Wordless Wednesday

No Mama, I am not too big for my vibrating infant seat.



See? It's really quite relaxing:

Oh yeah, I needed that!:

Goose is ONE!

Week one:



Week 52:

That is one cute baby!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Wow, I just realized I haven't posted since MAY. Yikes. When they start walking, I guess its just all over. At any rate, my little Goose said the cutest thing this past Sunday that I thought I'd share in my first ever "Tiny Talk Tuesday" submission:

About a week ago, Dylan pointed at a cross we have hanging on the wall and we said "That's Jesus", he repeated "Jesus".

The next week the scenario repeated, only this time Goose said "Jesus....Whoaaaaa." (pronounced woe, not sure of the correct spelling)

That's right Goose - Jesus is Whoa!

My cutie

Just Playin'!

Firsts!

This past week Goose learned to:

1. Crawl

2. Move to sitting from his tummy

3. Sing and mimic sounds

4. Play with toys more interactively

3. Talk??

Yup, I think Goose said his first word yesterday. I can't be sure, but he heard the dog whining in another room and I could have sworn he said "doggy"!!

I got an award!

Homemaking Dreams gave me an Excellent Blog award! Thank you! It's been really hard for me to find time for blogging, so I'm really glad I still have some readers who think my content is worthwhile. Thanks!!

Grey, Lost, and An Office...My Frugal Guilty Pleasures

One of the ways my family stays frugal is not paying for cable. We have a set of rabbit ears on top of our tv and we get about 6 channels which is just fine with us. (Although sometimes I REALLY REALLY REALLY miss some of my cable shows). Also, another way we stay frugal is staying home and not going out, which isn't too hard to accomplish when you have a 7 month old, but still - one way we save money is being content with what entertainment we have at home - which is our free tv.

So that being said, can I just share with the world how excited I am for today??? That's because the writer's strike is over and TODAY my two favorite shows ever ever ever are BACK. Grey's Anatomy and Lost are back in action starting tonight at 9pm. Yes 9pm everyone.

But, ohhhhh, those sneaky tv execs have been thinking up some naughty stuff while their best shows were on vacation - they had the NERVE, the AWEDACITY, to move my 3rd favorite show ever ever ever to the excact same time slot as Grey's Anatomy. ARGGGG, NBC has moved The Office to 9.30. What's a girl to do?

I'll tell you - go to Hulu.com tomorrow and watch The Office with limited commercials!! It's awesome! Sometimes the picture get's hung up, but its FREE. You can also check out many other of your favorite shows, some of which are only available on Cable.

Also, if you don't have a t.v. or can't be home to watch ABC. Just go to abc.com where you can watch any of their shows in full the day after they air with extremely limited commercials. It's amazing.

Sale at Carter's Stores!

If you have a Carter's store or outlet near you, now is the time to stock up on essentials for next year! They have a TON of stuff on sale. Practically everything in the store in at least half off, with SEVERAL items being marked down 70%.

I wouldn't normally buy Carter's due to the price, but their onesies are the only kind that fit Goose. The Gerber onesies are too wide and too short. The Circo onesies are better, but still with the same problem. I love the fit of the Carter's onesies. So yesterday I grabbed a 5 pack for 12 bucks, which I think is a pretty good price!

I also got:

1. Polo Style short sleeve/shorts onepiece - $1.99
2. Fleece Footed Sleeper (for next year) - $3.99 (marked down from $20)
3. Two piece long sleeve/long pant set (for next year) - $3.99

So if you like Carter's check here to see if you have a store near you and GO. Quick before they run out of the cheap stuff.

Living on $200 for 3 weeks

For the next three weeks I have been assigned the task of managing our household expenses to the tune of $200... Apparently we have not been as frugal as we need to be as of late and we have get our credit card balance back down to zero.  Fortunately for us, not being frugal doesn't really mean much in terms of money.  My "big spender" episodes usually just include splurging on a Happy Meal and large sweet tea at the mall and then an iced coffee and muffin from the Dunks after church on Sundays!!  But, however small the amounts may be, they DO unfortunately add up.  So hubby wants me to try keeping us under $200 for the rest of month. Can I do it?? YES I CAN! Do I want to????  Noooooo.....

But I will!

Here's the plan:

1. Use what's in the pantry for meals. This is kind of hard when you eat mostly just salads. You can't really store a bunch of lettuce in the pantry. But I'm going to try for some snacks and side dishes out of my canned goods stock. Also, I have a lot of potatoes in my produce bin left over from my last shopping trip, so I'm going to make good use of those as well.

2. Make tortillas and bread from scratch for sandwiches.  One of my recent "splurges" was on a spicy chicken wrap from Chik-fil-a. Let me tell you - it was GOOD.  So I'm going to try and recreate it to replace some of those boring salad nights.  I've been Googling recipes for flat bread, but then this morning I found THIS ONE on Passionate Homemaking. So I'm going to try it!

3. No driving. I'm going to try to stay home this week.  This shouldn't be too hard because I have plenty of work to do around the house.  Plus the weather is unseasonably cool and I don't like to get out in the cool weather.  So that ought to save on gas.

4. No chocolate milk!  Sorry hubby!  We recently switched from cow's milk to soy and it is significantly more expensive.  Our favorite treat is to mix powdered Nesquik (purchased in bulk - a 48.7 oz jug is apx. $7) with Silk.  YUM.  It is so good and it helps to alleviate our cravings for "vitamin chocolate."  BUT for the next three weeks, we will forego this tasty treat and eat something else instead.

5. Use household chores as entertainment.  I am bored a lot.  But I really have no excuse because there is always something that needs to be done around our home.  This is the perfect time to tackle some major projects around our house that need doing.  And since we're not going to be driving as much - this is the perfect time to get them done.

So that's my plan! I have to keep all of our expenses (not included monthly bills like utilities and insurance) under $200.  Here's to living frugally!

Gerber Baby Food Danger??

Sorry for my short absence from the blog world! We've been enjoying a visit from our out of town (out of state!) family and have been insanely busy. I'll be back soon! But as just a quick note:

Remember a few weeks ago when the news headlines contained a story about the safety of plastic baby bottles? Apparently many of them are made out of the "bad" kind of plastic. Meaning that the stuff that goes into the plastic can make its way into your baby's milk over time - which is not good.

Well, this past weekend I happened to look on the bottom of the Gerber Food container I was feeding our son from (They've recently switched over to plastic tubs instead of glass jars). Guess what number is on the bottom?? a SEVEN! Seven is probably the worst kind of plastic you can use. It's the scary plastic that made headlines with those bad baby bottles a few weeks ago. I am absolutely appalled that Gerber would use number 7 plastic containers for baby food. Even sour cream comes in a FIVE! (5 is the good kind).

Here's what one article had to say about plastic number 7:

"7 Other (usually polycarbonate)Baby bottles, microwave ovenware, eating utensils, plastic coating for metal cans

BAD: Made with biphenyl-A, a chemical invented in the 1930s in search for synthetic estrogens. A hormone disruptor. Simulates the action of estrogen when tested in human breast cancer studies. Can leach into food as product ages."

I'm not sure about proper bloggy etiquette for giving credit, but I found this article HERE. Please click the link for the rest of the article. I hope this is helpful for anyone out there using Gerber baby food. I just wanted to make you aware of the risk that may be associated with their containers. And hey Gerber - can you please go back to glass jars or at least put our children's food in containers that are at least as safe as sour cream tubs?

Southernisms

Today I was posting a comment on Homemaking Dreams and I used the word "strow". I have never actually had to spell that word before and seeing it typed out made me wonder if it was a real word. It just looked funny on the screen. So I googled it. It is in fact a real word. It means "to scatter". I was very relieved that it was a real word because I have been using it since I was little and I would hate to have sounded stupid for 27 years! :)

Anyway, it got me to thinking about all the awesome things we southerners say. I'm not sure if "strow" is strictly a southern term, but it does come from Old English, or at least that's what Google said, and many of the so-called quirky things we say in the south come straight from the old days of England.

For example - "Boot" in North Carolina is not just a type of footwear. It's actually the trunk of a car. And that's the word they STILL use in England for it (or at least according to Google!)

I find it interesting to see how our language is indicative of where we came from. I mean, obviously most Americans speak English which of course came from England. But have you ever heard true England English? It's very different than the American version, which is why I think its so cool that we still have a few very English words left over in our vocabulary from 2 or 3 hundred years ago.

How we saved up for our mortgage

Amidst the current mortgage crunch I'm thankful we saved up the standard 20% down payment for the purchase of our current home. We did it by saving, saving, saving AND by cashing out our old home just as the real estate wave was cresting in our area. One way we were able to save money is by taking out an equity line on our old house to pay off our big ticket debts, like car loans and credit cards. Thanks to our home's appreciation, we were pretty confident we'd be able to pay back the equity line through the sale of our home, PLUS the equity line payments were something like $500 less than what our combined debt payments were before. So we saved all of that money. Then when we sold our house – Ka-CHING! No more car payment, no more credit card debt, and best of all – a 20% mortgage savings to put down on our new home. Hurray us.

Possibly, Finally...a Tooth?

Could it be that Goose is finally getting his first tooth? After months of "teething" and spontaneous irritability? This morning Goose BIT me while trying to nurse. Now, this has happened before, but lets jsut say it did not hurt like this time! I definitly a SHARP pain. But when I rubbed his gums with my finger I felt nothing...It must be just under surface. Here's hoping!

Menu Plan Monday

It's getting harder to come up with easy, cheap "veggie" meals. We are not vegetarian but are trying to eat to lose those post-partum pounds (both hubby and myself!) I have come up with a few recipes that I love but I feel like there's just only so much you can do with seasoned veggies. Here's what I've managed for this week:

1. Salad w/Craisins and Lemon Poppyseed Dressing
2. Kung Pao Tofu (never actually made this from last week, so I'm trying again!)
3. Soup and Veggie Sandwich on Homemade Bread
4. Salad tossed with Flax Seed Dressing
5. Salmon Fillet with Tasty Sauce

For snacks we have:

1. Homemade Granola mixed with Soy Yogurt
2. Fruit Smoothies
3. Fruit Salad

Here's my Fruit Smoothie Recipe:

Banana, Frozen Strawberries, Frozen Blueberries, Milled Flax Seed, Soy Milk and Honey. I just eye-ball how much of each to put in, making sure to use enough Soy Milk that the blender will churn up the ingredients. I also love honey so I use a lot of it. This makes a yummy smoothie that is very healthy.

Fruit Salad:

Chopped Cantaloupe, Chopped Honeydew, Grapes. Top ingredients with Honey and Lemon juice. Keep covered and refrigerated. Again I just eyeball all ingredients, I guess that makes me a bad recipe giver... :( Anyway it's still good!! :)

SCREAMING

My child is currently in his crib taking a nap - which means it's naptime in the Goose house but nobody's nappin'! In fact what I should call it is the 9am ScreamFEST. Or the 12pm Screamin' Spectacular. How about the 10.30am Screamin' not-so-good-time?!

I am trying very hard to remain calm as my baby learns how to take a nap. He has been SCREAMING for 30 minutes. NO - nothing is wrong with him. I have checked on him several times and I promise I have attended to his every need, want, desire, everything. Everything, of course, except pick him and not make him take a nap. What is it with the screaming? Bedtime is no problem anymore. He's been doing great. Sometimes not even a whimper at bedtime (knock on wood), - but the naps. Oh My Good LORD.

And it isn't just one nap a day or every other day. It is literally, every...single...time...a nap is supposed to happen. What can I do? I can't not have him sleep? The poor thing needs sleep! Sigh....

What's that? Did I hear a pause in the screaming? Is he sleeping? Please oh please oh please oh please....

Menu Plan Monday

Happy Monday to all! Here's our menu for the week:

Monday: Roasted veggies w/Beet Greens
Tuesday: Soup and Honey Orange Glazed Carrots
Wednesday: Lemon Herb Salmon w/Italian Salad
Thursday: Greek Salad
Friday: Kung Pao Tofu

Lemon Herb Salmon:

Cut Salmon into individual sized portions. Rub with Lemon Herb Seasoning. Wrap in tin foil with a bit of butter on top. This incredibly easy to make and very very good.

Aqua Tots Class!

Ages 6 months to 3 years. Getting kids familiar with water. One happy Goose.

Home-made bread!

I' ve been way under-utilizing my bread machine lately. One of the reasons is that I just don't like how the bread comes out when it's cooked in the machine. So...I decided to take my mama's lead and have the machine MIX the dough and then bake it in the oven. It came out GREAT! We've been using it for sandwiches and snacks. Here's the recipe I use for Whole Wheat Bread:

1/2 cup water
3/8 cup soy milk
1 egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
1 1/2 tablespoons honey (use the same spoon as the oil and the honey will come out much more easily)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup milled flax seed

Bake it in a 5x9 loaf pan for about 30 minutes or so (I actually didn't time it yet...shame on me...I just sort of went on instinct). It makes a great sized loaf for sandwich bread, or put some honey on a hot slice right out of the oven for a yummy snack.

Southern Weather

Another beautiful late winter day yesterday! The high was 75 and it was sunny all day. Goose and I went for a walk with the dog. We left the windows open in the house. I even fixed the porch door where the dog could come in and out as he pleased. It was so nice. I started planning my spring flower beds, and I noticed some of my neighbors outside doing the same. I am so excited for spring! It literally puts a little more "spring" in my step. I have so much more energy when the weather is nice.

For example, yesterday I somehow managed to get Goose into FOUR naps, change the cat litter, fix dinner, clean out our disgusting microwave, hide the easter candy from hubby (which he found already!), and vacuum the whole house.

NOTE: Yesterday I posted our menu plan for the week, and we were scheduled to have Gourmet Roasted Veggies last night. I was a bit wary, because I have never been a huge vegetable fan. Let me tell you - it was DELICIOUS. And it looked amazing. Since the recipe called for beets, I even googled "beet greens" and found out you can cook those too. YUM. Definitely recommend.

He reached for me!

Goose reached for me this weekend! Amazing. He was playing with his toys and suddenly he just turned towards me and put out his arms. I thought he was just being silly, so I picked him up and put him back down again to test what I thought had just happened. He did it again! Oh God I love that baby!

Our almost frugal new couch!

YES! We finally purchased our new couch this weekend. (Old couch is getting old - cushions are supported with plywood to keep the couch from basically eating you when you sit down!) We had been waiting until tax refund time and that time is here! We selected our new couch (pictured here) a week ago, but decided to hold off. Thank goodness we did, because I found a 29% off coupon in honor of Leap Day. This made the entire purchase, including taxes, shipping and delivery, and a "fabric upgrade", $65 less than the original cost of just the couch itself. Hurray for us!

One sneaky thing to look out for if you are furniture shopping - fabric upgrades. We got a little duped on this one. The fabric we chose last week is apparently not an in-stock fabric. They have to "special make it". Funny, no one told us there would be $100 upgrade fee for this selection until AFTER they had begun processing our order. I was a little peeved about that. I almost opted to change our color selection, but we really liked the color we chose and decided it was worth the extra since we would have to live with it for who knows how many years. So if you're looking to buy a new piece of furniture, ask about the fabric cost before finalizing your selections!

Weekly Meal Plan

I must I must I must - get back on track with meal planning. For the longest time, Hubby and I were eating just soup and salad, but due to boredom I've been throwing some other healthy items into the mix. So, that means I need to get organized again and plan ahead!

Monday - Gourmet Roast Veggies
Tuesday - Veggie Burritos with Salsa
Wednesday - Marinated Tofu???
Thursday - Cucumber Sandwiches (YUM)
Friday - Salad w/Homemade Lemon Poppyseed Dressing
Saturday - DIY sandwiches and salads

Though the menu looks it - we are actually NOT vegetarian. I bought some tofu the other day simply because it was about $1 per pound cheaper than beef. And all the vegetables are because I'm trying to keep things super low-calorie. By the way, I am not a cucumber fan AT ALL - but those cucumber sandwiches were amazing and incredibly filling. A very good diet food.

A new skill or a scary behavior??

Goose decided to try, horror of horrors, TUMMY sleeping last night. I am terrified he will stop breathing if he sleeps on his tummy!! I know it is not likely, especially since he CAN roll over on his own - but still. Aren't they supposed to back sleep for 12 months? Ugh. I turned him over and I think he slept for most of the night on his back, (I know this because I'm nuts and actually set my alarm for 3am to check on him and he was on his back at that time still). But when I got him up at 6 - he was on his tummy up against the crib railings! He was calm and just kind of entertaining himself while he was waiting for me to come get him, but I was nervous to see him like that. I hope tummy sleeping at this point is ok!

Why I'd be lost without Google...

Today I realized that I would be completely lost without Google. I Google just about EVERYTHING I need to know, or think I need to know. For example, if I need to halve a recipe - I have not a clue on how to convert things. Just Google - how many ounces in _____ and it will calculate it for you. Here are some more reasons why I love Google:

1. Google calculates kitchen conversions
2. Google maps out directions
3. Google locates businesses and their addresses
4. Google has satellite imagery (its just cool)
5. Google finds products for me
6. then rates them
7. then tells me where to buy them
8. Google can offer you a diagnosis for you illnesses (unfortunately it will almost always tell you that its cancer, but none-the-less...)
9. Google finds the absolute most cheapest of whatever item I am looking for
10.Google tells me who's calling when I don't recognize the number
11.Google tells me what's for dinner (http://www.allrecipes.com/ Google found it for me!)
12. Google I think I love you....

Frugal Friday - Cloth Diapering Update

6 months old this week and still cloth diapering!!! HURRAY! I have read this is somewhat of a milestone for people who cloth diaper, because when the solid foods start going IN, the big solid smelly poops start coming OUT. Well, I'm very proud to stay that we're sticking with it anyway! (And yes, they are bigger, rounder, harder, and twice as stinky!)

For anyone who is considering cloth diapering or is comtemplating stopping cloth diapering once the solids start - It is really not that bad!! Honestly, I think it is SO MUCH EASIER now than it was in the beginning! Goose is only pooping about once every other day now, so even though that PARTICULAR poop is a little gross, there are practically 48 hours before and after it of nothing but pee dipes! Plus, now that the poo is more solid - you can dump it in the toilet with ease and so the diaper pail actually smells better now.

A word on cost - for those frugalizers out there - I have spent roughly $250 on cloth diapering supplies. MOST of my supplies are one-size-fits-all brands (such as BumGenius All-in-one, One-size) and Prefold Diapers. I also have 3 one-size diaper covers, and several Dappi Brand Nylon (&vinyl) covers in size S-XL. I can reuse all of these items with another child, so we have one more child and I don't have to replace any items, then our average diapering cost per child is $125!! Very frugal!

Now, I do occasionally use disposables. I get these on the cheap at CVS for emergencies. Sometimes my diapers are still drying when I need a fresh one so I pull out a disposable. Or sometimes, due to the cut of children's clothing, I will use a disposable if I want a certain outfit to look cuter for a picture or special occasion. But we are 95% cloth in our house.

I never thought I'd be a cloth diapering kind of parent, but once I got started, I just loved it! So if you are considering cloth diapering, congratulations! Give it a try, and start small if you are unsure, so as not get overwhelmed. It is such a rewarding experience. Thanks and happy Friday! For more tips head to Frugal Friday!

Something that happened that changed my faith in God

In the Fall of 2003, I said a prayer. I remember looking out of my bedroom window in my apartment in Massachusetts, looking at the stars and asking God to PLEASE make the next the one, "the one". I was so incredibly tired of dating. I was ready to settle down and was just plain sick of dating complete jerks and losers. A few weeks later, October 16th I think it was, I got an email from a "funkywhiteboy" that was a member of Match.com, as was I. I think he said something simple like, "you seem cool, hit me back". And so I did - and spent the next two weeks falling in love with words on a screen and a voice on the phone. We met in person on November 1, 2003 and 3 years later we got married in our backyard on a hot, humid day in July, on the coast of gorgeous North Carolina, surrounded by our family and our closest friends. It was a GREAT day.

I'm not sure what exactly led me to write this post today, but I've just been thinking about how God has answered my prayers and made me believe in him just by how specific he answers them. My prayer for God to let the next guy I dated be "the one" was the first of many prayers that fit that description and that was the major thing that changed how I feel about God.

Last year a series of really miraculous events transpired. Every one of which I prayed about. Basically, I was pregnant and Hubby was unhappy with his job. Amazingly he found a job two hours away that was a perfect fit for him. So we put our house on the market and started making plans. Our house needed to sell by March 17th in order for us to get a lease on a temporary apartment while our new home was being finished two hours away. If we didn't sell the house in time, we would basically not be able to afford a short lease and would have been out of luck!

The sell of our house was completed on March 16th - and we moved into our temprary housing on March 17th. Talk about cutting it close - but I just kept praying and praying...

Then there was the birth of our son. I really needed the birth to happen in our new town!! (although I know that babies don't really care about that sort of thing!) But the closing date of our new home was scheduled 2 weeks before my due date and our lease was coming up on the apartment, and then the builder tried to move our closing date to the same day as my DUE DATE!! I was a nervous wreck. But I prayed about it.

We moved into our home on August 17th, Goose was born 10 days later. Again, we cut it pretty close, but I just kept trusting in God and saying those prayers! And it all worked out.

There is, of course, much more to this story. But it all started with a prayer. The inside of my husband's wedding ring in engraved with this - "I prayed for you". Because I prayed for him and God delivered! Happy Thursday everyone!

Goose Cam

So my computer has a webcam on it. When we got this laptop I had no idea what I'd use it for. Then Sunday my mother-in-law called us from her home a thousand miles away (literally). She seemed sad and wished that she could see her grandchild more. Then it occured to me - DUH! I've got a webcam! I hooked it up and last night and she got to see her grandchild eat dinner and play. We've got Goose Cam in our house! Very neat. I've temporarily installed it on my blog so you can see how it works in case you have a similar situation. The website that broadcasts the feed is totally free. Just go to Ustream.tv. And PS - My house is a disaster right now, we are still in the decorating/moving in/cleaning up process so please don't think we live in constant chaos. (Actually don't all us Super Mommies live in constant chaos!??) Happy Wednesday!

Oh My God!

My child is taking a SCHEDULED nap! This is truly a miracle, as in a gift from GOD. We have only been on the SleepEasy Program for one night. Is it a fluke? Or has Goose actually learned in one night, that the crib means sleep-time?? Only time will tell, but thank God for this nap!

Sleeping again?

As some of you know, our Goose has been sleeping through the night for a long time now, with episodes of regressions lasting, at most, a week. He would always return back to sleeping through the night with no real problems though.

Well 4 weeks ago TODAY, I jinxed myself. I made the mistake of telling other new mom's with children the same age. I remember in my head thinking, "Don't Brag!". And I didn't. But did I jinx myself just by the sheer act of telling someone? Possibly. Because that was the day everything changed.

Up until that night, we could almost always put GOOSE in his crib at night and he would go to sleep for several hours. But starting 4 weeks ago today, Goose began to scream - a lot. He refused to go to sleep on his own. He wanted to be nursed to sleep. Then he would wake up screaming out like he was in pain. So we finely bit the bullet and put him on Zantac. Which helped tremendously, for about a week. The painful screaming subsided, and he began sleeping again at night, but still would not return to his old way of falling asleep on his own in his crib. Then a week after that he decided he just wouldn't fall asleep at all.

I honestly became so worried for him. I know he can sleep well at night and I know he is happier when he does. But I just cannot figure out what is keeping him up. So yesterday we bought the Book, The Sleep Easy Solution, by Jennifer Waldburger and Jill Spivack. I followed their plan, and Goose fell asleep on his own and stayed asleep for 11 whole hours!! This I found most impressive, because that is the EXACT length of time the authors said children his age should be sleeping at night.

This book is a middle-of-the-road book when it comes to crying it out. She calls it the "Cry-Least" method, instead of the "no-Cry" or "all-cry" method. That's what drew me to the book, because I just cannot and will not leave my baby in his room alone for hours to cry himself to sleep, with no help what-so-ever.

The book does use some crying it out, which I know, I know, I know, is controversial. I have had mixed feelings about it from the get-go. On the one hand, I believe in answering your child every time he cries, but then on the other hand, I think that when babies reach a certain level of ccomprehension, its time to take the lead on their behavior and TEACH them what they need to know. I have read so many reviews on CIO that say how neglectful parents are for letting their children cry. And to a certain degree that is true, but not when it comes to teaching your children something they absolutely NEED to know and they are only crying out in resistance to it. PLUS, as I said before, I chose this book specifically because you DON'T have to leave you child alone to cry for hours.

Now we DID have some crying: Goose cried off and on for 23 minutes last night before he fell fast asleep for 11 hours. Then this morning instead of crying for me to come get him, he woke up HAPPY, making cute noises. When I went into his room he grinned from ear to ear and seemed so well-rested. I can't wait for tonight see how he does. I AM SO PROUD OF HIM! I definitely recommend this book to anyone at the end of their rope, with a frustrated child, that does not feel comfortable with the "Ferber" method.

Frugal Friday: Goodbye Cable

This is the third time in my life I've lived without cable, although its the first time I've lived without it for reasons mostly related to money. The first time I had no cable was when I was little. We lived out in the country and cable just didn't exist out there at that time. The second time was when I was traveling the majority of the time with my old company. At that time I could have squeezed it out of the budget, but I was only home on the weekends, and sometimes not even then, so I figured why pay for something I was never going to use? The third time, which is currently, Hubby and I made the decision to forego cable when I was told we would have to pay a $99 dollar connect fee, which they refused to waive. I was pretty angry about this, because I already HAD cable, and if I had moved within my area, I would have been considered a "transfer" and not had to pay it again. So I figured I had lived without cable before, I could do it again.

For entertainment, we use our rabbit ears and Netflix. Our rabbit ears pick of the local channels. The reception is hit or miss. Some days a channel will be crystal clear, other days it will be somewhat off. It is rarely ever so bad that you can't watch though. Of course, Netflix is our real source of entertainment. We LOVE Netflix. We LOVE movies. Netflix allows us to watch as many as we want, as often as we want. Its great and CHEAP.

So if you're looking for a way to cut costs, consider abandoning your cable or satellite. You'll miss it at first, but eventually you'll find other forms of entertainment that are just as good. For more frugal tips, visit Frugal Friday!

Happy Birthday Mama!!

Here is your Virtual Birthday Card:

I won't say how YOUNG she is, but my mom's birthday is today! Ten reasons why I love my mom:

1. Thoughtful
2. Caring
3. Loving
4. Thrifty
5. Hardworking
6. Peacekeeper
7. Smart
8. Strong
9. Faithful
10. Creative

Happy Birthday Mama!

There's a Goose in my bed!

Perhaps the secret to a baby sleeping through the night is a larger sized bed. Maybe a crib-size is just not large enough for our royal Goose! Here he is, just waking up from a nice snooze in mom's queen size (don't worry he's fixed where he can't roll out!):

After 3 months of sleeping through the night with a few nights of exception here and there, Goose began waking up 1 to 4 times each night with no rhyme or reason. It might be 9pm one night, or 10pm, 12am, 3am, 4.15am the next night. I have been racking my brains for 3 weeks trying to find the problem.

The only correlation I could find was that we began solid foods right around that time. Goose has always been a HUGE spitter. In fact, when the hospital released us after his birth, we were informed that he was "a spitter" by the discharge nurse.

So with the thought that maybe the solid foods were hurting his throat as they came back up, or were causing his tummy to hurt more in his sleep, I decided to count his spit-ups. When we hit 15 before 10 am, I called the doc. By the time we got to the doctors, we were up to 20.

The doctor seemed pretty impressed with the spit-up tally and put Goose on Zantac right away. The first night he slept through the night again!! The second night he woke up 4 times. I was very upset by this since I thought we had finally gotten to the bottom of his night-waking. But then the third night he slept through with the exception of needing a pacifier around 11.30 and then the last two nights - complete sleeping through the night!! I am amazed and I think I LOVE Zantac!

Zantac was a good friend of mine throughout my pregnancy, so I know it works well. I can only imagine how much better Goose feels not having his tummy hurting all day long!

Being in a new place...

...is hard. Recently Goose has realized that he can protest just about anything he doesn't like - especially the car seat. This has made my already less-mobile life into a just about completely homebound existance. Which I find incredibly hard. During the first few months after Goose was born I made monthly trips to visit my friends and he would just sleep the whole way. Now he starts to scream on the way to CVS, so I can't imagine what he'd be like for two hours on an open highway with nothing to look at.

Before we moved I had a great job, worked with amazing women, and lived near to my closest friends. We also had been going to a great church that was changing the way we thought about God and life in general in such a positive way.

Now I spend most of my time at home with my gorgeous baby - which is FUN - don't get me wrong. But I miss my social network and all the things I had come to love about my old town. So recently I have begun trying to connect with my new town. Which is tough. It is SO different from where we just came from. Our old town was on the coast of North Carolina. It was up and coming, a resort destination, a palm trees everywhere kind of place. Our new town has a Walmart...The downer and the reasons for our move, were a housing market that outpaced our income and a job situation that left Hubster wishing for something drastically different. He found his perfect job in a town two hours away, which just so happened to have more than-affordable housing.

So here we are. To try and connect I've joined a local Moms Club, but most of the outings are geared towards parents of older kids, so there is not all that much I can join in on. Plus, we have not come even CLOSE to finding a church that is even remotely inspiring. Nothing like our old church. But I'm still optimistic that we will find something. I think once we do, I will start volunteering and hopefully that will add some zest to things! And hopefully soon Goose will allow me the little road trips that help me stay connected to the friends I love. :)

Goose meets Uncle D!

Having met my husband in Boston, it's only natural that many of our relatives live up North. Yesterday an unexpected opportunity to see my brother-in-law came about. He was traveling through our state on business and just happened to be within 20 minutes of our home! So I spent the day getting the house ready and food shopping. He could only stay a little over an hour as he was traveling with a huge truck full of sound equipment and he and his boss needed to get back on the road and find a hotel for the night.

It was a fun visit! I was so proud to show off our new house and, of course, our new baby Goose! He will be on the road all day today getting back to his family wayyyyy up North, but I'm so glad we were able to see him.

Uncle D 'n' Me

Tiny Talk Tuesday!

Just wanted to share a new blog that I really like. Mary at Not Before 7 hosts "Tiny Talk Tuesday" which is truly a fun read. If you have little ones, or just get a kick out of the funny things they say, then check it out. Click for today's Tiny Talk Tuesday antics.

Living in the South

There are several reasons why I love my southern state. Actually there are too many to count - but here's one I experienced this morning while typing my previous post: Birds chirping to the sunrise in early February. It was very mild yesterday, mid-60's I'd say, and now this morning to hear these birds reminds me that my favorite season is on the way! Spring is right around the corner!

I can sew! Kind of...

I have been an HGTV fan for years. LOVE it. Unfortunately I didn't think I could do very much home decorating now that our budget is so tight. But that was before a sewing machine came into my life and I realized that most of the things you buy are actually made by someone -so why shouldn't I cut out the middle man and make it myself!?


I am still learning and these curtains are not done yet - they are different lenghts despite my incredibly precise measureing skills (insert frustrated sigh and sobs of despair) BUT they look pretty good I think and they fram up our glass doors very nicely. They are also great for keeping the air conditioning INSIDE the house and preventing the sun from heating us so much during the summer.


I also got inspired by this website, where I found these tutorials, and somehow managed to make this:



Cool huh? Why all the yellow and green you ask? Hubby and I have always liked yellow kitchens so we painted the kitchen yellow, and then we found this dishtowel at Wal-Mart and loved how the yellow looked with the green. So there you go! PS If you are wondering where I get my creativity from, trust me it does not come from THIS lady's noggin - it comes from this one. Visit my mom's blog and check out her new Etsy shop with lots of cute purses! Here's a picture of the one she made for me (that I LOVE) and here's how she made it.

Frugal Friday - Making it yourself

One frugal way of living I've discovered recently is that I can actually make the things I need - I don't necessarily need to buy them all. This was an oddly profound moment for me. My mom at Homemaking Dreams, loves to sew and quilt and is always making gorgeous handbags and household items. For example she recently made me some cloth napkins, which I use a lot, in fact I've stopped purchasing paper towels all-together. So my mom is partially responsible for my new found realization. The other culprit is my new/very, very old sewing machine. My Grandmother died in a car accident 8 years this month, and for 8 years her old Kenmore sewing machine has been resting in its cabinet in her home - until my Aunt came across and thought I might be interested - YES I WAS! In fact I had a very surreal moment when I pulled it into the house and plugged it in. I simultaneously realized I did not know hot to thread a sewing maching, AND that the machine was STILL threaded from the last time my Grandma had used it. So I examined how she did it and learned. It brought tears to my eyes to be able to learn something special from her 8 years after her passing. So there's my backstory - here's the frugal part:

I've been using online tutorials to actually MAKE things with my sewing machine! This past Saturday I made a bathmat (pictured below). Who knew you could MAKE a bathmat?? They are fairly expensive at the store and it never occured to me that I could design one myself and for only about 5 dollars!

In addition to my bathmat, I am sewing curtains for my kitchen. Most full length curtain panels that I've seen cost anywhere from $20 and up, EACH. Yesterday I found Clearance fabric that matches our kitchen perfectly - and for only $15 total I'm making custom curtain panels (3 of them!).

For Crafty ideas and to see take part of the GRAND OPENING of the Homemaking Dreams Etsy Shop visit HomeMaking Dreams. For more Frugal Friday tips visit Biblical Womanhood.

5 months old and first solids!

Hurray for Goose! He is now eating solids and LOVING it! We have been experimenting with rice cereal for a few weeks now, but he just didn't like it very much. He would tend to get a little frustrated after a few bites and I didn't want to push it for fear of making him dislike eating all together!

But recently he has been showing a strong interest in watching us eat. We pull his high chair up to the table with us while we have dinner so he can feel like he is a part of the group and lately he has been following our forks from plate to mouth like a tennis match, or a basketball game in overtime! He has also been mimicking our facial expressions while we eat by making "chewing" faces at us. So we decided it was time to start him on actual baby food. No more rice cereal, fake-o, food!

It's hard to tell in these pictures, but he did actually enjoy himself with these peas, although he enjoyed the sweet potatoes a few nights later even more. I guess it is the strange sensation of texture in their mouths that makes babies screw up their faces like this! Anyway, it was very cute.

In other news, beingn 5 months old has opened new and interesting doors for our little Goose baby. He can now roll front to back and back to front, as well as sit up by himself for a few seconds before leaning too far in and toppling over. He has also begun doing the "airplane" and pushing up on his hands while on his tummy.

Let's see...what else can my gosling do? Reach and grab! That's his favorite - which makes it very difficult to type on the computer since he is how reaching for the keys and trying EAT the laptop! Thanks to my Ergo carrier, though, he is now being worn on my back and therefor it is less difficult for him to type his opinions over mine while blogging. :)

Peas PLEASE!

Here you go!

Feels funny, but tastes good!

Making a Rag Rug From Scratch

My mother at Homemaking Dreams introduced to me this site: Sew Mama Sew, where I found a great blog with a tutorial on making a rag rug, with, um, rags...! I thought it looked really cool and fun and so I tried my hand at it. I thought it was going to be very difficult, but it was exactly the opposite. In fact, it was the easiest project I've ever done that I actually thought would have been incredibly hard. To make the rug I went into my closet and found a few shirts I no longer wear. I bought a size 11 crochet hook, cut up my shirts and made the rug! Because its my first one, and I was just using random materials in my closet, the colors don't really match - at all - but its looks pretty cool I think! Here it is:

Using Credit Cards To Your Advantage

There are a lot people who shun credit card use out there - and with good reason. Credit Card companies, as with most companies, are simply out to make money. And they make it by taking it from you. Having said that - I STILL think its ok to have one or two cards that are paid off monthly - IF you're making money on the deal.

We have a Southwest Airlines Credit Card. We've earned lots of FREE airfare as rewards for using the card. Do we charge a lot on the cards or spend outrageously? NOPE. We simply use our card for everything we do. We us it to buy a drink at the mall or a candy bar at the store. We use it to buy our weekly groceries and our gas. Even some of our utilities are set up to run through our Southwest card.

It all adds up, and we have free airfare to show for it. The Southwest card is the only card I recommend if you are interested in free airfare. Most other airline cards use a miles based system that takes a Loooooonnng Tiiimme to build up a reward. Usually you need 25,000 miles to get a ticket. Not so with Southwest. You need 16 points. That's it.

Some people don't like using credit because they feel they overspend and charge up a balance they can't pay back. But if you use your credit responsibly, you CAN make it work for you. In our case, it actually saves us money to use our credit card because we travel to visit family and friends so often. (In fact I haven't paid for hotel rooms OR plane tickets in about 4 years, but thats another post!)

Legends of the MALL, Part 2: Fake Sales

Everyone loves a good sale, but did you know that sometimes those drastic price cuts are not actually cut at all? One of my favorite mall stores is Aeoropostale. I like this store because the clothing is cute and cheap compared to its competitors American Eagle and Abercrombie (wonder why they all use "A" names??). I also do a LOT of Christmas shopping at this store because other people in my family love it as well and they tend to have great sales around the holidays - or do they??

Because of my continued loyalty to the store I notice what the normal prices are on their staple items like baby tees and jeans. So when I went to Aeropostale this year to do my Christmas shopping I was a little angry to find that despite the HUGE 50% OFF signs that were hanging in every window and set on every table, the actual discounted price of the item was the exact same as it always is...! For example a pair of jeans that is usually priced $24.99 had been re-tagged with a $49.99 sticker and then a 50% off sign had been placed above the rack. The same was true for t-shirts. The same t-shirt that would normally be priced around 10 dollars had been marked UP to $20 and then had a 50% off sign stuck on the table.

I have to admit I was a little angry that they would trick their customers in this way and think that no one would notice (even though they snuck it past me for several years!). It really got me to thinking about retail in general and the "sales" they have to attract customers.

About 5 years ago, I worked part-time at Victoria's Secret. There were several items in the store that were always on some kind of sale - but when you did the math they were actually always the SAME price. Lotions and body sprays were almost always 5 for $30, or 3 for $18. The company simply shifted the numbers around to make you think it was on an even better sale than the week before. Underwear was the same - 5 for $25, or 3 for $15.

Retailers employ all sorts of tricks to make you think you are getting a deal, when if fact you're still paying the exact same price! For example, at some grocery stores the milk might go on sale - but the bread will be hiked about 20 cents to compensate. (On a similar note - did you know the reason milk and cheese and bread are in the back of the store is so you have to walk past all the non-staple items on the way to get them? Hmmmm.)

So, my point here is not to shun your favorite store, after all - despite my revelation at Aeropostale that day, I purchased several items anyway - but to make a point when shopping to not be a victim of marketing! Make purchases because you see what you need or because you really like a certain shirt. Not because things are on "sale". Avoid temptation and notice prices so that you don't over-pay. Many people keep a price book in their purse to keep track of normal grocery prices so they know a deal when they see one - this is a GREAT idea. Happy Friday everyone! For more frugal tips head over to Crystal's Blog.

Secrets of The Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with your Baby

The Baby Whisperer, by Tracy Hogg, was definitely an interesting read. Was it a good read? Not necessarily...this book was somewhat contradictary to my own personal child-rearing beliefs. Because of this, I found the book, at times, to be a little hard to swallow, however, some of the information was factual and therefore helpful.

The author of this book is a registered nurse, midwife, and newborn and postpartum caregiver from England with over 20 years of experience, who claims an innate ability to comprehend the often difficult to read language of babies. She believes that "Every baby is a person who has language, feelings, and a unique personality - and, therefore, deserves respect." While I believe this statement to be "spot on", I take issue with other aspects of her philosophy. For example, she whole-heartedly disagrees with feeding on demand and goes so far as to have a feeding schedule set into place from day two of a newborns life. I disagree with this. She also has some interesting things to say about breastfeeding, (as in "not good" things) which I definitely disagree with.

Hogg believes in scheduling most, if not all, aspects of baby's day. She calls it her E.A.S.Y. plan. E.A.S.Y. is an acronym for Eating, Activity, Sleep, and You Time. In her section on the "E" (eating) she goes into detail about the pros and cons of breastfeeding. This chapter, as I said before, I took particular issue with, because she puts breastfeeding into an almost completely negative light. In all honesty, if I had read this book prior to breastfeeding, I would have definitely decided against it.

The author claims that "not everyone can or should do it" and that while breastfeeding is best "we mustn't go overboard". She speaks of how breastfeeding moms typically keep 5 to 10 pounds of pregnancy weight while nursing and how this could adversely affect their body image. This may be true, (and I'm actually sporting those 5-10 extra pounds of cushion right now) but is it really relevant when your child's health is concerned? She puts emphasis on how much it hurts to breastfeed and how it isn't nearly as easy as most mothers think it will be. This may be true as well, but she makes absolutely no mention of how quickly this hard time passes. Within a month most mothers are well-adjusted and become champion breastfeeders! Most women actually come to enjoy it - I know I did!

Hogg also says that just because studies show that breastfeeding can help prevent certain types of cancer in the mother and, in the nursing infant, ear infections and respiratory diseases, that this is only statistical evidence and by no means indicates that you or your child won't contract these illnesses. This is accurate - BUT it certainly doesn't mean that breastmilk doesn't provide protection! Hogg even goes so far as to actually mention a 1999 article in the Journal of Nutrition that describes the possibility of changing the genetics of cows to produce human breastmilk...WHAT?!? Just because it might be possible, doesn't mean it should be done! Yikes.

Despite all the problems I have with the content of this book, I did learn two things: 1) Sometimes I think the baby is hungry, when really the baby is TIRED. and 2) put baby down for a nap after 2 yawns to preven excessive fussiness. In the section where Hogg describes understanding baby language, she admits that most mothers mistake the tired cry for hunger. She advocates putting babies on eating schedules for this very reason - so you don't mistake their cries. I disagree with that point, but I did learn from the advice on getting baby to nap. This has actually helped me immensely, which I am grateful for.

Other aspects of the book include a table describing different kinds of cries and body language and what they mean. I found this section to be self-explanatory because who can't tell when their baby is experiencing "discomfort" such as gas or a bowel movement? Hogg also mentions scheduling "You Time" by having a loved one or nanny come in for 2 or 3 hours a day to babysit while you nap or do other girly things. This is a neat idea in theory - but most of us don't have the extra money lying around to take time off to sit for someone 3 hours a day or to hire a nanny for 3 hours a day.

So, while I found this book to be interesting, I do not recommend it as a useful baby tool. And I strongly advice against reading this book if you are currently deciding whether or not to breasfeed! As I previously mentioned, had I done this I would have most definitely decided against breastfeeding and that would have been the WRONG decision. Thank goodness I used my intellect and will-power to make and stick with my decision to nurse.

Legends of the MALL. Part 1 - Impulse Purchases

Today I was shopping at the local mall and went into a store to purchase one item that I needed. ONE item. That I NEEDED. When I took it to the register I was greeted by a young friendly woman who asked me if that was all I needed. Yes, I replied. She said was I sure, because "we have lots of little lotions and other items you might need right here at the register". I'm all set, I replied, this is a gift and I need only this ONE item. OH! Its a gift! Would you like to add some other items and make it a gift basket? The lotions are only a dollar. I politely declined once more, but what I Really wanted to say was "Please just ring me up and let me leave. That lotion may be only a dollar to you, but to me a dollar is a BIG DEAL!

Does this sound familiar to you? Have you ever purchased an "impulse item" because a nice lady gently pushed you into it? Or maybe you actually didn't notice at all because the nice lady was so smooth. Most of you probably know that the sales lady is really just trying to do her job and make a few extra bucks for her company, but what you may not know is that impulse items are very strategically marketed to you. Marketed in such a way, that if you don't know the truth you might do exactly what they want - load up on extras at the register. As a former employee at several of those mall stores you've probably been to a million times (Motherhood Maternity, Brookstone, Make-Up Boutiques) I know exactly how they do it and I want to share it with you, so maybe you can save yourselves a few dollars next time you're at the mall.

#1) IPS "Items Per Sale". Did you know that most mall employees are under intense pressure from their managers to acheive an average IPS of 3 or better?? This is probably the one thing that bothered me SO much about mall sales. If someone doesn't want more than one thing, I didn't want to be the one to pressure them into purchasing something else. Next time you go to a store at the mall and try to buy only one item, pay attention to what they say. If the line isn't too long they will more than likely try to show you an item or two at the register that is under 3 dollars.

#2) The impulse items at the register are frequently rotated, usually on a weekly basis, and the employees are coached on how to market that new item each week. They will often have a goal of how many they have to sell each day based on their number of hours worked. Sometimes there even contests to see who can sell the most.

#3) These items may only cost you a few dollars, but to the store, they are big money. Think about it - a 1oz. tube of lotion is on display at the cash wrap and is selling for $2.00. You think, WOW only 2 bucks! And because its only 2 bucks, you don't mind adding it to your total purchase when the nice sales lady suggests it to you. You might even think she's doing you a favor. But before you purchase the lotion, go check out the 5 oz, or 10 oz size. I can guarantee you the cost per ounce is NOT $2.00. In fact, it's probably much less than that. The store makes way more profit margin on that little tube of lotion than on the big ones. Which is one reason they want you to buy it so much.

I hope this has been informative for you. I plan to continue the series next Friday with "Is it really on sale?". Did you know that many stores have FAKE sales? I used to get conned by that one all the time! See you next week! For more Frugal Friday Tips please visit Biblical Womanhood

He Did it!

Goose is an official back-to-front-roller-overer! For a couple of days he's been coming really close - he'll roll over to the point of no return - but then return...Well, yesterday I left the room for about 3 seconds, and OF COURSE it happened when I wasn't watching! Anyway, he's an expert now!

Now that he's mastered back-to-front rolling, he's now attempting front-to-back rolling. The funny thing is, Goose absolutely HATES to be on his tummy so when he actually finishes rolling over, he gets really mad! Poor thing.

Blogging with Baby

You may have noticed I have not been blogging quite as much as before Christmas. Well, there are two reasons for this. The first reason, is that my laptop died before Christmas and I was without one for a couple of weeks. The second reason, is that while I was waiting for my laptop to arrive, Goose began reaching for and grabbing whatever he sees! Add that to the fact he wants to be in the baby carrier all day, and you've got a pretty difficult typing situation on your hands! For example, right now Goose is facing out in his carrier, reaching with his left hand onto the keyboard. He is also squirming and protesting the fact that I have made him look in the same direction for more than 5 minutes! Ha!

It makes any kind of computer work very frustrating. Anyway, I am hoping that having a couple of set pieces I am working on at all times (see previous post) will allow me to get a little more blogging done! I guess the idea is that whenever I have 5 minutes of type time, I'll know what to type and therefore hopefully get more done! By the way, Goose had his 4 month checkup about a week ago. He is just about 15 pounds now and 25 inches! He has more than doubled his birthweight! Go GOOSE! (Or rather, Go Super Mom for breastfeeding on demand for 4 solid months!) :) Oh, and his first teeth are peeking out at us as well!

Hmmmm, Which one you toys wants to go in my mouth?

Product and Book Reviews

Very soon, you'll be seeing two new segments on this site - Product Reviews and Book reviews. I want to include some helpful content on the site so I'm going to review any mom/child books that I am currently reading in addition to reviewing any products I am currently using. I plan to update my sidebar with features such as "Book of the Week" and "Product Testing", or something along those lines. Be on the lookout for the changes! I'm pretty excited about it, so stay tuned!

Frugal Friday - Soups ON!

Soup. Soup is not very exciting when you think about it. I mean, I can honestly never think of a single time I've actually had a "craving" for soup. My cravings mostly include Pop-tarts and chocolate - never soup. But when recently I decided it was time two drop the two inches of skin/fat left over my pregnancy days last summer (I really miss being able to button my pants!), I also decided it was time to eat more SOUP and less DINNER! Ha-Ha... heh... uhhhh...

What's so frugal and wonderful about soup you ask? Well, condensed soups are only 50 cents a can my friends!! For example, tonight we had tomato soup. 50 cents, two people - that's 25 cents each for hubby and myself to eat, uh, SIP dinner! Granted it's definitely NOT in my top 100 things to eat, but its very low calorie, and extremely cheap. Two things I like a lot! So if your trying to pinch some pennies, add a soup night once or twice a week!

Teething is not so fun is it??

Well, that husband of mine went back to work this morning. I am missing him so much already. Its funny how used to things we get - and so quickly! He was only home for 2 and half weeks, but it feels as though it has always been that way. I don't know what I'll do today without his help! Goose has been teething (we think) and has become a REAL handfull.

For the most part, Goose has been sleeping through the night since he was 8 weeks old. Occasionally he would wake up once during the night for a couple of days, but he would go right back to sleeping through. Well, now he has started waking up several times each night. He hasn't done this since his first week home from the hospital.

And it isn't like his normal waking up either. He cries so hard! Last night hubby got up with him the first time woke up (1am), and he was crying so hard that I had to get up to calm him. Then he wanted to eat. He then woke up at 4am and 6am. He has also started waking up about an hour after you put him down on some nights. When that happens he gives a very sad sounding, scared cry.

He is also back to fussing all day, just like when he was a newborn. The only thing we can figure is that he must be teething. He's 4 months old and perhaps a little young to be getting his first teeth, but that's all we can come up with. He acts uncomfortable ALL DAY. Gnaws on anything he can fit into his mouth. Chin rash from drool. All the symptoms. Does anyone out there know when they usually GET their teeth after they start showing all the signs?

Signed, One tired Mama

Happy New Year and Random Thoughts

We really celebrated our New Year's in style! We went to bed at ten and woke up when our annoying neighbors started shooting off fireworks in their backyard. So I guess you could say we went to the New Year's Eve fireworks! We celebrated again when Goose woke up at 3am for a snack!

Are you making any resolutions this year? I used to make resolutions, but found they didn't work for me. When I want to do something I just do it, if I try to make myself do it, it usually won't happen. I guess I'm stubborn like that.

I've been truly spoiled for about 2 1/2 weeks now - hubby is a teacher and has been home on Christmas break. I am so used now to having his help with the baby that I can hardly bear for him to return to work tomorrow! Plus I will just miss his company!

He is so awesome. He painted our whole kitchen last week in one day and it looks great! I'll be posted pictures of that soon.

Happy 2008!