yummy?! So yummy and so fattening that it was both breakfast, lunch and snack for today! I was so busy I didn't eat again until dinner.

So after eating, we stopped by the post office to drop off a package. Bella wasn't happy, she was tired and ready to go home. I was going to do the self serve kiosk but quickly realized someone had jammed the box drop off and I wasn't about to stand in a line 20 deep so I said forget it and went home. Fed Bella again, put her down for a nap, put Ian down for a nap, started typing in Ebay addresses, weighing packages, printing labels and all of a sudden it was time to get Logan. Phew.

After school, I had to go by the Dollar Store to get gallon size baggies for the contents of my packages and drop off the box from this morning since I went home and printed/paid for my label from my PC. Luckily for me, it was a one stop trip because I spotted the mailman in the parking lot and dropped it off with him. Yea!!!! We also stopped in the Lizard/snake store for a quick peek around. I knew the boys would like it.

Got home, fed Bella again, got Logan dressed for tumbling, did dishes, cooked and ate dinner, topped off Bella, dropped Ian off with Daddy at work and headed for tumbling class. By the time we got home it was time to feed Bella again, put her to bed, throw in a load of laundry, and go to the grocery store. Are you as out of breathe as I am?? Came home, showered, made Logan's lunch and with dh's help, got a bunch of Ebay stuff ready for pickup tomorrow. I still need to dry my hair and get to bed. I hope tomorrow is a bit lighter on the schedule! ;)

Disney Day #2

Today was Magic Kingdom day! Since Gustav moved north, it was much hotter today with only an occasional breeze. Thankfully there are plenty of air conditioned shops to walk in/by to cool off and lots of rides too!

We got there just before 11am I guess and we were able to park practically up front. It was so nice! We were able to walk up to the TTC to catch the monorail instead of having to drag everything on the tram. Our first stop in the park was to get a Dole Whip and Rootbeer Float (yum!) and then we got on Pirates of the Carribean. Ian said it was too scary (whatever- he's been on it a hundred times) so we sat out. I fed Bella and dh and Logan went on. Of course, not 2 minutes after they left, Ian wanted to go on. He just had to wait though. I tried calling dh but couldn't get through. We all rode after they got back.

Even though the park was slow, we got FastPasses for Thunder Mt Railroad so we could get right on. We also got a Child Swap pass and discovered that Ian is officially tall enough to ride the *big* coaster now! Woohoo! So after dh and Logan got off the first ride, I took both boys on. Ian said he loved it. That's my boy! I'm so glad they love coasters! We did a few more things before packing it up to go to Downtown Disney to the Lego store. As if we didn't spend enough money already! yes, we got even more Legos!

Now we're home, everyone is fed and all kids are in bed. I'm exhausted and sunburned. I have a million Ebay auctions I have to get in the mail in the next 3 days and no supplies to do so plus I have plans tomorrow morning with some friends, tumbling classes....phew!

You'll get pics tomorrow. I'm too tired tonight!