So Excited!!

I haven't blogged in a few days. Things have been pretty busy around here over the Turkey day holiday. I had to work on Wednesday plus grab all those last minute things needed for Thursday. Thankfully Monkey was feeling better from the bug she had on Tuesday. I was seriously worried I'd be dealing with a sick kiddo for the holiday. Must have just been some 24hr thing. Wednesday night I prepped as much as I could for the next day. Made both pies, got the turkey soaking in the brine, prepped the sweet potatos and green bean casserole. Thursday was still busy with all the baking and such but the food turned out really good. Especially the turkey. I have to say I have probably found how I will make our turkey every year.....yum!

Now onto the best part. This year I got to really participate in black friday shopping. In prior years I've been able to pick up a thing or two. Finances really limited what I could do though. This year...I did all my christmas shopping on Friday. So I am officially done. Well, I need to grab a couple stocking stuffers but thats nothing major. I'm so excited about what we got though. Toots of course will be not quite 4 months old on Christmas and totally oblivious to whats going on. I wanted to put something under the tree though in keeping with the whole Santa story. I could totally see Monkey asking why Santa didn't bring toots anything. So I got him this walker toy. He totally won't use it for several months but it was only $10 on Friday. I figure we'll wrap it up and just save it for later. I'm sure he'll put it to use before his birthday anyways.

For Monkey I ended up doing more than I originally intended. First I got her the Leap Frog Leapster. I ordered that sucker online cause there was no way I was battling people in the store for it. At 1/2 off it was a good deal. On top of that I found games for it at $5 each instead of the normal $24.99 so she got three of those. She also got the word launch. I had a $25 gift card for target so that was a freebie. Then we have some DVD's like The bee movie, Surf's Up, Barbie Mariposa, hmmm I think I'm forgetting one. Lastly we have clothes. Walmart had a lot of $4 items so we stocked up on hoodies, jeans, and most of all Pj's. The girl is still wearing her 4t pj's that although fit fine really the pants are like 2inches to short. I almost forgot too...the ballet stuff! I am going this week down to the studio to do the paperwork to sign her up for the classes to start in January. I've already bought her pink leotard, just need to pick up some pink tights and look into the shoes. I'll do that after talking to the instructor though cause I'm clueless on that count. I also need to get the duffle bag to a friend who is going to embroider her name on the side with some little ballet shoes. Now I just have to think of a creative way to tell her about the classes but in a way that she will understand to. Any thoughts??

As for Mr. X...well I can't put any of that here. Such a bummer but I know he knows about the blog and I don't want to spoil his christmas morning by listing it all here. Suffice it to say I think he will like it. I'm just excited for him though. He's told me in years prior he bought his own christmas stuff. Nobody did things for him. I know the feeling so I think this year will be special in more ways than one.

So thats it!! Today, and yes it is today cause it's 4am, I'm goign to get the tree put up and decorate the house. I have a bunch of outside lights and everything and I can't wait to see it all put up. I got a bunch of stuff yesterday to make a wreath for the front door plus new stockings for us all. Some snowflake things to decorate the windows and new stuff for the tree. I still need to get the kiddo's ornaments for this year but there is still time. I think I'd also like to get one for X and I as well. It's not technically our 1st christmas since we had last year, but it's the 1st one we'll be together on.

Ok, I'm done. Going back to bed now to see if I can't get a few more hours in before the kiddo's are awake. Funny though, blogging at 4am!!

Garfield on the Oil Crisis

A lot of folks can't understand how we came to have an oil shortage here in our country. . . . . . . . Well, there's a very simple answer. ~~~ Nobody bothered to check the oil. ~~~ We just didn't know we were getting low. ~~~ The reason for that is purely geographical. ~~~ Our OIL is located in ~~~ ALASKA ~~~ California ~~~ Coastal Florida ~~~ Coastal Louisiana ~~~ Kansas ~~~ Oklahoma ~~~ Pennsylvania ~~~ and Texas ~~~ . . . . . . . . Our DIPSTICKS are located in Washington , DC !!! Any Questions ??? NO? I didn't Think So.

Ok ok...I get the hint

I figured I'd through a bit of humor in here for a change. And of course it centers around toots. Granted, I may not do the story justice with my words but I will certainly try! On Tuesday I had to go to court with my sis over an issue with her ex. It was pretty much an all day deal and so I took Toots with me. He did AMAZING all things considered. Then again I've quickly learned that it's easy for me to quiet him when he gets fussy. Lets just call them my secret weapons. LOL Thats not the story though. Court took so long that we ended up having to grab a bite for lunch during recess and then go back afterwards. So the three of us trucked across the street to McDonald's. Yes I know, not the healthiest thing but it was the closest and we didn't have THAT much time. So we get lunch and sit down to eat. Of course Toots decides he must eat right then too so I feed him. During which he decides he also needs to clean out his system. I swear he is a grown man in an infants body. Shortly before we had to be back to the courthouse we head into the bathroom to get him changed. I should have known when I saw the yellow splotches in teh back of his shirt....it was going to be messy. I get the shirt pulled up and quickly realize......he has leaked out of his diaper. BAD. Like so bad it was almost to his shoulders. And what hadn't made it that far quickly did as we struggled to get his shirt off with out spreading it everywhere. So there we are in the bathroom. Toots stripped naked and me going through 100 wipes trying to get all of it off him. IT. WAS. EVERYWHERE!! At one point I hear my sis say "EW EW EW...it's on my finger!!" She then proceeds to sit him on his blanket which I used to cover the changing station to which I'm yelling "I haven't wiped his butt yet!!". Oh ya, now ti's all over his blanket too. You guessed it, she doens't have kids. She's not used to this kind of dirty. We finally get it all cleaned off him and thankfully I had brought a spare onsie and his pants were salvageable. Got Toots all bundled up in the moby and he was good to go. Fastforward to later that night. I hear those telltale signs while we're eating dinner and go to change him again. And there it is....the wet onsie half way up his back. AGAIN! Only this time it's me and X and a warm bath. So much easier than the wipes in a public restroom. Thats not it though. night comes and Toots goes down as usual. Then is up at 3am for his feeding and I change him. The next mornign I go in to wake him up so we can take Monkey to the bus. He is SOAKED. I mean literally SOAKED. Through the diaper, onsie, pj's, the bed sheet, the mattress protector. EVERYTHING. I knew it even as I walked into the room and smelled it. Ugh! So needless to say I got the hint. Those size 1 diapers just were not cutting it. So now my once oh so small baby is in size 2's which look so huge but at least I'm not scrubbing crap out of everything. LOL

Young Talent

It seems like more and more each day the talent showing up in music videos and TV shows is getting younger. Granted there are some serious child prodigies. Anyone watched Oprah lately?? I saw this one girl play the piano the other day. The girl has some serious talent and I think she was not much older than Monkey. Anyways, we caught some of the video on YouTube of the Naked Brothers Band which is Nat & Alex Wolff. Monkey's favorite song was "The Girl of My Dreams". You can tell they are younger boys but listen to the lyrics. It's a simple song but considering these boy ages...heck I can't even do that! Apparently tomorrow night, November 22nd, they will be premiering on Nick. I think Monkey and I might check it out since it comes on at 8pm and Toots will already be in bed for the night. Have a little bit of mommy and daughter time. I'm curious anyways because the episode is titled Operation Mojo and I can't help but wonder what his "mojo" is!! It's Nick so I imagine it will be child related but hmmm....what kind of mojo could a boy that age have?? I guess we'll tune in to find out!!

The Belly Battle

Now that Toots is almost 3 months old I have been thinking it's about time to really start focusing on losing the rest of my "baby weight". I paraphrase that cause we all know it aint all baby weight. Anyone who gets preggo around the holidays is dealing with a bit more than that. I think I had gained about 10lbs when I found out we were expecting and that was only about 4 weeks into it. Recently I found something called the Flat Belly Diet and after taking a look at it I think I'd like to try it out. It focuses on loosing in that specific area, the belly, which is my biggest issue after the kiddos. It also focuses on certain groups of foods containing healthy fats (MUFA's), one in particular being Dark Chocolate which is my favorite!! It also includes things like olive oil which we have converted to, and peanut butter which I like for the protein. I figure since we recently started cooking more from home that this might be a great way to incorporate some of those healthy fats into our diet. And since it looks pretty easy I'm sure I could get X in on it with out him even realizing it!! So we'll see what happens. If I get the invite to participate in the program I'll be blogging about how it goes so anyone who reads can see for themselves how it works. Keeping fingers crossed!! You can check it out below if your interested too!

Score!!!

I think this has got to be all time best deal scored. I don't think I'll ever be able to top this one. LOL What could it possibly be you ask?



This

That my friends in the Britax Marathon convertible carseat. Holds kiddo's up to 65lbs. Normal retail is $279.99. Yes, you read that right. People actually pay $280 for a carseat. And thats BEFORE taxes and shipping. Now you must be thinking I'm crazy enough to pay that much as well. I know I know...You can't put a price on your kids safety. I don't do that but I do know there are safe options that cost a heck of a lot less. Anyways....whats the big deal??? I DID get that carseat. But I DIDN'T pay $280. I paid............. $90.28. FOR TWO!!!

Ok you can applaude me now! LOL

Ready for the Holidays?

I wish I could be one of those people who planned all through the year for the holidays. And when i say that I really mean buying Christmas gifts and plannign travel. That is so not me though. I am a total procrastinator. Well, maybe not entirely. I have a very hard time getting things for the kiddo's and not giving it to them right away. I mean, I bought Monkey's new bike for her birthday ON HER BIRTHDAY. I couldn't be trusted to get it before then. LOL This year will be no exception. I know what I'm doing for Monkey and Mr X. Those will get ordered at the end of the month. I'll just need to find a place to hide them for the 3 weeks till Christmas. Its going to be very hard to keep it mum though. Have I mentioned I talk in my sleep. Wait, maybe i shouldn't mention it. Now I'm goign to be woken by Mr. X whose trying to get me to tell him in my sleep. Ugh.....holidays.

I do love them though. I wish that my kids could experience the type of holidays I grew up with. Ones where our entire family got together at my grandma's house for good food and fun times together. The kids played with the toys that Grandma found at the local thrift shops. Barbies and Lincoln Logs galore! The adults usually ended up in a game of penny poker as we all nibbled on the sweet treats still set out like Grandma's fudge. The food was always amazing. Grandpa's ham......my mouth waters thinking of it. Pickled eggs, green bean casserole, potato's with gravy. Ok, i gotta stop my tummy just growled. The biggest thing though was just the happiness and fun. Maybe I missed any issues but it always seemed like everyone has such a good time. The laughter and contentment is what I remember most. Ya, it was crowded but it was worth it. My kids will probably never experience that unless it's when they are older and have kids of their own and we all get together. I hope that we do! It's one holiday tradition i would love to establish again.

Military and iLasik

I know several people who have gotten Lasik surgery and swear it was the best decision they ever made. Mr. X even has mentioned he is interested in getting the procedure done. Now apparently the Military and NASA are considering making it standard procedure to have "mission-critical personnel" undergo the procedure. Does it make sense to have them do this? After doing some research on the LASIK technology I would have to say I think it does. According to the article 100% of aviators who had the procedure would recommend it to others. 95% were able to achieve 20/20 vision. How could it not make sense? Service members in criticaly important positions would have perfect vision. Not relying on commercial products like glasses or contacts which have their own flaws. Glasses can become scratched and/or broken, and even little old me manages to lose contacts. Those darn things will fall right out of my eyes! Can you imagine doing something highly important in the military or with NASA and suddenly realize your contact fell out?? Man that would suck. Not to mention the cost of maintenance and upkeep. I imagine the procedure would pay for itself over the years as the person no longer has to buy new frames, lenses, cases, cleaning clothes, contacts, contact solution, etc. So ya, I have to agree with the statement that Lasik exceeds all standards of safety and effectiveness. Now everyone run out and let them laser your eyes! If you would like to find out more check here for more LASIK information.

Did you Notice?

There are advertisements on my page!! LOL I got linked up to get paid for the advertisements and figured what harm could it do? Well maybe besides annoy some of you who hate seeing them all the time. The good thing is I completely control how many, what type, and where. Pretty cool huh? And heck, if I can make some spare change too then why not. As for the money making part it's based off of clicks. Doesn't show me who clicked what, when, where, or why. Just that one was done. So any of my friends who click no fear, I won't even know who it was!

Inspiration

Now is about when most parents start agonizing over what to get their kiddo's for christmas. Well maybe not agonizing but certainly it's on their mind. I am no exception. Especially since we really need to watch our budget. The plan I think is to get one large gift and then a few smaller things to go with it. Originally I was thinking the Ninetendo DS for Monkey. Then after X and I discussed it that was nixed. Granted she's 5 and it seems like every 5 year old we know has one. But Monkey tends to lose or break things and considering those things are $130 just for the system....well I think we'll wait a bit before doing that. So then i was back to square one and completely clueless. Then tonight while cruising Ebay an idea hit me! Right before Toots was born I had asked on my playgroup about local dance/ballet classes. I had then promptly forgotten about it until tonight. I went back to check the responses and one of the ladies pointed out a local studio that offers dance/ballet classes for $16 month. You pay monthly instead of per class which could certainly get good reviews. Several other mom's chimed in that they are good so first thing Monday I'm going to call and find out about getting Monkey signed up. Granted to start after the holidays. Now I just got to figure out a neat way of putting that under the tree...any suggestions?? To go along with it I'm already cruising ebay for things. I found the cutest tote bag with little ballet shoes stitched on it. She will need a bag to carry her things so it should be perfect. Once I know about the dress code I'll snag a few tights and suits and shoes. I think I may even try to find a charm necklace with ballet shoes on it. I think she would really love it.

As for Toots I doubt we will really do anything. I have some toys that are being given to us for him and a cute little pooh exersaucer. Would it be to cheap to pretend those are for him for christmas??

And lastly X....well I can't discuss that on here as I know he reads this thing periodically. I'm definitely open to ideas though!

Proof

Who says we can't multi-task???

2 months old

Well our "little" boy is getting older and is officially 2 months old now. Really he's 9 weeks but doctors go by calander months. Man time has flown! He had his well baby check and he is now 11.8lbs and 24inches long! My tall and skinny boy. I was looking back and compared to monkey he is lighter but taller than she was at this point. Monkey was just shy of 14lbs by her 2 month appointment. But alas he is healthy and growing well. Poor guy got 3 shots though which he was not happy about. It was almost comical to watch but I'll never admit to laughing. Now wouldn't that just be the mean mommy thing to do? He had no idea what was coming as he layed on that table smiling at me. You could see though when that first needle went in. He flinched and his face immediately turned beet red. Then just he started to calm down the 2nd one went in. Then repeat again for the 3rd. I think he's going to end up with my temper. For a few hours after the shots he would just start wimpering like he was having flashbacks and letting me know he wasn't happy about it. Today, he's been fussier than normal and just doesn't seem to feel well. thats to be expected though so we're dealing. Course I resigned myself to having to hold and nurse him a lot too which helped. Amazingly though I still managed to bake an apple pie in the middle of all his fussing so I guess maybe he hasn't been that bad!

He Made Me Steal!

Ok so I'm confessing something here and honestly, give me your feedback. What would you REALLY do?? Here's the situation. There have been 2 times when I have had both kiddo's with me at the store. When I have them both Monkey sits in the little seat thing of the cart and Toots is in the basket part in his carseat. I'm not brave enough to let Monkey roam free and Toots carseat never really sits right on top of the cart. Anyways, those two times resulted in Toots totally freaking out about still be strapped in his seat. Screaming at the top of his lungs like he's being pinched or something. I swear people thinking I'm torturing him as they hear his hollaring across the store. Anyways, I'm frantically grabbing the couple things we need and rushing to get out of there and hopefully get Toots to stop screaming. Which he inevitably does as soon as we're in the car driving home anyways. So we go through check out and I swear I check the basket to make sure we got everything. Toots must have a hidden compartment somewhere because 2 times I've found something that didn't go through the check out, once I was getting everyone loaded into the car. So the dilema....do you go back inside? Both times Toots was seriously screaming bloody murder. My head was pounding at the screams it was so loud. I know thats no excuse but in my defense I didn't even realize the items were there until much later when silence had returned and my sanity with it. And what were they?? A small bottle of hand soap and a can of frosting. They apparently rolled underneath his carseat so i didn't see them when I was getting things out of the cart. So what would YOU do?

Another Must Try Recipe

I don't put these up often but this is definitely a must try recipe. We had it last night and it is so Yummy! It's titled as BBQ chicken Casserole but really it was like a sweet and sour chinese chicken. I'm not normally a huge fan of sweet and sour but I can make an exception for this. Even Mr. X and Monkey loved it and went for a 2nd helping. So try it....you LOVE it!

Barbecue Chicken Casserole

Taking A Moment

Up in the wee hours with Toots and watching all the election coverage. It's too early to really go into a lot of detail on my thoughts, I'll proably do that later when I'm thinking more clearly. All I can think of is...well I just can't think right now. My heart is heavy and yes, I shed a tear or two. I only wish they were tears of joy!!

I do congratulate Obama for becoming the first ever Black President Elect. While it is certainly a historic event, I fear that it will not be the answer to our problems that so many people are hoping for.

**Sigh**