then along came the boy.

Forget spring...hows about some summer?

2012-03-18T18:31:00.000-05:00

I hope the weather this past weekend was as glorious for you as it was for us here. We were able to spend a good amount of time outside in the warm sunshine, and it was wonderful!

Let me tell you what...the two week growth spurt is no joke. Little brother was on a feeding frenzy (and still may be on one) since late Thursday. Both Thursday night and Friday night I didn't get enough sleep, and it is because little brother started feeding every two hours over nights. Saturday night I was able to get a little extra sleep, but parts of Saturday were wasted away with me sleeping, mostly because I could barely function.

The boy has been totally loving this summer-like weather. The freedom to run around in the backyard and play with chalk. One of the new things he likes to do is race. He will say 'on your marks, get set go!' and then run across the yard and throw himself in the grass...it's pretty funny. He has been spending most of his outside time with dad, so I haven't been snapping nearly as many pictures, except for those of a sleepy baby.

does he not look terrified in this picture??

I have watched more basketball this year than I have any other year. Unfortunately, Iowa State lost, as did UNI...all I have left at this point is Minnesota in the NIT. Do you follow any of the basketball tournaments??

Happy Monday!

The Return of Friday Favorites!

2012-03-16T09:39:00.000-05:00

Well, I had everything set up and ready to go for this post to finish Thursday night...but then I got really tired and didn't want to stare at the computer, so yeah. The night feedings, though, going better than worse, still catch up with you over time.

The last couple of nights little brother has been a little fussier at the midnight feed, so I am not getting back to sleep as quickly as I was, and I think he's going through a little growth spurt, so a little more on demand than he has been previously.

sleepy beeeee beeeee

With the warmer temps this week, the boy has been reintroduced with an old love...chalk. I think he had forgotten about it, but after three nice days, what was the first thing he wanted to do this morning? You guessed it...CHALK! Fortunately, the weekend looks to be outstanding, so there will be plenty of time to play with it this weekend.

We went in for our weight check yesterday, and little brother is almost to 9 pounds! I was looking through some of the old papers for the boy, and with his early delivery and feeding issues, the boy didn't hit 9 pounds until he was almost 3 months...kinda crazy to think about, but the boy was quite the little peanut for a long while! As we speak, I have cleaned out all the newborn clothes for little brother, to make room for the 0-3 and 3-6 month stuff!

...and as per the title of this post...Friday Favorites!! This is going to be the new baby edition.

1. The Boppy Newborn Lounger

via

I love this thing...and the little brother seems to be rather content in it as well.

2. Gerber and Circo Burp Cloths

via

These seem to do the trick better than some of the other ones we've got.

3. Summer Infant Baby Bather

via

I'm not sure how many different bathing solutions we tried with the boy, but I know there was a number of them. This Summer Infant bather seems to be working for us, it's soft, and non-slip, which are two big pluses, and little brother didn't seem to fuss during his first two baths...until I got him out that is.

4. Soothie Pacifier

via

We used these with the boy, so we got the same for little brother. He isn't a huge pacifier-user, but it serves it's purpose when needed!

5. Swaddle blankets.
My mom made me a number of swaddle blankets, as she did with the boy, and when I told her I couldn't find those, she made me some for little brother! I don't have any pictures of the ones she made, but they are mostly all western themed with cowboys, teddy bears, horse shoes...all very cute and comfy!

And there you have it folks, have a splendid weekend, a Happy St. Patricks Day, and hopefully the temps are 30 degrees above normal where you are like it is here!!!!

A post about television

2012-03-13T19:20:00.001-05:00

Hello! How is everyone doing this fine Wednesday? Were you all aware of the time change prior to the day before it happening? Well, I wasn't all that aware of what was going on until I was watching the news Friday or Saturday at some point. I mean, yes, I'm tired to begin with, but to throw the time change in there just kind of has me all messed up.

Most nights I'm up twice, sometimes three times depending on the day, but generally little brother has been eating three hours apart during the night. Lately, I've been using the television as a night light, it's just enough light to stay awake, and to change a diaper, without having to turn on another light. In addition to that, I get to see all sorts of programs I never knew existed. Let me tell you...there are some shows I have definitely found interesting and others...um, not so much. And, the infomercials! I can totally see how people can get sucked into those things, especially when one is tired!

this kid has longer toes than I do!

First, the infomercials. Based on my "research", I find that 6 o'clock on a Saturday morning, appears to have the highest concentration of infomercials on regular cable. I was sitting here watching them, flipping through the channels as I do, and started to get curious, because they all offer this AMAZING trial offer, which is usually 14.95 with a 30-day trial. There were three things I ended up looking online to see more information.

One was a hair curler/straightener which for 14.95 seemed like a respectable price, turns out end price was around 150. The second was a pilates inspired piece of equipment, which I knew was more than 14.95, but didn't expect the total price to be over 700 bucks. (ouch!) And, the third was the baby bullet, only because the blender I used to puree the boys' food got a little abused, and am not sure if it will hold up for when I will need it again. There was also 15 million infomercials for P90x and Insanity, which I know a number of people who actually use both, but that type of stuff isn't for me.

more flowers from the hospital

Now, we've got a Roku and watch all sorts of programs on that, as we also do with OnDemand, but rarely do I watch cable and flip through the channels. The room little brother is in only has a cable box, so now, that is what I do, when I'm in there. I've found myself on the Bravo, Food, FXM, TVLand, and WGN quite a bit.

I can now say I've seen Jersey Shore, and can't get on that bandwagon. It reminds me of when I use to watch Real World, and I just can't watch that train wreck.

I've also seen Real Housewives of Orange County, Real Housewives of Atlanta, Tabitha Takes Over, the Shahs of Beverly Hills, Ice Loves Coco and many others I can't think of. Were you aware that Let's Make A Deal is on TV...clearly not the same as it use to be, but still!

playing with dads boots...part two.

For the over night hours, I generally don't flip, so I'll leave it on WGN, they seem to have a wide compilation of 30 minute shows, most of them I've seen, but it ranges from It's Always Sunny, to Futurama, Cheers, How I Met Your Mother, Friends, and apparently, as I learned last night...South Park, which surprises me because from what I remember it wasn't edited, but it was also around 3 o'clock in the morning.

Every once and awhile I will leave it on a channel I didn't intend to leave it on like Lifetime, where I saw a movie with Candace Cameron and Fred Savage, or AMC where they were playing Hot Chicks. For a day or two, I left the channel on ESPN, or ESPN2, where I got my fill of the New Orleans bounty controversy, and got very confused about the Peyton Manning situation, and saw my fill of college basketball.

So my questions for you...have you ever bought anything from an infomercial? ...and what are some television programs you recommend, or ones that are guilty pleasures?

Happy Wednesday folks!! Stay awake!

week one part 2

2012-03-11T19:17:00.000-05:00

week one: part 2, part 1 here

Once we got home from the hospital, we weren't exactly sure how the boy was going to handle the new addition. We hadn't done much to try to prepare him, since he's so young we weren't sure what he would retain, so we didn't do much to push it.

I hadn't seen the boy in two days, so was happy to see him. He greeted me with a nice hug and quickly went back to coloring with Grandma and Grandpa. We then showed the boy his new brother...or as he calls him 'beee beee' (it's super cute). The boy was very curious and kept wanting to touch little brother.

teeny tiny hands!

Once all the family left we were all kind of eager to get on with things. We still weren't exactly sure what the boy thought of things, but as the week has progressed we were pleasantly surprised.

We have still been taking the boy to daycare, which helps, so that I can focus on little brother during the day. Once the boy and his father get home, there is usually a couple of hours where I am watching both kids. I can see where there may be future feeding issues, where the boy will want to eat dinner and little brother will need to be fed. But, so far, any obstacles we have had, with the help of my husband, we've been able to overcome them.

flowers from the hospital

weekly top shot

During the week, after little brother eats in the morning, I've been getting the boy ready to go, so that my husband can get his things in order for the day. When the boy and my husband get home, I then get a snack for the boy and usually have little brother with me. The boy usually tries to share his food and crayons with little brother. So far, the boy has shared a bowl of Kix, crackers, colors, tennis balls, and his little trucks. If little brother is sleeping the boy will put the food or toys in the crib next to his face, otherwise, if I am holding little brother, he will try to put it in his hands directly. There have only been a couple of instances where the boy would grab at little brother, so we are working on that...telling him to be gentle.

powdered doughnut face

We have a pretty good routine for little brother, but usually once those things get figured out, kids go and change things up. I know that will be the case this week, since we have two different doctors appointments to go to. Little brother referred on his hearing, so we have a hearing test, and then another weight check. I am looking forward to the weight check, since he was borderline 8 pounds, and I am eager to use one of the soft carriers we have. We didn't have any carriers with the boy, but if I can figure out how to wrap these things, I think it will most definitely come in handy.

I hope you all had a super weekend! Good luck with your Monday!!

week one part 1

2012-03-09T11:42:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been one week. One week since the contractions started and went to the hospital half way through my workday.

The night before all that started though...we were having some fun with dads boots. The boy has his own pair of cowboy boots, but last Thursday he was having a blast playing with his dads boots.

Things didn't start happening until early Friday morning. I hadn't had many Braxton Hicks until the last two weeks of the pregnancy so I was pretty sure I new a real contraction from a fake one...which is why I started to keep track of things as soon as possible. By mid morning, my contractions were about 20 minutes, and by the time I left work and got to the hospital, which was about 2 pm, my contractions were about 6-7 minutes apart. My husband then had to drop the boy off at home, wait for reinforcements to get there before he could come back to the hospital, then had to deal with rush hour traffic.

Once he got back to the hospital it was somewhere between 4 and 5 and my contractions were about 2 minutes apart, but I hadn't made much progress dilating and was stuck at 6 for about 2 hours before I finally got an epidural since I wasn't progressing much anymore. Shortly after I got the epidural my blood pressure dropped to something ridiculously low, so got some sort of medication pumped in my to bring that back up to bring the baby's heartbeat back up. Then we waited...and waited...and waited...then at about 8 they induced me. Finally...some progress. Once induced, the ball started rolling again. Then at about 10:30 I started pushing, and thus at 11:35 little brother was born!

Moments after, they took him away and cleaned him up. This is always the part that is like "what's going on?!" A lot of nurses were in the room, and I really wasn't sure what all was going on, they had him in the corner and I couldn't see anything or do anything because they had to make sure I was okay.

Initially, he was taken away to the NICU to help separate his air sacs, he was gone for about 2o minutes. They thought, too, that he might have had a fractured left shoulder since he came out straight as an arrow and face down. Fortunately, that was not the case, and he didn't need as much help with the air sacs as they initially thought, either.

We were then taken to our room, where we remained until Sunday night. We had some great nurses taking care of us, and I was glad to get home with little brother. We decided it was best not to bring the boy to the hospital, and I'm pretty sure he barely even realized I was gone...until I got home. He had his grandparents watching over him, and totally took advantage.

my non iphone iphone pic

The transition to two has been interesting (more of this to come in part two). Feeding little brother has been the extreme opposite of what it was with the boy. He is feeding well, and had only lost 4% of his body weight, we go in for a weight check this next week, and will see how things are progressing then. Though, seems like things are going well..he's eating about every 3 hours during the day, then to about 2 in the evenings, then 3 overnight, whereas with the boy we were feeding him every 1.5 hours pretty much constantly.

LOVE the Boppy Newborn Lounger!

...that's all for today. Part two, to come...and, yeah, it's a little mismatched here...I'm working on it as time allows.

Introducing....

2012-03-05T09:07:00.001-06:00

little brother! Born Friday night.

8 pounds 7 ounces

21.5 inches

and has big head

march! 22 month old!

2012-03-01T19:10:00.000-06:00

Well, hello March...so nice to see you!

We now have a 22 month old. Totally crazy!

I don't even know where to begin! He is crazy about the alphabet and numbers and colors...though that hasn't changed at all. Now he likes to try and draw his letters and numbers, and can do some of them successfully. He is so full of expression and animation is it fun to watch him do whatever he is doing.

The major change this past month is his comprehension and ability to communicate has expanded greatly. He copies anything and everything you are saying, and can communicate his needs and wants really well. He tells us when he wants something, or doesn't want something, and it's fun to help him learn these new words and phrases. He is also putting together short sentences.

We haven't gotten the two year molars yet, so we have that to look forward to. He sleeps from about 7:00 - 6:30...we haven't hit 7:00 now for awhile, so I'm not going to hold my breath for that anytime soon.

I don't even know what else...he's quite the guy! And, it's hard to believe that in 2 months he's going to be a two year old?!

I'm sure I'm forgetting many things, but it's been a really long day, and I am very much looking forward to lounging and snoozing.

Leap Day!

2012-02-28T18:35:00.000-06:00

Happy Leap Day!!

This isn't going to be a very wordy post since I don't remember much nowadays...

For example, over the weekend I remember asking my husband what he wanted for his birthday dinner. It was an option between two different items he likes. I remember asking him the question, however I didn't remember the answer.

So, yesterday I was going about my business, and figured it would be a good night to have cooked corned beef with sides and whatnot, and save the other 'special' dinner to tonight.

When my husband got home from work yesterday his response was...'so we are having my birthday dinner tonight.' Oops. So, we are having two birthday dinners I decided.

Other than that, we are just getting ready and waiting...

well...la-ti-da...

2012-02-26T19:52:00.000-06:00

Well, the weekend is coming to a close. We got quite a bit accomplished this weekend.

My memory is so bad I don't really remember what we did on Saturday, other than go to Target...which I probably should have opted out of with the whole being 9 months pregnant and all. It's nice to get out of the house, but every time I step into Target, it makes me go crazy!

This shot is edited with Nancy's Spring Fever and Blaze textures

We spent the majority of Sunday in the house. There were a couple of things we needed to pick up so headed out for a brief time, but the husband and I spent a good chunk of time going through things and cleaning things up, and just pretty much waiting until we have this kid.

We got the boy some new crayons this weekend, and spent the rest of the weekend playing with them. He has also taken a liking to baseballs, however, he uses that term loosely with all the different ones he has. It's pretty stinking cute though.

It is kind of hard to believe February is coming to a close, hopefully Spring is just right around the corner, though I am not complaining at all about the mild winter we have had. I am ready to spend time outside with warmer weather, and pretty flowers in bloom!

Shine

Good luck with your week...and happy Monday!

oh, and if you need a laugh...check out this video of my adorable little guy.

scrapbooking and a video

2012-02-24T20:18:00.000-06:00

I just recently started following the My Memories blog, and they have these weekly challenges, I thought I would participate to learn the software, since I'm relatively new to the software. I like to dive right in and figure out how everything works. I had no idea I could do this with the software! I still have a ways to go with embellishments...some of my pages have a tendency to look cluttered rather than pretty.

In unrelated news, have a laugh!

Friday Favorites and a preggo photo...

2012-02-23T18:13:00.002-06:00

Well, it's Friday, the last Friday of February at that. Kind of hard to believe. This month has been good, the weather has been mostly cooperative, and I, as it still stands, am still pregnant.

We have had a decent week. The boy has been up to his usual coloring, and letters. Yesterday he was kind of a crabby patty, but today he has been quite the opposite...very pleasant, and agreeable, and goofy. I like these days.

Now that he is attempting to climb up on things (and is quite proud of it) he pulled himself up onto the couch, yanked the blanket over him, and asked to watch Blue's Clues. It was very cute.

This week I haven't done much in the area of hobbies. I organized and put away all my paper crafts for awhile, knowing that I will have no time for that for awhile. I did do a little cross stitching this past week, but soon regretting it, since my hands and wrists are so swollen, they were pretty sore the next day. I have done a little more digital scrapbooking. I started on my wedding album, then realized a couple pages into it I wasn't happy with how it was turning out, so plan to start over.

and the only shot of me pregnant...clocking in at 38 weeks 6 days...

Symptoms: let's see: can't sleep, can't get comfortable, can't eat much, I go to the bathroom all the time, I could go on, but I'll leave the list at that.

Weight Gain: as of my last doctor's appointment, which was Monday, I had gained 41 pounds.

Cravings: I suppose this is where Root Beer Float gets inserted.

Food Aversions: Things that give me heartburn, so I haven't had anything spicy recently.

What made me cry this week: Nothing this week, I mostly am a cranky pants, but I try to hide it.

Medical Stuff: I am just waiting to be done...not dilated, not dropped, minimal Braxton Hicks, no contractions, nothing, nada, zip, zilch!

Something I am excited about: Being done being pregnant.

I haven't posted much about the pregnancy, for a couple of different reasons that I'm not going to go into here and now. I had given birth to the boy during week 36, so all the doctors assured me that I would go early again. Let me tell you what....no two pregnancies are similar, as there has been nothing similar about the two that I have experienced.

On to Friday Favorites!

This week topping the list are sugar wafers...or as they are referred to at our house: too-tees. The boy and I share these. I think he might prefer the pink ones, but he's not going to be picky, neither am I, for that matter. These, like the root beer floats are not a norm in the household. Yes, I do like my fair share of sweets on a regular basis, but while pregnant it's been in over-drive, and I believe my son appreciates it.

I have a couple of different bath and body soaps and scents, but the only one I like right now is Vanilla Orchid. It's nice and light and refreshing, and the scent isn't over powering. I was just recently in Bath and Body Works and they have a ton of new scents that sound really nice, and shimmery mist sprays and shimmery lotion things, I was so tempted to buy something...but I didn't...I wanted to wait until I got my regular nose back before I do something like that.

and finally...my leg warmers. Since only a couple pair of pants fit me at this point, I've been wearing my leg warmers my little sister got me for Christmas. I have refused to buy any more maternity clothes for awhile, since I knew I was in the home stretch, so I've been improvising as best I can with whatever I can find that will fit me. These are working out quite nicely I must say.

happy weekend folks!

Wednesday

2012-02-21T20:23:00.000-06:00

Do you know what I'm doing RIGHT NOW? I mean, other than typing...enjoying my root beer float. Seriously, can't get enough of these things right now! I tried an orange float over the weekend, and it was a nice little change of pace, but I can say I'm thoroughly enjoying this root beer float.

This is a common scene in our house. Sippy cup with water and a little bowl full of something. Lately, it's either Kix or crackers of some sort. We just are making the transition from a spouted sippy cup to a non-sippy cup and even drinking from a cup. With the cup, it's mostly dribble, but we are working on it, and the boy has already figured out how to blow bubbles in his cup.

I haven't had tons of motivation to take tons of pictures and excessive editing. I keep thinking...TODAY IS THE DAY...and then it's not. Many times I keep thinking about all the things that I could complain about the day, but it's just stupid stuff and by the time I get to the blog post, I've forgotten, so it's not even a big deal! Ya know?!

Last week at work, we had a cleaning day. We cleaned out drawers, file cabinets, dusted, wiped stuff down with cleaning supplies and rags. I mean, CLEAN. It doesn't happen all that often, but when we do it, we mean business. It's funny, how often we clean our homes, but how often do you clean your keyboard at work?! I actually try to clean my desk and stuff on a regular basis, but it's still not nearly as often as I clean at home.

Did ya notice the header?

Weekend Recap and Happy Monday!

2012-02-19T19:52:00.000-06:00

How was everyone's weekend? We had some glorious weather today, which made it easy to stay out and about all afternoon.

We had a pretty good weekend, not too many hormonal meltdowns, and mostly peaceful and fun times here in this household.

One of my root beer floats!

One of the issues I usually find myself in, is over extending myself, especially when we go out and about. I think I can keep up, and go and do all. I can't, so finally made the necessary adjustments to not have any pregnant meltdowns while erranding with the family. Nowadays, I am the one that usually is done before the boy...he's been quite the trooper.

http://pullingmymaskoff.blogspot.com/

The boy has recently found new fascination with diaper wipes, more-over, he thoroughly enjoys yanking all of them out one by one, then stuffing them back in the container by the handful. Oh, to be a child. He has recently figured out how to climb up on the couches. He never really showed, or tried to do too much climbing. We don't really have anything like stools around, we normally sit on the floor, but now he has figured out how to climb up on the couches, we have had to move things around a bit and adjust some things a bit.

He also has rediscovered the toilet paper roll. He likes to run into the bathroom, tries to shut the door and pull off all the paper from the toilet paper roll.

<

Other than that we spent lots of time racing cars around the house and messing around with the video camera. We were watching some old videos, and by old I mean, from July, which is when the boy started walking by himself. That is 6 months ago?! WHAAA?! Crazy, isn't it?!

38 weeks 3 days...I'm counting down the days...

Friday Favorites!

2012-02-16T19:02:00.000-06:00

How was everyone's week? I am ready to put my feet up and not move for awhile. We don't have much planned, as it is pretty much hard for me to do anything for any duration of time. The boy wears me down pretty much each and every day. He's been quite the delight this week, as he is feeling better and now sleeping well again.

He's been quite the chatty guy, learning words by the day and repeats everything we say. We are again starting to read on a daily basis, where that wasn't happening, since he wouldn't sit still enough to get through a book! Now, he seems a bit more interested in learning the words, and pays attention to the story.

I have this final edit of this photo, the light in this photo made it really easy to edit. I have a lot of mediocre photos because the lighting in our house is so bad, but on bright sunny days in the middle of the afternoon we get great light in the boys' room, so at least I know we have something to work with!

And now for my Friday Favorites! Parte dos to be specific.

This week, that which tops the list is:

1. Root Beer Floats - I don't normally drink these, or eat ice cream, but seeing as I am pregnant, ice cream is on my list of okays. I can't remember the last time I had a root beer float, but they have been delicious this past week.

2. Garnier Fructis Leave-In Conditioning Cream - even though we haven't had the nastiest of winters, it still has been crazy dry. During the summer I have curly hair, but during the winter my hair is flat and blah. The leave-in conditioner definitely helps with static and extra dry hair when I've got my winter coat, scarf, hat and mittens on.

3. Comcast ON Demand - We haven't had cable that long, but I am becoming a fan of On Demand. It's still debatable whether or not Cable is better than Direct TV, but I'm not going to go there. This past week I've been able to catch up on one of my new favorite shows, New Girl, as well as some other favs like Southland and Justified.

and finally

4. My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software.

I haven't had this software even a month and I am HOOKED! It is insane. I don't know how many of you do digital scrapbooking, but holy cow, the options are limitless! Fortunately, I have used my time wisely and have accomplished a project or two, but I am thoroughly enjoying this a lot more than I thought I would. (I do have a code on my sidebar for $10 off the software plus $10 off purchase from their webstore)

With that folks, have a stellar weekend!

monochrome Wednesday

2012-02-14T19:26:00.000-06:00

Did everyone have a swell Valentine's Day? We didn't do much here, the husband and I exchange a gift, the boy had a nice little party at daycare, and I made some corned beef with the fixings. Delicious! I really had intended on making the treats to take to daycare, but by the time we got back from the store this past weekend, I was beat, so we picked up something and called it a day. Needless to say, he is definitely acting like a toddler that has had a little too much sugar today...hopefully he will sleep well tonight!

So, I've known for awhile that Google Friend Connect is going away, but what are people doing or using in it's place? I set up a Google+ account, but that's all I've done at this point, as I haven't really paid attention to whether or not the sites I go to are Google based or not.

This photo was fun to edit, the lighting from the window was superb, and so I edited it a number of different ways, only posted these two. What do you think?

I went in today for my weekly check up and the nurse had asked me if I minded if a new resident came in along with the doctor, I didn't mind, since I figured my doctor would be there if I needed to call any shots I would. And, it's funny, the resident usually works in a very different part of the city, so in talking with him, I learned that people like me were not his normal clientele, he generally works with high risk / single mothers, so some of the topics / questions he asked me were irrelevant, but thought it was interesting meeting the resident.

Happy Wednesday - Thursday!

Clumsy Sunday

2012-02-12T20:00:00.000-06:00

How was everyone's weekend? The weekend for us started out super cold, but today has been much better than yesterday.

I finally took some pictures and applied some textures to them...I hadn't done that in awhile as I've been primarily using Picnik, but I opened up Gimp this past weekend and messed around a bit. I also took some time to use the digital scrapbooking software I got not too long ago and have put together an Engagement book, a Honeymoon book, and a Vacations book. I knew they would all be small books, which is why I knew I'd be able to get them done in a short amount of time, whereas the Wedding book and the boys book will be much more time consuming.

Texture courtesy of Kim Klassen

I finally got some shots of the boy doing something other than coloring or playing with his letters and numbers. Nowadays the house is pretty much destroyed within the first hour he is awake until he goes to bed. We don't really bother to pick up during the day, because, really, what's the point? He helps pick up his toys at the end of the day, and that is what counts.

Today started out a little more rocky than planned, we were getting ready for breakfast and as the boy was sprinting to the kitchen to get his muffin, landed face first in the floor as he tripped on one of the rugs we have down. There were plenty of tears and lots of hugs. He has rug burn on his forehead and a bruised nose, as his nose took the brunt of the blow. Fortunately, it wasn't a 'bad' blow, he took lots of little blows throughout the day...mostly going too fast for his own good.

We spent the day putting together and installing a car seat, and making sure all our other car seats were correctly installed, fun, I know.

I was also able to get some more cards done, and I think I am getting close to finding a medium which I like to make...now if I just had more time!

Texture courtesy of Kim Klassen

We are headed into week 37 of the pregnancy! AHHHHHHH!

Today is the day which I will call 'Friday' + Favorites part one

2012-02-09T18:35:00.000-06:00

How was everyone's week? We are ready for the weekend to SLEEP IN! Turns out what I thought was teething ended up being an ear infection. We went over a year and a half without a single ear infection, now we've had two less about two months apart.

These three photos are three of my favorite current photos I've taken. These are from last weekend when we had wonderful light and pleasant temperatures. The first one, I had my exposure a little high, but I still really like how it turned out.

This one below is one of my new favorites. It looks way better as my desktop photo.

This one below shows his wonderful attitude...he's being a goof here, and I'm pretty sure he gets that from me.

I'm starting a Friday Favorites, which will just comprise of things that helped me get through the week, mostly the small mundane things, but had I not had them, probably would have been a bit of a crab.

1. Cheetos Puffs - I live off these things at work.

2. Kiss My Face - Early to Rise Wild Mint and Citrus

This past weekend when we were out and about we stopped at the local bath / body store, I didn't have intentions of getting this, but things didn't go as planned, and I ended up with this. I LOVE the way it smells...so refreshing!

3. LeapFrog ABC Video

The boy enjoys this video and as we've had a rough week, we watched this in parts so that we both would just sit and not move.

4. Organic Pregnancy Tea

Every morning...delicious!

Happy Weekend!!

What, you don't eat crackers off your knees?

2012-02-07T18:18:00.000-06:00

I know it's only Wednesday, but it's been a weird and good week. Warning...this is a long and random post!

Well, it started off Sunday night, we were up in the middle of the night for about two hours with a teething toddler. I ended up bringing him into the spare bed and sleeping next to him because at that point we all just really needed to sleep. We are not a co-sleeping family, not once has he been in our bed, and Sunday would be the third MAYBE fourth time I've slept with him in the spare bed. That's just how we roll, yo.

Things seem to be better, and by that, I mean we were only up for maybe 20 minutes last night, so hopefully it was a one day, two day thing, and hopefully the associated cold symptoms will just disappear. He, well, we all were much more chipper this morning than yesterday.

Also on Monday, I had my regularly scheduled appointment, and all is fine, I'm a bit zombie-ish, yes, but all my issues that I am having are normal 3rd trimester waiting for the next phase type of symptoms. Most of these I didn't have the first time around, or if I did, I can't remember them.

Then, when I returned to work, I opened my email and found out that I won a pretty sweet giveaway. You know Rachel from and then she snapped? She had this totally awesome giveaway of a New Oreck Vaccuum Cleaner, well, I won! I was kind of like 'Holy Crapola' (seriously...that was my response)!

Then, moments after that my coworkers through me a lovely little surprise baby shower! So, needless to say, I didn't accomplish too much work at work.

So by the time I'd gotten home on Monday I was beat. The boy had a nap at daycare and dozed on the ride home, so he was running circles around me. He seemed like he was feeling better, and I really hope I can say the same for today. (fingers crossed).

For whatever reason, when he eats Ritz crackers he takes a bite out of each one, then lines them up on what ever surface is near him...couch, knees, you name it...so now he only gets Ritz in his highchair...I'm too slow to pick up crackers off the floor, so we just won't go there.

and finally...I'm one to participate in these things, so here we go!

I've been tagged!!! Miss Mama Hancock from The Life and Times of Mama Hancock tagged me!

Here are the rules:
1. You must post the rules.
2. Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the post.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.
4. Tag eleven people and link them on your post.
5. Let them know you've tagged them.

Eleven wonderful fun facts about me:

1. I attended three different colleges and still graduated in 4.5 years.
2. I graduated college with a major in Spanish, mostly because I took too long to figure out what I should have graduated in, and by that time I just wanted to be done with college. If I went back, or took classes, I'd do Finance.
3. I studied abroad in Villahermosa, Mexico my junior year of high school.
4. I played the piano and the violin throughout school and back in the day I really wanted to get an electric violin because that would be so very awesome, I would like to some day play the violin regularly again.
5. My favorite color is blue, with a second being red.
6. I like potatoes, all forms, bakes, mashed, french fries, hash browns, you name it, I'll eat it.
7. I'm not a fan of clowns because when I was young I saw (and wasn't suppose to have seen) IT, then later on in my young adulthood go and read the book, to this day if I walk by a street drain I look down and walk as far away from it as possible.
8. I haven't been to a movie in a movie theater for over two years now and get kind of grossed out by all the stories you here about bugs and movie theaters (like lice, and bed bugs).
9. I'm not the biggest fan of tomatoes, some days I will like them, but most days, I generally do not...the only exception is on a BLT, of course.
10. Right now, I really like to eat Cheetos Cheese Puffs
11. I enjoy playing tennis.

The questions I have to answer are a little more thought provoking than the facts I divulge about myself, so we will see how well this goes...

Questions I have to answer:
1. What is your happiest memory? I suppose I will say my wedding day...'twas a very delightful day!

2. If you could live on an island with just two people...who would you pick? I'm going to have to say my husband and my kid.

3. If you could be any fictional character who would it be...and why? I have no idea.

4. What is your favorite holiday? My favorite holiday is Christmas.

5. What is your favorite movie? There are a couple of movies I would consider my favorite: Breakfast at Tiffanys, The Princess Bride and To Catch a Thief.

6. What is your favorite outdoor hobby? Tennis!

7. What is your favorite day of the year? My favorite day would have to be Saturdays!

8. How old were you when you met your best friend? I've moved around a lot so I've met lots of people and lost a lot of people along the way. I'd say at each stage, I had a good group of friends and probably when we were in North Dakota, I was in elementary school, I had met my first best friend...we were inseparable.

9. What was your first pet? A Dog. I got my own dog when I was living in Dallas, TX after I graduated college. I had her for 7 years before I ended up giving her to a loving farm family in Iowa in November.

10. What is your biggest pet peeve? Being late! I hate being late!

11. What are you most thankful for today? I would say I'm most thankful for my husband...he has to put up with me everyday, after all.

Feel free to participate...I won't be offended if you don't.
People I tag
1. Natalie! - Happily Going
2. Melanie! - Happy Jax
3. Heide! - Heidi has a Hobby
4. Miss Lish! - Imprintalish
5. Kelly-Marie! - Our Footprints on the World
6. Nancy! - A Rural Journal
7. Lauren! - Baby in Bulgaria
8. Ana! - Wonderland
9. Nessa! - Moments & Impressions
10. Jodi! - Under the Georgia Sun
11. Secret Mom Thoughts!

Questions for the people I tag
1. What is your favorite vacation destination and why?
2. What is your favorite color?
3. Cats or Dogs?
4. What is the one consumable item you cannot live without and why?
5. Do you know multiple languages? If so what are they?
6. What is your favorite hobby?
7. Who is your favorite singer/band?
8. Who is your favorite author?
9. If you could have one do-over in your life, what would you do-over?
10. Do you like to bake or cook, or both?
11. What type of footwear do you have on right now?

Monday...winner!

2012-02-05T20:00:00.000-06:00

So, it's Sunday, watching the Super Bowl...no big plans, just chilaxin' with my feet up (now that the boy is in bed, that is) and drinking some delightfully refreshing orange fizzy water. I am not necessarily pulling for either team, but have been mildly entertained by some of the commercials. This weekend kicked my butt. Between the lack of sleep and the new inability to eat much, it's been a little tough. Saturday was way tougher than today since I pretty much felt nauseous from the get-go, and that was at like 5:30 in the morning...and I was one crabby patty all day, and that is putting it nicely.

The photo above is a Christmas present I received. My coworker made a pinterest booze project (love + love) and gifted a bottle of home-made cranberry lime vodka. The longer you let it set, the more flavorful it will taste. We were joking in the office, that mine will taste the best since I am the one who has to wait to drink it, I will let you know what the verdict is once I can crack it open.

Last weekend we had sunshine, LOTS of sunshine, it was so nice. It's been gray, and dreary, and brown which has made it hard to be motivated to take tons of photos when the lighting just all around stinks. Last weekend, I got some really good shots of the boy where I didn't have to have my flash, or a super high ISO, which makes me happy!

Well, we have a winner from the My Memories Digital Software giveaway. Commenter number 3...Melanie from Happy Jax..YAY! You will be contacted shortly!! Congrats and thanks to everyone who entered. Also, I have a coupon code on my sidebar for 10.00 off the My Memories Digital Software, making it 29.97, plus 10.00 off anything in their store.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! Good luck with the start of your week!!

What time is it? It's time for lunch!

2012-02-02T18:27:00.000-06:00

Ever heard of the Bubble Guppies? Yeah, thank you Nick Jr. We don't let the boy watch too much tv, but one of the shows he asks for is 'dubble buppie' which is Bubble Guppies. It's a cute show, but sometimes I get their theme song stuck in my head. Other shows he likes are Blue Clues, Pink Panther, and Super Why. He likes the shows you can interact with, or answer questions or find things in the program...that seems to peak his interest.

I am really enjoying the use of the (free) premium features in Picnik, kinda sad to see it go, but since I use picassa as my web album, they will have some of the Picnik edit tools still available for use, and it will be interesting to see if once Picnik closes for good, if Google is going to expand their creative kit even more than what is currently there. The only change I would have to make is to upload my photos before I edit them rather than after, so that would take some getting use to.

We have changed mediums in our household, the boy seems to be over crayons at the moment and enjoys using colored pencils and markers. The only downside to that is, closer supervision with the markers. So far, so good. He has gotten away from me a couple of times, but even in my current state I got to him before he could marker anything.

It's funny, well, not funny ha-ha, but as I was up again at 3:30, my mind was wondering about and I thought up all these things I could write about, but as I rethink some of them, they just sound like rants, like one was about where I am at in my pregnancy, and another one had to do with moving, and another one was about playing the violin. All very viable things to post about, which may happen, but not today. I don't feel like complaining anymore, mostly because I was able to fall back asleep...it's amazing what sleep can do, isn't it? I can't imagine the day I get more than 6 hours in a night. Fortunately, still, sleep hasn't been all that bad. I can usually get 5, sometimes 6 hours in a row, if I'm lucky, and then a little more from dozing on and off, but I'm pretty sure I'm still months away from anything more than that. And, I'm okay with that.

21 month year old here.

2012-01-31T19:11:00.000-06:00

First off...where the heck did January go?! This month just flew by...and it's the 1st of February! That means, we have a 21 month old...or as I have been referring to him, a 21 month year old. Pregnancy brain, it happens. I still can't believe that in three months this kid is going to be two years old! Total craziness folks.

It seems this month, well, once we got past the illnesses and whatnot, he has grown more and more into a toddler. He "gets" a lot. I try to make sure to take my time to explain everything we are doing, and make sure to speak slowly and we will accomplish quite a bit. He follows directions quite well, and has started to put words together, and understands when he can and cannot have certain toys (for the most part...as we are talking about a toddler...).

He loves to color and play with his letters, as those are the two main things we do every single day. He's got the alphabet down and can count to 10, he can get to some of the teens, but we mainly focus on counting, and colors, and shapes, and letters. He can write some letters and make some shapes, but mostly just likes to color them in and count them.

Still kind of hard to believe that this 21 month year old is gonna be a big brother soon. I think he'll be a good big brother.

But alas....all good things must come to an end.

2012-01-29T18:52:00.000-06:00

Well, folks, it's Sunday night, and we are gearing up for another week. I could use another day to do as little as possible. My sister stopped by on Friday night, my husbands' parents stopped by on Saturday, and my parents stopped by today. Normally there is lots of downtime and relaxing, but we were doing little things here and there all weekend. It didn't help my cause that I stayed up "late" Wednesday and Thursday watching programs, where that is normally time I doze, so I went into the weekend a little more tired than I would normally be.

This past week we had gotten one of our Netflix discs we actually watched. It was a Irish cop drama television show which was pretty good, normally i doze during programs, so it says something if I am staying awake during these things. Then, now that we have on demand, watched current episodes of Justified and Southland, both are programs which I enjoy watching. So...I did it to myself, so I haven't complained too much.

he was feeling pretty good...he bolted out of his room while getting his pajamas on, but rather than pjs, he just had shoes on.

Yesterday I was able to get a nap in while the boy napped, but today the boy went sans nap, so he's been a little delirious, and goofy and just a little cranky, but mostly just delirious.

It's really great that he is feeling better. He is so much more fun to hang out with...obviously. We have spent a good amount of time coloring with colored pencils and playing puzzles. The one big different between him feeling good versus bad is his eating. He has been a breeze to feed this week, and that makes life for me a little bit easier. And I like easy!

When we went out in the snow I tried to get him to play with it, or pick it up. And after I showed him, he played with it a little bit, but he fell over and couldn't get up. I had to take a picture. He wasn't down for too long, and once he was back up, he was off to explore some more.

Hope you all had a superb weekend! Did you do anything fun??

I've got a giveaway going on right now for My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Suite, check it out here.

Good luck with Monday!

My Memories Digital Suite Giveaway!

2012-01-28T05:29:00.000-06:00

I have a totally awesome giveaway for you today! Yay!

I am here to giveaway one copy of the My Memories Digital Suite to you, my lovely readers.

I had never done any scrap booking before, but had been interested in getting some digital scrapbooking software to be able to put some albums of the boy together.

I've now had the opportunity to download the software, and it is really easy and straight-forward to use.

You can make digital scrapbooks, photo books, cards, calendars and more! There are templates available for you to use, or you could create your own album from scratch. There is also a plethora of items you can download from the My Memories website. Seriously, this is a pretty awesome deal! If you haven't yet discovered digital scrapbooking, you will get hooked, pretty much instantly. It's just that great!

Now, are you ready to win your own copy of My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software?!

Here's what to do:

1. Follow my blog and leave a comment letting me know you are a follower. *Mandatory Entry*

2. Go to My Memories website and tell me in the comments which kit is your favorite. *Extra Entry*

The winner will be chosen via random.org on February 4th.

They also gave me this promo code STMMMS58985 to share with family and friends for $10.00 off the My Memories Digital Suite at MyMemories.com (that makes it 29.95!) and that also includes $10.oo coupon at the MyMemories.com store (a twenty dollar value)!

Now enter people!

Life before blogging?

2012-01-26T19:02:00.000-06:00

Finally Friday folks. It's been kind of a long week, but not too bad. The boy is back to good health and the rest of us are almost back up to 100%. Those bugs seem to wipe the parents out just as much as the kids...ah, the little germ factories, cute as hell, but can't keep those germs to themselves.

We were out enjoying the light snow fall with the moderately pleasant temps. Every time we go outside he goes 'more nooooo' and so we walk around the yard and every once and awhile he will pick up the snow and try to smell it and then throw it.

I had included this photo in my scavenger hunt as the number 4, but it needed reposting. I edited this one just a little different, too. He was having so much fun with letters that day, and I'm glad my camera in hand, too.

So my question of the day is, what did you all do before you started blogging. It seems I now have more hobbies than ever before, kind of makes me wonder what I did with all my time! It wasn't until this past May that I got a camera where I didn't have to use the flash to take a good photo, so I never took pictures except when I went on trips.

One of my hobbies I still do, just less often, is cross-stitch. This was my go to. I always have a cross-stitch project going, because I don't do small. I do the 11 x 14 size full cross stitch kits, and have done so since college. Here are three that I have photos of, but I don't even know how many I've done. I want to say that I've done 10 of these, and it would usually take me about 9 to 12 months depending on the amount of detail required. I ended up selling a couple of them on ebay, but I gave the rest away to family over time.

I also use to play a lot of nintendo on the internet. Sound weird, remember Paper Boy, Dig Dug, The Legends of Zelda, Mario...I could keep going....I added the url in case you didn't believe me.

http://nintendo8.com/all/

I also use to work out a lot, I was going to say all the time, but that would not be true. I am looking forward to working out again, I know I won't have the time commitment I use to, but I now know more efficient ways to work out and look forward to tone again.

http://www.ultimatepilatesworkouts.com/

http://yogatoday.com/

These are two awesome websites, both mostly free, you can choose to buy stuff, but there is enough content there where you don't have to.

One of the first things I am going to try to accomplish would be the three minute plank. Ever heard of it? Ever tried it? Here it is if you are interested.

Happy Friday!

Wed-nes-day - Word!

2012-01-24T19:14:00.000-06:00

Man oh man, what a series of days we've had here. I'm glad it's Wednesday, because I'm ready for the weekend! I had intended to put together my 'all about me' post on Sunday, but we were debating whether or not to send the boy to daycare, and we just trying to figure out how he was doing. He ended up having a stomach bug, but at this point seems to be fine, but Thursday through Saturday were rough. We finally decided to give him an extra day and I called in sick to have the day with him.

We now have snow cover. We got a couple of rounds of snow, and it is what it is. During the first snow fall we took the boy out to try to catch some snow flakes on his tongue. He tried, but I don't think he got any in his mouth. Then, on Sunday I put his snow gear on and we spent some time in the yard in the snow. He can't do much with it still, but he seems to enjoy it.

It's kind of hard to believe that next week is February already. It seems as though January has flown by. Nothing has really happened, so it just seems kind of weird that the days have gone by rather quickly. Normally, it seems like days like these usually drag on and on...though I am still very ready for more sun and warmer weather. Wouldn't you agree?

I don't know if you heard, but I won an award. I'm funny...didn't you know?

I linked the award to the post.

This weekend I have an awesome giveaway headed your way! I have to finish up my post for that, and when I do..be on the look out!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

2012-01-22T09:54:00.001-06:00

I'm taking part in Scavenger Hunt again! Go me!

1. Black and white

I added a little bit of texture...

2. A day in my life

colors and the alphabet...e.v.e.r.y.d.a.y.

3. Sunset

I had to go to the archives for this one since sunset happens during meal time.

4. Colorful

5. Four

I'll be back later to write my post since I have limited time in the morning! Laters!
...It's later now!
I was going to put together my post about me, but it's been a long day, and busier and full of things that I hadn't expected, so my mind isn't coming up with too much to write about me.
Good luck to the start of the week!!
oh...and I did finish one thing...I got almost all my Valentine's cards up in the Etsy shop! Go check them out! The Crafty Bees

Today's post is brought to you by the letter B and smashed crackers.

2012-01-19T18:29:00.000-06:00

That has been our life recently. Seriously, the letter B is the boy's new favorite thing. And, I'm not talking about some nice plush 'B' pillow. I'm talking the letter B from the letters we use in the tub, which, he now sleeps with, and eats with, and gets very concerned when he can't see it. This is the first time he's really ever been 'attached' to something. We are trying to get him hooked on other letters, but so far no takers.

Most every day this week I have had to remind myself what day it is. I'm now up pretty much every night in the middle of the night for a period of time, and that time depends on whether or not my mind starts racing, or whether I can just get comfortable again and just fall asleep. Usually, I have to get up and move around, drink some water, then it's awhile before I am able to fall asleep again.

The things that I think about in the middle of the night are usually very mundane and unimportant things, which makes me wonder why I am even thinking about them! Sometimes it's little things I've forgotten to do at work, or wondering whether or not the dishes in the dishwasher are clean or dirty, or wondering what to make for supper, then ultimately forgetting to thaw said item...clearly very pressing things. And don't get me started on the 'what if's'...seriously, those could kill a person!

Fortunately, though, the boy's teething seems to be under control, but we may be dealing with illness now. Most days, we've got a pretty good system and unless I'm in some sort of funk, it's mostly smiles and good times. It's the times where I'm extra tired when I have difficulties, and usually end up getting frustrated over something so small it's stupid. But, being overly tired has it's plus (I would say pluses to make more sense, but I think there is only one in this instance), is that I can't over think any thing. I have to deal with what is at hand at the moment and that is about all I have stamina for. I'm not sharp enough right now to think ahead, so that, for me, can be a good thing.

Back to the blog stuff, so I changed my header, and was thinking about changing the name, Smashed Cheerios had come to mind because we step on lots of Cheerios in our household. Then yesterday, when the boy was having his snack somehow managed the crumbled a handful of crackers all over one of the blankets, so then I was like 'Smashed Crackers...' but the funny thing about it all is I'm gonna have to change the name of the blog ANYWAY once kiddo numero dos arrives, and I have no idea what that will be.

I was hoping to start a weekly themed post, but my eyes can't handle any more computer time than what I am doing now, so that will be on hold...probably for awhile.

Happy Friday, and Happy Weekend!!

Adventures in teething: version 3,2003

2012-01-17T20:16:00.000-06:00

Well, the boy is teething...again. There were some hints of teething towards the end of last week, but since Sunday, it's full blown teeth-are-popping-through-those-gums. He seems to be handling this round fairly well, we had one bad day, but I think (and hope) that is going to be that.

never too young to start lifting weights, right?

This weekend was a pretty normal weekend, we went out and about grocery shopping and the other day, we either stay in, or go somewhere just to head out of the house. Based on our outing on Saturday, I should have probably stayed home.

Target is great, don't get me wrong, but Target + pregnant woman + half the population in the area, is not a good combination. It was snowing, cold, and it seemed like everyone and their families were at Target when we were there. It wasn't the most pleasant experience, I was nearly about to loose my marbles at least twice, where I had to retreat and just walk away. Sheesh!

One day last week I learned a little about how to use a program like Adobe Illustrator, and my comment last week was "that's all it takes?!" So, I downloaded an open source application similar to it to learn a thing or two, and I could totally get wrapped in blog design, and redesign after redesign. I changed up my background...I like simple, but like more than just white, so I think I found something I like...for now. I've never been 100% happy with my banners, they either have too much, or are missing something...I could totally get lost in this!

don't you color with both hands?

Happy Wednesday!!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday plus 10 v 5

2012-01-15T10:34:00.000-06:00

I'm participating in Scavenger Hunt Sunday this week. It is my first time, normally I don't have my stuff together to remember to take five themed pictures, BUT I saw the list last week and thought I could totally pull it off.

I'll be back later to work on my V's...but I wanted to get my scavenger photos up.

well, it's later...or my regular time I use the computer.

You can find my previous versions of all things me here, here, here and here.

Gummi Bears - totally delicious!

1. Sweet

I went to Michael's to get more ribbon for my cards, and the boy enjoyed stacking them .

2. Stacked up

Our back door was frozen Friday.

3. Frozen

It has snowed a little over the last two days, so we don't have mounds, but this is our winter this year.

4. Winter Wonderland

I put one of the ribbons up to my camera and adjusted my settings, I like the result!

5. Hole

1. When I was a child, living in Nebraska City, I was at a local park that had a toboggan slide. It was the middle of summer and I decided it would be a good idea to go down it.
2. I attempted to run cross country my senior year in high school, maybe a month in I got tendinitis in my ankle so then I became the cross country team manager.
3. Also my senior year of high school, after my return from my year abroad from Mexico, I repeated got kicked out of my Spanish class for being a know-it-all (because at the time I did, of course).
4. For about a year, I went on a gluten free diet, thinking that would help the medical issues I was having a couple years back, though it did help things, it wasn't the solution, turns out I have hypothyroidism.
5. During college I drank an excessive amount of Mt. Dew and Diet Mt. Dew, I don't drink either of them anymore, and can't remember the last time I did.
6. I have a mild allergy to chocolate, which I forgot about until this past Christmas, because this past Christmas I consumed more chocolate than I had in a really long time.
7. I like puzzles, though I haven't done one in awhile, since we don't really have the space for me to leave all sorts of little pieces laying out and around for long periods of time.
8. I love traveling, one of my most favorite vacation destinations is Savannah, Georgia.
9. I love shopping online, I've never been a huge fan of shopping malls, I have to be in a certain frame of mind to go to mall, and if I'm not there, don't expect much out of me.
10. I like winter activities, like down hill skiing and ice skating, but they are a lot more fun when you are on someone else's insurance...like your parents.

Sleep...what's that? ..and other assorted things

2012-01-12T18:47:00.001-06:00

This has been one long week! So, like I mentioned in Wednesday's post, it's great that the boy has been more than cooperative and compliant. By the time we get to dinner time I am pretty spent, but between the official time I wake up and the official time I go to bed there are many winds, usually which correspond with sugar intake, since I'm not consuming caffeine. And, by official, I mean the time I am in and out of bed, doesn't include sleeping or dozing on the couch, which happens, almost every night.

Work has been a doozy, too. Normal processes that I do take a certain chuck of time, which is normal and fine, but due to late breaking tax law changes and amendments, my days have been filled with tech support calls, redoing work, and a bit of wasted time and paper. Fortunately, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. But, talking to tech support while pregnant, and surviving on 4 to 5 hours of mediocre sleep a night, makes it a little more difficult than it normally otherwise would have been.

You know the feeling you get when you have a bill that you have been paying down, then one day write the final check with the feeling of accomplishment and having completely paid that bill off? Then, one day receive a bill from that same place and are like "um, excuse me?", then realize you have a new bill to pay? Total. Bummer. Dude.

I used the texture Grunge Surprise from Pixel Dust Photo Art on the picture below. Nothing fancy, just an overlay and erased the texture over the boys' face and arms and hands.

Happy Friday!

Colors!

2012-01-10T20:11:00.000-06:00

Something we do regularly here is color. We color triangles, squares, circles, ovals...lots of ovals. We color in the morning, we color in the afternoon, and we color right before bed. Sometimes, he even tries to go to sleep with his crayons.

We've had some pretty good days this past weekend / week. The boy is eating well, and not making me clean the floor after every meal (loving this), and he is listening to me when I ask him to do something. There have been few tantrums and not a lot of whining.

He is obsessed with letters, he's got the alphabet down and we've moved on to counting and the things this kid picks up is incredible. I talk to him and he talks back like we are having little conversations. Granted, they are usually about colors, or letters, or cookies, but still, it's pretty dang cute.

who needs pants?!

The only main complaint I have about my camera is it's functionality in low light settings. All my photos end up grainy....sometimes I like the look, but sometimes I don't. I've been doing some practicing this week with my ISO settings and shutter speed, so maybe I've found something that will work...I suppose we will find out next week!

This past weekend I got my craft on...it had been awhile. I didn't have many supplies, and we had made a run to Michaels, so I picked up some supplies and got busy. I could go to Michaels every week, but that would really be a bad idea for my bank account. I got 5 different sets of cards made, and a couple that I got started that I will have finished by the end of the week.

thanks you

happy birthday

love

i heart faces: Best Face 2011

2012-01-09T08:31:00.000-06:00

Sunshine and smiles...what more do you need.

10 v 4

2012-01-08T12:14:00.000-06:00

I took a break from my weeks V's for the holidays...then it was the boys' 20th month post, so now we are back for my weekly tens week number 4. For the first three, click the links below!

10 v 1, 10 v 2, 10 v 3

1. I've never gotten a pedicure, nor do I ever want to.

2. I am a natural blonde, I dyed my hair dark brown once, and never plan to do so again. I'd try dying it again, but I usually don't put enough time or effort into doing my hair, that it would probably be a waste of money.

3 I'd really like to learn to speak French. I studied both Spanish and Italian in school, but I've always been interested in speaking French.

4. I do not have a green thumb, I generally forget to water plants.

I used Kim Klassnen's Embrace layered twice

5. I was once kicked out of school when studying abroad in Mexico for having Mickey Mouse on my socks. Fellow classmates of mine ditched school that day and we went to the mall.

6. I've had the same pair of running shoes for 5 years. I don't run, but they are great for walking!

7. I'm a stacker, but not a hoarder. I like my place clean and tidy, and it if requires stacking of objects or boxes, then so be it!

8. I've been a desk jockey since college, and could almost call myself a guru in Excel, all I have left to concur are macros, and that won't be happening anytime soon.

9. I don't own a smartphone, and don't plan on it, not in the far near distant future.

10. I don't like diet soda. I drank Diet Mt. Dew in college, but I can't handle the after taste anymore!

Do you know what I saw?!

2012-01-05T19:11:00.000-06:00

The last two mornings on my drive into work I saw a lighter shade of dark blue, I was so excited! The days are already getting a little longer and a little brighter!

So when I was sitting in the doctor's office today waiting for my appointment, I came across a 'Year in Review' People Magazine from 2005. I was confused as to why a magazine from 2005 was out on the table, but I took a look. I was 25 in 2005 and that feels like ages ago. I barely remember where I was living at the time, but I eventually figured it out after thinking about it for a couple of minutes.

I got through the marriage section...Brittany Spears married K-Fed. 'member that? Oh, and Tiger married Elin, and Bennifer existed. Cruz and Cruise broke up, as did Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and Stamos. There was some controversial stuff regarding Iraq, but I don't remember that well enough to talk about it, and the only baby birth I remember was Apple, then I got sidetracked and thought about the Seinfeld episode where George picked 'the perfect name' of Seven.

So I had a couple of questions for fellow mothers. I am on the hunt for items for kiddo #2 and was wondering what items 'you can't live without', and also if you have any recommendations for slings, or wraps. We didn't have one the first time around, and I really think one would come in handy this time around.

Wednesday 300th Post! Earth Wonders!

2012-01-03T20:20:00.000-06:00

This is my 300th post. Hoo-ray!

We are off to a shining start. We are back to work and back to daycare and back to as normal as can be. This past weekend was the first weekend in a reallllly long time I wasn't baking, or doing some sort of holiday related task, and it was n-i-c-e.

We didn't do anything fancy shmancy for New Years' and we stayed inside the entire day! We got rain and snow New Years' Eve night so with the roads being all unpleasant and all we decided it wasn't worth it to venture out and about.

Today was the first day back to daycare in almost two weeks, and it was very apparent the boy was ready to go. And, do you know what? He didn't want to leave! I went to get him after work, and he just stood in the doorway with his pouty-face. Clearly, he got over it, but it took him a little while, and a little blueberry bribery and we were good to go.

This weeks' theme for Earth Wonders is BLUE!

Link up!! Be sure to come back and vote for your favorite photo starting on Sunday!

2011 Recap...Memories, Dreams, and Reflections 2011

2012-01-01T20:49:00.000-06:00

1. Me..with...the boy...of course!

2. I love you...hubs and boy

3. Still laughing...we had Elvis at my wedding and my nephew was completely enamored with Elvis so he walked right up on stage.

4. Winter Wonderland...last winter, he had a ton of snow!

5. Birthday! 1st Birthday Party.

8. Spring Fever...flowers that are alive and real.

9. Vacation...to the North Shore. Quite delightful when it wasn't raining.

10. Summer Days...how I long for thee.

11. A Day in my Life...when it is nice we spend as much time outside as possible!

12. All Smiles.

13. Autumn Harvest

14. Family / Home...chalk. everyday.

15. Celebrate...fourth of July Fireworks!

16. Let's Do It...my sister and her hubs came to visit...'twas delightful.

18. Beautiful.

19. Dress Up...'lil Knievel.

20. Macro.

21. Holiday.

22. Favorite Photo

23. Don't Ever Change! My little goofball.

24. Just Because...*smiles*

25. Sky's the Limit for 2012!

Wishing you the best for 2012!

20 months! Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T20:00:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year Everybody! I hope everyone had a splendid New Years Eve/New Years Day! We spent the day inside since we got some snow over night and the winds were mighty strong. Today the boy is 20 months! Hooray!!

...he loves his letters!

He just keeps getting more and more interested in letters, and shapes, and naming objects, it amazes me. We can spend an hour or so coloring shapes and practicing letters and the alphabet. We just recently started in with counting and numbers. I know he recognizes the numbers and can count them, and so we now practice counting regularly.

This past month we had illnesses and teething, lots of both, and I think things are finally settling down. He's almost got a full mouth of teeth, however, we haven't hit the two year molars yet, so I am not looking forward to that, based upon how the one year molars went.

seriously...he can't get enough of it.

Observing Beauty

We have plateaued with the eating. We had been making really good progress with the utensils and the mealtimes themselves. This past month, with the teething and everything, and I'm sure the pre-terrible twos and whatnot stage, we've had a lot of food throwing, and refusals to eat items he would previously eat. I find this very frustrating. He does excellent with his utensils if there is something he wants to eat, but I can say the last week hasn't been the easiest in food diversification. Tough stuff for me to get my head around, but for better or for worse I keep trying.

His sleeping has finally gotten back to what it was, and we are now at one nap a day...usually an hour and a half, two hours if we are lucky!

Muffin Mountain.

I had made these muffins/cupcakes with the intent of giving them as part of gifts, however, the frosting I had made, didn't turn out, so me and the boy ate the majority of them instead.

I saw a lot of posts for a 2011 recap on Ashley's Sicks' blog...I normally don't have my stuff together to post, but I'm gonna try...hopefully the linky is open for awhile!!

Happy 2012!

My last post of 2011

2011-12-30T07:22:00.000-06:00

Well, this will more than likely be my last post of 2011. It's been a good year, a busy year, and as I was looking through some of my favorite photos, it made me think back to when the boy was just a wee little baby. A baby he is not anymore, but a wonderful spunky little toddler.

Add caption

With the new year, there will be new experiences, and plenty of change around these parts. I have come to the realization that I only have so much time, and my hobbies are clearly the first to go. I hope to continue blogging to the extent that I have been, but I have a hard time seeing that happen, rather than a post every day, I will be doing a couple posts a week, and same goes for my photo editing. I will be taking a break from sponsorship, as that requires extra time, which I don't have...maybe in the future, but not right now.

These are the last of the holiday photos...first it was our house, then my parents house, and these are all from my in-laws. The boy had a wonderful time with all the family and chaos the holiday brings. It was definitely more fun with his involvement, and I very much look forward to future holidays when he can understand more about what is going on.

I hope everyone has had the 2011 they hoped for, and all the best for 2012!

See you in the new year folks!

Earth Wonders! Photographer's Choice...a year of favorites photo dump, you've been warned

2011-12-28T10:13:00.003-06:00

I'm a little late on getting this up, but like I said in my earlier post...I'm a little off :)

So, the theme for this weeks' Earth Wonders is Photographer's Choice. For more information about Earth Wonders go here. Otherwise, link up below!!

So, when I was going through my photos, I thought I'd be posting a favorite or something, then I was like...it's the last week of the year, why don't I just post all my favorites! So I did! ...and don't forget to link up at the very very bottom of the page.

I have no clever title.

2011-12-27T08:21:00.000-06:00

Well, today is Thursday, or so the calendar is telling me, and for the first time in a very long time I got the most solid sleep I've had in a long while. There was no coughing, sneezing or such noises last night, which means, we all must be feeling better!

The boy went from having an ear infection to a viral infection to teething all within the last 3 to 4 weeks, and seeing as I am pregnant, if I hear anything, it wakes me up, then it takes me awhile to get back to sleep....but if it's nice and quiet and I'm out, I stay out.

Can you guess who that is? Tough one, right? I have no idea how old I am in this picture, but my Strawberry Shortcake birthday cake looks pretty nice, huh?

The boy now has his own computer. He is currently obsessed with the alphabet, and can tinker on this toy for some time. Just this week we have gotten 'F', 'X', and he can now say ABC's instead of ABD's. We've started to try spelling words and word-item recognition, since he is into it...why not?

Isn't it funny...

2011-12-27T08:20:00.002-06:00

how when you have a well placed routine set, that one little change here or there can totally throw you outta whack? Right now, I'm outta whack, so things aren't as routine as I normally have them, or would like to have them. Ah, such is life.

This week we don't have daycare so we are juggling schedules and trying to make things work as best possible. It's been fun and challenging for me, as it seems, as I get bigger, or more pregnant, the boy gets faster, so when I am watching him, he totally wears me out, which is mostly why I'm not interneting at night. I need my sleep!

We don't have tons of ornaments on our Christmas tree, so I snapped some of the ornaments that were on my parents tree. Just wait until you see the one I'm posting tomorrow, it's a doosey!

Happy last Wednesday of 2011!!!

HI! Nice to "see" ya!

2011-12-27T07:48:00.000-06:00

Well, hello there! It's been awhile! I hope you all had a splendid Christmas and all your holiday plans went as planned. We had a good trip. The weather couldn't have been better, as it made traveling a breeze, where in the couple years past, we've dealt with plenty of white-knuckle driving. It was great to see family and enjoy quiet time as well. The boy got lots of new toys to tinker with, including a number of cars which he likes to launch off the coffee table.

He got a number of puzzles and magnets toys, and yesterday spent all day going from room to room to play with his toys.

It's kind of hard to believe 2012 is under a week away! Do you all have big plans, or resolutions you are making for the new year?

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T19:24:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful time with family for the holidays! This is the tree that was at my parents, and I believe, my best bokeh to date.

I hope ya'll had a wonderful holiday!

It's Christmas time....in the city...

2011-12-21T12:43:00.000-06:00

Well folks. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

...and if you haven't had your fill of The Christmas Story, here are a couple of clips....AND, if you wanted to watch the entire movie on youtube....you could, it's there.

Happy Holidays!

No, you cannot take your crackers into the tub.

2011-12-21T12:42:00.000-06:00

That statement above did not go over very well in this household earlier today. He had plenty of warning and had actually handed over his crackers before running into the bathroom. However, once he was in the bathroom he darted back out to grab the crackers back and then wanted in the tub. Oh, the little things.

sparkle sparkle

We are getting closer and closer to Christmas, and I think...I THINK we have everything in line. With this ick going around, our heads have been foggy so if something didn't get done before today, then it's not getting done. I have one bag of presents that has been sitting on the edge of the couch for at least two weeks that need wrapping, so that I believe is the last of what needs to be done.

Recently, well, for the last month or so, the boy likes playing with empty milk jugs. He will grab them out of the recycling and run away from me as fast as he can, why? I have no idea.

Are you guys prepared for Christmas!? It's less than a handful of days away!

Today is...and Earth Wonders

2011-12-20T19:00:00.000-06:00

Did you know that today (Wednesday) is the 21st. And do you know what that means? It's the shortest day of the year; and, do you know what that means? Starting Thursday days will be getting longer. YES!!!!

the boy likes to poke my belly as though I am the Pillsbury dough boy. He thinks it is funny.

Better Bokeh this week...much better than last weeks attempt.

And, our cute little Christmas tree. I thought it would look neat in sepia tones. Thoughts?

This week's theme for Earth Wonders is Christmas Tree. For information regarding Earth Wonders go here. Now link up!!

'tis the season...ah-choo, sniffle, cough...

2011-12-19T19:35:00.000-06:00

Well, after about a week of diminishing sleep, on Friday, I took the boy in to the doctor, and lo and behold he had an ear infection. I knew something was up since he wasn't getting any better as we were trying to treat the symptoms. By now, he's been on antibiotics for 4 days and he is almost up to 100%, I unfortunately am now the one feeling under the weather. I knew it was inevitable, I was just hoping the icky feeling that I had was the worst it was going to be, so far, I am incorrect. As cute as these little suckers are, they are quite the germ factories, especially since he doesn't know how to cover his cough yet!

Last weekend I got the majority of my baking done (thank goodness, otherwise I'd be up a creek), the above photo is one of the peppermint bark. YUM! I had a couple of recipes lined up to do this weekend, and I got a couple of them done before the ick came over me, however, they didn't turn out as expected, or as the internet pictured them.

I made something called Chocolate Cherry bombs, which sound delicious, but they are a combination of cherry jello and chocolate almond bark (still sounds pretty good), but the texture to me seems kinda weird. And, I neglected to overlook the fact that some of the recipes have items in them that need to maintain refrigeration, clearly I did not think things all the way through. I also successful made Oreo cheesecake, which my coworkers will be enjoying tomorrow, and some triple Oreo cookie balls, which aren't so much balls, as they are mounds or shapes. Still delicious, not nearly as pretty as the internet led me to believe they were going to be.

Our Christmas tree this year is silver. Sparkle Sparkle! You will be seeing more of it this week. I haven't posted too much about Christmas or the holidays, because I really just have been busy with everything. There isn't a lot of down time, and the down time I usually do have is split between interneting, crafting, and sleeping, and frankly the last week I've been trying to get as much sleep as I could since our nights were so restless. That's just the way it goes sometimes though, ya know?!

This is my child. He is mine. Germs and all.

10 v 3

2011-12-18T20:08:00.000-06:00

I'm on week three of my 10 on Sunday! Here's week 1, and week 2

1. I learned to drive stick shift when I got my driver's license, but I've never driven one since.

2. When I tried to ride my brother's dirt bike (not motorized) no handed, it didn't end well. I lost control of the bike and ran into a tree. I got stitches under my chin, and broke my wrist.

3. I've been stung by a jellyfish (a really little one). It really hurt.

4. One of my majors in college was interior design. That major (fortunately) lasted less than two weeks.

5. My favorite movies are: The Princess Bride, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and To Catch a Thief...and no, I can't just pick one.

6. I own five pairs of cowboy boots all in different colors.

7. I can't paint my fingernails nicely for the life of me. Regardless how long I take, or how much time I try to dry them I always ALWAYS mess them up. Always!

8. I use to be horribly afraid of spiders, until I owned a dog and discovered the reality of ticks. (Completely disgusting).

9. I still don't like spiders, however, have learned (mostly) to deal with them better (provided they are under a certain size).

10. I believe angel food cake is delicious.

Sponsors!!

2011-12-17T08:05:00.001-06:00

Sponsor number one is Sixty-two thousand miles

blog name: sixty-two thousand mile

authors:Christian and Ana

Hobbies: Sewing, Photography, Snoozing , Photography, afternoon naps, playing on Photoshop

What the blog is about: I would say it's about challenging ourselves each week with a new theme through the eyes of the other photographer, and to get out of our comfort zones, to see things in a new way......

Favorite Color: Rainbow :)

Favorite Dessert: Cookies, ice cream and chocolate cake

Something interesting: I love the simplest things in life. If I could live on a farm with lots of animals, I'd be a happy girl.

"And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt." Sylvia Plath

Henri Matisse: Creativity takes Courage.

Sponsor number two is Life with the Baxtrons

Name: Courtney

Hobbies: Knitting, Baking, Distance Running, Reading, Dancing

Life with the Baxtrons is about our family of three living adventurously in NYC. Its full of a little bit of this and a little bit of that. :)

Favorite color: Blue - all shades of it

Favorite dessert: anything that combines the euphoric couple: chocolate and peanut butter, if its ice cream its hard to disappoint!

Something interesting: I want 7 kids…yep 7. Since I only have 1 and have just entered my 30's I'm really hoping that God will speed things along by giving me a couple sets of twins (run on both sides of the family). I may be biting my tongue if that actually happens though!!!

Facebook, Twitter

Pinterest, Blog

Thursday Randoms

2011-12-14T19:31:00.001-06:00

Tonight I am full of randoms.

First, I joined google+, join me there! There you will find...not much, not yet anyway. I haven't fully figured it out, or it's purpose, or anything really. BUT, you will find a picture of me with Sprout, and that in itself should delight you.

Second, I finally figured out how to upload a video from my camera. We had a Flip, now we don't...but the software that came with the Flip made it very easy to upload, modify and share videos. I hadn't made too many attempts to shoot video with my camera, so sometime in the last week I gave it a go. Once I got them off the camera I really wasn't sure what to do with them. So, I finally figured it out (kinda). I haven't figured out how to modify one. BUT, I successfully got two short ones on the blog. So there you have it!

...and I feel as though there should be a third. Oh, there is! I had my first Etsy sale this week. Yay!

and...I just thought up a fourth! I will post the recipe link for the Chocolate Frito Candy thing. When I first got my crock pot, I wasn't sure what to do with it then I found Crockpot 365, this woman vowed to crockpot every single day for a year. One of the recipes she has is called Crock Pot Chocolate Frito Candy, it is divine, and this is the third or fourth year I've made, but only the second year I've started to share it. he he hee.

Walking in a winter wonderland...

2011-12-13T19:35:00.002-06:00

So, I haven't really posted much about Christmas and winter, and the holidays..yah, I know. 'Tis the season, yo.

Last year we bundled the boy up and took him out in a snowsuit he could barely fit in, he couldn't walk, and so it was me pretty much placing him in the snow and snapping some pictures for my own pleasure. Oh, the things we do.

This year, once we got proper winter boots, we bundled him up in the full snowsuit and took him out. He walked around in the snow going "no, no, no" (as to say snow, snow, snow) and then fell down once we let go of his hands. Once he got use to walking in the snow suit it got easier, but I think we were only outside for 10 minutes as he then wanted to pull out the chalk and start drawing on the sidewalk.

This is my first attempt at holiday bokeh. Lame, I know. We didn't put our own tree up until Sunday, so you'll see some better shots next week once I get those photos up. I don't have a great range for aperture, but something is better than nothing, right?

As I sit here, I am waiting for my laundry to finish so I can relax and put my feet up (aka wrap presents), and watch some New Girl.

This week's theme for Earth Wonders is SNOW! Link up! Come back and be sure to vote for your favorite after Sunday!

For more details regarding Earth Wonders click HERE

Things and Stuff

2011-12-12T19:19:00.000-06:00

So this morning, I was prepared for a rough commute, forecast was calling for freezing rain and drizzle and the temps had been hovering around 32, so I was ready for some car skating and a lot of interstate parking lots. 'Twasn't the case folks. No ice today. Hooray.

On this date last year we got a 17 inch snow storm, which had caused the Metrodome to collapse. So far this winter we have had snow and ice, but not to the capacity we had last year, and thank goodness! We need a break!

This past weekend I started my baking. I was getting a little afraid that I wouldn't have enough time or energy to get it all done in one weekend, and I am glad I started. I'm not a baking master or anything, and I got a lot accomplished, but I still probably have 4 or 5 more recipes to go, and then to go through all of it and package it up for presents, then wrap the non-homemade gifts! Uf! ...and to think Christmas is less than two weeks away! Crazy!?!?!

So far I've made puppy chow, two batches of chocolate covered pretzels, peppermint bark, rocky road, and one of my all time favorites frito-chocolate candy. Next week includes something called cherry bombs, which surprisingly do not contain alcohol, oreo cookie balls, a mini cupcake recipe and if I can find a proper sized pan oreo cheesecake. What all types of baking do you do...if any?

10 v 2

2011-12-11T20:13:00.002-06:00

Hi all! I'm on v2 of my weekly 10's. Here's 10 v 1 if you are interested.

11. One of my all time favorite vacation spots is the Black Hills in South Dakota.

12. The summer between my freshman and sophomore years' of college I worked at a KOA (Kampground of America) five minutes outside Mount Rushmore, that summer I could say I knew Abe Lincoln!

13. I like wearing fun knee high socks, they usually contain either polka dots or stripes.

14. I have four siblings. I am #4.
15. My thumbs are double jointed.
16. I took kick-boxing classes for two years. I loved every minute of it, and would love to do it again, just wish the personal liability is less than what it is.

17. One of my all time favorite shows is Deadwood. See #11 and #12.
18. I can identify 90% of all Seinfeld episodes within the first couple of minutes. Yes, I've seen them all that many times.
19. I love wearing heels, however I can't wear them if they aren't strapped/adhered to my feet.

20. I don't like to wear a watch.

The end of the week is here!

2011-12-08T18:53:00.001-06:00

Yippee! This week has been kind of a long one, mostly because my sleep isn't as restful as it once was...so my days are longer and longer and, though, that it the case, doesn't mean that I'm getting any more accomplished. I figured this would start happening at some point, I just didn't know when. But, alas, here we are.

I'm sure soon enough, too, something is gonna have to give. My crafting has declined, my photo editing has declined a little, but not drastically, and I'm just plain tired, pretty much all the time, so rather than try to over extend and 'get things done', I stop, and I rest.

The next two weekends I'll probably be spending the free time I have on baking, since I have about 5 or 6 different types of treats I'm making for the holidays. Hopefully, too we will get our tree up this weekend and get some of the presents wrapped. Those are my hopes for the weekend anyway.

What are ya'll up to this weekend?

Have a good one!

Thursday...sigh

2011-12-07T19:20:00.000-06:00

Well, it seems as though, by this point in the week I'm tired and lacking the creative genius that I have Monday through Wednesday. Usually, one of the first things that go is my memory. I have ideas of stuff to write, and then I get to the computer, and nothing. So then I stare at the wall trying to remember what I was going to type, and nothing.

I shot some video today with my camera, which I don't normally do because it eats up the batteries to the point where I have to recharge them (which is precisely why I haven't uploaded the videos). So, once I get the batteries charged and good to go you'll see some videos!

...contently playing with his toys....that makes me happy.

We wear our hats inside...don't you?

I leave you with this. All items at The Crafty Bees is on sale 25% off with coupon code 25OFF.
Happy Thursday!

Pardon the noise...

2011-12-06T19:46:00.002-06:00

So now that we are below freezing, we aren't spending any time outside...on days above freezing, that is a different story, but what I'm getting at is, spending time outside is limited and generally only happens when it has to.

By the end of the fall I had learned a lot about shooting in manual OUTSIDE. I can't shoot worth a darn inside, but I'm taking time most days to learn what settings work and what really doesn't work. I don't have a dslr, but I do have a point and shoot that has some adjustable settings, so I am trying my different modes and working with the shutter speed and lighting. one setting that I can't change (other than the canned ones) is to set a manual white balance.

So, until then, pardon the noise. Oh, and if someone can tell me how to fix this in my editing programs, I've tried a number of things in GIMP, but it doesn't fix it as good as I would like it to be.

Totally random: The boy crawls again. He will run to a room, throw himself on the floor, then crawl. Random, right?

This weeks' theme for Earth Wonders is FLOWERS! I don't have any current photos of flowers, so I had to go to the archives for this one...

preeetttyyy!

I now have a 19 month old.

2011-12-05T19:56:00.000-06:00

Well, I am finally to my 'my child is 19 months old' post, which happened on the first. However, with the holiday weekend and work and everything I didn't get to all my photos, so today is the day!

It's hard to believe he is 19 months! He is such a little kid nowadays, however, when we look at pictures, he refers to himself as baby. I'm trying to get him to say his name, but I've only heard him do it once, and it may have been coincidental.

This past month he cut his 1 year molars, and those were tough...we had one really rough week, and things gradually got better, but man...those were not fun. Hopefully the 2 year molars won't be as bad....maybe?!

We've had some progress with the sleeping in, however it usually backfires on us. He will generally sleep 12 hours, but during the week we have to get up a little early, and he is very much not a fan of that. To say we struggle some mornings is putting it nicely.

He eats everything, drinks everything. Every once and awhile he will mix it up and not eat something he normally likes, but that is random and very unpredictable, and usually doesn't last very long.

We have had a lot of progress in the vocab and reading department. He likes to read again, which is fun, he likes to sit and look at the pictures. Sometimes he will read the books aloud, and flip the pages and so on for a good chunk of time.

Currently, he is obsessed with letters and shapes. He will sit and look at alphabet books or flashcards and try to say the letters and spell out words. His favorite right now is anything circular...circles, ovals, O's, and anything round he traces with his finger and says "O".

It's really is crazy how quickly the time goes by...

i heart faces: on your feet!

2011-12-05T08:11:00.000-06:00

10 v 1

2011-12-04T19:31:00.002-06:00

So, I was reading Baby in Bulgaria and Lauren started doing a weekly get-to-know-me segment, and thought it was a clever idea, so am following suite!

1. So far I've lived in 5 states: Nebraska, North Dakota, Iowa, Texas, Minnesota, in that order.

2. I've had glasses ever since I was in second grade.

3. I attended three different universities and graduated in five years from Iowa State!

4. I use to thoroughly enjoy rollerblading, but I now can't remember the last time I went rollerblading.

5. I worked at the Iowa State Alumni association for approximately three weeks. I learned quickly that the fewer sales I got that more breaks I got, I didn't like that job very much. I once stayed on the phone with someone for 45 minutes to get a nickel.

6. I worked at Subway and was a sandwich artist.

7. I play the violin, well, not much anymore. But, I started when I was in 4th grade and won 1st chair my ninth grade year, which, within a week, had to give it up due to politics.

8. My favorite color is blue, and it always has been.

9. I sold my wedding dress on eBay for almost what I paid for it.

10. I can't remember the last time I had a cup of coffee. I don't drink decaf, but I do love me some caffeine-free mint tea. YUM!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Fri-Fri-Friday!

2011-12-01T18:57:00.000-06:00

So a couple of weeks ago we went to Sears to get the boys' picture taken. Every time we go in, I use a coupon and get a picture package. This is the photo we ended up getting as the picture package. Not bad, eh? I love those cheesy backgrounds. My husband was trying to get the boy to hold a football on the sled, but that just didn't turn out.

This is another photo from our travels last weekend. I edited it a little, to have the tone differ from this one that I posted yesterday. The sky was sure full of pretty colors.

...and this is my final edit on the lonely tree photo, this time in only black and white. Here is the original with minimal edits.

Happy Friday. And be sure to stop by my sister's blog and wish her a

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!