Introducing.....Love Handle 911

I'll be honest. When I wrote my post about weight loss last Friday, it was really a free-flowing rant about how I don't wanna. A Grade-A tantrum. And I was a little sheepish about posting it because I felt silly for being upset about a topic so seemingly shallow. That said, I am SO glad I posted! Your responses were so amazingly helpful and encouraging that I was able to snap out of it and make some really great changes!

That afternoon, Oscar and I went for a 40 minute jog/walk on the greenway and for the entire weekend, I incorporated fresh, raw veggies into our meals. We still had pizza night, but I replaced half the pizza I normally eat with a giant salad. And already, I am remembering what I DO like about eating healthy so I am hoping to keep going in this direction. THANK you!

There were so many great suggestions that I decided to compile them and add some resources that we can all reference in the weak moments. I'm calling it, Love Handle 911 and you can always find the link at the top of this page! If there is anything you would like me to add, or that you think might be helpful for others, let me know and I will add it! This isn't a diet plan or anything, just a hub for resources, encouragement, and whatever else we want it to be. Yay!

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Love Handle 911

Put down the donut! We're here to help. Below are some really great resources and words of wisdom from you, the readers of Lil-Kid-Things! Just have a baby? Or maybe you had a baby 7 months ago and you haven't lost any weight? Or you haven't had a baby at all and are struggling just the same? We can all use a helping hand once in a while, or a kick in the pants. Find it here! And if you have anything to add, email me at andrea@lilkidthings.com and I will update the post.

But I don't LIKE healthy foods! Well, sometimes, I don't either! Here are some tips to help us learn to like them! Don't want to exercise? You will! Remember when beer was an "acquired taste"? And now you like it? Well, you're in luck because it works the same way with broccoli and jogging! A stretch? Maybe. Let's move on.

Start Small:

Maybe we start with one meal a week and move up from there? -Paige

Give exercise and a healthier diet time- This is what I say over and over again. It's easy to get discouraged and not "see results" - Jamie

We've decided to have no desserts during the week, except for one day. We choose Fridays... we plan it all week and have a really yummy dessert. I find that I enjoy the dessert more! - Kristy

I focus on the things that I can change: I still eat like a horse, but healthfully, and take a nice long walk every morning with the stroller which is good for me on lots of levels. - Michelle

Food habits lead to more habits - if you just get used to eating fresh fruits and veggies you'll keep it up and it helps you feel better and you like that. - Amy G.

A couple of years ago I swore off fast food. All fast food. If I could drive through and pick it up, I wasn't eating it. - Whitney

It takes some time, though, and a shift in mindset from "This is what I eat every day" to "I don't eat that. - Beth

It surprised me to learn that healthy eating doesn't come naturally to many of my friends. Even the ones I considered to be on my "envy" list. This was something that really encouraged me to just do it. Eat some veggies, enjoy your life. It will only help. Sure McDonald's is like crack. But baby steps lead to strong, powerful strides. One day at a time.

Get Moving:

I think exercise is much more fun with friends. So call me. - Kim

After having a baby I was sooo irritated that I couldn't instantly get my body back the way it was pre-baby. I have gradually increased my exercise habits- something I dragged my feet on forever...The stroller jogging class I joined was the beginning, and now I'm hooked! - Jamie

I can come up with a reason not to exercise for every day of the week. Too hot, too cold, too rainy, no gym membership, the pool is closed, the DvD is boring, the baby is awake, the baby is sleeping....the list goes on. Just get up and do it. Use that creativity to find new ways to get moving, instead of trying to avoid it.

Focus On the Positives:

AT LEAST YOU LADIES HAVE BOOBS. - Amy J.

As for being a few sizes larger now, I'll take it! I feel stronger and healthier now than I did when I was thinner :) - Claire

Give your self some credit - Maridith

Just like the tortoise and the hare... steady wins the race!!! - Kristy

I've found the key is finding flattering clothes for your [new, postpartum] body shape and just accepting the fact that things change. "Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change ... - Michelle

Cut yourself some slack! We all have a different story to tell. Remember that we are all individuals. Comparing ourselves to others is like apples and oranges - or in my case pears and bananas ;-). Whatever the circumstances were that led to YOUR weight gain, YOU are completely capable to lose it in good time!

Try New Things:

Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar with "the mother" might help you. I mix it with a little bit of juice. - Haven

Thanks to Ellie Krieger (food network) I have found some seriously healthy food for my family that tastes great! Give her a try... The Tuscan Vegetable Soup rules. - Claire

Laugh:

Heaven help me when my baby stops nursing... - Amy G.

If you can't laugh at yourself, you are in for a miserable journey. Try to find something funny about each day and use it as fuel. Life is too short to count calories ALL the time. Get goofy with the kids, or even better withOUT the kids. Dance naked in the mirror and giggle at your jiggles. I bet if you keep it up, you won't be jiggling for long!

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Everyone loves a Haircut! Well....almost everyone...

OK I'll admit it. I am unfaithful. I can never commit to a hairdresser. I just get too antsy. I found one that I loved, then I just got bored and took forever to get another cut, so I tried out another one, who I also loved. THEN, Alter Ego, a fairly new Salon ran a promotion for a free cut for first timers. So, I decided to go. I always used to feel guilty when I would "cheat" on my hairstylist, but I can't fight it anymore. I'm a drifter.

I got basically the same cut I got after Oscar was born only this time I had her blow it out straight. So fun! I have never had a Salon blowout before and man, I had no idea my hair could be this soft! I love it, Jerry loves it and Oscar.....well, you be the judge.

I loved the salon and I am sure I will go back. Katelyn did my hair and she was super sweet, but not too talkative. I also had my eyebrows done (I am sure my puffy red lids gave me away) and the eyebrow girl also did a great job. Before you go, be sure to check out We 3 Liebs for a cool giveaway!

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Let the Punishment Commence.

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Why Skinny People Make Me Angry.

Honestly, it's not that people thinner than me are horrible. I'll just get that right out of the way. I love my thin friends and yes, even envy them and wonder just HOW they do it. But in many of the cases, they live just like me, only thinner. Luck of the draw? Good genes? "Forgetting" to eat? Whatever. The bottom line is, they are thin and I am not. But why?

I do know that I can eat. I can promise you with 100% certainty that I will NEVER forget to eat a meal. It's the highlight of my day (aside from spending time with my family) Comments like, "OH wow, this is huge, I could NEVER eat all that" will likely never come out of my mouth because yes, I COULD eat all that. And by the way are you gonna finish those fries? Not saying I do, but I definitely could. I mean really, you CAN'T? You are so thin that you just can't eat it? Really? Am I the only one that eats because it tastes good? Does that make me a glutton? I hope not.

Of course, my problem doesn't stop there. I also really really don't love to exercise. Well, I do love the elliptical machine, but I don't have one and a gym membership is still off the table at the moment. I am trying to walk and jog more and that is OK, but I would rather do it in an expensive neighborhood where at least I could gawk at the rich, skinny people and pretend that I am on my way to living like that.

Basically, weight loss pisses me off.

I know I need to do it because I am not satisfied where I am. I know it's unhealthy to be overweight and I want to set a good example for Oscar and any other children that might come along. It's a constant struggle. A CONSTANT STRUGGLE. I don't think I am ugly. But I had nothing to do with my face. I can thank my folks for that. What I can control, I don't seem to be doing a very good job at and it irritates me to no end. Why does it seem so easy for everyone else? Is that just another excuse? How to you start a journey you don't really WANT to be on?

I love watching The Biggest Loser. I get really into it. And I get so mad when people who applied to be ON the show and have been watching season after season, complain that it's TOO hard. I mean come on! You KNEW it would be hard. Get over it! Sigh. It's so easy to yell that at the TV when I am sitting there on my couch eating a burrito.

Somewhere in my mind I want to want it more. It makes me mad that I don't seem to have the healthy thing down. Like, of the meals I cook at home, what would I feed Oscar? I don't want to feed him what we eat and that has really got me thinking. Our meals are delicious, yes, but they are serious comfort foods. We do baked chicken here and there, but more often than not, you will find Spaghetti, Pizza, Tacos, Mac and Cheese and sandwiches on the menu.

And that's when I get angry. I have salad in the fridge and every once in a while I think mmm, salad sounds great. But who really thinks that on a regular basis? And if the answer is most people, why am I not one of them? I'm mad because I want to WANT healthy things instead of forcing myself to go against everything that feels natural so I can fit in. I don't. If it's going to happen, I have to force it. That is just the way it is and it's exhausting.

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Remember Sweet Pickles?

I never knew anyone who's mom actually ordered the learn at home kit that came with the awesome sweet pickle bus, but man did I ever want one. I guess I have always had a thing for food themed vehicles. I mean I named my son Oscar right? Anyone? Anyone?

Anyway, speaking of my little weiner, we took him to The Raleigh Times this week and he decided to try my pickles. We thought it was cute that he liked to suck on them and lo and behold he sucked all the seeds right out! I know he would have tried to down the whole thing if I let go. A day or two later I tried to put some bread and butter pickles into his mesh feeder but we did NOT get the same response. Only gourmet pickles for my boy.

And now, if you could please close your eyes and take a trip down memory lane with me. You'll need to close your eyes because the video quality below isn't worth the crappy 1982 film it was likely shot on. Regardless, who can forget this song???

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Blogging Lite and Our Anniversary!

This week, we have had Oscar's Mimi in town (aka Jerry's mom). I have been slack in the blogging area because with more activity and conversation in my daily life, my mind becomes incapable of retaining thoughts. Much less thoughts that are worth writing about. That said, we are having a great time! Jerry took off work Monday, Tuesday and today and we've been enjoying our little stay-cation. Oscar loves his Mimi and has really gotten over his shyness with her. We decided that if anyone wants to get in Oscar's good graces, all you have to do is camp out at our place for 3 days or more. Golden.

Yesterday was our 2 year anniversary. Because Mimi is here, we decided to leave Oscar overnight for the very first time! Initially, we were pretty nervous about it. And by we I mean *I* was worried. What mother wouldn't be? All the what ifs floating around in my sleep deprived head were enough to drive anyone crazy. But after having a few days to see Mimi and Oscar interact, I was completely at peace. When the time came to leave the house, I knew Oscar would have a great time and we would too! Before I go on, thanks Mimi!!!

We didn't go far. Jerry and I decided to stay in a hotel downtown so we would be close enough if we were needed but far enough to not wake up in the middle of the night :-). We also wanted to stay in town because with a baby, it's much more difficult to enjoy the nightlife and we wanted to chill in our city. What's funny is that the first place we went was Sam's Club! Jerry has had a membership for a while but we haven't had the chance to go together in forever to get me added to his account. So we did that. Jumbo TP here I come! We had too much fun walking around and "buying" computers, TVs, coffee makers, giant gorillas and other various items in our heads. We spent thousands of dollars in about an hour. Of course what we actually left with were a few clothing items and ibuprofen. Sam's Club is one of the few places that Jerry not only tolerates, but actually enjoys. It's always fun to see him shop there.

We made our way to the hotel and got checked in and all cleaned up for dinner. We had reservations for Sono, which is an amazing Sushi place for those that don't live in Raleigh. We LOVE sushi and it seems like every chance we get to have a night out, it is spent at Sono. But we don't mind! It's Raleigh Restaurant week too so they had some specials which worked out nicely. We each had an appetizer, 2 rolls, and dessert! SO delicious! If you decide to go, I HIGHLY recommend the Piano Roll. You can thank me later.

After dinner, we went to the Busy Bee Cafe to see our friend Martha who was in town for the evening. It just so happened that we were right around the corner so it worked out great! We miss Martha and Sam. Always. The end.

We had a great time there for a while and decided that we would take the R-Line bus back to our hotel. Those buses are NICE! I hadn't had the chance to ride one yet, but it was great. And FREE! The A/C was kickin and it was the perfect way to end our evening. We stopped into the top floor of our hotel to check out the bar but they closed at 10pm. Boo! We didn't know that but it wasn't a big deal. Our room was on the 19th floor so we still had an awesome view of our little city! This morning we had breakfast outside at The Morning Times and it was delightful. I am so glad we decided to stay in Raleigh. Just walking around made us appreciate living here. It's not that we couldn't do these things WITH Oscar, we just had a really great time on our 24 hour date :-) Happy Anniversary to us!

And of course Oscar and Mimi did great! He slept well and played and ate all his meals like a pro. This morning we got a picture text of him playing on the floor happy as can be. I am so glad it went well! What else would you expect from a 7 MONTH OLD??? First overnight, check! Where should we go next???

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All Clean....

Now that Oscar is sitting up almost unassisted, he is really loving bath time. I finally got Jerry to take some pictures since we were both home at the time. Check out the sweet action splash shot!

I love this little boy.

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Friends, Neighbors, Internet....

I have done you a grave disservice! Last week I mentioned that my friends, Infusion Dance Company, would be in town to perform. I said it glibly, in passing, as if to say it mattered not whether or not you came. Instead, what I should have done was personally drive to each of your houses, dragged you out of your comfort zones and taken you to see them dance!

Not only did I have a great time catching up with old friends, I was amazed at the skill and professionalism of their production. From start to finish it was a moving and entertaining evening. They started of the night with a few songs, original and otherwise. Then they started the dance portion which was a mixed media production relying on video interludes for quick costume changes. They utilize ballet, modern dance, gymnastics and martial arts in their pieces and it truly is quality! They are also excellent musicians and one of my favorite parts of the show was the drum interlude. I just can't say enough good things about these guys and it's not just because I know them. You can bet that the next time their tour brings them to Raleigh, you will have a knock at your door.

I uploaded two of my favorite pieces from their show, but honestly It was hard not to put the whole thing up! I'm just so proud of them :-) See for yourself!

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I guess I have a lot of things to ponder....

The fact that this cockroach is green somehow makes him less disgusting. We found him this morning in the bathroom and I snapped a picture before Jerry released him back into the wild.

In the words of Derek Zoolander, Who am I?

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Yes, my kid watches TV

And I am ok with it! We have one Baby Einstein dvd and the first time I put it on I was just curious to see what Oscar would do. I don't remember him being especially smitten with it, but in the past few weeks as he is stretching the amount of time he can stay awake in the afternoon, I often reach for the play button. Jerry gets home around 6pm and it's usually about 5:30 that Oscar is so over me. He's played with all the toys, he's been outside in the stroller and/or swing, we've cuddled, run errands and had meals. He is ready for daddy to come home, and so am I!

It's about this time that I let him sit in his chair with some toys and start the show while I get dinner started. He definitely loves the puppets. He will tolerate the babies and songs, but man when those puppets come on, watch out. Arms and legs go flying, smiles are wide and eyes bright. He loves the puppets.Perhaps, pictures will better tell the story.

yawn...borrrrring...let's go..come on!

the puppets come on

Notice a difference?

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We had a good day

It was a lovely day with good naps, good times and good friends. Oscar and I scored free admission to the Marbles story time along with our friends Jessica and Jude (thanks Jenny!). We met them there this afternoon. However, we didn't actually go to the story time because our little ones were much more interested in playing. So we went to the crawlers area and hung out there for a while. Oscar loves the funny mirrors and Jude was checking everything out including the trash can, which according to Jessica is one of his favorite "toys". It doesn't sound odd to me at all because Oscar would rather play with trash than any toy I could buy him. Especially if said trash once contained liquid.

I really need to teach this kid not to lick everything.....

Jude is just making sure it isn't too full

After we got bored with the baby area we decided to walk around. Marbles is HUGE. I never knew how much there was to do and see until today. We had never gone upstairs so we went up to see what it had to offer. It was awesome! Not only were there more play areas, but they have all these stations where you can create artwork, build things, paint your face and even create a website! I can't wait until Oscar can enjoy those things! There is much more fun to be had, that's for sure. We also explored the water tables and looked at the saltwater fish tank in the Science area. Our Pediatrician's office has a fish tank also and it's always a big hit. Grandpa will be proud :-)

We had such a fun time that I decided to get Oscar a little toy. I know, I am a sucker like that. He loves his new giraffe though! It was the perfect topper to our little outing.

We left the museum and walked a few blocks to pay a quick visit to daddy's office and then made our way back to the car. It looked like it would rain so we were booking it. We ALMOST made it! I could see the car when the rain started falling down on us. in. sheets. Oscar stayed mostly dry thanks to the super-duper shade on his stroller, but I was soaked! I didn't realize how much stuff we had until I was hurriedly trying to get it all packed up and put in the car during a torrential downpour! Oscar didn't seem too bothered by the rain, but he did NOT like to see mommy in this frantic state and therefore decided to..........protest. Thankfully, we weren't far from home (and mealtime) so all was not lost.

Every day is an adventure. we try to get out and about as often as possible because I think it's good for both of us. I've found that Oscar sleeps better when I take him out for a while. Even if he's just in his stroller. Something about seeing different things and being around people is tiring, even if you aren't really doing anything. I enjoy getting out of the house and walking around downtown so it's a win win. I feel like we are really becoming a great little team and that's a really nice feeling. I have been so sleep deprived that now that I have had a few nights of sleep I don't even recognize myself. I think we are entering a new phase and I think I will like it.

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Who knew Diapers could be so much Fun?

Cloth diapers that is! When I was pregnant I thought I would try my hand at cloth diapering, but had NO idea where to begin. Luckily, I had several friends who were doing it so I had a lot of help. We got several different kinds and decided that when we found something we liked we would sell the others and stock up.

Well, of course having a baby changes everything about your plans and our journey with cloth got off to a rocky start. For a while, Oscar couldn't nap in them because he would always wake up early and need to be changed, which in turn ended the nap. When you have a newborn and they are napping 4 times a day, there is pretty much no other time, so cloth was out. Also, since we had several different kinds and weren't using them every day, it took me a while to figure out what worked best for us. Thankfully, I powered through and I can now say that we are committed to cloth!

We still use a disposable overnight because Oscar is a heavy wetter (can you say SIZE 4 overnights???) but during the day he is almost always in cloth and I love it. I have my system down for washing and this weekend we finally picked up a clothesline so I can hang them to dry! This prolongs the life of the diapers and helps keep them from leaking due to the dryer breaking down the material. We decided to primarily use pocket diapers, more specifically BumGenius. They work great and are the easiest for me and Jerry, plus they fit Oscar really well. Cloth diapers are just like anything else in that different brands will fit differently on different babies. Geez can I find another way to use the word different?

Cloth can be pricey initially, but after only a couple months of buying disposable after disposable, I definitely think it is worth it. Plus, you can get them secondhand online at places like DiaperSwappers and honestly, it's no big deal. I was so grossed out by the thought of buying secondhand until I used my own for a while and realized that each diaper we used was only even tried once or twice when we chose to sell it. I made back most of what I paid and was able to fund the new BGs. Score! Besides, who can resist this??

***look closely for a secret Jerry in the first pic...no I did NOT know he was there ;-) ***

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Wow! Is it Wednesday already?

This week feels like one long day just mushed all together. Not necessarily in a bad way. I just don't know where the time is going. Oscar has been sleeping really well, despite what I am calling teething pain (for lack of a better diagnosis). I predicted that we would see a tooth this week....Only 3 more days or I have to eat my words. AGAIN. So even with the good sleep, we have the teething and about a million other things to think about.

This weekend starts off a week of fun for us though! So, a lot of my time has been spent preparing for that. Tomorrow night, Jerry has a Whalewatchers show in Chapel Hill and tomorrow and Friday, some friends of mine from Florida will be in town for a performance on Friday night. They are a really exceptional dance company and a lot of Fun to watch! Check them out! So, Jerry will stay home with Oscar while I go see the show.

Also on Friday, Jerry's mom will arrive for a 10 day visit! She'll make her way to our place on Saturday and then the fun really begins! Jerry is taking off Monday-Wednesday to spend time with all of us. AND, since Tuesday is our anniversary, he and I are having a little getaway while Mimi stays with Oscar. We are so excited! We aren't even leaving town but just getting a hotel room makes it feel like a much needed vacay. And of course we'll go to dinner and maybe even *gasp* a bar! So looking forward to it!

Speaking of sleep, I mentioned that Oscar is sleeping better. Well, in the past week or so it has become evident that eating at night really wasn't helping him, so I stopped feeding him in the wee hours. I realized this was the case when the last few times he would get up in the middle of the night, he really didn't seem interested in nursing, would be hitting me and fussing and when he did eat, he didn't fall asleep at all. So, in lieu of feeding to sleep, Jerry and I took turns getting him back to sleep on his own. And in the past week, we've had 4 nights of 11 hours of straight up sleep. His naps are getting better too, so I am really happy about it. I am feeding him a lot more during the day which I don't mind, we are just trying to find a good rhythm. Now if we could get this tooth to pop, life would be perfect right? No way, there is always something.

Today, Oscar had his pictures taken! I will post more about it later, but I am super excited about them and I can't wait to see how they turn out! I think that just about does it for updates. Happy Wednesday everyone!

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This Blog's For You

A long long time ago I started blogging for fun. It was a way to get my thoughts out of my head. I still use blogging for that but have added a bit more substance and subtracted many of the lists. I use it to update our families on our comings and goings and have made lots of friends. I really enjoy doing it. Today when I checked my stats and saw that I had hit 2000 monthly visits I was thrilled! How is that even possible? It's mind boggling! (bloggling??)

I am so thankful to have a place to write. It truly is my release valve. There have been so many times when your comments have really uplifted me over the years. This blog has really helped me realize that I am never alone. It feels funny to address you as "readers" because I consider you friends. That said, you are awesome and I want dedicate this post to you!

Thanks for reading!

andrea

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Swingin Around

A few weeks ago swings went on sale at Target. I suppose they are cleaning out their summer stuff (though I am pretty sure you can swing all year long) so we decided to take advantage of it. However as soon as I got home I went right out to the back yard and realized that we don't have a single branch! What to do? It became clear that the swing would go in the front yard, which meant buying chain and borrowing an extension ladder. That's code for, this ain't gonna happen for a while.

This weekend we finally got it together and made it happen. Turns out the project was much easier than the anticipation and it only took about 30 minutes. Sadly, Oscar had already gone to bed so we had to wait A WHOLE DAY to let him use it. We talked about waking him up to play but decided against it....

Looks like it was worth the wait! Anyone wanna come swing with us?

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Meal Planning Monday? **Vegetarians beware**

Maybe I should just give up on the Monday thing. I seem to have a hard time keeping up. Something about Mondays, even as a Stay at Home Mom, just takes it out of a person. At any rate, last week I made a lot of our normal every day meals, but on Saturday I decided to try my hand at Beef Ribs! There was a sale this week on Angus Beef at HT so I grabbed them. They would have been delicious if they had more meat and less fat. Seriously it was ALL fat. The little bit of meat we got was soooo good though!

I found a couple recipes online for cooking ribs and homemade BBQ sauce. I decided to make the ribs later in the afternoon so I wanted to see if there was a way to do it without having them marinate all day. Turns out, if you boil the ribs for about an hour and a half before putting them in the oven, they are perfect! I will definitely try this again with better meat!

So you cut the ribs apart and boil them for 1.5 hours. Meanwhile, you allow the BBQ sauce to simmer. Once done, pour sauce over meat and put under the broiler for 15-20 minutes. Serve with veggies, potatoes, rice, whatever. It's good. We had mixed garden veggies and garlic bread.

Sauce Recipe:

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup Vinegar

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

2 Tbsp Worsteshire Sauce

2 Tbsp Prepared Mustard

1 Tbsp Canola or Vegetable Oil

1 tsp Ground Ginger

1 tsp Garlic (or more)

1/2 tsp Liquid Smoke

Enjoy!

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Ahh the Weekend

We had a really fun family weekend full of projects and good times. I'll probably break it down into seperate posts later with pictures! But for now, I will simply say that I am really, truly happy.

After a day of projects around the house with Jerry, and a YUMMY dinner, I went out to a late night movie with the girls. We saw Julie and Julia and it was so sweet! Of course I couldn't help but compare myself to the main character (a blogger) and it made me think. I went back through my old blogs (circa 2003 and beyond) and it's so funny to see how my writing has evolved. I was the master of lists and bullet points and they truly were online journals. Of course they are mostly embarassing to read but I can't bring myself to delete them. It's like I would be deleting my youth. Anyway, the movie not only inspired me to want to be a better writer, but also to finish what I start. Fun with friends AND a moral to the story. Who could ask for more?

Sunday turned out to be a little bit lazier than we had intended but I'm not sorry. It was a great day and a good chance for Jerry and I to connect before the start of a busy week. We went to church but left a little early because Oscar didn't do so well in the nursery. He was the only infant so he went into the toddler room and I think it was a bit overwhelming. He is SUPER sensitive to loud noises. I don't know why. He cries the most heartbreaking cry whenever I try to vacuum, run the bathwater or listen to music too loud. It really scares him. He HATES being in the main room during worship at church so we can't bring him in there with us. It's sad because I really want him to love music. I am hoping it's just a phase he will grow out of. As of now, you would think there are monsters chasing him. He doesn't seem to be in pain necessarily and his ears have always checked out at the Dr. so I am not sure what the deal is. Regardless, we had a good time at the part of church we did stay for and came home for a nice afternoon. Jerry had a great time playing with Oscar and I had a nice break from being primary caregiver.

In other news, my Firefox stopped working and after multiple troubleshooting attempts I have decided to switch to Chrome. We'll see how it goes. So far it's working great but the frustration kinda took the blogging wind out of my sails! We're up and running now so it should be a good week. Happy Monday!

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Now THIS is childhood

My sister unearthed this relic while packing for her upcoming move and it completely makes me smile. I hope Oscar has as much fun growing up as I did. That's me in the orange shirt, completely covered in mud and sliding headfirst down the slide I made with my friends one summer in the mountains. I am pretty sure I had to take like 3 baths to get it all off. What's even better is that only 2 of the people in this picture are boys. Tomboys unite!

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I love Saturdays

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TGIT!

Thank God it's Triples!

I think I am getting better at this whole couponing thing. And I discovered that it is way more fun to only buy things that you can use a coupon for. Especially during triples. I have been to Harris Teeter twice so far. Yesterday was for the real grocery trip with all the meat and milk and beer and stuff that doesn't go on sale much. And also some coupons stuff - you can only triple 20 per day. I saved $60! Today I went back and used more coupons and got $57 worth of groceries for $17.09. Here is the list of what I got today:

• 4 boxes Suddenly Pasta Salad
• 1 pkg Pringles Minis
• 1 box Snyders Pretzels individual bags
• 12 Dannon Yogurt
• 1 Colgate toothpaste
• 1 Creamy Spinach Mix knorrs
• 2 Boxes Lipton Beefy Onion Mix
• 1 box Chex Bars
• 1 pkg Dole pinapples
• 1 bag Snyders Cheese Pretzel Sandwiches
• 1 Skippy Peanut Butter
• 1 20oz Coke
• 2 bags Martha White Muffin Mixes
• 1 pkg DanActive Yogurt drinks
• 1 pkg activia yogurt
  

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Love this....

This is going in my mental suggestion box for Oscar's room. I have always wanted to add a chalkboard painted area to one of the walls in his room but I really didn't want to do a half-wall with a straight line separating it from the top. I also plan to wait until he can actually hold and use chalk. I LOVE this idea of silhouettes! The possibilities are endless.

**picture courtesy of decor8

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Who needs counseling when you can buy crayons for $1.70?

Not me! Not yet at least. Or maybe I have lost my final marble. Either way, coloring sure is fun. Oscar and I were in Target the other day (wonder of wonders) and I decided to grab some crayons. Looks like it was my lucky day because they were on sale! And I found a sweet under the sea coloring book in the $1 bins. Thanks China.

Jerry and I decided to color one evening after Oscar went to bed and I would like to show you the difference between men and women. Pay attention, this will never change.

I colored my pretty little picture with cute little colors and shading. See my little pink shrimp? They're playing Tennis! Underwater Tennis! Isn't that just adorable? The fish and the shrimp are friends! And they are Playing!

Now please direct your attention to my husband's unfinished masterpiece. Unfortunately, he only had time to ruin the life of the Octopus, who clearly doesn't realize he is dying. Since he was in a hurry, he was unable to "finish the blood". I wonder who will fall prey to the shark next....

Notice how tiny the crayon looks in his big caveman hands. I have added a picture of our friend Steph's hand for comparison.

The only reasonable conclusion I can draw from this experience is that men were created to be hunters and women to play tennis underwater.

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